Sitting of 12 July 1815

Preamble
Mr. W. Smithsaid, he wished to call the attention of the right hon. gentleman to a subject which had occupied the notice of Parliament in the early part of the session; he alluded to the Abolition of the Slave Trade by France. He hoped that now Louis XVIII. was restored to his throne again, his Majesty's ministers would use their utmost endeavours to obtain from him an immediate abolition of that traffic.
The Chancellor of the Exchequersaid, he could assure the hon. gentleman that the subject had been already under the attention of Government, and that ministers would not be found wanting in their efforts to accomplish so desirable an object.
At two o'clock the Usher of the Black Rod appeared, and summoned the House into the House of Peers. Upon their return, the members assembled round the table, when the Speaker read the Speech of his Royal Highness to them, proroguing the Parliament to Tuesday the 22d of August, after which he made his bow, and the members withdrew.

LIST OF PUBLIC ACTS,
Passed in the Third Session of the Fifth Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland.—55 GEO. III.—A. D. 1814–15.
1. An Act for the encouragement and reward of petty officers, seamen, and royal marines, for long and faithful service, and for the consolidation of the Chest at Greenwich with the Royal Hospital there.
2. For directing the application of the residuary personal estate of Anna Maria Reynolds, spinster, bequeathed by her to the use of the Sinking Fund.
3. For continuing to his Majesty certain duties on malt, sugar, tobacco, and snuff, in Great Britain; and on pensions, offices, and personal estates in England; for the service of the year 1815.
4. For raising the sum of 12,500,000 l. by Exchequer bills, for the service of Great Britain for the year 1815.
5. To enable the commissioners of his Majesty's Treasury to issue Exchequer bills, on the credit of such aids or supplies as have been or shall be granted by Parliament for the service of Great Britain for the year 1815.
6. To continue, until the 25th day of March 1816, an Act for suspending the operation of an Act of the 17th year of his present Majesty, for restraining the negociation of promissory notes and bills of exchange under a limited sum in England.
7. To repeal an Act of the last session of Parliament, for granting duties of Excise on certain sorts of glass made in Ireland, and for granting and allowing certain countervailing duties and drawbacks in respect thereof.
8. To continue, during the continuance of the present hostilities, and until six months after the ratification of a definitive treaty of peace, so much of an Act of the 34th year of his present Majesty, as permits the importation into Great Britain and Ireland in neutral vessels, from states in amity with his Majesty, of certain goods, wares, and merchandize.
9. To continue, until the expiration of six months after the conclusion of the present hostilities, an Act of the 46th year of his present Majesty, for authorizing his Majesty in council to allow the importation and exportation of certain goods and commodities in neutral ships into and from his Majesty's territories in the. West Indies and continent of South America.
10. To make further provision respecting the duties payable upon East India goods, and to allow bond to be given for payment of the duties upon such goods when imported by private traders.
11. To continue, until six months after the ratification of a definitive treaty of peace, an
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Act of the 45th year of his present Majesty, for granting to foreign ships put under his Majesty's protection, the privileges of prizeships; and for allowing aliens in foreign colonies surrendered to his Majesty, to exercise the occupations of merchants or factors during the present war.
12. To amend several Acts relating to fines in respect of unlawful distillation in Ireland, to the warehousing of spirits, and to the securing the duties of Excise on spirits distilled, and on hides and skins tanned in Ireland.
13. To amend an Act passed in the last session of Parliament, intituled, An Act to provide for the better execution of the laws in Ireland, by appointing superintending magistrates and additional constables in counties, in certain cases.
14. To impose certain duties on the importation, and to allow drawbacks on the exportation of certain sorts of wood into and from Ireland, in lieu of former duties and drawbacks on the like sorts of wood; and to indemnify persons who have admitted certain sorts of wood to entry on payment of a proportion only of the duty imposed thereon.
15. To amend an Act made in the 52nd year of his present Majesty, for making provision for the better support of his Majesty's household, during the continuance of his Majesty's indisposition.
16. To continue and amend an Act, passed in the 48th year of the reign of his present Majesty, intituled, An Act for empowering the Governor and Company of the Bank of England to advance the sum of three millions towards the supply for the service of the year 1808.
17. To indemnify such persons in the United Kingdom as have omitted to qualify themselves for offices and employments, and for extending the times limited for those purposes respectively, until the 25th day of March 1816; and to permit such persons in Great Britain as have omitted to make and file affidavits of the execution of indentures of clerks to attornies and solicitors to make and file the same on or before the first day of Hilary Term 1816.
18. To settle and secure an annuity on lord Walsingham, in consideration of his services as chairman of the committees of the House of Lords.
19. To grant certain duties of Excise upon licences for the sale of spirituous and other liquors by retail, and upon licences to persons dealing in exciseable commodities, in Ireland, in lieu of the Stamp-duties payable upon such licences; and to secure the pay-

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ment of such Excise-duties, and to regulate the issuing of such licences; and to discourage the immoderate use of spirituous liquors in Ireland.
20. For punishing mutiny and desertion; and for the better payment of the Army and their quarters.
21. For the regulating of his Majesty's Royal Marine forces while on shore.
22. To repeal the duties of Customs payable on the importation of tobacco, and to grant other duties in lieu thereof.
23. To repeal the duties of Customs upon the importation of citrat of lime, and to grant other duties in lieu thereof.
24. To grant duties of Customs on the exportation of certain goods, wares, and merchandize, from Ireland, in lieu of the duties of Customs heretofore payable on such exportation.
25. For the better regulation of the manufacture of brown linens in Ireland.
26. To amend the laws now in force for regulating the importation of corn.
27. To continue, until the 5th day of July 1816, certain additional duties of Excise in Great Britain.
28. For further continuing, until the 5th day of July 1816, an Act of the 44th year of his present Majesty, to continue the restrictions contained in the several Acts of his present Majesty on payments of cash by the Bank of England.
29. To regulate the trade between Malta and its dependencies, and his Majesty's colonies and plantations in America; and also between Malta and the United Kingdom.
30. For granting to his Majesty, until the 5th day of April 1819, additional duties of Excise in Great Britain on sweets, tobacco, snuff, and Excise licences.
31. To amend certain Acts respecting the exportation and importation of sugar, and further to regulate the importation of sugar, coffee, and other articles from certain islands in the West Indies.
32. To rectify a mistake in an Act of the present session of Parliament with respect to the duties on sugar imported from the East Indies; and for further continuing, until the end of six weeks from and after the expiration of any Act or Acts of Parliament continuing the temporary or war duties upon sugar imported into Great Britain, certain countervailing duties, drawbacks, and bounties, on refined sugar.
33. To continue, until the 5th day of July 1816, certain temporary or war duties of Customs on the importation into Great Britain of goods, wares, and merchandize.
34. To continue, until the 25th day of March 1817, an Act made in the 40th year of his present Majesty, to permit the importation of tobacco into Great Britain from any place whatever.
35. To grant to his Majesty an additional duty of Excise of tobacco in Ireland.
36. To grant to his Majesty a duty of Customs on tobacco imported into Ireland.
37. To amend several Acts respecting the exportation and importation of sugar into and from Ireland; and further to regulate the importation into Ireland of sugar, coffee, and other articles, from certain islands in the West Indies.
38. To repeal so much of an Act of the last session of Parliament, as directs that no bleaching powder, made in Ireland and brought into Scotland, should be removed into England.
39. To revive and continue, until the 25th day of March 1820, several laws relating to the encouragement of the Greenland whale fisheries, and to the allowing vessels employed in the said fisheries to complete their full number of men at certain ports.
40. For raising the sum of 2,323,750 l. Irish currency, by Treasury bills, for the service of Ireland, for the year 1815.
41. To continue, until three months after the ceasing of any restriction imposed on the Bank of England from issuing cash in payment, the several Acts for confirming and continuing the restrictions on payments in cash by the Bank of Ireland.
42. To facilitate the administration of justice in that part of the United Kingdom called Scotland, by the extending trial by jury to civil causes.
43. For the more effectual prevention of the use of false and deficient measures.
44. For the relief of the captors of prizes, with respect to the admitting and landing of certain prize vessels and goods in Ireland; to continue in force until the 25th day of March 1816.
45. For continuing the premiums allowed to ships employed in the southern whale fishery.
46. To amend an Act passed in the 48th year of the reign of his present Majesty, intituled, An Act for the better care and maintenance of lunatics, being paupers or criminals in England.
47. For procuring returns relative to the expense and maintenance of the poor in England; and also relative to the highways.
48. For enlarging the powers of two Acts of his present Majesty, for providing clergymen to officiate in gaols and houses of correction within England and Wales.
49. To procure returns of persons committed, tried, and convicted for criminal offences and misdemeanors.
50. For the abolition of gaol and other fees connected with the gaols in England.
51. To amend an Act of his late Majesty King George the second, for the more easy assessing, collecting, and levying of county rates.
52. To revive and continue, until the 25th day of March 1820, several Acts for charging additional duties err copper imported into Great Britain.
53. To revive and continue, for one year, the duties and contributions on the profits arising from property, professions, trades, and offices in Great Britain.
54. To repeal an Act of the last session of Parliament, for establishing regulations respecting aliens arriving in this kingdom, or resident therein; and to establish, for twelve months, other regulations respecting aliens arriving in this kingdom, or residing therein, in certain cases.
55. To enable the commissioners of his Majesty's woods, forests, and land revenues, to contract for the purchase and surrender of crown leases, and to sell his Majesty's interest in the Thornhill estate, in the parish of Stallbridge, in the county of Dorset, and in certain small parcels of land belonging to his Majesty's subjects within the royal forests; and to remove doubts as to estates, of the Crown, sold by order of the said commissioners, being exempted from the auction duty.
56. To authorize the commissioners and governors of the Royal Hospital for Seamen at Greenwich, to transfer a certain sum in the three pounds per cent. Consolidated Annuities, now standing in the name of the corporation of the Chest of Greenwich, into the name of the said commissioners; and also to receive such dividends as are now due upon such annuities.
57. To repeal the provisions of former Acts, granting exclusive privileges of trade to the South Sea Company, and to indemnify the said Company for the loss of such privileges.
58. For granting annuities to discharge certain Exchequer bills.
59. For amending an Act of his present Majesty, to insure the proper and careful manufacturing of fire-arms in England, and for making provision for proving the barrels of such fire-arms.
60. To repeal several Acts relating to the execution of letters of attorney and wills of petty officers, seamen, and marines, in his Majesty's Navy, and to make new provisions respecting the same.
61. To grant to his Majesty certain increased rates, duties, and taxes, in Ireland, in respect of windows, male servants, carriages, horses, and dogs, in lieu of former rates, duties, and taxes in respect of the like articles.
62. To grant to his Majesty certain increased duties of Excise in Ireland on malt.
63. To repeal the additional duty on British-made wine or sweets granted by an Act of this session of Parliament.
64. To explain and amend an Act of the 53rd year of his present Majesty, as far as relates to the granting gratuities to the East India Company.
65. To amend the laws relating to the Militia of Great Britain.
66. For allowing makers of oxygenated muriatic acid to take salt, duty free, for making
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such acid or oxymuriate of lime for bleaching linen and cotton; for repealing the Excise duties on Glauber salt, and on bleaching powder imported from Ireland; and to allow a further drawback on foreign brimstone used in making oil of vitriol.
67. To grant to his Majesty certain duties and taxes in Ireland, in respect of certain male servants, carriages and horses, kept to be let to hire.
68. To amend an Act of the 13th year of his present Majesty, for the amendment and preservation of the public highways, in so far as the same relates to notice of appeal against turning or diverting a public highway; and to extend the provisions of the same Act to the stopping up of unnecessary roads.
69. To regulate madhouses in Scotland.
70. For better regulating the formation and arrangement of the judicial and other records of the Court of Session in Scotland.
71. To regulate hawker's and pedlars in Scotland.
72. To fix the election for Glamorganshire at a central place within the said county.
73. For granting to his Majesty a sum of money to be raised by lotteries.
74. For granting annuities to discharge certain Exchequer bills; and for raising a sum of money by annuities, for the service of Great Britain.
75. To continue the encouragement of persons making discoveries for finding the longitude at sea, or other useful discoveries and improvements in navigation, and for making experiments relating thereto; and for discharging certain debts incurred by the commissioners of the longitude, in carrying the Acts relating thereto into execution.
76. To enable his Majesty, until the 1st day of May 1816, to accept the services of the Local Militia, either in or out of their counties, under certain restrictions.
77. To authorize, under present circumstances, the drawing out and embodying of the British and Irish Militia, or any part thereof.
78. To repeal the several duties under the care of the commissioners for managing the Stamp-duties in Ireland, and to grant new duties in lieu thereof.
79. To regulate the collection and management of the Stamp-duties on law proceedings, attornies, solicitors, proctors, and corporate officers in Ireland.
80. To provide for the collection and management of Stamp-duties on pamphlets, almanacks, and newspapers in Ireland.
81. To repeal the several Acts for the collection and management of Stamp-duties in Ireland, and to make more effectual regulations for collecting and managing the said duties in general.
82. To grant duties of Customs, and to allow drawbacks and bounties on certain goods, wares, and merchandize imported into and exported from Ireland, in lieu of former duties, drawbacks, and bounties; and to

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make farther regulations for securing the duties of Customs in Ireland.
83. To regulate the payment of the duties of Customs on foreign goods imported into Great Britain from Ireland, or into Ireland from Great Britain; and of the drawbacks on the exportation of goods the growth, produce, or manufacture of Great Britain or Ireland, having been imported into either country from the other.
84. To amend so much of an Act of the 33rd year of his present Majesty, as relates to fixing the limits of the towns of Calcutta, Madras, and Bombay; and also so much of an Act of the 39th and 40th year of his present Majesty, as relates to granting letters of administration to the effects of persons dying intestate within the several presidencies in the East Indies, to the Registrar of the Ecclesiastical Courts; and to enable the Governor in council of the said presidencies to remove persons not being British subjects; and to make provision for the Judges in the East Indies in certain cases.
85. To amend and continue for one year, and until twelve months after the termination of the present war by the ratification of a Definitive Treaty of Peace, two Acts of his present Majesty, for enabling subjects of foreign states to enlist and serve as soldiers in his Majesty's service; and to enable his Majesty to grant commissions to subjects of foreign states to serve as officers, under certain restrictions.
86. To continue, until the 25th day of March 1820, an Act made in the 46th year of his present Majesty, for permitting the importation of masts, yards, bowsprits, and timber for naval purposes, from the British colonies in North America.
87. To relieve certain foreign vessels resorting to the port of London in respect of pilotage; and to regulate the mode of payment of pilotage on foreign vessels in the said port.
88. To amend an Act of the last session of Parliament, for rendering more easy and effectual redress for assaults in Ireland.
89. To amend an Act of the 53rd year of his Majesty's reign, for making regulations for the building and repairing of courthouses and sessions-houses in Ireland.
90. To explain an Act made in the Parliament of Ireland, in the 32nd year of his Majesty's reign, relative to inland navigations there, so far as relates to the limitation of actions against canal companies and others.
91. For the payment of costs and charges to prosecutors and witnesses, in cases of felony in Ireland.
92. To amend an Act of the 50th year of his present Majesty's reign, relating to prisons in Ireland, so far as concerns contracts for building or repairing such prisons.
93. To repeal the duties payable on, and the permission to enter for home consumption silk handkerchiefs imported by the East India Company.
94. To continue and amend several Acts relating to the British white herring fishery.
95. To repeal the duties payable on the importation into Great Britain of solid vegetable extract from oak bark, and other vegetable substances used in the tanning of leather; and to grant a duty in lieu thereof.
96. To grant a further sum of money for purchasing an estate to accompany the title of earl Nelson, and also to amend two Acts of the 46th and 53rd years of his present Majesty's reign for making such purchase.
97. To grant to the Judges of the Commissary Court of Edinburgh a fixed salary in place of their present salary, and certain fees and payments.
98. To enable the select committee on the Downpatrick election to re-assemble, and to suspend the transmission of the warrants and other proceedings for the appointment of commissioners to examine witnesses in Ireland.
99. To make further provisions for collecting and securing the duties of Excise on malt made in Ireland.
100. To provide for the collection and management of Stump-duties payable on bills of exchange, promissory notes, receipts, and game certificates in Ireland.
101. To regulate the collection of Stamp-duties on matters in respect of which licences may be granted by the Commissioners of Stamps in Ireland.
102. To repeal certain duties on leather dressed in oil in Great Britain, or imported from Ireland.
103. To regulate the postage of ship letters to and from Ireland.
104. To make further provisions for the issuing of licences to persons to deal in, retail, make, or manufacture spirits and other exciseable commodities in Ireland, and for securing the duties of Excise payable by the persons so licensed.
105. To make further provisions for collecting and securing the duties of Excise on hides and skins tanned in Ireland.
106. To make further provisions for collecting and securing the duties of Excise on paper printed, painted, or stained in Ireland, to serve for hangings and other uses.
107. To regulate the appointment of governors of the Richmond Lunatic Asylum in Dublin.
108. For punishing mutiny and desertion; and for the better payment of the army and their quarters.
109. To enable the sheriff depute or substitute and justices of the peace of the county of Blackmanan, to incarcerate persons in the gaol of the royal burgh of Stirling, or the common gaol of the county of Stirling.
110. For charging certain duties on sweets or made wines in Ireland in lieu of former duties.
111. For the better collecting and securing the duties on spirits distilled in Ireland.
112. For the better regulating and securing

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the collection of the duties on paper made in Ireland, and to prevent frauds therein.
113. For altering certain drawbacks and countervailing duties on glass, for exempting Irish glass bottles from the duty imposed by an Act of the last session of Parliament, and for exempting the leather and glass of carriages belonging to certain persons imported from Ireland for private use from duty.
114. To angment the salary of the Master of the Rolls in Ireland, and to enable his Majesty to giant an additional annuity to such Master of the Rolls on the resignation of his office; and to regulate the disposal of the offices of the Six Clerks in the Court of Chancery in Ireland.
115. To carry into effect a convention made between his Majesty and the King of the Netherlands and the Emperor of ail the Russias.
116. To make further regulations for the registry of ships built in India.
117. To permit, until six weeks after the commencement of the next session of Parliament, the importation into Great Britain and Ireland, in neutral vessels from states in amity with his Majesty, of certain goods, wares, and merchandize, and to prohibit the exportation of copper; and to permit the importation, in neutral vessels from states not in amity with his Majesty, of certain goods, wares, and merchandize.
118. To regulate the clearance of vessels, and delivery of coast bonds, at creeks and harbours in Great Britain; for exempting certain ships and vessels from being licensed by the commissioners of Customs; for authorizing officers of the Customs to seize spirits removing without Excise permits; and for preventing frauds in overloading keels and other carriages used in conveying coals for exportation, or to be carried coastwise.
119. To enable the trustees of turnpike-roads to abate the tolls on carriages, and to allow of their carrying extra weights in certain cases.
120. To provide for the taking an account of the population of Ireland, and for the ascertaining the increase or diminution thereof.
121. To amend and explain an Act, passed in the 54th year of his present Majesty, for maintaining and keeping in repair certain roads and bridges made in Scotland for the purpose of military communication; and for making more effectual provision for maintaining and repairing roads made and bridges built in Scotland, under the authority of the parliamentary commissioners for highland roads and bridges.
122. To amend an Act of the 53rd year of his present Majesty, for vesting in his Majesty certain parts of Windsor forest, in the county of Berks; and for inclosing the open commonable lands within the said forest.
123. For making compensation for lands and hereditaments taken for erecting works at and near Portsmouth and Hilsea, in the
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county of Southampton, in pursuance of an Act made in the last session of Parliament.
124. For raising the sum of 36 millions by way of annuities.
125. To amend an Act of his late Majesty King George the 2nd, for the relief of the out-pensioners of the Royal Hospital at Chelsea.
126. To authorize the allowing to foreign officers, allowances equivalent in amount to the half-pay given to British officers under the like circumstances.
127. To repeal an Act of the 53rd year of his present Majesty, for preventing the embezzlement of stores; and to extend the provisions of the several Acts relating to his Majesty's naval, ordnance, and victualling stores, to all other public stores.
128. To enable his Majesty to acquire ground necessary for signal and telegraph stations.
129. To increase the drawbacks and countervailing duties on tobacco, and to limit the tonnage of ships in which wine may be exported when duties are drawn back.
130. For further regulating the issue and payment of money to his Majesty's forces serving abroad.
131. For discontinuing certain deductions from half-pay, and for further regulating the accounts of the Paymaster general.
132. To continue, until the end of the next session of Parliament, an Act of the last session of Parliament, for regulating the trade in spirits between Great Britain and Ireland respectively.
133. To grant further powers to the commissioners of Chelsea and Greenwich Hospitals with respect to pensions on those establishments.
134. For altering the rate at which the Crown may exercise its right of pre-emption of ore in which there is lead.
135. To alter the conditions and regulations under which blubber and train-oil of Newfoundland are admitted to entry.
136. For the relief of the out-pensioners of the Royal Hospital of Kilmainham.
137. To prevent poor persons in workhouses from embezzling certain property provided for their use; to alter and amend so much of an Act of the 36th year of his present Majesty, as restrains justices of the peace from ordering relief to poor persons in certain cases for a longer period than one month at a time; and for other purposes therein mentioned, relating to the poor.
138. For vesting in his Majesty certain parts of the forest of Exmoor, otherwise Exmore, in the counties of Somerset and Devon; and for inclosing the said forest.
139. To grant an additional duty of Excise in Ireland, upon spirits made or distilled from corn or grain.
140. To make further provisions for the collection of certain duties on male servants, carriages, and horses; and in respect of houses in Ireland.
141. To amend an Act made in this session of Parliament to repeal former Acts granting exclusive privileges of trade to the South Sea Company, and to indemnify the said Company for the loss of such privileges.
142. To reduce the duties on all sheep-wool, the growth of the United Kingdom, which shall be sold by auction for the growers or first purchasers.
143. To amend the Acts relating to the building and repairing of county bridges.
144. To enable the commissioners of Customs and Port-duties in Ireland, to purchase premises for the erecting additional docks, warehouses, and offices, in Dublin.
145. To increase the allowance to the Postoffice in Ireland, in respect of packet boats to Great Britain.
146. To authorize his Majesty to regulate, until the 1st day of July 1816, the trade with any French colony which may come into his Majesty's possession, or remain neutral.
147. For enabling spiritual persons to exchange the parsonage or glebe houses or glebe lands, belonging, to their benefices, for others of greater value, or more conveniently situated for their residence and occupation; and for annexing such houses and lands, so taken in exchange, to such benefices as parsonage or glebe houses and glebe lands, and for purchasing and annexing lands to become glebe in certain cases, and for other purposes.
148. For raising the sum of 4,500,000 l. by Exchequer bills, for the service of Great Britain for the year 1815.
149. For raising the sum of 1,500,000 l. by Exchequer bills, for the service of Great Britain for the year 1815.
150. For rectifying mistakes in the names of the Land-tax commissioners, and for appointing additional commissioners, and indemnifying such persons as have acted without due authority in execution of the Acts therein recited.
151. To amend the laws for imposing and levying of fines, in respect of unlawful distillation óf spirits in Ireland.
152. For granting to his Majesty the sum of 20,000 l., to be issued and applied towards repairing roads between London and Holyhead, by Chester, and between London and Bangor, by Shrewsbury.
153. For granting certain rates on the postage of letters to and from Great Britain, the Cape of Good Hope, the Mauritius, and the East Indies; and for making certain regulations respecting the postage of ship letters, and of letters in Great Britain.
154. For fixing the rates of subsistence to be paid to innkeepers and others on quartering soldiers.
155. To continue, until the 5th day of July 1816, the temporary fourth part of the duties payable in Scotland upon distillers wash, spirits, and licences imposed by an Act of the 54th year of his present Majesty;
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and for enabling his Majesty, by order in council, to modify the operations of the said Act, or reduce the duties thereby imposed.
156. To amend the laws relative to the transportation of offenders; to continue in force until the 1st day of May 1816.
157. For the better examination of witnesses in the Courts of Equity in Ireland, and for empowering, the Courts of Law and Equity in Ireland to grant commissions for taking affidavits in all parts of Great Britain.
158. To enable grand juries to present additional sums for constables in Ireland, and for the secure conveyance of prisoners.
159. To amend several Acts relating to hackney coaches; for authorizing the licensing of an additional number of hackney chariots; and for licensing carriages drawn by one horse.
160. For the encouragement of seamen, and the more effectual manning of his Majesty's Navy during the present war.
161. To amend and render more effectual an Act of the 52nd year of his present Majesty, to amend and regulate the assessment and collection of the assessed taxes, and of the rates and duties on profits arising on property, professions, trades, and offices, in that part of Great Britain called Scotland.
162. To repeal the Excise duties and drawbacks on Epsom salt.
163. To regulate the issuing of licences to allow open boats to proceed to foreign parts, and for revoking the same when necessary.
164. To exonerate, in certain cases, foreign spirits imported during the suspension of the spirit intercourse between Great Britain and Ireland, from the additional duty imposed thereon.
165. To defray the charge of the pay, clothing, and contingent expenses of the Disembodied Militia in Great Britain, and of the miners of Cornwall and Devon; and for granting allowances, in certain cases, to subaltern officers, adjutants, surgeons, mates, and serjeant-majors of Militia, until the 25th day of March 1816.
166. For defraying the charge of the pay and clothing of the Local Militia in Great Britain, to the 25th day of March 1816.
167. For defraying, until the 25th day of June 1816, the charge of the pay and clothing of the Militia of Ireland; and for making allowances in certain cases to subaltern officers of the said Militia during peace.
168. To explain and amend the laws relating to the Militias of Great Britain and Ireland.
169. To provide for the charge of the addition to the public funded debt of Great Britain, for the service of the year 1815.
170. To amend an Act passed in the last session of Parliament, for better regulating the office of Agent-general for Volunteers and Local Militia, and for the more effectually gulating the same.
171. To continue for one year certain Acts for the better prevention and punishment of at-

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tempts to seduce persons serving in his Majesty's forces by sea and land, from their duty and allegiance to his Majesty, or to incite them to mutiny or disobedience.
172. To provide for the support of captured slaves during the period of adjudication.
173. For the better protection of the trade of the United Kingdom during the present hostilities with France.
174. To extend the exemption granted by law on coals and culm, for which the coast duties have been duly paid, on being again exported and carried to any place in this kingdom, to cinders or coked coals burnt from pit-coal, which has paid the coast duties.
175. To continue, until the 1st day of August 1816, two Acts of the 50th and 45th years of his present Majesty, allowing the bringing of coals, culm, and cinders to London and Westminster, by inland navigation.
176. For allowing certain tiles to be made, duty free, to serve for draining.
177. For the further prevention of frauds in the manufacture of sweets.
178. To revive and continue, until the 25th day of March 1820, an Act of the 28th year of his present Majesty, for the more effectual encouragement of the manufacture of flax and cotton in Great Britain.
179. To revive, amend, and continue, until the 25th day of March 1821, so much of an Act of the 41st year of his present Majesty as allows the use of salt, duty free, for curing fish in bulk or in barrels; and to repeal certain laws relating to the allowance of salt, duty free, for the North Seas, and Iceland fisheries.
180. To revive and continue, until the 5th day of July 1816, an Act of the 46th year of his present Majesty's reign, for granting an additional bounty on the exportation of the silk manufactures of Great Britain.
181. For charging an additional duty on certain seeds imported.
182. To authorize the directors general of inland navigation in Ireland to proceed in carrying on and completing the canal from Dublin to Tarmonbury on the river Shannon.
183. To repeal the bounties payable in Ireland on the exportation of certain calicoes and cottons.
184. For repealing the Stamp-duties on deeds, law proceedings, and other written or printed instruments, and the duties on fire insurances, and on legacies and successions to personal estate, upon intestacies, now payable in Great Britain; and for granting other duties in lieu thereof.
185. For repealing the Stamp-office duties on advertisements, almanacks, newspapers, gold and silver plate, stage coaches, and licences for keeping stage coaches, now payable in
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Great Britain; and for granting new duties in lieu thereof.
186. For granting an additional sum of money for providing a suitable residence and estate for the duke of Wellington and his heirs, in consideration of the eminent and signal services performed by the said duke to his Majesty and the public.
187. For granting to his Majesty certain sums out of the respective Consolidated Funds of Great Britain and Ireland, and for applying certain monies therein mentioned for the service of the year 1815; and for further appropriating the supplies granted in this session of Parliament.
188. For enabling his Majesty to grant to John Francis Erskine of Mar, esq., and his heirs and assigns, the feu duties and quit rents arising in the lordship of Stirling, in discharge of a debt of greater value created upon the said feu duties by a grant from his Majesty King George the 1st.
189. For allowing Henry Meux, Thomas Starling Benson, Florance Thomas Young, Richard Latham, and John Newberry, to brew, duty free, a quantity of strong beer, the duty on which shall be equivalent to the duty on the beer lost, and to the duties on the malt and hops expended in the production of the beer so lost.
190. To amend an Act made in the 48th year of his present Majesty, to improve the land revenue of the Crown, so far as relates to the Great Forest of Brecknock, in the county of Brecknock; and for vesting in his Majesty certain parts of the said forest, and for inclosing the said forest.
191. To authorize the appointment of commissioners for erecting an harbour for ships to the eastward of Dunleary, within the port and harbour of Dublin.
192. To remove certain difficulties in the disposition of copyhold estates by will.
193. To enable his Majesty, until six weeks after the commencement of the next session of Parliament, to regulate the trade and commerce carried on between his Majesty's subjects and the inhabitants of the United States of America.
194. For better regulating the practice of apothecaries throughout England and Wales.
195. For exonerating the estates and effects of the late sir James Colebrooke, the late sir George Colebrooke, Arnold Nesbitt, sir Samuel Fludyer, Adam Drummond, and Moses Franks, and of their sureties, from all claims and demands whatsoever in respect of any contracts entered into with his Majesty's Government.
196. For enabling his Majesty to raise the sum of six millions for the service of Great Britain.

ADDENDUM.

  THE EARL OF EGREMONT'S MOTION RELATIVE TO THE COURTS MARTIAL UPON CAPTAIN PHILIP BROWNE OF THE HERMES, COLONEL QUENTIN, &c. &c., April 20, 1815.
  Since the Debate upon this Motion, which will be found in Vol. 30, p. 704, was printed off, the Editor has been favoured with the following detailed Report of the Earl of Egremont's Speech upon that occasion.
  The Earl of Egremontrose and said:
  Your lordships may possibly be surprised, that a person unconnected as I am with either of the military professions, should have undertaken to bring this subject under your lordships consideration.—As far as general inability to do that justice to any subject that an address to your lordships requires, I admit it, to the fullest extent; but I cannot admit any particular disqualification for this subject, in myself or in any noble lord, on account of his not belonging to those professions: on the Contrary, if I could have chosen, I should have preferred to have seen it in the hands of one of the noble and learned lords;—accident has thrown it into mine; and I assure your lordships, that nothing but a strong conviction of the importance of the subject, and of the improbability of its being taken up by any other person, could have induced me to undertake it, attended as it is, to me, with many painful sensations, and with much difficulty, arising from the peculiar nature of the subject, and also from the misconception which I believe to prevail, in the minds of many persons, respecting my motives, and the object which I have in view. And if any noble lords should imagine, that I am actuated by any personal feelings, either of friendship or resentment, I trust that I shall succeed in convincing those noble lords, that they are totally mistaken: but upon such a subject,—involving as it does
  [1172
  such various considerations, not merely of what is commonly called interest, but of interest of a far superior nature; of honour and character, and in such various stations of life, even up to the highest, and where most respect is due from all persons, and certainly from me, who have had, I trust I may say it without the imputation of vanity, much opportunity of knowing how truly that respect is due,—on such a subject, your lordships will feel how difficult it is to avoid the appearance of personalities, which I now disclaim, as totally foreign from my intentions in every place, and which would be highly improper in this House. I shall, therefore, endeavour to avoid all exaggeration of language, and to state the facts upon which I found my object, as shortly and as plainly as I can; and I cannot define my object better than by saying, that it is to rescue a set of men whose bravery has so often preserved the liberties of their country from a state of servitude, in a nation of freemen; for sir Edward Coke will inform us, that "it is one of the genuine marks of servitude, to have the law, which is our rule of action, either concealed or precarious. 'Misera est servitus ubi jus est vagum aut incognitum.'"
  This language, as your lordships well know, is not mine: it is the language of Mr. Justice Blackstone, who also uses these words: "His Majesty may form, Articles of War, and constitute Courts-

  1173]
  martial, with power to try any crimes by such Articles, and inflict such punishment as the Articles direct. A vast and most important trust: an unlimited power to create crimes, and annex to them any punishments not extending to life or limb;" and, speaking of the Mutiny Act, he says, "Perhaps in some future revision of the Act, it may be thought worthy the wisdom of Parliament, to ascertain the limits of military subjection, and to enact express Articles of War, for the government of the army, as is done for the government of the navy."
  Now, my lords, this suggestion is not directly applicable to the navy; but upon this I shall say more at another time. And with respect to the Mutiny Act, perhaps it may not be quite applicable to your lordships House; but I am not deterred by this objection, for I can see no reason why the regulation of the judicial code of the army and navy should not form a separate and independent act of parliament; and I am persuaded that a subject of this nature will be more maturely and temperately considered in this, than in the other House of Parliament.
  The scene of public affairs has very much changed since I first mentioned this subject; and, instead of the hope of durable peace, we have now the gloomy prospect, either of actual war, or perpetual preparation, of the necessity of becoming, for our own defence, a military and armed nation; and, surely, this change must add very much to the necessity of improving the condition of our defenders; of placing them upon a footing more anarlagous to the spirit of the constitution, and better calculated to secure to them, their honour and their safety, and to us their fidelity and obedience. I will detain your lordships no longer by any general observations, but will proceed first to the naval part of the subject, as it will take least time, the business being already done to my hands: but as I believe I cannot regularly refer to documents not before your lordships, I must beg to be understood as stating the facts hypothetically, but undertaking to prove them true, if your lordships should accede to the motion which I shall make, for the minutes.
  Captain Browne of the Hermes was tried in April, 1814, upon seven charges, totally distinct and different, both as to the nature of the offences, and the degrees of criminality attaching to them. The substance of the charges is as I shall now read.
  [1174

  1. "For abusing and offering to fight (i. e. box) on the quarter-deck of the Hermes, the master of a merchant-vessel.

  2. "For drawing bills on the Commissioners of the Navy for the sum of 300 dollars (when at Buenos Ayres) under a fictitious name, for pilotage up and down the river Plate.

  3. "For publicly calling the prosecutor a coward on the quarter-deck.

  4. "For disabling his Majesty's ship Hermes, by striking two of the foremost guns into the hold.

  5. "For telling the prosecutor, in answer to a remonstrance by him, that it was a falsehood, and holding him in derision.

  6. "For acknowledging a false muster.

  7. "For incorrectly charging the prosecutor with disputing his (capt. Browne's) authority, and the Commander-in-chief's when at Rio Janeiro, and suspending him from duty, and confining him in consequence."

  I must now say a few words upon the nature of these charges, and the manner in which they were treated by the Court. The 1st, an act of intemperate passion, certainly blameable, and derogating from his own rank and station, by condescending to put himself upon a level with the master of a merchant-ship, but not affecting his character, either as an officer or a man of honour. The 2nd, a charge of the basest fraud, and deserving the severest punishment:—but upon this charge, the Judge Advocate told the Court, that it was impossible for them to proceed, for a reason, stated in a letter from the Board of Admiralty; which reason was, that the bills for the pilotage, which were the foundation of this charge, were not arrived at the, Navy-office, and could not be produced; and of course there was no proof of the fact itself, which was the subject of the charge. Notwithstanding this objection, the Court did proceed upon the charge; and very fortunate it was for capt. Browne that they did so, and that his defence from this accusation did not rest upon a technical objection, for he was most completely acquitted by the evidence: and I am confident, that there does not remain in the mind of any man, either of those officers who composed the Court, or of persons who have read the proceedings, the slightest suspicion of any guilt attaching to capt. Browne upon this charge. The 7th and last charge, was abandoned by the prosecutor; and the fact is, that there

  1175]
  is not the slightest imputation of blame upon capt. Browne upon any of these charges, except the first, an act of intemperate passion towards this merchant captain—not arising from any personal ill-will, but from capt. Browne's eager solicitude for the safety of his own ship, which had been endangered by the obstinacy of the man in running on board the Hermes, notwithstanding the warnings of capt. Browne, which warnings were answered by the most contemptuous insult and abuse.
  Now, upon these seven distinct charges, your lordships will certainly expect seven, or at least six (as the seventh charge was abandoned) distinct issues; but this is the sentence of the Court:—"The Court, having most maturely and deliberately weighed and considered the evidence in support of the charges, and what the prisoner had offered in his behalf, are of opinion, that the charges have been in part proved; and the Court does, in consequence, adjudge the said capt. Philip Browne to be dismissed from his Majesty's service."
  Now, I really think that this fact requires no comment; but, at any rate, I feel that it would be very improper for me to detain your lordships with any observations or mine, when you have authority so infinitely superior within your reach—the opinion of the law officers of the Crown, sir William Garrow, and sir Samuel Shepherd. It is impossible for me to know precisely what their opinion has been; but I know the case—I know the ground I stand upon; and I know those honourable and learned gentlemen; and I shall rest with submission, but with confidence, upon their decision. I shall, however, take the liberty of reading, as part of my speech, a document which will take up but very little time.
  "The proceedings of Naval Courts-Martial, as they are at present constituted, cannot reasonably be expected to adhere strictly to legal forms, or technical accuracy; all that can be looked for is, that the charges should be specific; and the proofs of each charge should be separately, as well as satisfactorily, made out. I say separately, because the Courts are bound to come to a decision on each; each being a distinct issue, on which they must decide. It is therefore essential to justice, that this should be observed in naval courts, because they have not the same advantage which attends a military court-martial where if any inaccu-
  [1176
  racy occurs (as the court is not dissolved), the sentence may be sent back for revisal, before the result is made public: but, where the sentence is divulged on the decision taking place, as in a naval court-martial, the prisoner is precluded from all redress, if it is irregular, except by the interference of authority, as far as goes to the restoration of those deprivations which such a sentence was calculated to inflict. Now, in the present case, it appears to me, that the prisoner has much to complain of; for he is accused of various offences of different descriptions. Some (as of false musters) are so criminal, that, if he had been adjudged intentionally guilty of them, on proper and undoubted proof, he would have been precluded from all hope of future employment; whilst others are of so inferior a nature, that, if guilty, a censure was the utmost to be deprecated: whilst this judgment is couched in terms so vague and uncertain, that it is impossible to collect whether he was found guilty of a part of every charge, or of some one, or more than one of whole charges, of which one is a part. If it means the former, it is in direct contradiction to the minutes, which state that the last charge was abandoned, and for reasons which must have acquitted the defendant;—again, if it means the latter, it is ambiguous and uncertain to which of the charges it is to apply, for it is as applicable in terms to that which was not tried, or to any of which they thought him not guilty, as to any others; and it would only prove, that they perfectly acquitted him of some, by only finding him guilty of a part. The judgment, therefore, is so vague and uncertain, on a subject which imperatively calls for the utmost certainty, that I do not feel how the sentence founded on it can be consistently enforced. Having thus stated my impression on the case, I do not feel it necessary, nor would it become me, to analyze the evidence, in order to guess on what part of it the Court formed their decision; for, after all, it would be but guessing. I shall therefore content myself with stating my opinion, after attending with all the care I am capable of bestowing on the evidence, as applicable to the charges as well as to the sentence, as founded on that application, that it is informal, irregular, and illegal; notwithstanding which I cannot, from the nature of the subject, point out any mode in which capt. Browne can procure redress. The only amends he can look to, must be

  1177]
  found in the justice and honourable feelings of the Board of Admiralty, in whose power it lies to restore the situation he has been deprived of; and to the prevention of which, I can perceive nothing on the face of the proceedings: to that tribunal he will have a right also to submit any of those facts, which, although capable of proof, did not occur to his recollection at the time of the trial."
  This is the opinion of an eminent Barrister.
  I will not detain your lordships with any observations upon the trial of Mr. Lazarus Roberts; or the order issued by the Board of Admiralty, in consequence of that trial; but I hope it is unnecessary for me to assure the noble lord at the head of the Admiralty that nothing can be further from my intention than any thing like hostility to him; on the contrary, if the object of that order is, as I believe it to be, to put a stop to the irregularities which have taken place in both these trials; and if the order is founded upon a reference to the opinion of the Crown lawyers on capt. Browne's case, the conduct of the Board of Admiralty has—what is certainly of little value—but it has my warmest approbation. I have taken up this subject solely upon public grounds, and without any reference to the interests or character of any individual; but it has been suggested to me (what certainly would have given me great pain, if I could have believed it to be true), that I am injuring a gallant officer, capt. Browne, and placing a perpetual bar to his restoration to his rank in the service, by this interference in Parliament: but I could not, consistently with my opinion of the duties and dignity of this House—I could not, consistently with my opinion of the justice and honour of the noble lord, allow myself to hesitate for a moment upon such a suggestion. I should very ill support the high respect which I profess for the character of the noble lord, if I could admit, that any imprudence of mine (if imprudence it should turn out to be), could obstruct the course of that noble lord's justice to a gallant officer, who deserves his restoration as much as several officers now high in the service (I will not recall their names upon so invidious an occasion, but the noble lord will understand me, and I assure him that I very much approve of their restoration), who have been broke for similar acts of rashness, and invariably, and very properly, pardoned and re-
  [1178
  stored.*—'These officers are men of high rank and connexions, and in one or two instances were recommended for mercy by the Court; but the first of these circumstances will, of course, have no weight with the noble lord, and I cannot consider the recommendation of one of these Courts at all equivalent to the opinion of the law officers of the Crown. I must observe, that in the circumstances of these trials, the mind of man cannot suggest the possibility of any undue motive or bias in the members; and in addition to this, I have the surest pledge of their integrity in the high character and known honour of a particular friend of my own, admiral Otway, the president on captain Browne's Court-martial—an officer who has fought in five-and-twenty battles, honoured in his profession, and beloved in society; and of whom it is impossible for me, or any man who knows him, to speak but in the highest terms of esteem, affection, and respect.
  But, if such men, with the best intentions, good understandings, and considerable information upon other subjects, are upon this subject liable to errors of such fatal consequence to their brother officers, and which will recoil upon themselves, if the accidents of life, beyond the reach of human prudence, should render, them amenable to such a court: and if these errors arise from the defects and obscurity of the law; bow forcibly does it call upon your lordships, to correct those errors, and that obscurity, and to protect these brave men from the heavy but unavoidable misfortune of committing injustice, as members of the court, and of enduring it as prisoners, if accident should bring them into that situation?
  With respect to the military part of the subject, your lordships may, perhaps, suppose, that it was first suggested to me by the peculiar circumstances of colonel Quentin's trial; but the fact is otherwise; my attention was drawn to it some years ago, by no less than two law-suits, which, as commanding officer of a militia Regiment, I felt it to be my duty to undertake, at my own sole expense and trouble, and by which I had the good fortune to counteract the effects of the sentence of a Regimental Court-martial, certainly given with the best intentions, but erroneous, and subversive of the first principles of mili-
  * Captain Browne has been reinstated in his former rank in the service.

  1179]
  tary discipline. Upon subsequent inquiry among military men, I have reason to believe that there is no part of military duty so much neglected, and so ill executed as this of the Regimental Court-martial; arising, I believe, from the neglect of impressing upon the minds of officers, the importance of the duty, and the want of some rules of evidence, and of forms by which that duty is to be properly executed; and I believe that this inconvenience alone, though much the least important part of the subject, is of an extent sufficient to deserve your lordships attention.
  I will now proceed to the Court-martial upon colonel Quentin; and, my lords, having been upon the spot at Brighton, at the beginning, and during the progress of this unfortunate business, intimately acquainted with many officers of the 10th Hussars, and privy to their most secret thought in that transaction, I trust your lordships will give me credit when I assure you, that there never were men animated with a purer sense of honour, with more zeal for their duties, or with more gratitude and attachment to their Royal Colonel; and if they have erred, it has not been from malice, or from party, but from a too eager desire to shake off reproach from their corps, and to preserve themselves worthy of the high distinction with which he had honoured them. But if, with this connexion with that regiment, it should be thought that I have felt any particular regret at the result of that Court-martial, I can assure your lordships that it is far otherwise; and, although I could not have wished for any young officer a more brilliant destination than to have served with those honourable men in that glorious campaign, which began in Portugal and ended at Thoulouse, I have felt for many years, and I have felt it in common with many other persons, that the honour with which that regiment is distinguished, is dearly purchased; and particularly in peace. I do not mean dearly, in the usual sense, or to allude to the inconvenient and expensive frippery with which the Hussar regiments are disfigured and encumbered, but dearly purchased by various circumstances, arising out of that honourable distinction which I will not detail; but will only say that, but for that honourable distinction, I should never have had to trouble your lordships about any Court-martial upon colonel Quentin.
  And here I cannot refrain from sub-
  [1180
  mitting to your lordships—and I wish it had been done, and successfully done, twenty years ago, for the comfort and happiness of an illustrious personage to whom no man is more attached than myself, or more solicitous for his happiness and comfort—whether it is consistent with the impartiality due to the army, that any one regiment should be distinguished by having the Sovereign for their colonel; whether it is consistent with the dignity of the Sovereign, that he should be liable to be intermixed in the details, and possibly the disputes of a regiment; whether it is consistent, either with dignity or propriety, that he should have the possibility, and therefore be liable to the suspicion of knowing confidentially, as the colonel, what he will have ultimately to decide upon, as the Sovereign? I stated to your lordships, that the mind of man could not suggest any motive for an undue bias in the members of the Naval Court-martial: I regret that I cannot say the same in this upon colonel Quentin; but it is very unfortunate, that the errors of those honourable men who composed that Court, have coincided with the known inclinations of the Sovereign—the fountain of all military favour and reward; but I am sure that the candour of your lordships minds will agree with mine in repelling any such suggestion. I know nothing of motives; I impute none; and, if from the want of that correctness of language, which nothing but the habit of public speaking can give, any word should escape me, capable of such a construction, I now declare that it is not mine; and I shall be much obliged to any noble lord who will call me to order, that I may immediately retract it: and here I beg to be understood, that, by the known inclination of the Sovereign—for known it is, and it would be folly to attempt to doubt, or deny it—I was far from meaning any improper inclination, or a wish to bias the Court, but that regard which is due from a prince to an old and faithful servant, a very worthy man, and a very good officer, I believe, as far as his experience and ability could go, and very useful to his health and his amusement; but this regard, as well as feelings of an opposite nature, are known in all periods of history to have been very much misinterpreted, not by such honourable men as composed this Court, but by interested and unprincipled sycophants, greedy of the emoluments which power can bestow. But when I have heard colonel Quentin

  1181]
  described as an old officer, worn out in the service, I look to facts, certain and undeniable; and there is not a subaltern who marched with the regiment from Portugal to Thoulouse, who has not seen more service before the enemy, than colonel Quentin; more in point of time, as much as the march to the 26th of July, when colonel Quentin joined, exceeded the short campaign of ten weeks under sir John Moore, and more in importance of events, as much as the affair of Morales, and the decisive battle of Vittoria, exceed the engagements at Benevente and Majorca; for these are the only instances in which colonel Quentin was ever engaged, before the last campaign, notwithstanding the accidental inaccuracy of some of the witnesses, from which a contrary inference might be drawn. But without calling upon your lordships candour, I desire, for the sake of my argument, that none but the purest motives may be imputed; for it is not against perjury and self-interest, and those base motives which degrade human nature, and baffle the means of justice, however wisely constructed, that I wish your lordships to legislate, but against ignorance and error; and if the most honourable, the best-intentioned men, and well informed upon other subjects, are not exempt from these defects, under the present system of military law, how much will it strengthen my argument to induce your lordships to revise that law?
  My lords; the 1st Charge is, "That on the 10th day of January, 1814, the regiment being on that day on duty, foraging in the valley of Macoy in France, colonel Quentin, having the command of the regiment, did not make the proper and timely arrangements, to ensure the success of the regiment, in its operations of foraging, although directed so to do by the brigade orders of the 9th January, 1814, but neglected and abandoned his duty as commanding officer, leaving some of the divisions without orders or support, when attacked by the enemy, whereby some men and horses of the regiment were taken prisoners, and the safely of such divisions hazarded: such conduct on the part of the said colonel Quentin, evincing great professional incapacity; tending to lessen the confidence of the soldiers of the regiment in the skill and courage of their officers; being unbecoming and disgraceful to his character as an officer, prejudicial to good order and military discipline, and contrary to the articles of war."
  And the sentence of the Court is—"That Colonel Quentin is guilty of so much of the first charge as imputes to him having neglected his duty as commanding officer, by leaving some of the divisions without orders when attacked by the enemy, but acquit him of the remainder of the charge," and then, they do only adjudge, with reference to the first charge, 'that Colonel Quentin be reprimanded, 'in such a manner as the Commander-in-chief shall be pleased to direct:' a very light punishment—and by their words, 'do only adjudge,' it was evidently their intention, that it should be light. To my mind, the evidence clearly establishes another part of this charge, the want of proper and timely precautions to ensure success. But this is of little importance, compared with that part of which the Court have found him guilty. The facts which are proved, and I will state them shortly, and without aggravation, are these:—That Colonel Quentin commanded the regiment upon a foraging party; that a part of the regiment, while foraging, was attacked by the enemy; that, soon after the firing began, Colonel Quentin marched off, with a little more than one-half of the regiment, leaving a little less than the other half exposed to the fire of the enemy, still under the order for foraging, and ignorant of his departure; that he went away, without giving or sending any orders, or any notice to the troops under fire, leaving them to chance, and their own discretion: and it is remarkable, that the officers thus left were some of the youngest in the regiment; to whom it has since been objected, and against whom it has operated as an aggravation of their offence, and of their punishment, that they were too young and inexperienced to judge for themselves—that he was not ignorant of the danger to which he left them exposed, which is proved from his own mouth, in various instances, in which, after a retreat of two miles, beyond the reach of danger to himself, or of assistance to them, he expressed his anxiety for their safety; that he himself led the column to the rear. And I am not afraid to put myself at issue with the best cavalry officers, when I say, that this was a situation unfit, or at least very unusual, for the commanding officer, upon a principle established by all the regulations for the movements of cavalry, founded upon sound reason, and with a reference to actual service, and of such obvious use that no man can mis-

  1183]
  understand it, that the place of the commanding officer is, upon advancing, in the front, and upon retreating, in the rear; i.e. in the place nearest to the enemy, where alone he can judge of the means and opportunities of safety to his own troops, and of annoyance to the enemy:—and, although circumstances may frequently arise, which may require a deviation from this rule, still it is a deviation, and exception, from a general rule, and there must he circumstances to justify it; and circumstances capable of explanation; but no such explanation has been given. These facts are admitted by the language of the sentence; and I can only account for the mitigation of the punishment, by supposing it to arise from a misconception, which I know to prevail in the opinion of many officers, and I believe did in the opinions of some of the members of this Court—and this is, that they ought not to affix any high degree of punishment, unless they can convince their minds that the misbehaviour has arisen from one particular motive, and this motive is cowardice. Facts may be proved; but it is almost impossible to be certain of motives; and, in my humble opinion, the crime (I speak in the abstract) is that misbehaviour which is detrimental to the public service, by obstructing the success of the operation, whatever it may be, or by endangering the safety or injuring the character and reputation of the army, from whatever motive it may have arisen: but the word 'cowardice' is not to be found in the charges; it is not even to be found in the Articles of War; and I shall now desire your lordships attention to the different manner in which this subject is considered by the naval and the military law. The expression in the military article is simply, 'misbehaviour before 'the enemy,' without mention of motive, or of any circumstance whatsoever; the naval expression is, 'cowardice, negligence, or disaffection in action.' If the naval definition of motives is preferred, there can be no doubt that all possible motives ought to be included, and there is one, of known effect in all periods of history, as far as motives can be known—private ill-will and malice against individuals, generally against the commanding officer;—to these may, perhaps, be added an expression lately introduced into military law—'error in judgment:' but that expression appears to me to be too vague and indefinite, as its value must depend
  [1184
  upon the combined result of the importance of the object which has failed by that error, and of the difficulty of the case upon which the judgment is to be formed. Error in judgment may be a fair excuse for inferior officers, sent upon services which they have not sought, and may perhaps dislike; but I cannot help saying, that, where commands are given to Generals, as favours solicited by them, they are bound to find a sufficient stock of judgment for the occasions which they have solicited and sought. There can be no doubt that cowardice is a complete disqualification for the military profession; but it would only be to waste your lordships time and my own, if I were to use any arguments to show, that disaffection to the state, treason, or envious malice—crimes of the blackest dye, and which the mind has the power to resist—deserve a much higher degree of punishment than cowardice, an involuntary weakness of nature, irresistible, and approaching nearer to that general excuse for all crimes—mental derangement—and therefore rather deserving of compassion than of punishment. In the word 'negligence' there are very different degrees of blame: the negligence of brave, but rash men, by which they expose themselves, and the troops under their command, to unnecessary and useless danger, is certainly very blameable, and very injurious to the service; but, when the negligence of the safety of others, is coupled with perfect security to their own persons, it assumes a very different character, and such as I will not describe, because I cannot do so without epithets which I do not wish to use. I do not pretend to say which of the definitions is the best, the naval or the military; but as they are essentially different, though describing precisely the same thing, it is not probable that there should not be a preference between them; and it must be very desirable that they should be the same in both professions, and that officers should be made to understand, that the misbehaviour is the crime to which the punishment is due, whether arising from cowardice, or from any of the malignant motives, among which I class wilful negligence, such as I have before described to your lordships.
  The second and third Charges are as follows:
  "2nd. That the said Colonel Quentin, having the command of the regiment, after the battle of Orthes, viz. on the 28th

  1185]
  of February 1814, on the high road leading to St. Sever, in front of the village of Hagelman, department de Landes in France, and the regiment being on that day engaged with the enemy, he, the said Colonel Quentin, did not, previously to, or during the period the regiment was so engaged, make such effectual attempts as he ought to have done, by his presence, and his own personal exertions and example, to co-operate with, or support the advanced divisions of the 10th Hussars under his command, but neglected and abandoned his duty as commanding officer, and thereby hazarded the safety of those divisions, and the character and reputation of the regiment; such conduct, on the part of the said Colonel Quentin, tending to lessen the confidence of the soldiers in the skill and courage of their officers, being unbecoming his character as an officer, prejudicial to good order and military discipline, and contrary to the Articles of War."
  "3d. That on the 10th day of April 1814, during the battle of Thoulouse, in France, the said Colonel Quentin, having the command of the regiment, and the regiment being on that day in the presence of, and attacked by the Enemy, he the said Colonel Quentin did not, during such attack, make such effectual attempts as he ought to have done, by his presence and his own personal exertions, to co-operate with or support the advanced divisions of the regiment under his command, but neglected and abandoned his duty as commanding officer, leaving some of the divisions, when under fire from the enemy, without orders, and thereby unnecessarily hazarding the safety and reputation of those divisions; such conduct, on the part of the said Colonel Quentin, tending to lessen the confidence of the soldiers of the regiment in the skill and courage of their officers, being unbecoming and disgraceful to his character as an officer, prejudicial to good order and military discipline, and contrary to the Articles of War."
  Upon these charges the evidence does not convey to me the same result that it appears to have done to the Court. I say appears, because I cannot bring my mind to any certainty as to their real opinion upon these charges, as I shall explain to your lordships presently. Upon the second charge, I shall only observe, that if it did not occur to these officers to attribute the backward situation in the attack of colonel Quentin,—one of the best riders
  [1186
  in the world, with excellent horses, and in excellent condition,—to the defect of his horsemanship, or his horse, it appears to me to have been a very natural and a venial error; and if they have erred respecting the propriety of that backward situation, that error is certainly a venial one, for they were led into it by the Prince Regent himself, who had but a few weeks before most properly rewarded their own major (major Robarts) with the rank of lieutenant-colonel, for his conduct at Morales; for a conduct directly opposite, in circumstances nearly similar: for encouraging the men, not with his voice, but by his example; for heading the charge, himself the leading man of the leading squadron. And upon the third charge (in the battle of Thoulouse), if those officers who saw colonel Quentin in front just before the firing began, and who did not see him when it did begin, (although the front was not longer than the width of this House), and who heard major Howard send lieutenant Wyndham to the general for instructions, (left as he was, without notice or orders, in the most difficult situation for cavalry, standing still under a heavy fire,) should think such an abrupt disappearance ill-timed and improper, it may be an error; but I cannot think it an error deserving the severe reproof that has been thrown upon them. But with respect to these charges, my objection is to the language of the verdict. Till this unfortunate trial, it has been invariably the custom that the sentence of acquittal should end with these words, 'that the prisoner is not guilty of the charge, and is acquitted, or is 'honourably-acquitted;' and unless the word 'honourably' was added, it was not understood to be that sort of acquittal which completely restored the prisoner to his former reputation and character, and it therefore justified the prosecution. I know that this example has been followed in a subsequent Court-martial; but to this I feel no objection, and I am doubtful whether it is desirable to leave that discretionary sentence to the option of the Court: but I am convinced that it is essential to the ends of justice, that there should be a fixed form of words for the sentences, and that the Court should not have the power to evade and to sink a part of them, as has been done for the first time upon this occasion. Upon these two charges, the sentences are only—that colonel Quentin is not guilty: the prisoner was not ho-

  1187]
  nourably acquitted upon these charges; and it is now impossible to know whether that omission was intentional or accidental; but if your lordships would relieve the members from their oaths, I have great doubts whether the majority of them, or perhaps any of them, would subscribe their names to the words 'honourably acquitted.'
  Before I begin the fourth Charge, I must say a few words upon a principle which indeed belongs to them all, and which throws a heavy responsibility upon the members of these Courts, if they do not pay the most minute attention to every particle of evidence, and to every syllable of applause or censure which they may apply to any of the parties before them, whether prisoner, prosecutor, or witness; a principle so opposite to the benignant spirit of justice in our other Courts, which rejoices when she can abstain from punishment; but here the sword of justice, like the enchanted sword of Angantir, is never drawn but it slays a man, and if the enemy escapes, destroys a friend; if it cannot reach the prisoner, exterminates the prosecutor and the witnesses; but with this advantage to the prisoner, that he has the means of defence, whereas the other parties are condemned, undefended, and unheard; they are like buckets in a well, in the proportion as one sinks the other rises—not by any properties of his own, but by the simple operation of the gravity of the body opposed to him; and I cannot conceive any thing more likely to destroy all truth and fairness, and to confound the means of justice, than the sort of bellum internecinum which this principle establishes among all the parties—prisoner, prosecutor and witnesses.
  The fourth Charge is, "for general neglect of duty, by allowing a relaxed discipline to exist in the regiment under, his command when on foreign service, by which the reputation of the regiment suffered in the opinion of the Commander of the forces, and of the Lieutenant-general commanding the Cavalry; their displeasure having been expressed or implied in a letter from the Adjutant-general of the forces, addressed to major-general lord E. Somerset, commanding the Hussar brigade, dated on or about the 29th of March, 1814, and in the orders of the Lieutenant-general commanding the Cavalry, dated the 26th February, 1814; such conduct, on the part of the said Colonel Quentin, being unbecoming his character as an
  [1188
  officer, prejudicial to his Majesty's service, and contrary to the Articles of War."
  Upon which this is the sentence of the Court:—"With respect to the fourth Charge, the Court are of opinion, that a relaxed discipline, as set forth in that charge, did exist in the regiment under Colonel Quentin's command, whilst on foreign service, during the period alluded to in the letter and orders referred to in the charge; and as they cannot but consider the commanding officer of a regiment to be responsible for such relaxation of discipline, they therefore think themselves bound to find Colonel Quentin guilty, to the extent of allowing it to exist; but as they consider the letter from the Adjutant-general to the troops on the Continent, of March 30, 1814, expressing the displeasure of the Commander of the forces, as a reprimand to Colonel Quentin, adequate to the degree of blame which attached to him, the Court do not feel themselves called upon to give any sentence upon this charge in the way of further punishment; and they consider that arty thing unusual in this determination will be explained, by the singularity of the circumstances attending this charge, by which an officer is put upon his trial for conduct which had before been the subject of animadversion, by those under whose command he was then serving, but which, at the time, was not considered deserving of a more serious proceeding by the Commander of the forces; nor does it appear to have been made the subject of any remonstrance, or request for a more serious investigation, on the part of the officers of the regiment."
  I must first observe, that out of four Charges, two have been proved; and upon the other two, the prisoner has not been honourably acquitted. I shall now call your attention to the statement of the Court respecting the letter of the Adjutant-general, which they allege to be a sufficient punishment already undergone, and therefore their ground for not inflicting any further punishment upon the prisoner; Which remission of punishment by the Court affords, according to the present practice of military law, a pretence for punishment to the other parties; and for this purpose it is necessary that what they consider to be the punishment already undergone, should be represented to have been as severe as possible; and I beg your lordships to observe the great inaccuracy

  1189]
  of their language, in calling this letter, a letter to the troops on the Continent, winch certainly means a letter in General Orders to the duke of Wellington's army, then consisting of from 80 to 100,000 men. I will now show your lordships what such a letter really is.

  GENERAL ORDER.
  Horse Guards, 10th Nov. 1814.
  "His royal highness the Commander-in-chief has been pleased to direct that the following copy of a letter, containing the opinion and sentence of a general Court-martial, recently held for the trial of Colonel George Quentin, of the 10th or Prince of Wales's own Royal Regiment of Light Dragoons, and the Prince Regent's pleasure thereon, shall be entered in the General Order books, and read at the head of every regiment in his Majesty's service.—By command of his royal highness the Commander-in-chief,
  "HARRY CALVERT, Adjutant-general."
  This is a letter to the troops in England; as severe a punishment as can be inflicted upon men of honour and feeling; but what was, in reality, the letter which these gentlemen so negligently call a letter to the troops on the Continent? That letter was sent to lord Edward Somerset, who commanded the brigade, as a private admonition and reprimand to the 10th Hussars, was so read to them, and never was, nor was intended to be communicated to any other corps or man in the army; and that letter, which ought to have been a strong corroborative of the proofs against the prisoner, is converted, by the strangest perversion of all reason and justice, into a pretence for screening him from all punishment; and the consequence of this is, that it takes the punishment from the man who had deserved and received the censure of the duke of Wellington and lord Combermere,—the only competent judges of their respective merits,—and throws it upon those who had deserved and received their praise.—shall now read that part of the letter which is applicable to this subject:
  "I am commanded by my lord Wellington to take this occasion of mentioning, that the complaints are so general against the 10th Hussars, and so extremely discreditable to the regiment, and prejudicial to the interests of the army, that it is requisite you should immediately adopt measures to re-establish that discipline which is necessary to good order, but which has
  [1190
  been allowed to relax in an unpardonable degree, under the command of lieutenant-colonel Quentin. Your lordship will be so good as to communicate to the lieutenant-colonel, the Field-marshal's displeasure at having to notice irregularities it was in his power to have prevented; and that a recurrence of such breach of regulation and good order, will convince His excellency, that colonel Quentin is unequal to control a regiment of the first pretensions."
  I shall say no more, except, in the words of lord Clarendon, to express my surprise, "that a circumstance of high aggravation should be applied to the mitigation of a censure that ought to be the more severe, nay, even to constitute such, an innocence as is not worthy of censure."
  I now come to that part of the sentence in which the Court say, that "there appears to have existed such a want of co-operation, among the officers of the regiment, as to render the duties of the commanding officer much more arduous than they otherwise would have been." I do not clearly understand the meaning of these words; but I suppose it to be a want of co-operation with colonel Quentin, since one of the complaints against the officers is, a too great co-operation among themselves: but whatever the intended meaning may be, I maintain that there never was an assertion more destitute of foundation, and less supported by any evidence or proof whatsoever. There is proof abundant that the officers were zealous to do their duty; that they urged colonel Quentin to support them in their duty; but there is not the shadow of proof that they ever disobeyed him, or neglected to co-operate with him in the execution of his duties, or in any branch of the service. I have heard this subject discussed in another place; and the only allegation in support of this accusation was, a neglect of reporting to colonel Quentin. Now, I will venture to assert that there are only two instances of this supposed neglect in the whole evidence, one is, colonel Palmer not reporting to him that the surgeon of the regiment, Mr. Morrison, (not officially, but in accidental conversation,) had told him, that in answer to a letter of inquiry from the head of the medical staff, be had written word, that the great sickness in the regiment arose from relaxed discipline, and consequent intemperance: a report which, I believe, colonel Palmer was not at all bound to make, and which, if he had made it unne-

  1191]
  cessarily, would have borne the appearance of an intended insult to colonel Quentin. The other is to be found in the answer made by captain Harding: "I certainly felt it useless on many occasions to report, finding that I was not supported:" an answer which carries within itself an excuse for captain Harding, and a reproach upon colonel Quentin. But admitting, for the sake of argument, these two instances to the fullest extent of blame; did ever any man advance such a proposition, as that a crime proved upon only two men, should implicate three-arid-twenty others? And out of these, thirteen were subalterns, who could not report to the colonel; it would have been a breach of duty if they had done so; and one, a captain Synge, who had served during the war on the staff with general Pack, had seen ten times more service than colonel Quentin ever had; wounded, maimed for his life; and who is now implicated in a censure for want of cooperation in duties with which be had nothing to do!
  I must add a few words of comparison between the different testimonies upon which the Court have founded their opinion. All those who were upon the spot, whether as generals commanding, or as spectators, and witnesses of the conduct of the regiment; the noble lord who commanded the cavalry; lord Edward Somerset, who commanded the brigade; colonel Gardiner; major Jones; all speak in the highest terms of praise of the officers and very differently of colonel Quentin. I will read two or three very short extracts, but will first call your attention to those words of the sentence, where, in speaking of the relaxation of discipline, the Court says, that they think themselves bound to find colonel Quentin guilty, to the extent of allowing it to exist; as if there were some crime beyond that of allowing it, which a commanding officer could be guilty of, as if he could act the indiscipline of a regiment himself, in his own person. Lord E. Somerset said: "I had every reason to approve of the general conduct of the officers; they appeared to be zealous and attentive to their duty:" and again, "the officers of the 10th Hussars seemed generally attentive to their duty; but of course, where the system of discipline is relaxed, it will extend to all ranks more or less:" and then being asked to what he attributed this relaxation of discipline, his answer is, "I certainly attribute it to the want of a proper system being
  [1192
  maintained by the commanding officer, and the want of proper activity on his part." I will now read the evidence of lord Combermere: "I think I told him," (lord E. Somerset) "that as there was no amendment," or likely to be in the 10th, that I should write home on the subject, stating that colonel Quentin, from a bad state of health, or some cause, appeared unfit to command a regiment of light cavalry on active service; but the war being over a few days afterwards, I did not think it necessary to take any further notice. I cannot recollect the whole of the conversation; I said a great deal more to him." And here I must observe, that this passage affords a complete answer to that reproach which has been thrown upon the officers, that their accusation of colonel Quentin was the deliberate issue of a long and extraordinary delay, for which no sufficient reasons or explanation have been given; for here it appears, that the officers had reason to expect that the accusation would have been brought forward in the proper and regular mode by the General commanding the Cavalry, and that nothing but the unforeseen circumstance of the sudden cessation of hostilities prevented that general from doing so; but although the cessation of hostilities was a sufficient reason for the noble lord's forbearance, your lordships may easily conceive that the feelings of officers, labouring under reproach which they did not deserve, for offences of which they were innocent, which they knew and deplored, but could not prevent, were not to be so easily satisfied, and could not be endured in silent acquiescence. He again says: "I thought colonel Quentin was in a bad state of health, that probably it was owing to that, but that he did not appear fit to command a regiment of light cavalry on active service. I had an opportunity of seeing a great deal of the officers of the 10th in quarters and in the field, and I must say, I never met with a finer corps of officers, and I do hot think there were ever officers better disposed or more zealous, or officers I should like better to command than the officers of the 10th Hussars: that is my reason for thinking still, that it was not their fault, but the fault of the commanding officer, that the regiment was not in the high state of discipline which it ought to be latterly."
  This testimony coming from such a source, no less than that highly distinguished officer who commanded the ca-

  1193]
  valry under the duke of Wellington, is a compensation for the injuries which have been inflicted on them; a protection from the disgrace which was intended for them; the safeguard of their character; the consolation of their misfortune: it will stand for ever a monument of honour to them, and of reproach to the Court, whose total disregard of such testimony must present to your lordships a strong argument for revising the construction and the proceedings of these tribunals.
  On the other hand, what is the evidence for col. Quentin? Campaigns at Hounslow, and at Ipswich; generals who never heard a shotted gun; a captain who remembers col. Quentin, but forgets col. Leigh at Majorca; but not one officer who had been present at the events which are the subject of this Court-martial. But from this nonsense, only fit for the Mayor of Garrat, there is one brilliant exception—the noble lord who commanded the cavalry under sir John Moore in 1808, and whom I shall ever respect for that gallant spirit which at the first call of his country's danger tore him from the charms of a society, where every thing conspired with his own personal qualities, to allure him from the paths of glory to those of pleasure, and who, as well as another noble friend of mine, in circumstances somewhat similar, whom your lordships must be proud to see among you, by the native energy of their own characters, have attained the highest celebrity in a profession to which they had not been destined. But to what indignity was that noble lord exposed, by the blunders of this Court! no less than to have the testimony which he gave on one day, expunged from their minutes on the next; a testimony not voluntarily given, but extorted from him,—and by whom? no less than the President himself, and in these words, "Will your lordship relate the particular circumstances of the conduct of col. Quentin in the affair of Benevente? They have been related to me as particularly meritorious,"—and, as if every sort of absurdity was to attach to the proceedings of this Court, it so happens that this affair at Benevente was the only thing which it was unnecessary, and therefore improper, for the noble lord to describe at all, not only upon the new and unintelligible principle, respecting the cross-examination of witnesses to character, broached for the first time upon this trial, but upon the soundest principles of evidence in our courts of law—for there
  [1194
  is now extant the official document, the letter of that noble lord, as commander of the cavalry, detailing all the circumstances of that engagement; published in the Gazette, accessible to a your lordships, and open to the prisoner; who might have produced it in his defence if he had thought proper; and the authority of such a letter, written at the time, and upon the spot, must be infinitely beyond that of the best recollection after the lapse of six or seven years. I should not have mentioned' what I am now going to say, if the Court had confined themselves to the bare sentence, whatever it might have been; but as they have added mitigations, founded upon a variety of circumstances, I cannot but think that they ought to have given line weight to all the circumstances connected with the transaction; and is it a circumstance of no consequence, that col. Quentin subpœna'd for his own witnesses, officers of the regiment who were present at these transactions—major Howard and col. Wyndham;—both friends of his own, but men of honour, and who would have spoken the truth, but whose mouths, though present and in attendance, he did not think proper to unseal, but trusted the defence of his honour to the varying and contradictory testimony of non-commissioned officers and private soldiers. Major Howard had been present, and close to him upon most of the occasions which are the subjects of the charges; and col. Wyndham had served with the regiment under col. Robarts, and for six weeks afterwards, under col. Quentin, and must have known if any change had taken place in the discipline. Is it of no consequence that he refused the production of the Due de Guiche's letter of explanation, in answer to a letter of his own?—the Duc de Guiche, whose absence (compelled by the orders of his Government) is much to be regretted, for considerations of infinitely more importance than the value of his testimony, great as that would have been. Is it of no consequence that, after having told the Court himself, that col. Palmer permitted him to remain in perfect ignorance of a medical report, stating drunkenness, want of necessaries, and inattention to personal cleanliness, as causes of an increase of sickness in the men of the 10th, which might have seriously affected the character of the regiment, and of himself as commanding it, if not inquired into and answered—he then, when col. Palmer proposes to him to call the author of that

  1195]
  medical report, Mr. Morrison, into Court, to give an explanation upon this subject, which be (col. Quentin) had introduced himself to the Court, refuses the evidence of Mr. Morrison, upon a technical objection, that his name was not upon the list of witnesses.
  I now come to the subject of the letter, upon which I shall state nothing but what I saw and know; and I say that this letter ought never to have risen in evidence against the officers; that it ought never to have seen the light; that it was suppressed almost as soon as written, and that it is to the indiscretion of col. Palmer alone, that its disclosure is to be attributed. I say that col. Palmer owes it to the officers—that he owes it to his own honour, to state distinctly to the country, the manner in which that letter has risen from obscurity to the ruin of twenty-five of his friends, gallant officers, and honourable men. I say nothing of the letter itself; I do not defend it; I do not blame it; I do not blame the consequences that have resulted from it; but I did wish, and I wish still, and I believe it is not now too late, that these officers may be brought to a Court-martial for that letter, and broke, if-they shall appear to have been as guilty as they have been represented: as it now elands, they have been condemned without the means or opportunity of defence; and when I have read to your lordships this letter, signed ten years ago by fifteen officers of the Blues—
  ["The printed paper which has been exhibited in the most public manner, with the name of Mr. Goulburn affixed to it, reflecting the worst possible abuse upon an officer now in the Blues, cannot but give us much concern, as affecting the honour of one of our corps. We declare, in duty and justice to the regiment, to which we belong, that we cannot tacitly consent to partake of the blame or the disrepute, which from this circumstance may, in the opinion of the public, appear to attach to us as a military body, owing to the private conduct of one of its members. As the name of the regiment has been made use of, we think it our duty to come forward with this declaration, and most respectfully to assure our colonel, how, sensibly we feel for the honour and character of his regiment, whenever its name is brought into public notice, also pf our firm reliance upon his, support, and of our constant endeavours to deserve it."]—and when I tell jour lordships, that
  [1196
  this letter was approved by the King, who then took much pleasure in that regiment, and that captain Horsley was in consequence obliged to leave the regiment, your lordships will feel that there is at least that similarity—I think the similarity is perfect—but at least that similarity between the outset of the transactions, and such a total difference in the results, as to afford some excuse for men who followed this precedent so far as to write a letter, and then to burn it; for their intention, and consequently their real offence amounted to no more: and I think your lordships must also feel that, when, coupled with the ruin of twenty-five gallant officers, misled by precedent, and unconscious of crime, it affords to me strong ground for intreating your lordships to rescue the army from that state of law, worse even than bad laws, the Jus vagum et incognitum. And I much wish that the circumstances of the letter of the 10th Hussars had been subjected to a strict investigation, because it would have prevented a great deal of very unpleasant suspicion and discussion; and I believe the result would have been to show, that, neither colonel Palmer, nor any of the parties were intentionally to blame, and that the disclosure of the letter was occasioned by misunderstandings in verbal conversation, by which all these parties were misled, except the officers, who intended nothing, and expected nothing, except that the letter was to be burnt, and was burnt. With respect to col. Palmer, I do not believe, that there ever existed a braver officer, or a more honourable and better man; and in this I have the good fortune to agree with the Court; and if any thing could add to my conviction of the necessity of giving some better mode of reference for the Military Courts to the law officers of the Crown, it would be the anomaly in this trial, by which causes directly opposite have produced precisely the same effect: the signing the letter, and the not signing it, are made equal crimes, and the moderate but unjust censure of the officers by the Court, and their high and just commendation of colonel Palmer, both as to his conduct in the regiment, and upon the trial, are productive of the same bad effects to both, the same destruction to the parties unjustly censured, and to the party justly praised.
  There is not one of the articles that requires revision more than that which, relates to the subject of this letter of the

  1197]
  Blues,—duels;—if the prerogative of the Crown is not already sufficient to prevent it,—and I very much wished it to be exercised upon a late duel, not only on account of the impropriety of that duel and its absurdity, (for there is not such a fool in the army, who could suppose that it could be useful to any purpose, except the chance of destroying colonel Palmer,) but much more to put an end to suspicions which naturally arose from the circumstances, very imprudent, both as to the persons, the time, and the place, from which that duel is supposed to have originated: and even now since col. Quentin's trial, a young and gallant officer (lieutenant Cowell) has been broke for not prosecuting a quarrel in a way that could lead to nothing but a duel, and in a letter produced in evidence from the officer commanding the regiment, which letter was the Foundation of the whole proceeding, the Court expunge this sentence, "You must beware that fighting a duel is contrary to the Articles of War," leaving the remainder in evidence, and then they break him for not proceeding in such a manner as could have ended in nothing but a duel. The prisoner put this question to the Court,—"Was I to understand by this letter, that if I had fought a duel, the Articles of War would have been resorted to, and that not having done so, my commission must have been the forfeit?" Certainly a very unpleasant question; as it made nonsense of their whole proceedings: and how did they get rid of it? They cut the gordian knot; and at once expunged, both question and answer from their minutes. But there is no end to the absurdity of these Courts.
  But it has been said, that because these officers are allowed to retain their rank in the army, the punishment is not a severe one, and the words of the letter imply that it is not adequate to their offence. Is it not a severe punishment to be scattered, not over England, not over Europe, but over the world, like a gang of mutineers that cannot be trusted near each other, and to have their disgrace proclaimed to the whole army, at the head of every regiment? Is it not a severe punishment to captain Lloyd, an officer of long standing, the first captain in the regiment, reduced to the last in another; his hopes of promotion in the service retarded, till a time of life when, perhaps he will be no longer able to serve wounded, ill treated by the enemy, be-
  [1198
  cause he refused to surrender his sword, a sword highly valued by him, because a present from his colonel, received front the very hand which has since signed his ruin? Is it not a severe punishment to the second captain, captain Harding,—a name which it is difficult to pronounce without indignation, when I think bow he has been sacrificed, and to what he has been sacrificed,—a name never heard without distinction, and never mentioned without respect; of long service, repeatedly wounded, who, already a soldier, saw the safety of India fixed, under the auspices of a noble marquis, by the fall of Serin gapatam; who saw that star rising in the East, to whom the Western world now looks for safety and defence. I mention these circumstanced, because, among many other calumnies, it has been circulated that the officers were little more than boys. Is it no punishment to two brothers, of whose honourable principles, of whose zeal for their duties, of whose respect and gratitude to their benefactor, which no harshness can shake or diminish, I can speak with certainty, from personal knowledge, to be sent, perhaps to perish in India? Is it a slight punishment to all these officers to be placed upon half-pay, or as supernumeraries, without the hope of service or the chance of distinction—and now, when the trumpet has already sounded for preparation? I have heard It urged that this sentence is the triumph of justice to an unprotected foreigner, over personal friendship and favoritism. To my mind, there never was a greater misapplication of terms. I have understood the word 'favoritism' to apply to persons who owe their promotion to their private services to the Sovereign, and to his personal favour, but not at all to these officers; not to the son of a noble duke; not to the brother of a noble marquis; not to the nephew of a noble marquis, high in his Majesty's household; nor to many others of them; who, if they are as independent in their minds, as they are in their situations, are placed far above the caprices of power; and who, while they firmly support that key-stone of the constitution, the Crown, and while they respect and love the personal qualities of the Prince who now exercises its power, will spurn at the disgraceful and inapplicable term of 'favoritism.'
  I will now state shortly the objects which I intend to recommend to your lordships, as founded on these minutes:—

  1199]
  To define the crimes—To fix the highest punishment to each crime, leaving the mitigation only to the discretion of the Court—To fix the language of the sentences—To give to the Court the power of declaring the charges frivolous and vexatious, and of either ordering or recommending any of the parties to be brought to a Court-martial, if they shall appear to deserve it, but not to punish or censure without trial—To leave the prerogative of the Crown untouched, except by limiting it to a distinct and separate exercise, never mixed with the judicial proceedings—To define the modes of accusation, and of prosecution, so that officers may know what they can do with safety; what they may attempt at their peril; and what they must not do at all—To establish some mode of reference, common to both professions, perhaps a judge independent, and upon the footing of the judges of England—To take off the oath of secrecy, an oath highly injurious to the character of officers, who have not concurred in an unjust sentence—To give to these Courts that publicity which is essential to justice, which is the practice of alt our other Courts of Justice, and which forms a most important branch of the Constitution; and to compel the members, after deliberating in private, to give their votes in open Court, upon the principle of increasing the individual responsibility—a principle recognised in the
  [1200
  other House of Parliament, in the Act for deciding contested elections;—to direct that clear, distinct, and intelligible rules of evidence be prepared for the guidance of these Courts, and to comprise all these in a few words—To introduce, I hope, under the auspices of the Commander-in-chief, that reform in the judicial part, which has been so successfully effected in every other part of the military system, by that illustrious personage to whom I, in common with the nation, must fee the deepest gratitude for the services which he has rendered to the country, and myself individually; for that kindness and condescension which adorn his private, as much as his ability, his diligence, and his upright intentions, exalt his public character.
  My lords; I shall now conclude with moving, "That an humble Address be presented to his royal highness the Prince Regent, to order copies of the Minutes of the. Court-martial upon captain Philip Browne of the Hermes, and of the opinion of the Law Officers of the Crown upon that Court-martial, and copies of the Minutes of the Court-martial upon Mr. Lazarus Roberts, midshipman of the Hamadryad, and of the order issued by the Board of Admiralty in consequence of that Court-martial; and copies of the Minutes of the Court-martial upon colonel Quentin of the 10th Hussars; to be laid before this House."

THE SPEAKER'S SPEECH TO THE PRINCE REGENT ON PRESENTING THE VOTE OF CREDIT BILL.
Exactly at two o'clock, his royal highness the Prince Regent entered the House of Lords. The Usher of the Black Rod was immediately dispatched to the House of Commons, requiring their attendance. The Speaker and a great number of members accordingly made their appearance in a few minutes. As soon as the Speaker had reached the bar, he pronounced the following Speech:—
"May it please your Royal Highness:
"We his Majesty's faithful subjects, the Commons of Great Britain and Ireland, in obedience to your Royal Highness's commands, attend your Royal Highness; and, according to our ancient privilege, we crave leave to present with our own hands our grant of supply, which concludes the labours of the session.
"In the ordinary course of our proceedings, much of our time has been occupied in discussing measures of great importance to the State, with respect to its agriculture, shipping, and finances.
"We have endeavoured so to regulate the Corn Laws with prudence and firmness, that protection and encouragement may be given to the agricultural interests of every part of the United Kingdom, without endangering the prosperity of our trade and manufactures. We have endeavoured also to derive new means of maritime strength from the valuable resources of our Indian possessions; and, after devising and preparing such plans for adjusting the public revenue and expenditure, as might suit a period of returning peace, we have been called upon by unlooked-for events, to renew our exertions and sacrifices upon the most extended scale of war.
"Scarcely had we closed our contest with America, and scarcely had the Congress of Vienna laid the first foundation of those arrangements, which were destined to consolidate the peace of Europe, when, in direct contravention of the most solemn engagements, the disturber of Europe, and destroyer of the human race, repeared upon the throne of France, and the world was once more in arms.
"In the short space of three months,
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by rapid strides, the fate of Europe has been again brought to issue; and the conflict was tremendous, but the result has been glorious. The most warlike nations, headed by the most renowned commanders, have met in battle; and as Britons, we have the triumphant satisfaction to know (however much that triumph may be saddened with private grief), that it is now no longer doubtful to what name, and to what nation, the world will henceforth ascribe the pre-eminence for military skill and unconquerable valour.
"To consecrate the trophies, and perpetuate the fame of our brave countrymen who fell in that unrivalled victory, we have declared it to be our ardent desire, and it will be the distinguishing glory of your Royal Highness's days, to erect, in the metropolis of this empire, such a lofty and durable monument of their military renown, and our national gratitude, as may command the veneration of our latest posterity.
"Great, however, and glorious as this victory has been in itself, it is not to the joint exertions and heroic achievements of the British and Prussian arms in that memorable conflict, that we must limit our admiration. We have also to contemplate with equal pride and satisfaction its immediate consequences, military, political, and moral.
"We have seen the illustrious Commanders of the Allied Armies advancing at once into the heart of France; and Paris, twice conquered, has again opened her gates to the conquerors.
"The Usurper of a throne, which he has twice abdicated, has sought his safety in an ignominious flight, and the rightful Sovereign of France has once more resumed the sceptre of his ancestors.
"With these awful scenes passing before us, we may presume also to hope, that the period is not now distant, when the hand of Providence will finally extinguish the remaining effects of that guilty and perfidious spirit of domination which has so long raged without control, and restore to desolated Europe the blessings of peace and justice.
"But, Sir, whatever may be the final issue of these great transactions, we look forward with confidence to their satisfactory conclusion, under the auspices of your Royal Highness; and we doubt not of the happiest results, from the same councils which have planned, and the same hands that have executed those wise and vigorous measures which have hitherto been crowned with such signal success.
"On our part, it is our humble duty to strengthen the means of your Royal Highness's Government; and towards effectuating that purpose, we, his Majesty's faithful Commons, do this day present to your Royal Highness a Bill, intituled, 'An Act for enabling his Majesty to raise the sum of Six Millions for the service of Great Britain.'
"To which, with all humility, we intreat his Majesty's Royal Assent."
The Royal Assent was then declared to the Vote of Credit Bill, the Bread Assize Bill, and a number of minor Bills.

THE PRINCE REGENT'S SPEECH AT THE CLOSE OF THE SESSION.
His royal highness the Prince Regent was then pleased to make the following Speech from the throne:
"My Lords and Gentlemen;
"I cannot close this session of parliament without again expressing my deep regret at the continuance of his Majesty's lamented indisposition.
"At the commencement of the present session I entertained a confident hope, that the Peace which I had concluded in conjunction with his Majesty's Allies would meet with no interruption; that, after so many years of continued warfare and of unexampled calamity, the nations of Europe would be allowed to enjoy that repose for which they had been so long contending; and that your efforts might be directed to alleviate the burthens of his Majesty's people, and to adopt such measures as might best promote the internal prosperity of his dominions.
"These expectations were disappointed by an act of violence and perfidy of which no parallel can be found in history.
"The usurpation of the supreme authority in France by Buonaparté, in consequence of the defection of the French armies from their legitimate Sovereign, appeared to me to be so incompatible with the general security of other countries, as well as with the engagements to which the French nation had recently been a party, that I felt I had no alternative but to employ the military resources of his Majesty's dominions, in conjunction with his Majesty's Allies, to prevent the re-establishment of a system which experience had proved to be the source of such incalculable woes to Europe.
"Under such circumstances you will have seen, with just pride and satisfaction, the splendid success with which it has pleased Divine Providence to bless his Majesty's arms and those of his Allies.
"Whilst the glorious and ever-memorable victory obtained at Waterloo, by field-marshals the Duke of Wellington and and Prince Blucher, has added fresh lustre to the characters of those great commanders, and has exalted the military reputation of this country beyond all former example, it has at the same time produced the most decisive effects on the operations of the war, by delivering from invasion the dominions of the king of the Netherlands, and by placing, in the short space of fifteen days, the city of Paris and a large past of the kingdom of France in the military occupation of the Allied Armies.
"Amidst events so important, I am confident you will see how necessary it is, that there should be no relaxation in our exertions, until I shall be enabled, in conjunction with his Majesty's Allies, to complete those arrangements which may afford the prospect of permanent peace and security to Europe.
"Gentlemen of the House of Commons;
"I thank you for the very liberal provision you have made for the services of the present year.
"I deeply lament the continuance and increase of those burthens which the great military exertions of the present cam-

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paign, combined with the heavy arrears remaining due for the expenses of the former war, have rendered indispensable, and which his Majesty's loyal subjects, from a conviction of their necessity, have sustained with such exemplary fortitude and cheerfulness.
"You have already, seen, however, the fruit of the exertions which have been made; and there can be no doubt that the best economy will be found to result from that policy which may enable us to bring the contest to the most speedy termination.
"My Lords and Gentlemen;
"The brilliant and rapid success of the Austrian arms at the opening of the campaign, has led to the restoration of the kingdom of Naples to its ancient Sovereign, and to the deliverance of that important portion of Italy from foreign influence and dominion.
"I have further the satisfaction of acquainting you, that the authority of his Most Christian Majesty has been again acknowledged in his capital, to which his Majesty has himself repaired.
"The restoration of Peace between this Country and the United States of America has been followed by a negociation for a Commercial Treaty, which I have every reason to hope will be terminated upon conditions calculated to cement the good understanding subsisting between the two countries, and equally beneficial to the interests of both.
"I have great pleasure in acquainting you, that the labours of the Congress at Vienna have been brought to a conclusion by the signature of a Treaty, which, as the ratifications have not yet been exchanged, could not be communicated to you, but which I expect to be enabled to lay before you when I next meet you in Parliament.
"I cannot release you from your attendance without assuring you, that it is in a great degree to the support which you have afforded me, that I ascribe the success of my earnest endeavours for the public welfare; and on no occasion has
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that support been more important than in the course of the present session.
"In the further prosecution of such measures as may be necessary to bring the great contest in which we are engaged to an honourable and satisfactory conclusion, I shall rely with confidence on the experienced zeal and steady loyalty of all classes of his Majesty's subjects; and they may depend on my efforts to improve our present advantages in such manner as may best provide for the general tranquillity of Europe, and maintain the high character which this country enjoys amongst the nations of the world."
The Lord Chancellor,then, by his royal highness the Prince Regent's command, said: "My Lords and Gentlemen; It is the will and pleasure of his royal highness the Prince Regent, acting in the name and on behalf of his Majesty, that this Parliament be prorogued to Tuesday the 22d day of August next, to be then here holden; and this Parliament is accordingly prorogued to Tuesday the 22d day of August next."