been sent up to him from Ilchester, and which was the whole allowance for one man for a day. [Here the hon. baronet drew forth a little loaf from his pocket, and after holding it up for the inspection of the House, he dashed it indignantly on the floor, and it rolled towards the Treasury benches, where it was picked up by one of the members.] Mr. Burke, continued the hon. baronet, had once thrown down a dagger on the floor of that House, to produce effect, but he had produced something that was real, and not from the mere impulse of momentary feeling. He would ask, whether such a pittance was enough to sustain life? Before he concluded, also, he wished to advert to the present state of the gaols throughout England. He feared there was a degree of oppression exercised in them by the inferior officers of what was called justice, countenanced in some instances by the magistrates themselves (though he was far from intending to cast any imputation upon that body in general,) which were shocking in a civilized country. With regard to the Petition he held in his hand, he knew not exactly what mode of redress to suggest to the House, but he thought some relief ought surely to be afforded. The petitioners were too poor to remove their complaints to either of the courts at Westminster by writs of Habeas Corpus. He concluded by moving, That the Petition do lie on the table. Mr. Harvey thought it would be a dangerous precedent to grant the prayer of the Petition, which went either to liberation from prison, or to being admitted to bail. The prisoners had been committed for felony, the Riot Act having been duly read, and they had continued their tumultuous conduct notwithstanding. It was the province of a jury, therefore, to decide upon their guilt or innocence; and they would take their trial at the next assizes. He considered the allegations in the Petition as false. Lord Palmerston suggested whether it would not be better to present the Petition when there was a fuller attendance of members. Sir F. Burdett said, he had waited till the House was nearly upon the point of adjourning, in hopes that more members would be present. The Petition was then read. It purported to be the Petition of several friends and relatives of John Hipwood, William Erry, William Taylor, Charles Pitt, Philip Millikin, and Elizabeth Lovett, now under confinement in the gaol of Ilchester, upon a charge of a riot committed at the late election for Bath; and set forth, "That, on the 2nd day of the late election for the said city, held by virtue of the proclamation thereupon issued by Joseph Phillott esq. the returning officer thereof, a great number of the freemen and other inhabitants of Bath were peaceably assembled in the market place in front of the town hall of the said city, in order to continue the business of such election, in exercise of their lawful rights and privileges; and that the doors of such hall were then closed against the citizens, and guarded by an extraordinary number of constables, who prevented all access thereto, in despite of the repeated remonstrances made by John Allen, esq. one of the candidates, who insisted on the right of public admission thereto for the purpose of continuing the said election; and, in consequence of their persevering in such refusal, the suffrages of the freemen then present were about to be taken in the open street at a temporary hustings, when an immediate stop was put thereto (notwithstanding there was not the least appearance of riot or tumult) by three of the corporation of the said city, who violently rushed out of the said hall, attended by a number of constables, and not only seized the person of the said John Allen, esq. dragging him from the place on which he was then standing (and in the very act of exhorting the people to keep the peace) preventing thereby the unpolled freemen from tendering their votes, and also with their staves and bludgeons striking and compelling the people to disperse; and that, in consequence of such violent procedures on the part of the corporation and their officers, many of the persons so struck, and others who felt indignant thereat, attacked the officers in their turn by throwing at them dirt, oyster shells, &c. by which several windows of the town hall were demolished, but no personal damage whatever was sustained by the constables, although by their promiscuously striking at the people with their long staves more than 100 persons were severely wounded and bruised by them; and that, on pretext of such riot, the several persons above named (together with others who have since been admitted to bail) were seized by the officers, and dragged to the Bridewell of the said city, where they were kept for four days in a woman, who obtains her livelihood by carrying baskets from the market; and the petitioners have not only been informed, but some of them have actually seen, that, independent of the scantiness of their gaol allowance, the bodily sufferings of the prisoners above named are very considerable, inasmuch as they are fettered like felons of the worst description, precluded the sight and conversation of their friends, except at three stated times of the day, one hour only at each time, and then through two iron gratings, at the distance of six feet from each other; and, notwithstanding they have been supplied by the humanity of several gentlemen with a great coat each, to defend them against the inclemency of the season, their clothes, which might add to their warmth in the nights of this severe winter, are constantly taken from them on their retiring to their straw bed (about four of the clock in the afternoon) where they have nothing but a rug allowed them for a covering; and that the petitioners have been informed that all ends of public justice would have been answered, and the duration of the confinement of the said prisoners shortened at least one half, if the magistrates had chosen to commit them to the next quarter sessions of the peace, instead of the assizes, for the county, and to draw down a heavier judgment (if possible) upon the unfortunate relatives of the petitioners, the said corporation have already monopolized all the leading counsel on that circuit; and that the poverty of the pri soners has prevented their applying to any of his Majesty's courts of Westminster for writs of Habeas Corpus for the purpose of being admitted by of being admitted by a judge to bail, and by whom they would most probably have been relieved; and that, although they, as well as the petitioners, have been advised, that they will ultimately have legal redress by actions at law against the persons by whom they have been under these circumstances imprisoned, yet in the mean time, in consideration of the personal sufferings of the said prisoners, and of the great affliction of mind felt by the petitioners as their relatives and friends, and also in consequence of the severe privations and hardships sustained by their respective families by reason of their confinement; the petitioners pray, that under the whole of these circumstances, the House will, in its humanity and justice, be pleased to interpose herein for the relief of the above named prisoners, in cells heavily ironed, and on the allowance of a twopenny loaf and water each per day, until they were fully committed on charge of having unlawfully and riotously assembled in the market place of the said city, and having there feloniously remained with such persons so assembled one hour after proclamation had been made (as it is said) by one of the magistrates for their dispersion, pursuant to the act of the 1st of George 1, although the riot and tumult was notoriously begun by the said three members of the corporation and the constables in manner above stated; and, although bail for the appearance of the said prisoners was tendered to the said Joseph Phillott by their friends, and also by vice admiral Graves and the said John Allen, esq. to the extent of 5,000l. yet the said Joseph Phillott, in the most harsh and peremptory manner, refused to accept of any bail whatever, and committed the said prisoners to the county gaol of Ilchester, where they now remain, and must continue confined upon the same miserable allowance of bread and water as in the Bath prison (which is totally inadequate to the sustenance of human existence) until the next assizes (being six months from the time of their commitment) unless the House shall be pleased to interfere on their behalf, by ordering them to be released or admitted to bail; and that, in consequence of the imprisonment of the said John Hipwood, the business of his father as a boat builder, and of which he had the sole management, is at a stand, and his parents have sustained most serious pecuniary injury, as well as much mental affliction, thereby; and that the said W. Erry is by profession a journeyman printer, and by his labour supported his aged mother and infant brother and sister, who, in consequence of his confinement, are thrown on the parish for relief; and that the said W. Taylor, another of the said prisoners, is by trade a carpenter, who by hiş industry has materially contributed to the support of his mother and an infant sister; and that the said Charles Pitt is by business a shoe-maker, and by his labour as a journeyman maintains himself and his mother, who is a widow; and that the said Philip Millikin is by trade a journeyman printer, and has ever borne an irreproachable character for industry and in tegrity; and that the said Elizabeth Lovett the other of the said prisoners (who was apprehended in her bed on the night after the above tumult) is merely a poor industrious now = 345] Petitions respecting the East India Company's Charter. FEB. 2, 1813. such mode as to them shall seem meet." Ordered to lie upon the table. ARMY ESTIMATES.] The following is an Abstract of the sums voted for the Army Services for the year 1813. ABSTRACT of the ESTIMATES of ARMY SERVICES, for the year 1813: presented to the House of Commons on the 11th and 21st December 1812. Hall Pay, &c....... ID-Pensioners of Chelsea and Kilmainham Hospitals.... Out-Pensioners of Do............ Volunteer Corps Local Militia..... (Foreign Corps..... ..... 32,163 Royal Military Co lege Royal Military Asylum Allowances to Retired Chaplains, &C..... Medicines and Hospital Expences....... Compassionate List..... Barrack Department (Ireland) Commissariat Department (Ireland) Superannuated Allowances, &c. 39,264 2 1 432,695 9 9 50,011 16 6 209,277636,623-1,174,019 4 4 38.997 10 1 27,096 11 11 19,394 1 6 105,000 30,055 9 10 [346 sion to lord Barham, he trusted the hon. baronet did not mean by that allusion to insinuate any charge against that noble lord, who had, in the transaction referred to, merely followed the established official practice, and who was incapable of any dishonourable action. Sir F. Burdett said, that he had it once in contemplation to bring forward a charge against lord Barham, and he still thought that no practice could justify the sale of Ireland. these offices-but still less was he justifi771,0124able, after such sale, meanly to curtail the emolument of the purchasers. £. s. d. 1,098,529 13 5 109,226 13 3 25,443 4 2 LOCAL TOKENS.] Mr. Hudson Gurney 940 198 asked, whether it was the intention of mi11,9607nisters to press the provisions of the Local Token Act, and thereby to inconvenience 91,239 6 the country in the present scarcity of silver, and the comparatively limited distribution 31,623 13 0 of Bank Tokens? 18,332 11 1 8,103 2 3 266,123 1 7 1,923 13 11 22,081 11 3 460,587 6 4 The Chancellor of the Exchequer repeated the statement which he said he had submitted to the House in the course of the discussions upon the Gold Coin Bill, namely, that although he fully approved of the principle of the Local Token Act, it was intended to postpone the operation of that principle for some months, he thought until about Midsummer, in order 13,044,844 12 9 3,217,067 11 6 that measures might be taken in the in HOUSE OF COMMONS. Tuesday, December 22. NAVY OFFICE CLERKS.] Sir F. Burdett put a question to the noble lord opposite, whether the clerks in the Navy Office (who, although they had purchased their situations from lord Barham, had had their emoluments most unduly curtailed) and to whose case he took occasion last session to call the attention of the House, had yet received any relief, or whether it was intended to afford the redress required? He understood that a representation upon this subject had been made from the Navy Office to the Board of Admiralty, and he wished to know what was meant to be done in consequence of that representation? Lord Castlereagh expressed his regret that he had it not in his power to answer the hon, baronet's question, of which had he been aware, he would have inquired after the information desired. He had, however, no doubt that complete justice would be done by the Admiralty. With respect to the hon. baronet's allu PETITIONS RESPECTING THE EAST INDIA COMPANY'S CHARTER FROM THE PROVOST &c. oF EDINBURGH THE ROYAL BOROUGHS OF SCOTLAND THE HAMMERMEN EDINBURGH AND THE MAYOR, &c. of BRISTOL.] A Petition of the lord provost, magistrates, and council, of the city of Edinburgh, was presented and read; setting forth, "That, looking forward to the period at which the charter of the company of merchants trading to the East Indies and to China is to terminate, the petitioners beg leave most respectfully to lay before the House their sentiments on the continuance of this monopoly, fully satisfied that the subject will meet with that attention from the enlightened senate of the British empire which its importance requires; and that the petitioners deem it superfluous to argue upon the general in, that the wisdom of this House will at at length admit to the merchants of this kingdom an unrestricted and unlimited intercourse with the countries to the eastward of the Cape of Good Hope; and praying the House to refuse their assent to any further extension of the present exclusive privileges of the East India Com realm their legitimate right to trade di rectly from any port within the United Kingdom, free and uncontrouled, with the British possessions in Asia, and with the other countries situated to the east of the Cape of Good Hope, particularly with the empire of China." expediency of commercial monopolies, or to state to the House their tendency to cripple the exertions and fetter the enterprize of individuals; and that, whatever reasons may have originally induced the legislature to grant exclusive privileges to a joint stock company engaged in trading to the East Indies, it is obvious that, by the intelligence, enterprise and capital of in-pany, and to restore to the subjects of this dividual British merchants, the commerce of the country has been extended to every quarter of the globe not comprehended within the limits of this monopoly; apprehending, therefore, that those reasons do not now exist, and that a sufficient degree of enterprise and capital is to be found throughout the empire for carrying on a free and unfettered trade to the East Indies, and to China, the petitioners humbly hope that the House will not consent to the renewal of a charter, which, by conferring on the subjects of neutral states privileges not enjoyed by British subjects, appears to the petitioners to be contrary to sound policy, and equally injurious to the mercantile interest as inimical to the free spirit of our happy constitution; and praying the House not to continue the exclusive privileges heretofore enjoyed by the East India Company, but to render it lawful for any of his Majesty's subjects, after the 1st of March 1814, to carry on, from any of the ports of the United Kingdom, a free trade with the whole countries situate to the East of the Cape of Good Hope." A Petition of the royal boroughs of Scotland, assembled at their annual convention, was also presented and read; setting forth, "That the said convention, represent ing by delegation under existing statutes, the whole trading interest of Scotland, hold it as their incumbent duty at the present critical juncture, to approach the House at a period when the charter of the East India Company has nearly expired, and when interested and powerful individuals have combined to maintain a monopoly so truly inconsistent with commercial liberty; and that as no state necessity appears to exist for the continuance of these exclusive rights so justly complained of, as assertion without argument has alone been adduced in its defence, and as our national policy must be at all times favourable to a free and unfettered trade through the whole empire and its dependencies, the petitioners rely, with humble confidence, A Petition of the deacon, treasurer, and remanent members of the incorporation of Hammermen of the city of Edinburgh, was also presented; setting forth, "That as the charter of the East India Company will expire on the 1st of March 1814, the petitioners beg leave most respectfully to solicit, that no renewal of the exclusive privileges at present enjoyed by that company be granted to them, and that all monopolies appear to the peti tioners to be inexpedient; and in a mercantile country, where the spirit and enterprise of individuals has carried their commercial transactions to every quarter of the globe to which the law permits them to trade, there appears a hardship in denying to the subjects of these kingdoms the free exercise of trade to the countries situate to the East of the Cape of Good Hope, more particularly when the subjects of foreign states, in amity with his Majesty, are allowed this privilege; and that at a time when so many petitions have been presented to the House, and when the almost unanimous voice of the country seems directed to the same object, the petitioners deem it superfluous to occupy the time of the House by entering into any detail, or to add more than their earnest prayer, that no renewal of this charter may be granted to the East India Company, but that from and after the 1st of March 1814, it may be declared lawful to all the subjects of his Majesty, to exercise a free trade from any of the ports in the United Kingdom to the whole countries situate to the East of the Cape of Good Hope, or if in the wisdom of the House it shall be deemed expedient to throw open this trade to a limited number of ports only, that Leith, the port of Edin burgh, may be one of that number." A Petition of the mayor, burgesses, and commonalty of the city of Bristol, in common council assembled, was also presented and read; setting forth, tries comprised within the limits of the E. I. Company's present exclusive privilege, and the petitioners may add with as much security to the due collection of the duties of customs and excise as in the port of London; and praying, that the House will not consent to a renewal of any of those exclusive commercial privileges which are contained in an act passed in the 33d of his present Majesty; but, on the contrary, that at the expiration of that act, the trade to the east of the Cape of Good Hope may be as fully and freely enjoyed by all his Majesty's subjects to and from every port of his Majesty's United Kingdom as it is at present by the East India Company and the port of London exclusively." Ordered to lie upon the table. PETITIONS AGAINST THE CLAIMS OF THE ROMAN CATHOLICS FROM THE DEAN AND CANONS OF WINDSOR-THE CLERGY OF NORFOLK-AND THE MAYOR, &c. OF BEVERLEY.] A Petition of the dean and canons of Windsor, was presented and read: setting forth, "That the petitioners, impressed with a deep sense of the great importance of, and the national and individual benefit which may be expected to arise from laying open the capital skill and industry, and restoring the inherent right of his Majesty's subjects throughout the ports of the United Kingdom to the fuil and free enjoyment of trade and commerce to all ports and places either in possession of or in amity with his Majesty, observe, with the strongest feelings of regret, that it is in the contemplation of the East India Company to apply to the House for a renewal of the Charter granted in 1793; and that the petitioners observe, by the correspondence which has been carried on between the chairman of the E. I. Company and the commissioners for the af fairs of India, that the E. I. Company have conceded the general principle of a free trade from the out-ports of the kingdom to the E. I. settlements, still that their concession is coupled with propositions, which, "That the petitioners humbly beg if adopted by parliament, must effectually leave to express their hope that they shall exclude the merchants of this city, as well not be thought to merit the imputation of as those of every other part of the United intolerance, if they pray the House not to Kingdom (except London), from any grant the right of admission either to the prospect of advantageous participation in highest offices of trust and power, or to the trade when so opened; and that it is the exercise of legislative functions, of a declared object of the E. I. Company to late so importunately claimed by our felprevail upon parliament to continue in low subjects the Roman Catholics of the themselves the exclusive possession of the United Kingdom; and that the petiBritish trade with China, under an appre- tioners presume to maintain, with confihension that the greatest danger of quarrels dence, that, in presenting this their humble and the ultimate loss of the China trade Petition to the House, they prove themwould be likely to ensue from a free com- selves to be the friends and advocates of mercial intercourse with that nation, toleration in the only just and constituwhereas the experience of a long course tional acceptation of the term, for they of years, during which the subjects of the cannot forget that the bulwarks erected United States of America have traded ex- by our forefathers in defence of the Protensively with China, must completely set testant faith, were designed as barriers aside all ground for such alarm; and that against the ascendency of those whom exthe petitioners humbly presume, that no- perience had but too fatally shewn to be thing can possibly tend in a greater de- intolerant of any other religion than their gree to the increase of the revenue, and own; and that these barriers and restricthe prosperity of a nation, than the free- tions the petitioners humbly conceive to be dom of its commerce, and the general dif- essential to the integrity of the British confusion of the means of carrying it on; and stitution in Church and State, a constitution that, from the recent and very extensive under which, ever since they were imposed, improvements which have been made in a greater share of happiness has been enthe harbour of Bristol, ships of very con-joyed than ever fell to the lot of any siderable burthen can receive and discharge their cargoes afloat, and the port is in every respect suitable for carrying on an extensive commerce with the coun other people, and which has consequently been the envy and admiration of the world; and that, to the possession of so great a blessing, aз Englishmen, the pe |