mined to relinquish the idea of preffing that tax, after the great oppofition that had been made to it at fo late a period of the Seffion, yet he by no means was of opinion that it would not be a very proper object of future taxation, in cafe the fituation. of the country should require taxes hereafter to be laid on to any confiderable amount, and therefore, he begged to be understood, that, notwithstanding he had abandoned it at prefent, he had not altogether relinquifhed it. Having however given it up for the prefent, he now rofe, in order to propofe other taxes by way of fubftitute. In doing this he had endeavoured to felect fuch taxes as should prefs leaft upon the lower orders of the people. The first tax he fhould propofe was, an additional one on male fervants, and in this he had avoided the leaft addition to the burdens of thofe who only keep one fervant. He propofed that on every male fervant above one an additional duty should attach of 10s. each; on those who keep three, and not more than four, 15s. each; and one pound for every one above that number. This tax, he faid, would amount, according to estimate, to 34,cool. The next tax he had to offer to the confideration of the Committee was, an additional one on pleasure horses, in which he had alfo avoided touching those who kept no more than one. The addition he meant to impofe was 5s. on all horses kept for pleafure except one, which he eftimated to amount to 24,000l. These two fums, taken together, amounted to near 60,000l. and he said that 20 per cent, on the whole of the taxes on horfes for agriculture, which he had not mentioned before, would amount to 30,000l. which was, altogether, the 90,000l. he had estimated the tax on Inland Navigation to produce. Thefe were the taxes he propofed as fubftitutes for the one he had given up, and he made no doubt they would be deemed as proper as any which could now be devifed, both by the Committee and the public. The Refolutions were read and agreed to. The Attorney General rofe, in purfuance of the notice he had given yesterday, to move for leave to bring in a Bill to prevent the adminiftering of Illegal Oaths. He faid the common law already affixed a confiderable punishment on this offence; and when it was confidered how much this horrid practice had lately prevailed, to the great injury of the Government and the country, he thought it his duty to point out to deluded men what the nature of the crime, and the punishment attached to it, were by a direct statute. The practice had certainly prevailed to a very alarming degree of late, and he fcarcely knew how to exprefs his feelings at the attempts of those evil-minded perfons, who by fuch means endeavoured to fubvert the conftituted and constitutional authorities of the country. Thofe feelings 10 E 2 would would be eafter conceived than not too foon be put an end to. Motion to the above purport. defcribed. It certainly could He concluded by making his Mr. Huffey defired the Learned Gentleman would inform him what the crime was at prefent by the common law. The Attorney-General anfwered that it was a misdemeanour. Mr. Nicolls faid, he did not fee any neceffity for the Act, unlefs it was intended thereby to inflict a punishment beyond what the common law prefcribed. The Chancellor of the Exchequer faw the fubject in a very different light from the Honourable Gentleman who had juft fat down. He differed fomewhat alfo from his Honourable and Learned Friend. He was defirous to make known to the Public not only what the law was, but the punishment also. It was abfolutely neceflary to fubdue that intolerable and deftructive fpirit of difaffection which had, in too many inftances, shewn itfelf. This was brought to its full growth by means of oaths fecretly adminiftered for the purpofe of fraternizing against the interefts of the State. This practice was one of the strongest and most effective engines of Treafon, was used to destroy the liberties of the country, to villify our holy religion, and to overthrow our invaluable Constitution. The motion was agreed to, and the Attorney and Solicitor General, with the Chancellor of the Exchequer, ordered to bring in the Bill. Mr. Rofe brought up an Eftimate of the propofed additional allowance to the Volunteer Cavalry, The Bill impofing a Stamp on Deeds was read a second time, and ordered to be committed on Monday. The General Inclofure Bill, by agreement, was read a third time and paffed. Mr. Dent poftponed his intended Motion on the Dog Tax till next feffion, but gave notice that he intended then to move for a Bill to authorize the farming the produce of the Tax. Adjourned. HOUSE OF COMMONS. The India Judicature Bill and the Affeffed Houfe Duty Bill were read a third time and paffed. SUBSIDY TO THE QUEEN OF PORTUGAL. The Report of the Committee of Supply was brought in, the Refolutions read and agreed to, and a Bill ordered to be brought in for enabling his Majefty to grant 200,000l. by way of Subfidy, to the Queen of Portugal. VOLUNTEER CAVALRY. The Houfe refolved itfelf into a Committee of Supply, to which which the account refpecting the Corps of Volunteer Cavalry was ordered to be referred. The Chancellor of the Exchequer faid, it was a fact that hitherto all the expences of the Clothing and Accoutrements of the Volunteer Corps of Cavalry had been defrayed by voluntary fubfcription; it could not, however, be expected that that expence should be fo defrayed in future. With refpect to thefe Corps, the continuance of them was of the utmost importance; at prefent, however, it was not his intention to propofe any thing permanent upon the fubject, but to referve any propofition which he might have to make to another Seffion. In whatever fituation that Seffion found the country, whether under the continuance of a War, or in the Seffion of Peace, in either alternative the Nation could not, he trufted, be inclined to part with thefe Volunteer Cavalry Corps. In purfuance of this hope and belief, he fhould next Seffion fubmit fomething permanent even in the times of Peace; at prefent he fhould only propofe to defray the expence of the Clothing and Accoutrements, which, fuppofing the Clothing to be found once in four years, which was often enough, confidering the fhort time the Corps were on duty, would amount, one year with another, to 31. per year per man. The number of thefe men was 10,000, a number which he trusted would be increased rather than diminished: the expence therefore would be 30,000l. When any thing permanent was adopted, he should hope that the expence might be defrayed by each county out of the Land Tax. Mr. Pitt concluded by moving, that there be granted to his Majesty the fum of 30,000l. towards defraying the expence of the Clothing and Accoutrements of the Volunteer Corps of Cavalry. After fome converfation between General Tarleton, Mr. Jolliffe, and Mr. Burdon, the Motion was agreed to. In a Committee of Ways and Means, The Chancellor of the Exchequer moved, that towards making good the Supply granted to his Majefty, there fhould be iffued and applied the fum of two millions out of the Confolidated Fund. Agreed to. INSOLVENT DEBTORS. The Report of the Infolvent Debtors Bill was brought up and read. The Attorney General propofed a claufe to extend the provifions of the Bill to perfons not having had the benefit of the Act of Infolvency of the 34th of the King, provided the debt or debts of fuch perfons did not exceed in the whole the fum of 3000l. Mr. Serjeant Adair objected to this provifo, and was against any limitation of the fum. There was a claufe in the Bill which he he particularly approved of, viz. that no perfon fhould have the benefit of this Act who had taken advantage of the laft Infolvent A&t. He therefore moved, as an amendment, that the whole of the provifo," provided fuch debt or debts do not exceed, in the whole, the fum of 3000l." fhould be omitted. The amendment was agreed to, the provifo was accordingly ftruck out of the claufe, which in its amended state was carried and made part of the Bill. Mr. Serjeant Adair called to the recollection of the Houfe, that eight perfons who were Quakers, had been long confined in York Jail, for non-payment of Tythes, at the fuit of the Rev. Gorge Markham, Rector of Charlton, in the Weft Riding of Yorkshire. Thefe unfortunate perfons muft lie in Jail for an indefinite term, be aufe they could not conform to the provifions of the Bill. He therefore propofed a Claufe, to exThe Claufe was adopted, and made part of the Bill. The Report was then agreed to, and the Bill ordered to be engroffed. tend relief to them. Mr. Anftruther and Mr. Brogden prefented Petitions from feveral Merchants of Manchefter, London, Weftminifter, Surry, Berry, Bolton, and Aylesbury, against the Ship-owner's Relief Bill. A Petition was likewife prefented from the Merchants of Nairfborough against the faid Bill. They were all ordered to be laid on the Table. Adjourned. HOUSE OF LORDS. ASSEMBLING PARLIAMENT. Lord Grenville obferved, if the country was in a tranquil ftate, and we lived under our happy Conftitution, it was folely owing to the firmnefs of Parliament, which had been fo repeatedly manifefted upon the most trying occafions ;---to this firmnefs the people looked up as their greateft fecurity, and therefore he had been induced to bring forward the Act he then held in his hand, which had been drawn up by a Noble Lord, of whofe affiduity to ferve his country no man could doubt, and whofe abfence at prefent was to be attributed to his being upon his military duty." Without entering into the reasons why it was determined to give fo long a period as forty days notice for the meeting of Parliament, it was fufficient for him there was no neceffity for it at prefent, and fince, under the peculiar circumftances of the country, the King might wish to have a speedy communication with Parliament, this Act went to enable him to call them together in the space of fourteen days. By the Act of Queen Anne, it had always remained a matter of doubt how Parliament Parliament fhould affemble, if the demife of the Crown fhould take place after a diffolution, and before its meeting, or whether the new-elected or old Parliament should meet, a doubt which this Act was alfo calculated to remove, by making it a part of the Conftitution, that, in that cafe, the new Members fhould affemble the day after Writs were made returnable. The Duke of Norfolk wifhed to know if the innovation on our Conftitution was to be permanent or only temporary. Lord Grenville replied, permanent; and he did not think the people would much complain if our Conftitution received no other innovation than that of enabling his Majefty to confult the more eafily with his Parliament. The Act was read a first time, and ordered to be printed. TEST ACT. Upon the Order of the Day for the fecond reading of the Bill for allowing Roman Catholics and Proteftant Diffenters to ferve as Officers in the Supplementary Militia, Lord Kenyon role to exprefs a wish that their Lordships would not pass a Bill which tended in a great measure to alter the eftablished Laws of the Land, without the moft folemn and ferious confideration, and that too at the very end of one of the longest and mott arduous Seffions of Parliament that we had ever known in this country. And when fo many Nobles and Prelates were neceflarily abfent. He avowed his own attachment to the established Church of England, and confidered the prefent Bill as trenching upon the Teft Act, which was confidered as a bulwark of the Conftitution; he thought therefore it would be but fair, to give fuch as were of his opinion fuffici ent time to ftate their objections: therefore, without entering into the policy, but for thefe reafons only, he should move that it be read a fecond time this day three months. The Bishop of Rochefter faid, that the Motion had his hearty concurrence. He was much furprised to find a Bill introduced during the dog-days, which affected the bulwarks of the Conftitution, and which the experience of above one hundred years had proved fo ferviceable to guard against the defigns of the various Sectaries and Diffenters from the eftablifhed Church of England. Moft of the Epifcopal Bench were neceflarily abfent invifitation of their diocefes, and he thought it indecent to agitate fuch a meafure in the abfence of thofe who were placed in Farliament to watch fuch fubjects as might injure the ecclefiaftical fabric of the Conftitution. He loved to speak out plainly, and was equally indifferent to contempt and the aura popularis. He would meet the queftion fairly, and fay, that he for one could by no means approve of the adiniffion of Diffenters to hold commiffions in the army, &c. With regard to the native-born Roman |