equal to all the charges which might be fixed upon it. The deficiency of consolidated revenue, as compared with the charge for both countries, last year exceeded the sum now proposed to be raised by new taxes. By an arrangement, which left this deficiency to be made up by the Bank, we had placed the public credit of the country and the public creditor at the mercy of that corporation, which might at its pleasure refuse to pay the dividends. He knew that the Bank had too much confidence in the national resources, too much public spirit and patriotism, to refuse to advance the necessary sums when applied to; but he would also contend, that the credit of a great country like this, the maintenance of the national honour, ought not to be intrusted to the discretion of any corporation, however well disposed and however respectable. It had been the fashion to consider the public creditor as the only person interested in the application and preservation of the fund; but this was a proposition from which he entirely dissented. The interests of the nation were as much connected with it as those of the individual fundholder. If any gentleman was disposed to doubt this, he would only beg leave, in order to remove his doubt and produce conviction, to refer him to the state of the country in 1785, at the conclusion of a long and disastrous war, and before the sinking fund was created. The debt was then about L. 230,000,000, and the revenue such as to exhibit a deficiency, or to afford no surplus for its diminution. The only question among the politicians of that day was not how they could reduce the debt, but how they could raise taxes to pay the interest and to support the establishment of the country. But at that time the resources of the nation were intrusted

to the direction of a man (Mr Pitt) whom no obstacles within the range of possibility to surmount could fi nally oppose, and whom no difficulties in the accomplishment of his object could deter. By his eloquence he roused the nation to a sense of its danger; and by his energy and perseverance he rescued it from its embarrassment, providing in the course of three years a revenue that was not only sufficient to support all the national establishments, and pay the interest of the public debt, but afforded a surplus for a real and effective sinking fund. In 1786, then, the sinking fund was first established; and here he could not but remark on the strange observation of the honourable and learned gentleman who had last spoken, who had said he would wait for some declaration of war, or some insult to our national honour, that would lead to a war, before he would consent to impose new taxes to relieve us from the weight of our public debt. If he waited till then, he (Mr Huskisson) was afraid he should wait till it was too late. In his opinion, on the contrary, it was our duty, and ought to be our policy, to make present exertions for our future relief during peace, and as the best preparation for carrying on hostilities with vigour and success, should a war be unfortunately rendered necessary for the protection of our interests or the assertion of our honour. The situation of the country was now very different from what it was when the first sinking fund was created. The nation had then just concluded a long and disastrous war, by an ignominious peace. Now we had concluded a long and successful war, with glory to ourselves, and with that advantage to Europe, which was likely to secure the continuance of peace. But though our

present situation of tranquillity were not likely soon to be disturbed, it behoved us, as the best security for its duration, to prepare for the necessity of sustaining the future exertions of war.

Mr Scarlett remarked, that his right honourable friend (the Chancellor of the Exchequer) had forgot to state, that Mr Pitt had himself declared, that if the sinking fund should rise to 4 millions, it ought to come before Parliament, who might deliberate on the propriety of applying it to the remission of taxes. It was true indeed that at the time of the short truce in 1802, when Mr Pitt acceded to the Ministry, he had not thought it safe to touch the sinking fund; doubtless because he believed that in the future peace, after the then approaching war, it would be the duty of the Government to remit the property tax and other war taxes, and then the sinking fund might be usefully available. In relation to the L. 3,000,000 of additional taxes, he might ask, what was there in that sum that made it so peculiarly delightful, that no amount either beyond or within seemed for a moment worthy of desire or acceptance? The Chancellor of the Exchequer summissa voce, and the Noble Lord in a louder strain, had declared that they must have this sum or resign. What did this mean? Simply this that the Noble Lord and his colleagues having discovered, by the vote of the other night, that they stood high in the favour of the house, in the insolence of triumph, called for another instance of confidence, and made it even a point of honour that they should be allowed, with a sweeping majority, to add L.3,000,000 more of taxes to a country already overwhelmed.

Mr Bankes declared he would be the last man to agree to the additional burden of L.3,000,000 unless he felt it

to be a matter of necessity. The learned gentleman who spoke last had pretended to disqualify himself as unacquainted with the subject, but in the course of his speech had shown himself so deeply versed in it as to be able to bring new lights to it. He had made the discovery, that though a sinking fund might be useful in war, it was good for nothing in peace. He humbly submitted that Mr Pitt had been of a different opinion, and that the right honourable gentleman (Mr Tierney), who, if any man did, understood the subject, had expressed a different opinion. So had Mr Fox and Mr Sheridan-indeed, all who had ever spoken upon it except the learned gentleman. It was true, that Mr Pitt had said, that when the fund reached L. 4,000,000 it ought to come under parliamentary discussion; but if the proportion of the funded debt of that time was compared with the proportion between the debt and fund at present, it would be found to be far less than the rate contemplated by Mr Pitt. Indeed, if the country could bear more taxation, it would be proper to fix the sinking fund at the rate of one per cent. on the amount of the debt. The learned gentleman had argued as if the existence of peace warranted the dilapidation of this fund; but who would guarantee the existence of that peace even for a short time? This he knew, that whether we had external enemies or not, we had a tremendous foe at home in the public debt; and unless we provided for its extinction in peace we should go with crippled means into a war, and be obliged to take an inferior rank among the nations. The prevention of such an evil was to be purchased even at the risk of some unpopularity.

Mr Canning began by expressing his conviction, that the only certain

present an external front to Europe, it was necessary to have a surplus revenue operating as a sinking fund. He was not competent to discuss the principle of a borrowing sinking fund; but he was convinced of the necessity of an absolute surplus to do the business of such a fund.

After some farther discussion, and some personal altercation between Mr Calcraft and Mr Canning, the committee divided, when the original resolutions were carried by a majority of 197, there being for the amendment 132, and against it

329.

On the following day Mr Brogden brought up the report of the Committee on the resolutions. After some discussion the first and second resolutions were put and carried unanimously. With respect to the third, which stated that the separate income of Ireland was L. 4,561,353, and the charge of the funded and unfunded debt L. 6,446,835, exclusive of the civil list and other permanent charges of Ireland, and of the proportion of the supplies to be defrayed by that part of the United Kingdom, Sir John Newport observed, that from the wording of this resolution, a censure was passed, and would be conveyed down to posterity, upon the whole Irish nation. Ireland had contributed her full share to the heavy demands that had been made on the united kingdom. In proportion to her capacity to pay, she had been taxed more severely than Great Britain. It was stated in a report of the Finance Committee, that, large as was the increase in the revenue of Great Britain, that of Ireland had increased in a greater proportion. Justice to Ireland required that so unqualified a declaration should not be put upon the journals of the house. Ireland had shed her best blood, and sustained the heaviest pressure of

taxation, in support of the common cause; her incapacity to bear more taxes could only be attributed with truth to oppression and misgovernment. With these views he should propose the addition of words to the following effect:-That since the union the sum of L. 60,125,000 had been raised in Ireland, and paid into the Exchequer, and that the annual charge was not less thanL.3,750,000, being an increase of L.2,400,000 since the consolidation of the two revenues. The Chancellor of the Exchequer thought the proposition of the honourable Baronet might be objected to without any discussion of the truth of the facts which it set forth. Admitting the correctness of the statement, it would be foreign to the present question to enter into an inquiry as to the cause which had produced such a result. A load of debt existed which must be provided for, and he trusted that neither himself nor the house were disposed to treat Ireland with injustice. "He knew how to estimate at their proper value the exertions which Ireland had made during the war; but this was not a fit occasion for entering into a history or general discussion of the subject of Irish finance.

The amendment was then negatived without a division, and the other resolutions being put seriatim, were carried successively in the affirmative, till the question was put upon the last, when Sir M. W. Ridley observed, that he should not be doing justice to his constituents, if he did not express his dissent from the proposition it contained. He, for one, could not entertain that confidence in his Majesty's Ministers which would induce him to place in their hands a larger disposable revenue. He did not feel satisfied that, if granted, it would be applied to its proper objects. What was the opi

nion which a retrospect of their conduct was calculated to suggest? They had been compelled most reluctantly to abandon the property tax, and to reduce the army estimates. The whole system of their administration might be judged of by these instances. It appeared to him that it was premature to impose any taxes till the effects of the resumption of cashpayments upon the prices of all articles should be seen. He concluded by moving an amendment, to the effect of leaving out all the words of the original motion after the word "That," and to substitute a declaration, that it was not expedient in the distressed state of the country, nor till every measure of practicable retrenchment was adopted, to add to the burdens of the people by any fresh impositions.

The Chancellor of the Exchequer replied to Sir M. W. Ridley, whose amendment was supported by Lord Milton, Mr Primrose, Mr J. P. Grant and Mr Abercromby, opposed by Mr Callaghan, Mr F. Lewis, and Mr Sumner, and ultimately lost by a majority of 110.

Ministers having, in an early part of the session, moved for the appointment of a Finance Committee, in order to give them an opportunity of submitting to Parliament a general outline of the financial operations contemplated for supplying the difference between the income and expenditure of the country, it became necessary to follow this preliminary discussion to its conclusion before we entered upon the details of the Army, Navy, and Ordnance Estimates, which, though they were not submitted to Parliament till subsequent to the report of the Finance Committee, nevertheless preceded the conclusion of the discussions to which that important document gave rise, and which we found

it incompatible with our purpose to interrupt by the interposition of matters of detail till the general principles had been first disposed of. At the expence of this very slight anachronism, if indeed it be such, we shall now, therefore, proceed to exhibit, in a consecutive form, a view of the heads and items of expenditure, together with the ways and means by which that expenditure was to be provided for, and which followed the general exposé submitted to Parliament in the resolutions, founded upon the report of the Committee of Finance.

Upon the 7th of May Lord Palmerston, in rising to move the army estimates, remarked, that upon a general view of the number of men proposed to be voted for the present year, and the number which had been voted last year, the house would perceive, that, taking the comparative establishments of the two years, there would be a diminution this year of upwards of 9,800 men ; and if they compared the total amount of the army in the beginning of the present year with the total amount in the beginning of last year, it would appear that there had been a diminution of 26,000 men. This diminution of the number of the army would perhaps lead the house to expect a corresponding diminution of expence ; but they must remember that a very considerable expence had fallen on this country in consequence of the Allied Powers withdrawing their troops from France. The number of half-pay offcers turned on this country in consequence of the reductions had made an increase of L.250,000 on that branch of the expenditure, although the reductions made since last year had so far met that increase as to reduce the L.250,000 to L.87,398. The whole of that charge could not be considered of a temporary nature, for it