ebservations made upon the state of the finances by Mr. Grey, and contended, that, upon the event of a peace, new taxes would be neceffary for more than three millions; and, inftead of the ufual peace eftablishment of feventeen millions, he could prove, did not the latenefs of the hour prevent him, that our future peace establishment would amounto no less a fum than twenty-three millions.

General Smith afferted that the Eaft-India company would not be able to pay annually the fum of 500,000l. He alfo pointed out the fpirit of difobedience and difcontent which had been generated in the army in the Eafl-Indies by our late regulations.

Mr. fecretary Dundas faid, that, when the Eaft-India finances came under difcuffion, the general would have a fair opportunity of ftating the inability under which he fuppofed the East-India company to labour. He denied the other infinuations thrown out refpecting the difpofition of the army in that country.

The refolutions were at length put, and agreed to without a divifion, and the report ordered to be received on the following day.

On the 19th of April, previous to the report of the committee of ways and means being brought up, Mr. Grey rose to ask fome explanations from the paymafter of the forces refpecting the expence of temporary barracks. He found it ftated that 314,000l. had been employed entirely in this fervice, in Great Britain, Guernsey, and Jerfey. And yet he faw a kind of diftinction drawn in the accounts between barracks and temporary barracks. He found the estimates of Guernsey and Jerfey put at 64,000l. and agreeable to the fort of

distinction alluded to, only about 5000l. had been ftated as the expence of temporary barracks. In the fame way in England, out of 250,000l. expended, he only found 9,500l. put under the head of temporary barracks. The excefs must therefore have gone in fupport of permanentbarracks. He faid he could not reft fatisfied with the official returns made to the house. Fortyeight thousand pounds had been fubmitted in February laft, as the extra-expences from June 1792 to December 1795; and afterwards an account was brought forward, amounting to 243,000l. as the actual extra-expence of 1795.

To thefe obfervations Mr. Steel replied, that out of 314,000l. given in eftimates, 246,000l. had been expended in temporary barracks in England, together with 4000l. of contingent expences. In Guernfey and Jerfey, for the fame article, 64,000l. amounting in the whole to the fum eftimated. These accounts were furnished in confequence of his orders to the barrackmafter; and he could not further account for their inaccuracy, though he was ready to confefs his own be lief that they were fair and accurate. He obferved that he might, confiftently with his place, decline giving any answer to the queftions which had been put to him, if he did not feel himself called upon from refpect to the character of minifters. Mr. Grey faid that another day he fhould have occafion to go at large into the business.

Mr. Hobart then brought up the report of the committee of ways and means; and, upon the first refolution being put, Mr. William Smith stated that he intended to have made fome obfervations upon the terms of the loan the preceding night, but was prevented by the

length

length of time occupied by other gentlemen. He argued that the bargain for the old loan, for fo it was to be diftinguished, although fo recently contracted for, was half a million unfavourable to the public, inafmuch as three per cent, more was given to the contractors than another gentleman would have taken it at, and the bonus upon it was exactly 3 per cent, more than upon this fecond loan. It was neceifary to inquire under what circumftances both the loans were bargained for, that the profit fhould be fo much more at one time than another. If the parties who purchase a loan give lefs for one in April than they did in the preceding December, it was neceflary to account for it. A premium of feven per cent. came out in the market upon the loan bargained for in Decem. ber, without any rife in the funds. It was true, the chancellor of the exchequer had given the market a temporary rife, by bringing down the king's meffage immediately after the loan was contracted for; but this favourable hope was of fhort duration; and at the time the new loan was made, the hope, which had been afloat ever fince, was entirely deftroyed by the anfwer of the directory refpeeing peace, Mr. Smith ufed many fong and urgent arguments, to prove that a better bargain upon the old loan might have been made; that if minifters had gone to open competition upon the old loan, they might have had it taken off their hands by the very fame contractors, on the identical terms they had taken this laft loan.

Mr. Pitt faid he was extremely happy to find that the merit of the prefent loan received the approbation of fo nice critic; and u erefore, fince they were unanin.ous, he

concluded, the best way would be to put their unanimity into prac. tice, and pafs the refolution. Refpecting the terms of the former loan, he was guided in his judgment by a general view of the circumftances exifting at the time. Thofe circumstances were fuch as induced him to give the contractors a higher bonus upon the loan of December. He was aware of the referve of unfuuded debt, and had fome idea of an imperial loan, whence he had expected a fall in the ftocks from one and a half to two per cent. which certainly would have been the cafe, if his majesty's meffage had not arrived at the time it did, and of which he had then no apprehenfion. This made the difference between that loan of eighteen millions, and the prefent one of seven and a half. If he had known beforehand that the ftocks had fhewn a tendency to rife, he bould certainly have made the premium lefs.

Mr. Francis noticed in pointed terms the two acts of parliament which had been paffed in that feffion, to enable government to iffue 3,500,000l. exchequer bills, to replace the fame amount held by the bank. "It is now," said he, "found necefiary to relieve the bank from this load; and money is raised by the prefent loan to pay off the 2,500,000l. exchequer bills, which the bank hold. This, then, makes the iffue of that fum in exchequer bills, according to the two former acts of parliament, unneceffary for that purpofe." He then contended that as thofe acts, being made this feffion, could not be repealed, the minifter might ftill iffue this fum in exchequer bills, for fervices which were not in the contemplation of that houfe. He therefore hinted at a parliamentary re

ftraint

ftraint over the poffible exercife of fuch a power. Mr. Grey aifo urged the dangerous tendency of fuch a power in the hands of the minifter. Mr. Pitt, in reply, faid, that to remove all fufpicion, a claufe might be inferted in the prefent loan bill, or a refolution moved to a fimilar effect. The first resolution paffed. The other refolutions of the committee were then read; and Mr. Pitt, Mr. Rofe, and Mr. Hobart, ordered to prepare and bring in bills upon the fame.

On the 21ft of April, the bill for the better regulation of hats was read a firft ime, and ordered to be read a fecond time the next day.

The house on the 26th refoived itself into a committee on this bill; and it was determined, that, after the 5th of April 1797, every perfon wearing a hat with the lining unftamped fhould be liable to a penalty. A claufe was brought up, by which the owner of a hat is compelled to prove that his hat paid the duty.

Several debates took place in the commons upon the dog-tax bill, in the courfe of which, Mr. Sheridan, in a strain of the most poignant wit and irony, amufed the house for a confiderable time upon this fubject.

Mr. Rofe, on the 25th of April, obferved, there was an irregularity in the wine-duty bill, which would perhaps render it neceffary to withdraw it, and to introduce a new bill. A clause respecting auctioneers felling wine had been by mistake inferted in the bill, with out the confent of the house. He had intended to have obviated this by inferting a new claufe; but as the neceffary form was not observed, he moved for leave to withdraw the bill. The bill was

withdrawn, and a new one ordered to be brought in.

On the 5th of May, previously to the houfe refolving itself into a committee on the above bill, Mr. Grey faid he fhould mention fome particulars which had come to his knowledge, respecting the conduct of revenue officers, in the mode of collecting the additional duty on wine. He conceived there was no authority whatever of fufficient power legally to enforce the payment of duties about to be levied by an act of parliament, until fuch act had paffed into a law; yet he was informed, and from good authority, that upon the arrival at Leith of the fhip Peggy, belonging to Mr. Murray, laden with Spanish wines, the additional duty upon one ton of Port had been demanded and paid. He mentioned a fimilar circumftance which had happened at Bristol. He thought fuch cafes demanded the ferious attention of the houfe, as they were certainly unjustifiable in the highest degree. Though it might be right for bills to have a retrofpective view in fome inftances, it was nevertheless highly dangerous to the principles of the conftitution, and the liberty of the fubject, for that retrospection to operate previous to the bill being paffed. He faid he had obferved, with deep concern, the latitude in which minifters had indulged themfelves of late, in difpenfing with the laws of their country; and it certainly was the incumbent duty of the house of commons to watch their conduct with a jealous eye. These obfervations brought on a converfation between Mr. Sheridan and the chancellor of the exchequer, in which the former obferved, that when the bill went into a committee, he should propofe two

amend

able and juft. He reverted to the committee formed in 1791, to examine the public accounts; and the report of that committee was, that the amount of the permanent taxes, independent of the land and malt, would be annually thirteen millions and a half; and this had fince been confirmed by facts. In the course of the laft three years, his lordship faid, the amount of the permanent taxes, independent of the land and malt, amounted on an average to thirteen millions feven hundred and fixty-four thoufand a year; the old taxes had, his lordfhip ftated, reached the fum at which they were estimated, and in many inftances had exceeded their efti

mates.

The earl of Moira referred to the papers on the table, to prove that the permanent taxes, including land and malt, amounted to eighteen millions and a half. The annual expenditure of the peace eftablish ment, as stated by the committee of 1791, was fifteen millions and a half: to this was to be added two millions and a half, the intereft of money borrowed in the prefent war up to April 5th, 1795; fo that the excefs was only half a million, and there was no provifion made for the annual million appropriated to the extinction of the national debt, and two hundred thousand pounds above that fum; to which was to be added 800,000l. for the feven millions which the minifter borrowed in his fupplementary budget. There was manifeftly then a deficit of 1,500,000l. and he could prove a daily decreafe in the different branches of the revenue, particularly the cuftoms. He thought the minifter had acted prudently in keeping back the 500,000l. from the Eaft India company, and the lotte

which was estimated at 300,000l.

As to the first, he was not certain the company had yet paid a fhilling, or would be able this year; the fecond bartered the morals of the people for revenue. The statements of lord Moira were combated by lords Hawkesbury and Coventry, and fupported by the marquis of Lansdowne and the earl of Lauderdale, the latter of whom gave notice of a further investigation of the fubject, which he had only deferred till the committee of fupply was clofed, that the whole expenditure of the year might be known.

On the 13th of May, in purfuance of this notice, the earl of Lauderdale addreffed the lords in a fpeeeh of the greatest ability and the niceft financial calculation ever fubmitted to that house. The war expenditure of the last year amounted, his lordship obferved, nearly equal to the whole imports and exports in 1787, viz. to the fum of 31,867,4381. Since the commencement of the war, taxes had been laid upon various articles, on which, for the fake of revenue, the duties had been lowered, amounting to the fum of 1,952,000!. His lordilip mentioned the fatal effects of derangement in finance upon the interior policy of every government; the hare which is had in the fall of Rome; and its recent effects in the French revolution. Unhappily for this country, the money voted by estimate in the three last years of the war, had far exceeded what was voted in the fame period in the war with Ameri ca, France, Spain, and Holland ; and the votes of credit and extraordinaries had been carried to a still greater excefs. In three years, ending 1780, the war expence was 27,164,000l. In three years, including 1795, the expence voted by eftimate was above 35,514,000l.

The