markable_clause," provided always that no offices shall from henceforward be granted in reversion.” Now when all the sinecures are abolished, nothing can be left of which the reversion may be given, as it is well known that efficient offices cannot be thus granted.In the offices of clerk of the first-fruits and custos brevium a fee-simple had been granted; it was absurd, therefore, to talk of making any alteration on them, while a disposition to protect all vested interests was professed. The law offices in the disposal of the chief justices were of course vested interests in the present holders which could not be taken from them. The labours of these high officers, particularly of the chief justice of the King's Bench, would be very ill paid, but for the addition to their other emoluments derived from their right to dispose of the offices which it was now intended to abolish; and, if the abolition should take place, the salaries of the judges must be greatly augmented.But the principle of the bill was perfectly absurd and extravagant; it amounted in fact to this, that the crown should not have the power of securing for the public service men who might be the most capable of serving it with advantage, unless they chanced to be in circumstances which might enable them to resign without inconvenience all other professions or pursuits. It is

only by such places as those which this bill would abolish, that the crown has the power of prevailing on men who are not independent in their fortunes, and who must look to their own exertions for, the support of their families, to enter into the public service. Suppose that the sovereign, at any future period, were to be surrounded by aristocratical combinations, and that to preserve his proper place in the constitution, he should deem it necessary to call to his service some gentleman from 1

the other side of the house. The gentleman most worthy of being selected, might, in duty to himself and his family, be compelled to refuse office, unless the crown had something to bestow in addition to the regular salary. The existence of sinecure offices would, in the above circumstances, contribute materially to the independence of the crown, and to the support of its proper rank in the constitution.-Some persons conceived the influence of the crown to be exorbitant; but an appeal might be made to the good sense of the country, whether that influence was too great. The progress of information and the accumulation of wealth had communicated of late years to the aristocratic and democratic branches of the constitution, far more weight and influence, than all the existing offices together, with the increased patronage of the army, and the collection of the revenue, had bestowed on the crown. Even the late debates and divisions in the House of Commons proved, that there existed no such preponderating influence as the crown was supposed to exert over parliament.—The pro posed measure could not be a matter of indifference as it respected the crown; and it was for the wisdom of parliament to say, whether it would not lead to the dangerous diminution of an influence which is by no means too extensive. A great blow would be given to the monarchy were the crown deprived of the means of calling any man to its service not completely independent in his fortune. A pension, after service for a certain number of years, would by no means form an adequate inducement, as every man of proper feeling would prefer the means of providing permanently for his family, to any provision which was to be made merely for his own life.-These arguments proved unsuccessful; the

report of the committee was agreed to, and the bill ordered to be read a third time.

The enormous amount of the expenditure of Great Britain, and the system of finance which it has been found convenient to adopt, have involved the public accounts in great perplexity and confusion. This is the result, however, of the magnitude and intricacy of the subject alone; for it cannot be denied that the utmost skill and talent, as well as the greatest integrity, have been displayed by government in reiterated attempts to simplify and familiarize the details to the public mind. As the subject is of the greatest interest and importance to the country, the knowledge and acuteness of the most distinguished members on both sides of the House of Commons, are annually employed in its investigation; and so great was the expenditure during the present year, so severe were the difficulties which pressed upon the national resourses, that a greater share of attention than usual was devoted to the state of the finances. The necessity of imposing some new taxes drew from Mr Vansittart, who had succeeded Mr Perceval as Chancellor of the Exchequer, a detailed exposition of the national burdens and resources, which was eminently distinguished for perspicuity. Mr Huskisson, Mr Tierney, and Sir Thomas Turton, took an active share in this important discussion; and various resolutions were moved, with the view of exhibiting a distinct statement to the legislature and to the country of the situation in which the empire stood at this time, with reference to its expenditure and resources.

The financial measures for the year had been nearly arranged by Mr Perceval before his death; and his successor had, with some exceptions, bestowed entire approbation on the plans

of that eminent man. Mr Vansittart, in the speech which he delivered on bringing forward the budget, recapitulated the charges of the year, and afterwards proceeded to the statement of the ways and means by which it was proposed that those charges should be defrayed.-For the navy, exclusive of ordnance for the sea service, the sum already voted was 19,702,3991.; for the army, including barracks and commissariat, and the military service of Ireland, 17,756,1601. The extraordinaries of the army incurred last year, beyond the sum granted, amounted to 2,300,0001.; besides which, there had been voted on the same account for the present year, 5,000,000l. for Great Britain, and 200,0001. for Ireland; and for the ordnance, including Ireland, 5,279,8971. The miscellaneous services were stated at 2,350,0001.; and a vote of credit of 3,000,0001. for Great Britain, and 200,000l. for Ire land, was proposed. The subsidies granted in the present year were nearly the same as in the last, being for Sicily 400,000l., and for Portugal 200,0001. These several items amount. ed to 58,188,4561.-To these sums were added 100,2921. for repayment of part of the loyalty loan, 1,700,0001. voted for interest on exchequer bills, and 2,387,6001. for exchequer bills issued on the aids of the year. These three items, amounting to 4,187,8921., constituted the separate charge of Great Britain, and when added to the sum of 58,188,4561., which was the total of the supplies before stated, made the general amount of 62,376,3481. Deducting from this the Irish charges of 7,025,7001., the result was, that the total of the supplies to be provided by Great Britain for the year 1812, was 55,350,6481.

Such was the enormous amount of the charge. The following are the means by which the Chancellor of the

7

Exchequer proposed that it should be met :-The annual duties were taken as usual at 3,000,000l. ; the surplus of the consolidated fund, including the property tax, 20,400,000l.; the lottery 300,0001.; the loan in the 5 per cent, annuities, contributed by the subscribers of the exchequer bills in the spring of the present year, 6,789,6251.; and exchequer bills intended to be is sued on the vote of credit 3,000,0001. This last sum would make no addition to the unfunded debt, an equal sum granted on the vote of credit of the last year having been funded and not replaced by any fresh issue. The old naval stores which had been carried to the public account, would produce 441,2181.; the surplus of ways and means of last year, 2,209,6261.; and last of all came the loan contracted for on the preceding day, 15,650,000l. These various items amounted to 55,390,4691.; and the ways and means thus exceeded the supplies by about 40,0001.

The Chancellor of the Exchequer, in further explanation of his views, remarked, that the surplus of the consolidated fund had been estimated upon the average produce of the principal branches of the revenue in the last three years, adding what was necessary to complete the estimate of the yearly receipt of the permanent duties imposed in the last session. The produce of all the duties in the quarter ending the 5th of July, 1811, fell considerably short of the quarter ending the 5th of July, 1810; the quarter ending the 10th of October, 1811, fell short also of the corresponding quarter in 1810; but the quarter ending the 5th of January, 1812, exceeded the quarter ending the 5th of January, 1811, by 31,0001.; and the quarter ending the 5th of April, 1812, exceeded the corresponding quarter in 1811, by no less than 463,000l. a sum much surpassing any increase which the new duties could

have occasioned, and which sufficiently proved that the revenue was, upon the whole, in an improving state. The estimate of the war taxes had been formed upon the average of the three years ending the 5th of April, 1812. The war duties of customs and excise, with some smaller items, amounted to 10,041,5661.; of the property-tax there would remain for the service of the present year 13,055,000l.; and adding that sum to the amount of the customs and excise, there would be a total of war taxes of 23,096,000l. From this sum there was deducted 2,706,0001, appropriated to the charge of various loans, which left for the ways and means of the present year, 20,390,0001.-The sum raised on account of Great Britain, by the loan concluded the prece ding day, was 15,650,000l. The capital created on account of this sum was 27,544,000l. 3 per cent. stock; on which an annual charge of 1,110,0231. would arise. The rate of interest to the subscribers would be 51. 5s. 7d. per cent., and the total charge to the public, 71. 1s. 101d. This might appear a high rate of interest, but it should be remembered, that the sum borrowed in the present year had rarely been equalled; and so large a sum had never been raised on better terms in any period of war. There had been a former loan in the course of the present year, and exchequer bills had been funded to a considerable amount. The exchequer bills funded and the 5 per cent. loan, amounted together to 12,221,3251., making in 5 per cent. stock, a capital of 13,199,0311., the interest of which was 659,9511., and the sinking fund 131,9901., amounting, together with the charge of management, to 795,9011. The rate of interest on this sum was 51. 8s., and the total charge 61. 10s. 23d. per cent. The charge to the public on the whole money transactions of the year, therefore, so far as respected the funded

debt, was 61. 16s. 9d. per cent."; and the total amount to be provided for, 1,905,9241.

In proposing new taxes to meet this additional charge, the Chancellor of the Exchequer departed, in some measure, from the plans of his predecessor. His first proposition went merely to discontinue the bounty on the exportation of printed goods. This bounty had grown from a small charge to a very large one, amounting, upon an average of the last three years, to the sum of 308,000l., a circumstance, in one respect, highly satisfactory, as it shewed the great increase which had taken place in the exportation of the manufacture; but it also proved that the necessity of granting a bounty to encourage this exportation had ceased, and that considerable advantage might be derived from its suppression. Printed goods, from the improvement in the manufacture, and the extensive use of machinery, could now be afforded much cheaper, without the bounty, than they had been formerly even with its assist ⚫ance. The state of the world, with respect to commerce, was peculiarly favourable to the discontinuance of the bounty system. Wherever British manufactures were permitted to enter, their superiority was universally acknowledged; where they did not find their way, it was not on account of their dearness or inferior quality, but because they were excluded by rigorous prohibitions: but when these should cease, the country might again expect to see its manufactures spreading themselves over the continent without the assistance of bounties. That which it was now proposed to discontinue, amounted to no more than d. per yard on printed goods of the worst quality, and 14d. a yard on the best, an amount much within the ordinary fluctuations of price from accidental

causes.

This proposition, therefore, appeared free from all reasonable objection; for the remainder of the plan, it could only be said, that in the choice of evils the least had been selected.

An additional duty was first proposed on tanned hides and skins. That this tax would, in some measure, fall upon the poor by affecting the price of shoes, was admitted; but, in other respects, the article appeared a very fit object of taxation; since, in the long list of our taxes, it was almost the only one on which no addition had been made for a great number of years. The former duties had been imposed so long ago as the years 1709 and 1711; and it was only proposed, after the lapse of a whole century, to double them. Another recommendation of the new tax on leather at this time, was the cheap and plentiful supply of the raw material, which had, of late years, been introduced from South America. This supply had been estimated as equal to one-third of the whole manufacture, and had occasioned a very considerable fall of price in the article, both for home consumption and for exportation. Calculating upon an average the produce of the former duties for the last three years, the additional duty was expected to produce 325,000l. a year.

of

An additional duty was next proposed on glass. The duties on this article had been considerably increased in 1805; but, after an extensive enquiry among the manufacturers, Mr Perceval had been convinced, that an additional tax would not be injurious to the trade. It was not probable, indeed, that the consumption would be lessened by the increase of price which this duty would occasion, as glass was an article very little in use among the lower classes of society; and such was the opinion of the manufacturers themselves, who only asked protection

against foreign competition, by sufficient duties on importation, and proper drawbacks on exportation. The produce of this tax, calculating as before, on an average of the last three years, would be 328,0001.

The next proposition went to add a duty equivalent to 10 per cent. on those already existing on tobacco, an article of extensive, yet luxurious, rather than necessary, use; and one which afforded the best criterion of its ability to bear an additional tax, namely, that the consumption of it had progressively increased under the former duties. There was no reason to believe that the proposed addition would either diminish the consumption, or materially increase the frauds upon the revenue; and, estimating the produce on an average as before, it might safely be taken at 107,0001.

A regulation of the duties already paid on property sold by auction was also suggested. It was well known that landed estates and other kinds of property were frequently put up to auction, not for the purposes of a fair sale, but of ascertaining their value, with a view to private bargains; they were then bought in, by which the duty was avoided, and afterwards disposed of by private contract, at a price founded upon the biddings which had taken place. It had been the intention of the legislature, that all persons who obtained the benefit of the competition at a public sale, should be subject to the charge imposed upon auctions. It was now proposed, there fore, that property put up to auction should be charged with duty, whether actually sold or bought in; but that, in case it should appear at the end of twelve months that the property still belonged to its original owner, the duty should be repaid. It was, also, well known that many articles, particularly of imported merchandise, were exempted from duty, although sold by public

auction. It was a common practice in sales to mingle such privileged goods, with those which were not privileged, by which means frauds on the revenue were frequently accomplished. It was therefore proposed, that when any goods liable to duty were introduced into a sale of goods which were exempted from it, the whole should be immediately rendered chargeable with the duty. From the nature of the case, nothing like an accurate estimate could be formed of the produce of these regulations; but, on a due consideration of all the circumstances, Mr Perceval had thought that it would not be overrated at 100,0001.

The articles hitherto enumerated, except the bounty on printed goods, were all duties of excise. The next proposal related to the postage of letters: an addition was intended of a penny on every single letter carried more than twenty miles, whether from the metropolis or the provincial post towns. The necessity of increasing this tax, which must operate as a considerable charge on commercial correspondence, was matter of regret ; yet, when the satisfaction and convenience derived from the post-office, and the progressive increase of correspondence through the country were considered, no duty would, perhaps, be paid with less reluctance. The proposed increase might be estimated, according to the present extent of correspondence, at 220,0001.

All the above articles were such as had been selected by the late Mr Perceval, and would have formed part of the plan which he intended to have proposed to parliament. The remaining deficiency would, according to the intention of the late minister, have been supplied by a tax on private brewing-In the year 1806, when the Marquis of Lansdowne held the office of Chancellor of the Exchequer, he had suggested a similar tax, which was