At the peace, when the establishment was reduced, a great number of lieutenants were to be put upon the kalf-pay, whilst there still would remain a considerable number of vacant ensigncies. The commander-in-chief, to obviate, the inconvenience to the public from the increase of the expence of the half-pay list, proposed that the lieutenants, in the place of being reduced to half-pay, should serve as effective ensigns. A precedent of this arrangement had taken place at the peace of 1765, and the measure had been productive of very beneficial consequences to the army. Some inconvenience might have resulted from the plan, but the advantage was obvious, and that was not the time for him to trouble the House with the details. The ensigns were then reduced to half-pay, and the sum of 5001. fixed upon to be given to such as should give up their commissions for that sum. In order to discharge the fund thus created, the commander-in-chief allowed the commissions to be sold. If they. had been all sold at once they would have stopped all pro motion, and been productive of great inconvenience. And it was therefore thought that it would be much better to bave them sold from time to time as the occasion should arise. To this half-pay fund also the sums arising from the sale of other commissions was applied; whenever a yacancy occurred, if an experienced and meritorious offi cer was next in succession, he got the promotion, but it often happened that a young officer was next in succession, in which case it could not be a hardship to dispose of the, vacancy by sale to any older officer, willing to purchase, and the sums arising from such sale of commissions were applied to the half-pay fund, Another source of supply. to this fund arose, when othicers were leaving the service, who had purchased some of their promotion, but had got other steps without purchase. Such officers were allowed to sell only what they purchased, unless by long service they should have, a claim to sell the whole. In such cases the whole commission was sold, and the part to which the retiring officer was not entitled was transferred to the halfpay fund. By these regulations the illustrious personage at the head of the army gave up a great part of his own patronage, in the disposal of commissions, for the purposeof public economy, and to promote the good of the service. He should follow up the motion of the honourable gentleman, by moving for au account of the sums saved to the VOL. 1.-1807.

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public by the employment of officers taken from the half pay. He trusted that the House would indulge him, while he stated what the illustrious personage at the head of the army had done for its benefit. It was well known that abuses had been committed at the commencement of the last war, in the purchase and sale of commissions. In the year 1793, several officers had been advanced in a few weeks, from the lowest to the highest rank they could pur chase. Though some of these officers had turned out ornaments to the profession, every person must feel that such a practice was calculated to discourage deserving officers, and to give rise to an impression that every thing in the army depended upon money. Shortly after the Duke of York was appointed commander-in-chief of the army, and made a regulation, that no officer should have the rank of captain before he had served two years as a subaltern, nor attain the rank of a field officer under six years service. Though this regulation did not go far enough, it corrected a great part of the mischief; but there still remained a great abuse in the exorbitant prices of commissions. His majesty, no doubt, had issued orders, that no more than a regulated price should be taken for all commissions; but means were found to evade this salutary regulation, by men, to whom money was not an object, urged by the activity of self-interest and perso al ambition; and many experienced officers were tempted to quit the service, by a provision equal to what they could expect by continuing in it. The most effectual checks had been provided by the commander-in-chief, for the abuses that had prevailed in the army; and of late, more had been done for that purpose than ever. Until effcctual measures were taken to put a stop to the practices of army brokers, every newspaper was teeming with advertisements for he purchase and sale of commissions. The measures that had been taken to put down this practice had been effectual, and the clauses inserted in he mutiny bill would be a sufficient security against is recurrence in future. He had to apologise to the House for having taken up so much of their time, but he could not omit taking the occasion of the motion of the honourable gentleman to state, what had been done for the army by the illustrious personage at the head of it. The high prices of commissions had been done away, and the most effectul checks established against any other abuse. From what he bad stated, he thought

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an address the most proper mode of proceeding, and therefore concluded by moving an amendment to that effect.

The Speaker, after the statement that had been made, had no hesitation to declare, that the motion should be for an address to his majesty.

Mr. Cochrane Johnstone had no objection whatever to shape his motion in that form. He could assure the House and the country, that in bringing it forward, he had no other than a public object. He had never entertained the smallest suspicion, nor given the least credit to the malicious and unfounded reports which had been in circulation, against that illu trious personage at the head of the army. But he thought it his duty as a representative of the people, to watch over the expenditure of the public money, and he looked upon these sums to be public money. The account he was persuaded ought to be laid annually before the House, especially if, as he understood, the sums received amounted to one million.

The motion was then put and agreed to, after a short explanation from the Secretary at War.

An address was also ordered, on the motion of Mr. Cochrane Johnstone, for an account of all sums received from officers on half pay, and their coming upon full pay, from the year 1795 to the present time, with the names, &c. as in the former motion.

An address was then voted, on the motion of the Secretary at War, for a statement of the saving to the public, by the employment of officers taken from the half-pay since the year 1795.

The addresses were ordered to be presented by such members as were of the privy-council.

The following election petitions were presented, and fixed for consideration as under:

Lancaster, July 23 | Dublin university, July 23
Liverpool, ditto 8 | Renfrewshire,

FUNDED DEBT.

ditto 24

Lord Henry Petty rose, pursuant to notice, to move for leave to bring in a bill for the purpose of amending and better execu ing several acts relating to the public funded debt. Before he should explain the nature of the measure he intended to propose, he begged leave to move, that the resolutions of the Ilouse in the last session upon this subject should be read (the resolutions were accord.

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ingly read). The noble lord then stated that these resolutions contained the whole of the plan he had submitted to the House, which was yet unaccomplished. The last Parliament had resolved that a larger proportion of funds should be annually devoted to the redemption of the public debt than was applied to that object before. The proposition to this effect had been founded upon principles already sanctioned by the House, when in 1786 one million had been voted as a sinking-fund for the redemption of the debt. It was then resolved, that when the sinkingfund thus created should arrive at four millions, the surplus should be applicable to the current exigences. In 1802 an alteration had been made with respect to this limitation of principles, of which he did not disapprove. The limitation had been then done away, and the accumulating application was to go on till the whole debt should be dis. charged. The resolution adopted in the last Parliament, was intended to give effect to a plan for restoring the former principle, and an appropriation of 10 per cent. was made upon the loan of the year to accelerate its redemp tion. It was by that plan proposed, that when the amount of the sinking-fund should be equal to the interest of the unredeemed debt, the surplus should be applicable to the occasions of the public service. This plan was founded upon principles of convenience to the public service, and security to the stockholder. The present amount of the public debt, 560 millions in money capital, would be redeemed five years sooner by the new plan than by the old. The subsequent debt would also be redeemed more rapidly. The stockhokler would have the advantage of the application of a larger proportion of sinking-fund, and the value of his stock would be better kept up on an average of 20 years: the comparative operation of the sinking-fund upon the new plan would be to the old as 57. 4s. per cent. to 41. 19s. 5d. The value of the stock in the market, and its disposable quality at a price nearly equal to the present, would thus be preserved. An important resource would be provided in case it should be necessary to carry on the war, and ample means of redeeming the public debt in the event of peace. It was objected that too great a latitude was taken in legislating for the future. He had always stated in answer to this objection, that the whole of the plan would lie open at all times to consideration, and if necessary to alteration. It was useful to record what was

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the future prospect under present circumstances and under present expences, if those expences and those circumstances should continue. It was useful also, if necessary, to appropriate the sinking fund to the immediate exigences of the country, to have accustomed the public to contemplate the possibility of such a diversion. Every sudden unexpected change was injurious in matters of finance, and therefore it was wise to place the possibility of this upon record. On these grounds he felt it his duty to move for leave to revive the sinking fund, wnich had been cut short by the late dissolution of Parliament. He then moved, that leave be given to bring in a bill for the better carrying into effect the acts relating to the sinking fund.

The Speaker suggested, that as the bill of the last session on this subject, was introduced upon a resolution of a committee of the whole House, it would be proper to adopt the same course of proceeding now.

The Chancellor of the Exchequer said, if it had been regular to introduce the bill at once, he would not have objected to its proceeding to the stage in which the late dissolution of Parliament had found it. In that stage he would have repeated his arguments to dissuade the House from agreeing to it. But as it was necessary to preface it with a resolution, he felt himself bound to oppose that resolution as he had done before. The noble lord's plan had been carried into effect already, as far as the present exigeney required; so far as the plan regarded the future, the more time that could be given to consider it the better. He should, therefore, take occasion, on the noble lord's proposing the resalution, to state why, as it appeared to him, the adoption of the resolution ought to be deferred; and at the same time, to offer some reasons why it could not be adopted at any future period.

Lord Henry Petty had at first proposed to go into the committee the next day, but as the resolution was to be opposed, he would prefer a more distant day. Tuesday was appointed.

Mr. Huskisson recommended to the noble lord to con sider how far any act that would extend the operation of the sinking fund for 45 years, was consistent with the acts which provided that each loan should be redeemed in the manner stipulated in the particular contract for that loun.

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