r and limit. The opposition congratulated the
minister, and Colonel Barre said he would prepare a bill for that
purpose; but while he was preparing it, Lord North himself brought in
a bill on the 2nd of March, which proposed gentlemen who had no seat
in parliament as commissioners of accounts. Barre complained of the
underhand dealing of the minister, but said that he would concur in the
measure, though he had been thus robbed of the honour of introducing it
himself. Other members of the opposition were not so liberal. Although
they were prepared to support the proposition, if left in the hands of
the gallant colonel, they spoke against the whole measure; denounced
it as a trick to create new places and salaries, and insisted that
the commission would do no good. The bill, however, passed, and six
independent gentlemen, among whom was Sir Guy Carleton, were appointed
commissioners of accounts.

BILL FOR EXCLUDING CONTRACTORS FROM PARLIAMENT REJECTED.

Sir Philip Jennings Gierke again introduced his bill for excluding
contractors from the house of commons. This time it was carried, and
passed through all its stages with little opposition from the ministers;
but it, was rejected in the upper house, as an illiberal stigma cast
on a respectable body of men, and as a mean compliance with popular
prejudices.

MOTIONS REGARDING PLACES AND PENSIONS.

On the 15th of February, Sir George Saville moved that an account of all
places with salaries, and all pensions payable at the exchequer or out
of the privy purse, with a list of the persons holding them, should be
laid before the house. In making this motion, Sir George encountered
a most violent opposition, and the debate was broken off by a sudden
illness of the speaker. Subsequently it was revived, and Lord North then
moved an amendment, restricting the account to such pensions only as
were paid out of the exchequer, and excepting those paid out of the
privy purse. This, however, gave such manifest dissatisfaction that
the minister was obliged to qualify it by moving in addition, that
the general amount of all pensions should be given, but without any
specification of names, and without stating the sums paid, except in
the case of those who were paid from the exchequer. But even with this
qualification, though ably supported by the minister himself in a long
and argumentative speech, and by Wedderburn, the attorney-general, and
Mr. Dundas, lord-advocate for Scot