DEFENCE OF THE COUNTRY. The Chancellor of the Exchequer moved the order of the day for the fecond reading of the Bill for enabling his Majefty to provide for the defence and fecurity of the Realm. The Bill was read a fecond time. The Chancellor of the Exchequer faid, that as the principle and object of this Bill had been fo fully opened laft night, and had met with the unanimous approbation of the House, it was totally unneceflary for him to fay any thing upon it at prefent. The principle of the Bill having been approved of, he supposed that any difcuffion which took place would be in the Committee. He fhould propofe that the Bill should be committed the next day, and he understood that the Gentleman who had given notice of a Motion for that day, was willing to give way to bufinefs of fuch importance. The Bill was ordered to be committed. Leave was given to bring in a Bill to empower Commiffioners. to erect lights in the northern parts of the kingdom. Adjourned. HOUSE OF LORDS. The Bills on the Table went through their several stages. HOUSE OF COMMONS. On the Motion of Mr. Ryder, feveral papers were referred to the Committee for promoting the British Herring Fisheries." Among the reft a Report of a Committee in the year 1788. Adjourned. HOUSE OF LORDS. Friday, March 30. Their Lordships read the Bills upon the Table, in their feveral stages, and adjourned. HOUSE OF COMMONS. DEFENCE OF THE REALM. The House refolved itself into a Committee upon the Bill for the better defence of the realm. Mr. Dundas faid, that several verbal alterations and omiffions would be propofed, in confequence of fuggeftions which had been made. He therefore hoped that Gentlemen would attend to them, in order to fee whether thofe fuggeftions had been properly attended to. The blanks in the first claufe were filled up with the words fifteen years and fixty years. 4 Y 2 The The exceptions of particular perfons were omitted, under the idea that the Bill was perfectly voluntary in its principle. Mr. Tierney wished by no means to difturb the unanimity of the House upon the prefent occafion. He could not, however, agree to the first claufe as it now ftood, because it did appear to him, that though the claufe did not compel a man, yet, it put him in an invidious fituation. If a return of names was to be made, and thefe returns were to be put up on the church doors, the Committee would fee in what fituation a man would be placed. What he wished was, that this should be wholly a voluntary fervice. He conceived that the Bill was for the purpose of enabling his Majefty to know who would ferve. If, however, the Lord Lieutenants were to make returns of all perfons ready to ferve, he conceived that it would tend to create divifions, particularly in places diftant from London. If this fuggeftion were attended to, he would make no more objections to any other parts of the Bill. With refpect to driving the country, that he thought might have been done by proclamation. But however the only objection he had was, that many well-meaning perfons, who were as attached to their country as others, would be put in an invidious fituation, which he did not believe to be in the intention of Government. If fuch were their intention, it could only apply to the difaffected. But this went to place a man who from his domeftic affairs might not be able to enrol his name for the purpose of being trained, in the fame fituation as if he were dif affected to Government. Mr. Hobhoufe faid that the measure had his cordial approba tion. The mode of expreffion might perhaps be rendered better, but a confiderable part of his objections had been remedied by the omiffion of the exceptions. Mr. Dundas ftated his reafons for not conceiving the objections advanced to be well founded. In the first place he muft fet out with repeating what he had faid on a former day, that with refpect to the general effect of the measure, it was a Bill which left every thing to the voluntary fenfe of the country. That was the impreffion which he had of the principle of the measure. If he differed with the Honourable Gentleman (Mr. Tierney), it was not upon the general principle: but that Gentleman muft perceive, that unless thefe regulations were made, it would be impoffible for the officers to know where they were to refort to, and in what manner the force was to be applied. Many counties had already adopted what he now propofed, and if he were to fhew the nature of the fteps which they had taken, the Honourable Gentleman would immediately fee the neceffity of what was now fubmitted to the Committee. In Kent, or or any other county, 100 perfons in a parifh might fay they wifhed to serve their country, but that they defired to be exercised in the use of arms. Others might fay they did not know how to make use of arms, but that they liked their own pitchforks; a third clafs might with to ferve as waggoners. It muft therefore be obvious, that in order to make a proper use of their fervices, the Government must be acquainted with the particular way in which they wifhed to ferve. This was allo indifpenfible with refpect to the diftribution of the force. Thefe were the objects why returns were neceffary. Mr. Tierney conceived that he ought to be fatisfied with the leaving out that part of the claufe refpecting the names. He understood then, that the names were not to be put up on the church doors, but that Government merely wished to know who were ready to ferve. The Chancellor of the Exchequer faid, that Government merely wifhed to know the numbers willing to ferve. Sir William Pulteney obferved, that many perfons might not be prepared to answer on the firft application; fome, who were not at firft difpofed to come forward, might afterwards change their minds, and fome might be prevented by difficulties and circumstances that might ceafe to operate. The firft return made by the Lord Lieutenants of Counties, could not be conclufive of the number willing to ferve, and they had no power to make a fecond. He therefore thought they fhould be enabled to make returns from time to time. Sir William Geary was of opinion the fervice of perfons under this act fhould be confined to their respective coun ties. The Chancellor of the Exchequer faid, that fuch an amendment was unneceffary, because they had the power of specifying the terms of their fervices, and stated inftances in which fuch a limitation would be felt a great hardship. General Tarleton alfo oppofed the propofition. Suppofe, faid he, the English fhould be victorious; are the purfuers to ftop in their purfuit, as they come to the bounds of their parishes or counties? Several other claufes were agreed to. Mr. Tierney moved, that the claufe which enacts that the acceptance of any commiffion under this act fhall not vacate the feat of any member returned to ferve in Parliament, be omitted. The Solicitor General obferved, that the profits on fuch commiffions would not be of fuch an amount as to be likely to have any influence upon Gentlemen of that defcription. Mr. Mr. Buxton wifhed the Honourable Gentleman would not perfevere, as the confequence of his motion, if adopted, would injure the fervice. Mr. Tierney replied, that he did not wish to deprive the country of the benfiet of any Gentleman's fervice; he merely wifhed to prevent its going abroad, that when Parliament paff ed an act of this kind, they had any view to derive any benefit from it. The claufe was put and agreed to. In the clause respecting the penalties against perfons obftruct, ing the execution of the act, the blank was filled up with the following words, "a fum not lefs than five pounds, and not exceeding one hundred." Mr. Dundas brought up a claufe prefcribing the mode of enforcing the penalties, which, with all the others, were agreed to, and the report ordered to be received next day. Adjourned. HOUSE OF COMMONS. Mr. Douglas brought up the Report of the Committee upon the Bill for providing more effectually for the defence of the nation. Several additional claufes were propofed and adopted. Mr. Secretary Dundas faid, that feveral fuggeftions had been made to him by the farmers and others of the County of Kent, that they laboured under confiderable difficulty by the prefent Bill rendering them liable to be called out by the Lord Lieutenant or his Deputy on every alarm of danger of invafion; that they wifhed it to be understood that their fervices would be ready in fuch cafes of alarm in which the Commanding Officer fhould think it neceffary to order the driving away of the cattle from the coast. That feeling the propriety of fuch fuggestion, he should, on the third reading of the Bill, introduce a clause to that effect. Adjourned. HOUSE OF LORDS.. The Bills on the Table were forwarded in their respective stages. Adjourned. HOUSE OF COMMONS. The Lord Mayor prefented a Petition on behalf of the Governor and Company of Merchants trading to the Levant Seas, ftating that they had laid out 8000l. in their plan, and could not proceed without Parliamentary aid, &c. Ordered to be laid on the Table. REDEMPTION REDEMPTION OF THE LAND TAX. In pursuance of the Order of the Day, the House refolved itfelf into a Committee for the purpofe of taking into confideration an Act paffed this Seffion, for granting an aid to his Majefty by a Land Tax. The Chancellor of the Exchequer rofe, and spoke in fubftance as follows:---"The fubject which I am now about to submit to the Committee, has of late excited confiderable attention, and given rife to confiderable enquiry. As the ultimate judg ment which the Committee will form upon it must depend upon the confideration of a great variety of details, it is not my intention to call upon you for any decifion this day. I truft, however, that the principle upon which the mcafure is founded, only requires to be very fhortly ftated, in order to engage your attention, and to recommend itself to your notice. That in the present situation of the country every measure which tends to invigorate public credit, which will facilitate the means of fupporting that struggle into which we were driven for our neceffary derence, and which has been prolonged by the obftinate ambition of the enemy; that every measure which will furnish fresh refources to animate the courage of the nation, and to enable us to maintain that character which Englishmen have ever difplayed, has a fair claim to the favour of the Legislature; I am warranted to pronounce, from the experience of the prefent Seffion, the unanimity you have fhewn upon former occafions, and the recent exertions you have made for the public defence. When I recollect, then, the temper which Parliament has fo uniformly manifefted, I am fenfible that it is needleis to fay any thing in recommendation of the principle, provided the measure itself be practicable. The leading object of the plan which I fhall have the honour to propose, is to abforb a great quantity of ftock, to transfer a confiderable portion of the funded fecurities into landed fecurity, and by the redemption of the prefent Land Tax to purchafe a quantity of stock more than equivalent to the amount of the tax. That tax will be made applicable in the fame manner as at prefent, but the proportion of ftock it will purchase will be one-fifth larger, prefenting at once a confiderable pecuniary gain to the public, and an advantage to the individual by whom the redemption fhall be made. The chief recommendation of the plan, however, is, that it will diminish the capital of stock, and remove that which preffes more feverely upon us than any inconvenience with which our fituation is attended. It is a truth now univerfally felt; a truth which the enemy have acknowledged, and which faction itfelf will not venture to deny; that, even in this ftage of the war, the ftate of every part of our trade |