what he had delivered; much he faid had been fuggefted in the courfe of the debate that was material, and of which he should profit. The queftion was put, and leave was granted. The order of the day being read, for the committee to hear counfel in behalf of the petitioners from Lancafter; a debate arofe as to the fimilarity of evidence, that was to be produced on this petition, to that which had already been heard on the petition from Manchefter. On the one fide it was contended, that, if the cafes nearly resembled each other, the afguments of counsel must of courfe be fimilar, and it would only be wasting the time of the Houfe to fit and hear repetitions of the fame arguments. On the contrary, it was argued, that even fappofing the two cafes to be the fame (which was far from being the fact), yet as thefe petitions were referred by the Houfe to the Committee, for the exprefs purpose of hearing counfel and evidence upon each, the committee were not at liberty to use their discretion, but muft ftrictly abide by the order of the Houfe. This argument prevailed in the prefent cafe, though not admitted as a general principle. And Mr. Erkine was ad mitted to the bar in behalf of the petitioners; but, as nothing new was faid, it is not for us to tire our readers with repetitions. Friday, April 8. The order of the day being read, for going into a committee on the petition of the fuftian manufacturers, Mr. Garrow, their counfel, was called to the bar, and endeavoured to convince the Houfe, that, if the tax impofed laft year upon fuftians were continued, its effect must lead to the moft pernicious confequences, inasmuch as the manufacsurers must either ftarve or emigrate. He had not yet heard it laid downy he faid, as a maxim of found policy, that the ruin of a capital manufacture, largely Froductive of employment to the induftrious, and of refources to the revenue, was a facrifice fit to be offered up to graify the humour of thofe in power; yet fuch muft be the cafe if the tax of laft year is fuffered to exift a moment longer. He remarked upon the evidence that had been produced, drew inferences of the moft ftriking nature on the mode lately adopted of introducing officers of excife into the houses of manufacturers; and recounted the numerous hardfhips under which they groaned, all tending to depopulate this country, and to reduce to beggary those who should remain behind. He concluded with a well-grounded hope, that the committee, after what they had heard from the teftimony of wineffes of the moft refpectable authority, would not hesitate a moment to refolve, that the tax ought to be repealed.. . Mr. Pitt role as foon as Mr. Garrow had concluded his fpeech of more than two hours in the delivery, and apologised for the witnetfes he meant to have called not being in readiness, and moved, "that the chairman report progress, and ask leave to fit again." The Houfe was then refumed, and inftantly adjourned. Monday, April 11. The report of the committee on the Cricklade election, charging the return ing officer with having acted partially and illegally, was read the first time; and, after a long and spirited debate, the fame was adjourned to the 14th. Mr. Pitt then called the attention of the Houfe to a fubject, which, he faid, was neareft his heart, namely, the flou rishing ftate of our finances, which, fo far from affording any apprehenfions of defpair, furnished the moft flattering pro fpect of not only answering every demand, but of creating an effective and fubitantial furplus for the purpose of a finking fund, which he ftated at one million. He then entered into a detail on the fubject of finance, on which few of our readers would receive much inftruction, were we to endeavour to follow him; we hall, therefore, pafs it over, with only remarking, that he moved by way of elucidation, for "the net produce of the taxes for the quarters ending on the 4th of January, 1784 and 1785, and alfo of thofe ending on the 5th of April, 1784 and 1785, to be laid before the Houfe." This he did to fhew the increase of the revenue, by a compa rative ftate of their produce during those quarters, which came out thus: Net produce for the quarter ending Jan. 5, 1785, 2,738,000 Ditto, for quarter end. Ap. 5, 3,066,000 £. 5,804,000 Net produce of the two cor to 2,585,000 2,198,000 more than their produce in the correfponding fix months of the preceding year; and the produce of the fingle quarter, ending sth April laft, was near ly 870,000l. more than that of the correfponding quarter, 1784. And he reafoned, not only from the great fuperiority which the first quarter of the prefent year bore to the correfpondent quarter of the former year, but from the great increafe of the fecond quarter to that of the first quarter of the prefent year; and though, he faid, he could entertain no very fanguine hopes of a progreflive increafe in each fucceeding quarter, yet the new taxes that had been lately laid on afforded fuch an appearance of being productive, as he was fure would make the Houfe feel perfectly eafy as to the choice that had been made of them. He spoke with confidence of appropriating a million to the establishment of a finking fund, which should be fo locked up, and fo ftrongly confined to the purposes of its inftitution, as to be perfectly facred, and not convertible to any other fervice on any emergency whatever. Mr. Sheridan, Mr. Fox, and Mr. Eden, in particular, thanked the Chancellor of the Exchequer, not only for calling upon parliament to enter into a confideration of the firft poffible means, but for having prepared informations effectually neceffary towards arriving at the juft point of judgement, and to enable the Houfe to form conclufions refpecting the public finances, not too fanguine on the one hand, nor too defponding on the other. Mr. Eden, for the fake of argument, admitted the whole that Mr. Pitt had advanced in its utmost extent, and that the taxes for the future would amount to 3,025,000l. a quarter, or 12,100,0col. a year; and to this he would add 2,500,000l. for land and malt tax; which all together would only equalize the annual expenditure, on all hands allowed to amount to fourteen millions and a half*; and therefore, under the admiffion of very difputable calculations, there remains no favourable balance whatever; but, on the other hand, if the Right Hon. gentleman's calculation fhould prove fallacious, the profpect would then be very gloomy, and require much wisdom, much firmnefs, and much folieitude in parliament, andin minifters, and much temper in the people at large, to bear the heavy burthens with which they were overloaded. Mr. Pitt ftated the whole together at about 14,400,000le Mr. Sheridan observed, that, by locking up the finking fund, the public creditors would be deprived of their collateral, perhaps of their beft, fecurity. The motion was agreed to, and the accounts ordered. Lord Beauchamp then rofe, and called the attention of the Houfe to the deplorable cafe of the felons now under fentence of tranfportation in the feveral gaols of this kingdom. He reminded the Right Hon. Gentleman of an account that had been called for, at the beginning of the feffion, of the number of felons under fentence of tranfportation, which had not yet been laid upon the table; in the mean time he had heard, from undoubted authority, that a number of them had actually been put on board a fhip, in order to be landed on an island in the river Gambia; and, as it was his intention to offer fome motions upon the fubject when that paper fhould be produced, he wifhed exceedingly the Right Hon. Gent. would give the proper directions for the order of the Houfe to be obeved. Mr. Pitt wifhed he had known the Noble Lord's intentions of taking up the fubject on that day, he should then have been prepared to have given the House the neceflary fatisfaction; at present he could fay no more; but if the Noble Lord would be fo good as to state the nature of his intended motions, he would, at the fame time, take upon him to fay how far they appeared right to be complied with. Lord Beauchamp faid, the nature of his propofitions depended altogether on the nature of the paper moved for. When that was before the Houfe, he should be enabled to ftate his propofitions. Mr. Burke then took up the matter, and was enlarging on the cruelty of fending any human beings to linger out a miferable exiftence in Africa (fee p. 448), when he was called to order by Mr. Pitt, as there was no motion before the Houle, Mr. Burke complained, that whenever the attention of the Houfe was called for to a fubject interefting to humanity, the matter was artfully contrived to be ot rid of, by ftating that other bufinefs was waiting to come on. He reprobated the idea of fending convicts to Africa, the only country upon earth to which they ought not to be tranfported. The order of the day was then read, for proceeding on the Frith bulinets; and Mr. Erfine was called to the bar as counfel on the Manchetler petition, and proceedce to examine winefies, The time. Mr. Pitt prefented to the Houfe the papers which were called for relative to convicts, fentenced to be tranfported to parts beyond the feas, and to America, being conveyed to Africa. They were ordered to lie on the table. Wednesday, April 13 The Houfe refolved itfelf into á committee on the petition from the faftian manufacturers of Manchester, &c. against the excife duty on fuflians. The witnetles this day examined were chiefly intended to invalidate the teftimony of those who had before been adduced in fupport of the allegations of the petition. Among them were officers of Excife, who fpoke chiefly to the arts of evafion practifed by the manufacturers, and to the means ufed to fecure the revenue. A Mr. Faulkner was called to the bar; and feveral questions being afked him refpecting the Manchester trade, a debaté took place, in which Mr. Pitt, Mr. Dundas, Lord North, Mr. Eden, and others, took part, Whether he did not think the evidence given by Mr. Walker was in a great meature influenced by the tax laid on their fuftian manufacture? And a spirited altercation enfuing, the queflion was fo qualified, that Mr. Faulkner in reply faid, that although Mr. Walker was undoubtedly deeply concerned aud interested in the fuftian manufacture, yet he did not think him capable of giving a falfe teflimony on that for the Houfe to go into a committee on Mr. Grenville's bill. The Speaker rose to remark on the prefent bill, that he understood the intention of the Right Hon. Gentleman who introduced it, was merely to correct certain mechanical parts of the operation of the original bill, but by no means to go into a confideration of its principle, avowedly referving the confideration of the fubject at large for another feffion; he would, however, feize the prefent opportunity to fuggeft two or three pars ticulars which have occurred to him du ring the courfe of his long experience, both as a private member, and in the high department he had now the honour to occupy. As the law now ftood, he faid, the Houfe had no power to compet a party to abide by his petition. Another defect was, in cafe of the death of either party, fome means thould be de vited to fecure the trial of the election A third defect was, the want of power of adjourning when there was no likelihood of making up a ballot. A fourth defe&t was very properly noticed by the Right Hon. Gentleman who introduced the bill, and that was, the cafe of diffolving the committees on every prorogation. He thought that might be remedied, by the fame committeee refuming the bufinefs where they broke off at the next meeting of the Houfe. Thefe particulars he only fuggefted, and fubmitted their propriety to the Right Hon. Gentleman who had framed the bill. Mr. Popham, Mr. Montague, Mr. Martin, and many others, remarked upon the claufes as the bill was read, and fome corrections admitted; but the principal debate arofe about letlening the numbers on the ballot, which, after all, was referred to next feffion. The committee went through the bill, and ordered it to be read a third tine, and adjourned. Friday, April 15. The House refolved itself into a committee, and proceeded to hear counsel on the feveral petitions. The examination' of one witnefs, were we to enter into a detail, would fill a Magazine. We fhall, in conclusion, give a lift of the feveral petitions, for the fatisfaction of tuule who may be curious hereafter to learn the aggregate of the oppolition. MR. URBAN, June ii. THE author of a very ingenious and ed, entitled, "An Ellay on Punctua |