§ A petition of the house of Keys, of the Isle of Man; and also, a petition of several inhabitants and proprietors of estates within the Isle of Man; were severally presented to the house by Mr Curwen, and read; setting forth, "that the people of Man not being represented in parliament, the petitioners hope, that when a measure affecting them and their posterity is introduced into the house, they may be deemed peculiarly entitled to its protection; and that the centrical position of the isle, and the comparatively low rate of duties paid to the feudal lord, made the isle the place of deposit for contraband goods for the purpose of clandestine conveyance to the neighbouring coasts —the privilege of subordinate sovereignty being thus abused, by which the feudal lord benefited equally with the trader, the necessity of re-acquiring it became obvious; and the treasury was therefore authorized, in the year 1726, to purchase the isle from the then proprietors: in the year 1735 the Atholl family became possessed of the isle; and from that time it would seem that the proprietors expected to _sell, until the year 1765, when the bargain was concluded between the treasury and the then duke and duchess of Atholl, for 70,000 I, the sum asked by the noble proprietors; and that this bargain received the sanction of parliament; and besides the price required, his majesty was pleased, as an act of gracious bounty, to bestow on 26 the duke and duchess a pension of 2,000l. a year upon the Irish establishment; and that the late duke of Atholl surviving this sale about nine years, made no complaint of inadequacy of price; and the present noble petitioner, for sixteen years after the death of the late duke, although the house have witnessed other measures on his part designed to affect the isle, yet no discovery appears to have been made of this alledged inadequacy; and that in the year 1790 a bill, assuming the possibility of this inadequacy, was, indeed, laid before the house, but it was afterwards withdrawn; and that in the year 1801 application was made to his Majesty for further compensation, which was referred to the privy council, and by them to the then attorney and sollicitor general, whose report and that founded on ex parte, evidence, the petitioners have reason to believe was against this claim; the petitioners, then, viewing this compact between parties in stations so elevated, thus deliberately and advisedly made, thus solemnly ratified, thus long acquiesced in, thus confirmed by the acceptance of additional royal bounty, which has already doubled the price demanded, do most humbly enquire, if such a compact, forty years after its completion, be suffered to be questioned, what then is sacred and binding between man and man and that the revenue of the island has been greatly increased within these few years by additional duties laid on importations by the British parliament at the recommendation of the duke of Atholl, and with a view, as it now appears, to the present application. If this increased revenue is to be made subject to a rent-charge payable to his grace, the petitioners cannot consider these additional duties in any other light than a direct tax on the people for his grace's private advantage; and therefore praying, that they may be heard by their counsel against the imposing on the revenue of the Isle of Man any hereditary rent-charge or other burthen in favour of the duke of Atholl." And the said petitions were severally ordered to lie upon the table.