to this very great difficulties were suggested; he found many men, and magistrates particularly, who were willing to let him do what he pleased with Middlesex and Surrcy, provided he let the remainder of the country alone. He therefore endeavoured to make a beginning of that reform in those counties, which so many gentlemen have professed to desire to extend to all England. But a committee of inquiry was required previous to the introduction of such a bill as this. He, however, would beg those who desired such a committee, to reflect upon the expence and trouble that must attend such a committee; to consider if witnesses were to be summoned from all parts of England and Wales, what time such a committee must last, and when it was likely to end? Each case would, in fact, be a suit before the committee, for he should propose to do that with regard to the magistrates, which they, under the existing law, declined to do towards the publi cans; that is, he should have the magistrates apprized of any ground of complaint urged against them, and afforded the opportunity of vindicating themselves. What time, then, would such an investigation occupy? As to the cases he had adverted to upon this occasion, the right honourable gentleman stated that they were but a few out of a large mass, and while gentlemen called for deliberation and delay, he could assure them and the House, that many persons were starving in jail in consequence of the law which he proposed to correct. There was one case in particular into which he believed a right honourable gentleman (Mr. Rose) had made inquiry, and which he knew was peculiarly oppressive, namely, that of Mrs. Unthank. The case of Mr. John Morris, a respectable man, who had a shop over the way in King Street, furnished the strongest grounds of complaint. This Mr. Morris, for whom, from his own knowledge of him, he could not hesitate to avow the utmost respect, was deprived of his licence by the magistrates, merely because his house was to be taken down in order to make some coxcomical improvement about Westminster Abbey; to shew that building to the members as they came down to the House. But he had communicated the case of Mr. Morris to the Treasury, and he hoped for redress. There was also one with regard to a Mr. Bignall, of the Broadway, Westminster, whose licence was withdrawn by the magistrates, upon grounds which they would not explain,

and

and the poor man finding every effort to procure redress unavailing, absolutely died of a broken heart about a fortnight since, leaving a helpless family to deplore his fate. With such facts before him, he did not think it too much to propose this temperate measure. However, as the opinion was so strongly expressed, that if such a bill was necessary, it should be made general, he should acquiesce in the wish for time to inquire into the subject. He hoped and trusted that by the next session petitions would pour in from all quarters, praying the removal of the existing grievances, and that such petitions would be presented by the highest authority, by that of the county representatives of the respective petitioners. For himself, he should for the present only say, that which was only a repetition of what he had said before, that while he had a seat in that House, he should ever be found an advocate of the weak against the strong, and of the helpless against those who had the power, and he was sorry to say too often the will, to oppress them.

Mr. Rose vindicated the conduct of the commissioners appointed to superintend the improvements alluded to by the right honourable gentleman, from any concern in the transactions respecting Mr. Morris or Mrs. Unthank. For whenever those commissioners thought the removal of any house necessary to their object, they not only paid for the house itself, but, if a shop or place of business, they allowed for the good-will also, or any other loss sustained by the proprietors.

Mr. Sheridan said, the complaint in the case he referred to was, that the licence was refused on the ground that it was in contemplation to take down the house, for the purpose of the improvement he had mentioned.

Mr. Huskisson said, that he had received some papers from the right honourable gentleman upon the subject of Mr. Morris's case, and that an inquiry was set on foot in the proper department. The result of that inquiry he should take care to have communicated to the right honourable gentleman, and if the case should turn out to be such as the right honourable gentleman had described it to be, he had no doubt that ample redress would be granted by remunerating Mr. Morris.

After some further conversation between Mr. Sheridan, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Mr. S. Bourne, and Mr.

Rose,

Rose, Mr. Sheridan, with leave of the House, withdrew the bill.

The discussion of a petition presented by Mr. Foster, relative to the entering of recognizances upon the petition, against the last election for Dungarven, was postponed to Wednesday.

Mr. Dent's bill relative to the lodgment of 4001. upon prosecuting an election petition, after some observations from Sir A. Pigott and Lord William Russell against it, and from Mr. T. Jones and Mr. Dent in its favour, produced a division of six to five; and there not being 40 members present, the House adjourned.

HOUSE OF LORDS.

MONDAY, AUGUST 10.

The Irish malt bill was read a second time and committed for the next day.

The smuggling bill passed through a committee and was reported.

Mr. Hobhouse and several other members of the House of Commons brought up the vote of credit bill, the Irish vote of credit bill, the curates' bill, which were read a first time, and some bills returned with the Lords' amendments agreed to.

The first reading of the curates' bill was moved by Lord Viscount Sidmouth, who observed, that its object was to suspend, until the commencement of the next session, the operation of an act of last session, by which curacies which had been augmented by Queen Anne's bounty, were declared benefices. This clause having crept into the act, the consequence was, that several clergymen had unknowingly avoided valuable benefices by accepting curacies of this description of a comparatively trifling value, and holding them without a dispensation.

The Duke of Norfolk objected to the bill being proceeded in at this late period of the session, but after some observations from the Lord Chancellor and Lord Viscount Sidmouth, the noble duke withdrew his opposition, and the bill was read a first time.

Some conversation took place respecting the bill for increasing the stipend of the rector of St. George, Southwark. The Duke of Norfolk stated several objections to

the

the bill, and wished to move its rejection. The Archbishop of Canterbury was also unfavourable to the bill. The Lord Chancellor wished for time to read the minutes of the committee. No order was made.

The Lord Chancellor presented a bill for the better administration of justice in Scotland, the objects of which he briefly stated, namely, to divide the Court of Session into two chambers, the one consisting of the Lord President and seven judges, and the other of the Lord Justice Clerk and six judges; causes to be brought before either chamber at the option of parties; to render the outer chamber a more efficient court; to make several regulations respecting appeals and remitting causes back to the Court of Session, &c. His lordship stated, that he did not wish any proceeding should be had upon the bill this session, but merely that it should be printed and lie over for consideration till next session. He likewise intimated his intention of proposing a bill for the purpose of enacting some regulations with respect to giving possession of estates on paying money into court, where decisions were appealed from, in order to prevent as much as possible parties appealing from deriving a profit from the delay which they themselves caused.

The Earl of Selkirk thought it would be preferable to constitute the six justiciary lords of the Court of Session, a court for the trial of jury causes, they being accustomed to trial by jury in criminal cases, and that the other nine judges should constitute a Court of Equity, with power to send causes for trial by jury in the other court.

The Earl of Lauderdale declined going into the subject at present, but stated, that there were several petitions from several parts of Scotland, ready to be presented in favour of extending the trial by jury to that country.

The bill was read a first time, and ordered to be printed.

Earl Stanhope rose to call the attention of the House to a subject he said of great importance; he alluded to the conduct of this country towards neutral powers. After what had passed in America, he thought the subject became of still greater importance, although he was aware that nothing could be said about that event at present. If, however, he did not receive a satisfactory answer from ministers respecting the line of conduct intended to be adopted towards the states at peace with this country, he should

make

make a motion on the subject, on Thursday, which his lordship read, and the object of which was to recognize the principle of equality and reciprocity in the conduct of this country towards independent states with whom we were at peace.

The Lords were ordered to be summoned for Thursday.

MILITIA TRANSFER BILL.

The order of the day having been read for the second reading of this bill,

Lord Hawkesbury observed, that it had been the wish of his majesty's ministers to have avoided, if possible, proposing any new military measure during the present session, in order that they might have had more experience of the effects of the plan proposed by a right honourable gentleman in the other House, and adopted by Parliament, and which it was their wish should have a fair trial. After, however, the events which had unfortunately occurred, it became incumbent upon ministers to propose some measure for increasing the military force of the country, in order still further to guard against the increased power of the enemy. He did not wish the country to believe that whatever had been the dangers of invasion, they were not now increased. Whilst at a former period, if the enemy failed in an attempt to invade our shores, the failure was sure to recoil upon the continent, and environ him with danger there, and when now, from the unfortunate situation of the continental powers, that expectation could not be indulged, at least only to a very limited extent, it could not be supposed that the danger of invasion had not increased. With these difficulties to encounter, ministers felt it their duty to propose to Parliament an augmentation of the military force of the country. It was evident that a sufficient augmentation could not be obtained by ordinary recruiting, as that did little more than repair the annual waste of men, neither could it be obtained by any addi tional stimulus given by the new plan, as it appeared from the statements of the number of recruits obtained, that that number had rather diminished than increased; whilst the desertions, which it was confidently expected would be decreased, had on the contrary increased. No one, indeed, who supported that plan, had considered it as capable of producing a large increase of men immediately, but as calculated gradually to improve the army. That it was

necessary