The Earl of Radnor repeated his former disapprobation of the bill. The Earl of Hardwicke objected to the bill, on the ground of the increase of pay not being extended to captains in the militia, many of whom, he said, from having been appointed without the qualification previously required, stood as much in need of an increase as any of the others to whom it had been extended. Earl Spencer thought if the not extending the increase to captains had the effect of bringing back the militia, in that respect, to its forming principle, that of only having captains possessed of the landed qualification before required, it would produce a good effect.He defended the bill on the groands before urged, and as to the rank of volunteer officers, he, as a volunteer field officer himself, considered that bill as a boon, and he had no doubt it would be generally considered by volunteer officers as a favour, as, with all that zeal and spirit which they would doubtless evince in the hour of danger, they could not, from want of experience, feel themselves adequate to the command of large bodies of troops. The Duke of Rutland expressed his entire disapprobation of the bill, which he conceived to be subversive of the constitution of the militia. The Lord Chancellor contended that the former declaration of the legislature, that the pay of the militia olicers should be the same as that of the line, could only apply to the then pay of the regular army, and not to any future augmentation. Those noble lords who cons ceived that this augmentation ought to be extended equally to the militia might use that as an argument against the bill, but it never could be maintained that the not extending to that force an increase of pay, granted under special circumstances to the regular army, was subversive of the constitution of the militia. Lord Eldon said a few words in cxplanation. Earl Camden opposed the bill. He thought the measures brought forward by ministers were not exactly in unison with their professions of regard for the militia and volunteers. The House then divided on the question, that the word "now" stand part of the motion for reading the bill a third time. Contents 13 8. On On our re-admission we found The Earl of Westmorland on his legs, speaking on the question for reading the same bill a third time. His lordship expressed his disapprobation generally of the measures which had been brought forward by ministers, and considered his own honour and character, as well as that of those with whom he recently acted, involved in his opposition to them. The bill was then read a third time and passed. PUBLIC HARBOURS. On the question for going into a committee on the public harbours bill, The Earl of Limerick complained that a bilf of this importance had been brought forward at so late a period of the session. It appeared to him likely to be mischievous - in its operation, as it tended to prevent persons having property on the banks of navigable rivers, as far as the tide flowed, from making the least improvement on their estates, without giving notice to the secretary of the admiralty. The penalty for not giving this notice was 2001. and many persons might thus be entrapped without being at all aware of the nature of the law. He thought it would in many cases be useless, as to the interests of the public, and instanced the river Shannon, in Ireland, where the tide flowed a mile higher than vessels of any burden could come up, yet this bill would equally operate in that part of the river where it could not be of the least use. Lord Grenville said the bill had been brought forward as soon as the grievance to which it applied was known; and it was a measure which he contended was highly necessary in order to preserve our public harbours and navigable rivers from obstructions. It was merely required of the person making any embankment or other work in the situations mentioned, to send notice to the secretary of the admiralty, which could be but a very trivial hard hip. Many other rivers might be in the situation of the Shannon, where the tide flowed higher than vessels of any burden could navigate, but it was, notwithstanding, important to prevent obstructions in those parts of such rivers, in order to prevent the navigable parts of those rivers from being ultimately injured. The bill then passed through the committee, and was reported. VOL. III. 1805-6. 5 A The The Scots forfeited estates bills were read a second time, passed through committees, and were reported. The customs regulation bill, the oak bark bill, and the other bills on the table, were ordered for committal, passed through committees, and were reported. Adjourned. HOUSE OF COMMONS. MONDAY, JULY 21. The House was summoned in the usual form, to the House of Peers. The Speaker, on his return, declared the royal assent had been given by commission to several bills. New writs were ordered to be made out for members to serve for Seaford in Sussex, in the room of Sir R. Sullivan, deceased; for Buckingham, i. the room of Viscount Proby, who has accepted the stewardship of the Chiltern Hundreds; and for Enniskillin, in the room of John King, Esq. who has accepted the Stewardship of the Hundred of Desborough.. The Lords' amendments to the Philanthrophic society and bankrupt laws bills were taken into consideration, and agreed to. The report of the Committee on the East India accounts was received, and the resolutions read. Mr. Paull did not object to any of them, but wished to remark this circumstance, that there was a defalcation in the revenue of Oude alone to the amount of 450,000l. and other de falentions, in all about three millions sterling. Lord Morpeth said that the proper time to consider that point would be when the accounts came over. Mr. Paull said a few words in explanation. After which the res la ions were agreed to. Mr. Perceval rose, and adverted to the notice which he had given some time ago, of his intention to submit a motion to the House relative to the practice of thanking the managers of impeachments, before the lords had given their decision. The object of his rising at present was to remove the imprsesion, if any such existed, of his having abandoned that intention. He had by no means abandoned it; but from considerations, of which the house, he hoped, would perceive the propriety, he had dropped any design of bring ing forward the subject this session. He wished that every 4 feeling feeling connected with any particular impeachment should have no place in the consideration, and was rather afraid that if he had brought it forward this session, even the shortness of the time that must have intervened between that and the late impeachment, might have prevented the matter from being discussed with that impartiality which was desirable. He now, therefore, gave notice, that it was his intention to bring the matter before the House in the next session. Mr. Sheridan rose, pursuant to the notice he had given on Friday, and reminded the House, that in giving it, he had distinctly expressed, that it was to be considered as a provisional notice, circumstances having rendered it very probable, that a farther communication with those to whose judgment he should entirely refer, might suggest a better mode of obtaining the object he had in view. It was with the utmost satisfaction that he felt himself intitled to state, that his Majesty's ministers generally were well disposed to the objects, which he confessed had long been the favourite purposes of his meditation and investigation, and more especially that the noble lord at the head of the treasury, and the right hon. secretary, whose absence, from indisposition, was so anxiously deplored, were peculiarly eager and ardent upon the subject. Under their auspices, he trusted there would be speedily commenced a plan of improvement, redounding to their honour, including the convenience, decoration, and magnificence to which the capital is so well entitled; a plan which has been so long and unaccountably neglected, and the greater part of which he was confident, might be effected without any call whatever on the public purse. Such a plan no one could doubt, would meet his Majesty's approbation, who had ever shewn the most munificent anxiety to promote the liberal arts and improvements in his capital. Had he made his motion, he should have had much to say on the subject, and with a confidence that the unanimous sentiments of the House would have gone with him; but, convinced that the authorities before referred to, for attaining the same object, were preferable to his first suggestion, he had only to say, that he waved making the motion of which he had given notice. A person from the excise office, presented an account of the prosecutions for violations of the militia act for the last ten years. Ordered to lie on the table. 5A2 Mr. Johnson from the office of chief secretary in Ireland, presented an account of Irish linen, of a certain breadth, exported to the West Indies within a given time. Ordered to lie on the table. A person from the West India Dock company presented a statement of the progress of the works in the Isle of Dogs, pursuant to act of parliament. Ordered to lie on the table. BARRACK ABUSES. Mr. Robson rose, pursuant to notice, to move for some papers relative to the barracks. Since ministers had not chosen to attend in their places at the discussion upon the East India accounts, during which it had been asserted by persons who were competent to judge, that the company was almost in a state of insolvency, he was not surprised that they were not present on this occasion. The subject, however, to which he was about to call the attention of the House, was one of the greatest public importance. Some papers on this subject had been presented on Friday last, not on his motion, but on that of the secretary at war, but as ministers seemed to wish to shuffle off the business, by not attending to-day, he would speak freely of them. The plan which he proposed for ascertaining the exact state of the barrack expenditure, was plain and simple, and if his motion had been agreed to, it would have been the means of saving some bundred thousand pounds of public money. Ministers, however, had thought proper to refuse some of these when, proposed by him, but afterwards finding that the public must come to the knowledge of these abuses one way or another, they had come to the House, and made similar motions themselves, and he was told that he ought to have divided the house. He had, however, made three motions, which if granted, would have formed a key to the state of the barracks, and the simple return of the office would itself be a check against the embezzlement. He told ministers that he wanted to see the report of the commissioners of military inquiry. Although generally pretty early in his attendance at the House, he had not come down that day till twenty minutes past four o'clock, when he found that the report had been presented, and ordered to be printed. He met the clerk with it in his hand, and followed it up stairs, in the hopes that he might be permit ted to look at it for five minutes. But understanding that the |