126] ANNUAL REGISTER, ISll. 



to be directed by their secretaries 

 in the performance of their duties ? 

 Whatever might be the motive of 

 Mr. Wright in informing, l)e was 

 exactlj' the man whom the act 

 looked for, and to whom it held out 

 the penalties as an inducement to 

 inform. 



After some farther debate the 

 amendment was put and negatived, 

 and the original clause was carried. 



A clause being read respecting 

 bishops acting upon their respon- 

 sibility, 



Mr. Whilbread observed, that 

 that word might as well be left out, 

 since, in truth, they would be res- 

 ponsible to no tribunal whatever. 

 He said, his lion, friend (Mr. 

 Brand) on leaving tlie house had 

 left with him a clause which he 

 would propose to the committee : 

 its purpose was, to provide that the 

 licence for non-residence should be 

 rendered void, if not granted upon 

 sufficient grounds. Mr. Bathurst 

 replied, that the object would be 

 equally attained by the clause as it 

 stood. Several new clauses were 

 afterwards brought up : and in 

 fine the bill was reported and or- 

 dered for printing. 



The bill being sent to the House 

 of Lords, the hous^ resolved itself 

 into a committee upon it on May 

 13, when, upon the clause autho- 

 risinij the courts, under certain cir- 

 cumstances, tostay the proceedings 

 that had been entered upon, the 

 Duke of Norfolk made some ob- 

 jections relative to the justice of it, 

 similar to those advanced in the 

 other house. Lord Ellenborough 

 observed, in reply, that the princi- 

 ple of the provision was analogous 

 to the usual practice of Parliament. 

 A conversation ensued, in which 

 the merits of the bill of the 43rd of 



the King were discussed ; and the 

 Archbishop of Canterburi/ gave it 

 as his opinion that great relief had 

 been afforded to the clergy by that 

 bill ; whence it was much to be 

 deplored, that the inadvertence and 

 misconduct of some of them had 

 given occasion to the present bill. 

 It would, however, be found that 

 its provisions separated the cases 

 of vicious non-residence from those 

 of mistake and neglect. The clause 

 was then carried without a division, 

 and the report on the bill was re- 

 ceived. 



It afterwards passed into a law, 

 under the title of " An Act to dis- 

 continue proceedings in certain 

 actions already commenced, and to 

 prevent vexatious suits against spi- 

 ritual persons, under an Act passed 

 in the 43rd year of his present Ma- 

 jesty ; and further to continue, 

 until the 20th day of July, 1814, 

 an Act of the present Session of 

 Parliament, for staying proceedings 

 under the said Act." 



The defects of the Act of the 

 43rd of the King being universally 

 acknowledged Sir William Scott, 

 on May 9th, moved in the House 

 of Commons for leave to bring in 

 a bill for its amendment as far as it 

 relates to the non-residence of the 

 clergj', which was granted. 



Among the topics of Parliamen- 

 tary discussion during this session, 

 no one excited so much general 

 interest as the Corn Trade, the 

 proceedings concerning which 

 were the subject of as much agita- 

 tion, and produced as many peti- 

 tions, as the East India and Catho- 

 lic questions of the last year. The 

 speeches in parliament on the 

 occasion were so numerous, and 

 were involved in so much intricacy 

 from opposing calculations and 



