larger portion of the sinking fund than what will leave an amount of sinking fund equal to discharge the interest of the unredeemed public debt; nor will this plan prevent the redemption of a sum equal to the present debt in the periods now limited by the existing sinking funds; nor will the final redemption of any supplementary loans be postponed beyond the period of forty-five years, prescribed by the act of Parliament in 1792, for the extinction of all future loans. Each of the annual war-loans will be successively redeemed in fourteen years from the date of its creation, so long as war continues; and whenever peace comes, they will be redeemed within a period far short of the forty-five years required by the act of 1792.

The results of Lord Henry Petty's plan are, that no new taxes will be imposed in the first three years, 1807-8-9; that new taxes, averaging less than £300,000 annually, for seven years from 1810 to 1816, both inclusive, will be necessary; and that for ten years, from 1817 to 1826, no new taxes will be required.

On the 13th May, 1808, Mr. Perceval moved in the House of Commons, that it would tend to the more speedy reduction of the national debt, if every person possessing stock in the £3 per cent. consols or reduced should be at liberty to change the same for annuities, to be granted on a single life, or for two lives, with benefit of survivorship, named by the nominee. Mr. Perceval explained his plan to be, to empower the holders of £3 per cent. consols, reduced, or South-sea stock, to transfer it to the commissioners for the reduction of the national debt, who should be authorized to give for it such an annuity over and above the dividend, as with the dividend would be equal to the value of the stock so transferred. At the calculation this stock was to be transferred at the current price of the day, and the annu

ity to be valued according to the age of the party. The annuities were to be confined to persons not under thirty-five years of age, and not to be given for less than £100 capital. Accordingly, by an act of 48. Geo. 3d. c. 142, the commissioners for the reduction of the national debt were enabled to grant life-annuities, on the terms above-mentioned. The following Table shews the annual amount of life-annuities granted on the continuance of single lives, payable for every £100 of stock transferred, according to the average price of stocks, and the age of the nominee at the time of the transfer.

Age. Price of the £3 per cent. consolidated or reduced. 60-61 65-66 70-7174-75 77-7879-80 80-81 L. s.£. s. £. s. £. s. s.£. s.£. S. £. S. 4 12 4 16 4 19 5 2 5 4 5 6 65

6

35

N. B. By adding the dividend of the capital-stock to the yearly amount expressed in the above table, we get at the whole annuity paid to the nominee; for instance, a person aged 75 receives from the commissioners, when stocks are at £80-81, £.14 13s. for his £100 capital stock transferred; to this add the yearly dividend upon the £100, equal to £3, and the whole annuity is £.17 13s. for every £100 stock transferred by one of 75 years old when the price of £3 per cent. stock is £80.

This plan of Mr. Perceval appears to be beneficial both to the individual annuitant, by affording him a more abundant income, and also to the nation, by the more speedy reduction of the national debt, through the medium of the increased progressive force which is given to the sinking fund. Thus, say a person

forty years of age transfers to the commissioners when the funds are at par, stock to the value of £1,000 sterling, for which they grant him an annuity for his life at the rate of L.8 1s. 8d. per cent. or L.80 16s. 8d. per annum. When the stock is between £66 and £67, he obtains an annuity of £85, for the £1,000; and if transferred when the stocks are at £80, he receives £.94 3s. 4d. per annum. Say he enjoys this annuity for twenty-eight years; and if his stock be transferred at par, he receives a sum total * of £2,263 6s. 8d. during that period; if transferred between £66 and £67, he receives £2,380; if transferred at £80, he receives £2,636 13s. 4d. But the £1,000 transferred to the commissioners for either of these annuities, will in the course of twenty-eight years amount to £4,000, by the operation of the sinking fund.

By the operation of the sinking funds of 1786 and 1792, without any farther intervention of the Parliament, the whole national debt of Britain will be gradually extinguished. If the act of 1802, combining the two funds, had not intervened, the old sinking fund of 1786, would have reached its maximum, namely, its annual income of £4,200,000, at the very farthest period by the beginning of 1811, and probably by the month of February 1809. And taking the £3 per cent. stocks at an average of £85, which is perhaps the fairest medium to take, considering the probable rapid rise of the British funds on a return of peace owing to the immense purchases which will then be made from the accumulation of the sinking funds; and also considering how little the average is likely to be affected by the low price of stocks in the early part of the period; the capital of the old debt incurred before the year 1792, amounting to £240,000,000, would be completely redeemed in January 1846. If the same price of the £3 per cents. be taken in computing the period of re

deeming the new debt incurred since 1792, the £3 per cents. will be redeemed in thirty-nine years from the time of making each loan. At the price of £533 which the stocks bore in 1799, the £3 per cents. created by new loans would be redeemed in twentythree years from the date of creating each loan. The following table explains the several dates when the old sinking fund would reach its greatest yearly amount of £4,200,000, according to its original limitation, and also the dates when the whole amount of the debt incurred before 1792 would be redeemed by the operation of the old sinking fund so restricted in its movement by a maximum; according to the several average prices at which the £3 per cents. might be purchased.

It is obvious that in some cases the sinking fund would increase to its greatest amount sooner with the stocks at a high than a lower price, by the reduction of the £5 or £4 per cents. For the very high price of the £3 per cents. would imply an increased demand for them, and a diminished demand for the £4 and £5 per cents.; but a diminished demand would lower the price of the £4 and £5 per cents. which would induce the commissioners to

=

purchase stock in them, by which they would obtain a larger dividend on their capital vested there at a low price than if vested in the £3 per cents. at a high price, and thus more rapidly augment the income of the sinking fund, and force it forward faster to the attainment of its maximum. The excess above £4,200,000 in the first year after the old sinking fund had attained its maximum according to the dif ferent prices of stocks, would be, at £75= £23,000; at £80 £203,000; at £85 = £376,000; at £90 = £488,400; at £100 £643,900. The annexed table shows the several periods of time in which each capital of public debt, bearing interest at £3, £4, or £5, per cent. per annum respectively, will be redeemed by an annual fund of one per cent. applied by quarterly issues in purchasing the said capitals at the several average prices at which the £3 per cent. funds may be redeemed. In other words, the table shows the time in which the new sinking fund redeems the loans raised, according to the different averages of the stocks.

Average pri- Periods of redeeming by a Sinking Fund of 11. per cent. per annum, issued by ces of 31. quarterly payments, a capital of debt, bearing int rest.

per cents.

£50

At 31. per cent. per annum. At 41. percent. per annum. At 51. per cent.por ann.