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fiituted. But the argument was falfe; becaufe, in the first place, the trial in parliament, either by bill of pains and penalties, or by impeachment, to which he was a friend, was Aricly conftitutional; and, in the next, as the trial in either of thefe two ways must be carried on under the infpection of the whole British Parliament, no meafure or decifion injurious to the conftitution could be apprehended: and though Parliament might truft itfelf with extraordinary powers, it ought not to delegate them to any other body of men. When the act of last year laid upon all perfons returning from India an obligation to give in upon oath an account of their property, which might be afterwards used against them as evidence in a criminal profecution, he was of opinion, that unlefs fomething fhort of abfolute neceffity juftified the measure, it ought to be called an act of downright tyranny. He would ask now if any fuch neceffity exifted; and the bill in the Speaker's hand would prove it did not; for the obligation impofed during the course of the last year, on perfons coming from India, of giving in an account upon oath of the amount of their property, was at prefent wholly taken away.

Mr. Dundas expreffed his aftonishment, that though the Mr. Dun. right honourable gentleman had frequently admitted, in the das. courfe of the two laft years, that fomething ought to be done for regulating the trials of Eaft-India delinquents, he had never thought proper to bring forward any plan that might be adequate to the conviction of fuch delinquents, without any injury or danger to the conftitution: but inftead of doing his country fuch a fervice, he contented himfelf with finding fault with the plan which he (Mr. Dundas) had laid before Parliament. The right honourable gentleman was, in words, very careful of the conftitution; but he would not give himself the trouble to prove himself, by deeds, the guardian of that conftitution. As to the neceffity, of which the right honourable gentleman had faid fo much, of fubjecting men to the grievance of making them deliver in upon oath an account of their property, he did not know precifely in what fenfe that word neceffity was used by him; but, if he meant that there was no phyfical neceffity for it, he would agree with him; and, on the contrary, if he meant a moral one, he would not. He thought from the beginning, (and he thought fo ftill) that the measure was good; but having found that it was understood by those who were to be affected in confequence of it, that the Parliament intended by it to fix a general fufpicion of guilt, he would not wifh to make men's minds uneafy, and therefore he gave way to their complaints: nay, he had gone farther than he at first intended; for though his firft intention was VOL. XX.

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to cause the account to be given in to the Board of Control, and to declare that it fhould not be produced in evidence, he had fince thought it proper to leave out that part of the bill entirely, which called for any account at all: and his reafon for fo doing was this, it occurred to him that the knowledge which fhould be acquired by the Board of Control might hereafter be made ufe of for corrupt purposes; it might be ufed as an engine of oppreffion by thofe in power, who might hold over a man's head the terror of a profecution, and thus throw him under a fervile fubmiffion to their arbitrary commands.'

Mr. Sheridan observed, that it was a cause of juft complaint with many, that the bill had been carried through the Houfe with an indecent precipitation, under the idea that it ought to pafs by the 10th of the preceding month, in order that Earl Cornwallis might carry it out with him; and yet it was on the 24th of May that it reached its laft ftage.

Mr. Dundas replied, That certainly it was his intention originally that it should be fent out with Earl Cornwallis, who was ready to fail on the 10th of April; but the fhip which was to carry him out, having, on infpection, been found unfit to proceed on her voyage, he was put into dock, and all her copper taken off. The delay occafioned by the time spent in repairing her was fuch, that he feared that Earl Cornwallis would not be able to make the paffage this feafon; and had he waited for the prefent bill, his Lordfhip would certainly have loft his paffage.

The Speaker put the queftion. The bill paffed without a divifion; and Mr. Dundas was ordered to carry it up to the Lords.

The Houfe then refolved itfelf into a Committee on the militia bill.

Several amendments were made; after which the House was refumed, and adjourned.

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Thurflay, 25th May.

Mr. Gilbert made a motion for "leave to bring in a bill "for the better regulation of the poor in that part of Great "Britain called England; and that thofe concerned in the "management of charitable inftitutions fhould be ordered (c to make returns of the manner in which the donations granted for the relief of the poor have been diftributed." The Speaker objected to the mode which the honourable gentleman adopted as being irregular and not parliamentary. Mr. Dampfler contended, that the motion operated as an impeachment of thefe concerned in the diftribution of charitable donations.

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Viscount Beauchamp faid, that he could not avoid offering Viscount his best thanks to the honourable gentleman for his and humane difpofition. The fubject demanded the confideration of Parliament, especially if there were any grounds for fuppofing that the donations granted for the relief of the poor had been mifapplied.

Mr. Huffey declared, that no motion of the kind could pro- Mr. Hufley perly be fubmitted to the Houfe before there was a fpecific charge of the mifapplication of the donations in queftion. To whom were the returns to be referred? To the House? Surely not: for it was inconfiftent with the maxims of Parliament to check the spirit of charity by making improper discoveries.

The Mafter of the Rolls faid, that for his part, he was The Mater convinced that the motion was founded in general utility, of the Rolls and that nothing detrimental to charitable inftitutions could refult from the operations of the bill.

Mr. Huffey answered, that the poor might be converted Mr. Huffey to great national utility by incorporating them with our ma

rines and feamen.

Mr. Gilbert faid, that the object of his bill was to prove the MGilbert right application of public donations, and confequently the rectitude of those who were entrusted with the diftribution or management of charities in general. With refpect to the grounds of mifapplication of these benefits, proof might eafily be produced, but it was a fubject of too much delicacy for the prefent investigation of the Houfe. He himself knew many inftances of confiderable donations in land and money having been either mifapplied or concealed in fuch a manner as never to have been publicly heard of. His bill went no farther than to a future discovery of acts of embezzlement and mifapplication, by obliging thofe concerned in the management of charitable inftitutions to make regular returns to Parliament of the diftribution of the donations granted.

The question was then put and carried, when Mr. Gilbert was ordered to bring in a bill.

Lord Newhaven moved, "That accounts fhould be pre- Lord New "fented to the House of the tenths and first fruits granted to haven. "the clergy from a certain period specified in the motion." Alfo," That a copy of the grant of the tenths and first "fruits made in favour of the clergy by Queen Anne, be "prefented to the Houfe." Thefe motions were agreed to These without any appofition.

Upon the bringing up the report of the whale-fishery bill from the Committee, propofing a reduction of the boun

ties;

Mr. Sheridan observed, that the right honourable gentleman Mr. Sheri who dan.

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who had proposed a reduction of the bounties to those concerned in the whale fifheries had not proceeded upon true parliamentary principles: for to fay nothing of the injury about to be committed against the trading part of the kingdom, he could not conceive the parliamentary grounds for relinquishing a meafure one feffion and refuming the confideration of it the next.

Mr. Jenkinfon replied, that in certain cafes the regulations alluded to by the honourable gentleman were very proper. In tax bills, for inftance, a measure was feldom or never refumed which had been abandoned in the former feffion; but here the cafe was very different, and the honourable gentleman had mistaken the real grounds of oppofition.

Mr. Charteris objected to the principles of the bill, as tending to the oppreffion of thofe concerned in the profecution of the whale fisheries.

Mr. Huffey condemned the bill in every refpect, as it had for its object the depreffion of that fpirit of industry which ought always to be cherished among the trading part of the kingdom. Through the encouragement arifing from b unties, the fhipping employed in that fpecies of traffic had greatly increafed in number: in the courfe of a few years they had been augmented from 50 to 180 veffels, and afforded employment to about 7000 feamen. The Greenland fishery had been acknowledged to be an excellent nursery for the navy, and therefore ought to be cherished by ample encouragement. If the prefent bill paffed, it would operate as a ftagnation of the trade, for a diminution of the bounties would oblige many to abandon it; confequently, we must obtain fresh fupplies of the articles with which we were now furnished by our own fhipping, from foreign markets.

Mr. Jenkinson declared, that a continuation of the present bounties would only ferve as a needlefs weight on the government of the country: the Newfoundland fifheries were more deferving of encouragement: the latter only received from the revenue about 7000l. a year, and employed about three or four times the number of fhipping. The whale fishery confequently was not of fuch general utility to this country, as immenfe fums were drained for its fupport from the revenue, without any compenfation to the Public. By the bounties now exifting, the encouragement of this fpecies of traffic amounted to about 60 per cent. of the public money. The advantages refulting from this trade were only felt by a few individuals, while the Public at large fuffered by the abftraction from the national wealth; he therefore was convinced that the bounties ought to be diminished.

Mr. Dempfier wifhed that the bill were paffed over for the prefent feffion of Parliament. The country would then

have time to confider the measure, and affent or diffent as appeared to the cominunity proper. Rather than that the trade should decline, he hoped to find the number of fhips increafed to 300 or 400, and instead of paying about 150,000l. a year, that the expence of the bounties might be augmented to about 300,000l. or 400,000l. per annum. While we acted in this manner it would be only giving away with one hand and receiving double with the other.

Mr. Alderman Watfon contended, that while the nation Mr. Ald. with one hand paid 60 per cent, from the public revenue, it Watfon. would in the end receive 100 per cent. with the other.

A motion was made for poliponing the confideration of the report.

The question was put on the original motion "That the 66 report be now received," when the Houfe divided;

Ayes, 86; Noes, 36. Majority, 55.

The report was then brought up, and ordered to be farther confidered on a future day.

Mr. Dundas prefented a petition from the Court of Directors of the Eaft-India Company, ftating, that from the regulations in the year 1784, and the operation of the commutation act, they were obliged to retard their capital, and praving for leave from Parliament to make the neceffary extenfion. The petition was ordered to lie on the table.

Mr. Francis moved for certain portions of Mr. Middleton's correfpondence as related to the Rohilla war

The motion was agreed to.

Mr. Burke moved, That Mr. Middleton fhould be or- Mr. Burke. "dered to attend the Houfe of Commons on the morrow,

"and bring along with him copies of all his letters or corref

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pondencies during his official capacity in India."

Major Scott objected to the motion, as he apprehended it Major Scott would occafion unneceffary delay in the profecution of the

bufinefs on the Tuefday following.

Mr. Alderman Watfen moved for "leave to bring up a Mr. Ald. "petition from a very refpectable body of perfons concerned Watfon. "in the wine trade, praying that they might be heard by "their counsel against the bill for extending the excite laws "to their branch of trade."

The motion paffed.

The petition having been brought up and read, Mr. Alderman Watfon moved, "That it fhould lie on the table, " and that the petitioners might be heard by their counsel on "the second reading of the faid bill." He intimated at the fame time, that the petitioners wifhed very much that the fecond reading might not take place fo foon as upon the day following, as they apprehended they could not in fo fhort an interval have time to inftruct their counfel.

Mr.

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