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was entrusted. As to what had been faid of the volunteers of Ireland in the last war, it did not apply to the present cafe. They had long been called out, and had been on permanent duty for months, and fome of them for years, and acquired the qualities of veteran troops, which was not hitherto the case with the prefent volunteers. He was not to be told what the volunteers were the last war; for no man would fay, however ferious the apprehenfion of invasion was during the last war, that the danger was then any thing like the danger with which we were threatened now. There never was a period in which the preparations for invading this country were fimilar in magnitude to the prefent preparations-so much so that Parliament had already expreffed its fenfe to that effect by the measures it had brought forward. It had indeed once thought of making many regulations refpecting the discipline of the volunteers; but had afterwards confided that subject to the discretion of Ministers, in the hope that much would have been done; but Minifters disappointed that hope, and therefore Parliament ought now. to act for itself. As to the idea of not attempting to do too much, it was obferveable that, if these regulations were likely to have a bad effect on the volunteer fyftem, the hopes which he entertained that many of them would confent to be put upon permanent duty, by which they would certainly be fubject to much more rigour, were very ill-founded: he did, however, entertain fanguine hopes that they would, in great numbers, accept of the invitation to be put on permanent duty, as the very beft means to make them a good military force; and to exercife ourselves before the French come was the best mode of enabling us to meet them when they do, not only with a certainty of triumph, but also with a reasonable expectation of conducting the conteft with as little effufion as poffible of British blood. He fhould be glad if every volunteer in England could put himself for a while on permanent military duty; but that, in the nature of things, was impoffible there were many who could not poffibly fo engage. He admitted that much had been done already, but that was no reason why we fhould not do as much more as poffible. This was a matter to be confidered moft seriously. Comparisons between this and the last war were abfolutely idle. The whole of the preparations of France for invasion laft war were hardly equal to an advanced guard of one of its numerous posts at prefent. He did not difparage the merit of the volunteers, nor was he infenfible of what they had al

ready

ready done; he only enforced the neceffity of doing every thing that was in our power to meet, upon the best poffible advantage, the enemy, and that in a few weeks, to decide a conteft on which not the intereft or welfare, but the existence of this country was at fake. Neither did he with to dif

parage the valour of his countryinen-he knew what men contending for their freedom and existence, unarmed and undifciplined, could do; nor had he any idea that the efforts of a whole people, fuch as Britons, would not be ultimately fuccefsful, although they might be undifciplined. He knew that every freeman ought to be a hero in fuch a contest, and he was confident that few indeed among us would difappoint the expectations of the country in that extremity, fhould we come to it. The crifis was at a certainty approaching, it would be our own fault if we were not prepared for it-it would be the fault of that House if it fhould not do every thing in its power to prepare for it. No man in the kingdom ought to have any reafon hereafter to reproach himself with negligence upon fuch a fubject. He would not tire the Coinmittee with further obfervations. Some which he had delivered, he admitted to be a repetition of what he had urged before; but poffibly they might alter the judgment of others, who were not convinced by them before. He certainly had no hope that the arguments of others could alter the opinion he had now delivered upon this moft momentous fubject, for which reafon he found himself com pelled to press this claufe for the adoption of the Committee.

The Secretary at War contended for the propriety of con forming to certain regulations; nay, of fcrupulously adhering to them: it was, to a certain degree, obviously a ques tion of good faith with the volunteers themselves; and the Committee fhould recollect that the fanation of Parliament had been given on the occafion.calend

The Chancellor of the Exchequer defired to make one or two obfervations which he had omitted to ftate when difcuffing the propofition of the right hon. Gentleman. He muft deny that experience thewed the neceffity of the measure recom¿ mended. He had heard of no complaints made by any corps, as to an infufficiency of internal difcipline. He adverted to the provifion for withholding a certain part of the pay of the volunteers while upon military duty, which he confidered as likely to tend, in a confiderable degree, to the maintenance of good order and difcipline. This, in effect, went to fub

ject

ject the volunteer to a mulct who fhould mifcondu& himself while under arms.

The Committee then called loudly for the queftion; upon which a divifion took place, when there appeared Ayes - 26 Noes - 27

Majority for Ministers

Γ

The difcuffion upon the remaining claufes and provisions of the bill continued a confiderable time longer; but as ftrangers were excluded the remainder of the evening, we are prevented from detailing what took place. We underftand, however, that the remaining claufes and fchedules, &c. of the bill were gone through by the Committee, the report received by the House pro forma, and the bill ordered to be again recommitted for Monday. Adjourned at half past seven o'clock.

HOUSE OF LORDS.

MONDAY, MARCH 12.

Counsel were heard relative to the Scotch Appeal, William Duke of Queensberry v. John M'Murdo, Esq. The further hearing of the cafe was deferred till Wednesday.

The bills before the Houfe, chiefly private, were then forwarded in their feveral ftages, and fome private bufinefs difposed of; after which their Lordships adjourned.

HOUSE OF COMMONS.

MONDAY, MARCH 12.

The Scotch bank bill was brought in and read a fust time. The Temple Bar, &c. improvement bill was read a second time, and ordered to be committed.

Alderman Boydell's lottery bill was read a third time and paffed.

Mr. Hurst prefented a petition from John Wilfon, who was committed to Newgate for prevarication before the Aylesbury Committee, acknowledging his offence, imploring the clemency of the Houfe, and requefling to be permitted to afk pardon at the bar of the Houfe.

Sir George Cornewall faid, he did not with that the imprifonment of this man fhould last longer than was necellary for the purpose of example.

VOL. II. 1803-4.

F

Mr.

Mr. Hurst then moved that he should be brought up on Wednesday to be difcharged. Ordered.

A petition was prefented from the trustees of the British Museum, praying for parliamentary relief. Ordered to lie on the table; and an account was ordered to be laid before the Houfe of the different fums already granted by Parliament for the fervice of the British Museum.

The Houfe having refolved itfelf into a Committee of Ways and Means,

The Chancellor of the Exchequer rofe to move, that the fum of two millions be raifed by way of loan on Exchequer bills; he thought it proper to add, that this fum was not neceffary to aufwer any immediate demand, but he hoped the Committee would confent to grant it at prefent, in order to allow him a greater latitude when he came to contract for the loan, and for arranging the taxes for the fervice of the prefent

year.

The refolution was agreed to, and ordered to be reported the next day.

IRISH DUTIES.

Mr. Corry moved the order of the day for going into a Committee on the Irish duty acts. The order having been read,

Mr. Corry faid, that the last day that this order was under the confideration of the Houfe, an objection had been taken to the proceeding, upon the ground that the hereditary revenue of the Crown was affected by this bill; and that therefore the royal confent ought to have been previously signified to authorize the Houfe to proceed in it. That the hereditary revenue of the Crown was affected by this bill, in a certain degree, was undoubtedly true, and it had been admitted on the former difcuffion; but this no further or otherwife than was juftified by precedents in the Parliament of Ireland for a feries of years, including the time when the right hon. Gentleman oppofite to him filled the office of Chancellor of the Exchequer. The hereditary revenue in Ireland took its origin much about the fame time that it did in this country, and was more extensive, not in amount, but in the objects it embraced, than the hereditary revenue, properly fo called, in England. Upon the abolition of the Court of Wards and Liveries, there was granted in lieu thereof, what was called hearth money and fmoke money; for the defence of the realm, the duties of Excife were granted; and for guarding the feas the duties of Cuftoms; and all thefe duties were here

ditary to the Crown in Ireland thefe were granted by the 14 and 15 Charles 2. The bill upon the table went to regulate only two articles, in which the hereditary revenue was affected, viz. tobacco and tea. By the original acts of Charles 2. the duty on tobacco was 244. a pound; in the reign of William 3. additional duties were granted; but fome doubts having arifen with refpe to the original duties, a declaratory claufe was inferted in an act of William 3. which ftated, that the duty of 2 d. fhould be the hereditary revenue; and it was fo ftated in the bill that confolidated the import duties in Ireland in 1791. In the 33d of the King the civil lift was settled upon his Majefty in Ireland, in perfect conformity to the mode purfued in this country; and in the money bill of that and all preceding years, the enactment with regard to tobacco was continued, though it might be a queftion how far it was now neceffary.-By the arrangements with regard to the hereditary revenue, Parliament obtained the power of regulating the additional duties, which were always granted feffionally; the feffions being till the year 1782 biennial, and fince that time annual. The enactment with regard to tobacco had been contained in every feffional tax-at, after as well as before the fettlement of the civil lift, without the confent from the Crown, being ever fignified: this meafure was therefore to be confidered as completely juftified. With regard to the article of tea, the circumstances were fomewhat different. Though not named in the acts 14 and 15 Charles 2. tea was fubject to the general ad valorem duties, and formed part of the hereditary revenue. In the reign of George the 2d, a new book of rates was formed, in which tea was specified. Thus it remained till the feventh of his prefent Majefty, when the duty was changed from an ad valorem duty, to a rated duty of 6d. a pound on green, and 4d. on black tea and out of the whole amount, an appropriation was made of 10,000l. a year for the fupport of the linen manufacture, and 7,300l. to be taken and deemed as the hereditary revenue; the remainder was to go into the general revenue of the country. From that time to the prefent, as well after as before the fettlement of the civil lift, this appropriation had been uniformly enacted every year, without any confent being previously fignified by the Crown, though it was evident that intereft was affected; for though, if the duties thould fall, the Crown would gain by having a fixed revenue of 7,300l. yet if the duties fhould incr.afe confiderably, the Crown muft

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