in the manner of ftating their arguments, thefe great military characters very incautiously acted, because what fell from fuch high authority could not but make a deep impreffion without doors, and muft tend to create difmay and diftruft in the people as to their fecurity and fafety. A noble Lord had the other night, in that Houfe, publicly avowed, that there was to his knowledge one brigade, confifting of four battalions, in a state of the most fhameful incompletion. He thought fuch a declaration mifchievous to the last degree; he did not mean to charge the noble Lord with having made it with any mifchievous defign; he knew that he made it with the beft poffible motive, and with a view to roufe the ener gies of the people, and prompt them to exertion; but he must contend that it was more likely to damp their spirit and deprefs their ardour, by diminishing their confidence in the Government of the country. He had hoped that his Majetty's Minifters would have inftantly rifen and contradi&ted the fact; and if it thould have happened that a single brigade was in fuch a miferable fituation, that Minifters would have affured the Houfe that the battalions of that brigade would fhortly be completed. Indeed they might, with great truth, have ftated, that the other regiments of the line were complete, and they had it in their power to have ftated feveral; for inftance, the guards, the cavalry, and various other corps.He admitted, that if the regiments of the line could be completed, it would be most defirable. But fo far was he from thinking, that only the regulars could fave the country, that he felt confident that the country would be faved, even if the prefent bill did not pafs, though he thought it perfectly wife in Minifters to have brought it forward, and he would be the last man living to protract its paffing by any unneceffary argument. He muft, however, be permitted to fay, that he had not the fmallest apprehenfions of the want of energy, either in Government, or of fpirit in the people. Put a fword into an Englishman's hand, and he would feel like an Englithman, and fight in an undaunted manner, when he feels that he is fighting to repel a daring and infolent invader. The whole country would, he had no doubt, rife and join fuch an enemy as was likely to be oppofed to us; let no man, therefore, defpair, or droop for a moment. Let him but exert himfelf in the common caufe, in proportion as the exigency of the circumftance might require, and we might be affured of defending not only every part of the country, but of pupifhing, in the most exemplary manner, the defpot who dared dared attempt to land an army on our fhores. His Lordship faid, that feeling as he did, he could not but reprobate, in the ftrongest terms, a fpeech delivered in another place, by a military character; and which parliamentary forms forbad him, in a more than general way, to allude to. In that fpeech it had been thrown out, that we were vulnerable in various points, and that the enemy might, in the many attemps he might be expected to make, poffibly fucceed in one or other. He could not give credit to the poflibility of the enemy's landing any where; a country united and prepared as we were, need not expect an attempt to invade us; nor could our coafts be approached in any part without the utmost danger, and almoft certainty of failure of fuccefs to the enemy. So far was he from coinciding in the childish apprehenfions, which the fpeech, to which he alluded, expreffed, that he would, for the fake of argument, admit for a moment, that the enemy did effect a landing; nay, more, that he made his way, in fpite of all our forces and all our endeavours; that he reached this rich and luxurious metropolis, laid it in afhes, put a momentary end to trade and commerce, inade bankrupts of all wealthy Jews and brokers in 'Change, and annihilated the three per cents. ftill he would not abandon himself to defpair, and think the cause a loft caufe. He fhould, even then, feel hope, from a confcioufnefs that there remained much worth fighting for, and that the fpirit of the people would ftill exert itself, and with renewed energy and undaunted valor pursue the foe, till they drove him out of their country. I promifed you, my Lords, at my opening, faid his Lordship, that I would not detain you long, and I will keep my word. I will only add, Let us hear no more then of thefe arguments of our weakness, thefe proclamations of alarm and terror. Let no man affume a daftardly feeling, but face the danger, which, notwithstanding what I have faid, I by no means defpife or underrate. It is great and urgent, moft undoubtedly, but meet it like men, and you have nothing to apprehend. Be but true to yourselves, and you are invincible: fhrink from the danger like trembling cowards, and you are ruined! The question was then put, and the bill paffed with amend ments. SCOTCH ARMY OF RESERVE. The Scotch additional force bill was then committed, report received, and the bill ordered to be read a third time the next day. The The Irish militia pay bill then paffed the Committee, and was afterwards read third time. Another bill, relative to the Committee of Ireland, alfo paffed through the fame ftages. Adjourned. HOUSE OF COMMONS, TUESDAY, JULY 5. General Gascoyne gave notice, that he fhould on Monday move for a Committee to inquire into the ftate of the trade of this country, particularly the import trade, and alfo for afcertaining the beft mode of relieving any temporary embarraflment that might exift. EAST INDIA DOCK BILL. On the motion for bringing up the report of the East India dock bill, Sir William Pulteney objected to it; he difapproved of many of the provifions of the bill, which he said had been brought in in a clandeftine manner, and contrary to the forms of the House. Sir F. Baring defended the bill; he faid it was not brought in to promote the intereft of individuals, but with a view of producing great public advantage; it would benefit the public revenue; it would afford protection to trade, and would prevent plunder; and, as a proof of the merits of the bill, there was but one folitary petition against it, from a fingle individual. Mr. Caleraft faid, if this bill was calculated to benefit the public revenue, he would be the last man to oppose it. If thefe docks were intended for general benefit, why were they not in a fituation in which all East India fhips could derive benefit from them? It was impoffible that many of the large Eat Indiamen could get into thefe docks without breaking bulk, and getting rid of a part of their cargo. He was fure that there were fituations within the port of London, in which docks might have been made to accommodate all the Eaft India Shipping. Sir T. Metcalf entered at length into the grounds upon which the bill had been brought forward, and contended, that if the Eaft India Company, if all the perfons concerned in this trade, if all the perfons who were best acquainted with the fubject, were fatisfied with the benefits that would refult from this bill, he hoped it would outweigh the eppofition of the two hon. Members who had oppofed it, however reputable they might be. A fort A fhort converfation enfued between Mr. Atkins, Mr. Dent, and Mr. Vanfi'tart. The report was then brought up, after which Mr. Calcraft propofed an amendment, the object of which was, that Indiamen that were obliged to break bulk in Long Reach should not be obliged to pay the dock duties on the whole of their tonnage. This amendment was oppofed by Sir F. Baring and Sir T. Metcalf. The Gallery was cleared for a division, but we understand it was rejected without a division. INCOME TAX. On re-admiffion into the gallery, we found that the order of the day had been moved for the Houfe to go into a Committee, pro forma, on the income tax bill-Mr. Alderman •Coombe was fpeaking against the Speaker's leaving the chair, his reafons for which were, that his conftituents thought it a moft unjust and oppreffive tax, and had inftructed him to oppose it in that House, and by those instructions he thought himfelf bound to act. The Lord Mayor faid, that in confequence of what had fallen from his hon. colleague, he begged the attention of the House to a few obfervations he had to make. He fhould always feel himself extremely happy in being able to coincide in opinion with his conftituents on all public measures. He believed the income tax was generally reprobated by his conftituents, and they had very recently declared their opinion on that head in the most public manner; but he could not avoid confidering himself as acting in that House as a representative of the whole country as well as the city of London, and as fuch, whilst he should look at all the proceedings of Administration with a jealous eye, he thought the circumstances of the times fuch, that in the prefent inftance the bill fhould go to a Committee, and that there every one should endeavour to modify it-as much as in his power, in order to make its operation as light as poffible, by provifions founded on impartiality and justice; placing the burthen where it was beft able to be borne. As fuch he should vote for the Speaker leaving the chair. Mr. Alderman Anderson was of the fame opinion. Colonel Baftard faid, he did not mean to oppose the Speaker's leaving the chair, but he wished to know how far the bill was intended to affect landed property? -The Chancellor of the Exchequer faid, that he did not conceive, if the anfwer he fhould give to the hon. Gentleman who fpoke laft fhould be unfavourable to his opinion, that VOL. IV. 1802-3. 3 I he he fhould therefore oppose the Speaker's leaving the chair. If he understood the queftion of the hon. Gentleman, it was this," Whether, under any circumftances, landed property can be charged more than five per cent." In all circumstances where the owner of land lets it out, only five per cert. is payable, that is, 1s. in the pound. Where the owner of land holds the fame in his own hands, and is, in fact, his own tenant, then he is to pay Is. 9d. that is is. as landlord and 9d. as tenant. He then adverted to what had been faid by Mr. Alderman Coombe. It was not for him, he faid, to comment on what had fallen from the worthy Alderman relative to following the inftructions of his conftituents, but he could not but fee with pleasure the gefture of the right hon. Gentleman in the Chair (the Speaker), expreffive of his furprife at hearing fuch a doctrine. He fully coincided in opinion with the right hon. Gentleman behind him, the worthy Chief Magiftrate of the city of London, that, when returned to that House, every individual Member fat then as the reprefentative of the whole country; and it was the particular and bounden duty of every one, while fitting there, to attend to and watch over the general interefts of the whole community. The hon. Alderman (Coombe) had said, that this was neither more nor less than the old income tax revived. This he denied to be the cafe. In faying this, he did not mean to infinuate any thing against the old tax, for it was one he had always highly approved; and when he ftood forward for its repeal, he had decidedly delivered his opinion in favour of the principle of the tax, and that it was what ought to be acted upon again, if future circumstances fhould arife to require it. The difference between that meafure and this is, the prefent tax is to be applied to the fame purposes, and hinges on the fame principle as the other, but the mode of collecting it was better, because it was calculated to avoid any difclofure of the circumstances or property of the parties paying the tax. By the mode of charging land and money at intereft, no difclosure whatever took place. In a commercial country it was unquestionably most defirable, that no difcl fure of circumftances fhould be made, further than was abfolutely neceffary to fecure the payment of the tax, and a plan would fhortly be fubmitted to Parliament on this head, which he hoped would meet with general approbation. Another advantage was, that the execution was infinitely more eafy and fimple to the Commiffioners than it was before, as perfons now will not be in a fituation in which they |