54] 



ANNUAL REGISTER. 1813. 



into the public service. He put 

 this case stroui^lj', and not without 

 a personal allusion. He then ad- 

 verted to the influence of the 

 crown, and appealed to the house 

 whether it was too great; referring 

 to the division upon Colonel 

 M'Mahon's appointment : and de- 

 bired them to consider whether the 

 bill would not tend to a diminution 

 of influence hazardous to the mo- 

 narchy. 



Mr. Bankes thought it somewhat 

 extraordinary, and contrary to jnir- 

 liameiitary usage, to suH'er the bill 

 to be read a second time, and pass 

 the committee, without observa- 

 tions, and then come forward in 

 this stage to condemn not only its 

 principle, but those details which 

 might have been altered in tiie 

 comiuittee. He tlien made replies 

 to some of the jnirticular objections 

 which had been advanced ; and 

 desired that when the offices pro- 

 posed to be abolished, and their 

 responsibility were spoken of, it 

 should be recollected that they 

 were rather quasi offices with quasi 

 responsibility, neither of which 

 appeared to him too great to be 

 confined to such men as would 

 usually be appointeil deputies. As 

 to the power of the crown, he 

 said it was impossible to look at 

 the immense expenditure of the 

 coui'.try, with all the establish- 

 ments and patronage connected 

 with it, without being convinced 

 that dependence on the crown was 

 extended to all j arts to a degree 

 quite unexampled in former times, 

 .It was also no light consideration 

 that some of the greatest commer- 

 cial and cor[)orate bodies were in 

 the habit of lool ing up to the 

 jninisters of the crown. 



Mr. Canning made one of those 

 balanced, indecisive speeches which 

 had lately distinguished his manner 

 of debate, but declared that he 

 should support the bill, because he 

 approved its principle. 



That the general sense of the 

 liouse was decidedly in its favour, 

 was proved by the division, on 

 which the numbers were, — for the 

 motion 134, against it 123 ; ma- 

 jority 11. 



The bill was then recommitted, 

 wlien various an endnaents were 

 l)roposed, some of which were 

 carried, and others rejected. The 

 report was then received, and the 

 bill was ordered for a third reading. 

 This took place on June 15th, 

 when various objections were start- 

 ed against the bill, which, how- 

 ever, was read without a division. 

 Mr. Bankes then moved the addi- 

 tional clause, " Provided always, 

 that nothing in this bill should be 

 prejudicial to the rights and in- 

 terests of those who are now chief 

 justices;" which was agreed to. 

 Various clauses of amendment were 

 then put, most of which were re- 

 jected. A motion for omitting 

 that clause in the bill which limit- 

 ed the pension list of Ireland to 

 40,000/. a year produced a division ; 

 for the motion 59, against it 60. 

 The bill afterwards par-sed the house 

 without further opposition. 



The bill did not arrive to its 

 second reading in the House of 

 Lords till July 3. On that occa- 

 sion the Lord Chancellor spoke of 

 its provisions with great contempt, 

 and said that such a bill never met 

 the eye of a lawyer ever since the 

 establishment of law. He pointed 

 out some of its most objectionable 

 parts, and concluded with the mo- 

 tion. 



ill 



