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don, Westminster, and Southwark, stating, that in confequence of the great advancement in the price of the neceffary articles of life, and above all, the additional duty on falt, it became impoffible for them to fupport themselves and family in comfort by the allowance of profit that was now made to them; praying that the House would take their cafe into ferious confideration, and afford them fuch relief as to the Houfe in its juftice fhall feem meet.-Ordered to be laid on the table.

Mr. Secretary Dundas brought up an account of the Corn exported by order of the Privy Council for the last year; and alfo an account of all perfons who are detained under the authority of the Act to enable his Majefty to fecure and detain fuch perfons as he may fufpect to be confpiring against his Perfon and Government: commonly called the Bill for Sufpending the Habeas Corpus; together with the names of the prifons wherein they have been confined.Ordered to be laid on the table.

Mr. Secretary Dundas then gave notice that he fhould the next day move for leave to bring in a Bill to continue the above Act for a limited time.

A Meffage from the Lords informed the Houfe, that their Lordthips had agreed to the Bill to empower his Majefty to accept the fervices of fuch of the Militia as fhall voluntarily offer themfelves to ferve in Ireland for a time to be limited, without any amendment: and that they had agreed to the Scots Small Note Bill, with feveral amendments, to which they defired the concurrence of the House.

Mr. Tierney faid, that in confequence of a motion of a friend of his, a paper was laid before the House, which did not convey to him all the information he wanted upon the fubject to which it referred: he meant the return of StaffOfficers. In the return he found the fum of cool charged for the Staff of the City of London, a fum which he certainly thought was great. He was not converfant in this matter, and perhaps he was only expofing his own ignorance; however, he fhould move, that there be laid before, the House an account of the General Staff Officers of Great Britain for the lait five years, diftinguithing each year; fpecifying the rank of each officer, the date of his appointment, the amount of his pay, and the divifion of the Kingdom in which he has been employed. Ordered.

The Report of the Committee on the Neutral Ships Trade Bill was received, and the Bill ordered to engroffed, and read a third time the next day.

LOAN

LOAN BILL.

The Chancellor of the Exchequer moved the order of the day for the third reading of the Three Millions Loan Bill; which was read a third time and palled.

Mr. Hobart brought up the report of the committee upon the bill for regulating the conveyance of property in neutral fhips, and alfo for regulating trade with the Cape of Good Hope: agreed to, and ordered that the bill be read a third time the next day, if then engrolled.

ARMORIAL BEARINGS.

Mr. Long moved, that the 38th of the prefent king, chap. 1, be read, which being done pro forma, he obferved, that this act was to provide that a duty be impofed on certificates to ufe armorial bearings. His object now was to move for leave to bring in a bill to extend the time limited by that act to take out certificates.. The Houfe would obferve, that this act paffed at a late period in the laft feffion, when many gentlemen were out of town. He was fatisfied that there was a great number of perfons who have not taken their certificates, not with any intention of evading the duty, but merely from inadvertency; and that they would take them out now, but that they were afraid of incurring penalties for not having done it fooner; he therefore moved, that leave be given to bring in a bill for allowing further time to perfons to take out certificates for the wearing or ufe of armorial bearings or enfigns, in pursuance of the faid act.-Granted.

LAND TAX REDEMPTION BILL.

On reading the order of the day upon the bill for amending the land tax fale, or redemption act.

Sir John Sinclair afked, whether there was an account of the expence of carrying this act into execution, or if not, whether there was any estimate of the expence likely to be incurred?

The Chancellor of the Exchequer faid, that a motion to that effect was made fome time ago; the account was forthcoming, but the Houfe must be aware that the accounts could only be collected from the different perfons throughout the country employed to carry the act into execution, and that it was impoffible to obtain it yet.

The question being put, that this bill be now read a third time.

Sir

Sir John Sinclair faid, that he felt the strongest repugnance to this bill when it was introduced--thofe objections had not been removed; but, however, it was not his intention, now tó detain the house with obfervations on the general policy of the bill; but as there were fome points of confiderable importance, not only in this bill, but also in that which was connected with it, he meant the tax upon income, he could not fuffer the op portunity of making fome obfervations to pafs, because if the plan for the redemption of the land tax had been established on proper principles, and had been carried properly into effect, there would have been no occafion for the prefent projected tax upon income. Ever fince the plan for the redemption of the land tax had been thought of, he was of opinion that the land tax fhould be fold for ready money, and it would have produced the ten millions which the Minifter proposes to raise by the tax upon income, and would fuperfede the neceffity of that tax. He could not fee any poffible objection to the mea fure of felling the land tax for ready money if it was to be fold at all; and he thought that this bill ought to be fufpended for the purpose of confidering whether the measure he propofed was practicable or not.

He owned he felt ftrong objections to the measure now before the House, becaufe, the Houfe would, by adopting it, throw away a great refource, which might be employed to the public advantage. His reafon for it was this: that this plan was not new, for he had it in his mind many years ago, when he attended more to financial fubjects than he had done of late. He had then thought, and he fill thought, that the land tax might be fold for upwards of 30 years purchase, but the object of the Minifter was to facrifice the real and folid interest of this country to the ideal advantages of it, that was to deprefs the landed property and to raise up the ftockholder. There was no man

who wished more than he did to fee the stock high, but he did not with to fee that at the expence of the landed intereft of this country; he neither wifhed to fee that intereft facrificed or retarded for any purpose whatever. That the meafure now be fore the House produced that effect might be feen already. He defired any who doubted it to look into the condition of the country. If they would examine, they would find there were this feffion fewer bills for the improvement of land than had been obferved in any feffion for many years paft; the neglect of the improvement of the land was the confequence of the measure which the Houfe was now purfuing, for if gentlemen were called upon to redeem their land tax, and to defray other. heavy expences, they could not fpare money for the improve

ment

ment of land. The confequence of this measure was to make every gentleman farmer a gentleman ftockjobber, and instead of being a proprietor of land, he would become a proprietor of funds. Such was the effect of the bill of last session and of this; and gentlemen, inftead of increasing their knowledge of agriculture, they increased their knowledge of flock-jobbing, and he should not be aftonished if the Board of Agriculture was to be removed to Lloyd's Coffee-house, or to 'Changealley. Perhaps a few ruftic fimpletons would adopt this meafure, but, under such a system as the prefent, for a general cooperation for the improvement of the country, there was no hope. The landed intereft, he fhould have hoped, would have known too much to have been taken in this way; they can only gain five per cent. for their capital under this measure, whereas, by the due culture of their land, they might gain from feven to ten per cent. On thefe grounds he felt it his duty to oppose the bill, for by it the true advantage of this country had been facrificed.

Mr. Ryder commented on the grounds on which the Honourable Baronet opposed the measure now before the House. The Honourable Baronet, he said, seemed to with that this bill might be delayed until the fale of the land tax for ready money was effected. This delay would produce a fingular effect; it would produce all the evils which were prefented to the imagi uations of thofe gentlemen who opposed this measure last year, without producing any of the advantages expected by its friends to be derived from it. But with what view was this delay pro pofed? For the fake of finding out fome method which was to have the immediate effect of raifing 10 millions for the fupply of the year-and yet the Honourable Baronet faid that none would purchafe the land tax except a few ruftic fimpletons, he neverthless expected them to be ready to give 30 years purchafe for it with ready money. He should have been happy to hear the Honourable Baronet prove this, inftead of letting it reft upon his affertion, refpectable as that might be-for it certainly feemed odd that perfons should be ready to give a double fum in ready money for that which they might purchase upon credit.

The Honourable Baronet had expreffed fome apprehenfion, that in confequence of the bill now before the Houfe, farmers would turn ftock-jobbers; he was not apprehenfive of any fuch change; but if fome gentlemen who had paid great attention to agriculture fhould hereafter turn their minds to the funds and money-matters, they might poffibly be of great service to

the

the public, fince the Prefident of the Board of Controul had become fo able a financier.

Sir John Sinclair faid, that he did not expect that ten millions could be raised by the fale of the land tax, under the prefent fyftem-nothing like 30 years purchase would be given for the land tax; eighteen years was perhaps the highest, but he meant his obfervations, upon 30 years purchase to apply to a very different fyftem from the prefent. He had feen it flated many years ago, that the land tax might be fold for 30 years purchase, and that would produce ten millions, and fuperfede the neceffity of the prefent tax upon income. If a plan was adopted that was fufficiently favourable to the landed Gentlemen, he had no doubt but that they would find the money, but not under the prefent miferable fyftem of the Minister.

Mr. Shaw Lefevre avowed himself to be one of the ruftic -fimpletons defcribed by the Honourable Baronet; he was not, however, forry for it. He then took fome notice of the queftion of expence of carrying this act into execution; he believed it was confiderable; it had been stated at a million, he really thought it would not amount to one fifth of that fum.

Mr. Ellifon faid a few words, and Mr. Lefevre explained. Mr. Buxton obferved, that the purpofe of this act was merely to extend the benefits of the former one.

The bill was read a third time.

The Chancellor of the Exchequer then produced a great numbe of clauses, which were all read and agreed to.

On the question, "that the bill do pafs,"

Sir W. Geary faid, he did not rife to oppofe the paffing of this bill, but for a very great and important purpose; to speak to the order of the proceedings of tbat House. He had obferved a vast number of claufes introduced after the third reading of this and many other bills. When first he conceived a with to become one of the reprefentatives of the people of England in Parliament, his first object was to preferve and to hand down to pofterity the practical excellence of the Conftitution of England, as it had been tranfmitted to us by our ancestors, in doing which he could not forget the importance of the forms of proceeding in the Houfe of Commons; they were all established for the wife purpose of affording time for deliberation, and to enable the House to correct the errors of the Executive Government. It was in the Committee, and in the Comittee only, that claufes ought to be confidered, for that was the ftage allotted to them; it was highly improper, inafmuch as it was inconfiftent with deliberation that a great number of claufes fhould be added in a few minutes, after the third read ng of a VOL. I. 1798.

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