believe that it was not his serious intention of bringing it on; and they had in consequence absented themselves, though they would otherwise willingly have been present. There was another reason why the consideration of the bill should be put off. The right honorable gentleman had, indeed, laid information upon the table, but he had not moved that it should be printed; and certainly, if he had intended that this information should have been perused, and considered by the members, he ought to have made the motion. Mr. Sheridan conceived that it should now be printed, and the Easter holidays would afford members an opportunity of taking it into consideration, so that they might be better prepared to state their opinions. There was still another reason why he considered delay as necessary, not only to the house, but to the right honorable gentleman. It was not, till lately, he understood, that the very persons had not been consulted in this business who were most interested, and best qualified to give information. It was certainly requisite, in forming any new system of government, to obtain the most perfect acquaintance with all the particulars of the situation of those who were to be governed, as well as to pay the utmost attention to their opinions with regard to the nature of the regulations which ought to be adopted. It might appear proper to consult those who were to be governed, beforehand, as it was certainly desirable that every government should meet the wishes of its subjects. It was politic, as people were most sensible of their own wants, as they might be supposed to be acquainted with the causes from which they rose, and qualified to point out the means of remedying them. By some strange neglect, however, the right honorable gentleman had not communicated on the subject with those very people from whom he was most likely to have received information and advice.

The re-commitment was adjourned to the 6th May.

MAY 18.

WAYS AND MEANS.

Mr. Pitt having stated the articles of expenditure, and of ways and means of the year,

Mr. SHERIDAN objected, on general grounds, to the right honorable gentleman's (Mr. Pitt) statement, but he admitted that the day was at last arrived when he could agree with the right honorable gentleman, that the report of the committee of finance was as fair a report as could be expected. There were, Mr. Sheridan said, certain omissions on both sides of the account, which would not have happened had he had the honour of being a member of the committee, and to which he objected; but as he meant to name the first vacant day for discussing it, it was not his intention to go into it then; he would barely remark that the report coincided with every word he had ever troubled the house with on the subject. The committee had stated their report with great candour and great accuracy, and the result, Mr. Sheridan said, was, that it was evident His Majesty's ministers had, since the year 1786, gone on with such encreasing prodigality, that the new report, so far from confirming what the report of the committee of 1786 gave the house to expect, viz. that they would be that day voting the nent peace establishment as they stated it, stated, that in 1791 they were actually called on to vote half a million more, which, with the increase of the casual expenses, made a difference of 1,300,000%. more than they were given to imagine would be the expenditure of the present year. Mr. Sheridan said, he did admit that there had been an increase of income within the last year, but gentlemen must not go away with the idea that the expenditure had not greatly exceeded what the revenue committee of 1786 taught them to expect would be the expendi

perma

ture of the present year. Before, therefore, they adopted the report of the new committee, the alarming circumstance that he had mentioned ought to be explained to the country. Mr. Sheridan, in the course of his speech referred to Mr. Steele's argument on a former day, and supported his assertion, by stating the particulars on which he rested it, viz. that there was a permanent increase of 500,000l. on the total amount of the expenses of the army, navy, ordnance, and miscellaneous services; and 800,000l. arising from incidental and casual expenses. He added that we had paid off annuities of 200,000l. a year, and added a permanent increase of 500,0007. a year to the national expendi

ture.

Mr. Pitt expressed his satisfaction at the honorable gentleman's declaration, that he would name a separate day for the discussion of the subject; because, if the honorable gentleman, or any other, entertained doubts upon the report of the committee, or on any part of what he had stated that day, it certainly would be better to discuss those doubts on some particular day, than in a conversation, when another and a different topic was under consideration. With regard to the allusion to what had been said by his honorable friend (Mr. Steele) on a former day, he was very confident his honorable* friend never did state the permanent revenue as likely to be that, which the honorable gentleman had just imputed to his honorable friend; but the amount of his honorable friend's argument had been that in case the expenditure should, from accidental circumstances, increase, the income of the country would proportionably increase, so that the public receipt would at all times cover the public expendiMr. Pitt proceeded to observe, that there was no part of the subject which was not familiar to the house, and which had not been debated again and again, in every session since the year 1786. He declared himself happy, however, that the honorable gentleman agreed with him in giving due praise to the candour, the fairness, and the accuracy of the committee of finance, as exemplified in their report. As to the amount of the expenditure, the honorable gentleman, he observed, had stated, that there was an increase of permanent establishment of 500,000l.; in answer to which, he must declare, that much of that increase was not to be considered as expenses which would be permanent, but as charges that were accidentally incurred. These charges Mr. Pitt stated, and particularly mentioned 201,000l. for necessaries in our dock-yards, which would of course operate as a saving in future. In answer to the extraordinary manner in which the honorable gentleman had commented on other parts of the subject, so as to make up his alleged increase of 1,300,000l., he must, he said,

ture.

be indulged with a few words. He then went into a detail of the whole expenditure; and concluded with observing, that Mr. Sheridan included in his excess the deficiencies of the land and malt, and the sum destined for the American loyalists.

Mr. Sheridan begged leave to say a few words in reply, and he declared, they should be a very few words. Referring to the report of the committee of revenue of 1786, he shewed, that the report of the committee of 1791, in the statement of the expenditure, directly contradicted what the report of the committee of 1786 taught them to look forward to, as the probable peace establishment in the year 1791. Another word, he said, he must utter, with regard to the challenge given by the honorable friend (Mr. Steele) of the right honorable gentleman. The latter denied his right honorable friend had given any such challenge or pledge, as he had expressly stated when the subject was last the ground of debate, and seemed to treat it as a ridiculous thing, that his honorable friend, or any of his honorable friends, could have attempted to justify the report of 1786. Mr. Sheridan observed, that the Chancellor of the Exchequer had himself admitted an excess of 380,000l. in three articles only, exclusive of the miscellaneous articles; and, therefore, he contended he had a right to say, that there was a half million increase on the permanent establishment. It was, he declared, a point on which he should particularly insist, and it ought not to be slurred over; but the country, should know precisely, how the case stood. They had, he said, brought up annuities of 200,000l. and incurred a permanent debt of 3,000,000l. The fact was, the subject had been delusively stated, and glossed over, in order to appear well in the eyes of the public,and so he had ever contended; but it had never been admitted at all, that any part of what he disputed was found before that day; whereas, from what the right honorable gentleman had himself said that day, it was evident to the committee, he

had been correct in all he had advanced. Mr. Sheridan before he concluded, went into particulars to prove his assertions, and desired the committee to attend to the whole of them in forming their opinion on the subject.

Mr. Pitt, in reply, again detailed the principal articles of the expenditure, in order to prove that the honorable gentleman was completely mistaken.

Mr. Sheridan got up once more, to answer several parts of Mr. Pitt's last argument. He admitted, that a great cause of the increase was to be imputed to unforeseen circumstances; such as the provision for the younger part of the royal family, which he declared he highly approved; but he contended that every year would bring with it its amount of casual and incidental expenses, which ought to be allowed for, and, therefore, it was incumbent on them to inform the country of the real truth, and not delude the people, by telling them that this year there would be such a surplus, and next year a greater, when the chance was entirely the other way. Mr. Sheridan mentioned the finishing of Carlton House, which would occasion another increase, and to which the house was committed, having promised to provide for it-the Prince having no interest to provide for it, &c. and, therefore, it must soon come under consideration. He also adverted to the debt from Holland, and said, if the payments by instalments, were applied to the expenditure instead of extinguishing the public debt, the whole of that loan must be added to the amount of the national expenditure.

Mr. Pitt's resolutions were put, and agreed to; and the house being resumed, the report was ordered to be brought up on the next day.