Star.
London, England, 1820-02-22 00:00:00

HOUSE OF COMMONS.

Several Members were sworn.
Lord MOR PETH appeared at the Dar with the Answer of
her Royal Highness the Duchess of Kent, to the Address of
Condol,nce upon the death of the late Duke, which had been
voted by the House. Her Royal Highness felt deeply sensible
of the kind sympatii7 which had. been expressed by the House,
for which she returned her most grateful thanks.
Mr. BENNET'. presented a Petition from several Freeholders,
inhabitants of the &and of Cape Breton, in North America,
complaining that though they had been nnder the immediate
g .vernment of Nova Scotia for several years, they had been
lately transfer red by the British Government to a foreign State
—(the United State). They denied the right of the British
Government to tran3ter any of his Maj.:,ty's subjects to the rule
of any foreign Power, withcut their own consent. Such consent
they 1:.4.1 not given. lle (Mr. Bennett; did not know whether
the aLee:ttiors in the Petition were or were nut true ; the case
which it stated was a hard one, and if upon inquiry it was found
c wrect, it ought to be rirr.edied.—The Petition was then read,

and laid on the table.
A Petition was presented from 'he Insolvent Debtors con-
fined in prison in Liverpool, praying for the eontimiation of the
Insolvent Debtors' Rill.—Laid on the table.
Mr. Alderman WOOD withdrew his motion concerning the
employmeet of the Poor upon Dann-Aloe Forest, as he under-
st•ood that other persons, with the approbation of an illustrious
personage, were makiog arrangements for the application of the
grant which that ilhistriotts per tonage had made of this forest.
Sir ROBERT WILSON begged leave to ask if the Right
Hon. Gentlemen opposite could give any information to the
Muse as to the number of Arms which had been st ized by night
and day since the enactment of the Bill for that purpose'
?dr. B. BATIICRST replied, that he was nut aware any re-
turn had beets made to the Ilorne Office upon the subject. Ile
was, therefore, uuable to give the Hoeourahle. Member the in-
formation he required.
Mr. LUSHINGTON brought op a Rcturn of the amount of
sill Treasury 1312 s bsued within a certain period fur the service
of Ireland, which, ail nn the motion of the CHANCELLOR of the'
Exerinoecrt, was ordered to be referred to the Committee of
Sapply.
Mr. SCARLETT moved the Order of the Day for the Se-
cond licading of the Local JuristLetious Bill. II.: btatt.d, that
the object of the 13111 was to enable Magistrates in local jurisdic-
tions to commit for capital crimes to the jail of the county in
which their local jurisdiction was. At present, Magistrates
whose powers were limited within a small jurisdiction, could
commit only to the jail within that jurisdieton. It would be a
great convenience in the course of public justice, if such Magis-
trates were enabled, in capital cases, to commit to the county
jail, to bind over prosecutors and witnesses, in order that the
persons so committed might be tried at the ensuing I.Luarter Ses-
sion-, in places where no Assizes were held.
After a few observations from a Member, who wished the
ptovisions of the Bill to he more extensive, the Bill was read a
seconi time, and committed. Some trivial Aim odments were
added. The Report was brought up, and the Bill ordered to
be read a third time to-morrow.
The CHANCELLOR t,f the EXCHLQUF:R obtained
leave to bring in a Bill to continue such Bills as would expire
b, fore the meeting of the oext Parliament. He did this on the
precedent of an Act of the Ist of George 11. Ile then brought
in the Bill, which was read a first and second time, and ordered
to be committed to-morrow.
Lord A LTIIORPL gave notice, that on the motion for going
into the Ceimmittee on this Bill, he should move that it be an
i:.‘troction to the Committee to include the present Insolvent
Daloors'Act among those which this Bill was intendedto continue.
'the Amendments to the Irish election Poll Bila were read a
third time, and ordered to he engrossed.
DROITS OF TUE ADMIRALTY.
Mr. BROUGHAM, seeing a Right Honourable
• •
Member in his place, took this opportunity of call-
ing the attention of that Right Honourable Gentle-
:ll,ln and of the House, to a subject which was not
without importance. lie was desirous now of moving
for certain accounts, to which, as no objection was
entertained against their production at a former pe-
riod, when they were less wanted, he took it for
granted that no opposition was now meant to be of-
fered. It would be recollected, that early in the
Session of 1812, he (Mr. Brougham) brought on the
subject, which, whether it was estimated in a politi-
cal or a financial point of view, was deserving of the
most set ions consideration. He alluded particularly
to certain funds which had been deemed to be under
the peculiar controul of the Crown, and not of Par-
liament—he meant the Droits of the Admiralty. It
was true, that these funds existed chiefly in a time
of war, but to them were to be added one or two
minor branches, which made the whole amount to a
large sum. When lie brought the subject before the
House, lie urged the propriety of placing these funds
snore within the controul of Parliament ; and the ex-
pediency of what he urged was not denied by Mr.
Percival. But that Right Honourable Gentleman
then said, that upon the accession of his late Ma-
jesty, certain arrangements, in which these funds
were inchided, were made, and that it was not fit to
break in upon them, by renewing any discussions
with regard to them while these arrangements sub-
sisted. But Mr. Percival allowed, that as soon as
these arrangements ceased, on the demise of the
Crown, then the time for renewing the subject would

arise. That time had now arrived. It was agreed
upon all hands, that the disposal of these funds
ought to 6e • placed upon a more constitutional
ground—that the amount -and application of therif
ought to be broaght mo, e within the knowledge and
coatroul of Parliament. The only dispute was, as to
the time when such' an arrangement could properly
be executed, and he presumed that there would be
no hesitation in redeeming tke pledge which had
been given. He then moved, " That an humble
Address be presented to his Majesty, praying that
his Majesty would order to be laid before the House
an account of the total produce of allfunds at the
disposal of the Crown, and not usually deemed to
be at the disposal of Parliament since the accession of
his late Majesty, distinguishing the amount of the
Droits of the Admiralty, and of the Droits of the
Crown, ,ef the Four and a Half per Cent. on West
India Duties, and of the Scotch Revenue ; and also
of all Funds not heretofore specified in the Returns

to Parliament."
The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER
thought, that the question of these funds might- be
,more.properly, and more advantageously discussed
when the House should be called upon to consider
the general subject of the Civil List. At present,
the Civil List was not before the House, and he
should therefore forbear from entering into the sub-
ject at any length. He, however, had no objection
that an account of the Droits of the Admiralty
should be laid before the House ; but as to the other
funds, the Four and a Half per Cent. on West India
Duties, and the Scotch Revenue, he was afraid that
some delay might occur, if not some inconvenience,
from producing accounts which were necessarily so
disjointed. He would not, at the same time, resist
the motion.
Mr. BROUGHAM said, that he moved for the
Accounts now, chiefly for the purpose of saving time
when the Civil List should be brought before the
House. It was essential to the dignity of the Crown,
as well as to the respect. which the House owed itself,
that as little delay as possible should occur in voting
the Civil List, and the previous production of these
Accounts would considerably facilitate that measure.
The motion was then agreed to.
MALT TAX IN SCOTLAND:-
Mr. PRIMROSE presented a Petition from the
Molesters, Distillers, and Brewers, of Strathaven, in
Scotland, complaining of the additional Tax im-
posed upon Malt by the 59th of George HI. in which
no provision was made for excepting Scotland from
the full payment of the duty, although, upon all for-
mer occasions, the Tax upon Malt in that part of the
United Kingdom was less than in England. They
complained that the Act was passed without any in-
formation of such a measure having been given to
them—that they were thus deprived of an opportu-
nity of having their claims discussed; and they sub-
mitted, that if the Tax were in future to be equalized
in the amount, it would fall heavier upon them than
upon the maltsters, distillers, and brewers of Eng-
land, because the grain in Scotland was much infe-1
rior to that produced in the south.
Lord A. HAMILTON bore testimony to the ex-
istence of the grievance complained ef in the peti-
tion. The barley of Scotland was so much inferior
to that of England, that it was always considered
in the arrangement of the duties, until the Act of
last Session was passed. That Act equalized the
duty, and the result was, that the growth of barley
and oats Wab altogether suspended. The House
would perhaps be surprized to hear, that the tax ex-
ceeded the cost of the article itself—(Hear, hear).—
Ile hoped that the Right Hon. Gentleman would
afford some information to the House upon the
subject.
The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER said,
he had no objection that the petition should be laid
upon the table, nor would he refuse to go into an
• inquiry upon the subject,
.if it should be brought
before the House. The petition. was laid on the table,
and ordered to be printed: • ••• • •

moTix.x. ACT.
Lord PA LMER'STO'morgfor leave to bring
in a Bill to continue tbesiolis6ily Act of last Session,
from the 24th March to' the 244 h June next. He
would not now enter int-daily lengthened detail upcn
the subject of
.the Military Establishment, as the
whole question would come before the new Parlia-
ment. He should merely observe, that his motion
could scarcely give rise to any discussion, as it did
not contain any recital of numbers.
Colonel DAVIS could not let the motion of the
Noble Lord pass in total silence, lest he and his
ft lends should be supposed as giving sanction to the
existence of the present Military Establishment,
hich he thought much too large.. At was to be
wished that Ministers, had condescended to give
some explanation of the
.grounds upon which they
desired the continuance of so large a body of mili-
tary in a time of profound peace. .11e protested
against the proceeding now resorted to by the Noble
Lord. By the Mutiny Act of last Session, the House
sanctioned the continuance of nearly 1,260 men, who,
it seas then said, were about to be disbanded ; but
that the disbanding would require time. But the
short Bill which the Noble Lord now proposed, as
it would continue, this last Mutiny Act would also
continue, he presumed, this extra number of men.
With regard also to the 11,000 men added to the'
Army Establishment last November, he was anxious
to know what necessity there was for them now.—
The country was perfectly tranquil ; and, therefore,
supposing they bad been called for by reason of the
discontents which existed, as those discontents now
disappeared, so also should disappear the force which
they created. He, for one, however, denied that
even at the height if -the agitation which prevailed,
there was any necessity for an addition to the mili-
tary force. Ile authors of those tumults would, if
left to themselves, have finally accomplished their
own overthrow. The tide of public opinion had
turned against them—the misled mechanics and wea-
vers were beginning to perceive the folly of wasting
their time at public meetings, and listening to in-
flammatory discourses, when they ought to be pro-
viding for the support of their respective families.—
He would not be understood to say, that the Govern-
ment was not bound to suppress sedition wherever it
appeared, and to check the progress of blasphemy.
But he thought the civil power was quite sufficient,
and it stood in need of no assistance from the mili-
tary. He was one of those who wished to see the
military establishment reduced to the smallest possi-
, ble scale. There should, perhaps, remain as much

of it asin eyery district might be sufficient to, form,
a rallying point in time of danger—a nucleus, as it
were, on which a force might be formed whenever
it was necessary to the safety of the country. As
much as possible should be' entrusted to the civil
power. In Scotland it was well known that a large
and populous district was last year discontented.—
Indeed, an opposition to Government was more
firmly organized there than in Manchester, or in any
other of the disturbed districts. Yet it was also
known that there were not more than fifteen or six-
teen hundred military in that country, and that these,
seconded by the civil power, wete quite sufficient to
suppress any tumultuary effort. In a constitutional
point of view this was a subject of the first import-
ance, and it was also deserving of consideration sofar
as expense was concerned. Intending, however, as
he did, to bring the subject more fully before the
House: if he should possess a seat in the new Partia-
ment, he thought it unnecessary now to proceed fur-
ther than to repeat his protest against the motion.
• Mr. CALCItAFT joined his Honourable Friend
in protesting against this proceeding, which was con-
trary to all precedent upon former demises of the
Crown. He could not see the propriety of such a
speedy dissoluti:,n of Parliament, at a time when a
great deal of important public business remained to
be transacted. Did it become the Representatives of
the People in that House, to turn their backs upon
the Petitions which had been presented from several
parts of the country, complaining of severe distress ?
Did it become them to pass to an adjournment, when
such weighty matters were presented to their consi-
deration, as were contained in the Petition of the
Merchants of London, presented at the close of the
early portion of the Session? Having adjourned
over to the 15th of February, in the mean time it
pleased HEAVEN to release the late King from his
sufferings here, and when the House met again, as
by law it was commanded to do, it was told that it
had but a few days to survive, and instead of attend-
ing to business, .the House was told that Parliament
was forthwith to be dissolved. Thus the months
usually devoted to the dispatch of business, January,
February, March, and April, shall have been spent
without any public affairs being transacted. Now it
appeared, that all those affairs were to be deferred
to a time when it would be difficult to obtain a full
attendance of Members; though formerly there was
no hesitation in going into them immediately upon
the demise of the Crown. He could not but suspect
that there was some latent reason for postponing all
the important business, which it was exuected would
have been brought forward—he meant the settlement
of the Civil List, and of the Establishments of the
country. Much was said of economy ; but he suspect-
ed that something was to be proposed, the voting for
which might make Gentlemen uneasy in the presence
of their constituents—(Hear, hear):—The Military
Establishment was much too large—indeed so large,
that he trusted the House would never agree td its
continuance, if it were now proposed ; and this,
among the rest, perhaps one of the reasons why/it
was to be submitted to a new Parliament. .

Lord PALMERSTON thought that by refraining
from gging into the subject at length, he had best
consulted the convenience of the House. As to the
augmentation of the Army, he would appeal for its
justification to the opinion of the whole country, and
he was sure that if Government had not exerted the
rigour which was then called forth, they would have
been guilty of a dereliction of the duties imposed
upon them for the protection of the properties and
lives of his Majesty's subjects. He believed that
general approbation was also bestowed upon the
other Legislative measures which were adopted in
the early part of the Session—( Hear, hear).—As to
the dissolution of Parliament, he, for one, thought
that much inconvenience would arise from protract-
ing the sitting of Parliament under existing circum-
stances—(Hear, hear).
Mr. HUNIE wished that the Noble Lord had can.
didly stated whether the condition of the country re-
quired the continuance of the whole of the present
Military Establishment. The House should recol-
lect that that establishment, as it now existed, created
an expense to the country of about £11,000,000.
He expressed a hope that some Gentleman would
move for the reduction of the 11,000 men voted last
Session, that the question might be fairly brought
before the House of the propriety of supporting, in
the present circumstances of the country, so great a
Military Establishment.
Mr. CROKER said, that the House had voted the
men and money for the whole year, and that it was
the most delicate mode of proceeding, and the one
most consistent with ordinary practice, to renew
the Mutiny Bill by a continuing Act, as was now
proposed.—Leave was given to bring in the Bill.