Sitting of 27 March 1817

BANKRUPTCY REPRESSION BILL.
Mr. Lockhartbrought in a bill to amend such part of the bankrupt laws as related to granting the bankrupts certificate. As the object of the bill went to introduce a new principle, he wished it to lie over a long time for consideration; and, therefore, should not propose the second reading till the 1st of May. The object was, to impose a duty on the commissioners to examine into the conduct of the bankrupt, so that the lord chancellor might be enabled to exercise a proper discretion in granting his certificate.
Mr. Wrottesleyconceived the bill unnecessary. As the law now stood, the commissioners had one jurisdiction, the creditors another, and the lord chancellor a third; and, therefore, although the creditors should sign the certificate, the commissioners might withhold their signatures, and, finally, the lord chancellor might refuse to put the great seal to it.
The bill was ordered to be read a second time on the 1st of May.

PRINTED VOTES OF THE HOUSE.
Mr. Bathurstreported from the select committee appointed to consider of a more convenient and expeditious method of preparing and distributing the printed votes of this House, that the committee having examined Mr. Ley and Mr. Rickman, the clerks assistant of the House, Mr. Whittam the clerk of the journals, and Mr. Bowyer Nichols, the printer of the votes, and compared the intended compressed form of the votes, with that at at present in use, had come to the following resolution: "That it will be advisable that the votes and proceedings of the House should be prepared, printed, and distributed according to the method proposed and described in the papers thereunto annexed." The report was ordered to be taken into consideration to-morrow; when it was agreed to by the House.

FINANCE COMMITTEE.
Mr. Davies Gilbertpresented the first report from the Select Committee on Finance. The report was read, and began by stating, that the subject was not new to the House as in 1812 and 1813, measures had been adopted respecting it. The committee had inquired first, what reductions it was possible to make; secondly, what compensation should be given to persons holding high and effective offices; and thirdly, what offices might be reduced as were considered in the nature of sinecures, and that all such offices should be as soon as possible abolished after the deaths of their respective holders. The committee recommended the abolition of the chief justice-ship in Eyre, north and south of the Trent, of the auditorship of the exchequer, of the clerk of the pells, the four tellerships of the exchequer, the lord warden of the Cinque Ports, the governor of the Isle of Wight, and the commissary general of musters. The committee considered such offices ought to be abolished. In presenting this report the committee stated that they had lost no time in considering the matters referred to them, and had made their report as early as possible; and had not omitted to attend to every measure of real and practical economy. The clerk was proceeding to read the remainder of the report, but Mr. Gilbert suggested that it was unnecessary to go farther. Enough had been read to satisfy the House of the spirit of the report, and of the feelings by which the committee had been actuated.
The report was ordered to be printed.

SEDITIOUS MEETINGS BILL.
On the order of the day for taking into consideration the Lords Amendments to this bill,
Lord Folkestonestated, that as the next motion would be to take the amendments into consideration, he conceived the present was the time for him to declare his conviction, that it was wholly impossible to entertain that subject that night. The very circumstance of the chancellor of the exchequer having but last night agreed to have these amendments printed, was of itself, he thought, sufficient to persuade the House of the propriety of postponing the consideration of such an important measure. He had received indeed, in good time this morning, the various amendments, and had endeavoured as much as lay in his power to master the subject; but all in vain. He had found, besides two entirely new clauses, fifty-five amendments. The printed papers he had received gave only 14 references to the original bill, and of those 14 only one was correct. In some instances, indeed, he could find the matter referred to in the line above or the line below, but never could be certain which was really intended; in others it could not be found at all. The very first reference afforded a strong instance of the incorrectness that prevailed throughout. On these grounds, he thought it impossible that the House should so soon proceed to the discussion of the amendments.
The Solicitor Generalcontended, that the general spirit of the amendments was perfectly intelligible; and that, as the noble lord had stated no objection to the spirit of the clauses, he did not think that any ground for delay had been pointed out.
The Speakerstated, that early in the morning one of the printed papers had been brought to him, in which he had discovered several mistakes: these he had corrected, and had ordered the whole to be reprinted, which was all he could do.
Lord Folkestonesaid, it was very hard, after all the pains hon. members had taken to be now told that there was a correct copy, but that they had been losing their time on one which was confessedly erroneous. This was a farther reason why the business should be deferred.
Mr. Broughamsaid, that when he last night begged one day's delay, in order that he might have time to understand the amendments, the argument he had insisted on was this—that unless the amendments were printed in time for members

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to consider them before they entered on the discussion, it was a mockery to submit them to their inspection; the chancellor of the exchequer then replied, that they should be delivered early in the morning. It was in consequence of this haste, that the references had been so printed, not only as to afford no information, but absolutely to mislead the members. He hoped that, in the face of the circumstance that the House was going to legislate on it knew not what, the right hon. gentleman would postpone the discussion.
The Chancellor of the Exchequerreplied, that the hon. and learned gentleman had yesterday asked for a postponement till after Easter, and on that account he had been provoked to hasten the measure more perhaps than he should otherwise have done. He admitted, under the circumstance of the errors in the references, that the House had not had sufficient time to consider the business. He therefore agreed that the discussion should be deferred till to-morrow.
The amendments were ordered to be taken into consideration to-morrow.