§ Mr. Hume,before he proceeded to the motion of which he had given notice, wished to correct a mistake that had occurred with reference to one of his statements yesterday evening. He had said that in the seventh class of the civil list in 1815, there was to be found an: expenditure which he had characterised as useless, namely, the sum of 1,372l. payable to the master of the hawks, not 97 the master of the horse, as had been erroneously stated. He now came to the question of the revenue derived from Gibraltar. He had on a former occasion submitted to the House a motion on the subject, which motion he had withdrawn, because it had been declared by the right hon. gentleman opposite, that the House had no right to interfere with the revenue derived from Gibraltar, and that it never had so interfered. At that time he was not so well prepared to meet the right hon. gentleman. But he was now able to inform him and the House, that the revenue derived from Gibraltar had been detailed and laid before the House in the years 1794, 1795, 1796, and 1797. In a note attached to the returns made of the items of the surplus of the Gibraltar revenue, it was stated that an account of its appropriation would be laid before parliament. That account, however, had never made its appearance. It was not only material to obtain this^ but it was most material seriously to consider the principle on which the revenue in question had been raised. For his part, he had always been led to believe that his majesty had no right to levy taxes upon any part of his subjects without the sanction of parliament. Let the House also consider the amount of those taxes appropriated to the civil list. That amount, from 1760 to 1820 was 124,226l. being 2,070l. per annum. The whole amount of the taxes levied on Gibraltar during the last sixty years was, however 860,000l. The House ought surely to consider how far his majesty had a right to levy for his own purposes any tax on a colony. He was prepared to contend that no such right existed, and that all taxation on the subject not sanctioned by that House was a breach of its privileges. He begged the House to attend to one circumstance. The right hon. gentleman opposite refused to assign any reasons for the appropriation of the sums in question to the civil list, but said that it was the immemorial usage. The fact did not bear out the right hon. gentleman in that assertion. Let the House refer to the original charter granted in the reign of queen Anne, soon after the capture of Gibraltar in 1704. In 1705, the queen in council declared, for the encouragement of settlers and traffickers in the garrison, that no duties should be laid on ships, goods, warehouses, &c. This declaration had the effect of attracting a considerable number of settlers to the garrison. The returns which he 98 wished to obtain would show what the amount of the duties levied was, notwithstanding that declaration in 1760. In 1794, the amount assessed was 4,000l. The House would be surprised to learn that it had since increased to 50,000l. To the revenue derived from certain small portions of land, &c. that had devolved to the Crown, the Crown was fairly entitled; but the imposition of local taxes to so heavy an amount was disgraceful and unwarrantable.—He proceeded to another most serious part of the subject. When Gibraltar came into our possession the inhabitants were chiefly, if not entirely, Catholics; and our government being anxious to remove them by degrees, and to substitute Protestants, gave to the latter superior advantages in order to induce them to settle. The Catholics were subjected to a variety of restrictions, which continued until the duke of Kent became governor. With that liberality which always distinguished his royal highness, who felt that the Catholics ought not to remain under any ban of that nature, her represented to government its impropriety and its incompatibility with the peace and quiet of the garrison. In consequence, Mr. Windham, in 1807, wrote a letter to his royal highness, authorising the abolition of these restrictions. But what would the House say, when he informed them that ministers, by a late order in council, had laid a tax on every Catholic and Jewish inhabitant of the garrison. The will of such individual was declared to be invalid without the sanction of the governor; and a capitation tax of ten dollars a year was imposed upon him—a tax existing no where but in Turkey, and worthy of Turkey! But what he thought would surprise the House was, that, exclusively of all that he had mentioned, duties to the amount of many thousand pounds on almost every article imported into Gibraltar had been imposed. On ships touching there, a duty was levied. On a ship of 3 masts, 12 dollars; on one of 2 masts, 9 dollars; on smaller vessels, 4½ dollars. This was in direct contradiction to the original charter. During the year that he (Mr. Hume) was at Gibraltar, 5,000 vessels touched at that port. If they merely anchored they were subject to the duty. There were other taxes levied by the governor, general Don, in the most arbitrary manner, and without even the authority of ministers. In a list in his possession, it appeared that there was one 99 (he would not say improper in its object) imposed in 1816, of 91l. a year on every retail wine and spirit shop. He knew he should be told by the right bon. gentleman, that this was confirmed two years afterwards by an order in council.—There were other taxes imposed by general Don on eating-houses, billiard tables, fishing boats, &c, and he was almost ashamed to say that the general had sanctioned the sale of lottery tickets, without the authority of government, by making the venders of Spanish lottery tickets pay a considerable sum for a licence. Whether or not those sums had been brought to the public account he could not say, but he knew they were levied; and he had hi his possession five or six of general Don's proclamations on the subject. This practice of levying taxes ad libitum, and remitting the produce home for the privy purse of his majesty, without the authority of parliament, was, in his opinion, most unconstitutional. The establishment of the place had also been most unnecessarily increased. He really believed it was increased just in proportion as ministers found it convenient to extend their patronage. He would give the House some idea of the amount of the increase, in order to show the kind of economy observed. During the war there was one town major in Gibraltar; since the peace there had been two. During the war there were two barrack masters; since the peace there had been three. During the war there was one pratique master; since the peace there had been two. Instead of paving and keeping the garrison in repair, out of the duties levied in it, large sums had been at various times voted in the different estimates for those purposes, while the money was all remitted to the privy purse. Now really this appeared to him to be a question demanding serious consideration. If any part of the hereditary revenue was given up by the act of the first of his late majesty, that at Gibraltar must have been given up too. It was not, however, simply the 124,000l. that had been applied to the privy purse, but the extravagant establishment—contrary., to every principle of economy—which had been kept up, to which the attention of parliament ought to be directed. To him the system appeared to be most illegal and unconstitutional, and one which ought to be abolished. Not any part of the duties raised were applied to purposes advantageous to the establishment. There 100 were in Gibraltar two synagogues, two Roman Catholic chapels, and one Methodist chapel; but there was not one church of the established religion of this country, nor was there one school conducted upon the principles of that persuasion. He would go farther—there was not on the rock any establishment from which any Protestant could receive that religious consolation which he required.—He would now again advert to the revenues of that place, as well as to the manner of their collection. These revenues were collected at a grievous expense. The recent appointments, too, to public offices, were against a positive act of parliament. The act to which he alluded was one which provided against the discharge of the duties of any office by deputy. Mr. Wickham of Lincoln's Inn, had been appointed a receiver of certain branches of revenue, and this office he discharged by deputy. He only mentioned the name of this gentleman as an instance of the many which he could produce, and whether his case came within, or was previous to the act to which he alluded, would be shown upon the inquiry which he proposed.—The hon. member went on to state, that not long ago there was but one commissary of stores in Gibraltar; at present they had three. Not long since they had not a commissioner of accounts; now they had three. During the war a military secretary was employed; since the peace he had been struck off; but he was retained as translator of languages, with the continuance of his previous salary and emoluments. He would not farther detain the House at present. He had three motions to make:—The first was, "for a Return of all the Taxes and Duties levied in Gibraltar in the years 1800 and 1818." These two periods would be sufficient to show to the House the nature and increase of the revenue of that country. His next motion was, "for the Production of an Account of the number and nature of the various Offices and Establishments M Gibraltar, with the Amount of the Salaries and Emoluments received by the different Functionaries in 1800 and in 1818." This would show to the House, how far the system of economy, which was now considered the order of the day, was attended to. His third motion was "for a Return of the Amount of the Revenues of Gibraltar from 1760 up to 1820, distinguishing each year; and also an Account of the 101 Garrison and other Expenses; together] with the revenues transmitted to this I country."
The Chancellor of the Exchequersaid, that he did not rise to oppose the motion; indeed, he had not, with the exception of a slight alteration, any objection to produce the whole of the accounts moved for. He could not, however, help complaining of the uncandid manner in which the hon. member had charged both the governor of Gibraltar and his majesty's council, in the course of his speech, with extravagance and extortion. He did not wish, at present, to go at length into this question, as a proper period would arrive for its discussion. But he hoped members would reserve their opinions until that discussion came fairly before them. With respect to what the hon. member had said relative to the right of the Crown over conquered colonies, he conceived that there was no principle of the law of nations more generally admitted than that which transferred to the conquering sovereign the rights exercised over such colony by that power to which it previously belonged. He did not mean to object to the first or second resolutions; but to the third, he would, if it were not altered, propose an amendment, which was, that the whole account for the time mentioned should be produced, without specifying the items from year to year. He wished at the same time to observe, that there was not any foreign port in which similar duties to those complained of were not exacted. The right hon. member made some observations relative to certain sums remitted from Gibraltar, and received by his late majesty.
§ Sir J. Mackintosh,having had occasion to know something of the administration of affairs in Gibraltar, and being acquainted with certain circumstances relating to the mode of making impositions on the inhabitants, could not but say that their rights had not been treated with that regard and respect which in justice should have been extended to them. At the same time, he meant to admit, that his majesty's government, in the revision of the Order in council, to which allusion had been made; had manifested a very commendable anxiety to do all they could to rectify a measure which he looked upon as improvident and bad; He could not, however, agree in the interpretation of the law of nations: which had been given by the right hon. gentleman and which, falling from a per- 102 son of such high authority, was likely to mislead those who had not considered the subject. He could not conceive any principle of the law of nations which bore out the assertion, that the power vested in an absolute prince became, in case of conquest, equally vested in a king whose power was not absolute. The law of nations only related to the regulation of certain connexions between different nations, and could not decide what power should be exercised by a state over any territory it conquered. That depended on the law and constitution of the country. With respect to the law and constitution of this country, he would state, that if the right hon. gentleman, who was so conversant with questions of this kind, recollected the case of Campbell and Hall, he would find that it was a very disputed point indeed, with whom the right of legislation over a conquered territory rested. That, in one point of view, it rested with the king was certain; but whether the king in council, or the king in parliament, had not, as he took it, been yet decided by those grave authorities whose opinions on matters of such importance were looked up to as conclusive. If his hon. friend, whose laborious attention to this and other subjects which lay out of the way of the general pursuits and studies of the members of that House, and for which he deserved the public thanks; if he would take a suggestion from him, he would rather advise him to accept the proposal of the chancellor of the exchequer, reserving to himself the right of making a more extensive motion at a future period. He thought the accounts offered to be furnished would be, in a general point of view, imperfect; although, perhaps, for the purposes of the approaching discussion, they might be sufficient:
§ Mr. Goulburncomplained of the uncandid course that had been taken by the hon. gentleman in bringing forward this question. He protested against the statement which he had made, and which tended to impeach the character of individuals, when merely moving for a return, of the amount of revenue raised at Gibraltar. He protested against such a course, because those charges could not be contradicted at the moment. He hail no difficulty in saying, that, throughout the long reign of his late majesty, every disposition had been shown to attendee the interests of the inhabitants on the one hand, and to support the just rights of 103 this country on the other. The hon. gentleman had stated that he was ready to prove his charge—lie (Mr. G.) was no less ready to show that they were not well founded. The hon. gentleman observed, that he had resided at Gibraltar. It had also been his fortune to have lived there, and he could therefore speak particularly to some circumstances. The hon. gentleman asserted that, though Jews, Methodists, and Roman Catholics had places of worship there, the members of the Church of England were not furnished with a building for the performance of their religious duties. This was not the case. Whether from his being there in the habit of going to church than the hon. member, or from what other cause, he knew not; but certain it was that he found a Protestant place of worship at Gibraltar, and went regularly to church every Sunday. The building was not a very extensive one, but it was commensurate with the size of the place, and the number of Protestant inhabitants. He had seen the troops mustered in it attending divine service; and perhaps he might recal it to the hon. gentleman's mind, by mentioning the monuments that were raised in it to the memory of several officers who had fallen in the naval service. There were other parts of the hon. gentleman's speech which he could meet and refute on grounds equally satisfactory.
§ Colonel Dalrymplesaid, the inhabitants of Gibraltar were, for the most part, Roman Catholics, Genoese, or foreigners of that description, and Jews; an extensive church was not, therefore, necessary. But there was a Protestant place of worship, and he had attended church for two years. In that edifice there was no want of room for those who pleased to attend divine service. He did not think that the garrison of Gibraltar would thank the hon. gentleman, if they were hurthened with a tax for the erection of a church. There were other inaccuracies in the statement of the hon. gentleman, which, at a proper period, he would point out.
§ The first and second motions were agreed to.
§ Mr. Humesaid, he had, in order to meet the objection of the chancellor of the exchequer, made the alteration which he had suggested in the third motion. That alteration had, however* defeated a very considerable part of the object he had in view, which was, to ascertain the annual amount of revenue collected in a 104 certain number of years, in order to show the House where taxation had begun; which would not be affected by the account that would be laid before it. It was said that his statements were erroneous; but at the proper time he would prove the truth of every charge he had made. The charge of having acted un-candidly would apply much better to the chancellor of the exchequer, who had imputed words to him which he had never used. With respect to the quibble about Protestant chapels, the admission of the hon. gentlemen themselves was, that no regular place of Protestant worship existed. He knew there was a garrison chapel. He had himself attended divine worship, when, he believed, it was performed at governor Campbell's house; but there was no regular Protestant chapel for the inhabitants of the town.
§ The third motion, as amended, was then agreed to.