presumed, lay this distinction aside. I shall estimate under each name six housekeepers bearing arms, and multiplying the first. number of 9453 by 6, we shall have a product of 56,718; to which may be added 4000 more from Ireland. I shall suppose 12,000 of these keeping carriages with armorial bearings, which at 21. 2s. each, will give a sum of 24,000%.—48,000 not keeping carriages will produce 50,0007.; and as I shall not take more than two persons to each family at 10s. 6d. this will give a farther sum of 66,000l. making a gross sum of 140,000l.; to which may be added 10,000l. more, under certain regulations, for foreigners, so as to make

Which together with the sum estimated for salt
For tea

This, which I have now stated, is the whole amount of the supplies for the present year: and I hope it will appear to the committee, that the statements which I made before Christmas last, as to the probable amount of these supplies, were correct; and that I have not exceeded in any respect the sums, which I supposed at that time the public service would require. This can be shewn by the manner in which the ways and means are provided forNothing can bear a stronger testimony of the opinion of the country at large, as to the spirit which animates all ranks of people, and the greatness of our resources, than the favourable terms upon which the loan has been contracted for. And I hope that the committee will be of opinion, that the taxes to defray the interest on that loan, are founded on a plan that will be as likely to render them productive as any other which could be laid before the house: they are calculated to bear as lightly on all classes of people as any burden which could be laid upon the public; and as I can see no solid objection which can be made against them by any person, I hope I have in this measure, as well as

in every other thing relating to the supplies of the year, discharged my duty to this house and to the country.

Mr. Pitt then concluded by moving resolutions pursuant to the statements in his speech.

The resolutions were severally put and agreed to.

May 25, 1798.

MR. PITT, conformably to the notice he had previously given, and after stating that the object of his motion was precisely the same with that, for which a similar bill had been brought in in the year 1779, namely, to ṣuspend for a limited time the protections which various descriptions of persons enjoy, to prevent them from being impressed into the service of the navy, moved for leave to bring in a bill for the more effectual-manning of his Majesty's navy; at the same time intimating, that, as the present alarming situation of the country made it necessary that this measure should be passed without any delay, he should wish that the bill might this day proceed through its different stages, with a suitable pause at each, if required, and that it should be sent to the Lords for their concurrence.

Mr. Tierney complained of the very extraordinary and precipitate manner in which the right honourable gentleman had called upon the house to adopt the measure proposed. He had heard no arguments, he said, that proved its propriety; he knew of no sudden emergency that urged its necessity; even if he had, some time ought to have been allowed him to weigh the force of such ar guments, and examine the nature of such an emergency, before he proceeded to give three or four votes on a measure of which no notice of any sort had been given; and of which no idea had ever entered his mind. If the right honourable gentleman persisted in hurrying the bill through the house in the manner proposed, he must give it his decided negative, however reluctantly he opposed any measure that was said to be necessary to the safety of the country. For, from what he had lately seen, he must view all the measures of ministers as hostile to the liberty of the subject; and the present measure he regarded with peculiar jealousy, as it went directly to rob them of the few remaining privileges they were still permitted to enjoy.

MR. PITT replied, that if every measure adopted against the designs of France, was to be considered as hostile to the liberty of this country, then indeed his idea of liberty differed very widely from that which seemed to be entertained by the honourable

gentleman. The house would recollect, however that honourable gentleman might say to the contrary, that he had given notice of the present motion, though he had not judged it prudent then to explain the mode in which it was to be put into execution. Neither could it be fairly supposed, that the present measure was to be brought forward as the usual one for augmenting the navy. A bill of the nature of the latter was introduced about ten days ago; and at that time he stated to the house, that if they acceded to the proposed augmentation of the navy, they must adopt some vigorous measure to make that augmentation effectual, as nothing but a law of a vigorous nature could succeed in making the intended number of seamen complete. When the honourable gentleman complained of the manner in which the bill was to be hurried through the house, and binted that it was too frequently resorted to, he saw the suspension of the habeas corpus act was lurking in his mind. The honourable gentleman would have a long notice given of the present motion, and would retard its progress through the house. He acknowledges that, were it not passed in a day, those whom it might concern might elude its effect, thus assigning himself the reason for its immediate adoption. But if the measure be necessary, and that a notice of it would enable its effect to be eluded, how can the honourable gentleman's opposition to it be accounted for, but from a desire to obstruct the defence of the country?

MR. PITT said, that he feared the house must wait a long

Mr.Tierney called the right honourable gentleman to order. This language, Sir, said he, is surely not parliamentary, and upon you only can I call for protection.

The Speaker observed, that whatever had a tendency to throw suspicion on the sentiments of a member, if conveyed in language that clearly marked that intention, such language was, without doubt, irregular and unparlia mentary; but if it argued no such intention, there was no room for censuring it as disorderly: if, therefore, it was the opinion of the House, that such was the fair import of the language used by the right honourable gentleman, they would judge of it accordingly; but they would first ait to hear the right hopourable gentleman's explanation.

time, if they waited for his explanation on the present subject. The sense of what he advanced was, that there was no distinction between the two cases in question. That if notice was to be given of the measure under consideration, that notice would only serve to elude its execution, and therefore no man could be justified in opposing the necessary expedition that made the measure effectual; or if he did, he must surely appear to obstruct the measures employed for the defence of the country. He knew very well that it was unparliamentary to state the motives that actuated the opinions of gentlemen, but it was impossible to go into arguments in favour of a question, without. sometimes hinting at the motives that induced an opposition to it. He submitted to the judgment of the house the propriety and necessity of the arguments be had urged, and he would not depart from any thing he had there advanced, by either retracting or explaining them.*

The bill afterwards went through all its stages, and was ordered to be carried to the Lords; from whom a message was returned in a few minutes, that their Lordships had agreed to the bill.

December 3, 1798.

MR. PITT moved the order of the day for the House to resolve itself into a Committee of Ways and Means, to consider of a supply to be granted to his Majesty.

The House having resolved itself into the said committee, Mr. Pitt further moved, that the act of the 38th of his present Majesty, chap. 16, for granting an aid or contribution to his Majesty, might be read, and that it might be an instruction to, the committee to consider of the said act; which being agreed to, he then addressed the committee as follows:

BEFORE I proceed to submit to the committee the very important matters which form the subject of this day's considera

• In consequence of what passed between Mr. Pitt and Mr. Tierney on this occasion, a meeting took place on the 27th, at three o'clock in the afternoon, on Putney Heath. Mr. Pitt was accompanied by Mr. Ryder, and Mr. Tierney by Sir George Walpole,

It

tion, I conceive it necessary to take a diligent review of the general amount of the total services of the present year, and of the ways and means applicable to those services. Without adopting this method, I do not think it would be possible to inform your judgment with any degree of accuracy, respecting the propriety of the measure I have to propose, for raising a considerable part of the supplies within the year, or be able to enforce those arguments I shall adduce in support of that measure. is a matter of extreme satisfaction to me, that it will appear to the committee, from the estimate I shall now produce, compared with former estimates, that although our expenses are beyond what they ever were, yet that our means of supplying them are so ample and extensive, that the country is placed in a proud and eminent situation, beyond what it has enjoyed at any former period.

I shall begin by stating what has been voted as the amount of the supply under the head of the services for the navy, with the exception of what is necessary for transport services. All these accounts have this day been laid before us; and it appears that the total sum for the ordinaries and extraordinaries of the navy and transport services amounts to 13,642,000l. being the same sum, within a very small amount, as was granted in the course of last session, and which I have the satisfaction of assuring the committee is likely to prove sufficient for the whole expenses of the navy, without leaving any necessity for augmentation. The next head of expense is the army, in which the estimates amount to 8,840,000l. Gentlemen will recollect the extraordinaries in the course of last session, to be incurred in 1798, were stated at 3,200,000l. There was also voted a sum of 1,000,000l. as a

After some ineffectual attempts, on the part of the seconds, to prevent farther proceedings, the parties took their ground at the distance of twelve paces. A case of pistols was fired at the same moment without effect; a secoud case was also fired in the same way, Mr. Pitt firing his pistol in the air: the seconds then jointly interfered, and insisted that the matter should go no farther, it being their decided opinion that sufficient satisfaction had been given, and that the business was ended with perfect honour to both parties.