§ The Speakercalled the attention of the house to a Resolution, to which they had agreed at the close of the last session, on a complaint that had been brought before them. A Bill had repassed the house of commons for granting to his majesty certain Duties on Distilleries, pending the prohibitions then existing by other bills. This bill was agreed to by the lords with an amendment, in which the commons, having taken it into consideration and having been convinced that it tended to forward what was evidently their own intention, concurred. The amendment was to substitute, in the latter part of the bill, the word "England" for the words "Great Britain; "the word "England" having been uniformly and according to the intention of the house of commons, used in all the former parts of the bill. The surprize which the house felt at the circumstance, induced them to come to a Resolution, that early in the next session they would enter into the investigation of the circumstance. In consequence of circumstances which had since come to his knowledge, he felt it to be his duty to suggest to the house the propriety of some further proceeding on this subject; and he trusted that either the hon. gent. by whom the Resolution of the last session was proposed, or any other member, would submit to the house some mode by which this extraordinary occurrence might be satisfactorily investigated.
§ Mr. R. Dundas,after having observed, that there could be but one opinion as to the indispensable necessity of investigating this transaction, in order to prevent the recurrence of what might prove a serious inconvenience to the public service, moved, "That a Committee be appointed to examine into the cause of the alteration, and to report their opinion on the same to the house." —; Ordered, and the Committee was in consequence appointed.