feet to that proclamation, and would satisfy the navy in general of the attention paid to the interests of its men as well as its officers..

Mr. Rose stated, that since his appointment to be trea surer of the navy, he had taken measures, by enforcing the existing laws, to recover money due from prize agents, and to redress the complaints of the navy on this head. He had recovered several large sums from agents, in the West Indies in particular, which would otherwise never have been paid. He was willing to give further trial to the enforcement of the existing laws, though he thought the measure proposed by the honourable admiral may be properly made part of a future bill on this subject in the next session, when the whole subject should be considered, and when, what the existing laws could do to remedy the evils complained of, should be fully tried. He deprecated the introduction of the clause in this bill, of which it could not properly make part.

After some explanation between Sir C. Pole and Mr. Rose, the motion was negatived. The bill went through a committee. The report was received, and the bill order. ed to be read a third time to-morrow; as was also the woollen penalty suspension bill, reported by Mr. Whar ton.

The Danish prize bill, the three per cents. annuity bill, and the Brazil postage bill, were read a third time and passed.

On the motion for the third reading of the coffee duty bill, Mr. Hibbert proposed as a further relief to the West India proprietors, that the operation of the act should commence on the 15th of August, instead of the 10th of October.

Mr. Huskisson said it was in justice to the retail dealers, he thought right to allow them till the 10th of October to dispose of the stock on hand. The arrangements of revenue besides required this time. He wished it more practicable to make the reduction commence on the 15th of August. But as that could not be done without many and great inconveniences, the 10th of October was fixed upon as the most accommodating to all the interests con cerned.

Mr. Marryat stated as a fact, material for the consideration of his majesty's ministers, that three times as much

coffee was smuggled, as paid duty. He was sure the revenue would be benefited instead of being injured, if the reduction were made to take place from the present day. On these grounds he supported the amendment.

Mr. Barham also supported the amendment. The mer chants were obliged to suspend their sales till this measure should commence.

The Chancellor of the Exchequer, in wishing to give all possible relief by the present measure, felt himself obliged to attend to the representations of the retail dealers, who bad laid in a stock under the high duties. The interval till the 10th of October, was therefore granted to dispose of the stock that had paid the high duties. The sales had been suspended only on account of the uncertainty of the period at which the reduction was to commence.. When the time was once known to be fixed, the sale would proceed as usual. On these grounds he could not consent to allow the reduction to commence before the 10th of October.

Sir C. Price dwelt on the loss the retailers would suffer by making the reduction commence too early..

Mr. Windham supported the amendment, which was also supported by Mr. Smith (of Norwich).

The question being put, the amendment was negatived, and the bill passed; as was also the coffee excise bill.

ARMY CLOTHING.

Mr. Wardel rose to call the attention of the house to the prodigal expenditure of the public money in the present system of clothing the army with great coats. The war office, instead of acting on the principle of open contract, as recommended and ordered by the treasury, persisted in private contracts, and the consequence was, that though a great reduction had taken place in the materials of great coats, no reduction had taken place in the price. In the year 1803, the secretary at war (Mr. Yorke) consented to pay at the rate of 16s. 6d. for each great coat, but stipulated that a reduction should take place if the price of kersey should fall. Kersey was then at 4s. 6d. a yard, and since continued to fall till it came down to 3s. 6d. but no reduction was made in the contracts till the present year; nor would any have been made, if it had not been for the continued offers forced on the war.

office to furnish great coats at a less price than was actually paid. He made a variety of calculations on the prices at different periods, from which he assumed there was a loss to the public, of 23,000l. He adverted par ticularly to a tender made by Messrs. Scott, eminent army clothiers, to furnish these coats in 1806, at 14s. 9d. which would afford a saving of 21,000. on every delivery. Not getting any answer, Messrs. Scott looked for a share in the contract, as made by the war office. They obtained it, and were paid at the rate of 1os. 6d. This was an answer to any objection that could be made on the ground of supposed inferiority in Messrs. Scot's clothing. On an intimation from the treasury bench, that this took place during the late administration, Mr. Wardel said he was aware that no blame attached, for this part of the transaction, to the right honourable gentleman opposite, but he was influenced by no respect to party, in bringing forward this question. In the present year Messrs. Scott applied again to the treasury. The answer was, that the coats would be made the subject of open contract. No notice of open contract was given: a close contract was made with Messrs. Pierce. Messrs. Scott again got a share, for which they were paid at 14s. though they were ready, from the reduced price of kersey, to furnish the whole quantity at 12s. Here was a loss of above 16,000l. to the public, by the system of favouritism and private contract, Mr. Pierce having interest, not only to get the contract, but to fix his price. He cited a letter from the lords of the treasury to the secretary at war, intimating, that the price of great coats may be reduced in proportion to the acceleration of the payment. He could not understand what was meant by this, when the great coats were generally paid for within six months. He gave credit to the lords of the treasury for their sincere coincidence in the recommendation of the commander in chief, to substitute open for private contracts, if any alteration should be made in the present system. He commented on the other particulars of the letter from the tre sury, ridiculing the idea of a reduction proposed in the price of coats in the event of a fall of the price of cloth in time of peace, and this too at a period when our manufacturers were so much at a loss for a market as they were at present. He deprecated a deference being paid by the secretary at war to the present commander in chief, merely on the VOL. III.-1809.

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ground of his being the son of our gracious king; and would allow of such a deference only in the event of its being proved to be usually paid. He cited a letter from the adjutant-general to Mr. Harrison, one of the secre taries of the treasury, stating, that a board of general officers to whom this matter was referred, were of opinion with the commander in chief, that no alteration could with propriety be made in the present system of supplying great coats. He also cited a letter from sir James Pulteney, secretary at war, to Mr. Harrison, stating, that he had submited to the commander in chief, the treasury letter, recommending open contract, and that his royal highness was of opinion, that no alteration should be made in the present mode of supplying the most essential comfort of a soldier. A fear was expressed that open contract would be made the means of forcing great coats of interior quality; but this, Mr. Wardel contended, could be guarded against by previous inspection. In order to prevent deficiencies on extraordinary occasions of urgent service, Messrs. Scot proposed that there should always be a supply of 6,000 approved great coats, ready to be sent to any part of the world, according as the exigencies of the service should require. He proposed, as the best remedy and the most applicable to the case, to tran: fer the providing of great coats from the war office to the commissary general, to whose department it proper lybelonged. He cited another letter from the treasury, again pressing the propriety of supplying great coats by open contract, and gave credit to his majesty's ministers. in insisting on this economic measure, in opposition to the great influence by which they were resisted. The se-. cretary at war, in 103, contracted with Mr. Pierce to find great coats for the army at 16s. 6d. each; Mr. Pierce immediately contracted with a slop-seller of the name of Dixon, who furnished him with them at 13s. 6d. and 14s. By this transaction, the public lost 50,000. By making the contract an open, and not a private one, he was satis-" fied that the country would be very much benefited, without any injury whatever accruing to the colonels of the regiments. He entered into an enumeration of the savings that might be effected on coats, hats, accoutrements, &c. of the infantry, which he estimated at above 101,000l. and had no doubt that if the savings which might be made in the cavalry were added, the sum total

would be doubled. He knew several officers, whose opinion it was that the saving, if properly conducted, would amount to 400,000. He concluded by moring three re solutions to the following effect:

That it is the opinion of this house, that by an impro per adherence to the system of private contracts, great and unnecessary expences had been incurred; and that the treasury orders of the 5th of November, 107, and of the 0th of February, 1808, directing the great coats of the army to be supplied by public contract, were highly proper.

That it appears highly expedient, that in future all contracts for the army clothing should be open

That a commit ce be appointed to examine into the clothing of the army, and to report to the house their opinion thereon.

The Secretary at War replied to the observations of the honourable gentleman. Those who were well c quainted with the woollen trade, had informed him that' the prices had remained stationary from 1803 to he present time. With respect to the price for great conts that had been fixed in 103, namely, 16s. 6d. he could only: say, that as far as he understoo!, that price had not been fixed without due deliberation, and a full consideration of every circumstance connected with the subject. A reference to the opinion of military men, an particu larly to that of the commander in chief, was indispensable on questions of this nature, and consequently the infr ences of the honourable gentleman'did not aply. When the business was referred to the commander in chief, he communicated it to the board of general officers, who of course were perfectly disinterested, and who after duc deliberation, declared their unanimous opinion, an opinion in which the commander in chif had concurred. The soldier's great cont was to last him for three years: it was frequently his only covering, anti became therefore most necessary, that the coats should not be of an inferior quality. On this principle the board of general officers and the commander in chief had objected to any change in the system by which these coasts had hitherto been furnished. The secretary at war had no connection whats ever with the appointment of those who were to faraish the clothing to the army. Every colonel of a regiment