Star.
London, England, 1813-03-26 00:00:00

PLOZK, FEBRUARY 6.

To-day his Majesty the Emperor of all the Rus-
sias arrived here, as the head of all the Guards, and
a division of the 3d corps of Grenadiers, forming to-
lethbr 28,000 men. Unanimous acclamations of joy
accompanied his entry. However great their enthu-
siasm, their surprise was still greater, for it was ge-
nerally asserted in Poland, that if the French army
had greatly suffered in the retreat by the power of
the elements, the Russian army, which was near its
dissolution before that epoch, had been entirely de-
stroyed by the same causes. After this, the coup flail
which was presented by the entrance of the Guards,
approached to magic, and the inhabitants were for-
cibly struck on seeing '20,000 infantry of so excellent
a descriptions for the French accounts had incul-
cated that the whole of the Russian infantry was COM-
.
plata/ destroyed.

The House having resolved itself into a Committee
to consider of the above plan, on the motion nt the
Right Hon. Member with whom it had originated,
Mr. HUSKISSON rose and observed, that how•
ever he might have regretted the necessi.y that had
existed for the postponement of the question now
brought before the House, he was, nevertheless, fully
sensible that considerable advantage would be likely
to come from that circumstance, inasmuch as it had
given Gentlemen time to study it more atcurately,
and to increase the probability that it would receive
a temperate and dispassionate discussion. In rising
to submit his statements to the House, he would can.
didly confess that he had never addiessed them on
any former occasion under the pree•ure of so much
anxiety as he felt at this moment--noi growing out
of any apprehension he entertained that he should
now tail of experiencing that indulgence which he
had always been accustomed to receive at their hands,
but. from a distinct perceptini of the immense im-
portance of the subject on which he was about to
comment, and a ccnsciousness of his inability to de-
velope thnrolghly, even to his own mind, tae fearful
consequences tallith were likely to result G-an the
adoption of the measure ii; contemplakn. But tl•ere
vi..s another excuse of his perplexity, arising out of
the subject it:7eif. It was ,me c:1-tainly w!urh, viewed
in all its possi'olc corsewiences, was of the greatest
importance, as it would affect a si.ite of war or one
of peace, in its bearing on our internal prosperity or
our external greatness. He woe. d Neti:u re to affirm,
that none of superior importance had ever been dis-
cussed within the walls of Pal Lament but i: was also
a subject of very considerable intricacy—one a hick
required much more clearness and perspicuity to rea-
der it intelligible, than he was able to infuse itico it;
but also one which would render any portion of their
time which he might occupy of less cons:illience to
the House, inasmuch as the little knossledgi: had by
most persons concerning it, would preclude the eufisi.
bility of any very protracted discussion. Bt,t, he felt
that he would be guilty of a defalcation in he; duty,
if he were to let it pass without claiming fur it some
share of that public attention which had been so pain-
fully engrossed on a subject of a most unpleasant
nature—one which, he trusted, would never again be
agitated within the walls of that House, and the agitae
tion of which without those walls, he trusted, the most
effectual means would be resorted to check and sip.
press. In an anxious wish to this effecr,lte-was satisfied
that every man to whom the honour and general cha-
racter of the country were dear, would juin. It would
be highly unjust, were he to proceed to the examina-
tion of the question without fiat acknowledging the
courtesy and kindness which he had experienced from
his Right Hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exche-
quer, in the course of his endeavours to render him-
self master of it. He had allowed him to have access
to his various calculations, had not even refused him
his personal assistance towards obtaining a thorough
comprehension of them, and he now trusted that he
would not for a moment believe that in opposing his
opinicns he was actuated by a mere desire to throw
difficulties in the way of his arrangements, or doubt
that his only motive was a sense of public duty. It
surely was of the last necessity that a plan should be
-thoroughly sifted before it was adopted; if, as he
would affirm to be the case, its adoption would cause
the people of this country to incur the risk of losing
the entire fruits of the sacrifices of twenty years--a
plan which, if the war should continue, it was more
than possible, it was extremely probable, would uta
terly subvert that public credit which, during the
course of the arduous struggle in which we hal been
engaged, had proved the chief defence and support
of the country. But this was not the only point in
which he will endeavour to prove how exceptionable
the measure was to the satisfaction of the House--
The benefits accruing from an unshaken public credit


were very great, but equally great were those which
flowed from the unimpeached t.onour of the country.
The measttre under consideration would compromise
this honour ; f tith would be broken, if it were acqui-
esced in, with the pubic creditor; and his reliance
on it, found ,0 be vain, would fasten an indelible
stigma on the nation in ?client' ; and more especially
on that Patliament which would have been the organ
of its injustice. With .hose considerations before
them, the House would perceive that they were not
about to enter into a mere discussion of financial ar-
rangements, but one which was to decLle a great
question of national justice and national policy.—
There was another consideration, of a more contrac-
ted nature, certainly, than those upon *Well he had
already insisted, but which would be found, never-
theless, to have much weight ; he would remind the
House that the Sinking Fund, on which they were
now desired to trench, was the proudest monument
wh ch had been raised by Mr. Pitt to his own fair
fame ; it was such both in the apprehension of his
friends and that of his political enemies-'-to both these
classes of persons he appealed. His friends he adjured
by the respect they bore his memory—his political
opponents by their love of justice and of their country,
to unite with every energy for the preservation of a
plan pregnant with public advantage in all that sym-
metry and just proportion which had characterised
it when it proceeded from the hands of its immortal
author. It would be necessary, previous to any at-
tempt to shew in what manner it was intended to
alter it, to give a brief view of it—to state for
what purposes the Sinking Fund had been devised.
When after the disastrous war with America Mr.
Pitt was called to the head of the Administration,
fie found in every quarter disorder, confusion, and
approximate ruin. The finances of the country ap.
peared tn be utterly ruinesl; but beneath this appa-
rently distressing state of her affairs, is cOmpre-
liensive and penetrating mind discovered latent
'principles of great strength and stability. The result
proved that his views were correct, for in 1786, he
had reduced the public expenditure of the nation
to the peace establishment, and had, moreover, set
aside one million towards the discharge of the Public
Debt. This, he had provided, should be laid out at
compound interest till it amounted to a revenue of
four millions, which was to continue applicable to the
reduction of the Debt, while the interest of that part
which it went to redeem, was to be placed at the dis-
posal of Parliament, to be employed also for the re-
duction of the Debt, or in any other way which the
circumstances of the country should induce them to
think more eligible. but this great Statesman did
not stop here. Not contented with extricating the
country from the calamitous state in which it had
been left by the American war, and planning a fund
by which the people were to be released from the
weight of taxation) he endeavoured to provide against
n future aberration of that fund from its original
purposes, and, in the year 1792, submitted to the
• }louse the plan which he wished to adopt with that
view. This was, that the principle of redemption
should be interwoven with the debt itself; that no
contract should be made for a Loan without its being
by implication a part thereof; that the Loan should
go to the augmentation of the Sinking Fund in a cer-
tain ratio ; and that being so, no alteration of the sys-
tem could take place without a breach of faith being
committed with the public creditor. If he (Mr. Hus-
kisson) wanted any illustration of the truth of what
he now advanced, it could be provided from the re-
cords of the House, on which the objection then made
to Mr. Pitt's plan would appear • namely, that it
went to remove the discharge of the National Debt
from the reach and controul of Parliament.—[Here
the Honourable Member caused to be read, in proof
of what he had advanced, a portion of the fifty-fifth
chapter of the third section of an Act passed in the
thirty-second year of his present Majesty ; and then
went on to observe, that at the time it was passed it
was left to the option of Government to propose spe-
cific means to pay off a loan at the end of forty-five
Eears, or from that period cause to be issued from the
xchequer, to increase the Sinking Fund equal to
100th part of the capital Steck cieated.j—They were
to choose one or another mode of reducing the Public
Debt ; they were to raise a loan, which should he
payable in forty-live years ;or they were to raise the
Sinking Fund, the increase to terminate in forty-five
years, if the reduction of the Debt could be effected
within that time ; but failing in one of these modes,
the Sinking Fund was to issue of course. He would
now endeavour to explain why the term of forty-five
years was that fixed on :—The One per Cent. Sinking
Fund would produce a capital one hundred times the
amount in that time. At the period in question, a
great part of the Public Debt consisted of Three per
Cent. Stock ; and whatever accumulation of Debt
was to take place would be at that rate ; but the Sink-!
ing Fund being at Three per Cent. for forty-five
years, that gave the measure the time which was
deemed necessary for the reduction of the Public
Debt, so that as the Public Funds were depressed be-
low par, the Sinking Fund would be found of greater
efficacy. Now if the Chancellor of the Exchequer ,
did not inform the parties interested of his intention
to have recourse to some specific mode of relieving
the financial system of the country, they would un-
derstand that the one per cent. was to issue and con-
tinue to accumulate at compound interest. A lender
would be aware. of the circumstances of the Sinking'
Fund, and its effect on the depression of the Funds to
operate as 'two instead of one per cent. and thus re-
duce the Public Debt in 23 years instead of 45; the
result of which was, that two class of men were ena-4
bled to bid higher, and, indeed, compelled to do so
by competition. The public thus derived advantage
from the Sinking Fund, and that and the obligation
'were reciprocal. Here the Honourable Member
forcibly insisted on the injustice of the change of sys-
tem now projected, and went on to observe that the
public creditor had no appeal but from the power to
the justice of Parliament, and that therefore they were
bound to shew, when about to have recourse to any
mange that would affect his interests, that they had
, justice on their side. The Honourable Member then
contended, that if the Chancellor of the Exchequer
was justifiable in making any infraction on the origi-
nal plan at Was time, he would have been equally 60
in ten days, or any shorter time after -it had been
adopted. e would also tell his Right Hop. Friend,
if an alteration were made with respect to the appli-
cation of Cie one per cent. Sinking Fund, why an al-
t :ration might not be made in die issue of the ewe y

it - .

Item the-Excheiltier ; for the saute AcrdPiritautent
that prescribed the one, prescribed die other. The.
plan of his Right Hoa. Friend, if it were adopted,
would set the whole system of our Finances aficitt. In
his opening speech, on this most important *abject.
his
.Right Hon. Friend had endeavoured to,pressonto
his service the authority of JVIr. Pitt, contending that
the inference from Mr. Pitt's conduct was, that were
he now alive, he would support the proposed mea-
sure. Now he (Mr. Huskisson) owned, with all his
veneration for Mr. Pitt, he -must say, that in a case
where the meaning of an Act of Parliament, and of
a contract, was so plain, he must look to the letter of
that act, and of that contract, rather than to any au-
thority whatever. But. on what ground did the in-
ference of his Right Hon. Friend, that Mr. Pitt's au-
thority was in favour of the proposed measures, rest ?
Assuredly not on any direct assertion, but en certain
financial arrangements, which took place in 1798,
1799, and MOO, when Mr. Pitt was Chancellor of
the Exchequer, and also in 1802, when Lord Sid-
mouth was in office, and received the concurrence of
Mr. Pitt in the financial measures which he proposed.
In the first place he would ask, what were the financial
arrangements of the former of those periods, the years
1798, 1799, and 1800 ? That was a period of such
great public depression, that Mr. Pitt thought it ne-
cessary to have recourse to the unexampled propo-
sition of raising the large supplies within the year by
War Taxes, and of coupling with that arrangement
a plan for the more rapid reduction of the debt than
by the operation of the one per cent. Sinking Fund.
In 1798 the triple assessments took place, and these
were subsequently charged to the Income Tax. The
principle of these measures was to prevent the accu-
mulation of debt, and to do so it was provided, that
instead of the operations of the one per cent. Stnking
Fund, the whole of the Income Tat should be mort-
gaged for the redemption of the Debt. In what view,
therefore, could it be inferred from that arrangement,
that Mr. Pitt would have been friendly to the one
now proposed ? for, instead of prolonging the term
of redemption, it curtailed it, and provided for its
occurrence-within a few years ; and its great object
was to invigorate the powers of the Sinking Fund.—
" But," said his Right Hon. Friend, " had the war
continued for 45 years, then there would have ex-
isted no mans of redemption but out of the general
Sinking Fuhd." This was a far fetched supposition,
and contained in it no argument unless it could be
shewn, that when this measure to which he had al-
luded, was projected, Mr. Pitt and Parliament had it
in contemplation that the war would last for that pe-
riod. It so happened, that in 1802 (a somewhat
shorter time than 45 years !) peace was concluded.
Lord Sidmouth, then at the head of the Treasury,
thought it would be most conducive to the public in-
terest to repeal the Income Tax, and to consolidate
the sum so charged on one tax (about 56 millions)
with the general Debt as it then existed. It might,
perhaps, be said in strictness, that as this 56 Millions
had been so charged and secured on the Income Tax
that tax ought not to have been repealed until that
sum was redeemed. It was unnecessary for him to
argue this point. All that he contended for was, that
the operation of the measure of 1802, involved no
departure from the letter of from the spirit of the Act
of 1792. The 56 millions became part of the Debt
like any other—a debt on which the Government of
the time might properly exercise the option of either
allowing the operation of the one per cent. Sinking
Fund, or devising any other mode by which it would
be redeemed within 45 years. He would not enter
into the consideration of the policy of the course that
was adopted on that occasion. It was sufficient for
him to state, that the mode of allowing the operation
of the one per cent. Sinking Fund was rejected, and
that another mode was adopted, by which it was sa-
tisfactorily shewn, that the 56 millions (90 millions
in Stock) would be redeemed within the forty-fire
years prescribed by law. Tables were laid on the
Table of the House, at that time, to prove that such
Would be the case, even under the most unfavourable
supposition, namely, that the 3 per cents. would re-
main invariably at par. There was nothing in all that
inconsistent with the Act of 1793. On this subject,
he would refer his Right Hon. Friend to a very grave
and serious authority, deserving of the utmost reve-
rence and respect—he meant the Report of the Com-
mittee of Finance in 1797. Every one knew the de-
ference that was due to that Report. The first Re-
port of that Committee contained these remarkable
words—words the more remarkable, as they com-
prised a 'statement of the condition of the old Sinking
Fund, contra-distinguished from that of the new
44 he old Sinking Fund, after it has reached four
millions. can no longer be made applicable to the
purpose of the law ; and then the old Debt may re-
main. But the operation of the new Sinking Fundi
is to continue at compound interest until the new.
Debt shall be wholly extinguished by it." This pas-
sege seemed framed to draw the strict line between
the law applicable to the old and to the new Sinking li
Fund. He-had, he conceived, said enough to shew that
his Right Hon. Friend had noaight to infer that Mr.
Pitt would have been favourable to the proposed
measure. But regard to truth and justice, and the
deep veneration in which he held the memory of
Mr. Pitt, induced him to state a fact, to the truth
of which he pledged his honour and every sacred
principle dear to man. The fact was this—that in
1802, when the Bill was in progress through Porlia-
ment for consolidating the old and new debts and
Sinking Funds, and when the attention of many per-
sons out of doors was directed to the subject, It per-
son eminently skilled in calculation, and of great
acuteness of mind put into his (Mr. Huskisson?s)
hands, a statement and a calculation founded upon
it, of the nature and probable result of the proposed
measure. The conclusion to which This person came
was, that after the consolidation had taken place, it
would be right, at stated intervals, to measure the
Sinking Fund with reference to the unredeemed debt,
and that whatever proportion appeared to be over
and above what would be necessary to redeem the
debt in 45 years, should be held applicable to the
public service, either by leading to the remission of
taxes, or in any other way that Government might
think proper. For his own pan, he confessed, that
he was a good deal struck with thik proposition. It
did appear to him, that it had much to recommend
it ; and either at the request of the party, or by his
permission (he could not remember which) he gave
it to Mr. Pitt. Mr. Pitt, however, received it with
the most pointed reprobation, and when he (Mr. H.)
attempted to• defend it as a measure applicable to a

trisledtpeice, Mr. Pitt said, that he had other views
with respect to providing against the evil adverted to
In peace (which views he did him, Mr. H. the honour
to communicate to him) but that as applicable to a
state of war, the proposed measure vsas inadmissible,
and would be ruinous. These were the mildest terms
used by Mr. Pitt on the occasion. He really applied
harder words to the character of the plan, which he
(Mr. Huskisson) 'would abstain from repeating, be.
cause the plan now proposed' by his Right Hon.
Friend was in substance precisely that which Mr.
Pitt had so severely condemned. The complicated
machinery of the measure now proposed certainly
differed train that to which he had alluded ; but, he
repeated, that in substance and in principle they were
the same. At the same time he should do injustice
to the view which he had taken of the former plan,
if he did not observe, that although the principle of
the two measures wat the same, the times at which
they were proposed were essentially different. In
1802 the country was at peace, public credit stood
very high, and it was not thought that any loan, ex-
cept that which was negotiating, would be- wanted'
for a long time. At present we were engaged in a
war apparently indefinite in duration, public credit
was mush depressed, and loans were every year con-
tracted for to an unprecedented amount. The whole
principle of these two plans was, that in time of war
we should best liberty to push the debt to the maxi-
mum of its amount, and to reduce the Sinking Fund
within the minimum of its power, provided it erected
its work of redemption in forty-five years. If his
Right Hon. Friend conceived that he could establish
a proportion between the Sinking Fund and the Debt
for forty-five years, without paying any attention to
the amount of unredeemed Debt, he cherished a
principle that would be most fatal to the public inte.
-rests. It was true in figures that ten millions of Sink.
ing Fund would be as equal to the liquidation of
1,000 millions of debt as one million of Sinking Fund
to the liquidation of 100 Millions of debt. But when
it liras recollected that the vs hole debt was a market-
able and transferrable property, it would appear that
that which was very true in arithmetic, would be
very fatal in practice. One hundred millions was a
debt which it might be salutary to the country not
to redeem. But a debt of 1000 millions, even with
its proper Sinking Fund, might break down the pub-
lic credit altogether. But his Right Hon. Friend had
said that his plan possessed advantages which more
thap compensated for the evils that it might contain.
These advantages were four in number : the first ad-
vantage was, that it would provide for the gradual
and equable reduction of the Public Debt ; the se.
cond, that it woufd provide against the too rapid di-
minution of the rate of interest; the third, that it
would afford a subsidy of 250 millions for carrying
on the war ; the fourth, that it would enable us to,
accumulate after the completion of the war a fur-
ther subsidy of one hundred millions for any purpose
to which it might be thought expedient to apply it.
With respect to the first of these advantages, it did
appear to him extraordinary, that his Right Hon.
Friend should talk at this moment of a gradual and
equable reduction of the Debt, as if we had hitherto
done too much in the way of reduction, or as if ttiat
reduction had been of a desultory nature. It was
true, that in the last tweet), years, 200 millions cf
debt had been paid off ; but in doing it, 6(X) mil-
lions of fresh Debt had been incuired. His Right
Hon. Friend wished to make the reduction more
equable ; and how did he proceed to make It so ?
by reducing one half the means of redemption.—
What were the symptoms he (Mr. Huskisson) wish-
ed to know, of the Sinking Fund being in too great
a proportion to the Debt ? That which his Right
Hon. Friend had added to the public Debt, this and
the last year, exceeded the amount of the redeemed
Debt during the six preceding fears ! At such a
time it was strange to propose that the Debt should
be redeemed more gradually. The second advan-
tage stated by his Right Hon. Friend was, that hi:
plan would provide against the too rapid diminution
of the rate of illterest. When did his gight Hon.
Friend wish to do this ? When he was about to go
to the money-market for a loan, which taking all the
circumstances into consideration, taking also Ireland
and India into the account, would probably be nearer
40 than SO millions ! At such a moment his Right
Hon. Friend thought it necessary to guard against
the diminution of the rate of interest. His Right
Hon. Friend knew very well that with all the ad-
vantages given to the public creditor, with the ad-
vantage attendant on a nominal capital (available
to future profits), with the advantages of the exist-
ing fund, with the advantage of the recent occur-
rences in the North of Europe, his Right Honour-
able Friend could not borrow—not forty millions,
but not £lOO within the rate of legal interest ; and
yet it was thought necessary at such a moment to
guard against a rapid diminution in the rate of in-
terest. What was the disease that affected public
i credit ? When his Right Hon. Friend was called
in, he told the House that public credit laboured un-
der great depression, and he promised to administer a
powerful stimulus to it. The state of the patient
was the same—nay, it was worse than at the time
when that character was given to it. . But what said'
the physician ?—that he thought he had discovered
something in the constitution of the patient, which
if not checked, might, about the year 1830, subject
him to the inconvenience of repletion ; and there.
fore, that, instead of the cordial which he had talked ,
( about, he prescribed an immediate and copious bloc-
dine, to be followed up by three others in rapid suc-
cession. If his prescription of his Right Honourable
Friend's should be adopted by the House, it would
be but fair to apprize the numerous friends of the
! patient. in the ordinary language an such occasions,
that they must prepare themselves for the event
which could not fail to follow. He suspected, that
after the fourth bleeding, the mourning for the poor
patient would be very general and very sincere. The
third advantage proposed, was to provide a subsidyiof
250 millions, for carrying on the war. When his!
Right Hon. Friend first mentioned this, he (Mr.
Huskisson) fancied that lie had discovered that
which had puzzled Van lielmonti and many other
great philosophers, namely, the philosopher's stone ;
or that, at least, he had found an unexpected treasure
in some secret drawer of the Treasury. What was
the fact ? By incurring a debt of 600 millions, we
bad paid off two millions—let it be remarked by the
way, that we should not hive paid off these two mil-
, lions of debt unless we had incurred the six. Was it
possible, therefore, that we could call the balance, of

U

an adjustment a subsidy ? The fourth advaringe
proposed by his Right Honourable Friend, was the
acquisition of another treasure of 100 millions in
time of peace. This real treasure was of this de.
scription, viz. that whereas we had added 500 mil.
lions to our debt, if the war were to cease to
and peace were to be of long duration, we should
pay of 100 millions of that debt ; and this his Right
Honourable Friend called a treasure. His Right
Honourable Friend had said, that no other nation
ever possessed such a treasure. True t but as a pre.
liminary step, they must first get Into debt. Certainly
no other nation was ever so deeply in debt as England.
It was an advantage of which she would retain pos.
tession undisturbed by that jealousy and envy with
which her other blessings were viewed. If the tub:
ject were not of too grave a nature to admit of such
a proposition, he should imagine that his Right Ho.
assurable Friend was trifling with their understand:
ings. He had expressed himself as if the House were
incapable of distinguishing between paying of a
small portion of a large incumbrance, and an /CCU.
mulation of riches-was if the public debt were the
public property, instead of being only the melancho.
ly record of so much wealth expended. But much
stress had been laid by his Right Honourable Friend
on the tendency of the plan to postpone the imposi.
tion of taxes. Unless, however, every feeling of the
present Parliament differed from the feelings of all
their predecessors, before , they adopted a measure
which was plausibly and delusively popular, they
would look carefully at the circumstances of the
times. What was. an exemption for three or four
years ?—a short period in the life of an individual—.
in the existence of a State, nothing. In considering
the permanent interests of the country, their views
ought to be carried forward to a much more distant
period.--[The Hon. Gentleman here entered into it
detailed examination, into which cannot not pretend
to follow him, of the Tables that have been publish.
ed by the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with a view
to shew their htaccuracy.]—lf the proposed plus
were allowed to be carried into effect, greater en.
croachments would be made on the Sinking Xuad.
and it would soon be in the same state as the Grand
Army of France had lately been described to be by
one of the Marshals of that country, namely, " as
no longer existing, except in name." He had heard
it argued out of doors, that the plan ought to be
adopted, as it would give a temporary relief to the
country. In the first place, in his view of the ex-
isting Acts of Parliament, this relief was not corn.
patible with public faith. Parliament should re.
collect, that they were judge and party in this bud.
ness—judge too without appeal. Parliament should
avoid injustice. Let the House consider what a
Loan was. It was nothing more than a sale at a
public market of a certain amount of Annuities. to
be charged on the Public Revenue. The whole of
the Public Debt was merely an aggregate of Loans.
The Sinking Fund was set apart for the gradual re.
ductiun of that Debt. *lf the Debt were eucreased
on the one hand, 'and the Sinking Fund diminished
on the other, there would be a greater supply of the
commodity in the market, and a less demand for it.
This must necessarily affect the price of the commo.
dity, and injure those who held it. Huw extensive
injury, could not be immediately calculated
but the occurrences of late years had shewn that pub-
lic credit invariably improved as Loans, or in other
words, Debt diminished. Let it also be considered,
that the public creditor had in view not merely the
interest of his capital, but the improvement of the
capital itself. With respect to the subject as a guts.
dem ofvolicy, to break faith would never be politic;
bdt putting this out of view, the proposed plan was
inconsistent with our nearest and dearest interests,
growing out of our policy. It was contrary to all
aiaxims of practical wisdom which he had data.
ved during his public life from the financial dia.
cthsions in that House, and from no one in greater
lumber than born his Right Hon. Friend. Was
a moment for such fatal experiment, when pub-
lic credit was in such a state, that it had been
ciated 20 per cent. in two years? Did his Rtght= •
Friend conceive that such a depreciation on a capital
Jf 600 millions was no injury to the country—was a
matter of indifference to private or public interests!
Did he not think that it would not affect conunercee
manufactures, agriculture, and all important pubic
works. Firmly was he convinced that it would As
felt in all the branches of public industry. The
Honourable Gentleman next proceeded to advert to
the received impressions relative to the Sinking Fiat/
upon the Continent. It was considered, he said, as
the main prop or stay of public credit in this coon•
try, as the peculiar source of all those exertions which
we had continued to make' during so long a period
of war and difficulty. They had seen us adhering to
it under all the pressure of 1797, at the stopp ige el
cash payments by the Bank, and under all the it's..
ries a hich our trade hid suffered. Under away
vicissitude and change of circumstances they knew,
or thought they knew, what this Fund had done fee
us. if he wished for a further illustration of the
opinion which was entertained abroad of the utility
of the Sinking Fund, he would instance the pba
which Bonaparte himself had pursued in establishing
a Sinking Fund on the model of that in England.—
This despoiler of the world, who had made such ra•
pid strides in the march of desolation—this despot,
whose political economy goes to force men from
being productive to become unproductive beings her
his odious system of conscription, still had the a. 41.
dom to establish a Sinking Fund in France as the
best and safest source of national prosptrity. What
then would be tt.e effect produced on the mind of the
enemy, when they saw us seizing on one half of the
Sinking Fund—when they saw us breaking down ag
those safeguards which protected the rep:air:lx :
The Hon. Gentleman next proceeded to exan oe ,
the ()Onions held upon the plan of 1801, for an ex-
emption from taxation for three years. Lord Sid-
mouth, when he brought forward his last bur!Lets
had strongly urged the necessity of adding entitles
million to the war taxes, in order to equalice we in-
come with the expenditure, fur when that. great point
was attained, the accumulation of the Sinking Fond
would afford a relief, which could not. with justice
to the stockholder, be derived from it till then. Thea
was the authority of his Right Honourable Friend
(Mr. Vansittart) for not touching the Sinking Fund
until the Public Debt ceased to accumulate. His.
Right .Honourable Friend in 1809 and in 1812 ha/
uttered opinions very different from those which bi
now expressed. If.he thought that the nation. after

~.

being teeriteci trait tai atad, itentitetmil to ag
with the same compficeney, he deceived himself
very much. For two or three years Of delusive ease
they would be involved in twenty ye-eitt of difdculty,
and instead of imptoving their condition hi the event
of a peace, it would bring them to the necessity of a
peace not on a footing of equality but of submission,
deprived of the only guarantee for the duration of
safety. The plan suggested by hit Right Honour-
able Friend last year, was to make an addition to
the Sinking Fund, and he now proposed to diminish
it. But the last and greatest authority against the
proposed plan was that of Mr. Pitt, with whom he
(Mr. Huskisson) had an interview previous to his
going to Bath, 1805. At that period he had an op-
portunity of knowing the views entertained by Mr.
Pitt, which were, that he had it in contemplation, in
the ensuing Session, to propose to Parliament to lay
as many additional taxes as could be imposed with-
'but too sudden a pressure on the resources of the
country—that he would have given in the next year
aid to the Sinking Fund, which aid should be drawn
from the new charges in each successive year. Those
views, entertained by Mr. Pitt, were diametrically at
variance with those of his Right Honourable Friend,
who, in July last, had not entertained those sanguine
hopes with respect to the conduct of Russia, which
he would now be justified in, nor did the affairs of
the Continent wear that promising aspect in which
they now appeared, yet, at this moment, when trade
was reviving, when the Continental System seemed
on the point of falling asunder, when Europe was
beginning to raise her prostrate head and our appre-
hention was removed, his'Right Hon. Friend came
forward with nis plan ; but if events had not been so
favourable, and the public distress was rather in-
creasing than diminishing, then he would have
called for vigorous supplies and great additions to'
the existing burdens. Now, when the prospect was'
changed, there appeared to his Right Hon. griend •
to be reasons for departing from the system he had
laid down last year. It was not his intention to
propose any regular plan, but merely. to throw out
tome suggestions for the consideration of his Right
Honourable Friend. This appeared to be a most
critical period of public affairs/ whzn it was necessary
that we should exhiisit our resources unimpaired ra-
ther than diminished, and he would ask his Right
Honourable Friend, why he would not rather lay on .
4800,000 additional taxes in. anticipation of defray-
ing
them out of the Sinking Fund at a future period ?
—Looking to the continuance of the war for some
years, we should find the change of benefit in 1819,
when the Imperial Annuities would fall in, and in
1821, when the charge of 1807 would fall in. After
that the Five per Cents. might be reduced, -and a
further reduction might take* place in some other
fund. All this would be a relief' and after that pe-
riod the too rapid reduction of the interest might be
looked to. But in whatever degree they anticipated,
they made use of the resources of the state of war.—
They had a temporary revenue co-extensive with the
war, andthey wanted a permanent revenue for the
public creditor. Their temporary revenue would
last till their permanent was available. His Right
Hon: Friend had said that he was ready to lay down
his life for the service of his country, and one would
have expected that he was about to propose some
vigorous system of Finance, which would have
subjected him to unmerited clamour and unpopula-
rity, but he certainly had committed :. mistake in
giving an epilogue prepared for a drama of a dif-
ferent description. No one could have less doubt
than he had of the readiness of- his Right Honour-
able Friend to make any sacrifice for the good of his
country, but in his present plan he had laid no
claim to the crown of martyrdom, nor could he
put on the robe of Cato while he was acting the
part of Czcar.—(Hear, hear..)
The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER
said, his Hon. Friend had . fallen into a radical mis-
conception of the• entire plan • proposed ; he should
therefore find it difficult to pursue him. His Hon.
Friend must admit that the Act of 1802 must at
some time be departed from. The question now was,
whether the present was a proper time to depart from
its provision ? So far from weakening, as had been
imputed to that glorious monument of the talents of
Mr. Pitt, it would be the effect of his plan to place
it on a more firm and permanent basis. He admitted
that since 1793, the creditor's had a right to the be-
refit of the provisions of the Act, but it was also
provided, that within forty-fiiie years the public
rnight pay off the loan. The Resolutions upon the
taole made no infringement upon that Act, and they I
provided for the repayment within a shorter period
than 15 years. He bad thought that his Honourable
Friend mould have shewn sonic cases where this
would not apply, but he had not done so. He had
stated that, after forty-five years the Sinking Fund
would be applied to the payment of the loans. But
this was not the principle of the plan that lie (the
Chancellor of the Exchequer) had laid before the
House, he had only stated, that a discretionary power
was in the hands of Parliament. In his plan, the re.
demption would take place in a shcrter time than it
Would by the present. The opinion of Mr. Pitt was,
that Parliament had a discretion in vary,iig the mode
of redemption; and, in 1k;02, Parliament gave to the
stockholder a future charge upon the Sinking Fund.
The Hon. Gentleman had stated that the application
of the Sinking Fund with compound intbrest could
not be altered ; but the end of the fund would be
r:vor.r pi ished when the loan would be redeemed. The
onir nuAle repaying a loan, was by redeeming a
pan Lion of stock equal to, it. No individual stock-
holder could say that he had a claim upon the In-
come Tax. The Hon. Gentleman had stated it to be
the object of his plan to postpone additional taxation
r four years. This he allowed to be a great object,
if it could be done without injury to the public cre-
dit, but it was not the sole object. It would give us
great importance in the eyes of our Allies, and even
in those of Bonaparte if he. thought it would enable
us to-carry on the war. with. vigour for foar years.—
The present was the season for great exertion, and at
a different crisis he should not have pressed the adop-
tion of the plan. His Hon. Fi lend had referred to,
his (the Chancellor of tie Exchequer) opinions upon
a former occasion. Upon a review of them, he
thought them applicable to the period at which they
were delivered, nor was there any thing in them in-
consistent with his present views. His speech was
then made with a view of providing for a long con-
tinuance of expence ; but that view of the subject
bad been since materially elapsed, thouah his Hon.

IFriend had taien thutirattag4 hot %lit, of
Itatenient M * header on the supposition o e conti-
nuance of War ftir.gt.years. Should the war continue,
to loop an increase ef debt was the least evil to be
feared: in the last, five years, of 1.18 millionsi only
59 had been vested in the 3 per tents.. The increase
Of the debt, According to the view of the Hem Geti-
&Man, proceeded upon a supposition of many years
of war, and that the Whole would be 'vested in the
3 per Cents. and that while in the year 1813 the
amount of the loan would be 118 millions, that of i
the taxes Would be only 108; but this was taking the
most unfavourable view of the subject ; for the first
year the amount of the Sinking Fund would be
greater than if no change had taken place. Accord-
ing to the present system the amount would be 13
millions; according to the new, it would be 13 mil,
lions two hundred thousand. In the first six quar-
ters,
according to the old system, the amount would
be 20 millions ; according to the new, it would be
20 millions four hundred thousand. From this k was
evident that the new system added before it took
away. He conceded to hit Hon. Ft iend that the un-
redeemed debt for many years would be great, but,
he could not perceive that the taxes would be great
also. -In the year 1818, twenty millions would be
taken off by the falling in of the Imperial Loan, and
in that year at least there would be no new taxes.—
, The question was should taxes be paid now or after
, the year 1830 ; but at that period there might be no
' necessity for them. The reason, therefore, for not
imposing taxes now was, that at a future period they
might be unnecessary. According to the statement
of the Hon. Gentleman, Mr. Pitt's intended measure
had been carried into execution by his successor, Lord
Grenville and the present Marquis of Lansdo.v.—
When the Hon. Gentleman charged him with incon-
sistency, he did not advert to the change of circum-
stances that had taken place since that speech bad
been delivered. The attempt to equalize the expendi-
ture with the taxes had been made in 1807. The
present plan afforded the best means for that purpose,
and, should more taxes be necessary at a future time,
they would be submitted to more cheerfully from. some
millions having been previously saved. The Hon
Gentleman had confined his view too much to the
four next years, had he extended them farther he
would have found a saving of 11 millions. The
present plan would have a permanent effect. While
large loans were raised, the Sinking Fund might ope-
rate to diminish the pressure; brit he looked forward
to a change of circumstances, and it was always un-
wise to legislate for particular occasions. The ad-
vantage of a large Sinking Fund was more than
counterbalanced by the consequent but diens neces-
sary to be imposed. The Sinking Fund was at one
time too large, and at another too small ; but by the
present plan it would be rendered steady and uniform.
The rate of interest would also be prevented from
experiencing too rapid a decrease, though this did
not apply to a time of war. Another importaut effect
of the plan would be, the sum of 120 millions at the
disposal of the country. Tait: necessatiiy would put
much energy in the hands of Parliament. Nothing
could be more desirable than the possession of such a
I fund, if it could be got without injury to the public.
(Hear, hear ! and a laugh.) The plan proposed was
no breach of public faith, and was perfectly consis-
tent with every engagement that had at any time
been entered into by Government. It also provided
for a more rapid,climinution of the public debt than
by the law as it now stood. It was surely of great
'advantage to have a large sum in time f peace dis-
posable by Parliament, in case of war. It was no
objection to thiS, to state that it might be abused ;
, let the fault be upon the head of those who abused
the means, not upon their's who provided them. He I
wished the plan to be regarded as a measure of gene-
ral policy, and injurious to no class of men. To the
landed proprietor it held out nothing but advantages.
The trader would be relieved by it from bradens
which he had cause to complain. To the stock•hol-
der it was pregnant with peculiar advantages, and to
every class it would do more than counterbalance the
diminution of the Sinking Fund. He had never met
with one who thought that in peace the Act of 1802
could be carried into effect. When then should the
change be made ? By making this change the public
mind would be prepared tiff a new system. It was
proposed so to alter the mode of redemption, that the '
debts first contracted should be fit st discharged, and
the nation was now entitled to the benefit of the
Sinking Fund from the great exertions that had been
I made to prevent the accumulation of debt. The pre-
sent plan did not at all itoringe the Act of 1792, for
lit was in the contemplation of that Act that the debt
should be redeemed in the order in which it had been
contracted. All the leading objections to the plan he
proposed he had previously foreseen, except such a-
bed as isen from a radical misconception of it. He
had maturely weighed them, and found they bore no
proportion to the advantages to be derived from it.—
He now presented it to the House as a compound of
policy and finance.
MP. ALEXANDER BARING said, it was im-

possible that the proposed plan of the Chancellor of
the Exchecitter could give satisfaction to many men,
whether of the landed or moneyed interest of the
country. It must be highly exceptionable to men of
the last deieription, as they had always been taught
by that House to consider the Sinking Fond esta-
blished • expressly for the extinction of the National
Debt, and that Parliament would not, on any consi-
deration, consent to its being diverted to any other pur-
pose. He supposed that one individual had contracted
a debt with another, and that the debtor consented to
allot a particular fund whence it should be repaid ;
on non•payment a Court of Justice would interfere,
and hold the fund until' the creditor had satisfation ;
but, in the present case, the public creditor looked on
that House as a Court of Justice, add yet, contrary to
' the practice of our Law courts, it not only was not
• likely to grant him similar satisfaction, but actually to
withhold it. (Hear.) Were the proposed measure
ir at all justifiable, however, the present was not the
proper time to bring it forth. There was nothing pe-
-1 culiar in the present year to justify it more than at
any other time. The expenditure in 1809 had ex-
ceeded that of the present year by ten millions, and
yet it was not then resorted to. Should the system,
however, be persevered in, he hoped it might be suf-
fered to lie over for the present Session, for as this
was a year pregnant with most important events, he
hoped the succeeding year would be more favourable
I to its establishment. The prices of stock must fall
very much when the holders see the fund for then re-

' tilient ti6taway, wiles; partiautar ctritinistitiiiii
eurpraerind free: wt
ihei which
otubledy
ncootusl do
ipnet roc
ae inv ettaa
nps
ir prospect
*hether there *as any violation of the public faith
ir
IN the Act of 1802; but he thought it ought not to
be said, that because Parliament bad by that Act,
thonsbtfit to go into a regulation of that fund, that
therefore they were at liberty to do so on other occa-
sions; The Act of 1192 pledged the HOuse to pay
in forty-five years: that, however, had been answer-
ed by the Right Honourable Gentleman. It was pro-
per to consider, whether this would be a proper time
to touch the Sinking Fund ? the Chancellor of the Ex-
chequer said it was, but he differed from him in opi-
nion. The year 1809 was far more favourable ; for
then there was a surplus of seven millions, with a great
difference of expenditure. We should now want to
borrow to the amount of 25 millions and ar•half, with
a decreasing Sinking Fund ; while for ieveral years
past we had only borrowed eighteen millions, with an
increasing fund. This plan would reduce the Three
per cent. Consols to 50 ; and he doubted, whether it
could go on at all ; at all events, one year of misfor-
tune would make them stick fast. The Right Hon.
Gentleman held out as an inducement, that the coun--
try would be relieved from taxes ; but in the year
1809, he opposed such a plan ; and what had occur-
red since to make it necessary to give relief from tax-
ation this year ? There had net been any serious tax
since 1806, until last year : altogether they did not
amount to £800,000; and on the last yer, the only
heavy tax was that on leather. If it were necessary this
year to give relief from taxes, it must be, because the
country was considered unable to bear taxes at any time.
It was to be considered, that except the ad valorein
taxes, all taxes bad, from the great depreciation in'
the currency, really declined in value. No essential
'relief would be afforded to the country by the respite,
at least only a partial relief. To the funded pro..;
perty it was immaterial whether the taxes increased
or the debt. If taxes were laid on, the landed in,
Merest would find relief in the increased price of pro-
ductions ; but if the debt were increased, the burthen
I was thrown entirely on the funded property I.sth, as it
was already stated of the property of the country,
But he was confident there was too much good
sense and justice in the landed interest, for them to
wish to throw the burthen on the stockholder ;
for. on them must fall the burthen. The land
proprietors, he trusted, would to a man oppose
the plan, as, in the event of the men -of large mo-
ney capitals declining to advance snore money
for the public service at the ordinary interest, it '1
I
was the land aloue to which the Country would ulti-
mately look to for the means of deiraying the expen- I
ses of the present war. Hoping that v hat he had said
would hive some influence in prevailing on the House
to defer giving that measure effect, at least for some
time, he should not enter any further into its details. -
Mr. CHARLES LONG said, it he thought that
the plan of his Right Hon. Friend would tend to
weigh down the Sinking Fund, or that the national
credit would sustain the slightist shock, he would be
the last person living to give his concurrence to its
adepticn. Believing, as he did, however, that the
plan of his Right Honourable Friend was 'likely to I
lead to great and lasting advantages to the State, he
should not hesitate to give it his support ; and this
principally on the ground of the, difficulty of furnish.
ing new taxes to support the exigencies of the times,)
a difficulty which was by no means surprising, when
the enormous increase of taxes during the last few
years was considered. He would take the liberty oft
stating to the House the rapid progress of this increase.
In 1786, the permanent taxes amounted only to ten
millions—in 1793, when the present war commenced,
to fourteen millions, and now they had reached the
enormous sum of bet Ween thirty•five zeal thirty-six
miliicns, to which was to be added War Taxes, be-
tween twenty-two and twenty-three millions, making
a total increase, from 1786 down to the present pe-
riod, of forty-four millions. In 1807, Lord Henry
Petty, for wlyise opinions he entertained the highest
respect, said he thought it would be extremely tit to/
abstain from taxation; and if reasons existed then for
such a measure, how much m, re forcible were the
reasons which existed now ? If he loAced into the
nature of the Taxes which were at present levied
upon the public, he could not divine in what manner
they could be carried further. The Income Tax had
been carried, he apprehended, to as great an cxaent
as it could well bear. After this came the Customs,
and the Duty on Tonnage, a duty which, the very
I moment a peace arrived, from motives of policy
and prudence, must be abolished. That the Per-
manent Taxes, let this event happen when it
might, must be increased, be had no doubt, and
the Income Tax appeared to Aim to bi-. 4 one of those
which was most likely to assume this character.—
He bad listened to his Hon. Friend (Mr. Huskisson,)
and while he admired the ingenuity of his arguments,
he waited with the utmost patience to hear what plan
he would suggest, as a substitute for that of which he
complained. He had not, however, beeri able to col-
lect what his meaning really was. He talked most
certainly of imposing new duties, but what those du-
ties were to b?, the House still, remained in ignorance.
That a necessity for the adoption of some plan did
exist, there was not the slightest doubt; and, until a
plan more congenial to his ideas of policy, than that
of his Right Hon. Friend, was brought forward, he
would not hesitate to declare his Right Hon. Friend's
I suggestion to be admirably calculated, from every
reason, both for the present benefit and ultimate ad-
vantage of the country.
Mr. THORNTON understood the Chancellor of
the Exchequer to say, that what remained of the
Sinking Fund after the lapse of 45 years, was to be
placed at the divosal of Parliament. There was one
advantage in the plan, that it went to correct the un-
manageable increase of the Slaking Fund, which
arose from the plan of 1302, and converted the Fund
into the old principle of successive redemption. Ha-
ving proceeded from year to year on the principle of
the one per cent. Sinking Fund, he did not think it
right now to depart from it. He agreed that this
was a time of difficulty, and every means should be
afforded to the Chancellor of the Exchequer of avoid-
ing the occasion of any additional taxes.
The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER
explained. The principle of the plan was the princi-
ple of successive redemption, and the limitation of
the Sinking Fund was to arise from the quantity of
Debt redeemed. .

Mr. G. ROSE would not detain the House very
long. When the Chancellor of tjie gxchecluer first

•
mentioned the plan to himhe did not think he toiliA
carry it intd effect Without touching the Sinking
Funds It Seethed to be admitted on all sides, that
it must be touched at some time, and the question
was, whether this was the &tett time Two litany
dred and twelve millions of Debt had been paid off
during a most ruinous and eipensive war, by the plan
of Mr. Pitt. The Sinking Fund established by hint;
was the Only one that had succeeded to any great ex..
tent, the question then was, whether enough had not
been done for posterity—(Hear, froni the Oppositiov,)
and whether this was not a proper time tor some
change of system ? The plan was by nd meant A
breach of public faith ; so far from it, Stocks seemed
rather to have risen since it was proposed: The plait
proposed by the Hon. Gentlenian (Mr. Huskisson)
he looked upon to be completely visionary:
Sir R. HERON trusted, if ever he became a great
Minister, that he should not have the Right Hon:
Gentleman (Mr. Rose) for an eulogist—(Laeghter.) •
for he thought it was a very bad compliment to pay
to the memory of. Mr. Pitt, to suppose that het would
have been satisfied with what he had done for a pos.
terity," having paid off 240 millions, but leaving hie
that same posterity 600 Millions of debt. (Hear, hear.)
—He had never admired the principles or polity of
Mr. Pitt's Administration; but he should he wanting
in that spirit of candour, which, he ti ihted, would
ever characterize his Parliamentary conduct, did he
not say, that in his opinion the Sinking Fund esta-
blished by Mr. Pitt, was one of the greatest booni
that any country had ever received at the hands of A
Minister.—(Hear.)—But the proposition of this night
was a complete delusion—it was a new modelling of
the Sinking Fund, and the effect of that proposition 4'
would be,, a partial suspension of the operations of
that Fund. It the country were to be told thatglid
Government could not go on without this sacrifice,
he thought there ought to be a retrenchment of our
expenditure—of those expenses in particular which
were occasioned by unnecessary Pensions, building
Barracks, and erecting Martello Towers.
Mr. TIERNEY had no anxiety to go into the
question on the present ocCasion. In troth, his views
had been so abundantly taken up arid enforced by a ,
Right Hon. Member ( Mr. litiskisson), that no temp-
tation would induce him to say any thing on it, lest
lie should weaken what had been so powerfully de-
tailed. He could not but express his stating wish
that the speech of the Right Hon. Gentleman might
have a fair opportunill of working its way both with
the Government and ivith the Public, and for that
purpose he thought the House ought to postpone its
decision. Tice subject was now ugly beginning to be
understood. As to the tables of the Chancellor of the
Exchequer, and the statement which in fact formed
a sort of speech, he had nut been able to meet. with
one single individual that understood them'. He did
not wish to wave discussion—he wished to meet
but he did not wish to precipitate the business. It
was the most important measure that had been agi-
tated in that llouse, and was pregnant with alarm-
ing mischief. Adopting tire language of the other
Members, because he could not find better, if the
proposition were acquiesced in, it would be a gross
breach of public faith. The time must come, he
admitted, when they must do something respecting
the Sinking Fund, bet the present motion was so
uncalled for by existing circumstances, that if
adopted he comet only repeat tint it was a breach
of public faith. On the present occas;rin he must
take sonic credit to himself for the opposition tehish
lie gave to the measure of 1802. He then ventured
to point out all those mischiefs as inseparable from
the measure which they had now to deplore. But
his eftotts were vain. Since that period, he had
never lost any opportunity of calling on the House
for a Commi:tee to take into consideration all the
subjects connected with the finances of this country ;
and at no more distant period than the last Session of
last Parliament, he had contended for the necessity of
inquiring into these things, as some strong measures of
finance must be adopted. The Chancellor of the Exche-
quer, however, treated him as au unfortunate, gloomy
Gentleman, who unhappily had got some very erro-
neour notions respecting cur finances into his head,
who, in fact, was in that hapless, hopeless condition,
that he could not distinguish right from wrong.—
It was then said, that our finances were really going
on most flout ishingly ; and that, in the course of the
Session to come, which indeed had now arrived,
the House would be very much •" surprised." The
House certainly had been very much " turpthed
but not exactly in that way which the Chancellor
.of the Exchequer Would have led him to expect.
—The great objection to the present proposition was,
that it had not been preceded by a Committee—that
' solemn inquiry had not been gone into; for aow it
seemed nothing was to be done but to lay violent
hands on the Sinking Fund. So strong a measure
certainly required that inquiry, solemn inquiry should
precede breach of public faith. He would even now
epropose the appointment of a Committee, but from
the manner of Gentlemen opposite he did not think
there would be much chance of succeeding; and he
was at all times averse ircm taking up the attenticas
of the House unnecessarily. The measure now pro-
posed he believed on his honour to be one of the most
fatal measures that had ever been attempted against
public credit in this country.—(Hear, hear. )—Su tat.Al
did he deem it, that he thought no temporarrad.
vantage was worth obtaining, nit could not be ob.
tarried without such sacrifice. The proposition would
again come before the House, possibly when the Bill
was moved for, and he should then think it his duty
to take the sense of the House ou the extraordinary
measure.

Mr. PONSONBY had thought that the sense of
the House ought to be taken in the present stage of
the discussion ; but some of his friends had thought
otherwise, and he gave way to them ; but he
could not lose even this opportunity of expressing his
opinion of the measure, which was, that its principle
was of a most destructive and fatal tendency.
Mr. W. FITZGERALD highly approved of the
propositions of his Right Hon. Friend ( the Chancellor
of the Exchequer) and he thought the proposed mea-
sure could not be fairly called a breach of public faith.
In his humble estimation it zeritcd the highest ap-
plause, inasmuch as it would very materially relieve
the public, and would at the same time do away the
necessity of further taxation for the present year.
After a few words from Mr. TIERNEY and Sir Ro.
BERT HERON, the Resolutions were read and agreed
to, the Report was ordered to be received to-morrow,
WI a; one o'clock this morning the House adjourned.