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diffolving the connection between the citizen and foldier, was, he ob ferved, a matter of the greatest delicacy and intricacy; and it would have been decent, even for the fake of form, for minifters to have given the houfe an opportunity of exercifing its deliberative functions, before a measure was carried into execution, fo hoftile to the general freedom and happiness of the na

tion.

Mr. Pitt denied that the fhutting up foldiers in barracks fecluded them from the fociety of their fel low citizens; it only prevented them from fociety at a time when the illdifpofed of the community might inftil into them fentiments of a tendency pernicious and hoftile to the conftitution. He contended, He contended, that the fyftem at prefent purfued had been fanctioned by the legif. lature, and that, inftead of introducing a new fyftem, minifters nerely carried on an old one to a greater extent. If the principle, ás had been ftated, was repugnant to parliament, the country, and the conftitution, would they not have taken fteps to stop it!!! and confequently, if they did not, their conduct was to be conftrued into a tacit and implied approbation. The manner and procefs of erecting barracks could not furnish any argument with refpect to their novelty. There did not appear the least want of wisdom in the fyftem, or mitmanagement in the execution with what propriety, then, could the house inftitute an inquiry? The affertion, that government had no right to employ money in extraordinary fervices, was unfounded. The meafure, he contended, was only a prudent and neceflary extension of an old infti. tution. The fubftantial question for confideration was, whether the

1796.

houfe would have foregone the expence incurred if the estimate had been laid before them, and whether they would then refuse their affent to extraordinaries fo beneficially employed?

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The fyftem in queftion was op pofed by Mr. W. Smith, as novel to the conftitution, highly expenfive, and only fit for the moft abfolute and defpotic governments. It was further objected to with uncommon humour by Mr Courte nay, who thought the fecretary at war had not been treated with fufficient candour and tairnefs. From. an uncommon fpecies of ingenuous modefty (not always to be found in minifters) a moft confiderable and ample fund to füpply the expence of erecting barracks in every part of the kingdom, had been hitherto concealed. A new and moft judi cious order had just been iffited' from the war office, that all the dung of the dragoon horfes, which,✨ from time immemorial, had been a perquifite to the folliers, was now to be fold, and the produce* remitted to the war-office, to be lodged in his majefty's exchequer, and employed for the fervice of the state. In his ufual ftrain of irony, Mr. Courtenay continued to entertain the houfe, obferving, that the hon. fecretary, like Virgil, as defcribed by Mr. Addifon, 'could fcatter his dung with a grace and majefty;' and the royal domains principally derived their rich and flourithing crops from the manure he bestowed upon them. He, with great irony, continued to compliment the fecretary at war for acting upon thofe enlightened motives which lord Chatham, Montefquieu, and Blackstone, had thought might be attended with the most dangerous confequences to a free country. He had no doubt, from the F

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joy expreffed by minifters in having the half pay lift relieved by the opportunity of providing for feveral meritorious officers, that out of the fifty-fix places to be bestowed, fifty at leaft had been given to gallant and veteran officers; and he should therefore move for a lift of the barrack-masters, to prove to the country their patriotifm in having no regard to election jobs and improper influence.

Mr. Grey, after reftating his affertions on a former night, which he contended were not difproved, wifhed to know what were to be looked upon as permanent barracks for a peace establishment? If the new barracks were to hold 34,000 troops, and the old 20,000, this would be 54,000 on a peace eftablishment. If the barracks were not to be filled with troops, how could it be proved that the cheapeft way of quartering men was by keeping up barracks for many more than were wanted? With refpect to the expence of barracks, he noticed two accounts, one of £243,000, the other of £.314,000, and wished to know, whether thefe were diftinct, or the leffer contained in the greater fum? whether the total was expended in the last five years, or all in 1795 Mr.

Steele, in reply, recapitulated the ftatement made, and faid, that when the intended plan was completed, there would not be barracks for more than 25,000 men. He vindicated minifters from having mifapplied the vote of credit, and said, they had only acted like former minifters in fimilar fituations. This juftification upon precedent was ridiculed by Mr. Grey, who, with Mr. Fox and Mr. Sheridan, contended that there was a palpable inconfiftency on the face of the accounts. In that upon the table, it was ftated that 314,000 had been paid to the barrack-mafter general, and expended in the erection of temporary barracks, on a warrant dated July 1795; while the account given in by minifters laft year, the title of which was "An account of money iffued to the barrack-mafter general for the erection of temporary barracks, up to December 31ft, 1795," amounted only to £243,000. A difference of £73,000 therefore remained to be accounted for. Mr. Pitt and Mr. Steele in reply faid, they believed almost all, if not the whole, was expended in 1795. On a divifion of the houfe, the ayes were 24, noes 98.

CHAP. IV.

The Budget. Eftimates. Taxes. Debate concerning the Loan. Further Debates on this Subject. Motion for a Committee of Inquiry concerning it. Clofe Committee appointed. Report of the Committee. Debate on the Report. Motion refpecting the fictitious Hamburgh Bills drawn by the Treafury. Debates on the Vote of Credit Bill-In the Commons-In the Lords. Oppofition to the Tax on Tobacco. To the Horfe Duty. Tax on Callicoes given up. Debates on Collateral Succeffion Tax. Tax on Landed Succeffion abandoned by the Minifter.

AT

Ta very early period in the feffion (Nov. 18th), the miifter gave notice of his intention

of laying before the commons the ufual motions with respect to the national expenditure and fupplies.

The

The budget, however, (as it is term. ed in the technical language of the houfe) was not opened till Dec. 7, when Mr. Pitt obferved that he was fully aware of the difficulties of calling the attention of the house to a view of the expences of the year at fo early a period, when many of them must be judged of by eftimate, and of courfe must be taken upon confidence. He called upon the committee, however, to recollect the profpect of peace held out to them by his majefty's fpeech; adding, that it was probable a fpeedy termination to the war would be materially affifted by fhewing ourfelves prepared for either alternative. He therefore thought it

Navy-110,000 feamen
Ordnance

£.624,152 1 Extraordinaries £.708,400 0

Army-guards, garrifons, &c.

beft to open the general state of receipt and expenditure; and he did this with the more confidence, in the perfuafion that the account would be a triumph of the finances of Great Britain, and fully demonftrate her equal to every emer. gency! He was the more induced to this, from obferving the totally exhausted state of the enemy, while Great Britain could confidently look forward to providing the means for carrying on the war during years if neceffary, without burthening the people or injuring trade!!! The whole of the fupply wanted, Mr. Pitt stated as fol lows:

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Chelfea, &c, &c.

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6,194,452 145

Extraordinaries

2,646,990 19 10

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Vote of credit

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Ordnance

Mifcellaneous fervices, plantation eftimates, &c. &c.

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The ways

Land tax Malt

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and means Mr. Pitt stated to be,

£2,000,000

750,000

Growing

Growing produce of confolidated fund on on} 2,

5th Jan. 1796, computed at

Money arifing from the fale of Dutch prizes
Imprest

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5,000

2,395,0

1,000,000

200,000

3,595,000 360,000

3,235,000

3,500,000

The further fums to be provided for in the courfe of the feflion, were, he observed, first, the navy debt, which had increafed to five millions. This was not, however, to be regretted, confidering the proud height to which our navy had rifen. This was chiefly to be afcribed to the purchase of India fhips, and the employment of numerous tranfports. In the enfuing year he expected a faving in this branch of at least two millions and a half. The army extraordinaries would, he thought, not exceed two millions and a half. Another important fum to be attended to was the bounty upon corn to be imported. He did not think 1,000,000l. was fo wide a fum as was likely to be called for. There was, however, he obferved, a fund to which the houfe might look with confidence, if they were difpofed to refer it to the public fervice. Upon an average of three years, the provifion made for the American loyalifts had produced 300,000!.; of the charge upon this fund only 250,000l. would be due after this vear. The permanent taxes, and the growing produce of the confolidated fund, were more than equal to the exifting charge upon it; and the taxes of last year bade fair to come up to the fums at which they were taken, as they had already

18,000,000

£.27,485,000.

amounted to two-thirds. The taxes for the loan of 18,000,000l. for which he had contracted, he should fubmit to the house, after premifing that the intereft upon every rool. borrowed was 41. 135. 6d. to which was to be added the one per cent. wifely provided by parliament in aid of the fund for difcharging the national debt. This made the intereft mount to the annual fum of 1,111,500l. and for this he should propofe taxes upon collateral legacies, an addition of 10 per cent. on the affeffed taxes, a tax upon horses, a tax upon tobacco, a tax upon printed cottons and callicoes, a duty upon falt, and a reduction of the bounty upon the export of refined fugar. With refpect to the tax on legacies, it had already been tried in Holland, and been found neither oppreffive, nor had it in any degree taken from induftry its ftimulus in the acquifition of wealth. Nor was the principle new in this country, where a tax upon legacies had exifted feveral years. He meant to propofe, therefore, a tax of two per cent. on all legacies above a certain extent in the first collateral degree, and alfo to extend to refiduary legatees three per cent. on first coufins-four per cent. on fecond coufins-and fix per cent. on more remote relations, and on ftrangers.

From the calculations re

Specting

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Total

£1,300,000,000 From an inspection of the records of the courts of Canterbury and York, it appeared, that about one third of the perfonal property devifed by will went to collateral branches. Of landed property, the proportion was about one fifth; he would therefore take the medium, one fourth, upon which to form the probable estimate. From the calculation of property transferred by will, this tax would amount to 294,000l. per ann. from this he would deduct the prefent tax upon legacies, amounting to 44,000l. per ann. and take the new tax at 250,000l.

mated at 135,000l. With refpect to falt, he only propofed a regulation, which would produce 32,000l. The reduction of the drawback upon refined fugar might be confidered in precifely the fame predicament: he should propofe to reduce it one fourth, which would be a faving to the amount of 180,000l. The total of these taxes amounted to 1,127,000l.

The whole amount of the fum for which he estimated the new taxes, would be 1,120,000l. and the fum for the payment of the intereft of the loan was only 1,115,000l. This was all that was necessary to be faid, had nothing been advanced refpecting the terms on which the loan was borrowed. The interest he had already stated at 41. 13s. 6d. per cent. to which the provifion for a reduction of the capital, in the proportion of one per cent. made the whole amount to fix per cent. In the fourth year of a war held out to be peculiarly difaftrous and odious to the public, a loan of 18 millions had been negotiated upon terms little more than four and a half per cent. This he stated as prima facie evidence of our profperity. He had, he said, discharged his full duty in obtaining terms as favourable as he thought ought to be obtained, with due regard to the real interefts of the public. With refpect to his departure from the ufual mode of competition in mak. ing a loan, Mr. Pitt ftated that he had heard it fuggefted that the gentlemen concerned in the laft loan had a right to a preference in any future one, till all the inftalments on the former loan were paid off. The pretenfions of the contractors for the laft loan had not till lately. been formally notified to him. Thefe pretenfions refted on the. grounds that no inftance had oc

With refpect to the affeffed taxes, the amount was well afcertained; the 10 per cent. to be laid upon them, he estimated at 140,000l From this whole he meant to exempt horses, as they were to make a feparate tax. On these animals kept for pleasure, it was his intention to double the taxes already paid, fo that 1. would be paid by a person who kept one horfe, and 121. by those who had fix; the produce of this he should eftimate at 116,000l. He fhould alfo propofe a tax of 2s. per horfe upon all horfes kept for induftry; and he fhould eftimate the tax upon fuch horses at 100,000l. The tax upon tobacco he fhould propofe to be 4d. per lb. which would produce 170,000l. Upon printed goods he fhould propofe an additional tax of twopence halfpenny per yard, which he efti

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curred,

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