42] ANNUAL REGISTER, 1817. 



lutions for the purpose of carrying 

 into effect the objects of the re- 

 port. The House having resumed, 

 leave was given to bring in the 

 several bills. 



JUSTICES IN EYRE. 



On May 19th, the bill for abo- 

 lishing the offices of Justices in 

 Eyre was moved to be read a se- 

 cond time. It met with no other 

 ' opposition, except a speech from 

 Mr. Bosuell, on the ground of liis 

 unwillingness to strip the crown of 

 a power to reward public services ; 

 and after a reply from Lord Milton, 

 the second reading was carried. 



At the same time a motion was 

 made for the second reading of 

 another bill belonging to this class, 

 entitled the Civil Services Com- 

 pensation Bill. Various objections 

 were raised to this bill, and the 

 House was divided, when there 

 appeared. For the second reading 

 105 J Against it 45 : Majority GO. 



On the 6th of June, the order 

 of the day standing for a commit- 

 tee on this bill, Mr. Calcraft said, 

 that if he knew of a better plan 

 of getting rid of sinecures, he 

 would be ready, as a member of 

 the committee who had recom- 

 mended this bill, to adojjt it ; but 

 he knew of none. Considering, 

 however, that by its provisions 

 the crown gave up 90 or 1 00,0001. 

 and received back only 42,0001. 

 he conceived it to be a good bar- 

 gain for the public. 



The House then resolved itself 

 into a committee, in which a con- 

 versation took place on the several 

 clauses of the bill. 



The report was brought up on 

 June loth, when Mr. D. Gilbert 

 moved several clauses, which were 

 agreed to. 



Mr. Calcraft moved a clause, 

 " That any person who may ac- 

 cept a pension under this act, shall 

 vacate his seat in parliament." 

 The House divided upon this 

 clause, when it was rejected by 

 6"4 against 27. 



It was then moved, that the bill 

 be read a third time to-morrow. 

 The House again divided. Yeas 

 75 ; Noes 20 : Majority 55. 



In the House of Lords, on 

 June 30th, the bills for the aboli- 

 tion of certain offices, and the 

 compensation for civil services, 

 were introduced by the Earl of 

 Liverpool. His hndship, in his 

 speech on this occasion, recom- 

 mended the bills to the attention 

 of the House, on two principles ; 

 1st, That whatever regulation of 

 this kind might be adopted, theie 

 was a necessity for reserving to 

 the crown the means of rewarding 

 public services : 2(lly, That these 

 means should be at the disposal of 

 the crown. These principles, he 

 attempted to shew, were suffi- 

 ciently secured by the present 

 bills. As to the sinecures bill, he 

 saiil it was lit they should be given 

 up, on two grounds — that the 

 crown should have the power of 

 rewarding services by direct, in- 

 stead of indirect, compensation ; 

 and that the abolition would do 

 away much of the unreasonable 

 prejudice existing on this point. 

 He then stated to the House the 

 saving which would accrue to the 

 public from the measures now 

 proposed. 



The bills were opposed upon 

 different grounds ; and especially 

 because they seemed founded upon 

 a forced concession in which the 

 ministers were induced to act in 

 direct opposition to the interests 



of 



