advantages of the shipping interest also were not to be forgotten, as from the colonies, imports could only be made in British built ships; these, however, were mixed with great considerations of policy, which he was not called upon to discuss now. He was not unaware that there was still, according to this modified schedule, a disparity between the duties on deals and on timber; the difference, however, was in favour of the deals, which the right hon. gentleman opposite had alluded to, as being the principal import into Ireland; and it was, in fact, that which affected the general mass of consumers the most. Mr. Fitzgerald said, that he was not aware that he had any thing further to trouble the committee with; they would recollect that one-third of the total duty would necessarily cease, whenever the duties of Great Britain, making one-third of the British duty, should determine. He thanked the committee for the attention with which he had been favoured, and concluded with moving the first resolution. Mr. Ponsonby was desirous of modifying the duties, but required time to determine on the merits of the scale proposed. The resolution was agreed to, the House resumed, and the report of the committee was ordered to be received to-morrow. COMMITTEE OF WAYS AND MEANS.] The House having gone into a Committee of Ways and Means, the Chancellor of the Exchequer moved the following Resolutions : 1. "That, towards raising the supply granted to his Majesty, the duties upon malt, which, by an Act of the 54th of his present Majesty, have continuance to the 24th of June 1815, be further continued and charged upon all malt which shall be made within Great Britain, from the 23rd of June 1815, to the 24th of June 1816. 2. That the sum of four shillings in the pound, and no more, be raised within the space of one year, from the 25th of March 1815, upon pensions, offices, and personal estates, in that part of Great Britain called England, Wales, and the town of Berwick-upon-Tweed. 3. That the several duties imposed on sugar, by three Acts made in the 27th, 34th, and 37th; on malt, by an Act made in the 27th; and the duties of excise on tobacco and snuff, by an Act made in the 29th of his present Majesty, which, by an Act made in the 54th year of his said Majesty, have continuance until the 25th of March 1815, be further continued until the 25th (VOL. XXIX.) of March, 1816. 4. That the sum of 12,500,000l. be raised, by Exchequer bills, for the service of Great Britain.' 5. That there be issued and applied the sum of 15 millions, part of the amount of monies in the Exchequer, and remaining to be received on the 8th of November 1814, to complete the sum of 20,500,000l. granted out of the produce of war taxes for the service of the year 1814, and to complete the sum of 24 millions granted to his Majesty to be raised by annuities for the service of the same year." Mr. Ponsonby wished to know whether it was the object of the Resolutions of the right hon. gentleman to give an extension to any of the present war taxes? The Chancellor of the Exchequer stated, that none of the Resolutions would have the effect of giving any such extension. They would merely allow his Majesty's government to apply some of the taxes granted for 1814, not yet received, towards the public service. Mr. Whitbread said, he should be glad to know from the right hon. gentleman, whether he had yet any doubt remaining that the property tax expired on the 5th of April next? The Chancellor of the Exchequer said, although it was not his wish to express what his sentiments were as to the construction of the Property-tax Act, yet he would say, that it most obviously bore the construction which the hon. gentleman put on it. Mr. Whitbread. If the right hon. gentleman would only state what his own construction of the Act was, it would be a great satisfaction to the public. The Resolutions were then agreed to. HOUSE OF COMMONS. Thursday, November 17. ASSIZE OF BREAD.] Mr. Serj. Onslow seeing in his place a worthy alderman, member for the city of London, who had given notice last session that he would submit to parliament some proposition respecting the Assize of Bread, wished to know whether the worthy alderman persevered in his intention; and, if so, whether he meant to bring forward his measure before the recess? Mr. Ald. Atkins replied, that he did not conceive that he had pledged himself to bring forward any measure on the subject, although he had strongly recommended it to the consideration of parliament. (R) Mr. Lushington presented the following, ACCOUNT of the UNFUNDED DEBT in EXCHEQUER BILLS: Outstanding 1st Nov. 1814. Under what Acts issued. 48 Geo. 3, cap. 3 48 Geo. 3, cap. 53 On what Funds charged, and the Amount authorized to be raised under each Act. Held by the Bank of England without Interest, payable Six Months after Peace, out of the Supplies of the year Held by the same, at an Interest of £.3 per cent. per ann. in the first instance made payable at the same time, and charged in like manner as the preceding Bills; but other contingent provision is provided by the Act 53 Geo. 3, cap. 27 Supplies... 1814 ............£.1,500,000 ........ H. JADIS. Amount Outstanding. £. 3,000,000 3,000,000 1,500,000 7,991,200 449,200 4,283,800 947,000 10,010 500 5,000,000 15,109,400 5,923,000 2,013,500 59,227.600 ACCOUNT OF MONIES IN THE EXCHEQUER, &c.] The following Accounts were presented : 1. MONIES in the Exchequer, and remaining to be received, on the 8th of Nov. 1814, to complete the Sum of 20,500,000l. granted to arise from WAR TAXES for the service of the year 1814:-Also, of Monies in the Exchequer, and remaining to be received, on the same day, to complete the Sum of 24 Millions, granted to his Majesty, to be raised by ANNUITIES, for the service of the same year. AMOUNT of Money in the Exchequer, and remaining to be reS. d. 2. AMOUNT of BILLS of EXCHANGE drawn upon the Lords Commissioners of his Majesty's Treasury, for the EXTRAORDINARY EXPENSES of the ARMY, and paid out of Money issued to the Paymaster-General of the Forces, between 24th Dec. 1813, and 1st Nov. 1814. ..... £.18,921,061 Total Amount of the said Bills ....... PETITION FROM THE AUCTION MART | been compelled to pay much more than RESPECTING THE PROPERTY TAX.] Mr. Whitbread said, he held in his hand a petition signed by certain persons, who complained of having suffered great grievance and oppression under the operation of the Property Tax. They had been assessed far beyond their fair proportion, and had they were by law required to pay. They had already appealed for redress to every quarter pointed out by the Act, but ineffectually. Their last appeal had been made to the lords of the Treasury, who told them they could grant them no relief. Under such circumstances, they threw Mr. Pitt, under the name of the Income Tax, so far was it from occasioning the public exposure of the property of an in themselves on the consideration of that House. The persons who petitioned were those concerned in the building called The Auction-mart,' which opened individual, that every means was taken to the year 1810, and which had been regu- prevent such an exposure. The principle larly assessed beyond the profits which of Mr. Pitt's Bill was secresy: no person's were actually made. Mr. Whitbread then affairs were developed to the world; and it stated the profits of the Auction-mart for was attempted to render the measure pathree years, with the assessments made latable by the very declaration, that it each year. The result of the statement would be attended with no exposure. The was, that although their profits for three very reverse was the case with the existyears only amounted to 6,3044. they had ing Act. Grievous were the burthens which been assessed at 9,625. leaving a ba- it imposed on the people. By the people lance of 3211. actually levied on them those burthens had been cheerfully borne; beyond what they were by law required but that cheerfulness would expire with to pay. Instead of 10 per cent. on their the termination of the Act; and the House profits, they had been thus compelled to were, in his opinion, bound to keep pace pay 15. with the wishes of the people, and not renew a measure so oppressive;-oppressive, not so much on account of the money which it wrung out of the pockets of the people, as from the mode in which, of necessity, that money was collected. He was glad to afford an opportunity to the right hon. gentleman (which he trusted he would embrace) of explicitly declaring the determination of government; and he was persuaded that if the right hon. gentleman should intimate that it was intended to propose the prolongation of the tax, the country would lose no time in petitioning parliament upon it. The Petition having been read, Mr. Whitbread said, that all he should do at present, would be to move that it should lie on the table, not pledging himself indeed that he would take any further steps in the business. He was very desirous, however, to obtain from the right hon. the Chancellor of the Exchequer (for whose presence he had waited before he presented this Petition) an explicit decla. ration of his opinion as to the time when he thought the Property Tax would expire. Would it, in the right hon. gentleman's opinion, expire on the 25th of April? When the subject was first mentioned, the right hon. gentleman seemed ignorant of the precise words and meaning of the Act; but yesterday evening he had admitted, that he had no doubt himself, although he gave a kind of intimation that some doubt existed elsewhere. It such a doubt really existed, either on the part of the legal advisers of the crown, or of any of his Majesty's ministers, it would be well that it should be immediately and distinctly expressed. For his part, he apprehended that nothing could be more clear and unequivocal than the words of the statute; and if no steps should be taken (as he hoped to God they would not) to renew the Act either entirely or in part, he was sure that government would not dare to levy that tax after the 25th of April. The tax itself was of the most obnoxious description. The case comprehended in the Petition which he had just presented, was only one of thousands of cases of hardship and injustice, increasing, of course, as the operations of this tax had been rendered more burthensome, from its origin to the present hour. The House would recollect that, when the tax was first introduced by The Chancellor of the Exchequer had no objection to allow the Petition to lie on the table. As to the arguments used by the hon. gentleman respecting the Property Tax, they would not prevent him from the execution of what he thought right. He should no more shrink from his duty, if he should conceive it to be such, in proposing to continue the whole, or a portion of the Property Tax, than he was convinced the people of this country would, from cheerfully bearing its weight a little longer, if its necessity were made apparent. As to its natural termination, he would not hesitate to say, that, like all other war taxes, it would expire, not on the 25th, but on the 5th of April next, unless it should be renewed or continued by the authority of parliament. As to the contrast which the hon. gentle man had made between the manner in which this tax was collected at present, and at the time it was first imposed by Mr. Pitt, he was completely in the wrong. It was under Mr. Pitt that a complete exposure of the private circumstances of an individual took place. At present it was, in fact, void of that objection. No man was now called upon to declare at once the whole amount of his income. It might be derived from twenty different sources, and the charge would be made and received on each of these apart, without revealing the secret of the whole. When it was proved that the produce of the new tax was three times greater than that of the old, it might well be inferred that it had been more cheerfully paid, and was therefore found to be less burthensome. Respecting the application made by the parties who presented the petition to the board of Treasury, he well recollected it. But it was not in the power of the lords of the Treasury to grant the relief sued for, because the act of parliament had made the commissioners of the taxes to tally independent from them, not being appointed by the crown. Mr. Baring said, that this was one of the many instances of extreme hardship which unavoidably occurred from the operation of this tax. If he did not enter tain a hope that this odious tax would expire in a short time, he should move that this petition be referred to a committee; not with a view of making this House act as assessors of taxes, but to shew that, from the very nature of the tax, abuses of this sort were unavoidable. The right hon. gentleman, however, now seemed to give it pretty clearly to be understood, that it was his intention to make the tax coextensive with the war in which we were now engaged. Now as the American war was but a petty war in comparison to the great war in which the country was lately engaged, he thought that the government ought to be prepared to give up at least a great part of this tax. He had always thought that the commissioners of this tax had been in some measure appointed by the government. Mr. Western now understood that the right hon. gentleman meant to propose the renewal of this tax. He thought that if the House should attempt the renewal of an act which was so expressly understood as not to be continued longer than the 25th of April, such a violation of pub. lic faith might lead to the most dangerous House as follows: Mr. Speaker; at the time I gave notice to the House of the motion now before it, I could only state from recollection the grounds upon which I should bring it forward; but as I hold in my hand a copy of the Document in question, I beg to read the precise words to which I then referred, and which are contained in the General Order issued from the Horse Guards, relative to the proceedings of the Court-martial on colonel Quentin. The passage to which I beg to call the attention of the House, immediately follows the Opinion and Sentence of the Court upon the Charges, and runs thus: "The Court, however, cannot conclude these proceedings without expressing their regret, that there appears to have existed such a want of co-operation among the officers of the regiment, as to render the duties of the commanding officer much more arduous than they otherwise would have been." Now, Sir, I must repeat, that this observation is totally unfounded, and that there is not the slightest evidence throughout the whole of the proceedings to warrant an assertion of the kind; and this observation is the more to be complained of, as it has been made the ground of the heavy censure and punishment that has been inflicted upon the officers. It was my intention, as I stated in giving notice, to confine myself to this charge against the Court, as the ground for addressing the Prince Regent to order the proceedings of the Court-martial to be laid before the House; and to delay entering into any discussion of the merits, until the proceedings had been printed, and sufficient time allowed for the House to become acquainted with the subject. I own I regret that I cannot proceed as I intended; but having been informed by honourable friends, more experienced in the practice of parliament than myself, that I must state the whole case, to induce the House to consent to the proceedings being laid before it, I find myself under the necessity of entering into the detail, most respectfully entreating their indulgence in thus trespassing upon their time. Before I begin, I beg leave to say one word as to my determination in bringing forward this question, being aware that it has been contrary to the opinion of many hon. friends. No one can feel more sensibly than myself, that the mo tion might have been put in much abler, the Court, and then refer to my Reply hands; and I certainly regret, that upon to the Defence of colonel Quentin, calling such an occasion I should happen to hold the attention of the House to such parts a seat in this House: but being a member, of the evidence as I conceive may be neand the necessity of my attendance hav- cessary; and I beg particularly to call the ing been declared by those who would attention of the right hon. gentleman ophave had another hon. member undertake posite (Mr. Manners Sutton, the judge-adthe motion, I own I have felt the neces- vocate) to the detail I shall enter into, or sity of bringing it forward myself, to ob- it will be for him to correct me in any viate the objection which might have been misstatement which I may be conceived to urged against the motion, had I declined it; make. as it would, no doubt, have been observed by gentlemen opposite, that as I, who was a party in the business, and who had had the whole conduct of it, did not think proper to complain to the House, it could only be brought forward by others in opposition to the government. I trust, therefore, that the having come forward, without communicating with any hon. member on either side, but solely from a sense of duty to those whose cause I had undertaken, and to the service I had the honour to belong to, will obviate such objection. In the first place, Sir, I beg to read to the House the General Order from the Horse Guards, by which the Sentence and Observations of the Court and the Prince Regent are made public; and which states, "That his royal highness the Commander in Chief had been pleased to direct, that the following copy of a letter, containing the Opinion and Sentence of a General Court-martial recently held for the trial of colonel George Quentin of the 10th, or Prince of Wales's own royal regiment of Light Dragoons, and the Prince Regent's pleasure thereon, shall be entered in the general-order books, and read at the head of every regiment in his Majesty's ser 'vice.' Now, Sir, this Order, although customary, is a cruel aggravation of the case of the officers, and particularly claims. the consideration of the House by this Order, they have not only been censured and disgraced in front of their own regiment, but such disgrace has been promulgated throughout the army, who may naturally be supposed to concur in the justice of the sentence, being ignorant of the proceedings on which it has been founded; and considering the respect and obedience they are bound to pay the authority by which this sentence has been approved. Having the whole of this case to go through, I shall proceed by reading each Charge, with the Opinion and Sentence of The hon. member here began with reading the first Charge, the Opinion of the Court thereupon, and afterwards his own Reply to col. Quentin's Defence upon this Charge, and then proceeded as follows: * * First Charge. "That on the 10th day of January, 1814, the regiment being on that day on duty, foraging in the valley of Macoy, in France, and the said colonel Quentin having the command of the regiment, did not make the proper and timely arrangements to insure the success of the regiment in its operations of foraging, although directed so to do by the Brigade Order of the 9th of January 1814; but neglected and abandoned his duty as commanding officer, leaving some of the divisions without orders or support when attacked by the enemy, whereby some men and horses of the regiment were taken prisoners, and the safety of such divisions hazarded: such conduct on the part of the said colonel Quentin evincing great professional incapacity, tending to lessen the confidence of the soldiers of the regiment in the skill and courage of their officers, being unbecoming and disgraceful to his character as an officer, prejudicial to good order and military discipline, and contrary to the Articles of War." Opinion of the Court. "The Court having maturely weighed of the prosecution, as well as what has and considered the evidence on the part been offered in defence, are of opinion, that colonel Quentin is guilty of so much of the first Charge as imputes to him having neglected his duty as commanding officer, on the 10th of January, by leaving some of the divisions without orders when attacked by the enemy; but acquit him of the remainder of the Charge." Colonel Palmer's Reply to Colonel Quentin's Defence upon the first Charge. "I now beg leave to call the attention § |