1 00] 
pofed to grant to them and their 
heirs an annuity of 4000/. to be paid: 
out of the confolidated fund. He 
obferved, that the ftate of Pennfyl- 
vania, fenfible of the great merit of 
the family, had granted a fum of 
130,000 /. fierling, to be paid by in- 
ftalments. ‘The fadct, however, was, 
that 11,000/. was all that had been 
paid, though the family had no rea- 
fon to doubt the ultimate payment. 
He thought that the granting of this 
annuity, in the manner propofed, 
would be a ftrong mark of the na- 
tional generofity and refpect for the 
fervices of their great anceftor. He 
hoped the committee would think 
with him, that the annuity he had 
propofed was neither-profufe on the 
one hand, nor {paring on the other, 
He concluded by moving a refolu- 
tion for granting the faid annuity 
from the 5th of January 1790. 
~ Mr. F. Montagu and other mem- 
bers were of opinion, that 5000 /. 
ought to be the leait {um granted as 
an annuity to that refpectable fami- 
ly. Mr. Wilmotargued, that taking 
the cafe of Mr. Harford, whofe lofs 
was eftimated at 230,000 /. and who 
teceived a compenfation of 70,000/. 
asa rule, a grant of 5o000/. per an- 
num would ftill be below the mark. 
Mr. Fox and Mr. Francis thought 
4000/. fufficient, and declaring they 
fhould take the fenfe of the com- 
mittee; that fum was agreed upon 
without a divifion. 
On the 17th of May, a meffage 
from his majefty was delivered by 
the chancellor of the exchequer, ac- 
quainting the houfe with his inten- 
tions of granting to the Rev. Dr. 
Willis, a penfion of one thoufand 
pounds a year nett, for twenty-one 
years; and requefiing the affiftance 
of parliament for that purpofe: a 
bill was the next day ordered to be 
ANNUAL REGISTER, 1790. 
brought in for the purpofe men- 
tioned in the meflage, and paffed 
both houfes. : 
On the 26th of May the houfe 
having refolved itfelf into a com- 
mittee of the whole houfe, upon the 
tontine aét of the laft feffions, Mr. 
Pitt begged leave to remind the 
committee, that the tontine had ori- 
ginally been propofed as an experi- 
ment, and, at the time, it had ap- 
peared to hima reafonable expe€ta- _ 
tion, that it would have proved — 
of equal advantage to the public — 
and the fubfcribers.. This, how- 
ever, had not been thé cafe; and al- 
though the tontine originally bore 
a premium, it had fince been at a © 
confiderable difcount, and if pet- — 
fited in according to the original 
terms, the individuals who had taken © 
the whole of it moft fuftain a very 
confiderable lofs; an event which 
he had little doubt but that the ~ 
committee would feel it became 
them to endeavour to guard againft, 
and the more efpecially, ifany means 
of doing fo could be fuggefted which 
would not militate againft the pub- 
lic intereft. The committee would — 
recolleét, that when he had’ firft — 
opened the fubject, with a view of — 
affording the original fubfcribers — 
relief, he had hinted at enlarging 
the time of nomination from Oétober — 
to April; but, upon mature confi- 
deration, it had appeared, that al- ~ 
though fuch a meafure would afford 
the original fubferibers effential ‘re.’ 
lief, it could not be adopted with 
perfeét fecurity to thofe perfons who 
had been already nominated; and — 
therefore, it had been confidered as — 
advifeable to pufh that propofition 
no farther. He meant to propofe 
to give thofe who held the thares of © 
the tontine an option of exchanging - 
it for Jong annuities, and to em- — 
3 “power - 
