Foreign ln> diligence.
LONDOn", April 27.
HOUSE Of COMMONS.
wtiNespAV. APRiL z6.
BL'DtSET. : '
The Order «f the Day was then reid, the
. Hosfe re'oived itfolf into a Cpfiunitte* oi \V-yi
an i Mrtu, >
Mr. Sylvijlcr Dsurlat. in 'h- Ch-ii'.
T Hr Rrjinrt of the Seleit Conimioee of Fin-ano*
twin,f nrrviotifly feferretl to ciir faiet Committee.
I'ht Cl-ttneKtr of (/;.■ t.xcbcju.-r. ".ta the great
Rftjl frteuSvc piofecßtijn of tf.s business which it
is ens this At-'f to submit to tkii
of cite Coiuliutow, it is uttjtolTibfe'fot me pot to
feci the imporunce of the fcuifl.ewwhichotffexi
peoces haVeoeciftfn«J,'»ntl still .',s is it impoiTible
for Jr.e tot to feel coifi'ieriMe »cgret, and greut
{xrfofll {!ifaf>iintn«Ot m bejnj cjaipelled, how
tv- t» p'ropofoarr addition to the am
ple and largj provision already nude tc-wards de
fivyin'j tin rxp«noe» of this country i*l a wid; and
eatHmKou* war, and add to tile prv-lent burthens
whtfh are borne with unexampled patience, and to
which nothing btit the moll rigorous ueceility could
force me to iinpolcfrefh burthens, lam confcioda
the sensations us every (Jeatlemau in tire Commit
tee will behurt on aui I rail wlut
jcvtr may be their feolings upon this fubjtit, thoy
- Mill jiw mi credit my sensations ar; not lehalive.
-But it is not my duty to dw'eli on those fer.f ions—
Much as I regret the caufesof the war, and the ci
bmitits with which it ha 3 bcei attended ; much
I regret the manner in which the hope of a spee
dy termtua*ion hai beeliobftruwfed, and additional
expences thereby incurred; much as I rrgret in
ereafmg expences, where exuonces have been so
much,. lr.d almost irrfufferably increased ; and
whatever iriay be my own perional mortification
artd regret in. being obliged to tome forward at
fa si a' diflrefsfijl period with n?w burthens; I feel
it, iNHiviiitiianding, to ,be my firll great duty to
eoiiie forward, as I hope and tmft tile House and
tountry will do viith me, with a firm and manly
fjiirit, to convince the enemy that however great
' rr ;y be our prefl'ure, however embarralfed our cir
rjni!h.ncti, we are determined to contend with
theni as long as we are able, rather than submit to
haughty and difhonouraMe terms. Thoufrh ws
may not lie fuccefsful cnought to accomplish the
mean* by which we can ternrinate the fatal poiiteft
in which we are engaged, conliftently with the ho
nour ferurity, andp.rmanent and effsntiai intereiis
of the nation, Itr us yet convince our enemies, that
cur spLit docs not def'ert us in our trials, but that,
infpite »f every difficulty, we will fl.iltl»ejufV both
to ourselves and to our country. In this sentiment
I trufi to meet the sense of the House and the peo
ple ar Urge, whose patriotism, justice, and mag
nanimity, as they never have failed in the mofl ar
durut conflicts, wit] not, I trutt, fail now; but
nianifcll on the contrary, that whatever may be
the event, they have but one duty to pursue, the
fafcty honour and happiness of the kingdom.
Without heGta'tion, though certainly not. without
Irvxiefy,and regret, 1 shall now proceed to submit
to the Committee what I have to propose. Jn do
i'vj thi% it if with pleaiure I declare., that I fliall
cot only derive great advantage, but that my la
lour is materially diroinifhed also by the able
u:id impartial (latements of the firll Report of the
. Selecl Committee of Finance, which has been
printed and this day laid before you. However,
is pa; ti.uhr parts, I may be jufiified in differing
from these statements, however favourable those
ftotennnts may be to the general wilfces of the
HoCfe and of the Country (and I am ready to con
fefsthey are more favourable than what 1 have to
propose,) I stall juide myfrlf by their rfirecuon,
and render that .Report the bafia of the plan of my
propnfal. I shall follow the usual mode of prt
ceeding apon fubjeds of this nature, and firft take
a view of the tranfa&iocs which have caused the el
fences which we are how .called on to provide,
and state what f»ms remain to he (rovided for ; I
fbafl tlrentsmpare these ptovifional'demands with
whathavc been already provided for in the cotirfe
fcf tha-prefent year, and submit the plans which I
propose for a further provision, and in this process
I lhall he as (hurt and explicit, as I can. For this
purpose, therefore, and according to the' tifual
prailice, 1 shall firft call the attention of the House
to the whole amount As services lor the preient
year, with the amount of th? fumj already voted
for defraying them, and tke amount of the sums
remaining to be voted ; after that I shall detail the
Ways and Means by which these services have al
ready been defrayed, and by which the remainder
may be defrayed; and finally I shall if at" the fpe
tific meafurcs which I mean to ground upon those
ftaKmects towards the provision for the accumu
lated interest and charges. For the fake of being
clear Arid intet'igible, I shall proceed article by ar
tide, under various heads; and, to puVue the euf
tornary mode, I if.ail of fourfe begin with the
Navy.
The Committee will recollet, that for the
Naval service of the current year, there has
already been voted the sum of 7,66i,0001.
in addition to which the Committee of Sup
ply has voted 5,c00,0001. more. Gentle
men will please to recoiled, that although I
estimated expences of the Naval De
partment at 7,661 .ocol. I then stated my
intention to propose the provision of a fur
ther sum of 2,500,0001. in order to remedy
an inconvenience which heretofore had ari
sen, and thereby have 10,161,9001. in cash
towards defraying any excess of Navy debt.
Such, however, have been the extraordinary
exertions and expences of the war, that
there yet remaftied an unfunded debt of the
Navy unprovided for, to the amount of 4
millions. In the statements of the Seleft
Committee a compartfon has been given be
tween this outstanding Navy debt and the
outstanding Navy debt in 1783, and the
Committee has made ail allowance for three
million, tn the Select Committee it ap
pears by the best, estimates, that as far as
they can be ascertained, the expences for the
Navy service would amount to 12,900,0001.
which is short of what I have stated thera
to fee, bat exceeding what I formerly confi
dertd them. By way of reducing this
amount, though I ought to state that a sum
of Boo,oooJ. went in aid of the Navy fervi--
ces of 1796, and consequently left the pro
vision for the services of 1797 deficient in
that sum, foi"! however, careful we may be,
a part of the expences will be carried on in
Navy bills, tbo' certainly to less extent than
formerly. In the provision of 12,000,000,
four (hillings per month would be carried to
the ordinary expences of the Navy, where
by about 110,000k would be taken away
from the unfunded debt. As I suppose
there will then be a million, or a million and
1' half of Nav}- debt afloat. Such was my
former statement, and compared with the
ftatesnent of the Committee, there is this
difference, that it fuppofe# i,st>o/3cof. of
floating Navy debt, inflead of ;»,ooo,aocl.
as lh« Seleft Committee of Finance has
calculated. Ido not know whether I have
expressed myfelf clearly »pon this poir.t, but
if. not, I /hall be hippy ta give ir.y geaiic
man a further explanation.
- r „ Army.
'l iic ne.it hnJ of i<j» vice u the Army,
uppn which there has been alrsadv voted
the sum of 10,913,0001, The-aecounts for
f'reign corps arc no*, yet made out, but
they soon will be, and I have reason to hope
their expences will ba less than were caku
c lated in my original statement, and less than
, they appeared to the Seleft Committee. I
have reason to think this diminution will
amount to one Jialf ; and that tha sum of
370,0001. will be fuffieient ; 6,000,0001.
lt was the total amount for the army
it eftaWifliment, independent of the extraordi
n naricj, whicji is left; by 297,000!. than the
0 eftijnatw for the ensuing year by the Seledt
Committee. In 1796 there were.fame ex
it traoidmary expeuces of the army incurred,
_ which at present remain unprovided for, to
to the.amount of 3,287,0001. and in the in
- terval of the Bth December and the ift of
ll January, there was another out-standing <ie
• mancT made evident of ioo,oool. which, in
J consequence of not being paid, is to be ad
ded to the other, and makes a sum of—
- 3,387,0001. out-standing army debt to be
provided for. It appears by the report of '
\ the Scleft Committee, moreover, that Trea
sury bills paid at the bank, and warrants for
army service due and unpaid, a further sum
■' of 2,08i,0001. remains to be provided for,
j inasmuch as Treasury bills paid at the bank
_ previous to the jth of January 1797, and
, those which were due on the Bth of Janua
-1 ry,but not included, amounted to 1,660,000
1 to which were to be added 428,0001. for ar- I
j_ my warrants. So that the sum total would
, be as before stated 2,088,0001. The efti
-1 mated sum to be incurred by the army ex
r traordinarics for 1797, according to the re
port of the Secret Committee, and for the
amount of which it is my intention to pro
vide is 4,000,0001. It was not proposed
before Chriftmaa to raise any sum of money ■
for this head of service, but so far as any i
calculat ion to thelateft possible period could ■
be made, the calculation nearly tallied with \
that sum. It is here to be observed, that
the extraordinaries of the army are now, for J
the iirft time, brought forward by way of
estimate, at least they were never done so ful- "
ly till the present war, but they were paid
out of the money granted for other fervi- :
ces, leaving the provision for those services" ■
e deficient to another year. In addition to !
e this, there has been advanced to the Empe- J
ror, by way of loan, and which will be-due <
to the public i,200,0001. and a sum of,
900,0001. advanced to the merchants of ;
Grenada and Saint Vincents, which will al- 1
so be returned. There are further advances,
to the Emperor to be set ag'ainit the expence
of extraordinaries to a very large amount,
fr.r which it will not be neceflary to provide
a present fund, though I set them down, as
so much credit against so much debt. The
Treafui'y bills and Army warrants at home,
did not go to the extent of 2,088,0001. but
there were bills from remote parts, notwith
standing the precautions I had taken to cal
culate and curtail the expences abrqad as
much as pofiible, which exceeded what was
formerly thought upon estimate to bi their
I utmost amount. This might in part be
t owing to the unforefeen and incalculable
: operations of the war; however, I did not
think it consistent to leave them to reft on )
distant means of payment, and I chose ac-
I cordingly to propose for their provision.
This comprises all under the head of the
army. . ■
Ordnance. ,
' I now come to th# ordnance departments,
for which there has been already voted the
sum of and to which I do not
mean to propose any addition. I mult ob
serve, however, that since the estimates were '
' made, a demand of 300,0001. to pay deben- :
tures for stores supplied and services per- !
formed, has since come in for part of the j
ordnance expences in the fame manner as :
the treasury bills of i,600,0001. of which .
I did npt then know. To this deficiency
may be added another in the barrack de- !
partment, in which an outstanding debt re- ;
■ mains, not merely for the building of bar- >
■ racks, but for the expences of provision and '
accomodation, in which the soldiers would
have been furniihed to the amount of the ■
fame charge upon the public if they had
been garrisoned in barricks,. but had been i
quartered elsewhere. I mention this to re
• move any prejudice which might perhaps '
have otherwise been indulged, and (hall con- j
elude this article by.recortmending the pro- •
vision advised by the Seleft Committee of,
717,0c01. which in the present view of this \
fubjedt will defray the whole demands. I
have now proceeded through the Navy, Ar- <
my, and Ordnance, in which Ido not re- 1
■ colled to have omitted any extraordinary
items, exe*pt that I have not mentioned a
fpecific additional sum, which I mean to
propose for. the further relief of his Impe- •
rial Majesty in the present critical period,
1 and the particular statement of which I have
reserved to a separate difcufiion. As early j
as practicable, tliat fubjeft shall be submitted J
1 to the consideration of the Committee ; but '
■ however important it may appear, it is not !
expedient with my arrangement to enter on
it at present.
Mifccllaneous Service.
• the next branch of the supplies is for de
-1 fraying the expences of what is called the
1 Mitcellarvpus Service, which includes the
1 expences of Plantations, Convicts, &c.—
1 For .this there has been already vot«* the
, furo of 378,0001. and if I proceed by the
1 estimates of the Seleft Committee, a further
sum of 929,0001. will be found neceflary..
In this-fum 400,?0c1..is comprifcd forma- .
' king provision beforehand for articles it lias
been usual to pay in the firft instance out of
the. Civil Lift, aad to propose afterwards to
Parliament to vote a sum fufficient-to repay
wljjt has been so advanced. Under this
statement, I have rrot included the provifi
-05 of any sum which the important domes- '
tic happiness of the Royal Family, and the
accustomed fertir.gs of the-country have al
lowed S3 the tifual pprtion with any qf the
female' Uraitche*. Tliat provifiou will come
better peihap« iercsfttr nadir a diftinit a. J ,
1 ; 4
•*» k - a . /
fpeclfic proportion, There. is, tiowever, a
sum of 6 50,00c1. ineiuded,. .which is propo
se d to be lent to the fafferug Grenada mer
chants over and above the funis which I have
before stated, and which are to be ultimately
repaid ; but- I took occasion to. include
them in my statement of the achul expen
diture, because they are sums for which I find
neceflar-y to provide a temporary provifiori.
Natioral Debt.
The next article o" supply is the annual
prrtvition- for the discharge of the National
Debt of 200,000.
D.fi?i.w:':cs of Land and AT.il/.
To this 13 to be added, the'ufual provifi
ori made for the deficiency of the prcjduce
of the taxes upon Laud and Malt, to the
amouut of 363,0001.
Repayments to th: Bani.
1,054,0001. is to be provided to repay
the Bank for advances upon the growing
produce of the Consolidated Fund for 1796 ,
and paid also by the Bank.
Further deficiencies of Land and Mall.
I /hall propose a further provision of—
-900,0001. to meet the deficiencies 0/ Land
j and Malt not included in the estimate, but
which I think may probably arise.
Navy and Exchcqutr Bills. \
The next sum is i,n0,0001. voted in
the Committee of Supply, for the discharge
of Navy and Exchequer Bills, raised by an
Aft of last Session, upon a Vote of Credit in
1796. The House will recolleft, that a
provision was made for funding Navy and
i Exchequer Bills, and relieving the Market
of so much qutftanding debt. There was a
party who did not choose to avail themselves
of the liberty of funding the Bills they hold,
and this sum was to make good their de
mands. ~
Consolidated Fund.
The next is a sum of 2,177,0001. to
make good 3,500, cool, charged lay.an aft
1 of last fefKou on the growing produce of
the consolidated Fund, for the service of the
■ year 1796. 3,500,00 c!. was the sum grant
ed and thought applicable, but various cir
j eumftances had operated to its disappoint
ment. Exchecquer bills advanced to the
I Merchants of Grenada and St. Vincent's,
| in consequence of the .misfortunes in those
. Colonies were paid in again ; a loss was fus
• tained in the produft both of the new and
1 old taxes, by the stoppage of our distilleries,
; the defalcation of which sums was not made
J good in the year, and to this was to be ad
j;.ded the payment of bounties to seamen, by
I tHe Receivers of the cuftomsout ofthepro
| duce.oF that year's revenue, which caused a
defalcatiori in the produce of-the cuitoms ;
and lastly. the bounties upon the importati
on of Corn. These circumstances of course
would not make the whole deficiencies good,
and leave the consolidated fund applicable to
the service of 1797 ; arid as I cannot sup
pose that the Committee would choose to
; have those sums charged like a mortgage on
the consolidated fund, I have provided for
its relief, and taken them as an article of
supply from the sth April 1796 to tfce sth
April 1797.
l r ote of credit and Loan to the Emperor.
There is only one other sum which re
mains to be stated, and that is a vote-os cre
dit to the amount of 3,000,0061. As
I 500,0001. has already been advanced to the
Emperor, I wish, if it meets with the ap
probation of Parliament, to be provided with
a further sum of 2,500,0001. in order to make
further advances, if approved of, as the
time and exigencies may require. I state
this in order to let the committee know the
ultimate amount of what sums it ma*e ne
ceflary to provide at the fame time I desire
to have it understood, that I do not mean to
pledge any person to a final vote upon fur
i ther advances to the Emperor, unless for a
t certain sum to a limited extent, which I (hall
i state before I fit down. Supposing this
vote of credit to take place, however, or
not,, I shall state that as part of the sum to
a. limited extent, which I deem absolutely
neceflary at this critical period, to allow the
Emperor to fulfill his engagements, toge
ther with myreafons forit. I have now gone
' through the whole, of the supply, all the de
mands for which it was not "possible to cal
: culate before Christmas, and throughout my
ftatemepts of them I have afted on the re
-1 port of the Seleft Committee. In so exlen
iive a statement it is impossible for me to
hope that I have proceeded so clearly as not
sometimes scarcely to have made myfelf. un
derstood ; but if any gentleman un
der any difficulty, I shall request him only
to follow me throughthe veryable statements
of the report, andl believe he will find our ac
counts tally lo nearly in the estimated fervi- '
ces and outstanding arrears* as to fliew the
fulleft confirmation of the acscuracy of my
statements. For the fake of beirig more ex
plicit however, I shall sum up all the heads
of the supply in a
RECAPITULATION.
Navy 12,661,000
Army -6,600,000
Army Extraordinaries-' 3,387,600 '
Treasury bilk and army warrants 2,088,000
Ordnance 1,622,000
Ordnance, Extraordinaries, and.
Barracks . 737,000
Miscellaneous service 929,000
Advances to the of
Grenada 600,000
Imperial loan 500,000
Annual addition to Sinking Fund 200,000
Deficiency of Land and Malt 350,000
Re-payment to the Bank for ad
-vaaces on the Consolidated
Fund of 179 5 1,054,00 <y
Ditto '796 " 1,530,000
Further deficiencies of Land and
Malt 900,000
.Ta difchargc Exchecquer Bills
ifi'ued oft the credit of the
consolidated Fund for 1796 i>jio,ooO
Deficiencies of consolidated fund 2,177,000
Vote of Credit 2,500,000
£-sß>-]86,c00 '
'
Mr. Pitt computed the sum total at
42,7}.(fc00c1. but as he omitted the frafti
i oivs in his computation, and .at otlirv tt'ines
! did not punftually-adhere t<> the statements
h) the Report of the Seleft Committer, w'th
which we have nnde a careful corHpariioj,
we trust the public will not, impute atly
blame to our fidelity for aay Vv.ry apparent
' ignorance or error,
j - IVays and Mentis.
j Now, Sir, in regard to, th£ Ways and
Means for providiiig these Sqpplies, I mast
beg leave to state, that a fum'a little "lets'
than seven millions will cover th,e
because a repayment of fame of the advances
' may taice place in the ccurie of the year; I,
500,000!. ariling from the Taxes"on the
Land and Malt, will be paysble by Ofto
ber, and Exchequer Bills to the amount of
j i,6q0,00g1. will repay the Tijejfury Bills
. in the fame sum paid at the Bijnk.
My next duty, in the meag .time, is'to
1 state with what ways and means 1 am pro
, vided to meet the various sums of this larg«
amount. 111 order to do that, I.shall begin
with the laud and malt already voted, which
according to the usual calculation is reck
oned at 2,750,000!. The surplus- of grants
already voted,- and the loan by.
voluntary, Subscriptions, 18,000,0001. mak
ing a sum total of 21,1.7.0,0001. These are
the only sums already voted towards-dctray
ing the expences of the year, but there were
other sums stated in the original statement,
of which the firft was a lottery. The lot
tery has varied in the general statement, but
taken according to the usual profit, it pro
duces somewhere about 200,0001. By ex
chequer bills in the former statement, I took
credit for 5,500,0001. which is the usual a
mount of exchequer bills kept afloatbut
I do not now think it prudent to rely ypon
an iflue of exchequer bills to that amount on
account of the recent embarraflments in
public credit. I shall not reckon therefore
on a larger ifTne than 3,000,0001. which is
less than the quantity now in circulation; I
shall take the surplus of the growing pro
duce of the consolidated fund on a new esti
mate, on account of the charges on it, and,
shall therefore take credit for a moderate
sum to be derived from that source. This
moderation does not rife from any diminu
tion of the permanent taxes, because the
report of the feleft committee on finance
confirms my repeated afTertions of the flou
rifhing state of the permanent revenue ; nor
does it rife from any considerable disappoint
ment from the produce of new taxes, be
cause, upon a review of the new taxes levied
in 1793, '794> 1 79 Si ar, d the best esti
mates of the probable amount of the new
taxes for 1796, when any supposition is en
tertained that they will not be able in their
ultimate amount to maintain themselves at
the produce at which they were computed,
by Jetting them againfHhe loans since raised, '
and operating one again'fl the other to a ge- ;
neral dimiihition, it will be found that they j
go near to counterbalance any deficiency, '
and are nearly equal to-the charge upon the
consolidated fund by' providing the interest '
of the funded debt. But it is to be .reqol- J
lefted, that although ift laying taxes I take I
credit for an amount which cannot be so !
productive as I may have calculated, I have i
generally endeavored soon enough, to meet j
the increaftd charge, arid prevent an aecu- j
muhition of unfunded debt. I -now stand!
with the knowledge of two quarters, freed
from a mortgage of 1,075,0001. and higher
in theij l computation than I was juftified to
make thefer. As heavy asray computation
might be, however, ! have the. fatisfaftion
to hope, the total of the supply. may recur
before the taxes of next year, though "al
lowanos must be taken for both confedera
tions. Every estimate is liable to uncer
tainty, but the average of the permanent
taxes upon 4 years I find to be 13,919,000,
to which adding duties of 1796, I shall have
a total sum of 17,803,0001. I am aware
of the allowance on wine, from the flock i*
hand, but in looking at the produce of the
sum total of the permanent taxes, and look
ing forward to distant periods when frefh
sums will become due, I have a right to as
sume that to be the amount ; for when we
cease to take account of the flock on hand,
the annual consumption will replace the de
ficiency. The taxes imposed for 1797,
were reckoned at 2,106,0001. Part of those
taxes, it is true, are yet under consideration,
but, many will take place at an early period.
I do not suppose, therefore, that I shall be
taking the benefit of the estimate at too
mudh, if upon the whole I value them at
1,500,0001. To this is to be added the
! further amount of 600,0001. which I fup
j pose to be the nett profit of the taxes which
I*l am about to propose, and the advantage
of which we are likely to receive by the sth
of April next, so that the whole yearly a
mount of the produce of the permanent re
venue may then be calculatedat
Mr. Pitt then calculated the various other
sums to. meet the supplies from the arrears
of land and malt, the sale of Dutch prizes,
the returns of payment to the bank, the re- ]
maining money on hand upon the corn
bounties, See. making-tr sum" lotal of
42,870,000!. He then discussed the vari- 1
ous terms of the loan .with the separate con- 1
ditions as fßey have been detailed in pur pa 1 - ]
per, and took this opportunity of stating his j
intention in the prefTure of the prefertt criti- ]
cal period, to advance 200,0001. to the em- I
peror, in order to enable him to fulfil, hisen- . 1
gagements in this country ; the ttmi3 of,the '
loan he left to a future day,, but hoped to
be able to take- them into conitderatioUb on (
Monday next—« Thul far (fald he) I !
have Hate*} the total amount of the different i
sums which, upon the- iairefi calculation X 1
could make, I conceive.to be necessary tow? 1
ards defraying the expences of the present \
year. I have endeavored to. provids. for !
every burthen which the exigencies of the ,
country may require ; but at the fame-time, i
I do not wish the comniittee to' underfUud j
tliat I corilider.all my statements free from 1
incorreftncfs.and inaccuracy. Over a»d a- '
bove theintereftpf the sum that.is to be raised '
by the loan, there are Came other articles to j
be annually prorided for ; cmeof these is the <
sum lo te allowed to the eoßarriflkmers ap- :
psjjit«TTc(r rte >> re<k:£ik»e of the 'national
deist, 'which'an"oi:ut3 to about z per. cent,
and whiqh, g.ddcd *c> the interest of €l. 7s.
'4. J. wilt njaike ttic whole SI. ?s.' 4<h Wjth
rc'gard to tile 'lo.'U!. of f8 millions, I muff
: obfrrve, that rifter 3 certain part of it (hall
be njiplicd to the fitrviee of Ireland, aiid ano.
t*er soi'hpt of the emperor, thejtotql amount
i of. the eliarge to this country will be no
more than 13 JBilliono; and this charge will
r appear-to 1m! (till kjs \vfcen it is conlidered
that itconftderable- part of it is to to the
diminution of exchequer tills. There is at
, prtfeirt. a" floating navy debt, of abtjtit four
; millions, l\vo millions o£ which-.exiftcd at
■ the beginning <rf the •si'ai 1 . In confluence
r -of.the difficulty of pTOCvmjig csfh, this sum
; cannot probably be dyninifhed at the present
jjenod,nor paid off tilLtbc war fltall be pot
an" end'to. I would nof provide a higbej
ipterclt for it than 5 per cent. The whole
of this ihtcrel?;' will amount to the
sum of i'7s, bbq!/ There is' alfoar-defciency
of 100, cool, in taxes, which'is to be pro
vided fo that the .jyliole of tiie tasea
which it is necessary to raise for these
leveral ptirpofes, will ta between
1,00a,c001, and 1,200,000!, There is
another' question which is neceffarity involv
ed in the present fubjefl, fajit which, as it is
to be a matter of diftinft discussion, I will
not enter into at present. I Ciall barely
mention the circumltance. The nature and
terms of the lad loan, which I submitted to
this house, mutt naturally be in the recollec
tion of molt gentlemen, I will, on a future
day, put it to the confiderdtion of the houfc,
how far the fubferibers to that loan (liould
have been losers in consequence of the great
discount upon it. That will appear mote
clearly from the circumstances attending the
present unexpected loan. It will certainly
be neceiTary for thi house to adopt some mea
sures. which Ihallmake up the losses to those
gentlemen, who, in a moment so crSJcal,
came forward and displayed their patriotilrn
and loyalty, by contributing so largely to
the exigencies of the country. In consid
ering the amount of the new faxes which I
have thought it necessary to lay before the
committee, I have made no estimate of those
which were created before Christmas, in the
last budget, because in so short a time ail
accurate estimate could not be taken : and
I have therefore supposed in my present cal
culation that they will be as produ&ive as I
then stated at the* opening of that budget.
New Taxes.
I now proceed (laid Mr. Pitt) to enter upon
that ti»plea'fant task which falls r« my lot, ,of
propofmgto thecpmmitteethegeneraleutlines of
such sources of taxation, is have appiared to
me least objeftionabie,and best calculated to pro
ducejthe means of meeting all the difficulties of
our present situation. The Committee mutt
| not suppose that there catj.be any taxes whate
ver which will not be liable to many objections ;
, but I triift that when th?y consider the necessity
I as raising taxes to a certain amoiint, and of pro
! vidivig for unavoidable expenccs, they will agree
j with me that those which flull appear to fall
; tnoft lightly upon all descriptions of people,
| ought to be cfiafen in prefernce to any others'.
; 1 hope that.wKle the Committee meet the pro
t poGtions Miave to make with a firm determing
j tion to difculs them, they will also consider that
I it ought to be their jirft nbjeA-to obtain eftW)u
ja I taxes. Among the different branches which
form, the objects of taxation in this courier",
j there is one great source of productive rercnile
! exteiifive iri. its operation, not preffipg on any
particular •delVription of psi fors, arid°l t a(t of
ail iipOn Uie lower orders ofyeoplc, a mode of
taxation, winch is fafe and expeditious in the'
mode os-collecting it, and what is lliil we
advantage. H~,,'will not require any additional
expeiice either with 1 efpect so' hew officer, „„
increase of. fahry to those already emploj ed in
performing ttat part of the-public service.
Otis fourte of revenue is the general branch of
the Stamp Duties, which for *h& last 15 ypars
has b*en rapidly increasing ; arid has been do-.i
bled since the last war. My genera! ofejedt in
laying additional duties on this, va'.t branch of
revenue, ts to make a diltiiictionbetwen diHerent
artieles, some of which I shall tax in a greatT
proportion than others while fame are to be ex
empted altogether. The greatest addition is to
be laid on thole which go under the general del
nomination oi Consolidated Duties. These
are of that deicription, where "stamps of the
fame-, denomination hive been applied general!*
to different kinds of jnftrumems. They include
a variety of articles; The principal of these
relate to the transfer of property, to deeds, ad
judicatiocs, and proceedings in the eeclefiaftical
vourts'. My objeA, &s I have juftobferved, is
to fee what augmentation tuay take place by le
yymg atax on thewholemafs of{|arrps. But it
is my intention to exempt from the general tax
all inftriimentsthat relate' fo law proceedings in
courts of jullice. I know that an opinion has
prevailed, andi witji Tome degree of jtoftice, that
by taxing articles of this dffenptton, and by
that means ericreafiiig thcexpcnce? of hw fuiti,
the frequency of litigation between parties
might in a grest meafurt-, be pi evented j but
thi? rule is not 111 geiieraUi ire. li ihecaß, cf a
tuit are. encreaCed-to .1 largeahiountV it may fall
»ery heavy.on perfctisavbo onlyfoßght tortcc
rer their property ; ,»Vl p. ificqhrrly-on several
of the'lower clafli-sjif .lKe people, who are of
ten under rhe necessity of appcaliMlo court* cf
juilite-againfl thoft u-ho v. iuHi-I wiflj to fake ad-
Hitir inability, and rcfaf? the pay
ment of . debts Which nttty be due. I
would alftf except from «*atiotTa!i probates of
wills orider ee, t*in fiims ; nor dc»rtv«an to pro
pOse any tax upon tegacici, eeeent du
ty has bees laid u;ion them in another form 1 ;
nirtler the' fameVlalb I aliooteiude po!t*
cWof niluranee. On the general bulk, therr
fore, of itajirjn, I Would in oj>olV, so" clause the
-present araupwt, and'that vilf-nrViiijif, animal
; ly>..a fivm of 5-o,ocol. llut \ rfte'iH except
ftpm ,th:s general pja«,. Xfcins i»I parchment
w.hith have iietn f jtnprt 1 , iirfraM' doub
ling the duty on, f fjuil prcpnfe, tliat-rhere
Ccin has pafd a duty of 7s. au >ei:lit;pml dntv >.f
only :«• fiiall be laid upon -it. From tie full.«
inforfcatiou wKich I have received froii the dit
feaern oiSisc* on this fubj«3, it I as appealed to
rae, that this -is-the. best mode 6f taxing the ar
tiele hi queilieii. and. that hy fwh means it will
be equally productive with the other, taxes of
fsrae definition. VVith to duties 00
transfers <j' pe'/ma! prop-t tj, where ftarrps
may be necessary to give it validity, th(Te is 110
lofcjcil rt taxation wh.ich Ought more freely to
-give a eontribif'ion tti the pub!i<? than that
which mutt fall Jb Jigbtly On cvcrV individual
who may happen to lie in poj&ffion of ample
means todefny a charge that trujft,-iti such cir
cumstances, U- comparatively trifting,- and no
ways huitl»«nr..me to the individual who pays it-
Os-er and atK>ve the duty npon this branch, f
tr.ecc to propose- fotQe scale fcr tratifar, scccrd-