country, but to that great man whose discovery had communicated happiness to nations, and who in order to propagate the benefit of his discovery must have incurred considerable labour and expence.

The motion was agreed to. Adjourned.

HOUSE OF LORDS.

THURSDAY, JULY 2.

Lord Holland presented a petition from the debtors confined in the castle of Chester, praying for relief. Ordered to lie on the table.

Lord Redesdale presented a bill for empowering the summoning of copyholders by attorney, in customary courts, which was read a first time.

Lord Hawkesbury presented a message from his Ma jesty, intimating his Majesty's wish that an annuity of 16007. per annum should be granted to major-general Sir John Stuart, K.B. for the term of his natural life, as a testimony of approbation of his conduct in the brilliant and glorious action fought on the plains of Maida, and desiring the concurrence of the House in such grant.

On the motion of Lord Hawkesbury, his Majesty's most gracious message was ordered to be taken into consideration the next day.

The Lord Chancellor proposed the motions which he laid before the House on Tuesday, relative to private bills, interrupted in their progress by the prorogation, which were all agreed to. Upon one of the motions being put,

Lord Holland said, he did not mean to object to the motion; great inconveniences had undoubtedly resulted from the late abrupt prorogation, but he thought the noble and learned lord had suggested the best mode of remedying them with respect to private bills. He thought however, that in point of regularity, a list of private bills, which had been interrupted in their progress by the prorogation, should be laid before the House.

His lordship moved for a list of this description, which motion was agreed to, and the list having been previously prepared by the clerk, was presented, and ordered to lie on the table.

Lord Walsingham presented a great number of renewed petitions for private bills, which were referred to a coninittee. Adjourned.

Y 2

HOUSE

HOUSE OF COMMONS.

THURSDAY, JULY 2.

Mr. Dugdale brought in a bill for enabling his Ma jesty to license a play-house in the town of Birmingham, in Warwickshire, which was read a first time.

A petition was presented from Mr. Henry Freemantle, complaining of a double return for Saltash in Cornwal, which was ordered to be taken into consideration along with another petition also complaining of a double return for the said borough, on the 14th July.

A petition was presented for Colonel Sergison, complaining of an undue return for the county of Sussex, which was ordered to be taken into consideration on the 22d July.

Mr. Creevey gave notice that he should on Monday sc'nnight, move for a copy of all dispatches and correspondence received in this country, from the governments of Bengal and Madras, relative to the mutiny in Vellore.

SMUGGLING.

The Chancellor of the Exchequer rose, agreeably to notice, to move for leave to bring in a bill for the better preventing of smuggling. A draught of a bill on this subject had already been prepared by the late government, and agreeing as he did in most of the means proposed in that bill, he had adopted most of the regulations contained in it. It was extremely difficult to devise means for counteracting all the manoeuvres practised by smugglers, in the exercise of their illicit trade; but he hoped that the regu lations now proposed, though they might not be sufficient to put an entire stop to the traffic, would have the effect of diminishing it greatly. It had formerly been the prac tice of persons carrying on this trade to convey their spirits from Jersey and Guernsey to this country, in small casks or ankers, which, from their portable nature, were immediately got rid of without difficulty. To remedy this evil, an aci was passed prohibiting the clearing out from Jersey or Guernsey of any ships with spirits in small casks. The way that had been taken to defeat that regulation was, that while the spirits were in large casks, each vessel so loa led carried a proportionate number of small casks; so that by emptying the rum and brandy with which the large

large casks were originally filled, into the small ones, they had still the same facility of disposing of their cargoes. By the present bill it was provided, that no ship of the description employed in this trade should be allowed to have on board any small casks. To such a heigh' had this traffic been carried, that it appeared that it as no une common thing for the same vessel to be cleared out from Jersey or Guernsey to Tottingen twice within six or seven days, which was a thing so utterly impossible as easily to explain the nature of the voyage. The revenue of which government was in this way defrauded did not amount to less than seventy or eighty thousand pounds per annum. He should, probably, at some future time, propose the laying some heavy restrictions, or even prohibiting altogether the exportation of spirits from Jersey and Guernsey, for that all the spirits so exported were smuggled into this country seemed hardly to admit of a doubt. Another regulation of the present bill was to increase the rewards of persons making seizures. Leave granted.

Mr. Huskisson then moved for an account of all vessels cleared out from Jersey and Guernsey, from January, 1806, to January, 1807, with the tonnage of each, specifying also the place for which they respectively cleared out. Ordered.

CLOTHING OF THE INVALIDS.

Mr. Rose, agreeably to notice, made his promised motion for the production of certain letters which had passed on the subject of the clothing for the veteran battalions, and which had not been produced in compliance with a former order of the House. He thought it necessary to explain what the nature of the letters and minutes, which in his opinion were material to the subject in question, and which he presumed to think had been improperly withheld, actually was. When he was appointed one of the joint paymasters of the forces, it occurred to him that if any savings were likely to be made in the military department, the clothing was a branch in which it might as probably be effected as in any other. He inquired accordingly, how other parts of the service were provided in this respect, and found that a person who contracted for clothing the marines, did so at a rate greatly lower than that charged for clothing the invalids. He sent for this person, and found that his charge was only 1. Is. per suit,

whereas

whereas the charge then made for clothing the invalids, was 11. 7s. 9d. It turned out, however, that there was more lace on the clothes of the veteran battalion than the contractor had been aware, he therefore increased his esti mate to Il. 3s. Having ascertained this, the right honour. able gentleman next sent for the person accustomed to clothe the veteran battalions, telling him that his wish was not to change any tradesman, if they could continue to serve the public on nearly the same terms with others. He shewed to this gentleman (Mr. Dickie) the suit of clothes furnished by the person to whom he (Mr. Rose) had applied, whose name was Courtnay, and asked if he (Mr. Dickie) was willing to serve government agreeably to that pattern for 11. 3s. Mr. Dickie replied he could not, and that if he, (Mr Rose) could get any person to contract with him on such terms, it would be wrong in him not to close with the offer. After the pattern suits had been ap proved of, Mr. Rose did give Mr. Courtnay the orders, and some of the battalions were served by him. When he wished, however, to deliver to the noble lord opposite (Lord Temple) 2000 suits which had been prepared, they were refused to be accepted of, on the ground that they were of bad quality, of bad workmanship, and too scanty. In the mean time the noble lord again applied to a Mr. Box, who was a partner of Mr. Dickie, and received an estimate from him, not indeed as he had formerly charged, amounting to l. 7s. 9d. but to 14. 4s. 9d. being, however, ls. 6d. per suit more than those furnished by Mr. Courtnay. The difference to the country between the 11. 7s. 9d. and the 11. 3s. would amount to nearly 100,000l. per annum, and even between the 17. 4s. 9d. and the 17. 3s. it was obvious must be considerable. It appeared from the minutes in the office, that this change had been made in consequence of complaints that the clothing was of bad quality, bad workmanship, &c. and that letters had accordingly been written to the commanding officers of the different battalions who had been served by Mr. Courtnay, inquiring if the fact was so? The answers to this inquiry had not been produced; and it was of the suppression of them that Mr. Rose complained. He proceeded to read these letters, as they were to be found in the office, and stated, that so far from supporting the truth of the complaints made against the quality of the cloth and workmanship furnished by Mr. Courtnay, they uniformly proved his articles

to

to be better, in these respects, than they had seen for seve ral years. The only fault they had was that they were small, and under the general size-a fault which was im mediately remedied. So, therefore, the minute in conse quence of which the contract with Mr. Courtnay was set aside, and that with Mr. Box entered into, was unsupported by evidence, and proceeded on a false allegation. This might, in his opinion, become no improper subject of inquiry for the committee of finance, or the commissioners of military inquiry. All, however, that he now wished to move for was, that the letters from the commanders of the battalions as to the quality of the clothes furnished should be laid before the House. He had delayed his mo tion for some days at the desire of the noble lord, who wished to look into the evidence. Mr. Box, he understood, was no army clothier.

Lord Temple said, Yes.

Mr. Rose said he believed he was for the Buckinghamshire militia, and that he was a sleeping partner of Mr. Dickie's. He concluded by moving for copies of all minutes, letters, &c. relative to the clothing of the veteran battalions, between the years 1804 and 1807.

Lord Temple said, he should not inquire into the reasons which had induced the right honourable gentleman to take on himself the present statement, when, if there was any thing in it, the committee of finance or commissioners of military inquiry were, as he himself stated, the proper persons to inquire into the circumstances of it. At the time the right honourable gentleman originally made his motion, be (Lord Temple) explained to him, that there were a great many of the letters referred to contained in the minutes, which it would therefore be unnecessary to produce, and in this the right honourable gentleman seemed to ac quiesce. There were at that time other information and other letters on the subject, which, being of a private nature, and not addressed to him in his public capacity, he did not feel himself authorised to produce.. He now, however, had certificates of the facts contained in those letters, and which he thought material. Mr. Box had clothed the battalions in question for 15 years previous to the time of Mr. Courtnay's having been employed by Mr. Rose. Shortly after he (Lord Temple) came into office, complaints were made to him of the badness and smallness of the clothing they were then wearing. In consequence of

these