Imatges de pàgina
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1736.

Anno 9. Geol II. Church Power, upon which fo many Changes have been rung of late, I take to be very unneceffary at this Time; it is now at a very low Ebb, and it is very well if it can keep its just Ground.

The Quakers Bill pafs'd.

Debate on a Bill for preventing Smuggling.

The Mischief which is growing up is of another Sort, and our Liberties are no longer in Danger from any Thing which is founded in Religious Pretences; the Enemy has erected Batteries all round our Conftitution; but as the Church is the weakeft Part, it is thought very adviseable to begin the Attack there; and if it fucceeds, they will foon mount the Breach, and take Poffeffion of the whole; for we may learn from the fatal Experience of former Times, that Monarchy can only fubfift upon the Union and Defence of our Civil and Religious Rights. We all form one Conftitution, it is highly neceffary therefore that all, who are fincere Lovers of that, fhould well know, and mutually protect each other; and that the Clergy fhould wifely confi der, that, as at all Times we are ready to oppofe any Affaults upon their Quarter, fo they are under the ftrongest Obligations, in the Day of our Need, not to withdraw their Affiftance from us in Points of Civil Liberty; for if ever that fhould be their fatal Miftake, and our Hands are thereby weakened, they will undoubtedly bring their own Eftablishment into the moft imminent Danger.

I fhall fay no more, but that I fhall at all Times oppofe any Innovations, because I think them extremely hazardous; let us rather guard against the intemperate Follies, the Luxu ry, the Venality and Irreligion of the Age, which have been long gathering like a dark Thunder-Cloud in the Sky. God only knows how foon it may burft, but whenever it happens, and I fear the Day is at no great Distance, it will certainly fall most heavily upon us; I am therefore for keeping up our common Shelters, that we may be protected, as well as poffible, againft this great and impending Danger.

Then the Queftion being put for paffing the Bill, it was carried in the Affirmative, by 164 to 48, and Mr Glanville was order'd to carry the Bill to the Lords, and defire their Concurrence.

May 3. Sir Charles Turner presented to the Houfe a Bill, For indemnifying Perfons, who have been guilty of unlawfully importing Goods and Merchandize into this Kingdom, upon the Terms therein mentioned, and for inforcing the Laws against fuch Importation for the future; and the fame was then read the firit Time, and ordered to be read a fecond Time.

May 4. The faid Bill was read a fecond Time, and a Motion being made for committing the fame, it was oppos'd by feveral Members, who urg'd, That it was very extraordi

nary

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nary to fee fuch a Petition followed by fuch a Bill: The Anno 9. Geo. 11. Petition [See p. 160.] was from many Merchants and Shopkeepers, complaining of too high a Duty upon a certain Sort of Merchandize, and of the Hardfhips they were fubjected to by the Laws lately made for collecting that Duty: Upon the Foundation of that Petition, a Bill had been brought in, which no way diminished the Duty, and instead of relieving the Merchants from any of the Hardships they were before expofed to, laid them under many new Hardfhips, and fuch as they thought inconfiftent with the Liberties of the People: That this was a Method of Proceeding, by which the Subject would be terrified from ever making an Application to Parliament, for being relieved against those Grievances they thought they had Reafon to complain of; for no Man would ever apply to Parliament for Relief, if he could have the leaft Sufpicion that his Cafe might be rendered more intolerable by fuch Application.'

To this it was anfwer'd by Sir Robert Walpole, Sir George Oxenden, and Sir William Yonge, That the frequent Practice of Smuggling was the Grievance which the Petitioners chiefly complained of; therefore any effectual Method for preventing that Grievance, was a proper Confequence of fuch a Petition: That the Duties complained of, were engaged for the Payment of old Debts, or for the Support of the Government, and could not therefore be lowered, without replacing them by establishing some new Fund, which could not then be done: And that none of the Penalties to be inflicted by that Bill, could be any Hardship upon fair Traders, but only upon Smugglers, and the more Difficulties they were exposed to, the better it would be for the fair Trader.'

Sir R. Walpole.

Sir G. Oxenden.

sir W. Yonge.

to the Bill.

Then fome Members objected to a Clause in the Bill, by Farther Objections which it was enacted, That any Ship, not exceeding the Burthen of 100 Tons, fhall be forfeited, if she take in ⚫ from another Veffel at Sea, within four Leagues of the British Coafts, any Foreign Goods, Wares, or Merchan'dizes, without Payment of the Customs, unless in case of apparent Neceffity:' And to another Claufe by which it was enacted, That all Goods found concealed in any Ship or Veffel, at any Time after the Mafter thereof fhall have 'made his Report at the Custom-house, and which shall not be comprized or mentioned in the faid Report, fhall be forfeited.' With regard to the first Claufe, it was faid, ⚫ That it would be a moft terrible Hardship upon the Owners of any Ship, to make them forfeit their Ship, only becaufe of the Captain's, or perhaps fome of the Sailors, taking a Pound of Tea, or an Anchor of Brandy, Rum, or Arrack, from on board another Ship they accidentally

met

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Anno 9. Geo. II. met with at Sea: That in Penal Laws great Care ought always to be taken, not to subject any Man to a Penalty or Forfeiture, except fuch as were really guilty; but by that Claufe the Owners of a Ship were to be fubjected to a great Forfeiture, tho' they neither were, nor could be any way guilty of, or fo much as privy to, the Crime for which that Forfeiture was inflicted: That the Hardship upon them was the greater, because it would be impoffible for them to guard against it; for every one knew, that, for the most Part, the Command of Merchant Ships was given to Persons who had no Fortunes of their own, and therefore could not make good to the Owners the Damage they might fuftain by the Forfeiture of their Ship: That the Owners of Ships never looked for any Thing more in a Master, but the Character of an honest careful Man, and an expert Sailor; but in this Cafe, neither of these Qualities could be a Safegard to the Owners, because their Ship might be forfeited and loft by the Knavery, perhaps by the Treachery, of any common Sailor on board, without any Fault in the Mafter: That the Estates vested in Shipping were already liable to fo many Penalties and Forfeitures by our Cuftom-house Laws, and were fubject to fo many Dangers from other Accidents; and the Employing of any Eftate in that Way was in itself of fo little Advantage to the Owner, that many Gentlemen had already withdrawn their Fortunes from that Branch of Trade: That if that Claufe fhould pafs into a Law, no Man, who had a Regard to his Family, would employ or continue any Part of his Eftate in that Branch; which would certainly be a great Difadvantage to our Shipping, and a great Difcouragement to our Seamen.

As to the other Claufe it was alledg'd, That a Merchant might thereby forfeit a valuable Parcel of Goods, by the meer Negligence or Forgetfulness of the Mafter of a Ship, whom he had never known or entrusted; and that without its being poffible for him, by the utmost Care and Diligence, to prevent fuch a Forfeiture; because the Goods might be forfeited before it was poffible for him to hear of the Arrival of the Ship, or to know that he had fuch a Parcel of Goods on board fuch a Ship; for the Mafter always made his Report immediately upon his Arrival, and before he had Time or Opportunity to rummage his Ship, or to fend to any of the Merchants to come and take care of their Goods; and as Masters are generally in a great Hurry at their fetting out, when fmall Parcels of fine Goods are ufually fent on board, a Mafter might very probably forget to mention fome of them in his Report, which by this Claufe would occafion a Forfeiture, fuch Goods being always lodg ed in Places that would be called concealed; whereas the Law

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Law then flood, if the Mafter upon rummaging and fearch- Anno 9. Geb. H. ing his Ship, which every Mafter did before Clearing, or if the Merchant upon hearing of the Ship's Arrival, or receiving Advice of his having fuch a Parcel of Goods on board, fhould come to look after his Goods, tho' they had been forgot in the Report, a Poft-entry might be made, by which all Forfeitures and Penalties would be prevented. That they thought this Bill would be a new Hardship upon Merchants, and a new Difcouragement to Trade, which was before, by our late Statutes relating to the Cuftoms, fubjected to fo great an Expence, and so many Difficulties, that it was impoffible for our Merchants to carry it on at so easy a Rate as our Neighbours, which was the true Cause of our being under-fold by Foreigners in all Markets of Europe.'

To this it was answered by the Advocates for the Bill, That all these Hardships and Dangers might eafily be prevented by the Care of Masters of Ships: That Owners or Merchants who intrufted their Ships or Goods to idle carelefs Men, were certainly in fome Fault, and therefore deferved to fuffer if there were no Neceffity for making them do fo: But that in the Cafes then before them, it was abfolutely neceffary to lay fome Part of the Penalty upon them, for the very Reason that had been given against it; because the Masters imployed by them were often fo poor, that it was impoffible to recover any Penalties from them. That with respect to the Forfeiture of Ships, as the Clause was amended, and confined to Ships not exceeding 100 Tons, it could not much regard any Branch of our foreign Trade, it would chiefly regard our Coasting Veffels, and our Holland and French trading Sloops, many of which, they were afraid, were chiefly imployed in Smuggling. That they should be forry if any Perfon fuffered thro' a meer Overfight; but if they gave by Law too great, or, indeed, any Indulgence to Overfights, fraudulent Defigns would always be cloaked under pretended Overfights, and therefore it was neceffary to make the Law fevere, tho' in the Execution of that Law, fome Indulgence might be fhewn in any Cafe which appeared clearly to thofe who had the Execution of the Law, to be but an Overfight. That we had many Customs and Duties upon Goods imported, and the Laws for collecting them might probably fubject our Merchants to fome Inconveniencies, and to fome Expence; but there was no Country in the World where their Trade was free from Customs and Duties: That they believed the Merchants of this Kingdom were fubjected to no greater Inconvenience or Expence on that Account, than the Merchants of our neighbouring Countries; fo that if Foreigners under-fold us in any Market, fome other Reafon was to be affigned for their VOL. IV.

Gg

fo

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Anno 9. Geo. II. fo doing, and when that Reason was affigned, if it was pof fible to remove it, they would join in any Measure that could be proposed for that Purpose.'

The Bill against Smuggling committed.

The Yorkshire
Petition dropt.

Debate on a Bill

Bribery-Act.

This Debate being over, the Bill was committed to a Committee of the whole House.

The fame Day the House refum'd the Confideration of the contested Election for the County of York, and after the Counsel for the fitting Member were heard, who alledged that they would foon fhew, that most of the Objections made to their Voters were either falfe or frivolous, and that they would effectually difqualify a much greater Number of the Voters for Sir Rowland Winn, the Petitioner, than he, or the other Petitioners had pretended to difqualify of theirs, the Matter was adjourn'd to the 11th, on which Day no Notice being taken of the Affair it was intirely dropt.

May 11. A Motion was made by Mr Henry Arthur Herbert, for Leave to bring in a Bill, to explain and amend fo much of an A&t made in the fecond Year of his present Mafor explaining the jefty's Reign, intitled, An Act for the more effectual preventing Bribery and Corruption in the Election of Members to ferve in Parliament, as relates to the commencing and carrying on of Profecutions grounded upon the faid Act; which was accordingly granted, and the faid Mr Herbert, Mr Richard Lloyd, Mr Knight and Mr More, were ordered to prepare bring in the fame: Accordingly a Bill for that Purpofe was prefented to the Houfe the fame Day, and read a firft Time.

and

The Reafon affigned for bringing in this Bill was, That by a Claufe in the above Act it is enacted, That no Perfon fhall be made liable to any Incapacity or Penalty by the faid Act impofed, unless Profecution be commenced ' within two years after the Crime committed, nor in Cafe ⚫ of Profecution within that Time, unlefs the fame be carried on without wilful Delay: But this Limitation was not fufficiently full and explicit, becaufe the fuing out of an Original was a Commencement of a Profecution, which might be done without letting the Party profecuted know that any fuch Profecution was commenced; and the Limitation being faved by the fuing out an Original in this private Manner, Profecutions upon that A&t might be depending privately against Men for many Years after the fuppofed Offence, which would be of the most dangerous Confequence, and therefore it was neceffary to bring in a fhort Bill for explaining and amending that Claufe, fo as to make it neceffary to give the Party profecuted Notice of the Profecation within the two Years.

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