unknown to them, and of a nature of which they had never had any experience before, must always be bribed by a certain bonus. That bonus must, of necessity, be paid by the public. In the second place, the market, into which the right hon. gentleman would have to go, must, of course, be a very contracted one. A common loan was easily disposed of, for no diffi-culty was experienced by the stockholder in selling out again. A man felt no hesitation about buying 1,000l. of stock, upon which he knew that in the next half year he should receive his dividend, because his profit was to commence immediately. But the case must be quite different, where the party knew that, for the next 16 years, he would, after having laid out a great deal, receive nothing; that only at the end of 16 years his bargain would begin to pay him; and that not until the expiration of 45 years would he have realized his full profit upon it. Thus, the number of persons who would offer to take this bargain would be very limited; the competition, of consequence, would be very slight, and the terms very disadvantageous. Great companies, indeed, might be found to bid; but even they must be such as, possessing great capitals, had some sort of surplus which they could afford to sink, under a prospect of large profit, for so long a term of years; or parents, wishing to provide for their children, might, soon after their birth, subscribe for such a portion of this new stock as should be likely to afford their posterity, when they should attain to manhood, something like an annuity for eight and twenty years. But it was well known in the most

common cases, how difficult it was to induce any considerable number of persons to join in a tontine. It was evident, therefore, that the offers would be very few, and the bonus very large-no matter whether that bonus was furnished by making the term longer than it ought to be (as, 45 years instead of 37 or 38); or the consideration annuity too expensive as 3,000,000l. instead of 2,500,000l., or whatever other sum might be the just compensation. At all events, the bonus must be paid by the country, and the advantage, most disproportionately, result to the contractor. Upon the whole, the simple and obvious way of effecting an arrangement of this kind would be, to take the money from the sinking fund, and thereby save the country the charge of the exorbitant premium which would attend the proposed transaction.

No intelligible answer was made to these objections. However, on a division, Mr. Hume's amendment was rejected by a majority of 135 to 56.

The government now entered into negociations with the Bank, the South Sea company, and many private capitalists: but no one was found willing to engage in the proposed contract. The greatness of the risk deterred those, who wished only for a safe investment of capital. The remoteness of the period of gain rendered the transaction unacceptable to those, who regarded public stocks merely as the materials of present specula

tion.

The chancellor of the exchequer was thus saved from his own extravagance by the prudence of capitalists; and, on the 24th of May, brought forward his scheme under

a modified form. It was embodied in the four following resolutions:

1. That, for the purpose of apportioning, conformably to the resolutions of this House, of the 3rd day of May, the burden occasioned by the military and naval pensions, it was expedient that an equal annual annuity of 2,800,000l., terminable at the end of 45 years, should, from the 5th day of April, 1822, be vested in trustees to be named by parliament; and that the said annuity should be charged upon the consolidated fund of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland.

2. That the said trustees should pay into the exchequer the several annual sums mentioned, by four equal quarterly instalments, on or before the 15th of January, the 15th April, the 15th July, and the 20th October; the first payment thereof to be made on the 20th October, 1822. (The sums were the same which we have

mentioned in page 130.)

And that the said several sums, or such part thereof as may be necessary, should be appropriated and applied conformably to the said resolutions.

3. That, for the purpose of enabling the trustees to make the several payments hereinbefore mentioned, at the exchequer, at the several periods aforesaid, they should be empowered, from time to time, to sell and dispose of so much of the said annuity as might be necessary for that purpose, but so as that no greater amount of annuity should be sold or disposed of in any one year, than would be sufficient to raise the sums necessary to complete the whole of the payments to be made within the year, or to discharge and pay off

the principal and interest of any exchequer bills which had been issued on account of such pay

ments.

4. That, for the purpose of enabling the trustees the more readily to provide the means necessary for making the payments in the most convenient and economical manner, the commissioners of his majesty's treasury should be empowered to issue to the trustees exchequer bills to an amount not exceeding the sums necessary for completing from time to time the said payments; which exchequer bills, together, with the interest thereupon, should, from time to time be discharged and satisfied by the trustees out of any monies to arise by the sale of the said annuities, or out of the dividends thereof; and that, until such payment, the interest accruing on such Exchequer bills may be paid out of any supplies voted by parliament.

The plan of Mr. Vansittart, thus altered, was infinitely less objectionable, than in its original state. It now amounted to nothing more than the nomination of certain trustees, who were to lend specified sums annually for fifteen years, and who, in each year were to raise the requisite funds either by Exchequer bills or by the sale of annuities. So far, however, as these trustees should actually raise money by the latter means, the plan was evidently nothing more than contracting for a loan by way of annuity. But why should ministers, it was said, appoint one set of trustees to sell annuities, while they employed other commissioners to pay off part of the national debt? Instead of employing new commissioners, the commissioners of the sinking fund

ought to be required to advance the necessary sum, and to receive hereafter the profits of the contract, for the benefit of the sinking fund. In this there would be no expense of management, and no risk; and the proceeding would be intelligible to the world. Accordingly Mr. Hume moved as an amendment on the first resolution, "That the difference between 2,800,000l. and the several sums set forth in the scale for the first 15 years should be taken from the commissioners of the national debt, and that the balance should be paid again to the commissioners, on the 16th and subsequent years.'

Mr. Hume's views were supported by Mr. Ricardo and Mr. Brougham. No reply to their reasonings was attempted; indeed, none could be made, for it was a dry question between what was simple, cheap and intelligible on the one hand, and what was intricate, costly, and confused on the other hand. It would, however, be a disgrace to any professional financier to accomplish his end by direct means; his own dignity is in proportion to the complexity of the machinery which he directs. Mr. Vansittart, therefore, adhered to his resolutions; and his project received the sanction of the legislature. In its progress through the House of Lords the marquis of Lansdown assailed it with the same objection, which Messrs. Hume, Ricardo, and Brougham had employed in the lower House, and, of course, with similar suc

cess.

Another measure, by which a diminution of the public expenditure was to be effected, consisted in the steps which were taken to reduce the salaries of persons employed in the service of the state,

and to make them contribute out of their own emoluments to the formation of a superannuation fund. This subject had long occupied the attention of the government; and on the 11th of March, the chancellor of the exchequer communicated to parliament the result of their deliberations. He stated from the returns furnished from the different offices, viz. the customs (England and Ireland), the tax, post and excise-offices, the stamp-office, &c., that the total amount of the salaries paid to the officers and clerks in these departments was, in May 1821, 1,664,000l.: the number of persons employed was 17,347: the number of individuals receiving superannuation allowances was 1,732; this number being very nearly as 1 to 10, compared with those who remained in actual service. The amount of pensions paid to these persons was 154,6691. being about nine and a quarter per cent upon the amount of salaries to those in actual service; the annual superannuation charge of 154,669l. averaging an allowance to each retired person of about 85l. 9s. or 4s. 8d. per diem.-The offices in the great public departments, as the treasury, the secretary of state offices, the exchequer and state paper office, the colonial office, &c. employed but a small number of persons. The total amount of the persons employed in these offices was 952, at the end of May last; those who received superannuation allowance, 70; or about one-fourteenth of the number remaining in service. The amount of salaries paid to those in service, was 255,000l.; the charge for superannuated allowances, 23,000%. being about 11 per cent on the amount of salaries. The yearly average number of persons em

ployed in these branches of the public service, from 1810 to 1821, was 18,329; the average total of superannuations, under 1,830; their proportion to the number on service, as one to ten and a fraction; and the amount of superannuated allowances compared to that of salaries (the latter being altogether 1,829,000l. and the former 177,000l.) rather more than nine and three-quarters per cent upon the charge for service. The act of 1810 had not been found so favourable to the public interest as had been expected. One of the principal objections to it was, that the period of service, after which superannuations were granted, was too limited, and a very considerable improvement might be effected, by bringing the scale of allowances to correspond with length of service. Accordingly, it was proposed to commence with the period of ten years, and to carry the scale up to 50 years, by regular gradations of five years each. With a view to render superannuations less burthensome to the country, it had been thought advisable, that persons should, during the period of their public service, contribute to the funds out of which their pensions were to be paid, at the rate of 51. per cent on all salaries of and above 100l. per annum, and 21. 10s. per cent on those exceeding 50l. and under 1001. About 10l. per cent upon the amount of the salaries received by persons in the public offices, was the average charge paid to retired clerks. This contribution rate of 51. per cent would relieve the public from about one half of the present charge. With respect to persons who filled certain offices, which on a late revision had been found to be overpaid, it was pro

posed, that on so much of the salaries as was to remain to their successors, 5l. per cent should be paid; and on all excess beyond the scale which was hereafter to be adopted, 10l. per cent; such increased rate of contribution not entitling the possessors of the offices to any larger superannuations than under the scale proposed. If, for instance, there was an office, the salary of which was now settled at 1,000l. per annum, but was hereafter to be rated at 8001. only: It was meant that he who now filled it should pay 5 per cent on the 8007., and 10 per cent on the 2001. of excess beyond the future salary. The right hon. gentleman then enumerated the various measures adopted by government to enforce retrenchment in the public offices, conformable to the principles laid down in 1797; in so doing, he noticed the number of persons employed in the different government offices, the revision about to be adopted, and the sums paid them during the war and since. Thus the salaries of the secretaries of the Treasury, were to be brought down to 3,500l. being nearly the same as they were in 1797, and still nearer what they were so long ago as 1769. About the year 1781, the salaries of the chief clerks were 1,217.; in 1797 they were reduced to 8804; but the holders were allowed certain extra emoluments. It was now intended, that the chief clerks should have 1,200l. a year. In future, the junior clerks were to enter at 100% a year; for the first three years they were to have no increase, but after that time they were to receive an annual increase of 10l. until they arrived at 2001. a year; so that the utmost salary at which such a clerk could arrive

in future, would be 200l. a year, instead of, as under the existing regulations, 520l. For the assistant clerks, those who now received 300l. a year, with allowance for length of service, were to take 300l. a year, without any such allowance, but with an addition of 15l. a year, until they arrived at 500l. As to the office of the secretary of state for the foreign department, it had consisted last year of 31 clerks; this year there were only 30. The minimum of charge for that office would remain, as it was, 18,000l.; but the maximum, which was now 28,000l., would fall to 21,000l. exclusive of the superannuation reduction of 5 per cent, which would apply to the new salaries as well as to the old. A similar revision had been carried through all the departments of government.

Having commented on these reductions at some length, the rt. hon. gentleman further stated, that he had received the king's most gracious command to inform the House, that his majesty had given directions for a reduction of 10 per cent upon the emoluments of such departments of the royal household as contributed more immediately to the personal enjoyments of the sovereign. These were, the keeper of the privy purse, the lord chamberlain, the lord steward, the master of the robes, and the master of the horse; on the charge of whose offices, amounting to 300,000l., the reduction would be 30,000l. The House, said the minister, would not fail gratefully to appreciate this voluntary sacrifice on the part of his majesty, emanating from his great regard to his people. His majesty had, however, farther directed a reduction of 10 per cent upon the

whole

salaries of all offices held during his pleasure, the salaries of which exceeded 500l. a year. Parliament would probably be of opinion that it ought not to be carried lower; and, to places held by patent, it could not, without a special act of parliament, apply. To this reduction of 10 per cent which was granted for five years, the lord chancellor, the cabinet ministers, and the great offices of the household, both in England and Ireland, would be subject. The right hon. gentleman then recapitulated the amount of saving, which he calculated as follows:-Superannuation fund, 12,000l. a year; ditto Revenue department, 66,000l.; New salaries, 15,000l.; 10 per cent on principal offices, 15,000l.; household and civil list, 25,000l.; his majesty's most gracious donation, 30,000l.; making, exclusive of Ireland, 168,000l. In England, the civil officers, exclusive of the revenue, would give a further reduction of 30,000l.; the revenue would probably give 100,000l. making, exclusive of superannuation allowance, 130,000l.; Ireland would give 43,000l. more, making a sum of 173,000l. Upon the whole, it would not be extravagant to expect a saving, present and to come, of 373,000l. a year.

As the existing system of superannuations had been established by law, an act of parliament was now necessary to carry into effect so much of these propositions of Mr. Vansittart, as related to the amount of the superannuation allowances, and the yearly contributions by which a fund was to be provided for them. A bill for this purpose was accordingly introduced, and

* 3 Geo. iv. c. 113.