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HOUSE OF LORDS.

TUESDAY, MAY 31.

The duchess of Brunswick's annuity bill was read a third time, and passed.

The Irish militia volunteering bill and the Scots game laws bill were brought up from the commons by Mr. Blackburn and other members, and read a first time, as were also the Vauxhall bridge bill brought up by Mr. Thornton, and some private bills by sir Charles Pole and

other members.

On the third reading of the Irish clergy residence bill, an amendment was proposed by the Earl of Moira, to save the privileges of the peers, archbishops, and bishops of Ireland, with respect to chaplains; which after some conversation between his lordship, Lords Hawkesbury, Harrowby, and Redesdale, the Duke of Norfolk, the Lord Chancellor, and the Bishop of Limerick, was agreed to with

slight alteration; as was also a clause proposed by Lord Harrowby to obtain returns with respect to the residence of the clergy, after a few observations from the Archbishop of Cashel, and Lords Redesdale and Hawkesbury.

On the report of the Irish glebe house bill being presented by Lord Walsingham, the Duke of Norfolk objected to the amendments made in the committee, on the ground that they might endanger the rejection of the bill in the other house.

Lord Redesdale thought the amendments essential. After a few observations from the Duke of Norfolk in ro ply, the house divided on the question for agreeing to the amendments:

Mr. Campbell presented petitions from Dumbarton and Paisley, in favour of the sugar distillation. Ordered to lie on the table.

269 Mr. Fuller brought up the small pox prevention bill: read a first time, and ordered to be read a second time to

morrow.

Lord Milton presented a petition from the counties of York, Somerest, and Wilts, against certain provisions in▸ the woollen acts repeal bill. Ordered, to lie on the table. The British ships bill was reported, and ordered to be read a third time to-morrow...

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A message from the lords announced their asssent to the duchess of Brunswick's annuity bill, the assessed taxes consolidation bill, the Irish customs fees bill, the indictment bill, and Chudleigh fire bill.

A petition was presented from certain inspectors, searchers, and sealers of woollen cloth, against some provisions of the woollen acts repeal bill.

The consideration of the report of the land tax commissioners bill was postponed till this day se'nnight.

The house went into a committee to consider of the exportation of sugar from the colonies. Mr. Rose proposed a resolution, that it should be permitted to export sugar and coffee from his majesty's colonies to any part of Europe south of Cape Finisterre, and to import corn in exchange into the said colonies. This was agreed to. The house resumed, and a bill was ordered according to the tenor of the resolution.

The woollen manufacture acts repeal bill was read a second time, and after a few words from Mr. Wilberforce, Lord Milton, Mr. Perceval and Mr. Rose, was ordered to be referred to a committee above stairs, for the purpose of hearing counsel on the petitions.

Lord Binning presented the second report of the West India committee. Report and appendix ordered to be printed.

The white herring fishery regulation bill was brought in, read a first, and ordered to be read a second time to

morrow.

The Chancellor of the Exchequer gave notice, that tomorrow he would bring forward the budget in the committee of ways and means.

The report of the committee to consider of the exportation of oxymuriatic acid to Ireland was brought up, and the resolution allowing a drawback of 13s. 4d, a barrel on such exportation agreed to.

Mr. Huskisson moved for leave to bring in a bill for

vesting the barrack lands in commissioners, under certain conditions. Leave given.

Mr. Wardel moved for an account of the prices of cloth Ing the artillery and German legion for the years 1805-6. Ordered.

The orders of council warehousing bill was committed. Report to-morrow..

Mr. Huski son presented a petition from the veterinary college, praying aid. Ordered to lie on the table.

Dr. Lawrence brotigh in a bill to prevent frauds and impositions on masters and vessels by pilo's and others within the jurisdiction of the. cinque ports, and to provide for the adjustment of difference in cases of salvage. Read a first, and ordered to be read a second time to-morrow.

Mr. Huskisson brought up the three per cent. annuity bill. Read a first, and ordered to be read a second time on Friday, and to be printed.

Mr. Foster brought up the bill for the renewal of the Irish bank charter, and for the acceptance of a loan from that bank of 1,500,000. Irish currency.

Sir John Newport, besides the exclusion of catholics from the direction, had strong objections to this bill as a measure of finance, being of opinion that it was a very bad bargain for the public; and he was against the consideration of the subject at all till the finance committee should have an opportunity of examining into the regu lations of that bank. He was surprised that a measure of this importance should be so hurried.

Mr. Foster denied that it had been hurried, and was prepared to meet the objections in the committee.

Lord Henry Petty gave notice that he would move an instruction to the committee, to admit a clause to remove the disabilities of the catholics with respect to the offices of governor and director.

The bill was then read a first, and ordered to be read a second time to-morro, and to be printed.

The land revenue bill was committed and its provisions extended to the duchy of Lancaster. Report to-morrow. 1

SIR HOME POPHAM.

Mr. Lushington rose to move his promised resolution on the subject of the grant out of the droits of the crown to sir Home Popham, in the affair of the ship Etrusco. Be fore he proceeded to lay the grounds of his case, he re

quested the attention of the house while he stated, the manner in which this had first come before them. It would be recollected that the honourable baronet near him (Burdett), had made a motion without notice, for an account of the amount and aplication of the droits of admiralty; but at the request of the gentlemen opposite, who wished to consider the subject, the motion was postpored till the following day. At that time the circum stance of the Etrusen came into his mind; be followed the honourable baronet out, and requested him to aler the motion, and to move for the droits of the crown as well as those of the admiralty, In the interval he consulted; the papers on the subject, but would not then have brought forward so serious a charge against the honourable captain without notice, had it not been for the asser jo on the other side, that no misapplication of these droits had taken place. When such an assertion was made, he thought it his duty to declare any instances of misappli cation that had come to his knowledge. This much he stated in justice to himself. He had no occasion to detail the illegality of the trading to India. The law particularly provided against this trading of British subjects to the East Indies, and even forbade their lending money to carry it on, especially from Ostend, a place which pose sessed extraordinary advantages, for such illicit traffic. It might be said, perhaps, that it was odious to be thus rip4 ping up old transactions. The answer to that was, that though the origin of the transaction was old, the money had been granted in 1803; and though the honourable captain opposite had received 18,000l. out of the proceeds, admiral Robinson had not to that hour received his expences (hear!). In 1787 the honourable captain, then. lieutenant in the navy, applied to the admiralty for leave of absence to go to the East Indies but was at first refus ed, on the ground that the admiralty could not give him leave to go to the East Indies without the consent of the East India company. Upon a statement, however, that lieutenant Popham did not intend to go to the East India company's settlements, but to the Danish settlement of Fredericknagore, the admiralty granted him permission to reside two years at Fredericknagore, upon his relinquishing his half-pay. The honourable captain first sailed in the Villa de Vienne, a ship of from four to five hundred tous, under imperial colours, and in 1789 he was at Cal

cutta. The illegality of this he himself had admitted; he had pleaded it in the king's bench, and refused to pay a debt on the ground that the traffic then carried on by him. was illicit. In order to shew that the honourable captain must have known that the traffic was illegal at the time,' Mr. Lushington stated the connection that had subsisted in this affair between the honourable captain and a house at Ostend, the most notorious for carrying on illicit trade. From that place the honourable captain sailed on a se cond expedition, without any leave at all from the admiralty, upon a secret charter party; and instead of imperial colours, as before, provided Tuscan colours, the better to conceal his projects. Yet, after all this, the ho nourable captain, in his memorial to the treasury, stated, that be had believed the traffic to be legal! There was besides a provision in the charter-party, that the trade should be carried on under the names of other persons, but ac tually for the honourable captain. In what character the honourable captain sailed, it was difficult to discover. In' some of the papers he was designated as the captain of the vessel; in others, as the supercargo, &c. There was another circumstance which he did not state in accusation, but merely with a view to give the honourable captain an opportunity to explain it there were in the vessel forty cast iron guns, besides small arms. It would be for the honourable captain to explain how these had been disposed of. It appeared that he could not go to Bombay, according to his original intention, in consequence of his not being able to procure the proper papers; and there was a letter written at the time by the honourable captain, adverting to the probability of an information being lodged against him by a person with whom he had quarrelled in the course of the transactions; all pretty good proofs that he was aware that the traffic be was carrying on was illicit. From Prince of Wales Island the honourable captain proceeded to Calcutta, where he sold his vessel, and purchased the President Washington, a ship of 950 tons burthen, which he called the Etrusco, and used the same papers for this as he had done for the smaller vessel. Having made the necessary ar rangements, he proceeded to Canton, and there he formed an agreement to carry on a joint concern with two gen tlemen who were considered as supercargoes of the French East India company. In this agreement, the ho