unnecessary and inexpedient. But he hoped that by adopting the present mode of proceeding, and entering on a discussion not immediately connected with any practical measure, but rather in the nature of an historical review of measures already past, though recent, they should reason with cooler minds, and be much more likely to agree in a result which might at least prevent the repetition of any injurious practices, if not lead to an immediate remedy of mischiefs already effected. Having given a brief sketch of the resources, income, and expenditure of this country, and of the history of taxation from the commencement of the present war in 1793, Mr. Vansittart said, "let me not be misunderstood as being the advocate of excessive or unlimited taxation: I am aware that all taxation is in itself an evil. And I can conceive many circumstances under which I should think the chancellor of the exchequer had acted in the present instance with prudence and judgment." Some of these imaginary cases he stated. But, leaving to the defenders of this measure of saddling the war taxes with the interests of the loan, Mr. Vansittart proceeded to state a few of the numerous objections which induced him to condemn it. In the first place it was a weak and delusive resource which would be speedily exhausted. Secondly, this diversion of the war taxes from the purposes for which they were originally granted by parliament, must occasion a continual and progressive increase of the difficulty of raising the supplies. Thirdly, judging from every circumstance

within our knowledge, and unless a state of things wholly dissimilar from what now exists should take place, our peace establishment must so far exceed whatever had hitherto been known in this country, as to require, in addition to the ordinary revenue, the continuance of as large a portion of the war taxes as could be deemed proper to be supported during peace. The truth of each of these propositions Mr. Vansittart illustrated. It was an objection not less important, though of a totally different nature from any of the preceding, that the system of finance pursued this year, had the strongest possible tendency to encourage prodigality in the public expenditure. It was not less true in public than in private economy, that what is easily acquired is often needlessly spent. It was also the natural bias of every department, and might even proceed from laudable though inconsiderate zeal for the public good, to draw to itself as large a portion of the supplies as possible. If this was not checked (as he feared it could not at present be) by a firm and overruling control at the treasury, it naturally led to a wasteful and indefinite expence. "We are very apt, said Mr. Vansittart, to regard the war taxes simply in the light of a great additional burden; and as such they certainly are felt at first; but it is time to consider them in another point of view, and to compare them with the pecu niary burthens from which they had preserved us." After taking such a comparative view, and shewing the advantages of Mr. Pitt's system of war taxes, Mr. Vansittart said, "such have been the efH 2

fects

to continue, the situation of things would be very different from what it was before. He (sir S. R.) had formerly attempted an improvement on the criminal law of the country. If the house could pass a law to do away temptations to commit crimes, that would be the most effectual mode of improving the criminal code. But what were they now about to do? To pass a law to allow and encourage crimes, by encouraging the temptation to commit them. The most active agents were employed to seduce persons to the commission of the crimes to which lotteries gave birth; and the most ingenious paragraphs in newspapers were invented for the furtherance of this purpose. He could point out paragraphs holding out lures to apprentice boys to embark in this trade, and to begin with their Christmas boxes, under the assurance, that by perseverance they would soon ride in their coaches. These practices were now spred from the capital, to every village in the kingdom. By attempts to render the practices less pernicious, the public would be put off their guard; the system would return with all its pernicious effects. The Chancellor of the Exchequer said, the subject had been discussed over and over again, and that the result had been uniformly in favour of lotteries. Mr. W. Smith considered the bills concerning lotteries as libels on public morals, sanctioned by government. Sir John Newport objected to lotteries as a financial measure. The test of a good tax was, that it put into the exchequer the greater part of what was drawn out of the pockets of

the people. Here, however, the greater part went into the hand of the agent. The resolutions were agreed to, and ordered to be reported.

The question concerning lotteries was again agitated, when Mr. Wharton brought up the report of the committee of ways and means, May the 18th. It would be wholly superfluous, did our limits admit, to enter much further than has been done, into the arguments against lotteries which are reducible to two, namely, that they tended to encourage vice, with its pernicious consequences, both to the individual and the state; and that the profits arising from them to the public had dwindled to the small sum of 300,000l. We cannot refrain, however, from extracting a short paragraph from Mr. Whitbread's speech against lotteries, as it contains a very curious fact. "There was a society existing for the suppression of vice; one of the rules of which was, that no man should be admitted into the fraternity of suppressors of vice, unless he was a member of the established church. This regulation, said Mr. Whitbread, would certainly be highly relished by the no-popery gentlemen. But if they were to set their faces against minor offences, and yet to countenance the lottery, it would be like casting out seven devils from a man, when a legion of other devils were immediately to enter. He believed that there was not a sin pointed at in the decalogue, which was not encouraged by the lottery.

In defence of the lottery, it was observed by sir Thomas Turton,

that

that the sum accruing to governe ment from the annual lottery, was not, as had been stated, 300,0001. only, but, together with stamps, 700,000l. The Chancellor of the Exchequer said, that it had been argued by Mr. Whitbread, that if this species of gambling was put an end to, it would stop all kinds of vice. This was straining the argument too far. The circumstances of misery that had been alluded to, arose not out of lotte ries, but from insurances; and could never be the effect even of insurance, if the lottery was drawn in one day-a period to which he proposed to confine the drawing. If Dr. Mandeville* had been alive, and a member of the honourable house, he would doubtless have made a very ingenious speech on the present occasion. And it might, perhaps, have excited some alarm in weak minds, to find Mr. Perceval voting on the same side with the notorious doctor.

On a division of the house there appeared

For lotteries 90,
Against them 36.

After this, the resolution of the house in favour of a lottery was passed through the remaining stages into a law. So also were the other resolutions moved by the Chancellor of the Exchequer, May 12.

House of Commons, May 24.The house having resolved itself into a committee of ways and means, Mr. Foster stated the annual ways and means for Ireland: which were as follows:

In this statement, Mr. Foster did not venture to estimate the revenue of Ireland at more than four millions and a half, in addition to which, it would be recollected, that a loan had been already voted for the service of Ireland, to be raised in Great Britain, to the amount of three millions British, or about three millions and a quarter Irish: the sum therefore necessary to be provided was that which would be equal to the payment of the interest on that loan. He explained the reasons why he trusted that by the three modes proposed a sum would be raised sufficient for the purpose. By these three modes a sum would be produced of £216,500, which was about £2,000 above what would be required for the purpose intended. This he thought could not give reason for despondence. There had been no falling off in the stamp duties; none in the post office; none in the assessed taxes. On the contrary, each had increased. The only falling off had been in the excise duties, which Mr. Foster ascribed to the measure of prohibiting distilleries in Ireland. By removing the cause, the defalcation would be made good. The situation of the country was, certainly, not in any degree worse than before. The value of the ́exports and imports was greater than it ever had been, Never had there been so great a quantity of yards of linen exported as last year, with the exception of one year a considerable time ago, when it was equalled. It was satisfactory to know, that while the trade of Ireland was thus increasing, the amount of the revenue had

risen much more. The state of the Irish exchange had been such as to shew that money was coming in, instead of going out, having been for almost the whole of last year, under par. Ireland was more affluent than she had ever been heretofore. The increase of the debt had been owing only to the circumstances of the empire for the last two wears; and therefore it was thought more prudent to go on raising the quota of the Irish nation by a debt, than to have raised it by additional taxes. The whole amount of the debt of Ireland was certainly stupendous, it being already no less than seventy-six millions of money, and, at the end of the present session of parliament, it would amount to eighty-one millions-a system under which many thought in former days, Ireland could not have existed. Great attention had been paid to the amelioration of Ireland, by the extension of its trade, and the improvement of its agriculture. By the bounty allowed, there had been thirteen thousand six hundred additional hogsheads of flaxseed brought into Ireland. Bogs had been drained and improved.Mr. Foster, before concluding, mentioned the terms on which the Irish loan had been contracted. Although the legal interest of Ireland was £6, the loan had been contracted at an interest not exceeding in all 4 13s. Old. a circumstance which shewed the affluence of the country. The whole charge of interest and sinking fund did not exceed the sum of £5 17s. Old. per cent. upon the whole of the debt so incurred.Mr. Foster concluded with mov

ing, "That the sum of £1,250,000, Irish currency, be raised by way of annuities for the service of Ire land.

Sir John Newport wished that Mr. Foster's taxes might prove more productive than he could conceive them likely to be. He had one thing to impress upon the minds of the committee, which was, that it was perfectly immaterial what portion of gross revenue was to be raised upon the people, and paid to the treasury, if the expences of the different boards were allowed to go on increasing, as they had done hitherto. What follows calls loudly for serious attention.-Sir John Newport observed, that the incidental expences of the board of excise, in 1806, amounted to £13,000; in 1807, to £36,400; and in 1808, to £104,000; of which last sum there was no less than £29,000 paid to one individual for printing and stationary. This was only aggravating the burthens of the people, without raising any additional public revenue. The gross produce of the stamp duties had increased by £66,000; but there was a defalcation of no less than £44,000 for increased expences. In the post office, too, the expences were on the increase to such a degree, as to suggest the idea, that the nominal addition to the revenue was intended for the purpose of creating jobs, and adding to the burthens, rather than for the good of the public. It was lamentable to look at the funded debt of Ireland. This debt had increased in the proportion of 15 to 4, while the revenue had increased only in the propor

tion of 15 to 8. If the debt of Ireland was raised, like the debt of England, within the country, sir John Newport really thought that a great part of that debt would be done away.

Mr. Foster, with regard to the post office accounts, said, that they never had been settled, since post offices were established. And, as to the expence of the stationary and printing alluded to, it was occasioned by the division of the board of excise into two, by which a completely new collection of books had become necessary.That the expence should increase, it was natural to suppose, as there were fourteen commissioners instead of seven. The new arrangement of the post office must also have occasioned considerable additions to the incidental expences, but the public would soon be able to reap the benefit of them.

Mr. Parnell observed, that the nett addition to the revenue by the post office, had been stated at £68,000. But he had found, on enquiry, that the postage of one board amounted to £13,000. Now, if each board increased their expences in a like proportion, the aggregate expence would amount to £39,000, leaving the 29,000, to be received by the public. He could not help thinking, that the great principle of the revenue of Ireland was overlooked in the desire of extensive patronage, by the appointment of officers, so as to deprive the Irish treasury board of its power, and placing it in the hands of the secretary of the Lord Lieutenant. He was satisfied, that until an alteration in this particular took place, and the treasury

board