fact, the property of the public creditor, and no other had a right to meddle with it. Another article which Mr. Sheridan thought objectionable as a farther taxation, was malt.

DECEMBER 16.

WAYS AND MEANS.

The Speaker put the question, "That the report of the committee be now brought up," a debate ensued. Mr. Pitt said, he did not understand that there was any intention to object to the report being brought up, and the resolutions read a second time; he hoped, therefore, no gentleman would then divide the house. He subsequently declared, in answer to Mr. Fox, that he had not objected to going into the discussion, and taking the sense of the house. He was willing so to do, indeed, if any gentleman chose to combat any one of the resolutions, he had it not in his power to prevent it.

Mr. SHERIDAN remarked, that it was very kind in the right honorable gentleman to suffer them to do their duty; but, if the right honorable gentleman considered the matter rightly, he would see that proceeding then in the very first instance to oppose the intended tax on malt was acting handsomely by him; because if it should appear that many gentlemen were against it, the sooner it was known the more time the right honorable gentleman would have to look for and provide a substitute for the tax on malt. Mr. Sheridan added, that there was always something alarming and suspicious in the rapidity with which the right honorable gentleman endeavored to hurry his tax bills through the house, year after year; he ever would oppose that rapidity, and in the present case, he would certainly meet it with his negative. The argument respecting the tax lay in a nut-shell. It was plain, as the public brewery (those who brewed for sale) were not to be affected, the whole weight and operation of the intended tax would fall upon the private brewery, and thereby very deeply attack and distress the poorer order of the people. So much would this be felt, that every

county in the kingdom, he was persuaded, were time allowed, would petition the house, and instruct their representatives to oppose it. An honorable gentleman who spoke early (Mr. Duncombe), by the latter part of his speech, seemed to think that the lovers of beer all lived in Yorkshire. The honorable gentleman was mistaken; many of them, Mr. Sheridan said, were to be found at Stafford, and he believed they were distributed with tolerable equality throughout the country. He should, therefore, think it his duty to oppose the resolution.

The report was brought up, and the resolutions were read a first time, and agreed to; they were then read a second time, and a question put upon each severally. When Mr. Hatsell came to the resolution, stating the new malt tax,

Mr. Powys objected to it, and desired to know whether Mr. Pitt meant to propose his bill to continue longer in force than one year?

Mr. Pitt answered most certainly. He agreed that it would be desirable that the additional tax on malt should cease, as soon as its expected produce could be spared; and, therefore, he meant that it should cease as soon as £80,000 of exchequer bills should be paid off, which he computed would take place in about two years.

Mr. Sheridan remarked, that however trivial the intended addition might prove, it must always be granted that a number of trifling augmentations aggregately swelled to a gross encrease and an intolerable oppression. They had gone so far already, that another small matter of addition would turn the scale; and, therefore, the attempt to make any addition ought to be resisted. With regard to the duration of the act, he repeated his assertion of the preceding day, that the right honorable gentleman deceived himself in imagining the taxes would be temporary only;-once passed, they must be permanent. The right honorable gentleman would find he could not do without them. The subject, of course, ought to be treated with great gravity, and most deliberate attention. If the new taxes actually turned out more productive than was expected, they could tell, from experience, what would be the con

duct of the right honorable gentleman; what he had done already, there was reason to expect he might do again; make a most dangerous use of the surplus, and be guilty of the most blameable appropriation of it, by expending the money in effecting the purposes of a dissolution of parliament, or by encreasing our peace establishments. Instead, therefore, of the bills being precipitated with the shameful rapidity which had characterised all the right honorable gentleman's measures of importance, that house ought to examine the state of our finances, and compare our actual receipt with our actual expenditure; they would then find that the latter greatly exceeded the former; and they would see, likewise, that the malt tax had fallen short considerably for the last year, which was the strongest proof of the impolicy of loading the article with an additional duty. Mr. Sheridan then read a paper from the table, exemplifying his statement; according to which, taking the malt and land tax at 2,500,000l., he made the expenditure exceed the income above a million; and he asserted that Mr. Pitt had taken advantage of all the new taxes, to the amount of more than half a million, since the year 1786.

Mr. Steele asserted, that Mr. Sheridan's history of taxes, imposed since 1786, was erroneous from beginning to end.

Mr. Sheridan declared, that he could not sit silent under the charge of having attempted to deceive the house; and, therefore, he referred to the report of 1786 itself, and cited the articles of public income from that document, challenging a contradiction; and saying, he should be sorry to have Mr. Steele pay the proffered penalty of his pledge (never opening his lips again), though he certainly would find that he must do it, if the house should insist on it, when the day of trial should arrive. Mr. Sheridan added, that nearly 400,000l. had been raised by taxes, since the report of 1786 was made.

The house divided; ayes 116; noes 45.

DECEMBER 21.

ADDITIONAL DUTY ON MALT BILL.

The order of the day having been read for the second reading of the bill for laying an additional duty on malt ;—it was moved "that the bill be now read a second time.

Mr. SHERIDAN declared that, in his opinion, the right honorable gentleman (Mr. Pitt) had not offered one argument of sufficient weight to refute the many strong objections which had been so forcibly urged by different gentleman that day. An honorable gentleman, (Mr. Drake) had spoken very feelingly, and painted scenes which had convinced him, that the poorest people in the kingdom, were those who stood most in need of friends in that house. Of the truth of that sentiment, Mr. Sheridan said, he had long been convinced, and he should be extremely happy to see the fact reversed. The honorable gentleman, however, had recommended it to the Chancellor of the Exchequer, to give up the additional tax on malt, lest, that among the poor orders of the people, the downfall of the minister should become a prevalent toast. As the people in the county, the chief town of which he had the honor to represent, would be very materially affected by the tax; Mr. Sheridan said, he had little doubt, if the right hon. gentleman persisted in obstinately adhering to it, that toast was most likely to be adopted and recorded on the pottery of Mr. Wedgwood. The honorable gentleman, he observed, had said, the tax was to be but temporary ;-but malt was the very worst article that could have been chosen for a temporary tax, since the malt duty had, within the last two or three years, fallen considerably short of its produce. Formerly it raised 750,000l. whereas by the different oppressions imposed of late years, through the medium of additional duties, the sum produced, had, by degrees, sunk, year after year. As to the connection be

tween the taxes and the subject of the convention, the right honorable gentleman must permit him to say, that when they were laying fresh burdens on the people, they, on that side of the house, who had all along argued against the cause and the consequences of the message to parliament, last session; --who had contended that what had happened, did not call for so high toned a language as had been used-that the subject of the quarrel did not justify the expenses and preparations which had been gone into and got in readiness; and that the convention was the worst convention ever made; they could not be expected to admit the taxes proposed were to be received implicitly, and all objection smothered on account of that measure, which having taken place, rendered new taxes indispensably necessary. With regard to a tax on dogs, proposed by an honorable gentleman behind him, (Mr. Coke) although what had fallen from that gentleman did credit to his disinterestedness, Mr. Sheridan said, he was persuaded such a tax was not practicable; but there were, he had no doubt, other taxes to be found, which would prove less liable to objection, and, at the same time, would raise the deficiency which giving up the malt tax would occasion. For that, and the various objections which had been stated by different gentlemen, he really wished the right hon. gentleman would consent to forego the addition to the malt tax; and as he was thoroughly persuaded, that when it was properly considered, it would be seen in the light in which he had placed it, as a tax likely to be attended with many bad consequences, he had designed to submit a motion, "That the bill be read that day six months;" but he would only move to amend the motion, by leaving out the word "now," and inserting the words "Monday, the 7th of February."

The house divided—the numbers were, that the word "now,” stand part of the question; ayes 126; noes 91; the bill was then read a seond time.