take occasion to do as a part of his fpeech. The honourable Gentleman was proceeding to read the letter, when

The Speaker fated, that unless this letter had reference to the subject immediately before the Houfe, it would not be confiftent with order to introduce it.

Mr. Tierney expreffed his regret that the orders of the Houfe fhould prevent the hon. Gentleman from offering any obfervations he might have to fubmit refpecting the corps be had alluded to.

The report of the bill having been agreed to,

Mr. Secretary Yorke propofed the following additional elaufes: ift, To provide for the care of volunteers' arms in Scotland. 2d, To direct the manner in which clerks acting for the meeting of general lieutenancies, &c. in that country, hall be rewarded for their fervices. 3d, A claufe which the right hon. Gentleman obferved, had been left out by accident in the former ftages of the bill; namely, to exempt from toll the horfes of volunteers, in their progrefs to, or return from any place of exercife. 4th, To enable his Majefty to accept the future fervices of any volunteer corps," or to difcontinue the fervices of any corps now in existence, or any part thereof; alfo to authorize the Lord Lieutenants of counties, or fuch other perfons as his Majefty might think proper to appoint, to fill up and fign commiffions for any fuch corps. 5th, That volunteers fhould be exempted from the horfe and hair powder taxes. 6th, Todeclare that no Member of Parliament who fhould accept a commiffion in any volunteer corps fhould thereby vacate his feat. 7th, To adapt the hair-powder and horfe tax exemptions to the consolidation tax act of the laft feffions, by which it is provided that volunteers are to enjoy fuch exemptions only while they attend their refpective corps. 8th, To enable the Deputy Lieute nants of counties to apportion the quota of men to be bal lotted for the militia, or any other defcription of force, "according to the number of volunteers in each hundred, parith, or place, within their refpective counties.

།

Upon the 4th claufe, fome remarks were made by Mr. Rofe; and from the reply of Mr. Yorke, it appeared that the appointment of volunteer officers is in future to be on the footing nearly of that of the militia, namely, that every commiffion thall receive his Majefty's approbation, previous to its final execution.

The Attorney General tofe, to propofe a claufe to which he hoped no objection would be offered, as its only purpose was VOL. II. 1803-4.

Dd

to prevent any fuch riot or disturbance among the volunteers as fome Gentlemen feemed fo much to apprehend, and against which, although he did not think it by any means fo likely to arife as thofe Gentlemen did, he ftill thought it very prudent to guard. For this he meant to provide by propofing, that the punishment of any fuch riot fhould be prompt, and with the view to that, the object of the claufe he had to fub mit was, to take away in fuch cafes the power which defendants had, upon indictments for misdemeanors, according to the present process, to put off their trials. The right hon. Gentleman took occafion to allude to the riot at. Chefter, of which fo much had been said, and stated, that Gentlemen were mistaken if they imagined that because the ordinary course of law had delayed the trial of the. perfons implicated in that tranfaction, that therefore it was intended to fuffer their conduct to escape legal investigation.

Mr. Canning had no objection to the nature of this claufe, but fubmitted to the judgment and candour of the right hon. Gentleman, whether, as it proposed so material an alteration in the bill before the Houfe, it would be right to prefs the difcuffion at fo late an hour, and in fo thin a House.

The Attorney General faid, he had no wish to prefs the motion at prefent, but defired it to be understood that he would, unless his mind fhould change in the interim, bring forward this clause as a rider to the bill on the third reading.

Mr. Sturges Bourne approved of the principle of the clause, and wished it to be made general, and not confined to this bill merely, as he was of opinion that no good refulted from the prefent process of the law with respect to trials for misde

meanors.

The Attorney General replied, that much difficulty and inconvenience would arife in the detail, from the extension of this principle as propofed by the hon. Gentleman, and that confideration he was affured had prevented his predeceffors in office from fubmitting the propofition to Parliament, although often fuggefted to them. However, if upon further examination the thing should appear to be defirable, he would apply for the affiftance of the hon. Gentleman in forming a fuitable measure.

The bill was ordered to be engroffed, and Mr. Yoke propofed that it should be read a third time on Thursday, as it was defirable that it fhould go through the Houfe with all convenient expedition, in order that it fhould pass both Houfe and receive the royal affent before the holidays.

Mr.

Mr. Wynne and Mr. Canning wished the bill to be printed, and that the third reading should be farther poftponed.

Mr. Sheridan thought that time fhould be afforded to Gentlemen to confider the new claufes.

Mr. Yorke faid, that though he had had the honour of fubmitting many additional claufes to the Houfe that night, there were none of them actually new. The principle of every one of them had already been amply difcuffed.

The Chancellor of the Exchequer confidering that any delay would be injurious that could be avoided on this occafion, as it was of the utmost importance that the bill fhould pass before the recess, moved, that it fhould be read a third time on Thursday. Ordered accordingly.

Lord G. L. Gower wished to know, whether the right hon. Gentleman (Mr. Yorke) had yet fixed upon any day to bring forward the motion, of which he had given a general notice the preceding day, with respect to the mode of recruiting the regular army, &c.

Mr. Yorke answered in the negative, and that he could not yet fix upon any particular day, as it would be previously neceffary to call the attention of the House to the fubject by a meffage from his Majesty.

The other orders of the day were difpofed of, and the Houfe adjourned till the next day.

HOUSE OF LORDS.

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 21.

Counsel were again heard refpecting the appeal, Fleming v. Abercromby. After which their Lordships adjourned the further hearing of the cafe till Friday.

The bills before the House were forwarded in their refpective stages; chiefly third readings. Amongst these were the Irish revenue bill, the Irish countervailing duties bill, the Irish malt duty bill, and the hides and tallow importation

bill.

Several private bills were read a third time, and paffed.

An officer from the Court of Exchequer in Ireland prefented certain documents relative to the pending appeal caufe, Redington v. Redington, which were ordered to lie on the table.

Adjourned.

Dd 2

HOUSE

HOUSE OF COMMONS.

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 21.

Dr. Gray, from the British Mufeum, prefented the accounts voted a few days ago by the Houfe of Commons: they were ordered to lie on the table.

The reports of the fugar warehoufing bill and the expiring laws bill were brought up and agreed to, and the bills were ordered to be read a third time the next day.

The Chancellor of the Exchequer stated at the bar, that his Majefty had been waited upon with feveral addreffes of that House, that his Majefty had received them graciously, and had been pleased to say he would give directions accordingly.

LISKEARD ELECTION.

Mr. I'm. Dundas rofe in his place, and stated that the paper which he held in his hand was of fo fingular a nature, and that the complaint which it contained from Mr. Huskiffon was attended with fuch peculiar circumstances, that he felt it expedient to confult the House what kind of motion was neceffary in order to obtain the redrefs which the cafe required. A double return, or what might be confidered at first fight as a double return, had been made for the borough of Lifkeard, in Cornwall. The mayor of that borough had returned Mr. Huskisson as the Member duly elected; but, on that Gentleman's coming up to the Houfe, he found there was a double return, and therefore could not take his feat. While this petition, therefore, went to complain of a double return, the fact was, that there was no double return, but merely a piece of parchment in opposition to this petition, purporting to be a return from the returning officer, without either the fignature or feal of that returning officer, who was the mayor of the place, who had previously figned Mr. Hufkiffon's return, and therefore it was nothing more than a mere nullity. He wished to ask the House, the hon. Gentleman said, if an under theriff thould have it in his power, by illicit and unwarrantable practices, to prevent Members duly elected from coming up to the Houfe, or to prevent the House being filled as the interefts of the country required? It was for the Houfe to confider if they would permit officers of this defcription to impose upon them by any arbitrary acts which went to impede the public bufinefs. The return in question was certainly not a double return; he withed therefore to know under what defeription of return it could properly be

claffed,

claffed, and what were the steps neceffary to be taken to obtain the redress required?

The Speaker ftated that, according to the forms of the House, it was not certainly in the power of any Member to bring up a petition in regard to a return, unlefs that petition complained of an undue election. If the prefent petition was of that defcription, the hon. Member might bring it up according to the ufual form.

Mr. Dundas then moved for leave to bring up the petition. Mr. Alderman Combe withed the hon. Gentleman to explain what he meant by a mere nullity, as he did not completely under and the circumftances of the cafe.

Mr. W. Dundas explained. As neither the name nor feal of the returning officer was affixed to the return in question, while at the fame time it purported to be a legal return, he thought it must be neceffarily void, and therefore a nullity.

The Chancellor of the Exchequer was of opinion that the petition ought to be brought up. In the last election held on the 9th inft. the mayor was the returning officer, while the under sheriff of the county had iffued a warrant for that election. In this election it appeared, that 20 had voted for the petitioner, and only 3 for Mr. T. Sheridan. The return of the mayor was of one nature, by which the petitioner was acknowledged as fitting Member; whereas the sheriff on the other hand had annexed a schedule, by which Mr. Thomas Sheridan is declared duly elected, but the fchedule had neither the feal nor fignature of the faid mayor.

The petition was then brought up and read. It stated, that at the last election for the borough of Liskeard, Mr. Hufkiffon and Mr. Thomas Sheridan were candidates; that by the last decifion of the Committee of the House of Commons, the right of election was in the mayor and burgeffes of the borough, and that the mayor was the returning officer; that the mayor and twenty burgeffes voted for Mr. Huskiffon, and only three burgeffes for Mr. T. Sheridan, and that Mr. Hufkiffon was therefore declared duly elected and returned; but that the under fheriff, Mr. Damon, had annexed to his return a fecond schedule, by which Mr. T. Sheridan was returned, but which schedule had neither the feal nor the fignature of the mayor, and therefore the petitioner prayed for relief. Mr. Pitt faid, it appeared from the facts flated in the petition, that the sheriff had tranfmitted only one return to the Clerk of the Crown, but it did not appear to him that the House could proceed to take any steps until they had afcer

tained