Lords Sitting of 30 May 1806

MINUTES.
Mr. Alexanderand other members, brought up from the commons the Property Duty bill, the Tortola Free-Port bill, the Irish Malt Duty bill, the Irish Revenue bill, and several private bills. These bills were all read a first time.—The Duke of Montrose observed, that the Tortola Free-Port bill involved questions of great importance to the commerce of the country. He therefore thought it necessary to move for some documents, which, he conceived, ought to come under the consideration of their lordships, previous to the discussion on the second reading of the bill. He accordingly moved for, an account of the value of the British Manufactures exported to the. islands of Dominica and Tortola, at different periods; the quantity of sugar, rum, coffee, and indigo, imported from those islands into, Great Britain; the value of the sugar, rum, &c. imported from foreign settlements into

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Tortola; copies of the orders in council allowing foreign sugar, &c. to be imported into Tortola and Dominica.—The Lord Chancellor read a letter from sir T. Duckworth, in which he expressed his grateful acknowledgments for the honour done him by their lordships' vote of thanks.—Lord Auckland moved that the bar be cleared, and strangers were immediately ordered to withdraw. Their lordships then proceeded to the further consideration of the evidence adduced on lord Melville's trial. They continued in close deliberation until eleven o'clock; when the further consideration of the evidence was deferred till Monday.