§ [MINUTES.]
§ The clerk of the crown attended, and erased the name of G. B. Mainwaring from the return for the county of Middlesex, and inserted in its place that of sir Francis Burdett.—Sir J. Anderson moved, that the freeholders of the county of Middlesex should have the liberty of appealing within fourteen days against the election of Sir F. Burdett, if they thought fit. Ordered.—Mr. Bowyer's lottery bill was read a first, and ordered to be read a second time.—Sir J. Anderson obtained leave to bring in a bill to amend the former laws for regulating the assize of bread, and profits of the bakers.—Sir C. Price presented a petition from several merchants in London, requesting a repeal of the 6 per cent. duty paid by the Irish retailers on goods imported into Ireland. Ordered to be laid on the table.—The house then resolved itself into a committee of supply, Mr. Foster proposed several sums of money for various miscellaneous services and charitable institutions in Ireland, which were agreed to. Amongst Others, the sum of 7,056l. for defraying the expences of advertisements and proclamations in the Dublin Gazette.—Mr. Fitzgerald and Sir J. Newport objected to this item of expence, as affording a species of influence to certain agents of govt. and operating as a bonus to certain newspaper writers and editors in favour of govt.—Mr. Foster defended the appropriation of the money, and stated it to be the usual sum which had been annually voted year after 723 year.—On the motion for granting the, sum of 25,000l. for the purpose of carrying on criminal prosecutions; Mr. Fitzgerald objected to such anticipation of expence. The prosecutions alluded to took their rise in the year 1784, when Ireland became disordered, and the several counties inadequate to the expence of carrying on criminal prosecutions within them. The sum of 12,000l. was then granted. In 1797 it was extended to 17,000l. In 1798, when the rebellion broke out, it increased to 20,0001.; and in 1800 a grant was obtained for 25,000l. which had ever since continued, and six crown solicitors had been appointed for carrying on such prosecutions. He thought the whole was a total misapplication of the public money, and that each county should be bound, as formerly, to pay the expences of their own prosecutions.—Mr. Foster argued in favour of the grant, and stewed the hardship that would devolve on particular counties, where insurrections or public crimes might prevail, if the expences were not defrayed at the public charge.—Mr. Fitzgerald renewed his former objections; but said, he had no objection to the motion, provided it were confined to prosecutions for stale offences. He therefore moved that, after the word "prosecutions," be added the words, "in cases of high treason, or for treasonable practices."—The gallery was ordered to be cleared, but no division took place. The amendment being put and negatived, the original motion was put and agreed to.