Sitting of 6 July 1806

MASTERS IN CHANCERY BILL.
The Master of the Rolls rose, pursuant to notice, to move for leave to bring in a bill for augmenting the salaries of the masters in ordinary, belonging to the court of chancery, and also for granting a certain provision to such as may be or become unfit, from age or infirmity, for the discharge of the duty attached to their office. The sum necessary for this purpose, the learned gent. proposed to have made up from the interest of the money belonging to suitors, which the house must be aware was in the hands of the masters. This interest accrued from the vesting of such money in government securities; and the surplus beyond the purposes to which it was at present assigned would be quite sufficient to answer the ends which his motion had in view. The salary which the learned gent. proposed to grant to superannuated masters, he mentioned to be 1500l. a year.— The first motion being agreed to, the learned gent. proposed another, the object of which was to grant an addition to the establishment in the accomptant general's office, namely, that four clerks should be added, and that the salaries of all the clerks should be augmented, that the principal clerks should be allowed 500l. a year, the second 400l. the third 300l. and the junior clerks 180l. This augmentation of salary, combined with a sum which he thought necessary to defray the expence attendant upon the increased business in this office, and to satisfy the executors of the late Mr. Warner, for such expences incurred by him,

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the learned gent. proposed to provide for from the surplus interest of the fund already alluded to. The sum now vested in government securities by the masters in chancery, the learned gent. described to be about 21 millions; and the different accounts opened at the bank, in consequence of this sum by the accomptant general, he stated at about 5000. This circumstance, he mentioned to shew the increased business of the accomptant general's office, and he stated that the arrangement proposed had been agreed to by the late lord chancellor, by the present, and by himself.—Leave was given to bring in the bill.

TRAINING BILL.
Mr. Windhammoved the third reading of this bill.
Mr. Yorkepursuant to notice, proposed a clause to enable the government to suspend the execution of this act in such districts as might offer a sufficient number of volunteers. If the act before the house were to pass in its present shape, he was very much afraid that the volunteers would consider themselves deprived of that protection for which, from their services, they were entitled to look. The general understanding was, that the object of this bill was to substitute compulsory for voluntary services, and if the clause he submitted, which was to be found in the original bill, were expunged, there was too much ground to warrant that understanding. Were the right hon. secretary to adopt this clause, he was persuaded that the bill would be much more palatable even to its friends. But, however the clause might be disposed of, it was his wish to bring it up, in order that it should appear as a protest on his part, and that of his friends, against a measure in his and their judgment likely to produce the most mischievous consequences.
Mr. Windhamopposed the clause, as calculated to defeat the principle of this bill, which was not the substitution of a compulsory for a voluntary force; but the addition of the one to the other. As to those districts in which the volunteers were particularly numerous, there was a provision in the bill which enabled his majesty to return such districts in calling out, only so many as he saw occasion for; and therefore the object of the right hon. gent.'s clause was, in a great measure, answered.
Mr. W. Smithwas only sorry that the measure did not go far enough, by proposing to train the effective population of the country. His opinion was, that even children at school should be taught military
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exercise, for his conviction was, that in the present state of the world, we should not, unless a greater portion of martial spirit were infused into the people, be able to maintain our rank among the other nations of Europe.—The clause was negatived.
Mr. Yorkethen proposed a clause, to winch he hoped there would he no objection, that every man called out under this bill should take the oath of allegiance. Such was, he observed, the clause of the former act, and such was uniformly the case with regard to the volunteers.
Mr. Francisasked whether, if a man should refuse taking this oath he should therefore be exempted from training?
Lord Castlereaghprofessed himself really surprized to hear the supposition supported, that any of his majesty's subjects would hesitate to take that oath, which by the common law it was the bounden duty of all to take, at as early a period of life as possible; and he would be glad to have the performance of that duty superinduced by any act of this nature.
Mr. Francissaid, that he did not suppose that any individual would hesitate to take the oath alluded to, from a principle of disaffection; but if a man were conscientiously to decline it, what would be the consequence? Was he, therefore, to be excused from the training, or was he to be punished? If the latter, the measure would be compulsory indeed, with a vengeance.
Mr. Windhamsaw no necessity for proposing this oath; conceiving that every one of his majesty's subjects was equally bound to the duties which the oath prescribed, whether he took it or not; and he rather apprehended that the proposition of it might excite alarm among the more ignorant part of the community, and so defeat the object of the bill.
Mr. Yorkenever heard of any alarm that was excited by the proposition of tins oath to the volunteers, and why then apprehend it in this case?
The Lord Advocatewas at a loss to conceive the object of this clause. Compulsion was deprecated by those who proposed it, and yet they now enforced this oath. If, however, a man refused to take it, it did not appear from the bill what consequence was to follow.
Mr. Yorkeobserved, that a man was bound by the common law to take the oath of allegiance, and in this case if a man refused such oath, he would of course be subject to the penalties which attached to a man refusing to be trained.
Mr. Percevalcorroborated this observation, and begged the house and the right hon. secretary to recollect the salutary consequences which resulted from the administration of oaths during those unhappy scenes which were gone by, he hoped, never to return. But a statesman, framing a permanent measure like the present, should provide against even the possible recurrence of such an evil; and, remembering that men who took the oath of allegiance were always the most difficult to draw into the societies of disaffection, he would take care to extend that additional guard to loyalty.—The house divided upon the clause, Ayes, 38; Noes, 84. Majority against the clause 46. The bill was then passed.

KING'S MESSAGE RESPECTING THE ROYAL FAMILY.
On the motion of lord H. Petty, the house then resolved itself into a committee of Supply. His majesty's message was then read, requesting that the house would transfer the sums paid to the younger branches of his family, from the aggregate to the consolidated fund; and would be pleased to enable him to make such farther increase to their incomes, as circumstances might render proper.
Lord H. Pettythen said, that the first part of his majesty's message sufficiently explained its object, and did not require much comment. A provision had been made for his royal highness the duke of Gloucester and the princess Sophia, out of what was called the aggregate fund, which was since transferred to the consolidated fund. This was discovered on the death of the late duke of Gloucester, when it was proposed to continue his income to the present duke; but as the aggregate fund did now exist, it became necessary to transfer it, by the interference of parliament, over to the consolidated fund. On this subject, he thought no doubt or hesitation could possibly exist, as it was only meant that that should be made good which parliament had formerly thought fit to grant. But the message did not stop here, and he flattered himself that, on due consideration, the house would feel as little hesitation respecting that part of it which called upon them to make such adequate provision for certain branches of the royal family, as was called for by the increased expences of the times. It was not proposed to include the duke of York in this additional grant. Such provision had already been made for him by parliament as he conceived sufficient, and he had generously declined coming forward with any claim on the liberality of the
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public. The provision for the younger sons of the king was fixed at 12,000l. per annum in 1778. This was judged at that time to be a proper sum, and adequate to the due support of their rank. But he would leave it to the house to determine, when they looked at the increased expence attending every article of consumption, when they considered that most of them were doubled since that period, and some of them more than doubled, whether that sum could be regarded as any way adequate. From the advanced ages also of the illustrious personages, more appearance and greater expenditure were called for, than in the younger part of their lives, when this sum was originally fixed. If it were necessary to look to precedent in support of what he should propose, it might be sufficient to observe that the late duke of Gloucester had an income from the public of 24,000l. a year, which he enjoyed to the last period of his life. This was considerably more than it was now proposed to bestow; though he was far from resting on precedent only, since only such an amount of income was wished for, as to enable the illustrious persons to keep up that state and situation in life, which it was incumbent on them to support. In this view it was proposed that their incomes, standing at present at 12,000l. should be increased in future to 18,000l. a year. It was also proposed to provide for the expences of the princes Charlotte of Wales, by a grant of 7000l. a year, instead of 6000l. which she had before. The provision for the princesses stood on the same footing. It was necessary, also to acquaint the house, that the provision for the princesses stood on the same footing as that for the duke Gloucester, and the princess Sophia, and must be transferred from the aggregate fund, now merely nominal, and fixed on the consolidated fund. The allowance to the princesses was to be increased from 4000l. to 5000l.; and it was proposed to grant 4000l. a year to the duchess dowager of Gloucester, for whom no provision had as yet been made, which was the same establishment as had been settled on the late duchess of Cumberland. He concluded with moving, "That his majesty be enabled to grant, out of the Consolidated Fund of Great Britain, a yearly sum, not exceeding 6000l. to each of their royal highnesses the dukes of Clarence, Kent, Cumberland, Sussex, and Cambridge."
Mr. Rosemade some observations on the nature of the aggregate fund, and expressed his hope, that the resolution would

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pass with unanimity. He mentioned, that the late duke of Cumberland had also 24,000l. per annum, which was then equal to 30,000l. or 40,000l. a year at present. The income of every gentleman of landed property had increased greatly of late Years, while his expences had also increased; and hence the louse must be convinced how reasonable the present proposition was.—The resolution was then agreed to.
Lord H. Pettythen moved, that there be granted out of the consolidated fund, sum not exceeding 7000l. per annum to the princess Charlotte of Wales, during his majesty's life; and that of the prince of Wales; also a sum not exceeding 4000l. a year to the duchess dowager of Gloucester. With regard to his highness the duke of Gloucester, he said, that it had also been thought fit to propose to raise his income in proportion to that of the royal dukes, and he therefore moved, that a sum not exceeding 14,000l. a year be granted to the duke of Gloucester, in lieu of 8000l. which he at present enjoyed; and lastly, that the grant to the princess Sophia of Gloucester, formerly charged on the aggregate fund, be transferred to the consolidated fund.—The several resolutions were unanimously agreed to.

AFFAIRS OF INDIA—OUDE CHARGE.
Lord Templemoved the order of the day, for a committee of the whole house on the Oude Charge. On the question that the Speaker do now leave the chair,
Mr. Paullsaid, he did not mean to give any opposition to the motion, but rose to call the attention of the house to the very extraordinary mode of proceeding adopted by the noble lord. This was the first instance in the annals of parliament, of any member of the house taking out of the hands of another member any proceeding of this description.
Lord Templefelt it necessary to justify himself from the charge made upon him by hon. gent. He had never called on the house to come to any resolution on this subject, but when the hon. gent. seemed indisposed to bring the question to any decision. All he had done, was with a view, when the charge had been brought forward, when the evidence in support of it had been produced, when that evidence was printed, to come to a speedy decision on that charge. All he asked on the part of his noble friend, was, what the meanest, even the most guilty individual of the community would be entitled to in a court of justice, namely a speedy decision on the merits of his use
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He took that opportunity of declaring, what he had often before stated, that it was not by any means his wish to take the business out of the hon. gent.'s hands. If the house should agree to his motion for going into the committee, and the hon. gent. should be disposed to make any motion on the subject, he should be very far from taking the business out of his hands.
Lord Folkestonesaid, that he could not have expected that any person would have proposed coming to an immediate decision on this subject, in the present state of the question, of the house, and of the session. Obstructions had been thrown in the way of the hon. gent.; and when at last the papers were in the hands of the members, he would ask, whether the other business of the house had allowed them sufficient time to come to a decision upon them? Besides, the Oude Charge was connected with others, and would derive support and illustration from the evidence in support of them. On this account, the whole discussion should be entered into at once, and the questions respecting lord Wellesley's conduct be decided at the same time. We had been told that the eyes of India were directed to this house, and he would ask, should a question, involving the interests and independance of so many Indian princes, he hastily decided in an empty house? Besides, from a cause, which every man must concur in lamenting, a right hon. gent. was necessarily absent, and he thought it material to know the opinion of the leading men in his majesty's councils on the subject of the charge. He implored the house, therefore, to defer their decision at this late period of the session, and under the present circumstances of the case; and, as the only way of getting rid of the question, he moved, that the house do now adjourn.
Colonel Woodwas surprized at the charge of precipitation made by the noble lord who spoke last. Never had any charge been brought forward in that house by any member who had met so much indulgence as the hon. member who had brought forward this charge. It appeared to him a most extraordinary proposition, after the house had been so long occupied with the question, to defer it to next session. He should now vote to come to some decision upon the Oude charge.
Dr. Laurenceobserved, that he could not sit silent when he heard it asserted, that the hon. member who had brought forward the charge had received every indulgence, while in truth he was goaded at one time,

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and thwarted at another, and it was now endeavoured to precipitate that decision which had hitherto been retarded. This was a question which concerned the guardianship of 50 millions of the natives of India, who had no other protectors but this house. It was not a question between an individual and marquis Wellesley; it respected the validity of acts and resolutions in which the fate of millions was concerned. Every dependant power in India was interrested in the decision. No one particular charge could be fully comprehended without being accompanied with the evidence on which the others were founded. If a decision should be obtained under these circumstances, nothing would be gained by the noble marquis, because a motion might be made next session to rescind it. If no other member should move to that effect, he pledged himself to do it. He had taken a solemn oath to do impartial justice between all parties, and he should not fail to bring these great principles before the house, in order that the people of India might have the satisfaction of knowing that the question was disposed of after a full and fair discussion.
Mr. Canningshould not enter into the merits of the charge, but confine himself strictly to the question before the house. He could not but notice the very extraordinary menace of the learned doctor, powerful when coming from any member, but still more powerful in his lips, and from his manner of expressing it. Any, the least considerable member of the house, possessed that power; but it would be for the house to determine whether it should rescind a solemn decision on such a ground. The learned doctor, however, had taken his tremendous oath, he did not know on what altar, and was determined to bring the subject forward; but it would be for the house to decide how far it would be desirable to adopt his course of proceeding.—Before they should come to a decision on the question for the Speaker leaving the chair, they ought to consider what was the situation of lord Wellesley. The charge had been impending over him during the whole of this session, and the business was brought forward at the chosen time and pleasure, as every accusation indeed must be, of the accuser, If the principle of the learned doctor Were to be admitted, no decision could be had upon any part of complicated charges, embracing the whole policy of an extended administration, until the whole could be taken into consideration. So that the business might
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be continued year after year, session after session, parliament after parliament, and the tune of trial or acquittal, would never arrive, whilst the accuser could produce any supplementary evidence or document to support his charge. If no decision was to take place, the noble marquis ought not to have been called on for his defence. The learned gentlemen had kept back his doctrine too long. It was now too late to require to stay the proceeding till other evidence can be procured. The learned gent. might have thought that a peculiar species of knowledge was necessary to judge of Indian questions, and that he possessed that peculiar qualification; but by his cross-examination of major Ousely, a gentleman much better informed on the subject, the learned gent. appeared wholly ignorant with regard to the intoxicating drugs of India, and their effects. He believed the learned gent. to be in no degree better acquainted with Indian justice. The noble lord on the other side had not fairly quoted the right hon. secretary (Mr. Fox), the cause of whose absence he personally lamented as much as any man. He had clearly understood that right hon. gent. to have said, that the duties of his office prevented him from paying that attention to the question he could wish, but that, in his opinion, it would be a great and crying hardship on lord Wellesley, if the present session were to elapse without a decision on the charge. The only circumstance that could induce him to consent to put off the decision for a reasonable time, would be a prospect held out of the advantage of the presence of that right hon. gent. on some early day. He thought the house bound in justice to the noble marquis, to take the first practical time of considering the charge. He could neither agree with the learned gent. nor the noble lord, that an accuser, however founded or unfounded his charge might be, should have the power of procrastinating the vexation of a great and approved servant of the public, by multiplying and subdividing his charges, so that the sole reward of a life spent in the service of the public would be an anxious, uncertain, and interminable state or responsibility.
Dr. Laurenceexplained. The altar on which he had taken his oath was, the altar of justice, an altar perhaps unknown to the hon. gentleman.
Mr. R. Thorntonsaid, the noble earl (Temple), seemed to wish that some determination should be come to this night. He

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had charged the hon. gent. who brought forward this business with slowness, but he believed the noble lord himself could with more propriety be charged with precipitancy, when he wished to bring this matter to a determination at such a late period of the sessions. It was his opinion, that if the noble marquis was acquitted under such circumstances, a stigma would remain for ever on his character.—He was ready to acknowledge, that it was extremely painful to the feelings of the noble person accused, but it was unavoidable, and should not be considered so great a hardship, as it was well known, that a noble lord, lately acquitted, had been obliged, during an entire session, to bear up against the charges preferred against him. The hon. gent. then declared, that he would not delver any opinion at present on the merits of the case. He disclaimed any knowledge of the hon. gent. who brought forward the charge, except in his public capacity; perhaps he would not go so far as he would in criminating the noble marquis; but at all events, he thought the subject was entitled to a deliberate consideration.
The Master of the Rollssupported the motion for an immediate decision. He considered the charge as now ripe for a decision, and therefore it was competent for the house to enter upon it, however late might be the period of the session. It was contrary to every principle of justice, that when the charge was before the house, and all the materials by which it was supported, the person accused should not be allowed to call for a decision. The question was, indeed, of importance, but it had already been 6 months before the house, and they were surely ill qualified for performing their most important functions, if they were not now prepared to decide upon it. By the habeas corpus act, the meanest individual could call for the speedy decision of the law, and the noble lord was equally entitled to demand the determination of the house. If it were the object of the hon. gent. who had brought forward the charge to carry it beyond the present session, he thought it the duty of the house to disappoint that object.
Mr. Secretary Windhamwas against going into the committee, or urging the house to a hasty decision on the subject; and he vindicated the principles avowed by his hon. and learned friend near him (Dr. Laurence), of which the speech of a right hon. gent. was a complete misrepresentation from one end to the other. That the ques-
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tion was one of the most serious importance, every one must allow; but he could by no means agree to such a principle as that, because it was important, it should therefore be decided in the present session. He wished to know where it was that the hon. and learned gent. found such a doctrine? For his own part, he denied the conclusion, as wholly unwarranted by the practice of parliament. An opinion had been quoted as that of a right honourable friend of his (Mr. Fox), to which he should certainly be at all times inclined to pay great deference; as if he had said, that the decision of the house on this charge ought to take place in the present session, at all events. But, if it were possible his right hon. friend could have expressed such an opinion, without adverting to what might be the state of the house, and the due consideration of the evidence upon which it would have to decide, he must consider such an opinion as not delivered with his usual correctness. The hon. gent. who brought forward this charge had been accused of procrastination, because he had not moved for all the papers at once, which he thought necessary to support his allegations, but from the nature of a charge so complicated, how was this practicable? A member asks for a number of papers by general description, and upon reading them, he finds other papers suggested to him, which he also thinks necessary. In the present case this had happened on the side of the defence, as well as of the accusation, and ought not to be imputed as matter of blame to the hon. member who brought forward the charge, any more than to those who resisted it. Another imputation made against the hon. gent. was, that he contended no decision ought to take place upon the present charge, until the evidence upon all the other charges had been produced. Such arguments might be put into his mouth, to answer the purposes of those who were opposed to him, but he (Mr. W.) never understood the hon. gent. to use such a pretence, though it was very possible some parts of the present case were so involved in the same circumstances of testimony on other charges as to be best considered with them. But it was said the hon. Member procrastinated; that the feelings of the noble marquis were involved; and that here the house must stop and come to a decision. He would say, No: he could not find that any unnecessary delay was fairly imputable to the hon. member. He was

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aware, as well any man, that the feelings of the noble marquis, upon a charge so important must be held in painful suspence, but from the nature of the case it was impossible it could be otherwise. It was impossible that every man charged with a crime could be brought to his trial the moment he was accused. The noble marquis might sustain in this case a mere damnum sine injuria, but it was a circumstance common to a cases of a similar nature, and could be no argument for pressing the house to a hasty and rash decision, in a case upon which the most cool and mature deliberation was peculiarly necessary.—The next point to which he would advert, was the proceeding of the noble lord in taking the management of the charge out of the hands of the member who brought it forward, and placing it in the hands of others, without any management at all; or, what was better, in the hands of those who avowed themselves to be the friends and advocates of the noble marquis. But he begged to ask, was this the sort of proceeding to which the house would give its countenance, or upon which the friends of the noble marquis would wish to see his conduct vindicated? It had been said by a right hon. gent. (Mr. Canning) on behalf of the noble marquis, that the more high the station a man filled, the more power he possessed for acts of generosity and beneficence; and the longer he enjoyed that power, the more liable he became to charges of a malicious nature; but, surely, if ever there were cases in which the house should be more ready than in others to entertain impeachments, it was against persons who had filled places of high authority and power, who, while they had the means of doing acts of great generosity and beneficence, had also the power of doing many acts of injustice and oppression; and who should be made answerable for such abuses of their power, wherever the proofs could be made manifest. He must, however, say, that instead of any encouragement from the house, the hon. member who had brought forward this charge had met with peculiar discountenance; and, notwithstanding the urgency with which the friends of the noble marquis pressed forward this decision, he would ask the house, how far it was ripe for such a decision? How many gentlemen of those now present had taken time to read, and maturely deliberate upon the great body of evidence adduced in support of the charge? For his own part, he would acknowledge,
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that the variety of his own avocations had allowed him no such opportunity. How many members had left town, without reading any of the papers? And how far was it consistent with rational justice, to try such a case before a tribunal, reduced in its numbers, and incompetent from its very imperfect knowledge of the evidence upon which it was called to decide, to pronounce a final judgment that night, upon a subject of so much importance? He could assure the friends of the noble marquis, that never was there any thing less calculated to give satisfaction to the public mind than a decision upon such principles; and those men who could delude themselves into a supposition, that such a decision could have any other than a bad effect, must judge very ill indeed of public opinion in this country.
Mr. Paullsaid, it was not his intention to have trespassed upon the attention of the house that night with a single word on the subject; but feeling it necessary to say something in answer to the charges of delay and procrastination imputed to him by a right hon. and learned gent. (the Master of the Rolls) he rose to vindicate himself from an imputation so unfounded. His first motion for papers was on the 25th of June, 1805; and it was not until the 20th of May last, that any of the criminating documents were laid before the house. For the truth of this he appealed to the house; and he appealed also to the noble lord lately at the head of the board of controul, whether he had not been incessant in his applications to him to forward the production of papers in his department; and whether the noble lord had not told him, in March last, that it was a matter of question and doubt whether some of the papers for which he had moved, and those the most important, would be produced at all? As soon as he could obtain the chief papers for which he had moved, in five days afterwards he laid his first charge upon the table; but there were many other papers for which he had moved, which were not produced to this day—papers to prove the most exorbitant and extraordinary demands upon the nabob of Oude, to the amount of 300,000l. He moved for the accounts six different times; and all that he had yet been able to obtain, from all the diligence that could be used at India-house, was a return respecting the 27th light dragoons, which he found to be a most false and exaggerated account. He had said to the house, that he would be ready to bring forward his

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charge on the 10th of June; but the noble lord had taken it out of his hands, and proposed to bring it forward on the 18th. This precluded him from moving a single step until the 18th, when he moved for the oral evidence, which was not concluded, with the examination of sir J. Craig, until two days since, and which was not until last night in the hands of members. Having, therefore vindicated himself from the charge of delay and procrastination, he hoped the hon. and learned gent. would retract what he had said. But with respect to the subject itself, he conjured the house to consider deliberately, before they precipitated a decision upon a question of so much importance. If marquis Wellesley's reputation was the only question at stake, he should not wish to delay the decision of the house for a single moment. He disclaimed all personal enmity to the noble marquis, who had never done him an injury; he disclaimed all obligation to him, as never having received any favour at his hands, save an act of justice which it was his duty to render as chief governor of India. But it was not the reputation of the noble marquis, but the fate of India that depended upon the decision of the house; and that ample and impartial justice should be done, was of the utmost importance to every British interest in that quarter of the globe; for it was of the first necessity for the British parliament to shew, whether they were the guardians of the rights and liberties of British subjects in India, or the protectors of lord Wellesley. For his own part, he had done his duty in bringing forward these charges, and the evidence to support them. India looked anxiously to the issue of this question, and he hoped would bless the day on which the enquiry was instituted. He hoped they would be enabled to ascertain by the decision upon this question, whether the faith of treaties was to be maintained inviolate or not? to which faith they had witnessed the most honourable adherence under the administration of that ever-to-be-lamented nobleman, marquis Cornwallis; but he would call upon the house to look at the situation of India from the accursed day when marquis Wellesley first set foot there until the hour of his departure, during which time it continued a perpetual scene of rapine, of oppression, of fraud, and cruelty, which goaded the whole country into a spirit of revolt. He had brought forward his charges against the noble marquis in the
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face of England. He sought nothing but impartial justice, and he hoped parliament, for its own sake, would decide with the maturest deliberation, and in a full house.
Mr. Percevalsaid, he understood the hon. member who brought forward this charge, to object that the house should be the judge of the fittest time to form its own decision upon the subject, and to say he would tirely withdraw himself from any interference in discussing the subject, unless he was to be the judge of the fitness of the time for the decision. In such a case, he (Mr. Perceval) was of opinion the hon. member would abandon the duty he had undertaken, and incur the blame of any erroneous decision to which the house might be led, without the light Which he was enabled to throw upon the subject. If the hon. member, however, would pledge himself to bring forward the investigation at any future day during the present session of parliament, at any reasonable distance, when he should have his thoughts better arranged upon the subject, he, for one, should not object to adjourning the further proceedings to such a day; and therefore he requested to know the hon. member's determination?
Mr. Paulldeclared he had not the most distant wish for delay; and that, if the remaining papers were produced for which he had moved respecting six British regiments in India, and which would furnish proofs of the most exorbitant and inconceivable extortion upon the nabob of Oude, he would be ready to go on with the charge next day, or in a week, just as the house should choose; but recollecting the delays and disappointments he had already experienced, he would not pledge himself to any particular day, until tire papers were before the house.
Mr. W. Smiththought that, after what had fallen from the hon. gent. it would be a mockery of justice to proceed. The hon. gent. in his situation, could not fix any day. He regretted the delay; but as to the marquis Wellesley, it could not be too often repeated that it was damnum sine injuria. He thought that the friends of marquis Wellesley could not desire to proceed in the present situation of the case.
Sir A. Wellesleydeclared, that nothing could be more opposite to the wishes and feelings of himself, or his noble relation, than that the house should decide upon this charge, without having before them all the testimony the honourable gentleman wished to adduce; but as he had reason to believe

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that the documents which he had mentioned the cause of delay really were not in the India-house, and had never been returned from India, he hoped, if the house should be satisfied of that fact, by those gentlemen now present who were officially competent to give information upon the subject, and that no such documents were to be expected, that the house would no longer defer its decision: more especially as it was the declared opinion of a right hon. gent. (Mr. Fox) that if a decision should not take place within the ordinary duration of the session, an address should be moved to his majesty, for prolonging the session for that purpose.
Mr. R. Thorntonfeeling himself thus called on, said he could not speak with accuracy as to the precise documents moved for being at the India-house; but he rather believed some fresh documents would be found there, and that the house ought not to proceed to final decision until further search should be made.
Mr. W. Polesupported the argument of his hon. relation, and wished to have a clear answer from some of those gentlemen who had been in the India direction, as to the existence of such returns.
Mr. Paullwas not desirous of the returns of the strength of those six regiments. He only wished for the accounts of the sums charged as paid to them; and was confident such returns must have been made to the directors.
Mr. Grantsaid, that though he was not now in office, he was fully confident the accounts of pay must be in the India-house; but that the order for furnishing the returns of the strength of the regiments ought to have been directed to the war-office, where they would be found. He was for proceeding with the utmost deliberation upon a subject, whereon hung the fate of India. He thought the house could not, in so thin an attendance, comprising so many of the noble marquis's friends, and at so late a period he session, come to a decision, consistency with the decorum which belonged to its deliberative justice; but that, if a decision was to be pressed upon the subjects, there ought to be a call of the house, for which he, as one, should vote.
Lord Castlereaghsaid, he could not conceive that the absence of papers, relating to the charge against the marquis Wellesley, of having fraudently exacted an undue sum fro the vizier of Oude, was. sufficient to warrant delay; as both the fact and the in-
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tention would be necessary to be proved; and the latter had been completely disproved by the evidence of capt. Salmon, the accountant-general, who had distinctly stated, that in drawing up the estimates of the expence of troops to be defrayed by the vizier, marquis Wellesley had instructed him to make them rather in favour of that prince than otherwise: so that as far as the instructions, which were all that rested with the marquis, went, the charge was proved to be groundless; and the papers, if forthcoming, and shewing that a fraudulent sum was really charged, would not criminate that nobleman, but be useless.
Dr. Laurencespoke to order, and thought that after an order of that house had been six times made for their production, every member was interested in seeing that they were procured.
Lord Castlereaghexpressed his surprise at the interruption, and thought that he was correct in shewing, from the oral evidence, which the house had had the advantage of, that the papers were not necessary, and did not contain any thing that could, by possibility, affect marquis Wellesley.
Mr. Martin (of Kinsale)thought that the papers might have great relevancy to the charge, as shaped by the hon. gent. (Mr. Paull), and that it was extremely wrong to force him to proceed, without what he himself thought sufficient to support his allegations.
Mr. Burtonsaid, that after the evidence of the accountant general, the charge made upon the nabob, was, upon the whole, in his favour; all the evidence the hon. gent. wished to collect from the papers, might be admitted by the friends of marquis Wellesley, without any prejudice to him.
Sir A. Wellesleysaid, he was perfectly willing on the part of the noble marquis, to admit it; and therefore called upon the hon. gent. then to proceed.
Mr. Paullsaid, when the accounts were produced, he should shew that a sum of 470,000l. was fraudulently charged upon the nabob, by colonel Scott; having been some years after called upon to make up accounts against him, upon the basis of those estimates prepared by capt. Salmon, the colonel had been instructed to claim that excessive sum, unless the nabob would consent to cede his territory, in which case he was only to require the sum really due.
Mr. Johnstonesaid, the papers were

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highly necessary to be produced, and corroborated the statement, that an unjust demand of nine lacs of rupees had been made upon the nabob.
Sir J. Newportdeprecated the bringing forward of supplementary charges, and thought that the house, if they tolerated it, would never be able to come to a decision. He was of opinion that they should then proceed.
The Solicitor Generalsaid, the question was not if the decision upon these charges were to be deferred until the next session, but if the house would proceed this day to determine on an accusation, in which the hon. gent. (Mr. Paull) said, he was not prepared to advance; so that the true enquiry was, if in this stage of the business the matter were to be taken out of his hands, in the absence of the information of which the house ought to be possessed in order to form its opinion. He could perfectly understand such an attempt, if this were a case of vexatious delay; but was this the complaint? The papers required were not obtained until the 20th of May; on the 25th of that month the charge was brought; on the 28th it was printed, and the evidence was only closed on Friday last; even at that moment the written testimony called for was not on the table, although the application was made for what was yet deficient as early as the 5th of June. Who could then seriously assert that there had been any unnecessary procrastination on the part of the hon. gent.? But it was said by the friends of the noble marquis, that from their knowledge of the documents sought, they would not at all conduce to support the charges. Were not others to obtain the same information, in order to satisfy their minds and come to the conclusions to which such premises should lead? If by the endeavour now made, the noble marquis should be acquitted, it would be such an acquittal as would afford him very little consolation; he was, it was to be presumed, an innocent man, and if he were so, justice to him required that this subject should be dismissed in a very different way; but it was not only justice to an individual that demanded it, it was justice to the collective body of that house, that required that no such precipitate decision should be formed; and the honour and character of the house were immediately concerned in the present proceeding.
Mr. Hutchinsonthought the house would disgrace itself by acceding, to the motion of the noble lord (Temple) and that it would
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be an evasion of justice to decide before all the evidence was adduced.
Lord Templesaid, that after what had passed, he should not persist in calling upon the house to resolve itself into a committee that night, but would propose to defer his motion till Friday, by which time the par papers might be before the house, and he hoped the business would be proceeded in.—This produced a long and desultory conversation, which ended in withdrawing the question for adjournment, and agreeing that the committee on the Oude charge should stand for next Friday; but Mr. Paull would not pledge himself to bring the business forward this session, without a call of the house, in which he was warmly supported by Mr. Windham, and several other members.

CUSTOM-HOUSE FEES BILL.
The order being read for their lordships going into a committee on this bill, the chair was

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accordingly taken by lord Walsingham. On the clause being read for abolishing the existing holidays observed at the Custom house, with the exception of four or five,
The Archbishop of Canterburyexpressed his disapprobation, in a great degree, of what was proposed. He expatiated on the importance of a due observance of certain solemn church festivals and holidays, besides the Sabbath. He was not an advocate, in any point of view, for an excessive number of holidays such as were observed in the church previously to the reformation; a number of these were, he thought, very properly abolished; on the other hand, there were several which, he thought, a due respect and reverence for the holy religion of which we were members, should inculcate the observance. On this principle, he would wish that, perhaps, three or four more holidays were retained, beside those already allowed in the bill. Those to which he chiefly referred were holidays more particularly commemorative of the history of our Saviour. Before, however, he moved any amendment with respect to these, he should wish to hear from any noble lord who supported the bill, the objections which he entertained to suffering the other holidays in the protestant calendar, to stand in the present bill.
Lord Grenvilleargued in defence of the measure, in the shape in which it came up from the other house. In a great degree, the precedent of former regulating acts of the kind, was followed with respect to the present. The consideration of such days as the description of persons to whom the bill applied were in the habit of devoting to divine service, was kept in view, in framing the present measure. Many of the holidays, which, as far as Custom-house attendance went, were proposed to be abolished, were not appropriated by those persons for divine service, but for purposes of idle amusement or relaxation. The object was to compel those persons who were to execute the duties of the respective offices, duly and diligently to attend to the same. The inconvenience and disadvantage which the present number of holidays at the Custom-house produced to commercial men, was inconceivable. At times, and on days where-in all other species of commercial business was in a train of regular transaction, the doors of the Custom-house were shut. The merchant who could regularly perform all his other business, was unable to transact that, often most important part of it, which appertained to the Custom-house. After
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adducing some other observations in favour of the measure, in its present shape, he expressed his disapprobation of such amendments as were adverted to by the right rev. prelate.
The Archbishop of Canterburyobserved, that after what had fallen from the noble lord, he despaired of being able to introduce an amendment into the bill, for the observance of those holidays, he had at first in contemplation. There were some particular days, which he still remained strongly of opinion should be observed, such as those days for which regular church service was established. Notwithstanding, however, the objections which had been offered, he hoped their lordships would still agree to the addition of at least two holidays, which related to points essentially connected with the history of our Saviour. The first of these was the Epiphany, and which he should propose for insertion, as an amendment.
The Bishop of St. Asaphsupported the observations of his grace of Canterbury. Those holidays which were commemorative of the earliest and most important facts in the history of the Gospel, should, at least, be retained; those especially which referred to the history of our Saviour's own life, should be retained; he meant at the Custom-house. Were those suffered to remain, he would not, in that respect, be so anxious about the rest. The days to which we undertood the right rev. prelate to refer were, the Epiphany, the Annunciation, the Ascension, and the Nativity of St. John the Baptist. In what he advanced upon the point, he observed, he was not actuated by a puritanical desire for a rigid observance of holidays. He knew there were some wherein an idle or improper observance of the holiday did more harm than good; for that reason he was not unwilling to contract the number. He was aware, that in some cases the commissioners took the liberty to order the attendance of clerks on Sundays. In cases of urgent necessity, with respect to public business, he, perhaps, should not decidedly object to that —but upon the grounds on which he had stated, as well as those advanced by the right rev. prelate, he was of opinion, the holidays to which he referred should, at least, be retained on the present occasion.—The question was put on the first amendment, and negatived. Strangers were ordered to withdraw, but no division took place, and the bill passed through the committee and was reported.

KING'S MESSAGE RESPECTING LORD RODNEY.
Lord Grenvillemoved the order of the day for taking into consideration his majesty's message relative to lord Rodney. His lordship stated that a pension of 2000l. per annum had been granted to the first lord Rodney for the eminent services rendered by him to his majesty and the public; 1000l. was to devolve after his death to his widow and younger children; the remaining 1000l. to his eldest son for his natural life. His eldest son, the late lord Rodney, enjoyed the pension but a short time after his father's death, and it was now proposed to continue that pension to the present lord. There were several who heard him that were old enough to remember the brilliant victory gained by the distinguished officer who first possessed this title, a victory which, independent of its own importance, was of the most essential benefit to the country at that time, when the circumstances of the country were not the most pleasing, and when our military character had been lessened. It was true, that the pension referred to in his majesty's message was granted for services antecedent to that victory, but not on that account the less important, which, on the contrary, entitled that distinguished officer to every mark of approbation from his country. As to the principle on which these remunerations were granted, there could not exist the slightest doubt of its being one of the best principles on which parliament could act. A reward of this nature granted for eminent services diffused an additional spirit over a whole profession, and stimulated every one engaged in it, to seize every opportunity of exerting to the utmost his skill and ability in the service of his country, confident that his success would receive a grateful reward, and that, if he fell, an ample provision would be made for his family. Public economy was at all times necessary, but that was the best public economy which afforded the best assurance of public services, and nothing could be more important than that those who were fighting the battles of their country should be thoroughly convinced, that if they were not wanting to their country their country would not he wanting to them, and that whilst England expected every man to do his duty, she was at all times ready to do her duty to them. He thought it was at all times adviseable, where his majesty was advised to bestow a peerage for eminent services, and where a pension was granted
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with it, to annex such pension to the title, in order to enable its possessors in succession the better to support their rank and dignity. He had no doubt that at any future period, if the present lord should have successors to the title, that parliament would readily grant the pension to the possessors of the title in succession. Under the present circumstances of the case, it was only intended to propose to grant the pension to the present lord Rodney for his natural life; at any future period parliament would of course act according to the nature of the circumstances then existing. His lordship concluded by moving an address to his majesty, declaring their readiness to concur in the object of his majesty's message; which was carried nem. dis.