The revenues having been, in 1798

And those estimated by me for the future

8,059,880 13,668,119

The general commerce of the country is improved equally with the revenue. It appears by the public documents before the House of Commons, that the commerce of India is now able to supply the China market so effectually as nearly to preclude the necessity of sending bullion to China; and large sums in specie are now imported into India from that country.

After the view which I have taken of the general situation of the affairs of the East India Company in India, I hope that it will be found, that their debt, although large, and certainly pressing in a very great degree upon their prosperity, and upon the attention of those who have the management of their affairs, is not of a magnitude to create any danger; that it appears, that there are means of reducing it, at no very great distance of time, to a moderate. amount; and that under the auspices of the noble Lord (Morpeth), by a just attention to the system of economy which he has recommended, and by reverting to the system and scale of establishments fixed in 1802-3, with such augmentations as the change of affairs has rendered necessary, and as I have already described, the revenues of that great empire will be found to afford ample means of restoring the finances.

Mr. W. Keene observed, that if it were not for the precaution of the noble Marquis, Bonaparte might possibly before now have had such a footing in the East as would shake the interest in India.

Mr. Grant had a statement in his hand which he had reason to believe to be correct; the only mode of ascertaining where the error lay, was by comparison, it was impossible then to enter into the detail; it might be done upon the report.

Mr. Prinsep rose, and declared, that he could not allow the committee to rise without first delivering his opinion, at great length, on the alarming aspect of the company's affairs, whom he declared to be in a state of absolute insolvency. Rather than again forego his privilege, of which he had been more than once deprived in the way now attempted, he would count the House. He was ready at that late hour to enter into this investigation, or to adjourn the debate.

Mr. Hobhouse (the chairman of the committee) stated

that

that the honourable member might, perhaps, have an opportunity of the comparison previous to the bringing up of the report: it would then be equally competent to him to urge his objections, as it was at the present moment.

Mr. Paull was confident, that, upon the resolutions being taken into further consideration, he would be able to disprove every part of the honourable gentleman's state

ment.

Sir A. Wellesley declared, that he was extremely willing to shew his statement to the honourable director, or any other member who might be desirous of making a comparison with any statement of his own.

Mr. G. Smith denied that the company was in a state of insolvency, and observed, that such an assertion as that which the honourable alderman had made, required some further explanation.

Mr. Prinsep was then proceeding to account for the opinion which he had advanced, when

Lord Castlereagh observed, that, from the honourable member's course of reasoning, it was evident that his expla nation would occupy more time than was desirable at the then late hour.

On the suggestion of Lord Morpeth, the chairman reported progress, and obtained leave to sit again on Tuesday

next.

On the motion of Mr. Paull, an account of the expence of printing papers relative to the affairs of India, from March last to the latest possible period, was ordered to be laid before the House.

The other orders of the day were then disposed of, aud the House adjourned at two o'clock in the morning.

HOUSE OF LORDS.

FRIDAY, JULY 11.

In the appeal "Rennie z. Tod and others," Mr. Horner was heard for the respondent, and the Lord Advocate of Scotland in reply. The further consideration of the appeal was deferred till Monday.

Mr. Bankes, and several other members of the House of Commons, brought up a message, desiring a conference on the subject matter of the last conference.

On the motion of Lord Walsingham, the Lords agreed

10

to

to a conference on Monday, at five o'clock, in the Painted Chamber, of which the messengers were called in and informed.

Sir J. Sinclair, and several other members of the House of Commons, brought up Sir John Gordon's divorce bill, returned, and agreed to; the vote of credit bill, the Newfoundland fishery bill, the bankrupt laws bill, and some private bills, which were read a first time. The bankrupt laws bill was ordered to be printed.

The Greenwich chest bill, and the Greenwich hospital bill, were read a second time, and committed for the next day.

On the second reading of the Irish school commissioners bili,

Lord Redesdale made a few observations on the clauses of the bill, for the purpose of shewing the necessity of amending them in the committee.

The bill was committed for Tuesday.

Mr. Hobhouse, and several other members of the House of Commons, brought up a message, stating that Sir John Gordon's divorce bill had been sent up by mistake, and requesting to have it returned.

On the motion of Lord Walsingham, the bill was or dered to be returned, and the messengers being called in, the bill was delivered by the clerk to Mr. Hobhouse.

Sir John Newport, and several other members of the House of Commons, brought up the grain interchange bill, the Irish quit-rents bill (which was ordered to be printed), and the oil of vitriol bounty bill, which were read a first time.

TRAINING BILL.

Earl Spencer moved the order of the day for the House resolving itself into a committee on the training bill. His lordship observed that this bill was one to which he could scarcely anticipate any objection. It was founded on the exercise of his Majesty's undoubted prerogative, a prerogative which had never been disputed, that of calling out all those who were able to bear arms for the defence of the country against an invading enemy. The only question that could arise was as to the means of exercising that prerogative. Under the present circumstances of the country, and looking as we must do to the enormously increased power of France, it was evident that it was absolutely necessary that a large cfficient force should be kept up ready

for

for the exigency of the moment. The object of the present bill was to train to the use of arms two hundred thousand men, who might, in case of necessity, come in aid of the other force of the country. It was not to be said that because we had already a large force, that therefore it was unnecessary to resort to other measures; it should be remembered that, on our vast extent of coast, it was impos sible strictly to guard every point; it was therefore the more necessary that there should be an efficient force ready to bear down upon any point where their services might be most wanted. Provision was made in this bill, that it should interfere as little as possible with the varied pursuits of the people, or break in much upon their convenience; and at the same time an option was given to those who might not wish, for various reasons, to be trained with the persons on whom this bill would generally operate, or who could not go out to be trained without great injury to their business, to pay instead a pecuniary fine. It was also provided that the number to be called out should be balloted for, which was thought, and justly in his opinion, the fairest mode of choosing the persons to be trained, thereby avoiding all partiality. He was convinced that when the bill was thoroughly understood in the country, the voluntary zeal and ardour of the people would render it unnecessary to carry the compulsory provisions into execution. The bill might not be immediately operative, but he looked forward to the most beneficial permanent effects from such a system. It was not merely at the exigency of the moment that lie looked to the bill for aid to the country, but he considered it as a means of inspiring a military character into a large mass of the population of the country, and thus, in the midst of our commerce and our wealth, giving us also military strength, and enabling us to enter, fully prepared, into any future war, with the means of sending out of the country a large disposable force. He concluded by moving that the House should resolve itself into a committee on the bill.

Lord Viscount Melville said it was not his wish to oppose any measure which his Majesty's ministers considered necessary for the defence of the country, but he must beg leave to express his doubts as to the propriety or utility of the present bill. In considering this measure, he naturally looked to the present state of the military force of the country, and when he found that we had at present a volunteer force of from three to four hundred thousand men,

in

in addition to the regular army and militia, he was induced to ask where was the necessity of this measure? We had already a large force of a much superior description to any that this bill could give; a force which had arisen out of the voluntary spirit, the zeal and the ardour of the country; a force, in contemplating which, every man might sleep sound in his bed, and consider the country secure. Why then resort to compulsory means, when we had already a sufficient force, and when the country was already secure? To resort now to such a bill as the present, would tend to dishearten and discourage that voluntary force, to whom the country were so much indebted, by telling them that they were of little use; that notwithstanding all their zeal and ardour, it was still necessary to resort to compulsory means to ensure the security of the country. He did not mean to insinuate that noble lords on the other side had any wish or intention to discourage the volunteers; but declarations had been made, which had gone forth to the country, and which certainly tended to damp the ardour and the spirit of those who had so loyally and so patriotically stepped forward in the hour of danger to take up arms in the defence of the country. How was such a force as the present to be properly disciplined? how was it to be officered? No means were pointed out by which such a force was to be Tendered really efficient. A great expence would be incurred in carrying the provisions of the bill into execution; an expence for which he had not the least doubt that four hundred thousand volunteers might be provided, properly armed, accoutred, clothed, and officered; a force which, it was needless to say, would be of a much superior description to that which would arise out of the present bill. There was, besides, another objection to the present measure, arising out of a bill of a similar nature, brought forward at the commencement of the war; in which it was provided, that if a number of volunteers came forward, equal to six times the number of the militia, the compulsory provision of training should not be resorted to. Considerably more than that number of volunteers did come forward, and now, notwithstanding that, a new bill was brought in, to carry into execution a compulsory mode of training, and thus to substitute a force which was not known, nor never had existed in the country, for one which had been already tried and found efficient. He was thoroughly convinced that nothing had tended in a greater degree to silence the boastings of the enemy, and shew him

the