Commons Sitting of 9 June 1806

Minutes.
A message from the Lords announced their lordships' assent to the Property Duty bill, the Irish Import and Export Regulation bill, and the Irish Additional Force Act Repeal bill. On the motion of sir J. Newport the Irish and English Corn Interchange bill was read a first time.

AFFAIRS OF INDIA—FURRUCKABAD.
Mr. Paullpresented to the house the following:
"Article of Charge of High Crimes and Misdemeanors committed by Richard Colley, marquis Wellesley, in his transactions with respect to the Nabob of Furruckabad.
"That Richard Colley marquis Wellesley was constituted, appointed, and actually became a servant of the united company of merchants of England trading to the East Indies, in the month of October, in the year of one Lord 1797, and in the reign of his majesty the thirty-seventh. That the office which he was appointed to fill was that of governor general of Bengal, and subsequently that of captain general of all the king's and company's forces serving in the British territories in the East Indies. That he arrived, and took possession of the government committed to his charge, in the month of May 1798; and that he continued to fill, and to exercise the powers of the said office and offices, until the month of August. 1805, when he was therein superseded by Charles marquis Cornwallis.— That Furruckabad is a principality of Hindustan, adjoining the north-western boundary of the principality of Oude, being in extent about 150 miles in length, and about 50 miles in breadth, containing many large and populous cities, possessing more than 1,300,000 inhabitants, and yielding a land revenue of upwards of 10 lacks and 50,000 rupees, or about 130,000l. sterling. —That the nabob of Furruckabad has, for many years, maintained no military force, except such troops as were requisite for the purposes of state; but, that by various agreements or treaties, concluded between the said nabob and the nabob vizier of Oude, the protection and defence of the said nabob and principality of Furruckabad were entrusted to the said nabob vizier; for which protection and defence it was finally settled, by an agreement or treaty, concluded in the year 1786, between the said nabob and the said nabob vizier, that the said nabob of Furruckabad should pay to the said nabob vizier of Dude the annual sum of 450,000 rupees, or about 50,000l. sterling.—That the nabobs of Furruckabad having, from the earliest periods, invariably manifested the firmest attachment to the English nation, and the nabob viziers of Oude being, also, in amity with the said East India company; the said ,company did, as the mutual friend and media-
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tor between the said princes, guarantee the fulfilment of the respective compacts, so, as aforesaid, entered into between them.— That the servants of the said East India company, not satisfied with this mediatory character, having afterwards, under the influence of unworthy motives, interfered in the internal affairs of the principality of Furruckabad, in a manner which is described by the marquis Cornwallis, in a dispatch to the secret committee of the court of directors, as having ever been highly offensive to the nabob vizier, as having in no degree promoted the interest or the satisfaction of the nabob, and as having, while it produced no sort of advantage to the company, by no means contributed to the credit of the government of Hindustan:" and the said marquis Cornwallis, sensible of the injustice and impolicy of such interference, did, in the year 1787, he being then governor general of Bengal, conclude a treaty with the said nabob vizier of Oude, in which he stipulated, that "The English resident at Furruckabad should be recalled, and that no other should afterwards be appointed;" thus, honestly and wisely, relinquishing all interference in the affairs of the said prince and country of Furruckabad.—That perfect good understanding being thus restored between the said nabob, the nabob vizier, and the said East India company, they remained in uninterrupted amity, and the treaties and agreements which they had severally concluded continued to be duly fulfilled by all parties, from that time, until the mouth of November 1801; which was a period of 14 years.—That, in the said month of Nov. 1801, the said Richard Colley marquis Wellesley, he being then governor general of Bengal, having; in direct opposition to the express prohibitions which had been given by the said East India company to their servants abroad, against "making any extension or territory, either by wars, negociations, or intrigues having, in open defiance of the solemn resolutions of the commons of Great Britain, and of two successive acts of parliament, which declared, that " to pursue schemes of conquest and extension of dominion in India are measures repugnant to the wish, the honour, and the policy of this nation;" having, in violation of every principle of equity, and of all good faith; and having, under the most unjust pretences, and by the mast iniquitous means, extorted from the said nabob vizier of Oude a large

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portion of his dominions and revenues, did, among other branches on the said revenues, extort from the said nabob vizier, his claim, right, and title for ever, to the annual subsidy which the said nabob of Furruckabad had, by the agreement made with the said nabob vizier as aforesaid, bound himself to pay to the said nabob vizier, for the protection and defence of him, the said nabob, and his principality of Furruckabad.—That the said marquis Wellesley, not contented with having thus seized upon the tribute aforesaid, did, about the same time, in opposition to the before-mentioned guarantee of security which had been given by the said East India company to the nabob of Furruckabad in opposition to the before-mentioned agreement which the said East India company had made not to interfere in the affairs of Furruckabad; in opposition to the aforesaid prohibition of the said East India company; in opposition to the aforesaid resolutions of the commons of Great Britain, and to the aforesaid acts of parliament; and, in opposition to all right and justice, conceive the intention, and form the determination of wresting from the aforesaid nabob the whole of his authority, his government, his revenues, and his territory: which unlawful and wicked intention he did, without the knowledge or consent of the council, through the agency of, and in concert with, his brother the hon. Henry Wellesley, under the most unjust pretences, and by the most iniquitous means, finally accomplish and effect.— That the said marquis Wellesley, after having long formed and matured this intention and determination, did, by his instructions for that purpose, given on the 21st March 1802 to his said brother the hon. Henry Wellesley, direct and empower him to accomplish it.—That the said marquis Wellesley, wishing to cloak this unjustifiable attempt with some shew of equity, did direct the said hon. Henry Wellesley, among other means, to prevail upon the said nabob of Furruckabad to consent to an abandonment of his just rights to his own principality, and to sign an agreement for transferring them to the said East India company; but that, foreseeing that, as the said nabob had but just passed his minority, and would be therefore naturally inclined to resort to the old councillors and friends of his family for advice upon so important an affair; and foreseeing also that their influence would prevent his acquiescence; the said marquis did authorize the
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said Henry Wellesley to promise to the said friends and connections of the said nabob, ample rewards, in case they coincided with his views, and to threaten them with expulsion from their country, in case they opposed them: thus contriving, by intrigue and corruption, or by violence and injustice, to draw the said friends of the said nabob into a traitorous dereliction of their duty to their own hereditary prince.—That the said marquis Wellesley did, about this time, to wit, the 21st March 1802, direct the said nabob of Furruckabad and his uncle Khenud Mund Khan, who had administered the affairs of the principality as regent during the minority of the said nabob, to repair to Bareilly, a place out of the limits of the said nabob's country, but where the said honourable Henry Wellesley resided, in the illegal capacity of lieut. governor of the territories which the same marquis had extorted from the aforesaid nabob Vizier of Oude; there to receive the commands of the said marquis, through the said Henry Wellesley: thus treating, with an indignity due only to an inferior vassal, a prince, who, as well as his ancestors, had .ever and invariably manifested the firmest attachment to the Company's government, and who was, therefore, entitled to particular distinction. —That the said marquis Wellesley having, by this humiliation and degradation, prepared the minds of the said nabob and the said regent his uncle, for the insulting proposals which he was about to make, did, by the means of, and in concert with, the said hon. Henry Wellesley, propose to the said regent, who was then sold administrator of the affairs of Furruckabad, the entire " transfer of the civil and military administration of that province to the British government; adding, that the said marquis had long been of opinion that was the only arrangement which could " afford ultimate satisfaction?" and falsely alledging (as the event soon after proved) that the British government, in assuming the management of the country, proposed no advantage to itself beyond the security of its just rights and interests, and the interest of those dependant upon the state;" and insidiously urging, as an inducement for the said regent to promote the said marquis's views against his master the said nabob, "that he, the regent, might rely with confidence, that the acknowledged liberality of the British government would not admit of his interests being neglected;" by which means the said

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marquis did secure the consent and co-operation of the said regent, who did accordingly declare, "that he was ready to promote his views by all the means in his power:" the said marquis having thus, by the promise of future reward, bribed the said regent to a traitorous surrender of the dearest interests and most important rights of his prince.—That the said marquis Wellesley having thus gained over Khenud Mund Khan, the uncle of the nabob, who, for upwards of six years, had been regent of the principality and sole administrator of the affairs of Furruckabad, and who possessed an influence in that country inferior only to that of the nabob himself, did, by the means of, and in concert with the said hon. Henry Wellesley, taking advantage of the defection of the regent, of the youth and inexperience of the said nabob, of his defenceless and unprotected situation, of his separation from his relations and friends, of his absence from his subjects, of his distance from his country, and of his being in his, the said marquis's, usurped donions, surrounded by a great military force, and entirely in his, the said marquis's power, did, by the means of, and in concert with the said hon. Henry Wellesley, make to the said nabob the same insulting and injurious proposals for a complete transfer of the civil and military administration of the principality: thus violating the spirit of the orders of the East India company, the resolution of the house of commons, and the acts of the British parliament; and requiring a prince, whom it was his duty to support, to become the instrument of his own degradation, disgrace, and ruin, by the surrender of all his rights, and by becoming a pensioner on the bounty of the said East India company.—That the said nabob, being justly averse to this ignominious surrender, the said marquis Wellesley did, by the means of, and in concern with the said honourable Henry Wellesley, then, to wit, in the month of May 1802, communicate, in writing to the said nabob, the following proposition: "That the nabob should be " continued on the musnud of his ancestors " with all honour, consigning over the civil " and military administration of the province of Furruckabad into the hands of the Company's government.—That whatever balance should remain from the revenues collected, after paying the amount of the Company's tribute 450,000 rupees, the charges of government, the salaries and pensions, and the expence of a battalion of sepoys to be stationed in
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the room of the army now entertained by Khirid Mund Khan, should be paid," without fail, into the nabob's treasury." That the said nabob, sensible of the injustice, the insolence, and tile cruelty of these proposals, and conscious of the disadvantages and dangers of his situation, unwilling to consent and not daring peremptorily to refuse, did make the following answer:—" I have understood the proposition or delivering up the country of Furruckabad into the hands of the Company's government I have no power to make any objections to whatever you propose: but you know the governor-general, during my minority, delivered over the country to Khirid Mund Khan as deputy: now that my minority has passed, when I was in hopes that I should be put into possession of the country and property, this proposition is made to me. I am totally at a loss "what to do. if I deliver over the country to the English government, all my relations and my neighbours, and all the nobility of Hindustan will say that I have been found by the English government so unfit to be trusted with any management, that they did not think proper to entrust me with the management of such a country; and I shall never escape, for many generations, the sneers of the people: if, on the contrary, I say any thing in disobedience to your orders, it will be against all rules of submission and propriety. In this case, therefore, it appears to be advisable that you should appoint a gentleman, whom I will choose from among the Company's servants, as a sezawul (or superintendant) over this district, and give me permission to depart, that I may send aumils of my own to the different per-" gunnahs, and make, myself, the settlement of the country; and that the above " gentleman may send an ameen on his part to each of the pergunnahs, and, in conjunction, collect the revenues; from " which 450,000 rupees, the usual tribute, should be paid through the above gentleman to the company's government. The balance, after paying the pensions agreeably to what was fixed by my father, to be allowed for my necessary expences. In this way your wishes may be accomplished, and my honour and name be preserved among the people."—That, to this proposal, so equitable in itself, and so well calculated to secure to the said East India company all that it had any right to expect, namely, the full payment of the tribute claimed by the said

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company of the said nabob, the said marquis Wellesley, he having long and firmly determined upon the entire cession of the principality, would not consent.—That, after some other unavailing efforts made by the said nabob, for the purpose of inducing the said marquis Wellesley and the said hon. Henry Wellesley to desist from the execution of their unlawful and wicked intentions, as aforesaid, the said marquis Wellesley and the said hon Henry Wellesley, refusing the just request of the said nabob to consult his relations and friends upon the occasion, did persist, with indecent and cruel importunity, to require his immediate consent to their proposals before mentioned.—That, finally, the said marquis Wellesley, wholly disregarding the representations and remonstrances of the said nabob, and equally disregarding the dictates a justice, the law of nations, and the obligations of the most Sacred compacts, in direct opposition to the express orders of the East India company, prohibiting their servants abroad "from making any extension of territory either by wars, negociations, or intrigues, and, in open defiance of the solemn resolutions of the commons of Great Britain, and of two successive acts of parliament, declaring, that to pursue schemes of conquest and extension of dominion are measures repugnant to the wish, the honour, and the policy of this nation,did, on the 4th day of June 1802, by the means of, and in concert with, the hon. Henry Wellesley, compel the said nabob to sign a treaty, whereby it was agreed, that " The province of Furruckabad " and its dependencies should be ceded in " perpetual sovereignty to the honourable the " East India Company."—That, in violation of the declaration made by the said marquis Wellesley, by the means of the said hon. Henry Wellesley, to the said regent Khenud Mund Khan, namely, "That the British " government, in assuming the management of the country of Furruckabad, proposed no advantage to itself beyond the security of its just rights and interests," (meaning thereby the certain and regular payment of the annual subsidy due to the nabob vizier of Oude, it having no pretence whatever to any other right or interest) " and the security of the interests of those dependent upon time state;" and, in violation of the written declaration made by the said marquis Wellesley, by the means of the said hon. Henry Wellesley, namely, "That, whatever balance should remain from "the revenues collected, after paying the
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"charges of government, the salaries and pensions, and the expence of a battalion of sepoys, should be paid, without fail, into the nabob's treasury; the said marquis Wellesley did, by the means of, and in concert with, the said hon. Henry Wellesley, by the aforesaid treaty, extort and seize upon the whole of the revenues of the said principality of Furruckabad, amounting to upwards of ten lacks and 43,000 rupees (or 130,000l. sterling) and in lieu thereof, did allow the said nabob an annual pension of only one lack and 8,000 rupees (or 13,000l. sterling); and to the princess, mother of the said nabob, and to ail the other members of his illustrious family, and to all their officers, retainers, dependants, attendants, and servants, annual pensions, amounting in the whole to less than two lacks and 80,000 rupees (or 30,000l. sterling and did reserve to the said East India company, contrary to the above mentioned declarations, the whole of the balance, amounting to nearly seven lacks and 55,000 rupees, or nearly 100,000l, sterling.—That adding insult to injury, the said marquis Wellesley did appoint as resident at Furruckabad, and as distributor of the aforesaid pensions, the secretary of his brother the said hon. Henry Wellesley, who, as well as the said hon. Henry Wellesley, had aided and assisted the said marquis in his extortions; granting to the said secretary a salary, suite, and allowance, exceeding those granted to the said unfortunate and despoiled prince.—That, to all these extortions, injuries, and insults, the said nabob, cut off from his relations, his friends, his subjects, and his country; beguiled into the territories of his enemy; surrounded on every side by British troops; in every respect defenceless and powerless, having no where to resort for assistance; seeing his ancient ally and protector, the nabob vizier of Oude, stripped of half his possessions, by the very persons in whose power, and at whose mercy, he then was, and reduced to a state of vassalage to the very persons who were then dictating terms to himself; seeing his powerful minister Khenud Mund Khan, the regent, in the interests of his enemies; and seeing, in those enemies, those perfidious friends to whom himself and his house had ever been invariably attached, and who were bound by every human tie to succour and uphold him; and knowing that any sort of opposition, on his part, would be utterly ineffectual and unavailing, and would only ex-

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asperate the bitterness of hisfoes, was obliged to submit—That, in this unlawful, wicked, and cruel manner, did the said marquis Wellesley, in open violation of the most sacred ties, of the positive orders of the East India company, of the solemn resolutions of the commons of England, and of two successive acts of the British parliament, insult, injure, oppress, despoil, and, in fact, depose, a young, defenceless, and friendly prince, extorting from him all his revenues and his dominions, and reducing him and the whole of his illustrious family to a state of vassalage and dependency: and, thus, did the said marquis exhibit the British government to all India and the whole world, as a government totally wanting in justice and good faith, openly despising the law of nations, guided by no principle but that of gain, and undisguisedly scoffing at all right but the right of the sword.—That in all and singular the above recited acts and proceedings, the said Richard Colley marquis Wellesley has been wholly unmindful of the solemn engagements of duty to the said East India company, to his sovereign, and to his country, by him entered into; has daringly contemned the parliament, the king, and the laws, and dishonoured the British nation and name; and has therein been guilty of high offences, crimes, and misdemeanors."
The charge was ordered to printed, and taken into consideration on the 19th inst.

ASSESSED TAXES.
The house having resolved itself into a committee of ways and means,
Lord Herny Pettyobserved, that after what had been already said on the subject to which he was now to call the attention of the house, it would be unnecessary for him to trouble the committee at any length. He need do nothing more than state, that, according to the intimation which he had given on a former occasion, it was proposed to raise 10 per cent. on the amount of the assessed taxes. He would accordingly now move a resolution to that effect. With regard to the other motions which he had to submit to the house, it related to the exemptions which it was in contemplation to allow to persons having small incomes and large families. The object of it was to allow a deduction of four per cent. for every child, in cases of assessment under the amount of 401. As far as the ratio extended, this would apply to incomes up to the amount of one thousand, or between one and two thousand pounds. This would
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embrace the whole of the exemptions that could have been claimed on this account, under the property-tax, and besides, it possessed the advantage of being more full, general, and permanent, the exemptions under the property-tax being necessarily temporary. By this means he avoided all the inconveniencies which would attend the granting of such exemptions under the property-tax; and when he resisted the exemptions in that form, he had something like the present plan in contemplation. He concluded by moving, that towards raising the supplies granted to his majesty, there be an allowance on every assessment made or to be made, by virtue of an act of the 43d of the king, after the 5th of April 1806, of an aditional rate of 10 per cent. on the amount of such assessment.
Mr. Huskissonexpressed some doubts as to the produce of the tax. He rather apprehended that it would not turn out so productive as might be at first expected. There was a difference between the sum that might be calculated on the assessment and the sum that might be received in the exchequer. It ought to be recollected that the property-tax had been raised from 61/2 to 10 per cent. and the effect of this certainly would be to induce people to reduce their establishments, so as to be liable to a snider portion of the assessed taxes.
Mr. Francishaving before expressed his opinion that no new taxes were necessary for the service of the present year, and having pointed out a mode (taxing foreign property in the funds), by which a large sum might be procured, it could not be supposed that he could be very well disposed to any tax whatever. However he had no particular objection to this mode beyond what he would have to any other.
Mr. Dentobserved, that the principle of exemption of foreign property in the funds from the property-tax, applied to the parish taxes. He was proceeding to complain of the hardships under which small annuities laboured, when he was stopped by the chairman, who stated, that the only question at present was with regard to the assessed taxes.
Mr. Bakercontended that the hon, gent. (Mr. Huskisson) was incorrect in his statement as to the effects which the raising of the property-tax would have on the produce of the tax now proposed. The fact was that every one must give an account of his establishment as it was the preceding year, and therefore could not avoid this tax for the present.
Mr. Bastardsaid, he did not rise for the purpose of opposing the tax, or of imputing any blame to the noble lord for bringing it forward, as he had no doubt he was obliged to do so from the peculiar situation in which he found the country when he came into office. The pressure on the people was now become so very great, that taxation, he was afraid, had arrived at almost its neplus ultra. He wished, therefore, the noble lord would turn his mind towards such part of the public property, as it was called, as might be touched; for instance, the waste lands, in order to obviate the necessity of raising new taxes another year.
Lord H. Pettysaid, he hoped he should be able to make the waste lands come in aid of taxes the next year.—The resolution was then read and agreed to, and the report ordered to be received to-morrow.

ELECTION TREATING BILL.
Mr. Tierneymoved the third reading of the Election Treating bill.
Mr. Langhmobjected to it, on the ground, that it was not an act to explain and amend the act of king William, but purported to be a declaratory bill, and really was not so; for it declared it to be lawful to give money to a third person to pay the voter for loss of time, though not for carriages; whereas, the act of king William did not allow any money at all to be given. He thought the bill was altogether unnecessary, and would, therefore, move as an amendment, that it be Lead a third time this day 3 months.
Lord A. Hamiltonsaid, that the amendments made in the committee on the bill, though satisfactory to some gentlemen, did not remove his objections altogether. It would in substance make no material alteration in the law as it stood at present, and he should oppose it, as not being operative to any effective purpose.
Mr. Morrisobserved, that the statute of William, in forbidding candidates being at the expence of supplying meat and drink to the voters, was founded upon salutary principles. This bill professed to be declaratory of that law, but as it allowed the payment of expences for loss of time, it left an opening for many abuses. There could be no standard for the amount of such charges, as the time of one man must be much more valuable than that of another. If at present there was no doubt as to the law, there could be no occasion for a declaratory bill, and he did not find that there was any contrariety in the decisions either of the courts of law, or of committees on
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the subject. He opposed the bill therefore as nugatory.
Sir W. Dolbensaid, that he had been for many years a member of parliament, and had seen much of election contests. He had seen much of elections, and he did not know any way so effectual for correcting the bribery at elections, as that the expences of the out-voters should be paid jointly by the contending candidates, by previously depositing a sum of money in the hands of the returning officer, for defraying the expences of every elector who should apply for them.
Sir R. Buxtonthought the opinion expressed by the hon. baronet a very unconstitutional one, and hoped the house would never sanction the payment of any money for a seat in parliament.
Sir W. Dolbensaid, he had only spoken as to the custom and practice, and not as to the theory of the constitution upon that doctrine.
Mr. Bakerthought the hon. baronet was in an error, and misled by the right exercised by the returning officers, of calling upon candidates to pay jointly the expences of erecting the hustings, &c. He said, he liked the bill in its original state, which would prevent candidates, or their friends, from being at any expence whatever for elections. He saw no necessity for any charge, as the object was to have a free election. By the bill now under consideration, the candidate, though he paid no money directly, might agree with any innkeeper for the expence of carriages for conveyance; and that being done, the other charge of meat and drink must necessarily follow. If persons abandoned those places where they had votes, by residing elsewhere, they had no right to expect conveyance at the expence of the candidate; and when a man purchased even a small freehold in a place different from that of his residence, he did not do so in contemplation of a candidate being at the expence of his exercising his right of franchise. Nothing could, in his opinion, be so effectual in securing free elections, as a public and strict law, to prohibit the candidates from being at any expence.
Mr. Tierneysaid, that as the proposer of this measure, he stood in the extraordinary situation, that, having in the committee got rid of a number of strong objections, his bill seemed to have gained a greater number of enemies. He had omitted those parts to which the greatest opposition was made, and yet it did not appear that he had

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gained any friends by doing so. He was, however, convinced, that whatever might be the fate of this bill, in less than three years, something must be done to prevent the abuses it was meant to remedy. The court of Common Pleas had, indeed, decided in favour of the literal construction of the act of king William, but experience skewed, that doubts were entertained of it in the committees of that house, which, in their reports, only stated the rights of the seat, but always omitted the grounds on which they had formed their decisions. In the Boston committee it was proved, that 4 or 5 guineas were given to each voter for loss of time; but that did not appear upon the report. On the Coventry election, there was evidence that the voters required the candidate to make a previous deposit of from 1,000 to 2,000 guineas, before the election came on, and yet the sitting member was declared duly elected. If the point then was left still in doubt, they may, in the next election, demand a deposit of 3000 guineas; and the present bill was meant to set all these doubts at rest. He contended, therefore, that there was a strong necessity for a bill of this nature to set the point at rest. This was his object. He himself had as little interest in the question as any body. He had often received letters on many subject which he brought before the house, abusing him in severe terms, but all the letters he received on this subject were filled with thanks. If the house did not pass this bill, great mischief would be done, for it would be understood that henceforth, money might be freely given.
Mr. Secretary Foxadmitted it to be strange enough that his right hon. friend Was in that situation in which friends and foes equally complained of his bill, and for his own part, if no stronger arguments were adduced to spew that such a number of electors should be disfranchised, he felt it his duty to retain all his former objections. He voted indeed for the bill going into a committee, but he not find the invincible objections to it removed. He would not go into the theory of the constitution upon this point, but he had no hesitation in saying, that in our present situation, he was a decided enemy to any dimunition of the electors. His right honourable friend was not well founded in his last observation; for the negative of that house upon a bill, could neither be argued nor received either in the courts of
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law or a committee. The bill must be productive of infinite difficulty; and he would suppose a case, of his taking Mr. Tierney, in the same chaise with himself, to vote for a candidate in the country, in whose favour he felt himself interested; by the present bill, if he did so, he would be guilty of a breach of the law. The act of king William should either be repealed, or suffered to stand as it was, for it would be very unseemly in that house to pass a bill in favour of candidates, against the electors.—The house then divided on the amendment, when there appeared For it, 42.; Against it, 17.—Majority 25. The bill was accordingly thrown out.

CHELSEA HOSPITAL BILL.
Mr. Secretary Windhammoved the recommitment of this bill.
Mr. Bastardobserved, that an allowance was made to certain corps of volunteers, for clothing, from June to October, and wished to know whether it was to be generally extended to them all?
Mr. Windhamreplied, that he knew of nothing which could produce any difference in the situation of the volunteers from that which was originally proposed at the g opening of time plan.
Mr. Huskissonobjected to the extraordinary power which the bill gave to the crown, of granting pensions, of the amount of which there was no estimate before the house.
Mr. Windhamreplied, that those pensions would be annually under the inspection of parliament, as they were before.
Mr. Huskissonremarked, that the expences were always hitherto before the house, but that it was now binding its faith to make them good without knowing their amount.
Mr. Windhamanswered, that the parliament would have cognizance of them when it was called upon for the payment.
Sir J. Pulteneysaid, the clause would give the soldier a legislative right to a pension, whether he by his conduct deserved it or not, as it went by length of service. He hoped some regulations would be made to prevent men, who had behaved improperly, from enjoying that benefit; and, upon the whole, thought it would be better to leave it, as before, at the discretion of the crown.
Mr. Windhamsaid, in reply, that if a man behaved improperly, he was liable to be deprived of the benefit of the provision by the sentence of a general court-martial.
Dr. Laurencesaid, he could not help re-

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marking on this sort of objection; for the gentlemen at first complained, that the new plan would destroy the undoubted prerogative of the crown, and now objected, that it would give the king too much power.
Sir J. Pulteneyexplained, that he did not mean to object to the clause, but should prefer leaving all such things, as usual, at the discretion of the crown.
Mr. Bastardthought that house should always reserve to itself a controul in the disposal of money, which it was now parting with.
Mr. Foxobserved, that the clause gave the crown no other power, but that of granting the pensions; the house retained the discretion of providing the money.
Mr. Windhamalso stated, that the measure did not, in that respect, put the country in a different situation from what it was in at present, in respect to the prerogative of the crown, and only bound the parliament to make good the engagements entered into with the soldiers.—After some further conversation, the different clauses were agreed to, and the report ordered to be received to-morrow.

LINEW DRAWBACK BILL.
Mr. Fostersaid, there was an order in the paper for the second reading of the Linen Drawback bill. Counsel were to be heard on it; and he would be guided by the gentlemen at the opposite side of the house, whether it should be postponed or not; for his part, he thought, that on account of the state of the house, several gentlemen being absent who wished to hear the matter discussed, it would be better to postpone the 2nd reading until Wednesday next, to which day he then moved it should be deferred.
Lord A. Hamiltonsaid, that being convinced that the measure was not yet advisable, he would move, that instead of Wednesday next, should be inserted this day three months.
Mr. Magensmade a few observations on the state of the trade, from the consideration of which he said, he was very desirous of seconding the motion of the noble lord.
Lord Templesaid, he thought it necessary that this business should be explained to the house, before it was absolutely decided on. The board of trade had formerly come to a resolution to allow a drawback on the duties on striped and checked linens, but not on plain; the object of this was, to encrease the exportation of our plain linens; but, by a mistake in the working of the
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act, the plain, as well as checked linens, were inserted. Now, on the faith of this act of parliament, the merchants here had sent orders to the foreign markets; so that if this bill was now to pass, it would act much to the disadvantage of these merchants. For this reason be thought parliament was pledged to hold them harmless, and he, therefore, conceived himself bound to support the amendment.
Mr. Fosterthought the noble lord (Temple) should have explained the matter more fully. After this mistake in the wording of the act had been discovered, he had proposed that the bill he had the honour of introducing, should not take effect, until every order that could possibly go from this country to foreign merchants, should have been executed. By the 1st of Nov. he conceived that these order would be perfected; but if other gentlemen did not think so, that was no reason why the bill should be thrown out entirely. It was a subject that could be considered, and settled in a committee; and he therefore thought, that the amendment should not be allowed, but that the bill should be committed, when a time might be fixed on to preclude all possibility of the merchants, who had sent orders, being injured.
Lord Templein explanation, said, the term from which this bill was to have effect could not be agreed on, and that was his reason for supporting the amendment.
Lord H. Pettysaid, as it was agreed by all that there was a mistake, it should be rectified as soon as possible. The committee he considered as the proper place to deliberate on the term that should be allowed; he believed it was required, that until the 1st of March should be allowed, and he hoped his noble friends would consent to have the matter discussed in a committee.
Mr. Roseagreed with the noble lord, and said, that the neglect was in a measure attributable to him, and he would be very sorry, on that account, that every chance of rectifying it should be taken away.
Sir J. Newporthoped the noble lord would withdraw his amendment, as, by rejecting the bill in the present stare, it would appear as if the principle was objected to, when in reality, the only question was with regard to time, and he was sure the hon. gent.(Mr. Foster) would be willing to make every allowance.—It was then agreed, that both the motions should be withdraw and bill was read a 2nd time, and ordered: to be committed on Thursday next.