Sitting of 7 February 1806

MINUTES.
This day, about 11 o'clock, the speaker took the chair. Immediately after prayers, Mr. Quarme appeared at the bar, and in virtue of his majesty's commission addressed to certain members of the upper house, required the attendance of the house of commons in the house of lords to hear the commission read, and the royal assent given to the bill therein mentioned. The speaker accordingly, attended by the officers of the house, went to the. house of lords, and on his return informed the commons that he had been present, and heard his majesty's assent given by commission to the bill for empowering the auditor of exchequer to appoint a trustee to act for him in the event therein mentioned.—The house then adjourned till 3 o'clock, when they proceeded to ballet for a committee to try the merits of the petition complaining of an undue return for the county of Middlesex.—On the motion of Mr. Sheridan, the speaker issued his warrant to the clerk of the crown, for new writs for the city of Westminster, in the room of the right hon. Charles James Fox, who, since his election, had accepted of the office of one of his majesty's principal secretaries of state; for Buckinghamshire, in the room of earl Temple, who, since his election, had accepted of the office of joint paymaster of the forces; for Morpeth, in the room of lord viscount Morpeth, who, since his election, bad accepted of the office of one of the commissioners for managing the affairs of India, with a salary; for Portsmouth, in the room of admiral Markham, who, since his election, had accepted of the situation of one of the commissioners for executing the office of lord high admiral of England; and for Tavistock, in Devonshire, in the room of the right hon. general Richard Fitzpatrick, who, since his election, had accepted of

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the office of secretary at war.—On the motion of Mr. Tyrwhitt, the speaker issued his warrant to the clerk of the crown for a new writ for Portsmouth, in the room of the right hon. Thomas Erskine, who, since his election, had accepted of the office of lord high chancellor of England.—On the motion of Mr. C. W. W. Wynne., a new writ was ordered to be issued for Okehampton, in the room of lord viscount Althorpe, who, since his election, had accepted of the situation of one of the commissioners for executing the office of lord high admiral.—On the motion of Mr. Hobhouse, the speaker directed his warrant to be issued for a new writ for Harwich, in the room of the right hon. John Hiley Addington, who, since his election, had accepted of the office of one of the commissioners for the affairs of India, with a salary.—Lady Nelson's, lord Coiling-wood's, and sir R. Strachan's annuity bills were read a second time, and ordered to be committed.

MINUTES.
The house met at 11 o'clock in the morning, when the royal assent was given by commission to the auditor of the exchequer's bill.—Their lordships then adjourned till five in the afternoon, at which hour they again met.—Lord Eldon observed, that several appeals stood over from the last session for judgment, to the consideration of which he had
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his leisure would allow. He had intended, at the commencement of the session, to propose to their lordships to fix days for giving judgment on the appeals to which he had alluded, and his purpose in rising now was to give notice, that he should, about the middle of next week, move to appoint a time for pronouncing judgment in those appeals.—Mr. Alexander brought up the malt duty bill, and the pension, &c. duty bill, which were severally read a first time.