was not a singular case. The produce of that Fund was in a state of progressive improvement, as would appear from a reference to its amount in the last three years. In the year ending the 5th of April, 1809, the whole produce of the Consolidated Fund was £35,443,770; in the year ending the 5th of April, 1810, 41,441,774; in the year ending 5th of April, 1811, £41,341,700! being, in the last year, an amount of produce only 106,000l. short of the produce of the preecding year, the most productive of any ever before known. This must be a source of satisfaction to the House, as well as the best proof that could be desired to shew, that we had not yet arrived at that period, when any circumstances in the state of our resources should call for despondency. (Hear) He should conclude with moving, as the amount of the surplus of the Consolidated Fund remaining in the Exchequer on April 5th, 1811, the sum of 996,957. 11s. 4 d. On the question being put,

Mr. Bankes, though he thought it highly satisfactory to find that the Consolidated Fund had been productive beyond all ordinary times, yet looked upon it as peculiarly gratifying that it had proved so prosperous under the disastrous circumstances in which the country had been placed last year. It was a strong proof of the stability of our resources, that the finances of the country had prospered under such circumstances, in place of suffering any defalcation. For himself, he had always considered the resources of the coun try as large and abundant; but unless they should be managed with economy, they would not be equal to the expenditure. He was sure the statement of his right honourable friend would prove satisfactory to the country; but he wished to know whether his right honourable friend would have any objection to state the produce of the corresponding quarters in this and the last year. He wished also to know, whether the amount of fines paid in on account of the Militia was included in the aggregate of the Consolidated Fund. These fines, as he understood, amounted to two or three millions; much more than he had at first supposed. A part of these fines were paid into the Bank, and another part to the Exchequer. His first question his right honourable friend would not have any difficulty to answer; but the other, if he was not prepared to answer it, he should wave for the present.

The Chancellor of the Exchequer replied, that he could have no objection to state to the Committee the particulars VOL.11-1811. 4 G

of the corresponding quarters. He had to observe, however, that the receipts in the preceding year had exceeded any thing ever before known. The produce of last year did not, therefore, exceed that of the preceding year, but had fallen a little back of it. The produce of the quarter ending the 5th of July, 1809, was £ 10,613,000; that of the quarter ending the 5th of July 1810, 11,022,000 of the quarter ending the 5th of October, 1809, £ 9,841,000; that of the quarter ending the 5th of October, 1810,

10,645,000; that of the quarter ending the 5th of January, 1899, 11,813,042; that of the quarter ending the 5th of January, 1810, 10,891,420; that of the quarter ending the 5th of April, 1809, £ 967,200; that of the quarter ending the 5th of April 1810, 872,700. With respect to the Militia fines, he was not prepared to give a satisfactory answer. He was persuaded that they could not amount to so large a sum as his honourable friend had stated. He had no doubt, however, that any sums paid in on that account to the Exchequer, went to the Consolidated Fund. Such sums, on the contrary, as were paid into the Bank, were, in his opinion, appropriated to the services of the Militia itself.

Mr. Henry Thornton allowed that the statement of the right honourable gentleman was satisfactory. But the question, in his mind, was, whether with the increase of our revenue, there was not a correspondent increase of expenditure. He was not disposed to take a desponding view of the financial resources of the country; nor did he mean by any observation he should make, to take away from that natural exultation which the statement of his right honourable friend was calculated to make: but he could not avoid reminding the Committee, that they ought not to be induced by such a proof of a prosperous revenue, to relax in their vigilance respecting the public expenditure. He had observed in voting grants for various public objects on a former day, that in almost every one of the items there was some increase on the ground of the rise of the times. It was for the House to determine how far this circumstance was calculated to take from the impression made by the favour able statement of the right honourable gentleman. Besides, many of the duties were ad calorem rates, and might therefore have the effect of augmenting the produce of the Consolidated Fund in consequence of the recent additions made to the duties and the late increase of imports. But at all

events he was of opinion, that economy alone could give stability to our resources.

The Chancellor of the Exchequer replied that in the statement he had made, he had explained to the Committee the amount of the surplus of the Consolidated Fund, independent of the charges defrayed out of it last year. He had particularly called the attention of the Committee to the excess of the actual produce over the estimated surplus, and that in a year, too, when no new taxes had been imposed to add to its productiveness. This shewed clearly that the revenue was in a state of growing prosperity: unless it could be said of him, that in his estimate last year, he had taken a desponding view of the case. Last year, however he had been charged with having taken too sanguine a calculation of the probable produce of the fund, and particularly with respect to the Stamp duties. He could, however, by refer ence to the actual receipts, shew that he had not been mistaken. In the year ending the 5th of April, 1810, the Stamp Duties produced the sum of 5,188,4267.; this year they produced 5,302,000/. being upwards of 100,000l. more than they had produced in a year when his estimate had been looked upon as excessive. The observation of his honourable friend respecting ad calorem duties applied to this branch of the taxes more than to any other, because there were more ad valorem rates in the stamp duties than in any other branch of the public revenue. In the Excise, the most important part of the public revenue, which produced 16,880,000l. besides the Excise war-taxes, there were no ad valorem rates whatever. In the customs, too, another great branch of the public revenue, there were no ad valorem duties, except in the war-taxes on Customs, and there only on some exports, none of which made any part of the Consolidated Fund. The observations of his honourable friend, therefore, did not apply to either of these two great sources of the public revenue. But there was also another branch of the public revenue, the increase of which must indicate a real growth in the prosperity of the country, he meant the revenue of the Post-office. That revenue last year exceeded the receipts of the preceding year by 90 or 100,000l. This year it exceeded last year by 100,000l. Such a progressive increase in a revenue, in the whole amounting to a million only, as the revenue of the Post-office, was surely a proof of the increase of business, or luxury, and consequently

of the growing produce and prosperity of the country. The observation of his honourable friend, therefore, not applying to the great sources of revenue, was of no value in this view of the question, though every thing that fell from him was entitled to the greatest attention. In the Assessed taxes, too, there were no ad valorem duties: in the Property tax there were; but that formed no part of the Consolidated Fund. He trusted this explanation would be satisfactory to the Committee.

The motion was then agreed to, after a short observation from Sir John Newport, and a brief reply from the Chancellor of the Exchequer, as was also the vote respecting the produce of old Naval Stores,

The House then resumed, and the Report was ordered to be received to-morrow.

STEALING IN A DWELLING-HOUSE.

Sir Samuel Romilly moved the third reading of this Bill.

Mr. Secretary Ryder begged leave shortly to state his reasons for opposing the measure. It had been said that judges and juries had doubts and apprehensions of enforcing the law; were not the same apprehensions as likely to have influence with offenders? He believed the existing state of the law filled the minds of the vicious with a salutary terror, and had an equally beneficial operation on experienced delinquents and novices in iniquity. They had a tendency to secure the great object of criminal legislation-that of preventing rather than punishing offences. He agreed to the general principle, that the discretion of Judges ought rather to be limited than enlarged, and that until some alteration might be of advantage, which should have the effect of lessening the proportion which the num ber of sentences bore to the number of executions. The present Bill, however, looked only at an object of speculation, not of practical humanity.

Mr. Wilberforce, in a neat speech, contended that the law, in its present state, held out the chances of impunity, and so far was unquestionably productive of mischief. It was seen every day, that, in the most hazardous species of gambling, the Lottery, persons were fond of adventuring. He remembered being told by Judge Buller, that out of 38 convictions, upon an average, not more than one execution took place.

Sir John Newport warmly supported the Bill. Mr. Lockhart was of opinion, that the uncertainty with respect to a just measure of punishment, would be increased by any mitigation of the severity of our penal code We were travelling, by pursuing this course, into an unknown sea, and leaving the chart and compass by which our ancestors had guided themselves. If however adopted at all, he should prefer it as an experiment, for two years, although he was afraid that in this case there would be a great and necessary arrear of punishment to be settled.

Mr. Whitbread said he had hitherto refrained from uttering his sentiments on this question, because he had been willing to hear all that could be urged by the formidable array of lawyers who were on this occasion opposed to his honourable friend. He was ready to do justice to the ingenuity of the honourable gentleman (Mr. Frankland), who had distinguished himself in resisting the present Bill, but who had puzzled at least as much as he had dazzled, in his estimation. He was wrong however in his allusion to the effect of the quotation made by an honourable friend of his (Mr. Windham), now no more to be found among the liv ing; but he well recollected that his honourable friend (Sir S. Romilly) had then clearly shewed that the opinions of Dr. Paley had been misunderstood. Did the right honourable and learned gentleman not know that that criminal law which he defended had been condemned by our greatest lawyers? His honourable friend (Sir. S. Romilly) had four.ded himself on those opinions. He had founded himself too on the reflections of his own enlightened mind, maintained by the experience of his professional exertions. (Hear! hear! hear!) The honourable gentleman (Mr. Lockhart) had endeavoured somewhat humorously to point out the advantage to the morals of the people, by being accustomed to sport with the solemnity of an oath. Because, said he, a jury acts from a principle of humanity in committing a judicial perjury, the perjury is sanctified by the motive. Could there be a more pernicious notion than this instilled into the minds of men, a more deadly poison communicated to the source of a people's morals? (Hear! hear!) As to what had been urged of the astuteness of the Judges enabling them to discriminate and apportion with precision the exercise of their discretion, he could only say, that he believed that they were sometimes pressed to reconcile their duty to their feelings. After advancing many