§ In the Committee of Supply,
The Chancellor of the Exchequerrose to propose a grant for the amount of stores captured by the army under the duke of Wellington, during the whole series of campaigns in the Peninsula, to be distributed among the officers, non-commissioned officers, and privates, their widows and children. The right hon. gentleman stated, that the grant now proposed, was the fruit of twelve general battles, and five sieges; and formed also the value of the stores captured on a variety of other occasions. He stated, that this was not near the actual value of the captures, as a great portion had been delivered over to the auxiliary troops serving under the duke in the Peninsula. The amount of the grant proposed was 800,000l. instead of the exact valuation which had been laid before the House. The period of the grant comprised the whole period of the Peninsular war, from 1807 till 1814. After some detailed explanations respecting the nature of the stores, and the portions delivered over to the different Allied Powers, he moved "That a sum, not exceeding 800,000l. be granted to his Majesty, to be distributed to the officers, non-commissioned officers, and privates, serving in the British army under the duke of Wellington in Portugal, Spain, and France, during the years 1809, 1810, 1811, 1812, 1813, and 1814, for captures taken from the enemy, and appropriated to the public service; and that the said sum be issued and paid without any fee or other deduction whatsoever."
§ Mr. Prestonobjected to the motion. He thought the right hon. gentleman had chosen a most injudicious time to bring it forward; besides which, he did not conceive there were precedents for such an application of the public money, and was averse from breaking in upon the practice of our ancestors. If such distributions were fit to be a law of the land, an act ought to pass for them; and the army, would then be entitled to their regular benefit. It was a bad precedent for future times, and particularly for an army which had been paid as our army had been in the Peninsula.
The Chancellor of the Exchequerreplied, that so far from taking the House by surprise, in consequence of the auspicious news which had excited the most generous feelings towards the army, he had given notice of his intention to move this grant 995 many days ago, and before any intimation had been received of the late victory.
§ Mr. Calcraftcontended, that this was a vote of right, and saw no reason why the army should be deprived of it, any more than of stars and ornaments which were bestowed on them as designations of their bravery. He was sure that no man would hesitate to vote double the sum, though they might vote it with stronger feelings of their hearts on a day like this.
Mr. Roseobserved that there was nothing new in the principle of the grant. It was thought fit to put the army on the same footing as the navy, in regard to prize-money, as the navy had, from time immemorial, been entitled by Act of Parliament to the proceeds of their captures. This principle had long been acknowledged and acted upon.
§ General Gascoynecontended that the receipt of the value of captured stores had long been considered a matter of right with the army. It was usual for the army to estimate the amount of their prize-money by attaching the value of twenty guineas to each gun that they captured.
§ Mr. R. Wardaffirmed, that it was a vested right belonging to the army, and that so far as the Ordnance department was concerned, there was every year an item in the estimates of money for ordnance stores which were captured.
Mr. Forbesobserved, that from what had been stated by the Chancellor of the Exchequer, it appeared that the sum claimed by the army amounted to 900,000l. He confessed, be regretted, that instead of taking 100,000l. away from this sum, they had not added 100,000l. to it, and made it a neat million. He was anxious that the army should not be deprived of a single shilling of what was their due, and was inclined to move that instead of 800,000l. the grant be 900,000l.
§ Mr. Bankes, adverting to the right of the disposal of captured property being vested in the Crown, and to the grant arising from an intimation of the Prince Regent to resign this right in favour of the army, wished to know when and how such an intimation had been given? The appropriation of the sum seemed altogether completely new. He should like to accede to what had been done on former occasions; but was not inclined to agree to any vote that should have the consequence of rendering the war we were now engaged in more expensive to the country than it otherwise would be.
Lord Castlereaghconceived there could be no danger in agreeing to the vote. It would be deemed extremely unjust and unfair to do less by an act of prerogative in regard to the army than had been done by an Act of Parliament in regard to the navy. It had been a principle, from time immemorial, to give to the navy the value of all the captures they made. But with, respect to the army, Government did not buy from them the whole of the stores and property that they captured, but only what was serviceable and useful. Perhaps, if the particular stores in question, which included a vast quantity of provisions, had not been purchased at the time of their capture, our army in the Peninsula might have been in the utmost want of supplies. The grace of the Crown allowed what was valuable to be purchased, and the remainder of the property was got rid of by the army how they could. The vote of the House ought, therefore, to make good the value of what the public bought from them.
A desultory conversation continued for some time on the subject, between Mr. Bankes, Mr. Rose, Mr. Calcraft, sir H. Montgomery, Mr. Lushington, and Mr. W. Smith, in the course of which the last-mentioned gentleman said it would be desirable to know what became of the money, supposing the Crown had not granted to the army the whole amount which the public had paid for captured stores, and to what fund it had been applied. The question for the grant, as proposed by the Chancellor of the Exchequer was then put, and carried.