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Mr. BUCKNALL rofe for the purpose of making a few obfervations previous to the report being read; but he was interrupted by the Speaker, who informed him, that it being the intention of the House to have the report printed before any obfervations were gone into, there was no opportunity, confiftent with the forms of the Houfe, for any Member to offer objections to the report, until it was taken into farther confideration.

The report was then read, and the farther confideration of it appointed for Thursday next.

Thursday, December 28.

Mr. Chancellor PITT moved the order of the day for taking into confideration the report of a bill for granting additional duties on affeffed taxes, now read,

Sir ALAN GARDNER faid, he had a few obfervations to make upon the bill, which he would take this opportunity to offer. He was happy to find that it had already undergone full discussion, and that the objections made by thofe who would have been too heavily affected by its provifions had been completely removed. He faid, that the enemy must be refifted, and the country defended, and without supplies neither fleet nor army could be supported, in which case we could neither refift the enemy nor procure a safe and honourable peace. Allowing this, and it could not be denied, the fafety of the country depended on the conduct that would take place this night. Therefore, notwithstanding certain refolutions of difapprobation had appeared in the public prints, which he had read with great regret, he felt himself obliged in confcience and in duty to the public, to give his fupport to the measure, and thereby to provide for the fafety, honour and independance of the country. Under the circumstances of the country, he thought it was impoffible to withhold the fupplies.

Sir WILLIAM MILNER faid, that he would not oppofe any particular claufe of the bill, because he meant to oppose the whole bill and its principle.

On reading the claufe which was amended in the Committee upon the bill, and by which amendment an alleviation was agreed to be given to those who occupy Houfes to which there are shops or warehouses, the Chancellor of the Exchequer propofed to negative the amendment of the Committee, fo as to take warehouses out of the exemption, and to confine the alleviation merely to fhops; to which, after a few words by Mr. WILBERFORCE and others,

en the other fide, the Houfe agreed. So that warehouses are not now exempted.

On reading the claufe which impofes a double affeffment for horfes kept for agriculture,

Mr. I. H. BROWNE propofed a provifion, that those who kept farms under the yearly rent of 15ol. fhould be charged only with a fingle additional duty.

Mr. Chancellor PITT oppofed it, upon the grounds which the Committee had rejected a fimilar propofition.

Sir M. B. FOLKES, Mr. POLLEN, Lord CARYSFORT, and several others, fupported it.

Sir W. GEARY fuggefted a modification, the fubftance of which was, that no farmer who rents a farm under 150l. a year, and who has no other means of livelihood, fhall be charged by this duty for more than five horfes for agriculture.

This was agreed to by the House.

Mr. I. H. BROWNE's claufe was negatived.

Mr. WILBERFORCE moved to amend clause (P), by leaving out the words "or any other fufficient." On this amendment the Houfe divided: Ayes, 5; Noes, 94.

Mr. BRAGGE moved to amend the claufe for allowing certain abatements to perfons having a certain number of children, by leaving out the word "five," and inferting in its ftead the word "four."

This amendment was agreed to.

Mr. Serjeant ADAIR was of opinion that this claufe was too confined by the limitation of the words "children born in lawful wedlock;" for feveral inftances might occur where the wife or the husband might have children by former marriages, the number of whofe children added together would place them within this clause of the bill; but if the children were taken feparately, then fuch perfons must be deprived of the benefit of the claufe. It undoubtedly could not be the intention of the House to refuse the propofed abatement to a family compofed of the united children of the master and mistress, and whofe expence were defrayed out of the funds of both. With a view to remove every doubt and obfcurity on this fubject, he would move to amend the claufe, by introducing, after the word "children," and before the words "born in lawful wedlock," these words, "of him or her, or of his or her wife or hufband, or of both of them."

Mr. RYDER, the SOLICITOR GENERAL, and the MASTER OF THE ROLLS, objected to this amendment, on

the ground that fuch children had generally feparate provisions made for them.

The motion for the amendment was then put and agreed to.

Sir W. PULTENEY here obferved, that, in his opinion, it was improper to proceed farther on a bufinefs of fuch ferious importance at fo late an hour (paft eleven) when the House must be naturally very much fatigued.

Mr. Chancellor PITT faid, that his wifh was that the few remaining claufes might be gone through, and that the most important part, the confideration of the schedule, might then be deferred till to-morrow.

On the motion for agreeing to the claufe which makes the parishes liable for the punctual payment of the tax,

Mr. BAKER faid, that it would be very hard on the parishes to be thus made liable to the payment of the taxes when they had no thare in appointing the perfons who were to collect them.

Mr. PLUMER and Sir W. PULTENEY urged the fame objection, and faid, that the county, and not the parishes, should be made liable.

Mr. ROSE faid, that the parishes named the perfons out of whom the Commiffioners were chofen, who had the power of appointing the collectors. There was, therefore, no hardship in making the parifhes liable for the payment.

The original claufe was then put and agreed to.

On the motion for agreeing to claufe (X).

Mr. BURDON moved to leave out the word "schoolmaster," and to leave fimply the words, " perfon keeping any academy, or feminary of education," &c.

Mr. H. ADDINGTON faid, that there was another defcription of perfons not exactly to be claffed under the denomination of schoolmafter or fchoolmiftrefs, to whom, he thought, the fame exemptions fhould be extended. Thefe were perfons who received into their houfes grown-up young ladies, in order to give a certain degree of inftruction, by way of finishing their education.

Mr. Chancellor PITT obferved, that if the honourable gentleman took the word "inftruction" in its ordinary sense, then undoubtedly the perfons he alluded to would come under the defcription of fchoolmiftreffes.

Mr. BURDON moved, that undertakers for funerals, or all perfons letting out horfes and carriages for fuch purposes, be entitled to the fame exemption as coachmakers. Agreed to.

Mr. PLUMER objected to the clause which granted certain

abatements to gentlemen excrcifing any branch of the medical profeffion, as inaccurately worded.

Mr. Chancellor PITT thought the objection well founded, and did not wish to extend the abatements to perfons not regularly bred to the medical profeffion. He then moved, that inftead of the words, "any perfon," &c. the words" phyfician, furgeon, apothecary, and midwife," be inferted, and that the abatement granted to fuch perfons should extend only to fuch as kept but one carriage and two horses, either for riding or drawing, or for both purposes. The claufe fo amended was agreed to.

Mr. Chancellor PITT faid, that the claufes for allowing perfons to make voluntary contributions beyond the amount of the affeffed taxes, required fome important alterations: he would therefore bring them in at fome future ftage of the bill.

Mr. BAKER gave notice, that he would move a clause for granting certain exemptions to clergymen, whofe income did not exceed 150l. per annum.

Mr. DUNDAS hoped that the benefit of fuch a clause might be extended to the clergy of Scotland.

Mr. BAKER faid, that fuch was his intention.

Mr. TYRWHYTT afked, when it was the intention of the right honourable gentleman that the bill fhould be read a third time?

Mr. Chancellor PITT faid, that it was his intention that the report be taken into farther confideration to-morrow, that the bill, with the new amendments, be reprinted, and that it be read a third time on Tuesday next.

Friday, December 29.

At four o'clock the Speaker counted the Houfe, when there being only twenty-eight Members prefent, an adjournment till next day immediately took place.

Saturday, 30th December.

Mr. Secretary DUNDAS faid, the Houfe muft recollect an act of the last feffion of Parliament, commonly called the " Supplemental Militia Act." That measure had been carried into execution, a great number of men had been raised under it, and had been employed for the public service. It was a very large and able body of men, and might be extremely useful in a cafe of the laft neceffity; but in confequence of fo large a body of men being thue fituated, a great number of men were prevented from giving aid VOL. IV. 3 U

to His Majefty's arms for the general defence of his cause, in any part of the world; they were thus prevented, because there was no regular power to enlist them into His Majesty's regular fervice, from which great inconvenience had arifen, and if not remedied, greater must hereafter arise. He had no complaint to make against the different officers who had been called upon to act under the provifions of the militia bill; undoubtedly they had done their duty. Thus it happened, that many of the men compofing this militia, having enlifted into His Majefty's regular service, were reclaimed as militiamen, and were obliged to be reftored; for fo the law stood at present; so that if any man, belonging to the militia, fhould, from his ardour for more active fervice, or any other motive, enlift into the regular fervice, fuch man may, at any time, be reclaimed as a militiaman, and if so claimed, must be restored, to the manifeft prejudice of His Majesty's service. The object of the bill which he intended to move for, was to remedy that defect, by enabling any man, if defirous of enlifting, fo to do, and if he does, he fhall not afterwards be reclaimed as a militiaman; nor fhould the parish be bound to replace him. This plan would add to the general and regular force of His Majesty's arms, without any additional expence to the public.

The House, he was fure, would feel the importance of this fubject, and would be ready to give it their most serious attention. It would appear to be neceffary in another point of view. There are at present a number of regiments, thirteen or fourteen of them, in fome of whom there are hardly any but officers; fo that however meritorious and ufeful their fervices have been, and how much and how juftly foever His Majefty might be difposed to confide in them, their fervices could not be had, unless their regiments were fupplied with men. There were of the militia from fifty to fixty thousand; now, if in confequence of the measure he now propofed, thefe regiments could be filled up, the country would be no longer deprived of the fervices of thefe officers, who, of all men, were the moft defirable to be employed in the public fervice at a period like the prefent, and, he trufted, that within a fhort period, a body of no lefs than fifty thoufand men might thus be brought into active fervice for our general defence, to act as occafion might require, either offenfively or defenfively, either within or out of this country. He did not mean by this defcription of the propofed fervice to fay, that this force would be called upon to ferve out of His Majefty's European dominions; for he meant only home service, extending to Jersey and Guernsey, and the North Seas.

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