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Mr. Sheridan prefented to the Houfe, according to order, a bill for punishing mutiny and defertion, and for the better payment of the army, and their quarters within this kingdom; which was received and read a first time, and ordered to be read a second time to-morrow morning.

WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 3, 1783.

The Houfe, purfuant to order, proceeded in the ufual form to nominate a committee for trying the Weftmeath election.

The Speaker having acquainted the Houfe that, pursuant to order, the addrefs of the Houfe to his Majefty, defired to know if, at their return, the Houfe fhould fit or adjourn until to-mor

row.

The Attorney General, Mr. Fitzgibbon, and the Provcft were for adjourning, on account, they faid, of the late hour it would be to enter upon a very important bufinefs [Mr. Molyneux's motion of propofing an absentee tax in the committee of ways and means, to be opened this day pursuant to order] after their return from the caftle.

Mr. Fofter faid, that there was a money bill and other business depending, and he wifhed the abfentee affair difpofed of as foon as poffible; for that reason, therefore, he fhould vote against the adjournment.

Mr. Pelham was of the fame opinion.

Mr. Speaker reported that the Houfe had attended his Excellency the Lord Lieutenant with the addrefs of both Houfes of Parliament to his Majetty, and that thereupon his Excellency was pleafed to return the anfwer following:

"The expreflions of duty and loyalty to the king, and of inviolable attachment to the conftitution, contained in this addrefs, muft have fuch falutary effects at this time, that I fhall feel particular fatisfaction in tranfmitting it to be laid before his Majesty."

Ordered, That his Excellency the Lord Lieutenant's answer be entered on the journals of this Houfe.

Right Honourable Denis Daly moved to withdraw the petition complaining of an undue election for the county of Fermanagh.Granted.

The titles of two petitions, one from the inhabitants of Belfast; and the other from the inhabitants of Downpatrick, were read, and ordered to lie on the table.

The Attorney General again befought the Hon. Gentleman (Mr. Molyneux) to poftpone his promifed motion until Friday, when there being no other bufinefs before the House it would have a full difcuffion.

Mr. Molyneux faid, it was worthy of remark that gentlemen who lately preffed a moft important queftion at three o'clock in the morning, now thought fix in the evening too late an hour: The bufinefs, faid he, I have to propofe all gentlemen have fufficient notice of, and if they will not attend to it, it is not my fault. I have already twice poftponed it at the defire of the Houfe; it has gone abroad that I want to get rid of it, and it has indeed fuch an appearance; longer delaying it will be a ftigma on the House. He therefore entreated the Houfe to let the order of the day for entering into a committee of ways and means take place, that he might therefore make his motion.

The Attorney General perfifting in his oppofition, moved, that the order of the day for entering into a committee of ways and means be discharged.

The queftion being put, there appeared

Ayes,
Noes,

64

42

Majority for discharging the order of the day, 22

The Attorney General then moved, that the committee of ways and means fit on Friday next.-Ordered accordingly.

Mr. Fofter gave notice, that, to-morrow, the House would fit in committee on the tobacco bill, in which fome claufes of the laft importance were to be introduced.

Mr. Corry faid, he hoped there would; and asked if the act of navigation, which precluded the entry of American commodities from other countries than America, was to be of force or not? No answer was given.

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 4, 1783.

On a motion of Sir Hercules Langrisbe, that John Jennings, who had been ordered into custody for having arrefted a pair of coach horfes belonging to Sir Fitzgerald Aylmer, Bart. be difcharged, as he has given every fatisfaction in his power to Sir Fitzgerald Aylmer; he was difcharged accordingly.

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Went into a committee of the whole Houfe on Lord Lowth's bill, Lord Delvin in the chair.

Went through the fame, paragraph by paragraph.

Lord Delvin reported, and the bill was ordered to be engrossed.

Mr. Fofter moved, that the committee of ways and means fhould be impowered to infert a claufe in the tobacco bill, for bonding the duties. He obferved, that as America promised to be a great mart of trade, and a very great communication he hoped would be between that country and this, and as the duties in England, on the importation of tobacco, are bonded, he thought it but proper, that the Irish merchant should be put on the fame footing as the English merchant.

Sir John Parnell faid, he did not approve of the intended claufe: Bonding the duties was attended with many inconveniencies, and a great rifque was run on the part of the revenue, and there were near 30,000l. due by bonds, for the duties on tobacco. There could be no inconvenience to the merchant, he faid, as a discount of 7 per cent. was allowed for prompt payment. He was for poftponing the claufe for three months.

Mr. Hartley obferved, that in England, which is a wealthy country, bonds were permitted to be taken, and it would be hard that the fame advantage should not be enjoyed by the merchants in Ireland-a country fo very inferior to England in point of riches. He obferved, that though a penny a pound (the duty that must be paid in cath on every pound of tobacco) might appear to be but a fmall matter, yet it would amount to 800l. in the cargo of a veffel of about 200 tons: and how diftreffing muft it be, if the remaining eleven pence a pound was to be likewife paid for in ready money? But there was another reafon why bonding the duties fhould be adopted: America will look on this country to be averfe to entering into a cordial reciprocity of trade with her, if the fees greater advantages held out by England; and he faid he was for eftablishing the precedent in the firft inftance, that it might operate abroad to our interest.

Mr. Corry faid, that gentlemen had afferted, bonding the duties would be attended with great inconvenience and rifque to the revenue; but it did not ftrike him in that light; are not regular accounts of the entries kept, and duplicates lodged in different offices? If you did not agree to bond the duties, the Irish merchant would be on a worfe footing than the English merchant and how can you reconcile that to the emancipation of your trade, by which the trade of both countries fhould be put on an equal footing? And fure the advantage of the Irish merchant fhould be regarded and well attended to. If you refufe to bond the duties, America will look on this meafure in an inimical view, and will not hesitate to declare that there is a difinclination in the part of Ireland, to trade with America. You will preclude many great advantages; for in a little time, Ireland would become the ftore-house for the tobacco from America.

Sir John Parnel faid, the Irish merchant was already on a better footing than the English merchant; as the duty on tobacco

was one-fourth less than in England; it being 16d. a pound duty here. He declared himself a warm friend to the merchants of this kingdom, and he was firmly of opinion, that the intereft of the revenue, and the intereft of the merchants were infepa

rable.

Mr. Fofter fupported the claufe. No objection was made to it on any other principle than inconvenience, but was there no office to record these bonds in, and was there no compelling the collectors to account for the bonds?

The Solicitor General spoke to the fame effect.

Sir John Parnel finding it to be the fenfe of the House that the clause should be inferted, faid he would acquiefce.

Mr. Monk Mafon begged it might not be understood, that the fum of 30,000l. was due by collectors on account of tobacco; there are only bonds in their hands to that amount, and there was an allowance of 7 per cent. to the merchant for prompt payment.

Mr. Holmes, after defcribing the lamentable fituation of the prifons in this country, moved that an addrefs be prefented to his Excellency the Lord Lieutenant, requefting he would be pleafed to order the judges of affize to report the ftate of the different prifons. Agreed to.

Mr. David Latouche moved for leave to bring in a bill that all monies, fecurities, &c. now in the hands of the officers belonging to the different courts, be lodged in the national bank, and for making compenfation to fuch officers as may be affected thereby.

Committee of the whole Houfe, on the tobacco bill, Mr. Fofter in the chair.

Mr. Hartley faid, a doubt had arifen with many gentlemen that the navigation act did not affect this kingdom; and if Great Britain is allowed to export her fuperfluous tobacco to this kingdom, it would be very hard that the fame privilege should not be enjoyed by Ireland.

Mr. Mafon faid, there was no doubt but the navigation act was in force here.

FRIDAY, DECEMBER 5, 1783.

Committee of trade fat, Mr. Gardiner in the chair, examined Mr. Ball of Werburgh-street, respecting the ribbon manufacture of Ireland.

The Speaker having taken the chair, the defaulters were dif charged out of cuftody.

The order of the day was read for receiving the report of the committee on the tobacco bill.

The Speaker was then proceeding to repeat the amendments entered into by the committee, and to put the question that the Houfe do agree to the fame, when

Mr Corry rofe-he faid the prefent bill was an object of the firft magnitude; he only begged leave to ask a question of the Right Honourable Gentleman who had brought it forward-He afked for information. It was imagined by fome gentlemen, that the navigation act was not in force in this kingdom; he wifhed therefore to know, whether this bill was to give a power to England to fend tobacco into this kingdom, which she, under the construction of that, would not receive from us.

Mr. Fofter replied, that when the present bill was first introduced, an Honourable and Refpectable Member (the reprefentative for this city) had started an objection, there had been alfo a petition from the Chamber of Commerce; they apprehend that this bill was giving a power to England to fend tobacco into this kingdom, though the denied us the like privilege of exporting our tobacco into her ports; and gentlemen would remember, that in order to obviate that difficulty, he had propofed a claufe that should perfectly explain it, which was provided, neverthelefs that nothing herein contained fhould be confidered as authorifing the importation of tobacco, otherwife than as it was now authorised by law. The Honourable Gentleman did not chufe to have this amendment inferted, and he muft refer to that gentleman for the answer to the question which had been put by his Honourable Friend.

Mr. Hartley faid, that under the conftruction of the navigation act, Great Britain had refused to receive tobacco from this kingdom, though we continued to take it from her: The confequence was, the found a market for her redundancy, while we, when we had an overplus, had no place to fend ours into. This was highly injurious to the Irish merchant. He thought, as Great Britain was mentioned in the bill, it was giving, by implication, a right to Great Britain to fend tobacco into this country, while the refused a fimilar indulgence, than which nothing could be more unfair, or militate more against the idea of equality. It is true he did not agree with the amendment propofed by the Right Honourable Gentleman, because many very refpectable members were doubtful whether the navigation act was in force in this kingdom; but he had an amendment to propofe, which, he believed, would anfwer, and that was this-provided nevertheless that nothing in this act contained should be conftrued to allow the importation of any tobacco from Great Britain, other than the allows from Ireland-This was perfectly fair; he was not much used to drawing up parliamentary refolutions; he

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