The Statesman.
London, England, 1820-05-17 00:00:00

Fat' Yews.

Mr. FIN LAY presented a petition from the Directors
of the Chamber of Commerce of tilasgow, pra)ittg for
s free trade, and the remota: of nil restrictions upon
townie:cr.-Ihr lion. Member, in the course of some
observations, drip veered the impolitic system of re-
striction, which had been pith. re" coutinued, and
maintained that c%ery unnecessary restraint ought to
be done away with. As au instance cf the han.ship
which such a system gave rise to, he adverted to the
superior advantage* enjoyed I,y the Atm ricau m r-
eliant with. regard to the trade to Chloe and the East
Indies, as compared with those possesied by the Bri-
tish merchant, who could wet engage• in any twos,
commercial enter; rise, without having previously eon-
formed nab al: the minute regulations established by
the East India Company. He then proceeded to ob-
serve, that Parliament could remove all injurious re-
rest ridions, without in any way trenching on the rights
an,i privileges of that Company. To those who argued
that a fro• trade was a line theory, hut one which could
never be carried into pra.oice, he would say, that the
experiment was wirth trying; and he was convinced
that the principirof a free trade might be ad; pted, I
without the violation of any national or corporate rights.
Nur did he see how the extension of that principle could
possibly prejudice the interest of the British ship-
owner or merchant. The lion. Member next adverted I
4* the topics which had bet& treated on a former night
by Mr. Baring and other Members, and dwelt parti-
cularly on the hardships of extents in aid, maintaining
that it was most unjust for any individual to avail him-
self of a government security to despoil a man of his
property. But of all the impediments to the interests
' of trade and commerce, there was not one which had
so injurious an effect as the Usury Laws ; and these
be was most anxious to see either altered entirely, or
al least modified in a Manner suitable to the necessity
of the occasion. The Bankrupt Laws also required
revision; and he should besides observe, that au ex-
periment might advantageously be made with regard
to the principle of a free trade, by exempting some
particular articles from duty, and then it could be
ascertained how far it might be expedient to extend
or confine the system. The subject to which he next ;
called the attention of the House, referred to the pros-
perous state of foreign commerce, as compared with
ours, and he insisted, that unless some alteration was
made, we could not possibly compete with the rapid
advances made by the nations of the Continent.
On the question being pat for receiving the petition,
Mr. BARING rose. and made some observations.
He Paid it would be impossible for this country to ar-
rive, ever again, at that degree of success, with regard
to commerce, which it bad attained during the war.
Yet he did not therefore agree in the gloomy anticipa-
tions of his lion. Friend. ToAtus general ; rinAple,
however, as urged by his Hon. Friend, be entirely as-
dented ; and from what he could learn, he had heat
given to understand, that acting upon it would not in
any respect interfere with the interest of ship owners.
He had had himself a communication with several of
them on this subject, and the only point of difference
between them was respecting the timber trade. After
some tinker observations from the Hon. Member, the
petition was read, and ordered to lie on the table.
Mr. BROUGHAM said, he held in his hand a pe-
tition from the 01/11411 and Occupiers of Land in the
) parish of Winebelsea. He wished it, however, to be
understood, that he did not by any toeing agree in the
'prayer of the petition, as it not only called for the
repeal of the Act relative to Corn, but desired to im-
pose a duty on the importation of all foreign grain.
Hewss ready to admit, however, that the subject ought
to be taken into consideration, so far as regarded the
averages which had been Axed. It was necessary that
there should be a clear understanding in this parti-
cular, and whether the average was to remain at 80s.
or brought down to 705., there ought to be a more
perfect arrangement made to give effect to it than •at
present existed. The petition was then nod, and OP
dread to lie on the table.
Lord MILTON presented a 'Unlike petition iron a
parish is Yorkshire.—Laid on toe Wait. - •

The Nuh!e Lord solid, he wished to take that ol'p,l
tiani*v fur fixinz the thy on which he sloould brinemi
liO‘ Motion for the repeal Of the Wool Tax, in ci,„;t.
pience of his 11-.vitor postponed it from the api o'll4
dav at the instance of the Chancellor of the Exchetple,
After a short conver•ation between the Noble 14,i
and Lord CASTLIMEAGH as to the day that woutio,
most convenient, the motion was ordered to stead hi
Friday

Mr: ilitol.6llllM postroir I a 'swim) of wkiti
he had given itut:re, till Thursday fortuiiitt ($4.,
saderstood).

ORITIBIII
Mr. ILt%KES presented a petition from the Trashes
of the British Alusennt, praying float a further s
tuight he t; ranted th.nt in support of that institstist
—Ordered t j lie ws the to

The Hon. Member then snored for the usual sanal,
Account of the Expenditure of the British Mom
for tl.e year INI9, and also an Account of the oft
necessary to meet the charges of the year MO".
Ordered.

.fr. K. :th, from the British Muvum, appeared*
iht bar with tirse Accounts, which were unlerodip
he on the tahle.

Mr. ELLIS, in presenting a ; etitirn against del
Wool Tar, from a torn t1:~• North (the name st
which e•e 4:ill not di,tinetly hear), too!; occasion,
advert to the petitions for a free tr.ole, which had beta
submitted to the House front the Cityy. of London and
olive places, as well as that whidi had been just pre-
sented from the Merchants of Glasgow. It was Mt
for him to urge any arguments 'Toe the necessity. of
removing all restrictions on commerce, as that subject
hail already been discussed by parsons who were muc►
more competent to the task than himself; yet he tuight
at the same time he permitted to observe, that the
sensation which 'lad been atmkencil cn the subject
t.:a likely to he ureductive of the greatest benefit.
7 tie allsgn•;u;s set forth in the petition which he was
now to present, roufinw•d ail the aq-uments shich
had been it .eel in favour of au alter stism of the existing
system; and the petit:on itself had originated in the
spirit wl•ich gave rise to the others that preceded it.
I he petitioners stated the grievous hardships 011,h
they were ohligeil to endure from tile depreciation of
j articles, shirk h.•fore were sold dt a price that left a
I.:sir end r••ason:tble profit: and they respectfully sub-
-1 witted, that unless some change was in .de, inevitabie
ruin most be the necessary consequence. The hest
rt meth- for this crcat evil, they believed to he the re-
moval of tho•e restraints o !deli crippled and embar-
rassed tra.:e in ever• department : and though they
p.,rtienlarly dr.ired the rei, .1 of 'Amok!: ore wo,l,
rapeseed, and foreign corn, they werfrikewtse anxious
thut the p:inciple should be extended to the duty o■
other articles.—The petition was then read, and or-
sieved to He on the OW.

•LPCCTIONI IS Till MILITART ESTABLIPHIMINT.

l'olonel DAVIS rose, in pursuance of notice, to bring
his motion upon this subject under the coosideration
of the House. He klt that he laboured under peer
. liar disadvantages is bringing forward this question,
because, however the necessity of economy might ' e
admitted, still, as there were tunnv is that House who
saw causes for alarm in the state of the country, he
feared that they might he prejudiced against any thing\
that would weaken the means of defence which the
Government bad at its disposal. But as he did not
intend to propose any definitive measure for reducing
the efficient military force, he hoped that the friends
of economy would give bins their assistance in pro-
moting an inquiry which could do no mischief, but
might produce essential benefit to the community.
The state of the finances was such, that it was high
time for every public man to come forward who thought
be could propose any arrangements which might tend
to improve them; for whatever shape the distresses of
the country assumed, at the bottornof all astern would
be found, as their cause, the disordered condition of
the finances. The immense weight of tuxedos
which they required, oppressed the mercantile spirit
of the country, which otherwise would have Lund
new channels of enterprise as soon as the old ones
' were closed up. From these considerations it was
that lie wished to direct the attention of the Hesse
to the military establishments of the country. He
had devoted' much labour to the inquiry, atid the sere
he examined them the more was he surprised in every
department to see such an extreme want of seamy,
and the greater necessity he perceived for Parliatmetary
interference. It would, perhaps, be offered as an ob-
jection in the outset, that there was no raison to call
for the Select Committee which he meant to propose"
since the Finance Committee bad already fully inves-
tigated the subject. To the Gentlemen who sat es
that Committee he meant to offer no offence, bet be
must sap, that from all their Isthmus so one mins-
tageossqwmessure ha I as yet emanated. If then it
should 'be said that the matter ought to be left to the
executive Government, he would answer, that it ought
not, for he agreed with hit Noble Friend who opened
the debate of last night, that the duty of reduclag
any of the existing establishments ought sot to Is
committed to the Government. Their NM rail
depended too much upon th4Ment of thdillidlils•
age, to allow it to be exOlited tbht
reduce that patronage if they could poses
it.--(Hear, hear !)---] hey showed no disposal*
towards economy, as was manifest from Ire
meat which bad recently taken place; he HO
of the Governor of Gibraltar. Here was as sloilaih
was neither more nor less than a simmer., aid tai
the recommendation of a former Committee of Hi
House that that office should be abolished, it winery
when expected that when it should becomes moat it
would not be filletiesp. Yet the late illustriom p•••
lessor of it bad scarcely ceased to exist than the Bier
was given to a person whose priacipal merit was. 1b22
he had a milkery command is the fatal expedillex to
Walcheren. Indeed, so rapidly was the appointment
made, that the same Messenger who carried oat the
intelligence of the demean bf the late Gentiver.
Was also the bearer of the iofeemstioa as te the
appointment of the successor. It was his daily *
propose a Select Committee to examine into the week
of the military expeditors. He tread stew Mom*
rate a few hews, to show that peat wasp milbe.a.
made; had if hi could emceed is -Worlds, owl HlP-
hers with chitlins ae to thew:rift sadilealidar d
I each an enamiaathea, he tsearr dos is bed
............maw&aft iseihriiiirsige NOW et MI obiert

lie
of
to

qbel!,o• Sfetnher then proceeded to sta. e, that the to
1o• 'h. Army .:i I ;Si, a fair period ef• I' T•111•Irilliln
.. • err 14.13 e ..1 OW :.ritoy in imam 41,141: in hefts
.. " melte I •;• otneers and non-conmossiont il cot'.
~ • is I ste::11:s. I toi:1, w. 3 92,a24, a num( si wore than
u ~,i,:, .s a: 0, i , -7. '; hr entente of ti r military
~.• Islishin, nt ii, 1: I ~ n..56,5n2,602/.; in is;to it was
-7. 'no/. gici •.; an increase to th.• latter leer of
r :. t:,„ suo i iii./. : ' compared: in ISI7. Nose-what
so, tio•se, he somlil ark, in the state of the e ~,otey to
justify seoh Lit ia r, .:-e as this? It eould he ..:•,os.eill,
s .-casio, he a Ili:a pi' ay Of the Metal. rA of :he House,
.itat the r.c.re.t.,. W.... me ieg to the st.:te I I : he country.
l'e ditl IDt tel to deny it, nor was it hi- purpose to
1'111,14 the tot:.•in:- real military :trett,s lb ...Pico it was
eat.;' t-rd the, ot.te of the count:), rt (iiiii eel. He rerol-
• !we: t.. 0 :.: :.• • last ,'..rliamen: the :::;,ht Hon. the
i 1,,,- :. : ~; the Ferbequer, among the r.ouiutions
~„;.,, , . . ,eptesed cur an addition of three millions to
:betas..., includes! a reso:ution a hich s•ao ii, that an
iiveip.us •,fieconte over expenditure to the am lint of
, lest 5,1 -0 4n.111. was essential to the wellare of the
,o, Ise. Now 'oe would ask, was there an 4... ell ins?
..-.4.r.: not the new .ax: s in a great me err*, i, nut alto-
• -.ltec. ineiwieut ? Su, h :At overpirs ii r.s tinilouht-
- .1: NCI Vilify, INC never could it b..• i loained ante,
„.,,Leeoshinent, and by reiffil,!'l! WO 1.1.:y. Hr
.:itl net mean :o press. for a reductiou ~, the number
ot the effecthe military force, thou- it it was his 00.
l'..an that the country might have h..eo I.aioerved in
tranquillity without the late aihiiiiiies.—(Heas 1--
And this opiit...oa was efitifietued when hr It °keel to
Seotland, where the disaffotion that prevailed was
more formidable than in ;any toh-r part of the country,
leecaase it was more organized. lint the military
Vine there Pelt r amounted to 3,000 men, and yet they
were able, with the assistatice of the inhabitants, to
preserve the paldie peace. 't Le. yeomanry in Scot-
land amounted to 3,700 men, and it was itupleasant to'
wish that although the population of the Lowland dis-
tricts did nut ec. cod the population of Lancashire, 5:ill
t'oe number of yionuanry in the latter c..unty did not
amount to four hundred u:en. If the p. title there
came forward as the !Dreg& in Seotlaud, they would
supply a force more than sufficient to keep the country
is ortier.—(Hear. hear !)--Vhile upou this subject, he
could not avoid obsenirg, that the amount of the
cavalry throughout the ettuatry was mu. h larger than
there was any occasion for. it hat itecessil j, for in-
stance, was there for the cavatry in bent and upon the
toast of Essex ? Was it to pre sent smuggling ?
With that service they had nothing whatever to
de. The officers of the Revenue hail, at their dis-
posal, a large force exclusively for that service, anti
so addition to it was deemed rosemary. The sante
remark might be applied to the cavalry alorg the
whole southern coasf. Connected with the caealry,
there was one source of exWase which he thought
might, without ally difficulty, Ifs retrenched. It
was known that to every trot? of cavalry fifteen
dismounted men were attached. This arraogement,
frit made, was called one of economy, but
it Wool out to Vrairiiiilfeeess-cy'artelittonal expense.
newel-re, supposing that these fifteen tarn were ne-
cessary when the arrangement %it:. Er,: made, it could
not, be hoped, be deniel, that nix they were per-
fectly supertluous. Ile would pr tees-, that the dis-
moanted men therefore should be Area:iced, and this
would cause a diminution of •I 6 men in each regiment
of cavalry. He would further su g. •t a reduction in
each regiment of one major, two lieutenants, am! two
cornets; upon the nhole, coings might he wade in
the cavalry establishment to the amount of ts11,01:Ul.
a-year, and yet the cavalry would remain as efficient
as it was before. He assured the house, that it was
unpleasant to him to suggest these reductions, because,
if carried into effect, they would hear hard upon pri-
vate friends of his own. But there were considera-
tions superior to private feelings 'shish influenced
him in making these surgestioes.--(licar, hear!)—
He added, that, as a mote r of justice. the officers re-
duced ought to he placed on the half-pay list, and that
in any promotions which should take place in their
regiments, their claims should be considered the same
as if they were on full pay. Ihe lion. Member then
proceeded to purpose the reduction of -he whole of the
waggon trait', welch, he contended, were now unne-
cessary. This would save the country 10,0001. a year.
In the infantry be would propose also to reduce the
second majors, and so to consolidate the regiments,
that instead of ten companies, of 65 men each, they
might consist of eight companies, of SO men, and such
an arrangement, extended to the whole of the infantry,
• would produce a saving of between 6(1 and 70,000/. a
year. There were large garrisons in Portsmouth and
elsewhere, wie•.ch he thought 'night be reduced. He
munierated reductions in the staff, which he thought
prictirahle, to the amount of 20,4100/. a year—in the
recruiting establishineut too, an immediate noluctios
*ld he made of 14,000/. a year, which would
11111wituttlly amount to 20,000/. a year. lie would pro-
Ireathe reduction of the district quarter-masters, the
tedjualintion of the Staff in Ireland with that of Eng-
-141104 which would produce a saving of 3,t;001. a year.
la the Stair establishments of Jamaica, Gibraltar, Toba-
_pi and the Leeward Islands, he suzgested reductions to
' the amount of 6,0001. a year. lie proposed that the
dim of Paymaster-tieneral should be abolished, and he
: 'minced the fact, that in Ireland, while an Hon.,
. 144, ni • I his (the Member for the Queen's county)
gas in • thee, an army of 60,000 men was paid with-,
, out ow assistance of such a character as a Paymaster-
lient•ral. He thought that the Pension List ought to,
tar framed upon a more elual scale than it was at pre-
seat. when he saw a larger pension given to the widow
of a deceased Ac,ountant, than was given to the widow
of a General Officer.--(llesr, hear !).--In the War-
office establishment a saving of 12,01.0/. a year might
be effected by simplifying the accounts, by eitiasoli-
dating the allowances with the soldiers' pay, by cutting
off the Commissariat department, and making the con-
tracts altogether an affair of regimental nutnagenitat.
In Ireland he would propose to reduce the Commissariat
to half its present anoint. In the Foreign Troops-
Ace, it appeared that an expense of 200/. a year
nom than in 1806 was now incurred. Was this *e-
missary? The salaries of the individuals in the
Comptroller's-office animated now to 8,0001. a-year
mere than they did in 1796. Here a great savior, he
.. theagbt, might be effected. In the junior department
irl the Military College, he proposed that the present
camber of 291 i boys should be reduced to 220, lad that