The Statesman. — London, England, 1823-07-03 00:00:00

~~ '` THE STATESMAN. two miles and s. half, he saw at an angle of the river two ships at anchor. One of them an American ship of war and the other was n British merchant vessel which she bad captured within a few days. On perceiving these vessels Mr. Ogilby immediately retreated behind a point of land, and if he continued without any other informa tion he certainly would not have had the hardihood to attempt their capture without some better force than a small boat and a few men. lie saw a boat put off front the ship to the shore which be overtook, and found in it the gunner of the Sequin. From that person he learned that the ship's crew were dispersed on various services, and that at the moment she had not more than twenty men on board. Os that information Mr. Ogilby boldly determined to attempt to take the ship of war. He ac cordingly took himself the helm of his own boat, encou raged his men with promises of liberal reward, and w ith the assistance of the tide in his favour, reached the Iliequiu unperceived either by the people on shore or those in the ship. Mr. Ogilby coining on board the ves sel, and the crew seeing an English officer darting among them sword iu hand, supposing that he was backed by a considerable force, ran below. The Captain hearing the bustle cause on deck unarmed, and Mr. Ogilby im mediately made him his prisoner. The Captain, no der the same influence as the men, and expecting that Mr. °gilts) , was fully supported, surrendered his ship. Mr. ()trilby nest commanded him to order his men op successively, and as they appeared on deck they were handed over on hoard the British boat. In one quarter of an hour the ship was captured. and her crew and pri soners on board the It, at. Mr. Ogilby remained on board '-ith the Captain sod one wounded sailor only. He sent the boat and prisoners to Bordeaux with instructions to bring back sufficient aid to secure the prize. He re mained on board without any assistance within one hundred yards of the French shore, and within a very shot t distance of a putt .occupied by a detachment of French cavalry. He remained in that mate for four hours, with his life at the mercy of those on shore if the slightest intimation of the facts reached them. After a lapse of four hours the boat returned from Bordeaux with a sea- cleat fpree, in whose hands Mr. Ogilby Left the ship and proceeded to General Dalhousie, with the Captain of the Requin. With that General he found Colonel Ponsonby and other officers of well-known respectability, whose tes timony might be referred to. Mr. Ogilby stated in their presence the facts of the capture which the Captain of the Rennin confirmed. HI stated that his- was an American ship; that the vessel near him was a British merchant vessel Ms prise ; that his crew were absent when he was sur prised; that he yielded because he supposed Mr. Ogiihy was supported, end he added a most material fact, that it was his initiation to pet to sea early the next morning.— These statement, were all confirmed by Colonel Pousouby of the 19th Light Dragoons, by Major Arbuthnot, and by blajorEllesby, within whose cognizance the facts officially came. It might be sold, in answer to Mr. Ogilby'S claims that his enterprise was an act of superfluous valour, and that the vessel would have fallen into the bands of the Bei tisti the next day. On that point he was ready to abide the • issue. On that very day. twenty-seven American ships es espeif ; the merchant ship captured by the American, also readeoffithat eight, put to sea, and was never re-captured. lair. Ogilby was entitled to compensation, even pursuant' to the declaration of the Duke of Wellington. Besides the British could not get possession of the vessels in the river for ten days, according to the statement of Admiral Penrose. There were two ways In which the capture might be coast dared as Mr. Ogilloy, being in the Commissariat, was consi dered'is a private individeal, the one as a droll of Admit eiltY, the other as booty. He was ready to admit that the sight to the captive was in the Crown, but the abstract right of the King was regetated by certain circumstances. The practice was, 1f the capture was considered as a droit, the esp•or was entitled to one half, and in some cases to two yards, an 4 in others to nine-tenths of the prize. If it was to be considered ender the head of booty—ln that particular sense, in whit* the phrase of booty was . tide is the service, they would dud In one of the orders in the Peninsula, that sH kaggaie, &c. taken -from the enemy should be divided among the persons present et the capture. Such was tbe arrangement when a eonvoywas taken by . SirJohn Briggs's brigade. There was also another ease to point, which oe eurrelon the same river. A detachment of the Germs& Legion, captured shoat, with specie on board, and the vales cf the boat. and specie was divided among them. There ti as another ease precisely similar, which occurred at the capture of the Isle of Bourbon. A Mr. Stone, a purser in tie Nary, saw a French vessel in the roads. Re got his men together, and took possession of the vessel, and one half the value was gives to the captors. He considered, that by all olletal regulation*, from the precedent which he Lad quoted, said from the justice of the ease Itself, Mr. Gglbx was entitled to compensation. He concluded by mov-. lc; that the pipers be referred to a Select Committee. Colonel KING seconded the petition. Having served n Ogilby is the Peninsula, during 1809, 1811, and 1814. he was able to bear testimony to she plummet merit of 1104 gentleman. From the nature of the ser vice In sylsicb be was engaged, his exertions were par ticurarly useful to the Army, wbo often in the most try ing circnastances, acknowledged with gratitude his zeal and attention to their wants. Testimonials without t•-tuber could be produced to his high character, but it r r ight be enough to name Generals Sir Willi; m Stewart, and Sii lictuanno D'Urban, who spoke in the highest terms of his general behaviour, and. warmly eulogized 'Us gallant conduct upon this occasion more particularly. With sash retottnnendations then, he contended that the House ought not to turn a deaf ear to the appeal of the petitioner. It was sot ohe of those cases the me rits of which were dabious. Mr. Ogilby did not come fhtwarri 'to claim ;enumeration for any visionary disco very—the quadrature of the circle—the longitude--or perpetual motion.—(Hear.)—Neither was it a claim formed upon a forged diploma of Royalty, such as that cif_ the Princess Olive of Cumberland—(a laugb)—but it wit the appeal of a meritorious . public officer, claim ing ionmenvation for eminent services rendered to his count". He had performed a most signal exploit in diptut.tit k ship-from the enemy, and if he• was not entitled tone whole of the prize, has certainly was to a large part of it. Was it jest, he asked, to turn such an officer adrift. titer having Made such sacrifices in the public cause, and rendered himself unit for any other mode of business T He was sure that the claim would not meet with any opposition from this-Duke of Wellingtoo. That Noblq Duke, whose fame owed so much to the exertions of-the Army, bad too mach ja6 lice and nenerosity to withhold the mend of reward from merit, With such proofs then be should leave the ease in the hands of the Heise, concluding with two words only, fiat justilia.:(Hrir.) • The CHANCELIANt r of the EXCHEQUER mitr ed the Hon. Member wilco bad brae& leeward this petition, as well as the geßatst Offiffit who bad borne testimony to,the merits of Mr. Ogilby, that any oppo. shims which he Should feel himself called epee to make did not proceed, from as , indlspolitioa to aclusewledge the ciente of that gentleman in quality of ColismissetT• th whom, - on' the cos4cisay., he would, give the fullest credit fur zeal analßat it appeared, tys, aim that the general, merits of the .petitioner hichiothing at all to de with tills Tale. • the questiOn was Sol typr whether Ile bad been tetnneerated for his general ler alive, or whether Giverguseot bad refused fides eirpioy, slams, which was set 'alleged, but Whethei. *sibs, trade a particalint citrate.. 'hi yeas entitled,iiitlivide-• ally to receive this ;preeteks df, the prier, NOW, be te.* entering apes the diseatiedis lift that q - it was necessary Its take al rkipit irfliblatt . respected with the iptaltilisteMe,Pattiteler ' (*edict. dirt• when ha captured thli iliellit 'be leisinibe of his proper dutfiartilalreedirl'q tsdfridWietki - ott .etthe' ships which had g litr o jg st thit 1144 '01,061Y isit teal*, üßerdeoax, MOW iihtkihtt *best, "dila Mai • it most probable that if he had not eaptuted the core et*, she would not have escaped. His own statement admit ted that she offered na resistance, and, indeed. it. aras clear that the intention of the Captain teas eel to fight s bat to skulk away if he could without being perceivEd. —Luckily be was perceived, and there was no little cre dit due to Mr. Ogilby certainly for the manner in which he behaved, which was marked with great gallantry.— Upon that point no difference of opinion existed, fat all were willing to admit that he behaved spiritedly, and carried his point by a coup-dc-main. But without de tracting from the merits of this officer, it was not too roach to say, that the enterprise was not practically so hazard ous as at first sight it appeared lobe. The fact was, that the enemy were terrified out of their wits, and intended no resistance. But that was not the ground upon which lie (the Chancellor) at present opposed the petition; His objection was this, that the petitioner had already re ceived as much prize money (torn the last war as lie was entitled to claim. Mr. Ogilby's claim from the situation which he held in the Commissariat, was equivalent to that of a Major in the Army. Nos; all the booty which bad been taken during the campaign was valued subsequently by order of Government, in order that the share to which all the portions of the Army were entitled might be paid them in money. This valuation amounted to 800,0001. which was voted by Parliament to be paid to the troops in lieu of all booty whatever, which had. been taken dur ing the campaign. Of this Mr. Ogilby receired•Lis per tion, whatever that portion was. The only question thee %as, whether or not the affair of the corvette was to be considered a distinct transaction in itself. Amongst the papers which bad been lately printed, there was one (No.' 17.) which appeared to him to be conclusive upon this subject. This document was an estimate of the value of the Reqttin, dated the 10th of June, and signed by the petitioner and Major Eckersley, who were employed for that purpose. The value set upon the corvette, including guns, cordage, &c. was 18,00111. which was of course in eluded in the 800,0001. the value of all the booty, as stated before. Upon what grounds then the petitioner could claim now for particulars, after having shared in the ge natal booty, he was at a loss to conceive, for this estimate it would be seen, was signed by his own hand. But it was said to be the practice of the Atmy under the Duke of Wellington to grant to individuals to the particular booty which they themselves had taken: I n refutation of this, he could produce the letter of the Duke to the peti tioner, which he had authority to state to the House. —The letter was written in MO, and contained them words:— I cannot forward your views, as referring to the sums voted by Parliament to the Army in general, and of which you received a portion. I think that your claims are sunk in those of the troops generally. I . deny that you have any more claims than those derived to you from your station in the Commissariat. I suppose you do not undertake to say, that if there had not been 12,000 Bri tish troops in Bordeaux at the time, you would have suc ceeded in capturing this vessel. Besides what you did, was part of your duty." And as to what the petitioner sated of the practice of the Army, the Duke wrote thus : " But you say I was in the habit of allowing individo, ads to retain whatever booty they themselves had taken. There you are again mistaken, and I refer you to the ge. neral orders of the Army to prove the contrary. lu tact so far from suffering individuals to appropriate booty, I more often shared it to the exclusion of the individual captors; for I was unwillirg that the soldiers should be diverted from their duty by the desire of plunder, whilst I wished them to use their arms." Here then was not only a refutation of alleged facts, but a difference between the Noble Duke and the petitioner upon Principle ; for the petitioner advanced that it-was good to encourage enterprise, whilst the Duke of Welling ton, who was at least as good a judge, declared the prac tice to be subversive of military discipline: There was also another letter from the Duke in referince to an opi. nion which the petitioner alleged he (the Duke) had once given, that he was entitled to 10,0001. That letter was in these words :—" Bat another reason which you urge is, that you heard it somewhere said that I had give. an opinion respecting your claim at head-quarters at Toulouse. I cannot answer for all I might have said, and if the rumours you bad heard amounted only to my hair. ing praised your gallantry, it was correct ; but I could not have spoken in other terms than those of ridicule of any claims which might be put forward by individuals for the captnreof a ship." With regard to the certificate of Col. Ponsonby which bad bees referred to, be (the Chancellor) had a high respect for him, as a most excel lent officer and good man; but in a question of a past of this kind, hie evidence was not conclusive. Lord Dal housie had also been referred to & but be would show by a letter from bite, dated 29th Aogust, 1815, in answer to Mr. Ogilby, that be considered this capture of the cor vette was included in the general prise-money of the army. Upon these grounds, then, he did not think that the House could listen to the petition without compro mising a principle, for if this petitioner's claim was ac ceded to, the House would have to decide upon those of every officer employed during the war. It would also tend to establish that practice which the Duke of Wellington had said was destructive of the discipline of the army. _ _ _ Mr. HUME observed, that tbe answer of the Right Hon. Gait. t►as by no mesas satisfactory. No reply bad been /rives to the instances cited by his Hon. Friend, where individuals bad been allowed to retain their boot,. There *ere ten or twelve instances of this kind. If this statement were correct, of what avail was the letter of the Duke of Wellington ? Surely, when other individuals were left their booty out of the ordinary course, the p.. titioaer should not be deprived of his. I f, on the contrary, there was no precedent of ant sorb conduct, the letter was dies eoralusive. and the question was one between the petitioner and the publie, as to the amount of com pensation which, under ►is peculiar circumstances, be was entitled to claim. The CH4NCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER said that be understood the distinction to be, that where booty was taken by individuals, It was not left with them, but Su tbe cases of detachments the practice was different— ia this cue, however, the petitioner had no claim, for be had before received his portion'of the general booty. Mr. HUME said that General 1116DonsId, who was an individual, bad been showed to keep a bag of money which he had found. Vet. DAVIES said that if individeals were allowed to keep what booty they captured; it was a direct encou ragement to asaraudisg. aed nothing would be more de structiro of the discipline of Oa ' army. .. ser. BUXTON replied.. He insisted that the Right l Ihit.oaiithnnas had ma oat dii6mitioner's case in ifilr iwif. T ile' etitionir *err remfvetl more than 731. lts. TAd. oat of the Army genifil . iiiie-Money. It coal 4 edt his eilitictivi 41.-lit fur this 'paltry stun be would compound a Alum call/IDOL It was wore tkia probable,'M Sited oared before. that the reisel viatodl o vi eicaPed Out of ithe direr. The petition; eertainfraapposed iliM he bid is claim to the corvette; for In-three weeks ifter the cap. tuts he e mploy e d Mr. Pea s,, an ettOrney,. 'whow d;posi -dim be (Hr. hi.).keld is Ms head, I t i Tibet her. Ile ilso aid* actiala, , pta4er. aid actoolly lest the ?marl tii . the 1 Minvn,'Aivionietne. The Tanks of WelliioA' "al IWO miteaAittati(itft4i time, • iie the * petitioner had *We tea: 1 iiiiktithlfti WftWai.biltedts w fin were present,te his Clain's. OiyisiOlfiiig* -- not that Cate at It lips! beekpist bg . h6 # Ldp.. Siefabiefur A Meta (ili. Moo.) la iniittet to tihiatistiti4ini thielfieirtig.q. (trot. otposife,V ifiloor'4l6o - ' ttOiler Y i Ale was line ar at oni fir ti ' ~diiilii%iii WO ' .. iihe t riiich 'ltoi-Ait a iih* composted him. The Honourable Meibber concluded by moving; that the whole matter should be referred to a Committee. The House then divided, when therepppeaved, For referring the petition, 19; Against it, 40; Majoa rity against the motion, 21. Upon cur return to the gallery we found Mr. S. RICE on his leg., appealing to the Right lion. tient, opposite, that he wonti give precedence to his motion respecting , the Chief Baron of Ireland. The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER said his statement of the financial situation of tie country was too important to he deferred. He would promite,'llot ever, that it should be very short. _ A eonvtroation took place between Mr. Rice. Mr. Home, Mr. R. Smith, Mr. itiaberly, end Mr. Canning, which ended in Mr. Rice giving place to the Uhaneener , of the Eichequer. TBE BUDGET. The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER meted the Order of the Day for the House going into a Com mitteeof the whole House epost the Exchequer The SPEAKER having left the Chair. The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER. rose to make his annual statement of the financial relations of the country. In every account, he said, be felt it incumbent upon him to compress the observations which be had to make into the narrowest possible compass. He was aware bow much fatigue the House had lately•suffered hem late sittings, and in which he individually had been ooi small sharer. He should therefore make his statement es short as possible, and proceed without further preface.. Having in that statement considered the coarse of tanta lum which his Majesty's Ministers were bound to par sue,and the means which they would find it their duty to propose to Parliament to carry these measures into effect, he did not feel it necessary to recapitulate the observa tions he then made. He then stated his view of the pro- I 'table expenses of the year. He recollected having uses- Nosed that they would be more limited than on previous' , years, both in reference to the Supply soil the means I Which Parliament would be called on to vote to meet it. lie stated at the commencement of the Session, that ac cording to the best calculations he could make, the esti- 1 mate which Parliament would be called oats vote, would be about 16,1300,1)00/. but those who might take the trou ble of looking at the papers, will find that the Supply voted has somewhat exceeded that sum. He would ex-' plain to the House how this , exresi originated. It did not arise in the Army, N tvy, Ordnance Estimates. It arose under the head of miscellaneous, and other items, which he had not in contemplation at the time he made his statement, but which had been created since. One of the voteawhich caused this excess, wee 60,0001. for Sta tionery. It was found necessary to caN upon Parliament for this sum, in consequence of some new arrangements which had been ineroducAl into the stationery depart• went, and which ultimately would conduce to a large economy in that department. it was formerly the prae-1 tice for each public department to find itself in stationery ab libitum. This practice was now altered, and the va rious departments were limited to a particular sort and quantity of stationery. Prom this system it was ex- 1 pected that ultimately a great dintinotion would be made , to the article of Stationery; and although the acted I supply under that heed was increased in the generid eat-1 penditure, yet there could be ne doubt that a cairespond mg diminution would take place in that department. un der the head of eontingenties for the following year.— No diihination could yet be expected, 'lonise the regu lation being only made this year, the various departments were already supplied upon the old system. These was another grant, under the head of Building, which be had not contemplated when he made his statement—be meant a grant of 4000/. towards completing Dualetry Har bour. Besides these, there was a further grant of 1.1.0001. for assisting the emigration of the peasantry of Ireland So Canada. These items swelled the amount of the esti mate beyond his first calculation. Notwithstanding this excess it would be satisfactory to the House to hear, that there was more than a corresponding excess in the Ways and Means, He would now proceed to state the amount, and then the details both of the Supply and the Ways and Means for the present year. The total amount of the Supply for the current year, including the heads of Army. Navy, Ordnance, Miscellaneous, Exchequer Bills, &c. amounted to 16,976,7431. The items of which this aggregate sum is composed, an as follow t-s• Army 21,332,124 Navy • G sees wick Hospital 14,44,410 Ordnance Miscellaneous • 1,732,183 15,876,743 . . Interest on Exchequer Ins. I, I Op,ooo £10,976,743 The Ways and Means by which Over nos were to be met, were combined under the following items : Annual Malt 111,000,000 Lottery 2,0,900 Repayment by Exchequer Bill Loan Commis sioners . 146,874 Nasal and Military Pensions.. 4,1300,090 To be paid by the East India Company on ac count of Half-pay, Sc. (antecedent years).... 410,000 Surplus Ways and Means 409,047 Surplus Consolidated Fund 17,363,9110 Supply £409,177 Thus it would be seen from this statement, that there was a considerable excess of Ways and Means above the Supply. He it doe to the House to offer some nide natioa upo6 souse of those details. The East India halt pay particularly demanded some explanation, and he could not bat admit the candour and Weems with Welsh. the East India Company acquiesced in this equitable claim of the public; It was only fair that the Company should take upon themselves the burden of liqiiidat ng thit part of the half-pay whiCh was doe to the troops who served within their territory. But he must confess that it was so easy matter to determine how mach they ought to pay, because every body must sea %Indio justice they could not be celled on to give the half-pay to all the troops who had been io their service, many of them hay ing been wounded, and others having entered in health before they went to India. It was, therefore, agreed to give the half-pay to those exclusively who bad rendered the Company a aervloe in that country ; and upon this principle an arrangement was entered upon, in his opted. on, equally, lihrel,to the corps, and justice the public, that the East India Company should pay an annual half pay of 60.000/: In the present year, this earn appeared amongst the Ways and Means.; but it was worth consi dering .bat next Session, if not deducted from the charge for thg Aitny and Navy half-pay, it Would, at all **es, be taken into the g I account in the same Way that Old Stirersiere. The sum which now appeared Ode* this head amongst the Ways and ma:Wank to ,90,11001: j bet the cause of this iscreake helve& the 60.0001. was, that the Company agreed to pay from Ma fat : so that under ibis belittles* sow incleded the ink ,- pay for a year and a half. Amongst the Ways End Means appeared.* surplus Consolidated Of 8,709,1001.. and it °Odd not but afford him isitinire gratilkiden to he the first Chancellor of the Exchequer who for ake time, bad ,Irett enothied to lay before.the . Hope such au agree. able statement e.ansi the surplus arose exceed measure from t enamoured w p le b male *rept relative is , Ibe racitit Pflifje rVilt Iku•trie' • te4 lt in't t" chute for lite Nra:iii'd tory pelt**. iiiraor. plus being Included under the general head of Iteve. ni., made the whole Revenue for the year araouat to 46,700,11001. The expenditure for the year amounted to 38,000,11001. So thus there was a clear surplus of 6,700,0001. realized for the service of the public. The expenditure was made up by 26,1100,0001., the annual charge for the Funded Debt ; 2.b00,0001. the sum to be paid to the Commissioners of the Naval and Military Pensions; 5,4100,0141. • applicable to a Sinking. Falter; beside other charges, includinz the Civil List. Contia gencies, and the Miscellaneous Estimates. As be had before da'ed, there wit l'Surplui iii Ways and Means over the Sripply l of 409.1771: of which 244.1301. would 6be applicable to the diminution of the Unfunded Deist list the Anguswas 409,1771:, which left a balance of 163,020. This balance north' be of the greatest ad vantage, as it was most desirable to hare hornet b tag in hand to meet any casual diminution which might arise in the Revenue, and this was not unlikely to happen !from the operation of a Bill now in progress through the House, from which, though. great benefits might oiti soatel3r be derived, would •vet, perhaps, in its first ap plication, be productive of at defalcarion in the Reve nue. kie meant the Distillery Bill. But whatever might be the twilit, he thought it his dory to try the 'experiment of what good may be derived from them.— Therefore, in the event of an unfavourable result, it would be eatipfactory to knots that there was a sun lue to meet whatever contingency might arise. In fact, there was also an additional surplus beyond that, be cause the surplus of the Consolidated Fund was taken on the supposition that sill assessed taxes repealed, were llyst to the Revenue. • But that was not the case, be settee in the two quarters of the year which had already past, there was an increase. Perhaps it would Out be unsatistietriry to the Committee if be alluded a. • a little to the state of the Revenue at present, that the House might see if he were justified in the irvourible views he had enterained at the coin- weencernent of the Session as the result of the mea sures which he teen contemplated to psopose Is Parliament. Ile was then sanguine is los expectations, which were not disappointed by tie state of the revenge for the last half year. indeed he was rather surprised that those expecta tions, thew so sanguine, were exceeded by the result. Ire had the accounts of the receipts of the present year from Cie kh ofJanuarytip to the 23th of Julie, 1823; and the accounts from the sth of January, Ite2, up t) the 231 h of July, 11124 It would be seen that the first account could not inciude hie whole of the frst half year, the account being only brows down to the sth of Jane, when (lie quarter rusted on the sth of July. And It was well known that the last days of tue quarter were not the least productive. From those accouiii it appeared that front the sth of January to the 23th of Juno, 1823, the receipt was for— Customs BAls and Cash 72,291 The average of what may be the receipts be 'wean the 25th of J uue and sth of July inclusive 5t1,0(4 4. 1611.0.1 t. The receipt for tbe corresponding half ytt:!r of 4,036.54t4 .t 1219,804 Thos it would appear that there was an actual increase of 139,y04t in the Revenue of the half-year of 18E3 beyond that of the corresponJing half year ut I 82,2,—an increase quite independent of what it would have hen if no` taxes had been repealed ; to which, if the G 6,000/. arising front tans not repealed, hot included in the half year of 182 E, were added, an increase of 203,8041. would have been left under this head for the present year; therefore it would be seen that he had nut estimated the increase of the &Tense, notwithstanding the taxes repealed, too highly. when he said that they would not be less this year thaw they bad been last ; and from the increased trade, swishy. and enterprise of oar population, he should not be suguised if there was a still farther in crease. In the Ilscise the increase was not less satisfac tory, up to the Eiith ofJune, 1823, on a great number of odder, and bad considerably exceeded the amount of Revenue from the same a•iieles during the same time in 1222. But is other articles the result was not quite so satisfactory. However he hope.t that the difference would be made up before the half year ending the 25th of July. Front the accounts it appeared, that from the sth of January, to the 25th of July, 1822, the receipt wa , , for the Excise • And from Jan. 5, t0i1:n.25,1823 10,571,094 To which, if added, the probable receipt between June 25, and July 25 Would make for the half year of 1823 658,000 11,229,081 1:896,052 Thus it would appear that there was a deficiency in Excise for the half year of 1823, as compared with the corresponding one of 1822. of 896,0521. lint the Com mittee would recollect that this deficiency was accounted for 11 the diminution of taxation, and he would b. able to show, that if no diminution of taxation had taken place, the total amount of the half year of 1823 woul have exceeded that of Init. The actual loss which bad been sustained under this head of the Revenue, in c , sequence of the reduction of taxes• on hides, malt, salt, &e. amounted to 1,351,8751 . But the deficiency f the revenue amounted only to 896,0831., so that there must have been an actual ioprease of 455,7911. It would not be proper to trouble the Committee upon the other items; but he had every reason to suppose that this de ficiency would be continually on the decrease. In the meantime he was enable to state, that while there was this clear improvement in the Revenue, there was a gradual reduction of the amount of the National Debt; and fur the purpose of shewing this, he would compare the amount of the debt now with what it had been on the sth of January. 1823. The unredeemed fended debt, including every thing, then amounted to 796430,1441. The sum redeemed by the operation of the Sinking Fund since that period, is Great Britain, amounted to • • 1,834.055/. In Ireland - . - - And by the sale of Life Annaides and the re demption of Land Tax - . '172,2142 392,696 X 2,300,023 Therefore the National Debt bad been reduced slate J in last from 796,431.11. to 794,181,11. This was the state of the Funded Debt; and it should be recollected that no addition whatever had been made to it dnting this period. A similar reduction bad takes place in tie Unfunded Debt. The amount of this on the sth Jan. 1,333, was 31,235,150 L, and on the 30th of June last it nes 35,496000/. Thus a reduction of 737,150/, was affected lion the Unfunded Debt, which, if added to the reduction lea the Funded Debt, made the total reduction for the bdflear amount to about three millions. There would he a further reductibn within the year, be hoped, of about Oltlo,oool. But these reductions had no reference to what were called delisiency bills. This charge on the sth of Jan. lost. wanted to 5,928,3.141. And on the sth of Apeil last, when the last account was. made up, these hills were rideped to 3,723,218/. Thus, ;wider this bead also, for quarter, the two sr'' wont I , also, for one quarter, there was a reineiinsisi more ibso twomillionst and it would be inspossihte iny bon it would standat the end of the ensuing qdirtef. However. it was not likely that the reduction would 'bases than on 'be preceding quarter. This Was the able result. while the ltorirtnuent were able to toalte.e4psiderable re- Inceion in the burdens of the peopk. *ould ndt be iiHriy to hear the unionist of the higaialtieb bad been reduced witida the list tin ye t ; 1 4 sii k kh the lon, Mmes Ail the npplia An ! E • credit thoWies; Ths7 soy GU 00: ' E s was 'kit bees 1 .