1

may

uch full and adequate fatisfaction as the nature of the cafe evidently requires; and, under these circumstances, his Majesty having alfo received information, that confiderable armaments are carrying on in the ports of Spain, has judged it indispensably necessary to give orders for making fuch preparations as put it in his Majesty's power to act with vigour and effect in support of the honour and dignity of his Crown, and the interests of his people; and his Majesty recommends it to his faithful Commons, on whose zeal and public spirit he has the most perfect reliance, to enable him to take such measures, and to make fuch augmentation of his forces, as may be eventually necessary for this purpofe.

" It is his Majesty's earnest wish, that the justice of his Majesty's demands may infure from the wisdom and equity of his Catholic Majesty the satisfaction which is so unquestionably due; and that this affair may be terminated in such manner as to prevent any grounds of misunderstanding in future, and to continue and confirm that harmony and friendship which has so happily subsisted between the two Courts, and which his Majesty will always endeavour to maintain and improve by all fuch means as are consistent with the dignity of his Majesty's Crown, and the essential interests of his Majesty's subjects."

After the message was read, and the Commons had withdrawn, the Duke of Leeds faid, that as this was a matter of great importance, he should move that all the Lords 'be fummoned for to-mor. Ordered.

FOW.

May 6.

THE KING'S MESSAGE.

The Duke of Leeds began his speech with obferving, that during the course of a long reign his Majesty had been no less attentive to the interests of his own people than to the general tranquillity of Europe. His Majesty, on every occafion, had not only abslained from committing any outrage or depredation on the territories of other powers, but had uniformly endeavoured, by his intervention, to reconcile the animofities of every nation. The contents of the Message were highly important; for the consequences, to which they might lead, involved the rights of the people, as connected with their commerce, as well as the dignity and honour of the Crown. An outrage

of a very serious nature had been committed by an officer, acting under the authority of the King of Spain, upon vessels the property of British subjects, and navigated under the protection of the British flag. The vessels had not only been captured, and their crews made prifoners, but their cargoes had been confiscated, without even the formalities of a judicial proceeding, a formality which in cases of p fprize had always been observed among civilized nations, even in the time of mutual war. It was true, that one vessel had been released, upon an application from the British minifter to the Viceroy of Mexico, on the extraordinary pretence, that the English were ignorant of the fovereignty of Spain on those seas, and its right to an exclusive trade on the coast; if such an extraordi naryclaim were once admitted, the noble Duke said, he did not know where it might end. Not only their trade, but the valuable fishery which this country had established there, would either be at the disposal of the Court of Spain, or, what was ftill more humiliating, would depend on the clemency of a Spanish officer! It was impossible that fuch an idea could be tolerated. But notwithstanding the enormity of the aggreffion, his Majesty was more defirous of feeking justice, than gratifying resentment; and he anxiously hoped he should obtain redress, without the neceflity of being obliged to refort to arms. He concluded with moving, "That an humble address be presented to his Majesty, thanking him for his gracious message; and that the House would be ready to fupport the intereft of the people, and the honour and dignity of the Crown."

Lord Rawdon rose to second the motion. He said, that on the subject of his Majesty's message there could be but one opinion. No man lamented more than he did the interruption of that tranquillity which, in every point of view, was so defirable; but he trusted he should never fee the day when this country, forgetting its honour and dignity, could tamely submit to such a gross violation of the first principles of national justice as that communicated to the House by his Majesty's most gracious message. For his own part, he most cordially would support the motion for the address, but he was of opinion that his Majesty's ministers ought to have made a more ample communication of the circumstances which had given rise to the important subject under their consideration, than they they had done. With that view he had two motions to propose, the first was, "That there be laid before the House a statement of the trade on the coaft, and of the whale fishery carried on in those seas:" secondly, "fuch communications as had been received respecting the capture of the vessels, and also the information which had from time to time been given of the armaments carrying on in the ports of Spain."

Lord Viscount Stormont said, that though he had no doubt but the vote of that day would be unanimous in fupport

of the motion of the noble Duke for an address to his Majesty, yet the communication contained in the message was to him a matter of painful furprise. He had indulged the pleasing expectation of a long continuance of the public tranquillity; he had hoped that we might have profited by the advantages of our relative fituation; he had seen, with much complacency, that we were gradually rifing in the general scale of the nations of Europe, and that, from our commendable spirit of industry, we had derived new fources of wealth. All these hopes he had indulged from the information of his Majesty's principal minister of finance in another Affembly, on the occafion of his bringing forward the flatement of the national income and expenditure. The Right Hon. gentleman had then held out to the country the expectation of an uninterrupted peace; he had painted, in the brightest colours, the profperity of the nation, the flourishing state of its commerce, the productive nature of the exifting taxes, and the creditable state of the public finances. All this had been held forth to divert the at tention of the nation from observing the many instances of fupineness and negligence in the conduct of administration particularly with regard to their fuffering Spain to keep up fuch large armaments in time of peace. Had it not been for the revolution of the French government at this time, we should, from fuch culpable neglect, have felt the whole force of the family compact; of which, however, he trusted we were in no danger at present. The noble Lord admitted, that the wild and extravagant pretenfions of Spain could not be juftified in the eye of reafon; yet, perhaps, we might have obtained the object we defired more eafily by the dexterity of fe

cret negociation than the threats of compulfion. -Men were often more tenacious when their pride, than when their interefts were concerned, and it had been faid that such was the peculiar character of a Spaniard. He adverted to the right the Spaniards claimed. A right of poffeffion however, which the Viceroy of Mexico rightly concluded our English failors were ignorant of, and upon that ground he had released them from captivity. An English sailor, his Lordship pleasantly observed, could not conceive that the rights of Spain, Spai through the munifience of a Papal Bull, reached from pole to pole! He did not know that his Holiness, the Pope, had, near four hundred years ago, bestowed on the Spaniards, not only all countries known and unknown in the Indies, but even all countries discovered and to be discovered! The noble Vifcount then adverted to the impolicy of ceding the Musquito Shore to Spain: which had given rife to the present difpute. He also urged the neceffity of a more ample communication to the House: but as an infult had been offered, it became necessary that reparation should be obtained: and he hoped that the vote. of that day would convince the world, that, in every case where the interests of the people, and the honour and dignity of the British Crown were invaded, that the nation had but one heart, one sentiment, one voice.

Lord Hawkesbury expressed his fatisfaction on the unanimity of the House with regard to the principalsubject under their confideration; but with regard to the motions proposed by the noble Lord (Rawdon) he had confiderable doubts whether they could, with propriety, be complied with. With regard to the motion for laying the papers before the House on the subject of the capture of the vessels, and the information received relative to the armaments carrying on in the ports of Spain, he thought it highly improper while a negociation was pending.

The Lord Chancellor read the motion for the address, which was carried unanimoufly.

The first motion made by Lord Rawdon was then agreed to, with a verbal amendment; and the motion for the production of the accounts and papers, relative to the armaments of Spain, was negatived without a division.

HOUSE

HOUSE OF COMMONS.

COPY of the PETITION of the Most Noble JOHN Duke of ATHOL, to the Hon. the Commons of Great Britain in ParBiament affembled,

Sheweth,

That the lile of Mann was, in the feventh year of the reign of Henry VI. granted to Sir John Stanley "cum omni Dominio et Juftitia regali;" under which grant it was held and enjoyed, until, in order to determine fome family-difputes, and for a pecuniary confideration paid by William Earl of Derby, King James the Firit, in the feventh year of his reign, regranted the Ifile of Mann to that Earl; and in the fame year an act of Parliament was pafled, assuring and establishing the faid Ifle unalienably in the heirs general of James Lord Stanley; under which Parliamentary entail your Petitioner's grandfather, James Duke of Athol, fucceeded to, and took poffeffion of the faid Me of Mann; on whose deceafe, in 1764, the fucceffion devolved on John Duke of Athol, and Charlotte Duchess of Athol and Baroness Strange his wife, your Petitioner's father and mother; and your Petitioner became entitled to the immediate possession of the Ifle of Mann foon after the demife of the faid John Duke of Athol in 1774, by virtue of a deed executed by Charlotte Duchess of Athol and Baronefs Strange his mother, for reaSons therein recited.

That great frauds and abuses having been practifed upon his Majesty's revenue of customs, as well in Great Britain as in Ireland, by the illicit and clandestine trade carried on by British and Irish subjects between the two kingdoms, and the Isle of Mann, and these evil practices having grown to so unparalleled an extent, as to be productive of a loss to the public, which was computed at no less than at 350,000l. annually to the revenue of Great Britain alone, and it being conceived that, to annihilate this evil altogether, no other means would be effectual than that of laying heavy prohibitions and restrictions on imports and exports to and from the ifland, and placing officers of revenue and armed veflels in the ports and harbours thereof, with power to enforce the fame; for which purpose, and to avoid interfering with the acknowledged rights of the Lords of Mann, and at the fame time to avoid the heavy expence which the public must otherwife have fustained by coaftess and other

vessels, it was thought expedient that the fovereignty of the ifland, and t and the reve nues of the customs thereof, with some of the rights of property therein, should be revested in his Majesty, upon a fair compensation to be made by the public to the proprietors, an act was passed in the fifth year of his Majesty's reign, whereby the faid island, and the sovereignty of the same were vested in the Crown, referving only to the proprietors thereof, their landed property and manerial rights, by words of exception contained in said act; and the fum of 70,oool. was thereby directed to be paid by the public, and to be vested in lands for the uses in the faid act mentioned, as a compenfation for the fovereignty and rights of property fo vested in the Crown; and to which it is proper your Petitioner should add, for the information of this Honourable House, his Majefty was gracioufly pleased subsequently to grant to the faid Duke and Dachess of Athol, your Petitioner's father and mother, for their lives, and the life of the survivor of them, an annuity of 2000l. per annum, on the Irish establishment, in confideration, (as it is expreffed in the grant) that the revenues of Ireland, as well as those of Great Britain, would be greatly improved by the furrender of the ifland.

That the faid revesting act was made under the preffure of the moment, when the urgency of the mischief called for an immediate and effectual remedy, and when, from the recent poffeffion of your Petitioner's father and mother, they could form no accurate idea of the extent or value of the rights and interests which were necessary to be ceded; and the act was passed without any evidence produced to prove what rights of property in particular were necessary to be vested in the Crown for the security of the public revenue, (the fole object of the act) from future frauds and evasions; and for want of those lights and proper precautions, the proprietors were, under the general transfer and revestment of the island and its fovereignty, divested of sundry valuable privileges and rights of property, not only unnecessary to have been transferred for the protection and security of the public revenue, but from their nature wholly unconnected with it, and which, though they afford little benefit to the public, were of material im portance to your Petitioner and his family.

That, in the hurry of the transaction of 1765, arising from the urgency already stated, Rated, the titles of your petitioner's family appear not to have been perfectly underRood, infomuch that words of great legal import contained in the act of the seventh of King James I. "for the settlement and entail of the faid island unalienably" were omitted to be inferted in the preamble of the faid bill of 1765, and which as your petitioner is advised, militate against the power of James Duke of Athol, to new-model that fucceffion by the deed of trust of 1956, recited in the faid preamble; but to the uses of which set tlement the said 70,000l, hath been actually applied by the Trustees thereof under the fanction given to the new entail by that agreement made between the Crown and the fald trustees, and under the power given to the trustees of the fame entail by the provifions of the said ast for vetting Man in the Crown.

That, as your petitioner does not conteft the propofition, that private advantage should give way to public expediency; fo alfo he hopes that it will not be denied that a full and fair compenfation should be allowed to any individual for fuch rights of his as may be deemed necessary for the public fervice.

That your petitioner is confident, that, upon a minute investigation, it will be found that the fum of 70,000l. and the faid annuity granted to his family in 1765, were by no means an adequate compenfation for the faid transfer, and that this inadequacy might have proceeded from the probable reasoning at the time, of the contingent nature of the revenue of the Isle of Man, and which it might have been supposed would be confiderably reduced by the annihilation of the contraband trade carried on by British subjects to England, Scotland, and Ireland. That it appears by the schedule annexed to the act of 1765, the revenues of the Ifle of Man amounted for five years to about 6500l. annually; and although from the circumstance of the merchants having an extraordinary quantity of goods on hand, which, by prohibitions laid on in 1763, were of neceffity kept for the fole confumption of the inhabitants, and by the duties even on these having been in a great measure evaded, the revenues of Customs were confiderably less productive than they would otherwise have been for a course of years after the revestment; yet it will be found on inquiry, that, excufive of the harbour-dues, and the produce of the herring and falmon fisheries, they have

amounted, on an average, for the whole period fince 1765, to about 3000l. per annum; and that they have been progreffively improving, infomuch that for fome years paft they have amounted to nearly 5000l. annually; and that, with proper management and attention, no doubt can be entertained on their future increase: that he is confident it cannot be, with reason, contended, that the sums above stated were an adequate compensation for such a revenue, and for those sovereign rights and prerogatives, and the property of those castles and harbours which became vested in the Crown. That your petitioner trufts it will appear, that in affording him that redress which is the ground of his petition, and by restoring to his family those specific rights which do not bear upon or connect themselves in any degree with the pernicious practices, for the prevention of which the act of 1765 was paffed, the primary object of the Legislature will be perfectly attained, and every clause of the act of 1765, and of every other posterior act which ecures and guards the revenues of the public from abuse or evafion, continue in full force and in full effect.

That your petitioner has no wish to interfere in any instance, or in any manner, with the sovereignty of the Crown within the Ifle of Man, or with any of the powers given by the act of 1765, which are necessary for public purposes.

That he only defires that Parliament, in its wisdom, may restore to him such rights as are confiftent with the safety of the revenue, and enable him to avail himself of fuch privileges, and receive the benefit of fuch branches of his property as have been loft to him, and have not been productive to the public; that by a permanent arrangement and fettlement of those circumstances which your petitioner has laid before Parliament in his petition, the private interests of his family in the Ifle of Man, he trusts, will appear to be in no degree incoinpatible with the public advantage.

Your petitioner therefore throws himself upon the wisdom and juftice of Parliament; and prays that leave may be given to bring a bil into this Honourable House for appointing Commiffioners to inquire what rights and species of property are necessary or expedient to remain vested in the Crown for

THE DUKE OF ATHOL'S BILL.

The motion being put, that the Speaker do now leave the chair, for the purpofe of the House resolving itself into a committee on the above bill,

Mr Curaven rose to oppose it, because, he faid, the tenor of the bill was fuch, that no modification of it in a committee could render it fit to be passed. The reason alledged as the ground of the bill, viz. That the original bargain was conducted in hafte, and that the Duke and Duchess of Athol had not time to afcertain the value of those rights which they agreed to refign, did not appear to be founded on fact; for the bargain was first proposed in 1764, and the bill by which it was concluded was not brought into Parliament till January 1765. Neither did it appear that the price was inadequate. The lovereignty and the customs of the ifland were the things fold. The annual produce of the cuftoms at the time of the fale was 5691. and, allowing for the increase of population fince that time, might now have been 9831. This was the utmost that they could have produced to the Duke of Athol; for it was not to be fupposed that the House of Keys would have agreed to tax themselves, and their fellowfubjects, for no purpose of general benefit to the ifland, but merely to raise an additional revenue for the Duke of Athol.

If farther compenfation were due to the Duke of Athol, it was incumbent on the House of Coninons to hear the evidence at their own bar, and to afcertain the quantities of fuch farther compenfation, and not to delegate to Commissioners those powers which their constituents had given to be exercised only by themselves. Mr Powys faid, of all the extraordinary transactions that had ever come before the House, this bill was the most remark

able. Not one of the grounds on which it professed to proceed were founded in fact; nor, if they were, could they juftify the principle. The inhabitants of the island were parties interested as well as the Duke of Athol, and their consent ought to have been obtained.

Mr Dundas faid, he trusted none of the harsh terms that had been applied to the bill, either within doors or without, would operate against matter of fact. It had, he understood, been called a job; but it was not, surely, the nature of a job to court inquiry. The bill had two objects, to afcertain and confirm the rights referved to the Duke of Athol, when the fovereignty was refigned, and to inquire what further compenfation might in equity be due from the public. The Duke of Athol had fulfilled his part of the bargain, Government had not yet fulfilled theirs. The act of Parliament, by which sovereignty was given up, referved the manerial rights, and engaged to protect them to the Duke of Athol. The Duke had refigned the fovereignty, but had net yet obtained that protection for the manerial rights which the act of Parliament promifed, not even receiving from the whole ifland a grouse or a partridge. Sir Fletcher Norton, the Attorney-General, who drew the bill, had exprefsly declared, that it was intended to pass another bill, to afcertain and protect the manerial rights, fuch as the services of tenants, the property of game, &c. &c. which could not, after the refignation of the fovereignty, be protected, but by an act of Pariiament; and accordingly many of those rights had been in effect dormant fince that time. This part of the bill was therefore a fair claim on the justice of the House. He next entered into a narrative of the circumstances under which the bargain was concluded, and faid, that. 70,0001, had been asked, not as the full value of the rights to be given up, but as the greatest fum that it was understood Government would give; and that the Duke and Duchess of Athol were alarmed by a bill then before the House, for preventing the mischiefs of the contraband trade from the Ifle of Man, left the British Parliament should, in acts of regulation, reduce their rights to a mere nominal fovereignty. It was impoffible to conceive that a man, who poffeffed a crown, fceptre, and legiflative power would resign them voluntarily; and tho on this head a bargain had certainly been made, it remained for the equity of the Houfe