GENERAL HISTORY. 



[51 



magistrates. He had heard the 

 opposite opinion affirmed by legal 

 authority quite as good as that 

 of the lord advocate. He appre- 

 hended, however, that the decla- 

 ration of the learned lord's opinion 

 this night would alarm the credi- 

 tors of some burghs, and bring 

 these claims and their other 

 municipal concerns to a speedy 

 crisis. One thing, however, he 

 must pointedly remark — that al- 

 though the learned lord had 

 denied that' the burgesses at 

 large were liable for the debts of 

 the burghs, he had taken care to 

 avoid stating who were liable. 

 The learned lord, too, had dis- 

 puted the fact of the dilapidation 

 and ruin of the burgh funds. 

 Here his lordship read a state- 

 ment of the condition of Aber- 

 deen, which, from being one of 

 the richest corporations in Scot- 

 land, was now obliged to borrow 

 a large sum to pay Sie interest of 

 their debt. Similar facts, his 

 lordship said, to a greater or less 

 extent, might be adduced in the 

 case of all the royal burghs in 

 Scotland, as he could prove 

 before a committee of the House. 

 Tlie general subject, however, 

 was not now before the House ; 

 and though he plainly foresaw 

 that his present motion was to 

 be negatived, he promised to 

 bring it on again before the House 

 after Easter. 



The motion was negatived 

 without a division. 



The Navy Estimates were first 

 moved in a Committee of Supply, 

 in the House of Commons, by 

 Sir George Warrender, on Fe- 

 bruary ^th. 



He said there would be found 

 in this year a small increase in the 



supply for this branch of t& pub- 

 lic service. The addition was 

 1000 sailors, and 1000 marines ; 

 and it was occasioned by the 

 necessity of keeping up an esta- 

 blishment at St. Helena, and the 

 state of South America. The 

 rate of pay was somewhat higher 

 in peace than in war, because the 



f)roportion of able seamen to 

 andmen was greater in peace, in 

 order that tlie fleet might the 

 more epecdily be put on a good 

 footing in case of emergency. 

 The chaige of ordnance was 

 somewhat increased. A ship 

 which in time of war had a com- 

 plement of 480 men, had in peace 

 only 300, the number of gims re- 

 maining tlie 6ame: whence the 

 charge for ordnance was increased 

 in the proportion of firom 4< to 7 

 filiillings per man per month. He 

 then moved, 1. " Tliat 20,000 

 men be employed for tlie sea 

 service for 13 months from the 

 1st of January 1818, including 

 6000 royal marines. 2. That 

 6ll,0C0/. be granted for wages 

 <5f the said 20,000 men, at the 

 rate of 21. Is. per man per month. 



3. Tliat 520,000/. be gi-anted for 

 victuals for the said 20,000 men, at 

 the rate oi2l. per man per month. 



4. That 559,000/. be granted for 

 the wear and tear of the ships in 

 which the said 20,000 men are to 

 serve, at the rate of 21. 35. per 

 man per month. 5. That 91,000/. 

 be gi-anted for ordnance for sea 

 service on board the ships in 

 which the said 20,000 men are 

 to serve, at the rate of 75. per 

 man per month." 



The above motions were agreed 

 to. 



On March 16th the House of 

 Commons having resolved itself 



[e 2] into 



