the general defire feemed to be, to avoid as much as poffible the payment of legal duties.

Mr. Mafon expreffed himself to the fame, effect, and ardently defired an inquiry.

Mr. David Latouche faid-I rife for a third time in this House, to prefent a petition from a much diftreffed and injured set of men, the fugar bakers of Ireland, for relief.

He delivered the petition accordingly, and it was ordered to lie on the table.

Mr. Grattan faid, the Houfe were in honour bound to refcind the alterations that had been made in England in the bill of equalization in 1780, and recur to the regulation they had made for that bufinefs previous thereto.

Mr. Fofter then faid, he would make the motion he had given notice of a few nights ago, namely,

Refolved; That no money be made payable for any grant to any public work, canal, pier, harbour or building, until the expenditure of all fums, if any, which may have been granted for the fame during the last feven years, fhall have been accounted for before the Commiflioners of Impreft Accounts, nor unless a plan and estimate of the work propofed be depofited with the, faid Commiffioners, before it be undertaken, nor until proof fhall be made upon oath before them that the work has been executed pursuant to the faid plan and eftimate, or fuch fecurity as they shall approve be entered into by recognizance in his Majesty's Court of Exchequer, that the work fhall be executed pursuant to the faid plan and estimate, and accounted for before them upon oath, within a time to be approved of by the faid Commiffioners, and named in the faid recognizance.

The Provost obferved, that fome period should be ascertained, fuppofe for two or three feflions back.

The motion was agreed to nem con.

Mr. Griffith faid-Though no man in this Houfe is a greater advocate for œconomy than I, yet I muft communicate a thought which has juft ftruck me, as I think the honour of the nation is ntimately concerned therein: it is, that as we are to have annual feflions in future, I would wifh fome addition was made to the ftipend allowed to the Lord Lieutenant and his Secretary, that our Viceroy might be enabled to fupport the becoming fplendor of the Irish court. It was not, he faid, from any connection or acquaintance with the Viceroy or his Secretary, for he had none.

The Speaker faid, that if such a matter was taken up, it must be on another day.

Mr. Pelham declared he fhould be very forry the nation should be put to any additional expence; that his excellency nor he did

defire it. If, however, the circumftances of the nation made it neceffary, he wished any increase might be attached to the office, not the officer.

Mr. Corry gave notice, that he would on Friday move an addrefs to his Majefty, on the Prince of Wales having attained his one-and-twentieth year, the fubftance of which addrefs he had moved the first day of the feffion.

The Order of the day being read, the Houfe pursuant thereto, refolved itself into the committee of fupply. The Right Hon. John Fofler, in the chair.

The Attorney General made a few obfervations on the immenfe fums of money granted by the House for public works and manufactures, amounting to near half the national debt, and said if he was fupported therein, there fhould not be a farthing granted this feffion for thefe purposes; and moved, "That all grants, except thofe for the Dublin Society, Charter Schools and the officers of the House, fhall not exceed the fum of 15,000l.”

Mr. Griffith faid, that when he had lately caft his eyes around to difcover fome profpect of economy, he did not imagine the manufactures of this country would ever become an object thereof. That he had no job to carry, but he was convinced our manufacturers required greater capitals than those of England, as they are obliged to prepare all the component parts themselves; and befide that, contend with the rich, established manufacturers of England, who lofe no opportunity of deftroying them, as was lately the cafe, when the people of Manchester fent agents here to buy up all the cotton. He concluded with declaring his tiality to two great objects at this time, which was the cotton manufacture and the grand canal.

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Mr. Kearney obferved, that when we could not export a thread of our fabrics, except white linens, we encouraged our manufactures with an unfparing hand; but now that our exports were free, we ftinted all encouragement,

Mr. Lowther moved, that 20,000l. be fubftituted for 15,0000l. Mr. Fitzgibbon faid, that voting 15,000l. annually, was equal to our formerly voting 30,000l.

Mr. Green. I voted for 15,000 men on our establishment, I now would vote a liberal encouragement to our manufactures, to enable the people to pay these 15,000 men.-He then launched out into encomiums on Mr. Smith's manufactory at Balbriggen, where 600 hands were employed-3000!. had been expended in fetting it up, but 8000!. more were required to compleat it.He then moved, that the fum flinted be 30,000l. The fum of 15,000l. was agreed to.

WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 12, 1783.

Sir H. Hartfonge moved for leave to bring in a bill to regulate the fisheries of this kingdom.-Leave given.

Sir Edward Newenham moved, that an order be made, that the corporation books and records relating to the borough of Kilmallock, be lodged with the Clerk of the House, and that all who complained of an undue election and return for that borough, fhould have liberty to infpect the same.

Mr. Fitzgibbon objected to the motion; he faid he would by no means oppofe the books being depofited in fome fafe hands at a convenient time before the trial was to come on, and he would himself be answerable for the bringing them in, but it would be highly improper to comply with the motion at present: he had seen several names figned to the petition, and had made every enquiry to find out who the perfons complaining were; and from the best information he could procure, one of them was the parish curate, another was the parish clerk, another was the fexton, another the grave digger, and two other old beggarmen who received alms from the church; there were a few more names, but from the best accounts he could perceive, they were perfons totally unknown to the people refident in and about the borough. Now he was apprehenfive that if all those respectable perfonages whom he had mentioned, were permitted to have the books in their hands for fo long a time, they might be subject to mutilation. There was another reafon why he could not consent, and that was, the agent for the petitioners had told him he was very much mistaken, if he thought the perfons who had figned the petition were the only people concerned; he could affure him, there were many others of rank and fortune. Now, if there were others behind the curtain, whom he hoped to drag from their covert before the trial fhould come on, he was afraid the corporation books might be made ufe of to fome very bad purposes; befides, the borough had, by their charter, a right to try civil actions to the amount, he believed of 20l. and these books would be wanting to make entries of their proceedings, and record their judgments; for thefe reafons, he muft object to the books being now delivered, but he would readily agree to their being lodged a week before the trial. As to the rolls and records, he did not believe the Houfe could make any order; they were in the rolls office, and attefted copies of them might be procured, which would be evidence before the committee, as they were in every court of law.

Sir Edward Newenham affured the Hon. Gentleman, for whom he had the highest refpect, that he did not know one of the perfons whofe names were affixed to the petition, nor what fituation

of life they were in; it had been put into his hands and recommended by fome moft refpe&table characters.

Mr. Fitzgibbon affured the Hon. Knight, he acquitted him of the smallest imputation of the kind-he had acted in a manner towards him which he would ever remember, with the greatest thanks, particularly by acquainting him, before he prefented the petition, with the circumftances of it, and declaring if it was a litigious or vexatious one, he would not bring it into the House; but it was his defire it fhould be brought in, and he thought it was the duty of every member, to whom a matter of that nature was intrufted, to lay it before the Houfe.

Hon. Mr. Maffey faid, he could not fit ftill and hear men of property, refpectable freeholders, fome of whom had done him the honour of voting for him, reprefented in fo ludicrous a light; he was asked to bring in the petition, but he refufed it for fome particular reafons; however, he knew the petitioners to be men of property.

Mr. Fitzgibbon faid, he had his information from a gentleman of undoubted veracity, on whom he could rely: he knew nothing of the property of the petitioners, but he knew they followed the Occupations he had ftated, and he did not think it safe to truft the books fo long in the power of thofe his refpectable wouldbe conftituents. "That the books fhould be deliverThe queftion was then put, ed to the clerk one week before the day fixed for the trial."Ordered.

The Attorney General reported, that the committee appointed to enquire into the merits of a petition, complaining of an undue election for the borough of Enniscorthy, had come to the following refolutions:

Refolved, that the return made for burgeffes to represent the borough of Enniscorthy is a void return.

"Refolved, that the returning officer made fuch return unduly and illegally."

The Speaker was then going to put the queftion, that he should iffue his warrant to the Clerk of the Crown, to iffue a writ for the election of burgeffes to ferve in parliament for the borough of Enniscorthy.

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Mr. Curran faid, he had great doubts whether this might be done he knew the decifion of the committee was final; but at the fame time the committee could go no further than the Houfe had deputed them; the petitioners had complained only of the undue election of Mr. English; why then fhould the committee declare Mr. Longfield, who was not an object of the petition, to be unduly elected? that gentleman was not to be fuppofed to have gone before the committee: it was unneceffary for him to

make a defence, where he was not charged, and furely where it was not to be fuppofed that he made any defence, it was improper to fay he was unduly returned.

The Speaker faid, it was a new point, and if gentlemen pleased, he would defer putting the queftion for a few days, till the matter might be confidered.

Sir Henry Cavendish faid, that he was fure the Houfe had it not in its power to over-rule the verdict of the felect committee, that the Houte therefore ought not to delay an infant; and if the queftion was withdrawn, he would himself move it.

Mr. O'Hara was fure the gentleman who had raised this doubt was not acquainted with the merits of the petition, or informed that Mr. Longfield had, during the course of the trial, been ably defended by council; he however, expreffed his concurrence with the expedient of delaying the question.

The Attorney General declared his concurrence with the opinion of the Hon. Member who had fpoken laft but one, and he therefore agreed that the Houfe muft declare Mr. Longfield's election void, as well as that of Mr. English, for when he confidered the oath he had taken, he could not reconcile to his confcience making any other report than that which had been made.

The Solicitor General faid, that the Houfe had no difcretion in this business; for if it had in this one inftance, it would have it likewife in every other, the confequence of which would be our being reduced to the fame fituation we were in before the election law was paffed, when party, private friendships and connexions fwayed on thefe occafions.

Mr. Corry faid, it were better to wait a day or two, that gentlemen might turn the matter in their minds.

Mr. Fitzgibbon faid, fince the pafling of the law, called Mr. Grenville's law, not one objection had been attempted to be made to the report of a committee, fave one which was inftantly scouted out of the Houfe, as he hoped, would the prefent; in this cafe, the petition complained, that there was no election; it was true, they faid, they intended to vote for Mr. Longfield and Mr. Walsh, but that the election was precipitated to prevent their voting at all. Now would gentlemen have a committee of fifteen men, on their oaths, fay there was no clection, and at the fame time declare Mr. Longfield was elected? If their intention to elect was to be confidered as electing, the committee fhould have declared Mr. Walth and Mr. Longfield duly elected, the abfurdity of which, he was fure, would be feen by every man. The queftion for iffuing the writ was then put and carried.

The order of the day being read, and the Speaker haivng left the chair, Mr. Fofter took his feat at the table.