The Sun.
London, England, 1849-06-29 00:00:00

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[PRICE op.

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AND ITS EFFECTS'S IT N
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/`-‘.,\V,.-A4. TO THE EDITOR OFTFIE SM :..., ,:. i.:,,i; -
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Szn,—At a time when the whole 'continent pr• tiriiirio,,,,. ',.V14.
is in a state of c.onfusion, when nations-seem grakenvar-2i:z? !:'.71 '-:,...1.
from the lethargy and supineness of centu "§V.,,stilettV - --•'4-- '' • .
"the right divine of kings to govern wrong' latintini.-- ,-,
inously thnied—it is a source of congratula, on that' "f•-•
England has not, in some way, been drawn into intt-eriti v,ISNA,N7
vulsion that is shaking the thrones of the AilAotr- "
_,
Alliance of 1816. • - J.
To those who would urge the Govtrnment, fit aid in
the cause of Legitimacy against the wishes of the nations
of the earth, the following remarks on the Rise and
Progress of the National Debt—the offspring of Queen
Anne's wars hi 1700, and the fruits of wars ever since—
may afford instruction and caution, as well as statistical
information.

In 1760 (ninety-one years ago) George the Second
departed this life, leaving what was considered a heavy
debt of 50 000,000/. His grandson, George the Third,
ascended the throne on the 25th of Octob.r, 1760, in the
midst of an expensive war, which, however, he promised
in his first address to his Parliament, " to bring to au
honourable and lasting peace, in concert with his allies?'
In 1763 that peace took place; the British arms
triumphed, an addition was made to the British territory
by the annexation of North America; an addition was
made to the national honour—and to the national debt„
whic)i in the budget of that year is put do wn at some.
thing like 100,000,000!.
Here, then, we perceive the result of one war to be
the entailment of an additional debt of 50,000,0001. in
six years, on a population of about six millions, whose
whole revenue vi as under 12,000,000/. annually, with a
circulating specie of only 15,000,000/.
Although in a time of peace, the war establishment
was continued for ten years after this time, adding daily
the sum of 2,000/. to the fast-increasing debt; the militia
was still kept on, adding 500,000/. to the expenditure;
the civil list rose from 800,0001, to 1,000,000/.; and
general dissatisfaction prevailed.
The national debt having increased to 136,000,000/., in
the year 1774, the people became loud in their demands
for its reduction. The Government received many sug-
gestions on the subject, among which the following,
having something plausible about it, I shall endeavour
to describe; the more so, as this plan, or something simi-
lar, was actually under trial, and 9,000,009/. funded stock
purchased and paid off, when the American war occurred,
putting at once a stop to the reduction of the army,navy,
and ordnance departments, &c.
Proposed plan for paying off the National Debt in forty-
years—namely 1814. Time 1774, debt, 136,000,0001.
The yearly surplus of revenue over expen-
diture was
Continuing the land-tax of 4s. in the pound
(the war tax)
Withdrawing troops from the colonies (war
establishment) ...
Reducing army and navy to peace establish-

£500,000

500,000

200,000

anent ... ...
Continuing the lotteries

700,000
150,000

£2,050,000
This surplus of 2,050,0001. would in four years pay of
the life and long annuities granted in the reign of Wil-
liem and Anne, which amounted to the sun of 9,000,0001,,
and be thus a saving in forty years interest and capital
of above 20,000,000/. These items being altogether in-
dependent of the annual revenue would have been avail-
able after this purchase, for further reducing the debt
annually about 3,000,000/., which, with the interest
saved in proportion, would have placed this country
above all its difficulties and out of debt, before the year
1814.
But the year 1775 was not destined to be thus blessed.
The ➢finisters were active in pursuing measures which
increased the burdens of the country.
It is particularly necessary to make a sparing use of
power in order to preserve that power; but the British
Government thought otherwise. They had been too
much accustomed to look across the Atlantic, as at pre-
sent in India, &c., to view increasing millions whom we
had a right to command, whose property was at our
disposal, whose law was our will, and to call them our
subjects, willingly to forego that privilege; consequently
;he American war took place, the army and navy became
alarmingly incteased, the national debt nearly doubled,
the national honour suffered in the estimation of fo-
reigners, and after much blood spilt, the burning of a few
towns, dockyards, and ships, America declared its inde-
pendence in 1783, and the revenue of England sustained
a loss of nearly a million annually on American produce.
Here again is the result of another war—a war, the
plea for which was that our honour was engaged, and
that we could not now recede from it without humilia-
tion. This is what Republican France apologises for its
aggressions on Republican Rome. Be this as it may,
the Parliamentary returns show that the American war
added 100,000,0001. to the national debt,' viz.,
236,000,0001. in 1783.
For the next ten years England was comparatively at
peace. The French revolution began in 1789, and the
year 1793 had not expired when this country was once
more engaged in war, along with other European Powers
against France.
From this period there seems to have been no limit--
no check to the expenditure, and the only matter of
astonishment now is, where it came from, and whither it
went. In the following list it will be seen that the
addition to the debt in some years was snore than
1,000,000/. a week, and in the year 1814 (the year in
which the debt was to have been paid off) there was an
addition to the debt of 93,536,3671. or about ten thousand
pounds per hour.
Year. Total amount of debt. Addition to debt.
1794
1795
1796
1797
1798
1799
1800
1801 ... • . 480,703,290
1802
1803
1804 .
1805
1806
1807 . 669,652,847
1808
1809
1810
1811
1812
1813
1814 ...... 905,549,502
1815 ...... 930,184,109
1816
1817
1818
This brings us down to the end of the public life of
George 111., and to the close of the war; a war that
extended over 25 years, and added 862,278,3671. to the
national debt. Thirty-three millions a year 1!
This was the result of the last war, and closed a reign,
the longest and most disastrous to this ;country—a reign
of sixty years—a king whose family took a million annu-
ally from the country—and who, at his death left
his people a debt of 860,000,0001. sterling, which may be
thus divided over the„sixty years:—
13,000,0001. a year; 1,000,0001. a month; 250,0001. per
week; 35,000/ per day; 1,6401. per hour.

Since 1820 there has been expended on our war estab-
lishments, 400,000,0001., and this too, in times of peace.
The annual revenue of the country averages about
53,000,0001.—0ver a million a week. One-half of this
sum is applied to the interest of the debt; then comes a
demand of 16,462,0001. for our naval and militia), estab-
lishments, which leaves us in this position. Take the
present year, the most favourable for the Government:—
The revenue is thus disposed of—
To national debt
To army, navy, ordnance, &c.

Leaving for the whole civil management