Sitting of 6 February 1804

MINUTES—
The Solicitor General obtained leave 10 bring in a bill to explain and amend an act passed in the 14th of his present Majesty, the object of which was to explain and amend an act pasted in the 10th of Anne, for regulating the mode of selling interest on direct or collateral securities.—Mr. D Parker Coke presented a petition from the insolvent debtors of Nottingham, praying relief. It was ordered to lie on the table.—Mr. T. Grenville reported from the Committee appointed to try the merits of the petition against the return for Midhurst, that the committee found E. Turner, Esq. the sitting member to be duly elected, and the petition against his return frivolous and vexatious.—The Attorney General introduced a bill for indemnifying all such persons as have been concerned in carrying into effect an order of council, allowing the exportation of a certain quantity of seed corn to Portugal. The bill was read a first time, and ordered for a second reading tomorrow.—Mr. Corry moved for a variety of accounts relative to the finances, the manufactures and the commerce of Ireland. Among the most important were, accounts of the ordinary and extraordinary sources of Irish revenue; the arrears and balances in the hands of the commissioners of the treasury; the value of the imports and exports, distinguishing articles of Irish produce; the number of vessels which have cleared out of the ports of Ireland, with the amount of their tonnage, and the number of seamen and boys, by whom they were navigated; an
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account of the Irish public funded and unfunded debt; an account of the money voted for the service of last year which remains unexpended; an account of the application of 650,000l. voted for the extraordinary services of the army; an account of the application of 650,000l. voted for secret purposes. All the accounts to be made up from the 5th of January 1803, to the same period in 1804. These, with a number of other accounts of inferior importance, were ordered.

BARRACKS.—
Mr. Calcraftwished to know whether estimates of the expenses of the barrack department were meant to be laid before the House. He thought this a subject of the first importance, and highly worthy of investigation.
The Chancellor of the Exchequerprofessed his readiness to grant every paper which could put the House in possession of the fullest information on the subject.
The Secretary at Warstated, that the papers alluded to, were prepared, and would be produced as they were regularly moved for.—On the suggestion of the Chancellor of the Exchequer, the papers were ordered to be produced.—The other orders being disposed of, the House adjourned.

Preamble
The Bishop of Leighlin and Ferris took the oaths and his seat. The Lord Chancellor moved, that owing to the indisposition of Wm. Rose, Esq. one of the clerks at the table of the House, J. Berkley, Esq. be in the mean time appointed to officiate in his room. Ordered.—The writ of error, Lucena against Crawford, was postponed.—One or two private bills were forwarded in their stages. Adjourned.