for the future. Under these circumstances, your Committee, having distinctly noticed the two separate grounds on which these two distinct claims stand, do not hesitate to recommend this head of loss also to the favourable consideration of parliament. At the same time observing, that from the whole of the evidence it does appear, that the probability of such heavy losses never entered into the contemplation of either the predecessor of the high bailiff, or of the high bailiff himself at the time he purchased his situation or that the fees and emoluments of the office were either adequate to or intended to cover them. Your Committee further notice, that both heads of loss include the costs of actions brought against candidates to recover a compensation for the above expence. But they also observe, that if the high bailiff had not taken every means in his power to procure reimbursement from the candidates, according to the provisions of the last-recited Act, it would have been most justly objected to him, that he could have no title whatever to public indemnification, if he had not first attempted all those modes of private reimbursement, which either custom seemed to warrant, or a positive statute to direct to be adopted. CORN LAWS.] Mr. Milne said, he was instructed by the corn Committee to state to the House, that the Committee had met from day to day to collect evidence on the important subject referred to their enquiry, that a considerable number of witnesses, summoned by the Committee, had been examined; but that hitherto no person had offered himself to give evidence in support of any of the allegations contained in the numerous petitions referred to the Committee; that the Committee was desirous to obtain every possible information on the subject, and to give every facility to the petitioners to be heard before them, and that it was therefore the wish of the Committee, that gentlemen who had presented petitions on this subject, either from their own immediate constituents, or from any other body of the community, should apprize the parties that the Committee was ready to hear them, and any witnesses to be produced on their behalf, in support of their respectíve petitions. The Speaker said, as the hon. gentleman, he supposed, did not intend to make any motion on the subject, the only course of proceeding was, to inform the Committee, that they were now at liberty to make their Report forthwith. Lord THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON.] Castlereagh reported at the bar, from the committee appointed to wait on his grace the duke of Wellington, to know what time he would appoint, at which, to receive the congratulations of the House; that his grace had expressed his gratitude for the honour which it was intended to confer upon him, and had signified that he was desirous of expressing to the House his answer in person. (Hear, hear!) Lord Castlereagh suggested, that a quarter before five to-morrow, would be the best time, and the Speaker intimated that the honourable members would take that as a notice. BANK RESTRICTION ACT.] Lord A, Hamilton, with a view to save the time of the House, asked the right hon. gentleman opposite, whether he had it in contemplation to bring forward any motion relative to the restrictions upon the payment of specie at the Bank of England? The right hon. gentleman's answer would determine him what course to pursue with respect to the motion of which he had given notice. The Chancellor of the Exchequer replied, that it was his intention to move to-mor row, for the continuation of the restrictions on the Bank, until the 25th of March, with a view of seeing what operation peace and other circumstances might have on the money market. Parliament would at that period take what course it thought proper. For his part, he would abstain from giving any opinion at present, as to the probability or improbability of the necessity of any further restriction, at the time to which he had alluded. He subse. quently gave notice, that he would tomorrow move, that the House should resolve itself into a committee on the Bank Restriction Act. PREPARATIONS IN THE PARKS.] Mr. Wynn said, that, notwithstanding the explanation given by the right hon. the Chancellor of the Exchequer, on the preceding evening, it appeared that the intention of exhibiting a sea fight on the Serpentine-river was not abandoned. The whole squadron, amounting to three twodeckers, and several frigates, remained at their moorings and, he understood, that buildings in Carlton-gardens were intend ed for? sonages, yet they might be useful, if an entertainment were given to any other illustrious characters. a launch had taken place that morning. (A laugh)-If the peace establishment of the Parks was to be kept up so high, he The Chancellor of the Exchequer answered, thought it was necessary to lay some in- that the buildings alluded to by the right formation, on the subject, before the hon. gentleman having been forwarded in House. It did not appear to him that the a considerable degree, before the allied scale of preparation in the Parks was at sovereigns left town, it was not deemed all contracted. He was happy, however, expedient to abandon them. Because, it to perceive, that the activity, formerly was presumed, though they were not neobservable, was a little abated. The per-cessary, with respect to these great per sons employed did not now, as heretofore, work on Sundays, during the performance of Divine service. But still, new towers, and new alcoves, continued, on other days, to be hourly erected. He should be glad to know under whose directions these preparations were making, and what would be the probable expence. He was of opinion, that, while the allied sovereigns remained in town, their reception should, in every respect, be grand and splendid; but now they had departed, he could see no use in prosecuting those works. If the amusements were planned by the Lord Chamberlain, he certainly thought his taste must be very bad, to think of exhibiting a sea-fight on the Serpentine river, and a regatta on the Canal.-(A laugh.) The Chancellor of the Exchequer hoped, the hon. gentleman was not chagrined, because the Lord Chamberlain had superintended the preparations for the sea-fight, instead of the first lord of the Admiralty. With respect to the question put by the hon. gentleman, he believed the expence of the buildings would be 10,000l. A general direction had originally been given, by the Treasury, to construct them, in consequence of the arrival of the allied sovereigns. At the time of their departure, several of those temporary buildings, some of them for fireworks, had been erect ed; and, as all the materials were prepared, it was thought advisable to proceed with them, as the expence would be very little additional. Mr. Tierney said, they had been told by the right hon. gentleman that the buildings were erected for the purpose of entertaining the allied sovereigns. Now, he should be glad to know, as those illustrious characters were gone, and were not likely to return, why the buildings were still carried on? The right hon. gentle. man said, that, as the frame work was prepared, it would not cost much to put it together. Certainly it would cost no more than the expence of putting it up and afterwards taking it asunder. He wished to be informed, what the great (VOL. XXVIII.) Mr. Tierney observed, that the right hon. gentleman's explanation amounted merely to this, that, because it was intended to give an entertainment to the allied sovereigns, who had left town, it was considered necessary to give a treat to somebody else. Colonel Sir W. Congreve said, when he was first called upon to give directions for the making of fireworks, he had adopted such a plan as was most likely to prevent accidents. For this purpose, the houses from which the fireworks were to be displayed, looked to three different parts of the Park, by which the pressure of those who came to view them would be divided, and the danger would be lessened. The subject of these fireworks had already af. forded much amusement to the House, and, he hoped, when they were exhibited, they would afford much more. In a conversation he had with his right hon. friend (Mr. Tierney), in the Park, he had stated, that 15,000l. would cover the whole ex pence. His right hon. friend had therefore misunderstood him, when he said it would take that sum to furnish the fireworks alone. He believed the fireworks would cost about 4,000l. It had been proposed, to raise a sum of money, by admitting individuals to see the fireworks, which sum might be appropriated to some great public charity, to be expended in a manner commemorative of recent events; and it had also been proposed to admit the better class of inhabitants of the metropolis, whose peaceful demeanour was conspicuous on all occasions, to view them, gratis, inside of the Park railings; but nothing had yet been determined on. With respect to what had been said of the folly of the design, if most of our amusements were considered abstractedly, that quality would be found to form a component part of them.. He hoped however, that the hon. gentlemen opposite might be induced, on this occasion, to re(21) lax a little from the severity of their wisdom, and not to visit a little harmless amusement with very heavy censure. Mr. Wynn said, on a great and pressing occasion, he would not oppose necessary works being forwarded on the Sunday; but where the object was a matter of mere public amusement, he conceived it to be a gross infraction of decorum and decency to employ men in active labour on that day. In forwarding the preparations in the Park, the people employed were obliged to work on Whit-Sunday, and were exposed to the observation of all orders of persons, going to and coming from, their respective places of worship. He should say no more on the subject, but merely express his hope, that such a proceeding would never be resorted to again. PETITION OF MARY ANNE CLARKE AGAINST THE MARSHAL OF THE KING'S BENCH.] Mr. Bennet presented a Petition, which had been put into his hands, but for the truth of the allegations of which he considered himself by no means respon sible. It was from Mrs. M. A. Clarke, confined in the King's-bench prison, complaining of oppression on the part of the keeper of the said prison. The Petition was read by the clerk. It stated, that Mrs. Clarke had been confined in the prison of the King's-bench, on the 7th of February last; having been convicted of a libel on the right hon. W. Fitzgerald; that she had suffered great partiality and oppression from William Jones the Marshal, to whose ill treatment she attributed her present ill state of health. She was confined in a cell nine feet square, of which her bed occupied a considerable part, and which had but one small window, barricadoed with iron. The approaches to her room were so obstructed that even her medical attendants found it difficult of access. Underneath was a place to which the crier, and other subordinate officers of the prison, resorted, and from which she was annoyed with the fumes of tobacco, lamp oil, and other effluviæ equally nausious and disagreeable. At ten o'clock, contrary to the ordinary regulations of the prison, her cell was locked, and no one, not even a physician, was permitted to visit her. Her illness had brought on a nervous fever, by which she was so enfeebled as to be hardly able to walk; but although requiring air and exercise, she could not obtain the usual indulgence in these cases-an indulgence which had been granted to Mr. Alexander Davison, Mr. Manners, Mr. Draper, Mr. Bell, and a number of others, under circumstances similar to her own, but who had been permitted to reside without the walls of the prison. She would not have delayed her appeal to the House so long, had she not observed that a measure was in progress in parliament, from which she had in vain expected relief. She prayed that the House would take her singular case into consideration, and direct an enquiry into the cause of her having been so treated. On the motion that the Petition be laid on the table, Mr. Füzgerald said: - Perhaps, Sir, I am not called upon to say any thing on the subject of the Petition which the hon, member has just brought up. I am sure that I should not be justified in saying much. But I have been referred to, though not by name, yet obviously in that statement which is about to be laid upon your table, and I feel that I owe it both to myself and to the House, not to remain silent. To those who know me, I trust, that I need not disclaim any vindictive feeling. Sir, when the application which is alluded to was made to me, I felt, as I believe every gentlemen even under the circumstances would feel, for a female suffering confinement under the sentence of a court; but having taken these proceedings which I had adopted from a sense of what was due to my own character, as well as to the laws, I felt also that it would ill become me to inter. fere, even if I were competent to do so. I felt that such a course would hardly.accord with the respect which is due to the administration of public justice.-The marshal of the prison appeared to me to be the person with whom it was to rest, whether to grant or to refuse the indulgence prayed for. But I did desire it to be communicated, both to that officer and to the petitioner, that I was the last man in the world who would interpose to prevent any indulgence being extended to her which her situation admitted of, or which be might deem it consistent either with his duty or the practice of the prison to grant. Sir, I need say no more; I hope the House will forgive me for having said so much. The Petition was then laid on the table, and Mr. Bennet gave notice, that he would to-morrow move that it be referred to a committee. NEW POST OFFICE.] Mr. Baring said, the House would be surprised to find, that by a private Bill they were pledged to give the sum of 200,000. of the public money, for the erection of a new Post Office, on the city of London taking down certain buildings adjoining to Cheapside. In the committee up stairs on this private Bill, there were few but the city members who attended. If this subject was enquired into, the House would find, that the removal of the Post Office was contrary to the wishes of all the merchants of the city. A right hon. gentleman, not now in his place, had stated last night, that they were precluded from extending the Post Office in its present situation, from difficulties regarding the tenures of the property. Now he had counted up in this private Bill no fewer than 500 persons who had had their possessions taken away from them. Yet an objection was made as to enlarging the present Post Office, which would not take away the possessions of above half a dozen people. The Chancellor of the Exchequer wished, before the hon. gentleman proceeded farther, to know what his object was at pre sent? Mr. Baring said, he wished to move that the drawings and plans of the intended Post Office, and the estimates of the expences of building, be laid before the House. The Speaker assured the hon. gentleman, that no committee above stairs could pledge the House to any grant of money. If they agreed to any such proposition, the report must be submitted to a com mittee of the whole House. The Chancellor of the Exchequer said, the counsel were at liberty to state their objections to every part of the Bill, but they must admit the necessity of some such measure. Mr. Western said, as the Bill was now drawn up, a greater injustice was inflicted on the British manufacturer, than existed under its provisions originally. This Bill was intended to suspend the countervailing duties. Now, the spirit distilled by the British manufacturer, had paid a duty of 10s. 4d. a gallon, and must therefore be sent to the Irish market under this disadvantage. On the other hand, the Irish spirit, which, on being entered or warehoused for exportation, paid no duty whatever, might, in the absence of the British countervailing duty, be introduced here completely unburdened. The Chancellor of the Exchequer said, if the hon. gentleman supposed, that Irish spirits would be admitted into this country without a countervailing duty, he was completely mistaken. The House then resolved itself into the Committee, and counsel were called in. Mr. Adam and Mr. Scarlett were heard at the bar, on the part of the Scotch and English distillers, who petitioned against the Bill. The Chancellor of the Exchequer remarked, that great weight was due to the arguments of counsel so eminent in their profession, and, indeed, they had been in some measure anticipated by the government, whose intention it was to put all the three parts of the empire on the same footing. He should move a clause, which might be printed and discussed on some future day, that Scotch and British spirits might be manufactured for exportation post-duty-free, and that a drawback should be allowed on the stock now in hand. He was most anxious that essential justice should be done to all parties; this was the way to fulfil both the letter and the spirit of that immortal Act of the Union, which had consolidated the empire into one mass with the same interests. After a desultory conversation between the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Mr. Baring, alderman Atkins, alderman Combe, and Mr. Home Sumner, Mr. Baring poned his motion till next week. SPIRITS' INTERCOURSE BILL.] The Chancellor of the Exchequer moved, that the House should resolve itself into a committee on this Bill, and suggested that it would be more convenient that counsel should be heard in the committee. He also moved, that it should be an instruction to the committee, to consider what countervailing duties should be laid on Irish spirits imported into this country. Mr. J. P. Grant, before the Speaker left the chair, was anxious to know, whether the counsel employed by the petitioners against the Bill, would be allowed to deliver their observations, as they respected the principle of the Bill. Mr. Ponsonby said, that nothing could be fairer than the proposition and the principles of the right hon. gentleman. He might himself be supposed to feel some partiality for one part of the United Kingdom, but he would never consent that advantages should be allowed to Ireland which were not equally extended to Scotland and England. Mr. W. Smith was glad to hear these sentiments from his right hon. friend, and hoped that all the members from Ireland would act upon the same principle. For his own part, he desired nothing but what was equal and impartial for England. He then proceeded to point out an advantage which the Irish distiller had over the English one which was, that the Irish distiller was compelled by law to furnish only 10 tuns of spirits out of 400 of wash, though he could produce 15 tons; whereas the English distiller must produce 15. Mr. W. Fitzgerald contended, that the hon. gentleman had greatly exaggerated the circumstances, and had assumed, that the Irish distillers were desirous of committing a fraud, which he contended they were not; and he complained, that the hon. gentleman had not dealt fairly by them. A long discussion ensued between sir J. Newport, Mr. W. Smith, Mr. Vansittart, and Mr. Huskisson, who moved an amendment, that the operation of the Bill should not take place till the 1st of October. The amendment was lost by 54 to 49. HOUSE OF COMMONS. THE PRINCE REGENT'S ANSWER TO THE ADDRESS ON THE TREATY OF PEACE.] "Gentlemen; in that House, by ene of the most respectable and eloquent asserters of the rights and privileges of the Catholics of Ireland, that not only was it his opinion that no benefit would accrue to the Catholic cause from the discussion of it during the present session, but that such was the opinion of most of the strenuous friends of that cause, both in and out of parliament. Entirely concurring as he did in the justice of that opinion, it was not his intention to do more on the present occasion than to move, that the Petition of the Irish Catholics might lie on the table. But he felt that he should not faithfully discharge his duty to those who had entrusted their cause to his hands, if he did not remind the House, that the Catholics of England were placed in a situation of greater hardship than the Catholics of any other part of the empire. They laboured under peculiar restrictions and disabilities; although among them were to be fouud many of the most illustrious and valuable members of the community. The Petition was then brought up and read, setting forth, "That the laws remaining in force against persons professing the Roman Catholic religion in Great Britain, subject them to many severe penalties and disabiThelities; and that these laws deprive the petitioners of many civil rights and privileges, of many means of providing for themselves and their families, and of every legitimate object of the ambition of British subjects, depress them in society, and (what at this important moment is particularly felt by the petitioners), shut against them every avenue to the stations in which they might otherwise hope to exert themselves honourably and usefully in the service of their king and country; and that their declining to take the oaths, on the refusal of which subjects them to penalties and disabilities of which they complain, proceeds from their conscientious adherence to tenets purely of a religious nature, which do not in any manner affect their political, civil, or moral integrity: and that every principle which has been imputed to the petitioners as inconsistent with that integrity, hath been explicitly disclaimed by the Roman Catholics in the oaths and declarations pre "I thank you for this dutiful and loyal Address.-The sentiments which you have expressed upon the conclusion of the peace, augment the satisfaction which I have derived from that most auspicious event. The glories of the war, and the blessings of the peace, are mainly attributable, under the favour of Providence, to the manly firmness of the nation: and I am happy to bear this testimony to you, their representatives. You may rely on my unremitting exertions to give effect to your views for the abolition of the Slave Trade." PETITION OF THE ROMAN CATHOLICS OF GREAT BRITAIN.] Mr. William Elliot prescribed to them by the legislature; and sented a Petition from the Roman Catholics of England, praying to be admitted to a participation of the rights and privileges of their countrymen. It had been stated that their allegiance to their King, and their attachment to the constitution, arè pure, unreserved, and unqualified; and that, in the years 1810, 1811, 1812, and |