It was at laft agreed, that Mr. Haftings should be heard on the enfuing Monday. The Houfe adjourned. Thursday, 27th April. No particular business occurred. Friday, 28th April. Mr. Dundas fignified his intention of moving on the en- Mr. Dunfuing Monday, for leave to bring in the bill for establishing das. the Eaft-India Judicature. Mr. Mainwaring remarked, that he thought it highly ne- Mr. Mains ceffary to call the attention of the Houfe to the fcandalous waring. tranfactions of thofe perfons engaged in the abandoned bufinefs of flaughtering of horses; wretches who, under the pretences of buying horfes that were unfit for fervice, for feeding dogs, kept an open house for receiving all manner of ftolen horses. They took them in at all hours of the night; and as foon as the horses came, they cut their throats and flayed off their skins, which they immediately threw into a lime tub, that fo no trace might remain of their former marks; they alfo hewed their limbs in pieces, and put them into a boiler, where they were prepared for the dogs. To prevent the continuance of fuch a barbarous and fhameful practice, he fhould, in compliance with the wishes of many private perfons in the vicinity of the metropolis, and indeed remote parts of the country, move on fome future day, for leave to bring in a bill to regulate the flaughtering of horses. The order of the day for confidering the Report of the Committee on the Newfoundland-fifhery bill having been, upon motion, read, Mr. Jenkinfon moved, "That the faid Report be commit- Mr.Jenkin "ted." It was ordered accordingly; and the Speaker having fon." left the chair, the Secretary at War took his feat at the table. Mr. Jenkinson then moved a variety of alterations and amendments; after which he moved and brought up feveral new clauses, which were accepted, read, and made a part of the bill. Viscount Beauchamp having propofed, as an amendment, Viscount to infert the words, the islands of Jerfey, Guernsey, and Beauchamp Alderney," remarked, that the object of the bill was to confine the Newfoundland fishery to fhips fitted out from home, with a view to keep it to all intents and purposes an English fishery. The islands of Jerfey, Guernfey, and Alderney, had VOL. XX. ever Mr Holdfworth. Mr. Jen- ever been confidered as a part of our home dominions, and had generally been indulged with a participation of the fame advantages in point of trade and commerce with ourselves. The inhabitants of thofe iflands were known to be most loyal fubjects, and, in refpect to the fifheries, very expert and affiduous. The bounties to be given under the bill were a fort of lottery prize, to be gained by the owners of that fhip, or thofe fhips which fhould first reach the banks, and fooneft complete their fifhing. He faw, therefore, no reason why the fishers of Jerfey, Guernsey, and Alderney, should be excluded from a chance of gaining the prize in common with the fifhers from the port of Poole, and other ports in the South and South-weft of the island of Great Britain; and therefore he hoped there would not be the smallest objection to his motion; and the rather, as the avowed with of Government was to increase the number of adventurers, and to encourage as many as poffible to engage in the trade, for the purpose both of improving and augmenting our nursery of failors. Mr. Holdsworth reprefented the gentlemen of the islands of Jersey, Guernsey, and Alderney, as men, who carried on their trade as merchants, with as inuch reputation as any fet of men in Great Britain. His object in rifing was, to exprefs a wifh that in future proper regulations might be eftablifhed in the cuftom houfes at Newfoundland and Halifax, in refpect to fees. Mr. Jenkinson answered, that there was or ought to be a large printed table of fees hung up in a confpicuous part of every custom houfe of the British empire, for the ready infpection of merchants, captains of fhips, and every perfon who had occafion to do bufinefs at the cuftom houfe, and that officers who took more than a legal fee, were liable to cenfure, fufpenfion, and difmiffion upon complaint being regularly delivered in, and the fact complained of made out and established. Viscount Viscount Beauchamp propofed a claufe, allowing the merBeauchamp chants of Jerfey, Guernfey, and Alderney, to import rum from the British and Weft-India islands, and re-export it with their fishing veffels to Newfoundland. Rum was an article fo effential in carrying on the fishery, that it could not be purfued without it, and, antecedently to the late war with the American ftates, the American fishing veffels, and the fishing veffels from the islands of Jerfey and Guernsey, fished exactly on the fame part of the bank, and the latter purchafed all the rum which they wanted of the New England fifhers; but, fince the peace, it had been the policy of Great, Britain to keep her fishery to herfelf, the Jerfey and Guernfey fifhers were under the neceffity of putting into fome Bri tish port, previous to the going forwards to the bank, merely for the purpose of fupplying themfelves with rum, or elie they were obliged to buy their rum of foreigners, because although they were allowed to import a great number of enumerated articles, rum was the fingle article excepted. This was a matter of great inconvenience, confidered in the one point of view, and of a deficiency of political wifdom, confidered in the other. If rum was fo neceffary to the carrying on of the fishery, it was hard to put the Guernsey and Jerfey fibers to the neceffity of coming into a British port to buy it; or it was unwife to oblige them, on the other hand, to purchase rum of our enemies, rather than let them be cuttomers to our own Weft-India islands. He hoped therefore, thofe circumftances confidered, the right honourable gentleman who had with fo much candour accepted his first amendment, would not oppofe the fecond. kinfon. Mr. Jenkinfon replied, that if way was to be given to a pro- Mr. Jenpofition fo founded, others' which could be fupported by arguments equally plaufible might be made, and there was no faying how far the Houfe might be carried, or to what abufes a door might not be opened. Befides, another ftrong objec tion prefented itfelf against the noble Vifccunt's claufe. The matter contained in it was, in fact, a matter of finance which went to affect the revenue. It was therefore of much serious importance, and required not only a distinct and separate difcufhon, but the confideration and confent of thofe of His Majefty's Minifters within whofe province the care of the revenue more immediately came. Meurer. Mr. Alderman Le Mfurier faid, that as the right honou- Allerrable gentleman did not object to the principle of the claufe, man Le but merely obferved it was matter that required a feparate and diftinct confideration, he would let it reft for the prefent, and forbear to put a question upon it then, meaning to take fome future opportunity of bringing it forward. He returned his thanks to the noble Vilcount who had fo ably undertaken the cause of the gentiemen of Jerfey and Guernsey, and fo clearly related the real ftate of the fact with refpect to the difficulties and inconveniencies under which they laboured. He declared thofe difficulties were much increased in confequence of the enormous bounties which France gave to her fisheries; the effect of which was, that the Freuch merchants were enabled to raise the wages of their mariners fo high, that notwithstanding the loyalty of all ranks of men in Jerfey and Guernsey, and notwithstanding the rooted antipathy of the feamen of thofe iflands to the French, and any connection with them, yet it was impoffible to prevent fome of them from being enticed into the fervice of the merchants of France; and doubt'efs, unless the greatest encouragement $ 2 were Mr. Demp x. Sir George Mr. Dempfter. Mr. Powys. were given to the fisheries of Jerfey and Guernsey, it would follow, as an inevitable confequence, that the multitude of feamen to the employment of which they gave occasion, would in time dwindle down to a moft infignificant number, and thus enfeeble and diminish the vigour of our naval eftablishments. The bill having been gone through, the House was refumed, and the report ordered to be brought up on the enfuing Monday. Mr. Dempster having remarked, that the Royal Word, as well as the faith of that Houfe, and of the nation, stood pledged for the protection and fupport of the American Loyalifts, begged leave to prefent a petition in their favour. The petitioners had endured many hardships, and ill had the public faith been kept. He read the names of the several agents for the Loyalifts of the different provinces of America who had figned the petition in behalf of themfelves and the Loyalifts, their conftituents, and defired that when the clerk, who had a better voice than himself, came to read the petition, the Houfe would be fo good as to lend it their attention, as they would find it prefented fuch a melancholy picture of the misfortunes which the Loyalifts had endured in confequence of the neglect they had been treated with, as he hoped would prevail upon the Houfe to grant them a fpeedy and effectual fuccour. Mr. Dempfter briefly ftated the petition, and moved that it be brought up. Sir George Howard feconded the petition, and declared he. ever had, and on all occafions would, ftand up the zealous advocate of the American Loyalifts, to whom he held the honour, the justice, and the good faith of that House and the British nation, inviolably pledged. The petition was ordered to be brought up, and was then read at the table. It contained a recapitulation of the principles on which the petitioners had acted, of the profeffions and promifes made to them, and of the various hardships they had endured, feveral of them having died infane, others in prison; and others were at this time lingering in extreme want.. Mr. Dempfler faid, in that ftage of the bufinefs he could not, he believed, move that the petitioners be heard by their counfel, he would therefore move, "that the petition lie on the table." It was ordered accordingly. Mr. Powys defired that the petition from feveral thousand of the inhabitants of Quebec, which had been prefented to the House in 1784 might be read. He then expreffed his fears that it might prove neceffary to apologize for prefuming to come forward with a bufinefs of fo much importance, and and which undoubtedly would have been more properly placed in the hands of the executive Government, and would have better become His Majefty's Minifters to have proposed to that House, than fuch an infignificant individual as himfelf. The petition they had just heard had been two years on the table, and ever fince it had been prefented he had waited under a confident reliance that fome of His Majefty's Minifters would have thought it incumbent on them to have taken notice of it, and made it the ground of a proceeding of fome fort or other. When he faid this, he meant to impute no blame to any one of His Majefty's Minifters. The right honourable gentleman over against him, he was well aware, had subjects enow to occupy his mind, and engage his attention; but as nothing had been done upon the petition by the executive Government, a fenfe of his duty, as a member of Parliament, and a conviction of the neceffity that fomething fhould be done in compliance with the prayer of the petition, prompted him to ftand up, however inadequate to the task, and offer a motion to the House for leave to bring in a bill to alter the government of Quebec. Nor was his doing fo the first inftance of fuch a step's being taken by an individual member of that Houfe, who ftood wholly unconnected with Government. That truly, great, and moft refpectable character, now loft to that Houfe and to the world, the late Sir George Savile, had done fo on one occafion, and different members on others. He hoped therefore he should ftand excused for following the example of men who had been fo justly dear to their country. Mr. Powys now proceeded to detail the feveral alterations of the government of Quebec, which had taken place fince the province came into our poffeffion under the peace of Paris; and firft he read the Royal Proclamation in 1764, in which a promise was held out to give the province as much freedom in its government as was enjoyed by the other British colonies. That promife had induced a great number of British fettlers to go and refide there, and the: ftate of Government defcribed in the. Royal Proclamation had been enjoyed by them for nine years, when the fatal æra came when what was called the Quebec Bill was paffed, (in 1774,) a bill which was calculated to make the Government of the province of Quebec abfolute, in order to chaftife and correct the other American colonies, at that time rifing into turbulence and rebellion. That bill established as complete a fyftem of defpotifm as ever was inftituted. The bill, it was true, was accompanied with instructions, drawn with a view to foften the feverity and mitigate the rigour of the law. Mr. Powys read fome of these inftructions, which went to the limitation of the power of the Governor in certain cafes. The practice under |