Star.
London, England, 1804-07-03 00:00:00

fur a dircharge of the debts of ille Civil Sift, that I duties which recapwe plicable M the rupees of the
meafures would have been taken to
tpreaent the re- I Civil L and aof the other it:Sources which were
cureence of a .fimilar applicatioe in fuure, by guard. applicable in aid of that fund ?
iog again(( the accumulation of arrears. This effect The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER be-
might, in his judgment, have been produced; if not gan by complimenting the faie and parliame.ntary
altogether, by attending to the provifions of Mr. manner in which his Hon. Foiend had famed his oar.
Burke'. Bill, from which he was ferry to obferve an nions. The principal point upon which his Hon.
alrn.ft total departure for many years back. The Friend feemed to hefitate as to the propriety of con-
Honourable Member thought that fuch an applica- earring in the propofition before the Houle was this,
thin as the prefent, which went to make a Vermaneat that the time of war was not that which ought to have
advance in (the amount of the Civil Lift ought to been related for an application of this nature; but in
have been accompanied by fome propolition upo* the anfwer to this objeatima he would fay, that it was
fame principle as Mr. Burke'. Bill, which Ihould become neceffary to do one of two things—either to
ferve to regulate the expenditure of that Lift. For refute to the Throne an adequate allowance, or to
ftsteen years previous to the year- leo:, the average break in upon the efiabliffiment of Royalty ; and he
of the Civil Lit-Debt was not more than &o . did not believe that there was a man who, in any cir-
annually, bnt for the two tart years that average had cumftances. would.. Merely for a laying of so or
trebled. The caufe of this inmate he particularly 6o,000l: content to en abridgment of tram dignity
wiffied to have explained. The Honourable Member whicliformed a limitary part of the Monarchy, and
then proceeded to animadvert upon feveral items of therefore forined a necelat y part door Conflitution.
the account upon the table. • The rums tinder the This, however, muff be done, or elle we mull; goon
head of fpecial *vice for die laft two years (truck fuffering the debt of the Civil Lift to accumulate in
him as rather extraordinary The 40,0001. for time or war, and thus lay the neceffay .of making
,Foreign- Minifters, he thought. fhould be fpecifically good the payment of it in time of peace; but he
accounted for. He did not like this way of lumping would fubmit it to the judgment of the Houfe and
it. It might lead men to conjefture that, it was made the public, whether it was not better, even amidft the
a cloak for the application of the public money to preffure of war, at once to provide for the difeliarge
improper purpofes. At the fame time that he ex. of this arrear, and alfu to guard, as much as poffible,
prefred a with that the Houfe and the public Ibould againft the tecurrence of fuels debts, than to adopt
be fatisfied upon this point. he begged it to be under- either of the alternatives he had referred to? To Rate
flood that, far from defiring to abridge the allowance the dilemma in which his Hon.' Friend's oblation
to our Fambalfaclors, he entertained a hope that fuck would place the Houle, was, he was fetiified, quite.
allowances would be augmented, fo as to confult the enough en infure their affent to the prohichpofition
had for he haitsd
rank and fuitable accomtnodatian of our diplomatic the honour to fubmit, a propofition w
agents. Under the head of the Lord Chamberlain's object the fupport of that increafed expense of the
Office, and part'cularly with refpea to the Board of Crown, which arofe not from any difpofition to prodia
Works, he obferved a confiderable incrcafe beyond gality or extravagance, but from that enhancement in
former years. For the augmentation of the allow- all the necellkry articles of life which had taken place
lines of prefents. &c. to Foreign Minifters within the fence the revenue of the Civil Lift was hat fixed, and
laft year. he could not conceive a reafon. He meant of ery individual in private life mull be fen-
t
that kind of allowance granted for executing Con- fibleThe arrangement he pmpofed. it mull be ob-
ventions, Treaties. &c. as there were none fuch that vious to any difpaffionate man, had no view to any
he recollated. Yet this Cum mate, ially exceeded the advance in the quantum of magnificence, or the in-
expenditure for a fimilar purple in the year pre- dulgencies which Ihould belong to the R.y al Family,
vious to the left war, when fo many Conventions and as the only intention was to enable that illuftriotis fa-
Treaties with Foreign Powers were concluded. The mily to maintain the rank which, according to the
exceft, might, perhaps, have proceeded from prefents grant of 1786, it was admitted they ought to hold.
to the Barbary States, but of this be walled to be As the only effect of the propofed addition swath! be
informed. In the compenfation to perft-ns for lots of to equalize their revenue to the change of circum-
offices there was an advance of to,oool. which made fiances which had taken place, he was confident that
up for the to,oool. redualion of the Penlien Litt, there was not one of the conftituents of that Houle,,
which had been noticed by his Right Hon. Friend, who would not confider that ceconomy extremely mita
and therefore there was no Caving to the public. The placed. which would. under fuch ci:cumftances, call
additional expellee in the offices of the three Secreta- upon his blajelly's Family to retrench their heceffery '
ries of State, which was not leis than 77,0001. ap- expeoces, or refute Aim to the propofition in debate.
peered to him particularly to require explanation.— particularly when it was recollated that the Civil
One of•thofe Offices was no doubt new, and lie did Lift was but a commutation which his Malay had,
not mean to contend that it was unneceffitry in war, accepted on his acceffinn to the throne, for a large-
but upon the return of peace, whenever it Ihould ar- hereditary revenue. When it was confidereoc d how,
rive, he hoped it would he done away. The Hon. long his Majefty had, hapoily for this country; cu-
Member Rated his approbation of the propofal of pied the-throne, for a peririd longer almoft than any
his Right Hon. Friend to tiansrer to another fund Sovereign to be found in our hiftory ; when the
thofe charges which did not properly belong to the growth of the revalue. which h: had futtendeted in
Civil Lift. There was another item in the Report exchange, war taken into confideration, be was rure
on the Table upon which the Hon. Member confer- it would be admitted, that a call upon Parliament
feerthat he could not touch without pain, but his for an advance of 60,0001 s a year in his revenue.
fettle of duty would not fuffer him to overlook it.— and the transfer to another fund of claims which
This was an advance of 16,0001. to the Duke of do not et 'all belong to the Civil Lill according
Clarence, which was to be repaid by inftalments, to ha original, coaftitution, furnifhed. no fair ground
and of which roof. were fill due. If the falary of of obleaion i (or he begged it to be diffinaly under-
that illuttrious perfonage, or of any other branch flood by that Ronk and the public. that that branch
of the Royal Family were found inadequate to pro- of the hereditary revenue which had been enjoyed by
vide for the comforts which belonged to the Ration his Majefty's ptedecafors, and, in lieu of which hp
they occupied, he would be as ready 1S AY man to had thought proper to accept the Civil Lift, had fo
content to any increafe that might be neeeffary ; but far advanced, that it now amounted to between
he difliked the principle of inch occafional advances 1,400.0001. and I,scoogieral. a•year. this, therea
as that to which he alluded. It was a complete de- fore, it appeared, that-the addition of, eichoool. to
viation from the fpirit and letter of Mr. Borkes Bill. 900,0001. a year, left a confiderable balance in fa-
it tended to diforganize the whole fy dem of the Civil votes, of the public. He would put it to the candour
Lift. It would ferve to place the Princes of the Blood tit the Houle and the council, whether any proporal
in a kind of dependence on the Firlt Lord of the could Rand upon fairer grounds—whether any thing
Trealut y, who might, if this practice were tolerated, could be imagined more (elf-eitident, and leis liable to
advance any rum he pleated in this clandelline man- mitake ? As to another point in the Ipeech of his
I
no.. without the content of Parliament, to any parfon Hnn. Friend, which recommended the peopolition of
he chore to accommodatr, whether that perion be. Come meafure of general regulation upon a principle
longed to the Royal Family, or ngt. For it was analogous to that upon which Mr. Burke's Bill was
hard to fay to what au extent the principli: might be founded, he always thought that fuels a meafure was
carried. It had, indeed, in one inllance been ex. impracticable, and in this opinion lie was confirmed
tended to a military officer (Major General Gardi- from a confideration of the nature. and a knowledge
ner), to a-horn above 2000. had been advanced, of the effects of Mr. Burke's rynem, which Vas
with the ilipulati,m of repayment at the rate of rot. found to be quite inapplicable. Here the Right Hon.
a year, nid a guinea of which had been yet received. Gent. took octagon to Hate that the arse, in the ex-
How came it, he Aced, that the pert°, mance of loch pence of the Civil Lift had by no means proceeded,
an engagement was not inforced by thole who had as his /ion. Friend profelled to think, from an im-
the means of d ing In, by deducting from the Pala proper inattention to Mr. Burke's Bill, but from
ries they had to pay ?. Tile 'next pone to which the finding that a change of circumilances had rendered
Honourable Member called the attention of the a rick attention to that meafure impracticable. Ho
Houk, was the deficiency in tile fees of officets in the hoped that his condo& for fume years after the
treafury, which amounted to 1 s,oosal. a ium equal to enactment of that Bill was Inch as to (hew, that if it
the whole falary of the higher officers in that dcpar t. had failed of its tablet', that failure was not to be at-
ment. How loch a deficiency grew up he a idled to tribtited to the want of a fincere defire upon his part
learn ? Upon the whole, indeed, of the items to and that of his colleagues in office, to carry it into
which lie had alluded, be was :onions for explana- complete, execution. That, indeed, was an Mt
don, perhaps that explanation might remove his which fearer (hurt of the hopes of its author, and in
doubts—doubts lie called them for there was nothing its operation he raw that a project may be very fins
in the Report to which he abfolutely foliated, but the in defcription and good in theory, which may have a
oecafional advances he teferred to. to the time at different atpea when it comes to be a practical nee-
which this propolaion was fubmitted, he could not lure. Tn the mode of daffing the creditors of the Civil
help raying, that he had much objection. At fach a Lift in the aft alluded to. the Government soithwhich
critis as the prefent, when the country had filch bur- he had the honour of being conneeed, had always
then. to bear, and filch difficulties to encounter, he adhered. No preference was ever given to any but the
did not think it was decorous or fitting to make this Royal Family, the Judges, and the Foreign Miniftert.
application on the part of the Crown. As it es as de• and oaf-in all the other claffes the debt was furfered
termined to make it, however, it was incumbent on to fall in equal proportion. The Right Hon. Gee-
his Majelly's Minifters to couple with it Come mea- tleman, however. dwelt upon the confcquences
lure to prevent the farther accumulation of debt in which would refult from a rigid adherence to the
this department. He had heard it fail that fuch a letter of this aft, particularly in regard to the wine-
general meafure was impracticable ; but this affertion tion of a debt which &mild be Coffered to go a certain
WAS not borne out by the experience of many years number of quarters in arrear. This (Wetly aged upon
immediately fucceeding the enactment of Mr Burke's would, he apprehended. expofe the Royal Family
Bill. It was evident that either fume means mull be themfelves ro have their falaries flopped. The MCA'
adopted of keeping the ex pences of this department lure altogether was not reducible to practice, nor did
within the revenue Aligned, or a necenity would per. he think any thing of a fimilar nature would be effec-
petually recur of reforting to Parliament in the way tual. All he thought ad•ifahle or neceffary wao that,
then before the Houle. After recapitulating leveral in cafe the Civil Lill Ih.iuld at any future time be in
of his quellioni, the Honourable Member admitted debt, and lie could not pretend to provide againft
that if a permanent addition to the revenue of the fuch an event. Parliament ()timid be immediately ap-
Civil Lilt were deemed necellary, the arrangement p:i Led of the exiflence of filch a debt. ' For this pur-
could not be put on a better footing than that pro- pole he would have no objection to introduce a climfe
pofed by his Right Honourable Friend. He ex.. into the an which was meant to be grounded upon
ported the Tieafury, with whom the enntroul telled.l the refoliii ion of the Committee. Such a clank, on-
to keep all the Government offices within the rules ; joining that whenever the Civil Lift Mould contra&
of ceconomy, and not permit extravagance of any , a debt of a Ipecifieci amount, or whenever it Ihould
i
kind. Among the other explanations lequiled by he a certain time in arrear, the (aft Shouldbe Lid he-
the Honourable Gentlemar, lie tcluefled to be in- foie Parliament. This appeared to him to be the
farmed of the amount of die four and a half per cent. molt fimpk mode of proceeding. and the only plan