The Sun. — London, England, 1828-02-16 00:00:00

IMPERIAL PARLIAMENT. Lord TEYNHAM moved for several return , connected with the state of Crime ittEngland and :Wales ; and also for retitrps of the number of per sons who on the Qf October, 1927, and in the month of January, 1828, received den,ls on' ;the Three per Cent-. Consols, Three per Celli. ''Reduced-Annuities, the Three and a Half a'neFjur per Cent., and on. eight Annuities, Noeciling.the .number of those - whose dividends .iid nutamount to 10!.; to:2()/.. to 401., to 1001., to 1,0004t0. , 2,00td. 1 to 3,000/:; and to 1,000!., and the total amount paid to each class. The Duke of" WELLINGTON understood that returns - corresponding to those last inoved for by the Noble Lord, were laid on the table or the Loiver noust, three or Jour years ago. If that were the case, probably all the purposes of 'the Noble Lord might be answered without pressing the present motion. The Earl of ROSLYN hoped that the'Noble Lord would examine the returns which had been presented in another place, and also those which had been laid on their Lordships' table, before he moved for the vast number of papers !which would necesiarily, be comprised in his present motion; besides the great expense which would be incurred in getting up, those returns, the voluminous nature of them would deter their Lordships from makinz them at all. The Marquis of LANSDOWNE said, that he had moved in the last Session'of Parliament for returns relative to the Committee; 'with a view of showing the increase of Crime, and of getting every inform ation on that subject •befOre the How v. Thcise re turns had been Made, although not yet printed. He WAS sorry to say, that, from. the very defective entries made at some gaols; the information was not as . satisfactory as could be -wished, althoughit - was as full as could be procured. With respect to another part of the Noble Lord's motion, that Ivhich related to .several. taxes , affecting land, he begged,. however, to remind him, that a Noble Friend of his (Lord Lansdowne) had moved for a variety of returns on that subject. The Noble Mar quis found great difficulty, even in the late official situation which he held, in produring these returns, and hail been obliged to resort to this Ilintf:e for assistance. The returns would comprise as corriplete a mass of information as could possibly he expected. Lord TEYNHAM .poStponed, until 'Monday, lus:motion for ,all the .return4i.except those which related to the .payment of diViden6; which were ordered accordingly to'belaid'before the House. :sir. A. GRANT slid 'others - brought up from:thr Commons the Exchequer 4 . illsOtid - fite Appropria tion Act; Nibick weirreiin and ordered . to be read a second titpeto,lirry9w. Crayfer, from - Trea§w , ) , , presented - rt turils relative to the,..lippoxtption. of Corm, Grain. and WOOT, iu pursuance of : their 'Lordships' forme' order. . . .The Marquis of CLEVELAND: , sintesentiug A Petition from the Protestant' Dis&elifels'.'of Stock ton, Durham, against the CorperatibiaLA,Test acts, begged to be understotid as' nut pledging himself to any particular- votetf .7 oreti thai question .e:tino re gularly for discussion before the House. Their Lordships then adjokned ar. - a quarter to six - o'clock. - , . . HOUSE'OF' . CONINION,,,Fzsa.uAnv 15. Mr.. Draper,. ,from theirrettsnry; brought tip re turns 'dative to the Assessett Taxes of Scotland. Mr. C, .DUNDAS 13tieritelf a' petition frotn Gloucester, in favour of the GlouCester!,hireßailiyay. Lord WM. RUSSELL presented a petition from the Vestry of the parish of St. Paul, Coven:- 1.) - Iirden, in favour of the Bill for the improvement of Covent-garden Malket. Mi.. MOORE. presented a. petition from 'the 'Merribes%f the Dublin Ste . aut-pneket•CoMpany„ i t , favour of the Bill relative to that Company. - nritIVIAN,JOINT-STOCK.:c9SIPANY. Mr. MOORl,presented a:yetitlsM • from" the Ili-, hernial' Joint Stock Compatty,•liiakipg fOi' leave to aissolve the Company. WILSON presented a petition, praying for the erection of - all Exchange in _the town- 017 Hythe, in the parish of Grimsby, in York. Mr. JOHN KNOX presentetla petition :in ta vola. 6Prhe .Newry j Mr. DICKIN I SQN . preented a petition in favour of the Bill for the improvement of the Bath Roads, and also another petition in" favour of the Kingsbury Inclosure Bill. . Sir W. HEATHCOTE moved fpr leaVe'to bri ng in a Bill to build a M ar k e t Plat e i n - Odsport, in the county of Southampton. - Mr. PONSONBY presented a petition, praying for leave to bring in a . Plll to build Bridge at YOughall, in the county of cork. Mr. MUNDY presented a petition in favour of the Derby and A i sliburn e Roads Improvement Bill.. BIWAVNT,Ow brought up a report of the Z , lonaghan and Lisburn Roads Bill. 'The. "standing; ordera had been .comphed with, and - leftve'NVas given to bring in a Bill. Mr. BART DAVIS moved the first reading of the Bill for the removal - . of the• Bristol cattle-Market from St. Thomas's -,street. Mr. H. DAVISAitiO presenteda petition in favour of the Bristol and Gloucestershire Railway. Mr. Alderman Sima presented a petition front the-jutiees of the Peace of the Liberty of •St. Albans., in the county of Hertford, praying for leave to bring in a Bill for the .erection of a New Court House in that town. Mr. Aym..DUND..A.S presented a petition from Edinburgh,-pnaying Air leave ter bring in a Bill to amend the Edinburgh Police Act. ..Mr. WM. DUNDAS presented a petition from Glasgow . , .in favour of the -Glasgow Improvement Bill. CAPELL preseineed a petition from -the in habitants of Queenborough, relative to the Oyster Fisheries. Lu-Ough 11 pz fife: r e - Ir. - O. WILL lAJM pOrt on the_ 13ea„maris .goads 'NIL The tlittllittg .ifiderA had beeih. coloplied -with, and leave ivas' to bring iuthe I3ilL. 111-. MARSHALL moved•forleitVe to bring in a Bill for.the enhnement of the Stockton Dar lington-Rinkay, and soling branches oot to extend into several parts of the county of.Durhatn. Mr. MARSHALL alse . preierfied a :petition 'in favour of the- \% llalifa4:4nd. Huddersfield Roads pill:_ He y a!0 presented a * A fetition front Bradford, pra in , 1 147 th c es tablit;lngent. of a Cot rt • of Requests in tgat town, . •,.• • scOTT brough t up the Report of the Com mittee oil the ItoxbUrmh adds 13 i 11 .- The.standing or d ers h a d been _complied with,_ and l eave wi 6- given to Nino - in the B!. Lord' STALEY -Prese"ted: a :petition in favour of the Ulster Canal: Nav i g ation Bin. „ • Lord F.. OSBORNE-I"Yed for i n a bill for the impttiveliient of the ro4 , §A., ? .y: ton and other places O r county of Leave was gfiveli to bruin- ..,„ c , 1 7, Mr. HUlktE'ruoved that diet e:be btfore...the. the p ro portion _pald:ori l b !36;9001. charged 4u . Accouirt presented ton .the House us paid o the Bank of England for managin g the funding eight millions - -of • Excheqirer Bill specifying the rate at which the:Tlisedunt was paid, and the mode of payment.—Ordered. Sir JOHN ROCHDALE moved that there be laid before the House an account of the public money paid into the EiChequer, on.aeccint of the HOUSE OF LORDS, FEBRUARY 15, 1828. Their Lordships met at five o'clock, Lord AUCKLAND presented a petition flow the Protestant Disseriters orThbnaus's-square Meet ing-house, praying for _the repeal of the Test and Corporation Acts. .•• • Similar petitions were presented from Full wood Chapel and another Chapel,,in Sheffield. Similar petitions were presented by the Earl of ENIBLYN (late CAWDOR) from the Dissenter:' Meeting at Lambeth-street Chapel, Carmarthen snd from those, of the Baptist denomination. lIAVERFORDWEST, PEMBROKE. funded and unfunded debt for the year end ing January, 1826; also the amount of the money applied towards the redemption of the funded debt during the same.periody and an account of the money remaining in the Exchequer on the sth of January, 1827.—Ordered. Mr. SPRING RICE renewed his question of Tuesday night . .as to Whether it was the intention Of his Majesty's Ministers to suffer the Act for the suppression of the Catholic Association to expire, or whether they intended to renew it. Mr. LAMB said that the Act would not expire until the close of the present Session, and that he could not give any ans wer res p ec ti ng , i t , f or th e Go vernment had not as vet had time to take the.matter into their consideration, G. DAWSON moved. the third reading of the Exchequer for the : year, 1828. Read a third time and passed. . - Mr. DAWSON moved the third' reading of the Transfer of Aids Bill for 1828. Read a third time and passed: Mr. WI% SMITH presented a petition from the Protestant 'Dissenters, in and near London, prayin for a repeal of the Test and Corporation Acts. Or. dered to be printed. Lord CASTLEREAGH presented a petitior from the Catholic Inhabitants of Loughin Island, in the county Down, praying for a removal of the-Ca tholic disabilities. Mr. - DAWSON- presented a petition for the in. corporation of the Dublin Steam Packet Company. —Laid on the table. • Mr; CALCRAFT presented a petition for the incorporation of the East London Railway. —Laid on the table. Mr. WOOD presented a petition for a Bill for the better regulation of the Poll at Elections at, Preston. —Laid on the table. The,Knight of KERRY presented a petition for a Canal from Tralee to Blennerville. Mr. GORDON presented a petition for a' Bill to make a Canal from Portsmouth to London.—Laid on the table. - . • , TEST AND CORPORATION ACTS. • Mr.- WARD presented a petition from Plaistow, in .Essex, in favour of the repeal of the Test and -Corporation ActS. petitions were presentee from Salkeld, in Cumberland, by Mr. Marshall;'hj Mr.:6uest, from Perdsey, in the West Ridingla Yorkshire; by Mr. Legard, from Kidderminster, Wm. cestersliire; by Mr John Martin, from Sodbury, am three other places, in Gloucestershire; by Lore Stanley, from Grosvenor-street chapel;' Manchester from Preston, from Coverstoke, and from Glide; by Sir Francis Baring, from Ly' mingtOn, in the county of Southampton, and fron Litchfield in the county of Herts; by Mr. Warbur ton from Cardigan, and from HOlken, in Essex; bi Mr. Jones, from Abergwilly, in the county of Car natwon ; by Mr. Craddock, from Harlington, ii Devon, from I3loxfield,' in Suffolk, from Exeter' from Osnestry, Salop, and live other places; by Mr B. Baring, from the Dissenters of Hitchinfield ; Mr. J. Wood, from Dockley, in Lancaster; by. Mr, Easthope, from Chaldon, Gloucester, Battersea, and some other places. THE MALT ACT. Mr. WODEIIOI.I i SE presented a petition from •Walsingitatn, and other places in Norfolk, com plaining- of the-penalties to which they were subject uoder the Malt-Act. - -- -- -- • - 1 .31r. GROSYENOR pre*eilled a petition from the maltsters of Chester relative to the Act of last Session.- . -4)rdered to be piloted. . - .PUBLIC REVENUE.,- . Air._ MA) - moved that AccouritS b e l a id . . _ . on the tablell.of the Public Revenue from the year 1820 to the . lst of . January, 1828, and also no Account oe - the Expenditure ' within the same period, distinguishing the amount ap plied for the reduction of the Funded and Unfunded' Debt.—Ordered. Sir JOHN NEWPORT moved for returns of the quantity of Corn . and Meal.,exported from Ire-, land since the .sth . Jan. last ; also an account of the quantity of Butter,- Bacon, and Cattle, impin ted within the same period. ~. . .• - INSOLVENT DEBTOII , - A CT. , Mr.-HUME moved for Returos of the persons discharged under the Insolvent Debtors' Act since the Ist .fan., :1813, and the number remanded and opposed.—Ordered. . FINANCE COMMITTEE. . • Mr. PEEL moved that that part of his Majesty's Speech respecting the Finance of the Country be. now.read, The Clerk having read it, . . Mr.- PEEL rose and said, - I have Moved, Sir, that that part of his - Majesty's Speech which refers to th e state of the Income and Expenditure of this country may he read, not merely in compliance with the usage that has prevailed on similar occasions, but in order that. I ,may introduce the proposition whiel 1 am about to make, _under - the highest auspices, and claim fitr it the sanction of the first authorities of this land.-- Sir, this propOsition for the appointment of a Finance Committee is not a novel thing; at -varetis ieriods of 'the history of this. country, Committees have been instituted .at the recommendation of -the. Hoitse, for the Purpose of examining not only the expenditure and income of the country, but also for the purpose of subtnittinig to this House their opinion upon the possi bility of establishing a snore effectual control over the ex penditure, and of making any reduction compatible with the necessities of the country. In 1786, some short time after the termination of the American War, a Finance- Committee was appointed, _on the recommendation of Mr. Pitt. Again, in 1796, a similar Committee was appointed, over which the present Lord Colchester presided, and with an ability which has conferred on him the greatest honour, and from the exertions of, Such Committees, so presided over, essential benefits have been derived. In 1807, 1 think, • on the recommendation of the present Lord Lans downe, a Committee was recommended, having a similar object. In 191/a Committee of this sort was also moved fur by Lord Castlereagh; Sir, by an entirely fortuitous, but somewhat singular concidence, the same period of titne has elapsed between all three. In 1786 was the first - appointment ; in - 1796, ten years _afterwards, the next was appointed ; early .in 1807 another was appointed ; in 18k7 again, after a lapse of precisely the same period, the next was appointed ; and new, in 1828, accidentally, no doubt, but after the lapse of the same period, I come forward to propose to this House the inetitution.of a similar Coutuaittee. Sir, I do not - propose this Committee from- any of the motives which have, in i the course --of , the • casual --conversations that have taken place, been 'sometimes ' insinuated.--With respect to the objects, I do assure the House Ido not propose this Committee -as the reluctant - fulfilment of a _pledge given by a former Government. ' I propose it - from .a. conviction which I have long entertained, and 'which has been confirmed by the examinations I have made into the Aocuntents connected with this subject—from a- delibe rate conviction that the . time- has .now come, wh en we m • ••• ust look fairly and firmly at the state of the Finance. I de not pfopose :this Committee with the object of deluding the people, and of gettinurecommtaidations, or of found _ ing, on the recommendation of this Committee, application!' fur increased taxation. I propose the Committee because 't believe it will honestly execute the duties requir e d by it, , and because. I believe if those duties are fairly exalt ed, die CeVernfrieut and country at large, will derive , import • ant benefits from its appointment. -It, -perhaps,' may be unnecessary for me, as it would certainly be- much more.. agreeable' to. myself, if my labours were confined to-a state ment simply of the views, and,to the.proposal of tke names perhaps, ?nay be unneec,sary of these who are to be . the Members of this Cormnittee-,a, ... fhi Fa, - • - • . ttiat:4 should much exceed a :brie ae . tionotthese two topics. tut I think I have infer+, il frit& the 'conversations that have already, taken place„-that a general expectation has :i.....,_-.......: entertained that .- I ,shonlil preface the , proposal fu tine appoin tine!' t of , this. Coin; mitts by . some . genefill ,refrence to the *tate. ,of--the Finiiiicg of this country. Sir, .1 -should -he-sorry tii , i;ste ai d i n t - that ' general - expe,....ta-tion, but .. at the .Ba"'in;; :-dine, I ant coofident lin attempting _ti I t atije, .'the 'l4 O l- 4 will extend 'to One its indulgence b e ,. atoe -: it will recollect • this statement has Hot heed intimately connectial with the particular Department peculiar ci i avehad i:curt th;; anc Irorets in r i • Avhic ott :tofihlli ja:e tl been' s a.that: under the placed, Called upon withim so late a periOd to return to the serVice.of the Crown, I - really have not had time to giv e tL't attention to the subject Which - it . so - richly deservei, and which might have compensated for the disability under which at any time I should have laboured in attempting to bring forward the subject. But, Sir, I shall attempt. to , state, not only my view of the Finance, but the general outline of the facts with respect to the expenditure and the int:obit of this country, for some short time past. If there he any merit in the statement I am about to make, it will be only this, that I shall attempt to state the facts fairly, without concealing any thing._ (Hear, hear.)—because I am perfectly satisfied that nothing can be more impolitic than to mystify the public. Financeof the country. These things are, in fact, more sim ple than they appear to he on a superficial view : there ia np difference whatever between the expenditure of indivi duals, end that of a country. They depend upon the same principle, and you might as well say with respect to the rule, of arithmetic, applied in making common calculations, th e y do not apply to the subdivision of millions; as that .the Finance, aft.. considering all,aniust not rest upon the same principles, and be goVerned by the same views as the finance of an individual. I shall at tempt then, Sir, this iniaortarit question, namely, the present state of The Finanee of this _country, precisely upon the same princiVe which an individual would apply ,to a • view of his own concerns, supposing lic found it necessary for any purpose, to' enter into .such a consideration. I shall as far as possible divest my state ment of every thing that is calculated to obscure it, and make it inteliigible even to' those the least. versed in finance; and d presume, if an individual were about to look into his affairs, to, look into what were' -his expenditure and income, he would act on these princi ples He would first attempt to ascertain the incurnbrances under which he lay,. and, to which' lie was indisputa bly 'liable ;—secondly, what had been- the amount of- his net 'income for some years ;—and thirdly, what were the prospects he' had, either as to the amount of his future expenditure or his income.— Sir, in pursuing this course, then--riot going back, to any distant period, for I do profess to go back, to deliver any profound view with respect to the Finance, I am n:erely ping to give to the House' a general view of this country's Finance. Then the first, question, according to the course I have prescribed to myself, is what is the present amount of those engagements .to the fulfil. went of-which we arc bound by every obligation o national.faith . ? Whatever be the . financial state of thi, country, I believe there, will be a universal feeling of this House,, and of this country, that the national faith that has been pledged to the a a tiblic creditor, must be placed as an item of expense in 'the account. I think it quite sufficient for my purpose; though I can go much further' back, if any geptleman require it, .in examining into the present state of finance, to, take three periods-- 1815 s 1822, and 1827. The state of the unredeemed debt of this country, January 5, 1816—or I would rather speak of the year to the conclusion of which the calculation is made, in order to simplify the statement—in 1815 then, that which may be considered the first year, the total return of the debt -unredeemed was 816,310,600/. In the year 1822, the total amount unredeemed was. seven hundred and ninety six millions five hundred and thirty thousand ; and in the last year the amount of the debt unredeemed was, 796,530,0001. I shorild observe, that I deeM it unne cessary to mention the hundreds. This last item is strictly, I believe, 3 0r.409/. more, but I apprehend it is sufficient if I state it thus in round numbers, and indeed 1 fear that the debt is altogether so large, that a few hundreds are but- of • little consequence in the statement. The next matter to be considered is, the amount of Charge. The annual charge to which this country was exposed, in consequence of that debt—the, unredeemed funded debt, - was of course the interest payable to the public, and the annual interest on account of the funded debt in 1815 was 28,278,000/. ; in 1822, it was 26,419,0001. ; and is 1827, it was 25,500,0001. Of course that statement alone does not give a fair view of the amount of the public incumbrances: -In the first place there are the annuities payable, terminable, no doubt, but at a period on which: we cannot calculate. I propose, then, next to tionsider what was the total amount imposed on this country in consequence of the unredeemed debt and the annuities. The charge on account of the annual interest on annuities and the ftinded debt, was M. 1815, 30,483,000/. ; in 1822, it was' 28,596,0001., and in 1827 it was 28,381,0001. I am not yet come,- Sir, to speak of the Exchequer Bills or Unfunded Debt; butathe statement I have made will serve to spew that the diminution of the piiblid expenditure, on account of interest, to whiclathia country is liable, was last year, as compared with the year 1 815......£2,106,000 'But, as compared with 1822; 0n1y... 216,000 With respect to theftinded debt, the Exchequer and Irish Treasury Bills, and debts outstanding in 1815,theY amounted to 44,544,0001. ; in 1822, to 42,900,000/. ; and in the last year to 34,770,0001. The total annual charge in the three years of Whicllain speaking, namely, 1815, 1822, and 1827, for funded' debt, for annuities, aad for. unfunded debt, was, in the first year, thirtyathree millions six hundred and se venty-nine thousand ; in 1822, thirty millions and twenty seven thousand, and in the last, The unfunded debt of last year,compared with the year 1815 was decreased by 9,707,0001. ; so that the total decrease di the debt under the late Act of Parliament is 48,608,0001. that is the total balance. in our favour ; and the total decrease charged to the country on account of ' the funded and unfunded debt was 44 millions. It is not altoa gether unimportant to see what proportion of the total charge of the debt the annuities bear. In 1815 the charge was 30,488,000/., of which sum 1,924,000/. was annuities. In 1822, flay total charge was 28,596,0001.,- of which 1,892,000/a were annuities. , In .the last year, the total charge was 28,881,000 Es of which the annuities were 2,602,000 E, theiefore the total charge of the debt for the last year, was rather more, than the charge feta' 1822. My object, as I said before, is to eluci date and explain the real Finances of the country, and-hav ing now stated the amount of our ineumbrances, let Us look to the state of the revenue and the expenditure of the country for some time past. I think, in order to be able to form a calculation of the future revenue and expen diture af the country, it will be necessary to extend our views beyond the last one or two years, and I therefore in tend to include Within the scope of my observations the state of the expenditure of the country for the last five years. As some difficulty meets us as to the meaning of the word Expenditure, I wish to steer clear of the question of the dead weight; and in order to disconnect that matter from the view which I take of the expenditure, I propose to present a review of our income and expenditure, discarding any Charge or any credit relative to it—discard ing on the one hand, the 4,800,000/. of income, and on the other hand discarding the ;2,800,0001. - paid upon ac count of that charge, as.my wish is to give a preciso'view of the ordinary revenue and expenditure of the country, and I therefore think that the view will be moreintelligible, by discOnnecting the dead weight from the real income and expenditure. I shall therefore go back for the Fist five years, anti attempt accurately to give an explanatioh of the amount of the expenditure on account of the interest of the debt—the ordinary services---the Army and Navy-- the Miscellaneous, and so forth. In taking this expenditure, including the charge of the funded debt, I find that in the year 1823, the total expenditure of the great branches excluding the advance of five millions paid under the Act of Parliament to the Commissioners for the reduction of the National Debt—excluding those, I find, that the great branches-of the expenditure, exclusive of the Sinking Fund; are as follows, for the last five years 1n.1823 . _1824 1825 . 1826 1627 , 49,719,000 Now, supposing that I, in the next place, deduct from the . expenditure of each year the anioiit . of. the fixed aum annually payable o n a cc o unt o f the debt, and separate the-net expenditure, exclusive of the charge for the funded and unfunded debt, the Naval and Military pen sions, and the advances made by Government for ill ibli e works, w hi c h a d vances must not be considered permanent, we shall state the amount of theactual net ex pendituie (r those five years, - to he as followS • . Actual expenditure for 18 23—£18,4'77,000' • 1824 20,461,000 a .,; aa a 3,glalv I ,l l' wt.& 1825 20;000,000 b l a 1826 21,500,000 . 1827 21,582,000. I hope that iu the statement which 1 makel shall not be considered as throwing - , any reflection upon anyforiner Go varimient, • tar any reflection which I 'stay cast upon a for naga,Government must fall as heavily upon myself as iipan, auy one else ; but the course 'which I propose tu : myself is to lo o k retros p ect i vely, and to present to the. House a full and fair view of the real financial affairs or country ; and taking the 'total amount of these five years, to present at one view the *total income find expenditure of these- five yeall, I find that Ole total revenue, including all the sources of revenue, and including therepayments of advances on ac count of public works, during thefive years-ending Jan. 5, 1828, to be 261,000,000/. The. House understands what .1 mean. by repayment of the money advan ce( namely; the re-payment of surW - advanced by Government to -carry on public works in -England and Inland, upon the understanding that the interest shOuld be regularly paid, and that some repayment of the original advahees should be occasionally made . the-total amount of the revenue, in cluding those repayments; to be for the last- five years, 261 millions. Having - made this statement, I shall now proceed' to ktate the amount of the expenditure,- and it will their be- seen what the , meal surplus aaailable fo r th e liquidation of - the national debt has. been 'for the last five year s . • Th e tota l amount of the expenditure, excluding the Naval and Military Pensions, but including the advances made by Governinent, for carrying on Public, Works during the last five yea* is 249,000,0001., sr that the total surplus of the revenue of the country for the last five years, available to the liquidation of the National Debt, is exactly twelve millions. Now; Sir, I will state the income and expenditure, including tin dead weight, as it adds to the Income on one side, and to the Expenditure on the other, under the existing arrange ment, with respect to that item. The total then, inclusive of every payment for the last five years, will be— Income £284,149,000 ' Expenditure 263,095,000 Making a total surplus, of twenty-one millions in roun( numbers, according to this view of the subject. The next point to which I think it necessary to draw the attention o the House, is the amount paid by the Commissioners of de . Sinking Fund, as' directed to be annually appropriated by Act of . Parliament for the last five years. The total of the 4 payments is -29.414,000/., exhibiting an execs° over the surplus income, which amounts, as I have Shown, to 21,051,000/. of-8,360,000/. The differ ence has been made up partly by money raised for that purpose, and partly by reduction , of the balances in the Exchequer on the last day of one year compared with tlio,e balances on the last day of another. Supposing, for instance, the amount of balances to have been five millions in the year 1823, and the amount now to be only two mil lions, the House will easily see that a larger sum by three millions than the actual surplus of the income over expen diture may have, during the intervening period applied to the reduction of the debt. lam not aware, Sir, that I have omitted any point necessary to render to the House . a clear, unembarrassed, and perfectly true account of the Income and Expenditure of the last five years, and of the incumbrances for which we have had to provide. It would be difficult for me to attempt an estimate of the future pro-, bable Revenue of the country. This is a task which mon! probable devolves on my Right Hon. Friend (the' Chan cellor of the Exchequer), at a more advanced period of the Session, and it would be presumption in me to anticipate, with the feeble means which I have for coming to a judg ment, the statement which we may expect from him. For the purpose, however, of assisting to a correct view of our future prospects i n th a t res p ec t, it ma y n ot he aniisa to re fer to the ordinary expenditure and income of the last two years., The total ordinary revenue For the Year 1826, was .....£49,625;000 For 1827 49,581,000 . This is exclusive -of Naval and Military Pensions, Casual Revenue, and the Repayment in Advance on Pub lic Works. The income of the year 1827 being therefore - £49,581,000 Expenditure . . 49,487,000 The Excess of Income was The Expenditure of the two years was— For 1826 49,513,000 • 1827 I am aware; Sir, that some expectation is entertained that I shall say something about the Estimates of the present year ; -and, although they are not all made up in a form fit to present to the House, I shall not hesitate to give a gene ral, and, I believe, an accurate notion of their amount.— (Hear, hear.) . I protest, however, against being bound by any inaccuracy that may subsequently appear to attach to this statement. It is my anxious wish to give the Nouse every possible information upon every branch of the subject and it is-that alone which induces nit to make this piema ture disclosure of the probable amount of the Estimates a the present year.—(Cheers.) The Estimates for the pre. sent year will, I believe, be-- For the' Army 4:6,586,008 Army Extraordinaries, including under that head, 450,0001. advanced for the present year, and 360,000/. o f d e b t b e l ong i ng - to the last year 0,810,000 Militia 0,29:2,000 • .„ Corninissariat , 0,372,000 Navy Ordnance Miscellaneous Now, Sir, I hope I shall not he charged with couceal ment or intentional nibs-statement should any of the sums come out different from what I have now stated. My sole object is to assist in devising the best means for our future guidance, and it; in the execution of that object, I should commit .any immaterial error—l am sure there will be none material—l hope no one will attribute to me an in tention of misleading the House.—(Hear, hear.) The total 'of these Estimates is -17.577,0001. I have referred to the Estimate made by 'the Finance Conimittee of 1817, as adequate for the same services prospectively, and I find that their -Estimates for the services I have enumerated was__ 17,350,0001. Deducting this sum of seventeen 'millions, three huridreit and fifty thousand pounds, from the former sun] of seventeen millions, live hundred and seventy-seven thousand pounds, there remains as. the excess of the estimate for the present year, over the estimate of the Finance Committee of 1817, 227,000/._ (Cheers.)—The total amount of Estimates voted for the last year was 18,745,0001. ; so that the Estimates for the present year are less than those for the part year by I,l6B,ooo4—(Cheers.)—The Hon. Member for Montrose seems to doubt the accuraty of iny'statenient. lam per fectly willing to. be corrected if I am in error, but I mike the best calculation I coo cur the information of the House—(hear, hear, hear)—having no other object than that which is common betwixt the Hon. Member and tny self, to make a full and explicit disclosure of the state of our finances.—(Cheers.)--I believe it will be found that these Estimates are-- . Less than those o f 1825 £ 6,140 Than those of 1826 365,843 And than those of 1827 . 1,168,260 • (Great cheering.) In looking forward to the probable de mands that will be made on this country, I think, Sir, we should not omit to take into consideration the effect that will he produced by the termination of the contract with the Bank of England, with reference to the naval and military pensions. If it should not be deemed advisable to renew that contract—if it be thought better to return to the old system, and meet the charge of our pensions —it is clear that the re suit will be an addition to the present ex penditure of the, country. The contract with the Bank will, I believe, expire in July of the present year. The effect of the termination of the contract will be a diminu tion of income available for the general services of the year 1828, as compared with the amount received from the Trustees of the Bank, for the year 1827, 913,240/. ; and for the general services of the year 1829, as compared with 1827,- of 1,940,740/. It does not appear to me ne cessary further to trespass on the patience of the House, by presenting them with any further details, to enable them to form a just opinion, as to the. real state of the country. It is not my intention to enter into any defence of the contract to which I have just alluded, (it would be quite beside my purpose to do eo,) and I have merely intro duced it . to assist in forming an hypotheiis of our probable future .income. Fig the ume purpose only have I referred to the estimates. They were pre pared 'however by a Government with which I was not connected, brit I have a strong conviction on my mind that they were prepared-with great care, earnestly and success fully to' . terry into effect every possible retrenchment.— (Hear, hear.)—But,,On the. subject of these estimates, I will . tsay that I ain satisfied there exists in the New Mem bers of the present Ciovernineot, as well as in those who belonged to the last Administration, a sincere desire to see economy in the public expenditure carried to its utmost length. And if, through the recommendation of the Finance. Cpronittee, it 'should-. appear prhctierible to make some reduction in the expenditure of the next half-year, that I am confident will be cheerfully effected.—(Cheers.) —With respect to the Army Estimates, it has been pro posed that a further reduction should_ be made in our Military Force. To effect this, there are twosapodes— the one by disbanding the regiments, and the other by reducing the - number of men. In the f ormer case there would be 'a claim on the part of those reduced, to sinus. By reducing the number of men. merely, no e pense was -entailed- on . the cou n t r y. The reduction of , the men also "could -be immediately effected, and certainly ii our military force will bear reduction at all, that is the way least open •to ohjeCtioo; I have asked: my - N o bl e F r i en d (Earl Dudley) ,if it he possibl e t o M a k e a greater reduction than has yet been - made in that branch of ourexpenditore which rkers to foreign residents, especially with reference to the Ministerial, and also the Consular Establishments of "South Arnerica.--(Hear, - hear.) There is another sub-. ject which will very naturally come under the consideras tion of the Finande Committee—l allude to .the Colonial toriety, that th e military thi es,a--;hments of many of our s her, hear.) Si r , it i s ma tter of no establishments .expenditure.--(near, Colonies, Pth Crown."=-4 do , not o f course allude to soch as have Legis latures of own—amount those iMmediately:dependent .on the ex penditure. Th e R evenue which the Colon i es to w hi ch I - -allude yield, is very trifling—the total amount of it I believ e ictl l a v r ri lY —ameunt - to a conSiderable annual appear upon con s ide ra ti on to be i ncons i sten t w i t h perfect . j s u ca st r i c ee ely to enfokexited,Hts one million per annum, and it may n o t oat Colonists so far meet the expenses in-: curred for their, internal protection, as to lessen somewhat: the burdens whi c h .t h ey i mpose on t h e Mother country.-... 1 in of these matters I wish it, Sir, to be understood, that my mind is not under the ,guidance of any peculiar doctrines of political economy. My single view is to keep: the expenditure and the income of the country as much as possible on a par with each otber.—(Hear.) I will now I address myself to the immediate question of the appoint ment of the Committee. I have already been challenged to give a definition of the powers of the. Committee. II shall first make a single observation respecting its cm- position. Where them are so many who deem themselves qualified, and who are so esteemed by others, selection br comes a very difficult task: But it must be' done; and, in attempting to execute it to the best of my ability, I have endeavoured to include as large a portion of the experience of the House, and of those Hon. Members who have !mai'. cularly devoted their attention to these subjects, as was con sistent with the limited numbers of the Committee, - With respect to the powers of the Committee, I am not prepared to say what- ought to be their exact limits. 1 think toy Right Honourable Friend (Mr. Huskitsson) was most leaterially misunderstood, when he was stated to have de clared that the establishments of the country were such as Government only. was responsible for, 'and that the Cern mittee would have no right of enquiring into them. It is impossible for any man of good,senseto think of pteseribin , s the real limits of such an enquiry. . On -the one hand, it i. clear that the Executive Government;: if it is to be competent to the discharge of its duties, must be accepted as reborn,- sible, to a certain extent, for the establishment of the country. On the- other hand, to exclude the Cointilittee from all views of those establishments %voidd be- equally a, absurd as to deny the lesponsihility of Government: Most of the circumstances connected with those establishinent cannot be excluded from a body so appointed. But at the same time it is obvious, that Governtnent may be in pos se;sion of many elements material to the formation of an accurate judgment, which they cannot disclose. Thus, for instance, , with respect to the treaty which was last night referred to in our discussions, which treaty pro. vided for the employment of a naval force, how was it possible for- the Executive, which could only know of the secret article appended to the Treaty, to int: part to .the Committee that material element to its judgnaent—and how could such a Committee have pro ceeded to deliberation without the knowledge of such a cir cumstance, excepting by confidence in the Executive ? All that I can say, Sir, is, that to enable the Committee to take an accurate and comprehensive view, every possible as sistance will be given ; I can say no. more than this. It was the rule on which the Committee acted in 1817, and no other rule can be acted on now. There is one: point, Sir, to which,,- ; befores. j conclude. I am anxious to address myself; and upon which I have always had a very strong feeling. I had thought, indeed, of introducing word, into my motion expressive of that feeling. Sir, mkt to the advantage and necessity of a simplification of the pub lic accounts.—(Cheering, - )_I have no doubt that - , - with - oat any express words, the Committee will feel thethselves warranted in taking that important .subjeet into their 'sc.: rious consideration. No man is more desirous than I 'am" to see the public accounts presented in the simplest pri - iSible forin.--(Hear, hear.).—And 1 can only-say, that if Hive COmmittee should be able to recommend any plan for Chic attainment of this object, they will secure - for the countre a great public advantage. I see no reason, Sir, 'Why w should not follow the example set us in this respect by France and the United States of. America. I am'quite cer tain that we shall do well to profit by such an example, and I can see no. one single disadvantage attending it.— I thank the House for the indulgence which has been ex tended to me in the statement of details which it \your(' have been difficult to have relieved from the dryness which notoriously attaches to such subjects. I trust I have said enough to show in what spirit this Committee has been and to convince the House that it proceeds, - on the Part. of his Majesty's Government, from a sincere de sire to meet fairly and fully Parliament and the country,_ upon a subject of such vital importance. I know that, from a person in my situation, professions of economy arc suspected as things of course, and as Intended to mislead: But I state earnestly and confidently to the House, that - there is, en the part of- the present Administration, in taking the affairs of this country under :its guidance; resolute determination to effect all possible economy in the publicexpenditure.—(Cheers.) An Hon. Gentleman, the other night, declared it as- Ilia opinion,- that, what eVer the disposition of Government, that was still over ruled lay an external influence, which rendered it im perative- to maintain large establishments to satiate that influence. To this, Sir, speaking from experience in the business of Government, I give an unqualified denial. I shall not new go back to .the increase which may have taken place in the different departments from -a particular period, upon which haveaddressed myself to the - House, - but must say, that I cannot agree with the Hon. Member in the 'causes to which he refers this increase. I believe that the increase of which he coMplains has been partly, and indeed principally, owing to the views entertained Ity each particular department with respect to its own ser vice, without, perhaps, paying very particular regard to the general: expences of all ; and, at any rate, I en tirely differ from the Honourable Gentleman, because I ant convinced that the expences thus incurred, hive been entered into from the laudable view of each head -of a department, wishing to have the establishment sol der his controul in the best possible state, and moat cer tainly, from other and better motives than those assigned by the Hon. Gentlenian.—(Heat, hear.)—ln paying this, 1 speak from experience, as in the department which I have had under my own controul, I must confess I , always entertained a wish to have all the establishments connected, with it in the best possible state, without considering what the effect might he upon the general, establishments of the country. - What I now wish:is, that there shoold be one general and effectual controul over all the establishments of the country ; and I believe that the Noble Individual at present at . the head of the highest department in the country, has both the disposition and the power to exercii4 a greater and more efficient controul orer all the subOrdi- - nate establishments, than any other person, in'the country. —(Hear, hear.)—l wish to avoid introducing -any thing like a political and party feeling into the consideration" of a matter of this importance. I only mention the name of that Noble Person upon this occasion, because I consider him more capable than any other individual of- efficiently execut ing that necessary controul so indispensable to the well .being' of the country. I say this, because, in the various civil Offices he has filled, there can be no one who has not seen, both - in the Ordnance and other departments heretofore under his direction, the -most anxious desire on his part to introduce every retrenchment and every degree of economy compatible with the interests of the country. lam sure ., that the Noble individual sees no cause to. despond, al though' he has the desire to look fairly into the financial state of the country, and lax the, warmest wish that every possible reduction should he made. I know that these are his wishes, but only, under the strict and imperative obligatlen of maintaining to the letter, and to 'its utmost point, the national faith with the public creditor, which he is fully assured means are to -be found -for in the resources of the country, and upon which account he feels that there is not the slightest cause for the leaSt despOndency.—s(Hear.) Amid I say this because I believe so too, and am far from believing otherwise, that; on' the contrary, I come 'forward' to make this unreserved declara tion of the fact, without any apprehension of the possibility of contradiction. I believe if it were necessary at this mo ment to appeal to the resources,. and reuse the dormant energies of the country, in that way in which they can always be roused, either to vindicate the national honour or to maintain her essential interest, that there never was a time when she could putforth mightier exertions, founded un the unimpaired resources of her financial interests, and the matchless energy for 'which these countries have ever been distinguished. , I now beg to move--• - "That a Select Committee be appointed to inquire into the stateOlthe income and expenditure of the United -King dom, and to consider and report what further legulations and checks should.,,in their opinion, be adopted for establishing an effectual controul over all the charges incurred, and ever the receipt, custody, and.application of the public money; and also to consideravhat further tneans can be taken to reduce any part of the- public expenditure Without' detri ment to the public service." On the question being put from the Chair, - Mr.. HUME,did not rise for the purpose of offering any opposition to the formation of a Committee, but he wished to put it to - the Right Honour a bl e G ent l eman , whether l ie cou ld be able to carry t h e o bj ects he proposed i nto e ff ect b y the' aid of one Com m itt ee ? -H e was anx i ous a l so t o le arn from the Right H on . Gentlemen whether it was his inten tion Crown that lands, Committee m thietthered it ud inquire' a l ry ir into the st a t e o f revenue, and othet matters ; upon -which inquiry had been - often promised, but never entered into ? lie was desirous at the outset to make this inquiry, for, arnearly as he-could gather the words of the present tnotion,were.the same as those in the appeintment of the.SelegA Committee'in 11317, an ,l yet it appeared that that Committee had inquired into very few of the objects for, which- they had been appointed. 'lt also appeared that none of: the - Committees' a ppointed had gone into all the subjects which 'it was said would be submitted to them, though some of them had sat - for several years, and presented -10. or ,12 reports. It' the proposed Com m; .ttee were to be so long occupied, was it, he would ask, to have these several -matters submitted to its - considera tion ? Did the Right Hon, Gemini= intend to provide for the deficit of two he intend to make ar rangements respecting the Sinking Fund,, or to provide for the deficiency which would take place . when the Bank should cease to make any payments on the naval and Innis tary half-pay and pensions? -Were these things to be brought before the House separately, or were they to wait until they had been submitted to the consideration of the .Committee of- Finance? If these and the other matters which in his opinion should be referred to the inquiry of Committee, -shoUld,be referred to this Committee, he must say that it would be impossible it could do them justice:— He had taken the trouble to prepare a statement of the dif ferent branches connected with the public revenue ae?,. d ; penditure o f. th e country, ant i h e must s a y , that % Committee we r e t o di rect i ts attention to'all, it wiit"; , . impossible it cou ld term i nate i ts labours in e ves short a ti me ' as two or three year s . Wh a t h e therei . would ' s U ggest to t h e Ri ght Honourable Gentleman ""d be, the appointment of ten or eleven Fi nance C o well; —(Loud langhter.)—He was quite aw are t h a t this quite a novel thireato propose, and he was preparealn pest objections, there were so few in the House disr o.. 'take any t rou bl e or labour on themselves.. But be ad cootend that if the Right Honourable Gentleman 0/7 bus in proposin g ' a cons id eration of all the points to 01...: he referred, it wo u ld b e qu i te impossible. that they 7 be gone into- by ope Com m itt ee cons i st i ng o f twenty of 61 thirty Ilembers. It would be impossible that, wi th ,'; chance of effect m this or thenext Session, th e y 00 0 , into an inquiry or make any report, not merely reed one, but twenty department s . whi c h ought to be subo",.. , ' to their consideration. He would show that-it..3%W i so easy a matter to conduct those ititmiriei by fine CA. Mittee, as some gentlemen seemed to think. Let ' House look at the last Committee appointed,h_ that e i ': at which W as c all e d Si r Ch ar l es Long's Ciirom This was occupi e d' fur,five years with the customsexeise, "and' with no oth e r. d e p ar t men t of :the. publie 0 1 come or expendit ure . Th e Fi nance Committee thirteen or fourt een re p or t s , an d yet not one pf t h em re f to the many departments into which lie Contended io4 ought to b e made ; be m ean t th e Crown land s , the b (Entry reve nues , th e c i v il li st, the expenses of our Coolta, and the C o l on i es . H e was g lad to learn that t r was an intention of ma ki ng some i nqu i ry respecting tbli but he would ask if any inquiry could be effectual, if rested to so inany.objeets by the labours of only one 01 ) inittee ? To consider these important matters with eo„` he repeated .that the labo urs o f one C omm i ttee could tio). finished in less than two or three years. If the House in earnest in the disposition to inquire, they ought to di the labour betwe e n th em by th e appo i ntment of many mittees, which, by s itti ng f rom d ay to J ay, m i g h t b e aided, by th e en d o f th e S ess i on, ' to present reports res .i .ing the s e v era l 'depart men t s connecte d w i t h the rev ey , .and expenditu re of th e country. ;By that to t e.' ' they might be en a bl e d to point out _many l'eu u ' t Lions whi c h it wo u ld be ' impossible• o th erw ise make. If this course were not adopted, it would be fil l ; that the Fi nance C omm itt ee now proposed would give, , name, but feW if an y, o f th e rea l a d vantages of inero" Or he productive of any practical good. -.lf he pointed,o the items of accounts which ought to become the subjee 'inquiry, it would appear that each of the eleven I,m or initt e es would have qu it e enough to. do for. the next ttc,%g three months. The Co mm itt ees w hi c h he should soff- should be small in number—not exceeding seven Mear r. , for each Committee, o f w h om fi ve s h oul d be a quorum Y 1 All who were acqu a i n t e d w ith t h e mo d e o f doing butinesj in Select Committ ees , wou ld agree with hiM ' that it '` 3 , done . in a more regular, orderly, and efficient manner 1 1 i . small Committee than by one very numerous. The ref t i why few o f th e suggestions made by several of d d Select Committees were not adopted, was, that the Ce' g ; inittee being occupie,l with more business than oo . to he submitted to it at once, protracted their s wirl 'mid lo ng b e f ore t h ey made their report, the interest of t i subject pas se d over an d was ' forgotten. Scarcely any the suggestio ns o f the several committees of finance, 01 that on customs and excise, bad been adopted. Now appeared that we bad gone en increasing our debt sin 1816, for lie should be prepared, on another occasion, , prove that the Right Hon. Gentleman was mistaken asserting that there bad been a decrease of upwards 4,000,000/. in the charge of funded : aid unfunded del since that period. tle would show thie mistake from t Treasury accounts, and he was surprised that the e rr should not have been pointed out by those by whom the° accounts w ere made up.. Ile repeated, we were going e ° increasing our debt at a period when we ought to he redid ing it annually. We were bound, then, by the circuit/ stances of the country to reduce our expenditure, not °, 17,000,000/. or 16,000 ,0001., but t o reduce it to thf scale which would leave us such a surplus as would be efir cient for the gradual_ reduction of ou r d e bt. If t h e H o d did 'net adopt this course, they could not be said to kn° l what they were about. The, Right Hon. Gentleman he 'talked of the resources of the country, and said there 1 0 no ' dround for despair. He :(Mr, H ume ), did not de pair t . vbe ' called for . economy. He admitted the extee t oT our resources, but he hoped th e y wou ld not b e used 0 that extent until every means of economical reduction • la been tried for the relief of the country. The Right Hoe: ' Gentleman Said, that those resources were all unimpaired' That lie (Mr. Hume) doubted, for he feared it would 0 found, the returns from every species of our property eiO' barked in trade were not such as could be '.desired, er st they had been some time back. He would say, in Ot Words of Lord . •'Castlereagh , in moving th e appo i ntment 0 t the - Finance' Committee of 1817,,that a country must It mad'whicb,it,..a state of peace, should go on from y ear v.' year consuming its income ; that it was the duty of the Le' gi•lature to look forward in time of peace to a po s sible state of war, and so to reduce the expenditure as t" leave a considerable surplus for the reduction of the public debt. Now this important duty which had beet , thus' pointed out by his Lordship, it. would be impos sible to perfortur_as,fiir as..it. depended on au- inquirl into the several ;branches of our .income and expendi' tire, by the aid of one Committee. He could assure the Right Hon.' Gentlemau, that if he ,and the Noble Duke, to whom he had alluded, meant to have such, att inquirl as would be followed up by . practical_ reductions in the present session, (and lie hi a oac v n - tu a s s otcfo n om o om t sn t em lispose to deny their good intentiona,), they - would find it in-possible to carry their in tentions into effect,by any other mode than that of several stnall - Committees of - Inquiry, consistin g of five or seven members, who should meet, from day to day. If these should be appointed, be had no doubt that, in the course of three months, they_ would be able to extend their in quiries to, and to report,:the several departments which he should point o ut. To one of those Committees he w ou ld Which it ling ht be necessary to make in some of the be i ce o iu t duties, e ffi s h ; ai aencind;tnttsito'ihed.eceisir.mua consideration employ that would be andadi t t ut t et e eye n x d ici.o e i d ea ‘ t' v nh i or t tet i hh i eeerochrvaonf °uguled theneipclooyurnineruyt. in A i n n o q t u h i e r r inginto Committee the departments .of stamps, taxes, and hackney-coackes.--e s i s l 7 :u c d a.ite ed 'it (Loud laughter.)—Gentlemen were, perhaps, not' aware seepvaerrtamlenittemusn;dearnd.thaAhtis-hezpl„aft, department, which ‘vou conside rablel d advantage 6 : d which avas kept up at an expense ,of some 1%000/. or - 1.5,8007. a year, might with advantage be trans ,t,,liiaitchthwe6rere , ferred 'to the Board of Stamps and Taxes. He stated thii, bbcanse a he . kn ew th a t a B oar d o f S tamps was kept oneekreral 'years Avitli seven Commissioners, and during that ' time three Commissioners were never in attendance at once. `Now he' would pledge himself to the House, : that if a CornMittee were appointed to consider of ,and inquire into the Boards of Stamps, and Taxes, and that other. Board which he must not mention lest he should ' excite the laughter of the Muse, reductions might be made which . would be most a dvantageous to the country. To 'another Cottimittee, he would submit an inquiry into a department ' who, was, perhaps,. the best conducted of any under the GOVernment, but in which there remained much to be done, if they looked to what took place respecting it in Ire land: ' Ile would have a Committee appointed to' examine into the Post-office department of England,_S,ceiland, and Ireland; and he had no doubt that the count r y wou ld, de ride. - - great benefit from th e resu lt of that i nqu i ry . He was ready to 'admit the great activity_ and talent of the gen tleman who held the office of Secretary in that office— (Hear, hear)—but it-, was impossible that one indivi dual could give all the attention which - w as requ i re d in th e three departments of the Post-offic e (as he un derstood it was intended to unite them) o f E ng l and, Ireland, and: 'SCotiand.. An - investigation, into the improveMents which might be made in that department would gite a .Committee ample employment . tot' - three months. The next subject of inquiry which he would refer to another committee would be, the nature. arid:Manage- ment of the land re v en ue. I n a report m a d e: on this:Stib ject in the year 177.7, it appeared that it was veryprodac tive, but since then no sufficient inquiry w as rude - jaw it, and much of its p r oduce was .squandered away .in .useless establishniezits. The hereditary revenue of the Crown would of itself 'give ample empl o y ment to the investigation era s elect committee for six Months. Another subject of m • o p' lance,' which the Right Hon. G entleman (Mr. Ptel) • - 'alluded to, was one than which he did, not know any which better deserved the consideration of a' separate committee : he meant the mode in'which the.public accounts were kept in England and Scotland. Helves sure it would scarcely ' be believed; that in the year 1828, the public accounts in England, the land of accounts and calculations, were kept I in a manner similar to that of the savages in the Sandwich Islands.—(Lout laughter.) They all recollected the man.. net in w hi c h Robinson . Crus oe . --(eontinued. laughter)-.. kept his account of the pas s i n _ g days, by cutting notches on a piece of 'wood,. which was called a tally. Would it be believed, that . in the Exchequer; of . England at the present day, the same mode of notching, a piece el wood, called a tally, was observed to mark the receipt of the public, money ?—(Hear, h ear , h ea r.) One 1440 .. notch was put for 100/., and another ter 1,000/., and so on. -Was• that; he asked, a'fiti so d e in which to keep, the public accounts of this country? Ea might 4lBo mentio n that some of the money accounts were kept in Win.... - (Hear, hear.) He believed that if a receiver of Lazio intisi 11.43 , t ni br at a i! al! al! er ya syste The syste cheq long -the himn expo the scittubiriti rsri 4114 ii , ;;./ `ir:+ ;re Co: tW gior mit opin or ) mitt poin in w