HOUSE OF LORDS. TUESDAY, JUNE 21. The bills on the table were each forwarded a ftage. The bribery oath bill, and feveral private bills, were brought up from the Commons, read a first time, and ordered to be read a fecond time. Several witneffes were fworn at the bar, after which the Houfe adjourned. HOUSE OF COMMONS. TUESDAY, JUNE 21. Mr. Dundas brought up a bill for bettering the fituation of the poor, and for affording them employment, and likewife for the purpose of paying off the debts which may be incurred in erecting poor houses, &c. which bill was read a first time, and ordered to be read a fecond time the next dav. The Houfe refolved into a Committee to confider the fouthern whale fishery bill, Sir Robert Buxton in the chair. On the House refuming, the report was received, and a bill ordered to be prepared, and brought in agreeably to the refolutions therein contained. A meffage from the Lords informed the Houfe, that their Lordfhips had agreed to several bills, and among others to the fhips' burning bill, to which they had fuggefted feveral amendments, and defired the concurrence of the Houfe. The amendments were read over and agreed to, and the bill, with the amendments, ordered to be printed. Mr. Hiley Addington prefented a petition from the fishermen of Harwich, praying to be heard against the proposed fifhing company's bill, which petition was ordered to be laid before the Committee to whom that bill was committed. A fimilar petition was prefented from the town of Barking, in the county of Effex, which was ordered to lie on the table. The Committee of the whole Houfe on the Irish revenue bill was poftponed till Thurfday next. Counfel was heard at the bar in oppofition to the St. James's workhoufe bill, and after feveral Members had fpoken for and againft it, the bill was rejected. Mr, Mr. Calcraft moved, that there be laid before the Houfe, for the information of the Members, previous to the report being prefented from the Committee on the East India fhipping bill, an account of the number of Eaft India fhips at prefent in the fervice, fpecifying the names, tonnage, and number of feet of water of each. Ordered. The report of the Committee of ways and means was read a fecond time, the refolutions thereof were feverally agreed to, and a bill or bills ordered to be brought in according thereto. Sir William Pulteney moved, that a Committee be appointed to confider the propriety of erecting a light house on the Bell or Cape Rock, near the Frith of Forth, on the eaft coaft of Scotland. He stated to the Houfe his fentiments relative to the neceffity of fuch a meafure being adopted, as this rock was a very high and moft dangerous rock to mariners, and he faid many accidents had already been experienced from the want of a light houfe at that place. Mr. Alexander prefented a report of the Committee on the Irish corn importation and exportation bill, which bill was ordered to be ingroffed. The Houfe went into a Committee on the bill for improving the port of London. The Houfe refumed, and the report was ordered to be received the next day. Mr. Alexander prefented the report of the Committee on the Irish qualification bill, as alfo the report of the militia fubaltern officers bill. The amendments propofed in thefe reports were severally agreed to, the bills read a fecond time, and ordered to be read a third time the next day, and to be engroffed. Mr. Secretary at War moved, that the further confideration of the militia pay bill be poftponed to Friday next. The bill for granting a certain allowance to adjutants and ferjeant majors in the militia, was ordered to be committed to a Committee of the whole House on Friday next. The House refolved into a Committee on the medicine duty act, Mr. Alexander in the Chair. Mr. Alderman Coombe and the Lord Mayor offered fome amendments, which they conceived to be neceffary, to protect the regular apothecaries and druggifts againft vexatious informations for felling compofitions of their refpective medicines, which might expofe them to the liability of informations from common informers. Mr. Vanfittart objected to those amendments as unneceffary, for while it was defirable, on the one hand, to protect the regular apothecaries and druggifts from any penalty on felling any drugs fold in the regular way, or compounded from the occafional prefcription of any phyfician or difpenfary, it was equally right, on the other hand, to protect the patentee or owner of proprietory medicines against having their medicines counterfeited, or medicines of a fimilar kind fold by apothecaries, without paying duty. Mr. Vanfittart also obferved, that in this cafe the venders of medicines were taken entirely out of the hands of the common informer, and no profecution could be carried on againft them for any alledged offence against this act, but at the particular inftance of the Commiffioners of Stamps, or the officers appointed under them, or by the Attorney General, or with his permiffion. The bill paffed the Committee, and was ordered to be reported next day. Read a third time the Irish parfonage houfe bill, paffed, and ordered to the Lords, Went into a Committee on the Irish feamen's militia transfer bill; ordered to be reported the next day. Deferred till the next day the report on the Scotch road and bridge bill. Read a fecond time the Irish artificers combination bill; ordered to be printed and committed for Monday. Read a fecond time the property and income tax bill; committed for the next day. Went into a Committee on the Scotch militia family bill; to be reported the next day. Read a fecond time the Scotch cotton manufacturers bill; referred to a Committee up ftairs the next day. Went into a Committee on the Excise duty confolidation bill; ordered to report the next day. Adjourned. HOUSE OF LORDS. WEDNESDAY, JUNE 22. The bills upon the table were read in their feveral ftages. Their Lordships then adjourned during pleafure, which continued some time. The Houfe was then resumed, and a few bills prefented by Sir E. Hartopp and Mr. C. Dundas were received from the Commons. Among thefe was the bill for better providing for the widows of writers to the fignet. The The twelve million loan bill, and fome others, which stood upon order for commitment, were feverally paffed through the Committees of the whole Houfe, and ordered to be reported the next day. CLERGY RESIDENCE BILL. The order refpecting this bill, upon which their Lordships had been fummoned, was read, and the queftion put, "That the report of this bill be received." Lord Grenville faid, his objections went to the detail of the measure; but he did not attend the Committee, because he thought no poffible alterations in the provifions could make it fatisfactory to his mind, as his objections pervaded every part of the bill. The first object of its framers should have been to ascertain the principle, and to have made that their polar flar in conducting them through the detail. The true principle is, that in a chriftian country, and under fuch a conftitution as we enjoy, every perfon fhould have the means of Chriftian worship and information provided for him within his parish. Thefe means had not hitherto been provided too largely. In many cafes they had been provided rather too narrowly. He would afk them, how could that Houfe vote taxes to the amount of twelve millions, as propofed to be done by the bill upon the table, and at the faine time deprive the body of the people of Chriftian instruction, by acknowledging that the Legiflature, from poverty, is unable to fupply it? Without discharging this first duty, Government, it was true, might be maintained for a time, and our arms might prove victorious, as he hoped in God they should; but the conftitution could not be maintained long, if, instead of providing for the deficiency, we fhould only add to it. This he conceived to be the cafe of the prefent bill. It appeared that the law as it flood was defective; but it was evident that the provifions of the prefent measure would defeat their own purpose, as they would put the clergymen in a ftate of rivalship with little farmers, which would deprive him of all the refpect due to his character. It was the duty of the state to remove this objection by fome confiderable aid out of the public purfe, to fupply the neceffary cafes of deficiency. A fund of 200,cool. for the augmentation of fmall livings, he thought, might be fufficient for the purpose. He wished the ftate of the country would admit of a larger fum, but short of that, he thought, would be of no use. He objected to the difcretionary power given to bishops. It was 1 [Lorn was cruel to impofe a duty upon them that required them to fay to a poor clergyman, "you must farm, or you must ftarve." It was impoffible for the ableft bishops to difcriminate the merits of every cafe. The bill was also defective in not providing an augmentation for the fupport of the finall livings. without which, refidence in many cafes was impoffible; and he farther objected to the large class of exceptions. Upon the whole he objected to the bill, becaufe it increased instead of reducing the evils which it proposed to remedy. For thefe realons he moved the other orders of the day: The Lord Chancellor quitted the Woolfack, and in a very able and argumentative fpeech, anfwered the ohjections of the noble Lord. He began by expreffing his regret, that the noble Lord had not attended the preceding difcuffions on the bill, as he would then have been aware, that every topic he had ufed had been again and again dif cuffed, and every objection on thofe heads fatisfactorily anfwered. It was, therefore, chiefly his refpect for his nable Friend, that could induce him to a recapitulation of those arguments which had been fo fuccefsfully advanced in favour of the meafure. The noble and learned Lord then, in a line of detailed argumentation, followed the noble Lord throughout the various objections he had offered to the measure. He admitted, that if the bill went to relax the existing bonds of refidence, inftead of ftrengthening them, it would be one of the most mischievous meafures the Houfe was ever engaged in. But the contrary, he trusted, would be the fact, and he was of opinion, that, under all the circumftances, the provisions of the bill, in thofe refpects, would be found as, preffing too heavily. With refpect to what was faid in reference to the fituation of the curates, &c. they were all of opinion that fuch a meafure was requifite; but it could be made the fubject of a feparate bill, and he trusted that they would fee, even this feffion, one to that effect. He contended the prefent bill contained many strong and efficient provisions for fecuring refidence, feveral of which he refer red to; and after ably answering the various other objections of the noble Lord, obferved, the principal confideration was, whether or not the prefent bill contained many beneficial provifions; for the affirmative of which, he fuccefsfully con tended, Lord Grenville fpoke in explanation. Lord Aivanley expreffed his approbation of the greater part of |