ruins every mercantile operation, and produces universal discouragement.

Formerly, the French manufactories were supplied with cotton from America. American cotton has either been prohibited or subjected to duties higher than its value, and those merchants who had imported it, have experienced a considerable loss. The government also wished to encourage the importation of cotton from Macedonia through Germany, but on a sudden that article was sequestered in the states through which it passed, and refused the right of passage. Some of the German states, it is true, now declare that they will allow its transit, but on the other hand, your excellency informs us, that the gates of Strasburgh will be very soon shut against the cotton intended for France. The merchants on express and repeated invitations from government, had shipments made at Smyrna for all the ports of the Mediterranean, but before their vessels had arrived at Naples, Leghorn and Marseilles, the system of commercial legislation was again altered, and their cargoes were confiscated. What guarantee have merchants at this time that the new trade in which they are invited to engage by the way of Illyria, will not be prohibited in the space of one year or eighteen months, before their speculations are brought to a close? The necessary effect of so many fatal shocks, must produce a general discouragement, banish from commercial pursuits all those who yet possess some capital and have a character to preserve, and give commerce entirely up to those adventurers, who gambling with the funds of others and having neither honour nor fortune to lose, will bring the French name into disrepute among foreign nations.

We have the honour to be, &c. &c. &c.

172

[We republish entire, for the instruction of our readers, the speeches of Mr. Perceval and Mr. Foster, the Chancellors of the English and Irish Exchequers, on the opening of the Budgets in the British Parliament, on the seventeenth of May last. They furnish the most ample and authentic information concerning the financial concerns of the United Kingdom. The statements of Mr. Perceval are of the highest importance, and of permanent value. The propriety of giving them a place in this work is too obvious to require a comment.]

IMPERIAL PARLIAMENT.

HOUSE OF COMMONS. MAY 17, 1811.

THE BUDGET.

The House having resolved itself into a Committee of Ways and Means,

The Chancellor of the Exchequer rose to open the Budget for the present year. He began by observing, that having that morning concluded a contract, subject to the approbation of parliament, for the loan for the service of the present year, on terms which he trusted, under all the circumstances of the case, the committee would consider to be highly advantageous to the public, he should proceed to submit to them the details of that contract. But before he did this he conceived that it would be necessary for him to state, with as much clearness as he possibly could, the various sums which the house had already voted for the supply of the present year, and the ways and means to which in his judgment they ought to resort for the purpose of meeting those sums. The supplies which had been voted were as follow:

With respect to the Sicilian subsidy, he had to intreat the indulgence of the committee for a great inattention on his part, namely, in having omitted to lay before parliament the last treaty with Sicily, on which that vote was founded. He had erroneously apprehended that the treaty was already on the table of the house, and it was but three or four days ago that he discovered his mistake. Tomorrow, however, or the next day at farthest, he would take care to present it to the house, and he hoped they would accept that apology for his omission hitherto to do so. He would proceed to state the various articles of ways and means, by which he proposed to meet the 49,452,8691. of supply to be provided by England.

It thus appeared that the total of ways and means exceeded the total of the supply in the sum of 102,5 101. The committee would however, expect that he would enter into an explanation of the grounds on which he calculated the surplus of the consolidated fund of the present year, at the sum of 5,000,000!. To do this, it would be necessary for him to detail the produce at which he estimated the various articles that went to the constitution of that fund.

He took the customs at 5,131,000l.; being the average of the produce of the two last years. He had taken a similar average last year, being then 4,485,333%, but in fact the customs had produced 4,987,3917.; being about 500,0001. beyond the calculation. So with the excise, he proposed to take it on the average of the produce of the two last years, or 17,167,000l. Of this article he had also taken a similar average last year, being then 16,880,625.; but the excise had produced 17,399,3121. This mode of calculation afforded him

a fair scheme of estimate; for although the customs for 1811 fell short by about 200,000, of the customs of 1810, yet the excise for 1810 was surpassed by that of 1811 to a similar amount, the excess of the one balancing the deficiency of the other. The produce of the assessed taxes he had last year estimated at 5,860,000Z.; they had actually produced 5,781,8317. and he would take them for the present year at 5,800,000l. The stamp duties he had last year estimated at 5,193,000.; they had actually produced 5,302,7431. The great increase in these duties during the last year completely justified him in the statement which he had at that period made, that the whole charge of the year might be defrayed out of their excess. To this statement, however, he had added the observation that it was not probable the same excess would exist in the succeeding year. He should therefore take the amount of the stamps for the present year only at 5,300,000l. The post office revenue was estimated by him last year at 1,194,000.; the actual produce was 1,276,000l., and he proposed to take it for the present year at 1,280,000l. He could not pass over this particular article without directing the attention of the committee to the great increase that had taken place during the last two or three years in the receipts at the post-office. In 1809, the post-office had produced 1,083,000%; in 1810, 1,194,000l.; and in 1811, 1,276,000l.; being an increase on the average of about 90,000l. a year, and that not from any additional duties on postage, but simply from the augmented commercial communication of the country. It was clear, therefore, that by taking the amount for the present year only, at 1,280,000l. an opportunity was afforded to parliament, if they should think it wise and expedient to avail themselves of it, to relieve Scotland, and other distant parts of the empire, without the danger of any diminution of the estimated revenue. The hawkers and pedlars, and sundry small branches of the revenue, he would take at 106,000l.; personal estates and pensions at 156,000.; the land tax at 1,038,000.; the surplus exchequer fees at 54,000l.; the tontine at 24,000.; the crown lands, &c. at 66,000l.; and the imprest moneys at 200,000!. making the total of the estimated receipt of the existing permanent taxes for the present year, 36,322,000/-To this must be added 2,240,000l.; being the amount of the war taxes appropriated to the consolidated fund; and the grand total would be 38,562,000%.; which being deducted from 38,562,000l. the estimated produce of the consolidated fund, would leave a balance of 5,649,000l. He would, however, take the surplus only at 5,000,000l. and would presently account for the disposal of the balance. With the exception of last year, when the surplus of the consolidated fund was 5,753,715.; of the preceding year, when (from peculiar circumstances) it amounted to 7,019,7741.; and of the year 1803, when it was 5,936,65 17., that surplus had at no period exceeded, or even reached 5,000,000l. This was a highly satisfactory circumstance, in contemplating the state of the finances of the country.

The next item which he thought might require some explanation, was the amount of the estimate for the war taxes for the year ending the 5th April, 1812. This estimate was 20,384,000l. The

grounds on which he calculated he would state as briefly as possi ble: The average produce of the custom and excise war duties for the last three years, was 9,296,8051. The produce of the last year was 9,727,2137.; but he thought it better to take the average of the three last years. Four hundred thousand pounds remained due from the East India company. These sums, added together, made 9,696,8051. The net produce of the assessment of the property tax for the year ending April 5, 1811, was estimated at 11,800,000/. This was 400,000l. more than the sum calculated upon as the probable produce, though less than the produce of the preceding year, on account of the great amount of arrears received in that year. The amount of the outstanding arrears of the property tax from 1804 to 1810, was 2,246,644l. Of this sum, it was expected that a part would be returned by schedules, and part might not be recoverable; he would suppose one fourth, or 560,000l. Deducting this, the amount, therefore, of outstanding arrears that might be expected to be received, was 1,686,6447. Of the estimated produce of the duty for the year ending the 5th of April, 1811 (namely 11,800,000l.), 4,864,2677. had been received. 6,935,7321. therefore remained to be received. This added to the 1,686,6441. expected to be received of the arrears of former years, made 8,622,000/.; which, with the estimated net produce of the assessment of the present year, which he would take at the same as the last, namely, 11,800,000l. gave 20,422,000l. From this, however, must be deducted the sum of 7,524,000l. remaining to complete the grant of 1810, leaving a balance of 12,898,000l. to be received on account of the property tax. Let this be added to the estimate of the war taxes, 9,696,8057. and the result would be 22,594,8051. There were war taxes, however, to the amount of 2,240,000l. already pledged for the interest of the debt, and which must therefore be deducted, leaving the balance to be received 20,354,8057. He would, however, take it at 20,000,0002.

He now came to the consideration of the loan, and of the ways and means in aid of the revenue to meet the expenses of the year. He had already explained to the committee the state of the loan made in the 5 per cent. stock, and the exchequer bills funded in the present session. These amounted altogether to 12,000,000%. by which a capital was created in the 5 per centum stock of 12,444,7117. The interest on this capital was 622,2351. The sinking fund 124,4471. The charges of management 3,7331. making a total of 750,4167. to be annually provided for, for the loan in the 5 per cent. By the loan of 7,500,0001. for which he had that morning contracted, a total charge would be incurred of 465,403/. 10s. The capital created was 7,500,000l. in the three per cents. reduced; 1,500,000l. in the consols.; 1,500,000l. in the 4 per cents. For each 100%. subscribed, the subscribers were to have half 1007. in the 3 per cents. reduced, 201. in the consols., 20. in the 4 per cents., and 6s. and 11d. in the long annuities. By calculation made on the price of stocks on the Saturday before, it appeared that the 1007. in the S per cents. reduced, which was on that day 64th, was equal to 64%.