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would fall upon the purchaser; and as there was always a considerable competition for land, it would never be felt as any great hardship.

Mr. Dickenson and Mr. D. Giddy expressed their disa approbation of the tax.

The house divided:

For the clause

Against it

78

18

60

Majority

The remaining clauses were, after some discussion, agreed to, without a division.

The house resumed, and the report was ordered to be received to-morrow.

Mr. Wharton brought up the report of the committee of ways and means. The resolutions were read and agreed to; and bills were ordered for raising the amount of supply already stated, by means of treasury bills and

loan.

The remaining orders were disposed of, and the house adjourned.

HOUSE OF LORDS.

FRIDAY, JUNE 17.

The lunatic bill, and the loan bill, were read a third time, and passed.

The Irish loan bill, and the exchequer bills bill, were read a second time, and committed for to-morrow.

The Irish malt bill, and the auditors franking bill, passed through committees, and were reported.

The pilots bill, the Brazil trade bill, and the British fisheries bill, were brought from the commons by Mr. Rose and other members, and read a first time, as were also the promissory notes bill, and some other bills, brought up by Mr. Wharton and other members.

The Duke of Montrose presented a petition from the county of Dumbarton in favour of prohibiting distillation from grain. Ordered to lie on the table.

Lord Holland said a few words respecting the law of forfeiture, intimating his intention of taking up this subject in a future session, if no other noble lord should bring

it forward, in the point of view in which he had stated his opinion some years ago on the discussion of the bill for continuing that law.

Some discussion took place on the Scotch tiends bill. The Earl of Lauderdale objected to the whole of the judges of the court of session sitting as a commission of tiends, whilst, in other cases, they were to be divided, under the bill lately sent to the commons, into two courts. He thought also that the bill would be productive of injustice. The Lord Chancellor defended the bill, as tending to introduce a good regulation with respect to the future applications of the clergy for augmentation. The Duke of Montrose also expressed his approbation of the bill, which was read a second time, and committed for to-morrow.

BROITS OF ADMIRALTY.

The Earl of Suffolk rose, pursuant to his notice, to move that an address be presented to his majesty, requesting his majesty to give directions to his proper officers to lay before the house, the accounts of the proceeds of Danish property seized before the declaration of hostilities. In making this motion, his object, first, was, that the public might be informed in what manner, and to what amount, these proceeds had been applied; and next, that we should have an eye towards its restitution, as a measure in conformity to the sentiments of the states on the continent, highly just and necessary, to which sentiments count Stahremberg had acceded by his declaring the restitution as the only means by which peace could be ultimately effected on the continent. But independant of that, we were to look with great suspicion towards this great increase of the droits, by new plans having been of late followed, of seizing upon the property of other countries before the declaration of hostilities; a practice which he thought had not only been chiefly conducive to the American embargo, but which, if that precautionary step had not been taken by the Americans, might have tempted this country to a conduct that would have plunged the two nations into a war with each other. This sum amounted, he was informed, to upwards of a million and a half; and though he did not believe that any part of it was applied to improper uses, yet it was just and proper that a clear statement should be given.

Lord Hawkesbury observed, that whatever information his lordship might have received about the amount, it could only proceed from speculation, as no returns had yet been made, as the sales of the property had not been effected. But whenever the returns could be made, and they came regularly before the house, he would, then give his opinion on the subject.

-Lord Holland thought the question of the greatest importance; the more peculiarly so, since the practice had prevailed for these forty-eight years past, of seizing upon foreign property before the declaration of hostilities! The droits of admiralty had increased to an enormous extent; and yet, in arranging the civil list revenue, no regard had been paid to them, and we had been called upon no less than five times within not a great space of time to pay off the debts contracted on the civil list, besides augmenting considerably that revenue. The question, therefore, was one well worthy of their lordships' attention; and although he would advise his noble friend, to withdraw his motion for the present, yet he hoped he would persevere in bringing it again forward in a future session.

Lord Suffolk said, after what he had heard from the noble secretary of state, and his noble friend, he had no objections to withdraw his motion, but pledged himself to bring it forward again.

The motion was then withdrawn.

SCOTCH TEINDS AUGMENTATION BILL.

On the motion for the second reading of the Scotch teinds augmentation bill,

The Earl of Lauderdale contended that the principle of this bill went to confirm the former practice of submitting all cases with regard to teinds to the fifteen Scotch judges, while in all other cases these judges were to act in two separate chambers by the bill lately passed. This was a measure of which he confessed he could not see the utility; for if the division was to procure certain benefi cial results in all other cases, he could not but think that the same good consequences might be expected in re gard to the teinds. Besides, it had been said, that if the judges were to act separately in regard to the teinds, as they were now to do in all other cases, the cham ber which should happen to be most favourable to the VOL. III.-1808. 30

augmentation would obtain all that business. This was, he considered, an attack against the character of these judges which was most improper, but which the present bill would in some degree sanction, by shewing that the. legislature was not disposed to trust this particular branch of judicial authority but to the whole fifteen judges. The noble lord then adverted to a particular clause of the bill which might occasion vexatious applications, and which he conceived it would be proper to amend.

The Lord Chancellor would recommend at present, that the cases of teinds should be decided by the fifteen judges; if, however, they should at any future period be submitted to these judges in the two chambers, alternate applications might be directed to be made to each court by turns, which would remove every doubt as to the decisions of the judges. There certainly were inconveniences in the present bill, but these were greatly overbalanced by the good which would result; and he thought some amendment might be made in the committee.

The bill was then read a second time, and ordered to be Committed to-morrow.

LOCAL MILITIA.

Lord Hawkesbury, on the motion for their lordships' going into a committee on the local militia bill, rose and stated, that the principle of this bill went not only to. provide for the present exigency, but was intended as a great permanent measure of national defence. In a new system of this kind, it was not expected that it should be devoid of imperfections; but he thought the general policy of the measure could not be denied. It must be confessed, that the present situation of the world was such as demanded all our exertions to place this country in a state of defence which should bid defiance to every attempt that should be made against her. The volunteer system was not one which he should object to as far as it went, but it was a system which could not altogether be depended on, when practically viewed, because its efficacy rested entirely upon the spirit which might prevail at the time, and which might dwindle and evaporate. This consideration, therefore, was anticipated by the present bill, as it would go to provide a remedy for such an occurrence; besides, this force, he thought, would be

more efficient than even the volunteers. He begged also to inform their lordships, that the present volunteer force was fixed at 370,000, of which upwards of 277,000 were efficient by the returns. When, therefore, the amount of the other force of the nation was considered, together with the means to be resorted to by the present bill, the country might look with proud confidence to measures which would thus secure its permanent safety. It had been suggested that an armed peasantry would have been better to have recourse to in case of an invasion; but he thought, that however formidable they might be in a mountainous country, they were not so well adapted for our island as a local militia, which was now to be grafted on the volunteers, and intended not only to supply their place, in case of any deficiency arising from them, but was to be a measure to be persevered in whether the country should be at war or in peace, and was so calcu lated as to be carried into effect without injury to the civil employments of those to whose lot it might fall to give their services.

The Earl of Selkirk approved generally of the principle as laid down by the noble lord, with regard to the measure proposed by the bill, but thought that the extension from eighteen to thirty years of age was too much, as the persons who might be drawn who had attained to thirty, would, by the bill, be thirty-four years of age before they had completed the time of service, which would be a considerable inconvenience at that time of life.. This would have been obviated if the measure had been confined to a more early age, such as between eighteen and twenty-one, and they had been elected by

enrolment instead of ballot.

The Earl of Buckinghamshire approved most cordially of the measure as grafted on the volunteers, which measure was well suited, in his opinion, to the defence of the country. His lordship then said, that he did not wish to use hard words towards any foreign power, but he could not help remarking, that the atrocities of Buonaparte were great, and that he was sedulously to be watched For although his armies might be driven out of Spain by the energy of the Spaniards, and by their enthusiasm in defence of their liberties, yet it was not necessarily to follow, that France would cease to be danger

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