1801.] 
conformity to a notice he had given, fub- 
mitted to the houfe his fentiments on the 
conduct of adminiftration, and the confe- 
quences that might attend their criminal 
career. It was apparent in the fpeech 
from the throne on the firft day of the 
feflion, that they were determined to pro- 
tecute the war in fpite of every remon- 
flrance. They tell the country that its 
refources are not yet exhautted,. that it is 
yet efficient for a future ftruggie; but this 
they infer not from the real ftate of things, 
but fronitheir own refources and incomes, 
which are not Ieffened, but augmented by 
the general diftrefs, This ftate of the 
country he would undertake, he faid, to 
prove; and then proceeded: he firft ex- 
preffed his difapprobation of the falaries 
of placemen, one of whofe falaries, with-- 
out being perfonal, appeared not lefs than 
17,000], ‘Che right honourable gentle- 
man (Mr. Pitt) had faid, that war does 
not produce a material f{carcity. He de- 
nied that pofition, and infilted that it did, 
by the vaft quantity of paper introduced 
into circulation, fo vaft, that not lefs than 
feventy clerks were employed inthe Bank 
of England to check the notes for detect- 
ing forgeries; and this currency, he faid, 
well. nigh tripled the price of things. 
The fpecie was fent to Holland, Pruffia, 
Vienna, &c. and we were now paying a 
fum of 6c0,000l. a year for foreign corps, 
which he confidered as an Emigrant job. 
By fuch means England was impoverifhed, 
and made the pack-horfe of Europe. Vhe 
purport of his motion was, “ That ‘Mi- 
nifters fhould be diimiffed from their fta- 
tions on the ground of incapacity.” After 
a few words from Mr. Nicholls and Mr. 
Robfon the houfe divided, for the mo- 
tion 13—againit it 66. 
On the 8th of December, in a commit- 
tee of fupply, Mr. Long moved, that 
126,6431. be granted to cover the in- 
tereft of exchequer bills, which was agreed 
to. 
The herring importation bill was read 
a third time and pafled. 
The bill to grant certain bounties on 
the importation of the different kinds of 
grain was read a third time, and ordered 
to be taken up to the Lords for their con- 
currence. 
On the rrth of December the Attorney 
General faid, the Act for fufpending the 
Habeas Corpus Act would expire on the rft * 
of February; and between the 22d of 
January, the day on which the united 
parliament was to meet, and the rft day 
of February, there were only ten days, a 
time far too fhort for any difcuffion rela- 
tive to the propricty and expediency of the 
State of Public Affairs in December 1800- 
563 _ 
meafure. He did not, however, propofe 
or wifh that the bill fhould be now conti- 
nued for any confiderable length of time, 
but only fo far that the further renewal 
of it might ftill become a matter for the 
confideration in the next feflion. He 
thought it wholly unneceffary to give any 
reafons for the meafure, fince they muft 
be prefent to the mind of every member 
of that houfe, but concluded with moving 
for leave to bring in a bill farther to con- 
tinue the Act for fufpending the Habea 
Corpus—-The other fpeakers were Mr, 
Martin, Mr. Sheridan, the Chancellor of 
the Exchequer, Mr. Tierney, Mr. Baker, 
and Sir F. Burdett. On a divifion there 
appeared for the motion, ayes §1, noes 
2 P 
. On the next day the Attorney General 
obtained leave to bring in a bill for con- 
tinuing in force the Alien Act. Mr, 
Bragge obtained leave to bring in a bill 
to explain, amend, and enlarge the powers 
of the Land-tax redemption bill. 
December the 15th the order of the 
day being read for the third reading of 
the Parochial Relief Bill, Mr. Ryder moved 
a claufe, enabling the parifh to appoint 
from two to four fubftantial houfekeepers 
to aflift the overfeers in making a rate, for 
the purchafe of provifions for the relief of , 
the poor; the claufe was agreed to, and 
the bill was read a third time and paffed. 
On the fame day Mr. Bragge brought up _ 
the report of the committee of fupply for 
granting 50,0001. to his Majefty, to be 
applied for laying in ftores of herrings, for 
the convenience and ufe of different parts 
of the kingdom. 
With refpe& to this latter plan, we 
think it necefiary to add a few words. 
We have maturely confidered it, and we 
cannot but think it a moft wretched expe- 
dient. Herrings are rather matter of 
fae than of fubjiflence. ‘They may ferve 
to make other food relifh; but alas, the 
poor at prefent are not in want of fauce, 
but ef the common neceffaries of life, in 
want of folid aliment. Befides this, we 
are apprehenfive that the whole of this 
plan will end in a yor. We underftand 
that officers are to be fent to Scotland, and 
the out-ports, at high falaries, to tranfact 
the bufinefs, which, fhould it even anfwer 
in fome meafure the purpofe, will be at- 
tended with an enormous expence. A 
plainer and fimpler meafure lies directly 
before the legiflature, and we have al- 
ready mentioned it. If they will only 
prohibit for a limited period the confump- 
tion of grain by hories, every deficiency 
will be amply fupplied, and the quartern 
loaf will fall at once to its ufual ftlandard. 
4aC2 ALPHA, 
