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selected his own army clothier. The war office, therefore, could have no interest in the question. It was not to be expected, that the treasury would suppose any orders of this nature issued by them upon this subject were final, without consultation with the military authorities. The treasury had recommended a new system, but the board of general officers and the commander in chief were so strongly impressed with what they conceived would be the injury which the army would sustain from the change, that the treasury acquiesced. He did not think the least advantage would accrue to the public from taking the clothing out of the hands of the colonels; although he was satisfied that (provided a fair compensation were made to them) the colonels would be much benefited, and would be very happy, to have the clothing removed from their hands into those of the public. He should move the previous question on the first resolution.

Mr. Whitbread commented with great severity on the extreme absurdity of the dress of our soldiers, and particularly that of the cavalry regiments. The enormous muffs on their heads, and the whiskers on their faces, were equally absurd and useless. His honourable friend had plainly proved that the soldier had the same great coat put on his back at 16s. 6d. which might be provided for him at 14s. Cd. and even that the same identical house had supplied at 16s. 6d. the same coats which they had professed themselves willing to supply at 14s. 9d. Of all these statements the honourable secretary had taken no notice, nor had he chosen to advert to the purchases that Mr. Pierce had made of a slop-seller. An open contract was certainly infinitely preferable to a private contract. He thought that his honourable friend had completely substantiated his statements, and that a committee ought to be appointed to investigate the subject. From the mode in which the committee of finance were now pro ceeding, it was not likely, were the chairman to live to the age of Methusalem, that he would ever have to report on this subject.

The Secretary at War explained.

General Stuart defended the dress of some of the regi ments of cavalry, which were on the principle of the Ger mans, for the outposts of an army. It appeared to him, that it did not signify how the soldiers were dressed, pro

vided they were well disciplined. With respect to the clothing of the army, he thought it would be injurious to the public to take it out of the hands of the colonels. Mr. Whitbread explained.

Mr. Huskisson observed, that the subject was under discussion, and there were arrangements making upon it. In fact, the contracts for great coats were already open, as desired by the honourable gentleman. He thought it would be most absurd to go into a committee on the other parts of the question, until after the report of the commissioners of military inquiry should be presented to the house. The treasury had nothing more at heart than an open competition on all subjects, but on many it would be attended with considerable danger and inconvenience.

Mr. Fuller concurred with the hon. gentleman(Mr. Whitbread), in ridiculing the dress of some of our regiments, and especially the sudden changes of regimentals, the expence of which had compelled many officers to quit their regiments. Adverting to the scantiness of clothing in some cases, he declared that he had seen instances in which the dress of the soldiers of a regiment had been made so tight, that it had been burst by the sudden contraction occasioned by a shower of rain; and the poor fellows were left with nothing but their shirts, to cover a part of their bodies which he would not name. (A laugh.) On the whole, however, he believed that the clothing was conducted on a very equitable principle.

After a few words in explanation, Mr. Wardel withdrew his motion.

MR. PALMER'S CLAIM.

The resolution of the 14th of June, respecting Mr. Palmer, having been read,

The Chancellor of the Exchequer rose to move for a sepa rate bill on that resolution, instead of allowing it to form a part of the general appropriation bill. He would state his reasons for making this proposition, of which he had given due notice, that it might not appear to be a sudden measure. The ordinary course of the house was, to put all the grants of the year into the appropriation bill; but in adopting the course which he was about to recommend, the house would not act in an unparliamentary or an unprecedented manner. If there ever was a case in which the ordinary course should be deviated from, it was the present, for very strong reasons, which he would distinct

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ly shew. With respect to the precedents on this subject," he would submit to the house a great variety of them. In the first place he would state a number of cases of grants voted in the committee of supply to private individuals, with conditions annexed to them, some of which had been carried into effect solely by a separate bill, while others had been incorporated into the appropriation act. The first that he would mention was a vote of the house in a committee of supply, on the 10th of April 1759, of 5000l. to Mrs. Johanna Steele, on the condition that she would with all convenient speed make discovery of her remedy for curing the stone; this vote was carried into effect by a separate bill, and did not appear in the appropriation act. Another vote was on the 28th of January, 1731, of 14,000. to sir Thomas Blome, as a recompence for the introduction of organized silk into this country, on the condition that he should produce the models of his mills. This vote was carried into effect by a separate bill, but did make its appearance in the appropriation act. 2000. had been voted in a committee of supply, to the family of Mr. Harrison, for his time-piece, on the condition that his executors should, as speedily as possible, explain its construction. This vote was carried into effect by a separate bill, and was also incorporated in the appropriation act. 3,6007. had been voted in a committee of supply, to Mr. Phillips, on the condition of his discovering the composi tion of a powder for destroyi g insects. This vote was carried into effect by a separate bill, which was lost in the lords; and it did not appear in the appropriation act. Two or three years afterwards Mr. Phillips renewed his application, and the house of commons in a committee of supply voted him 10 0. This vo e was carried into effect in a separate bill, which bill was also lost in the house of lords, and it did not appear in the appropriation act. Thus it appeared that out of these five cases the house ado; ted one course in three instances, and another course in the remaining two. The saine variety of proceeding would appear upon an examination of different grants that had been voted for public purposes. In some cases these votes had been carried into effect solely by separate bills; in others they had been incorporated in the appropriation act. For the construction and improvement of Westminster bridge various sums had been voted at different periods. On the 18th May, 1742, 10,00 7; on the 24th, 1754, 25,000%. In both these cases the yotes had been carried into effect in sepa

551 rate bills, and had not appeared in the appropriation act: on the 27th of June, 1742, 25,007.; in 1743, 25,000l. ; in 1754, 2,500; all which had been carried into effect by separate bills, but had also been incorporated into the appropriation act. It was evident, therefore, that in these instances, all relating to the same object, the house had been influenced solely by convenience. There were various other similar grants. On the d of March, 1755, 10,000l., for widening the streets of Westminster; and in May, 1758, 10,0001. for repairing Milford haven; which votes were carried into effect by separate bills, although they appeared in the appropriation ac s. In 1759. 10,000. for Milford haven; on the 9th of May, 1759, various sums as compensation for the purchase of lads at Porgmouth and Plymouth; on the 23d of March, 1762, 5000.for paving Westminster; and on the 14th of Aprił, 1767,... 2,001. additional for the same purpose. All these votes were carried into effect by separate bills, and did not appear in the appropriation act. From these various cases it was clear that not only on private but on public grants the house had always exercised its own option on the mode of proceeding. But there was another class of cases more nearly resembling that under consideration. They were the grants which had been made without any condition annexed. On the 24th of December, 1707, 212. 18s. 6d. had been voted in a committee of supply as due to captain, James Roach, for the arrears of the rent of forfeited estates in Ireland, granted to him by act of parliament. This vote was carried into effect by a separate bill, and did not appear in the appropriation act. On the 28th of January, 1752,112,143/.was voted to the African company as a compensation for the loss of their chartered lands. This vote had been carried into effect by a separate bill, and was not incorporated into the appropriation act. But one of the most material cases to which the house ought to attend was that of Rye harbour. On the 25th of February, 1745, the committee of supply voted a grant to his majesty of 23,5601. out of the sinking fund, to enable the commissioner of Rye harbour to complete the works. The appropriation bill was subsequently brought into the house, but this grant was not included in it; and the committee upon it on the 8th of April was adjourned to a late hour, for the purpose of allowing the vote of money for Rye harbour to be made the subject of a separate bill. Another case had occurred in 1779, of a grant upon the petition of Dr.

Smith, as a reward for his having attended sick prisoners in London and Westminster. That petition had been with some counter-petitions referred to a committee, which made no report. In the year 1781 the petition was renewed, and on the report of a committee, a bill was brought in and passed the house of commons for granting 12007. tỏ Dr. Smith, which bill was never returned from the lords. It was impossible, after what he had stated, to contend, that it was not perfectly competent to the house to carry its vote into effect, either by a separate bill, or by its insertion in the appropriation act. The grant had been voted on grounds, not satisfactory to his mind, and though he still retained his former opinion, it was not upon that he proposed the present course. The house had a discretion, and it remained to be considered under what circumstances the house would be disposed to proceed by a separate bill, or by including the grant in the appropriation act. If no other motive would apply, the course that would be most convenient, would be most desirable. In ordinary cases, where there was not likely to be any difference of opinion elsewhere, it might be proper to insert the grant in the appropriation act. But, if there should be any reason to suppose such a difference of opinion to exist in that other quarter, that would be good ground for tak ing the grant out of the appropriation act. The vote proceeded upon an assumption of an agreement between Mr. Pitt and Mr. Palmer, and then assumed that nothing had happened to defeat such contract, and that a bill should be brought in to carry the contract into effect. That house knew that the other house had the matter under their consideration, by having received a message from it, requiring a communication of the evidence upon which they had passed the bill for granting the annuity to Mr. Palmer. Having, by sending up that bill to the other house, given it an opportunity of exercising an unrestrained judgment upon one part of the case, they should not, by inserting this grant in the appropriation bill, reduce the other house to the alternative of either acceding to a grant, of which it disapproved, or of rejecting the appropriation of the supplies of the year. The right ho nourable gentleman then quoted the authority of Mr.Hatsel, vol. III., page 195, to shew, that tacking one measure to another for the purpose of forcing another branch of the legislature to accede to it, was highly irregular, and a

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