was truly worthy and defcriptive of the dignified feelings of the Houfe in circumftances of exigency.

Mr. W. Smith approved of the principle of not taxing the property of foreigners in our funds. He could not, however, avoid mentioning his difapprobation of the principle of the income tax-the inquifitorial part of it particularly. He thought it the moft oppreffive and unjust that was ever laid on by a British Houfe of Commons; and if the right hon. Gentleman had an opportunity of hearing the fentiments of the various claffes of people he had done, that right hon. Gentleman would alfo be convinced how feverely it was reprobated by a vast majority of the people. He thought this tax might have been avoided, and a larger revenue saifed by laying a larger tax on inalt; and he wished the Chancellor of the Exchequer had tried that experiment, as he was convinced it would have been found much more popular.

The Chancellor of the Exchequer faid, it was very much his wifh that taxes fhould be raifed with as much regard to the feelings of the people as poffible. The hon. Gentleman had faid, that by making an addition to the duty on malt, the inquifition of the other tax might be avoided; but it would be a great injuftice to the brewers to levy fuch a tax, without admitting them to the right of raifing the price of beer. The rife could not well be lefs than a halfpenny a pot, or 4s. 6d. a barrel, which would be productive of inordinate profit to the brewers; and if you did not allow them to raife the price, you would be guilty of great injuftice. He had taken the greateft poffible care, he faid, in modifying the tax, fo as not to affect perfons poffcffed of that defcription of property below 701. a year. With refpect to the difclofure, he regretted it; but if you have a tax of that kind, it was impoffible to effect its chief purposes without examination, and you must therefore adopt one or other of these alternatives of having a difclofure, or exempting it altogether. If any Gentlemen will turn their minds to the fubject, and can devife any other mode, he would be glad to adopt it. It had ever been his most ardent and anxious with to carry public feeling and public opinion along with him: For while he was determined to look all our difficulties fairly in the face, he was convinced that, with the public feeling in its favour, the arm of Government, or rather the arm of this great country, muft prove irrefiftible.

Mr. II. Smith faid a few words in explanation. The re

port

port was then brought up, the refolutions read and agreed to, and bills ordered to be brought in on the fame.

The Chancellor of the Exchequer moved, that the House. do next day refolve itfelf into a Committee of the whole Houfe, to confider of fo much of his Majefty's fpeech of the 23d of November as relates to mercantile tranfactions. Ordered.

He also gave notice, that he would the next day, in the Committee of Supply, move the confolidation of the excile. Alfo, that he would on Friday, in the Committee of Supply, move the army extraordinaries and miscellaneous fervices for England.

Mr. Wickham gave notice, that he would the next day move for leave to bring in a bill to regulate the corn trade between this country and Ireland.

Alfo, that he would on Friday move for leave to bring in a bill for preventing illegal combinations between workmen in Ireland.

The bill for fupplying the navy with feamen was read a first time, and ordered to be read a fecond time the next day. The report of the Northampton ordnance bill was brought up and agreed to, and the bill ordered to be read a third time the next day.

The Irish revenue regulation bill was read a fecond time, and ordered to be committed the next day.

The bribery oath bill was read a fecond time, and ordered to be committed the next day.

Mr. Bradthaw, from the Commiffioners of Cuftoms in Scotland, prefented an account of corn exported from the 20th of March 1803, to the firit of May following. Alfo from the excife, the number of licenfed ftills in Scotland, and the quantity of wash and spirits diftilled there for the English market, from the 5th of January 1892, to the 5th of January 1803.—Adjourned.

Nine bills, and four returned bills, were brought from the Commons, and prefented by Mr. Cartwright, Mr. Lafcelles, Mr. Scott, Mr. Pole, Mr. Egerton, and others. The nine bills were read a first time.

A petition from Lady Elizabeth Fitzgerald, ftating a claim of Peerage, was read, and referred to the Committee of privileges.

FOOTE'S

FOOTE'S DIVORCE BILL.

The Committee on this bill was refumed, when fome amendmen's were propofed in the preamble of the bill by the Lord Chancellor, particularly one affecting the fettles ment on Mrs. Foote the day before her marriage, on the 21ft of January 1793, which confined the intereft in that fettlement to Mrs. Foote's children. The amendments

were agreed to, and the bills paffed the Committee, and was ordered to be read a third time next day.-Adjourned.

HOUSE OF COMMONS.

W.DNESDAY, JUNE 15.

Mr. Sneaker took the chair at half past three.

The Port-Glafgow bill was reported, agreed to, and ora dered to be engroffed.

Refolved into a Committee on the election bribery oath bill. Ordered to be reported the next day.

Read a third time the Northampton ordnance lands bill. Paffed and ordered to the Lords.

WOOLLEN CLOTHING BILL.

Admiral Berkley moved, that the woollen clothing bill be read a third time the next day.

Mr. Brooke oppofed the motion, becaufe he was avetle to precipitating through the Houfe a bill of fo much importance to the staple manufacture of this country, and fo materially defective in amendment as it now ftood. The body of evidence received upon the subject of the bill before the Committee up ftairs, was of very great importance to the objects of this bill. It had been ordered to be printed, and was fo very thort a time in the hands of the Members, that it was impoffible they could have had time fufficient to give it due confideration. He therefore wifhed to have the third reading deferred for at leaft a fortnight.

Mr. Dickenfon, junior, and Sir John Burland, fpoke to the fame effect; and the queftion being put, the Houfe divided

Mr. Brooke then presented a petition from the cloth wea vers of Wils, Gloucester, and Somerfet, praying leave to be heard by counfel against the woollen clothing bill.

Admiral Berkley could not conceive upon what ground it was that the prefent petition could be warranted, feeing that VOL. IV. 1852-3

Z

counfel

counsel had already been fully heard against the bill before the Committee above stairs.

Mr. Brooke spoke in fupport of the petition, and said, it was his hope the Houfe would not refufe to hear the petitioners by their counsel against a bill which was now about to be precipitated to a third reading, without giving the Houfe an opportunity of reading and duly confidering the body of important evidence, which would prove the impropriety of paffing the bill in its prefent form.

Mr. Sheridan alfo very ftrongly reprobated the precipitancy of paffing this bill, without allowing Members time to confider the important body of evidence before the Committee, which the Houfe had ordered to be printed for the very purpofe of due confideration, before the bill fhould go forward to the third reading. He did not fcruple to fay, that fuch a proceeding would be moft nefarious: but as the bill could not, in courfe of order, be read the third time that day, he trusted that if the petition was allowed to lie on the table, Gentlemen would, by the next day, fee the policy of poftponing for a further reasonable time, the third reading

of the bill.

After a few words on the fame fide from Mr. Dickenfon, fenior, the petition was received, and ordered to lie on the table.

Reported the bill for transferring feamen from the militia to the royal navy. Ordered to be engroffed, and read the third time.

Poftponed till the next day the further confideration of the militia pay bill.

BUDGET.

Mr. Dent role to obferve, that it had been erroneously ftated, that he had, in the difcuffion on the report of the Budget the preceding day, acceded to the principle of exempting from the propofed new tax all funds the property of foreigners; that he fhould when that measure came forward again in the regular form, take the fenfe of the Houfe upon it.

HIGHLANDS OF SCOTLAND.

The order of the day being read for the House to refolve into a Committee of fupply,

Mr. I. H. Browne moved, that the fecond report of the Committee for investigating the furveys of the Scotch Highlands be referred to the faid Committee of fupply. Ordered accordingly,

The

The Houfe then refolved into the Committee.

Mr. I. H. Browne faid, that as the report now referred to the Committee had been feveral days printed, and in the hands of Members time enough for full confideration, it would, of course, be unneceflary for him to trouble the Committee at any length upon the fubject of the motion he was about to propofe for their adoption, namely, That a fum not exceeding 20,000l. be granted to his Majefty, for the purpose of making roads and erecting bridges in the Highlands of Scotland. One of the great objects in view, was to improve the valuable fisheries in the eastern and western coafts of the Highlands; the interefts and improvements of which had been confiderably impeded and retarded by the want of that communication between both fides of the country, which under the prefent motion it was propofed to effect. No man felt more deeply than he did the neceffary caution which fhould at all times be obferved in voting away the public money, more especially at fuch a crifis as the prefent, when the country is involved in an expenfive war. But the existence of that very war was amongst the ftrongest arguments, to prove that the grant for which he had now the honour to move, fo far from being improvident or unfeasonable, would prove, in fact, a measure of the foundeft political economy; as by opening a communication between all the inhabitants of that part of the empire, who hitherto had always, in the wintry months and rainy feasons which prevail there, been cut off for great part of the year from all communication with each other, by the deep fnows and drenching rains, which lodge for months, or roll in perpetual torrents through the deep ravines that interfect the country, and ifolate whole districts from the reft. By opening the communications with roads and bridges, not only the conveyance to and from the fisheries would be facilitated, but the bufinefs of agriculture promoted; and the country being thus rendered tolerable to its hardy and induftrious inhabitants, they would be no longer induced to emigrate, as for many years paft they have continued to do; and thus one of the most valuable fources for recruiting our armies with a hardy and valiant race of foldiers, would be ftrengthened for our defence, which, in the prefent ftate of that diftrict, was hourly exhaufted by a depopulating (pirit of emigration. The object in view was not to produce thofe improvements folely at the public expence, but to encourage the land-holders of the country to contribute at least one half the amount of the estimates for