Odell, Wm.

Ogle, Henry M. Owen, sir John Osborne, lord F. Palmerston, visc. Pierse, H.

Pelham, hon. C.

Pelham, hon. G.

Philips, G.

Pringle, sir W.

Piggott, sir A.

Pole, rt. hon. W. W.

Ponsonby, rt. hon. G. Poulett, hon. W. V. Power, R.

Smith, John Shaw, Benj. Smith, R.

Smith, Wm.

Smyth, J. H.

Somerville, sir M. Stanley, lord Stewart, hon. Jas. Stewart, sir J. Talbot, R. W. Tierney, rt. hon. G. Tighe, Wm. Tavistock, marquis Vernon, Gran. Walpole, hon. G. Wellesley, Richard Wharton, J. Whitbread, Sam. Wilkins, W. Wood, Thos.

Wynn, Charles Wrottesley, Henry Wise, A.

TELLERS.

Parnell, sir H.

It has been communicated to Government, that there did exist precedents closely applicable to this case; and provided that point were ascertained, there could remain but one sentiment with respect to the merits and character of that gallant officer. It had already been a sufficient mortification to Government to appear in any way opposed to the suggestion of that honourable tribute; but their only motive had been an apprehension that they might be opening too wide a door, aud to be agreeing in one instance to what their public duty might render them unable to accede to in others.

General Gascoyne declared, that his only object had been to do justice to the distinguished merits of as gallant an officer as had ever fallen in the service of his country. He had no objection to defer his motion, and doubted not that he could satisfy the noble lord, that his mo tion was strictly justified by precdent.

HOUSE OF COMMONS.

Wednesday, May 31.

ROMAN CATHOLICS OF IRELAND.] Mr. James Daly presented a Petition from the Catholics of the county of Galway, praying relief, and regretted that the decision of last night had been so unfavourable to the wishes of the petitioners. Having been so unfortunate as to have been shut out of the division last night, he took this opportunity of stating his entire concurrence with the motion of the hon. baronet, being fully convinced that unless we put the Catholics of this empire on a footing of equality with their Protestant fellow subjects, we should want that cordiality which was so necessary to the prosperity of the two countries.

MONUMENT TO SIR EDWARD PAKENHAM.] Lord Castlereagh rose to request an hon. general to postpone his motiou for the erection of a monument to the memory of the late sir Edward Pakenham.

Bank of England, was the practice which they had been in for a considerable time past a practice to which he had no objection-of cancelling all their bills and notes the moment they were returned. With this arrangement, or any other which had a tendency to promote the fair profits of the Bank of England, it was not his intention to interfere, so long as their profits were not all at the expense of the public. He wished to be allowed to make one or two observations on the different agreements which had been entered into. The first agreement was made in 1791, and the sum agreed to be paid as a composition for the duty on stamps was 12,000l. per annum. At that time, as the House were aware, the Bank paid in specie, and no notes under 5l. were issued. The whole amount of paper in circulation, in 1791, was between 10 and 11,000,000l. On this agreement they went on till 1799. During the interim, several additions had been made to the Stamp-duties, without any addition having been made to the compromise on that account. In 1799,

responding to them. The want of such accounts as that now moved for had been the cause of a loss incurred by the public, and an improper gain made by the Bank, amounting to hundreds of thousands of pounds [Hear, hear!] He saw his hon. friend, the Governor of the Bank, smile at this; he was ready to go into the proof of his assertion with his hon. friend, or any director or member who might be disposed to question its accuracy. This was the result of calculations made on the papers now before the House, and he would pledge himself for their accuracy. The duties on nine millions, which was the amount of 11. notes in circulation, alone amounted to 150,000l. The calculation he had made upon the subject showed, that on the three last years the sum which the Bank ought to have paid as a compensation for the non-stamping of their notes was 300,000l., which, divided by three, gave 100,000l. per annum. What did the Bank in fact pay? only 42,000l., consequently they were clear gainers out of the public purse to the extent of 58,000l. per annum. To that was also to be added the sum that would be produced by the stamps upon notes above 201. in value (for the estimate he had made above only referred to those of minor amount), as well as the further revenue that would be derived from Bank post-bills, which were likewise not taken into the account. He should not have the least objection to the Bank deriving this advantage, if the public was, in any respect as important, gratuitously served by the Bank; but when he saw that the nation paid so exorbitantly already for the duties performed by that establishment, he must put it to the Governor of the Bank and the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether they could expect that the oppressed people should make so large a sacrifice, to swell still more the treasures of a wealthy corporate body? He moved, therefore, for an Account of the amount of Bank-notes in circulation on the 1st and 15th days of each month, from the 1st of June 1814, to the 15th of May 1815 inclusive, distinguishing the amount of notes under the several classes. Also, a similar Account of the amount of Bank post-bills in circulation on the 1st of July 1814, 1st of October 1814, 1st of January 1815, and 1st of April 1815.

Mr. Mellish adverted to the time that would be taken, and the trouble given in making out the accounts required. Tho

in ignorance upon the subject. What had fallen from the Chancellor of the Exchequer was rather alarming, namely, that he would act upon no other principle towards this body than that which had hitherto guided his dealings. Another mode of composition ought to be adopted, especially at a moment when the Stampduties were to be augmented 50 per cent. Should the Chancellor of the Exchequer, on any future occasion, bring forward arrangements upon the old system, he should feel it his duty to take the sense of the House upon them on every occasion that was afforded.

The question was then put, and the motions were agreed to.

Mr. Grenfell then moved, "That this House will, upon Wednesday next, resolve itself into a Committee of the whole. House, to take into consideration the rate of composition paid by the Bank of Eng. land to the public in lieu of Stamp-duties on their Bank-notes and post-bills.'

The Chancellor of the Exchequer said, that if the hon. gentleman meant to give notice of a motion on the subject, when the day arrived, he should have no objection to the question being entertained; but if he intended now to press the motion, he would oppose it on this simple ground, that it was much too important thus to be brought before the House without a notice. being previously given.

Mr. Tierney thought, unless the Chancellor of the Exchequer had some doubts. on his mind as to the course which it might be proper to pursue, there could be no good reason for delay. His hon. friend was anxious to lose no time in bringing under the consideration of the House what appeared to him a case of monstrous injustice; inasmuch as while ministers were imposing new taxes upon others, the Bank was exempted from the imposts to which it was justly liable.

Mr. R. Ward said, that as no previous notice had been given of a motion so very important, he should certainly oppose it.

The Chancellor of the Exchequer did not think it just in the House to revise a bargain concluded between the Government and the Bank.

Mr. Horner was much surprised at the opinion expressed by the Chancellor of the Exchequer; for when the right hon. gentleman came to the House to require an increase on the Stamp-duties, if, at the same time, the composition with the Bank (2 M)

were increased, it could not be esteemed a revisal of the bargain, but a new compo. sition, proportioned to the increase of the Stamp-duties.

Mr. Baring said, that the Bank never would refuse to pay what the Legislature might deem just and expedient; but he hoped when the question came to be considered, that it would be entered upon with a better temper, and a more conciliating spirit than the frequent attacks made on it by his hon. friend (Mr. Grenfell) would seem to indicate. The House was then called upon to bind itself to an examination of the composition, without having, as was acknowledged by the hon. member, any information on which they could form a correct decision.

Mr. Grenfell was anxious that all the information should be laid before the House, that it might be satisfied as to the correctness or incorrectness of the principle of the agreement with the Bank of England. In his opinion, under the new Stamp-duties it ought to pay three times the sum it now gave as a composition for stamps. The correct principle was this that the Bank of England should pay, as a composition, as much as the sum it would pay for stamps amounted to, were they required to be affixed to their notes. The sum now paid was 58,000l. short of what it ought to be; and he had been long convinced that most undue advantages were given to the Bank in the bargains made by the minister. For this reason he had so often troubled the House upon this question.

Mr. Forbes said, that country bankers complained that they paid 6d., where the Bank of England only paid one farthing.

The gallery was then cleared, and a division took place: For the motion, 43: Against it, 63: Majority, 20.

MOTION RESPECTING THE APPLICATION OF £.100,000 GRANTED FOR THE OUTFIT OF THE PRINCE REGENT.] Lord Althorpe felt that, in rising to call the attention of the House to the motion he was about to make, he ought to intreat their pardon for having undertaken a question of such weighty importance. He had hoped that it would have been undertaken by some person of talents more commanding than he could boast; but thinking it a case which could not be neglected, he trusted that the House would meet his exertions with indulgence. He felt how unequal he was to the task; but the question lay in so

small a compass, and was in its nature so plain and so distinct, that he thought it impossible he could express himself so ill as not to make it intelligible to the House. The motion he intended to make was, that a committee be appointed to inquire into the mode in which the 100,000l. granted by the House to the Prince Regent for the equipment of his Royal Highness, on assuming the Regency, was disposed of. He fancied that he should establish a sufficient ground for acceding to this propo sal, if he could show a well-founded cause for suspecting that an act of parliament had been violated, and that, too, in a case of money, on which that House always entertained a just and constitutional jealousy. When his Royal Highness took the Regency under certain restrictions, it was said that he did not wish to accept of any money for an outfit; but in the following year, on the expiration of those restrictions, ministers came down to the House, requiring 100,000l. for that purpose. General resolutions were at first proposed, and afterwards, in the committee of supply, others were agreed to of a more particular nature. An act of parliament was then passed, assigning that sum for an especial purpose; and his object would be attained by showing that the money was applied in a manner essentially different from the spirit of the Act. The noble lord then proceeded to argue, that an improper use had been made of the grant. He meant not to press on the House the observations which had been made, when this grant was originally voted. But if nothing was said in the course of the debates on the subject, in the smallest degree recognizing a right to appropriate this money to any other purpose than that for which it was specially voted, he certainly should place some reliance on this negative evidence, in favour of its being appropriated in a particular manner. Nothing appeared in the different discussions, which could for a moment authorize the grant being applied to any other expenses than those incidental to the outfit of the Prince Regent. How, then, was the money laid out? By a paper recently laid before the House by the right hon. the Chancellor of the Exchequer, it appeared, that part of the sum voted by the House, for the mere purpose of outfit, had been placed in the hands of the commissioners for the liquidation of his Royal Highness's debts, and that by them it had been appropriated to the dis