would be great, and that the hon. member seemed to have no definite object in view, when he moved for their production. The subject, in fact, was already before the military commissioners, who were better qualified than the house of commons to investigate the abuses of this department, which, though enor mous in their aggregate amount, were made up of a number of minute and inconsiderable particulars. should be independent of The grants of public money during this session of parliament were numerous and considerable; but the greater part of them were such, as fully to deserve as well as to receive the approbation of the country. The grants to the family of lord Nelson, to the seamen who had fought in the battle of Trafalgar, to lord Collingwood, sir Richard Strachan, and sir John Duckworth, were of that descrip. tion. It was with equal pride and gratitude, that the nation recompensed its defenders for those actions, which had so eminently in creased its power and added to its glory. With no less satisfaction, it contemplated the sums voted by the house of commons, to improve the present condition and add to the future comforts of its soldiers and seamen, and without a murmurselves of this opportunity to sup-' it submitted to the additional burthens, to which these wise and be neficial arrangements necessarily led. But, it was with feelings of a different sort, that it beheld, in this moment of national distress an additional allowance of income, solicited from the throne and granted by the commons to the younger branches of the royal family. It was desirable, no doubt, that the royal dukes, as peers of parliament, press the public tables, which were kept at the expence of the civil list, for two at least of the royal dukes; and by this reform they saved to the public nearly as much as the additional income, in those two cases, amounted to. We shall next proceed to the commercial laws passed during this session, the most important of which, though far from being the one that attracted the greatest attention in parliament parliament, was the act to permit the free interchange of every species of grain between Great Britain and Ireland, without any bounties or duties or any restraints whatsoever. By the operation of this law the corn trade between Great Britain and Ireland was placed on the same footing as the corn trade between the different pro. vinces of England; and as no one could doubt of the wisdom, or object to the policy of this measure, the bill, after a few words from Mr. Foster, passed without opposi tion. A singular contrast to this in every respect was furnished by the bül, which we are next to take into consideration. The American intercourse bill, the one to which we allude, differed not more remarkably from the corn intercourse bill, in the comparative unimportance of its enactments, than in the violent and unreasonable opposition it was destined to encounter. Ever since the commencement of the war in 1793, it had been found impossible to supply our West India islands with lumber and provisions from the continent of North America by British shipping alone. The negli gence of government in not furnish. ing convoys to merchantmen, and the superior profits of the transport service, induced the British shipowners, at the breaking out of the late war, to withdraw them. selves, in a great measure, from this branch of the carrying trade: upon which the colonial governors, in order to save the islands under their care from the misery and distress, to which any want or even scarcity of articles of such indispensable ne cessity must have reduced them, ventured to dispense with the navi gation acts, and open to neutrals the supply of the colonies with commo. dities so essential to their subsistence. For these violations of law, which the necessity and urgency of the case amply justified, bills of in demnity had been repeatedly, and for many years annually passed by parliament; and the trade, though illegal and inconsistent with the whole principles and provisions of our colonial and maritime law, had been suffered, during the whole of the last and present war, to proceed without interruption and almost without complaiut. At length, in the beginning of Mr. Pitt's second administration, the shipping interest of Great Britain, which had been reduced by various causes to a state of great depression, began to complain of this intercourse, which the West India islands enjoyed with neutrals, on the ground, that it was contrary to our navigation laws, and injurious and ruinous to British shipping; and such was the influence of their representations on the government, which happened at that time to be at variance with the assembly of Jamaica on points of a totally different nature, that instructions were sent out to the governors of the West India colonies, "not to open the ports of the islands over which they presided for the admission of articles from the American states, which were not allowed to be imported by law, except in cases of real and very great necessity." In consequence of these instructions, the governor and council of Jamaica revoked their former permission to neutrals, of * Lord Camden's letter to the lieut. governor of Jamaica, dated Sept. 5, 1804. VOL. XLVIII. G importing importing lumber and provisions in island.§ Salt. But the governor, whe had received no instructions from England, authorizing him to give directions for continuing the inter Course between Jamaica and the United States, declined a second time to comply with their request; and it was not till the very day before the ports of the island were to have been definitively closed against neutrals, in virtue of his former proclamation, that he ventured to extend for six months longer the permission to import fumber and grain into the island, in neutral bottoms. Still however, one very essential class of provisions were not included in this permission. fish, beef and pork, articles indispensably necessary for the subsistence of the negroes, were not allowed to be imported by neutrals ; and therefore a new representation was made to the governor by the assembly, stating that there was a great deficiency of these provisions in the island, and that a rise in their price had already taken place in consequence of the scarcity. Upon which they were told, that since the proclamation of martial law, direc tions had been given to the custom. house officers, to admit neutrals with salt provisions en board into all the ports of the island, till the * Resolution of the governor and council of Jamaica, Nov. 21st, 1804. + Address of the assembly of Jamaica to lieut. governor Nugent and his excelle cy's answer, Dec. 8th, 1804. Address of the asscinbly of Jamaica to his majesty, Dec. 18th, 1804. Memorial and remonstrance of the assembly of Jamaica to the governor thereof, April 20th, 1805. In this remonstrance the assembly state, that only one twelfth of the total supply of Jamaica from the continent of North America is obtained from the British colonies; and that six-sevenths of what they receive from the Tited States is imported in American shipping: and they calculate, that, if this intercourse is to be interdicted, 456 additional British vessels, navigated by 4862 seamen, must enter inmediately into the American trade, to prevent the ab-clute ruin of Jamaica. Lieutenant governor Nugent's proclamation, May 20th, 1805. arrival arrival of the next fleet with provisions from Cork. While these discessions disturbed the tranquillity of Jamaica, the Leeward islands remained perfectly quiet, in conse. quence of the firm and judicious conduct of their governor, who avalling himself of the letter, while he disregarded the spirit and obvous intention of his new instructions, issued a proclamation, decaring it of “real and very great necessity" to the welfare of the Hands under his care, that the intercourse which they had heretofore maintained with the United States, Could not be interrupted. + Sach was the situation of the West India islands, when the new aisters came into office. The first bject, that engaged their attention, was to quiet the apprehensions of the colonies, and relieve them from any actuai danger with respect to subsisPace. For this purpose a circular letter to the colonial governors, was transmitted from the secretary of state's office, directing them to conLace the established intercourse with America, and assuring them that the usual act of indemnity would be moved in their favour, Tais measure, which was afterwards represented in the house of commous as an arrogant and presump. teous exercise of authority, arose naturally out of the desire of ministers to a lay that state of disquietude and alarm, into which the late proedings of the government at home bad thrown the colonies, as well as from a laudable anxiety to commuLicare, as speedily as possible, to the colonial governors, their intentions It was then discovered, that the The next subject to be considered, • Representation of the assembly of Jamaica to lieut. governor Nugent, and his answer thereto, July 18, 1305. +Proclamation of lord Lavington, governor of the Leeward islands, Nov. 29, the violators of it protected by bills of indemnity. If the trade could not be interrupted, without endan gering the subsistence of the colonies, it was proper, that it should be carried on with the consent of parliament, and not in contempt of its authority. If a discretionary power was necessary to regulate its operations and limit its extent, it was fitting, that such discretionary authority should be conferred by the legislature, but most improper that it should be assumed by the servants of the crown. Such were the views in which the American intercourse bill originated. Its object was to give a legal existence to that trade, which had been carried on for thirteen years in opposition to law, but which could not be stopped, without putting to hazard the existence of the colonies. It occasioned no innovation in the established course of trade, nor was intended nor calculated to produce that effect. It neither aggravated the distresses, nor added to the difficultics of the shipping interest of Great Britain. It gave them on the contrary, a legal tribunal, before which, in the absence of parliament, they could at all times carry their complaints, and, if aggrieved, demand and obtain redress for their grievances. No man or body of men could justly complain of ministers, that forcseeing they should be compelled from necessity to do that, which others from necessity had already done, they preferred to have a legal authority for doing it, rather than first to violate the law, and come afterwards to parliament for an indemnity. No man or body of men had a right to insist, that ministers should act illegally, when they were disposed to have the au thority of law to direct their pro ceedings. No man could say he was injured, when a competent tribunal. was appointed to hear and redress his wrongs. If the British ship owners were of opinion, that what ever might have been the past ob stacles that prevented them, they were now able to supply our West India colonies with provisions, they had only to state their case to the privy council; and if they coul shew, that they had not only an in clination butan ability to resume the monopoly, which they had formerly abandoned, they might be sure, tha the privy council of England woul prefer their interests to those of the subjects of any foreign power. That we have taken a just view and given a faithful account of the origin, purport and effect of the American intercourse bill, any on may satisfy himself without diffi culty, by the perusal of its concis and simple enactments. Afte stating in the preamble of the bill that it had been necessary at variou times during the present war to per mit neutrals to trade with his ma jesty's colonies in the West Indies and on the continent of South Ame rica, and adding, "that it wa proper that provisions should b made for meeting such emergencies i future, without the necessity of fre quent violations of the law by hi majesty's officers appointed an sworn to administer and execut the same ;" it empowered his ma jesty in council, when such neces sity should again arise during the pr sent war, to authorize his gover nors, under such restrictions an limitations as to him in counc should seem fit, to permit this trad to be carried on; with this provise that neutrals so employed, shou |