commutation act previously to the conclusion of the session, he should postpone until that period, his remarks upon the subject.

Mr. Sheridan rose again to entreat the house, and especially the right honorable gentleman opposite to him (Mr. Pitt), seriously to attend to the act of 1783, enabling the Treasury to assist the East India Company, by suffering them to raise money on exchequer bills for 300,000l. It appeared to him (Mr. Sheridan said) that the right honorable gentleman and the lords of the treasury had acted in direct violation of the law. He explained this by shewing, that the conditions of the bill expressly were, that the company were to repay the money before they appropriated any of their receipts to other purposes; whereas the right honorable gentleman had suffered the Company to pay off part of their debt claimed by government (but not acknowledged by the Company), and had let them evade the payment of the money raised under the act in question. Now, as that gave the right honorable gentleman and the lords of the treasury no discretionary powers respecting the debt, he could not but consider it as a collusion on the part of the right honorable gentleman, in order to swell the yearly amount of his budget. He desired, therefore, to ask by what authority the right honorable gentleman had continued to countenance such a collusion?

Mr. Pitt said, he was not prepared to answer that question, nor could from so sudden a declaration say, whether any subsequent act of parliament had given the Treasury any discretionary authority or not. He would allow that the question was important, and if the honorable gentleman thought it à matter fit for separate discussion, he would be ready to meet it whenever it should be brought forward, certainly conceiving that the present was, by no means, a proper time for it.

a

Mr. Sheridan observed, that one reason why he urged it then was, that the debt had been inserted, year after year, in the statement of the Company's

accounts.

Mr. Pitt answered, that if there was any collusion on either side, it was rather extraordinary that the debt should have been publicly stated year after year.

Mr. Sheridan replied it was true, that the debt was stated, but always crossed out of the account, before the account had been presented to the house.

Mr. Baring declared, that he really did not recollect how the matter of the exchequer bills stood.

At length the question was put, "That the report be re-committed," when it was negatived. The resolutions were then read a second time, and agreed to.

MAY 10.

SIR BENJAMIN HAMMET'S MOTION RELATIVE TO THE SENTENCES OF BURNING WOMEN CONVICTED OF CERTAIN CRIMES.

Sir Benjamin Hammet stated, that it having been his official duty to attend on the melancholy occasion of seeing the dreadful sentence put in execution, he had then designed to bring in a bill to make some alteration; but he did not choose to venture the measure till he had consulted and received the approbation of some high authorities in the law, which was now the case. The judgment of burning alive, applied to women for certain crimes, was the savage remains of Norman policy, and disgraced our statutes, as the practice did the common law. He maintained, that the sheriff who did not execute this sentence of burning alive, was liable to a prosecution ; but, he thanked Heaven, that there was not an Englishman to be found, whose humanity did not exalt itself above the severity of the sentence, and who did not choose to run the risk, rather than attend to the letter of the judgment. He repeated the sentences verbatim, which were given upon men and women for the same crime.

UPON MEN.

"To be drawn upon a hurdle to the place of execution, and there to be hanged by the neck till he is dead."

UPON WOMEN.

"To be drawn upon a hurdle to the place of execution, and there to be burned with fire till she be dead.”

He desired the house to consider the influence of the husband upon his wife; and that, in many other crimes, the laws made no provision for it. At this moment, a woman lay in Newgate convicted for coining; but the learned Recorder had not made his report; and the Sheriff applied to him that morning, expressing his feelings upon the occasion, and rejoicing in the hopes that the bill might pass into

a law. He desired to remind the house, that it was proved, by experience, that the shocking punishment did not prevent the crime. Formerly, the men were sentenced to be quartered, in addition to their other punishment, and he supposed it arose from delicacy that the women were to be burnt; but now, the sentence of quartering was not the judgment, and all for which he contended was, that women should not receive a more dreadful punishment than the men, who might influence the women to the commission of the crime. He would use no more arguments. He trusted that the bill wanted not the force of oratory or eloquence to cause it to be received; for, he had no doubt, but the house would go with him in the cause of humanity. He would not, therefore, trouble the house longer, but begged to be permitted to move for leave to bring in a bill for altering the sentence of burning women attainted and convicted of certain crimes, and substituting other punishments in lieu thereof."

Mr. SHERIDAN wished the motion to be worded more generally, and that the description of the bill might extend to all women convicted of high or petty treason; declaring, that if it should be necessary to narrow the object of the bill, there would be sufficient opportunities of doing so in the committee, and at different stages of the progress of the bill.

The motion passed without amendment.

SUPPLY.

Mr. Pitt rose to move a vote of credit for a million, to enable His Majesty to act as the exigency of affairs might require. With the large sums already voted, and the use of the money which His Majesty would then have at command, a vote of credit for a million would be sufficient. Mr. Pitt explained the nature of some claims, which the merchants and others, who had property in Georgia, so far back as 1783, fairly had upon government, in consequence of that province being ceded by the treaty of peace; and he concluded with moving,

"That it is the opinion of this committee, that a sum not exceeding one million be granted to His Majesty, to enable His Majesty to take such measures, and to make such augmentation to his forces by sea and land, as the exigencies of affairs may require."

"That the sum of £49,556 17s. 6d. be granted to His Majesty for the relief of merchants, and other persons, interested in lands within the late province of Georgia."

The motion having been read a first and second time, on the ques-tion, "That the Chairman do report the same to the house,"

Mr. Sheridan remarked, the right honorable gentleman (the Chancellor of the Exchequer), when he

stated his observations on His Majesty's message to the house, had expressed a hope, that we should still be able to accommodate the matters in question between the courts of Madrid and Great Britain, without being driven to the necessity of going to war; a hope in which they must all most cordially concur. But although it was right to follow up their address to His Majesty of last week with a vote of supply, and not leave the address as a mere matter of profession, Mr. Sheridan said, he wished to know if, on the event of war being commenced, the right honorable gentleman would find it necessary to have a committee of supply again?

The two resolutions passed.

LOAN TO THE EAST-INDIA COMPANY.

Mr. SHERIDAN adverting to the loan of Exchequer bills for 300,000l. to the East-India Company, remarked that possibly, the right honorable gentleman might have been otherwise employed for the last two or three days, than to have had an opportunity of attending to the subject; if not, he should be glad to know how the right honorable gentleman found the matter upon enquiry.

Mr. Pitt answered, that he really had not had an opportunity of attending to the circumstance; but if the right honorable gentleman conceived that there was any thing in it, on which he ought to make a motion, the most regular way would be to submit one on the subject.

Mr. Sheridan said, that he would submit one on the subject on the ensuing Friday.

MAY 11.

POST HORSE DUTY BILL.

The order for the third reading of this bill being read,

Mr. SHERIDAN again moved his clause to oblige the farmers of the duty to declare upon oath, the an

nual produce of their respective districts. Without some clause to this effect, the public, he contended, could not reap the full advantage of the bill, because the produce of the several districts being known only to those who farmed them, no advance could be expected on the price at which they were first let. The farmers were to be considered in the light of public accountants, and might fairly be called on to give an account of money collected from the public.

Mr. I. H. Browne contended, that it was impossible to call upon men to declare on oath what they had a strong temptation to conceal, more especially under circumstances which rendered it extremely difficult to discover whether they had declared the truth or not, so as to found an indictment for perjury. He could not consider the farmers in the light of public accountants, nor agree to an inquisition into private property. And, finally, would not bid high for that of which they were obliged to give an account upon oath.

Mr. Sheridan said, the bill empowered the farmers to call upon all persons engaged in letting post-horses, to answer, on oath, who had a very great temptation in the way of interest, to swear falsely. If the honorable gentleman's objection went merely to a wanton use of oaths, he ought to object to the bill entirely. The farmers must, necessarily, be considered as public accountants. The oath proposed, was, at least, a safer oath than any other authorized by the bill; and without it, or something equivalent to it, the public would not reap the full benefit of the bill.

The question was put, and the clause rejected without a division.

TRADE TO NOOTKA SOUND.

Mr. Sheridan said, that he had a motion to make, which he knew not whether he had worded properly; but the purport of it was, to obtain information whether the trade to Nootka Sound, and the. settlement forming, or intended to be formed there, was undertaken under the sanction and authority of