BREACH OF PRIVILEGE.

Mr. Jeffery rose, pursuant to notice, to complain of the delay of a writ issued under the great seal for the town and county of Poole. He said that the writ had been issued on the 29th of April. The friends of both parties attended accordingly, and yet there was no notice whatever taken of the writ till the 20th of May following, when the election was fixed for the 25th of May. He did not wish to aggravate this offence by attributing it to motives of very suspicious nature, but he could not help mentioning to the House one circumstance, which was, that there wa a person who would not be of age to vote till the 22d o May; and had not the writ been delayed, such person could not have voted at the last election for Poole. The writ had been delivered by the messenger of the great seal to a Mr. Jonathan Brundrett, head clerk to an attorney of the name of Lowten. He (Mr. Jeffery) had called upon Mr. Lowten, to know from him to whom he had sent the writ; Mr. Lowten, instead of satisfying him, answered in a rude and unhandsome manner, adding, that it had gone down in opposition to him (Mr. J.), and that he told him for his comfort. The honourable gentleman said he should now move, that the messenger to the great seal be called to the bar.

Mr. Creevey wished that the honourable gentleman would state his case more specifically. He wished to know what charge he had to bring before the House.

The Speaker said, it is my duty to answer that question. The man who presumes to delay to forward, with all possible dispatch, a writ issued under the great seal, is guilty of a high crime and misdemeanour. This House takes cognizance of none higher, for in such cases the offender has been guilty of keeping out of this House those who ought to be here. Such is the present charge: it will be for the House to determine how far that charge is substantiated by the evidence adduced in support of it.

The messenger to the great seal was then called to the bar, and proved, that he had forwarded the writ in question, in the forenoon of the 29th of April: that two hours after it was delivered to Jonathan Brundrett, whom the messenger understood to be head clerk to Thomas Lowten, attorney at law.

It was then ordered, that Thomas Lowten, attorney at jaw,

law, and Jonathan Brundrett, his clerk, should attend the House the next day, and that the further consideration of said business be till then deferred.

EFFECTIVE STRENGTH OF VOLUNTEERS.

- Sir Thomas Turton in rising to make his motion, in pursuance of his notice, for a return of the effective strength of the volunteers, felt it impossible not to participate in the satisfaction of the House and the public, that a noble lord, whom he did not then see in his place, was the next day, to bring forward a proposition in which this part of the national force would be adequately provided for. There was a return similar to that he wished to call for before the House presented in December last, but as he knew that it was inaccurate with respect to three or four regiments, he was sorry that it could not be seen from it how far it was to be depended on. It was peculiarly desirable, in the present situation of the country, to know what was the effective strength of its volunteer force; and it was not to be concealed that that force had greatly decreased in consequence of the discouragements which it had met with. He was convinced, however, that the volunteers were sound at heart, and that, with a little encouragement, they would again fall into their ranks; and, in the present state of the country, they should look to the volunteers principally for the defence of the country. He should conclude by moving, " that there be laid before the House a return of the effective strength of the volunteer force of Great Britain and Ireland, distinguishing the cavalry from infantry, to the latest period to which the same can be made out."

The Chancellor of the Exchequer had no objection to the motion, as he thought that every information on this subject should be afforded to the House. But he apprehended that the honourable baronet would be disappointed, if he expected more accurate information in this return than in that which had been laid on the table in December last. The inspecting field officers had then been done away, and the returns were made by the commanding officers of the corps, without any check on the part of government. These inspecting field officers had been only just appointed; and, though they might have made returns of a few corps, the great mass of returns, which by the law were to have been made every three months, would

would still rest on the same authority as the returns to which the honourable baronet had alluded.

Mr. Shaw Lefevre contended, that if any relaxation had taken place in the zeal of the volunteers, it was because there did not appear the same occasion for their services, and that, when the enemy shoukl again appear on the coast, they would again rally round their standards. If the volunteers had been worked as formerly, he was sure their numbers would have diminished. The measures of the late administration respecting them, be insisted were wise. He felt warm on the subject, because he had commanded volunteer corps since the year 1794, and he knew them to be attached to their sovereign and the constitution, Whilst he had a limb to stand upon, he should be found at his post, and he was persuaded the volunteers would be found to adhere steadily to the principles upon which they associated.

Sir Thomas Turton replied, and contended that such discouraging language as "armed democracy, "depo❤ sitories of panic, &c." which had been applied to them in Parliament, bad principally tended to diminish the nums bers of the volunteers. It was impossible for them, having the feelings of men, to be insensible to terms of reproach, and it required all the influence of their officers to keep them from shewing their sense of them, by withdrawing from their corps. He had raised the corps he now commanded in 1794, and had the satisfaction to state, that whatever provocation might have been given to the vo lunteers, his corps had not been influenced by it..

The motion was then agreed to.

Mr. Charles Dundas moved, that the standing order, dated 4th November, 1589, be now read. It was read: accordingly, and then Mr. Dundas moved (seconded by Mr. Shaw Lefevre) that a committee be appointed to take. said order into consideration, for the purpose of enabling the chairman of a committee to issue orders for all papers," summonses, and records, so as that such papers, records, &c. may be had on a week's notice. Ordered..

EAST INDIA BONDS BILL.

Mr. Grant moved the second reading of the East India bonds bill.

Mr. Creevey did not think there were sufficient.docnmenis before the Ilouse to justify them in enabling the

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company to raise two millions additional on their bond debt. Some gentlemen argued, that the company, in doing this, asked nothing of the public; for to do that was but a mere commutation of their powers. This was, however, a very old device. In 1793, when Lord Melville increased the debt of the company one million, the noble lord then talked of reducing the bond debt from two millions to 1,500,000l. In 1794, however, we were told that this was not practicable. In 1797, with the power of raising three millions, the company had in circulation one million only in bonds. If the East India company refused to raise money by increasing their capital, and came forward to ask that Honse to enable them to raise it by bonds, it was the bounden duty of that House to take care that the company had means left to pay those bonds when they became due. There were no documents before the House to prove that they had, and the House should not grant it without every previous inquiry. In the last estimates, after all Lord Melville's fine prophecies, the excess of the expenditure above the income amounted to 2,600,000. The debt in India amounted to 30,000,0007. -17,000,000l. will be shortly payable in England. He wished then to know, out of what funds the company were to provide for the 2,000,000l. now called for? The honourable gentleman then entered into a detailed account of the company's affairs in India, which he represented to be in a declining state; and concluded with moving, as an amendment, that the bill, instead of now, be read this day fortnight..

Mr. Grant replied, that though the honourable member might be actuated by a desire to promote the public interest, he took the wrong course in his speech, for his arguments were founded in ignorance, not in his knowledge. of the subject. The sole and simple reason for bringing forward the bill before the India accounts could be brought under the consideration of the House was, that if that course had not been taken, the bill could not be passed this session. The honourable member was aware how difficult it was to prepare the Indian accounts, so as that they could be presented in a form to be intelligible to the members of that House. He was sorry to find an honour. able gentleman who had filled the situation lately held by that honourable member, so ignorant of the affairs of the company as to make the assertions he had

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done. It was true that by the accounts on the table there appeared a deficit at home of above 2,200,0007, which the honourable member had stated to be the amount of the company's loss on their trade, whereas it had arisen from the quantity of stores and other articles which were necessarily sent out, in consequence of the situation in which the company's settlements were placed. By the plan adopted in 1802 for the liquidation of the company's debt, it had been recommended to send out from Europe considerable quantities of bullion, in order to avoid the necessity of making loans on improvident terms in India. This had been done in 1803, 4, and 5; but the sums and bullion so sent had been applied to the purposes of the wars that then existed, so that no reduction of the debt had taken place. So also, when the system in India had been changed by Marquis Cornwallis, considerable sums had been sent out, not for commercial purposes, but for the general expenditure of the presidencies in India. Under these circumstances, the company, though by law authorized to increase their funded stock, had applied to Parliament for authority to issue bonds, and this was a much better course for the public, because, if the stock of the company should not be worth any thing, it would be irretrievable to the holders, whereas the bonds might or might not be taken at the option of the individuals who might speculate in such securities. What he had said with respect to the prospect of peace, was founded on the report made by the governor-general, and he was persuaded that the jealousies of the native powers had been extinguished by the conciliating disposition manifested towards them by our government. On all these grounds, he should vote that the bills be now read a second time.

Lord Folkstone did not think the honourable director had at all answered the arguments and statements made by his honourable friend who had moved the amendment. If the present session were too short for inquiry, he thought that rather an argument why the session should be prolonged, than why that inquiry should not be instituted. He verily believed, that the company had preferred raising money by their bonds than by the increase of their capital, because they knew their affairs to be in so ruinous a state, that they could not get any one to hazard his property by embarking it with theirs; he hoped then, that the House would not rashly hold out to the public a VOL. I.-1807. delusive

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