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VI. The Transactions at Salone;
VII. The Eftablishment of Contractors'
Salaries;

VIII. On the Head of Private Money
taken by Warren Haftings, Efq.
IX. On the Head of Refignation:
The fubftance of which is as follows:

1. With grofs injuftice, cruelty, and treachery against the faith of nations, in hiring British foldiers for the purpose of extirpating the innocent and helpless people who inhabited the Rohillas.

II. With using the authority delegated to him through the East-India Company, for treating the King Shaw Allum, Emperor of Indoftan, or otherwife the Great Mogul, with the greatest cruelty, in bereaving him of confiderable territory, and with-holding forcibly that tribute, of 26 lacks of rupees, which the Company engaged to pay as an annual tribute or compenfation for their holding in his name the Dewannee of the rich and valuable provinces of Bengal, Bahar, and Orissa.

III. With various inftances of extortion, and other deeds of mal-adminiftration against the Rajah of Benares. This article confifted of three different parts, in each of which Mr. Haftings was charged with à feries of the moft wanton oppreffions and crucities. He gave in papers concerning the rights of the Rajah, his expulfion, and the fundry revolutions which have been effected by the British influence under the controul of the late Governor-General in that Zcmindary.

IV. The numerous and infupportable hardships to which the Royal Family of Oude had been reduced, in confequence of their connection with the Supreme Council.

V. With having, by no lefs than fix revolutions, brought the fertile and beautiful provinces of Zurruckabad to a state of the moft deplorable ruin.

VI. With impoverishing and depopulating the whole country of Oude, and rendering that country, which garden, an uninhabited defart.

was once a

VII. With a wanton, an unjust, and a pernicious exercife of his powers, and the great fituation of truft which he occupied in India, in overturning the ancient establishments of the country, and extending an undue influence by conniving at extravagant contracts, and appointing inordinate falaries.

VIII. With receiving money against the orders of the Company, the Act of Parliament, and his own facred engagements; and applying that money to purposes totally improper and unauthorized.

Ix. With having refigned by proxy for the obvious purpose of retaining his fitua tion, and denying the deed in perfon, in direct oppofition to all thofe powers under which he acted.

Thele were fubftantially the feveral charges

EUROP MAG.

Mr. Burke produced, and which were order ed to be printed for the perufal of the Members. It was also ordered in confequence of a motion, that these charges fhould be taken into confideration, by a Committee of the whole Houfe, on Wednesday the 26th inftant..

Call of the Houfe difcharged, and no day appointed. APRIL 5. The Houfe having refolved itself into a Committee of Supply,

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The Chancellor of the Exchequer faid, that it was with great reluctance he rose on this occafion, as it was to propofe additional burthens on the public, in confequence of the arrear on the Civil Lift. He then ftated, that fince the Act of retrenchment, relative to the expences of his Majefty's Civil Lift, had paffed, it had been found that a confderable arrear had been annually incurred. Of the 900,000l. which had been granted to his Majefty, 50,000l. had been mortgaged for the payment of Exchequer bills. The prefent real debt of the Civil Lift he stated at 30,000l. which he propofed to pay off. It was alfo his intention to move for 180,000l. more for the payment of the remaining Exchequer bills, which chargeable on the Civil Lift, in order that his Majefty might have the annual fum of 900,000l. clear of all deductions whatever, He concluded with moving, that the fum of 30,000l. be granted to his Majefty for the payment of the arrears of the Civil Lift to the 6th of Jan. 1786.

were

Mr. Stanhope faid, he was forry to ob ferve that the expence of the Civil Lift was fo great as to incur an arrear, and he was afraid that as the disbursements of it were fo numerous, it was not likely to be much diminished.

Mr. Drake profeffed the greatest loyalty and attachment to his Sovereign, but could not avoid taking notice of a ftriking abfurdity which appeared in the accounts on the table, in which were ftated 1000l. falary to the Master of the Hawks, and but 151. to the Clerk of the House of Commons.

But

Mr. Pitt owned, that the contraft, confidering the importance of the two offices, was at first appearance ridiculous. when the bill of retrenchment was brought in, and it was propofed to abolish the place of Mafter of the Hawks, it was found to be a patent place granted by Charles the Second, and hereditary in the family of the Duke of St. Alban's.

Mr. Powis faid, that it was not his intention to give any oppofition to the motion, but as a guardian of the public purfe, he wifhed to know whether the cftablishment of the Civil Lift was fo regulated as to provide against a lavish expenditure of the public money, and the extravagant and unneceffary appointment of Ambassadors ?

Alfo,

Alfo, whether the Rt. Hon. the Chancellor of the Exchequer would pledge himself to the House, that the fum now to be granted, would prevent any future applications of a fimilar nature?

Mr. Pitt faid, that with refpect to the Hon. Gentleman's first question, in which he prefumed he alluded to the appointinent of the Earl of Chesterfield to Madrid, and that of a Member of this Houfe (Mr. Eden) to Paris, it had been thought expedient for reafons of ftate to appoint an Ambassador to the Court of Madrid; but as foon as it was known that there was no intention of a fimi lar appointment on the part of the Court of Spain, he was immediately recalled. With regard to the propofed negociation at Paris, as it required a more minute acquaintance with commercial affairs than could generally be acquired by those who from their pur fuits and rank in life were ufually chofen for Ambassadors, it had been deemed neceffary to make a separate appointment on that ac count; and he was perfuaded the House would agree with him in thinking, that a better choice could not have been made than

the Hon. Gentleman who had been chofen to that important office. As to pledging himself that no fimilar demands would be made on the score of the Civil Lift, it was impoffible for him to fay more, than that it was his opinion that the expences of the Civil Lift might and ought to be confined to the fum of 900,000l. annually.

Mr. Sheridan made a few observations on the extravagant appointments of the Amballadors alluded to, from which he contended the arrear had arifen. In the course of his fpeech he took notice of the provision for the Prince of Wales, which he thought was by much too fmall for the neceffary expences of his establishment, and he hoped the Right Hon. Gentleman would bring forward a motion to that purpose in the course of this feflion.

Mr. Pitt faid, it would be prefumption in him to bring forward any motion for the increase of the Prince of Wales's establishment, in any other manner than by a message from his Majesty.

After which the motions were severally put, and carried without a divifion, and the House adjourned.

APRIL 6.

liament relative to annuities, came to the In a Committee on the several Acts of Parfollowing refolutions, viz.

and impofitions, granted by any Actor Acts ift. "That all and every the duties, taxes, of Parliament now in force, and appropriated to the payment of any public annuities for lives or years, which duties are to ceafe and faid annuities, be further continued and determine at the expiration of the term of the made perpetual."

of the faid term, for which any public an 2d." That from and after the expiration nuities for lives or years are now payable by virtue of any Act or Acts of Parliament, the annual fums appropriated to the payment of fuch annuities thall be refpectively vetted in Commiffioners to be by them applied to

wards the reduction of the national debt."

On a fecond reading of the arrears of the Majefty the fums of 180,000l. and 30,000l. Civil Lift, for the purpose of granting his additional,

Mr. Martin, in a fhort difcourfe, pointed out the neceflity of economy in the expenditure of the Civil Lift, which, in his opinion, was encreasing beyond the ability of the people.

Mr. Drake, jun. went over the fame ground.

Mr. Sheridan then moved, that a plan of the civil establishment, fpecifying, in feparate claffes, the various departments, pay ments, &c. in conformity to the A&t paffed on this head, in the 21ft of his present Ma

jefty, be printed for the ufe of the Mcm

bers.

Mr. Jolliffe, after a few remarks, moved that the civil establishment for the two laft years be made out with all poffible correctnefs and dispatch.

Mr. PITT'S FINANCE BILL. On the Speaker putting the queflion, that the Bill be now read a fecond time,

* Particulars of SUPPLY, and of WAYS and MEANS, upon which Mr. PITT founded his Calculations, that the fum of 750,000l. might be applied to the Reduction of our Debt by Christmas, leaving a net Surplus over and above the ftipulated Annual Surplus, of fome Hundred Thousand Pounds.

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Mr. Huffey faid, that by comparing the expenditure of the revenue in the years 1784 and 1785, contained in the report of the Committee, he was perfuaded there could be no furplus. The Right Hon. Gentleman, he faid, had fatisfied him by engaging that the furplus fhould be made good without any new burthens; but there were fome things that made him doubt this; and particularly, he faid, that fome of the objects mentioned by the Committee, as being provifion for this, were very improper. He must take notice of that which they mentioned, of applying the unclaimed dividends for that purpofe. The public certainly had not a right to thefe; there could be no doubt of there being owners to thefe dividends, and they ought to be enquired after, before their property was appropriated to any particular purpofe. If a fum, he faid, of 3.500,000l. is to be provided for, let it fairly and openly be provided for. The Sinking Fund is of fo much importance, that nothing ought to be left doubtful about its certainty. Let it be met then with spirit, and let means be found to answer this fum. According to the opinion of a celebrated author, he faid, who had been quoted fome time ago (Mr. Necker) the great advantage that was poffeffed by this nation above the French, was the publicity of our measures, that every thing was known, and the foundation on which it flood clearly feen. If then it was wife and prudent to fet afide a million annually, let whatever was an incumbrance be provided for openly, and not left doubtful. On the whole, he faid, that he agreed to the principle, but he thought the public would not find the advantages they expected from it.

Sir Grey Cooper went on the fame ground. He approved of the principle, but thought the Minister was premature, and that his calculations were not well founded; and that there was not any foundation for believing that this new Sinking Fund would be lasting or effectual.

Mr. Grenville faid, that he was fatisfied that it was impoffible any thing could be entirely free from error; but that he was purfuaded, that as far as a matter of that kind could be afcertained, he thought there was every profpect of its being well established, and on a permanent foundation.

Mr. Steele fupported Mr. Grenville, and fhewed that the additions in part of the revenue were considerable, particularly with regard to tea.

Mr. Fox obferved, that he was not going to urge any thing against the second reading of the Bill; on the contrary, he was a friend to its principle, and he wished it might pafs this year. But he thought he ought not to fuffer it to go through a fecond reading, without making fome remarks upon it. In the first place, he did not believe that there really was an efficient furplus of one million that could be applied this year to the redemption of the National Debt; and his reafon for thinking fo was, that the probability of the future existence of fuch a furplus, was founded on a comparison of the produce of the taxes this year, with the probable expenditure, not of this year, but of the year 1790. And if the comparison was to be between the revenue and expenditure of the present year, not only there would not be a furplus of a million, but in fact there would not be any furplus at all. However, Brought forward £. 12,267,085

If to this be added the Exchequer Bills, which the Civil Lift was pledged to pay, but which he should propose that Parliament should take on itself, amounting to

210,000

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The WAYS and MEANS, on the other Hand, were as follow:

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Arrears of refpited Duty from the Eaft-India Company-Life Annuities, &c.

2,750,000 5,500,000

582,000

3:444.000 1,086,480

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£.885,394

And there remains a Surplus

From which dedu&t the three quarterly payments, beginning on 5th July, of 250,000l per quarter, for the reduction of our debts, amounting to

And there would ftill be left a net furplus of

But if, as the Committee stated, the revenue should rise according to the latest experience, there would still be a further difference in our favour of

Making in this cafe a clear excess accruing at Christmas next (above the regular furplus) of

002

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he ftill wifed that the Bill should pafs; and fo great a friend was he to the idea of redeeming the National Debt, and confequently of creating a Sinking Fund, that he thought Parliament ought to fet about it this year; and if the furplus, fhould there be any, was ever fo fmall, he was of opinion that the plan of redemption ought to go on. But he would not reft fatisfied with appropriating merely whatever furplus might accrue; he would provide amillion fund to carry into effect the provifions of the Bill. But thefe provifions did not all meet his approbation; efpecially that by which the fund was to be made unalienable in time of war. This was calling upon pofterity to do, what pofterity would perhaps find it improper to do, to keep one million locked up, when the necellies of the State might be fo urgent as to call for an immediate fupply.

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Mr. Dempster wifhed the fcheme propofed might be rendered effectual; but he thought there was great risk by its being, on particular emergencies, rendered alienable, and that the very circumftance of projecting it at a period when fuch revolutions had taken place relative to the objects of the Sinking Fund, argued nothing favourable to its permanent exiftence.

The motion was then put and agreed to. It was then moved, that the Bill be com"mitted on Monday, which was alfo agreed

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fums now allotted; but as it was abfolutely neceffary to grant an augmentation, he would, with permiffion of the Committee, move the following refolution: That a ftamp duty of 6d. per fheet be laid on parchment and paper ufed in the law proceedings in any cause in Scotland above 121. sterling. He was of opinion this would fully answer the purpose of augmentation. If, however, there should happen to be a deficiency, Parliament must be applied to for an additional duty; and if there should be a furplus, the money would be appropriated to the public fervice. The motion was agreed to.

Mr. Dundas rofe and obferved, that he was fully perfuaded the propofition which he now meant to fubmit to the Houfe, would meet with little or no oppofition from any It was relative to an augmentation quarter. of the falaries of the Judges in the feveral Courts of Scotland. It would be obvious to every gentleman converfant in the bufine's, that the perfons alluded to deferved an augmentation to their falaries. He expatiated on the various falaries which had hitherto been allowed the Judges, ftating the nature of the original provifions, and forming a comparifon between their fituation and that of thofe in England. The first augmentation which took place in favour of the English Judges was by a flamp duty; the second augmentation was paid out of a duty of 6d. per pound on penfions. By an act of the tenth of Queen Anne, the falaries of the Stotch Judges had been fixed at the different

The Lord Advocate of Scotland adverted to his propofition of last year, and obferved, that as there was no idea of diminishing the number of Scotch Judges, but to grant them additional falaries by another mode, he hoped it would meet with the approbation of every one. The prefent falaries of the Scotch Judges, after paying the poundage, &c. were found very inadequate to fupport their rank in fociety, the fum total of each being only about 6411. per annum. He apprehended that what was called the ftock of the Court, ought to be paid into the Exchequer. By the propofition which he bad now the honour of fubmitting to the Houfe, he propofed that 'the falaries of the ordinary Judges of the Court of Seflion fhould be augmented to 100ol. per annum, and the chief Judges in proportion. The Judges falaries in the other Courts, fuch as the Exchequer, Admiralty, and Commiffary, fhould likewife rece ve an augmentation. He enlarged confiderably on the fubje&t, but as his lordship speaks in very low tone, it was impoffible to collec the other particulars. He then moved,

That the fum of 2000l. each be granted to the Chief Baron, and to the Prefident of the Court of Seffion. And

That the fum of 600l. be granted to the Lord Juftice Clerk, and 3ool. to each of the Lords of Jufticiary, in addition to their prefent falaries.

He afterwards moved a fimilar augmentation to the other Judges or Barons of the Court of Exchequer, by which he proposed that their falaries fhould be increased to the fum of 1000l. per annum.

The Lord Advocate then moved, that the fum of 400l. per annum be granted to the Lord High Admiral of Scotland, and that the fum of 120l. per annum be granted to the Judges of the Commiflary Court, in addition to their prefent falaries. These motions were agreed to.

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Mr. Sheridan then moved, that the claims of the American Loyalifts, allowed and to be allowed, be laid before the Houfe. Agreed.

Mr. Jenkinfon moved for leave to bring in a bill for confining the freightage of GreatBritain to British-built fhips navigated by British feamen, which was agreed to.

The Militia bill, with the intended claufes, was ordered to be printed, upon the motion of Mr. Pitt, who in the converfation on this fubject mentioned that the Militia would not be called out this year.

The Turbot fishery bill was poftponed for three months.

APRIL 12.

Mr. Burke prefented feven more articles ef impeachment against Governor Haftings, which were ordered to be printed, and to be confidered with the former.

Mr. Pitt adverted to the circumftance of fmuggling wines. The fact he ftated was, that though it was generally allowed that more wine was drank at the prefent period than fome years ago, yet the average on the importation of that article was from 7 to 8000 tons less than 60 years preceding the prefent time. The caufe of this ftrange oc currence he attributed either to the increafe of fmuggling, or to the manufacture of a fpecies of liquor which was fold under the denomination of foreign wines. In either view the evil called for the application of a remedy. He therefore gave notice, that, on a fubfequent day, he would make a motion for leave to bring in a Bill for that purpofe; the object of which would be to put the inanagement of the duty on wines under the management of the Board of Excife.

Lord Surrey afked the Minifter, whether he intended to bring forward any propofitions this year relative to a Reform in the Reprefentation and, on the latter's answering that he did not, the Noble Earl gave notice, that on the 1ft of May he would make a motion on that fubject.

The House having refolved itself into a Committee on the Whale Filhery,

engaged in this trade three-fourths of them fhould be British, he faid, he would include under the general plan, and not move for it feparately.

Mr. Dempiter oppofed the fcheme. The Whale Fishery, he faid, required every encouragement, and he would pledge kimleif to prove fo at the bar of the Houfe, and moved, That the business should be poftponed till this day fix months, or that viva voce evidence (hould be heard at the bar.

Mr. Jenkinfon's motion was alfo oppofed by Mr. Huffey, Mr. Wilberforce, Mr. S. Thornton, Mr. B. Watfon, Mr. B. Gafcoyne, Lord Surrey, and Mr. Hammet, who all fpoke for continuing the bounty of 40s. per ton.

Lord Mulgrave and Mr. Pitt fpoke in favour of Mr. Jenkinfon's motion The former confidered the fubject in two points of view, as connected with trade, and fecondly, as connected with the Navy. With regard to the firit of them, fo far as the bounty tended to promote our advantage at home, by furnishing us with oil, whalebone, and other neceffary articles, fo far it ought to be encouraged, and fo far it was advantageous, In the view of exporting those commodities. the cafe was different, for it only enabled our merchants to fupply themfelves; and in this view was a lofs rather than a profit to the country. As to connexion of the fishery with the navy, he could only confider it as but a nursery for feanien. Thofe employed in the trade, after a few trips, foon found it more advantageous to go on board merchant ships; and with regard to them, it could only be faid, that they were better feamen than if they had not been employed in the whale fishery. Taking the matter, therefore, in thofe points of view, he faw no neceflity for continuing the high bounty of 40s.

Mr. Jenkinson entered at fome length into an hiftory of this fubj &t, and, from the evidence which had been collected by the Committe of Council, as well as the documents on the table, he flated the rife and progrefs, and the various fluctuations of this fpecies of trade, and endeavoured to fhew that it had flourished more or lefs under different periods, and that this circumftance was not fo much owing to the influence of bounties, as to o.ber caufes. His great view in making these observations was to fhew, that there was no neceflity for continuing fo large a bounty as 40s. per ton, as the trade was a rifing and flourishing one; and alfo to introduce fome fort of regulation, by means of which our fhips in this trade might be chiefly manned by British failors. He therefore moved, That a bounty of 30s. per ton be given to all ships in the Whale Fishery, The other regulation, which was that of mariners

The Committee then divided on Mr. Dempster's motion,

Nocs 41 -Ayes 15- -Majority 26.

It having been thus negatived, Mr. Jen kinfon's palled without a divifion, and the House having been resumed, adjourned immediately.

APRIL 13.

Mr. Jenkinson, after the report was brought up from the Committee of the whole Houfe on the Trade and Navigation of this Country, moved, That the fame be received; which being agreed to, he faid, in order to give the public fufficient time to digeft the fubject, he wifhed to have the Bill printed, and to be diftributed through the country, in order that any fuggeftions the mercantile part of the community had to offer, might be received: for thefe reafons he moved, That the fecond reading of the Bill might be appointed for Tuesday fe'nnight, the firft day after the recefs, which was agreed to.

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The Speaker put the queftion of adjourn ment till Tuesday the 25th, which was alfo agreed to.

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