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wmrn 
 
 THE 
 
 e" '0:m: 
 
 C T 
 
 O F 
 
 The parliament of 1784, 
 
 CONSIDERED. 
 
 
 LIbenterque his fum teftimonio, onmibufque ero, qui bene 
 
 de republica mcrentur. 
 
 ClCERO. 
 
 LONDON: 
 
 PRINTED FOR JOHN STOCKDALE, OPPOSITE 
 BURLINGTON-HOUSE, PICCADILLY. 
 
 1790. 
 
 Price is. 6d. 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 Page 
 
 STATE of Affairs previous to the Meeting 
 of the Parliament of 1784 - i 
 
 India 
 
 Finance 
 
 Commerce and Navigation 
 
 Foreign Politics / - 
 
 Conclufion » 
 
 10 
 
 44 
 57 
 
 62 
 
/ 
 
 CONDUCT 
 
 O 1- 
 
 'i HE P A R L I A M K N T of 17S4, 
 C O N S ID E 11 E D. 
 
 THE floiirifliing ftate of Great Britain at 
 the prefent moment, and the general 
 content and happinefs which reigns in every 
 quarter of the kingdonn, forms fo marked a 
 contrail to that fcene of diftrefs and defpon- 
 dency, which prevailed previous to the diflb- 
 lution of Parliament in 1784, that it cannot 
 fail to make the ftrongefl: impreflion on any 
 man, who is either converfant in the public 
 affairs of his country, or even judges of them 
 by their efFcft on the fituation, wealth, and 
 happinefs of individuals. 
 
 ^ ... ' ' ■ . 
 In 1784 our credit was at the lowefl: ebb : 
 
 our expenditure, though in peace, exceeded 
 our annual revenue: our finances were weigh- 
 ed down by an oppreflive and increafing load 
 of debt J the country was without a fingle fo- 
 reign ally i our commerce, which had funk 
 .",7* '. ■ " ■ W\" under 
 
 i i 
 
 ■'1 
 ■'1 
 
w 
 
 a PREVIOUS STATE 
 
 under the long interruption it had fiifrcrec?, 
 was dill kept down by the low flate of public 
 credit, and by the difpiriring profpcfl before 
 us: the affairs of the Eafl India Company 
 were in a ftate of cmbarralTmcnt, whicli ren- 
 ' dered their fituation in the utmoft degree cri- 
 tical : and, to complete the whole, the country 
 was fo diflracted by fadions, that it fcarcely 
 lecmed poffible to form any fettled govern- 
 ment, to whom the people could look up with 
 confidence for any relief from fuch a compli- 
 cation of difficulties. 
 
 The reverfe in 1790 is fo extraordinary, con- 
 fidering the fliort fpace of time which has in- 
 tervened, thai we fhould almofl: doubt the 
 reality of our former diftrefles, if the hiftory 
 of what has palTed fince the meeting of the 
 Parliament of 1784, did not furniHi us with 
 , caufes fully adequate to the happy effeifts, which 
 we have experienced, in fo fpeedy a tranfition 
 from the brink of ruin to ar^ enviable j-itch of 
 national profperity, ' . 
 
 B 
 
 ( f 
 
 in order fully to recollet^ our fituaiFon st 
 the melancholy period here alluded to, it is 
 necelTary to take a view of the circumdances 
 which preceded the didolution of ^ the former 
 Parliament. The repugnance which the coun- 
 try iliewed in the fpring of 17^2 to the conti- 
 nuance 
 
 : 
 
O F A F F A I R S. 3 
 
 nuance of the American war, and the general 
 opinion of mifconduft in its profecution, liav- 
 ing driven Lord North from the hchn, he was 
 ^uc^x'cdcd by an adminidration compolcd of a 
 variety of jarring interefls, which liad been 
 kept togeclier more by the circumflance of 
 having one common enemy, than by mutual 
 confidence, or uniformity of principle. Their 
 dilfcrences were, however, confined to the 
 cabinet ; nor did any open rupture appear, till, 
 upon the death of the Marquis of Rockingham 
 then firll Lord, of the Treafury, a flruggle took 
 place for the nomination of his fuccelFor. 
 
 The events, which followed, are too frefli in 
 the minds of every one to need any thing more 
 than a bare recapit^ulation. 
 
 Lord Shelburne being appointed to the 
 head of the Treafury, Mr. Fox and his im- 
 mediate connexions rcfigned their oillces: and 
 after having but a few months before dwelt 
 with peculiar energy on thedirtrefTcd fituation 
 of the country, which Mr. Fox even flated in 
 the Houfe of Commons, when a cabinet mi- 
 nifter, as worfe than he had ever reprefented 
 it in oppofition, erefled a ftandard for the 
 declared purpofe of embarrafTing and thwarting 
 thofc, in whofe hands the King had committed 
 * * B 2 the 
 
4 PREVIOUS STATE 
 
 the adminiftration of his diftrafled kinf*- 
 donis. 
 
 t 
 
 Lord Shelburne had fcarcc been in ofHce fix 
 months, before he accompliflied that objevfl for 
 which, in the opinion of Mr. Fox, even the 
 unconditional facrifice of acknowledging Ame- 
 rican independence, prior to any negociation* 
 was to be made without any hefitation. He 
 effected a treaty of peace with the four feveral 
 powersj witli whom we were then at war : 
 and, though in the judgment of all parties ic 
 was not a time for us to diftate our terms, we 
 obtained fuch, as, conCdering our diftrefles, it 
 was higlily our interefl; to accept. 
 
 By this time however, Mr. Fox had 
 formed a coalition with Lord North, the 
 adverfary to whom he had fo lately been op- 
 pofed, and whofe removal from office he had 
 confidered as an objc(5l worthy to be attained 
 even at the hazard of all the mifchicf re- 
 fulting from an unremitting oppofition to the 
 meafures of government during the progrefs of 
 an extenfive and complicated war. The reful^ 
 was the condemnation of the peace, which, 
 as it was faid at the time. Lord North had 
 rendered neceflary, and Mr. Fox had declared 
 tp be fo. This was followed by the refigna^ 
 
 - tion 
 
 »4 
 
 . / 
 
 Rfe».:^v2 
 
O F A 1 F A I R S. 5 
 
 tlon of Lord Slielbnrnc ; and ifLcr much and 
 evident reluflancc on the part of the crown, ic 
 became neceflfary to admit them to the objedls 
 of tlieir aimbition on the fecond of Aj)ril, 1783. 
 The period of their i^ovcrnment was fliorr, but 
 it was fufficient to give the public fome infight 
 into their fyflem. Their extravagant loan, their 
 attempt todoublethcincomeof thcP. of W. and 
 finally, their project of veiling in certain indi- 
 viJuals of their own body, by Mr. Fox's Bill* 
 a degree of power and patronage, which would 
 exceed, and might bid defiance to, that of the 
 crown, were the expedients to which they rc- 
 forted, under a confcioufnefs that they did 
 not poflcfs the contidence of their country. 
 This lad meafure, while it alarmed the Sove- 
 reign for tlie fafcty of his righcs in the keeping 
 of fuch fervants, rouzcd the indignation of the 
 people again 1l the 1 loufe of Commons, who 
 had afTifted them with their Aipport. The 
 bill failed in the Houle of Lords, -—and in 
 its failure involved the difgrace of its au- 
 thors, who inrtead of obtaining the pern-.a- 
 nency of power the) fought for, were dihiufled 
 from ofBce ; and, notwithflanding their re- 
 peated attempts to force themfeives back into 
 ofRce, they ltru<:gled in vain. The Parlia- 
 ment, which had fupported them as well i 
 
 n 
 
 this as in the other violent meafures of their 
 t * ' admini- 
 

 4 PREVIOUS STATE 
 
 adminiftration, to the negltrd of other public 
 concer'15, which required their attention, were 
 diflblved on the twenty-fifth of March, 1784 ; 
 an event which gave general fatisfailion to the 
 whole kingdom, who eagerly took tliis oppor- 
 tunity of Ihewing their fentiments on the late 
 tranfadtions, by their marked rejection of thofe 
 who had fuppported the meallires of the late 
 minilbv. 
 
 ' , The new Parliament met on the eighteenth 
 of May following, and the p-^ople waited 
 with a moft anxious fufpenfc the refuit ot their 
 deliberations. Let us here take a view of the 
 fituation in which they found the country. 
 The picture is gloomy -, but in judice to thofe 
 who have delivered us out of that fituation we' 
 ought not to forget it. 
 
 The party fpirit which had been fomented 
 during the oppofition to Lord North's govern- 
 ment, the frequent changes which had hap- 
 pened fince that period, and the ftruggles with 
 which they had been attended, had io un fettled 
 the minds of men, that the country had been 
 in one continual ferment, whichhad not yet even 
 begun to fubfidej and, as people fiill looked 
 forward to freih changes, no termination could 
 yet be expedled to fuch an evil. The remedy 
 
 would 
 
 t 
 
 ^ 
 
 I 
 
OFAFFAIRS. y 
 
 would depend on the eflablifhment of a wife 
 and temperate adminiftration, rooted in the 
 good opinion of the king and people, and 
 
 pofTcfll 
 
 th( 
 
 ifid< 
 
 icinng tne conhdence and fupport of both, 
 fo as to put an end to thofe proje6ls of annbi- 
 tion, which had bred continual difburbances, 
 and kept the kingdom in a ftate of fludluation 
 and fulpenfe, lb detrimental to its interefts, 
 and dangerous to i:s fafety. 
 
 The Eaft India territories were reprefented 
 to be in fuch a ftate of diforder, and the finan- 
 ces of the Company in a fitiiation fo defperate, 
 that it was at that time declared fcarcely prac- 
 ticable to fave the one from anarchy, and the 
 other from bankruptcy. The fubjefl had 
 fcveral times been recommended to the confi- 
 deration of Parliament, in fpeeches from the 
 throne : but this recommendation had only- 
 led to the produdlion of a projedl of ambition, 
 which, if it had palTcd, would itfelf have been 
 a greater evil than any of thofe which it af- 
 feded to remedy. Subfequent to the defeat of 
 that violent meafure, the fubje(5t had indeed 
 undergone fome difcuffion ; but the temper of 
 the Houfe was fuch, tliat it could not be 
 brought to any fatisfaflory ilTue. The main 
 bufinefs therefore, of applyir«g an adequate^ 
 and at the fame time a conftitutional remedy 
 
 to 
 
 !|i 
 
 i 
 
8 
 
 PREVIOUS STATE 
 
 to the affairs of the Eaft Indies, remained for 
 the new Parliament > i 
 
 The war, which we had undertaken in pur- 
 fuit of a revenue from America, had led us 
 into a fyftcm of borrowing, which mortgaged 
 every advantage that could be propofed to us 
 from fuccefs. In addition therefore to our 
 lofs of refources by the fcparation of the em- 
 pire, we found ourfelves loaded with an in- 
 creafe of debt fo enormous, that notwich- 
 ftanding the heavy burthens which had been 
 yearly impofed, we had not yet been able to 
 provide even for the payment of its annual in- 
 tereft; moftofthe new taxes impofed by Lord 
 North proving very deficient, and a confider- 
 able unfunded debt dill remaining without any 
 provifion. • ' , - > 
 
 Our commerce had fuffered fo much by the 
 lohg continuance of the war, and the preffure 
 of incrcafmg taxes, that its animation remain, 
 ed, as it were, fufpendedj and it required a 
 foftering hand, in any degree to reftore it to 
 health and vigour. While therefore the fitua- 
 tionofthe finances required further taxes, care 
 was neceffary that they (hould not bear upon 
 commerce in its then feeble flate j and regula- 
 tions were necelTary for the encouragement 
 
 
OF AFFAIRS. 
 
 9 
 
 of trade, without leflening our revenues, 
 which would not admit of diminution. 
 
 i 
 
 The high rank and ftation which this coun- 
 try had always preferved among the powers of 
 Europe, had been utterly lofl: amid the diftref- 
 fcs we had fuffered, and the degradation we 
 had undergone. Even thole who had formerly 
 courted us, not merely as faithful allies, but as 
 powerful protedtors, appeared now forward to 
 join the general combination againft us, and 
 infult over our imbecility. It was therefore 
 become important, not only to our national 
 honour, but even to our national fecurity, to 
 raife the country from that ftate of utter aban- 
 donment and negled, into v>^hich it had fallen, 
 and to recover its confequence among foreign 
 nations : a work of particular difficulty, as, 
 exclufive of the natural impediments arifing 
 from our diftreffed and helplefs fituation, we 
 had to encounter the prejudices of foreign 
 powers againlt us, from the humiliation which 
 we had fuffered in the eyes of Europe. 
 
 .'■■"■ ■ *■ -*•,■.■■''', V 
 
 Such wac the fituation in which the country 
 was delivered over by the former parliament to 
 the new body of reprefentatives. The prof- 
 pe6t before them was fuch as mud have alarm- 
 ed the moftfanguine, and damped thefpiritof 
 the mofl: enterprifing. By what means it has 
 
 C fincc 
 
 r 
 
 
10 
 
 INDIA. 
 
 fince happened that we have not only furmount- 
 ed every danger, but have become fo profperoua 
 at home, and refpcftuble abroad, as ahnofl: to 
 have loll, within fo Ihort a period, even the 
 memory of our recent diftrefles, will appear on 
 a review of the meafures, which have been 
 carried into efied fince the meeting of the Par- 
 liament of 1784. • ^ . ,' . 
 
 The affairs of INDIA, which had been the 
 fubjedl of fo much contention in the late Houfe 
 of Commons, and which had occafioned the 
 fubfcquent appeal made to the people, natu- 
 rally becan.e the fird objedl of concern to the 
 new Parliament. Here two principal evils 
 prefented themfelves, for which it was their 
 duty to provide. 
 
 .• Firft, the mifgovernmentofour territories in 
 India, which had fo recently engaged us in 
 deftruftivc and ruinous wars, and which, by 
 the fyftem of opprefTion which was alleged to 
 prevail, refleAed diflionour on tiic BritiQi 
 name, j '* 
 
 'I 
 
 , »; i . 
 
 Secondly, the apprehended bankruptcy of 
 the Company, in which the finances and credit 
 of this kingdom would have been deeply 
 
 involved. \ , • 
 
 ^ ■:'":' .'■■'■ I. The 
 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 t 
 
 ■ ' 
 
 J 
 
 
 
 \ 
 
 
 
 .';;«,,'; ■- ■* 
 
 ,-''■■ -■ ■■■■'•■ '... ■ ■' " 
 
 ■ ' ' / ■ 
 
 ■ -1 
 
INDIA. 
 
 it 
 
 I.. 
 
 I. The adminiftration ofthe Company's go- 
 vernment in India laboured under the imputa- 
 tion of v/afte and oppredion, and was liable to 
 all the objeflions, whicli naturally occur againll 
 intruding political affairs of fuch an extent to 
 the excUifive management of a mercantile 
 company : obje<flions which were thought of 
 fufficienr magnitude to juftify, in the eyes of 
 fome men, the dangerous remedy of Mr. Fox's 
 Bill — a remedy pretended to be for the refto- 
 ration of the Company's affairs, and ilie better 
 adminiftration of their government ; but felt 
 to be a political exp«.dient to maintain a par- 
 ty in government, againft the wilhcs of the 
 Crown, by fecuring to them a degrt e of power 
 and patronage, greater than that ofthe Crown 
 itfelf. This meafure having been liappily re- 
 jected, it remained for the legiflature to pro- 
 vide fome other plan, founded on lefs ob- 
 noxious principles, and calculated to meet the 
 urgency of the cafe. 
 
 Accordingly, one of the firff meafures of the 
 Parliament of 1784, was to pafs a Bill for the 
 better government of India. Whether this 
 meafure was objedlionab^e on any other 
 grounds, fliall be enquired in a fubfcquent part 
 of this difcuffion. But it mufl: in the firft place 
 he obferved, that it was at leaft unqueftionably 
 
 C 2 free 
 
 
12 
 
 INDIA. 
 
 free from thofe important objeiflions which had 
 been fo fuccefsfully urged agiinit Mr. Fox's 
 Bill, as being dangerous to our conllitution at 
 home, 1 hat the new bill diiFered from Mr, 
 Fox's in that refpeft, was indeed admitted at the 
 time, even by thofe who argued moil againll 
 its alledged weaknefs and incfficacy. A con- 
 trary aflertion has lately been advanced, and an 
 attempt has been made to fupporc it by what 
 was called a Comparative Statement of the two 
 Bills. That pamphlet cannot however be 
 confidered as a ferious argument in defence of 
 a propofition fo palpably abfurd, but muft in ' 
 fairnefs rather be regarded as one of thofe pa- ' 
 radoxical difputations, which are fometimcs 
 maintained for the purpofe of difplaying inge- 
 nuity, by men who are difpofed to tliink very 
 highly of their own talents, and very meanly 
 of the underltanding of the reft of mankind. 
 
 Mr. Fox's Bill was objected againfl: as a 
 violent and unjuftifiable breach of the Charter 
 of the Eaft India Company, becaufe it depriv- 
 ed them, without their confent, of the rights 
 of which they were legally poficlTcd, and this 
 without even a pretence of neceffity ; as it 
 took from them* not only every fpecies of inter- 
 ference in the political or territorial govern- 
 ment of India, but alfo all fhare in the direc- 
 
 tiqa 
 
 /. 
 
I , I N D I A. 15 
 
 tion of their trade, the very objetfl for which 
 their charter was originally granted. 
 
 The prefcnt Bill was grounded on principles 
 cxprelly iiflcnted to by the Connpany. It efta- 
 bliihed that fuperintcndence over their poli- 
 tical governnnent abroad, which for the fake o^ 
 this country and of India, was agreed on aJJ 
 hands to be neceflary -, but it left to the Com- 
 pany the exclufive and uncontroulcd nianage- 
 ment of their commerce. 
 
 
 Mr. Fox's Bill was alledged to ered a new 
 branch of executive government, dillincfl from 
 the Crown, and paramount to it; becaufc the 
 commiflioncrs, in whom the whole manage- 
 ment of the Eaft India Company's affairs was 
 exclufively veiled by the Bill, v/ere named in 
 Pa^liamen^•, were appointed for a fixed term 
 of years, and were not like other minifters, re-> 
 fponfible to the King for thtir condudl, or 
 removcable by his authority. 
 
 The prefent Bill gives to the Crown the 
 power of appointing commiffioners to fuper-' 
 intend the political government of India j and 
 thofe commiflioners are like every other pare 
 of the executive government, removcable at 
 the pleafure of the Crown. 
 
 Mr. 
 
14 
 
 X N ^ I ^- 
 
 calcoUtea for the P-P^^^^^^ 
 
 to his P""f ,^"" J,^,„,,„., both at home and 
 patronage of the Compan) ^^^.^^.^^^ 
 
 abroad, to the amount of 
 fterling per annt-.n. _ 
 
 r , KM cWes to the King's com- 
 miffioners no patroua^e 
 home or abroad. 
 
 ietvants, both In l^n ^ ^^^,^^^ 
 
 without <!'«'":''" ^^ ,, opening an ample 
 
 rrfirXt^^'-^"^^^ 
 
 ';'fpofesoffaaiona„da,nbit.on. , ., 
 
 h.nds of the D-«" ° ;'^; leagued toge- 
 pany. a floauattng lx> <-=„,, ,ob- 
 
 :,A. of private am -.tu.n. _^ ^^^^ ^^^^ ^^^(_ 
 
 (5\ ceconoi 
 
 f 
 
 fyaem o 
 ficesintbat country 
 
 but 
 
 Vuch as were found tp 
 
 be 
 
 
INDIA. 
 
 >5 
 
 be of abfulute ncceflTity for carrying on the 
 government there. And ic impofed many im- 
 portant reftraints on the cxercile of the remain- 
 ing patronage, by whicli the means of abufc 
 in the hands of the Diredors are greatly dinii- 
 nifli'.'d. •< r .,'^tlf' ' - : . 
 
 
 ^ 
 
 Till therefore Mr. Sheridan can perfuade the 
 people of England that the confent of a char- 
 tered body is of no moment, when a fubfifting 
 charter is to be altered ; that it is the fame thing 
 to take from a commercial company the ma 
 nagement of their commerce, or to leave it ex- 
 clufively tothemj that the appointmentof apcr- 
 mancnt executive government, independent of 
 the Crown, confers no greater or more lalling 
 powers on the perfons fo appointed, than when 
 they are named by the Crown, and arc remove, 
 able at the King's pleafurelike his other minif. 
 ters i that no more influence in Parliament 
 can be acquired by an unlimited patronage of 
 above a million fterling per annum, than by 
 no patronage at all : or laltly, that patronage 
 given without rellraint to a political party is 
 not more likely to be ufed for party purpofes, 
 than patronage left under great reftraints in 
 the hands of men not forming any political 
 party: till, I fay, Mr. Sheridan can eft-ablifh 
 tjiefe propofitions, the people of England will 
 - ,a . probably 
 
 H\ 
 
i6 
 
 I N D 
 
 A. 
 
 probably continue to believe, that their rc- 
 prefentativcs, whom they chofe in 17H4 for 
 their avowed deteftation ofMr. Fox's Bill, did 
 not, within three months after their eledion, 
 ** pafs another bill refembling it in all thofe 
 points on which their objedlions were princi- 
 pally grounded." And it may fafely be af- 
 fumcd, that the new Parliament have fo far 
 at lead performed their duty, as confided in 
 avoiding the faults fo juftly imputable to their 
 predeceflbrs. 
 
 i ^ 
 
 M 
 I 
 
 1 
 
 < i 
 
 i 
 
 « 
 
 1 
 
 But this is not enough j if they have not pro- 
 vided efFeftually for the remedy of the thtn 
 exifting evils, or if the reproach which was 
 made againll tlie new Bill, at the time of its 
 pafiing, by thepartizans of the old Bill be true, 
 that this Bill is wholly inefficient and inade- 
 quate to the objedls which Parliament had 
 in view. 
 
 The obje(5ls which Parliament had in view 
 in pafTing this Bill appear to have been the 
 three following: refponfibility in the govern- 
 ment at home i reformation of the fyftem of 
 government abroad; and a mode of trial for 
 offences committed in India. -a/ 
 
 To 
 
 ^ I ' 
 
INDIA. 
 
 »7 
 
 i 
 
 To accomplifli the firft of thefc objedts, it 
 was nccefTary that fuch government fhould form 
 a part of the general executive government of 
 the country, fliould be fubjeft to the appoint* 
 mcnt and removal of the CrcsVii, Ihould be 
 liable to the conftant fuperintendcnce of Par- 
 liament j and in thofe matters which are not 
 ftriftly of a political nature, (hould alfo be 
 unable to conceal their proceedings from the 
 Directors, who are in fo many rcfpedts intereft- 
 ed in a knowledge of them. 
 
 To thefe ends the Bill eftabliflied a board, 
 with powers of fuperintendcnce and controul 
 over the affairs of India, confiding of fix per- 
 fons, connefted with the executive government 
 for the time being, appointed under his Ma- 
 jefty*s commiffion, and daily refponfiblc to 
 Parliament for every circumllance in the exe- 
 cution of their office. No power is given to 
 them to interfere with the commercial con- 
 cerns of the Company ; but the board has aO- 
 thority over their political affairs, fo as lO be 
 enabled to fecure their attention to thofe fet- 
 tled maximsof government, on which all men 
 are agreed the profperity of that country de- 
 pends. 
 
 D 
 
 The 
 
i3 
 
 INDIA. 
 
 The next objcd, that of leforming the 
 fyRem in Intlin, was acconiplifhecl by new 
 modelling the conftitution of the govcfnments, 
 and cftablifliing rules for the condudl of the 
 Company's Icrvants in India; rules, which 
 fhould tend to introduce a plan of ccconomy, 
 to preferve the faith of trea ics, to check all 
 impolitic views of aggrandizement, to aFord 
 lecuricy to the landholders, and protetflion to 
 the manufaclurcrs ; by lodging in the Go- 
 vernor and Council of Bengal an autho- 
 rity over the other governments; by making 
 provifions as well in favour of feveral of the 
 princes of India, as of the Zemindars and 
 ether native landholders of that country \ by 
 directing a revifal of the eltablifhments, a fup- 
 prefTion of ufelels places, and a fucccfilon by 
 Seniority, together with a return to Parliament 
 of the progrefs made in thefe reforms : and 
 laflly, by providing againfl fuch evafior.s of 
 the laws, and fuch extortions and mal-prac- 
 tices as were moft prcvale.t in that country. 
 
 With regard to the third objcdl, that of a 
 judicature at home, for offences committed in 
 India, experience had repeatedly pointed out 
 the neceffity of erecting a fpecial tribunal for 
 the purpole. Our ordinary courts of law had 
 proved wholly inadequate to the cafesof Strat- 
 - ; ton 
 
i 
 
 INDIA. 19 
 
 ton and of Rumbold. Nor does that mode of 
 trial, whicli has fincc been rcfortcd to in the 
 inftance of a parliamentary impeachment, 
 appear entitled to any preference over tlie 
 other courts, in cafes of Indian delinquency. 
 It would not perhaps be reafonable to im- 
 pute to the mode of proceeding all the de- 
 lay which has arifen j but, with every al- 
 lowance on this fcore, it may be doubted, 
 whether this mode could have been made ef- 
 fedual, even in the moft important cafesj and 
 it is evidently inapplicable to thole which are 
 lefs (q» The Bill has therefore provided for 
 this dcfciR: by eflablifhing a tribunal for of • 
 fences committed in India, afTunilatcd as 
 nearly as poffible to that palladium of Englifli 
 liberty — the trial by jury, and differing from 
 it in minute forms only. To compofe this 
 tribunal, members are chofcn from each 
 Houfe of Parliament, by a fpecies of ballot 
 which gives a due fhare of weight to all parties 
 and defcriptions of men. And out of this 
 number are felefted, partly by challenges and 
 partly by lot, four Peers and fix Commoners, 
 to which are added three of the twelve Judges, 
 one from each of the courts. Thofe who arc 
 conversant in the principles of the Englifli 
 law, will at once fee how every efTential in- 
 gredient of a trial by jury is preferved in this 
 •' . D 2 cllablilhmenti 
 
 
 I 
 I 
 
 
I 
 
 9p I N D I A. 
 
 fftabllfliment j and, though it differs from it 
 in fome particulars of the mode of proceed- 
 ing, fuch as in their power of adjournment, 
 and the unanimity of their verdidl, it muft be 
 confidered that thefe points have never been 
 . confidered effential to the fpirit of juries j 
 and the variations are adapted to the nature 
 of the caufes which are to come before the 
 court. 
 
 
 
 il 
 
 ^ ii 
 
 
 
 i ! 
 
 
 1 
 i 
 
 . ! 
 
 ^ ■ ■ 
 
 i 
 
 t 
 
 ■ 
 
 •1 
 
 ! 
 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 ■ II. But whatever improvements may have 
 been effeded by this Bill in the adminiftration 
 of the Company's political affairs, yet the 
 Parliament of 1784 will have but imper.cftly 
 performed their duty if they have not ?,lfo 
 attended to the Company's finances^ {o a^i to 
 refcue them from that danger of bankruptcy, 
 which was reprefcnted hourly to threaten them. 
 
 > "fi:*. 
 
 A long and unfuccefsful war in India, the 
 diftrelfes of which were partly occafioned by 
 the ill policy of our government there, in pro- 
 vokin3 the native powers j and partly by the 
 operation of European politics in our poffef- 
 fions in the Eaft^, in expofingthem to the united 
 attacks of France and Holland, had exhaufled 
 the finances of the Company abroad. The 
 pffeQ:s of the embarraffment, thus originatiiig 
 ^.. ,. . •■_.: ,v. ■ ■ - . in 
 
 s/ 
 
 # 
 
 
 • / 
 
INDIA 
 
 21 
 
 in India, were foon fcverely felt by them at 
 home ; their treafury here, being drained, and 
 their future income anticipated by the payment 
 and acceptance of bills drawn upon them for 
 the expences incurred by their governments 
 abroad j and their refources being almoft an- 
 nihilated by the diminution of their invefl:- 
 ments, and the repeated capture of their 
 (hips. 
 
 ■ .> .'i. 
 
 ' •;>!) 
 
 The attainment of the peace relieved them 
 from the latter of thefe difficulties ; but left 
 them burthened with a load of debt at home, 
 which the profits of their trade afforded them 
 no profpedt of difchargingj and the revenues 
 of India, abforbed by the expences of the 
 eftablilhments, which were ftill kept up, 
 appeared fcarcely fufficicnt to fupport the 
 credit of luc government there, by the regular 
 payment of the intercft on its debts, and 
 the gradual difcharge of arrears to an 
 indefinite amount, at the different fettle- 
 
 mcnts. 
 
 « -, 
 
 In December 1783, the Directors of the 
 pafl: India Company laid before the Houfe of 
 Comnrsons a flatement of their affairs at home 
 and abroad, according to the lateft advices 
 then received, " * 
 
 ./ 
 
 But 
 
 I i 
 
 ' ( 
 
91 
 
 INDIA. 
 
 But againft this ftatement it was urged by 
 thofe, who at that time endeavoured to depre* 
 ciate the (late of the Company's affairs, that 
 debts to a confiderablc amount exifted, which 
 were not brought forward, and that many * 
 of the articles included in the affets were 
 net applicable to the difcharge of the Com- 
 pany's debts; that others were greatly over- 
 . rated j and that others, fuch as the debts ow- 
 ing to the Company in India, amounting to 
 between three and four niillions, were of very 
 doubtful realization, and ought not to be rec- 
 koned upon — And that taking thefe articles 
 into confidcration, and allowing for them, 
 there would exift an adual deficiency of feveral 
 millions in the Company's affairs, which war- 
 ranted the aflertion of their being at that period 
 in a ftate of actual bankruptcy, '^ t ^ ;*r :^^; 
 
 This was denied; but not by a denial of 
 the exifting deficiency; but on an afTertion 
 that the general fituation of the Company, 
 ' their trade, and their territorial revenues, 
 would, by management and oeconomy, en- 
 able them io meet and overcome all their dif- 
 ficulties, allowing even for confiderable further 
 demands in India beyond what then ap- 
 peared. ^ '" " '' "^^ / ; 
 
 
 In 
 
INDIA 
 
 23 
 
 
 In fad there were debts to a great extent, 
 which came forward when the accounts of the 
 army, &c. came to be adjufted, and the large 
 amount of arrears incurred put in a train for 
 liquidation. But thofe accounts were not fuf- 
 ficiently diftindi: to afcertain the precife amount 
 due at the dates to which the ftatement of 1783 
 was computed. : ,. ] ",> , ... 
 
 .;•;"!■.'/. 
 
 Indeed at this period the orders from home 
 were frequently difrcgarded j contentions fub- 
 fifted between the different fettlements s the 
 controuling power of the Bengal Government 
 was difputed by tliat of the other fettlements^ 
 and criminations refpefting the wars they were 
 engaged in were alternately made againft each 
 other: hence the expences of particular de- 
 tachments were thrown from one fettlement to 
 another, and not brought forward by either; 
 it will therefore be in vain to look for accuracy 
 in any of the ftatements made up at that time : 
 nor was it till the interference of^'Ke Parlia- 
 ment of 1784 had remedied thefe uiforder?, 
 and eftablirtied regularity in the proceedings 
 of the Indian Governments, that the adtual ftate 
 of the Company's affairs there could be afcer- 
 tained with precifion. 
 
 1 
 
 The 
 
«4 
 
 I N D I Aj 
 
 The information of the peace in Europe did 
 not arrive in India till the month of June, 1783, 
 and it was not earlier than March 1784, that 
 peace was concluded with Tippoo Saib ; and, 
 as the new adminiftration of the Company's 
 affairs at home, under the fuperintendence of 
 the Board of Controul, was not eftabliflied till 
 Auguft 1 7 84, it was a confiderable time after 
 peace was eftablifhed, before the arrangements 
 ordered, and the ceconomical fyftem adopted at 
 home, could operate with effect. 
 
 It appears from the accounts before Parlia- 
 ment, that in the year 1786 the ftate of the 
 Company's affairs was as follows : , 
 
 Debts at home 
 
 Effeds ditto, ditto — 
 
 £11,882,625. 
 
 Balance againft the Company at 
 
 home — — — ;C'*546,849. 
 
 Exclufive of the capital ftock to the 
 
 proprietors cf •— — jC3a^o<^><^oo* 
 
 Abroad. 
 Debts in India — - 
 China -^ — 
 
 — £91618,231. 
 -- £510*841. 
 
 
 £10,129,072. 
 EfTefts 
 
m 
 
 \ I N D I A. 2f 
 
 Effefts in India - :j#i| • • £^,101,661, 
 
 China — '• *-* 
 
 — £203,640. 
 
 Balance againft the Connpany 
 
 abroad — — £^^^^3>77^' 
 
 So that, on the whole, thp^e appeared a balance 
 againft the Company, in 1:86, of no lefs than 
 jf 6,370,620. exclufive of the capital ftock to 
 the proprietors. ; 
 
 The efFeil of the meafures, however, which 
 had been already adopted, and now began to 
 be felt, was fuch as to enable the Company to 
 meet thefe difficulties, and in the courfe of 
 four years to pay off debts at home, to the 
 amount of — ;C4-j572,386. 
 
 And abroad, to the amount of £n»37>65i. 
 
 And this in addition to the payment of the 
 current demands of their trade, and the increafe 
 of their trading capital, which is greatly aug- 
 mented by the Commutation Aft, and alfo in 
 addition to many extraordinary expences 
 abroad, beyond their ordinary eftablifhments, 
 
 "It is true, that for this purpofe they have 
 
 been authorifed by Parliament (not " to re- 
 
 . E ceive 
 
id 
 
 INDIA. 
 
 ceivc aid from the public finances," as wai 
 ' aflerted, in 1783, to be neceflary, and was 
 , urged as one of the grounds which gave Par- 
 liament a right to feize their whole affairs into 
 its hands), but to ufe their own credit by ifTii- 
 ing new bonds to the amount of ;{^i,034,ooo. 
 By money borrowed of the Bank ;(^ioo,coo. 
 And by new ftock fold — ;C2i98o,ooo. 
 
 Above half of which is abforbcd in the addi- 
 tional fums inverted in trading property. 
 
 While they have been doing this, the confi- 
 dence of the public in their affairs has gradu- 
 ally increafcd j their (lock, which in December 
 1783 was worth only 120 per cent, in M^rch 
 1790, was worth 174 per cent. Their bonds, 
 which in December 1783 bore an intereft 
 of 5 /"^r f^«/. and were fold at £4. difcountj 
 in March i79oboreonly4/)fr r^w/. intereft,and 
 fold at j[^. 17s. premium j and their paper 
 in Bengal, which in 1785 bore a difcount of 
 Q.O per cent, and upwards, is now negociated at 
 a premium. And on the whole, confidering 
 the increafe of their property, and the dimi- 
 nution of their debts, it appears by the ftate- 
 ments which have at different times been laid 
 before Parliament, that the affairs of the Com- 
 ■-'-...:..,-. I- ■,-/■:,■■■■, , ■ _v^:- • pany 
 
 
 ^ 
 
 'i(- 
 
■ ■U.'"<V.«Hi 
 
 INDIA. 
 
 27 
 
 pany were above jf 4,000,000 fterling better in 
 March 1790, than in 1786. And at this time 
 when the Parliament is, as it were, to render a 
 fort of account of the affairs of this bankrupt 
 Company, they deliver over to their fuccef- 
 fors a body enjoying a clear furplus revenue 
 in India of £1,14.0,000 per annum, after paying 
 their whole civil, military, and commercial 
 cftablifhments, the intereft of all their debts 
 there^ and of thofe which have been tranf- 
 ferred home, together with the expences in- 
 curred for recruits, fees to officers, &c. ia 
 England, and pofTefling a trade, which, after 
 paying upwards of ;^95o,ooo per an7iu?n: to 
 Government for cuftoms and duties, yields 
 them a profit of ;C54^iOoo P^^ annu?n» 
 
 Thus it has happened, that a vaft con- 
 tinent has been fubjefted to the controul 
 of this kingdrm, without the fmalleft 
 injury to tlie Britilh conftitution; and the 
 finances of a great Company, clofely inter- 
 woven with thofe of the nation, inftead of 
 holding out to the public the dangers of bank- 
 ruptcy, have been fo regulated as to be a 
 means of addition to the general refources of 
 
 the 
 
 :mp 
 
 ire. 
 
 Ea 
 
F I N A N C E. ,,; ■ 
 
 THE fecond point, that of the general flate 
 of the NATIONAL FINANCES, is of 
 ilill more importance than even what relates 
 
 to India J and is one w 
 
 hich 
 
 was e 
 
 qually 
 
 an o 
 
 b* 
 
 jedt of peculiar attention and anxiety, at the 
 opening of the prcfcnt Parliament, and which 
 has in an equal degree, almoft ever fince, di- 
 vided the opinions of the leading political par- 
 ties in the country. 
 
 The infufficiency of the exifting revenue ta 
 meet the burdens which the war had en- 
 tailed upon the country, the failure of the 
 taxes which had been impofed to defray the- 
 intereft of fucceffive loans J the alarming and 
 increafing progrefs of fmuggling j the decay of 
 trade and manufadtures i the fcarcity of mo- 
 ney, and the confequent check to entcrprife 
 and induftry j the immenfe accumulation of 
 dcb^, and the low (late of public credit, had 
 produced a degree of apprehenfion and defpon_ 
 dency, greater than perhaps ever before exifted 
 in this country. . , ' 
 
 The new Parliament, however, from its 
 
 commencement, held out to the people, a 
 
 determined intention to meet fully the public 
 
 ' : ,/ .. 4 ■ ■ cmbar- 
 
 V 
 
 '■I 
 
 if 
 
 5 
 
 ^ 
 
 $ 
 
F I N A N C E. 29 
 
 cmbarrafiTments, and endeavoured to raife an 
 opinion, that the rclbiirces of the nation, pro- , 
 perly applied, would ftill be equal to every 
 exigency, and would gradually afford the means 
 of ertablifliing a fyftern for the redudlion of the 
 national debt, which was confidered as indif- 
 penfably ncceflTary for the credit and fecurity 
 of the country. 
 
 In thefe general principles even theOppofition 
 profefled to concur-, and they not only took 
 every opportunity of reprefenting the necelTity of 
 taking effedual meafures, without lofs of time, 
 for realizing this profpedlj but, during all the 
 itruggle preceding the diffolution of the former 
 Parliament, they had dwelt upon it as the rnofl: . 
 urgent motive for the fpeedy eftablilhment of 
 a ftrong and adive adminiftration. 
 
 Very early, however, in the new Parlia- 
 ment, they began to Ihew that difference of 
 opinion, which tliey have uniformly main- 
 tained, and that fpirit of oppofition which they 
 have conftantly fhcwn to almoft all the parti- 
 cular meafures, which have been propofed by 
 Government, for the improvement of the 
 finances. And though they have continued to 
 maintain the necefiity of a finking fund, yet 
 in every fcffion, from that of 1786 to the 
 prefent, they have conftantly denied the fuf- 
 ficiency of the refources provided for that pur- 
 pofe, and have uniformly controverted the 
 
 ilatcment 
 
3® 
 
 FINANCE. 
 
 h 
 
 ftatemcnt made of the exifting or cxpc(5lcd im- 
 provement in the revenue, and of the progrcfs 
 made towards the reduction of the public 
 debt. 
 
 In order to afcertain in the cleared manner 
 a point of fiich peculiar importance, and that 
 the Public miiy be the better enabled to decide 
 upon a cjucdion, in itfrlf lb intcrcftintj, and 
 which has been prodiidive of fo much djflcr- 
 ence of opinion and dijpute between the two 
 contending parties, I will proceed to flate 
 what the fituation of this country was with 
 . . refpedl to her Finances at the clofc of the 
 year 1783, and what it is at the prefcnt 
 moment. 
 
 The total annual produce of all the taxes 
 (except the Land and Malt), including thofe 
 taxes which were raifed to defray the expencc 
 of the Loan of 1783, together with certain 
 duties due from the Eaft India Company 
 in the courfe of that year, amounted 
 at tl;e beginning of the year 17H4, to 
 
 X'» 0,359,000. 
 
 '■ .') 
 
 The annual interefl: and charges of the 
 
 Funded Debt amounted at that tii^ie to 
 
 ;f 8,053,072. and a large unfunded debt, con- 
 
 fiftino; of Navv Bills and Ordnance Deben- 
 
 ', tures remained to be provided for, which, 
 
 when it was afterwards funded, create'd an ad- 
 dition 
 
 
FINANCE. 31 
 
 dition to the annual intcrcfl of ^(^ 1,213,000. 
 The cxpence of the pcice cftablilhmcnt, in- 
 cluding jTgoo.ooo for the Kind's Civil Lid, 
 could not be eftimated at Icfs than about 
 /^5, 200,000, making the total annual cxpence 
 X'i4>466,072} to meet which, we had, as above 
 Itatcd, a revenue only of about ^10,359,000. 
 which, by the addition of Land and Malt, 
 might amount to about /,* 12,950,000 per ann. 
 Befides this deficiency, the war, though 
 clofed, had left behind it a long train of cx- 
 pence, with the profpcifl of a variety of extra- 
 ordinary demands for many years to come, and 
 for which provifion mull be made: and the ob- 
 taining if pofllble a furplus fund for the reduc- 
 tion of the national debt, was a point the ne- 
 ceflity of which was felt by every one, how- 
 ever little the (late of the fifiances appeared to 
 juftify a hope of its being accomplilhed. 
 
 Such was the firuation of affairs when the 
 Parliament of 1784 were called upon to retrieve 
 the Finances of their country i and at a time 
 when the means of carrying on the war were 
 no longer to be found, and peace had on that 
 account been declared to be indifpenfibly necef- 
 fary j when the refourccs of the country ap- 
 peared to be almofl: exhaufted j when the in- 
 genuity of former minifters had been ftretched 
 to its utmoft extent, and every objedl of taxa- 
 tion 
 
Jt 
 
 FINANCE. 
 
 'ill 
 
 tion fccmed preoccupied, they fuccecded in 
 the courfc of the years i784aiid 178;, in fup- 
 plying the large deficiencies of the former 
 taxes, in providing funds for the payment of 
 inrerefl: on frefli loans of fix millions, which 
 it was found ncccirary to borrow in the year 
 1784, and of one million which was required 
 for the year 1785, and for liquidating the 
 greatefl: part of the unfunded debt, to the 
 amount of near £18,000,000. Havingfur- 
 mounted thefc difficulties, and having furnifh- 
 ed the means for the regular payment of the 
 intereft on the public debt, their next object 
 was to devifc fuch a plan as fiiould feem moft 
 practicable and moft efi'edluul for the gradual . 
 redudion of the debt itfclf j and for this purpofe 
 a Committee of the Houfe of Commons was 
 appointed, in the year 1786, to examine and 
 ilate the feveral accounts which had been laid 
 before Parliament, relating to the public in- 
 come and expenditure, and to report their 
 opinion to the Hou(e. ;. 0. vt V> : m ; ';" 1 - 
 
 The difficult/ of afcertaining with' precifion 
 what the probable amount of the future income 
 of the country was likely to be, was pointed 
 out by the Committee in their report to the . 
 Houfe. The fame difficulty occurred in cal- 
 culating the future annual expenditure. Judg- 
 ing, however, of the future produce of the 
 ,, c . . old 
 
 
 I 
 
FINANCE.' 
 
 33 
 
 old taxes by that of the preceding year, and 
 eftimating, as far as they were able, the proba« 
 ble amount of thofe taxes which liad been newly 
 iinpofed, the Committee Hated their opinion to 
 bc» that ihc future annual income of the country 
 might r-ifonably be expeftcd to amount to 
 about ^15,400,000, to which fum it had been 
 raifcd in the fhort fpace of little more than two 
 years, from bejng, as is flated above, Icfs than 
 £ 1 3,000,000. With refped to the expenditure, 
 they forcfaw that many extraordinary demands 
 (the confequences of the war) were likely toarife 
 in thecourleof each year for lome time to come, 
 beyond the computed annual expence of a per- 
 manent peace eftablifhment : But they dated 
 their cxpe(5lation, that when thofe extraordinary 
 expences were defrayed, the current annual 
 expenditure, viz. the intcreft and charges of 
 the National Debt, the King's Civil Lift, the 
 Eftablilhments of 'he Nnvy, Army, arid Ord- 
 nance, and other mifcellaneous fervices, would 
 not exceed a fum of about jT 1 4,500,000. The 
 balance between the income and expenditure, 
 according to this ftatement, left a furplus of 
 jf 9 0,000 per annum, in favour of the former; 
 and in the fame feffion, the Chancellor of the 
 Exchequer propofed to Parliament to raife new 
 taxes to the amount of £100,000 per annum. 
 The furplus being thus increafed to One Million 
 annually, this fum was appropriated to the 
 
 W purchafe 
 
 ■| *■ ■: ■' 
 
J4 
 
 FINANCE. 
 
 purchafe of ftock on account of the public, by 
 Commiflioners appointed for that purpofe. A 
 regular and permanent fyftem was thereby 
 eftabliihed for the gradual reduction of the 
 national debt. ,,:,;; ► i ,,.,;,. 
 
 (ii 
 
 * The ground? on which the late Parliament 
 afted in this inllance, were the fubjedl of much 
 difcuflion and difpute between the different par- 
 ties in the Houfe. TheOppofition afferced in the 
 year 1786, and have perfifted in maintaining 
 their proportion in each feflion, that the ftate- 
 mentof the Committee, both with refpecl to the 
 income and expenditure, was fallacious j that 
 there was no reafonable ground to hope that 
 the income would amount to the fum it was 
 eftimated atj and that the expenditure would 
 not admit of the propofed redud:ion. .They 
 agreed, however, in the propriety of making 
 provifion for the payment of the national debt, 
 but urged the necefllty of impofing confiderabie 
 additional taxes on the people; a meafure, 
 which though certainly it muf: have been re- 
 forted to, if it had become neceflary, the pa- 
 triotifrn of that Parliament did not allow 
 them to adopt on light or unfubflantiated 
 grounds. .7 . . 
 
 . 'Ts; -a^i^j** 
 
 ! The accounts prefented to Parliament in the 
 
 laft fcffion, have now brought the difputed 
 
 . r i queftion. 
 
FINANCE. 
 
 35 
 
 queftion, To far as relates to the income of the 
 country, fairly to iffuc, and have juftified the 
 wife forbearance of Parliament, and their re- 
 lufbance to load their country with unneceflary 
 burthens. By thefe accounts it appears, that 
 the total produce of the taxes (including the 
 land and malt) between the 5th of April, 1789, 
 and the 5th of April, 1790, amounted to no 
 lefs than £ 16,345:000 j and that the average 
 produc, of the laft three years, from the 5th of 
 April, 1787, to the 5th of April, 1790, 
 amounted to £ 15,846,000, which exceeds the 
 Turn dated in the report of the Committee (after 
 allowing for the amount of nhe new taxes raifed 
 in 1786) in no kfs than £ 349*000 pCf 
 annum. , • , 
 
 The amount of the future peace expenditure 
 mufl Hill remain uncertain, till the period ar- 
 rives at which it was expeftcd to take place, and 
 till Parliament fhall then,on a deliberate review 
 of our fituation, decide on the amount of the 
 feveral eftablifliments to be nnaintained to meet 
 the different exigencies of the public fervice. 
 The augmentation which has been made fince 
 1786, in the numoer of feamen kept in peace, 
 and of the troops maintained for the fecurity of 
 our Eaft and Weft Indian poiTeflions, if it 
 Ihould be continued, muft evidently increafe 
 
 F 2 our 
 
 ml 
 
FINANCE. 
 
 our expence beyond what was calculated for 
 a fmalier tllabliflimcnt. The wifdom of that 
 augmentation is certainly fufficiently apparent 
 in the prefcnt moment ; but whether it fhould 
 be nermanent, is a queftion which our future 
 Reprefentatives mult decide. It may podibly 
 be found difficult to reduce fome other expcnces 
 to the precife level of the eflimate formed in 
 17S6 ; but it is no inconfiderable matter of fa- 
 tisfadion to the country, to fee, from the pre- 
 ceding ftatements, that fuch is the flourilhing 
 fituation of our finances, that even if fome in- 
 creafc fhould unavoidably arife in the future 
 annual expences of the country, an exccfs ')^ 
 income actually exifts more than fufficient 10 
 counterbalance it. 
 
 In addition to what has been faid on the 
 Tubjefi: of our annual income and expenditure, 
 it is material to remark, that fince the com- 
 mencement of the year i/Sf^, various extraor- 
 dinary demands have been fupplled on account 
 of different publicfervicesj and particularly from 
 the unexampled liberality by which the laft Par- 
 liament has fo much diftinguilhed itfelf towards 
 the American fuiTerers. Thefe have amount- 
 ed in the whole to more than £6,000,000. 
 befides the amount of capital of funded 
 debt which has already been annihilated by the 
 
 : # u : operation 
 
 -^^^' 
 
 
••FINANCE. 
 
 :!^7 
 
 /•iS 
 
 
 operation of the finking fund, and which is no 
 lefs than jC 5,184,000. 
 
 The whole of this has been done with the 
 afliflance only of about £ 400,000 increafe of 
 navy debt, and of a loan of on": million, the 
 ^rreater part of which was rendered necelTary by 
 the expcnces of the armament in 1787, by 
 which Holland was detached from France, and 
 by the payment of the debts of the P. of 
 
 W. ■ ■:. =;.,r:.-:. - • .'■ 
 
 The meafures by which this great alteriJ- 
 tion in the fituation of our finances has been 
 produced, have been fo much the objed: of 
 public attention, that it can hardly be necef- 
 lary to enter into any detailed explanation of 
 them. 
 
 The mod material of them, are thofe which 
 were adapted to the fuppreiTion of an illicrt 
 commerce, which had rifen to fuch a hcighth 
 as to endanger almoft the exiftence of all re- 
 venue, and even in many parts of the kingdom 
 to bear the appearance rather of open refiftance 
 to the laws, than of a fraudulent evafion of 
 them. This was ftatcd in the report of a 
 Committee of the Houfe of Commons, pre- 
 vious to the diffolution in 1784; but till after 
 the meeting of t'.ic Parliament then cholen, 
 
 no 
 
 v; ■' 
 
38 
 
 FINANCE. 
 
 no meafures were taken for remedying fo 
 alarming aa evil. 
 
 The fuccefs of the fteps fince adopted for 
 that purpofe, is notorious to all the kingdom, 
 nor is there any individual in it whofc perfonal 
 obfervation will not enable him to bear tcf- 
 timony to the merit of the Parliament of 1784, 
 on this fubjeft. By lowering the duties on 
 tea, and on fpirits, the principal temptation 
 of '■** fmuggler has been removed, while by 
 the !<. " liary regulations and additional duties 
 which accompanied thofe meafuref, and by 
 
 . the increafe of the legal confumption, the re- 
 venue was fecured from lois, and the public 
 burthens became more equally diftributed 
 among thofe who were bed able to bear them, 
 inftead of falling with difproportioned hard- 
 fiiip on tliofe whofe obedience to the laws of 
 their country, prevented them from making 
 
 • themfelves parties to fraudulent praflices. 
 
 The fame object has further been fecured, 
 by extending the provifions of the excife laws 
 to the articles of wine and tobacco. By the 
 former, fo great an efFe<5t has betn produced, 
 that the legal confumption has been more 
 than doubled, and the duties now colle«fled 
 on wines amount to a larger fum than they 
 did previous to the French treaty, notwith- 
 
 (landin 
 
 g 
 
 . 
 
 1 
 
 f 
 
 
 ♦ 
 
 f 
 
 > 
 
 ' - .i 
 
 
 ■■ ■ i 
 
 
 * 
 
 « 
 
 ■, ^a-' . ' 
 
 V. 
 
 1 
 f 
 
 ^1 
 
FINANCE. ^ 
 
 {landing that in confequence of that treaty the 
 rate of duty was reduced in feme inftances 
 one-third, and in fome one- half of its former 
 amount, as the compenfation for the admiflion 
 of all our manufaftures under moderate duties 
 into the ports of France. So that this great 
 advantage to our manufaflurers and merchants, 
 has been fecured without its occafioning a di- 
 minution of revenue. , • . '■■ .*' .4. • 
 
 There has not as yet been fufficient time to 
 afcertain v ith accuracy the efFeds of the ex- 
 tenfion of excife to tobacco. But as far as 
 can be colleded from the experience of a few 
 months, as laid before Parliament in the Irft 
 feflion, and from the acknowledged prevalence 
 of the frauds againft the revenue, in that ar- 
 ticle, there is every reafon to hope that the 
 greatcft advantages will be derived from that 
 meafure. 
 
 In thefe inftances, where the excife was evi- 
 dently more applicable to the due colledlion 
 of the revenue, than any other fyftem, this 
 '' mode has been reforted to, and has been 
 fuccefsful. In other cafes, a difpofition has 
 been (hewn to remove thofe articles which 
 would admit it, from the management of 
 that branch of revenue. On this principle the 
 taxes on fervants, and fome other duties of a 
 
 fimilar 
 
 i 
 
40 
 
 FINANCE. 
 
 \\ 
 
 fimllar nature, (for the colle(flion of which 
 many thoufand perfons were before fubjedled 
 to the controul of the excifc) were transferred 
 to the head of airefled duties j and here, too, 
 the experiment has been fuccefsful, as the du- 
 ties have under the new mode been more ac- 
 curately coUefted. The condud of the Par- 
 liament was guided in both cafes, not by an 
 unmeaning clamour againft the name of ex- 
 cife, which, if any weight at all were given t> 
 it, would apply with equal force to the annihi- 
 lation of fix millions of revenue j but by a 
 confiderate and attentive examination of thofc 
 articles which could with fafety be placed under 
 a different management, and of thofe where the 
 fame object which juflified the impofition of 
 taxes, equally ' lifies and requires that the 
 duties, when i ;pofed, fliould be placed under 
 the excife, as the only effedlual mode of enfuring 
 their due colledion. .,,,.; 
 
 ^ 1 
 
 i 
 
 It would be too long to Inveftigate a variety 
 of other particulars j it is fufHcient to refer to 
 the beneficial efFeds of the French Treaty, as 
 confidered with a view to revenue only; 
 to the Confolidation of the Cuftoms, a mealure 
 approTfed by all parties and defcriptions of men j 
 to the new regulations for the collc(5lion of 
 various taxes and to that unremitting attention 
 given by the late Parliament to tliofe minute 
 
 details 
 
 .» n, <i'. i' '.i 
 
FINANCE. 41 
 
 details on which a fyftcm of revenue muft 
 always (o much depend. The mode in which 
 loans and other money tranfadlions have been 
 €ondu6led,on the principle ofopen competition, 
 deferves, however, to be particularly mention- 
 ed, becaufe its advantages are not confined to 
 the benefit arifing from it to our finances, but 
 are productive of more important confequenccs 
 to the honor and independence of Parliament, 
 as mull be felt by every man who recollefts what 
 pafTcd on the fubjedl of loans engaged for in 
 fecret, during the courfe of the laft war. It is 
 alfo material to advert to the very great amount 
 of extraordinary refources which have been 
 brought forward by the vigilance of Parliament, 
 in aid of the public exigencies j becaufe it is of 
 importance to obferve, that a great part of thiji 
 aid arifes from the falutary provifions which 
 they have made for the examination of the 
 public accounts, in a more expeditious, and at 
 the fame time a more accurate manner than 
 before prevailed ; and, for the (leps taken, in 
 conformity to the fame principle, for bringing 
 up arrears, and enforcing the punflual payment 
 of taxes. It will hardly be conceived by any 
 man who is not acquainted with the fad, that; 
 the office of auditing the public accounts was 
 become an avowed finecure in the hands of 
 thofe who were nominally refponfible for itj 
 and that while the (helves of the public offices 
 
 G were 
 
42 
 
 FINANCE. 
 
 were loaded, year after year, with frefh volumes 
 of unexamined accc .us, the balances of unac- 
 counted millions were accumulating, with 
 'ntereft upon intereft in the coffers of perfons 
 indebted to the public. ••' i=^ : * ■ ,,v;vj-j.m j- 
 
 This evil is now remedied ; and the beneficial 
 efFetfls of what has been done in this refps<5b, are 
 not confined to the temporary aid which has 
 been derived from it to our finances fince 1784, 
 but will be ftill more ftrongly felt, whenever the 
 circumftances of the country (hall again place us 
 in the fituation of incurring the expences of war, 
 Thefe can only be kept within bounds by an ac- 
 curate andfpeedyinveftigation of accounts, and 
 by that check which refults from bringing the 
 national expenditure forward into public view, 
 infteadof fuffering it, as in the lad war, to accu- 
 mulate in balances, or to be concealed in an 
 unfunded debt, of which no man could con- 
 je»5lure the extent. ^i . -. -.-.ii-j -/j 
 
 On this fubje£t of the national finances, it 
 remains only to fpeak of the plan eftablilhed 
 for the gradual reduction of the national debt : 
 and on this point, however important in itfelf, 
 it is unnecelTary to dwell long, becaufe no 
 difference of opinion has ever exifted upon it. 
 Some doubts were ftated as to the polTibility of 
 carrying this plan into effect, without impofing 
 frefh burthens on the people j and even thofe 
 
 4 doubts 
 
 ms 
 
 
 .f: 
 
 1. 
 
 1 
 
 ,^i 
 
FINANCE. 
 
 43 
 
 '% 
 
 doubts have been difproved by the event. But 
 no man has ever queftioned the advantage 
 which this country derives from the ellablilli- 
 mcnt of the fyllem itfclf j and the merit of the 
 particular regulations adopted for carrying it 
 into execution, is fufficiently obvious to any one 
 who has at all confidered them. What the 
 tffc6t has been of this wife and falutary meafure, 
 for the fake of which the Parliament were con- 
 tent to rifk their popularity with their conftitu- 
 entsj — how rapidly the pui^ic credit has fince 
 been re-eftablifhed, and the value of the funded 
 property of the kingdom increafed by nearly 
 one half of the rate at which it itood in 
 the beginning of 1784 J — how ftriking a con- 
 traft the fituation of this country forms in 
 that refpe6l, even with the leaft embarrafled of 
 thofe nations with whom (he has had to con- 
 tend : — Thefe are points which are already 
 deeply engraven on the mind of every man who 
 is acq laintcd with the interefts of his country, 
 who knows the means by which we are become 
 a profperous nation, and the foundation on 
 which our profperity muft reft. 
 
 G2 
 
 COMMERCE 
 
COMMliRCE AND NAVIGATION. 
 
 .J- 
 
 HAVING thus gone through the detail of 
 the two former heads, we come to the third 
 of the general divifions ftated in the com* 
 mencement of this work. 
 
 The univcrfal dcfpondency on the fubjecft 
 of India, and the defpair with which people 
 looked at the embarraflcd ftate of our fi- 
 nances, were hardly greater, or more diftref- 
 fing, than the difcouragement which prevailed 
 on the fubjedt of our trade. 
 
 It had long been felt, that the confequence 
 pf this country as a naval power, and our 
 internal wcUth and profpcrity, depend on the 
 flourilhing (late of our Commerce, Naviga- 
 tion, and Manufa6bures. 
 
 The American war had indeed, for the lad 
 
 four years of its duration, been carried on 
 
 chiefly on account of the fears entertained of 
 
 the mortal blow which the feparation of the 
 
 Colonies from Great Britain wpuld give to 
 
 our trade; and we had on this account per- 
 
 fiftcd, long after our hopes of revenue from 
 
 thence were abandoned, , 
 
 When 
 
C O M M E R C E, &c. 
 
 45 
 
 When therefore this reparation at lafl took 
 place, and when, to the lofs of intcrcourfe and 
 conneflion with that country, was added the 
 neccfTity of impofing additional burthens in 
 this, which fall in fome degree on the 
 neceflarics of life, and thereby augment the 
 price of labour, it is not to be wondered at 
 that men Ihould have apprehended a very 
 great deficiency in our trade, and fhould have 
 looked with defpair to the fuuation of our 
 commercial concerns. 
 
 This fubjeft has therefore neceflarily engag- 
 ed a large (hare of the attention of the Par- 
 liament of 1 784, and of the Government whom 
 they have fupported. 
 
 The abolition of the Board of Trade and 
 Plantations having been feverely felt by the 
 trading intcrefts, a feparate commercial de- 
 partment was now rellored, and rendered an 
 efficient branch of the public government, with. 
 out trenching upon thofc principles of occo- 
 nomy which had occafioned the abolition of the 
 former Board j as none of the Members of 
 the Committee of Privy Council, appointed 
 for this fcrvice, received any other falaries from 
 the Crown than what they previoufly enjoyed 
 in other departments of government. 
 
 The 
 
^6 
 
 COMMERCE AND 
 
 i 
 
 ii 
 
 i| 
 
 i i 
 
 The firft general proof of the ef}c(5l£ of the 
 meafures brought forward by this department, 
 is the amount as Itated in the Cuftom-Houfe 
 accounts, of our Imports and Exports for the 
 year 17H9, and of our Navigation at the 
 commencement of that period, being the 
 latv-ift account which has appeared. The whole 
 of our Imports was, in 1789, X^ 17,828,887. 
 which in 1783, at the clofc of the war, was 
 only /^ 1 3, 1 22,235. The whole of our Ex- 
 ports " ".s in 1789 /* 18,5 13,030, and in 1783 
 only /,'i4, 756,81 y. And vhat makes this 
 ftatement the more ftriking is, that of the 
 increafie of Exports, amounting in the whole 
 to near four millions, above three mil- 
 lions arife from the great augmentation o^ 
 Britifh manufadures exported to all parts 
 the world. The number of veflcis belon^- 
 \n^ to the different pons of Great Britain, 
 has incrcafed from 8,342 in 1783, to 11,0^5 
 in 1788. The tonnage, from 669,221 tons 
 in 1783, to 1,054,456 tons in 1788 -, and 
 the number of failors from 59,004, to 83,286, 
 during the fame period. 
 
 Flattering however as this account is, it is, 
 in many refpedts, lefs favourable to the im- 
 provement of the country than what would 
 appear on a detailed examination of the par- 
 ticular branches of which it is compofed. 
 
 The 
 
NAVIGATION. 
 
 ^ 
 
 The firft great commercial qucftion which 
 came under the confidcration of the Parliament 
 of 1784, was, the Colony Trade with 
 America. Under the old fyftem the States 
 of America, being then our Colonies, had 
 received great and peculiar benefit of trade 
 from US', particularly the advantage of fupply- 
 ing our Weft India Illands with materials for 
 building, and with provifions. They had alfo 
 the advaRtage of fending thefe bulky articles 
 in American veflels j a mode of carry' ^ which 
 was before ihe war annually increafing, to 
 the great detriment of Britifti navigation, as 
 neither the profit centered here, nor were the 
 failors at our command, in cafe of emergency; 
 nor was any encouragcm it given by it to 
 /hip-build'ng in England, which is fo ellential 
 a point to our maritime ftrength. 
 
 The moft ftrenuous exertions were however 
 ufed in 1784, for the continuance of this in- 
 dulgence. And this po' it was much preiTed, 
 both by the friends of the United States of 
 America, and alfo by the Weft India intereft. 
 
 'tf-t *•* i » -/" 
 
 At (. :< 
 
 ^V. 
 
 This was however refiftedj and meafurcs 
 were taken, which, at the fame time that they 
 have fecured to the Weft India Ifla.ids a con- 
 ftant fupply of neceflaries from America at a 
 reafonable price, have greatly increafcd the 
 
 navigation 
 
/ •♦ 
 
 48 
 
 COMMERCE AND 
 
 navigation of this country. And this fyftem 
 has ftojd the teft of experience, and is now 
 approved by every man in the kingdom who 
 has any knowledge of our commercial intcrefts. 
 Other fubfidiary meafures have been adopted 
 for the fame purpofci particularly the Regiftcr 
 Ai5l : and the following ilatcmen'; of the dc- 
 creafe of foreign lliipping, at a time when our 
 own fliipping has been rapidly increafing, muft 
 afford the higheft fatisfadiion to every true 
 friend to this country. 
 
 
 Cleared } Britifh Veffcls 
 outwards 3 Foreign Do. 
 
 Entered7Britilli Veffels 
 inwards 3 Foreign Do. 
 
 ^783- 
 
 J788. 
 
 7.3?-9 
 3.544 
 
 X2j9o^ 
 969 
 
 8.873 
 
 ~^3>9^5 
 
 7»^90 
 ^74' 
 
 1, 8 JO 
 
 -0,431 t2*95» 
 
 And on the whole it may fafely be ftated» 
 that the navigation of this country has at no 
 period been in fo flourifhing and incrcafing a 
 fta'.e as at prefent. 
 
 \ 
 
 Thefe meafures have been equally beneficial 
 to our remaining Colonies, which have rapidly 
 increafed in population, wealth and com- 
 merce. 
 
NAVIGATION. 
 
 49 
 
 merce. The population of Quebec has in- 
 crcifcd nearly half of its former number; and 
 the provinces of Nova S' otia and New Brunf- 
 wick, in a confiderably greater proportion ; 
 Their exports to this country in i/Sj were 
 91,000, and are now above 135,000. And 
 as thefe Colonics arc fupplied from G'-eat 
 Britain, the amount which they confume of 
 Britifh Manufaflures mult obvioufly be ii- 
 creafed in ihe fame or a greater proportion. 
 
 An equal degree of attention has been given 
 to our European commerce. Befides the con- 
 llant negotiations which are known to have 
 been carried on with other foreign nations, (and 
 from whicii in feveral i'iftances confiden'ble 
 benefit has been derived, though in fome not 
 *o much as this country may have a right to 
 claim and may ftill hope for), the French 
 treaty affords a flriking inftance of beneficial 
 arrangement. I cannot ag;ee with thofe who 
 conGder this treatj' as exclufively advanta- 
 geous to England, and it muft be the effect 
 of a narrow policy to wilh it to be fo; but 
 when we recolleci; the violent oppofition given 
 to this treaty, as deftrudive to our manufac- 
 tures, it is impoffible not to contrafl: it with 
 the adlual effed produced by ir, which has 
 been fuch that our export tc France has in- 
 cre afed from little more than ^CsoOjC^o, which 
 • . ' H it 
 
 
50 COMMERCE and 
 
 it was in 1786, immediately before the con- 
 clufion of the treaty, to jC^S^i^^^ '" '7^9 » 
 and it is to be obferved, that this extenfion of 
 our commerce confifts principally in thofe 
 very articles of manufa(5lure which we were 
 fo confidently told that the treaty was to an- 
 nihilate; 
 
 I 
 
 ;i 
 
 t : 
 
 Ill 
 
 1 1 ii' 
 
 The whole export of Britirti merchandife to 
 different parts of Europe in 1783, was 
 5,592,934; and in 1789 6,823,852. Theincreafe 
 of our cotton manufadture is known to every 
 man who is the leaft converfant with fubjeds 
 of this fort. It appears by the Cullom-Houfe 
 accounts, that the whole amount of the cot- 
 ton and mixed goods exported in 1783 was 
 ^^787,462, and in 1789 £i,iy5,2^o. But it 
 is to be obferved, that thefe fums are ftated 
 at the Cuftom-Houfe valuation, which is far 
 below the real value. It is fuppofed that the 
 a6tual amount of thefe articles exported in 
 1789, is above two millions, and confequently 
 that the increafe is in the fame proportion 
 greater than it appears from the fums above 
 ttated. If thefe accounts fliould appear ia 
 any degree imperfedt, they are ftrongly con- 
 firmed by the following ftatement of the 
 quantity of the raw material imported into 
 this kingdom for the purpofc of the manu- 
 fadlure. 
 
 A ' COTTON 
 
 f 
 
NAVIGATION. 51 
 
 \ COTTONWOOL. 
 
 t 
 
 Pounds. 
 In 1783 the quantity imported was 9,723,805 
 
 In 1784 
 In 1785 
 .In 1786 
 In 1787 
 In 1788 
 In 1789 
 
 11,482,083 
 18,400,384 
 
 i9»475»02O 
 23,250,268 
 
 20,467,436' 
 32,576,023 
 
 The woollen manufadlure cannot be dated 
 from fimilar documents, becaufe the raw ma- 
 terial is the produce of our own country, but 
 from an account of the number of cloths 
 milled at the feveral fulling mills in the Weft 
 Riding of the county of York, it appears 
 that in 1783 the quantity of broad cloth 
 milled was 131,092 pieces, 4,563,37 6 yards. 
 And in 1788, 139,406 pieces, 4,244, 22 yards. 
 And of narrow cloths, in ' 83, 108,641 
 pieces, 3,292,002 yardsj and in 88, 132,143 
 pieces, 4,208,303 yards. And by the Ci ilom- 
 Houfe accounts it appears that the value of 
 woollen goods exported in 1783 was 
 ;jf3,494,Ao6, and in 1789 ^^4,161, 810. And 
 this valuation is liable to the fame remark as 
 that of the cotton goods, being far below the 
 real value. 
 
 H 2 
 
 The 
 
 k,. 
 
Ml 
 
 52 C O M M E R C E AND 
 
 The ftate of the linen manufadure in Great 
 Britain may partly be collr-dled from the fol- 
 lowing account, which relates to Scotland, as 
 it is well known that the Englifh linen manu- 
 faflure has increafed in at leafl: as great a 
 proportion. 
 
 From the id of November 1782, to the 
 ift of November 1783, the quantity of linen 
 cloth ftamped in Scotland amounted to 
 i7>074.777i y^rds. 
 
 In 17S8, to 20,506,310-^ yards. 
 
 In 17H9, to 19,9^6,075 yards. 
 
 It would be tedious to go through a fimilar 
 detail of all the articles. But the greatcft 
 increafe of all is in the article of iron, where 
 our manufafture has had fuch an extenfion, 
 that notwithftanding the immenfe quantity of 
 the raw material now produced in this coun- 
 try, the importi^^ion of iron from foreign coun- 
 tries has increafed from 47,911 tons in 178J1 
 to 51,043 tonsi ni789. 
 
 This is the moft valuable and the moft 
 rapidly incrcafing of all our inanufa(5tures. It 
 is an article ablolutely neceflary for all the 
 common ufes of life, and in which we poffefs 
 great and peculiar advantages. Its fale has 
 been greatly facilitated by the French treaty; 
 
 not 
 
NAVIGATION. 
 
 S3 
 
 reat 
 fol- 
 , as 
 anu- 
 ac a 
 
 not only by our fupplying the confumption of 
 twenty-four millions of inhabitants in France, 
 but alfo by the additional means of acccfs to 
 other markets, which we derive from the right 
 of importation into this kingdom. 
 
 "What has hitherto been flated relates chiefly 
 ro the export of our manufadurcs. Their 
 total increafc, including thofe for home con- 
 fumption, is ftill more difficult to be afcer- 
 tained. 
 
 It may however be ftrikingly inferred from the 
 following ftatement: viz. That on an abfliradt 
 made from the Cuftom-Houfe accounts, it 
 appears that the whole amount of raw mate- 
 rials of manufadlure imported into Great 
 Britain in 1784, was about ;f 3,800,000; and 
 in 1789, 4,900,000} and that the whole 
 amount of Britifn merchandife exported in 
 1784, was ;^8, 800,000 i and in J789, 
 ^^13,400,000. 
 
 In addition to thefe acco"nts of the increafe 
 of our Navigation, our Commerce, and our 
 Manufaftures, there is another material article 
 to be attended toj and this the rather, be- 
 caufe it is one to which the attention of the 
 Parliament of 1789 has been turned with a 
 peculiar degree of anxiety, as appears from 
 
 the 
 
 ''ii 
 
 fi-^ 
 
54 COMMERCE and 
 
 the various laws that have paflfcd for the en- 
 couragement of our fifiieries. 
 
 It was dared in the debates upon the Jaft 
 peace, by thofe who oppofed that wife and 
 necelTary pneafure, that the ftipulation refpe(n:- 
 ing Newfoundland had annihilated our fifhery 
 there, and in efFed furrendered it to the 
 French •, and this, like other affertions of the 
 fame nature, was re-echoed in the publica- 
 tions of that party, and particularly in fome 
 of Lord "hefEeld's pamphlets. 
 
 Immediaiely before the breaking out of the 
 lad war, when our Newfoundland fifhery was 
 at the highf^ft, the whole number of Ihips and 
 men employed, and the quantity of fifh they 
 brought to market, were as follows ; 
 
 Ships. 
 
 1774 - 533 
 
 Men. Quintals of fi(h. 
 
 3,376 489,665 
 
 4,281 516,338 
 
 In the year 1789, the number of (hips em- 
 ployed is indeed lefs than in the two years 
 above ftatedj but the tonnage of the (hips in the 
 former period is not dated fo as to enable us 
 to form a comparifon of the quantity of diip- 
 ping employed. The number of men is much 
 tht fame as in the largeft of the two years, and 
 
 the 
 
NAVIGATION. 
 
 55 
 
 tTic quantity of fifli confidcrably more, as ap- 
 pears by the following account : 
 
 Ships. Men. 
 
 1789 - 472 4288 
 
 Quintals of fifli, 
 782,791 
 
 It is alfo well known, that during this 
 period the French fifhery at Newfoundland, 
 inftead of fwallowing up the Britidi, as was 
 foretold, has been gradually dccreafing; while 
 our*s has, as appears above, equalled its 
 amount in the moft flourilhing period, as to 
 the nunnber of pcrfons employed in it, and far 
 exceeded it in the produce of their induftry. 
 
 The tonnage of fhips employed in the 
 Greenland fifhery, has increafed from 14,000 
 tons, which was the amount in 1783, to 
 73,000 in*i788. 
 
 The proportionate increafe of the Southern 
 Whale Fifhery has been confideritbly greater. 
 In 1783, no more than 1,040 tons of fhipping 
 were employed in this adventurous and ufeful 
 enterprize. In 1789 the tonnage was 9,880, 
 and the value of their produce fold for above 
 
 X^ 1 00,000. 
 
 To all thefe particulars attention has been 
 paid by Parliament, and the fuccefi has more 
 
 than 
 
5^ 
 
 C O M M E R C E, 5ic. 
 
 than equalled the moft fanguine expedlatlon 
 that could be formed. . 
 
 On'thc whole therefore it appears, that in 
 the fpace of a ftw years, our Navigation, our 
 Commerce^ourManufaif^airesandourFifheries, 
 have been extended far beyond what they had 
 ever been before. And that this has been done 
 at a period and under circumftances which had 
 given rife to the moft alarming apprehcnfions, 
 even for the exiflence of a great part of 
 thefc aftonilhing fourccs of wealth and power. 
 
 FOREIGN 
 
FOREIGN POLITICS. 
 
 HAVING thus examined the prcfcnt con., 
 dition of this Country with rcfpcdl to thofe 
 points which are of mod importan-* to its in- 
 ternal profperity, it remains only to examine 
 its relative fituation, with refpedt to the other 
 powers of Europe, 
 
 The importance of this part of our fituation 
 to the general interefts of the empire, and 
 even to our domcftic fecurity, is fuch as no man 
 can be ignorant of. It is in vain under the 
 exifting circumftances of Europe, to fuppofe 
 that this country can remain an unconcerned 
 fpcftator of events which materially alter the 
 fituation of its neighbours, and which might 
 in that cafe by our negligence afford to our 
 rivals the means of oeftroying all the fources 
 of that profperity which has fo long been an 
 objeft of jealoufy to them. It is equally true 
 on the other hand, that our fituation affords 
 us the advantage o^^ not being involved in 
 every trifling and uniknportant difference which 
 may arife upon the Continent. The wifdom 
 of the government of this country confifls in 
 obfcrving a proper medium between thefe two 
 extremes s and in proportion as this point has 
 ^^ , I been 
 
 ;:i' 
 
58 FOREIGN PO^.ITICS. 
 
 been fyftcmatically purfucd, or as it has fallen 
 into neglcdl, the confequence and fccurity of 
 the Britifli nation bzs always increafcd or 
 diminifhcd. It would perhaps be fuperfluous 
 now to enquire, by what fatality it was that at 
 the commencement of the Amtriciin war we 
 were found without a fingle ally; and that 
 while every year brought fome frelh acccflion 
 to the league, which during the progrefs of 
 that war was combined againfl us, we were 
 left to the lafl: to maintain the ftruggle, with- 
 out any other afllftance than the national 
 vigour and refourccs of the country, dif« 
 coursged and crippled by fo many concurring 
 circumftances. But without referring to the 
 caufes of this misfortune, the cffedls of it wc 
 have all felt, and muft long remember. The 
 united hoftility of fo many of the powers of 
 Europe, and the more than fufpicious neutra- 
 lity of the reft, reduced us to the neceflity of 
 concluding a peace on terms of conceflion and 
 humiliation. And by a natural cffeft, thcfe 
 evils operated reciprocally the one upon the 
 other i fo that as our being deftitute of allies 
 was one principal caufe of our loffes during 
 the war; fo the condition to which we were 
 reduced at the peace, was a difcouragement 
 to arty power, even if any fuch had cxifted, 
 who was difpofed to connedt its interefts with 
 thole of Great Britain* : ; • " ** ' ' 
 
 " • Nor 
 
FOREIGN POLITICS. $9 
 
 Nor was our fituation in this rerpc(5l more 
 ftriking in any poinc of view, than when com- 
 ^ ed with that of France. The Court of 
 Verfaiilcs having repaired the difgraccs of a 
 preceding warj having detached from this 
 country our American Colonics j having fe- 
 cured to Spain an ample recompence for her 
 interierence-, having brought Holland under a 
 degree of influence, little (hortof abfolutc fub- 
 je-dion; enjoyed the reputation of having given 
 peace to Europe, and the advantage of being 
 the arbiter of every difference which arofe. 
 
 What our fituation now is, in all thefe ref- 
 pe6ls, it is hardly necelTary to ftatc. The 
 manner in which an opportunity was feized to 
 regain our natural connetftion with Holland, 
 ind to form on that bafis an alliance of greater 
 ftrength than any fyftem which can be oppofed 
 to it, is frefli in the recolledion of every one. 
 The efFe6l has been, that we are now united 
 in the cloff ft manner with the Dutch Republic, 
 the only power who from ir* local advantages 
 in India, might afFedt the fecurity of our valu- 
 able interefts in that quarter of the globe. In 
 order to Itrengthen this fyftem, to enable us 
 as well to proted this valuable ally from 
 the attacks of others, as to ad with 
 vigour and efFedl in all the different events 
 v/hich can prefcnt themfelves, by which our 
 
 I 2 interefts 
 
do 
 
 FOREIGN POLITICS. 
 
 \k 
 
 intcrefts in Kurope can be affc6led, an alliance 
 lias alfo been made with the moft cc nfiderablc 
 military power on the Continent. And fucK 
 has been the ffcurity and happinefs derived from 
 this fyllem, to all the parties who compofc it, 
 that while every other power of Kurope, has 
 either been diftrafted with internal commotions, 
 or hasfeen its finances wafted, and its rcfources 
 deftroyed by the effeds of Foreign wars, 
 Great Britain and its allies alone have hitherto 
 enjoyed the blefTings of domeftic and external 
 tranquillity. And at the prefent moment, when 
 the Ipirit of this country has been roufcd by an 
 unprovoked attack on the dcarcft of her rights, 
 the freedom of her commerce, and the fccurity 
 of her navigation, we have abundant proof of 
 the advantage of our actual fituation, as com- 
 pared with that defencelefs and infulated ftatc 
 in which we found ourfelves during the whole 
 of the laft war. Againft the aggreffor in this 
 inftance, the refources of this country, alone 
 and unaffifted, might confidently be looked 
 to as affording no unfavourable earneft of fuc- 
 ccfs, cither by the way of negotiation, or by 
 a vigorous exertion of our itrength in a jufl: 
 caufe. But we have the fatisfaftion of feeing 
 that we are not left to truft to our own re- 
 fources alone : And that the efforts aftually 
 making in Holland, with a view to affift our 
 efforts, are, in proportion to their ftrcngth, 
 r'Y-' :'- " • ^ . :; V ' ': ' ^ ' little 
 
FORFIGN POLITICS. 6% 
 
 little Id's a<5livc and cfFcaual than thecxcrtiont 
 which have already brought the Britilh naval 
 force to fo confiderable a (late of preparation. 
 When, in addition to this, we rcfled:, that in 
 the profecution of fuch a contcft, we may 
 alfo look to the alTiftancc of PrufTia, fecured 
 to us by the ftipulations of our alliance, and 
 by the common interclh vvhich unite us j it is 
 impoflible not to feel how much reafon we 
 have to value that fyftem which is of fucU 
 cflcntial fervice to us in the prcfcnt inftancc. 
 
 ">'■,■' -: ' \ 
 
 i , 
 
 ;. ,^3 .■' 
 
 ■%,>,- 
 
 -•«■-; r-'H i,: 
 
 
 
 CONCLUSION, 
 
CONCLUSION, 
 
 I 
 
 SUCH is the happy change produced In 
 the fcate of this country, in the (bort fpace of 
 fiK years, and during the continuance of one 
 Parli::mcnt. — Abroad, we fee India retrieved 
 from ruinj our comnnerce extended even to a 
 greater degrts than before the American war j 
 the country ftrengthened and fupported by 
 powerful alliances, and reftored in the eyes of 
 foreign nations to its former importance. At 
 home, the fyftem of government has been 
 materially changed. The improper influence 
 which had exifted in the hands of Government 
 havingbeendeflroyedin 1782, thefupportwhich 
 the Minifter has obtained in Parliament fince 
 that period has been that of unbiaflfed opinion ; 
 and confidence founded on experience, inftead 
 ofafervile and interefted dependence. Under 
 fuch aufpices the national finances, from the 
 cxhaufted ftate into which they were funk at 
 the clofe of the late war, have been re- 
 ftored to To flourifliing a condition, as to pro- 
 duce at prefent a coafiderable annual furplus. 
 
 To give clear and faiisfadlory evidence of 
 this profperous change in the affairs of the 
 country, and at the fame time to point out in 
 fome meafure the immediate means by which 
 it was efFeded, has been the objcft of the 
 4 . preceding 
 
■iff 
 
 CONCLUSION. 63 
 
 preceding pages. To what caufe this prof- 
 perity is ultimately owing, it is unnecefTary to 
 ► mention. Every one who is acquainted with 
 the faft, will confidcr it as the happy confc- 
 quence of a virtuous and able legiflature, 
 adting in fupport of a wife and fleady fyftem 
 of government. And indeed, if fronn con- 
 tennplating the general advantages which we 
 have derived from the wifdom of the late 
 Parliament, we turn our eyes towards their 
 condud upon a particular critical occafion, 
 we fliali find dill greater fubjed for our gra- 
 titude and admiratioi>. When the Sovereign 
 was rendered incapable of exercifing the 
 powers of his ftaticiij and when there was, 
 in the minds of mod men, littl*'- probability 
 of his being ever able to refume them, the 
 Minifter found himfelf ftill fupported by the 
 Reprefentatives of the People. They flood 
 forward to defend the prerogatives of the 
 Crown, and to difplay their affeftion towards 
 their Sovereign, and at atimewhenthcpatronagc 
 and power ufually attendant upon Royalty, 
 and which might otherwife have been fuppofcd 
 to influence their conduct, were transferred 
 into other hands; they faithfully difcharged 
 their duty, looking to no other reward than 
 the confcioufnefs of having performed it. 
 Eledled by the people for the purpofe of giving 
 fupport to the Crown, in the juft exercife of 
 its lawful prerogative, they fhewed by their 
 fubfequent condud, the fame fteadinefs in 
 , > • fupport 
 
 I 
 
 %. 
 
w 
 
 m 
 
 f ■':■.. 
 
 i^ CONCLUSION. 
 
 fupport of the claims of the two Houfcs of 
 Parliament, to a£l on behalf of the nation, and 
 in defence of the Crown, when no longer able 
 to exert its own prerogatives. 
 
 Under the direflipn of a. Parliament thus 
 difintereftcd in principles and condyd, the 
 credit of the nation has been raifed to its 
 prefent flourifhing condition j and it muft be 
 the wifli of every true friend to his country, 
 that fucceeding Parliaments may clofeiy 
 imitate its example. In particular we 
 muft feel anxious, whilft under the apprehen-» 
 lion of approaching war, left our enemies 
 
 ' fhould be fuftered to grow confident by any 
 fuch change in the legiflature, as might pre- 
 vent the continuance of that fyftcm of govern- 
 ment which has been of late adopted, and by 
 which tiiis country has been already placed on 
 
 : fo formidable a footing. There can however 
 be little doubt, but that thofe jnen who arc 
 now returned to, their cOnttituei^ts, willTeceive 
 the reward of their patriotifm, by being again 
 
 I 'honoured with the confidence of the peopTfe j 
 iihce to thofe only can we look with well- 
 
 • grounded hope for the continuance of the prof- 
 pericy we enjoy, who have plaitd ui in a fitua- 
 tion in which' we are enabled, in the language 
 of His Majefty's Speech, either to meet the 
 exigencies of war, or to cultivate, with increa- 
 .fing benefit, the bleflings of peace. 
 
 THE END, 
 
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