of going into such, the following are what I intend to offer. That it is the opinion of this Committee, that the imposition of certain duties to be raised and levied by an act, made in the 7th year of the reign of his present Majesty, entitled, An Act, &c. on certain goods and manufactures therein mentioned, hath a tendency to obstruct the vent of British manufactures and merchandize in the said colonies and plantations; and to render the colonies and plantations less benencial and advantageous to his Majesty's dominions of Great Britain. That it is the opinion of this Committee, that the said Act hath not answered the purport and intent thereof, of raising a revenue in his Majesty's dominions in America, for making a more certain and adequate provision for defraying the charge of the administration of justice, and the support of civil government in such provinces where it may be found necessary, and towards further defraying the expences of defending, protecting, and securing the said dominions. SUPPLIES granted for the Year 1769.] Committee of Supply during this Session : That it is the opinion of this Committee, that the repeal of the said duties is, upon commercial considerations alone, highly proper and necessary. That the House be moved to bring in a Bill for repealing so much of an Act, made in the 7th year of the reign of his present Majesty, entitled, An Act, &c. as imposes certain duties on goods therein mentioned, imported into the British colonies and plantations in America. In hopes that the Committee will come to these opinions, "I do move that the House do resolve itself, on Monday next, into a Committee of the whole House, to consider an Act passed in the 7th year of his present Majesty's reign, entitled, An Act," &c. Every person seemed to agree with the motion; but the ministry complaining that the late time of the sessions would not allow a matter of so much consequence to be properly agitated, as they were not prepared for it, a motion was therefore made to put it off till next session. The following are the Resolutions of the That 16,000 men be employed for the sea-service for 1769, including 4,287 NOVEMBER 28. £. S. d. ...... 832,000 0 That a number of land forces, including 2,349 invalids, amounting to 17,142 For defraying the charge of the said number of land forces for 1769 For defraying the charge of the difference of pay between the British and DECEMBER 5. .... For the ordinary of the navy, including half pay to sea and marine officers, ..... ... FEBRUARY 16, 1769. For paying the pensions to the widows of such reduced officers of his Ma- 1,480 0 0 127,020 0 1,351 0 0 107,394 15 10 FEBRUARY 21. Upon account, for maintaining and supporting the civil establishment of ... Upon account, for defraying the charges of the civil establishment of Upon account, for defraying the charges of the civil establishment of East Upon account, for defraying the charges of the civil establishment of West Florida, and the incidental expences attending the same, from 24th June 1768, to 24th June 1769 ... Upon account, for defraying the expences of general surveys of his Majesty's dominions in North America for 1769 Upon account, for defraying the civil establishment of Senegambia, for 1769 For paying off and discharging the exchequer bills, made out by virtue of an act, passed in the 8th year of his present Majesty's reign, intitled, An Act for raising a certain sum of money by loans or exchequer bills, and charged upon the first aids to be granted in this session FEBRUARY 23. For Charles Dingley, of London, merchant, as a reward to him for having erected and brought to perfection, for the benefit of the public, a windsaw-mill at Limehouse, for the purpose of manufacturing timber into wainscot and deals; and as a recompence for the loss he sustained in the wilful destruction of the said wind-saw-mill, by a number of riotous and disorderly persons, in the month of May last. MARCH 2. To discharge the arrears and debts due and owing upon the civil list, on the 5th Jan. 1769 .... MARCH 7. Towards erecting a magazine for gunpowder, at Priddy's Hard, in Portsmouth harbour MARCH 14. Towards defraying the extraordinary expences of his Majesty's land forces, and other services incurred to the 23rd Dec. 1768, and not provided for by parliament To replace to the Sinking Fund, the like sum issued thereout, to make good the deficiency, on the 5th July 1763, of the fund established for paying annuities, in respect of 5,000,000l. borrowed by virtue of an act made in the 31st year of his late majesty, towards the supply granted for the service of 1758 To replace to ditto, the like sum paid out of the same, to make good the deficiency on the 5th April 1768, of the fund established for paying annuities in respect of 3,500,000l. borrowed by virtue of an act of the 3rd of bis present Majesty, towards the supply granted for the service of 1763.. MARCH 23. That provision be made for paying and clothing of the militia, and for their 237,225 15 10 4,375 17 11 3,086 0 0 4,750 0 0 4,800 0 0 1,785 4 0 5,550 O 0 1,800,000 0 0 1,824,347 1 11 2,000 0 0 513,511 0 0 4,000 0 0 238,557 2 2 47,531 18 18,930 3 44 305,019 4 0 subsistence during the time they shall be absent from home on account of the annual exercise, for 1769. APRIL 10. .... Upon account, to enable the Foundling Hospital to maintain and educate such children as were received into the same, on or before the 25th March 1760, from the 21st Dec. 1768, exclusive, to the 31st Dec. 1769 inclusive, and the said sum to be issued without any deduction Upon account, for enabling the said hospital to put out apprentice the said children, so as that the said hospital do not give with one child more than 77. Upon account, to repay to the governors and guardians of the said hospital, the like sum advanced by them, for apprenticing such children as were received into it, on or before the 25th March, 1760, over and above the sums granted by parliament for that purpose ..... To make good to his Majesty the like sum, which has been issued by his Majesty's orders, in pursuance of the addresses of the House Towards carrying on an additional building for a more commodious passage to the House of Commons Towards paying off and discharging the debts of the navy ... To make good the deficiency of the grants for the service of 1768 For repairing, maintaining, and supporting the British forts and settlements on the coast of Africa APRIL 11. To pay the benefit prizes in the present lottery, charged upon the supplies of the current year APRIL 12. To be advanced to the governor and company of the merchants of England, trading into the Levant seas, to be applied in assisting the said company in carrying on their trade ..... APRIL 20. To be applied for making a new road at the foot of the mountain of Penmaen Mawr, and thereby securing a certain communication between Great Britain and Ireland, by way of Holyhead MAY 1. To Frederick Lafontaine, or to such person or persons as his Majesty shall think proper, to encourage the making of saltpetre in Great Britain, under the inspection of the board of ordnance ... Total of the Supplies granted this Session · · WAYS AND MEANS for the Year 1769.] The following are the Resolutions of the Committee of Ways and Means: Nov. 24, 1768. That the duties upon malt, mum, cyder, and perry, be continued from 23d June, 1769, to the 24th June, 1770, and charged upon all the malt which shall be made, and all mum which shall be made or imported, and all cyder and perry, which shall be made for sale within the kingdom of Great Britain, 700,000l. Dec. 6. That the sum of 3s. in the pound and no more, be raised within the space of one year, from the 25th March, 1769, upon lands, tenements, hereditaments, pensions, and personal estates, in that part of Great Britain called England, [VOL. XVI.] 19,957 10 0 5,600 0 0 3,231 16 0 16,500 0 0 3,000 0 400,000 0 0 186,043 1 74 2,000 0 0 649,332 7 7% 600,000 0 0 5,000 0 0 2,000 0 0 2,000 0 0 6,909,003 4 10 Wales, and the town of Berwick upon Tweed; and that a proportionable cess, according to the ninth article of the Treaty of Union, be laid upon that part of Great Britain called Scotland, 1,528,5681. 11s. 114d. Feb. 23, 1769. That 1,800,000l. be raised by loans, or exchequer bills, to be charged upon the first aids to be granted in the next session of parliament; and such exchequer bills, if not discharged, with interest thereupon, on or before the 5th April, 1770, to be exchanged and received in payment, in such manner as exchequer bills have usually been exchanged and received in payment. March 14. That the duties of excise, payable upon seal skins, tanned, tawed, [2 S] or dressed, within this kingdom, be taken off. That in lieu thereof a duty of excise be laid upon seal skins, which shall be tanned, tawed, or dressed in this kingdom, after the rate of 1d. for every pound weight avoirdupoise of such skins. And, That the said duty be applied to such uses as the said duties to be taken off are now appropriated unto. March 23. That the charge of the pay and clothing of the militia, in that part of Great Britain called England, for one year, beginning the 25th March, 1769, be defrayed out of the monies arising by the land tax granted for the service of the year 1769. April 10. That 400,000l. which, by an act made in the 7th year of his present Majesty's reign, intitled, 'An Act for establishing an agreement for the payment of the annual sum of 400,000l. for a limited time, by the East India Company, in respect of the territorial acquisitions and revenues lately obtained in the East Indies,' is directed to be paid, within the present year, into the receipt of his Majesty's exchequer, by the said Company, be applied towards making good the supply granted to his Majesty. April 11. 1. That 780,000l. be raised, by way of lottery; such lottery to consist of 60,000 tickets, at 131. each. 2. That a sum not exceeding 30,000l. out of such monies as shall be paid into the receipt of the exchequer, after the 4th of April, 1769, and on or before the 5th of April, 1770, of the produce of all or any of the duties and revenues, which, by any act or acts of parliament, have been directed to be reserved for the disposition of parliament, towards defraying the necessary expences of defending, protecting, and securing the British colonies and plantations in America, be applied towards making good such part of the supply as hath been granted to his Majesty for maintaining his Majesty's forces and garrisons in the plantations, and for provisions for the forces in North America, Nova Scotia, Newfoundland, and the ceded islands, for the year 1769. 3. That such of the monies as shall be paid into the receipt of the exchequer, after the 4th of April, 1769, and on or before the 5th of April, 1770, of the produce of the duties charged by an act of parliament made in the 5th year of his present Majesty's reign, upon the importation and exportation of gum senega and gum arabic, be applied towards making good the supply granted to his Majesty. April 12. 1. That towards making good the supply granted to his Majesty, there be issued and applied the sum of 135,1777. 15s. 6d. remaining in the exchequer, on the 5th of April, 1769, for the disposition of parliament, of the monies which had then arisen, of the surplusses, excesses, or overplus monies, and other revenues composing the fund commonly called the Sinking Fund. 2. That towards raising the supply granted to his Majesty, there be issued and applied the sum of 1,664,822l. 4s. 5d. out of such monies as shall or may arise of the surplusses, excesses, or overplus monies, and other revenues composing the fund commonly called the Sinking Fund. 3. That such part of the duties which have been, or shall be, paid upon iron imported in foreign-built ships, navigated by foreigners, as exceeds the duties payable upon iron imported in British-built ships, navigated by British subjects, be not drawn back upon re-exportation. 4. That the drawback, which was formerly payable upon the exportation of foreign rough hemp, and which was discontinued by an act made in the 6th year of his present Majesty, be restored, upon condition that the pre-emption thereof be offered to the commissioners of the navy. And that an act, made in the fourth year of his present Majesty's reign, intitled, 'An Act for granting, for a limited time, a liberty to carry rice from his Majesty's provinces of South Carolina and Georgia, directly to any part of America to the southward of the said provinces, subject to the like duty as is now paid on the exportation of rice from the said colonies to places in Europe situate to the southward of Cape Finisterre,' which was to continue in force for five years, from the 24th of June, 1764, and from thence to the end of the then next session of parliament, and also a clause in an act passed in the 5th year of his said Majesty's reign, intitled, An Act for more effectually securing and encouraging the trade of his Majesty's American dominions; for repealing the inland duty on coffee, imposed by an act made in the 32d year of his late majesty king George 2, and for granting an inland duty on all coffee imported (except coffee of the growth of the British dominions in America); for altering the bounties and drawbacks upon sugars exported; for repealing part of an act made in the 23d year of his said late majesty, whereby bar iron made in the said dominions was pences of his Majesty's land forces, and other services, incurred to the 23d Dec., 1768, and not provided for by parliament. And prohibited to be exported from Great Britain, or carried coast-wise; and for regulating the fees of the officers of the customs in the said dominions,' which gives liberty to export rice from North Carolina, in the same manner, and during the same limited time, under the like entries, securities, restrictions, regulations, limitations, duties, penalties, and forfeitures, as are enacted by the said act made in the 4th year of his present Majesty's reign with respect to South Carolina and Georgia, are near expiring, and fit to be continued. April 15. To make perpetual an act made in the 1st year of the reign of his present Majesty, intitled, An Act to continue the duties for encouragement of coinage of money.' April 17. That the annual sum of 1,500l. granted to his Majesty, to be paid to the principal secretaries of state, to be distributed among the clerks in their respective offices, in compensation for the advantages which such clerks enjoyed from their sending and receiving letters and packets free from the duty of postage, before the commencement of an act made in the 4th year of his present Majesty's reign, intitled, An Act for preventing frauds and abuses, in relation to the sending and receiving of letters and packets free from the duty of postage,' be charged upon, and made payable out of, the revenues arising in the general letter-office, or post-office, or office of postmaster-general. April 18. 1. That a sum not exceeding 109,8647. 19s. 44d. out of the money remaining unapplied, of the winter stoppage of 6d. per day, made on the non-commissioned officers and private men of the regiments of cavalry, serving in Germany in the last war, and of the balance of the stock purse account of two regiments of cavalry; and also out of the monies due upon the final account, ended the 24th Dec., 1755, of William earl of Chatham, formerly paymaster general of his Majesty's forces; and of the final account of Thomas Calcraft, esq. late paymaster of the royal bounty to the widows of the officers of his Majesty's land forces and marines, and the widows of half-pay officers, ended the 24th of Dec., 1762; and also out of the monies remaining in the office of the pay-master general of his Majesty's forces subject to the disposition of parliament; be applied towards making good the supply granted to his Majesty, towards defraying the extraordinary ex 2. That, towards making good the supply granted to his Majesty, there be applied the sum of 59,8791. 8s. 54d. remaining in the receipt of the exchequer, on the 9th April, 1769, for the disposition of parliament, over and above the surplus of the Sinking Fund then remaining for the same purpose. 3. That the further encouragement of the growth and culture of raw silk, in his Majesty's colonies and plantations in America, will be a great advantage to the trade and manufactures of Great Britain. 4. That a bounty on the importation of raw silk, of the growth and produce of his Majesty's colonies and plantations in America, will be a proper encouragement for promoting the growth and culture thereof in the said colonies and plantations. And 5. That a bounty be granted upon raw silk, of the produce of his Majesty's colonies or plantations in America, imported directly from America, under proper regulations, into the port of London, for the term of 21 years, in manner following; that is to say, during the first seven years, the sum of 25l. for every 100%. value of such raw silk; during the next seven years, the sum of 201. for every 100l. value of such raw silk; and, during the last seven years, the sum of 15l. for every 100l. value of such raw silk; and that such bounty be paid out of his Majesty's customs. The King's Speech at the Close of the Session.*] May 9. The King put an end Before * "The allusion in the King's Speech, at the close of the session, to the perturbed state of the public mind, was strongly founded in fact; for at no period of history was a more general, audacious, and clamorous opposition exhibited in a regular government. the rising of parliament, a letter was received by the Speaker of the House of Commons, enumerating supposed encroachments on the liberties of the people, and threatening another revolution. Every artifice was used to increase the fury of the public, and incite them to make the privilege of petitioning, reserved by the Bill of Rights, the means of giving pain to the King, and conveying sentiments of disloyalty used to forward the views of faction, and keep to the foot of the throne. Among the engines alive the irritability of the populace, was Allen, the father of the unfortunate youth who was killed in the riot in St. George's Fields. A |