other reafons he had affigned, he trusted their Lordships would agree in his opinion, that it should be expunged. The Marquis Townshend faid, he agreed in part of what fell from the Noble Earl; at the fame time, with refpect to the particular claufe fo much dwelt upon, he entertained no fuch apprehenfions. It merely enacted, that where the Lords Lieutenants of the Counties were unable, within a given time, to provide a fufficient number of Officers, in fuch cafes only, the refource in queftion may be reforted to. By these means he thought it unlikely that any great number of the Company's Officers would find their way into the Militia. His Lordship adverted to the circumstances of the troops of the line being fully employed in their regular duties in Garrifon, encampments, and in defending the colonies; which circumftances rendered the mode ftruck out by the Bill for officering the Supplementary Militia as one of the most unobjectionable that Could be devifed. But if a man of precifely that fum could not be found, no provifion was made for accepting a man of 9991. a year; fo that at the prefent crifis he could not refrain from giving the measure his support. The Earl of Carnarvon replied, that the meafure of reducing the accustomed qualifications in property for the officers had much better be reforted to; the Bill went to exclude unobjectionable perfons whofe incomes were ever fo little below the legal ftandard. By the exifting law, it was required that a colonel in the Militia fhould have at least 1000l. per annum, half of which should be in the country wherein the corps was raifed. If they had not the precife qualification, it could not be reduced; but men might be admitted who poffeffed the Lingle qualification of having before been Officers in any fervice in the East India Company's land fervice, even if they had only been officers for two days. He preffed the idea of reducing the qualifications; there feemed no anxiety in Minifters to get officers of property. It seemed as if they wished to get an army by ballot-the attempt would create jealoufies-it appeared like an attempt to worm out the conftitutional officers, and to affimilate the Militia to the regular standing forces. The Marquis Townshend again obferved, that there exifted no ground of ferious apprehenfion on that score. He had known inftances where a whole corps of officers was completed within a fortnight; poffibly, fome jealoufies might exift, as hinted by the Noble Earl, but they were not within the sphere of his knowledge. The Earl of Hardwicke obferved, that exertions were made to obtain officers properly qualified. The The Earl of Carnarvon faid, that if the Noble Earl conceived him to fay that efforts to that effect had not been made, he had miftaken him, at least he did not mean to say fo.-What he wished to prefs was, the expedient of reducing the qualification, which would effectually anfwer the purpofe. The Earl of Hardwicke then obferved, that the pefent Bill would not militate against the conftitution of the old militia.The cafe was new, and proportionate efforts were neceffary to meet the exigencies of the times. The principal officers, however, who bear commands at prefent in the fupplementary militia were perfons duly qualified. Lord Grenville contended, that the fpirit of the old militia. laws were not infringed by the Bill before the Committee; but under the prefent circumftances, the question was, whether or not the beft and readieft means fhould be adopted, for creating a great and efficient force to repel the enemy? A great part of the Noble Earl's objections would be done away by one fingle confideration, namely, that the Bill did not apply to the old, or permanent, but to the temporary militia. That militia, he conceived, would have no reafon to be diffitisfied, if in the prefent crifis, the officers poffeffed the qualification of feience inftead of property. He flightly noticed the language of the Noble Earl, in faying the meafure was a fpecies of fraud upon the old officers. Such language was often held groundlessly by perfons holding fentimemts not confonant with the promoters of particular measures; but he averred that there had been no fpecies of Parliamentary compact entered into with the officers. of the old militia, which the prefent measure went to infringe. With refpect to the idea of its worming out the old officers, that was fet afide alfo by the confideration of the temporary nature of the measure. The plan of additional militia, inftead of an augmentation of the army, was perferred; in many points of view it held forth a greater inducement to the people to enter into it, as fecuring them from ferving out of the kingdom, and the force, from lying each in its refpective county, could be concentrated in a greater number at any given point, fo as to operate with increafed energy and effect. The Earl of Radnor was of opinion that the prefent meafure would operate to the deftruction of the old conftitutional militia force, and he thought it bore marks of intentionally tending that way. He afferted the Bill affected the old as well as the fupplementary militia force, as in many inftances the battalions were incorporated; and he agreed with the Noble Earl in thinking, that to a certain degree it would operate to fuperfede the old officers. However he might regard his at-' tempts to abrogate the claufe in queftion in toto, he would en 602 deavour deavour to get it ameliorated, and though he despaired of doing all the good he wifhed, ftill he might render the provifion lefs objectionable. With this view he would propofe to the Committee, as an amendment, to infert after "within fourteen days after paffing of the act," or any fubfequent vacancies." Lord Grenville afferted, in reply to Lord Radnor, that he never could entertain fo monftrous an idea as that any engagement entered into by Parliament with bodies or individuals could be violated. They could not be violated. The engagement that the militia fhould not be fent abroad, was one which could not be infringed. The idea he wished to convey was, that the House had not pledged themselves by the old militia laws to any principle of a new and additional force. The Earl of Carnarvon imagined that the provifions of the Bill in queftion would be generally conftrued as applying in fome degree at leaft to the old militia. He took occafion to remark, that he meant nothing offenfive by the word fraud-he did not use it in the fenfe which the Noble Lord feemed to take it. The measure was at leaft unexpected by the old officersWith refpect to what had been faid of the usefulness of the militia in cafes of exigency, he obferved, that the militia exifted as an embodied force only in cafes of exigency-they were never called out but on fome occafion of that defcription. The Queftion was put, and the Claufe was carried with the Amendment. The Earl of Radnor then propofed, as an Amendment, to the effect of preventing the officers, admitted under the fanction of the above Claufe, from being appointed field officers. A few words in explanation paffed between the Noble Earl and Lord Grenville. The Earl of Carnarvon, in fupport of the obfervations of the Earl of Radnor, recapitulated fome of his former arguments, the drift of thefe principally was, to recommend a reduction of the qualification at prefent required by the law. The Duke of Clarence begged to make fome obfervations with respect to the appointment of officers. It was with the Lord Lieutenant, he conceived, to deliver in to the Secretary of State for the home department the names of the officers. But he doubted exceedingly whether in the old militia the field officers were always qualified perfons. It remained with the Lord Lieutenant to recommend fuch perfons as he conceived to be fit and worthy. The amendment refpecting the field officers was rejected. Earl Radnor moved another amendment, that perfons not qualified fhould not be commanders of corps. Lord Lord Sydney faid, that he should speak upon this fubject with a confiderable degree of caution; for perfons, recollecting his former opinions, might fuppofe that he looked to this fubject with an eye of jealoufy. He could, however, affure their Lordships, that he was not fo abfurd as to wage eternal war against the establishment of the militia; and indeed he was ready to acknowledge that he entertained a great refpect for it. He confeffed he did fee with a certain eye of jealoufy the introduction of thefe diftinctions into the fervice. Would it not look like an approval of the idea of thefe perfons being brought in as field officers? He was a friend to the principle of admitting the militia to enlist into the regular regiments. He wished to fee the fkeletons cloathed with flesh; and he lamented, that by a countrary principle, fo many meritorious officers had been driven from the fervice. But he would not enter further into this part of the fubject. Earl Fortefcue appeared to confider an adoption of such an amendment as a kind of inconfiftency. It would be virtually adopting that just rejected, as it excluded those perfons from the fituation of Commanding Officers, though permitted to be Field Officers. However, his Lordship expreffed himself decidedly against the idea of the Noble Earl, of reducing the qualifications in property required by the prefent Law; fo far from that, he should rather fee it increased; and if a future opportunity should arife for a revifal of thofe Laws, he would ftrongly recommend the measure. Lords Grenville and Radnor made a few obfervations; when the fenfe of the Committee being called for, their Lordships divided, and there appeared, In favour of the Claufe, amended as above, 12 Majority 6 6 The remaining Claufes and Provifions of the Bill went through the Committee with a few Amendments made in the courfe of the converfation between the Earls of Powis, Radnor, Carnarvon, Lord Grenville, &c. In the courfe of these, a Claufe was adopted, on the fuggefton of the Earl of Powis, to the effect that nothing in that A&t fhould prejudice the Penfions made by the Act of 1795, for certain Militia Officers in time of Peace; and alfo, a provifion that no fecond Adjutant appointed to any of the Corps in question, fhould have a higher rank than a Lieutenant by Brevet, except fuch Officer had belonged to his Majefty's Forces, in which cafe the highest rank conferred on him fhould be a Captain-Lieutenant by Brevet alfo. The The Bill being wholly gone through, the House refumed, and ordered the Report to be received on Monday the 21th instant, to which day their Lord ships adjourned. HOUSE OF COMMONS. Thurcafton Inclofure, Abingdon Road, and Swithland Inclofure Bills, were read a third time and paffed. TANNERS' BILL. On the motion for the Houfe to refolve itself into a Committee upon the Tanners' Bill : Sir Matthew White Ridley oppofed the Speaker's leaving the Chair. He urged the impropriety of repealing those acts of Parliament under which the leather manufacture had so long profpered, without having first well confidered the provifion to be fubftituted in their place: he alfo difapproved of the patent to be granted to Mr. Leely, the inventer of the new mode of tanning with clm bark. Mr. Ryder faid, only one Act of Parliament was to be repealed, namely, that which made it unlawful to use any other bark except that of oak, for the purpose of tanning. The Bill then went through a Committee, and the report was ordered to be received on Monday the 21th. LAND-TAX. The Order of the Day being read for the further confideration of the Report upon the Bill for the Sale of the Land-Tax, A great number of amendments were read and agreed to, and feveral claufes brought up by the Solicitor General, the laft of which was, that the Bill might be varied, altered, and amended during the prefent feffion. Mr. Sheridan faid, that he fhould hereafter propofe a claufe that the Bill might be repealed in toto, in the next or any future feffion of Parliament.-He was convinced that in practice it would be found fo deftructive, vexatious, and impracticable, that it must be eventually repealed, but that it could not, confiftent with good faith, be done without fuch a claufe. The Chancellor of the Exchequer was against any fuch power being extended to a future feffion. It would, in his opinion, be an admiffion, that the Bill which Parliament had fanctioned, was a meafure which ought not to have been adopted. Mr. Sheridan faid a few words in explanation; after which the claufe was agreed to as propofed by the Attorney-General. Mr. Buxton faid, he rofe to offer a claufe, of which he hid given notice on a former occafion. It was, that no land tax fhould be impofed in future, which did not equally affectat other |