ceffity of doing fomething to check fuch an evil, fo alarming and fo increafing, every perfon must be convinced. At prefent divorce bills were confidered as little more than mere formalitics. There had been an inftance in which collufion had been practifed; though the collufion was notorious, the House, from the proof being, perhaps, not to be attained, were compelled to be blind to what was fo vifible to the world. Perhaps to eradicate the vice and to root out the evil, it would require an extenfive and enlarged provifion. But in the mean time fome good might be done by the adoption of regulations. Any accurate fpecification of the mode in which the Houfe should act in every cafe of the kind would be extremely difficult; but fome general principles and rules might be laid down as neceffary preliminaries to the confideration of every cafe, and to which parties fhould be held to conform. Some of these general rules he would now throw out for their Lordship's confideration. Thefe were, first, an order, that with every Petition presented to that Houfe for a Divorce Bill, a copy of the proceedings in the Ecclefiaftical Courts fhould be laid upon the Table: and, fecondly, that it should be a pointed inftruction of the House to the Committee to whom fuch Bill may be referred, minutely to investigate the details of it, and to empower them to examine all witneffes upon oath; to inquire particularly with refpect to all deeds of feparation, whether they were made while the parties actually cohabited together, or were living separate; and also to take notice, whether any pecuniary confideration was given at the time of executing fuch deeds. Such requifition could fcarcely be deemed a hardship by any person who meant to act honourably, and who knew the circumftances set forth in his petition to be true. In cafse of a person refusing to comply with this requifition, their Lordships might refufe the Bill. Although he was not yet able to declare what should be the operation of articles of feparation upon an application for divorce, yet it was undoubtedly right that their Lordships fhould know and be able to afcertain the confequence to be attached to the cafe of the adultery being committed during cohabitation, or during the existence of articles of feparation between the parties. This fhould be ftated in the petition. Perhaps thefe hints might lead to a partial remedy of the evil. But he did not defire any decifion upon them now, when their Lordships' minds must be confiderably affected by the extraordinary circumftances that had attended the extraordinary cafe they had just heard. These hints he meant to reduce to the shape of refolutions, which he would lay upon the Table, with a view to their undergoing a difcuffion upon a future day. They would be be ready by Monday the 5th inftant; they might then lay upon the Table for eight or ten days, when the Houfe might be fummoned to pronounce a decifion upon them. Adjourned. HOUSE OF COMMONS. The Scotch Diftillery Bill was committed, as was the Corn Exportation Bill. An Account was prefented from the Cuftoms of the Offices proposed to be abolished; a Lift of the Offices to be regulated; an account of the Offices fallen in fince the year 1783. COST IN MISDEMEANORS. Mr. Wilberforce rofe to make his motion, the purport of which he had before explained to the Houfe. That of empowering Magiftrates to allow Cofts in certain cafes of Mifdemeanors, to be paid out of the county rate, It was doubtful whether the Magiftrates had any right by the law to do this, as a law now ftood, though in many inftances they had conceived fuch a power, and it was the unanimous with of the country which he reprefented, that the practice should have the fanction of pofitive law. It would not be neceffary for him to detain the Houfe by any eulogium on that branch of our Magiftracy who were to be entrusted with this difcretion; their characters rendered all praise unneceffary. They were a body of men equally useful and refpectable, and fo peculiarly appropriate to the English Government, that they formed a leading and characteristic feature in our Conftitution. They flood between the people and the legislature, and by their manner of executing the laws, rendered them agreeable to the people. It must be the wish of Government and of that Houfe, particularly at this time, to ftrengthen the hands of fuch a body of men, which would be done in the Bill he proposed bringing in. He wished to bring in a Bill as extended as poffible, that Gentlemen might have an opportunity of making what amendments they judged neceffary; for it was the intention and wish, both of his Honourable Colleague and himself, that the opinion of every Magiftrate in that Houfe fhould be had. He deemed it unneceffary to add more, than fimply to move for leave to bring in a Bill to permit certain courts to allow Cofts in cafes of Mifdemeanors. Mr. Mainwaring was very forry to oppose any Motion which came from the Honourable Gentleman, because whatever he brought forward was generally maturely confidered. He believed, however, that this did not originate in his own judgment, but was the with of the others. He most certainly expected that the Honourable Gentleman would have ftated fome No. 18. ** reasons 5 I reafons why the Bill he propofed was neceffary, especially as that Honourable Gentleman muft recollect, that two years ago, a Bill of the fame nature was before the House, and underwent a very minute investigation. After mich and mature confideration, and after it had been corrected by a Learned Member of that Houfe, who endeavoured to clear away every objectionable paffage, yet the meafure was deemed an improper one, and accordingly rejected. He therefore expected fome reafons would have been fhewn to convince the Houfe that they then did wrong, and ought now to adopt a different conduct. He should not object to the Bill's going on, but he thought it proper to fay thus much, that it might not be fuppofed the measure had one general approbation. The Gentleman who fet this measure afloat, fent Circular Letters through out the Kingdom, as he fuppofed, for the Magiftrates of Middlefex had received them. They had met upon the fubject, and were unanimoufly of opinion, that it would be unneceifary and improper. The county rate was already burthened with many heavy expences, and could not bear any additional burthen. He thought it neceffary to fay thus much, as he should, in the courfe of the Bill, find himself obliged to oppofe it. Mr. H. Lafcelles faid, that it had been decided in the King's Bench, that the Magiftrates could not allow cofts out of the county fund, and therefore it would be neceffary to give them that power. Mr. Rofe faid, that he was about to make the fame remark; fo that whatever was the opinion of the Houfe two years ago, the cafe now ftood on very different grounds. Mr. Mainwaring replied, that whoever read the county rate act, could never for a moment fuppofe that they poffeffed any fuch right. Mr. Buxton faid that he himself was an inftance of the neceffity of fome fuch meafure. Laft year he was called out as a Magiftrate to execute the provifions of the Supplementary Militia Acts. He was affailed by a furious mob, and his life was endangered. He thought it his duty to profecute fome of the offenders, and they were convicted. The expences of the profecution were confiderable; and understanding fuch was the practice of fome counties, he applied to have his expences allowed him, when he was informed that they had no power to do it. Unless Magiftrates were protected in the execution of their offices, few independent men would accept of a place in the Commiffion. Mr. Wilberforce in explanation faid, that he knew many refpectable Magiftrates who had declared that unless fome fuch measure measure was adopted, they could not think of continuing their fituation. Leave was given to bring in the Bill---Adjourned till Monday. HOUSE OF LORDS. After hearing Counfel in the Appeal of Beatfon v. Ferguffon, the Lord Chancellor reverfed all the Interlocutors except one, which decreed the Appellant to pay the fum of il. IIs. Id. The circumftances of this cause deserve to be briefly mentioned. The real Refpondent was a Mr. Jamefon, Writer to the Signet, in Edinburgh, and he had proceeded at law against the Appellant for a fmall demand for fome bricks. As foon as the Appellant had a fummons ferved upon him, he called upon his debtor, the nominal Refpondent in this caufe, and paid him the money, but without any expences. Mr. Jamefon ftill went on till he obtained Interlocutors for the whole of the cofts. The Lord Chancellor thought he was only entitled to 11. 11s. Id. which was the expence actually incurred at the time the Appellant paid the money. In a caufe of Gilchrift v. Bufby, his Lordship cenfured the conduct of thofe Scotch Advocates, who put their names to petitions, prefented evidently for purposes of delay or injuftice. He forbore, in the prefent inftance, out of refpect to the Gentlemen whofe natnes appeared to a petition of the former defeription, to mention them; but he faid, if the practice continued, he should pafs the fame kind of public cenfure as the Judges of the Courts here paffed on Counfel who figned sham pleadings. Mr. Douglas brought from the Commons a Bill to allow the Importation of Salt from Portugal during the war. A Bill for raifing a further fum of money by Exchequer Bills. A Bill for repealing the duties of Gold and Silver inade into Watch Cafes. And a Bill for rectifying fome mistake in the Land tax Bill.---Adjourned." HOUSE OF COMMONS. Colonel Walpole moved, that an humble Addrefs be prefented to his Majefty, requesting that his Majefty would be graciously pleafed to order the Petition prefented by the Maroons to be laid before the Houfe. Mr. Dundas replied, that he knew of no fuch paper existing. In the papers that had been laid before the Houfe, the Honourable Gentleman might have feen that a Petition was 512 alluded alluded to; but no fuch Petition had been tranfmitted to his Majefty's Minifters. Colonel Walpole faid, that the information he had just received was rather extraordinary; for he had delivered the Petition into the hands of the Duke of Portland. He had par ticularly asked whether he should deliver it to his Majesty, or to the Duke; and he had been informed that he should deliver it to the latter. He had at prefent a copy of it in his hand. Mr. Dundas declared, that the information he had received upon the fubject was very different. The Chancellor of the Exchequer alluded to the circumftance of neither date nor time being mentioned. Mr. Tierney could not conceive that that circumstance was of any importance. It did not feem to him to be necessary to mention the time. There could be no doubt what Petition was meant, for of course there could not have been any multiplicity of them. But this confufion and ignorance about the Petition were the natural confequence of the embarraffment of bufincfs between the fecond and third Secretaryships of State. Colonel Walpole ftated the Petition to have been figned by 530 Maroons. The original one was dated, though his copy was not. The Chancellor of the Exchequer declared himself to be ignorant of the transaction; but if the Honourable Gentleman was confident from his own knowledge of the circumstance, he had no objection to the motion. Colonel Walpole re-ftated the fact of his having delivered the Petition to the Duke of Portland. The motion was then agreed to. The Houfe refolved itfelf into a Committee upon the Dutch Intercourfe Bill, to which the 33d of the King viz. the Traitorous Correfpondence Bill, was ordered to be referred. The Solicitor General moved, that it be an inftruction to the Committee, that they have the power to extend the provifions of the faid Act to the prefent Bill.-Agreed to. The Houfe refolved itfelf into a Committee of Supply, to which the petition from the Board of Agriculture was ordered to be referred. Sir John Sinclair moved, that the fum of 3000l. be granted to the faid Board for the year 1798. The Chancellor of the Exchequer faid, that he had no objection to the motion. The House would reserve to itself the power of revifion: they might afcertain whether the inftitution had or had not answered the end propofed. If it had not, they might inquire into the reafon; and if it had, they would derive a fatisfaction |