Imatges de pàgina
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created by it. This law must act upon all fuch things as it finds them.

Sir W. Lemon poke fhortly in reply, and after fome farther converfation between Mefirs. Bouverie, Lloyd, Banks, Sir W. Young, and Mr. Pitt, it was fettled by the committee, that the valuation of the profi's arifing from manors, woods, &c. fhould be taken upon a fair average, to be confided to the commiffioners; but that in the cafe of mines, the valuation fhould be taken on an average not exceeding five years.

The next cafe, the 11th, which related to eftimating the income of tenants of lands, tenements, and hereditaments, produced also a very long and defultory converfation between Metfrs. Wilberforce, Banks, the Solicitor General, and the Chancellor of the Exchequer, and other Gentlemen; the refult of which was, that the rule refpe&ing hereditaments let at rackrents was amended by the committee to the following effect: that the value of lands let at a lefs rent than three hundred pounds per ann. should be taken at a rate, not lower than onehalf of the amount of the rent, nor higher, than the threefourths of the fame. And in cafes where the rent is 200l. or upwards, the calculation fhall not be made at less than the three-fifths of fuch amount, nor above three-fourths of the fame.

The twelfth cafe being arrived at,

The Chancellor of the Exchequer, after remarking the latenefs of the hour, reprefented to the committee the improbability of getting through the remainder of the schedule, and the propofed amendments, at any reasonable time that night, he therefore fuggefted the propriety of reporting progress, and fitting again the next day.

A fhort converfation here cnfued between Mr. Wigley, and Mr. Pitt, refpecting the future progrefs of the bill, in confequence of the former wifhing to know whether in was intended to receive the report the next night, fhould the bill be gone through.

The Speaker obferved, that, regularly, the report could not be made for the purpose of taking it into confideration on the fame day the committee concluded its fitting: it might, however, be received pro forma, for the purpose of adjourning its confideration to a future day.

The refult was, that it was understood the report should be received the next night, in the above way, by which the bill, with the amendments, could be reprinted and iffued out to VOL. I. 1798.

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the members in due time previous to its farther confideration on the day fixed upon that night.

The Houfe then refumed, and the chairman reported progrefs. The committee was directed to fit again this day.

VOLUNTEER CORPS.

Mr. Hufkifon prefented a bill to exempt perfons ferving in the volunteer corps from being ballotted for the fupplementary militia, which was read a firft time, and ordered to be read a fecond time the next day.

Mr. Wigley role to observe that the bill being one of fome importance, and no particular reafon exifting for its being fpeedily carried into effect, it fhould not be hurried through the Houfe. He did not think it very material whether or not it was read a fecond time the next day, but he was of opinion, that as the measure required fome confideration, particularly as by it a number of perfons would be taken from the parochial ballots, that proper time fhould be allowed for difcuffing it, in the courfe of its fubfequent progrefs.

On account of the lateness of the hour, the Chancellor of the Exchequer then propofed to defer the confideration of the new claufes till the next day, which was agreed to.

The bill is to be printed and delivered to the Members on Monday, and to be taken into further confideration on Wednefday.

Adjourned at half past twelve o'clock.

LIST OF THE MINORITY AGAINST THE SUSPENSION OF THE HABEAS CORPUS ACT. 1

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The royal affent was given by commiffion to the three million loan bill, and the land tax redemption amended bill.

The Cape of Good Hope neutral trade bill, and a naturalization bill were brought up from the Houfe of Commons, read a first time, and ordered to be read a fecond time on Friday next.

The fecond reading of Ricketts's divorce bill, with the hearing

hearing of counsel and evidence thereon, was fixed for Friday

next.

The confideration of the standing orders refpecting private bills, was poftponed from Wednesday until Friday next. The Houfe adjourned to Friday.

HOUSE OF COMMONS.

SATURDAY, DEC. 22.

Mr. N. l'anfittart brought up the report of the committee on the British herring-fifhery. Ordered to be laid on the table, and to be printed.

Mr. Ryder moved, That the Acts of his prefent Majefty, relative to the establifhmont of a Court of Judicature in Newfoundland, be read, which being done, he moved for leave to bring in a bill to revive and continue the faid acts. Granted.

Mr. Rofe brought up the report of the annual Indemnity Bill, which was agreed to, and the bill ordered to be read a third time on Wednesday next.

The bill for exempting volunteer corps from being ballotted in the militia was read a fecond time, and ordered to be committed to a committee of the whole Houfe on Wednesday.

TREATING ACT.

Lord Belgrave faid, that for his own confiftency, and for refpect to the Houfe, he thought it proper to give notice, that early after the holidays he fhould call the attention of the House to a fubject which he had brought before it laft year, and which had received its fanction, but which was rejected by the Lords. He meant the subject of treating at eletions. He knew not whether he fhould propofe the meafure again in the way of a bill, or in the fhape of a refolution, but fomething of that fort he fhould certainly propofe after the holidays. It was not, with him, so much a matter of importance what the regulation was, as that there should be fome regulation, for the great point was to remove the uncertainty which accompanies legal opinions and decifions upon that fubject.

INCOME BILL.

The Chancellor of the Exchequer moved the order of the

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day for the Houfe to proceed in a committee on the Income Bill.

Mr. Tierney afked the minifter whether it was his intention to bring on the confideration of the report on Wednefday? It could not be in the hands of Gentlemen until that day, and therefore there would be no time to confider it until Thursday at the leaft, for Christmas day was no day of bufinefs. He was not speaking for himself, for he wanted no time, but there were others in a different fituation, who had gone into the country, who did not care to attend the detail of the measure in the committees, but who wanted to fee the whole printed, and who wifhed to fpeak upon the fubject once for all. An hon. Friend of his he knew in particular to have been gone into the country, and who wifhed to fpeak upon this fubject after the report was made, but he could not be prepared for that purpofe without feeing what fort of a thing the bill was when the committee had done with it, and which he could not learn by poft before Thursday. Under these impreffions he hoped he was not asking too much of the goodnefs of the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he begged that the report might stand for Friday, and the third reading of the bill for Monday. It was faid, indeed, that all the proceedings on the bill would be ready for 'delivery on Monday, but that could hardly be the cafe. It was now Saturday night, and he did not prefume that the printers would labour on Sunday. He might, indeed, be justified in defiring the bill to be poftponed altogether until after the holidays, but that he did not prefs; he only afked for a day or two, which might very well be granted, efpecially when the House was

fo thin.

The Chancellor of the Exchequer faid, he wifhed the bill to be difcuffed upon the report, or upon the third reading. There was no furprise to be complained of in this cafe, for it was well known that all the bill was gone through except the cafes annexed to the fchedule, which could not be expected to occupy much time; after which the new clauses were to be produced, and, as the whole was expected to be printed, there was nothing very remarkable in feeing the House was but thinly attended. He fhould be happy to accommodate any Gentleman, but it must be recollected, not only that the convenience of that Houfe, but also of another House of legislature, ought to be attended to, and it was now clear that they could not enjoy the holidays until the bill was difcuffed, or elfe it must be put off till a very inconvenient season. He ftood

ftood in the fame fituation as the hon. Gentleman, for he had no perfonal convenience to accommodate, nor did he fee why the hon. Gentleman, fo laudably diligent himfelf as a member of Parliament, could have any fellow feeling for feceders of any kind; and indeed the Gentleman to whom he alluded was only a qualified feceder, who, although he did not chufe perfonally to attend the Houfe, was yet willing to receive intelligence of its proceedings by poft. He expected the bill and all the claufes to be ready for delivery on Monday.

Mr. Tierney obferved, that the firft payment of the bill was not until the fifth of June, and therefore there was time for the operation of the bill.

The Chancellor of the Exchequer observed, that the reason alfigned by the hon. Gentleman for delay was a very good one for expedition in this measure, for the very idea of fixing the first payment under the bill fo far off as the fifth of June, implied that between the paffing of it, and the first payment, there ought to be confiderable time, and therefore there ought to be as little delay in the progrefs of the bill as poffible; and the truth indeed was, that on account of various arangements, of appointing first and second commissioners, making out lifts, examining returns, claffing them, and various other business preparatory to the first payment, the time between that and paffing the bill, would not, with all the diligence the legislature could ufe, be thought too long, and therefore he could not agree to any delay in this cafe.

The queftion was then put, and the House went into a committee upon the bill,

In that part of the trade clause which gave the trader an option of returning the income of a year, or an average of three years,

Mr. H. Thornton faid it was the object of the bill that, if poffible, a man who had a fluctuating income should pay to the exigencies of the state in the fame proportion as the perfon who enjoyed a stated income. To prevent evasion, he propofed, that when a person had once made his election, whether he fhould pay according to the full amount of profit within the preceding year, or for an average of three years, he fhould not be at liberty afterwards to vary the election he had made. On which,

Mr. Alderman Combe faid, that he certainly muft object to that alteration; for it went to an entire departure from that principle of alleviation which he always thought that claufe

contained.

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