Mr. Holdf ting fornication with his wife before marriage, it appeared, that feven years after her death he was cited to ftand as a prie fonet at their bar, though he had lived with her for nine years, and was father of feven children. A poor woman who was pregnant, and very near childbirth, was cited to this court: being at fome diftance and in fuch a fituation, she could not appear in time to the citation; the confequence was, fhe was excommunicated, and thus deprived of all those temporal advantages which being within the pale of the church affords. But this was not all, her foul was fentenced to eternal mifery. Such examples were difgraceful in their pretences and terrible in their execution. Was it not neceffary therefore to devife fome method of destroying this minotaur of the fexthis tribunal of oppreffion on the poor, who had no power of appeal or protection from its feverity of infliction? The ecclefiaftical courts were avaricious and rapacious to an extreme. If a poor perfon was tried in the inferior courts and convicted, then he could only have recourfe by appeal to the court of Arches, which was fo very expenfive that he could not bear it, and confequently became obliged to lie under all the infamy to which, from the fentence paffed on him, he was neceffarily fubjected.-The cafe of unfortunate women was also most deplorable. They were fubjected to penances which deftroyed every principle of fhame, and eventually fit ted them for being received into a bawdy-house. Mr. Baftard now defired (and received) permiffion to read fome extracts from a fpeech made, he obferved, by one of the patriarchs of the church (a right reverend prelate in the upper House of Parliament) in oppofition to the principles of the meafure which had been propofed on this fubject. Having commented upon (what he deemed) the falfe pofitions which it contained, and premifed; that if the civil courts of judicature did not perpetually throw open ample means of redrefs and punishment for defamation; means more conftitutional, and of courfe more eligible than thofe offered by this ecclefiaftical inquifition, he might perhaps remain filent. Mr. Baftard reprobated the fentence of excommunication, and faid, that it was contrary to the gentle fpirit of chriftianity, and a remnant of that fuperftition which, moft fortunately, no longer prevailed in this country. He then moved, that leave be given to bring in a bill for putting an end to all vexatious proceffes in ecclefiaftical courts. This rnotion was feconded by Mr. Holdfworth, who remarked that in cafes of antinupworthitial fornication their procedure had been fingularly vexatious, and that a gentleman fat near him, who had fuggefted to him an example, in which a perfon had been teized with a process on account of antinuptial fornication fifteen years after he was married. He added, that the various inftances of oppreffion in the conduct of this arbitrary, this infernal court, ought to operate effectually with the Legislature as motives for its abolition. Sir William Leman obferved, that the honourable member Sir William (Mr. Baftard) merited high encomiums for the zeal which he Leman. had manifefted against fuch vexatious procedures on the prefent as well as on former occafions; and farther added, that he knew that in confequence of fuch virtuous activity and ardour, he had obtained the thanks of the grand jury of the county which he reprefented, who had alfo expreffed their earnest with that he would again propofe a measure which had at a preceding juncture failed of fuccefs. Sir William Dolben faid, that he did not rife with a view Sir William of oppofing the motion: he not only thanked the honoura- Dolben. ble gentleman for making it, but alfo for not illuftrating it fo copiously as he might have done from the voluminous bundle of papers which he held in his hand.-He wifhed, however, to remind him that there was nothing more fingularly vexatious in the ecclefiaftical courts than in any of the other courts in which juftice was difpenfed-that the poor, if injured by the decifion of the judicatories in Westminster Hall, were as little able to apply to the Houfe of Peers for redress as to the court of Arches, in inftances of defamation. The original inftitution of the ecclefiaftical courts was wife and good; the abuses which had fuddenly crept in, could not be too foon rectified; but even their prefent existence did not warrant the application of the epithet, infernal, to this violently reprobated tribunal. The Patriarchs had been perhaps contemptuously mentioned; but he felt a pleasure in declaring, that (he believed) there never was a period in which the different fees in this kingdom were filled by men of greater learning, or who recommended religion more pow erfully by their own example. Mr. Burke faid, that if there were any abufes in the eccle- Mr. Burke, fiaftical courts, the fault was not to be attributed to the bi hops; for every one knew that they rarely prefided there, and generally did their bufinefs by deputation. Mr. Baftard declared, that he meant no reflection on either Mr. Bastard the bishops or the clergy, of whofe worth he entertained as high an idea as the honourable baronet: he had opened the fubject folely with the moft anxious hopes of proving the humble, but the fortunate inftrument of aiding to exterminate an evil highly oppreffive to the lower clafs of the community, and abfurdly arbitrary in itself. The motion was then put and agreed to-Meffrs. Bastard, Molefworth, and Sir William Leman were ordered to prepare and bring in the bill. The Houfe adjourned. Monday, Sir Mat thew White Ridley. Mr. Chan Monday, 26th February. Sir Matthew White Ridley intimated his determination to call, with their permiffion, the attention of the House, at an early day, to the confideration of a matter which had been before them during the courfe of the preceding feffion. It was the cafe of Captain Brodie, who, in confequence of a regulation in the navy service, in the last war, had, without any fault or failure of his own, been deprived of that rank to which he was juftly entitled, and which he would now have holden, had not fuch regulation taken place. If the right honourable gentleman would fignify his intention to fee Captain Brodie reftored to his rank, Sir Matthew faid, he would not give the House any farther trouble upon the. fubject; but otherwife, he should think it his duty to take the fenfe of the House upon the matter. Mr. Chancellor Pitt anfwered, that it was impoffible for cellor Pitt. him to give any anfwer to fo extraordinary a requifition, and before a specified rank could be given or promised to any officer in confequence of a motion, the motion must be refted on very strong ground indeed. Sir Mat Sir Matthew White Ridley repeated, that Captain Brodie thew White had not loft his rank through any fault or failure of his Ridley. own, but had been precluded from being an admiral by a regulation. Sir Matthew gave notice, that he would make a motion upon the fubject in the courfe of the enfuing Monday. Mr. Demp fter. Mr. Francis. A converfation took place, whether the hearing of counfel in fupport of the petition from the Company's fervants refident in Bengal, &c. complaining of the Eaft-India bill of 1784, which stood as the first order of the day, should be this day first attended to, or the charge relative to the tranfactions at Farruckabad, which had been put off from time to time. Mr. Dempfter contended for the right of the petitioners to be heard firft, and faid, the deferring it would produce manifeft inconvenience and expence. Mr. Francis maintained, that the charge relative to Farruckabad fhould come on firft, alledging that it was most temporary and preffing, and that the object of the Bengal petition, if attained in the course of the present feffion, would be fufficiently early; and confequently, if the petitioners were heard a month hence, they would be heard time enough for their purpose. Mr. Demftper begged leave to entertain a contrary opinion; and at length, the controverfy was put an end to by Mr. Chan. Mr. Chancellor Pitt obferving, that probably all the papers cellor Pitt. concerning Farruckabad had not been printed long enough for for gentlemen to have perused them completely; for his part, he declared, that he had not looked into one of them. Would it not therefore be proper to put off going into the Committee on the charge refpecting Farruckabad, for a day or two longer, in order to give gentlemen a full opportunity of making themselves perfectly mafters of all the papers printed upon the fubject? This was confented to by Mr. Burke, and Friday named as the day; but Mr. Burke begged the Houfe to recollect, that the delay was not imputable to any fault of his, for that he was ready to bring on the charge the next day, had gentlemen been prepared to go into the Committee. Mr. Burke faid, he would, with the leave of the Houfe, move to do that regularly, which had already been done irregularly, viz. to bring Mr. Middleton's papers formally before the Committee. Mr. Burke then moved, "That Nathaniel Middleton, Efq. do, to-morrow morn"ing, attend the Committee of the whole House, to whom "it is referred to confider farther of the feveral articles of "charge of high crimes and misdemeanors against Warren Haftings, Efq. late Governor General of Bengal; and "that he do bring with him all his letter-books, and other "correfpondence in his poffeffion, relative to the public af"fairs of the province of Oude, and its dependencies." Mr. Burke gave notice, that the charge intended to be Mr. Burke: brought forward next, was, that great and comprehensive charge, the charge touching the contracts, which an honourable baronet (Sir James Erfkine) meant to open generally to the Committee, and then move to report a progrefs, taking another day to ftate to thein the particular mode in which he meant to bring each individual branch of the charge under confideration; Mr. Burke named Friday next as the day, but on its being fuggefted to him, that Friday was already occupied, it was agreed that an early day fhould be taken for the purpose. The order of the day being read, for the Houfe to resolve itself into a Committee of the whole Houfe, to take into confideration fo much of His Majefty's moft gracious speech to both Houses of Parliament, upon the 23d day of January laft, as relates to fimplifying the public accounts in the various branches of the revenue; Mr. Chancellor Pitt moved, "That the refolutions which, upon this day fe'nnight, "were reported from the Committee of the whole House, "to whom it was referred to confider fo much of His Ma"jesty's most gracious fpeech to both Houfes of Parliament, "upon the 23d day of January laft, as relates to the treaty "of navigation and commerce between His Majesty and "the Mr. Chan "the moft Chriftian King, and were then agreed to by the "House, be referred to the confideration of the faid Coin"mittee. "That the thirteenth Report of the Commiffioners ap"pointed to examine, take, and ftate the public accounts "of the kingdom, which was prefented to the House upon "the 21ft day of March, 1785, be referred to the faid "Committee: "And that it be an inftruction to the faid Committee, "that they do confider of the feveral acts of parliament for "establishing annuities on lives, payable at the receipt of "His Majefty's Exchequer. The Speaker then left the chair, and Mr. Steele took his feat at the table. Mr. Chancellor Pitt rifing again, remarked, that it would cellor Pitt. be unneceffary for him to dwell upon the great importance of the fubject, and the advantages which muft inevitably result from it; they were in themfelves fo obvious, that it was more difficult to account for its having been delayed fo long, than to prove the propriety of now adopting it. The in creafing commerce of the country, on the one hand, and the accumulated burdens on the other; the various additions which it had been found neceffary to make to the national income, by augmenting almoft every fubfifting duty, and the concomitant progreffion of the refources from whence that income was fupplied, had fo widely exceeded the expectations of our ancestors, and all the grounds of calculation, on which they founded their fyftemn of finance, that the principles which they adopted, as fuited to the narrow and confined scale of their public exigency and refources, were no longer applicable to the prefent ftate either of the trade or the revenne of the country. The confequences of thus retaining the old principle under the altered circumstances of the country, were, in feveral points of view, highly detrimental to the interefts of the nation. In the firft, and moft material inftance, they were productive of great inconvenience to individuals, as well to the merchants as to the officers of the cuftoms, from the difficulty they occafioned in calculating and afcertaining the amount of the feveral fums to be paid by the former; and they were also, in fome degree, attended with an actual lofs to the revenue. Mr. Pitt went very much at length into the origin and progrefs of our revenue, as it at prefent ftands, and particularly that branch which arifes from the customs, ftating, that the first institution of the prefent fubfifting duties of cuftom, was made by statute, the 12th of Charles II. under the names of tonnage and poundage-the first of thofe was an impofition on wines, laid on by the quantities imported; and the other was a pro portional |