encountered; it was true, that the tontine had been for some time at a discount, but it ought to be recollected, that when it first came into the market, it bore a premium; taking, therefore, both these matters into consideration, the subscribers might not have sustained so much loss as the right honorable gentleman seemed to wish to impress the committee with an idea of. In fact, the more they thought upon the business, the more the difficulty of doing equal justice would be found to be, and he feared that it must ultimately be acknowledged to be insurmountable. The right honorable gentleman had made three propositions; first, that relief should be given to the original subscribers; next, that the public should be no losers by affording that relief; and lastly, that the present holders of shares should have the same advantages secured to them, as they had a right to look for when they nominated to the said shares. It was, he admitted, clearly made out, that the first object would be answered by the right honorable gentleman's plan-that the original subscribers would be relieved, and also that the public would not be losers; but it did not, Mr. Sheridan said, appear to him that the present holders of shares would have the public faith kept with them, or that they would remain in as advantageous a situation as they had a right to expect, considering the conditions of the tontine at the time when they subscribed for shares. Mr. Sheridan explained the grounds of his opinion, by stating, that if the commissioners of the Treasury were to nominate to such shares of the tontine as should be vacant in October, they naturally would not name bad lives, but the very best which they could select ; and in that case the holders of shares, who might chuse to keep their shares, would not stand the same advantageous chance as they would, in all probability, have stood, had lives been promiscuously nominated, according to the original plan, when some purchasers of shares would have nominated them

selves, others their children, others their connections and friends, as their own views of their individual interests, their whim, their vanity, their self-love, or any other prevalent motive of their minds might have dictated, and regulated them in their choice.

Mr. Pitt expressed his belief, that if the honorable gentleman had examined his own objection, he could not but be of opinion that he would find that it did not apply.

Mr. Sheridan answered, that he had stated a difficulty, not an objection; and the more it was examined, the more insurmountable he was convinced it would be found. He then re-urged his argument; and after asserting, that unless each individual holder of a share of the tontine would come and signify his consent to the proposed plan, he should consider the holders of shares in general to be injured, declared that he would reserve any further discussion of the subject till the bill should be before the house.

The question was put, and the resolution agreed to.

MAY 28.

TONTINE BILL.

The order of the day for the second reading of this bill having been moved to be discharged,

Mr. SHERIDAN expressed his hopes that he might, fortunately, make some impression upon the right honorable gentleman (Mr. Pitt), when he declared, that the more he considered the nature of the bill, the more he was convinced that the precedent would prove dangerous, and not to be reconciled to the great object of securing the original holders of shares in the tontine, who meant to adhere to their shares. If gentlemen would turn their attention to it, he was convinced they would see that it ought to be rejected, and therefore, he trusted that the right honorable gentleman would not at

tempt to move that the bill be committed before the ensuing Tuesday or Wednesday.

Mr. Pitt imagined that the_honorable gentleman_had_not_been present in the house, the preceding day, or he would have heard him state, that, as he conceived whatever objections there might be against the bill, they would go rather to the regulations it contained, and the application of the principle of the bill, than to the principle itself; he meant to move that it be committed the approaching Tuesday.

JUNE 2.

TONTINE BILL.

The report of the committee on this bill having been brought up, the amendments were read a first and second time, and several new ones proposed.

Mr. SHERIDAN persisted in his idea, that if the situation of the original contributors to the tontine, and holders of shares were changed at all, no matter whether from good or worse, it was an insurmountable objection; and that, before the house adopted the principle of the bill, they ought to be assured that each individual, interested as he had described, gave his assent to the conditions which the bill tended to authorize and enforce. Mr. Sheridan proposed that the names of the subscribers who should, at the period of nomination, be found desirous of adhering to their shares, should be taken to fill up the vacancies in the several classes.

Mr. Pitt contended that the honorable gentleman's proposition would, on the very grounds on which they had been so long arguing, be liable to the greatest objection of any, as, in that case, the original contributors to the tontine, and the holders of shares, must be deprived of the chance of running against the lives of others promiscuously nominated, and be forced to run against themselves.

At length, the several new clauses and amendments were agreed to, and the bill, with the amendments, ordered to be engrossed, and read a third time.

DECEMBER 15.

WAYS AND MEANS.

Mr. SHERIDAN observed that, on the present occasion, he felt himself unusually happy to give the right honorable gentleman (Mr. Pitt) his sincere praise for the general outline of his plan, for the speedy extinction of the three millions necessary to be raised to pay off the expense of the late armament. He assured the right honorable gentleman that he had done no more than justice to that side of the house, in thinking that they would give their support to such a necessary measure. Whatever difference of opinion there might be on particular topics, whether some of them might think on the subject of that armament, either that it was not necessary, and that there had been no reason to have talked to Spain in so haughty and menacing a tone; whether other gentlemen might deem the armament necessary, but the satisfaction obtained inadequate, or whether others again might consider the conduct of the right honorable gentleman as spirited and proper, and that the convention was an excellent one, and likely to prove a source of endless advantage; let the contrarieties of opinion be what they might, the right honorable gentleman, he was persuaded, would find but one sentiment in the house on the subject of his proposed plan. And as those who sat near him had often stated, that nothing was so necessary as to meet the exigency of the moment in a firm, manly way, to look our difficulties at all times in the face, to bring them forward without disguise, and call upon the house to provide for them to their full extent; now, as the advice was taken, they would cheerfully assist in sharing the disagreeable task of imposing fresh burthens on the people, convinced as they were that however the mode of incurring the expense might be wrong, the expense, once incurred, must be paid.

He could have wished, however, that the right honorable gentleman had not stated part of his taxes as temporary taxes. He really feared the right honorable gentleman had not sufficiently considered the state of the revenue, or, he conceived, he never could have persuaded himself that after the taxes were once imposed they could be taken off. For his own part, he was anxious for an examination every year into the state of the public receipt and expenditure. He had taken the paper up, and saw that the present income of the country was fifteen million eight hundred thousand pounds, including malt, land tax, &c., and the last year's expenditure made up to Midsummer last, amounted to seventeen millions; he lamented that one great object of resource was entirely overlooked; an economical attention to our expenditure, and a reduction of our establishments; instead of this, with alliances, and under circumstances the most favorable to reduction, with a neighbouring nation, who, by a change in their government, enjoyed the blessings of freedom, more inclined to be our friends than our enemies, and at a time of apparently perfect security, we were, year after year, encreasing our establishments. As to the taxes proposed, the right honorable tleman's situation was at present so difficult, that it was almost unjustifiable to oppose any taxes; but he really wished that before the right honorable gentleman thought of taking the 500,000l. from the bank, he would consult the Bank Directors on that subject, because he feared the meddling with any money issued to pay the public creditor, would affect the public credit. With regard to the comparison made by the honorable gentleman who spoke last, between the public and the bank, and a private individual and his banker, the honorable gentleman was totally mistaken; a private individual might certainly take his money from his banker's, and the reason why he might do so was, because the money was his own; but the money in the bank was, in

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