which his notice stood-namely, the 17th instant. The right hon. and learned gentleman must be aware that many members of the house had been put to considerable inconvenience on a former occasion by the postponement of a similar motion, and on the present occasion many persons entertained doubts whether the question would be brought forward at the time for which it was at present fixed.

Sir J. Newport brought forward his motion respecting the revenue arising from the first fruits of the clergy of Ireland. He commenced his observations by stating, that at the time of the Reformation, when the papal power was abolished, and the King was declared the head of the church, the first fruits or annates of all ecclesiastical benefices were annexed to the revenues of the crown. He showed that they continued to be so taken till the reign of Queen Anne, when she, by a royal charter, granted them to the church of Ireland, for the purpose of building glebe houses, and augmenting the poor livings in that country. He then complained that these first fruits, being taken at the valor beneficiorum which was made in the reign of Henry VIII., were totally inadequate for the purposes to which they were applied. At present they did not produce more than 2901. a year; whereas, if properly rated, he contended that they would produce from 30,000l. to 40,000l. a year. A revenue of that amount would fully answer all the purposes of Queen Anne's grant, and would render it unnecessary for ministers to come down annually to parliament to ask it for large sums of money to build glebe houses, and augment

poor livings. Whilst these funds were in existence, ministers were not defensible in asking, and parliament was not warranted in granting large sums annually for either the erection of glebe houses, or the augmentation of poor livings. He knew that, in several intances, many parishes had been united into one in order to save the expense of erecting a glebe house in each; and the result was visible in the decay, not of the protestant establishment, but of the protestant population in Ireland. That point was fully established by comparing the late census of the protestant and catholic population for the diocess of Ossory, with a census made by the bishop of that diocese in the year 1731. He would tell them what the comparative results were in one parish. In 1731 it contained 64 protestants, and 613 catholics. In 1818 it contained 5 protestants and 2,500 catholics. The house could not be surprised at this result, when he informed them, that, owing to these unions of parishes, some of them were upwards of thirty miles long. The right honourable baronet then read a letter from a gentleman in Ireland, who complained that it was quite impossible for him to attend. divine worship at his parish church, as he lived seventeen miles from it; and that a friend of his, whose name he mentioned, was also in the same predicament, as he lived exactly seventeen miles on the other side of it. The right hon. baronet then concluded by moving the following resolutions :

"That the first fruits or annates, being the first year's income of every ecclesiastical dignity and benefice in Ireland, became at the time of the Reformation a part of

the

the revenue of the crown, as head of the church, and was rendered payable by instalments, and otherwise regulated by the Irish statute of the 28th Henry VIII., and continued annexed to the royal revenues until the year 1710.

"That her Majesty Queen Anne, as an act of grace and favour to the established church of Ireland, by letters patent, confirmed by subsequent acts of parliament, did then vest in certain trustees and commissioners the produce of this branch of royal revenue, for the purposes of building and repairing churches, for the purchase of the glebes, where wanting, and of impropriations wherever the benefice was not sufficient for the liberal maintenance of the clergy having cure of souls.

"That her said Majesty Queen Anne did at the same time absolutely exonerate and release the elergy of Ireland from the payment of the twentieth parts, or twelve pence in the pound, theretofore payable annually to the crown out of the income of all ecclesiastical benefices.

"That it appears from returns laid before this house, that the gross amount of the first fruit revenue thus vested in trust, as paid in to the treasurer of the board of commissioners, during ten years, ending in January 1821, amounted only to 3,7521., leaving the net amount of produce, applicable to the valuable purposes of the grant, no more than 2,9251., averaging annually 2921., after the deduction for salaries' and incidental expenses of the board, of 8271.

"That the grants of parliament for building new churches and glebe houses, and the purchase of

glebes in Ireland, during eleven years, ending in 1818, amounted to 498,000l., being an annual average of 45,000l.; and that provision still continues to be made by annual grants for these salutary purposes from the public revenues.

"That four hundred and sixtyseven of the dignities and benefices of Ireland, being nearly one-third part of the whole, have never been rated or valued to the payment of the first fruits, as directed by the statute of Henry VIII.; and that three hundred and thirty-six benefices more, although rated, do not contribute thereto, in consequence of the very early period and the low rates on which the valuation was effected; and that the whole of the archbishoprics, bishoprics, and other ecclesiastical dignities of Ireland, are estimated as amounting to only 4,2471. yearly value.

"That the receipt and management of this revenue has been always reserved to and continued in officers appointed by the crown, and that the duties thereof were, by letters patent, in the year 1812, intrusted to certain commissioners, with power, as therein specified, from time to time, to collect, levy, and receive, and to examine and search for the just and true value of all and singular the dignities and benefices of Ireland, but that no valuation appears to have been made under authority of this patent.

"That these resolutions be laid before his Majesty, together with our humble representation, that it appears just and equitable that this branch of royal revenue, liberally bestowed on the church of Ireland for wise and salutary purposes, should be rendered efficacious for the attainment of the objects of

royal

ing concessions to the Roman Catholics-the insolvent debtors' act -for augmenting the duties on hawkers and pedlars licencesagainst dnties on coals carried coast-wise-against the protecting duties on blankets-for a reduction in the number of hackney coaches. Mr. Sykes gave notice that on 20th of April he should move for a repeal of the duty on candles.

:

Mr. Wetherell presented a petition from the grand jury of Dublin it complained "that the attorney-general for Ireland, in his address to the court of King's Bench, Dublin, had imputed to the grand jury that they had been induced to throw out the bills which he had preferred against the rioters, from corrupt motives."-Ordered to be printed.

The Chancellor of the Exchequer moved the order of the day that the house do resolve itself into a committee on the military and naval pension bill. Several members opposed it, upon the principle that it made the Bank dealers in the funds, and gave a great advantage to it at the cost of the public. The house divided for the house going into a committee 55-against it 44. -Report ordered on Monday.

The house then went into a committee of supply on the Irish estimates; when the following items were voted. 17,000l. for protestant schools. 14,000l. for the promotion of education in Ireland. 27,6721. for foundling hospital in Dublin. 19,000l. for the asylum, the house of industry, and the hospitals in Dublin. 4,500l. for the lunatic asylum. 7,400l. for the Hibernian society for the education of soldiers' children. 1,6007. for the Dublin marine society. 1,930l. for the female orphan school.

2,6801. for the Westmoreland lock hospital. 2,8001. for the Dublin lying-in hospital. 1,400l. for Madam Stephen's hospital, Dublin, 2,6921. for the fever hospital. 300l. for the hospital of incurables. 9281. for the Roman Catholic seminary. 2,000l. to the royal Cork institution. 7,000l. for the Dublin society. 9,2301. for building churches and purchase of glebes in Ireland. 10,000l. for widening the streets of Dublin. 2,500l. for the farming society. 3001. for the royal Irish academy. 500l. for the office of the commissioners of charitable donations and bequests. 19,938l. 9s. 2d.‡ in aid of the linen and hempen manufactures. 16,170l. for the board of works. 17,3017. for printing and stationery of the chief and under secretaries.

The following vote was postponed at the request of Mr. Rice, viz 8,3851. for the association for discountenancing vice.

The house then resumed, the chairman reported progress. The committee was ordered to sit again on Wednesday.

Mr. Lennard moved for the production of the following papers :An account of the various contracting prices by the victualling-office, for wheat, flour, beef, pork, butter, and cheese, from 1790 to the present time; an account of the ave rage price of all sorts of grain, from the 5th of January, 1821, to the 5th of January, 1823, distinguishing each year; an account of the weekly average price of all sorts of grain from the 5th of January, 1823, to the present time, distinguishing each week.-Ordered.-Adjourned.

House of Lords, April 14.-Petitions were presented from Dudley against

against the insolvent debtors' act; from the corporation of Beverley, in Yorkshire, against the catholic claims; and one from D. Nathaniel Highmore, complaining of his not being allowed to practise in the ecclesiastical courts.

The order of the day, in pursuance of which their lordships had been summoned, being read,

The Earl of Liverpool addressed their lordships. In obedience to the commands of his Majesty, he rose to lay certain papers, relative to the negotiations which had taken place on the subject of Spain, on the table of the house. He had properly to begin with the circumstances which occurred in the negotiations of last year at the congress of Verona; but before he came to them, he wished to draw their lordships' attention to some antecedent facts which would show in what situation this country stood with respect to the question of Spain before the sovereigns assembled. Their lordships would recollect, that in 1814 the King of Spain was restored to his country. During his absence a constitution had been drawn up and adopted in 1812. There were, he must acknowledge, many circumstances connected with that constitution to which it was impossible the attention of those who were interested in the state of Spain should not be called. It had been established at a time when the opportunity for such a change could not have been foreseen, and therefore it might have been presumed that the framers of that code, as well as the country, were not prepared for it by that general knowledge which such a labour required. It was, in fact, constructed upon principles extremely erroneous not only 1823.

erroneous in themselves, but be cause they were by no means suited to the condition and the feelings of the country. On the King of Spain's restoration, it became a matter of consideration what the course to be pursued ought to be. His Majesty's minister who was then in Spain, Sir H. Wellesley, advised Ferdinand VII. to accept the constitution of the Cortes, subject to modifications. After some hesitation on the part of that sovereign, a different course was adopted. The King was led to think that the opinion of the people of Spain was decidedly hostile to the constitution, and in his belief of the existence of that opinion his Majesty appeared to be correct. Nay, he would go farther. He would say that he would not regret that the King of Spain had taken a course different from that which our minister recommended, had his Majesty only adhered to the promises he made when he refused to accept the constitution, on the ground that it was not conformable to the wishes of the people. But at the same time that he rejected the constitution which was offered to him, he issued a declaration, in which he recognized the principles of a limited monarchy, and promised to assemble Cortes. Had this course been adopted, he was far from thinking that either Spain or Europe would have had any reason to regret his Catholic Majesty's determination. But, notwithstanding this strong and voluntary declaration, no Cortes were assembled. Not only were they not assembled, but a course of misgovernment was pursued, which made the events of 1820, however unexpected, (and unexpected he believed they were,) be viewed with