Commons Sitting of 25 February 1805

MINUTES.
A petition was presented from the lord provost and town council of Edinburgh, praying the house to take the state of the police of that city into their consideration. The petition was ordered to be referred to a committee to consider the subject matter thereof, and report the same to the house.—Sir C. Ross presented a bill for the building of bridges, and making of roads in the Highlands of Scotland. Read a first and ordered to be read a second time.—A message from the Lords, stated that their lordships had agreed to the loyalty loan act amendment bill, and the Greenland whale fishery bill, without any amendments.—Lord Marsham reported from the Middlesex election committee, that Mr. Duncombe, a member of the said committee, had been absent this day; but the report added, that the committee understood that the hon. member's non-attendance was occasioned by the death of one of his relations. W. Arnold, servant to the member alluded to, was called to the bar, and verified the fact on oath, that the Countess of Dartmouth, the mother of his mistress, had died this day. As soon as the witness had withdrawn, an order of the house was made, that Mr. Duncombe should be excused for his non-attendance this day, and that he should be discharged from all future attendance on the said committee.—Mr. Creevey gave notice that he would 'tomorrow move that the order for the consideration of the Middlesex Election Petition, relative to the qualification of Mr. Mainwaring, should be discharged, and that a new order should be made for the last day of April.—Mr. Egerton brought up a petition from the manufacturers at Stockport, against the corn bill, which was ordered to lie

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on the table.—Mr. Meheux, from the commissioners for the affairs of India, presented the papers which had been ordered on a former day, relative to the intended establishment at the Prince of Wales's Island. Ordered to be—printed.— Lord Dunlo moved for an account of the expences of building the Bombay frigate and the ship Cornwallis, in the year 1800. Ordered.—Sir Robert Lawley moved, for an account of the sums expended in G. Britain for the volunteer service, from the 1st of June 1803, to the 1st of Jan. 1805. This motion, after a few observations from Mr. Huskisson, and Mr. Sturges Bourne, on the difficulty of making up the account accurately, was finally agreed to.—Mr. J. Latouche moved, that there be laid before the house, a return of all contracts or agreements which had been entered into since the 23d of July 1803, for the purchase of ground near the castle of Dublin. Ordered.—Mr. Alexander brought up the report of the committee of ways and means. The resolution for imposing an additional duty of 7s. 6d. on every horse employed in purposes of husbandry was read and agreed to, and the sum ordered to be inserted in the bill.—Mr. Huskisson presented copies of all the correspondence which has taken place between his majesty's secretary of state, and the governors or civil officers of his Majesty's colonies in the West Indies, on the subject of the abolition of the slave trade. Ordered to lie on the table.—The house then went into a committee on the postage duty bill, and the bill for raising the sum of 221/2 millions by way of loan for the service of the year. The resolutions were agreed to without any amendment. The house having resumed, the report was ordered to be received to-morrow.—Adjourned.