The Sun.
London, England, 1829-05-09 00:00:00

THE BUDGET.

At six o'clock the CHANCELLOR of the EXCHE-
QUER rose—Sir, in rising to address yon on a subject of
such importance as the present, I rise under feelings of various
kinds ; conscious, on the one hand, that the statement which
I have to submit to the House, as to the revenue and
expenditure of the country, cannot be otherwise than
satisfactory to those who form a just estimate of the
financial concerns, and equally conscious on the other,
that there are circumstances in the present condition of the
country which cloud the general prosperity, and cast a
partial gloom over the statements I have to lay before the
House. But, Sir, I feel conscious that the Revenue is
adequate to defray the charges necessary to be imposed upon
it, and that it is also adequate to fulfil all that Parliament
can require. On the other hand, however, lam not in-
sensible to the depression under which the country has
been labouring. We have had, in common with a
neighbouring country, to sustain the depression
arising from a deficient harvest. We shale with
that a stagnation of commercial enterprises, which tends
materially to affect the industry of almost every country.
We have had too, in some branches of our manufactories
which have been brought before the House during this
Session, that suspension which must arise is any nianu •
facturing country where any branch of commerce is
suffering. It is not my intention, nor is it my duty,
to inquire into this at present. I truss that we experi-
ence only temporary difficulties, which will soon vanish.
Gentlemen will assign the cause of these according to their
inclination, or the bent of their particular opinions. Some
will ascribe it to the deficient harvest, to which I have
alluded ; others will attribute it to those measures which
have been some time in progress, but are now completed,
for putting the circulating medium of the country on a
sure foundation. Others may ascribe it to a spirit of
over-speculation in trading, which has often been
noticed in this House. I think I shall be able to sa-
tisfy you that there is nothing in the present state
of things that embarrasses the national resources, or
impedes our means of calling them into action. I think,
Sir, I shall be able to show you that the country is rather
in a state of suspense than of positive ill, and that it more
requires the patient ansl quiescent, than the active inter-
ference of Parliament. Sir, this short statement of the
difficulties which weigh upon and beset roe in my duty
shall be limited to a very narrow compass. Occuvy ing
aHouse long uniopreo nptrhe
jils sdiiiobjret ait,hvaold he. I a
nueifrctiripe,.rehitrid,,,l.,itirs ;
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be my duty to present to the House a clear and
distinct statement of the citcumstances of the coun-
try, laying before it, as clearly as I can, what has
been the financial situation of the country during
the year that has now elapsed, and also an estimate of
what are to be the prospects of the country for the year
upon which we hare now entered. I shall confine myself
to this, because I believe, the more clearly the situation
of th. country is stated, the more clearly will every per-
son perceive that whatever may be the embarrassments
of the country at the present moment, they arc not
at all likely to be of any long duration; but in all
prebiebility will give way to a better condition of things.
In discharging the duty which has devolved upon me, I
shall in the, first place state to the House what has been
the revenue and expenditure of the country in the year
1828. It is my intention then to proceed to lay before
it what I calculate upon us the expenditure of 1829, and
I shall then take the opportunity of explaining the
nature of te measure which it will be my duty to in-
trodure in conformity with the notice which I gave last
Session with a view to make an application of the
entaual surplus of the country to the discharge of the
national debt. In stsietness, Sir, the latter pat t of the
subject ought not to be introduced on this occasion, but it
epseared to me that the reduction of the debt is in itself
a question of such importance that it will be snore con-
venient for the House to unite than to separate these two
points. It will he in the recollection of many Hon. Mem-
bers of the Committee, that when I brought forward the
Budget last year, I estimated the revenue at 54,000,000/.
'or rather at 53,900,0001., and that my estimate of the
'expenditure, eluting thesame period, w mild he 50,100,0001.
thus leaving at the end of the year 1828, a surplus of
53,797,0001. to he applied to the reduction of the National
Debt. In making the calculation which I diil at filet
serioil, I was anxious to keep as much within the sum as
possible, in order to avoid giving rise to any high and ex-
aggerated expectations ; and the result proves how wise
and necessary it was to do so, for the Committee will
;perceive, when I state the amount of revenue and expen-
slitene. in 1828, that the amount of the former as well as
ti.e amount of the surplus, is greater than I contemplated,
and is altogether most satisfactory. It appears that at the
lose of Iti2S the amount of revenue, instead of being
1 000,000/. was 55,187,000/. ; and that the expendi-
- fin- tile same period, instead of 50,100,0001. was no
diere than 49,336,0001.—(Hear, hear,)—thus leaving a
surplus of 2,054,000/. more than I calculated, and a total
surplus of 5,851,000/. applicable to the purposes pointed
cut by Parliennent.—(Hear, hear,)—a sum much larger
than I calculate.l upon at the time. Sir, an exami-
nation of the catase of this increase will, I think, he no less
eatisfactory than the fact of the increase itself. It appears to
have taken place, with the exception of about a hundred
and fifty thousand pounds, upon the Customs, and the
Excise. It is true, that I estimated the Cuetems slur-
tog the last year at 17,600,000/., wherees it did not
amount So more than 17,200,000/. But the diminution
raises from an arrangement made in the course of the last
eSes-iuta by which the tea duty in Ireland, which had been
seccivea there, was transmitted to England. So that
u-bile the Customs were reduced in that amount, it went
So swell the amount of Excise. I hail calculated that the
Excise would amount to 19,200,0001. whereas it amaunt-
ed to 20,759,000/. ; which, deducting the increase by the
saleiitien of the duty on tea in Ireland, left an increase of
about 1,000,000,000/. This increase has taken place more
or less in the duties upon all the great articles of commerce,
'ant particularly in the articles of malt and spirits. I had
etaloulated upon an increase upon the duty of malt to the
extent ef 600,0001., but could have had no idea of
its having been so much as it is. The increase of Excise
on the malt far exceeds that upon spirits, an °beer-
vatien which I am fully convinced the House will hear
with great satisfaction as giving an idea of improvement
in the habits of the population, which is of no small
importance. Sir, I come now to the other point
of difference in the estimate which I before took
the liberty of submitting to the House—it is that
which relates to the expenditure of the State. The
expenditure of the State is less than what I cal-
culated upon last year by 767,000/. It would net
be fair to represent to the House, however, that the
eviae,e of this is a saving, fur it is not. Part of it arises
Siam payments which have not been made within the year,
but which must be made, particularly payments in the
Naval Department, which the disturbed state of the Me-
diterranean has compelled us to increase. There has
been another saving, which is the economical manage-
ment of the funds that have been confided to Govern-,
assent by Parliament, and which I am happy to say has
been an actual advantage to the country. I do not state
this, with the view of taking any merit to myelf,or to the
ether Members of the Government, for the part we
have taken to bring about this state of things,
'or I fee' it a duty—the duty of every d.ay, and of every
hour, devolving on the individual in the situation in
which I now stand—to do every thing he can for the !ma-
nagement of any funds confided to the Government. That
duty has been enforced by Parliament, though I think it
needs no enforcement with respect to those who feel
duly the importance of the ditties entrusted to them.
I have on various occasions heard it stated here that there
was in Government a disposition to apply all that Parlia-
ment might grant. If there are any here now who still
hold that opinion, I beg them not so much to
recur to the past as to watch narrowly that which
late juet taken place, and which I think will give
tows printa facie proof that there is not this dis-
poeitiou and anxious inclination to dispose of all that Par-
liament may be pleased to give. I can sincerely state to
the House, and what is snore, I think I could satisfy the
House that the principle which has led to this reduction
of expence continues to operate on the minds of
nil who are engaged in his Majesty's Government, and
welsh! state to those who suppose that patronage is the
only object of the Government, that at this moment there
leave been offices either reduced or in the course of reduction
—aud that reduction deferred only to avoid the expellee
end inconvenience arising from hasty and improper
reiluctions--to au extent far beyond any thing that
could be supposed to operate as a motive of patronage.
Theie ace now actually reduced, or in the act of reduction,
no less than eighteen Commissioners of different Boards--
(Hear)—and the House may judge to what extent this reduc-
tion of establishment will go—a reduction which I sincerely
trust as opportunity may offer, will proceed. The result
then of the examination of the revenue, and expenditure
of 1828, will prove to the House that there has been a
larger sum applicable to the reduction of the public
debt than bas been available for that purpose since the year
1822, Irons the surplus arising from 1828.—(Cheers)—
In order to make this account sight, we must strike out of
it these sums arising out of the dead weight, and also
those sums, large as they were, that were received from
the Austrian loan. I repeat, then, Sir, that if the docu-
ments be produced, it will be found that we have, at the
end of 15.28, a greater actual and bona fide sum appli-
feeble to the reduction of the national debt than we have
had at any period since 1822. I maintain, then, that the
view which our fiteances present at the close of 1828 can-
not fail to be satisfactory. It is satisfactory also, net only
es fultiding to the letter the recommendations which were
enforced by the Committee of Finance, but it is satisfactory
if we look into the details of it, with respect to the general
prosperity and improvement of the country during the
period 1 have alluded to. Hit be considered with reference
to foreign trade, and to the export of British manufacture,
it will, in every respect, be found perfectly satisfactory.—
nay I believe exceed our expectations; and will give
us not only satisfaction for the time that is past, but en-
couragement for the future. It appears by the return of
else exports of the country last year, that there is no
one article of export upon which there is a sensible
diminution. And when I state this with a view to the!
satisfactory circumstance of the Revenue, it is because we
hive to compare the Custom Duties of 182 S with the
Custom Duties of 1827, a year which, considering
the circumstances which depressed the energies of this
catintry was one of unusual, I might almost eay of
extravagant import; and yet there has been that
excess of the revenue in the year 1828 I have stated,
and hardly in one article a diminution in the export. In
the article of linen alone there was au increase of export
to the amount of 9,000,000 yards upon 49,000,000
yards, lacing nearly ,one-fifth. In woollens, hard-
eva es, and almost every other article, there had been
a considerable increase. In cottons there was a tri-
lling diminution. In the Excise the increase has been
of a similar description. From this we may form some
ides of the activity, industry, and extent of our foreign
trade, and perceive ample grounds of hope for the future.
I come now to take a view of what is to be our situation
during the year 1829; and in dealing with estimates in-
stead of facts, I know the difficulty is in satisfying the
'ouse of the correctness of the view I may be disposed to
take. But having given to it the utmost attention, having
examined it in every way in which I am able, I am prepared
to offer to the House, not only ass estimate exceeding our
former expectations, as I did of 1828, but one which, it
it were not to be compared with the year 1828 itself,
would in every respect be satisfactory to the most sanguine
mind. I do not mean to say there will not be a great
;eduction of the revenue in 1824—it is impossible
tut that from the situation in which we are, and
in short in any situation, the country must look for
alternations of prosperity The blessing • of wealth is
me to he expected without some portion of correspend-

with prosperity; and so it is with respect to nations.
We have been blessed with affluence beyond
any nation, and we are not to complain when we
are subjected to temporary depression. One cause of a
reduction of the revenue is to be found in the system
adopted LI Parliament; I mean the abstraction of4he
payments by the Trustees of the Naval and Military Sink-
ing Fund. This reduction I calculate at 1,900,0001. But
this is a subject upon which I do not feel it necessary to
dwell; Parliament has thought it right to depart from the
system originally adopted, and, therefore, we have a right
to be satisfied with the effects of the measure. With re-
spect to that which may be more strictly called the reve-
nue of the country, we have a right to be prepared for a
considerable reduction. But if an estimate of the amount
of that reduction were to be made upon a comparison of
the amount of revenue collected in the quarter ending on
the sth of April, 1829, as compared with the produce of
the corresponding quarter in 1828, it would lead to an ex-
aggerated and mistaken conclusion. The deficioncy in the
quarter ending the sth of April, 1829, as compared with
the corresponding quarter in 1828, is 513,000/., of which
280,0001. arose in the Customs, and the remaining
233,000/. in the Excise. But, Sir, it does so happen
that this deficiency is capable of explanation, and arises in
a great measure merely from the postponement of pay-
ments which must come in in the course of a subsequent
quarter of the year. Honourable Gentlemen must be aware
that the Excise Revenue is collected periodically,
at intervals of six weeks; it therefore happens that, owing
to mhe different periods at which those collections com-
menced, it will occur in certain years that the quarters do
net comprise within them time same number of weeks that
others do ; and that has been the case on the
present occasion, the excise collections having been
postponed for a certain period. In consequence
of referring hack to the Monday, which is always the
day on which the Excise collector beeins, a week's reve-
nue less appears in the quarter of 1829 than appeared in
the corresponding quarter of 1828. I have received an
ace ntnt of the sum since paid to the Excise on account
of that week, and I find that it amounts to 205,0001.
by which the excess of the quarter in 1828 is reduced to
308,0001. In the customs'al'o the accounts are collected
in at shorter dates, and a similar circumstance reduced

the amount of the quarter's revenue in 1529 to 25,0001.
below that of the first quarter of 1826. Thus reducing
the deficiency to little more than 250,000/. or 260,0001.
But, Sir, notwithstanding my anxiety to remove the ex-
aggerated fears which some persons may perhaps enter-
tain, I do not pretend to conceal that for this year a re-
duction of the revenue must be anticipated. I will then,
Sir, take the reduction upon the Customs at 255,000/. ; I
will not carry it farther, because, from the very best in •
formation which I have been enabled to collect, both
as to the stock of goods at present on hand, and other
circumstances, I believe that this sum will be found suffi-
cient to recover the reduction likely to take place. In the
Excise, Sir, I think that there will be a much greater
reduction than upon the Customs. It is impossible not to
anticipate that such should be the case, when we consider
the deficient harvest of last year, and the quantity of malt
made ; and though up to the present period there has been
no material defalcation, yet considering the quantity of malt
made last year, and the duties upon which were
collected in the October and January quarters, we must
anticipate a very considerable reduction in that branch
of the Revenue. It would be very unwise, also, fiat
to calculate upon some diminution in the smaller
articles of the Excise, I therefore take it they
will he less this year than last by six hundred thousand
pounds. This, Sir, will make, according to my
estimate, the total revenue arising from the Cus-
toms end Excise together, amount to the sum of
37,130,000/. allowing for the reduction which I
have mentioned. Even if this estimate should not
be quite sufficient to cover the reduction that may
take place, the deficiency will be fully supplied
by the savings effected in the expences of collection. I
have no doubt that it will afford great satisfaction to the
House to learn, that in the other branches of the
revenue, there is likely to be no reduction whatever.
The revenue of the stamps is progressive ; in the
taxes 1 anticipate that there will be no diminution as com-
pared with last year, and the post office will be equal to
its receipts of last year also ; and taking the whole of
these together, I do not think that I am called upon
in forming my estimate to make any reduction whatever.
The general result, therefore, of what I have stated is, that
the Customs and Excise revenue will, in the course of the
year be 37,150,0001., and having stated the grounds upon
which I have formed this estimate, as being deduced by
comparison with last year, I will now state, in confirma-
tion of that estimate, that in making it I have taken the
segregate of the six preceding years, in some of which
!here was an extraordinary increase of the Revenue, and
in others as extraordinary a defalcation, and t he ave-
rage revenue of those years exceeds the estimate which
I have now made. From this the House will be disposed
to concur with me in thinking, th,.t as far as I have gone
I have taken every possible means of forming a correct
estimate, and upon the most correct grounds of
which I could Feasibly avail myself of. I take
the gross amount of the revenue as follows :—I take a
sum of 37,150,000/. for the customs and excise. I take
7,107,000/. for the stamps, being the same amount as
that which was produced last year. I take 4,850,000/.
for taxes, 1,500,0001. for the revenue of the Post-office,
200,000/. for small items of revenue, making altogether a
sum of 30,807,000/. as the extraordinary revenue of the
country, to which we may add, as the extraordinary re-
venue, a sum of 60,000/. from the East India Company.
another of 45,000/. from the unclaimed dividends, and a
third of 255,000/. from impress money repaid. Among
the extraordinary resources, one has failed us, which oc-
curred last year, and that is a sum of about 100,0001.,
paid on account of the silver coin issued in Ireland. This
debt having been paid last year, no income can be obtained
from it in the present year ; but, on the other hand, we
have a sum of 120,000/. as the amount of the purchase of
the City Canal, and 90,000/. on bills unpaid in the Court
ee Exchequer in Ireland. The whole of the extraordinary
sources of revenue amount to 540,000/., which, besides
the ordinary revenue that I have already stated, will make
the amount of revenue receivable for this year equal to
the sum of 51,347,000/. Having thus stated what ap-
pears to ins to be the probable amount of the income of the
country, I come next to lay before the House what I con-
sider as the amount of the estimate of expenditure ; and,
in the first instance, I will advert to the charges for the
debt, which I take at 27,053,000/. ; 1 then take 850,000/.
for the interest of Exchequer Bills, which make together
27,903,0001. on account of the debt itself, and five bun -
eced and eighty-flee thousand pounds for the Annuities
payable at the Bank, and for the fixed charge on the Con •
401idated Fund I will take the amount stated last year, as
the variation is an minute as not to render it necessary to
be noticed. I shall, therefore, take that at 2,200,0001.,
making a total for the permanent charges with which
Parliament hive no direct power to interfere, of
30,688,000/. Sir, the next points for our consideration
are the grants made in the course of the last year, and the
,mount, as it is technically called, of the supply. We
voted for the Arms', including the militia, the commis-
sariat and extraordinaries, a stint of 7,765,1721., being
about 300,000/. less than in the preceding year ; for the
Navy, the vote amounted to 5,878,000/., being about
100,000/. less than in the preceding year ; for the
Ordnance, a sum of 1,728,000/., being an apparent excess
of 170,000/. ; but a part of that excess is what arises,
not from any increased demand of expenditure for the
Ordnance, but from a diminution of the supply, arising from
the sale of old public stores. The miscellaneous charges are
estimated at 2,067,9731 , being a reduction of 100,000/.
from the amount of last year's estimate, and the whole
of these sums taken together amount to about 17,440,0001.,
which, being compared with the sum of 17,776,000/.,
granted antecedently, leaves a saving of nearly 330,000/. ;
and when the House considers that this saving has been
effected without impairing the efficiency of any one branch
of the public service, but solely by the vigour and con-
stant care with which the Government have watched the
items of expenditure, the House will be satisfied that there
has been no deficiency of exertion in keeping down the
expellees of the real services of the country, so as not to
allow them to exceed those limits within which they might
safely and properly be confined ; for if Hon. Members
compare this estimate with that of year 1827, in which, I
admit, there were extraordinary setvices, and consequently
extraordinary estimates required, they will find that the
reduction amounts to a sum little less than 1,500,0001.
But, Sir, in addition to these ordinary grants fee this
year, we have to provide for a sum of 200,000/. for an
extraordinary and unforeseen expenditure—l mean for
that ope arising from the Treaty with Spain, by which
we hound ourselves to satisfy certain claims which
existed by Spanish subjects, and were claimed
as due from the subjects of his Majesty. Taking the
whole votes of the year, then, they amount to a sum
of 49,333,593/., which, deducted from the income for the
year I have before stated at 51,347,000/., will leave us a
surplus of 3,013,407/, applicable to the reduction of the
National Debt.--(Hear, hear.)--It was the opinion of the
Finance Committee, who went at large into the public re-
venue and expenditure, and the means for the reduction
of the debt, that the individual who stood in my situation
should be able to calculate upon a surplus of at least three
millions, with a view to the reduction of the debt,'and to
euaril aaainet the possible contingency of an unealculated

of the country are adequate to the fulfilment of that re- '
commendation; that it requires only the firmness of Par-
liament to adhere to that recommendation by adopting
that which the Committee considered, and which I be_
lieve to be necessary for the interest of the country, namely,
the maintenance of such an amount of taxation as win
give us that annual surplus. We are in the present year
able to fulfil the duty which they advised us to undertake,
and I do not anticipate any circumstances with a view to
the revenue and expenditure of the country, that will pre-
vent us from realizing that recommendation. Sir, it may ap.
pear to some gentlemen that from this amount of 3,013,0001.
is to be defrayed the amount of annuities which have hitherto
been charged upon the Sinking Fund, and it may be
stated by these gentlemen that the reduction of these
annuities reduces the amount available as surplus below
the sum which the Committee recommended ; but I beg
leave to say, that when the Committee made that recom-
mendation they had this subject before them, and contem-
plated the three millions of surplus revenue as available in
part for the payment of these annuities for lives. Tip y
did so justly, and not without justice could they have ar-
rived at any ether conclusion. By the bills now before
the House, these annuities are not to be taken from the re-
venue, but from the Consolidated Fund ; and in future
years whoever fulfils the duties with which I am now
charged, will have to present these annuities as a part of
the public debt of the country. I should have done so in
the present insiance, if I hail not wished to rnake the com-
parison of the present with the past years accurate in every
part, and then to show the House what effect these ar-
rangements will have on the financial system of future
years. On future occasions, those who have the manage-
ment of the finance will have to make a statement of tire
debt different from that which I now present to Parliament.
In these annuities there are two parts to be distinguished—
those which are perpetual annuities, from those which are
only temporary; and if the House will permit me, I will per-
sent the debt in this shape, with a view more distinctly
to show the surplus of 3,013,0001., of which I have
already spoken. What I call permanent and perpetual
annuities amount to 24,181,450/. for England, and to
1,158,098/ for Leland, making a total of 25,342,548/.,
to which the sinking fund is applicable. The country is
charged with the payment of the temporary annuities in
the following manner :-1,300,0001. for the long annui-
ties; 585,000/. for the Bank Annuities; 670,0001. for
the Exchequer Life Annuities ; 130,000!. for Life Annui-
ties, created by the 48th of the late King ; and 7,0001,
for the Waterloo Annuities, making together a sum of
2,692,0001. as the amount of debt for the temporary an-
nuities—a debt which I state as one with which the coun-
try need no longer trouble itself, as in the course of time
it wilt work its own extinction. When, therefore, we
consider the amount of the surplus which is applicable to
the reduction of the debt, we must nut forget that the por-
tion of the incame applied to make the payments in respect
of these annuities, is, strictly speaking, part of the sinking
fund of the country. In granting annuities, we grant an
annual charge in the parties interested, and it would be an
unfair mode of calculating the debt of the country, if we
did not include as much of the temporary annuities as are
applicable to the extinction of a part of the principal of
that debt. Tire Bill now on the table of the House pro-
poses to convert permanent into temporary annuities. It
proposes the expenditure of a sum granted to pay off tem-
porary Annuities, by the substitution of them for perma-
nent Annuities ; and. if the measure is not considered likely
to answer, we sha I be entitled to provide for the Sinking
Fund the sum of three millions in addition to the whole
surplus. I wish to call the attention of the House to the
circumstance, that annuities of a fixed duration are part
of the Sinking Fund; and so much of that Sinking Fund
as is taken for that purpose, must be considered when we
speak about the reduction of the debt. Although I con-
template with much satisfaction the having been enabled
to fulfil the recommendation of the Committee, and be-
lieve that the uttnoit attention has been shewn in providing
this surplus applicable to the reduction of the debt, it
would have given me unmixed pleasure if I could have
calculated on a larger amount for the operation of that
measure. I should be glad under these circumstances to
have left it to the consideration of Parliament how far it
would have been advantageous to apply it in reduction
of the public burdens. The revenue, however, does not
permit me to propose so favourable a measure. The House
will agree with me that we ought cot to trench on this
surplus—that we ought to guard it for.the reduction of the
debt, and to meet sudden and unexpected defalcation,
which I do not look for, but which may nevertheless
arise, I come next to that which I stated as the third
point in the present discussion—namely, the mode in
which I propose to carry into effect the measure recom-
mended by the Finance Committee, as to the application
of the surplus revenue in the reduction of the debt. The
House, if not unanimously, at least nearly so, has agreed
on the principle on which we are to proceed—that of ap-
plying in reduction of the debt no other sum than that
which is clearly and bona fide a surplus, after the payment
of all the charges on the country. On that principle the
Bill on the table is founded ; but it involves-also at ether,
which is almost of equal importance with a view to the
Practical operation of the measure. It is not sufficient to
apply the surplus, but there must be some regulation for
the equable application of the amount. I know nothing
that would more affect tire private credit of all persons in..
terested in the-e funds than that the amounts paid off
should vary in different quarters from one million to
100,0001. I, therefore, find in the Bill a principle which,
in the course of time, will render theft paymentsas equable
as possible. I propose to effect this object in this way :
It is customary in each year, at the Treasury, to make up
an account of the revenue and expenditure for each quarter
in that year; and my proposition is, that on each quarter
day this account should be made up of the four preceding
quarters, and one quarter of the whole should be taken as
applicable to the reduction of the debt. BY this arrange_
meat, we shall check the differences that would other-
wise arise, and prevent a deficiency in one, and an
overplus in another, so as to secure an average reduction
in each of the four quarters. Taking a course of years,
the payments will be the same, with this only difference,
that they will be more equally made in each. The Reso-
lurion I shall put into your hands goes merely to the point
of laying down the principle of the application of the sur-
plus., but the Bill contains the provision which I now sub-
mit to your consideration. This Bill a'so, in conformity
with the recommendations of the Committee, confers a
power to apply, in redemption of the Unfunded Debt,
whatever is remaining at the disposal of the Commie-
sienere ; and this necessarily recalls me to one of the Re-
solutions I now put into your bards, relating to the re-
duction now in progress. I propose a Resolution, the ob-
ject of which is, that every individual who eulercribes
100/. in Exchequer Bills shall receive the sum of 101/. 10s.
in lieu thereof,-I.is claim to be reduceeble in 1833,
uniting the fund so created with that which was created
in the year 1825. These terms the House must consider
as advantageous, the premium not being above 30s. in the
100/., which will effect but a small addition to the capital
of the debt, compared with tire other measure ; for on the
last occasion 107/. in tire Four per Cents. were given for
100/., whereas on the present the increase was only 30s.
I may be asked, and I shall anticipate the answer, why I
have thought it necessary to take any measure with respect
to the Unfunded Debt ; arid next, why, having taken any, I
have limited its operation ? I have always felt and ex-
pressed, that it was desirable to take a favourable oppor-
tunity of reducing, within reasonable limits, the amount
of the Unfunded Debt. I know that at this pre-
cise moment, and for some time to come, there
is no reason to apprehend any thing from the existence of
this debt, hut we should be reduced to an unhappy state if
we were caught at a moment of difficulty by a large and
unmanageable debt. It is because it is not so on this oc-
casion, and because we can secure an ultimate advantage
with a very small sacrifice, that I recommend to Parlia-
ment to convert so much of the debt payable at specific
periods. I have confined myself to the sum of three
millions, from an unwillingness to take any measure that
might effect the circulation or the public credit ; and in
the next place it is obvious that in fulfilling the recom-
mendetions of the Committee, I ought not to go further,
because it was not the intention of that Committee, or
of those who supported their recommendetion, to have re-
course to any violent measure, or to deal with an enlarged
amount of the funds. I have, besides, fixed the sum
at three millions, because, when Mr. Canting, in
1827, made an addition to the debt, he added that sum,
and it therefore appeared to me, that it was proper, in
conceiving the reduction of it, to take theamount of the
last addition. If any gentleman will take the trouble of
referring to what fell from Mr, Canning on that occasion,
and to the arguments and reasons on which he thought it
expedient to in tp•rreorteseemt hgerad debt,ual
ly in our ‘tvhoirnkko:fitreexdpuecdtiloenn.t
tFhoart
twlteessehrceual:lons I recommend to the House the adoption
of these Life Annuities, payable in 1833. I do not
carry the sum farther than 3,000,000/. as I do not wish
to derange the value of the public funds. It only "tow
remains for me, having brought before the House the state-
ment of the Revenue and Expenditure, and the course
which I propose to pursue in dealing with the National
Debt, to refer to the Supply and to the Ways and
Means. I have already detailed to the House the esti-
mates for the year, and it is now merely necessary for me
to recapitulate the amount of these altogether. The sum
•voted as supplies for the service of the year is 18,404,8531.,
and the 'Jas and Means are three millions as sugar

.... \.

\., - `w-•

60,0001. from the East India Company, 506,212/. sur-
plus grant on the payment of former years, and
14,700,0001. consolidated fund, making altogether a sum
of 18,386,2121. to meet the supplies required for the
year. I have thus brought to a close the observations
which I have thought it my duty to make. I have left
Gentlemen to draw their own conclusions from these
facts; but I should not satisfy my own feelings if I did
not say, that whatever may be our temporary difficulties,
there is nothing that leads me to doubt either the re-
sources of the country or the means by which, in case of
necessity, they might he called into action. On the other
hand, I am confident that when the cloud which now hangs
over us shall have passed away—and that it will pass away I
have no doubt—this country will present a picture of pro-
sperity and happiness such as no other in the world has
exceeded. Having already trespassed too long on the
patience of the House, I will only add, what was said on
a former occasion far better than I can even pretend to re-
peat it, with respect to our trade, circulation, and revenue,
that a little cautious forbearance will allow the country, ere
long, to recover from the difficulties which at present em-
b•irrass some parts of its system ; and I beg leave to warn
the House that that recovery can only be prevented by
undue attempts to precipitate.—(Cheers.)—The Right
Hoe. Gentleman then moved the following- Re,olution :
'• That, towards making good the supply for the current
year, there be issued and applied the sum of 506,2121. 2s.
Sid., being the Surplus of the Ways and Means for the
years 1823, 1824, 1825, 1826, 1827, and 1628."
The question having been put by the CHAIRMAN,
_ _

Mr. HUME said, before I proceed to notice any of the
arguments of the Chancellor of the Exchequer, it is but
an act of duty to him to remark that he has laid before the
House a very clear apd distinct statement—so clear and
distinct, that every man, at all acquainted with the sub-
ject, must have been able to follow him through the
whole of it.—(Hear.)---This circumstance is undoubtedly
a matter of congratulation, because, however important
the subject, the statements of a Finance Minister, on
bringing forward the Annual Budget, have not always
been intelligible, even with the most patient attention to
the details. I have no doubt he gives full credit to the
opinions he tittered regarding the condition of our finances,
and I wish I could participate in the .view be has taken
of them—l wish I could believe that the country was
only under a cloud ; nay, as the Right Hon. Gentleman
slys, under a passing cloud, which, ere long, will
pass away, and leave the land basking in the sunshine
of unequalled prosperity. I cannot imagine in what si-
tuation he has been, or whence he has derived his in-
formation, to lead to the persuasion that only parts of
the great system are temporarily embarrassed, and that
we are suffering only a slight inconvenience in a
few of the great interests of the empire. Let him re-
view those interests—let him look at our commerce and
our manufactures iu their various brauches, and let him
show me, contrary to all the authentic evideece I have ob-
tained, in what respects they are topics of congratulation.
He told us, indeed, in the outset, that conflicting views
might be taken of the subject—that we are suffering un-
der the evils of a deficient harvest, and of commercial stag-
nation. He admits that stagnation, and yet, he adds, that
he does not think it his duty to inquire into the cause of
it. If it be not his duty, let me ask to whom that ditty
does belong? I appeal to the ,House, I appeal to the coun-
try, whether all classes are net labouring under the conse-
quences of that stagnation ; and is it for the Minister of
the Crown,who comes down to expound the finances of the
country, to tell us that he will not inquire into the cause?
I ask every Member who hears me whether he can he pre-
pared to sanction the proposition of the Right Hon. Gen-
tleman, without some attempt at least at a solution of the
difficulty ? He says that some may attribute it to the
change in the currency, sonic to over-trading, and others
to over-production : he calls it "tremendous over-pro-
duction," but I am sorry at all times to hear the produc-
tiveness of a country brought forward as an evil. If it
should turn out that the change in the currency is the
cause of stagnation, ailed by heavy taxation, let me hear
any man get up in his place and assert, in the face of the
country, that it is not a subject worth consideration. Are
we prepared to continue the present amount of taxes from
year to year, if it be established that its pressure has mainly
contributed to our distresses ? Surely no situation can be
worse for a country than to be overburdened with imposts
of every kind, to have those imposts paralyse trade and
manufacturers, end yet for the Minister of the Crown to
tell us that he will neither lighten the load, nor inquire
into the causes of distress. Is it fit that in times like
these Ministers should persevere in the same system of
taxation that had existed for the last fifteen or sixteen
years? I admit the right of the Chancellor of the Exche-
quer to take the contingencies into account; that of the
Isle of Man and London Bridge ought not certainly to he
left out of the account ; but with these the public expen-
diture amounts in the .current year to within between
50,0001. and 100,0001. of what it was in former years.
I therefore take it for granted that it is the intention of Mini'•
stern that the enaounts, both of taxation and expenditure,
should hereafter remain the same. Now I for one am not
prepared to concur in any such arrangement. I think
that the present amount of taxation has brought the coun-
try to its present condition—that it has pressed upon all
classes with the most painful severity. I do not say that
other causes have not concurred ; I do not attribute our
condition wholly to taxation ; the change in the currency
and over-trading I admit have lent their aid in producing
the admitted stagnation ; but I say that the distress exist-
ing, whether partial or general, temporary or permanent,
we are bound to inquire into, with a view to ascertain
whether relief cannot be afforded. The Right Hon. Gen-
tleman has said, with great correctness, that there has
been an evident increase in many branches of our ex-
ports, and it was but fair in him to draw a comparison
between quantity and value; but if it should appear that
there is an increase of three or four millions this year,
yet that the declared value—that is, the price at which
the merchant ' estimates his goods it is decreased in the
same proportion—nothing will hive been gained. If
it should turn out that capital is less productive
this year than in former years, and that individuals
employed in Lubricating the goods have been only receiving
half their usual remuneration, it is clear that this appa-
rent increase of exports will have produced no correspond-
ing advantage to the country. If there be a merchant iu
the House who differs from me upon this point, let hint
stand up and contradict my statement. Is there any
moneyed individual in the country whose capital last year
has teturned him even the ordinary profit lie might have
obtained, without risk or trouble, in the stocks ? Perhaps
the landed interest is an exception.—(Hear, hear.)—But
their day is coming.—(Heir, and laughter. )—I repeat,
their day is coming, and that it will come, and to the
landed interest I therefore make my appeal ; it is quite
impossible that the rest of the community should be de-
prived of the common means of subsistence, and that
landlords should be enabled to keep up their rents..—
(Hear, hear.)—Sooner or later they must feel the effects
of the present condition ; and let me ask them, with this
prospect before them, whether it is politic or prudent to
proceed with our present system of reckless expenditure?
I say reckless expenditure ; because it must be so, if no
attention be paid to the state of the country, and if the
Chancellor of the Exchecpter will not give himself the
' trouble even to inquire. As to the excess of the revenue
of last ye r, I perhaps differ not only from the Right
Hun. Gentleman, but from some of those more immedi-
ately around me. I have wished, I have prayed, that
there might be a reduction in the receipts at the Treasury,
not in consequence of any unisfortnne overtaking the coun-
try, but such a diminution as would compel Ministers
to abandon their expensive system, and prevent them
driving so deep into the pockets of tie people, and de-
priving them of the means of clothing their nakednes
and satisfying their hunger. Whether resident or travel-
ling from place to place, all persons are required to
meke heavy deditctione from their hard-earned pittances,
and there is scarcely an article under Heaven that is
not made the subject of taxation, vexation, and annoy-
ance. Therefore, it is impossible fur me not to wish for
the occurrence of almost any thing by which the people
might be relieved—not by forced measures, such as the
diminution of consumption and the means of employment,
but by the repeal of taxes, I consider it one of the
greatest evils to which the country could be exposed, that
during the last seventeen years the revenue has been so
steadily productive. All history tells me—at least all my
experience tells me—that in proportion as you place funds
in the hands of Government, they will take good care that
it than all be expended ; and the Committee has shown
that the whole of the three millions confided to Ministers
was spent, with the exception of only 131. So much is
entrusted to the power of the Minister—when the revenue
is productive, he is allowed to sanction such a lavish ex-
penditure, that I contend it is a positive evil that the re-
ceipts continue so great. As the Chancellor of the Ex-
chequer has not pretended to account for the present state
of the country, I will state two important causes which
appear ter me most applicable. I hold in my hand an ac-
count of the receipts of the revenue, exclusive of all loans,
since January, 181-5. 1 will begin with the year 1817,
which may be considered the first year of peace. It was
the year when the Finance Committee sat, and when the
peace system began ; and I will state the amount of the
produce of taxation in this unfortunate country, with such
immense powers and capabilities, yet brought to the verge
of ruin. In the years 1817, 1618, and 1819, the average
receipt of the revenue was 51,76%000/. -Now the House

S

rency. I ask merchants what in those years was the !
amount of their profits ? Were they then satisfied with a
return of four or five per cent. on the most hazardous ad-
ventures ? Were capitalists then content to obtain three
or four per cent. upon investments? No such thing ; the
price of every thing was at that time different; capital ob-
tained its fair return, and labour its due wages; yet, now
that every thing is changed, taxation remains unal-
tered. Every body knows that Mr. Peel's Bill, which
passed in 1819, made an important change in the
value of money ; it affected the price and the pro- 1
fitable return upon every article of produce and con-
aumption ; and yet, during the next three years,
viz.-1820, 1821, and 1822—the produce of the revenue
was 51,173,000/. In 1823, 1824, and 1825, it was
52,400,000/. being actually one million more than in
1817, 1818, and 1819. It has been observed by some,
and very properly, that we have been expecting that this
unfortunate state of things would gradually subside ; and,
to use the figure of the Right Hon. Gentleman, that the
cloud would pass away, and the country emerge from me-
lancholy darkness. The consequence has been, that from
year to year, we have been unwilling to reduce and re-
trench, and whenthe currency lots been reduced to metal—
when trade and manufactures are stagnant, and distress
general, in the years 1825, 1826, and 1827, the average an-
nual revenue has been 51,100,0001—being the produce
of an amount et taxation equal to the years 1817, 1818,
and 1819. Now, in my view, the change in the currency,
the exaction of heavy taxes, combined with the difficulties
thrown in our way by our own fiscal regulations, including
the trade in corn, have brought us to our present sate of
difficulty. I ask, then, whether the Right Hon. Gentle-
man is warranted in congratulating the House on the pro-
sperity of the country? He talks of an increase in the
exports, and particularly in hardware and wool, and of
the augmentation of active industry, as evidenced by the
additional comforts of the population. Good Gad ! from
whence does he derive his information ? Who furnishes
him with his documents? Has he looked at Macclesfield,
Manchester, and Paisley? Has he lnoksd at the state of
Spitalfields? What pieces in the country can he point out
to justify his statements and anticipations ? His opinion
is founded on what I contend is a positive evil—a full
treasury; he knows nothing beyond the receipts there; he
s es the money, and he is satisfied. It is a manifest insult
to tell the starving population and the ruined capitalist
that their condition is a convincing proof of present com-
fort and future prosperity. I confess that the statement sur-
prised me; it seems to me utterly unaccountable, but it
shows that the Cabinet of Great Britain closes its oyes
upon hourly experience of the real suffet ings of the country,
and, finding a productive revenue, thinks no change neces-
sary, and makes up its mind to continue to tax to the pre-
sent enormous amount what it is pleased to call a happy,
prosperous, and enviable people. The Right Hon. Gen-
tleman has referred to the increased revenue upon malt
and spirits, as if the amount of gin and whiskey consumed
was a proof of the improvement of the condition of the
lower orders, although it is not to be denied that thou-
sands have been driven by despair to seek an oblivion of
their sorrows in intoxication. As to malt, does not the
Right Hon. Gentleman recollect that in the preceding
year there was a decrease in this item of between 7 and
800,000/. It is a singular and not unimportant fact as
relates to the consumption of malt, that returns establish
that that consumption was as great in the ten years be-
tween 1785 and 1795, as in any subsequent ten years :
it was as great as at the present moment, although the
population in the interval has been doubled. This fact
establishes that comparatively little beer is now drunk, and
few of the labouring classes are able to taste it, especially
in its pure and unadulterated state. The amount of the
duty occasions the manufacture of a quantity of trash un•
c;er the name of beer, and with that theindustrious artisan
must be contented. On all accounts the Right Hon. Gen-
tleman should be the last to mention the consumption of
malt as a proof of the increased comforts of the people: if
any article should be brought forward to establish the con-
trary, it would be malt. The whole nation may be pro-
duced as evidence against the Right Hon. Gentleman, end I
challenge him to produce any one man out of the House
who will concur in his congratulation. What, then, is
the duty of this House ? Is it its duty to sanction this
continued expenditure, and to persevere in eating the
people? I protest against it, and upon me at least the re-
sponsibility will not rest. I think the House is celled
upon, not only to afford what relief is in its power by the
repeal of taxes, but by the approbation of the surplus in
the Treasury. We are told, however—and I could scarcely
avoid smiling while I listened—that something has been
done in the way of economy. What has been done ?
Eighteen Commissioners have been dismissed ; but it is a
question whether half of them have not been pensioned
off, and the relief, perhaps, amounts to nothing. It cer-
tainly is nothing like the relief the country has a r'glit to
expect ; and if an Honourable Gentleman should be found
to agree with the Chancellor of the Exchequer that it is
sufficient, I hope he will stand up in his place and state
the grounds of his opinion. I shall bold it a gross derelic-
tion of duty on the part of the House if it does not com-
pel Ministers to do something more for the relief of the
suffering cointnunity. With one expression of the Right
Honourable Gentleman I confess I was pleased : he told
us that in a great commercial country like this, we must
expect alternation., which, in plain words, means ups
and downs, as regards prosperity. Now, I ask him,
or any man, whether it is common prudence for an
individual to live to the utmost verge of his possible
income when he may expect reverses? What would
be folly in a private man is folly in a nation ; and, with
these threatened alternations, ought our expenditure to
be calculated at the highest average of the last six
years? We must provide against those ups and downs ;
and if Government will not yield, we must exact from it
the large reductions of expenditure demanded by the cir-
cumstances of the country. The Right Hon. Gentleman
referred to many other items, and with regard to them I
have only to admit that the estimates of last year were
fully warranted by the result. The Right Hon. Gentle-
man, therefore, instead of overstraining, understated his
calculations. , Whether he will be equally correct as to the
current year remains to be seen. I hope the House will
at le.ist pause before it permits the Chancellor of the Ex-
chequer
to proceed in his career. Taxes are about to be
proposed on sugar and some other articles, but I trust they
will be refused, and that Ministers will thus be driven to
the alternative of reduction. They know nothing but the
receipts in the Treasury, and, poor honest souls, they do
not seem to be at all aware of the deplorable condition of
some of the manufacturing districts. There is another
point on which the Right Honourable Gentleman slightly
touched—l refer to the manner in which he propes;s to
appropriate the surplus ; he says that he feels warranted
in having increased the permanent debt of the country by
the funding of Exchequer Bills. In my mind nothing can
be so lamentable as the wholesale manner in which we pro-
ceed to injure ourselves. Year after year we persevere in
the weakest and most unwise course, even in the manage-
ment of our Surplus Revenue. We are called upon to
keep nominal amounts of Sinking Fund, and then we fund
Exchequer Bills at an extraordinary and most needless loss.
The Chancellor of the Exchequer says, that he has selected
the amount of three millions, because Mr. Canning thought
fit to augment to that amount the unfunded &be. I am
one who protested against that proceeding. I contended
that it was ntost unfair to take credit for the facility and
cheapness of raising money, as if the amount was never to
be brought to account when it was funded. What has
been the result ? It is grievous to think of the lavish
manner in which the public money has been thrown away
for the purpose of keeping up the delusion of a Sinking
Fund. The Right Hon. Gentleman could not fairly tell
the House that, from the close of the war, we have been
borrowing every year, and losing by borrowing to an ex-
tent scarcely creditable. I regret that the Finance Com-
mittee of last year had not time to go into the statement I
laid before it, to slum that four millions had been lost
upon thirteen millions hot-rimed from the Bank. The
whole of it arose from a nominal Sinking Fund, so long
supported, but which is now abandoned, and deem not
meet with a single advocate. We are still proceeding in
the same heedless and ruinous course. I object, therefore,
to the funding of the three millions of Exchequer Bills,
by which so considerable a loss is sustained to the country.
The Right Hon. Gentleman thrusts three millions into
the Funds, in order to raise them, that he may buy them
back at a higher price, and thus throw away the public
money. The House ought not to agree to so inconsiderate
a bargain as these two fundings of Exchequer Bills by the
Right Hon. Gentleman and the First Lord of the Treasury.
These three millions are to go into the market at a pre-
mium of two per cent. against the public. This is a part
of their care and wisdom in regard to the public interest.
It was done no doubt by the Right Hon. Gentleman
merely to give an appearance of doing something. But
who benefits by it ? The broker who buys and sells, and
gets the turn of the market—he alone profits by these
transactions. Are the public to be ro treated ? Are tens
of thousands of pounds to be thrown away after tens of
lethWteelmyoullvdiintiht n •
tHioi
House
susqysues
at system? Would
thist be better ttohoruepgehatl tla!esha, thdtahne
other thousands, and is there to be no end of this waste-
f me in regard of the ruinous trans-
action, some years ago, !as to the funding of 8,000,000/.
I allude to 1926, when that amount of Exchequer Bills
was funded which hail been issued during the three
preceding *jeers. By that operation it was brought
to our knowledge—the money having been ad-

~..,re V
must say, that this is ton dangerous a power 1.15*.e01,
any Government. This circumstance brings top InYh r
L fil
wie
tb..
ction a fact that has been stated to me, but st ii
not now repeat. I have no hesitation in saying,' Apt
is a proceeding open to the greatest possible abuselevar
individual holding the office of Chancellor of the Pro. I,
quer, or Secretary of the Treasury, may, all ran rbs'
put 50 or 100,0001. into any body's pocket "414.00 d.
chooses to fevour, if he only gives him an intiolincool 1
the transaction he means to perform that days loot.'
prove this to the Right Hon. Gentleman's own slops
tion, if it wet e necessary. The Right Hon. Gent tel
proposes to ground this funding on the average affir fill
the price of Stock ; and for that purpose, he 1031' "siol('
take the three last quarters. He proposes that the bc,
ing Fund shall still be applied to the current qulrier; in
cause it is improper, he says, to make large purnba tests
any one quarter. Very improper, say I too, s°
toes
we are agreed. But what do I find? That in tbe,,,.? 001.
ending in September, 1827, the amount of Olt aoa
of Exchequer Bills was sold in one day. This 10.n.Y to the
thing as it regards private individuals ; but it nneec Gen,
public interest very different y. By the Right fleu'i tag
tlernan's own showing, it is not in the pourer .°. tie
'Minister to issue Exchequer Bills, without to of 00
market price. I am speaking on the authority °ow
official paper, which I hold in my hand. In the f„,O of '
ing quarter there was another sum of 723,000/. tarn-00,
the market in six months. I will ask the Right mast
Gentleman himself, does it not affect the market? oak
it not put those who are not in the secret, or on the r• ?
in a different situation from what they ought fairly topeolintig
I complain that we advance the public money by 11%0'1
Exchequer Bills, and thereby give individuals a 1)°,00 1
over the money market which no man ought to have' sr!
Right Hon. Gentleman does it, according to his orsto
count, to create a trade in stock, it being well knows of,
every time Government go into the market and Pro
chase 100,000/. or 200,000/. of stock, it raises
in proportion to the purchase, and eo the Yntia
lase by every transaction of this nature. I! eitt
House will attend, Hon. Gentlemen will find t1"6,,,,. '
the result of this very List funding of Exchequer Sibyl,
S . it was also in the ruinous transactions of 106,4 .
which I have before referred. In that instance there i 4,
8,000,000/. advanced on Exchequer Bills Lamed in,l des
the Poi, i
5, and 6, to purchase 3 per Cents. at the rate of 41.41 it
cent, per annum. These Exchequer Bills were fund 1., ie
31. 6s. 9d. per cent. Now, when they were so funded
the House aware that the produce was to Government ro
They funded Exchequer Bills at Si. 6s. 9d. per "tee
which they hul paid 4.1. 45., being a loss of 18'" a
per -vie
for ever on the whole 8,000,0001, which is -...1 el
petual annuity of 75,333/ , and equal to a Capl"ifee
2,500,0001 of stock. Tt.is is one instance of the e •rti
of an inconsiderate issue of Exchequer Bills, u1t.,,1
afterwards funded at a lower rate than they are is' %il
Let us now see what will he the result of the 3•o°°' ye'
which is now funded. The Right Plon. Gentlest:mot elk,
" I have only given a bonus of 305." What right, 14
had he to give it at all?—(Hear.)—The public left
is surely not to be so wasted. I say he ought to be , hot I
take the money himself, and lose not only the bona*. ,y
the difference.—(A laugh, and cries of hear, hear.)! ye
House will excuse me, I trust, while I show that wtsos
by funding these Exchequer Bills the amount of a dlYiboo
which, if applied to the Sinking Fund, might have
MI/
used to reduce the debt at an interest of Si. 10s- 0
-4,
Hon. G .ntlemen are not aware, perhaps, what is °1;1,
ration of Exchequer Bills in their issue. They are cbor
in the first instance, to Mr. Rothschild, er some
broker, and by him sold in the market for whatever rgod
minus he can get for them. The money so obtain go
to the Commissioners of the Sinking Fund, and theifill i '
with it and buy 3 per Cents., and the price they gi.ncle4 tl.O
afford them a dividend of Si. 10s. 7d. per cent. rll°;fisg
Right Hon. Gentleman finds this money by
,f-t, en
4/. Is. 10d. per cent., and thus loses 1 15...* er:',/.1/.
3,000,000/. for ever. Are we to continrfi." issiob.o6
the money for ever? These Exchequer NA 'IA 020 la
are sold at a premium of 94,0001. ; and th . tail •
i`jitf of
that it Lewes the country the loser of ' son'dere
14,0001. for ever. Hon. Gentlemen will sever uo
owe
stand these transactions unless they accustt"l:l tile° tiro-
to look into these proceedings. I cannot eiiin tbeittiNeill
fligate, because the term has been objected tat • but :rig.
call them wasteful ; I know no phrase stronger t'or Jape
apply within the soh sof the House. What won't' ' 'tdi
10
Gentlemen think if the Right Hon. Gentleanby lae
agree to .morrow to borrow 6,000,000/., to be'ri,/,.t; itt
stalments of 20 per cent. every two months., PO' 'Theo
five successive payments, the whole sum will be anni) iof
by a certain day ; and that, in order to render tae ie.
worth while to the lenders, be agrees to allow them In .0
rest for it from the day on which the first instalrnea,,.e to
paid, instead of postponing the interest until the '.au;
e pitsl is advanced ? This is precisely what the On‘toi,
cellor of the Exchequer does in regard to those 3,000,'15e
for the Exchequer Biils are to be funded by instalfoe?Loa
equal periods, between the 19th June and the end
temper. But the interest is to commence on the EtOCk";o
the first day, and as the interest is paid on the Exellisr
Bills until they are cancelled, the parties will be reel f
double interest. This is a wasteful expence, towblciti;es
trust, this House will not agree. I say that we ought to . hp
the Chancellor of the Exchequer and the First Lord 0f
Treasury in the lurch, to pay the debt thensielvTes
(Langhter.)—And if the House will support rnee„,.t.ieee
we will leave them..._. Hear, hear. )..--I say thatiso Pt
ter ought to fund Exchequer Bills till he has broughtat
Bill to regulate how it shall be done. The WO .-tlif,
Gentleman should, a month ago, have come down 0 vs,
House, and inquired of us whether we would allow aloe,
ipialuvseomfkreedveinjouiev;itasnhdouifldmh-eavdeidbetalnlowariptl,iedhe? should -t. a
In tbe.filee,
sent state of the country, I think there should tit :100 rie:
Suppose there was a surplus, would it not be
mit taxes to that amount, and thereby relieve the Ve? P P
than apply it to be played with in brokers' hands
_ow
was, I know, generally expected that there was to he s 0 .d
immense and wonderful financial transaction. " Dee...,
on it," people said, ~ the Duke of Wellington Will Pil;r,
duce something to astonish the world. You will be...,a-
-prised ;it will be a master-piece of financial addrens'of
(Laughter.)—But when it came forth, I never knovr .ne
thing so perfectly ridiculous ; it was nonsense and 011/,1, j
vaunting. Instead of borrowing and funding on ectie
terms, a perpetual annuity of 14,723/. is lost to the en of
for ever by this profligate transaction.—(Loud erten .11
hear, hear, on both sides of the House. }-I say it a5l;
this profligate transaction. All I wish is, if pos'iblie'il I
make the Right Hon. Gentleman himself pay it; 1%04
can satisfy the House as to the ficts of the case, as "," tae
no doubt I can, let us read the Prime Minister es' .01
Right lion. Gentleman a lesson which they will not 61;4
forget.—( Hear, hear.)--We ought not to be placed in t;',lo
situation, by which we are called upon to sanction the 1. i
of half a million to the public, for the value of the sib/
sunk is equal to a capital of 290,760/. of 3 perCes° ie
There was never such uncertainty and mismanagernent to
in this instance. It is really quite an insult to ask as 0::
agree to such a transaction. The only thing in -64100,
sistency with it is the high state of prosperity in which iife
Right Non. Gentleman described the country ; evert
.`,ft
dividual contented and living in abundance, in even" 9
of the country.—(Hear, hear. )—I know the arduous Jaw.'
the Right Hon. Gentleman has to perform; bat flit''
strongly, and I must call on the Chancellor of the erasei
quer and the First Lord of the Treasury—for IWI itif'
mention their namee ---(Langliter.)—l apply tort,„oel
them as the holders of certain offices, in which they e'':uoir
act for the public interest, and are answerable for wept
conduct. Before Igo further, I must notice a et4ol° ie
of the Right Hon. Gentleman in unison with the igooraltfit
he displays as to the state of the country. He weak. °oil
as if happiness and con,ent were spread througbouisbot
country. Now, I must tell the country gentlemeocog.
they arc about to come back to the golden times of 141 of
I know that the produce of the estate of an Hon. Friel be
mine is reduced to the rental of 1796; and it ;will WI of '
long before the rental comes down generally to the lel .0-
1792, as regards prices. Let us divest ourselves IP try
party feelings, and look at the state in which the on°
is really placed, and examine the difficulties we hart to
dff''' '
contend with. This is our duty :it is the duty of ;
eters to ascertain the causes of the distress, and ar.o. f. .
effectual remedies. As to our - burthena, I have in .o.
hand a little bit of paper, stating the ;
comparative-Ors
d;ture of the years 1799 and 1828 ; and I beg the l'°l4'
to attend while I read only five items, but large 0_,...13 '
by which the expenditure of the two years is cv-f
pared. The first item is the interest of the debt; thstltoit
1792, was 9,577,000/. ; in 1828 it was 28,235,0001/4e .
thrk e-fold greater. The next item is the Civil List and otPO
charges on the Consolidated Fund ; this, in 1792 s :lot
1,033,000/. ; in 1828 it was 2,472,0001. The tPli,
item, is for the Army, Navy, Ordnance, Militia, and
tary and Naval Services in general; in 1792 it- „oe
4,357,0001., and in 1828 it amounted to 19,000',0
The eggs( gate of expenditure in 1792, was 14,969,00t4
and in 1828, 49,781,000/. There ie another very weigliej
item to which I desire the attention of the House. I lt,er,
a paper showing the aesount of the dead weight, and olj
charges, which we are told cannot be meddled with. e.'
fore we agree'sro take that amount upon us, it will bi, oeCejW;
nary to see whether, with it, we can keep the treb_,,,' 7 ;
going, because, at all events, that is abiolutely nem'SSr...4.,',
whatever may go with every thing else. - The PertSe
!on the Civil List amount to 60,0001., on the oneOl wguir- C
.. iik.