§ Mr. Huntpresented a Petition from a journeyman cabinet maker, of the name of William Lovatt; stating that having, by industry and abstinence, been enabled to maintain himself and his wife in tolerable comfort, he was suddenly drawn for a militia-man. To serve in his own person would have been utterly ruinous, he had not the means of providing a substitute, and moreover he conceived, that having no share in making the law, he was not bound to undergo its infliction. The consequence of his refusal was, that his goods were sold; and that furniture of the value of 40l. was disposed of to pay a fine of 15l. The petitioner's chief complaint, however, was, that his effects were sold privately; and that he and his friends had no notice of the sale, and therefore no means of diminishing its ruinous effect.
Mr. Humesaid, that he had been requested to support the prayer of the petition, and he did so with great readiness. He hoped that it would draw the attention of the House to the present state of the Militia laws. It was notorious that of the persons ballotted in the metropolis, not one in ten was able to serve. It, therefore, became a tax on a poor honest man, which, in many cases, effected his ruin. The rich ought to be called upon to pay this tax, in proportion to their property. This was one of those individual cases of oppression, which made persons who witnessed it complain of the unequal pressure of the laws, and which had the effect of making men dissatisfied with the institutions under which they lived. The towns were in a very different situation from the agricultural population in a matter of this kind. An inhabitant of an agricultural district could leave home for a short time to attend the meeting of the Militia, without inconvenience; but the artizan who resided in a town could not do so. He hoped his Ma- 380 jesty's Government would consider the subject. Many cases of great hardship had come to his knowledge, and for those cases there was no remedy.
§ Petition to be printed.