the purchase of life annuities, were to be cancelled from and after the 5th of April 1823; and the interest or dividends, which would have been due and payable on such capital stock or annuities upon and after the said 5th of April, were to cease to be issued from, or charged upon the consolidated fund. For the future there was to be set apart and issued out of the consolidated fund, to be placed to the account of the commissioners for the reduction of the national debt, the annual sum of 5,000,000l. to be applied by them towards the reduction of the national debt; which sum was to be charged upon the consolidated fund, and issued by equal quarterly payments; the first quarterly payment to be charged upon the said consolidated fund on the 5th of April 1823.

The bill likewise repealed so much of two acts of the 53rd and 56th years of his late majesty, relating to the redemption of the national debt, as required, that, whenever such an amount of capital funded debt of Great Britain and Ireland respectively should have been transferred to the commissioners, as should be equal to the whole capital, and which should have produced an interest or yearly dividend equal in amount to the whole annual charge in perpetual annuities of each loan contracted since 1786, a certificate and declaration thereof should be made by the commissioners, and the amount of the public debt to which such certificate and declaration should relate, should from time to time be deemed to be wholly satisfied and discharged, and an equal amount of capital stock, standing in the names of the said commissioners, should be considered to be redeemed, and should from time to time be can

celled. To regulate the amount of the sinking fund, it was provided, that no capital stock, or annuities for terms of years, which, after the 5th of April 1823, should be placed in the names of the commissioners, in the books of the Banks of England or Ireland, or of the South Sea company, should be cancelled (except the stock placed in their names for the redemption of the land tax), until the interest of the debt redeemed by the application of the said sum of 5,000,000l. and of the growing interest thereof, should, together with the said sum, have accumulated to a sum, the annual amount whereof should not be less than the one-hundredth part of the then existing unredeemed funded and outstanding unfunded debt in exchequer bills unprovided for, taken together; and that any capital stock or annuities for terms of years, which should be placed in the names of the said commissioners on account of the sinking fund, or for the purchase of life annuities, after that fund should amount to the one hundredth part of the unredeemed funded and unfunded debts taken together, should be liable to be cancelled at such times and in such manner as parliament should from time to time direct. A separate account was to be kept in the books of the Bank of England, of the sums already given by way of donation or bequest towards reducing the national debt, and of all sums which should thereafter be given or bequeathed for the like purpose, and the interest or dividends which should accrue on all stock arising therefrom were to be applied in the purchase of public annuities, composing the national debt, for the purpose of fulfilling the directions of the person or per

sons giving or bequeathing the same, and to no other purpose whatever.

This bill excited much discussion in the House of Commons. It was opposed on two grounds. Some resisted it on the principle, that no sinking fund ought to exist, and that any surplus of revenue which we might enjoy, ought to be applied forthwith in a remission of taxes. Others, among whom were Mr. Baring, and Mr. Ricardo, approving of the substance of the bill, thought, that, as the real surplus of revenue was three millions, and not five millions, the present amount of the sinking fund should be taken at the former sum and no more. An amendment to that effect, proposed by Mr. Baring, was rejected by only 100 to 72.

The true statement of the case is that the country, comparing the actual receipts and expenditure, had a surplus of five millions, but two millions of that sum were obtained by our making permanent, during 45 years, a head of charge which otherwise would have sunk to little or nothing, long before that time: in other words, our nominal expenditure did not include the whole actual charge of the year, but part of that charge was met by a loan which was to be repaid by a long annuity.

The bill passed through the lords without any division.

No discussion, exciting any interest, was produced by the estimates of the different departments; though Mr. Hume was still assiduous in pointing out supposed possible minute reductions.

On the 2nd of July, the chancellor of the Exchequer opened the budget. He had stated, at the commencement of the session, that the total amount of the supply would be VOL. LXV.

about 16,600,000l.; but it was now found to exceed that sum by 2 or 300,000l. This excess arose, not from any increase in the estimates for the army, the navy, or the ordnance, but wholly under the head Miscellaneous Expenses; and the items, which caused it, were such as had not entered into his contemplation, when he at the commencement of the session addressed the House on the subject. One of these items was a vote of nearly 60,000l. for the Stationery Office, and was rendered necessary in consequence of arrangements lately made for supplying the public de partments with stationery, which, though attended with an extra charge at present, would afterwards conduce to great economy. Formerly, each department provided itself with whatever stationery it thought necessary; but an alteration had been made, by which no stationery was to be furnished, except according to par ticular samples approved of by the Stationery Office. By that means, the total expense (which antecedently was divided among the different public departments) would come under one head. And although an increase appeared at present in the expense of the Stationery Office, there would be a corresponding saving in the expenses of all the departments under the head of contingencies. The full advantages of this alteration would not be felt this year, as the navy and military departments had provided themselves with stationery, before the new arrangement took place; but next year the public would derive considerable benefit from it. Another item, which he had not anticipated at the commencement of the session, was, the grant for erecting buildings for the []

reception of his majesty's library. There was also 40,000l. for the harbour of Dunleary; and 15,000l. for facilitating emigration from Ireland. These were the items, which increased the supply beyond the anticipated amount, and raised it to 16,976,743l. There was, however, more than a corresponding increase in the amount of the ways and means. The way, in which these expenses were met, was by three millions of what, in the printed papers, were, by mistake, termed annual malt taxes, though they were, in reality, duties on sugar and other articles. Then there was the lottery, 200,000l.; 126,873, repayment by exchequer-bill loan commissioners; and the amount of naval and military pensions, 4,800,000l. The next item was 90,000l. to be paid by the East India Company, on account of half-pay and pensions, which required some explanation. As the East India Company had a large portion of the British troops employed in protecting their territory, it had appeared reasonable that they should defray some part of the half-pay and pensions, with which the country was chargeable on account of the army. There was some difficulty in fixing the fair proportion, which the company ought to pay; because many of those who were pensioned, or put on half-pay, while their regiments were in the East Indies, might have become entitled to those pensions, or to half-pay, before they had gone to that part of the world.

The arrangement ultimately concluded was, that the East India Company should pay 60,000l. a year; and as they had agreed to commence their payments from May, 1822, a sum of 90,000l. was thus disposable for the present year.

The next item was a surplus of Ways and Means of 469,0471. not called for by the expenses of past years. There was also a surplus on the Consolidated Fund of 8,760,000l. The annual income of the Consolidated Fund might be taken at 46,000,000l., and the charges at 38,000,000l. Of the latter sum, 28,000,000l. was for the charge of the Funded Debt; 2,000,000l. for the expenses of the Civil list and other charges; 2,800,000l. for the payment of the half-pay and pension annuities; and 5,000,000l. for the Sinking Fund; which, with a few small items, amounted in the whole to 38,500,000l. A surplus thus remained of about eight millions. The chancellor of the Exchequer, in making this statement, took as a criterion, not the receipts either of the last year or of the current year, but the probable receipts of next year, after deducting the amount of taxes repealed during the present session. The result of the whole was, that the Ways and Means for this year amounted to 17,385,920/., and the total amount of the Supply was only 16,976,7431. Thus, no less a surplus than 409,1777. remained unappropriated; 244,150. of which, it was intended to apply to the decrease of the unfunded debt. The chancellor of the Exchequer, owing to the late alterations in the distillery, had, in the foregoing statement, calculated on a loss of revenue from spirits; he had no doubt, however, but that deficiency would be soon compensated. Besides this, another surplus existed to meet passing contingencies; for the assessed taxes were nearly two quarters in ar rear, and three quarters would soon be received, which would leave an additional surplus. The