Page images
PDF
EPUB

courts in Scotland, and reporting how far they may admit of the introduction of the trial by jury in civil causes in Sco land, should be appointed by parliament, and not by the crown, and that they should report to the houses of parliament..

This amendment was opposed by the Lord Advocate of Scotland, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, and the Solicitor General for Scotland; and was supported by Mr. Whitbread and Mr. Tierney, when a division took place in the committee:

For the amendment

Against it

Majority

12.

44

32

The report was ordered to be received to-morrow. A message from the lords declared their lordships' assent to the loan bill, the vote of credit bill, the Irish excise bill, the barrack accounts bill, the smuggling prevention bill, the fishery encouragement bill, the hackney coach bill, the American trade bill, the West India commissioners bill, and several private bills, without any amend ment, and to the Maynooth college bill, with amend

ments.

ASSESSED TAXES BILL.

On the motion of the Chancellor of the Exchequer, the house went into a committee on the assessed taxes bill.

Mr Ellis rose to offer some objections to the principle of the bill, but on the suggestion of the Speaker that this was irregular in the present stage, and that there would be ample opportunity in the future stages of the report, and the third reading, he declined troubling the committee at present. Several new clauses were proposed, and several amendments of omission and insertion made.

Mr. Wardel, as a check upon vexatious surcharges, moved that the inspector should state the grounds of the surcharge in the certificate, so as to enable the party to come prepared to meet it. Various cases of vexatious surcharge were tated from both sides of the house, the necessity of some specification was allowed, and an amendment calculated to answer the purpose was agreed to.

Mr. Wardel also suggested that persons surcharged should be required to answer on oath only to, the particu

lar object of the surcharge, and not generally to swear to the correctness of the original return in every point.

After some explanation, the Chancellor of the Exche quer expressed his intention to take this case into consideration, and to apply such remedy as the case should require.

Another amendment was proposed by Mr. Wardel, for reducing the excessive penalty of 500 on vexatious surcharges, to a more reasonable and practicable amount of fine, and for having that an ount levied directly by the commissioners, instead of making it the ground of a tedious suit at law.

On the suggestion of the Chancellor of the Exchequer, the penalty was fixed at 1007. ...

On the other part of the clause the amendment was withdrawn, on the suggestion of Mr. Smith (of Norwich), who proposed the postponement of the clause, to afford time for considering an adequate remedy.

The question being put on Mr. Smith's motion, a divis sion took place:

[ocr errors]

For the postponement
Against it.

Majority

21

63

42:

On a proposition of the Chancellor of the Exchequer to appoint special commissioners or inspectors general to superintend the decisions of appeals, with a salary of 6007. a year, with travelling expences and allowances for clerks, &c. a discussion arose, some thinking the appointment

unnecessary.

Upon a division the numbers were:

A yes
Noes

Majority

58

415

43

The other clauses were then agreed to, and some new clauses were added. Report to-morrow.

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

[ocr errors]

HOUSE OF LORDS.

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 22.

The lottery bill, the paymaster-general's accounts bill, the American goods bill, &c. were brought up from the commons, and read a first time.

The Duke of Rutland presented a petition from certain of the clergy of Leicestershire, against the provisions of the curates' bill; and

Lord Brownlow presented a similar petition on the part of the clergy of Lincolnshire. Ordered to lie on the

table.

Lord Lauderdale renewed his objections against the bill. It was a bill of the utmost consequence, both as it affected property, and the established church; and above all, as it went to extend the power of the bishops, who already possessed but too much power. It was moreover brought into the house at so date a period of the session, that it was impossible to give it a full and minute consi deration. It was yet only read the first time.

Lord Holland perfectly coincided in the observations of his noble friend.

The Archbishop of Canterbury observed, that the prints of the bill were not yet on the table; but when they were, and he hoped it would be to-morrow, he should then (for then only would it be regular) move that the bill be read a second time on Friday.

Lord Lauderdale complained of the shortness of the notice, and again entered more fully into the mischievous consequences of the increased power which it would confer on the bishops, only one of whom, he believed, would be found to have the spirit to oppose it.

Lord Harrowby called the noble lord to order, as allow ing himself to degenerate into personalities.

Lord Lauderdale denied that he was out of order; and said, 'that he should take the next opportunity afforded him of proving that he meant nothing personal to the most reverend prelate who had spoken on the present occasion.

BANK OF IRELAND.

The order of the day was then moved for the house to resolve itself into a committee on the bill for renewing the

charter of the bank of Ireland, and Lord Grenville, who was to have made a motion on the subject, not being present, a conversation ensued between the Lord Chancellor, Lords Holland and Stanhope, respecting the propriety of discharging, or passing over, the order of the day, when

Lord Grenville entered the house, and soon after rose to make his motion; but first presented a petition from the catholic merchants and bankers of the city of Dublin, praying that they might not be excluded from acting as directors and governors of the Irish bank; which petition was ordered to lie on the table. The noble lord then be gan by apologising for the delay which he had unwillingly been the cause of, and proceeded, to open the proposition which he should have the honour of submitting to their lordships. He begged leave, in the first place, to observe that the house was going to legislate on matter respecting which they were wholly in the dark; the charter which they were going to renew, not so much as being before them, nor even the terms upon which government were prepared to grant the favour of that renewal. The charter was to be renewed for above twenty years, and what was the return to be made to government for the concession? The bank of Ireland was to lend one million and a half to government, at a higher interest than government borrowed money at in this country; and the bank was, moreover, to manage the public debt of Ireland. Now, what was the expence of managing that debt? It appeared from official documents, that it did not amount to 8,000l. per annum; so that, for the sum of 8,000l. government granted that to the bank which he was confident that many private individuals would advance ten times the sum for. The bargain, therefore, was, in the first place, most improvident for the country. Now he should proceed to consider more immediately the question to which he was anxious to call the attention of their lord-ships. It was a question by no means of the magnitude of the question of the catholic claims; nor was it, in his mind, at all conhected with the grounds and reasons upon which that great question was professed to be op-"" posed. On a reconsideration of these grounds, he might for a moment bring himself to say that they were just, liberal, and politic, when compared with the reasons for VOL. III.-1808. 3 X

which the claim he was now going to make in the name of the catholic, was to be resisted. On the general ques tion it was said, that by granti g the higher claims of the catholics, you would confer upon them a degree of political power which might be incompatible with the se curity of the constitution in church and state. But by allowing them to act as directors of the bank, you gave them no degree of oli ical power; for it was not with the bank of Ireland as with that of England: the bank of Ireland had no connection with government as the bank of England had. Besides, not only different sects, but men of different religions were admitted as directors of the bank of England. In Ireland, however, you would exclude those from that distinction, who formed the larger portion of the moneyed interest of Ireland, and who possessed the greater share of the commercial capital of Ireland. You thus deprive them of the means of inanaging their own property, than which nothing could be more unreasonable; you so far discourage them from entrusting their property to the Irish funds, than which nothing could be more unwise and impolitic. There was no point of view under which it was possible to consider such an exclusion, in which it must not appear to every unpre judiced mind, illiberal, unjust, ungrateful, and impolitic. These, he trusted, would be sufficiently powerful motives with their lordships to induce them to concur in the mo-. tion, which he should now submit to their consideration. The noble lord then concluded, with moving that it be an instruction to the committee upon the bill, that they do make distinct provision for admitting the catholics to hold and exercise the offices of director and governor of the bank of Ireland.

Lord Hawkesbury opposed the motion, on the grounds he had already so often insisted upon. It had already abundantly appeared to be the sense of government, and of parliament, to make no further concessions to the cathohes of Ireland at the present moment. Indeed he would go so far as again to repeat, that be should make his stand on the law as it stood at the union. What had been conceded up to that period he was ready to abide by; any thing further he would oppose. No man could deny that admission to the office of bank directors must confer influence, which influence would generate political power.

« PreviousContinue »