House Or Commons
Tuesday, July 1
Minutes
presented a petition from the Albion Fire and Life Insurance Company, against the bill for incorporating the Globe Insurance Company, praying to be heard by counsel against the same. Referred to the committee ,on the said bill. On the motion of sir J. Sinclair, the house went in to a committee, to consider the report of the committee on the Expiring Laws, in which a resolution was agreed to, that the act of the 45th of his present majesty, for allowing, under certain restrictions, until, the 1st of August 1806, the bringing of coals by inland navigation to the cities of London and Westminster, had nearly expired, and that it was advisable to renew it. The house having been resumed, the report was ordered to be received tomorrow.—Mr. Calcraft obtained leave to bring in a bill to vest certain messuages, lands, tenements, and hereditaments, in trustees, for the purpose of securing his majesty's docks at Portsmouth, and extending the works at Dover. Mr. C. immediately brought up the above, which was read a. first time.—Mr. Vansittart obtained leave to bring in a bill to consolidate the several acts for building and improving the streets leading to Westminster-hall and the two houses of parliament.—Sir C. Price brought up a bill for making certain regulations concerning Smithfield market. Read a first, and ordered to be read a second time.—On the motion of sir J. Newport, the Irish Butterage bill was read a second time, and ordered to be committed. —On the motion of sir J. Newport, the Irish Militia bill was read a second time, and ordered to be committed to-morrow.—Mr. Secretary Windham, in moving that the report of the committee on the Training bill be taken into further consideration, observed, that it was his intention to propose several new clauses, and suggested the propriety of postponing any further discussion until the report should be again considered, which he meant to move should take place on Thursday.
had no objection to the course of proceeding which the right hon. gent. suggested, although it would be attended with some inconvenience to the gentlemen who remained in town solely on this account. He should avail himself of the next opportunity to take the sense of the house on the principle of the bill, which in his opinion, no new clauses whatever could possibly amend.—A variety of clauses was then introduced by Mr. Windham, and the report was ordered to be taken into further consideration on Thursday.
moved for the production of copies of certain letters which passed between the secretary at war, the barrack master general, the deputy barrack master general, and major Davis, barrack master of Sandown, relative to the building of barracks, and the hiring of barns, &c. in the Isle of Wight, including the letter of the secretary at war, on the 15th of February last, which communicated his in majesty's order for the dismissal of Mr. Atkins from his office as barrack master of Sandown.—Ordered. They were accordingly presented, ordered to lie on the table and to be printed.
thought proper to add to the papers just presented another document connected with the same subject. In calling the attention of the house to this business, he could assure gentlemen that his sole motive was to prevent the improper expenditure of the public money, and he was persuaded that the right hon. secretary had no other object. With a view to that object he had to move for a paper to the production of which he hoped there would be no objection, as it would serve to afford the house much useful information, The hon. member then moved for a Copy of the Memorial presented by John Pritchard, late barrack master of Sandown, to the Commissioners of Military inquiry, relative to certain glaring peculations in the barrack department.
suggested to the hon. mover, that the latter words of his motion were rather such as it was unusual to introduce or admit in describing a paper to be submitted to that house.
said, that he took the description from the title of the memorial itself.
concurred in the observations of the Speaker, and suggested the insertion of "certain practices," in lien of the words objected to.—This suggestion was adopted, and the motion, so amended, was agreed to.
Irish Quit Rents Bill
Upon the motion of sir John Newport, that the Irish Quit Rents Sale amendment bill should be read a second time.
Mr. J.
opposed the motion, on the ground that the bill proposed to dispose of, for ever, a large proportion of the hereditary revenue of the crown. This bill, the right hon. gent. observed, passed the Irish parliament in 1798, and was meant to produce a certain sum for the supplies of that year, but it produced nothing; and it was rather odd to have it proposed now, when the supplies of the year were provided for. Such a measure could not be acceded to, without, in his opinion, doing great injustice to his majesty's successors; and he begged the house to consider that the practice had never been heard of in England, of disposing of the hereditary revenues of the crown, without allowing an hereditary conpensation, which was not the case in this instance.
Sir J.
was surprised at the opposition made to this bill, which Was introduced solely to amend a verbal inaccuracy in the Irish bill passed on this subject in the war 1798. The right hon. baronet denied that this bill was meant for an immediate supply to the finances of Ireland; for, from its very nature, its produce must be progressive. No minister could calculate upon the sale or. a revenue of 60, or 70,000l. within one year. This revenue was, it must be recollected, commuted for an adequate increase in the Irish civil list; and gentlemen must be aware that those great risks. produced more arrears and insolvency among collectors than any other branch of the public revenue.
Mr.
concurred in the opinion of his hon. friend (Mr. Fitzgerald), and maintained that, as the sum proposed to be raised by this means was one million, the object could he attained on cheaper terms, as the late loan sufficiently proved, He recommended the postponement of the proposition till next sessions. —The further consideration of the bill was agreed to be put off till Monday.