THE SPEECH OF THE RIGHT HON. WILLIAM PITT, CHANCELLOR OF THE EXCHE QJJ E R, ON FRIDAY, THE I7TH DAY OF FEBRUARY I792, O N PROPOSING THE APPLICATION OF AN ADDITIONAL SUM FOR THE REDUCTION OF THE PUBLIC DE3T, AND THE REPEAL OF CERTAIN DUTIES ON MALT, ON FEMALE SERVANTS, ON CARTS AND WAGGONS, ON HOUSES, AND ON CANDLES. LONDON: PRINTED FOR G. G. J. AND J. ROBINSONS, PATER- NOSTER ROW; AND JOHN STOCKDALE, PICCADILLY. M.DCC.XCII. [ Price 1 /. ] ( 4 ) "I entertain the pleafing hope, that the •' reductions which may be found practicable " in the eftablifhments, and the continued " encreafe in the revenue, will enable you, " after making due proviiion for the feveral " branches of the public fervice, to enter " upon a fyftem of gradually relieving My " fubjeds from fome part of the exifting " taxes, at the fame time giving additional ef- " ficacy to the plan for the reduction of the " national debt, on the fuccefs of which our " future eafe and fecurity effentially de- ** pend. " With a view to this important object, " let Me alfo recommend it to yon to turn " your attention to the confideratioh of inch " meafures, as the ftate of the funds and of " public credit may render practicable and " expedient, toward:; a reduction in the rate " of mterefr. of any of the annuities, winch iC are now redeemable." Oil ( 5 ) On which day the following Speech was made by the Chancellor of the Exche- quer. Lord Mornington, THE paragraph in His Majefty's Speech which has been referred to this Com- mittee, has already announced to us, and to the public, the mo ft welcome intelligence which it was pofftble for us to receive -, it has railed the pleafing expectation, that after all the diffi- culties with which we have ftruggled, the period is at length arrived, when by the flou- riming ftate of our finances, we may be enabled to enter on a fyftem which will afford imme- diate and fubftantial relief to a large proportion of our conftituents, and at the fame time give additional fecurity and effect to that im- portant, and (I truft) inviolable fyftem which has been adopted for the reduction of the National Debt. In proceeding to detail the meafures which I (hall propoie with a view to thefe important objects, I mall confider it as my firft and moft indifpenfable duty to ftate, as diflinctly as poflible, every circumftance which can be ne- *» ceffarv ( 6 ) cefl'ary for enabling all who hear me, not only to form a fatisfacfory judgment on the general refult of our fituation, but to examine the various calculations and reafmings on which that refult is founded ; and in attempting to execute fo extenfive a talk, it is no fmall re- lief to my mind to reflect, that the repeated difcuffions which have taken place on quef- tions of finance, have rendered them, in a great degree, familiar to the Houfe and to the Public; and that by the meafures which have been adopted for Amplifying the nature and form of the public accounts, they are at length freed from that obfcurity and intricacy in which they were formerly involved, and are rendered fo clear and intelligible, that there is no man who may not, with a fmall degree of attention, become as fully mailer of the fubjecl:, as thofe whofe official duty has led them to make it their peculiar ftudy. The nril point to which I wifh to call the attention of the Committee, is the amount of what may be confidered as the probable fu- ture income of the country ; and I will be- gin by recapitulating the refult of the accounts for different years, which have been already ftated. The produce of the permanent taxes in the lailyear, from the 5th of January 1791 2 to ( 7 ) to the 5th of January 1792, appears to have been£. 14,132,000; which, with the addition of £. 2,558,000 (being the average amount of the annual duties on land and malt, as flated by the felect Committee lafr. year, would make the total revenue of the year £. 16,690,000. To this there mufr. be added a fum, which in the accounts on the table has been included in the produce of the feparate and temporary taxes impofed laft year, for the purpofe of de- fraying the expence of the Spanifh armament, but which, in facl, makes part of the general and permanent revenue. It will be recol- lected that an addition was made lafl year to the duties on bills and receipts, and the addi- tion was confolidated with the old duty. The whole of this confolidated duty has been car- ried to the account of the feparate fund ; but only the excefs beyond the former produce can be confidered as arifmg from the additional duty ; and a fum equal to the former produce, being about JT. 40,000, is to be added to the other fims which I have ftated, making the to- tal revenue for the lafl year ^T. 16,730,000. The produce of the year preceding was £. 16,437,000, after deducting the produce of a fifty-third week, which was included in the account of that year. The principal branches of the revenue being paid from the refpcetive offices into the ( 8 ) the Exchequer, by weekly payments, on a ilated day, a fifty- third weekly payment in the courfe of a year, recurs nearly in the proportion of once in every period of fix years. In judging therefore of the probable future amount of the revenue, the produce of the fifty-third week ought not to be included in any one particu- lar year, and it is therefore here deducted..; but, on the other hand, one-fixth part of its amount, being about £. 32,000, ought to be added to the average formed on any number of years. The average formed on the two laft years, without this addition, would be £. 16,583,000, and with it £. 16,615,000. The produce of the year ending on the 5th of January 1790, was £. 15,991,000, and the average of the laft three years (making the fame allowance for the fifty-third weei : V amounts to £. 16,418,000. If we look back (till one year further, the produce of the year ending the 5th of January 1789, was JT. 15,565,000, and the average formed on the lail Jour years amounts to £. 16,212,000. It appears therefore that the actual produce of the year 1 791, being £. 16,730,000, exceeds by above £. 500,000 the average formed on the laft four years ; — that it exceeds the ave- rage formed on the laft two years by above £. 100,000, — the average on the lail three years ( 9 ) years by nearly £. 300,000, and the actual produce of the lait year but one, by nearly the fame fum. If then I form my calculation of our future revenue, not on the feparate amount of anyone of thefe particular years, but upon the average amount of four years, during which there has been a conftant encreafe, I am certainly not at- tempting to lead you into too favourable an opi- nion; bat I am rather wilhing to recommend that degree of caution, which the importance of the fubjedt always deferves, and particu- larly at the prefent moment, when we are hold- ing out hopes of relief, in which, above all things, we mould be carefal to avoid the chance of difippointment. I propofe there- fore to reft my computation upon this average p yduce of four years, being £. 16,212,000, an J this fum, on a general view of the mbjecl:, we may fafely allume, as not being likely to exceed the permanent annual revenue of the country. I mall next defire the Committee to com- pare tlie ftatement of the annual revenue, with that of the permanent annual expenditure; and I mall take, as the bafis of this compari- fon, the eftimates contained in the report of the Committee appointed in the la ft feflion to examine the public income and expenditure, only making fuch corrections as arife from ceitain additions on the one hand, and reduc- 13 tiona 10 ) tions on the other, which at that time were not forefeen. The whole permanent expen- diture as ftated by the Committee, (including therein the interefl of the national debt, the million annually iffued for the reduction of debt, the civil lift, and all the permanent charges on the coniblidated fund, as well as all the eftablifhments which are annually voted) is JT. 15,969,000; to which there was added in the courfe of the laft feflion (but fubfequent to the report of the Committee) the fum of £. 12,000 charged on the confo- lidated fund, for the eftabliihment of his Royal Hio-hnefs the Duke of Clarence ; and a further fum of about £. 12,000 for defraying the ex- pence of the feparate government of the Pro- vince of Upper Canada. Befides this, fome further provifion will be neceilary for the efta- blifliment of his Royal Highnefs the Duke of York, on the happy event of his marriage ; and this may probably occafion an addition of £. 18,000. The amount of theie additional charges is £. 42,000. I have next to ftate thofe reductions which, as far as we can at prefent judge, may be ex- pected to take place in our permanent eftab- lifhments, although they cannot operate to their full extent in the prefent year. The iirft article of reductions is under the head of the naval Service, in which I am inclined to ( II ) to hope that the number of feamen may be reduced to 16,000, being 2,000 lefs than kit year. This will produce a faving of £. 104,000, and a further faving of about £. ic,ooo may probably be made in the eitimate for the works to be carried on in the dock-yards. In the actual eftablifhment of the army, (after allowing for the propofed additions, which were explained when the army efti- mate was voted,) there may probably be a dimi- nution of about £. 50,000; and £. 36,000 will be faved in confequence of the expiration of the Treaty for the Heffian Subfidy, which, under the prefent circumilanccs, His Majefly has not thought it neceffary to renew. If, therefore, allowance is made on the one? hand for the addition of £. 42,000, and foi the reductions in the army and navy, amount- ing together to about £. 200,000, the efti- mate of the permanent annual expenditure will ftand at £. 15,811 ,000 ; the amount of the in- come of the biit year, as I have before ftated it, exceeds this Him by £. 9 1 9,000 ; the a\ er- agc of the amount of the two Lilt years ex- ceeds it by /'. 804,000: tiie average of the three years by /*. 607,000; and that ot the four years, on which I reft my calculations, by /\ 401,000. This then is the comparative view which I take of the permanent income, and the permanent expenditure; and, accord.. ( 12 ) ing to the loweft of thefe calculations, there remains a difpofeable annual furplus of about £. 400,000, after defraying the expence of all the eftablifhrnents, and applying the annual million to the reduction of the public debt. Before I fubmit to the Committee the man- ner in which I would propofe to diftribute this furplus in future, I wifh to advert to the fup- ply, and ways and means for the prefent year, becaufe in thefe there will be found fome addi- tional articles both of expenditure and of re- ceipt. The fupply for each year, as Gentle- men are aware, includes all the eftablifhments and the charges for the various branches of the public fervice, together with all incidental charges which are defrayed by annual grants. It is independent of the intereft and charges of the national debt, of the million annually ilfued to the Ccmmiilioners of the civil lift, and of the other charges on the confolidatedfund. The amount of all thefe articles is JT. 11,391,000, and being permanently fixed, forms no part of the fupply voted in each year. For the navy we have voted, this year, 1 6,000 feamen, of which the charge is JT. 832,000 ; for what is called the ordinary of the navy, £.672,000; and for the extraordinary building and repairs (including the w 7 orks in the dock- yards) JT. 350,000. We have alio voted £.131,000 ( 13 ) £. 131,000 towards the reduction of the navy debt, which is fufficient for defraying the whole of the extra -expences of the naval department in the lafl year, (including thofe of the armament) as far as they have not been al- ready defrayed by the furplus ariling from former grants. Thefe fums together make £. 1,985,000. The e^abliihment of the army for the pre- fent year is £. 1 ,474,000 ; the extraordinaries £. 277,000 ; befides £. 63,000 advanced for the troops in India, which will ultimately be repaid by the Company. The total voted for the army is f. 1,814,000. For the ordinary expences of the ordnance there has been voted jT. 22 1,000 ; for the ex- traordinaries nearly £.157,000; and under the head of fervices performed in former years, but unprovided for, JT. 44,000, making in the whole the fum of £. 422,000. The estimates for the colonies and planta- tions amount to about £. 31,000. Various mifcellaneous fervices, including the expence of African forts, the mint, the roads in Scotland, the maintenance and tranf- portation of convicts, the fum paid lor print- ing journals, and fome other articles, (particu- larly a compenfation to the owners of African vefTels for loiTes fuftained in confequence of the late regulations, and likewife to thefettlers re- moved, ( H ) moved, in the year 1786, from the Ivtufquito lTiore) amount in the whole to/,'. 1 14,000. There are two other articles which always form part of the annual flatement of the fupply, under the heads of deficiency of grants. and eftimated deficiency of the laud and malt, the nature of which is fully explained in the re- port of the Committee of thelailieiiion,and for which allowance is made, though in a dirrercnt. ihape, in the comparifon of the permanent income and expenditure. The amount of the deficiency of grants is £.436,000, which in- cludes in it the mm of £. 1 23,000 repaid to the Bank, in confequence oi the diminution of their floating balance, out of which JT. 500,000 had been advanced for the fupply ci la ft year; and. the deficiency on the laud and malt may be eflimated at JT. 350,000. To thefe articles I mail propoie to add two others ; the firft is £. 1 00, coo out of the flip- plies of the prefent year, to be applied towards the difcharge of the exchequer bills iffued en account of the Spaniih armament; by which means we mall be enabled to repeal immedi- ately the additional duty on malt, the produce of which for the prefent year was appropri- ated to the feparate fund created for that pur- pofe. The fecond is an additional mm to be limed in. this particular year, beyond the annual million, for the reduction of the national debt j and on the companion of the i imply with 1 me ) the ways and means for the year, I think it will appear, that this ium may be fafely ftated at f. 4.00,000. I have now enumerated all the articles of the fupply, except the debentures to the 'American Loyaliits. ThefeIomit,beeaufe they are nearly balanced by the profit on the lot- tery, which I do not mean to include in the ftatement of ways and means. The firlt article of the eftimated ways and J means for the prefent year, is the amount of the annual duties on land and malt, which may here be taken at j\ 2,7 50,000, becaufe ex- chequer bills will be blued on the credit of thefe duties to that amount; and the defici- ency in the actual produce of the duties will, according to the ufual practice, become a charge on the fupply of future years, as the deficiency of the produce c charge on the fupply oi .h former years is a refent year. The ,- which mav be j v;s derraymp; toe J o ..: produce oi tee includes in ; t the next article con lilts ol \ expected to be applied toe fupply of the year out oi t consolidated fund. Tin ! whole amount oi all the permanent taxes, and is applicable, in the icd balance, to the payment, at the und of eac !i qua: ter, oi the per- manent charges which 1 liave before had occa- sion to enumerate. Any furplus which re- mains afterpayment oi thole charges :s, from ^ time ( 16 ) time to time, difpofeable by Parliament ; and a fum equal to the expected amount of that furplus in the courfe of the year, is always voted as an article of ways and means. In voting the ways and means, it has for fome time been the practice to calculate from the 5th of April in the current year to the 5th of April following, fo that the grants for the fupply of each particular year are not ex- pected to be compleated till the expiration of the firil quarter in the fubfequent year. In the prefent inflance, however, there re- mained a fum of JT. 155,000 out of the actual furplus of the confolidated fund on the 5th of January 1792, after making good the whole fum granted for the fervice of the year 1791, which had not been esti- mated to be compleated till the quarter end- ing the 5th of April, 1792. The encreaie of the revenue having defrayed the whole charge, and furnifhed this actual furplus, as early as on the 5th of January, the growing produce of the confolidated fund, between the 5th of January laft. and the 5th of April next, will yield a further furplus (after paying the intereir. of the debt, and other fixed charges) which, initead of being applied, as was efHmated, to the fervice of the year 1791, will be applicable to the fupply of the prefent year; and to this is to be added the growing produce of the confoli- dated ( *7 ) dated fund for the ucceeding twelve months, from the 5th of April 1792 to the 5th of April 1793. The expected amount of ihe difpofeable furplus, on the 5th of April next, I ftate at £, 486,000 i and in forming this calculation I- fuppofe the whole produce of the perma- nent taxes, during the current quarter, to be equal to the average formed from the corre- fponding quarters in each of the laft four years, which amounts to £. 2,970,000. To this is to be added the expected produce, during this quarter, of the temporary taxes appropriated to defray the expences of the Spanifh armament, becaufe, up to the 5th of April, thofe taxes are directed to be carried to the confolidated fund, and the proportion of the expence of the Spanifh armament, which was charged on the fupply of 1792, has been already defrayed out of the produce of the revenue up to the 5th of January. Suppofing thefe taxes to yield in this quar- ter a fum equal to their average produce in the three quarters fince they have taken ef- fect, their amount will be nearly £. 200,000, and this, added to the fum before flated, will make a total of £. 3,170,000. From this is to be deducted the amount of the intereft of debt, and other fixed charges on the con- folidated fund for this quarter, which k C about ( 18 ) about £. £,684,000, leaving a remainder of £. 486,000. The further amount of the fum which may be expe&ed to arife from the furplus of the confolidated fund, between the 5th of April I792 and the 5th of April 1793, I propofe to eilimate in like manner on the average of the four laft years, making the neceffary de- duction on account of the taxes which I mall, on this day, propofe to you to repeal. The total amount of the revenue on that average, excluilve of land and malt, was £. 13,654,000. The annual amount of the taxes propofed to he repealed is about £. 223,000 ; but as fome arrears will be re- ceived from thefe taxes iubfequent to their re- peal, the fum to be deducted on this account, in the prefent year, will not be to thatamount,and may be eitimated at about £. 163,000. The total amount of the intereft of debt and other lixed charges on the confolidated fund is (as I have already ftated) £. 11,391,000. There will, therefore, on thefe fuppolitions, remain a difpofeable furplus of £. 2.100,000, to which is to be added a fum of £. 200,000, which there is good ground to fuppofe will be repaid to the public, during this year, from the ba- lances of different accounts. — Thefe articles of ways and means added together, amount to ^. 5,691,000. The articles offupply which I have enumerated, amount in the whole to £. 5,654,000 j lb that the ways and means 3 exceed ( '9 ) exceed the fupply, according to this Statement, b y £• 37> 00 °- I have already obferved that, in the fupply of the prefent year, there are fome articles included, which exceed considerably the efli- mate of the permanent annual expenditure in the feveral branches of the public fervice ; — thefe confifl principally of the additional fum of £. 400,000 propofed to be hTued to the Cornrniffi oners ; the fum of £. 100,000 granted in lieu of the malt duty ; the fum granted for the navy debt ; that repaid to the Bank ; the advance on account of the troops in India, and fome excels in the army eftimate ; in the unprovided eftimate of the ordnance ; in the mifcellaneous fervices, and the defi- ciency of grants ; and they all appear peculiar to the prefent year, and not likely to recur in future ; except as far as an annual addition may hereafter be made to the turns hTued for the reduction of the national debt. In fpeaking, however, of the future expendi- ture, I am aware that contingencies may occa- sionally arile, which cannot at prefent be fore- feenj but, as far as I have no-.v the means of judging, I am not aware: < f any fpecific article in which there is likely to be an excels beyond the permanent eftimate, except in the amount of the fmall funis which ma) be ftii! neccilary C 2 ^ ( 20 ) for compleating the works for the proteo tion of the dock-yards at home, and the expence of carrying into execution the plan cf fortifications in the Weft Indies, which will be a fubjecl: of feparate con fidera tion. And with a view to thefe articles, or to other contingencies that may arife, I have the fatis- faction of thinking that they will probably be fully balanced by extraordinary refources, be- yond the calculated amount of the prefent income. On the refult, then, of thefe dif- ferent ftatements, I think there is no reafon to doubt, that we may, in the prefent year, apply an additional fum of £. 400,000 to the reduction of the national debt, and repeal the temporary duty on malt, at the fame time allowing for the repeal of permanent taxes to the amount of about £. 200,000, and for the application of nearly an equal annual fum in future, as a permanent addition to the fund for the difcharge of the national debt. The next point for confideration is, the propriety of the general principle which I have aflumed as the foundation of my plan ; that of diftributing the furplus of our revenue, and applying it in equal proportions to the diminution of taxes, and the reduction of cebt. I have thought this the wifeft plan which we can adopt, becaufe by combining prefent ( 21 ) preient relief with permanent credit and fe* curity, it feems moft likely to prevent any temptation hereafter to break in, with a rude hand, on the fyftem for the gradual reduction of our debt. At the lame time, this addition to the linking fund, with the aid of a fur- ther fum from a diftinct fource, which I mall mention prefentiy, and independent of any further increafe of revenue, will enable us to make a rapid progrefs in this important work, and in a very fhort fpace of time to reach a point, which perhaps not long fince was thought too diitant for calcula- tion. I mall beg the indulgence of the Commit- tee while I ftate this rather more at large, becaufe it is connected with other confidera- tions which may lead to important meafures £ot enforcing and ftrengthening our fyftem for the difcharge of the national debt. In at- tempting to form any calculations of the pro- portion of debt which may be difcharged at zny particular time, there are fome contin- gencies which can only be Hated hypotheti- cally. They may, however, now be reduced to r. narrower point than they have been in any former period. One material circum- itance which has necellarily been confidered i\K uncertain, is the price of the funds ; but, as fur a-.; relaies to die 3 per cents, this uncer- tainty ( 22 ) tainty feems to be in a great meaiure re- moved, with a view to the queftion under con- iideration ; for fuppoling the prefent flate of profperity to continue, no calculation can rea- fonably be formed on the idea of paying off any large portion of this flock but at par. Un- der iuch circumftances, the principal queftion would be,Whether the fund for the reduction of debt ought to be applied to the redemption or purchafe of the 3 per cents, with a view to the reduction of intereft on the 4 per cents, and on the 5 per cents ? or, whether it mould be applied to the redemption, firft, of the 4 per cents, and afterwards (as foon as they become redeemable) of the 5 per cents ? Without entering into minute difquiiitions on this point, I will only ftate, that, according to the moft accurate calculations which I have feen, the mode of applying the finking fund to the purchafe of the 3 per cents, and making ufe of the general improvement of credit in order to reduce the intereft of the 4 per cents, and of the 5 per cents, (when redeemable) and to carry the faving of inte- reft as an addition to the linking fund, will on the whole be quicker in its operation than the other mode, though not in any very con- fiderable degree. I (hall, therefore, fuppofe, in the firft inftance, that an addition of £. 400,000 mould be applied in the prefent year ( =3 ) year to the reduction of debt, and an annual addition, from the revenue, for the next four years, of £. 200,000. When the debentures to the American Loyalifts mall be difeharged, (which will be in about four years fiibfequent to the prefent) the profits arifing from the Lottery, which, as I have already ifated, arc now fet againft. this article of expenditure, will be left free, and will form an addition to the annual furplus. If the addition mail be diftributed in the fame manner as is now propofed with refpedl to the prefent fur- plus ; and if the tickets mould continue to bear their prefent price, a further annual fum of £. 1 50,000 (after allowing for the repeal of taxes to the fame amount) will be applica- ble to the reduction of debt. Previous to this period, the 4 per cents may naturally be fuppofed to have been reduced in the tirfr. in- ilance to 3I-, and ultimately to 3 per cent.; and the faving by this reduction of intereft will amount at firft to about £. 160,000, and when compleated, to about £. 320,000. By the operation of the prefent finking fund, and of thefe additions to the redemption of the 3 per cents at par, it may be expected that 25 millions of 3 per cents will have been paid off in the year 1800, after which the 5 per cents become redeemable ; and fuppofmg the 3 per cents, to continue at par, a further fa vine ( 24 ) faving may then in a fliort time be made, by converting the 5 per cents to 3 per cent, which will amount in the whole to above jT. 360,000, and which I likewife fuppofe to be carried to the aid of the prefent linking fund. The material queftion which on thefe fuppofitions it is natural to afk is, When will the finking fund rife to the amount of 4 millions per annum, which is the limit after which, according to the act of 1786, it is no longer to accumulate, but the interefl of the capital which it thenceforth may redeem, is to be left open for the difpofition of Parlia- ment ? It will amount to that fum, on the fuppofitions which I have ftated, in 1808, a period of about fifteen years from the prefent time. I am not, indeed, prefumptuous enough to fuppofe, that when I name fifteen years, I am not naming a period in which events may arife which human foreiight cannot reach, and which may baffle all our conjectures. We muff not count with certainty on a continuance of our prefent prosperity durinr fuch an interval ; but unquefKonably there never was a time in the hiftory of this coun- try, when, from the fituation of Europe, we might more reafonably expecl: fifteen years of peace, than we may at the prefent moment. But in looking forward to this very period, there ( 2 S ) there arifes one of the considerations to which I have referred, and which may lead us ftill to amend and enforce our fyilem for the re- duction of debt. When the fum of four millions was origi- nally fixed as the limit for the finking fund, it was not in contemplation to irTue more an- nually from the furpl us revenue than one mil- lion ; confequently the fund would not rife to four millions till a proportion of debt was paid off, the intereft of which, together with the annuities which might fall in in the inter- val, mould amount to three millions. But as, on the prtftnt fuppofition, additional fums beyond the original million are to be annually iiTueu from the revenue, and applied to the aid of the finking fund- the confe- quence would be that, if that fund (witli thefe additions carried to it) were fall to be li- mited to four millions, it would reach that amount,andceafe to accumulate, before as o-reat a portion of the debt is reduced as was originally in contemplation. This effect, would be more confiderable, if, inltead of an annual addition of £. 350,000 in the whole, which is the amount on which I have calculated, the further encreafe of the revenue mould admit (as it probably may) of the application of a larger furplus ; and in cither of thefe cafes, although the ul- timate amount of the finking fund would be D equal ( 26 ) equal to what was originally intended, and it would reach that point fooner; yet it would bear a lefs proportion to the capital of the debt which it would afterwards have to difcharge, than it would have done according to the original plan. In order to avoid this confequence, which would, as far as it went, be a relaxation in our fyftem, I mould propofe, that whatever may be the additional annual fums applied to the reduction of debt, the fund fhould not ceafe to accumulate till the interefl of the capital difcharged, and the amount of expired annuities, mould, together with the annual million only, and exclufive of any additional fums, amount to four millions. But I confefs, that, in the prefent fituation of the country, I am inclined to think that we ought not to flop here. What we did in 1786 was, perhaps, as much as could be at- tempted under the circumflances of that time. At prefent we ought not to confine our views to the operation of the linking fund, compared with the debt now exifling. If our fyitem flops there, the country will remain expofed to the poffibility of being again involved in thofe embarramnents, which we have, in our own time, feverely expe- rienced, and which, apparently, brought us alrnofl to the verge of bankruptcy and ruin. We ought therefore to look forward, in order to ( 27 ) to provide a permanent remedy againfl the dan- ger of frern accumulation of debt, in confe- quence of future contingencies. And this, as I mall explain more particularly on lbme fu- ture occafion, may, I am perfuaded, be effected without the danger of any inconvenience or embarrailment, which can counterbalance the magnitude of the object. The meafure which I have in view, is to enact, that whenever any loan mould take place in future, unlefs raifed by annuities which would terminate in a moderate number of years, there mould of courfe be iflued out of the confolidared fund, to the Commiffioners for the reduction of the national debt, an additional annual fum, fufficient to difcharge the capital of fuch loan, in the fame period as the finking fund, after reaching its largeit amount, will difcharge what would then re- main of the prefent debt. The Committee will recollect, that the idea which 1 am now ftating is not new to my mind, though I have never before propofed it as a permanent regulation. Two years from this time, when. I had the mortification of thinking that the country might be engaged in an expensive war in confequence of our difcuffions with the court of Spain, I gave notice that I fhould propofe to follow, very nearly, this fyftem, with refpect to any loans which might then V 2 b* ( 28 ) be neceffary. I will not, however, enlarge further on this fubjecl: at prefent. I have al- ready ftated enough to mew that the fyftem which I wifh to propofe is calculated to pro- vide effectually for the difcharge of the pub- lic debt, at the fame time that it diminiihes the burdens of the people; and that, in con- fulting our own immediate eafe, we cannot be accufed of facrificing the permanent intereils of pofterity. Suppofing, therefore, that the diftribution which I have fuggefted mould appear to the Houfe fit to be adopted, and that taxes to the amount of £. 200,000 per annum ihould now be taken off, I will beg leave next, for the purpofe of bringing the whole fubjedt under confide ration, to fbte the particular taxes, which, if nothing preferable is fuggeffed by others, I mould propofe to repeal. And, in making this felecftion, there are two objects which I wim principally to keep in view. The nrft, to which it is very material to at- tend, is, that the actual relief felt by the pub- lic mould be proportioned to the amount of revenue which is relinquifhed. Under thefe defcriptions thofe taxes feem moil clearly to be included, which are raifed by the mode of affeffment, becaufe, as they are paid directly out of the pocket of the individual, and do not pafs through circuitous channels, like taxes ( 29 ) taxes upon the articles cf comumption, where the tax is often blended with the price of the commodity, there can be little doubt that the relief intended to be given, will in thefe inftances be effectual to its fuller!: extent. The other object which I naturally have in view, is, that the relief intended lhould ap- ply peculiarly to that clafs, to whom, on every account, it ought fir ft to be extended, I mean the moll necefhtous, and the moft induftrious part of the community. Combining thefe objects, the firft article to which I have directed my attention is, the temporary duty on malt, impofed in the laffc feflion. The three next taxes which I lliall mate, are permanent taxes, which fall under the descrip- tion of being raifed by arTeilment, and which have alfo the further advantage of extending relief widely, and where we mud moft with it to be extended. — The firft is the tax upon female fervants, winch is certainly paid by the poorer clafs of houfekeejkrs, and which is charged upon about 90,000 different fa- milies — the amount is £. 3 1,000. The next is, the tax upon cart-; and waggons, which applies to the whole of the yeomanry of the country, to all thofe who are occupied in agriculture ; who pay in this fliape a turn not indeed very considerable, but which perhaps is felt, from the ( 30 ) the inconvenience and trouble which it oc- cafions, more than from the burden itfelf. About 90,000 perfons are affected by this tax alfo, of which the amount is nearly JT. 30,000. The third tax applies to the poorefl of all the orders of the community, I mean the tax on houfes having lefs than feven win- dows, which are exempted from the payment of any other tax, but that of three millings. The amount of the fum is fmall, but to thofe who are the objects of it, its repeal will be a fubftantial relief and comfort, and it will at lean: be a pledge and earner! of the attention of Parliament to their interefts. It extends, I believe, to between three and four hun- dred thoufand houfes, and its amount is about £. 56,000. The next and laft which I have to men- tion is, the laffc additional tax of a halfpenny per pound on the article of candles, which preffes more, perhaps, than any ether tax on confumption, upon the clafs of whom 1 have been fpeaking- and if this tax is repealed from a given day, and the duty upon the flock in hand is allowed to all the manufacturers and dealers in that article, I believe there can be no queftion that the reduction of the price will be in proportion to the duty repealed: its amount is about £. io6,cco -, and the total of all thefe taxes is £. 223,000. J have ( 3* ) I have now explained the feveral meafures which I mall this day propofe to the Committee ; but I mould think that I left the fubjecl: im- perfectly difculied, if I did not proceed to lay before you fuch confiderations as may enable you to judge how far there is a reafonable profpect that the fortunate fituation which I have defcribed may be permanent. And in order to do this, I with again to call your attention to the progreflive encreafe of the revenue, and to flate within what periods it has taken place. If we compare the revenue of laft year with that of the year 1786, we (hall find an excefs in the laft year of JT. 2,300,000. If we go back to the year 1783, which is the firft year of peace, we fhall find the encreafe fince that period, including the produce of the additional permanent taxes which have been impofed in the interval, to be little lefs than four millions. We mall, I believe, alfo find, that with the exception of the year 1786, in which the fufpenfe of trade, occasioned by the negociation for the Commercial Treaty with France, naturally affected the revenue, there is hardly any one year in which the encreafe has not been continual. In examining the branches of revenue, we ( 3* ) we mall find that rather more th?.n one mil- lion has arifen from the imposition of new- taxes -, about one million more in thofe articles in which particular and feparate regulations have been made for the prevention of fraud ; and that the remaining fum of two millions appears to be diifufed ever the articles of general confumption, and muft therefore be attributed to the belt of all cauies — a gene- ral encreafe in the wealth and profperitv of the country. If we look more minutely into the parti- cular articles on which the revenue arifes, we mall ftill find no ground to imagine, that any considerable part of it is temporary or accidental, but fhall have additional reaibn »o afcribe it to the caufe which I have juft now ftated. In the revenue of the cuitoms there is no material article where an encreafe might be fuppofed to proceed from the acci- dent of feafons, but that of fugar, and it ap- pears that, upon the average of the four years on which I have formed my calculation, that arti- cle has not produced beyond its ufual amount. Many of the articles under the head of cuftoms, in which the augmentation is moil apparent, confift of raw materials, the encreaf- ing importation of which is, at once, a fymp- torn and a caufe of the encreafmg wealth of the country. This obfervation will apply, in ? feme ( 33 ) fome degree, even to the raw material of a manufacture which has generally been fup~ pofed to be on the decline, I mean that of iilk. In the article of wool, the encreafe has been gradual and confiderable. The quantity of bar-iron imported from abroad is alfo increafed, though we all know how cenfiderably our own iron works have been extended during the period to which I have referred, lucre is hardly any coniiderable article in which there is any decreafe, ex- cept that of hemp in the laft year, which is probably accidental, and that of linen, the im- portation*^ which from abroad may be dimi- ni tlicd by accidental caufes, or perhaps in con- fequence of the rapid encreafe of the manu- facture of that article at home. On looking at the articles compofin^ the revenues of exciie, the fame obfervations will arife in a manner (till more linking. There is, indeed, one branch of that revenue, the encreafe of which may in part be attributed to the accident of feafons, 1 mean that which arifes from the different articles of which malt is an ingredient ; but I am inclined t© believe that this increafe cannot be wholly afcribed to that caufe, becaufe, during all the four years, the amount of the duty upon beer and ale has uniformly been progreilive. In the great ar- E tides ( 34 ) ticks of confumption which I will fTiortly enu- merate, without dwelling en particulars — in home-made and foreign fpirits, wine, foap, tobacco, the encreafe has been coniiderable and uniform. In the articles of bricks and tiles, ftarch, paper, and printed goods, there has alio on the whole been a coniiderable encreafe, although there has been fome fluctuation in different years. Almoft every branch of revenue would furniih inftances of a fimilar nature, The revenue raifed by ft amps has encreafed in the produce of the old duties, while at the fame time new duties have been ^J3ed to a large amount, and the augmentation's, on this* head, on the whole, near /. 400,000, a fum which is railed in mch a manner as to be at- tended with little inconvenience to thole who pay it. The amount of the duty upon fait during the fame period has been progreffive. The revenue of the poft-cmce is another ar- ticle, comparatively fmall, but which furnifhes a ilrong indication of the internal flate of the country. No additional duty has b'.^n irnpofed fmce the year 17B4. In iy§$ it yielded £, 238,000, and in the Ian: year /\ 3 38, 000. I mention all thefe circumfbnees as tending to throw additional light on the fubjeci, and ferving to iiluflrate and confirm the general conclufion to which they all uniformly tend. x If ( 35 ) If from this examination of the different branches of the revenue, we proceed to a more direct enquiry into the fources of our profperity, we mall trace them in a corrc- fponding encreafe of manufacture and com- merce. The accounts formed from the documents of the cuftom-houfe, arc not indeed to be relied upon as mewing accurately the value of our imports and exports in any one year, but they furniih fome ftandard, of comparifon between different periods, and in that view I will {fate them to the Committee. In the year 1782, the lad year of the war, the imports, according to the valuation at the cuftom-houfe, amount- ed to f. 9,714,000 ; they have gradually en- creafed in each fucceffive year, and amounted in the year 1790 to jT. 19,130,000. The export of Eritilh manufactures forms a fall more important and dcchive criterion of commercial profpenty. The amount in 1782 was fated at f. 9,9 19,000 ; in the fol- lowing year it was j\ 10,409,000; in the year 1 790 it had rifen to £. 1 4,92 1 ,ooo ; and in the laft vear (for which the account is jufl com- pleated as fir as relates to Britim manufactures) it was /\ 1 6,420,000. If we include in the ac- count the foreign articles re-exported, the total of the export in 1782 was £. 1 2,239,000; after E 2 the ( 36 ) the peace it rofe, in 1783, to £. 14,741,000; and in the year 1790 it was £. 20,120,000. Thefe documents, as far as they go (and they are neceiiarily imperfect) ferve on'y to give a view ot the foreign trade of the country. It is more than probable, that our internal trade, which contributes ftiil more to cur wealth, has been encreafmg in at lead an equal proportion. I have not the means of fcating with accuracy a comparative view of our manufactures during the fame period; but their rapid progrefs has been the fubjecr of general obfervation, and the local knowledge of gentlemen from different parts of the country, before whom I am fpeaking, mult render any detail on this point unneceliary. Having gone thus far, having ftated the increafe of revenue, and lhewn that it has been accompanied by a proportionate increafe of the national wealth, commerce, and manufactures, I feel that it is natural to alh, what have been the peculiar circumflances to -which thefe effects are to be afcribed ? The firft and molt obvious anfwer which every man's mind will fuggeft to this queflion, is, that it arifes from the natural induftry and energy of the country : but what is it which has enabled that induflry and energy to ail with fuch peculiar vigour, and fo far beyond the ( 37 ) the example of former periods ? — The im- provement which has been made in the mode of carrying on almofl every branch of manufacture, and the degree to which labour has been ah ridged, by the invention and application of machinery, have undoubtedly had a con- l) lerable fhare in producing fuch important effects. We have beiid.s ken, during theie periods, more than at any former time, the effect of one circumftance which has principally tended to raife this country to its mercantile pre-eminence — I mean that peculiar degree of credit which, by a two- fold operation, at once gives additional facility and extent to the trarifactions of our merchants at home, and enables them to obtain a pro- portional funeriority in markets abroad. This advantage has been mole confpicuous during the latter part of the period to which I have referred ; and it is conftantly increafing, in proportion to the prosperity which it contri- butes to create. In addition to all this, the exploring and enterprifing fpirit of our merchants has been i<:cn in the extenfion of our navigation and our fiiheries, and the acquiiliion of new markets in different parts of the world; and undoubtedly thole efforts have been not a little amiled by the additional intercourfe with France, in confequence of the Com- mercial i 3* ) mercial Treaty ; an Lntercourfe which, though probably checked and abated by the diffractions now prevailing in that kingdom, has rurmined a great additional incitement to induftry and exertion, hut tiiere is rail anotner cauie, even more fatisfadtory than thefe, becauib it is of a itill more exteniive and permanent nature; that conftant accumulation of capital, that conti- nual tendency to increafe, the operation of which is universally feen m a greater or lets proportion, whenever it is not obftrucled by fome public calamity, or by fome miffaken and mischievous policy, but which mult be conspicuous and rapid indeed in any country which has once arrived at an advanced ftate of commercial profperity. Simple and ob- vious as this principle is, and felt and obferved as it mud have been in a greater or lefs degree, even from the carlieft periods, I doubt whether it has ever been fully developed and fufficiently explained, but in the writings of an author of our own times, now unfortunately no more, (I mean the author of the celebrated Treat ife on the Wealth of Nations) whole exteniive knowledge of detail, and depth of philofophi- cal rciearch, will, I believe, furnifti the beft folution to every queftion connected with the hiilory of commerce, or with the fyftems of political ( 39 ) political ceconomy. This accumulation of capital arifes from the continual appli- cation, of a part at leaSt, of the profit ob- tained in each year, to increafe the total amount of capital to be employed in a fimilar manner, and with continued profit in the year following. The great mafs of the pro- perty of the nation is thus constantly increaf- ing at compound interefl, the progrefs of which in any considerable period, is what at firSt view would appear incredible. Great as have been the effects of this caufe already, they muff be greater in future ; for its powers are augmented in proportion as they are exerted. It acts with a velocity continually accelerated, with a force continually increaied. Mobilkate r cigct, ^ircfqtc-.: acqulrlt cundo. It may indeed, as wc have ourfelves expe- rienced, be checked or re:a:ded by particular circumstances — it may for a time, he inter- rupted, or even overpowered; but, where there is a fund oi productive labour and active induStry, it can never be totally cxcingui/lied. In the feafon of tiie levered: calamity and diStrefs, its operations will Still counteract and diminifli their effects: — in the fuft ic.turnin? interval r 40 ) interval of profperity, it will be aclive to repair them. If we look to a period like the prefent r of continued tranquillity, the difficulty will be to imagine limits to its operation. None can be found, while there exifls at home any one objecl of fkill or induitxy fhort of its ut- mofc poffible perfection -, — one fpot of ground in the country capable of higher cultivation and improvement 5 or while there remains abroad any new market that can be explored, or any exifting market that can be extended. From the intercourfe of commerce, it will in fome meafure participate in the growth of other nations, in all the poffible varieties of their fituations. The rude wants of countries emerging from barbarifm, and the artificial and encreaiing demands of luxury and refine- ment, will equally open new fources of trea- fure, and new fields of exertion, in every flate of fociety, and in the remoteft quarters of the globe. It is this principle which, I believe, according to the uniform refult of hiftory and experience, maintains on the whole, in fpite of the vieimtuaes of fortune, and the difafters of empires, a continued courfe of fucceilive improvement in the general order of the world. Such are the circumftances which appear to me to have contributed moil immediately to our ( 4i ) our prefent profperity. But thefe again are connected with others yet more important. They are obviouily and neceiTarily con- nected with the duration of peace, the conti- nuance of which, on a fecure and permanent footing, muft ever be the fir ft object of the foreign policy of this country. They are connected ftill more with its internal tranquil- lity, and with the natural effects of a free but well-regulated government. What is it which has produced, in the laft hundred years, fo rapid an advance, beyond what can be traced in any other period of our hiftory ? What but that, during that time, under the mild and juft government of the illuftrious Princes of the family now on the throne, a general calm has prevailed through the country, beyond what was ever before ex- perienced; and we have alfo enjoyed, in greater purity and perfection, the benefit of thofe original principles of our conftitution, which were afcertained and eftablifhed by the me- morable events that clofed the century pre- ceding ? This is the great and governing caufe, the operation cf which has given fcope and effect to all the other circumftances which I have enumerated. It is this union of liberty with law, which, by railing a barrier equally firm againic the encroachments of power, and the violence of i : popular ( 42 ) popular commotion, affords to property its jufl fecurity, produces the exertion of genius and labour, the extent and folidity of credit, the circulation and increafe of capital ; which forms and upholds the national character, and fets in motion all the fprings which actuate the great mafs of the community through all its various defcriptions. The laborious induflry of thofe ufeful and exteniive chiles (who will, I truft,be in a pecu- liar degree this day the objects of the confide- ration of the Houfe) the peafantry and yeo- manry of the country; the fkill and ingenuity of the artificer; the experiments and im- provements of the wealthy proprietor of land;. the bold fpeculations and fuccefsful adventures of the opulent merchant and enterpriiing ma- nufacturer ; theie are ail to be traced to the fame fource, and all derive from hence both their encouragement and their reward. On this point therefore let us principally fix our attention, let us preferve this firft and moll erlential object, and every other is in our power ! Let us remember, that the love of the Conftitution, though it ads as a fort of natural initind in the hearts of Englishmen, is ftreng'iened by reatbn and reflection, and every d^y confirmed by experience; that it is a Conititution which we do not merely ad- a mire ( 43 ) mire from traditional reverence, which we do not flatter from prejudice or habit, but which we cherim and value, becaufe we know that it practically fecures the tranquillity and wel- fare both of individuals and cf the public, and provides, beyond anv other frame of go- vernment which has ever exifted, for the real and ufeful ends which form at once the only true foundation and only rational object of all political focieties. I have now nearly doled ail the conlidera- tions which I think it necenary lo offer to the Committee. I have endeavoured to give a diitinc~i view of the furplus arifmg on the comparifon of the permanent income (computed on the average which I have ftated) with what may be expected to be the permanent ex- penditure in time of peace; and I have alio ftated the companion of the fupply, and of the ways and means of this particular year. I have pointed out the leading and principal ar- ticles of revenue in which the augmentation has taken place, and the corresponding increafe in the trade and manufactures of the coun- try ; and finally, I have attempted to trace thefe cfic&s to their caufes, and to explain the principles which appear to account for the Jp 2 linking ( 44 ) linking and favourable change in our general fituacion. From the refill t of the whole, I trull I am entitled to conclude, that the fcene which we are now contemplating is not the tranfient effect of accident, not the fhort- lived profperity of a day, but the genuine and natural remit of regular and permanent cauies. The feafon of our fevere trial is at an end, and we are at length relieved, not only from the dejection and gloom which a few years fmce hung over the country, but from the doubt and uncertainty which, even for a confiderable time after our profpect had begun to biighten, flill mingled with the hopes and expectations of the public. We may yet, indeed, be mbjeCt to thole fluc- tuations which often happen in the affairs of a great nation, and which it is impolfible to calculate or fbreiee 3 but as far as there can be any reliance on human fpeculations, we have the belt ground, from the experience of the part, to look with latisfaclion to the prefent, and with confidence to the future : " 1\ imc demum, red it animus, cum non fpem " modo ac votum fecuriias publicn,fcd ' ipjius voti " jJuc:cm ct robur ajumpjerit" This is a ftate net of hope only, but of attainment ; not barely the encouraging profpec> of future ad- vantage, but the folid and immediate benefit or piefent and actual poiTefilon. Oa ( 45 ) On this fituation and this profpecl:, fortu- nate beyond our mod fanguine expectations, let me congratulate yen, and the houfe, and my country ! And before I conclude, let me exprefs my earned wifh, mv anxious and fervent prayer, that now in this period of our fuccefs, for the fake of the prefent age and of pofterity, there may be no intermiffion in that vigilant attention of Parliament to everv object connected with the revenue, the re- fources, and the credit of the flute, which has carried us through all our difricuhies, and led to this ranid and wonderful im- provement ; — that Hill keeping pace with the exertions of the Legiflature, the Genius and Spirit, the Loyalty and Public Virtue of a great and free Pecnle, mav lon<* deferve, and (under the favour of Providence) may enfure the continuance of this unexampled prospe- rity ; and that Great Britain may thus re- main for ages in the pofTerTion of thefe dif- tinguifhed advantages, under the protection and fafeguard of that Conflitution, to which (as we have been truly told from the Throne) they are principally to be afcribeel, and which is indeed the great fource, and the bed" fe- curi f y of all that can be dear and valuable to N.iliun! A debate ( 4 6 ) A debate then took place, on the conclu- fion of which the Committee, without any tavilion, came to the following refolutions : Refolved, That, from and after the 5th day of April 1792, the dudes charged by an ad: made in the 31ft year of the reign of his prefent majefty, intituled, " An aca: for grant- " ing to his majefty additional duties upon €b ' malt/' do ceafe and determine, Refolved 2 That, from and after the 5th day of Aoril 1792, the duties on female fervants, charged by an aft, made in the 25th year of the reign of his prefent majefty, intituled, " An act " to repeal the duties on male fervants, and ' for granting new duties on male and fe- " male fervants," do ceaie and determine. Refolved, That, from and after the 5th day of April 1792, the duties charged by an acd, made in the 23d year of his prefent majelly, intituled, s An act for granting to his majefty feveral ' rates and duties upon waggons, wains, carts, ' and other fuch carriages, not charged with " any duty under the management of the " cornmirl'ioners of excife," do ceafe and de- termine. Refolved, ( 47 ) Refolved, That, from and after the 5th day of April 1792, the duties now payable on certain inha- bited houfes, containing lefs than fcvcn win- dows or lights, charged by an act of the 6th vear of the reign of his prefent maiefty, do ceafe and determine. Refolved, That, from and after the 5 th day of April 1792, one half-penny in the pound of the duty upon all candles (except wax and fper- maceti candles) do ceafe and determine. Ordered, That a bill, or bills, be brought in upon the laid refolutions ; and that the Earl of A Jo P. NINGTO N , Mr. C H A N C ELLO R of th Exchequer, Mr. Edward James Eliot, the Lord Bayham, Mr. Hopkins, Mr. Attorney General, Mr. Solicitor General, Mr. Rose, and Mr. Charles Long, do prepare, and bring in, the fame. And in the committee of fupply on the fame day, it was refolved to grznt to his ma- jority the fum of £. 400,000, to be iiliied and paid to the governor and company of the Bank of England, to " them pla< the account of the commiihoners to: Liu. .;': ■■:) t/ the national debt. 88 2Cfcl<£$>003i€$> IK THE PRESS, AND SPEEDILY WILL BE PUBLISHED, IN ONE VOLUME, ROYAL QUARTO, Illuftrated with Maps, Charts, Views, and other Embellifiv merits, drawn on the Spot, by Captains HUNTER and BRADLEY, and Lieut. DAWES. AM HISTORICAL JOURNAL OF THE TRANSACTIONS AT PORT JACKSON and NORFOLK ISLAND, WITH THE DISCOVERIES WHICH HAVE BEEN MADE IN NEW SOUTH WALES and in the SOUTHERN OCEAN, SINCE THE PUBLICATION OF PHILLIPS VOYAGE; COMPILED FROM THE OFFICIAL PAPERS : Including the Journals of Governors PHILLIP and KING, and of Lieutenant BALL : AND THE VOYAGES Frc?n thefirji Sailing cf 'the SIRIUS in lySj, to the Return of thai Ship's Company to England in 1 792. By JOHN HUNTER, Esr^ Post Captain in His Majesty's Navy. LONDON: Printed for JOHN STOCKDALE, Piccadilly. £* Gentlemen defirous of having good Impreflions will pleafe to fend ear!*/ Orders to the Publisher, or to their rcfpe&ive Bookfellers. Piccadilly y September \zth } I7<}Z. I