mittee of fupply, Mr. Pitt obferved that he fhould have no occafion to engage much of the attention of the committee, because the accounts would be found to be nearly the fame as thofe of the laft feffion, with the exception only of certain grants, about which there could be no difference of opinion. In the laft fhort feffion, the public fupplies were voted for three months to come up to June, and the remaining half year was all that now remained to be granted. It was, however, to be obferved, that a reduction would be found in the amount of the fecret fervice. In the year 1800, the fum allowed for that fervice was 150,000. For this year there was reafon to think that no more would be required than 50,000l. of which 35,000l. having been voted in the fhort feffion, all that he should now atk on that head was 15,000l. The house on the 20th of May, having gone into a committee to confider further of ways and means, the chancellor of the exchequer (Mr. Addington) faid it would be recollected by the committee, that Mr. Pitt, who propofed to the house the ways and means of the year for raiting the fupply, propofed, among other things, a duty on printed goods; likewife on pepper for home confumption, and pepper for exportation. It was afterwards thought adviftable, that the duty pepper exported fhould be abandoned. It was his duty to £. 600 on propofe taxes to fupply the deficiency which would be thus occafioned. The duty on printed goods was taken at 140,000/.; that on pepper at 92,000l. making together the fum of 232,000l. It was for the purpose of providing for that deficiency that he now was about to propofe taxes. The first tax he fhould mention was that of an additional ftamp-duty on probates of wills, or letters of adminiftration on property left by legacy or otherwife, where the value amounted to more than 600l.; and rifing gradually from that amount up to 100,000l. There was a duty already up to 600l. and thence upon a fcale of gradation up to 10,000l. He propofed to make an augmentation on almost all thefe duties, excepting the fmaller fums, viz. upon all bequefts, &c. up to 10,000l. upon a certain fcale of gradation up to 100,000l.; for it did not appear to him equitable that the larger bequefts fhould pay a fmaller proportion, with reference to their own amount, than the fmaller. It did not feem to him reasonable, that the fcale of gradation should stop at 10,000l.; he fhould therefore propofe to purfue the afcending feries up to 100,000l. and by way of ftamp on the probate of wills and letters of adminiftration, in the following manner; but he should propofe no new duty where the property fhould not amount to 600l. and under...... He should eftimate these additional duties at 120,000%. The next duty he fhould propofe was that of an additional ftamp on all deeds of 2s. where 3s. had been laid on in the laft act of parliament, and this tax he estimated at 62,000!. The next duty was that of half a guinea additional ftamp on every licenfe to fell ale. The number of licenfes was 60,000; the produce of this duty he estimated at 32,000l. The next was an additional ftamp of 6d. on every pack of cards, and 2s. 6d. on every pair of dice; which he understood would produce more than 20,000l. Mr. Addington proceeded to recapitulate the new taxes: It was not his intention at preSent to propofe all the remainder of the ways and means of the year for raifing the fupply in the place of other duties abandoned. He then moved the first refolution, which paffed without oppofition; as did all the others, except that of the duty on ale licenses. When that refolution was put, fir R. Buxton faid, he knew that the laft tax which was impofed upon ale-houses put down fome of the fmall ones; the confequence of which was, that a number of houfes fold ale without any licenfe. It was extremely difficult to get at thefe houfes. He did not oppofe this tax, he only wished it might be made as productive as poffible. Mr. Addington admitted 20,000 £.234,000 that, to a given extent, there was force in thefe obfervations, but he hoped that the evil alluded to would not be very great. Mr. Addington on the 10th of June faid he was extremely forry to find that the public fervice would require that there fhould be given to his majefty a power of raifing 2,000,000, on exchequer bills, as a vote of credit. In confequence of the northern confederacy, and other caufes, he found that the additional expenfe of the navy, victualling, and tranfports, in all amounted to 1,686 8711. The queftion being put, Mr. T. Jones faid he hoped the present chancellor of the exchequer would fee the neceffity of ftating to the house the time of his acceffion to office, in order that the public might know when the late administration ended, and when the prefent began. For his own part, he rather felt this propofed two millions vote of credit to arife out of the deficiencies of the late adminiftration; becaufe the right hon. gentleman alluded to the armed neutrality, which certainly did grow out of the measures of the late adminiftration. Mr. Tierney faid, when the budget was opened by the late chancellor of the exchequer, he demanded a vote of credit for 500,000l. and this was a fubject which required fome explanation. He underftood, however, by the ftatement of the right hon. gentleman, that nothing concerning the army would require any further eftimate. Mr. Addington replied, he fhould be extremely forry to pledge himfelf that the vote of the army eftimates would be fufficient for the army; he said no fuch thing. He was, however, not aware of any difference in the expence from the eftimate. With respect to the application of the two millions now propofed, he begged to be underftood as not pledging himfelf to apply the whole of it to the naval fervice, although it was to the increated demands of that fervice that this application was owing. He was not aware of any other obfervations neceflary for him to make, except that which referred to the vote of credit of 800,000l. that was 500,000l. for Great Britain, and 300,000l. for Ireland: 300,000l. were fince voted for the affiftance of Portugal: fo that there now remained, out of that part of the vote of credit which was applicable to Great Britain, 200,000. Mr. Tierney replied, that Mr. Pitt, at the time of propofing the laft vote of credit, expreffed fome con cern that there was no poffibility of fending out any money to Portugal; but now the matter flood thus. The original vote of credit proposed by the late minifter for this year was 800,000l.; that was 500,000!, for England, and 300,000l. for Ireland; and now it was propofed to vote two millions more. Mr. Addington obferved, that the two millions now proposed to be voted covered the 300,000l. for Portugal; fo that the difference was not now to be computed at between 2,300,000l, and 800,000l. for the 300,000l. was comprifed in the 2,000,000l. Mr. Pitt took credit for only 800,000!.; that was 500,000l. for Great Britain, and 300,000l. for Ireland. He did not imagine that Mr. Pitt then forefaw the fubfidy to Portugal. Mr. Tierney faid, that, according to the present statement, there would not be, out of the whole vote, for the real purposes of supplying any exigency that might arife, (the true fpirit upon which a vote of credit ought to be adopted,) any more than about 100,0007.; a fum that would, he feared, be very infufficient. After Mr. Steele, fir Andrew Hammond, and Mr. Grey, had spoken, the chancellor of the exchequer proceeded to move the following refolutions: "That a fum not exceeding 2,000,000l. be granted to his majefty, to enable him to take fuch measures as the exigency of affairs might require. That a fum of 200,000l. be granted to his majefty, to be iffued and paid to the governor and company of the bank of England, to be by them placed to the account of the commiflioners for the reduction of the the national debt. That a fum not exceeding 3,000l. be granted to his majefty, towards enabling the truftees of the British mufeum to carry on the execution of the trufts repofed in them by parliament. That a fum of 27011. gs. be grantedto his majefty to make good the like fum which had been iffued by his directions to the chairman of the committee of the house of lords." Mr. Grey wifhed some reason to be affigned why fo large a fum as 1000l. fhould be given as an addi tional falary to the chairman of the To the Levant company the exchequer Loans on exchequer bills for the service of the year 1800, and charged upon the firft aids to be granted in the next feffion of parliament The further fum of three millions by loans The addreffes of this house, and which had To Jofeph White, efq. to enable him to To Arthur Young, efq. fecretary to the board" To the eftablishment at Sierra Leone, for } 600,000 ◊ 0 On On 15 June, the house having refolved itself into a committee of ways and means, and an order having been made to refer to the committee an account of the difpofition of last year's grants, an account of the monies remaining in the exchequer, and fome accounts prefented that day to the house, Mr. Addington faid, that the amount of the fupply voted for the fervice of the year, was 43,686,7151. of which 4,348,2261. being two-feventeenths, were on acccount of Ireland. The ways and means for this fupply was first, on fugar, &c. 1,000,000l. tobacco 2,750,000l. lottery 201,000l. loan 25,500,000l. The fum he now propofed to be voted was 4,000,000l. for the income duty, the reafon for which he should prefently ftate. Imports and exports were 1,200,000l. Surplus of the confolidated fund 3,100,000l. Remaining uniffued of the fum voted laft feffion for the emperor of Germany, and the elector of Bavaria, 499,0041. Eftimated furplus of grants 65,8371. Vote of credit 2,000,000l. Intereft on instalments of the land-tax 50,000l. Money in the exchequer for the payment of particular fervices 4,0801. 11s. The fum at which the income tax was taken by Mr. Pitt, who preceded him in office, was 6,000,000l. and, after intereft and charges were deducted, the remainder would be 4,260,000l. applicable to the ways and means of the year; but on examination he found, from the papers on the table, that he fhould not be juftified in taking the income tax at that amount, he fhould not take it at more than 4,000,000l. Imports and exports 1,200,000l. A confiderable augmentation, however, would take place from the large quantity of wine and other articles from Portugal, under the circumftances of that country, which would counterbalance the charge of freight, &c. The amount of this acceffion he fhould not think would in all be less than 100,000l. He fhould, however, propofe this head of income at 1,200,000l. The growing produce of the confolidated fund was 3,500,000l. as originally stated, but he fhould take it at 3,100,000l. He was led to this upon a view of the produce of the whole of the taxes; the accounts of which were now laid before the house. There would be a confiderable defalcation from the drawbacks allowed on fugars, four and a half per cent. on firft fruits, &c. but on the other hand, the tax on malt was likely to be much more productive than it had been for the last year. The whole produce of the permanent taxes would be 23,346,5901. The charges were 20,069,590l. leaving a furplus of 3,277,000l. He might indeed take the permanent taxes, according to an eftimate which had been made of them, at 23,350,000l. but he would take them only at 23,346,5901. He would take the furplus at 3,100,000l. He then moved as the firft refolution, "that out of the monies arifing by virtue of an act made in the 39th year of the reign of his prefent majefty for granting a duty on income, there fhould be applied the fum of four millions towards making good the fupply granted his majetty, over and above the fums neceflary to difcharge the intereft of any loans which have been charged on the faid duties by any acts of parliament." On the queftion being put, Mr. Tierney rofe to make fome obfervations on the ftatement of Mr. Addington. He difapproved of the |