§ The House went into a Committee of Supply.
§ Mr. Spring Ricemoved, that a sum of 120,000l. be granted to his Majesty, to defray the expenses of the current quarter, for Pensions, Salaries, Allowances, &c., for Ireland and Scotland, formerly paid out of the Civil List. He begged to observe, that this Motion was founded upon former Estimates; but that inquiries into these pensions were going on in the Committee; and he believed that all the members of the Committee would do the Ministers the justice to say, that they did not shrink from giving all the information 896 in their power, but afforded it most readily, and manifested the sincerest wish that every possible economy should be adopted. The vote he now proposed to take, would discharge the salaries and pensions up to the 10th of October, and in the course of the ensuing week, he trusted the Committee would obtain the information required, which merely related to minute points; but which on that account was more difficult to be obtained, and had hitherto prevented them from terminating their labours.
Mr. Humeconfirmed the statement just made, as to the conduct of the Ministers in the Committee, and said it would not be proper longer to postpone the present vote.
§ Mr. Courtenaysaid, as the Civil Service must be provided for, the present vote could not be objected to, but he hoped some permanent mode of providing for these expenses would be speedily adopted: the system of voting quarterly sums was most objectionable.
Mr. Maberlysaid, they could make no permanent settlement while inquiries were going forward on a given subject: when the Committee had completed its labours, he had no doubt a satisfactory arrangement would be made.
§ The vote was agreed to.