Abbildungen der Seite
PDF
EPUB

been made to his imperial majesty, and to defray the charge of such further advances as might be made to him in the course of the current year to an amount not exceeding 2,000,000l.

The house, in a committee of supply, took this message into consideration on the 1st of May, when the chancellor of the exchequer observed, that he thought it unnecessary to make any observations upon that part of the message which respected the proposed aid to Ireland. Respecting the remittances to the emperor, much had been said before; but feeling it to be almost the general opinion of the house, and of the country at large, that it was desirable that we should have the vigorous co-operation of the emperor in the war, and knowing we could not expect that co-operation unless we afforded pecuniary aid to his imperial majesty, he should move a resolution to enable his majesty to make advances, from time to time, to the emperor, to the amount of three millions and a half, to be repaid by his imperial majesty, so that the sum then proposed to be advanced was about 1,880,000l. and this sum was moved for accordingly.

Mr. Fox observed, upon this occasion, that it was impossible for any man who had examined the. matter to entertain a doubt that the sending of money to the emperor had been one great cause of the scarcity of cash which then prevailed. He contended, that we were about granting money to be sent to the emperor at the very moment when it was doubted whether he had concluded a peace with the French, or not. It was notorious, that an armistice for six days had been agreed upon between the contending armies, and the empe

ror, in alluding to his hopes of peace, had said, "he trusted that the enemy would at length consent to accept equitable conditions." From hence, Mr. Fox pointed out the probability there was of the emperor's making peace without consulting the interest of Great Britain. We ought to wait the consequences of the impending negotiation at least, and not vote away the money of the people in the dark. Suppose the war should be continued, it would be necessary to know the grounds upon which the negotiation had been broken off, and whether the war was continued for points which might be considered as material to the interests of Great Britain, before the money was granted. For any thing the house knew to the contrary, those two millions which they were called upon to vote to the emperor might be for the attainment of objects which might be detrimental to the general interests of Europe. He strongly urged the necessity of waiting three or four days to know the issue of the negotiation between France and the emperor, before the money was voted; the armistice terminated on the 16th of April, and there were letters in town from Vienna, of the 15th of the same month.

The chancellor of the exchequer contended, on, the other side, that a mail might reach Vienna in ten or twelve days, with the account of the vote which he then proposed to the committee to pass, and that if the negotiation was then pending, it might materially affect the terms in discussion. In reply to what Mr. Fox stated, that the committee might perhaps be voting a sum to enable theemperor to conclude a separate peace, he recommended a discretionary power to be vested in government to

stop

stop the supplies upon the supposition of such an event taking place. Mr. Grey and Mr. Sheridan support ed the arguments of Mr. Fox. When the house divided, there appeared for the original resolution 193-against it 50.

A resolution also passed the committee that a discount of 5 per cent. be allowed to such subscribers to the new loan as should anticipate a part only of their payments, as before the discount was allowed only to those who completed their whole payments.

During the intervals between the several stages of the loan bill, intelligence had been received by the minister, that preliminaries of peace between the French republic and the emperor were either signed, or in great forwardness; this induced him to state to the committee of supply on the 5th of May, that he should move for provision to be made for the repayment of the advances which had then been made to the emperor; but that it was not his intention then to make any provision for further advances to be made to his imperial majesty, according to the ground which he had for forming his opi

nion at that moment.

Having stated the arguments made use of in the commons, for and against granting a further loan to the emperor we proceed to state what passed upon the subject of the Irish loan in the house of lords; but the arguments enforced in both houses being very similar, a brief account of the latter may suffice.

On the 9th of May, on the motion for the second reading of the bill for granting to his majesty fourteen millions, five hundred thousand pounds, by way of loan, the earl of Suffolk begged leave to ask a question of the secretary of state (lord Grenville), which was, whe

ther any part of the money to be raised by that bill was intended to be sent to Ireland? Lord Grenville said, that the sum of one million and a half was intended for the service of the sister kingdom. In the course of the debate, several arguments were urged by the lords on the opposition side of the house on the impropriety of sending so much money out of the kingdom at a time when its scarcity was so much complained of; however, so far as it went to the protection of Ireland, it was not altogether unexceptionable. Earl Moira, however, contended, on the contrary, that so far as the money went to aid the system of coercion then established in that kingdom, it would be attended with pernicious, consequences. He had uo hesitation in declaring, that, if that system was persisted in, a dismemberment of the British empire was to be feared, whereas, had conciliatory measures been adopted, which he had proposed some time before, things in that quarter would have worn a much more promising aspect. He begged their lordships to recollect the dreadful consequences which had resulted from a similar system of coercion pursued against America. In the beginning of that fatal system, Great Britain had begun by stigmatizing them as rebels, and thence compelled them to become so.

At the end of a desultory debate the loan bill was read a second time.

The next subject of finance was the portion given with the princess royal on her marriage with the hereditary prince of Wirtemburg. On the 3d of May, the chancellor of the exchequer introduced into the house of commons a message from his majesty, announcing his royal consent to a marriage between

his eldest daughter and his serene highness the prince of Wirtemburg, and that he did not doubt but the house would concur in making the usual provision for the marriage of the eldest daughter of the royal family of England. The address was agreed to nem, con.

The message was taken into consideration on the 5th of May, when the chancellor of the exchequer moved, that the sum of 800,000l. be granted as a portion to the princess royal on her marriage.

Mr. Curwen said, he would not oppose the resolution; but could not help observing, that, considering the heavy burdens which had been lately imposed upon the people, he should have been happy if the king had provided for this marriage himself. He was as willing as any other man to express all necessary affection for the throne, and for the different branches of the royal family, but at a moment like the present it would have had a good effect if his majesty had come forward and defrayed that expense himself. The resolution was then put and carried. The subscribers to the loan which Mr. Pitt obtained near the beginning of the session, commonly called the loyalty loan, having discovered that they were liable to incur a considerable loss from the subsequent depression of the funds, not withstanding their former pretensions to disinterestedness, prevailed upon the minister to apply to parliament to make them a recompence.

The chancellor of the exchequer accordingly, on the 31st of May, moved the house to that effect. He said the persons in whose behalf he applied could not fail to be regarded by the house with a favourable eye, because it was obvious that they had been actuated in a great degree by a zeal for the public service, and by that zeal had

incurred the losses which it was his wish the house should make good. He confessed, at the same time, that the subscribers looked forward for some chance of advantage from a favourable turn of affairs. He did not wish to keep from the view of the committee, that the subscribers had no strict ground of right to reparation, but contended, that they could not have looked forward for such a heavy loss as that which they had sustained since the period of their second deposit. He stated, that, previous to the subscribers having made their first deposit, they suffered a loss by the fall of the funds, of full 3 per cent. and after that, the loss they sustained amounted to 8, 14, and 15 per cent. At that time they stood at a loss of 14. The circumstance which led to these losses were the unfortunate events which had taken place on the continent, &c. all of which had a share in depressing the stocks far beyond the natural expectations of any one, at the time that loan was made.

On these grounds he thought it would be proper to alleviate the pressure upon the subscribers. He proposed to allow them 57. in every 100l. in the shape of a long annuity of 78. 6d. on every 1007. On mature consideration he found it impossible to frame any distinction in the allowance between the subscriber and holder, the only way, therefore, was to settle the general amount, and to leave it to the holder and the subscriber to settle their respective claims, and this could only be done by allowing this sum to those only who produced the original receipts. The amount of the whole he stated to be an annuity of between sixty and seventy thousand pounds a year. He concluded with moving the resolution "That 7s. 6d. per cent, long annuity, be granted on the said loan.

Mr.

was

Mr. Dent contended, that no man could calculate the evil which such a precedent might bring upon the public. In 1779 and 1780, there a loan, the subscribers to which lost very considerably, the discount upon their stock being very high before the first deposit was made; he thought the stock holders then were equal friends to their country, as those who subscribed to the loyalty loan. That loan was a speculation, on which the subscribers entered with the usual expectation of gain or loss, like any other speculation. Mr. W. Smith, Mr. Tierney, and Mr. Bastard, urged the evil tendency of such a precedent, and conjured the committee to reflect upon the state of the country, before they gave sanction to a measure so unprecedented and shameful in its nature, and so ruinous in its consequences.

When the committee divided on the question there appeared Ayes 40-Noes 26.

This business was discussed again by the house of commons on the 1st of June, when the injustice of it was so strongly urged by the members who opposed it, that the chancellor of the exchequer carried the resolution by a majority of a single vote, namely 36 to 35. This question was therefore not resumed during

the session.

A subject immediately connected with the two budgets, and materially affecting the finances of the year, was the funding of the navy and exchequer bills.*

This subject was submitted to the house by the chancellor of the exchequer, on the 28th of October; the object, he said, was to remove out of the market a large mass of floating debt, which, in which, in conse

quence of having fallen to a considerable discount, tended materially to injure public credit, to obstruct the intercourse of commerce, and impede the sources of the national prosperity. At the commencement of the war, regulations had been adopted, that navy bills which had been issued before for an indefinite period should become payable at the expiration of fifteen months, bearing in the mean time an interest of per cent. In consequence of this new arrangement, there was necessarily a certain proportion of outstanding navy bills, payable at different periods, at the end of each month, and all these were payable either in 1797, or early in the next year. Such being the case, Mr. Pitt came for ward to offer, what he termed fair and equitable terms, to the holders of these bills, viz. to take stock for their amount, and thereby to convert them into funded debt. If, as he proposed, they were funded down to the latest period, the whole number of navy bills amounted to almost twelve millions, of which the earliest would be due within a month from the present time, and the latest within fifteen months. As they would become due at periods thus disproportionate, it was reasonable to divide them into different classes, and to offer different terms to their respective holders, calculated according to the time at which the bills were payable. It was to be considered, that the house were giving, to the holders of navy bills, funds which were immediately disposable for money, according to the rate at which they stood in the market, in lieu of bills subject to a certain discount, and at the same time bearing an interest of

See the policy of this measure most ably discussed in a pamphlet published by the earl of Lauderdale, entitled " Thoughts on the Finances of Great Britain," &c.

[blocks in formation]

He proposed that the holders of navy bills should have their option. of three kinds of stocks, with the following abatements on the present

prices:

For the first class

of 2 per cent. in the 3 per cents.'
of 3 per cent. in the 4 per cents.
of 4 per cent. in the 5 per cents.

of 1 per cent. in the 3 per cents. For the second class of 2 per cent. in the 4 per cents. of 34 per cent. in the 5 per cents.

For the third class

{

of 1 per cent. in the 3 per cents.
of 2 per cent. in the 4 per cents.
of 3 per cent, in the 5 per cents.

of per cent. in the 3 per cents.

For the fourth class of 14 per cent. in the 4 per cents.
of 21 per cent. in the 5 per cents.

The

« ZurückWeiter »