8] 



ANNUAL REGISTER, 1812. 



be added, that the general senti- 

 ment out of doors on this appoint- 

 ment by no means coincided with 

 that which seemed to be adopted 

 by the majority in the House. 



The same subject was afterwards 

 taken up by Mr. Bankes, in a de- 

 bate on the army estimates, and a 

 motion being made, the House di- 

 vided upon it, when the ministers 

 were supported by a majority of 

 54 to 38. Mr. Bani<es, however, 

 renewed the attack in a different 

 motion on another day, and in a 

 luller House, when the argunr.ents 

 against the appointment, with its 

 extreme unpopularity in the nation, 

 nutweiglied the efforts of govern- 

 ment, and a resolution passed for 

 the abolition of colonel M'Ma- 

 hon's sinecure by 115 votes against 

 112. 



On January 14, the House hav- 

 ing resolved itself into a committee 

 to take into consideration the acts 

 relating to the distilleries, the 

 chancellor of the exchequer pro- 

 posed a string of resolutions, re- 

 commending the prohibition of all 

 distillation from grain in Great 

 Britain for a time to be limited. 

 The comparative ' failure of the 

 crops for the last year had rendered 

 this expedient necessary ; but in 

 order that the revenue might not 

 Euffermaterially from the expiration 

 of the duties arising from spirits 

 distilled from grain, it had been 

 thought advisable that they should 

 be transferred to spirits distilled 

 I rom sugar. The resolutions moved 

 for were, in substance, that after 

 the 1st of February, 1812, until 

 the 31st of December, 1812, no 

 wort or wash for distillation shall 

 be made in any part of Great 

 Britain from any kind of grain — 

 that it shall be lawful for his ma- 



jesty by proclamation, at any time 

 after October 1, 1812, either to 

 terminate such prohibition from a 

 time not less than 30 days from the 

 date of the said proclsmiation, or 

 to continue it from December 31 

 until 30 days after the next meet- 

 ing of parliament — that, during 

 the period of this prohibition, the 

 duties on wort or wash made in 

 Great Britain for extracting spirits, 

 and ll e duties on spirits made in 

 Greai Britain, and on spirits made 

 in Ireland and imported into Great 

 Britain, and the duties on stills in 

 Scotland, and on spirits made in 

 England and imported into Scot- 

 land, and vice veisa, and the draw- 

 backs on exportation, shall be sus- 

 pended, — that during such suspen- 

 sion there shall be charged duties 

 on wort or wash, and on spirits, 

 the particulars of which are the 

 subject of several following resolu- 

 tions; and that during such sus- 

 pension there shall be charged upon 

 all spirits imported into Great Bri- 

 tain (except rum the produce of 

 the British plantations) an addi- 

 tional duty of 12v per cent upon 

 the former duties. 



Mr. Ponsonby then rose, not to 

 object to the resolutions ; but to 

 complain of the change that had 

 been wrought in the constitution, 

 by silently accustoming the people 

 to look for relief from their griev- 

 ances in matters of interest not to 

 parliament, but to the executive 

 government. After a word of 

 reply horn the chancellor of the 

 exchequer, the resolutions were 

 agreed to. 



The report of a bill formed upon 

 these resolutions was brought up 

 ou Januarj' 22, when, on the ques- 

 tion that it be agreed to, sir John 

 Newport rose, and entreated the 



House, 



