Star.
London, England, 1823-03-12 00:00:00

system of Finance. He gave I est
. • lows& /
teethe fill before the House. 3 II • • 11
Sir HENRY PARNELL'saii, that if the present
situation of the country were such that it could not
bear the taxes which must necessarily he paid to form
a Sinking Fund, he should oppose the present Bill.
He however could not say that he thought the coun-
try incapable of bearing a Sinking Fund. Our com-
merce and manufactures were admitted on all hands
to be in a most flourishing state, and he believed al
great change to have taken place with respect to the
agricultural classes. He assented to the proposition
before the house, hut with some qualifications. Ile
, wished the sum which could he spared for a Sinking
Fund to be applied to converting the permanent into
annuities determinable within a certain period, and
at the same time he wished care to be had to raise
such surplus in the way which would be least an-
noying and least injurious to the people. Ile was of
opinion that Government ought. to look over every
establishment with a view to ascertain whether still
further reductions could•not be made; were this done
lie believed our expenditure might be very consider-
ably reduced. If care were taken to give up those
taxes which were most oppressive, and to retain those
which were least injurious, he thought great relief
might be afforded. The principle to be kept in view
should be this, to interfere as little as possible with the
further accumulation of capital in the country. He
hoped the half-pay.annuity plan would be abandoned,
as, to keep that up, would make it necessary to take
a very extraordinary course, by diminishing debt with,
one hand, while creating it with the other.
Mr. RICA ItDO said, a plan like that suggested
by his Honourable Friend, would do away many of
his objections to a Sinking Fund. To make the per-
manent annuities determinable at the end of a given
number of years, appeared to him a very desirable
measure, and one that deserved the serious attention
of the House. He defended the objections which he
had formerly urged against keeping up a Sinking
Fund on the present plan. The Right Hon. Gentle-
man had described him to have admitted, by the case
he had supposed, in a late debate, of the situation of
a person with a thousand a year, under certain cir-
cumstances, that the Public Debt was less in amount
than it would have been if we had no Sinking Fund
at all. He gave the Right Hon. Gentleman great
credit for his ingenuity in taking that to be conceded
which was the only point in dispute. He had never
made the supposed admission. His objection to a
Sinking Fund was, that it placed a large sum in the
hands ef.Government, and thus encouraged a profuse
expenditure. The Right Hon. Gentleman supposed
that if the Sinking Fund were given up, and the mo-
ney which was to form it left in the bands of its pre-
sent holders; it would hot increase. They supposed
that the capital of a Proprietor could not
.be im-
proved in his hands, as it might be in those of his
Steward. For his pal t he was wholly of a different
opinion, and therefore he wished the money of the
People to be left in their pockets.
Mr. HALDIMAND thought, as it was admitted
that the amount of our clear surplus did not exceed
3,000,0001. to talk of its being equal to 5,000,0001.
was to raise a delusion, and to take credit for two
millions more than we had a right to take credit for.
He differed from those who thought it would be well
to have no Sinking Fund at all. The public creditor
had waited long for a real Sinking Fund. During
the war, nothing but the .form of one, or the ma-
chines.), as it had been called, had been kept up. He
therefore thought it but justice to the public creditor,
that some poi tion of that surplus Revenue which was
at length gained, and for which he had waited so
long, should be applied to the reduction of the debt.
Would Ministers be able to borrow on the same terms,
supposing them to want a loan, if they had no Sink-
ing Fund, as they could obtain while they possessed
one? It was known that they could not, and there-
foie he was of opinion that in the long run the Public
lost nothing by a Sinking Fund. He contended it
was a fallacy to suppose that the debt had been
created for the, benefit of the Stockholders. It had
been contracted for the service of the Public, and the
good faith of the nation was pledged to the public
creditor.. He should vote for the proposition of the
Right Honourable Gentleman.
Mr. MONCK was of opinion, that a Sinking Fund
was useless in the present state of the country, and
thought it would be for the interest of the public cre-
ditor, that taxes to the amount of the existing Sinking
Fund should be remitted; as for his security, it was
not enough that the necessary taxes should be raised,
but that they should be paid with good humour.—
He hoped no attempt would be made to pay off the
Three per Cents. in time of peace, when their price
might be £BO, £9O, or. £lOO. It would be ruinous
to the country to pay such stuns for Annuities which
they had sold for £6O. It would be better to apply
any surplus Revenue that we might possess to pay off
the unfunded debt, and to discharge those securities
which must be paid at par.
Mr. HUME objected to a Sinking Fund on the
present plan, as it was always given when called for
to the Government, almost without opposition. From
that Fund, which had beep so many years accumu-
lating, not less than £324,000,000 had been taken.
Whatever sum might be in future set apart for a
Sinking Fund, he wished to see applied to convert '
our permanent charges into Long Annuities.
The question was then put and carried, and the
House resolved itself into a Committee.

Mr. HUME objected to the proposition for fixing
the Sinking Fund at the sum of £5,000,000, as, in
the event of there not being a clear surplus to that
amount, the deficiency must be made up by increasing
the unfunded debt, and thus they would return to the
old delusive system. 7 2- •
Mr. G R ENFgl4l4'*ished tt;'i!tclii,s4.Pesing the
annuities not to be sOld,toithi%l4; Oat
which he had , suggested last ieti, the disposing .
them to the tommiisioneri Nailonal
could not take place? • -• •
Mr. apSicissoN siil4,. ',f4t44
'be, tHbopfidn
of his Right Hon. Friend to rase a suit by4nciensiiig
the Unfunded Debt, or to take 'sornetfilng fiat the
actual Surplus. In any case, howrnr, the' course'
wbirth, must betaken to meet the
.r.ieo.vsz Gentle-1
men opposite, woold, be by ruining a phi-tioki Of.the;
Debt ince Annuities, deterininable at the end 'or
forty:67e yeat, • e
.Aftct some furtliet,c9pversation, in RI.
cptsneon gr. 8:04,4fat,4,,.5ie_
Hossp,perticipterd tlrtatniiio 1466;
moved its au Ainendinent on the Ciauseenadtitigifidi