at present; but his R. H. thought it proper to have thus much stated, in order to avoid any imputation of unfairness on his part, of having, in the least, contributed to baulk the public expectation in seeing him immediately resume his full state and dignity. With respect to his R. H.'s claims on the revenues of the dutchy of Cornwall, from 1762 to 1783, he had, from the best legal advice, been satisfied of the validity of those claims, and accordingly instituted a suit for their recovery; but in consideration of his Majesty's royal interposition, and the liberal conduct of Parliament, with respect to the present bill, added to other considerations, which to the infinite honour of his R. H. had made a due impression on his mind, he had given directions to his law officers to drop the suit. saw that Parliament so cordially unanimous in the support of measures to strengthen the hands of his Majesty, and the public spirit so generally aroused as it was, the nation could not be said to be in perilous circumstances; on the contrary, their feelings should, instead of despondency, be those of exultation. The Duke of NORFOLK, in the course of his observations upon the subject, expressed his dissatisfaction at the measure which had been adopted, as falling short of the object profess edly in view. He thought the Heir Apparent should be enabled, not only to live in ease and affluence, but to display a splendour superior to that of the richest private nobleman. He seemed impressed with these considerations so fully, that were it constitutionally regular to originate a bill of this description in their Lordships' house, he would be induced to propose the rejection of the present bill, in order to bring in one on the principles he had alluded to. principles adverted to in his Majesty's message; it was rather, he thought, in its operation and effect (with a reference to the arrears of the dutchy), a bill for paying off a part of the civil list debts, &c. Pursuing this line of argument for some time, he concluded with expressing his dissent from the bill. The Earl of CARLISLE observed, it might be in the recollection of their Lordships, what he said on a former occasion relative to his intention to bring forward a specific proposition on the subject before the House. That intention The Earl of CARNARVON spoke at some night have remained, did not some very serious length, and in a certain degree took a similar and important considerations induce him to de- ground with the Noble Duke. He strongly expart from it. First, the satisfactory statement pressed his disapprobation of the bill, conceiv they had heard from the Noble Earl who lasting it not to be one formed upon the genuine spoke, which may be regarded to a certain degree as coming from authority, should, with a reference to the respect and decorum which they all felt due to the illustrious personage in question, induce him to forego it. Another consideration, and which operated still more forcibly upon his mind, arose out of the great and important change in public affairs, since the interval alluded to-the magnitude and importance of the political communications made from authority to Parliament in the course of last week, should swallow up every inferior consideration, and primarily ingross the deliberations of both Houses. The country he regarded as in a perilous crisis-the utmost vigilance both of Parliament and the Administration were requisite at present; the wisdom of the former, and the exertions of the latter, should be called forth to avert the danger. Under such circumstances, therefore, he was unwilling to take any steps that might tend ever so slightly to embarrass Ministers, or to divert their attention from the present posture of affairs; and so determining, he would upport the bill. The Earl of DARNLEY rose, principally to animadvert on an expression which had fallen from the Noble Earl who had just sat down. He would not, he said, admit the country to he in a perilous situation. Were the conduct of Ministers different from what it was, were they less alert and vigorous, did they remain supine, listless, and inactive upon their posts, then indeed the country might be said to be in h circumstances. But when they saw the Rovereign coming forward to his Parliament in the occasion, as they had done; when they Lord PELHAM spoke in explanation at some length. He contended that the measure in question had nothing whatever to do with the civil list. The money alluded to by the Noble Earl had been wholly applied to state services. For his part, he highly approved of the course adopted. The Noble Secretary observed, that a direct interference on the part of Parliament in the concerns of the Royal Family was at best but an awkward thing. He thought all proceedings of that kind should always proceed from the latter quarter. In concluding, he expressed his approbation of what had been stated by a Noble Earl (Moira). The Earl of MOIRA spoke also at some length in explanation, and scouted the idea of any thing of the nature of a compromise having taken place. With as little propriety, he observed, could the bill be considered as in any mode paying off the debts of the civil list, or of the Crown, as it had never been at any time or by any person considered, that the revenues of the dutchy, during the interval in question, had been applied to the private uses of the Sovereign, or to the purposes of the civil list, but that they had been applied to the public exigencies of state. Had it been a question between his R. H. and the Sovereign, Parliament, he observed, would have never keard a word upon the subject; that illustrious personage knew his duty too well, and had too delicate a sense of his situation, to have troubled Parliament with any matters respecting his individual interests which could affect the quiet or repose of that illustrious family of which he was so distinguished a branch. The Prince's conduct, so far from being regarded in the light of a compromise, or wearing any appearance of it, should be, and truly is, regarded in the most dignified point of view, and as a spontaneous act of magnanimity on the part of the Prince, who never wished for the possession of those arrears, with any other view than to enable him to pay off those demands which he felt it incumbent upon him, in duty and in honour, to discharge. The Earl of SUFFOLK shortly expressed his opinion, that, considering the comparative value of money at the different periods of making the arrangements for the establishment of his R. H. and those of his Royal grandfather, the income of the former should be double what it had been made. The bill was then read a second time, and committed for next day. HOUSE OF COMMONS. Monday, March 14. (See Minutes, p. 428.) [MIDDLESEX ELECTION.]-Mr. SHERIDAN moved, that Mr. Mainwaring, the Rev. Wm. Winkfield, and J. Wm. Knap, who have complained of an undue election for the county of Middlesex, should be ordered by the House to send in a list of the persons who have polled for Mr. Mainwaring, together with other objections to the sitting member; and that the sitting member be ordered to send a list of the persons who polled for him, on or before the 7th of April. Sir ROBERT BUXTON said, he thought the time mentioned by the Hon. Gent. was too short, for the preparation of the list now called for, as the committee would not sit till the 21st of May; he therefore did not think there was time enough to prepare the list. Mr. SHERIDAN said, he never heard such a strange objection as the Hon. Gent. had just made; he did not see much difference as to the length of time, between the 7th of April and the 21st of May. It was now seven months since the election took place; he therefore thought that time enough had been granted to each party, to be ready with every thing connected with the Middlesex election. Mr. BRAGGE said, it was a question of doubt with him, whether the merits of the Middlesex petition could be tried this session; and as an Hon. Gent. opposite to him had very properly observed, that the House could ballot but two committees a week, he thought the Middlesex petition could not, at all events, be tried till the 2d of June. He believed that the time generally allowed for the exchange of lists was a month. Under all these circumstances he thought the first of May a period that would not be objected to for the delivering the lists now moved for by the Hon. Gent. Mr. SHERIDAN said, that Mr. Mainwaring's agent had called on Sir Francis Burdett's solicitor, who agreed to the 7th of April as a period for the delivery of the lists. Mr. Fox observed, that he had understood from the Chancellor of the Exchequer, that only two ballots a week were to take place prior to the holydays, in consequence of many gentlemen having to attend the sessions and other public business, which rendered it inconvenient, nay, impossible for them to pay close attention to the business of that House, till after the holydays. The ballots, he understood, were then to go on as usual. After a few observations from the Chancellor of the Exchequer, the question was put, and the first of May was the time agreed to by the House for receiving the lists of each party. [INDIA BUDGET.]-Lord CASTLEREAGH moved the order of the day for the House going into a committee on accounts presented respecting the East India Company. The House having resolved itself into a committee, Lord CASTLEREAGH said, that the committee would be aware that many of the obscrvations which he had to submit to their consideration, respected the accounts which had been presented to the House last session. The accounts for the last year had not been received from India, otherwise it would have been his wish to have brought both the accounts under the consideration of the House at the same time. But as the House must wish to know the present state of the affairs of the East India Company, as they must be naturally anxious to know what measures the finances of the East India Company would enable them to take for the liquidation of their debt, he should now, with the permission of the committee, proceed to call their attention to the accounts which, as he had before stated, were laid upon the table of the House in the last session of Parliament. The affairs of the East India Company naturally divided themselves into two classes, viz. those abroad and those at home. Their affairs abroad were divided into three distinct heads, namely, 1st, the revenues and charges; 2d, the extent of, and provision for, the investments; and, 3d, the state of their debt and their assets, With respect to the revenues, he would state theming 60, he begged to apprize the committee first upon an average of three years, compared that the estimates and accounts related only to with one year preceding; 2dly, he would the old possessions annexed to that presidency; make a comparison between the estimated otherwise it would be impossible to make a amount and the actual amount of the revenue comparison between its present and its former of the last year; and, 3dly, the estimated re- state; because, from the accession of territory venue for the succeeding year. He should and revenue, not only by the conquest of the therefore now proceed to state the revenues, Mysore, but by treaties with the Nizam, an avecharges, and estimates with respect to rage of the aggregate of the receipts would not constitute a fair mean of comparison with any former period. Having made this preliminary observation, he proceeded to state, that The average of these revenues, from 1798-9 to 1800-1, was BENGAL. Revenues-Average 1798-9 to 1800-1 .6,436,807 More than average last drawn Estimated for 1800-1 289,776 6,339,203 £1,035,068 Actual amount More than estimate 319,131 Actual amount 3,540,268 Actual amount 4,780,611 Peduct excess of revenue from excess of charge, the net revenue is less than estimated Actual amount 4,293,319 And the net revenue for 1800-1 is 1,877,723 Revenues ESTIMATES 1801-2. 7,051,164 Deducting excess of revenue from excess of 264,202 Net revenue 2,468,963 ESTIMATES, 1801-2. 3,899,040 592,240 358,772 266,000 Revenue estimated more than in 1800-1 Net revenue estimated for 1801-2, more than preceding year Revenues estimated more than actual, 1800-1 Net charge for 1801-2, estimated less than 92,772 The committee would observe from this statement, that the estimated charge for 1800-1, was 4,422,0474 and that the actual amount of the charge was 4,780,611. making a difference between the actual and the estimated charge 358,564. As the officers of the The committee would see from this stateCompany had always shewn great accuracy in ment, that there was a greater difference be making up the estimates, and had been parti-tween the estimated and actual charge in Macularly cautious not to mislead by overrating the revenue, he wished to explain to the committee, how it happened that there was this excess of the actual over the estimated charge, and to shew that there was no ground for impeaching the accuracy of the officers who had prepared the accounts. In the first place, these estimates referred to a period of war, and every body must be aware of the impossibility of strict accuracy and precision in estimates during the war. But in addition to this, he begged to state, that in the year to which he was alluding, the expedition to Egypt took place, which certainly was not in contempla tion when the estimates were made; and from this circumstance there would be found a difference between the estimates and the actual charges in all the presidencies. He then proceeded to state the revenues, charges, and estimates with regard to Madras, but, in do dras than there was in Bengal: this difference L. 211,892 The remainder was 31,042 Supplies from Bengal to Fort Marlborough, Actual amount More than estimated Supplies estimated for 1801-2 He then proceeded to take a general view of 85,840 the statement he had made. The result of the year 1801 collectively was as follows: Revenues-Bengal 82,360 156,325 And this was the amount estimated to be applicable in the year 1801-2 to the purchase of in73,965 vestment, payment of commercial charges, &c. Having gone through this general account, the committee would not be surprised that the and having stated the magnitude of the deficit, amount of the investments was not so great as it might otherwise have been expected.-The next subject which he wished to submit to the committee was the debts of the Company in India. They were as follow: Amount stated last year Amount this year Madras £.6,658,334 Total revenues 10,485,059 - £14,640,402 17,674,532 The difference is Net revenue of the three presidencies Deducted from supplies to Bencoolen Which being added to the interest paid on the debts At Bengal Madras L-746,184 214,488 135,489 193,563 L-93.563 Being more than estimated The balance estimated to be remaining in favour on the 1st March 1802, amounting to 486,731. would by the actual accounts have been considerably against the Company from the disappointment in the receipt on the sale of goods, and from deferring the disposal of the loyalty loan; but from some additional receipts on profit on private trade, and from Government for stores, &c. with postponement of the payment of the debt to the Bank, amounting to 800,000l. the balance the 1st March 1802, although the supplies to India and China exceeded the estimate upwards of 200,000l. still remained in favour to the amount of 168,7591. being less than estimated 317,9724.—The estimates for 1802-3 were as follow: Receipt for sale of Company's On 1st March 1801 Decrease £.6,500,600 3,034,130 571,306 - 2,462,824 1,398,024 1,942,393 Net increase of debts Net increase of assets shew the state of the whole concern to be 1,755,35 Which sum was subject to alteration on the £707473 final adjustment of the claims of the Company on Government, included in the home assets to the amount of 3,573,339. making an increase in this year, under this head, of 900,899!. the affairs of the East India Company, both at -Having gone through a general state of home and abroad, comprising their revenues, charges, debts, assets, &c. he should now proceed to put the committee in possession of the best outline in his power of the prospective view of their situation. The best way that occurred to him of doing this, would be to state to the committee, first, the extent of the incumbrances upon the Company, then the extent of their means to meet these incumbrances; then the mode in which it was proposed to apply those means for the amelioration of their affairs, and the result that might fairly be expected from the adoption of these measures; and lastly, to state what was the 571,306 expectation of the public from the Company, 1,434,556 5,393,989 4,822,683 |