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bigbly important to the interefts of His Majefly and his allies, and to thefe of Europe in general, His Majefly judges it requifite, in order to add weight to his reprefentations, to make fome farther augmentation of his naval force; and His Majefty relies on the zeal and affection of the House of Commons, that they will be ready to make good fuch additional expence as may be incurred by there preparations, for the purpose of supporting the interefts of His Majefty's kingdom, and of contributing to the refloration of general tranquillity on a fecure and laying foundation.

Mr. Pitt then moved, "That this meffage be taken into " confideration upon the morrow."

Mr. Fox having declared that a fubject of fuch particular Mr. Fox. importance deserved the moft ferious attention of that Houfe, added, that he could not reflect, without the deepest concern, upon the circumftance of their having fallen into a fituation. of misfortune fo fudden and fo unexpected, after what had paffed in other countries, as well as at home. Referving himfelf for the approaching confideration of the meffage, he fhould, for the prefent, only beg leave to afk, whether the right honourable gentleman meant to do more the next day, than merely to move an addrefs of thanks to His Majesty, in anfwer to his meflage? If that were all, he faw nothing exceptionable to fuch a motion, either the next day, or even at that moment; but if, in the addrefs, the right honourable gentleman meant to include any thing like approbation, or the promifing to fupport the expences which His Majesty had been advised to incur, furely the next day would be much too early. He trufted, that whatever confidence the House might have in the Minifter, they had not yet proceeded upon confidence fo far, as to profefs themfelves ready to fupport the King's expences, without having before them any fort of ground of information whatever, to enable the House to judge whether the measures leading to the neceffity of incurring fuch expences had been jnftifiable, or whether the fums wanted were likely to be wifely and properly laid out. He therefore wished to know, if the bufinefs of the next day was to carry them farther than a mere address of thanks to His Majefty for his communication; and whether it was not the intention of Administration to communicate to the House more information refpecting fo ferious and alarming a point, than that of which they were already in poffeffion?

Mr. Chancellor Pitt anfwered, that if the right honour- Mr. Pitt.' able gentleman would please to recollect, he must be fenfible that it had not, upon any occafion, been ufual to delay the confideration of a meffage from His Majefty longer than the next day; and he well knew there were, in the prefent cafe, many reafons why they fhould feize the earliest opportunity VOL. XXIX.

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of confidering His Majefty's meffage of that day. He fhould therefore certainly perfift in moving, that this subject should be taken into confideration upon the day enfuing, and any Member who difapproved doing fo, might then move to adjourn the confideration. Mr. Pitt added, that in the vote of thanks to His Majefty, fhould it pafs, would be included the unanimous refolution of the Houfe, that they would be ready to vote fuch fupplies to defray the expences likely to be incurred as fhould be neceffary. He did not mean to enter at all into any debate then, but there was no ground for expecting any farther information than that contained in the meffage itself.

Mr. H. Mr. Henry Thornten, having premifed that it was not inThornton tended to create an exclufive Sierra Leona Company, but merely to convince the Houfe that a large capital would be wanted to carry on a trade to this fettlement, and that therefore it would be expedient to incorporate thofe concerned in it, in order that they might become refponfible, with their fortunes, no farther than for the fums they embarked in it, obferved, that the motion would explain the other objects of the bill they wished to introduce. He then moved, "That "leave be given to bring in a bill for eftablishing a Company "for carrying on trade between the kingdom of Great Bri"tain and the coafts, harbours, and countries of Africa; "and for enabling the faid Company to hold by grant from "His Majefty, his heirs, and fucceffors, and from the native "Princes of Africa, a certain diftrict of land, commonly "called the Peninfula of Sierra Leona, now vefted in His "Majefty, or belonging to the faid Princes, for the better "enabling the faid Company to carry on the faid trade.”

Lord

Lord Sheffield, having remarked that he had been defired Sheffield. by a large body of his conftituents, who were African merchants, to oppofe the bringing in of the bill, read to the Houfe a letter from his conftituents, in which their objections were enumerated.

Colonel Colonel Tarleton declared his intention of oppofing the bill Tarleton. in a future ftage, on the principle that the African trade had, by two feparate acts of Parliament, been many years fince laid open, and that the only convenient coaft or port to trade at, was upon Sierra Leona river.

Mr.

Mr. Gafcoyne obferved, that he also should, in a fubfequent Gascoyne. ftage, oppofe the bill, as a bill for a monopoly, and therefore not meriting the countenance of the Houfe.

Mr.

Mr. Thornton anfwered, that an exclufive trade was not the Thornton object of the perfons applying, and that the bill did not even contain fuch a word as "exclufive."

Leave was given to bring in the bill.

Lord

Lord North, from the Select Committee, who were appointed to try and determine the merits of the petition of Richard Beckford, Efq.; and alfo the petition of the feveral perfons whose names are thereunto fubfcribed, on behalf of themselves and others, being lawful electors of the borough of Leominster, in the county of Hereford, feverally complain ng of an undue election and return for the faid borough, informed the Houfe, that the faid Select Committee have determined,

That John Sawyer, Efq. is not duly elected a Burgess to ferve in this prefent Parliament for the borough of Leominster, in the county of Hereford;

And alfo, that the faid Select Committee have determined,

That Richard Beckford, Efq. the petitioner, ought to have been returned a Burgess to serve in this prefent Parliament for the faid borough of Leominster;

And alfo, that the faid Select Committee have determined,

That the faid Richard Beckford, Efq. is duly elected a Burgess to serve in this prefent Parliament for the faid borough of Leominster;

And alfo, that the faid Select Committee have determined,

That the petition of the faid Richard Beckford, Efq. did not appear to the faid Select Committee to be frivolous or vexatious;

And alfo, that the faid Select Committee have determined,

That the petition of the faid electors of the borough of Leominster, in the county of Hereford, did not appear to the faid Select Committee to be frivolous or vexatious;

And alfo, that the faid Select Committee have determined,

That the oppofition of the faid John Sawyer, Efq. to the faid feveral petitions, did not appear to the faid Select Committee to be frivolous or vexatious.

When the House had refolved itfelf into a Committee of Supply, to which the army eftimates, prefented the 9th of March inftant, and the extraordinaries of the army, were firft, upon motion, referred; and when Mr. Gilbert had taken the chair,

The Secretary at War rofe, and obferved, that fome for- Secretary mer remarks which had proceeded from an honourable Gea at War. neral (Burgoyne) rendered it neceffary that he fhould trofpafs upon the attention of the Committee with the enumeration of fome particular points refpecting the amount of the expences of the independent companies, and the reafons for

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raifing

raifing them. As these companies had drawn the attention of that Houfe into difcuffion before the holidays, he was rather glad to avail himself of the prefent opportunity for explaining the motives for raifing thofe corps, which he hoped to be able to do to the fatisfaction of the Committee. He wifhed to bring to the recollection of the Committee the three diftinct and different objections which had been stated to thefe corps by the honourable General previously to the recefs. It had been ftated, that the raifing of new corps was an unneceffary expence; that they had given an extraordinary extenfion of patronage to the Crown; and laftly, that a great profufion of public money had been occafioned by the measure. These were the objections which the honourable General had made to independent companies, and he was happy to be able to answer each of them; but he firft begged leave to obferve, that the intention of Government, in raifing these independent companies, had been directly the reverfe of the imputations conveyed in the three objections. It had been their intention to raise a certain number of men, but never to raise new corps, nor to increase the patronage of the Crown, nor to occafion any profufion of public money. He would endeavour to ftate fairly what the meafure it felf really was. At the time the measure had been adopted, it was indifpenfably neceffary to raise a very large body of men with the utmost expedition, and at any rate more fpeedily than the general way of ra fing men would admit; and looking at what had been done on former occafions, particularly in the course of the laft war, he faw nothing but expence and patronage in the modes then reforted to, and thence he thought. the measure which had been adopted was the beft poffible mode of attaining the object, and that it might be eafily juftified. Sir George here entered into a detail on the business, for the purpose of fhewing that it was not at all fubject to either of thofe objections which had been stated by General Burgoyne. He remarked, that 5702 recruits were raifed in little more than a month, at 10l. 5d. per man; and that therefore the total expence of these men amounted to little more than 57,0col. This number of troops were raised at a time when the public service preffed very hard for them. Sir George alfo enumerated the Captains and Lieutenants, and after calculating all the expences, made the additional expence to the half pay amount to 8,580l. He trusted, that when gentlemen fairly and candidly confidered the fubject, all the imputations which had been made by the honourable General would be done away; but he could have wished that thee imputations had not been made at all. He difclaimed any intention whatever of extending the patronage of the Crown, of raifing new corps, or of throwing away

the

the public money; and, in conclufion, he produced the following ftring of refolutions, and moved the first of them regularly:

155,2871. 5s. 5d. for reduced officers of land forces and marines, for 1791.

10,000l. on account of reduced officers of independent companies.

2121. 145. d. for allowances to reduced horfe guards. 55,0921. 10s. for account of reduced officers of American forces.

4,9071. 10s. for allowances of reduced officers.

3,1611. 10s. 10d. for officers late in the fervice of the States General.

9,710l. 4s. 3d. for penfions to widows of commiffioned officers.

174,1671. 4s. 3 d. for penfions of Chelsea Hofpital. 5,9111. 4s. 3d. for Scotch roads.

335,2341. 18s. for extraordinary expences of land forces. 36,0931. for fubfidy to the Landgrave of Heffe Caffell. The Secretary at War having fat down,

General Burgoyne asked him, whether he did not mean to General ftate, on the fide of public credit, the fums for which the Burgoyne former commiffions of the officers promoted in the independent companies were now on fale?

The Secretary at War rofe again; acknowledged that meafore, and, from a paper in his hand, calculated that the faving would be, from twenty-four to forty thousand pounds or

more.

General Burgoyne then proceeded to recall to the recollection of the Houfe, the circumftances that paffed relative to the prefent question.

In a debate upon the Army Eftimates before Christmas, he had ftated the levy of the independent companies to be the moft lavish in point of economy, and the moft indefenfible in point of military principle, that ever was brought forward by office. He was called upon by the Chancellor of the Exchequer, to maintain that propofition upon a future day, when the Houfe might be better prepared for the fubject.It was not his fault that the day did not arrive fooner; it was a point of honour not to let it flip when it fhould arrive, though he had little expectation of farther ufe to the Public, than that of holding out a warning and caution for times that most men thought, and hoped, to be remote. The events of this day fet this difcuffion in a more important light. The Minifter had brought a meffage from the Throne, indicating a new war; the Secretary at War had taken the occafion to exprefs himself fo wedded to the measure of inde

pendent

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