Imatges de pàgina
PDF
EPUB

fecure and confine perfons guilty or fufpected of high treason in the colonies or on the high feas, be continued for another

year.

Sir George Yonge thought this too ferious a matter to be Sir George made a thing of course, or to be agitated in fo thin a House. Yonge. By the description in the bill, every Englishman might poffibly, on pretence of fufpicion of treasonable practices, be committed to prifon. A matter of fuch ferious importance as the fufpenfion of the habeas corpus act, Sir George infifted, ought not to be decided upon but in a full House; he therefore hoped that the first reading of the bill now moved would be in a full meeting of the House.

Sir Grey Cooper did by no means confider the continuance Sir Greg of the act in queftion as a matter of course. It had been ori- Cooper. ginally well weighed, and seriously confidered, in a very full House, fome years ago, and its neceffity acknowledged and determined. At that time the rebels in America were the only enemies we had to contend with; fince that time the rebellion had been fupported by France and Spain: fo that the neceffity of continuing the act had become greater.

Mr. Baker agreed with Sir G. Yonge, in regard to the mo- Mr. Baker. tion before them, for the following reafons:-During the course of three or four years upwards of four hundred perfons had been imprisoned for treasonable practices, and not one of them had been brought to a trial. Why had they not been brought to a trial? Or how long were they to remain without one? Are minifters, and not the laws of the land, to determine what shall be the fate of British fubjects? For it appears that minifters have taken upon them to compromise matters fo far as to make an exchange of perfons fufpected or guilty of treason for other prifoners: whence it appears that arbitrary will, and not any certain rule, is followed in this matter. He hoped, therefore, that the bill moved for would be confidered in a full House.

Sir Philip Jennings Clerke rofe about three o'clock to make a Sir Pb. Jen. motion of which he had given previous notice on a former Clerke. day. He prefaced his motion by faying, he should make no apology to the House for troubling them fo early in the Seffion, as he concluded every member of a new Parliament would be glad to give an earnest to his conftituents of his future good intentions towards them. The general voice of the people, expreffed by their numerous petitions presented to that Houfe (by which alone their true fentiments were to be discovered) had called aloud for a more frugal expenditure of I 2

the

the public money, and a reduction of unneceffary places and unmerited penfions. A right honourable gentleman at that time, and now a member of this Houfe, ever zealous for the intereft of the public, had propofed that a committee should be appointed to inquire into the causes of their complaints, and to regulate and adjust the public accounts; the noble Lord in the blue ribband, alarmed at the propofition, and shrinking from the appeal, and a tribunal fo impartially and fo honourably conftituted, ftepped in between the gentleman and the public, in a manner feldom practifed in that House; produced a bill, appointing a certain number of his own friends to try the imputed crimes or mismanagement of himself and his colleagues in office, annexing a very beneficial falary to each of these gentlemen; by this management the public was put into the fituation of a traveller at a Dutch inn. When he complains to the landlord of the extravagance of his bill, he takes it away and makes a confiderable addition to each article, which the unwary ftranger is obliged to pay. When the people require a reduction of places and penfions, the noble Lord answers them with the appointment of half a dozen new commiffioners, with a falary of one thousand pounds per ann. each, befides the expence of a large houfe, housekeepers, &c. and a new establishment of every kind; every part of which expence might have been avoided, and the public at leaft as well and more fatisfactorily ferved by a committee of this Houfe, as propofed by the right honourable genleman. I allow it was the opinion of one of the greatest lawyers, and of the greatest parliamentary authority at that time, that the appointment could not be lawfully made; that the Commons of England were alone intrufted with the purse of the people, and they had no right to delegate that truft to any other perfons, and it muft appear to every body that they cannot or ought not to have fuch right, as there is not a man in this House who would fuffer his fteward to put his affairs into the hands of any other perfon, without his confent.

When the noble Lord named his commiffioners, he began with an officer of the army, of high rank and great reputation, but one who had a long account of his own to fettle with the public; but the known honour and integerity of that gentleman, affifted with the intereft of the noble Lord, overruled the objection. The next gentlemen propofed by the noble Lord were two Mafters in Chancery. It was remark

ed,

ed, that these gentlemen, in their own departments, were not much accuftomed to accelerate bufinefs; but it was answered, that they would have sufficient leifure during the funmer vacation to attend to this great bufinefs, and much might be done in a few months, and indeed much ought to be done, as the commiffion was to laft only one year. Prefuming therefore, that much has been done, I mean to move "that they now report a progrefs to the Houfe," a propofition which I think cannot be refufed by the noble Lord: for in the last week in the laft feffion, I gave notice that I meant to propose that a committee of the Houfe fhould be appointed to fuperintend the commiffioners of public accounts.

The noble Lord at that time said the motion was unneceffary, for they were always amenable to the call of the House, and they might require a report of their progrefs whenever they pleased. I therefore hope the Houfe will think proper to exercife that power at this time, not only to be informed what progrefs they have made, but also as it may be fome guide to direct us in the making our future grants. The committee of supply fat yesterday for the first time, when the general propofition only was agitated, that a fupply be granted to his Majefty; but when the fpecific ones come under confideration, it may be of ufe to us to look back to the appropriation last year of the different fums that will now be required for the fame purposes; and how far it may be right to enlarge or diminish our grants; for these reasons, he said, he then moved,

"That the commiffioners of the public accounts do forthwith report a progrefs to this Houfe."

The above inotion was agreed to nem, con.

Sir Philip then defired to know at what hour it was to be understood the speaker was to take the chair, or at what hour public bufinefs was to be entered upon; let it be three o'clock, or half after three or four, but let the hour be fixed.

Sir Jofeph Mawbey again fupported Sir Philip, infifting, ei- Sir Jofeph ther that a later hour, as one or twelve, be appointed for the Mawby. adjournments, or that fome hour should be fixed for the orders

of the day being read. He feemed to wait for fome reply

from

The Speaker, who faid, that for his own part he had not a Mr. Speaker with one way or the other, he would be directed by the Houfe; at the fame time he observed, that the neceffity of

meeting

Sir Charles

meeting was not always the fame, that, according to circumftances, there might be a latitude of meeting early or late.

Sir Charles Bunbury obferved, that no particular hour could Banbury. be fixed for reading the orders of the day, for that would depend on the time taken up by the private business. He conceived, that the reafon why the House met at fo late an hour, was the neceffity the fervants of the crown were under of attending other bufinefs in the early part of the day; yet he was for fixing the hour of adjournment not at nine or ten, but twelve or one.

Sir George
Tange.

Mr. Charles

Sir G. Yonge obferved, that an alteration in the nominal hour of meeting was of no manner of confequence, but he wifhed an hour might be fixed for the orders of the House being moved.

Mr. Charles Jenkinson faid, it was not a regard to the conJenkinson venience of miniftry only that delayed the meeting of the Houfe; lawyers, merchants, and other men of business, were employed in the forenoon in private bufiness, and could not attend that of the public.

A converfation of this kind was continued for fome time; but a motion having been made and feconded, that the House do adjourn, it was carried without a divifion.

The Report of the Commiffioners for examining, taking, and flating the public Accounts of this Kingdom, to the honourable the House of Commons, in pursuance of an order dated the 10th of November, 1780.

To the honourable the knights, citizens, and burgeffes in
Parliament affembled.

In obedience to an order of this honourable House, bearing date the 10th November inftant, "That the commiffioners appointed by an act, paffed in the laft feffion of parliament, for examining, taking, and ftating the public accounts of this kingdom, do forthwith report to this House what progress they have made therein;"

We report, That as foon as the act, by which we were conftituted, was paffed, and a proper place for our reception could be provided, we entered upon the execution of the act;

and

and after the neceffary arrangements of office and forms of proceeding were fettled, we, in the firft place, in obedience to the express directions of the act, made ufe of all the neceffary means for coming at a knowledge of the names of all perfons in the receipt of public money, or to whom public money unaccounted for had been iffued, that we might direct precepts for an account of the balances in their hands, in order to examine what part thereof might be applied to the public fervice.

From time to time, as fuch information (not procured without difficulty, nor without delay) has been obtained, we have iffued precepts in confequence thereof, to which, for the most part, returns have been made. We have received accounts of the balances in the hands of the receivers general of the land tax, and of the reprefentatives of those who are Idead; of the different treasurers and reprefentatives of treafurers of the navy, whofe accounts are unfettled; of the different paymafters, and representatives of paymafters, of his Majefty's forces, whofe accounts are unfettled; and of various other claffes of public accountants; reports of which will be made to his Majefty, and to both Houses of Parliament, in pursuance of the directions of the act, as soon as fuch exami nations have been taken as are neceffary to enable us to judge what part of those balances may be immediately taken out of the hands of the public accountants, and applied to the public fervice.

We began these enquiries with the receivers general of the land tax, of whom we have examined as many as we thought neceffary, not only as to the public money in their hands, but alfo as to the mode of collecting, receiving, paying in, and accounting for, the taxes received by them. Upon the firft part of this enqiry, namely, as to the public money in their hands, we are preparing a report, which we hope will be foon ready to be presented.

As the excife is one of the moft confiderable branches of the public revenue, we have examined feveral of the officers in its different departments, as well to be informed of the mode and manner in which it is collected and paid in, as to enable us to judge with what comparative expence, efficacy, and dispatch, the land tax is collected and paid into the Exchequer.

The returns of balances from the treasurers of the navy, whose names as public accountants ftand firft in the general certificate

[ocr errors]
« AnteriorContinua »