the limits to which their duty reftrained them. The honourable gentleman had attempted to fpeak lightly of the fuccefs which attended the measures adopted for the fuppression of fmuggling; he himself admitted, that when compared to the farther fuccefs which might be expected from it, he was of his opinion; but ftill, though there was room, and the fairest profpects of great additional benefits, yet thofe which had already refulted from those measures were of the most impor tant magnitude. Of the commutation act, concerning which the honourable gentleman had spoken fo contemptuously, he ftill retained his original fentiments, fortified and confirmed by experimental proof: and as to the honourable gentleman's objections, that it had tended to increase the confumption of a foreign luxury, that, he obferved, was by no means the point of view in which it was to be confidered: the confideration ought to be, whether that article of luxury ought to be brought into this country by English feamen or by foreigners and outlaws; whether it ought to afford a profit to the Eaft-India Company or to the smuggler? He stated feve ral improvements which had already taken place in the duty on fpirits, in which, on the home diftillery, there had been an increase of above 100,000l.; and in the importation, of 150,000l.

He went into the whole fyftem of the revenue, pointing out not only the improvements which had been made, but thofe ftill within our reach, particularly fo foon as the Legiflature had opened its eyes to the abfurdity of employing perfons in offices of great trouble and temptation without a falary adequate to the comforts, or even the fupport of life. He explained the practice of the Cuftom Houfe, which was, on the arrival of a Weft-India fhip, to fend on board thirtyfix officers of a particular department, all of whom, the probability was, were corrupt; for indeed their fituation was fuch, that a combination with the fmuggler, and against the revenue, was the only, thing that could ftand between them and all the horrors of hunger and a jail. He hoped, a method would be contrived to remedy fo ruinous a policy; and obferved, that if any man fhould attempt to employ, in the conduct of his private affairs, a confidential fervant, at a falary on which it was impoffible for him to live, it would be looked upon as madness; and furely what was madness in the individual could not be politic in the state. The best means of remedying this mifchief, would be to remove fuch officers as were more notoriously corrupt, and give their falaries in addition to fuch of thofe as were moft deferving of their places; for there could be no doubt but eighteen honeft men would be of more fervice to the Public, than twice that number of perfons, who it was known neither were, nor from their fitu

ations could be incorrupt. One confequence of this mistaken economy appeared in a judicial trial, where it was proved, that in every puncheon of rum which came up the river, the revenue was defrauded of the duty upon eight gallons, this amounted on each puncheon, to 40s., which in the port of London, in which there were 20,000 puncheons annually imported, made a fum of 40,000l.; all this, and much more, in other branches, might be faved by proper regulations, but principally by leaving it in the power of the revenue officers to be honest.

Upon the whole, fo far was it from the truth, that there was no ftrefs to be laid upon any profpect of farther advantages from the fuppreffion of fmuggling, that in fact, the benefits already derived from it were by no means to be compared to what might be expected from farther exertions.Too unjust, and confequently too fevere were the infinuations made by the honourable gentleman (Mr. Sheridan) against the Committee; and he flattered himself that he by no means deferved any fhare of reproach for his public conduct; he did not employ himself in delivering florid harrangues, or attempt to display any fplendid talents for the admiration and entertainment of the Houfe; his principal object was, by clofe and affiduous inquiry and investigation, to furnish the means of real advantage to his country, by improving her commerce and increafing her revenue.

Mr. Sheridan fuffered the motion to go without a di vifion.

The House then refolved itself into a Committee, Mr. Steele in the chair.

Mr. Dempfter fubmitted it to the Chancellor of the Ex- Mr. Demp chequer, whether it was proper to proceed to recommit a bill fter. of fo much importance after the Houfe had been fo long engaged in a fatiguing debate.

Mr. Chancellor Pitt thought it was right to go on then. Mr. ChanThe new claufe enacted, that when ftocks were at par the cellor Pitt, Commiffioners were to come to Parliament for new powers.

Sir Grey Cooper contended for the request of the honourable Sir Grey gentleman, (Mr. Dempfter) that the recommitment of this Cooper very important bill fhould not have been voted when the House was exhausted by a long and interesting debate. When this bill was in the Committee, before the Eafter recefs, he ftated the objection to the claufes in page 8 and 9 of the prefent amended bill, which the honourable gentleman admitted in its full force, and which he was then endeavouring to remove by the alterations which he propofed. The ob jection was, that the bill affumes and delegates to the new Commiffioners," a power to pay off and redeem the redeemfable public annuities at or above par, upon fome notice,

"and

"and on the payment of fuch fums as are prefcribed and "directed by the faid claufe." The execution of this power fo delegated would have been a direct breach of parliamentary faith, and a contravention of all the folemn compacts made between the Public and the public creditors with refpect to the redemption of the capital of the feveral annuities which conftitute the national debt. The error, probably, arofe from a negligent and inattentive conftruction of the words redeemable annuities. It might have been expected that the perfon who propofed this most important bill, fhould have known, or been inftructed, that the public annuities were not redeemable in the general unlimited fenfe of the word, but that they are only redeemable fub modo, and under certain fpecific terms and conditions with respect to the time and the formalities previous to the redemption; and with respect to the amount of the fums to be paid off at each time or period, or the punctual and fcrupulous performance of all thefe conditions, and of every part and tittle of them, is effentially and indifpenfably required to make the redemption valid and effectual in law. By the redemption claufe, in the firft great confolidating act of the 3 per cent. annuities, the 25th Geo. II. ch. 27, fect. 24, it is provided, that at any time, "upon one year's notice," to be printed in the London Gazette, and affixed upon the Royal Exchange, and upon repayment by Parliament," according to fuch notice," of the faid feveral fums, or any part thereof, "by payments not lefs than five hundred thousand pounds at one time." Then, and not till then, fo much of the faid feveral annuities as fhall be attending on the faid principal fums fo paid off, fhall ceafe, determine, and be understood to be redeemed. In the cafe of the four per cent. confolidated annuities, by the 17th, 20th, and 21ft of Geo. III. there must be fix months notice by Parliament, and payment of not less than 500,000l. at one time to make the redemption good. From these premifes it followed, that if the claufe had remained as it then flood, the Commiffioners either could not have applied any portion of the monies to be vefted in them by this act towards the redemption of any part of the public debt at par, or if they fhould have taken any steps, or given any notices towards any operations for that purpofe, which could not well be fuppofed, confidering who the Commiffioners were to be, all their proceedings and tranfactions would have been null and void. This would have been an inaufpicious opening of a great plan for the reduction of the national debt. Every proprietor and holder of the ftocks, after his fubfcription to public loans, and by his confent to confolidation, be➡ comes a partner in a joint flock company, and the whole body of fubfcribers have a right to the ftricteft obfervance of every contract

contract and engagement on the faith of which they fubfcribed, and on the faith of which they gave up their right to demand the repayment of their capital, and referved only to themselves the payment of a perpetual annuity, until they were redeemed under folemnly ftipulated conditions, Sir Grey Cooper added, that, upon this occafion, he could venture to affure the Houfe and the honourable gentleman, that as the credit of this nation has, in all its money concerns, been maintained by a regular and punctual obfervance of the plighted faith of Parliament, by an invariable adherence to the compacts of the public with its creditors, fo the moft minute aberration from this line of conduct, the least tendency to obliquity or indirection in any tranfaction with the flockholders, the moft diftant fufpicion that confent by implication, or that the partial confent of individuals could break one thread or fibre of the public engagements, made in folemn and mutual contracts, would affect the future state and condition of this country infinitely more in its refources and its loans, when neceffity fhall demand them, and do more injury to public credit than the most profperous fuccefs of the prefent measure could ever compenfate. In conclufion, Sir Grey Cooper remarked, that he did not perfectly comprehend the alterations propofed by the honourable gentleman, but that he felt no inclination to oppose them, provided that they could remove the objections upon which, in behalf of the public creditors, he had thought it indifpenfably neceffary to infift.

After fome converfation the bill was gone through, and the Houfe being refumed, the report was ordered to be received

on the morrow.

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Mr. Sheridan now moved, "That the expected annual Mr. Sheriamount of the national income, ftated in the Report of the dan. "Secret Committee appointed to inquire into the public "income and expenditure, appears in no respect to have "been calculated upon the average receipts of the number of years, but is estimated upon the produce of one year only, "and fixed at the amount of the fame, with the addition of "the probable increase upon the new taxes."

"That it appears that the account of the annual expen"diture, as opposed to the amount of the public income fo " calculated, is not a statement of the prefent exiftant ex"penditure, or of that which must exift for fome years to "come, but is formed from the probable reductions which it "is alledged will have taken place towards the end of the "year 1791, in the profpect of a permanent peace."

"That the different branches of revenue, in the period "upon which the future is calculated, appear to have been " fingularly productive,, particularly in the cuftoms, and

"greatly

"greatly to have exceeded the amount of the preceding ་་ year, with which alone it is contrasted."

"That it does not appear that any means were taken, nor "information called for, nor any examination entered into "by the faid Committee, in order to afcertain whether fuch "increase of revenue had arifen from caufes which were "likely to have a permanent operation, or otherwife."

"That fuch an investigation is indifpenfably neceffary be"fore this Houfe can, with confidence, calculate, by the "produce of one year, the fuppofed future amount of the "public income."

46

"That the uncertainty of eftimating, by fuch a criterion, "the expected future produce of the revenue, is ftill more evident, upon a comparison of the quarter, ending the 5th of April laft, with the fame quarter in the preceding year, upon which the future income is calculated, by which comparison it appears that the amount of the latter quarter "is inferior by the fum of 188,215l. 13s. 4d. in the branch "of the customs, to the former.'

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46

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That in the faid Report there are certain articles of re"ceipt erroneously ftated, as proper to be added to the fu"ture annual income, and other articles of expence errone"oufly omitted to be added to the expenditure."

"That the fum voted, and to be voted, for the service of "the year 1786, including the intereft and charges of the public debts, confiderably exceeds the fum of 15,397,47 11. "That the means, by which the deficiency is to be made "good, arife from aids and debts which belong to the present "year only."

"That there is no furplus income whatever applicable to "the reduction of the public debt now exifting."

"That a furplus of income in the enfuing quarters can arife only by the renewal of a loan for an extraordinary "million, borrowed upon Exchequer bills in the laft, and charged upon the fupply of the prefent year, and which "loan it would be unneceffary to make but for the purpose "of procuring the faid furplus.'

"That any extraordinary increafe of Exchequer bills, con"trary to former practice in time of peace, is an inexpedient "anticipation of that affiftance which the Government might "receive in the cafe of any circumftance rendering it necef"fary to ftrengthen the ftate of our national preparation."

That the faving to the Public upon the intereft of mo"ney borrowed in this way is rendered improbable or pre"carious by the neceffity which will arife for the more speedy iffuing fuch bills, in order that the object for which the "loan is made may be punctually and effectually answered,

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"nor