Jovis, 8 die Julii;Anno 1° Willielmi IV ti Regis, 1830.
PRAYERS.
Return respecting Carnatic Creditors, presented.
THE House being informed that Mr. Parkhouse, from
the Commissioners for investigating the Debts of the
late Nabobs of the Carnatic, attended at the door, he was
called in; and at the bar presented to the House,-Return to an Order of the House, dated the 6th day of this
instant July, for a Return, to show (according to the best
estimate which can be formed) the amount of Money subject to the Claims of the Creditors of the Nabob of the
Carnatic, which, on the 30th April 1830, was invested
in the names of the Commissioners for investigating the
Claims of such Creditors, or which then remained in the
hands of the East India Company:-And then he withdrew.
Ordered, That the said Return do lie upon the Table.
Ramsgate Harbour Account, presented.
The House being informed that Mr. Kirkpatrick, Secretary to the Trustees of Ramsgate Harbour, attended at
the door, he was called in; and at the bar presented to
the House, pursuant to the directions of an Act of Parliament,-The Royal Harbour of Ramsgate Trust Account, from the 24th June 1828 to the 24th June 1829:
-And then he withdrew.
Ordered, That the said Account do lie upon the Table.
Report from Committee on East India Company's Affairs. No. 644.
Mr. Ward reported from the Select Committee appointed to inquire into the present state of the Affairs
of the East India Company, and into the Trade between
Great Britain, the East Indies and China; and to report their observations thereupon to the House; That
they had from time to time reported the Minutes of Evidence, and, having now closed that part of the Inquiry
which respects the China Trade, had deemed it expedient
to place before the House a Summary of all the Evidence
which had been taken upon that subject, with an Appendix; and the Report was brought up; and read.
Ordered, That the Report and Appendix do lie upon
the Table; and be printed.
Report from Committee on East India Company's Affairs. No. 644.
Mr. Ward reported from the Select Committee appointed to inquire into the present State of the Affairs
of the East India Company, and into the Trade between
Great Britain, the East Indies and China; and to report
their observations thereupon to the House; and who were
empowered to report the Minutes of the Evidence taken
before them from time to time to the House; That they had
made a further progress in the matters to them referred,
and examined several other witnesses, the Minutes of
whose Evidence they had agreed to report to the House
up to the 24th day of June last inclusive; and the Report
was brought up, and read.
Ordered, That the Report do lie upon the Table; and
be printed.
Returns to be made forthwith.
The House was moved, That the Order made upon the
11th day of May last, that there be laid before this House,
-Returns from the Commissioners for Paving, &c. the
Skinners' Estate district, the Harrison Estate district, and
the Hamlet of Highgate district, in the County of Middlesex, of an Account of the Monies received and expended
by them for each of the years 1827, 1828 and 1829; particularly distinguishing the Sums paid for paving, for
lighting, and for watering; the amount of Salaries to
Officers (describing the Officer and amount of Salary),
and the Poundage to Collectors; the amount of Rent of
any House, Offices, Yard, or Premises; the amount paid
for Interest or Annuities:-also, a Statement of the
amount of Debt remaining chargeable upon the Rates of
the District; and the amount of Rate or Assessment in
the pound for each of the said years, might be read; and
the same being read;
Ordered, That Returns to the said Order be laid before
this House forthwith.
Returns from Turnpike Trusts on the North Road, ordered.
Ordered, That there be laid before this House, a Return from the Clerk of the Whetstone Turnpike Trust,
in the County of Middlesex, containing Answers to the
following Queries:
1. The annual Income of the Trust, taking the average of
the last five years; distinguishing the amount arising from
Toll, the amount arising from composition for Statute Labour, and the amount from other miscellaneous sources of
Income.-2. The amount of Debt for Money borrowed,
with which the Trust is chargeable.-3. The length of
Road, according to the last measurement, under the charge
of the Trust; distinguishing the length of main Road
from the lateral Branches.-4. The annual charge for
Repairs, upon the average of the last five years.-5. The
amount which has been expended during the last seven
years for Improvements different from ordinary repairs.-
6. A statement of the nature of the Improvements (if any)
now in progress, or proposed to be carried into effect, and
their probable expense.-7. Whether the Tolls are collected by the Trustees on their own account, or leased by
public auction or tender.-8. Whether Stage Coaches pay
Toll on every time of passing the Tollgates.-9. A Scale
of the rates of Tolls levied.
Ordered, That there be laid before this House, the like
Return from the Clerk of each of the following Trusts:
1. The Metropolis Roads, from Shoreditch to Waltham
Cross, in the County of Middlesex;-2. From Waltham
Cross to Wadesmill, in the County of Hertford;-3. From
Wadesmill to Royston, in the County of Hertford;-
4. Old North Trust, from Royston to Kisby's Hut;-
5. From Kisby's Hut to Alconbury, in the County of Huntingdon;-6. From Galley Corner to Lemsford Mills, Hertfordshire;-7. Lemsford Mills to Welwyn, Stevenage and
Caldicott;-8. Stevenage and Biggleswade, in Bedfordshire;-9. Alconbury to Wandsford, in the County of
Huntingdon;-10. Wandsford to Stamford, in the County
of Northampton;-11. Stamford and Grantham, first district, in the County of Lincoln;-12. Stamford and Grantham, second district;-13. From Foston Bridge to Markham Bridge, in the County of Nottingham;-14. From
Bawtry to East Markham, in the County of Nottingham;
-15. From Bawtry to Doncaster, in the County of York;
-16. From Doncaster to Tadcaster, in the County of York;
-17. From Ferrybridge to Boroughbridge, in the County
of York;-18. From Tadcaster to Holmoor Lane End;-
19. From Leeds to Harrowgate, County of York;-
20. From Boroughbridge to Peirsebridge, North Riding,
County of York;-21. From Middleton to Bowes, County
of York;-22. From Thirsk to Northallerton and Easingwold, County of York;-23. Liberty of Ripon, Harrowgate and Hewich, County of York;-24. Boroughbridge
to the City of Durham;-25. Durham to Tyne Bridge,
in the County of Durham;-26. From Newcastle to Belford, in the County of Northumberland;-27. Belford to
Berwick, County of Northumberland;-28. Longhorseley,
Morpeth, and Percy's Cross, County of Northumberland;-29. Bowes to Brough, in the County of Westmorland;-30. Heronsyke Trust: Brough to Eamont Bridge,
Brougham Bridge, in the County of Westmorland;-
31. From Penrith to Carlisle, first and second districts, in
the County of Cumberland.
In Scotland: Counties of Berwick, Haddington, Edinburgh, Roxburgh, Dumfries, Kirkcudbright and Wigton.
Petition of Patrick Thompson.
A Petition of Patrick Thompson, late a private in His
Majesty's 57th Regiment of foot, quartered at Sydney, in
New South Wales, was presented, and read; setting forth,
That the Petitioner was tried on the 7th day of November
1826, at the Sydney Quarter Sessions, for an alleged felony,
in having taken a piece of cloth from a shop, with the
intent of obtaining his discharge from the army, was found
guilty, and sentenced to be transported for seven years;
that, on the 22d day of November 1826, His Excellency
Lieutenant-General Darling, by a regimental order, directed the Petitioner to be habited in convict clothing,
and to have an iron collar, with spikes in front, and the
rear rivetted round the Petitioner's neck, to be connected
with chains on each side to iron rings round the ankles,
which were also to be united with a chain from one leg to
the other; that the Petitioner was to be drummed out of
his regiment, and sent, with these irons, to work on the
roads for seven years; that the Petitioner was accordingly subjected to this unusual treatment, and was worked
in these irons, until an alarming attack of illness induced
His Excellency to remove them from the Petitioner's body;
that the Petitioner was, on recovery from his illness, transported, agreeably to his original sentence, to the penal
settlement of Moreton Bay, where, on his arrival, he was
placed in leg-irons, and kept at hard and severe labour;
that the Petitioner, not having been sentenced by the
Court of Quarter Sessions to this punishment of hard
labour in irons, was induced to abscond from employment; but, being shortly compelled to return to the settlement, the Petitioner received one hundred lashes, and
was confined in double irons for the remainder of his detention at Moreton Bay, a period of five months; that
the Petitioner moreover, being kept very short of food,
was compelled to eat the raw Indian corn, and having
been detected with two ears thereof in his possession, received a further punishment of one hundred lashes; that
the Petitioner was at length discharged by a free pardon,
directed by the Secretary of State for the Colonies to be
issued in his behalf; that the Petitioner was removed from
Moreton Bay to Sydney, and kept as a prisoner under
confinement until the ship Harmony sailed, when the Petitioner was placed on board under escort of a guard, and
sent home to England; that, on the Petitioner's arrival,
he was directed to proceed to Chatham, where he was
confined in the guard-house for nearly nine weeks, when
an order from the Horse Guards was transmitted for the
Petitioner's discharge from the service; that the Petitioner, notwithstanding his free pardon, is stated by this
document to be discharged with "ignominy," which words
are inserted in a different hand-writing from that in the
body of the said Order; that the Petitioner is thus thrown
friendless and pennyless on the world; and praying the
House to take his case into their early and serious consideration.
Ordered, That the said Petition do lie upon the Table.
Petition for Reform of Parliament.
A Petition of Inhabitants of Ireland, was presented, and
read; praying the House to take the subject of the present
state of the representation of the people into immediate
consideration, with a view to a radical reform of existing
abuses, and a complete restoration of the people's rights.
Ordered, That the said Petition do lie upon the Table.
Petition for regulation of Turnpike Trusts (Ireland).
A Petition of Landholders in the county of Dublin, was
presented, and read; setting forth, That an Act was passed
to amend the general laws for regulating the Turnpike
Roads of England, on the 6th of August 1822; that this
Act, which is the 3d of George the Fourth, c. 126, contains the following section: "And be it further Enacted,
That no toll shall be demanded or taken by virtue of this
or any other Act or Acts of Parliament on any Turnpike
Road, for any horse, beast, or other cattle or carriage employed only in carrying or conveying (having been employed only in carrying or conveying on the same day)
any dung, soil, compost or manure, save lime for improving lands, or any ploughs, harrows, or implements of husbandry (unless laden with some other thing not hereby
exempted), or any hay, straw, fodder for cattle, and corn
in the straw, which has grown or arisen on land or ground
in the occupation of the owner of any such hay, straw,
fodder, or corn in the straw, potatoes, or other agricultural
produce, and which has not been bought, sold or disposed
of; or for any other horses or beasts employed in husbandry going to or returning from plough or harrow, or
to or from pasture or watering place, or going to or
returning from being shoed or farried;" the Petitioners
humbly represent, that the exemptions contained in that
section (which exist also in Scotland), would afford material relief to the cultivators of the soil in Ireland, and
tend greatly to the improvement of the land in that part
of His Majesty's dominions; and the Petitioners therefore humbly pray the House to pass an Act to assimilate
the laws of the two countries, as far as regards these exemptions, and thus grant an indulgence to the suffering
agriculturists of Ireland, which has produced the most
salutary results in the other parts of the United Kingdom.
Ordered, That the said Petition do lie upon the Table;
and be printed.
Petition against Duties on Stamps, Tobacco, &c. (Ireland.)
A Petition of Inhabitants of Kilmurry, in the barony
of West Muskerry, in the county of Cork, was presented,
and read; setting forth, That the additional Duty on
Stamps, if carried into effect, will prove to be a most oppressive tax, totally destroying the public press in Ireland,
the best organ of their wants, and safest guardian of their
liberties; that the additional Duty proposed to be levied
on home-made Spirits will be felt in Ireland with peculiar
pressure; that the Petitioners respectfully submit, that
Ireland having no resources but in her soil and climate,
they trust the Duty on Tobacco raised in Ireland may be
fixed at as low a rate as is consistent with the general interests of the Empire.
Ordered, That the said Petition do lie upon the Table;
and be printed.
Petition of Custom House Officers, complaining of removal from Dublin to London
A Petition of Hugh Mathew M'Quoid, and several
other transferred Tide-waiters from Ireland to the Port
of London, was presented, and read; setting forth, That
when a Motion was made in the House on the consolidation of the English and Irish Boards, the Petitioners
entertained the most sanguine hopes and flattering expectations from the speech on the occasion of the then
Chancellor of the Exchequer, the good and enlightened
statesman Lord Viscount Goderich, that it would not have
been ordained and enacted that any officer of His Majesty's Customs, particularly, the inferior and subordinate
ones, who for their very limited pay have much labour to
perform, to whom in many cases much responsibility is
attached, and an arduous service to be executed, holding situations under the House, be allowed to be a pecuniary sufferer by the contemplated change or transfer;
and their hopes and expectations were further heightened
by the circumstances, which they humbly wish to press
on the House, that every Inspector General that subsequently to this Motion visited ex officio their respective
stations, unanimously declared the same, and they should
not ultimately be any sufferers, or incur any loss, but unfortunately they were placed or inrolled on the redundant
list, March the 1st, 1825, at a reduction of two-thirds of their
salaries, and then removed to the Port of London at very
reduced salaries, and which has deprived them and their
families of many little comforts and necessaries, which
they feel operate with severity on them in a city like
London, wherein, on a moderate computation, the common
necessaries of life are 150£. per cent. dearer than in Ireland; stating the particulars of their case; and praying the
House that they will be graciously pleased to order that
the Petitioners may be paid their redundant pay, back salaries, and be placed on the salaries they had in Ireland.
Ordered, That the said Petition do lie upon the Table;
and be printed.
Petition respecting Orange Processions.
A Petition of Peasants resident near Manorhamilton,
in the county of Leitrim, was presented, and read; setting
forth, That the Petitioners, who are of the humblest rank,
beg leave, with profound respect and humility, to submit
to the House a detail of heart-rending injuries and wrongs
inflicted on them, for which in vain they have hitherto
sought redress; that two young men, the relatives of
some of the Petitioners, were wantonly and barbarously
murdered, and some of the Petitioners themselves severely
wounded at Manorhamilton, in the county of Leitrim, on
the 1st of July last, by a number of persons called
Orangemen, some of whom were armed with yeomanry
muskets and other deadly weapons; stating the particulars of their case; and praying the House to take the
same into their consideration, the truth of which they
most humbly seek an investigation into, as they humbly
submit the same can be proved at the bar of the House,
or wherever else the House shall direct; and further praying the House to prescribe some such measure as to them
shall seem meet and proper to enable the Petitioners to
procure justice for the wrongs and injuries inflicted on
them and their fellow sufferers on the occasion above referred to.
Ordered, That the said Petition do lie upon the Table.
Return to be printed. No. 664.
Ordered, That the Return relative to Churches and
Chapels and of Places of Worship, not of the Church of
England, in so far as regards the county of Lancaster,
which was presented to the House upon the 21st day of
May last, be printed.
Petition of Danish Claimants.
A Petition of Merchants and others, of Birmingham
and its neighbourhood, was presented, and read; complaining of being sufferers by the confiscation of the
book debts due to them from the subjects of Denmark and
Norway, when the attack upon Copenhagen took place,
in the year 1807; stating the particulars of their case;
and praying, That the House will be pleased to take the
same into consideration, and grant them such relief as
to the House may seem meet.
Ordered, That the said Petition do lie upon the Table,
and be printed.
The Lords have agreed to
A Message from the Lords, by Mr. Cross and Mr.
Trower:
Mr. Speaker,
The Lords have agreed to the several Bills following,
without any Amendment; viz.
Assessed Taxes Composition Bill.
A Bill, intituled, An Act to continue Compositions for
Assessed Taxes for a further term of one year, and to
grant Relief from, and alter and repeal the said Duties in
certain cases:
Insolvent Debtors (Ireland) Bill.
A Bill, intituled, An Act to continue for one year, and
from thence until the end of the then next Session of Parliament, the Acts for the Relief of Insolvent Debtors in
Ireland:
Rights of Executors Bill.
A Bill, intituled, An Act for making better provision
for the disposal of the undisposed of Residues of the
Effects of Testators: And also,
Meltham Inclosure Bill, with an Amendment.
The Lords have agreed to the Bill, intituled, An Act
to amend an Act of King George the Third, intituled, "An
Act for inclosing Lands in the Manor of Meltham, in the
Parish of Almondbury, in the West Riding of the County
of York," with an Amendment; to which Amendment the
Lords desire the concurrence of this House:-And then
the Messengers withdrew.
Beer and Cider Duties Repeal Bill, reported.
Sir Alexander Grant reported from the Committee of
the whole House, on the Bill to repeal certain of the
Duties on Cider in the United Kingdom, and on Beer
and Ale in Great Britain, and to make other Provisions
in relation thereto, the Amendments which they had
made to the Bill; and the Amendments were read, and
agreed to by the House.
Ordered, That the Bill, with the Amendments, be ingrossed; and read the third time To-morrow.
Minutes on East India Company's Affairs, delivered. No. 646.
Mr. Spring Rice reported; That he had carried to the
Lords the Message of this House of Tuesday last, requesting that their Lordships would be pleased to communicate to this House, a Copy of the Minutes of Evidence
taken before the Select Committee appointed by their
Lordships in the present Session, to inquire into the present State of the Affairs of the East India Company, and
into the Trade between Great Britain, the East Indies
and China; and that their Lordships had been pleased to
communicate a printed Copy of the said Minutes of Evidence, as desired by this House; and he delivered the
said Copy in at the Table.
Ordered, That the said Minutes do lie upon the Table;
and be printed.
Report on Sessional Addresses.
Sir Alexander Grant reported from the Committee of
the whole House, to whom it was referred to consider of
the usual Sessional Addresses, the Resolutions which
they had directed him to report to the House; and the
same were read, and agreed to by the House, and are as
followeth;
Resolved, That an humble Address be presented to
His Majesty, that He will be graciously pleased to direct
to be issued to the Commissioners appointed to carry into
execution an Act passed in the fifty-second year of the
reign of his Majesty George the Third, intituled, "An
Act to repeal an Act passed in the thirty-ninth and
fortieth year of his present Majesty, for establishing certain regulations in the Offices of the House of Commons,
and to establish other and further regulations in the said
Offices," such a sum of money as may, together with the
Fees vested in them by the said Act, be sufficient to make
good the payment of the Salaries of the Officers of this
House, and for Allowances to Retired Officers, according
to the provisions of the said Act; and, to assure His Majesty that this House will make good the same.
Resolved, That an humble Address be presented to
His Majesty, that He will be graciously pleased to order
such compensation as His Majesty shall think proper to
be made to the Clerks who have attended Public Committees of the House of Commons in the present Session, and for preparing Abstracts of Poor Returns; and to
assure His Majesty that this House will make good the
same.
Resolved, That an humble Address be presented to His
Majesty, that He will be graciously pleased to direct
to be issued the sum of £.1,200 to Sir Alexander Cray
Grant, Baronet, for his services to this House, in this
Session of Parliament, as Chairman of the Committee of
the whole House, to whom it was referred to consider of
Ways and Means for raising the Supply granted to His
Majesty; and to assure His Majesty that this House will
make good the same.
Resolved, That an humble Address be presented to His
Majesty, that He will be graciously pleased to direct
to be issued to Edward Phillips, Esquire, Mr. Speaker's
Secretary, for his services during the present Session, such
a sum of money as, together with the Fees of his Office
on Private Bills, will amount to the clear sum of £.400;
and to assure His Majesty that this House will make good
the same.
Resolved, That an humble Address be presented to
His Majesty, that He will be graciously pleased to direct
to be issued the clear sum of £.75 to Sir Thomas Edlyne
Tomlins, as a compensation for his trouble in compiling
Registers for the use of the Committee on expired and
expiring Laws, in the present Session of Parliament; and
to assure His Majesty that this House will make good the
same.
Ordered, That the said Addresses be presented to His
Majesty by such Members of this House as are of His
Majesty's most honourable Privy Council.
Address respecting Chaplain.
Resolved, Nemine Contradicente, That an humble Address be presented to His Majesty, that He will be graciously pleased to confer some dignity in the Church upon
the Reverend Francis Dawson, Chaplain to this House.
Ordered, That the said Address be presented to His
Majesty by such Members of this House as are of His
Majesty's most honourable Privy Council.
Consolidated Fund (£.1,500,000.) Bill, reported.
Sir Alexander Grant reported from the Committee of
the whole House, on the Bill to apply a sum of Money
out of the Consolidated Fund for the service of the year
One thousand eight hundred and thirty, the Amendments
which they had made to the Bill; and the Amendments
were read, and agreed to by the House.
Ordered, That the Bill, with the Amendments, be ingrossed; and read the third time To-morrow.
Exchequer Bills (£.13,607,600.) Bill, reported.
Sir Alexander Grant reported from the Committee of
the whole House, on the Bill for raising a Sum of Money
by Exchequer Bills, for the service of the year One thousand eight hundred and thirty, the Amendments which
they had made to the Bill; and the Amendments were
read, and agreed to by the House.
Ordered, That the Bill, with the Amendments, be ingrossed; and read the third time To-morrow.
Warehoused Sugar Bill, passed.
Ordered, That the Order of the day, for the third reading of the ingrossed Bill to continue an Act for allowing
Sugar to be delivered out of Warehouse to be refined, be
now read; and the same being read:-The Bill was read
the third time.
Resolved, That the Bill do pass: And that the Title be,
An Act to allow, before the fifth day of July One thousand eight hundred and thirty-one, Sugar to be delivered
out of Warehouse to be refined.
Ordered, That Sir Alexander Grant do carry the Bill
to the Lords, and desire their concurrence.
Fishery Acts Continuance Bill, passed.
Ordered, That the Order of the day, for the third reading of the ingrossed Bill to revive, continue, and amend
several Acts relating to the Fisheries, be now read; and
the same being read:-The Bill was read the third time.
Resolved, That the Bill do pass.
Ordered, That Sir Alexander Grant do carry the Bill to
the Lords, and desire their concurrence.
Labourers Wages Bill, deferred.
Ordered, That the Order of the day, for the House to
resolve itself into a Committee of the whole House, to
consider further of the Bill to amend and render more
effectual the Provisions of divers Acts for securing to
certain Artificers, Workmen and Labourers, in such Acts
mentioned, the due Payment of their Wages in Money,
be now read; and the same being read;
Resolved, That this House will, To-morrow, resolve
itself into the said Committee.
Militia Pay Bill, reported.
Sir Alexander Grant reported from the Committee of
the whole House, on the Bill to defray, for a time to be
limited, the charge of the Pay, Clothing, and contingent
and other Expenses, of the disembodied Militia in Great
Britain and Ireland, and to grant Allowances, in certain cases, to Subaltern Officers, Adjutants, Paymasters,
Quartermasters, Surgeons, Assistant Surgeons, Surgeons
Mates, and Serjeant Majors of the Militia, the Amendments which they had made to the Bill; and the Amendments were read, and agreed to by the House.
Ordered, That the Bill, with the Amendments, be ingrossed; and read the third time To-morrow.
Witnesses (Ireland) Bill, reported.
Sir Alexander Grant reported from the Committee of
the whole House, on the Bill to explain and amend an
Act of the fifty-fifth year of King George the Third, for
the Payment of Costs and Charges to Prosecutors and
Witnesses in cases of Felony in Ireland, the Amendments which they had made to the Bill; and the Amendments were read, and agreed to by the House.
Ordered, That the Bill, with the Amendments, be ingrossed; and read the third time To-morrow.
Report of Stage Coach Proprietors Bill, considered.
Ordered, That the Order of the day, for taking into
further consideration the Report from the Committee of
the whole House, on the Bill for the more effectual protection of Mail Contractors and Stage Coach Proprietors
against Losses, by the undue concealment of the value of
Parcels and Packages delivered to them for Conveyance or Custody, be now read; and the same being read.
-The House proceeded to take the Report into further
consideration; and the Amendments made by the Committee to the Bill, being read a second time, were agreed
to by the House.
Ordered, That the Bill, with the Amendments, be ingrossed; and read the third time To-morrow.
Landward Parishes (Scotland) Bill, deferred. No. 645.
The Order of the day being read, for the House to resolve itself into a Committee of the whole House, upon the
Bill to regulate Assessments for the Poor on Tenements,
or Apartments therein, let to Vagrants and Poor Persons
as Tenants or Lodgers, who thereby acquire a legal Settlement, and claim Aliment in Landward Parishes in Scotland;
Resolved, That this House will, upon this day month,
resolve itself into the said Committee.
Ordered, That the Bill, as amended, be printed.
Registrar at Madras Bill, deferred.
The Order of the day being read, for taking into further
consideration the Report from the Committee of the whole
House, on the Bill for the Relief of the Representatives
of Persons who have died intestate in the Presidency
of Madras in the East Indies, and for the Relief of the
Suitors of the Supreme Court of Judicature at Madras
aforesaid;
Ordered, That the Report be taken into further consideration, To-morrow.
Amendments to Rother Levels Drainage Bill agreed to
The House proceeded to take into consideration the
Amendments made by the Lords, to the Bill, intituled, An
Act to amend an Act of the seventh year of His present Majesty, for more effectually draining and preserving certain
Marsh Lands or Low Grounds, in the Parishes of Sandhurst,
Newenden, Rolvenden, Tenterden, Wittersham, Ebony, Woodchurch, Appledore and Stone, in the County of Kent, and
Ticehurst, Salehurst, Bodiam, Ewhurst, Northiam, Beckly,
Peasmarsh, Iden and Playden, in the County of Sussex;
and the same were read; and are as followeth;
Pr. 1. 1. 3. Leave out "present" and insert "late,"
and in the same line, after "Majesty," insert "King
George the Fourth."
Pr. 4. 1. ult. Leave out "Seven" and insert "Ten."
Pr. 6. 1. 19. Leave out "Fifty" and insert "Sixty."
Pr. 7. 1. 4. Leave out from "Act" to the first "And"
in line 33, and insert Clauses (A.) and (B.)
Clause (A.) "And be it further Enacted, That when
and so soon as the Commissioners of the Harbour of
Rye shall have so removed the shoals in, and so deepened the said Harbour between Scots Float Sluice and
the outer bar of the said Harbour, that upon admitting
the tide to the depth of ten feet on the floor of the said
sluice, as hereinafter mentioned, the surface of low
water of an ordinary spring tide can be reduced, on the
seaward side of the said sluice, to a level corresponding with five feet six inches on the floor of the said
sluice, it shall be the duty of the sluice-keeper to be
from time to time appointed by and under the authority
of the Commissioners acting under and by virtue of the
said recited Act and this Act, to take charge of and
manage the said sluice at the period of twenty minutes
after the commencement of the flux of every tide at
Scots Float Sluice, to open so many of the scuttles of
the said sluice as shall be required to admit through the
same, during the remainder of the flux of the same tide,
so much water as shall be sufficient to raise the water
in the River Rother to the level of not less than ten
feet on the floor of the said sluice; and that the said
Commissioners of Rother Levels shall, at their own expense, make all such embankments, and do all such
works as may be necessary for protecting the lands
within the said Levels from being overflowed by the
admission of such tidal water; and in case the present
scuttles of the said sluice shall at any time hereafter
prove insufficient for admitting the water required, additional or new scuttles shall be formed by and at the
expense of the Commissioners acting under and by
virtue of the said recited Act and this Act: Provided
always, That until the said Harbour shall be so deepened as hereinbefore mentioned, the said sluice-keeper
shall not be required or compellable to admit more of
the tidal water through the said sluice than will raise
the water in the said river to the level of eight feet, for
the purpose of scour to the said Harbour Channel, as
hereinbefore mentioned, on the floor of the said sluice,
or such other higher level, not exceeding ten feet, as can
be reduced during the ebb of one tide to the said level
of five feet six inches; any thing in the said recited
Act or order therein mentioned to the contrary in anywise notwithstanding.
Clause (B.) "And be it further Enacted, That if at
any time after the said Harbour of Rye shall have been
so deepened and cleansed that the tidal water to be admitted into the said River Rother, to the height of ten
feet on the floor of the said sluice, can be reduced to a
level of five feet six inches during the ebb of one tide as
aforesaid, it shall happen that the said Harbour or Harbour Channel below Scots Float Sluice shall, from any
cause whatever, become so silted, swarved, or otherwise
injured, that the tidal water to be admitted into the River
Rother, as before-mentioned, cannot be reduced to the
level of five feet six inches on the floor of the said
sluice during the ebb of one tide as aforesaid, the said
sluice-keeper at Scots Float, or the said Commissioners
of the Rother Levels, shall not be required or compelable to raise the tidal water in the said river to the
level of ten feet, or to any higher level than can be reduced to the level of five feet six inches on the floor of
the said sluice during the ebb of one tide as aforesaid,
until the said Harbour or Harbour Channel shall be
again deepened and cleansed by or at the expense of the
Commissioners of the said Harbour, in the manner and
to the extent hereinbefore provided; it being the true
intent and meaning of this Act that the said Commissioners of the Rother Levels shall not at any time be
required or compellable to admit more tidal water into
the said River Rother than will raise the water in the
said river to the level of eight feet on the floor of the
said sluice, or such higher level, not exceeding ten feet
on the flux of any tide, as can be reduced to the level
of five feet six inches on the said floor during the ebb
of an ordinary spring tide."
Pr. 8. 1. 20. Leave out from "Act" to "And" in
pr. 9, 1. 8; and insert Clauses (C.) and (D.)
Clause (C.) "And whereas great damage has lately
been done to the said sluice called Scots Float Sluice,
and the sluicing or securing gates lately erected, and
also to the bridge over the said sluice; Be it further
Enacted, That the said Commissioners of the said
Levels shall, within two months from the passing of this
Act, repair the said sluice, so that it shall be made navigable for barges passing into and from the said River
Rother, in the same manner as it existed previous to
such damage being done; and that the transome beams
and bridge to be re-constructed over or across such
sluice shall be of the same height as they respectively
were previous to such damage as aforesaid.
Clause (D.) "And whereas, in consequence of the
damage lately done to the said sluice, and the great hazard of weakening the same by raising the said transome
beams and bridge, it is considered more expedient and
advisable, both for the navigation of the said River
Rother, and the drainage of the said lands, that the
said Commissioners should construct a new navigable
run for the passage of barges by the side instead of
in the centre of the said sluice, as at present; Be it
further Enacted, That the said Commissioners shall, and
they are hereby required, on or before the first day of
October one thousand eight hundred and thirty-one, to
construct, on the south-eastern side of the said sluice,
called Scots Float, a navigable channel and lock for the
passage of barges to and from the said River Rother and
Harbour of Rye, such navigable lock not being less
than fourteen feet wide, sixty feet long, and of the same
depth as the cill of the gates of the present navigable
run; and to erect a fixed bridge over such channel on
the landward side of landward gates of such lock, the
underside of such bridge being of the same height as
the underside of the transome beams lately standing
across the said sluice, but that no transome or other
beams shall be placed over or across the said lock, nor
to the seaward of the same, and that when such new
lock shall be completed, the right of navigation through
the present sluice shall cease and determine; and that
the said sluice, called Scots Float Sluice, when so repaired
and used as hereinbefore is mentioned, and the said
new lock, when erected as aforesaid, shall be and be
deemed the lawful sluice of that part of the said River
Rother; any thing in the said recited Act of the seventh
year of the reign of his late Majesty, or the said verdict,
order or decree therein recited to the contrary notwithstanding."
Pr. 9. 1. 19. After "purpose" insert Clause (E.)
Clause (E.) "And be it further Enacted, That
when and so soon as the said Harbour shall have
been so deepened as aforesaid, that the tidal water,
when admitted to the level of ten feet, can be reduced
below the level of five feet six inches on the floor
of the said sluice, during the ebb of one tide, in manner aforesaid, the said Commissioners of the Rother
Levels shall and they are hereby required, upon application being made to them for such purpose by the
Commissioners of the said Harbour, to make and put
down stop-gates in each of the runs of the said sluice,
for the purpose of preserving the water in the said
River Rother to the level of five feet six inches on the
floor of the said sluice; and that it shall also be the
duty of the said sluice-keeper, upon the like application, and so often as the said Commissioners of the
Harbour shall direct, to shut the said last-mentioned
gates when the water shall have so ebbed off that the
surface is within five feet six inches of the floor of the
said sluice."
In the Title of the Bill, line l. Leave out from "Act"
to "of" in line 2, and in line 2 leave out "present" and
insert "late."
The said Amendments, being read a second time, were
agreed to by the House.
Ordered, That Mr. Curleis do carry the Bill to the
Lords; and acquaint them, that this House hath agreed
to the Amendments made by their Lordships.
And then the House adjourned till To-morrow.