The Earl of Suffolk ftated, that he had a motion of confiderable importance to fubmit to the confideration of their Lordships, which, if agreeable to Minifters, he was then ready to enter into. If, however, they rather wished that it fhould lie over till the next day, he had no objection to that delay, and fhould therefore give notice of his intention then to bring it forward. The motion which he should have the honour to make, concerned the war in which we were engaged in India, and as to the causes for the origin of which, notwithstanding a positive enactment of the Legiflature to that effect, no information had been afforded to Parliament.

Lord Hawkesbury faid, that it was not common to bring forward any motion of importance without a previous notice. There was a measure of great moment, and which had occupied a confiderable portion of their Lordships' time, already before the Houfe for that night; and the noble and learned Lord (Ellenborough) had fixed for the next day a bufinefs alfo of confiderable importance. If, therefore, the noble Earl did not attach more than ordinary intereft to his intended motion, he fubmitted the propriety of giving notice of it for fome future day.

The Earl of Suffolk confidered the motion which he had to propofe as of the higheft confequence. It might eafily be difcuffed, too, without interfering with any of the concerns of the State, as it was founded on a subject which, he contended, implied a breach of an act of the Legislature, on which, therefore, little time for preparation, or for any particular inveftigation, could be required.

Lord Hobart faid, that Government were not yet in poffeffion of any official documents on the fubject to which the noble Earl alluded. He hoped, therefore, that he would delay his motion till it could be in the power of his Majefty's Minifters to give him the information he required.

Earl Suffolk faid, this was exactly the point on which his motion was founded. We were engaged in three wars in India. The caufes of the origin of thofe difputes must have exifted for twelve months, and yet, in breach of a pofitive act of the Legiflature, Government confeffed that they were in poffeflion of no official documents on the fubject-a confeffion which, he thought, doubly called for his infifting on an immediate difcuffion of his motion.

Lord Hobart begged that his Lordfhip would at leaft give

notice of his motion for fome day next week, as there was already important business before the Houfe.

Earl Suffolk replied, that his reafon for preffing on his motion was a neceffary call on him to go to the country on Saturday, and his being unable to determine on what day it might be in his power to return. He fhould, however, yield to the request of the noble Secretary of State, with this declaration, that when he returned from the country, he fhould view himfelf entitled to proceed in his motion without refpect to the confideration whether Minifters had or had not received any official documents on the fubject from India.

. The Houfe then refolved into a Committee on the volunteer bill.

On clause 51ft, which requires Lords Lieutenants to rcport the day on which particular corps are to attend at exercife to the Secretary at War or his deputy, who thall thereupon iffue the pay,

Earl Spencer moved, that the words, "Secretary at War or his deputy," be omitted; and the words, "Infpector General," be fubftituted in their place, by which confiderable time would be faved, and many advantages fecured.

On this the Houfe divided, for the amendment,

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, Majority in favour of the original clause 9.

On feveral other claufes difcuffions took place, but no material amendments were made. The different claufes were gone through, and the report was ordered to be received the next day.

HOUSE OF COMMONS.

THURSDAY, APRIL 12.

The Infpector General of the imports and exports brought in an account of the produce of the permanent taxes; an eftimate of the cuftoms; of malt exported from Great Britain to Ireland; of wheat, flour, barley, &c. exported from and imported into Great Britain from Ireland, for the different periods therein fpecified, and various other accounts, lately ordered to be laid before the House, on the motion of Mr. Fofter. Laid on the table, and ordered to be printed.

A meffage from the Lords informed the Houfe, that their Lordships

Lordships had agreed to the bankers' indemnity bill, the Irish militia families provifion bill, the bank of Scotland's capital increase bill, without any amendment, and to several private bills.

Mr. Vanfittart moved, that there be laid before the Houfe an account of the grants of Parliament to the Veterinary College, and of the receipts, expenditure, and debts of that inftitution, for the years 1802 and 1803.

An account of the expenditure of the grants of Parliament to the Board of Agriculture for the fame time.Ordered.

COTTON TRADE.

Mr. H. Addington moved the order of the day for taking into confideration the report of the Committee on the petition of the cotton manufacturers. The order being read,

Mr. H. Addington proceeded to obferve, that before he moved that the refolutions of the Committee be read a fecond time, it was proper he fhould open the nature of the fubje&t now before the Houfe; but he was glad that in doing fo, it was not neceffary for him to enter much into detail. He fhould call the attention of the Houfe to the circumstances upon which the matter now flood, and then in a few words ftate for what reafons the Committee paffed thefe refolutions, and why he thought it his duty to ask the House to agree to them. Gentlemen would recollect, that about four years ago, for it was early in the year 1800, a very confiderable and a very unpleafant difagreement took place between the mafters and workmen engaged in the cotton manufactory, in confequence of which petitions were prefented to the House by a very large body, praying for legislative interference to redrefs their grievances. That was a period of great difficulty in the country, especially in the manufacturing part of it, arifing from the ftagnation of trade by the arduous conteft in which we were then engaged; and alfo from the fcarcity and high price of provifions, which to a great extent affected all claffes of his Majefty's fubjects, and more particularly the working part of them. He did think it extremely poffible, perhaps probable, that if it had not been for the irritation arifing from diftrefs, thus produced from a combination of caufes, thefe petitions would never have been prefented. They were, however, prefented, and the fubject matter of them had been referred to a Committee, which (pafling over one of its Members, of whom it did not become him to fay any thing) confifted of very intelligent and enlightened Mem

bers

bers of that Houfe, who confidered the fubject, reported upon it, and an act of Parliament paffed to alter the law as it then ftood, with refpect to the mode of appealing to magiftrates, and to appoint referees to decide on matters in difpute between masters and workmen in the cotton trade. Whether that was a proper measure or not, would be improper in him to doubt; he deferred to the fence of the perfectly refpectable Members of that Committee, and imperious and weighty reafons preffed upon their minds at the time, which induced them to make their report, and to form an opinion which was peculiar to the circumftances under which they made it. He then proceeded to give an history of the proceedings of thofe concerned in the weavers trade in the cotton bufinefs, of their petitions, and alfo of the proceedings of Parliament upon that fubject, obferving, that the Committee to whom it was referred, met great difficulties in the cafe, in which they found it impoffible to fatisfy both parties. The Committee had endeavoured on the one hand to form an impartial tribunal to decide on matters of difpute, to afford fpeedy redrefs to thofe who had just grounds of complaint, at as limited an expence as poffible; and on the other, they had endeavoured to avoid any refriction or regulation which might be confidered by the manufacturers as fettering the trade, in the profperity of which, the interefts of all the workmen, as well as the mafters, were materially involved. In giving the petitioners all they afked, the Legiflature might give them that which afterwards they might repent of afking. The Committee could have no poffible object, but to do juftice to both parties, and they were, perhaps, better judges of the intereft of the petitioners, than the petitioners themselves. His motion fhould be, that the Houfe do agree to the refolutions of this Committee; and if it fhould be the pleasure of the Houfe to do fo. then he should move for an act of Parliament to carry these resolutions into effect; after which he hoped the cotton weavers themselves would, upon reflection, be fatisfied and convinced they had all which could with propriety be granted, and that the manufacturers alfo would, in their turn, be fatisfied that care had been taken that no injury was done to them; fo that neither the one nor the other fhould hereafter think it neceffary to apply to Parlia ment. He then moved that the refolutions be now tead a fecond time.

Admiral Berkeley withed to know, whether this measure VOL. II, 1803-4

3 M

was brought on by Government, or originated with the manufacturers themfelves. He thought that a measure fimilar to this ought to be adopted, with reference to the woollen trade. He wished to know, whether any steps were likely to be taken, in confequence of a memorial which had been prefented on the fubject of the woollen trade.

Mr. H. Addington faid, that bufinefs had been already partly brought forward by a right hon. Relation of his (the Chancellor of the Exchequer).

Admiral Berkeley-Then I am to understand it as a public measure.

Mr. Francis faid, that he understood that the manufacturers were at liberty to apply to be heard by counfel against any bill that might be brought in pursuant to thefe refolutions, if they thought fit.

The refolutions were then read and agreed to.

Mr. H. Addington moved, that a bill be brought in purfuant to the three laft refolutions.

Sir R. Buxton faid, he was not going to oppofe the bringing in the bill now moved for, but he wifhed it to be under'ftood as his opinion, that the greateft difficulties which had been felt on this fubject, had arifen chiefly from our departing from the conftitutional mode of adjusting differences between mafter and fervant; he meant that of an appeal to the magistrate.

The queftion was then put, and leave was given to bring in the bill.

VOLUNTEERS.

Mr. Calcraft, adverting to the notice which he had given before the recefs, to move in the Committee of Supply for an additional allowance of pay and cloathing to the vo lunteer corps, faid he now rofe to fix on the 23d of May for bringing forward the propofition.

IRISH COIN.

Mr. Corry ftated that he felt himself under the neceffity of fill farther poftponing his motion refpecting the circulating coin in Ireland, of which he had given notice for that day. It being the wifh of his Majesty's Government that this fubject thould be fully inveftigated, and the most ample information obtained, difpatches were hourly looked for from Ireland, which were deemed neceffary upon this point, and until they should arrive, he would decline to bring forward his promifed motion. If the intelligence thould be received

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