learned judge; but, in the same way as the attorney general was, in prosecutions at the suit of the king, to be considered the prosecutor, so must the noble marquis be here regarded as the person complaining against the learned judge. In this character (and the noble lord did not blame him for it) the noble marquis had conducted the charges against the learned judge before the committee; and, this being the case, it could hardly be alleged that 'the learned judge, and those acting against him were equally informed on the points which had occurred before the committee. He concluded by moving, That the chairman of the former committee do move, that the committee be revived in order to lay before the house the proceedings had therein, for the purpose of communicating the same to Mr. Justice Fox.

Lords Hawkesbury and Mulgrave supported the opinion of the Lord Chancellor, declaring it, however, to be their wish that every degree of justice, consistent with the forms of the house, should be done to the learned judge.

Lord Auckland agreed with Lord Grenville, and could not figure that it should be supposed that the forms of that house should ever be inconsistent with substantial justice. To give the house a full discretion, however, in the business, and that they might afterwards grant to the learned judge the information required, or not, as they should think proper, he moved that the words "for the purpose of communicating the same to Mr. Justice Fox," be omitted.

After a few words farther from the Lord Chancellor and Lord Grenville, it was agreed that the house should take farther time to deliberate on so important a business.

The chairman accordingly reported progress, and obtained leave to sit again on Wednesday.

The Attorney General brought from the commons the stipendiary curates' bill.-Adjourned till Wednesday.

HOUSE OF COMMON S.

FRIDAY, MAY 31.

A new writ was ordered, on the motion of Lord Ossulston, for the borough of Shrewsbury, in the room of Sir W. Pulteney, Bart. deceased.

Mr. Foster, by order of his majesty, in compliance with an address of the house, presented an account of the estimates of the expences of the board of first fruits in Ireland; also an

estimate

estimate of the expence for the improvement of the harbour of Howth, near Dublin. Ordered to lie on the table.

The Broadstairs harbour improvement bill was read a third time and passed.

SOUTH LONDON WATERWORKS.

Sir John Frederick brought up the report of the committee on the South London water-works bill.-The report, which stated only that the allegations of the preamble of the bill had not been proved, having been read, Sir John Frederick moved that it do lie on the table.

Mr. Tierney observed, that the committee had not made any report of the bill, but merely that the preamble had not been proved; and contended that, in compliance with the forms and proceedings in the house, some report should have been made on the bill itself. The committee had endeavoured to get rid of the bill altogether, by adjourning for six weeks, and afterwards by negativing the preamble and two material clauses, when directed by the house to proceed with the bill. He was at a loss what course to take on the occasion, and appealed to the chair for instruction.

The Speaker calling the attention of the house to the subject, stated, that the committee to whom the bill had been committed, having reported to the house, there was in form à report of it before the house. It would, however, be competent to any other member who disapproved of the report of the committee, either to move to negative the present motion for the purpose of proposing clauses on the report which might appear to him necessary to perfect the bill, or should that in his view be impracticable, by proposing clauses to move that the bill be recommitted, which would leave it in a state as if nothing had been previously done in a committee. A discussion of some length took place, during which the motion that the report do lie on the table was negatived; and on Mr. Tierney's moving that the report be taken into consideration on Wednesday next, an amendment was moved by Mr. Baldwin, that it be taken into further consideration this day three months, on which a division took place,

committee on the petitions against the corn bill, which was ordered to lie on the table, and to be printed. The noble lord also gave notice of a motion for an early day on the subject of the matter contained in the report.

SIR JOHN DUCKWORTH.

Colonel Wood observed, that in consequence of something that had happened since he had fixed his notice of a motion relative to the proceedings of the court martial on this officer for that day, he was induced to postpone his motion to that day se'nnight.

Mr. Blake was of opinion that the hon. gentleman would not only be disposed to defer the motion to which he had adverted, but upon consideration would be induced not to bring forward a motion of so extraordinary a nature at all. He was sure that no such motion ought to be made but upon the strongest grounds.

Colonel Wood had considered the matter with the most serious attention, and was convinced that he had the strongest ground for his motion, both with respect to the proceedings of the court martial and the conduct of the hon. admiral alluded to. It was to accommodate the minister of the country, who wished to have time to consider the propriety of the motion, that he had proposed to defer it.

MILITARY AFFAIRS.

Colonel Craufurd moved for the following accounts respecting the state of the regular army, to the production of which he understood no objection would be made.

Ist. An account of the total effective strength of the regular army on the 1st of May, 1805. This he wished to have only in the aggregate, lest any objection should be made to the disclosure of the detail of distribution.

2d. A return of the number of men that had been raised by the additional force bill, in the few months from the 1st of January, to the 30th of April, 1805, specifying the number raised by the parishes, and by recruiting.

3d. An account of the number of men raised by the ordinary recruiting within the same period.

4th. An account of the casualties in the regular troops on the home establishment within the same period, and

5th. An account of the casualties in the foreign stations within the last four months, for which returns have been received at the adjutant general's office. These accounts were severally ordered.

Colonel

Colonel Craufurd then gave notice, that on an early day after the papers should be laid before the house, he should bring forward a motion on the subject.

After a few observations from the Chancellor of the Exchequer and Colonel Craufurd the motion was fixed for Thursday se'nnight.

NAVAL AFFAIRS.

Mr. Jeffery having mentioned in his motion the preceding day certain papers which were of importance to the full investigation of the subject to which his former motions referred, without any preface moved that there be laid before the house, a copy of the letter of Sir A. S. Hamond to Earl St. Vincent, dated Dec. 28, 1802; also a copy of the answer to the same from Earl St. Vincent to Sir A. S. Hamond, dated Dec. 29, 1805.-Ordered.

On the motion of Lord Henry Petty, the returns to the orders of a former day, relative to certain sums paid by the receiver general of the land tax in Scotland, were ordered to be presented forthwith.

On the motion of Sir W. Elford, an account was ordered of the quantity of timber of a certain description that had been used in his majesty's dock-yards for ships of the line from the year 1785 to 1805 inclusive.

GROWTH OF TIMBER.

Sir William Dolben, after adverting to the diminution of naval timber in this country, and stating the necessity of making provision for a future supply, moved that a committee be appointed to consider of the state of the timber growing in this country, in which he stated his intention to move a resolution, that no inclosure bill should in future pass the house, in which a clause should not be introduced to compel the planting a certain proportion of the land to be inclosed with naval timber.

The Chancellor of the Exchequer thought the consideration of such a subject at this time inexpedient, and that the introduction of such a clause as that proposed by the hon. baronet into inclosure bills would be to legislate in a manner inconsist ent with every principle of justice and sound policy.

After a few observations from Sir William Dolben, Sir William Elford, and Admiral Markham, the motion was ne gatived without a division.

CHANCELLOR OF THE EXCHEQUER.

Mr. Henry Lascelles felt sorry at not seeing the hon. gen

tleman

tleman (Mr. Whitbread) who had given notice of a motion for Tuesday se'nnight, in his place. He had himself the preceding day, on a supposition that the part of the report of the committee on the tenth report, which related to the conduct of the chancellor of the exchequer, would not require much time for consideration, stated his intention to bring the question forward at an earlier day than that proposed by the hon. gentleman. But when he had stated this intention, he was not aware of the interference of the holidays, and that many gentlemen might not have the report in their hands till Wednesday. One day's consideration of the report could not be sufficient, and he therefore had reason to state, that it was not his intention to bring the subject forward, as he had proposed. His own mind, however, was fully made up on the subject; and he had reason to believe that many members of the committee thought with him. If, therefore, the resolutions which the hon. gentleman meant to propose to the house should be of a criminating nature, he was determined, if not anticipated by some member of the committee, better qualified by talents and abilities for the occasion, to move resolutions of a nature directly the reverse of those of the honourable gentleman.

The Chancellor of the Exchequer moved the order of the day for the further consideration of the report of the committee, on the message of the lords relative to the attendance of Earl St. Vincent in the committee on the several papers relating to Sir Home Popham's case.

The Chancellor of the Exchequer moved, that the matter be referred back to the same committee, as the report they had made on the answer they had drawn up might trench upon the privileges of the lords. After some observations from Mr. Kinnaird, Sir John Stewart, Sir W. Burroughs, and Mr. Speaker, the message of the lords was ordered to be re-committed.

LOTTERY, &c.

"

The house resolved itself into a committee of ways and means, Mr. Alexander in the chair.

On the motion of the Chancellor of the Exchequer, it was resolved, that from the success of the system pursued last year, it was expedient that a lottery to consist of 90,000 tickets, producing 900,000l. at the rate of 10l. per ticket, should be carried into execution in three lotteries for the present year, and that the lords of the treasury should be em

powered