Colonel

And alfo, that the faid Select Committee have determined,

That the oppofition of the faid honourable Thomas Maitland to the faid petition, did not appear to the said Select Committee to be frivolous or vexatious.

Colonel Phipps rose to present a petition, which, he said, Phipps. required fome explanation, fince otherwife, the purport of it might appear inconfiftent with the conduct which the Committee, and he as their Chairman, had already taken. The House would recollect, that he had ftated to them, upon the preceding Friday, that Thomas Smith, now a prisoner in His Majesty's jail of Newgate, had been guilty of gross prevarication in his evidence before the Committee, and apparently of perjury; in confequence of which, he had complained to the Houfe, in the name of the Committee, and moved, that the faid Thomas Smith be profecuted by His Majefty's Attorney General for perjury, which the House had agreed to, and Smith stood committed for the prevarication. It was the defire of the Committee to keep the confideration of the two offences diftinct and feparate; and therefore, as they had in no fort altered their opinion refpecting the heinoufnefs of the apparent perjury, or their wifh that Smith fhould be profecuted for it, he thought it neceffary to fay thus much previous to his delivery of the petition, the purport of which was to alledge the prisoner's contrition for having unfortunately incurred the displeasure of the Committee by the mode of giving his evidence, and to pray a discharge from his confinement.

Mr. Pitt.

The petition was received and read, and on the motion of Colonel Phipps, the Speaker's warrant was ordered to be iffued to bring up the faid Thomas Smith to the bar of the House upon the morrow, in order that he may be difcharged.

The Colonel afterwards faid, that, as Chairman of the Committee, he was directed to report, "That John Siret "having been duly fummoned to attend as a witness before "them, had difobeyed fuch fummons, and therefore that "the faid Select Committee, according to the powers given "them by the act, had ordered the faid John Siret into the "cuftody of the Serjeant at Arms."

It was then moved, "That the faid John Siret do stand "committed to the cuftody of the Serjeant at Arins, and "that Mr. Speaker do iffue his warrant accordingly."

Mr Chancellor Pitt obferved, that the commitment of the bill for the relief of Proteftant Roman Catholic Diffenters, under certain conditions and restrictions, ftood for the next day. He believed that there was a general concurrence of opinion in favour of the principle of the bill; but as he knew

that

that several gentlemen entertained doubts refpecting the propriety of particular clauses, and wifhed to deliver their fen timents on the fubject, he thought it would be advifeable to put the commitment of the bill off for a few days, in order to give the gentlemen in queftion time to digeft their opinions, and ftate them to the Houfe. He would not move the poftponement of the commitment of the bill then, as the honourable and learned gentleman who introduced it, was not in the House, but he gave notice that he would, upon the morrow, move the difcharge of the order, and the appointment of the Committee on the bill, for a future day.

Mr. Ryder produced a confiderable number of motions for Mr.Ryder refolutions relative to the price of grain, which he faid he meant to form the table, that would, in his opinion, be a fit ratio to govern the prices at which corn of various kinds might be allowed to be imported into this country from Ireland, Quebec, and other places abroad; but as it would be for the convenience of the Houfe, with a view to the future difcuffion of the fubject, that they should be admitted to make a part of the bill, in order that they might affume a debatable shape, with the leave of the House he would move for them inftantly to refolve themselves into an original Committee, in which he would introduce the refolutions, and then let them be inferted in the bill, without meaning by fuch admiffion to have it in the fmalleft degree understood that gentlemen were thereby pledged to fupport the whole or any part of them, but that they should remain as open to objection, debate, and difcuffion afterwards, as any part of

the bill.

Mr. Powys admitted that it would be for the general convenience of the House, that the refolutions fhould be allowed to be fo introduced, it being agreed on all hands that the receiving them fhould not govern and affect the future difcuffion of the table, as it was well known that there was a difference of opinion refpecting the prices which ought to govern the importation.

The House immediately refolved itself into a Committee of the whole Houfe, Mr. Bramfton in the chair.

Mr. Ryder then moved his refolutions, which were read fhort pro forma, and agreed to, and immediately reported to the House.

Mr. Steele made a report from the Committee on the Quebec bill. Counsel was called in and heard on the first petition. Counsel on the fecond petition was heard in part, and the farther confideration of the report adjourned to the enfuing Wednesday. After fome converfation between Mr. Fox, Mr. Huffey, Mr. Alderman Watfon, and Mr. Chancellor Pitt, the three former of whom fuggefted the propriety

Mr.

Powys.

Mr. Grey

of re-committing the bill, and moved a question upon it, which was negatived.

The Houfe adjourned.

Thursday, 24th March.

No material debate occurred.

Friday, 25th March.

A petition of John Siret was prefented to the House, and read; fetting forth, that the petitioner is now in the custody of the Serjeant at Arms, for non-attendance on the Committee appointed to try the merits of the Exeter election; and that the petitioner is moft fincerely forry for his misconduct in prefuming to difobey the order of the faid Committee, which arofe from ignorance, and not from difrefpect; and that the petitioner is deeply fenfible of his crime, and entreats the House, that he may be discharged out of cuftody.

Ordered,

That the faid John Siret be immediately brought to the bar of this Houfe, in order to his being difcharged.

John Siret was accordingly brought to the bar; where he received a reprimand from Mr. Speaker, and was ordered to be discharged out of cuftody, paying his fees.

Mr. Grey begged leave to folicit the future attention of the Houfe to a bill which he defigned to introduce, for the purpofe of making fome alteration in the mode of determining on the merits of election petitions. Frivolous and vexatious. he confidered as terms of too harsh a construction, and fuch as might not always be applicable, even when it was found neceffary that the plea of the petition fhould not be fuftained. He mentioned the cafe of a Committee in which he had lately been engaged; and in which, though they had decided that the petition was not fupported by evidence, they were unwilling to determine upon it as frivolous and vexatious. He did not mean that the party, whofe petition was fo decided on, fhould be excufed from paying cofts; but only that fome different mode of determining thould be fubftituted, as he confidered the prefent as imputing intentions which might not be entertained, and even eftablishing a fort of crimina lity. At any rate, if the terms were liable to fuch conftruction, it was proper that they should be corrected.

In confequence of this intimation, a converfation took place, in which Mr. Wyndham, Mr. Stanley, Mr. Baker, Sir William Scott, and Colonel Phipps, were fpeakers, and in which different opinions were given of the propriety and ufefulness of the object of the intended bill.

Mr.

Mr. Chancellor Pitt apprehended that, on a fubject of Mr. Pitt. fuch importance, it would be more proper to poftpone any debate until a regular motion fhould come before the House.

Sir Benjamin Hammet rifing next, obferved, that he had Sir Benj. in his hand a petition against the bill for appropriating the Hammet. fum of five hundred thoufand pounds of uncla med dividends, &c. figned by a moft refpectable body of stockholders; names which would be allowed to carry with them the greatest weight and importance. He had fuggefted his propofal to the Bank, of lending 500,ocol. without intereft, as long as the fame fhould be unclaimed. There had, in confequence, been a meeting of the Directors on the preceding day, and a meeting of Proprietors was to take place upon the enfuing Tuesday.

The petition was brought up and read, as follows:

"To the Honourable the Coinmons of Great Britain, in Parliament affembled.

"The humble Petition of the Subfcribers who are Proprietots in the Public Funds of Great Britain,

"That your petitioners are deeply interested in the public funds of Great Britain.

"That your petitioners have invefted their property in thofe funds, with the moft perfect reliance on the faith and juftice of Parliament, and in full confidence and perfuafion that the Legislature of Great Britain would never, without the confent of the Proprietors, make any effential alteration, either in respect to their fecurities, which confift principally in funds fpecifically appropriated to the payment of their annuities, or in refpect to the mode of their payment, expreffly ftipulated and delineated in the feveral ftatutes that fix the conditions of the public loans.

"That your petitioners have feen, with equal concern and aftonishment, a bill brought into Parliament by the right honourable the Chancellor of the Exchequer; the avowed object of which is to take back five hundred thousand pounds, part of the fums that have been iffued by the Exchequer to the Governor and Company of the Bank of England, in purfuance of many acts of Parliament; and particularly of the Confolidated Act, paffed in the 28th year of his prefent Majefty, being part of the funds appropriated by law to the payment of the public creditors, and expreffly declared not to be divertible to any other use or purpose whatever.

"That the principle of the faid bill appears to your petitioners to have a direct tendency to deftroy that confidence

Mr. Pitt.

Mr. Tox.

which many natives and foreigners have hitherto repofed in the equity and juftice of Parliament; to violate the public faith folemnly plighted; and by feizing on private property, accurately defcribed, and ftand ng as fuch in the books of the Bank of England, to excite alarms and apprehenfions of the moft ferious and dangerous nature.

"That your petitioners wish to be heard by Counsel, if it fhall appear to them to be neceffary; although it is a cafe that does not depend on nice and intricate fubtilty, or on a deep knowledge of the technical forms of law; but on the rights of British fubjects, which ought in no cafe whatever to be invaded. They humbly petition for no more than a facred obfervance of national contracts, containing exprefs ftipulations, eafily understood, and ratified by folemn acts of the Supreme Legislature.

"Under anxious apprehenfions, not more fenfibly felt on their account, than for the good faith, the public credit, and the honour of the nation; and impreffed with a fenfe of the duty they owe not only to themselves, but to the community at large, your petitioners humbly intreat this honourable Houfe to take the premifes into their moft ferious confideration; and they pray, that no alteration in their fecurity, for the better or the worfe, may take place without their confent; and that the faid bill may not pafs into a law."

Mr. Chancellor Pitt obferved, that as a long previous notice had been already given, he trufted that the petition could afford no pretext for delaying the report. It had been appointed for the preceding day, and he would certainly confider himself as authorized to move that it fhould be received immediately. In his opinion, there certainly was an irregularity in the mode in which the petitioners had defired to be heard by Counfel, as they had not come forward until this late ftage of the bill.

Mr. Fax, on the contrary, contended that the conduct of the petitioners was not irregular; as they might, perhaps, (but he did not pretend to speak decidedly upon this point) have Counsel ready to be heard on the report. It would be recollected that this bufinefs was intended to have come on upon a former day, and had been unavoidably poftponed; a circumftance of which they could not have been aware. He did not think himfelf poffeffed of fufficient weight to attempt now to oppofe the report. But furely, if there was any bufinefs which ought to be conducted with caution, or in which full time ought to be allowed, it was upon an occafion like this, in which the public credit was interested. The petition was almost unprecedented with refpect to its nature, and

the