HOUSE OF LORDS. Thursday, March 7. A Commillion was brought down, in order to pass the Bills ready for the Royal Affent, when the Ufher of the Black Rod went to the House of Commons, and defired the attendance of that Honourable House to hear his Majesty's Commiffion read in the House of Lords. The Speaker and Members attended accordingly, and after reading the Com miflion, the Royal Affent was given to the Exchequer Bills Bill, the Bill authorifing Mr. Coutts, the banker, to throw a covered paffage from the back of his Houfe in the Strand acrofs William-street, in the Adelphi; a Bill to diffolve the marriage of James Ricketts, Efq. and to enable him to marry again, and two Naturalization Bills. The Mutiny Bill, and one private Bill were brought up from the Commons.-Adjourned. HOUSE OF COMMONS. Mr. Douglas moved for a Committee to enquire into the ftate of the Scots Distilleries, and the Duties payable thereon-Ordered. The Scots Small Note Bill was read a first time. The English Small Note Bill went through a Com. mittee. The Mutiny Bill was read a third time, and paffed. The Bill for exempting perfons ferving in Volunteer Corps from being balloted into the Militia was read a first time. Accounts were prefented of the money granted by the Affembly of Jamaica for the fettlement of the Trelawney Maroons.-Ordered to lie on the table. The Bill for permitting fhips to fail without convoy from certain parts of the Ifland of Newfoundland was read a fecond time, and ordered to be committed. The Speaker acquainted the Houfe that the Royal Affent was given by Commiflion to feveral Public and Private Bills. Adjourned. Friday, March 8. The Attorney General brought up a Bill to amend the Act of the 34th of his prefent Majefty, relative to duties imposed on the indentures of Clerks to Solicitors and Attornies, which was read a first time. New writs were ordered to be iffued for the election of a Burgess for the Borough of Old Sarum, in the room of Charles Watkin Williams Wynne, Efq. who has accepted 6Q No. 27. the the Chiltern Hundreds; and for New Radnor, in the room of Lord Malden, now Earl of Eflex. PRINCES, EDWARD, AND ERNEST AUGUSTUS. The Chancellor of the Exchequer moved the Order of the Day for the House to refolve itself into a Committee of the whole Houfe, to confider of a fupply granted to his Majefty, which being read, he moved-That the accounts of the Civil Lift, be referred to that Committee-Ordered. The House then went into the Committee, and the King's Meffage being read, The Chancellor of the Exchequer faid, that the latter part of the meffage (that which related to the Princess Amelia) was applicable only to the hereditary revenue, and therefore did not come under the difcuffion of the Committee; it would form the fubject of a motion in the whole House. What, therefore, he meant now to fubmit was, the propriety of making a provifion for the two Princes, fimilar to that which had been made for the other branches of the Royal Family. No difference of opinion, he was perfuaded, would occur with refpect to the propriety of making this provifion, or with respect to the amount of it. The only difference that could take place was, whether the Civil Lift was sufficient to defray this additional charge, without requiring the affiftance of Parliament. Now the accounts that had been prefented to the Houfe did appear to him to prove, in the most fatisfactory manner, that the Civil Lift was infufficient, and alfo to account for that infufficiency. All that he thought it his duty to call the attention of the Committee to was the refult of thofe accounts. Gentlemen would recollect that in confequence of fome arrangements of his Majefty in the year 1782, and of an act of Parliament, commonly diftinguifhed under the title of Mr. Burke's Bill, the Civil Lift was divided into eight claffes, diftinguishing under particular heads the parts that related to the perfonal convenience of the Sovereign; the immediate fupport of the Royal Family; and finally, these things which related to the fplendour of the Crown, and the general objects of national fafety. These were the four leading objects of the arrangements of his Majefty, and of the provifions in Mr. Burke's Bill. Under one of thefe claffes was comprized the expences of the household of the Royal Family; under another the falary of the judges and minifterial officers; the fervice of the Lord Chamberlain, the Mafter of the Horfe, and the expences of the treafury; in none of which was there any variation between the expences and the estimate. In the other branches, fuch, for instance, as those that related to the allowance to foreign Minifters, pensions and other falaries, and all the expences of this nature, upon which the Houfe of Commons was moft accustomed to look upon with jealoufy, as to the patronage and influence of the Civil Lift, there was actually a diminution from that of former periods. The fingle article in which there was an encrease was under the office of the Lord Steward, and the Lord Chamberlain, and which related merely to the perfonal expenditure of the fovereign and his family, upon which article there certainly was fome encreafe, but it was of fuch a fize as, compared with the expences of every family, the encrease of it in every article would be found to be conformable to rigid economy; fo much fo, that he was perfuaded the Committee, when it came to examine the cafe closely and attentively, would have occafion to be fatisfied, and even furprized at the economy of his Majesty's expenditure. Under the subject and under the head of foreign Minifters, &c. the decrease was twenty-feven thousand pounds below the estimate. Upon the heads of the offices of Lord Steward and Lord Chamberlain, the average of the laft three years was thirtyfix thousand pounds above the estimate, which when all the articles of encreafed expenditure were confidered, would appear to be extremely small. Befides this additional and unavoidable burden upon the Civil Lift, which, although moderate in comparison with the increase of other expences, was nevertheless confiderable to the preffure upon the Civil Lift; there was another charge upon it, and which came under the head of occafional payments, and which ufually amounted to one hun dred thirty eight thousand pounds, upon which there was an excess of feventy-four thousand pounds. The total increafe upon the expenditure that was defrayed out of the Civil Lift was one hundred and ten thousand pounds. The total decrease was about twenty-feven thoufand pounds. So that now the actual expenditure out of the Civil Lift, beyond the estimate, was between eighty and ninety thousand pounds, an excefs that was unavoidable, and fuch as it was unneceffary for him to fay the Civil Lift was unable to bear, or to contend that further provifion ought therefore to be made for that purpose. The expences had increased under heads too plain to require a comment, and the diminution had taken place under heads of the Civil Lift, which had 6Q2 always always been moft the object of the jealousy of the House, and at which he had already hinted. He fhould only add, therefore, that it was here remarkable that increafe had only taken place where it was unavoidable, and diminution had only taken place where it was moft to be wifhed. Gentlemen, therefore, would fee, that as much economy had been practised as was poffible. But few words remained to be faid upon the article of occafional payments, the increase upon which would be found to arise from unavoidable circumftances. The increase of feventy-four thousand pounds were divided in this manner-it had arifen from the neceffary payments which had taken place under the head of foreign affairs, occafioned by the fituation of the times, by the prefents to foreign Minifters in confe quence of treaties, by the expence of equipage for foreign Minifters, in confequence of charges deemed neceffary, and by contingencies in the office of the Secretary of State for foreign affairs. The whole of thefe expences amounted to forty-five thousand pounds per annum. Without entering into a detail, thefe expences which he had mentioned carried upon them a fufficient explanation that the Civil Lift was unable to bear any additional charges. The next head arofe obviously from the internal ftate of the country, in part connected with the fame causes which he had enumerated. The expences confifted in the increase in the article of law charges, the neceffity of profecution from the increased number of crimes occafioned by the fituation of the times, and the increase of expenditure from the meafures deemed neceffary for preserving the police. These altogether amounted to an increase of twenty-five thousand pounds a year. Thus would ftand the whole almost of the account. But there was one other article of a mifcellaneous nature, upon which there had been an excess of seventeen thousand pounds. It arofe from occafional exercifes of the royal bounty, from accidental fluctuations with refpect to meffengers of the Exchequer, from the expence of the committee of trade, which were accidental charges. But these were balanced by the contingent expences of the treasury being lefs, by the fheriff's bills being lefs, by a diminution in the article of horfe patrole, and by the expences of the India board, amounting to thirteen thousand pounds, being now defrayed by the India Company. Adding, therefore, the increafe, under the head of foreign affairs, of forty-five thousand pounds-under the head of internal services, twenty-five thousand pounds-and the increase increase in the miscellaneous fervices of feventeen thousand pounds-counterbalanced by a decrease of thirteen thoufand pounds, in the article of the India board, the total average of increase of feventy-four thousand pounds a year beyond the estimate would be accounted for. The Committee would now fee the general refult to be, that the increase beyond the estimate was attributable to three leading caufes -to the neceffary increase of expence on account of the ftate of Europe; to the additional expence on account of the internal fituation of the country, and for the prefervation of the police. As it was not poffible for him to state any account more clearly, he fhould conclude by moving, That it be the opinion of this Committee, that His Majesty be enabled to grant to His Royal Highness Prince Edward, out of the Confolidated Fund, an annual fum, not exceeding twelve thousand pounds per annum. Mr. Tierney role to reply to the Chancellor of the Exchequer. The comfort and happiness of the Royal Family he felt as eager and forward to promote as any of His Majefty's fubjects, nor could any one be more defirous than himself to fee the throne of these realms furrounded with all due dignity and fplendour. But deeply as he felt himfelf impreffed with thefe fentiments of regard and respect towards the Sovereign and his royal relatives, if the question now was, whether the nation or the Civil Lift fhould bear the proposed charge of the establishment of the two Princes, he had no hesitation in saying that the Civil Lift ought to bear every charge and expence which the Royal Family could entail upon it. Much more ought it to bear them, when it was confidered that the Confolidated Fund was already charged with the expences of fome of the elder branches of his Majefty's family. If he rightly comprehended the nature of the Civil Lift, it was made up to the fum of one hundred and twelve thousand pounds, which the Confolidated Fund furnished to the Royal Family in exchange for fuch a fum as the hereditary revenues might produce. From this arofe the first maintenance of the Royal Family, and if his Majefty's well known fondness and anxiety for the happiness of every branch of his family were left to act as these sentiments would naturally fuggeft and direct, the royal children would have now little reason to complain. But if a wrong calculation had been then formed, and that the Civil Lift had been found infufficient to bear the expence, he did not mean to contend that no relief fhould be granted. The ground, therefore, upon |