HISTORY OF EUROPE. 
wo man could have been found more 
- qualified in every respect for such 
a mission than Sir John Borlase 
Warren. 
Leave was then given to bring in 
- the bill, and the next day on its 
being read a first time, 
Admiral Berkeley said he should 
Not oppose the bill, but on exa- 
mining the patent of the lords of 
the Admiralty, he was convinced 
that they possessed those powers 
which it was now intended to give 
to commissioners. 
Mr. Cooper supported the bill. 
Mr. Jarvis said the admiralty 
_ were not possessed ofall the powers 
“now demanded by the commis- 
sioners ; they were not empowered 
to regulate prize agents, nor to call 
for papers and records ; but besides 
that, these commissioners were to 
enquire into abuses, if any existed, 
in the higher departments of the 
navy, in the admiralty and navy 
_ boards, and therefore it would be 
highly improper that those boards 
should be judges in their own case. 
The, bill having been read a se- 
cond time, and gone througha com- 
mittee, Captain Markham, on the 
~17th of December, moved for its 
re-committal. 
Mr, Canning, without meaning 
to oppose the re-committal of the 
bill, wished that a measure of Such 
importance, and which did not ap- 
pear to him very urgent, should be 
postponed till after the recess, to 
give gentlemen time to direct their 
attention to the subject. 
The chancellor of the exchequer 
said it was not his wish to hurry the 
bill, but at the same time, the im- 
portance of it appeared to him a 
_ sufficient reason against unnecessary 
_ delay; if such abuses did exist, no 
t 
55 
time ought to be lost in detetting 
them ; if the house were of opinion 
that they did not exist, the bill 
should be rejected altogether. It 
would be recollected that those 
commissioners were only empow- 
ered to enquire, not to punish; and 
parliament had, in fact, in the year 
1792, pledged itself to make such 
inquiry when peace was finally 
restored. 
Admiral Berkeley could not per- 
fectly approve of the persons ap- 
pointed for commissioners with such 
extraordinary powers : for (except- 
ing sir Charles Pole) he thought 
that they though very respect- 
able men in their own particular 
line, were not sufficiently acquaint- 
ed with the persons or things with 
whom they would have to do. 
Mr. Sturgess objected to this bill, 
as having for a principal object, to 
extract confession of guilt from the 
delinquents, or punish them for 
perjury ; this was contrary to the 
spirit of our constitution, 
The attorney general expressed 
surprize at the new career of oppo- 
sition, which some gentlemen had 
now embarked in. It was perhaps 
the first time, when ministers had 
called for an inquiry into abuses, 
that such inquiry was resisted by 
opposition, j 
Dr. Lawrence thought that the 
bill was in opposition to an excel- 
lent principle, which had been laid 
down, that no man should be com- 
pelled to give evidence of his own 
delinquency ; he thought it was the 
duty of the admiralty to punish the 
delinquents when they found them 
out; but he did not approve of 
commissioners being now appoint- 
ed, to overhaul every transaction 
of the late war. 
E 4 After 
