Commons Sitting of 22 January 1806

MINUTES.
Mr. John Fanepresented a petition from the debtors confined in the gaol of the county of Oxford, praying relief.—Sir W. Geary presented a petition from the debtors confined in the gaol of Maidstone.—Admiral Berkeley presented a petition from the debtors confined in the gaol of the county of Gloucester; and admiral Hervey, one from those confined in the gaol of Chelmsford; which were ordered to lie on the table.—Mr. Ellison presented a petition from the maltsters of Boston, in Lincolnshire, praying certain regulations respecting the malt duty, which would be equally productive to the revenue, and relieve them from certain hardships to which they are at present subject. Ordered to lie on the table.— Mr. W. Dickenson, from the admiralty, presented the several papers moved for towards the close of last session by Mr. Jeffery, and admiral Markham, relating to ships of war, during the presidency of earl St. Vincent at the board of admiralty. Ordered to lie on the table, and to be printed.—Lord F. Spencer, from the committee appointed to prepare the address in reply to his majesty's most gracious speech to both houses of parliament, pre-
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sented their report at the bar. The report was brought up, and the address read a first and second time, and agreed to. It was then ordered, on the motion of lord Castlereagh that it be presented by the whole house, and that such members of the house, as were of his majesty's privy council should wait on his majesty, to know when his majesty would be graciously pleased to be waited upon therewith.— Mr. Sheridan moved, that there be laid before the house, a return of the number of effective men that had been raised under the act of the 44th of his majesty, intitled an act for raising a permanent additional force, up to the period of the last return, together with an account of the number that have been recruited per week, distinguishing those that have been raised by parish officers. Also, the number of those that have volunteered from this force for general service. Ordered. Similar returns were also ordered, on the motion of Mr. Sheridan, for Scotland and Ireland.—Mr. H Thornton presented a petition from G. B. Mainwaring, and several Freeholders of the county of Middlesex, complaining of the return of sir Francis Burdett, bart. to serve in parliament for that county. The hon. member reminded the house of the circumstances under which the consideration of a similar petition had been deferred from the last to the present session, and stated, that this petition was only a renewal of the former one. A copy of the petition will be found in vol. iv. page 1. It was brought up, and ordered to be taken into consideration on Tuesday the 4th of February.—Mr. Williams, secretary to the commissioners of naval enquiry, presented at the bar the 12th report of that commission, and also some observations by way of supplement to the first report of the commissioners of naval enquiry, on a memorial presented to the house by the commissioners of the navy board. Ordered to lie on the table, and, on the motion of sir C. Pole, to be printed.—On the motion of Mr. Alexander, the committee on expiring laws, together with the other standing committees of privileges, trade, religion, courts of justice, &c. and the several standing orders of the house were voted.

IMPEACHMENT OF LORD MELVILLE.
Mr. Whitbreadpursuant to notice, moved, that the resolution of the house, respecting the appointment of a committee of Impeachment against lord Melville, of the

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26th of June, 1805, and also the act of last session, for continuing the proceedings respecting that impeachment, notwithstanding any prorogation or dissolution of parliament, be read. The resolution and the act having been accordingly read, the hon. gent. then moved, that the said committee do sit and proceed with the matters referred to them to-morrow morning, and that lord Robert Spencer be added to the said committee.—Ordered.

MARQUIS WELLESLEY'S ANSWER TO VOTE OF THANKS.
The Speakeracquainted the house, that he had received from marquis Wellesley the following letter, in return to the thanks of this house, signified to him by Mr. Speaker, in obedience to their commands of the 3d day of May 1804, see vol. 2. p. 369.—Fort William, the 30th May, 1805. Sir,'I have the honour to acknowledge the receipt of your letter, under date the 4th of May 1804, transmitting the resolutions of the house of commons of the 3d of May 1804, respecting the late military operations in India, against the confederate, Marhatta powers.—Your letter, together with the resolutions of the house of commons, has been published in general orders to the army, and the separate resolutions of the house have been transmitted to the several public officers distinguished by that high honour. Copies of my letters transmitting those resolutions, and of such answers as I have received, accompany this letter.—I request that you will be pleased to submit to the house of commons, the dutiful sense of gratitude and respect with which I receive this honourable testimony of the approbation of the house.—The proceedings of the house of commons on this occasion are calculated to confirm, in every branch of the civil and military service in India, those sentiments of zealous attachment to the public interests, and honour, which have distinguished the conduct of his majesty's and the honourable company's servants during the late war.—The expressions which you have been pleased to employ in transmitting to me the resolutions of the house of commons, demand my most grateful acknowledgments, and constitute a considerable addition to the honour conferred by the commands of the house. I have the honour to be, &c. WELLESLEY'.—To the right hon. Charles Abbot, Speaker of the house of commons.

PETITION FROM BERKS AGAINST AD- DITIONAL FORCE BILL.
Mr. Charles Dundaspresented to the house a petition from the gentlemen and freeholders of the county of Berks, on the subject of the Additional Force bill, and praying its repeal. The petition, he said, was sighed by all the respectable clergy, gentlemen, and freeholders of the county, and had been unanimously agreed to at a most numerous meeting of the county, held for the purpose of considering the subject. It had been found by experience that the act was impracticable, and the petitioners of necessity felt themselves compelled to apply to the house for its repeal. They stated in their petition, that of the whole number which the county, under the act, was called on to raise, only eleven had been procured by parish officers; which had not arisen from any neglect on the part of the overseers, but from the impossibility of carrying the provisions of the act into execution. The petition also stated, that in consequence, a sum of 6,620 l. had been imposed on the county for penalties, which operated as an oppressive and unjust burthen upon the landed interest, and was particularly severe upon the small farmers. The hon. member, after thus stating the substance of the petition, declared, that under such circumstances, he should have felt it his duty to submit a motion to the house for the repeal of the bill, if the subject had not been taken up by the hon. member (Mr. Sheridan), who had given a notice respecting it, and who was far better qualified for the task than he was. At the same time, however, that he felt satisfaction at seeing the business in such able hands, he could not let slip the present occasion of calling the attention of gentlemen opposite, and particularly of the noble lord who had last night spoken on the subject, and intimated an intention of his majesty's ministers to make some alterations in the bill, to the matter of this petition. He was convinced that the measure was impracticable, and that nine tenths of the landed interest of the country would not be satisfied without the total repeal of it. Experience had proved it totally insufficient to the object which it was designed to accomplish, and in its operation it had been found a grievous, unfair, and unjust imposition upon landed property, and very unequal in different parishes. He had but one observation more, to make, and that was,

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that whatever a man's property in the public funds might be, he was not called on to find a single man; a circumstance that shewed how heavily the pressure must fall upon landed property. He hoped, therefore, that his majesty's ministers would re-consider the subject, before they formed any determination to continue such an act under any modifications.—The petition was then brought up, and ordered to lie on the table. It stated, 'that the petitioners, finding that, in pursuance of an act passed in the 44th year of his majesty's reign, intituled, "an act for establishing and maintaining a permanent additional force for the defence of the realm, and to provide for augmenting his majesty's regular forces, and for the gradual reduction of the militia of England," eleven men only have been raised in the said county by the overseers, and the enormous sum of 6,620 l. has been imposed upon the county for penalties, beg to represent their opinion, that this failure in raising the men has not been owing to the neglect of the overseers, but to an impossibility of procuring them by men whose duties and occupations are inconsistent with such an employment; and they corceive that levying fines upon parishes, because the overseers fail in doing what is not in their power to do, is inconsistent with justice, operates as a partial and oppressive tax upon the occupiers of landed property, and increases the parish rates, which are already a burthen severely felt, particularly by small farmers, and inferior tradesmen; and therefore praying, that the said act may be repealed.'