HISTORY OF EUROPE. 
object of debate, and exercised the 
abilities of both ministry and op- 
position: but after a long and ani- 
mated contest, the motion was ne- 
gatived in the house of lords, by one 
hundred and ten against ten ; and, 
inthe house of commons, by two 
hundred and sixteen against forty- 
two. 
A repetition took place on the 
same day in the house of lords, of the 
discussion upon the sate of the reve- 
nue, the taxes, the imports and ex- 
ports, and the other financial circum- 
stances of the nation at the close of 
the American war, and at the pre- 
sent period. The earl of - Moira 
combated the positions of lord Auk- 
land in the preceding debate, and 
the latter exerted himself to main- 
tainthem. Numerous and intricate 
were the calculations on both sides. 
Lord Lauderdale zealously support- 
ed the earl of Moira, and entered 
into a great variety of particulars to 
prove the justness of his researches 
and computations: herein he was 
seconded by the marquis of Lans- 
downe, and opposed by lords Co- 
_ventry and Hawkesbury, who took 
XN 
much pains to represent the state- 
ments of lord Moira as erroneous. 
The same subject was resumed, 
on the thirteenth, by lord Lauder- 
the matter of debate. 
dale, who displayed great financial 
knowledge in his arrangement of 
His sup- 
porters were the marquis of Lans- 
downe and the earl of Moira; and 
his opponents, lords. Grenville, 
"Hawkesbury, and Aukland. ‘The 
inferences from the arguments and 
‘Statements produced by the respec- 
live parties were contradictory in 
€ extreme ; the one representing. 
the situation of this country as re- 
plete with the most arduous difficul- 
ties, and almost verging to ruin: 
and the other describing it as full 
of opulence and resources of every 
denomination, and able, with pro- 
per management, to encounter and 
surmount every obstacle, and to 
flourish with more lustre than ever, 
Such were the most material 
transactions of parliament during 
this session. An attempt was made, 
by Mr. Wilberforce, to enforce the 
decision of thehouse, that the abo- 
lition of the slave-trade should take 
place on the first day of the year 
1796, but his motion was negatived 
by a majority of. four, and his sub- 
sequent endeavours to regulate the 
slave-carrying trade, by the propor- 
tion of tonnage, was lost for want of 
numbers to constitute a house. 
A bill for the relief of indigent 
curates passed in their favour, after 
some opposition in the commons, 
ov account of its originating in the 
house of lords. But a petition from 
the quakers to be relieved from 
imprisonment for non-payment of 
tythes, and for allowing their affir- 
mation to be evidence in criminal 
as well as civil cases, was rejected 
by the lords, after passing the com- 
mons. The humane effort made by 
lord Moria, in favour of persons con 
fined for debt, met with no better 
SUCCESS. 
The session closed, on the nine- 
teenth of May, with the customary 
speech from the throne. It inform- 
ed the house of the intention to dis- 
solve the present, and to call a new 
parliament. ‘The happiest effects, 
itsaid, had been experienged from 
the provisions made for repressing 
sedition and civil tumult, and for 
restraining the progress of princi- 
ples subversive of all established go- 
vernment. 
3 The 
[ra 
