Sitting of 13 February 1805

MINUTES.
Mr. Mitford presented at the bar, pursuant to an order, an account

471
of the exports from, and the imports to, the ports of Scotland from Spain, in the years 1803 and 1804. Ordered to- lie on the table.—Sir J. Anderson brought up the report of the committee on the London coal factors indemnity bill, which was agreed to, and the bill ordered to be read a third time.—Mr. Williams presented at the bar the tenth report of the commissioners for naval enquiry, which was ordered to lie on the table, and, on the motion of Mr. Grey, to be printed.—On the motion of Mr. S. Bourne, leave was given to bring in a bill for appointing commissioners to execute the pension, sugar, tobacco, &c. tax act.—Ordered, on the motion of Mr. S. Bourne, that an account should be laid before the house of the sums of money which had been issued by his maj.'s orders, pursuant to addresses of this house, and not made good by parliament.—The house in a committee went through the loyalty loan bill, and the report was ordered to be brought up to-morrow.—Mr. Planta presented, pursuant to order, a return of the persons admitted, for the last six months, into the British Museum, together with an account of the regulations established with respect to the future admission of persons into the Museum. Ordered to lie on the table, and to be printed.—The house resolved itself into a committee on the quarantine regulation bill, and on the motion of Mr. Rose a clause was introduced to extend the provisions of this bill to other dangerous diseases as well as the plague.—Mr. Rose brought up the report of the committee on the address to his maj. respecting the Spanish war. The address was agreed to. It was ordered that it should be presented to his maj. by the whole house; and that such members as were of his maj.'s privy council should wait on his maj. to know when it would be his pleasure to receive the address.—A petition of the committee of the company of merchants trading to Africa was brought up and read; setting forth, that in consideration of. the various increased expences of the establishments in Africa, and the cost of the articles required for the payment of the same, parliament was pleased to grant the sum of 18,000l. for the support of the said establishments last year, which sum has been invested for that purpose; and therefore praying the house to take the premises into consideration, and to grant the petitioners the like sum of 18,000l. for the support of the said establishments.
472
Ordered to lie on the table.—Sir E. Nepean moved the order of the day for the house to resolve itself into a committee of supply; which being read, he moved, that the accounts presented on the 8th of Feb.; and also, the accounts relative to the British Museum, be taken into consideration in the said committee. The house then resolved itself in a committee of supply, and the miscellaneous services were then voted for the present year, by the following resolutions, viz. "That it is the opinion of this committee, that a sum not exceeding 1,004,946l. be granted to his maj. for defraying the ordinary expences of the navy; 1,553,690l. for building and repairing ships of war; 975,000l. for the hire of transports; 525,000l. for prisoners of war; 57,000l. for sick ditto; 414,000l. for American claims; 135,721l. for emigrants and American loyalists; 53,719l. for convicts at home; 20,000l. for law charges for the year; 12,000l. for the expences of the public offices; 29,000l. for stationery of both houses of parliament; 12,000l. for dissenting clergy and emigrants; 20,000l. for New South Wales; 8,300l. for Upper Canada; 7,l63l. for Nova Scotia. 2,100l. for the island of St. John's; 2,100l. for Cape Breton; 2,130l. for Newfoundland; 4,438l. for the Bahama Islands; 2,800l. for Bermudas; 680l. for Dominica; 6,000l. for civil establishment of New South Wales; 2,400l. for the trustees of the British Museum; 8,000l. for the purpose of enlarging the same." Which were all agreed to, and the report ordered to be received to-morrow.—Adjourned.

MINUTES.
The farther consideration of the appeal cause, Lucina v. Craufurd, being resumed, several points arising out of the case were, on the proposition of the Lord Chancellor, ordered to be referred to the consideration of the judges, who attended for the purpose.—The Earl of Enniskillen, one of the Irish representative peers, and the Earl of Kellie, one of the sixteen Scots peers, were sworn and took their seats.—Counsel were heard in continuation, on the Irish appeal cause, Fairfield v. Morgan, viz. Mr. Parke, on the part of the respondent; after which, the farther consideration of the case was deferred till Friday.—The exchequer bills bill, the assessed tax commissioners, and the annual indemnity bills, were read a second time, and severally committed for to-morrow.—Mr. Williams, secretary to the commissioners of naval enquiry, presented the tenth report of the said commissioners, which being laid upon the table, was on the motion of the Duke of Clarence, ordered to be printed. After a few words from his R. H. relative to the printing of the last report of the commissioners, the royal duke observed, that, as the tenth report contained matter of great moment and importance, he should particularly attend to the circumstance of its printing.—Earl Camden presented a paper relative to the British forces in foreign stations.—The Duke of Clarence moved, for an account of the number of men wanting on the first of Jan. 1805, to complete the full complement of the royal regiment of artillery, the gunners, drivers. &c. Earl Camden objected, that the illustrious person who had just spoken, had stated no parliamentary ground for the production of the papers moved for. The Duke of Clarence said, he should not press the motion, but his object was to obtain information as to the total deficit in the army, which was a subject, he was afraid he should have frequently to exercise their lordship's patience upon in the course of the session.—His R. H.'s motion was then negatived.

IRISH HABEAS CORPUS SUSPENSION BILL.
Lord Kingsaid he should have to call their ldps'. attention to a point of considerable importance: it would refer principally to the exercise of the discretionary powers vested in the crown, by the suspension of
470
the habeas corpus bill in Ireland. In that view he moved an address to his majesty, praying that there may be laid before the house;—1st, an account of the number, names, &c. of persons confined under the act for suspending the habeas corpus in Ireland;—2dly, an account, &c. of the persons from time to time discharged from such confinement;—and 3dly, an account of the conditions upon which such persons were discharged.
Lord Hakesburyobserved, that, with respect to the first and second heads under which the noble lord's motion was classed, he had no objection to producing the statements required; but, with regard to the last head, he thought the case was very different, and that a sense of duty impelled him to object to it. The act in question vested a discretionary power to apprehend and detain, without bringing to trial, persons, who, there was reason to suspect, were guilty of traitorous practices; and a disclosure of the conditions upon which any of those persons might be discharged, under the circumstances of the time, was so obviously objectionable, upon considerations of prudence and policy, that he deemed it unnecessary to take up the time of their ldps. in demonstrating it. At the same time, he was not prepared to say, nor did he mean to state, whether or not there were any persons in the predicament assumed by that part of the noble lord's motion; but, to contend, that, if there were, it would be impolitic and imprudent in the extreme, to agree to that part of the motion, which, if pressed, he felt his duty to resist.
Lord Kingreplied, that, in consequence of what had just fallen from the noble sec. of state, he should, for the present, wave that part of the motion. However, he begged the noble lord to consider farther of the point, between that, and some future day, whether it was right to persist in refusing to lay such information before parliament? In his own mind, it was highly proper; and it was his intention, therefore, to bring forward a motion to the like effect on u, future opportunity.—The question was put on the first and second motions, and they were ordered accordingly.—Adjourned.