grudge them that promotion. He also defended the expediency of holding out the chance of speedy promotion to the sons of noble and wealthy families as an inducement to them to enter into the navy. Sir John Wrottesley thought, that the system of promotion, which was conducted in the navy upon principles unknown in every other department of the state, was liable to great objection. In the army, no new commission could issue until a vacancy occurred. So in the civil departments of the country, no clerk could be promoted until there was a higher situation vacant in his office. But, in the navy, promotions could be made to any extent, as, in point of fact, though not exactly in point of form, a man might be made captain without having any ship to command. Indeed, a lord of the Admiralty had no limitation, except his conscience, to his power of taxing the country, by promoting inferior officers. Mr. Hume said, as promotion was asserted to be necessary to keep the navy in order, he supposed it would be equally necessary for the marine service; and yet, in one year, he saw two hundred and ninety-four promotions in the navy, and only thirteen in the marines. From 1816 to 1826 there had been only seventysix promotions in the whole marine service. The resolution was agreed to. HOUSE OF COMMONS. Tuesday, February 13. CORN-LAWS.] Sir E. Knatchbull, in presenting a Petition against any alteration in the Corn-Laws, took occasion to ask the right hon. Secretary opposite in what mode government intended to proceed, in bringing forward the question. He expressed his deep regret that the consideration of it had been so long postponed; for, if the right hon. Secretary for Foreign Affairs was too unwell to bring it forward speedily, it might have been done by the President of the Board of Trade. The subject was of the greatest importance, and the public mind was intensely interested in it. If the matter should, however, be brought forward at the time announced, he wished to be informed what was the course which the government meant to adopt? Did they intend to proceed by bill? or was it their intention to refer the matter to a committee of the whole House? VOL. XVI. Mr. Secretary Peel said, that although he must decline giving any answer as to the nature of the measure which government intended to submit to the House, he had no objection to say that the course of proceeding which it was at present intended to adopt was, to move resolutions in a committee of the whole House, which resolutions would contain the plan in detail. If these resolutions should be agreed to, then the intention was, that they should be printed for the use of the members, and be re-committed on a future day, that gentlemen might have an opportunity of giving this important subject the fullest possible consideration. NAVY ESTIMATES-IMPRESSMENT OF SEAMEN.] Sir G. Clerk brought up the report of the committee of supply on the Navy Estimates. On the resolutions being read, Sir John Newport said, he was desirous of adding his voice to those which had already been raised in that House against the present system of impressing seamen. He should never be convinced that, in this country, there was not a power to call a sufficient number of men into service whenever it might be necessary, without the exercise of that which he considered absolute tyranny. It had been shown, again and again, in that House and in numerous publications, that such means did exist; and he believed in his conscience, that until the tyrannous system to which he objected should be done away, it would operate as a drawback upon the desire which men would otherwise evince to enter the service. The consequence was, that they would be driven to other countries; and the experience of the late war with America had shown the mischievous consequences of having the enemy's ships manned and fought by British seamen. He hoped the subject would engage the serious attention of those who had the care of the British navy. The expense which it might occasion was of no consequence. He should never cease to bear testimony to this abominable hardship; and he wished that, as his voice had been raised in the earliest part of his parliamentary life against this system, so his latest effort-which could not be far distantmight be directed to rescue the men who were properly called the bulwarks of their country, from the tyranny to which they were exposed. Q Mr. Warburton was of opinion, that if the question were put to the merchants and ship-owners, whether the system of impressment were injurious or otherwise. they would, one and all, protest against it, The shipping interest was materially affected by it; for what could be a greater hardship on the part of the owners, than that the men who worked their vessels should be taken out of them, after perhaps a long and hazardous voyage, on their arrival in the chops of the Channel? The whole system of impressment was degrading to the country, and destructive of that free spirit for which British seamen were distinguished. He was sure that the people of Great Britain would sooner submit to additional taxation, if no other means could be found by which the system of naval impressments might be abolished. Sir George Clerk contended, that the view which hon. members seemed to take of the system of impressment was founded on erroneous reasoning. It was only in cases of peculiar emergency that this mode of raising men for the service was resorted to. A sufficient supply of seamen could always be had, without having recourse to the system complained of; but the House should bear in mind, before it insisted too strongly on its abolition, that there were circumstances in which it might be necessary to require a fleet to be manned with extraordinary despatch; which could only be accomplished by resorting to impressment. The hon. member had talked of the hardship of taking men from merchant ships on their arrival in the Channel; but, would not the merchants have much more cause of complaint, if government had not provided the means of defending their shipping from the enemy? It was to be hoped that the system of impressment would be so modified, as to strip it of its grievances; and that the liberality which the country had displayed in bestowing pensions on those sailors who had served their country would have the effect of making the service less irksome. He thought it wrong, however, to insist too strongly on putting an end to impressment altogether, particularly when it was considered that the salvation of the country might depend on the celerity with which we could command a navy. Mr. Lombe conceived that there must be something wrong in the system pursued by our navy, otherwise the sailors employed in the service would not be so prone to desert to other states. From the king's packets that plied to New York and Halifax, several desertions had taken place, which could only be traced to something faulty in the management of that service. Sir G. Clerk replied, that the greater part of the packets alluded to were hired vessels, the crews of which were not under military law. The removal had taken place in consequence of the great length of time which the vessels were detained at New York. Their men had not deserted into the American navy, but had been induced by high wages-a dollar a day-to work at unloading the ships in the harbour. In Mr. Hume wished to state the result of the inquiries which he had made on the subject. It was generally admitted, that the service of the navy was less laborious, and that the men had less labour, better food, better regulations, and more advantages, than in the merchant service. They stated, that it was not the inferiority of the wages to the wages in the merchant service of which they complained, for that was compensated by pensions. Thousands of seamen had been examined, and they one and all declared, that their aversion to the service arose from the discipline to which they were subjected. That such discipline was unnecessary had been proved in various cases. the Bulwark of 74 there had not been a single corporal punishment inflicted for eighteen months. The seamen were dissatisfied that a commander had it in his power to order the infliction of a summary punishment which degraded the individual for ever, and that there was no redress. To impressment they did not object on an emergency. But they objected to being torn from their families by impressment, and then kept in the service for life. Whenever the urgency of the public service required it the seamen had no objection to take their turn; but they wished for the establishment of some regulation to prevent their being detained after the emergency had ceased to exist. great objection to impressment was the expense which it occasioned in tenders, &c.; for the moment a sailor was pressed, he became a prisoner, under a guard, and was divested of all the rights of an Englishman. He was satisfied that the number of desertions which took place during the late war, in consequence of the dis One Sir J. Newport: additional argument sity of impressment. That, then, is an against the neces Sir C. Forbes said, he had heard, that such was the desire of the men engaged in the shipping of the East India company to enter into his majesty's service, that the court of directors had made application to the Admiralty to prevent it. was one of the last men who would stand up for unnecessary punishments at sea or He satisfaction of the seamen, counterbalanced | proof of it, the last ship that was put in the advantages of impressment; except on commission, the Asia, of 80 guns, in one or two emergencies. In behalf of the three weeks obtained three hundred and seamen of England, he protested against seventy volunteers, and in five weeks their being exposed to a degrading punish- completed her complement. An hon. ment. He intreated those who had the member had observed, that the packets power to introduce an amelioration of the had been withdrawn from New York, system, to consider, whether it would not because the apprehension of punishbe much better to have the fleet manned ment induced the men to desert. Now by volunteers, by men attached to the the fact was, that in the whole of the service, who might be allowed to go on packet service of last year, there had been shore without being guarded by officers, only three punishments. It was quite from fear of their desertion. The system untrue that the naval service was unof punishment ought to be regulated; he popular. would not say abolished, because there were cases in which it was perhaps indispensable. But the objection was to the arbitrary manner in which the punishment was sometimes carried into effect, at the pleasure of an individual who had scarcely arrived at the years of discretion. Many officers were in command whose experience had not taught them the forbearance and self-rule necessary in such a station. In fact an officer on shore, and the same officer on board ship were frequent-on shore. He had known some instances ly as different men as it was possible to conceive. When on shore an officer knew that he must govern himself by the rules of society; but when on board, being free from all control, he too often conducted himself in the most arbitrary manner. Man in every situation, and under all circumstances, required control. Unlimited and irresponsible power would always be abused. When boys who were bred up to the sea were daily witnesses of a system of arbitrary authority on the one hand, and of passive obedience on the other, it was not wonderful that, when they themselves became commanders, they should assume despotic power. It was by no means, however, his wish to throw any general censure on the officers of the navy. All he maintained was, that the natural disposition of man to tyrannize over his fellow creatures ought to be as much counteracted as possible. If the Admiralty took steps to effect so desirable an object, they would never want seamen to man our ships. Comparatively speaking, few able seamen were necessary in a vessel. If, out of one hundred thousand men, thirty thousand were able seamen, the ablest officers who had written on nautical subjects agreed that the proportion would be sufficient. Sir Byam Martin utterly denied that the naval service was unpopular. As a of excessive punishment on board ship, which he would not particularize; because, happily, there was an end to such tyrannical proceedings. It was due to lord Exmouth to say that he had introduced regulations on the East India station, which had since been adopted in the whole navy. It was now no uncommon thing for a man of war to make a long voyage, without the occurrence of a single punishment. Had such a circumstance ever taken place on board an Indiaman? If punishments were complained of on board men of war, how much more objectionable must they be on board merchant-ships. But in some cases they were absolutely necessary. If the punishments on board men of war, and the punishments on board merchantships were compared, the latter would be found to be the more excessive. The condition and treatment of the sailor on board of a king's ship had of late years been considerably improved; and his majesty's service was now looked to by seamen as most desirable. With regard to impressment the judicious application of a bounty would always ensure a supply of volunteers for the navy, without resorting to a measure which was generally condemned. Bounties were given to induce soldiers to enter the service; and why should they not also be offered as an inducement to man our fleets? Much as we depended on our gallant army in case of war, our chief dependence must of necessity be placed in our navy. He would then say, give double, or even treble bounties to secure a sufficient supply of those brave fellows, on whom the salvation of the country might mainly depend. He was quite sure that the nation would not grudge the additional expense. Mr. Alderman Wood urged the necessity of introducing some regulations respecting impressment, and adverted to various regulations on the subject, which had been adopted by the Corporation of London during the war. was a great mistake to suppose that the On Mr. Fyler contended, that impressment was not only contrary to the spirit of the British constitution, but a disgrace and opprobrium to the British nation. The resolutions were agreed to. HOUSE OF LORDS. CATHOLIC EMANCIPATION.] The Marquis of Lansdown, on rising to present the petitions of which he had on a former evening given notice, said, he had thought Sir E. Owen contended, that no men were punished on board ship who did not misbehave themselves, and that sailors were never put in irons except in cases of gross misconduct. Gentlemen, in debating upon this subject, argued upon exceptions just as if they were rules. Whenever the infliction of severe punishment came to the knowledge of the Admiralty, investigation was ordered into the circumstances which had occasioned it, and if they were not deemed adequate, the officer ordering the infliction was visited with severe reprehension. He denied that the punishment inflicted in the navy degraded the charac-it right, from the respect due to their lordter of the men. Sailors often admitted ships, as well as to the petitioners, to give the justice of the sentence, after it had notice of his intention to present them been carried into execution. Not only the that day; but he did not, therefore, mean offence, but the previous character of every to go into any discussion of the general man was considered, when he was brought question relative to the Catholics. He up to the gangway. He would venture felt it, however, to be his duty towards the to say, that when offences committed at sea petitioners to state, with respect to the were to be punished, the captain being the first petition-similar petitions to which only indifferent person on board, was the had frequently been under their lordships' person best qualified to judge of the de-consideration, and which was the petition gree of punishment which ought to be of the Roman Catholics of Ireland-as meted out. The offences ordinarily com-well as with respect to the second petition, mitted by sailors were either against their officers or against each other. If, then, the offenders were to be tried either by their officers or by their comrades, they must be tried by the very parties whom their misconduct injured. As a proof of the evil consequences likely to arise from placing the punishment in the hands of the officers, he stated that whilst he was captain, he had felt himself called upon, in almost every case where a man had been tried by court-martial, to diminish the punishment which it inflicted, by full three parts. Much had been said of impressment; but he was convinced that no pecuniary reward would be found an adequate substitute in case of emergency. It which was then, for the first time, presented to their lordships, and was from the Roman Catholic Bishops of Ireland-that he had read them both very carefully, and he could assure their lordships that there was not one expression in them disrespectful to their lordships; he would say, not only not one disrespectful expression, but not one expression which any noble lord, the most hostile to the petitioners' claims, could construe into disrespect to their lordships. He was sure their lordships would never find it disrespectful in any class of his majesty's subjects, to come forward, and state explicitly and plainly the claims they might have, on account of services already rendered, or of services they were disposed to render-claims which, he thought, were which it was calculated to give; and if not, not only the privileges of every subject of instead of finding it a source of happiness, this realm, but which it was their duty to union, and strength, it would bring on make that, for these services, they might mischief and destruction.-He had menreceive that proper reward, which was to tioned these changes, as he thought them be found in a full participation in all the worthy of their lordships' consideration, rights and privileges enjoyed under the when the question should come before constitution of this country. The peti- them at a future time. Thus much he had tioners first stated plainly and clearly, the on this occasion thought it right to say; privations to which they were exposed by because, in presenting the petitions with the law; after which, they proceeded to which he was intrusted, he wished to clear point out the indirect privations which the himself with respect to his duty towards privations imposed by the laws brought on the petitioners, and because he also wished, them, and to which the laws did not in- when he should hereafter come to submit tend to subject them. They then pro- a substantive proposition, founded on those ceeded to state that these privations, ex- petitions, to their lordships, of which he isting only for one class of the king's sub- should that day give notice, he might be jects, exposed them to be marked by their enabled to argue the question not as the fellow-subjects, and thereby placed a bar representative, which he was not, of any between them which ought not to exist. particular body of men, but on the grounds Having stated thus much, he would not of public and national interests; namely, enter further into the merits of the ques-in connexion with Protestant interests, a tion; but he could not avoid calling the Protestant church establishment, and a attention of their lordships to two circum- Protestant throne. He should then submit stances connected with the petitioners. to their lordships those considerations He meant their numbers and their pro-which, in reference to all these subjects, perty. Their numbers must have been induced him to think, that they ought to known to their lordships on former occa-adopt the resolution which he intended to sions; and though he would not take on himself to assert that they were now much more numerous, yet he was sure, if their numbers had not increased, they had not diminished. But, if they had not increased in numbers, he had no difficulty in stating, that, in respect to property, there had been a very material alteration since they first petitioned their lordships. They had acquired much more wealth, and possessed now much more property than formerly. Nobody knew better than he did, the fallacy of all statistical statements, which were not verified by official documents; but he could state-and he believed every noble lord who knew any thing of Ireland would confirm the statement-that the property of the Catholics, both moveable and immoveable, was increasing in almost every part of Ireland. It was at present greater than at any former period, and was rapidly increasing. With that property their power had increased, both directly, and from that influence which property always gave. The power thus acquired could not be allowed to occupy a neutral space in the political course of the country. If properly brought into harmony with the settled current of our social system, we should derive from it, inevitably, all that increase of national power and of wealth propose, and the effect of which would be to admit Roman Catholics to a full participation in all the blessings of the constitution. If their lordships should think fit to express their dissent from the course which he would propose, he hoped that those who might differ from him would as plainly and explicitly as he should do, point out what course they meant to pursue for the political improvement of Ireland; because, until he heard it declared, he never could believe that any one person in that House would say, that the political condition of Ireland ought to remain as it now was.-On the motion of the noble marquis, the petition was read, and laid on the table. He next presented a petition from the Roman Catholic bishops of Ireland. If their petition was read, their lordships would, he said, perceive that the motives of those respectable persons in now coming forward for the first time, was simply that they might be enabled to state to their lordships the opinions they entertained with respect to certain controverted points, and to repeat their assurance of their zealous disposition to contribute to the peace of the country. Nobody who knew that country but would admit, that without the unwearied and unremitting endeavours of the Catholic clergy to preserve the peace |