The Sun.
London, England, 1801-02-19 00:00:00

WAYS AND MEANS

first article l'have to state is the Land-
tax, and that on Sitgar, Malt, and Toba6co,
which . I. -shall estimate at the usual sum- of
z, 50,0001;..The next is the Lottery, which I
estimate.at 300;0061.. The next.is :thei;Duty
before stated-, that I
do, not feel myself justified :in taking at more
than 6,000,000 l: FroM this if we deduct the
amount of the interest of Loans charged. there-
O 4 'which amount to the sum of 1,740,0001.
there: will remain a sum of 4,260,0001. ap-
plicable to the Service' of the year. The
next is the Duties upott Exports and Imports,
and• which is: estimated at 1,250,0001. It
might" be expe6ed That this .year these Duties
would have produced a larger sum but as Lin-
tend ..to make tlie.Duty op Sugar a part. of the
Permanent Taxes, that must make a considerable
decrease from the. amount of the Duties of-Ex-
ports and 'lmports. -Notwithstanding, however,
this defalcation, .1 think I. am 'juitified in still
taking those` Dutiei 'Ot 1,250,0001. The next
is the produce of the Consolidated Fond, from
the sth of April 1861,10 the .sth' of April 1802,
which, after cleduding the' arges for the Civil
List, and:some other chlitges not relating, to ,the
Public Debt, will- leave a sum applicable to. the
Ways and Means of this.. year of 3,300,0301:
In order to' explain to the Committee hOw this
sum Simply s,tate, thin Me-esthnated.
Income of the year ending the s.th of April t 802,
is 22,044,5001. and that the permait6nt charge
is 20044,50°4 consequently lcavio a-surplus of
of t.,900,000. The 'faxes of thelast year, from
the short time.the-y !laic been in-operation,-cin-
not be supposed to .have reached. their full
amount=-they 'were estimated ..at '3so,ocia. for
the firSt three quarters ; they were likely. to pro-
(him less 'than the estimated amouni ; but in point
(1* fad 2,80, tool, had been received, and I do
not think•,l„.expetted tua much when I calculated
' the retnainini Sum to be received -at ;60,0001.
The Contrnittee *lll recolleti; that in conse-
quence-of a glut in the Market Of West -India
comniodities, there - was a -remission
.of duties
.14-anted for a time, but.as.cireumstances no longer
granted
remission to be continued, there-will
be duties cominx- to the Pablic on West India
goOds tOntled, which duties will amount to
338,0001. There •are some other articles to
hieh Lhave aiready:alladed ill a fo"truer, part .
of what I have had the honour to submit ro the
Committee, The Revenue' arising 'from them
ipt4st in their nature be, uncertain,. but,•after the
misfortu-ne of two seasons, so unusually unpro-,
dudiver I feel no ground upon. which 1 can sup_.
pose that the great articles of natural produce
should yield -less thii year after the harvest---I
allude to Malt, Deer, and 'British Spirits, The
deficiency- upon the article of .1.-er :has.- been
above 400,0001'. but upon every i.nquiry.l can
make, I haVe no reason to think that the
quantity consumed this year will - be less than
the an Inge quantity of former years. Great
facility has been given to the:Brewers- by per-
mittitil4- them to rise. Sugar,. and therefore I
think I may safely take the produce- at as much
as former years. • -Without -dwelling' any' longer
upon this article; I have no difficulty in .stating,
that this article is one which; after the increased
price IN hich'has been put upon it, may, upon some
furore occasion, be made. the Means of 'great ad-
vantage to the Public, and 'whenever h is
sistent with justice, it ought 'not to be negleetect
On Malt and Spit-its the deficiency has been very
great, and as it is impossible, as I have • before
stated, tocalculate with certninty.,• I will only take
their produce at 500,0001. These sums make..id
gether the sum of. 3, z38,,0001. ; 'from this. is to
be deduc'ied 2,80r,00ci1. foe the Grant remain-
ing unsatisfied,' as• per . Estimate for one quar-
ter, to the sth -April, 1801, ,whidi will leave
34.7,0001. to. which is: to be added 300,0001.
which_l propoit to vote for the purpose of pa);-
ing off the Exchequer • Bills, and. there will
re-
main the sum of 3,347,0001. applicable to the
public :service. For the sake of clearness- I will
shortly-recapitulate these various articles, resped-
ing the-amount of the Consolidated Fund.
" For the sake, however, of round Numbers, I
call this Only 3,300,0001. The nexearticle of
the Ways ands -Means is, the Money which was -
granted last
.year for Subsidies, and which was
not amounts to soctqoool. "1t pre-
sent, I do not see any claim that can attach to
that sum, and therefore I consider it as-dispen-
sable for the service of the resent. year. The
next article is the Surplus of Grants t" before I.
state the Loan, I have only to add the sum
which I befiire stated, will be to be
_defrayed by

trohtnd as her 'shalt or the mint Contr►bti'tiori
and the' Ways and Means will then stand thus t

Sugar, Malt, and Tobacco - L. 2,750,060
Lottay , ' - ' - - - - 300,0,40
_.
income Duty, &dueling the Interest with
which It stands chafed --
Duty upon Exports and Imports,
Surplus of the ConmAidated Fund
-To be provided by Ireland
541,01.4itu,sagigAL
1-tirplus of 'rants

r

- 4,26000*
,230,000
3,30010,00
4,324P0ix)

99

.60,QQ0

, ! ,
;

160,44,000 I.
There would then remain-a sum of .2
;6'00,0004
• •
to raised by way of -Loan,,, and I .have now
conse .iiently to s:y.te the-trtns or thvfjeoan ;sand
I cordess I.do feel no', inconsideralTe satisfaLction
in stating the terms upon' Which this Loan was
mad; because I 'think they are a full proof of
what I have often: 'seen, the.firinnessolte,.man.
"line-c, and good sense. whiCh ha've
,ever:diStin. , •
guished the people of England, whatever situation •
they may. be:in,' and: which hal- been proof
against all the attempts to. alarm' and disturb
„
them. I have pot- gun .these.qualities displayed
more by any class of men,:. than by those who.
have beentheobjeas ,of much unjust obloquy,
I mean those'who are called, the Monied Ihterest. - ,
They' kjiow, Very well, that whatever. nqy be
heir- private. individu4 Intel estsi they arc inse-
parably conneEted and bound.up with thosii)l the
Country. .I.hey have the.same CorninoktOlingn
with the test of their Countrym*f thify!knotb
that in moments of difficulty, firtnnes3 ancl:4eter-
mination ate the only hopes they
.have•to4.nairt.
tOt.WhateVer is dear- to ilikinselV'es
or valuable to the Community of Which,tliey are
a part. In times like the present, wleti'tkE,e ate
•
persons. who indulge .thcritsel.ves'inliOidtgl4 •
.(perhaps that. is not a proper word) in inSylling •
unfavourable expedations respelling the prospeti-
ty •of thia•Country; I cannot but state thelnunner
in which thii.-transhetion has been -conelt.l4o, as a
decisive proof of the. confidence of, the Aeople,
and of the general opinion of 'the —.meat); and
resources- of the Country : .It 'is a prtof .
what the Country: can. do, ,in the nusst am -
dnous, contest in which' it : ever was. entixagetti • • .
if it remains true to itself. The Committee will, - • 7
I am sure, 'concur in opinion ,with tne upon thii; .•
point, when I stite. to them,- that under•ill r 1
various Uncertainties, fo'reign and dtoestie, which •
belong to the moment wben this was concluded, • .•
when
.1 ,State
,that•this bargain was made with-
out the usual .incidents by which the Funds are
depressed, when Loans are about to be taken ; the
Committee, I.• say,' will agree, I am sure,
with .me opinion, when.
.1 tt-11 them that
under,. all these circumstances; there was- a
larger number of great and opulent persons dis-
posed
.to be C,ontrailors for the-I.oan, than ever
I had the good fortune •to meet upon a .similar
occasion siuce 1 •have be©n in -office. It g'i'ves me
great satisfaaion to observe,..that this ednfidence
was norplaced in any individual, but,
,mibit is
much better, is founded upon the -.known
Strength and Resources of the.Country;."-Theiv
was aaually a rivalship bet* en . two great
‘.Parties_whoieli should take the Loan, es•citinating_
the Stocks above the mkrket price.. 1111,.y
taken it withotti" premium :or banuq, except thik,,: •
discount upon prompt payment. The terms tvigilkka
which the Loan was made, were - .
- 125 Consols, , • , • •
ler every. toot. •
. . 5.0-15 Reduced, ;„ I

1 't • • ..
The niscount: to those who may be in a sitjta.-
tion •
omake prompt 'pa.i,•ment,' is 31..-its..; there:::
fore, upoo. the- Whale, they. have taken. it at z
profit of not:abOves t per Ceirt4 i•believe; niter
the long a-rittrlrtl s Irtitrrgle. in hich :•;'
I).e.ta engted---aiter the many 'sinister progn*_
tics that have been} :made reveding this Coon.;
try—after the great Scale of Expense: whkli
we have beedfoiced to incur, from, the nature
oc 'the ive are engaged—after
the great. pressure we have -experienced `from the
great increase in the Price of PrOt;j*Sions4arter• alt
these circumstances, it will be fburici, that the no.,
, minal Price of this Loan, inorefavofirZle
any of the Loans made. in the _last NY'ar, except-
the one, which 'wits made 'in the first year of
that War i for, exclusive xif the • Sinking Fund,
the Interest upon this-Loan is per Cerit":'
These' arc all- circumstances.. upon which, tie
time like'the present, When' difficulties canner.
be disgniSed,..and when resources ought not to
be forgotten, I have a right to congratulate
the Committee l•and the CosuntrY. •I come
now, the discharge of oue .p*4 of my
duty, which is particularly -tne,
.1
mean the Manner in which 'we are' 'to defray.
this burthen, I do' not think it right at pre-
sent to. occupy
.the • tune of -.the Comini t tee by
stating the reasons why I think it right to pro-
vide Permanent Taxes for the whole of the
Loan, because I think I comply with the
wishes of the Cominittee. by 'gratifying the ire-,
. patience I know they.must feel, to know the
burtheni Which are to laid upon their Con--
stituents. lam not, .Sir, .sanguine enough ,to
hope that in•the 9th year of SwexpetisiVe a: War, 1-
. . • • NEW TAXES
to solayge ap amount can be 'proposed without
being felf..seiikrely; aid meeting with consider.
'able objeesren vino I do,hope', that they will not
be .found likely to interfere' with the public
proSoerriti if& bear hard upon that Class of the
CoMmunity.4.ltose interests, were' always watch.
' cd. over, with tender ,conern by the House,
and never more titan- at the present period.—
The first aftielei upon .whicli: I ,shall propose any
increase, -are', those. that are, collected Under the
Exc;.e. I will itav 'them 'accorcling to the
branch to Which thtly belong, ail think it will
render the, subjest more clear., The addition
which I propose to make .to ;the..artieles coining
under: the Excise„ .amount to
-86 0001. The, first article is that of
•• • TEA,

which has.vefy 'often , engaged the attention of
this House., At a very distant period, 'I had the
honour 'of submitting' to the House a measure s,
known by the name 'of the. Commutation Tax,
:the abjed of which was, tly loVering\the Duties
upon Tea, to prevent Smuggling, and at the same
time affording a great rums of: Revenue at a fu.

s
• ~.
• a

used by the, lower orders of the Community.
If the-Committee should agree with me, even
after .the imposition of this 'Tax, every cot-
tager and person of inferior order will have their
tea cheaper than they had it twenty years ago.
it is a matter of public satisfafflon to state, that
the increase °Nile Tait has not given 'encourage-
ment to smuggling, for in point of filet, the Saks
of the East India Company' have increased since
the last Tax. After what I have stated, the
Committee will not; rhope, think it is improper
to lay on an additional ten :per Cent. upon all
Teas which are abdve 2S. 6d, per lb. and this ad-
ditional duty will, I estimate, produce 300,0001.
gs The next article I have to propose, is one
whic)t is certainly not-an article of necessity, al-
;bough iris that sort of luxury which ought not
in reality; to be discouraged, but which will bear
a considerable, addition without any public in-
convenience. I mean, to double the Duty
.at
Pr"e4t paid on all descriptions of
PAPER,

except in a few• instances, to be afterwards enu-
merated, stack as Papers used for Hangings ; those
used in the- Export Trade ; 'Glazed Paper, and
the like in.this article it will be necessary to
have some measures of 'regulation, and, to avoid
difficulty, I should propose to do what was done
in the last case upon this subjea, by way of al..
'Awing discount on those Papers which are now
. extremely interesting to Gentlemen of all de-
actiptions, by which it will be made unnecessary,
and, I hope impossible, for those who are, most
immediately interested in the sale of them, to
oake any• difference in the price of those valua-
ble articles of intelligence. This .Duty must
also aired, -in a slight degree, same other parts
of literature, which, without disrespeel to that
which I have already mentioeedonust be the ob.
Jett of our eate, so that they be not illierally.dis-
couraged. In considering the use of a modzrn
Newspaper, and in refleffing how much superior
it is to former produaione which came beforeelle
Public under that title, that is is-not now con-
fined to•the dry detail of by-gone events, or What
*ay be called a Daily History, but that it ranges
into a wider field,`and takei in much speculation,
so that it may not be considered much infefior to
the greater. part pf a modern Literary,: and itself
/snakes up a great deal of modern Collenions in
the Literary World : we should be extremely ten-
der, lest we diminish the circula;ioni_ or cause to
decline in the Public_ Favour, these useful
works. I hope the Duty • which 1 here propose
will not be considered as bearing. too heavily in
this instance, or as .likely to diminish the !um-
ber of those Gentlemen who - frequent Cotfee_
biinses chiefly -far the perysal of those POblica-
lions, and with wham, indeed, a Newspaper is
an article or necessity. I estimate thisiOuty on
piper at the sum of t 32,0001.
gr There iv an article of another aescription,
which is under the survey of the Excise, and re-
, rues to a very important branch of lour Manu-
Etdure ; but it is not a Tax which will bear, in
arty material degree, on that manufaiture, and
• is, indeed; applied-fitly to that part of it which
may be called a luxury ; I mean that of
PRINTED COTTONS.

An additional Duty of 214. on all. paying 34d.
-per yard, allowing' drawbacks on whatever is ex-
ported to Foreign Parts. No part of that article
cut be considered in any other light than an arti-
cle, of Luxury, at least in some degree, and the
Duty which I propose on it, Ido not conceive is
liable to any fair objeaion : this I estimate at
the, sum of rs4,oool.—The next article comes
limier the head of Customs, and which I have
already mentioned ; I mean the article of

tittijA, As ti) ttoiOs
:e should he some addition to the Dury
lbSed•is a proposition to which, I appre-
sry Gentleman in this House will assent.
4stinaion-should be made between Horses
Pleasure and those that are kept for use-
which are by •far the greater number
.hing.may be deduced, as common to all
keep Horses, which is, that wherever
ads himself able to keep Horses of either
an, it is a proof of his having means to
le expellee of a moderate Duty, and I
under the general exigency of the
cannot say we are making an unrea.
Al on them, 'to bear their part of the
Public aurthco. The very circumstance of a
man's keeping Horses, is a better proof than any
thing else can be of his ability to bear that which
I am about to submit to the Committee, .as it to
he imposed on them. I propose, that for Horses
of Pleasure, where only one is kept, there shall'
be imposed a

Duty of las. which I expel will
produce X.63,35es
On all above one, zos. which I ex-
peel will pi'oduce - 73,000
-. 136,000
On each Horse kept for Husbandry, I would'
propose the sum of 4s. which I think will
produce 170,000

306,000

" The next article which I have to propose to
the Committee, is an addition to those which arc
now collecied under the management of

STAMPS,

and , they are under three distina heads—Bills
and Notes of all descriptions. I will not now
go into the particulars as to the rates of duties,
but they will, I am confident, be found to be
such as the Country can very conveniently bear,
as they have been borne now for some years. I
mean to include under this article all Policies of
Insurance, or Adventures by Sea ; and I propose
that the Duty now payable be doubled. I mean
also to include all sorts of Deeds engrossed on
Parchment, the present Duty of which is los. I
propose to add the sum of 3s. each skin. The
whole of which I expet will produce £.3p,000.

" The next article is one in which the Revenue
is raised in a 'way, which is the -most satisfadory, ;
in a way the most consistent with the interests of
the Public; and it is one which, whenever there
is a necessity for increasing the Revenue, will be
a fair objed 'of Duty, provided it be kept within
the spirit of the institution itself, for it is only a
Duty on that which individuals find more conve-
nience in than they could have by any othep. made
they could adopt, and for which they pay, in pro_
portion to any other, very little indeed ; for by
paying to the Public in this article, individuals
arc paying infinitely Jess than they would be
Obliged to pay if they were to take the thing
upon themselves; I mean the Duty of

POSTAGE' ON LETTERS.
No Duty has been more moderate, nor any that has
kept so little progress with the advance in articles.
There has not been a sufficient attention paid
to the distinaion which ought to be made, between
Letters 'according to the distance they are con-
,veyed, the increase of the rate has not been made
to bear in any thing like a proportion to that
distance. .1 should propose that this branch of
the Public Revenue should be classed under these
distinaions of distance, of so
.much for too, and
so much more for 'so miles, and so on, without
increasing that which at'present pays the least.
Letters. and Packets to Ireland also I should in..
clode in this Duty, as well as Foreign Letters,
%AA by some accident, rather than any prin-
ciple I have been able to discover, have been
hitherto exempted from additional Duty ; whereas
those which are sent to our own Colonies pay an
additional Duty. Letters for Foreign pat ts have
not had an increase of Duty imposed upon them
for near a century past. I propose also to make
some additional charges on Communications made
by Cross Posts ; and also that the Revenue should
have some benefit from the compensation to be
given at different Towns and Places, for the de-
livery of Letters at the houses of individuals,
instead of leaving those individuals to call
for them at the Post-Office. 1 mean also to
make some regulations in these particulars.
The principle is not new on the subjea of
Foreign Letters, although the addition itself in
that particuliir article is new, for a • regulation
was lately made on the subjea of Merchants' let-
ters sent in Merchants' ships, and which has
been found to answer the expeaations formed of
it, without any inconvenience. This is,a subjea
which will, of course, require some attention in
the detail. There is another branch of Postage
remaining, on which I find some difficulty in the
statement, arising from the name of it. I know
not how, without exciting a smile, I can propose
to make an addition to the Penny-post ; but
although it be difficult to describe, it is not dif-
ficult to understand the subjea, and indeed it- is
now received only under common parlance as
the Penny-post, the sum paid being in many
cases larger than a penny ; the sum which I ex_
pelt to produce by this particular part of the
Postage is about 17,0001.. The whole produce
under the head of Postage, I would estimate at
i 50,0001. Gentlemen will perceive how the Ar-
ticles of Taxation stand, and the heads they are
under, and what they are .expeaed-- to produce,
and which I will now recapitulate. •

Paper - - - ,C.r32,te
Tea - - 7 300,000
Printed Cotton .. - 40, 154,000
Sugzr - - - - 160,000
Pepper . - rig,-04)o
Stamps .. I . 350,,000
horses - - - 306,000
Post-Office - - 'prow)
Timber - 95tocnk
Raisins - - - IgyNDO
Lod - - - 1 i,cili
•

it% 1,794,cc0
'1 And the sum to be provided as Interest oldie
Loan is 1,7 8;,000l. or thereabouts.
" I said, I did not hope that Taxes to this amount
would'be totally without objeaioh ; and yet, al.
ter 'having enumerated 'them, I own I am san.
taint. enoughl to hope I did.' not say too

• I
imch *heti i sash ttiek trontd
.nab
interfere with the prospelity—Of the Country,
either.as to its Resources, or as lo theirbeating
on the LoWer -Classes of the People of this
Country, I . have also to say, that I have
great Satisfadion in discharging this part of my
duty, because it affords as a consoling prospect.
Having done so, I feel it necessary to say a few
words, and I am not, desirous to
_detain the
House by saying
,rnan7. The tulq lyAsiften of late,
to raise' Taxes equal to .•the whOle Loan, by
its operation for .a given time,' 'and which
was by raising a large sum of
.money With.
in the year. The. first general reasccn 'for
not following that ik3;eltl in the present in.
stance, is, that notwithstanding every exertion
that has been made or could be made, the at_.
tempt to raise so much of the Bupply within the
year as that of the last, has not succeeded to its
lid! extent ; the great, and indeed inestimable set.
vice which has .been rendered .by that system,
however, will induce us, I hope, to adhere
to it, when that. Can be dane without lad

much ' pressure, ,bin not to .
carry it fur.
than the consideration of
,the public expedie
and safely require. I did hope to have car:-
ried it further than we have done. I was san-
guine, but I was mistaken in my calculation,
for which I do not think I ought to take much
shame to myself, considering how new -the sub_
jell. was ; I did hope, that considering how. the
Country at large received the idea of the Tax upon
Income, that it would produce to Millions ; bet,
now, from the experience I have had of its effeets;
I cannot rely on ias•producing more thansiXMil-
lions. But we must consider that this was adopted
as a War Tax in the first instance, and: one that
was within a moderate time to repay the excess of
Debt which bad been contraCled,. or Debt Ow.
went beyond a_given amount. Now, I thinic,if
we were to pial that to its full extent, and con-
tinue it, although a War Tax, to a time. which
might make it partake of the quality of a Perpe-
tual Tax, so as to leave no probable interval be-
tween the time of concluding a Peace and the pos-
sible Renewal of Hostility, from causes which
cannot vow be foreseen, it would totally destroy
the real purpose for which the Tax was adopted,
'Which was-that of making it availing as a matter
of energy fur the pressure of War. For this
reason,. I would 'not prolong the period for which
that • Tax is at present mortgaged. But there
are other • points which on some future occa-
sions I .shall state more particularly, but which
I would now state as shortly as 1 am able.--
In the first place, let us suppose the whole amount
of the Income Tax. to be equal to my sanguine.
expeeiatione there, is one circumstance Which has
rendered it unneeessary.to mortgage it to the ex-
tent el the original proposal, to produce the Ile-
duaion ofethe Debt, which was then expe&ed as
the operation of this Tax. rf hat operation.. was,
that the Public Debt should never be more than
it was at the period of i793i Now, Sir, since
that . time,. there has been discharged . of ' the
Capital of the. D.sbt, Eighteen Millions by. the
Redemption of the Land Tax, and it does not
appear to me, to be necessary for us to keep ,the
Debt the sine as it was in the year 1798, at all
events, and under all pressure, especially when we
consider the. t..ceatiuti of the "Sinking hue-1—
nor do 1 think it would be wise :to mort-
gage the income 'fax beyond its original.
period. It Is indeed, necessary to adhere to the
principle on which that Tax was adopted.—The
original principle we had in view by the adoption
of the Income. Tax was, to give vigour to our
Supplies, by keeping down the Debt and preveet-
ing its too great accumulation, by raising a great
part of such -Supplies within the year—That
principle has been followed up and acted upon in
the Income Ad, and haS produced great effects :
not indeed "to the full extent of my wishes, nor
even to my hopes, because the Income At has
fallen short = ts estimate; but that we have
gone upon t :'''''. iciple of giving vigour to our
Finance, b , : g a very large Supply within
the year, n. an can doubt; that we now
feel much of the beneficial area of 'such a
system, is evident, by the Terms of the Loan
now before this Committee—we have now bor-
rowed on cheape'r Terms than we could have ob-
tained, if we had proceeded on any other system.
Whoever recolletts the Terms of former Loans,
will see the truth of this assertion7—whoever
compares former Loans with the present,. wi : ~e,
the effea at once : it will appear, that the : . s
IS
of this Loae aremore advantageous to. the Public,
and more Moderate than any oat Loan, except'
the first of the last War, and equal to several
years of the present War. Then it appears, that
this Income Mt, -although it has fallen short of
what I hoped to see it produce, has uever-
theless, in a grearmeasure, had its effeert, One
great objefl to be attained by it Was, that of
keeping our Debt in such a state, that we might
be able to make these manly exertions which
we have, to the astonishment of surrounding
Nations, for our Safety, fo'r oqr It!dependetA
and - our Honour : And although it wo . :
better still, if we could have gone to. • '
Which 1 originally wished, let us s'
we -cannot follow the original intentiOn-;
whether. what has been doge may not serve us as'
a guide it Instead of saying. that• at no period: of
the War shall ow.Debt_be larger than.it wail in
the year 1798, would it not be better for us to
say, that in future
.we will take the'oprration. of
the Sinking Fund and the. Income Tax, in the
same way as they have been mode to apply to the
vigour and stability-of our Credit, from the year
5798 dowft- to the present time, and that we, shall
pursue our system until the Debt shall be reduced
again to the -state it was 'in at the period of 5798 i
A system we hare the best pro6f of the wisdom
of, .since vig have found by emaerience that tine
have risen 'in every advantage over all the Na-
tions of Europe, and, thank
.God, arc nosy in
a state of progreisive prosperity.—Many topiil
to prove this assertion I may hate to' submit
at a future day, but they form no 'pare of the
business of the present day—l propose that. the
Income Tax should remain until that Taxi toge-
ther with the operation of the Sinking nip&
shall reduce our Debt to the state in which it

...
: . • .. •
stood in taleyear i-)93 -irid We hait the ebnioz
1:164in ib•relleet that sif4-If -,:cu'rse is not tic* to ti's;
for thecbuntry can never be in a state of Areat6r,
embarrassment than that which befare arid ,sinea
that time we have seen, felt, knoWn; cc*,tend:(l,,
with, and overcome; and that Under tosmany tilt.
fieilties., that "'think postefity will scarcely nave
any it". 1111 to say we have done too little.:--'
The
.144 s• -of thenpresent cfmtlitiOn of tht Debt.
will be, iliac tileie 14ill now temain. in 'afrilicie..,i,
Of Twenty Milituns to its Capital; beyand'WhA'
it wa.siirthe year. 1 rfi'i ; 14ine .Millionii 'are 'Pliiit
off iri ' the
.preseri t year, by tin: oilerati.An -df the.
SirikiLi:,, -lunds, ..tlti 'r:ririic%;% F:-,vi-i' 'F.,iglifeeti.
to. Twenty IVlillipns ore reduc(•:l by the M:
demption of-thc.t Linclsfax: so that there will re.
main of course, .abekit Twenty ililillioni on the
present - year, which added ...to :the Fifty::
six Millions, for which the Incornc. Tax was
pledged, Will amount,. to Srverity-gix isdilli3ni4
which, on ;the calculations-of last' year, and at_
lowing for the operatiOn of the Sinking Futii!,.
will not require more than six -years for the
'application Qt: the Income Tax, althotikeh it
-w4s. calCulated
_as. mortgaged ~for, wren 'yeats.
This I conceive to be. a primixtq whi0,,,,1 holies
will not appear. dicouraging to the Country. T-71
cannot foresee what :sew r11:119 'A c-;slloll.iliave, li4-
I Jill confident that, as we have had more. than;
usual experiencealreadr, if the People remain a
true to themselves in time to come, to their erg:l..:
• gy of mina and body, if they ate as true to them.
selves as their resources haVe been true to them;•
if this Pouse is as . true in' the Country as tl.n.
energy and Vigour of the Ca4htry-has been true .to
them, as Well in spirit and exertinns, and every
manly quality. 1)y which they- have been dbtin.: ..
;guishcel, the difficulty which eve, shilll liaive to,
.encounter will not be too great for us.---The'
firmness of this House, and of the Country fol.
lowing the determinations of thii HouSe, will
produce the same effecis as they. have done in
former peridds ;
.and confident I am, there ii •
nothing in our general situation, nothing in the
radical strength of the Country, that leads to any
discouragement, or that should dishearten us 14 .
the exercise of our duty in this House, or. the
People out-;•-that it is now more 'than ever in,
ctunbent upon us as public men, or as individills, •
to exert our 'effortg, witliout shcwing Ally symp-
toms of distrust, if we would retain those semi.
merits and public spirit, ivhich have hithertO atone
belonged to Englishmen.

will not 'trouble the House v'ith olu*
servations on our geheral situation, but• in-the
midst of out difficulties I cannot- abstain from
loOking, for it is a ..satisfaetion to look shortly, -
and it shall be short}y indeed, 'at two or three
pints which, in my apprehension,' are two or three
'considerations, in addition to that of the state
°lour pre::ent Permanent Taxes.—What has beets
the effcd of our antecedent Permanent Revenue ?
What is the effat of it even now, aftet
much disadvantage, •which •is dearly to be
attributedito' the_Seasons, which we all know_ to
have been so unfavourable. The amount Of our
Permanent Taxes exceeded, on the sth of J~mnu_
ary last, that of January t Soo.; and this may be
called the -Ida of our Prosperity as well ;IS Trial,
and in which our Imports and;Exportt were more:
than they were in the year. 1791. 'lf you will
TiOok -back to the fricrease of our gotriineree
Revenue from the.end of the 1,0,t. Wat, you will'
ism d they are midi larger now, in proportion
to Life two periods of W'e'ar. and Peace. If we
look at the State of the Debt, we have abun,
dint consolation, En,- struggling as we have
been. *with difficulty, arid • increasing a Debt
which we could not. have avc:ided incurring, yet
by an adherence, a' rigid, scrupulous adherence to
the system long since adopted for the discharge
of- that Debt, according to the engagement we
entered into with ourselves in the year 1786 :
we have paid off no less a sum than '52 Millions
of the Capital of our Debt—a sum which, but
for that engagement and our .wisely serupuloini
adherence to it, would have been now an existing
burtheo on the People of this Country. The
total amount of our Sinking Fund is now
Five Millions. —Of the burthens imposed
upon .us
,by this unexampled War, more
than. one half has been,
.employed, not in sup.
porting ourselves under engagements entered
into by ovselves, but to pay the debts which
were'conttaaed' by our Ancestors, and if, under
such a trial and-. under such circumstances, we
look-into the
.state of the, Commerce and Re.
venue, and the general vigbur and resources of
theCoutry, we shall,, I say again, find abun.
dant .SOuree of consolation, for we 'shall find this
very year; in, these very points", exceetling any
we have yet knoWn. lii former times ihe,couese
was'to make,comparisons of :a year of l'i'ar with
that. of a' year of PeaCe, byway of stiewing hoW
productive some years. of War had beci;l;.but.potir
the climax is not that of.igoin4
,from .a year of
VV,ar to a year-of Peace, to thew the flourishing
statenfoUr Commerce and Revenue, but the course'
lutist be,:that of coMparit one year With ono.,
titer year ; for the War ho been attended with a
constant increase pilot Cninnieree and Revedue,•
so that we are indeed diAinguishedby our tiros,
frit), in Commerce, ,Revelnie, and Naval Supe-
riority, of all the other Nations of the World ; anct
it is singular, but:not more singular than true, that
this very year, although: we ha veshfreted so much,
and that recently, from unfavourable seasons, this
}resent year is the proudest .this Country
ever leneW with regard. to its
,Commerce. Ihe
Exports,of' British Manufaelures have atisen to
Twenty -four as taken froth the Chs:
toms, but which anilune in real value to Thirty.
two Millions, and the gxpottsokForeigp. Articles
are' 3taied at Seventeell h both inuc.
larger than that Of 'any preceding year ; and, it
.compared with any year Of peace; with any
other year in which the ro.perity cat the Cohn_
try waa conspiennus, this year wail present a
-speakle thst wohtd, to any hut those who
ate intimately acquaintedthe affairs of
Nations in a' political sense, appear asto.
ni3hing, taco Ilicable, and patatioxical. It may
be matter 'of wonder to
,soup i , though t is
not, that An* spite of 'A the alarms, lamenta.
tions, and momentary -despondency which have

T• , . ' 7 . *
tare period, when .the, meads- 6f t)iUgglint *ere; dPbii this
, . .
taken away, and the capital- employed in it di- that there
verted into other channels. The success bf that now imps
measure has, I confess, exceeded my most sanguine herd, evci
. .
expeelations. At that time, we imported not more That a.dis
~., than 6,000,000 pounds of Tea ; since then, the kept for P
importation has been constantly increasing, and it
bftuatLoatb. th
leou 1'
now
.aetually amounts to zz,0p...,0 9.90. pounds.-'-,
1 Since that period, the Country has iwice been . those who
enabled to draw a Revenue from it by means of a man fiat?
_
an
,additional Tax. Upon these occasions Parlia. description
• : ' meat did•what I hope it will do now, that is, only defray tht
lay ;i"ie.T4x upon the Teas of a higher sort, which think thai
pre Tp4lly.articles of ' luxury, and that it will not time, the)
increase the price of that kind of Tea which is sonable ea