Abbildungen der Seite
PDF
EPUB
[merged small][ocr errors][merged small][merged small][ocr errors][merged small][merged small]

Lord Howick (in à Committee of Sup. ply) moved for an increase of pay to of ficers in the naval service. After a variety of observations respecting the importance of that service, and the peculi. arly strong claims of our seamen to the esteem and gratitude of their country, herstated his object to be, to raise the rates of allowance to all the classes of the navy, with the exception of Masters and Surgeons, who received an advance of pay last year, and Landsmen, who voluntarily, aware of all the circumstances of the situation in which they engage, stand on a footing quite different from that of the Seamen.

As to the scale of augmentation, he proposed the following allowances:

[merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][ocr errors][merged small][merged small][ocr errors][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][ocr errors][ocr errors][ocr errors]

Captains of the Top and of the Forecastle, an increase of Able Seamen, an increase of is. a-week,

Ordinary Seamen, 6d. a-week, o

[merged small][merged small][ocr errors]

2 O

Chaplains to have, with the office, the yearly salary of 201. hitherto ap. propriated to the Schoolmaster.

Upon this calculation, the expence under the several heads will be about 300,000l. annually; but the estimate for the present year being only from the 1st of May, he would only now move for the grant of 193,1681.

To the out-pensioners of Greenwich Hospital, he would allow a certain addition, to be regulated according to their services and their present situation. From 71. a-year, it should rise in gradation till it reached IS. per day. For this sam he meant no addition to the public burthens. It was to be provided by a measure which will require a bill to be brought in, namely, by a grant of 1s. in the pound from all prize-money; and, in addition to this, he had no doubt of his Majesty's consent to set apart, for the same purpose, a deduction to the same amount, from all droits of the Admiralty. His Majesty's uniform solicitude for the comfort and rewards of the navy warrant a confidence in his acquiescence upon, this subject.

The Marine force having so much analogy to the regular army, he would postpone any reference to their case, until the question respecting the pay of the army shall be determined.

Lord Garlies expressed his obligations to the Noble Lord, for the solicitude he had manifested, so soon after his in-. troduction to office, to better the condition of the naval officers. Though he fully approved of the principle of the measure, he very much disproved its application. He did not complain of the addition proposed to the pay of the Petty and Warrant Officers. He, on the contrary, wished it had been more, as these officers formed the very soul of the navy. If an addition had been made to the pay of the 1st Lieutenants of men of war, it would have been, in his opinion, exceedingly agreeable to the service, and the sum necessary for such an increase could not be material, as there were only from 100 to 120 ships of that description in commission. The

The officers to whom this increase would apply were really deserving of some consideration for their increased service and responsibility, being next in command to the Captains, although they had no more pay than the youngest Lieutenant. To the petty officers and warrant officers he also thought that some further addition ought to have been granted. If the means of that addition were even taken from the proposed augmentation of the pay of seamen, he was sure it would excite no murmurs, and the difference would only serve as an additional stimulus to the seamen to seek, by good behaviour, for the offices thus improved in revenue. The Warrant Officers, whose rank was somewhat on a level with that of QuarterMasters and Serjeant-Majors in the ar. my, ought to be allowed at the rate of 51. a-month; and Petty Officers, whose rank is equal to that of Serjeants and Corporals, ought to be allowed 31. amonth. Pensions, the Noble Lord conceived, ought to be allowed to the widows and children of seamen who died in the service. A noble Lord (Melville) who, although now under the displeasure of that House, was a great practical Statesman, had it, he knew, in contemplation to adopt this plan of pensioning the poor widows, and also to make many of the arrangements now proposed by the Noble Lord over the way. Having alluded to that Noble Lord (Melville), he begged leave to say, that more was done for the British Navy by that Nobleman and his successor who immediately followed him, and the glory of the country was carried to a higher eminence by them, than by any two persons to be found in our naval annals. The Noble Lord particularly applauded Lord Melville's plan of building ships in the merchants yards.

The resolution was agreed to.

Lord Henry Petty moved the order of the day for committing the Property Tax bill. Altho' he was aware that this was not a time in which exemptions were to be multiplied, or in which any great relaxation could be expected, yet, at the same time, when he looked at the situation of some members of the community, he found himself compelled to lessen the burden on particular classes. The first instance in which he thought this indulgence ought to be granted was

with regard to the weekly wages of handicraftsmen, which amount to more than gol. a-year. Without, therefore, admitting the objection to the taxing of labour of any kind, he certainly thought that the burthen ought not be laid to a great degree on this class. He would then propose a clause, by which incomes of this kind, amounting to no more than 30s. per week, or gs. a day, should be exempted altogether. He likewise proposed, that with regard to incomes arising from annuities from the funds or land, and from small trades, the scale should be raised from 100l. to 15ol. instead of rool. as it stood before.

Mr Wilberforce thought that the exemptions ought to be extended to other classes, but he did not specify them.

Monday, April 28.

The report of the Committee of Supply being brought up, and the question put on the first resolution, relative to the additional pay of the Navy, Lord Garlies moved two amendments, one of which was, that 1st Lieutenants of line of battle ships, including those of 50 guns, should have a further addition to their pay of is. a day. The other was, that instead of increasing the Petty Of ficers on the present plan, another class should be added to those that now exist. He proposed that there 'should be 25 gunners to a hundred gun-ship, and so in proportion. The Speaker informed the Noble Lord, that the only question bèfore the House was, whether a gross sum should be granted to his Majesty, to be expended as he thought proper in addition to the pay of the Navy. Lord Howick said, that if the Noble Lord thought it necessary to allow a further increase, the best mode would be to have an estimate drawn out, and move it in a committee.

[blocks in formation]

who considered the principle of the Defence Act to be vicious and defective. He at the same time took occasion to offer a very handsome tribute to the memory of its author (Mr Pitt.) From the long experience, he said, which he had of the conduct of that illustrious character, he was convinced that, had he lived, he would have been the first person to propose at least a substantial alteration in the act in question, if not a total repeal of it. Is was one characteristic of that great man, well deserving of admiration, hat although he frequently, in the formation of his measures, trusted solely to the resources of his own capacious mind, upheld by the dignity of conscious rectitude, yet, when he was convinced that these measures were erroneous, he abandoned them, regardless of the accusations of inconstancy and inconsistency, and readily adopted others of a different description. It was this that rendered him one of the safest ministers that this country ever saw. The second reading was carried on a division, 235 to 119.

Thursday, May 1.

In a committee, the following resolutions, moved by the Lord Advocate of Scotland, were adopted" That an addition of 4col. per annum be granted to the Judge of Admiralty in Scotland. 2d. That an addition be made to the salaries of each of the commissaries of Edinburgh, to the amount of 510l. per. ann.

The third reading of the slave importation bill was opposed by Mr Rose, Sir R. Peele and others, who asserted that the loss that would be sustained by it in the exportation of British manufactures, exclusive of the export of East India goods, would amount to between two and three millions. Mr Fox, in supporting the bill, said, he did not flatter himself that it would abolish the Slaye Trade altogether, but if it should have any effect in that way, he should be more enamoured with it than ever. If Ministers could once attain the abolition of that traffic, they would, in his mind, gain and acquire more real glory, than by any other transaction in which they might possibly be ever engaged. The bill was passed after a division, for it 35, against it 13.

[ocr errors]

Lord H. Petty obtained leave to bring in a bill for the better regulation of the

[ocr errors]

office of Receiver General of the Ex cise. The object of the bill was to require that the balance should be paid regularly into the bank, as in the cases of the Treasurers of the Navy and Ordnance; and to prevent any possible misapplication of the money, that it shonid be drawn from the Bank into the Exchequer by one single draught. He also obtained leave to bring in similar bills for the regulation of the offices of Receiver General of the Customs, of the Stamp Duties, and of the Post Office; as also of the office of Surveyor Generals of Woods and Forests.

Tuesday, May 6.

The order of the day being moved for the commitment of the bill for repealing the additional defence act, a long debate ensued, in which the merits and demerits of that measure were once more canvassed. It was on the one hand, as before, contended, that now that the nature of it was understood, it promised to serve all the purposes for which it was intended; that it might be amended, but ought not to be repealed until some substitute was proposed for it. On the other hand it was asserted, that the bill had not only proved totally inefficient, but highly injurious; and that whatever other measures might be resorted to for improving our military system, it ought to be repealed, as derogatory to the character of a free and independent nation. The opposers of the bill entered into a review of Mr Windham's proposed military system. They considered the project of enlisting for limited service as fraught with danger, and they deprecated any attempt to injure or discourage the volunteers. Mr Percival said he believed the volunteer system to be the most important, effective, and cheapest mode of defence that this country could contrive. By the returns on the table it appeared, that the greater part of the volunteer corps were fit to act with regiments of the line.He understood it was the opinion of Lord Moira, with regard to the voluntéers of Scotland, that they were effective soldiers, and that he would be glad to lead them against the enemy. Surely the opinion of Mr Windham ought not to be put in competition with that of the Noble Lord. Perhaps (said

the

the Hon. Member) the Right Hon. Gentleman has never inspected any of the volunteer regiments. There is one source certainly which may have led him to form opinious not much in their favour-I mean the corps of volunteers at Pilbree, in Norfolk, of which he is Colonel. It is very singular, that of all the corps in Norfolk, the only Colonel is the Right Hon. Gentleman himself. In general they are only captains, but he concentrates in himself the honours of the highest military rank. It might naturally be expected that he had a regiment at least to command. By the return it appears that the whole complement of his men is seventy-three rank and file-Field Officers. noneCaptains none-Subalterns none-Staff none Serjeants two, and these, I suppose, the Drill Serjeants; Drummers none. We have thus the Right Hon. Gentleman's own corps, exemplifying in perfection all the evils of the volunteer system he complains of (a laugh.)

The Lord Advocate of Scotland observed, that the additional defence act operated in Scotland as a tax on land, on commerce, industry, and every thing belonging to them. It had in fact no reference or analogy to Scotland whatever. He remembered a meeting which took place in Edinburgh for the purpose of carrying the act into execution. The first thing that engaged the attention of the gentlemen assembled for this laudable purpose was the non-existence of parish officers in Scotland-the main-spring of the act. The only officers in Scotland of a parochial description, that could at all be assimilated to the English parish officers, were the schoolmaster, and the sexton, or grave. digger; and it did excite some discussion at the meeting he had just alluded to, whether any person whatever could possibly be found more fit for raising men under such anact, than the above-mentioned grave-digger Adverting to the Volunteers, the learned Gentleman observed, that it had been said they were discon tented and dissatisfied all over the country; this probably might be the case among the volunteers of England, but among the volunteers of Scotland, who equally brave as loyal, and who, by the bye, were sensible men (å loud laugh,) there was not the slightest murmur or complaint. So far from any reluctance

[merged small][ocr errors][merged small][ocr errors]

Sir J. Newport brought forward the Irish Budget. He gave rather a favourable account of the situation of Treland. The value of her exports had greatly increased, and although the interest of money was higher than in this country, the Loan of two millions had been contracted for at an interest of 41. 175. 2d. whereas it was last year 51. 125. 4d. The unpromising state of the Irish revenue he imputed to the want

of

bas

arrangements similar to those existing in Great Britain, and which it was intended to introduce. The supply for the year, including Ireland's proportion of the joint charges of the Empire, would be 8,175,1671. He had prepared ways and means, which he estimated at 8,180,zool. The new taxes were 3s. 6d. per cwt. on brown or Muscovado Sugar; zs. per cwt. on Russian and Swedish Iron, instead of 12s. per ton, the present duty; 30 per cent. on Tea under 2s. 6d. per lib.; a new arrangement of the Stamp duties, and of the Malt duties, and also of the distilleries. He proposed to withdraw the bounty of s per cent. on the large stills, and the whole bounty on stills of 500 gallons. After some conversation, the resolu tions were agreed to.

In a Committee on the Property Tax Bill, the injustice of taxing all incomes alike, whether for a short and temporary, or a stable and permanent period, was strongly urged by several Members,

V06 10

but

* Among the accounts laid before Parliament is a statement of the expences of the Volunteer Corps, amounting, in a period of about three years and a half, to upwards of 3.400,000. of which 26,000l, has been paid to Inspec ting Officers.

but Lord H. Petty expressed his disinclination to admit any farther excmptions.

The following is the principal Amendment now made in this Bill:

"Where the income of any person shall arise wholly from labour, at daily or weekly wages, shall not have exceeded, in one week in the preceding year, in any subsequent week previous to the sum of thirty shillings, sessment, the

nor in any one day during that period, the sum of five shillings, and the same shall be proved, by affidavit, on the path of the party, and by the certificate of the persons to whom such wages have been paid; and in case it shall appear, that such party shall not. be in the receipt of any sum of money arising from any other source, the Com

[ocr errors]

his may adjudge the income so

as not amounting to fifty pounds, ånd grant an exemption from the duty accordingly. The abatements are not altered, consequently none are allowed for children. A new scale of abatement is made for all incomes between sol. and 1501. at which last-mentioned sum the full tax of ten per cent. commences.

[ocr errors]

According to the new scale, a deduction of is. is to be allowed for every pound between the amount of the income and the sum of 150; thus upon an income of 6ola-year, gos. or 41. 10s. is to be allowed, which deducted from 61. leaves the duty payable on an income of 6ol, a year l. 10s.; upon an income of 7ol. Sos. is to be allowed, which reduces it to 31. and so in gradation up to 1501..

[ocr errors]

Friday, May 9.

mily; and after a short conversation, a resolution passed to carry into effect the provision mentioned by his Majesty. Lord H. Petty stated, that 90,000l. of the 120,000l. were to be laid out in the purchase of a mansion and lands, to be annexed to the title; that 10,000l. were to be given to Earl Nelson, to make such reparations or improvements therein as he should deem necessary; and that 10,000l, each were to be granted to his Lordship's two sisters.

The additional Force Act Repeat Bill was read a third time, after a strenuous opposition from Sir J. Pulteney, Mr Yorke, and Mr Percival. A clause was added by way of rider, to provide for the families of men enlisted under. the Army of Reserve Act.

Mr Sheridan concluded a long speech in favour of the repeal, by denying that he or his Honourable Friends acted at all from hatred or disrespect to the memory of the great and illustrious man (Mr Pitt) who framed the Defence Bill, to whose transcendant ability and unimpeached integrity he paid a handsome tribute, declaring, for himself, that no man more admired him while living, or more revered and respected him now that he was dead:" There are many (said Mr S.) who flattered him more than I, and some who feared him more but there was no man, who had a higher respect for his transcendant talents, his matchless eloquence, and the greatness of his soul; and yet it has been often my fate to have opposed his measures. I may have considered that there was some what too much of Ieftiness in his mind which could not bend to advice, or scarcely bear co-opeI might have considered, that as a statesman his measures were not

The motion for going into a Comration.
Iron Duty Bill was

297

mittee on the Messrs. Curwen, S. adequate to the situation of the coun

warmly opposed by Wortley, Mordaunt, Lascelles, Wilber. force, Francis, and Canning, Lord A. Hamilton, &c. &c. They contended that tlie measure was pregnant with the most destructive effects to every branch of commerce, manufactures, and agriculture. On a division the majority for the commitment was only ten-there being for it 119, against it 109.

[ocr errors]

3

Tuesday, May 13.

A Committee of the whole House took into consideration his Majesty's message, relative to Earl Nelson's fa

thought his purpose and his hope was
try in the present times, but I always
for the greatness and security of the
Empire."

Bill for improving the harbour of Dun-
Sir Hew H. Dalrymple brought in a

bar.

[blocks in formation]
« ZurückWeiter »