that fword with fo much credit and repu- I have the honour to be, Sir, Sir, Mr. Fondlewife fat the whole evening next his cara fpofa, and was inceffantly fqueezing her hand, and faying " My angel, how do you? My life, I fear you are not well? Shall I get you fome hartfhorn drops, or fome falts? Come, my lamb, I think you look a little better; then giving her a kifs, I hope you will recover, or fhall I order you a chair." Such a fulfome dialogue, or rather foliloquy, with its accompaniments, was completely difgufting; but not quite fo infupportable as the behaviour of Mr. Crabtree, who fat directly oppofite, in every fenfe, to Mr. Fondlewife. Whenever Mrs. Crabtree began to speak, he interrupted her with, "hold your tongue, you fool, don't expose yourself." When the endeavoured to go on in saying, pray, Mr. Crabtree, give me leave to tell my ftory," he would immediately vociferate, "Oh! d-n fuch stories as yours, they are all alike, and not worth liftening to." "But, Mr. Crabtree, I don't want you to litten, the would reply, I was fpeaking to this lady." "Was you, faid Crabtree, I am very fory for it; but that I dy has too much fenfe to hearken to your nonfenfe." "I have acquainted Mr. Bath, whom you recommend for the Surgeoncy of a regiment, that all the Surgeons of regiments are proposed to me by Mr. Adair, and that unless he comes recommended by him, I cannot affift him in his wishes, to become a military Surgeon. I have the honour to be, Sir, your molt obedient, Count O'Rourke, humble fervant, No. 64, Newman-Street. Amherst. Lord Hillsborough prefents his compliments to Count O'Rourke, and has the honour to acquaint him that he has duly received the copy of Lord North's correfpondence, which the Count took the trouble to inclofe to him, and as it appears to relate entirely to matters out of Lord Hillsborough's department, does not trouble the Count with any obferva-markable, and made me conclude, if the tions upon it. St. James's, 28th December, 1780. We thank the Count for affifting us in the correction of the above mistakes; our defign in the first publication was to do him honour, as a man who in the fpirit of martial adventure, had acquired fuch importance and diftinction in the military field of Europe. We conclude with mentioning an additional anecdote, much to his praife. Some time ago he published an Effay on Tactics, the profits of which he generously bestowed to the Asylum. Then poor Mrs. Crabtree was filenced, and her husband, as ufual, obtained his triumph. Such characters, I know, Sir, are often to be met with, but they are feldom fo which rendered this event the more recompletely contrafted in the fame group, Fondlewives and the Crabtrees were not equally reprehenfible, they were at least equally ridiculous. How naturally the judicious reader will draw the following conclufion : That the happy medium is to be moft de-. voutly aimed at, and that the inceffant fond fpoufe, and the perpetual fnarling fpoufe, fhould be held up as beacons to married men, to avoid Charybdis and not fplin on Scylla." Sir, your very humble fervant, HOSE actions which we denominate independent, but a relative and reflected beauty, and the fource from which they derive their luftre is the intention which guided them. If well intended, whether they produce good or evil, they are equally virtuous. The producing good or evil are the accidents; the intention to produce good, is the effence of virtue; and this is the criterion or teft, by which virtue is to be determined. The The Hiftory of the Proceedings and Debates of the firft Seffion of the House of Commons of the fifteenth Parliament of Great Britain, appointed to be held at Westminster, on Tuesday, Ocber 31, 1780. [Continued from our last, p. 157.] MR Monday, Feb. 19, 1781." R. Towafhend moved, that Mr. Roberts, who had been taken into cuftody by the Serjeant at Arms on the order of Thursday laft, for non-attendance, be discharged from his confinement. He made this motion to fhew, that he had been influenced by no perional animofity towards the hon. gentleman, when he infitted on enforcing the relentment of the houfe. An excule had been then offered by a noble lord, which he could not hold fufficient for exempting the hon. member from punishment; however, he confidered it as a great extenuation of his fault, and on that account now wished for his releate, protesting at the fame time his refolution always to enforce fuch punishments, with out which calls of that houfe would be entirely nagatory. Sir Joseph Mawbey feconded the motion, it paffed nem. con. Mr. Roberts foon afterwards came in, and thanked the house for its clemency in difcharging him without the humiliating circumftance of being placed as a delinquent at the bar. However, had the true caule of his non-attendance been known, he faid, he should not have fallen under their difpleature, as he was detained by indisposition, and was actually found by the me lenger in his bed. A double mi fortune had attended his fituation; for his colleague, who had been defired by him to apologize to the houfe, had alfo been detained by ill health, and was confequently unable to make known his fituation. Concious of thofe truths, he had his innocence to contole him under their displeasure; yet he felt the full obligation of their prefent indulgence, and should repay it by his endeavours Rever more to offend. Mr. Burke then brought up his bill for reducing the civil lift revenue; which having been read a first time, he moved for its tecond reading on Thursday next. Lord Nugent objected to so early a day, as it would be impoffible for young members, who were uninformed of the contents of the bill, to be able to confider it properly by Thursday, efpecially as the faft day intervened. He did not, as to himself, by any means approve the meature as laid before them last feffion. It comprehend ed various innovations in our conflitution; and if found expedient at all, thould by no means be adopted without mature deliberation. Many Cogent arguments had been adduced against it laft year, and principally this-that it tended to violate the facred rights of property: yet he would acknowledge, that feveral clauses of the bill met his hearty approbation; for it would be abfurd to deny that economy was neceffary at the prefent conjuncture, or that corrupt influence ought to be abolished. But whatever part of the bill he might wish to adopt, he should object to precipitation, therefore would propofe an Hib. Mag. April, 1782. amendment to the motion, by fubftituting for Thursday next, that day fe'nnight. Mr. Burke replied, that as the principle of his bill was already univerfally understood, there could not be any objection to its commitraent; for as to the different claufes, they were fubject to the examination of the committee. Without following the noble lord, therefore, in his comments on the nature of the bill, he remained of opinion that Thursday was not too early a day for the fecond reading. As to Wednesday's being a fan-day, he thought that circumitance would facilitate the confideration of the bill; for that day would carry with it leifure and relaxation, and nothing could fo well difpofe their minds to the subject of reformation, as a day of failing and prayer. Called upon to fast for the calamities of the nation, what could be fo proper a companion as a bill which pointed out at once the fource and remedy of those calamities. Here they might fee prodigality producing poverty, corruption, flavery, ambition, ruinous war, tyranny and oppreffion, refiftance and revolt!-Let them take then, as the grace to their falling dinners, the preamble of this bill!-Wednelday was alfo to be a day of humiliation, and the reductions propofed, he doubted not, would be humiliation enough to many. word, it seemed peculiarly fortunate, that "the fubject of this bill was to congenial to the fubject of the day. After fome other fallies, the hoùfe divided on the amendment, when there appeared For it Againft it 99 77 Mr. Minchin moved, "That an humble addrels be prefented to his majesty, begging he will be graciously plezled to order a lift to be Jaid before the hoofe of the number of ships under the command of admiral Darby, on the ift and 6th days of December, diftinguishing their feveral rates." Lord North faid it was not customary to move for fuch lifts, without specifying the ule intended to be made of them; he must therefore requeft the hon. gentleman to give the house some latisfaction on that head, before he could acquiefce in the motion. Mr. Minchin replied, that he would inform the houfe of his realons for fixing on the days mentioned in the motion. It was well known admiral Darby had retreated from the French, and entered the channel-a conduct which to many appeared injurious to the honour of this country. He did not mean to throw any blame on the admiral, but criminality rested somewhere; for if he had force enough to face the enemy, he was reprehenfible; and if his force was lo far inferior as to preclude him from all probability of fuccefs, the adrniralty must have been in fault. It had been alledged in vindication of admiral Darby, that his force confifted only of seventeen fail of the line; if fo, there was a fcandalous inattention in the admiralty. But he wished not as yet to decide; he only wanted the neceflary information for future enquiry. Lord North could not admit the expediency of asking for the 1 tts in question for fuch pur pofes, as they could not found any charge either Dd врод upon the admiral or the department under which he acted, even fhould the fact turn out as the hon. gentleman had suggested.-Admiral Darby might perhaps have had no more than feventeen fhips with him when he faw the French fleet, and yet that be no neglect of the admiralty. The fleet might have been feparated by a form, or fome of the fhips might for good reafons have returned into port. Certain it was, that whatever number of ships he had on the 1t of De cember, a much greater number had failed with him from the channel. Another obvious objection was, that if the motion went to crimi nate admiral Darby, that officer at prefent had RO opportunity of defending his own conduct, At any rate, therefore, the motion was pre mature. Mr. Bamber Ga' coigne informed the houfe, that he had heard in converfation from admiral Darby, "That he never faw the French fleet but once, and then made fail to come up with it; but coming on before he had diflinguifhed the number of the enemy's fhips, he defined in prudence from mixing among them in the dark. He ordered the Courageux, however, to reconnoitre them, and the whole fleet followed her track; but neither the next day, or at any fubfequent time, had he been able to fee them again." Mr. Fox exprefled his aftonishment to hear the noble lord enquire the tendency of a motion like the prefent, when it was notorious that the honour of the nation demanded the enquiry. The 27th of July had been called a difgrace to this country, and he readily admitted that it was fo! That fentiment had been frequently profefed on the other fide of the houte; but nothing had been Jaid of the firfl week of December, in which the honour of the British flag had been more difgraced than at any tormer period; for a fleet of Great-Britain had never before retreated, without even daring to look the enemy in the face, or to count their numbers; and admiral Darby, to his certain knowledge, had leen the French three different times. He did not, however, blame the admiral; but wished to enquire into the caufe of this difhonour, that his character might be cleared.—The 27th of July was jully called a difgrace to our navy; for the cause had been investigated, and every body knew who was the cause of that difgrace. But to fpeak of December in the fame ftyle, in the prefent uncertain state of the bufinels, might be conftrued into a reproach to all the officers in Darby's fleet. Thele, therefore, were diflatisfied, and forely felt the ignominy which had fallen upon the na. vy, fo did the public at large; yet the noble lord withed to fupprefs the enquiry. Mr. Fax then ran over the whole catalogue of ministerial miscarriages, from the commencement of the American war to the prefent day, and faid the poble lord had given independency to Ireland by pating the mutiny bill without any claufe in it relative to that kingdom. In answer to Mr, Gafcoigne he obferved, that the admiral was in the house when he firit mentioned this bufinefs; and though he had almost in exprefs terms calied upon him for an explanation, he chofe to be filent. Mr. Fox next attacked commodore Johnstone. That hon. gentleman, though not now in his place, had been loud, he said, in his panegyric on the first lord of the admiralty; but it was dangerous either to praife or cenfure roo foon: perhaps the hon. gentleman had not travelled a hundred miles from London without changing his opinion. He should be happy, however, to know, whether the fleet prepared for that officer at Portimouth were in a proper condition for failing when he arrived there? Among many proofs of impartiality in the first lord of the admiralty, the giving commodore Johnftone this command was a confpicuous one; for nobody had abused his lordship more than that gentleman.-Yet he was now become a favourite on the other fide of the house, where formerly he had not been fo much liked, and that not unfeasonably; for be was now no favourite at all on the other fide, where he had once been a great one. Mr. Pulteney vindicated the conduct of admiral Darby, from private information which he had received from officers in the fleet, according to which admira! Darby could not poffibly come to action with the French the only time they were in fight, the latter being then confiderably to windward; and he was afterwards obliged to return for want of provifions, having bread enough only for two days when he arrived in the channel. Mr. Pulteney, however, added, that he had no objection to the motion, as not conceiving it carried any immediate charge against any particular perfon, or that the mover withed for any improper intelligence. After Mr. T. Townshend and fome others had had their thares in the debate, the members divided: For the motion 63 No bufinels of confequence occurring we shall pafs on to Wednesday, March 14. The house having refolved itself into a committee, lord North rofe to open the taxes. To impofe freth burthens upon the people was not more grievous to the public to bear, than difagreeable to him to make them feel. Neceflity only could force him to it; and as the exigencies of the flate required fub fidies, he must, however reluctantly, propose them. He had made it his ftudy to felect iuch taxes as thould be productive, without being op preffive to any particular class. The taxes he was going to propofe, he trufted, would be found to be of this defcription; and if it should be agreed, that they were the leaft burthenfome that could be laid on, it would be fome confolation to him, for the anxiety he felt at being obliged to lay them on. The firfl object which promised him an efficient tax was the excife: he propofed to lay an additional five per cent. on all excifeable commodities, beer, foap, candies, and leather excepted thefe were neceffaries of life; and a tax impoled on them would fall heaviest on that part of the community which is leaft able to bear it. If the tax extended to beer, it might produce about thirty-feven thousand pounds a year; but then the brewer and publican would moit probably lay an additional halfpenny on every put of porter, which would raile just one million a year; and as this million would go into the pocbets of brewers and publicans, and not into the Exchequer, Exchequer, he could not think of expofing the induftrious part of the nation to fo heavy a tax, while the itate fhould derive from it fo fmall a fum as thirty-feven thousand pounds. Leaving foap, candles, beer, and leather, therefore, put of the queftion, the new tax, from a medium of the accounts of past years, would bring in 150,000l. per annum. The fecond object of taxation was the cuftoms. The manner in which there were paid, formed a fyftem the most complicated and hard to be understood, of any, perhaps, in the world of finance; and this difficulty and complication arole chiefly from the ditcounts that are allowed for prompt payment: the merchant feldom knew what he was to pay, and the collectos loft much time in making out the accounts; this produced an incredible number of errors, particularly in our ports. Several plans had been formed to remove these difficulties; to confolidate the cuftoms had been one, and a book had been written, which was well known by the title of "The Book of Rates," in which a pretty good attempt had been made for that purpose; but this book was liable to errors; and in making out the various accounts, it had been found neceffary to decompound what had been compounded in it. The plan of confolidation was, undoubtedly, very defirable; and he certainly intended to turn his thoughts that way; in the mean time, how. ever, he would propofe, if not to confolidate, at leaft to fimplify the cuftoms; and as nine errors out of ten, in the out port accounts, arose from the discounts, he proposed that thefe laft fhould be abolished, which would yield a confiderable revenue; and though this would take much money from the merchant, yet, on the other hand, it would free him from a great deal of trouble and inconvenience. The difcounts were allowed on four or five different branches: there was the first fubfidy, the fecond, the third, and the impofts: forme of these were as old as the reign of Charles the fecond, fome as that of William the third; and difcounts were allowed upon all. If thefe diBounts were abolished, the commodities would neceffarily rife in their prices to the confumer; tobacco feventeen per cent. tea eleven, and none Jefs than four; confequently they mutt produce in the fame ratio to the exchequr. On wines they would produce upwards of four pounds per ton; and taking the quantity of wine imported annu. ally at 15,000 tons, the money arifing from the abolition of discounts on that article would amount to upwards of 60,000l a year. The quantity of tea imported annually was 5,120,000 pounds weight; that of tobacco 8,500,000lb. From the abolition of discount upon all these commodities, there would arife a revenue of 167,000l. a year. He should introduce feveral regulations into the bill, to be founded on the relolation of the prefent committee, which would be highly beneficial to the public. The ladia company were allowed discount for what was called prompt payment; but which, in fact, was very far from it. The company had two great fales, one from the first of March to the firtt of September-the other from the firft of September to the first of March; and they were sut salled upon for the payment of the duties, till the expiration of three months after; fo that in fact, they had three months paying them. He would, therefore, make a regulation, that they fhould pay down; and they could not be diffatisfied with it, as they allowed themselves but three months to those who bought of them. Another regulation he intended to introduce, was to abolish the practice at the Custom-house, called bonding. There were three modes of paying there; one by laying down all the money at once, which was but rarely done : the fecond, by taking away the goods and giving a triple bond, the principal, and two fureties, for eighteen months: the third, by warehousing the goods; and paying the duty as the owner took any part of them away. The fecond made he intended to abolish, because it expofed the reve nue to confiderable loffes, as in the cafe of a Mr. Browne, who, in confequence of a triple bond, got all his goods out of the Cuftom-house, and having fold them, ran away before the bond was due, and thereby defrauded the revenue of 24,ocol. The third mode was by far the more eligible, as the goods remained under the key of the Custom-house officer till paid for, fo that the revenue could not be defrauded. Exclufive of the abolition of difcount on tea, wines, and tobacco, his lordship found in the laft article, a fubftantial object of taxation: he ftated the average quantity imported annually; and, from the confumption, and the price it bore, fince the beginning of the war, had not a doubt but it would be able to bear a tax that would raife a confiderable fum. During the wa it had been up as high as three fhillings a pound; yet the confumption did not decreafe; it was now at twenty pence; and as it had been able to pro duce three hillings a pound for a certain period, it doubt eis would bear an additional duty of one penny three farthings a pound, which with the abolition of the d fcount, would make the whole of the new duty fomewhat short of three-pence, Tobacco, therefore, would prove a very proper object of taxation; as it was now at only twenty pence, no rile in confequence of the duty could make it fo dear as it had been already. This new duty, therefore, of seven farthings a pound on 8,500,000 pounds of tobacco, will pro duce 61,000'. llerling. The next and last article of taxation was fugar. This was an article ufed indeed by a valt number of people, but fill was certainly a lux. ury; it was not like foap, beer, candles, and leather, without which it was impoffible to fubfilt; and though the use of it was general, yet it could not be claffed among the neceffaries of life; and, therefore, was a proper object of taxation; and the more fo, as the tax would be borne equally by all, in proportion to their con. fumption. It was by no means his with, that the tax should fall upon the fugar planter; if it could be proved that it would, the proof would afford a very good and proper objection to it. Government always wished to cafe the planter as much as poffible. But it was the confamer, and not the planter, that would pay the tax he meant to propofe. His lor hip itated the quan-" tities of fugar imported since the year 1747 and thewed that there had been a gradual increate, Bill within the lag shige er four years. D 42 The de reale, Creafe, he faid, was to be accounted for by the Jofs of Grenada, St. Vincent, and Dominica; and even yet this was contiderably less than might have been expected. At prefent, the quantity imported amounted to 1,464,coo hundred weight; but as he wished to be rather under than over, he would take the quantity imported at no more than 1,400,000 hundred weight. His intention was to lay an additional duty of four fhillings and eight pence on every hundred, by which we should be able to raie 326,000l. a year. The tax amounted to about one halfpenny per pound; and though the feller fhould add another, ftill he could not carry the price of fugar higher than it had been once within thete four years; and very probably not fo high. Another confideration was, that Ireland would bear a part of the tax; for as, by the act which extended the trade of the Weft-Indies to that kingdom, it was ftipulated that Ireland thould, in the space of four months after the meeting of her parliament, impole íuch additional duty as fhould equalite those which might be impofed in Great Britain, fo the trade of Ireland fhould be fo regulated, that there would be no danger of her being able to underfell us in foreign markets; and if the should fend any fugars to England, they would become liable to the duty. With relpect to wines, the additional duty on them, by the abolition of the discount, could not affect the public; for when parliament thought proper to lay a duty of a penny a quart on wines, the vintuers very unjustly imposed a tax of fix pence. The five per cent. laft year on the customs brought a fecond penny into the Exchequer, and this year's additional penny will make the third; these three-pence then are not taken from the public, for they pay them already, but from the vintners, who unconscionably took fixpence from the confummer, when they themfelves were taxed only one penny; it was fair, therefore, that the ftate fhould there the fixpence with the vintner; and the tax could not be unacceptable to the public, as it was now an ald one, which they had voluntarily paid, though not levied on them of parliament. All there different taxes being caft up, formed fum of 704,000l. a year, vis. Five per cent excile, except malt, foap, candles, and hides, Discount of the cullems, Tobacco Id. three farthings per ib. meant this fum fhould be appropriated for the purpose of paying a part of the intereft on the loan, and thereby eafing the public from new burthens; or whether it would be carried to the finking fund. It was his intention to place it to the latter, as he had efficient taxes fufficient that freed him from the neceflity of taking this fun from the finking fund. There could have been no injury, therefore, to the public credit, if he had converted the 190,000l. to the purpose of paying off part of the intereft on the late loan; as the present state of the finking fund afforded an ample collateral fecurity. In which ever, therefore, of these two ways he thould employ the 190,000l. it was not a queftion of either juftice or honour, but of prudence; and as he intended to carry it to the fuking fund, he, therefore, rated that fund this year at 390.00ol. However, he intended to avail himself of it to pay off the first quarter's interelt on the loan; and this he did not take to be any diversion of that fum from the finking fund, as the latter must have made good the intereft, whether the 190,000l. had fallen into it this year or not; confcquently the employing that lumn for the payment of the first quarter's intereft, was employing it, as the whole fund itself was taken, for the fupply of the current year. His Lordship concluded by exprefling his concern, that he had been obliged to impofe to great a burthen. He hoped, however, that it would anfwer its en1; and then he moved one of his refolutions, having been two hours and ten mi. nutes on his legs. Thursday, March 15. Mr. Orde next brought up the report from the committee of ways and means; and the refolutions were read, and agreed to by the house. Friday March 16. No bufinefs of confequence. (To be continued.) Irif Parliamentary Intelligence. HOUSE of COMMONS. TH Tuesday, June 13, 1780. HE houfe in committee, on heads of a bill to license and regulate lottery offices. The 150,000 Suficitor General in the chair. Reported and or167,000 dered for tranfmiffion. 61,000 326,000 704,000 The intereft of the loan was 660.cool. there would be thus a furplus of 44,cool. If the taxes fhould produce the fums for which he gave them, he thould carry this furplus to the finking fund. But it should be remembered, that the intereft on the loan had been accruing fince Christmas, and confequently there would be, at least, one quarter's intereft due before the new taxes could take place. This naturally introduced mention of the 190,000l. which will fall this year from the 4 per cents. into the fioking fund. He had been asked on a former occafion, whether he Mr. Chapman reported from a committee, on heads of a bill against heughing cattle. Received, read, and ordered for transmission. Mr. Tydd reported from the committee on heads of a bill, for amending the bankrupt act. Received, read, and ordered for tranfmiffion. The house in committee on the bill for compelling landlords to renew leafes for lives renewable for ever. After a confiderable debate, the question was put. ayes 56, noes 53. The heads of the bill were then read through, reported, and ordered for tranfmiffion. The house adjourned. Wednesday, June 14.] The house in committee on the county of Dublin road bill. The hon. Mr. Annefly in the chair. Went through the |