Commons Sitting of 25 January 1806

MINUTES.
Mr. Parr, from the African Company, presented the annual accounts of that company, for the year 1804.—Mr. Meheux, from the India Board, presented certain papers relating to the nabob of Oude, moved for by Mr. Paull.

COMMITTEE OF SUPPLY.
Mr. Alexanderbrought up the report of the committee of supply,,and moved a resolution, that a supply be granted to his majesty for the service of the ensuing year;" which was agreed to. Mr. Huskisson then moved, "that the house should, on Monday, resolve itself into a committee, to consider further of the supply to be granted to his majesty."
Mr. Greysaid, he should leave it to the consideration of the hon. gent. whether it would be right to proceed so immediately to vote the supplies, under the present circumstances of affairs. At the same time that he threw out this suggestion, it was his wish, that the public business should be forwarded with all the expedition that was possible, and he should be sorry to cause any unnecessary delay, at a time when decision and promptitude were so necessary. He thought, however, that it. would not be proper that the house should go into a committee for raising the supplies of the year, at least, until it was known who were to have the management of the supplies when granted, and who were to be responsible for the direction and application of them.
Lord Castlereaghsaid, that whatever reasons might at present appear to the mind of the hon. gent. to be of sufficient weight, as to induce him to oppose the progress of the raising of the supplies, yet he trusted, that when Monday should arrive, the hon. gent. would not then object to the house resolving itself into a committee of supply, as it was probable that, before that day, such arrangements would be made as would remove the, difficulties under which he now laboured, and the objections he had stated. It was a matter for the discretion of the house to consider, whether they could properly grant the supplies in the absence of the chancellor of the exchequer. His majesty had determined to vest that office, for the present (agreeably to former precedents), in the hands of the lord chief justice of the king's bench, whose appointment would be immediately made out. At the same time, his majesty was taking steps for forming a new administration. Under these circumstances, if the house were informed that the lord chief justice was chancellor of the exchequer, in the interim, and until a new administration was formed, they would see that it was not possible to have his attendance in that house. He, therefore, hoped the house would consider themselves war-

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ranted, under these circumstances, in proceeding to the question of the supplies in the absence of the chancellor of the exchequer. It would be a material injury to the public service to delay the supplies in the preliminary stages; but if in the subsequent stages, gentlemen should then consider it their duty to oppose the grants, they would have abundant opportunities of expressing their opinions when the matter should come more regularly for their discussion: he hoped, therefore, that gentlemen would not oppose the supplies in the early stages, but reserve any objections that they might have to offer, until they should have made such progress, as to have arrived to that stage which was the most usual and proper time to choose for the discussion.
Mr. Foxsaid, the objection made by his hon. friend had not at all been answered by what fell from the noble lord. What the noble lord had said, about the competency of the house to proceed to the vote of supplies, in the absence of the chancellor of the exchequer, was not at all applicable to the objection which had been made. His hon. friend had not objected, on account of the absence of a chancellor of the exchequer; because such absence might proceed from a variety of causes to which no objection could be made. The present objection was not to granting the supplies in the absence of a chancellor of the exchequer from that house, but it was to the granting the supplies when there was no chancellor of the exchequer, or no first lord Of the treasury. Under such circumstances, the house was called upon to vote supplies, while they were in the most complete ignorance who were to have the management of those supplies, or who were to be responsible for the manner in which they were to be applied. He therefore now wished, that it should be understood, that his objection to the vote, would not be on account of the absence of the chancellor of the exchequer from that house, nor that the office vested for a time in the hands of the lord chief justice, but his objection was, that he thought before supplies were granted, there should be some person appointed, who should be subject to all the responsibility of the management of them, and who should be liable to be called to that account for their application, which the house had a constitutional right to expect and demand.

Lord Castlereagh thought, that the answer he had given was sufficient to meet the objection of the hon. gent. (Mr. Grey). What he had said was this, that the supplies, although fol warded in the early stage at which they would be presented on Monday, would not have made such progress as to be put in any tangible shape, by the house merely agreeing to the preliminary steps for raising them. In the progress of passing them, there would be time enough to see into whose hands they were to pass, and to oiler any reasons that might then occur against the granting of them; but, to oppose them in the first instance, in limine, would be a course altogether unusual, and which would, in the present instance, be highly prejudicial to the public service. The office of chancellor of the exchequer was, for the present, to be vested in the lord chief justice, who, with the office, took of course all the responsibility of it. The house might be assured, that it was the intention of his majesty, without delay, to take measures for forming a new administration
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Mr. Greyrepeated, that his objection was not to the absence of the chancellor of the exchequer, but that there was no person responsible for the application of the supplies to be voted. As to the observation of the noble lord, respecting the embarrassments, and public injury, that might result from any delay, that consideration would certainly have as much weight as it merited, when the subject should come to be fully discussed. What he intended to press upon the house was, that they should not grant the supplies until they knew into whose hands they were to pass, and who were to undertake the responsibility of their application.—The resolution was then agreed to, that the house should resolve itself into a committee of supply on Monday.