The Statesman.
London, England, 1813-04-09 00:00:00

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TIM emit witness was Mr. Young, who had served
h Company in a civil capacity from the year 1763
id 19118. and had risen to the rank of senior merchant.
After Mr. Young withdrew, Mr. Halliburton was
ailed in and examined by Mr. R. Jackson. His
evidence was of the same descriPtiou as that of most
of the other witnesses.
On the Speaker's resuming the Chairl the Customs
Bill wad Excise Bill were read a third time and
AAA short conversation ensued on the additional
Frau& Wine Doty, between the Chancellor of the
Exchequer, Mr. Alderman Atkins, and Mr. Rose.
• Lord CAST,LEREAGH read a Message from the
Prince itegent,-stating the great advantages which
bad resulted from the assistance afforded to the Por-
tuguese, and hoping that the House would' enable
him to continue farther aid to that country. Lord
Castlereagh moved that. the Message shotild be 're-
ferred to a Cominittee of the whole House oil Mon-
do y.—Ordered.
'The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER
mewed for a retura of the number of Country Banks,
which had taken out licences to issue promissory notes
wlthiu the last three years.
Mr. H. THORNTON moved for leave to bring
in a Bill for the Relief of Debtors confined in the
Fleet, Marshals*, and King's Bench Prisons, by
creating at fund for their support.—Leave given.
The House then resolved ksel( into a Committee
to consider farther of the Affairs of the Est India
Company.
• Mr. Ilallibirton was again called in, and his ex-
amination concluded. .

Mr. Vanderheyden, a Member of the House, was
Sea examined. He agreed with the witnesses who
led been previously examined, as to the injury which
unsaid result from the unrestrained ingress of Euro-
peans into India, ai tending to lower the estimation
of the British name, by which alone our Empire in
India was supported. The inhabitants of the int*.
rior had not at all assimilated to British custom*,
though such an assimilation was slightly observable
in Calcutta.
Mr. Prendergast was then called in and examined.
According to this Gentleman's deposition, the popu-
lation of India subsists mainly upon the produce and
'manufactures of their own soil, requiring compara-
tively little supply from Europe; nor is that popu-
lation likely to make any such advance in wealth,
or regard for luxuries, as to hold out a prospect ef
any material demand for the produce or manufacture
of Europe.

The liouse resumed, and it was 'ordered that the
Committee should sit again to morrow.

W EYMOUTR BILL.
On the olotion for reading the Report of the Com-
mittee upon the Weymouth Election Bill,

Mr. C. W. WYN.NE animadverted upo'n the great
difficulty to which any Committee hereafter appoint-
ed, to try the merits of an Election for Weymouth,
or any place within the scope of this Bill must be
subjected by its enactment. For how much must
they be perplexed to decide upon the validity of
votes affected by such devises as the Bill referred to.
In his opinion, some criterion as to the value of
freeholds should be WA upon in the Bill, to order
to obviate such difficulty.
Mr. BATHURST thought no such criterion of vs.
Ice practicable, consistently with the object which
the Bill had in view, namely, the abolition of frau-
dulent votes. As to the animadversions of the lion.
Gentleman, upon the difficulty created by the Bill,
he (Mr. B.) never affected to conceal that sew-, dif-
ficulty must belong to such a measure, namely, in
the additional onus which it woold impose upon
Election Committees, to enquire into, and deter-
mine the motives with which wills were made for split.

tiug votes,
Mr. BRAND and Mr. PRESTON spoke against
the Bill.

Mr. PONSONBY conceived that this Bill Was the
most objectionable measure ever, perhaps, submitted
to Parliament—for it proposed to introduce quite a
new principle of legislation, by subjecting wills to
the decision of a Corn-mince of the House of Com-
mons. Suppose a will should be declared good by a
Condor Law or Equity, or by both, and pronounced
bad by a Committee of that House, under this men.
we, be would ask whether such a thing were ever
-beard of before? Yet it was quite probable, if this
Bill pawed into a law. The Bill professed only a
desire to take away the vote created by -a will for
'splitting votes; but by its enactments it would go to
take away the property also. Thus it would not
only annul the vote, but the bequest, and give a
destination to the property, different from that which
the devisor intended, which he conceived to exceed
the real view of the Bill and its authors. He there.
fen recommended a postponement of the motion,
in order that the matter might be more maturely con.
sidered, and the anomaly he had mentioned removed.
Mr. WEATHERELL saw nothing anonialons in
the arrangement pointed out by the Right Hon.
Gentleman. On the contrary, he asserted that the
provision alluded to was quite parallel to the prin-
ciple of the statute of mortmain, which not only an.
nulled the bequest, but made a disposition of the
property different from the intention of the testator,
This Bill, the Learned Gentleman also maintained,
was perfectly analogous to the provisions in the.
statute of William, respecting fraudulent convey-
ances, with a view to create occasional votes.
The Amendments were agreed to, and on the mo-
tion that the Bill be engrossed,
Mr. PONiONBY, referring to the arguments of
Mr. Wetherell, observed, that there was this mate•
rial difference between a-conveyance and a will, that
the person conveying property for creation of occa.,
sional votes, would most probably be alive, and his'
property would revert to him upon the votes being.
wet aside, whereas the testator woold be no more,
whije his testament would be annulled by the vote of t
a Committee of the House of Commons, against per*
baps, as he before said, the decisions oiboth Gouda
of law and equity.
• Mr. BATHURST contended that the Bill had no ,
,tendeesy to do more than it profess to have •In
'view. Its object was to abolish fraudulent votes,
red it could only effect that object by striking at the
' and substance of the fraud which created such'

a few words from Mr. FRESTON, the
was agreed to, cud that Bill ordered to IN
s
third time tobatorrowo

and it cc
toot sod
After
Motion
read a t 1