ttention
of the house was afterwards converted to a bill for the preventing of
smuggling; and another for explaining the act for the more effectual
preventing bribery and corruption in the election of members to serve in
parliament. Both made their way through the lower house, and were sent
up to the lords for their concurrence. The number of land forces voted
for the service of the current year was reduced to seventeen thousand
seven hundred and four effective men. The supplies were raised by the
malt-tax and land-tax at two shillings in the pound, additional duties
on mum, cider, and perry, stamped vellum, parchment, and paper; and by
an act empowering his majesty to borrow six hundred thousand pounds
of the sinking fund. In this session the parliament repealed the old
statutes of England and Scotland against conjuration, witchcraft, and
dealing with evil spirit's. The commons likewise prepared a bill to
restrain the disposition of lands in mortmain, whereby they became
unalienable. Against this measure petitions were presented by the two
universities, the colleges of Eton, Winchester, and Westminster, and
divers hospitals that subsisted by charitable donations. In favour
of the universities and colleges a particular exempting clause was
inserted. Several other amendments were made in the bill, which passed
through both houses, and obtained the royal assent. Among the acts
passed in this session, was one for naturalizing her royal highness the
princess of Wales; and another for building a bridge across the Thames
from New Palace-yard, in the city of Westminster, to the opposite shore
in the county of Surrey. The points chiefly debated in the house of
lords were the address of thanks for his majesty's speech, the mortmain
bill, the Quakers' bill, which was thrown out, and that for the
prevention of smuggling, which did not pass without division and
protest. On the twentieth day of May the king closed the session with a
speech, in which he told both houses that a farther convention, touching
the execution of the preliminaries, had been made and communicated to
him by the emperor and most christian king, and that negotiations were
carrying on by the several powers engaged in the late war, in order to
settle a general pacification. He expressed great concern at seeing such
seeds of dissatisfaction sown among his people; he protested it was his
desire, and should be his care, to preserve the present constitution
in church a