MR. VANSITTART'S NEW PLAN OF FINANCE-STATE OF THE FINANCES, AND THE SINKING FUND OF GREAT BRITAIN.

March 3, 1813.

The House having resolved itself into a Committee of the whole House, the Chancellor of the Exchequer opened his new Plan of Finance, and concluded with reading the following Resolutions :—

1. "That the total capital of the Funded Debt of Great Britain, on the 5th of January, 1786, was 238,231,2487. 5s. 23d.; that provision was made for the gradual reduction thereof, by an Act passed in the same year; and that further provision has been made by several Acts since passed, for the more effectual reduction of the said debt, and of the public debt since contracted.

2. "That by virtue of the said Acts, the sum of 238,350,1437. 18s. Id. exceeding the said sum of 238,231,2481. 5s. 23d., by 118,8957. 12s. 10d. had, on or before the 1st of March, 1813, been actually purchased by the Commissioners for the Reduction of the National Debt, or transferred to the said Commissioners, for the redemption of land-tax, or for the purchase of life-annuities.

3. "That it is expedient now to declare, that a sum of capital stock, equal to the total capital of the public debt existing on the said 5th January, 1786, hath been purchased or transferred as aforesaid; and, so soon as further sums of the public debt shall have been so purchased or transferred, making, in the whole, an amount of annual charge of the public debt so purchased or transferred, equal to the whole annual charge of the public debt existing on the said 5th day of January, 1786; to declare further, that an amount of public debt, equal to the whole capital and charge of the public debt existing on the said 5th day of January, 1786, hath been satisfied and discharged; and that, in like manner, an amount of public debt equal to the capital and charge of every loan contracted since the said 5th January, 1786, shall, successively and in its proper order, be deemed and declared to be wholly satisfied and discharged, when and as soon as a further amount of capital stock, not less than the capital of such loan, and producing an interest equal to the dividends thereupon, shall be so redeemed or transferred.

4. "That, after such declaration as aforesaid, the capital stock purchased by the said Commissioners, and standing in their names in the books of the Governor and Company of the Bank of England, and of the South-Sea Company, shall from time to time be cancelled, as if the same had been transferred for the redemption of land-tax; at such times, and in such proportions, not exceeding the amount of debt so declared to be satisfied and discharged (after reserving thereout any sum or sums necessary to make provision for the payment of all Life Annuities chargeable thereupon) as shall be directed by any Act or Acts of Parliament to be passed for such purpose; in order to make provision for the charge of any loan or loans thereafter to be contracted, upon the same funds or securities as are chargeable with the said stock, so declared to be satisfied and redeemed.

5. "That, in order more effectually to secure the redemption of the Public Debt, conformably to the provisions of the Act of the 32d Geo. III. cap. 55, it is expedient to enact, that all sums granted for the reduction thereof, by the several Acts aforesaid, should be further continued and made applicable to the reduction of all Public Debt now existing, or which may be hereafter contracted, during the pre

sent war.

6. "That, in order to carry into effect the provisions of the Acts of the 32d and 42d of the King, for redeeming every part of the National Debt within the period of forty-five years from the time of its creation, it is also expedient that, in future, whenever the amount of the sum tó be raised, by loan, or by any other addition to the public funded debt, shall in any year exceed the sum estimated to be applicable in the same year to the reduction of the Public Debt, an annual sum, equal to one-half of the interest of the excess of the said loan or other addition, beyond the sum so estimated to be applicable, shall be set apart out of the monies composing the Consolidated Fund of Great Britain, and shall be issued at the receipt of the Exchequer, to the Governor and Company of the Bank of England, to be by them placed to the account of the Commissioners for the reduction of the National Debt; and upon the remainder of such loan or other addition, the annual sum of one per cent. on the capital thereof, according to the provisions of the said Act of the 32d year of his present Majesty.

7. "That, in order to prevent the increase of the Public Debt by means of Exchequer Bills annually renewed, it is expedient that, on the 5th of January in every year, an account be taken of all Exchequer Bills outstanding and charged upon funds not deemed capable of

making good the same, within one year from such 5th of January, and that a sum equal to one per cent. thereupon be granted out of the supplies of such year, to the said Commissioners for the reduction of the National Debt.

8. "That it is expedient that so much of the Act passed in the 42d year of the reign of his present Majesty (42d Geo. III. cap. 71), as directs that all monies whatever, which shall be placed from time to time to the account of the said Commissioners, by virtue of either of the therein recited Acts, except so far as the same are hereby repealed, or by virtue of this Act, shall and are hereby appropriated, and shall accumulate in manner directed by the said Acts, for the reduction of the National Debt of Great Britain; and shall be from time to time applied by the said Commissioners, pursuant to the di rections, and under and according to the restrictions and provisions of the said therein recited Acts; either in payment for the redemption, or in the purchase of the several redeemable public annuities of Great Britain, until the whole of the perpetual redeemable annuities, now charged upon the publie funds of Great Britain, including such charge as has arisen, or may arise, on any loan made in Great Britain, before the passing of this Act; and also such charge as shall arise by any annuities, interests, and dividends, payable in consequence of any loans made chargeable on the Consolidated Fund, by an Act passed in this session of Parliament, intituled, An Act for repealing the duties on income, for the effectual col'lection of arrears of the said duties, and accounting for the same, and for charging the annuities specifically charged thereon upon the Consolidated Fund of Great Britain,' shall have been completely redeemed or purchased, should be repealed.

9." That it is expedient to make provision, that an annual sum of 867,9637., being equal to one per cent. on the capital stock created in respect of several Loans raised by virtue of divers Acts passed in the 38th, 39th, 40th and 42d years of His present Majesty, and for the interest and charges of which, provision was made in the said 42d year of His Majesty, shall be set apart out of the monies composing the Consolidated Fund of Great Britain, and shall be issued at the receipt of the Exchequer, to the Governor and Company of the Bank of England, to be by them issued to the Commissioners for the reduction of the National Debt.

10. "That it is expedient to make further provisions for the more effectual and speedy redemption of the Land Tax.”

Mr. Vansittart then offered the first Resolution to the Chairman, that the discussion might be regularly opened, and moved the adjournment of the debate till the 15th.

Mr. HUSKISSON said, that he for one acceded to the postponement of the discussion upon the plan of his right honourable friend until a future day; and as he did not understand that plan, he should for the present carefully abstain from any comment upon it, further than this;-that it appeared to him, upon the face of it, to be the most important change in the financial arrangements of the country that had ever been proposed, in the course of a long and eventful' war. He should look at the proposed plan in the spirit of candour; and if he troubled the House more at length at a future period, it should not be until he had made himself acquainted with all its details.

March 25.

In consequence of the indisposition of Mr. Vansittart, the debate was further adjourned to this day; when, the House having again resolved into a Committee, Mr. Lushington in the chair,

Mr. HUSKISSON rose and said :

Mr. Lushington; much as we must all have lamented the circumstance which occasioned the frequent postpone-. ment of this debate, the delay, I trust, has been attended with this good effect, that it has enabled gentlemen to examine more attentively the principles of the measure which is now under our consideration.

In rising to submit to the Committee such observations as have occurred to me on the subject, I can assure you, Sir, that I never offered myself to their notice under feelings of anxiety equal to those which I experience at this moment ;— an anxiety arising not from any apprehension that I shall not be heard by the Committee with their usual kindness and indulgence, but from the deep sense which I entertain of the vast importance of the question now before us, compared

with my own conscious inability to do any thing like justice, even to the view which I feel myself compelled to take of it. Nor is this my only difficulty. There are others arising out of the very nature of the subject itself. A measure, in my opinion, more important in all its bearings, in all its effects and consequences, never was agitated in this House; but at the same time it is one devoid of every thing which can give attraction to debate; one not very familiar, perhaps, to many gentlemen now present, and requiring, therefore, on the part of the person who undertakes to explain its tendency, a degree of clearness and perspicuity, which I cannot flatter myself that I shall be able to bring to the discussion. Notwithstanding all these difficulties, and the consequent dread of failing in the task which I have imposed upon myself, I feel still more strongly that it would be a dereliction of duty were I to shrink from the attempt, and not endeavour to claim for this subject, some share of that public attention which has lately been painfully engrossed by concerns of a very different description,*-concerns which I trust will never again occupy this House, and of which the agitation out of doors cannot be too much or too soon discouraged, by every man who values the best interests of the country, or has a proper feeling for the honour and character of the age in which we live.

Before I enter upon the Resolutions now under discussion, I cannot refuse to myself the satisfaction of acknowledging the uniform courtesy and attention of the Chancellor of the Exchequer, in furnishing me with every facility of information. On my part, I trust my right honourable friend will not think me unwarranted in referring to my past conduct, as the best guarantee that I am not actuated by any disposition to throw difficulties in the way of his financial arrangements. I hope, therefore, that both with

*The proccedings respecting the Princess of Wales.