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at the same time, he saw no objection to the words proposed to be introduced in the address by his Noble Friend; on the contrary, he thought that something like this addition was requisite. He was old enough to know, that sealed green bags and secret committees threatened the generating of such monsters as the suspension of the Habeas Corpus Act, and similar abominations. The suspension of the Habeas Corpus Act he should always oppose and under all the circumstances of the present case, he thought it was candid and right to express at the outset, an anxiety to preserve the principles of the Constitution inviolate.

Earl Stanhope agreed with his excellent and constitutional Friend so far, that in no case would he agree to the suspension of the Habeas Corpus Act; but more especially, he would not consent to place such a power, as this would furnish, in the hands of such a Minister as the Noble Earl opposite, (Liverpool ;) a Minister who had no fixed principles at all, and was more versatile than a weather-cock, turning about with every change of wind.

The Lord Chancellor then put the question on Earl Stanhope's amendment, which was negatived.

The address was then agreed to without farther opposition.

Lord Sidmouth next proposed that a Seeret Committee should be appointed; and that the Committee should consist of eleven Lords, to be chosen by ballot to-morrow. Agreed to.

Tuesday, June 30.

The following Peers were chosen to constitute the Secret Committee, to investigate the information relative to the riots: The Lord Chancellor, the Earl of Harrowby, the Marquis of Lansdowne, Earl Powis, the Earl of Liverpool, Earl Grey, Lord Grenville, Duke of Montrose, Lord Sidmouth, Lord Redesdale, and another. The Committee to sit to-morrow; five to be a quorum; and the papers in the sealed bag were referred to the said Committee.

HOUSE OF COMMONS.
Monday, June 15.

Lord Castlereagh had to communicate to the House, that his Royal Highness the Prince Regent had been pleased that the salary of his private secretary (Colonel M'Mahon) should be paid out of the privy purse. He could have wished to see an honourable and learned member in his place, who had given notice of a motion on this subject (Mr. Horner), as perhaps he would not, under such circumstances, now think it necessary to bring it forward,

Mr Ponsonby said he believed his honourable and learned friend would agree to withdraw his motion.

Tuesday, June 16.

ORDERS IN COUNCIL.

Mr Brougham addressed the House at great length on this subject, and enforced the necessity of repealing or suspending them, in order to conciliate America, and by the restoration of our export trade to that country, amounting to 13 millions, to relieve the manufacturers from their present distressed condition. The evidence adduced in the course of the recent examination had decidedly proved the wretched state to which they were reduced, and that total ruin must be the consequence of any longer perseverance in the system of the Orders in Council. In answer to all this evidence, only one person whose name he would not mention, had been called, and he alone had said, that the people did not feel distress!— This man, who was, he was sorry to say, one of the most opulent merchants of the city of London-who had himself risen from an humble origin-had said, that the manufacturers were paid wages beyond their deserts; that one-third their present wages would be equal to their wants; and this man had dared to say, in the face of the representatives of the people of England, that oatmeal and water was food equal to the wants of an Englishman, and that if they had more, they became pampered. The honourable gentleman then urged the policy of conciliating America, with a view to facilitate, by the continuance of supplies from that country, the vigorous prosecution of the contest in the Peninsula, and concluded with moving an address accordingly.

Mr Rose opposed the motion.

Lord Castlereagh admitted that a strong case of distress had been made out; but he begged the house not to consider that the whole commerce of this great empire was on that account lost. America had not act

ed a friendly part towards us. We had only adopted those measures in retaliation for the destructive commercial hostilities of France towards us. These measures were never adopted by us as commercial regulations, and yet America had joined France in commercial hostility against us. His Majesty's government were, however, prepared to make an effort to remove, or at least, mitigate, the distresses of the country as far as possible, by proposing to America, that if she would suspend her Non-Importation Act, we would suspend our Orders in Council for a time; but as the address proposed by the honourable member would interfere with the executive government in the negociations at

present

present pending, he could not agree to it; and, in order to get rid of it, should propose, as an amendment, that the Order of the day be now read.

Mr Whitbread, Mr Ponsonby, Mr Wilberforce, and Mr Canning, were of opinion the Orders should, instead of being suspended, be revoked.

After a short reply from Mr Brougham, the gallery was cleared; no division, however, took place, and whilst strangers were excluded, both the motion of Mr Broughain, and the amendment of Lord Castlereagh were withdrawn, upon an understanding that a declaration on the subject should appear on the part of government in the next Gazette.

Wednesday, June 17.

Mr Vansittart, in bringing forward the Budget for the present year, remarked, that with a small alteration, it was the budget of his late respected friend Mr Perceval. The amount of the whole sum required was enormous, but he was happy to say, large as it was, it had not broken down, or exhausted the revenue of the country. In laying before them the estimate of his deceased friend, he had to state, that there was to be deducted from it 90,0001, granted for barrack-works, &c. which were not at present to be proceeded in,-though he would not pledge himself not to propose the vote in a subsequent year. The honourable gentleman then read the items of the subjoined

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This was an excess of £.40,000. Having stated the particulars of the surplus of the consolidated fund, and taken a view of the produce of the war taxes, under their various heads, from which he argued that the revenue of the country, instead of being in a falling, was in a rising state, he proceeded to propose the new taxes necessary to defray the interest of the loan, which amounted to £.1,900,000. The first was a tax which would fall upon nobody. (A laugh.) It was well known that there was at present a bounty allowed on the exportation of printed linen, of d. per yard on inferior sorts, and 14d. on superior. This bounty was granted at a time when the trade in printed linens wanted encouragement, such, how, ever, was not the case now, since it appeared that the average of bounty paid, during the last three years, amounted to £.308,000 which sum would now be saved to the public.-The next tax he had to propose was an increase of the duty on hides of 14d. per lb. which he calculated would produce £.325,000 -The next source of revenue he should propose, would be to double the duty on glass, which he calculated would produce £.328,000 He should also advise a duty of 10 per cent. on tobacco, which he estimated at £.107,000 -The fourth source of ways and means was not a new duty, but merely a regulation of an old one, namely, of the Auction Duties, which, at present, was very much evaded, It was well known that estates and other property were frequently put up only to ascertain their value, and afterwards bought in, when they paid no duty, and were afterwards sold by private contract. He should propose that property bought in should pay the duty, which might be recovered, provided the property had not changed hands during 12 months. This regulation he calculated would produce £.100,000--He also had to propose an additional duty of 1d. upon all letters going more than 20 miles from town; this, he thought, would produce £.220,000: all these taxes had been considered and approved by Mr Perceval. He had also, at the time of his death, under his consideration a proposal for a tax upon pri

vate breweries; it had not, however, been digested; and, upon consideration, he (Mr Vansittart) found it would be pregnant with many evils. He therefore proposed, in its stead, to make an addition to the assessed taxes as follows:-viz.

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immediately countermanded all the ord they had given for sending goods to America; to which country he supposed the only shipment now intended was that of a Minister from the British Government, to ask the American Government what they thought of the Orders in Council. He could not avoid complaining of such conduct as this. It was trifling with the feelings of the public. On this account he should conclude by 0 giving notice of a motion on Wednesday next, upon the subject of the Orders in Council, unless, before that time, some art of the Government should appear which would substantially accomplish the suspension of those Orders.

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The estimated gross amount would be found to be £.1,903,000. He should detain the committee no longer than to move, that it is the opinion of the committee that the sum of £22,500,000 to be raised by way of annuities, be granted to his Majesty for the service of the year.

Mr Huskisson adverted to the increasing ratio of the public debt and expenditure, and urged the necessity of adopting some well digested plan for improving the revenue of the country. He particularly censured the remissness which prevailed in the collection of the Irish revenue.--After some observations from Lord A. Hamilton, Sir J. Newport, and others, the resolutions were severally put, and agreed to.

Friday, June 19.

Mr Brougham expressed his disappointment to understand, from what had been expressed in the House of Lords the preceding evening, that the Orders in Council were not to be repealed; and that the whole of the expectations that had been held out on the subject were a mere juggle, calculated to delude and disappoint the public.The House must recollect the statement made by the Noble Lord opposite, the day he had brought forward his motion; and the effect of it might be easily conceived, when he told them, that next morning several merchant had given orders for goods to be sent off to America; and one merchant in particular had ordered shipments of goods to the amount of above one million sterling; which shipments would have had the effect of keeping one hundred thousand hands employed for six months. But the moment they heard the statement made by a Noble Lord in the other House of Parliament, on the subject of the Orders in Council, they

Mr Sheridan concluded a statement, which he began the preceding evening, but was obliged to desist through illness,-xplanatory of his conduct during the late ministerial negociation. What led to this explanation was a charge, (if it can be so called,) made against the Hon. Gent. by the Earl of Yarmouth, in the House of Commons on Monday-that Mr Sheridan had advised the Noble Earl not to resign his si tuation under the Prince; and with which advice the Earl complied, from his respect to Mr Sheridan's experience and integrity. This accusation was not denied, but admitted by Mr Sheridan. He knew that the house of Hertford intended to resign their places in the Household, if Lords Grey and Grenville came into office; and he justified his concealment of this fact from these Noble Lords, on the ground that the Marquis of Hertford and Lord Yarmouth would, in his opinion, be yielding too much were they to resign their staves, when it was a well-known fact that they were every way acceptable to the Prince Regent, from whom they had directly received their appointments.

Sir Francis Burdett expressed the strongest approbation of the candour, disinterestedness, and sincerity manifested by the Prince Regent, throughout his endeavours to comply with the Address of the House of Commons, and was of opinion that the House ought to vote an Address of Thanks to his Royal Highness for such conduct.

Monday, June 22.

CATHOLIC CLAIMS.

Mr Canning, in a very long and argumentative speech, took a most comprehensive view of this subject. He quoted the opinions of Blackstone and others, on the penal statutes, and the circumstances under which their repeal would become a measure of justice and safety, and strongly contend. ed, that the spirit of conciliation, described by the writers of former ages, had arrived. With respect to ultimate concession, he ob served,

served, it was an event which, on the score of authority, it was imposible not to consider as desirable. Mr Burke had anticipated it with a prophetic celerity. He could not forget that Mr Fox advocated the same cause; and in addition to these two great men, who might perhaps, by some, be considered as too sanguine and too eager, to carry their views into execution, before the public could be well prepared for them, he had to mention the name of Mr Windham, whose mind was cast in a different mould, and who was always averse to innovations, and the removal of existing restraints, until he had rigidly examined the grounds, and weighed the consequences of the proposed alteration. He had to number Mr Pitt as also the advocate of this cause, a man whose warm and sincere attachment to liberty was guided and disciplined by the most extensive political knowledge, and the greatest practical experience. If the question, then, were to be determined on authority merely, he could not but think that his cause was gained. After some further observations, Mr Canning concluded with moving,

"That the House will, early in the next session of Parliament, take into its most serious consideration the state of the laws affecting his Majesty's Roman Catholic subjects in Great Britain and Ireland, with a view to such a final and conciliatory adjust ment, as may be conducive to the peace and strength of the United Kingdom, to the stability of the Protestant establishment, and to the general satisfaction and concord of all classes of his Majesty's subjects."

Gen. Mathew moved as an Amendment, "That the House should, on Thursday, resolve itself into a Committee on the subject."

Mr W. Pole expressed himself in favour of the original Resolution, and stated that he held his present situation only as a matter of convenience to Government, till a successor could be appointed.

Mr Ryder opposed the motion, as it would confer a legislative right and an equal share of political power on the Catholics, which, while they were under the dominion of the Pope, might be attended with danger to the Protestant establishment of the Empire.

Messrs M. Fitzgerald, Parnell, Vansittart, Bankes, Martin, Tierney, Sir J. Newport, and Lord Castlereagh, spoke in favour of the motion, Mr Vansittart saying that he would not pledge himself to any specific

measure.

Mr Marryatt said, that as the present Ministers had conceded the Orders in Coun

cil to the complaints of 100,000 manufacturers in this country, they could not now well refuse to concede the Catholic Question to 4,000,000 of their fellow subjects in Ireland.

Sir J. Nicol expressed himself against the motion, as did Mr M. Montague.

Gen. Mathew's amendment was then negatived without a division; and Mr Canning's motion carried by 235 to 106.

Tuesday, June 23.

Mr Brougham expressed his satisfaction at the Order that had been issued by the Prince Regent relative to the Orders in Council, (see page 468.) It was perfectly agreeable to him and to his friends. He wished to express his sense of the very proper, frank, and manly conduct of his Majesty's Government in recalling these Orders, without attaching any conditions to the repeal that were likely to frustrate its effects. As a member of that House, as one of the country, and on behalf of the manufacturing and commercial interests, he now thanked them for the frank and manly conduct which they had pursued.

Lord Castlereagh stated, that it was certainly the intention, at first, of Ministers, to make a conditional suspension; but, not to make the conciliation a matter of risk between the two countries, they had adopted the present.

Thursday, June 25.

Sir S. Romilly adverted to the Petition of S. Houlden, late a prisoner in Lincoln Goal, for debt, which stated, that, while in confinement, having had a dispute with the Governor, in consequence of bringing in his own bed, and refusing to be supplied by him, he was threatened with being turned over into the paupers' ward, and was ultimately confined in a room containing seven beds and thirteen prisoners. On remonstrating with the gaoler, he was twice called before Dr Coley Illingworth, who ordered him to be removed and confined in the felons' cell, where he remained eleven days and nights, was denied the use of pen, ink, and paper, and no friend permitted to have access to him. He was at last relieved, in consesequence of a conversation in that House on the petition of Mr Finnerty.

Mr Brougham, after stating that a Magistrate had no control over the county gaol, which belonged to the Sheriff, whose duty it was to attend to the comforts of the prisoners, as well as to ride on a caparisoned horse into the assize town before the Judges, with trumpets sounding, moved that the petition be referred to a Select Committee.

Lord Castlereagh would not oppose the motion,

motion, but recommended an enquiry generally into the state of the gaols in the kingdom.

Col. Elison opposed the motion, and stated that the gaol was in a state of insurrection.

Sir F. Burdett said, he had intended to criminate the magistrates; but, as a committee would be granted, he would merely state, that a man had died in the Lancaster prison, through the negligence of the gaoler in not permitting him to have medical aid in time; that the gaoler, whose salary was £.300 a year, had amassed near £20,000, and was in the habit of lending money to the magistrates. He strongly deprecated solitary confinement, as investing a gaoler with unlimited power-the only check was, that the friends of the prisoner should not be denied access to him.

After a few words from Messrs. Wilberforce and H. Sumner, and Sir C. Mordaunt, a Committee of 21 Gentlemen was appointed. Friday, June 26.

On the report on the Excise Duty Bill being taken into consideration, Mr Brougham warmly opposed the additional tax on leather, which he urged would press severely on husbandry, as well as the lower classes, the duty being imposed by weight, and therefore falling principally on the heavy and coarse stuff used for the shoes of poor people. The shoes of farmers' servants he calculated would experience a rise of ls. 6d. per pair, which, allowing two pairs per annum, would be a tax of 3s. per year on that class. In regard to husbandry, it would be an annual tax of £2 on a farm of 100 acres. He considered this duty as a poll tax, but a poll tax not on the head but the feet, and Ministers appeared to have substituted a foot tax for the late hat tax.

Lord Althorp urged similar reasors against the tax, and moved, as an amendment, that the bill be taken into consideration this day six months.

Mr Lockhart, Gen. Tarleton, Mr Biddulph, Sir T. Turton, and Mr Sheridan, spoke against the bill, and wished that time should be allowed for consulting the tanners and shoemakers, who would be affected by it.

The Chancellor of the Exchequer said, that the increased improvements in agriculture

would bear this tax, which he contended would principally affect the rich, who used a variety of articles, such as harness, saddles, &c. made of it. The manufacturers' stock in hand would be exempted from the duty.

The amendment was negatived 60 to 46.

Saturday, June 27.

Lord Castlereagh presented a message from his Royal Highness the Prince Regent, which was read by the Speaker as follows:

"G. P. R.

"His Royal Highness the Prince Regent, in the name and on behalf of his Majesty, has ordered to be laid before the House, copies of the various documents relating to certain violent and dangerous proceedings which have taken place in several counties in the kingdom; and his Royal Highness relies upon their wisdom, for the adoption of measures calculated for the preservation of the lives and properties of his Majesty's subjects, and the restoration of order and tranquillity throughout the empire."

The Noble Lord then moved that this message be taken into consideration on Monday. Ordered.

Monday, June 29.

Lord Castlereagh presented a sealed packet from the Prince Regent relative to the disturbed counties, and moved an address in answer to the message of Saturday, as usual an echo of the same. The address was agreed to, after a few words from Mr Whitbread and Mr Wilberforce, recommending moderation in the ulterior proceedings. A committee of 21 was ordered to be chosen by ballot to examine these papers, after some objections to the mode by Mr Whitbread and Sir F. Burdett, who preferred choosing the committee openly.

Tuesday, June 30.

The House appointed by ballot, a Secret Committee on the disturbed counties, viz. : Messrs Canning, Wilberforce, Lord Castlereagh, Messrs Lascelles, Lambe, Whitbread, Master of the Rolls, Davenporte, J. Blackburn, W. Bootle, C. Yorke, Lord G. L. Gower, Lord Milton, Mr C. Long, Lord Newark, Mess. S. Wortley, J. Smith, Paget, Tierney, Babington, and Leycester.

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