HOUSE OF LORDS.

MONDAY, JUNE 27.

The bills on the table were read a stage each. Eight bills were brought up from the Commons, and prefented by M. C. Dundas, Mr. I. Hawkins Browne, and others, and read a first time.

The Lord Chancellor left the Woolfack, and gave notice, that he should move, that the House be fummoned on Wednesday next, to take into confideration the ftanding order, No. 126. His Lordship faid, that when any private property was purchased for a public purpofe, fuch as to accommodate a turnpike, an enclosure, a canal, or any other object of that fort, and the title could not be quite fatisfactorily made out, although perhaps a few months would have made the title complete, it was ufual for the feller to depofit the purchase money in that great refervoir the Court of Chancery, and there to let it be till a fufficient title was made out. This circumftance naturally invited perfons to come forward, as claimants, although they might have but a fhadow of a claim, and who would not otherwife have thought of fetting up their claim. If, therefore, the depofit was 2001. it frequently put the feller to the expence of 40 or 501. cofts, to recover his 2001. He meant, therefore, on Wednelday, to move an amendment of the ftanding order, viz. that the cofts fhould be paid by thofe who fet up a claim; and he was prompted to move his propofed amendment from circumftances which came under his own experience, in confequence of the profeffional office which he held.Ordered.

JUSTICES BILL.

The Houfe refolved into a Committee on the Juftices' conviction bill.

Lord Sheffield, in confequence of the converfation with the law Lords on a former day, poftponed to another feffions, that part of the bill which regulates the forms of convictions, and the part" to render juftices more fafe in the execution of their duty," was agreed to in the Committee, and ordered to be reported. By this bill, any action brought against any juftices, on account of any conviction made by virtue of any act of Parliament, or for or by reafon of any act, matter, or thing, done or commanded to be done by fuch juftices, for the levying any penalty, apprehending any party, or carrying of any fuch conviction into fuch effect; and wherein, UPOR the trial of the fame, if fhall appear to the fatisfaction

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of the judge, that the defendant had a reasonable ground for making fuch conviction, (although fuch conviction fhail have been quafhed) and the faid judge fhall accordingly certify the fame upon the back of the record, then the plaintiff (hall not be entitled to recover more than the fum of two-pence, nor any cofts of fuit whatever.

Their Lordships then difpofed of fome private business, and adjourned till next day.

HOUSE OF COMMON S.

MONDAY, JUNE 27

Foote's divorce bill was read a fecond time, and ordered to be committed the next day fe'nnight.

The Scotch road and bridge bill was read a third time and paffed.

Captain Cochrane moved, and it was ordered, That there be laid before the House a copy of the memorial and of the papers connected therewith, which were prefented to the Lords of the Admiralty by captain Cochrane on the 27th January, 1799, relative to prizes and prize queftions.

The workhouse bill was read a third time.

A meffage from the Lords informed the Houfe, that their Lordships had agreed to the clergy refidence bill, to which their Lordships had made feveral amendments, in which they defired the concurrence of that House.

The Speaker informed the Houfe that he had received a copy of the minutes taken at the Waterford election, and that he had iffued his warrant that notice fhould be inferted of the fame in the London Gazette; and that the Sclect Committee, to whom the merits of the petition refpecting that election had been referred, do meet again on the 3d July.next.

The Southern whale fishery bill was read a second time and ordered to be committed for the next day.

The militia field officers' augmentation bill was reported, ordered to be engroffed, and to be read a third time the next day, if then engroffed.

WOOLLEN MANUFACTURERS,

Mr.. Wilberforce rofe to prefent a petition in behalf of a large body of perfons interested in the woollen manufactures, and who compofed a large portion of the induftrious manufacturers of Yorkshire. The petition was of a nature which, in his opinion, deferved the ferious attention of the Houfe. The claufe in the bill, refpe&ting the ufe of machinery and apprentices, against which they wished to petition, the pe

titioners

titioners were not at firft aware was likely to affect them.

They imagined that its operation extended only to the counties of Wilts, Somerfet, and Gloucefter. He begged it to be recollected that the perfons who brought forward the prefent petition formed a very confiderable and very refpectable body, not collected in one town or one manufactory, but fprinkled over a large portion of the country, and conftituting the larger part of its induftrious clafs. It was true, indeed, that they might appear late in their application to Parliament, but the Houfe, he trufted, would indulgently interpret their conduct in that refpect, as they had no means of an early acquaintance with the particular claufes and provifions of the bill. Here the honourable Gentleman entered into a minute detail of the manner in which the petitioners carried on their business, and of the principles by which they were influenced-principles which had for object national opulence, individual comfort, and focial happinefs. The prayer of the petition was, that the petitioners might be heard by their counsel against the clauses on the third reading of the bill, a prayer to which he made no doubt the Houfe would accede, when they duly confidered the number, the respectability, and the particular defcription of the perfons who had figned the petition. The hon. Gen tleman then brought up the petition, and after it was read moved, that it do lie on the table, and that the petitioners be heard by their counsel against the objectionable clauses on the third reading of the bill.

Admiral Berkeley was as anxious as his hon. Friend could be that ftrict juftice might be done to the petitioners, but he could not fubfcribe to every thing which his hon. Friend had advanced on the fubject. The petition now prefented was, in almost all its features, the fame as that which had been rejected not long fince by the Houfe. Befides, the petitioners who now required to be heard at the bar of the Houfe, had, in fact, already been heard by their counsel before the Committee. For they had commiffioned a delegate to act for them, who had appeared and pleaded their. caufe before the Committee. The bill had been before a Committee from before Christmas till laft week, and furely full time had been allowed for hearing every kind of objection and explanation. Yet, after the bill had been under the confideration of a Committee for fuch a length of time, an attempt was now again made to have counfel heard upon it at the bar of the Houfe. The time of the Houfe could and

and fhould not thus be trifled with and abufed, and upon that ground he must oppofe the prayer of the petition. Befides, out of the 64 perfons who figned the petition which had already been rejected, not more than two were clothiers, and it could not, therefore, be fuppofed that the prefent petition came from that clafs of perfons.

Mr. Wilberforce contended, that he had never faid that all the perfons who objected to the bill were eminent clothiers; The reprefented them only as an useful body of manufacturers, which was in part compofed of journeymen as well as mafters.

Admiral Berkeley was certain, that though they should be allowed to be heard by their counfel, they would be unable to produce a fingle new fact. He fhould therefore move as an amendment, that the latter part of the motion be omitted, viz. that they be heard by their counfel on the third reading of the bill.

Mr. Spencer Stanhope and Mr. Brooke faid a few words, after which the queftion was put and a divifion called for on the proposed amendment; but, though ftrangers were ordered to withdraw, no divifion took place. Mr. Wilberforce agreed to the amendment, but left it to be understood that he fhould renew his motion on Wednesday next.

Mr. Vanfitiart brought up the bill for confolidating the means of collecting the affeffed taxes.-Read a first time, and ordered to be read a second time the next day.

The further confideration of the report on the Scotch mię litia family bill was deferred till the next day.

Sir F. Baring prefented a petition in behalf of certain shipowners connected with the wet docks and other works.Referred to a Committee.

The report of the Committee of Supply was brought up, the refolutions agreed to, and bills ordered to be brought in pursuant to the fame.

ARMY OF RESERVE.

The Secretary at War then moved the order of the day for taking into further confideration the report of the bill to enable his Majefty more effectually to raife and affemble an additional military force for the better defence and fecurity of the United Kingdom, and for the more vigorous profe cution of the war. Previous, however, to the Houfe going into the further confideration of the bill, it was his with that it might be re-committed, in order to move that it be an inftruction to the Committee that they have power to divide the bill into two: the one as it regarded England and Ireland;

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the other as it regarded Scotland. This divifion would be found very commodious on many accounts, and would occafion no delay. On the contrary, it would facilitate and accelerate the execution of the measure.

The House then refolved itself into a Committee on the bill (Colonel Stanley in the chair), when the Secretary at War moved an inftruction to the above effect, which was agreed to.

The Secretary at War next requested the Committee would now permit him to go through the bill, and to point out the more material amendments which it was thought advisable to make in it. If he should not enter into a very minute explanation of all of them, it was because they were not, in his opinion, of fo much importance as to call for fuch an explanation. He fhould, however, hold himfelf ready and willing to offer every further explanation which Gentlemen might be inclined to defire from him. He fhould now begin with the clause which preferibed the quotas to be furnished by the different counties. The quotas for Scotland he should not now enter into, but referve what he had to fay on that point when the feparate bill was brought in refpecting Scotland, which he expected would be done the next day. What was to be fur nished by England amounted to about three-fourths of the force to be raised. The quotas, however, for the English counties would not be regulated exactly in the proportions of the militia bills of the last year, but should be regulated on the returns which had recently been made by the Lords Lieu tenants of each county, and which were now almost all before the Privy Council, and where they were not as yet complete, the proportion and return might eafily be made out from the returns of laft year. The number of perfons liable to be ballotted for the different militias was computed at 900,000. After the drawing of the ordinary and fupplementary militias, there would yet remain liable to be drawn for the Army of Refeive, 750,000. Out of this number, the quotas for each county would be regulated by the returns already alluded to, and corrected, moreover, by a reference to the population act. As to Scotland, the quotas might likewife be regulated on the fame principle of the latest returns of the male population. It was thought better by fome to refer to the principle of the militia act of last year; but fo that 40,000 men could be raised in due time, it to him appeared immaterial upon which of the two principles they were raised.

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