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PROCEEDINGS IN PARLIAMENT, 1792. (Concluded from p. 1112.)

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In the Commons, the fame day, the Scotch Epifcopalian bill was, upon motion, rejected, on the ground that the Lords had introduced claufes which made it a money-bill and confequently, according to the ufage of Parlia ment, no bill of that nature could be adopted by the Houfe of Commons but muft originate in their own Houfe. As foon as the motion was made, and the bill rejected,

Mr. Secretary Dundas moved for leave to bring in a new bill; which was ordered accordingly.

Mr. Fox remarked, that the acts, for the repeal of which he had lately moved in favour of the Unitarians, were fuch as required repeal confiftently with the principles of the bill in favour of the Epifcopalians in Scotland.

Mr. Secretary Dundas explained the nature of the bill; the object of which was, to put the Epifcopalians of Scotland on a footing with other Diffenters in a material point, viz. that of choofing their own parlon, or minifter. Under the exifting laws, they could only congregate under a minifter licenfed either by an English or an Irish bishop.

Mr. Fox had no objection to this or any other bill founded on a principle of toleration; but he thought it right to obferve, that the rule of objection would apply to the prefent bill as had been urged against his motions on former occafions in favour of Diffenters of other defcriptions.

A petition from Stirling, in favour of the above bill, was prefented, read, and ordered to lie on the table.

H. OF LORDS;
May 31.

His Majefty's Proclamation being read, The Marquis of Abercorn addreffed the Houfe in a fpeech of confiderable length; in which his Lordship appealed to the good understanding of their Lord. fhips, whether the Proclamation which lay upon their Lordships' table was not, by the temper of the times, requifite. Attempts were made, not alone in the metropolis, but in various parts GENT. MAG Supplement, 1792.

of the kingdom, to alienate the affec. tions of the people from the prefentConftitution in Church and State. He deprecated the incendiary publications which he had lately read; and objected to the meetings of thofe focieties, which, in his opinion, were convened for no other purpose than that of overturning the Conftitution. The Noble Marquis concluded by moving, as an amendment to the Addrefs of the Commons, the infertion of the words "Lords Spiritual and Temporal," and, in the blank before the words, "the Commons.”

Lord Harrington followed the Noble Marquis, and felt himfelf highly grati fied by the honour of feconding the motion.

His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales (and it was the first time he ever spoke in parliament) came forward on this occafion, and in a manly, eloquent, and, we may truly add, perfuafive manner, delivered his fentiments. He faid, that, on a queftion of fuch magnitude, he should be deficient in his duty as a member of parliament, unmindful of that refpect he owed to the Conftitution, and inattentive to the welfare, the peace, and the happiness of the people, if he did not flate to the world what was his opinion on the prefent queftion. He was educated in the principles, and he fhould ever preferve them, of a reverence for the conftitutional liberties of the people; and, as on thole confiitutional principles the happiness of that people depended, he was determined, as far as his intereft could have any force, to fupport them. The matter in iffue was, in fact, whether the Conftitution was or was not to be maintained

whether the wild ideas of theory were to conquer the whole fome maxims of established practice; and whether thofe laws, under which we had flourished for fuch a series of years, were to be fubverted by a reform unfanctioned by the people. As a perfon nearly and dearly interested in the welfare, and, he fhould emphatically add, the happinets and comfort of the people, it would be treafon to the principles of his mind, if he did not come forward and declare his difapprobation of thofe feditious publications which had occafioned the motion now before their Lordships; and his intereft was connected with the intereft of the people: they were fo infeparable, that, unless both parties con.

curred,

curred, happiness could not exift. On this great, on this folid, bafis, he grounded the vote which he meant to give, and that vote fhould unequivocally be for a concurrence with the Commons in the Addrefs they had refolved upon. His Royal Highness spoke in a manner that called not only for the attention but the admiration of the Houfe; and thefe words were patriotically energetic: "I exift by the love, the friendship, and the benevolence, of the people; and their caufe I will never forfake fo long as I live." His Royal Highnefs then con. cluded with diftinctly faying, "I give my most hearty affent to the motion for concurring in this wife and falutary

Addrefs."

Lord Lauderdale feverely cenfured the Minifters who had advised the Proclamation, and made fome remarks on the encampments to be formed for the purpose of overawing the people; which called up

The Duke of Richmond, who fuppofed himself glanced at; and hoped, with fome warmth, that the Noble Lord would not be fuffered to make fuch impertinent remarks.

Lord Lauderdale replied, and concluded by moving the fame amendment with Mr. Gray in the Houfe of Com

mons.

The Duke of Richmond profeffed himfelf a friend to moderate reform, but he thought the prefent times too critical to tamper with the Conftitution. In which fentiments Lord Hay, Lord Suffolk, the Duke of Portland, Lord Spencer, and Lord Abingdon, concurred. The Marquis of Townsend was glad to fee that Government meant to ftrengthen the hands of the magiftrate by the addition of military force, and not reft merely on the efficacy of a Proclamation.

The Marquis of Lansdown condemned the Proclamation as founded neither on precedent, policy, or expediency. The people of England were able to enforce the laws without the army, and fufficiently inclined fo to do.

Lords Grenville, Bulkley, Rawdon, Porchefer, King, Stormont, and Grantley, all declared in favour of the Addrefe; which was carried without a divifion.

In the Commons, the fame day, there not being a fufficient number of members to form a Houfe, the Speaker adJourned at four o'clock.

H. OF LORDS.

June 1.

Their Lordships proceeded in the libel-bill; when a converfation enfued, in which the Lord Chancellor proposed an amendment, which was supported by Lord Kenyon, to add to the first clause the words, "that the judge shall declare to the jury the law on the matter contained in the record before the judge and the jury."

This amendment was oppofed by Lords Camden, Loughborough, Stanbert, Porchefter, and the Marquis of Lanfdown, as unneceffary, it being the known duty of the judge to declare and explain what the law was, for the ajfiftance of the jury.

The amendment was negatived, and the bill agreed to.

In the Commons, the fame day, Mr. Secretary Dundas prefented the new Scotch Epifcopalian bill; which was read the first and fecond time, and committed for to-morrow.

H. OF LORDS. June 5.

In a Committee on the flave-trade, counfel was called to the bar; and Mr. Wallace and Mr. Sharplefs underwent a long examination, in which his Royal Highnefs the Duke of Clarence took a confiderable part.

Lord Grenville brought in the NewForest bill. He spoke to the nature of it, and the effect it was intended to have.

Lord Porchefter objected to the bill in toto, and charged it with being only as artful manoeuvre to advantage the Se cretary of the Treafury, and increaft his influence in a county which had already become nearly a minifterial borough.

Lord Carlife agreed with the Noble Lord, and confidered the whole bill as a job to reward a gentleman who had a confiderable place in that Houfe,_but from whofe abfence they were poffibly benefited.

Lord Cathcart entered into a vindication of the measure, as founded upon the report of the Commiffioners who had been appointed to confider the flate of the crown-lands,

Lord Rawdon disapproved of the bill entirely. Lords Moreton and Elgix were for the bill.

The Lord Chancellor was decidedly against the bill, and opposed it with

many

many frong objections among which he confidered its alienating the landed property from the Crown as not the leaft. He was of opinion that the Crown fhould always poffefs a landed intereft in the country; and that, if the eflates attached to it cou'd be fo improved as to render it independent of the neceffity of applying to parliament for fupport, it would be more honourable and beneficial to both; and that fuch were the conftitutional principles of the country, he thought it was fufficiently evident in the determination of making forfeited lands fall to the Crown; and, therefore, he could not but confider every fuggeftion to take away part of that property as infringing upon and depriving the Crown of its just right, without the fmalieft advantage to the publick. He hoped, there. fore, their Lordships would fupport the Crown in that antient, legal, and prefcriptive, right, to which it was conftitutionally entitled, and which this bill went to annihilate.

Lord Grenville declared, that nothing éould poffibly be more contrary to his principles, or repugnant to his fentiments, than fupporting a measure that could even be infinuated to injure the rights of his fovereign; but which, he contended, this bill did not.

Upon a divifion, there appeared for the bill,

Contents 417 Non-contents 29
Proxies 12 53 Proxies 22 } 35

In the Commons, the fame day, the Speaker acquainted the Houle, that both Houfes of Parliament had been to wait on his Majefty with their joint Addrefs last Saturday; and that he had been pleased to return them a moft gracious anfwer.

The Newfoundland judicature bill was read the third time, and paffed; as was alfo the Scotch Epifcopalian bill.

The House refolved itself into a Committee on the ftate of the finances of India, to which all accounts, papers, &c, relative thereto, were ordered to be referred, Mr. Beaufoy in the chair.

Mr. Secretary Dundas, in a speech of confiderable length, went into the moft minute detail of every particular relating to the financial copcerns of India, and exhibited fuch a statement as feem ed to meet the general fatisfaction of the Committee, He concluded this part of his lubject by exhibiting, at one general view, the different aggregate fums

of the revenues and difbursements of each fettlement for the year, confidered as the period fince he laft laid a fimilar statement before the Houfe. Thefe appeared to be as follow:

Income-Bengal, 5,555,000; Madras, 1,844,000; Bombay, 183,000; total, 7,582,0001.

Expenditure-Bengal eftablishment, 3,225,000; Madras ditto, 2,606,000; Bombay ditto, 1,184,000; total, 7,015,000l.

The furpluffes arifing were, in the prefent period, affected by the payment of the intereft of debts incurred, and by other charges, in such a manner as reduced them fo as to amount to only a furplus of 3,525 1.

He then took a view, and entered into the particulars, of the principal fums and intereft of the debts contracted on account of the war, and moved the ufual annual refolutions.

Mr. Francis lamented the continuance of the war in India. He had entertained a hope that the Right Hon. Gentleman would have stated fome profpect of peace; but he was greatly difappointed.

Major Scott was gratified with the profperous ftate of India, which was exhibited on a mafs of the strongest poffible evidence. The facts, however, he faid, which had given ife to that profperity, had been made the grounds of accufation against Mr. Haftings.

General Smith confidered Tippoo as a man with whom no Briton ought to make a treaty. He dwelt upon his breach of the treaty of Mangalore, his fubfequent cruelties, and his recent breach of faith in the capitulation of Coimbatore. He concluded by saying, "I hope Lord Cornwallis may never make peace with Tippoo until he is extirpated."

The refolutions were then read, and agreed to by the House.

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