in future, notwithstanding the aufpicious confequences with which it was now attended. He would, with this view, propose a resolution to the house, the object of which would be to guard, on the one hand, the privileges of the houfe, and, on the other, to pay a due refpect to the fervices performed by minifters, whom he could not help admiring for their magnanimity and fervices to their country. He would, therefore, move, as an amendment to the motion made by the right honourable gentleman, to leave out from the first word, " That," and to infert, "the measure of advancing the feveral fams of money, which appear, from the accounts prefented to the house in the feffion of parliament, to have been iffued for the service of the emperor, though not to be drawn into precedent, but upon occation of special neceffity, was, under the peculiar circumstances of the cafe, a juftifiable and proper exercife of the difcretion vefted in his majesty's minifters, by the vote of credit, and calculated to produce confequences, which have proved highly advantageous to the common caufe, and to the general interefts of Europe." Mr. alderman Lufhington obferved, that there was lo close an unity of connection and intereft between Great Britain and his Imperial majefty, that whatever affected the one, equally affected the other. The one could not feel diftrefs without the other fuffering a fhare. Refpecting the exportation of fpecie, which for a time had disagreeable confequences. An encreafed mafs of property required an increase in the circulating medium; but as this did not increase in an equal proportion, the withdrawing any part of it was a caufe of embarrafment, but that only temporary. Mr. alderinan Anderfon faid, that, at the meeting of the livery of London, in which only about a tenth part were prefent, a flaming fpeech, by a member of that houfe (Mr. W. Smith) had determined them to give. the inftructions that had been stated by his colleague. But he himself had plainly told them that he would not vote against the minifter. Col. Markwood (late in the EaftIndia company's fervice, in Bengal) faid, that if the minifter of this country, with a vote of credit, between two and three millions at his command, had hefitated to give fome pecuniary aid towards the encouragement of thofe glorious exertions, which not only faved Germany, but England, from a very critical fituation, he would have well deferved to be curied. He was not one of those who confidered the invafion of England merely as a bugbear. Whoever argued in this manner, he would venture to allert, was totally ignorant of the fubject. He was decidedly of opinion, as he had faid before, that, had not the minifters affifted his Imperial majefty, they would have richly deferved to be curfed. The colonel's curfing zeal, by relaxing the mafcles of the houfe, relieved, for a moment, the tædium of this long debate. Colonel Galcoigne, who had come down to the house, with a determined refolution to vote in favour of the motion for centuring minifters, was now convinced; from what he had heard, that the tranfaction, which had been made a ground of charge against him, had been the eftablithed practice of government fince the revolution. Mr. Sheridan thought that the principle on which the meature in queftion was defended, was more dangerous than even any application of it could be thought impolitic. It arrogated to the minifter a right to judge of the extent as well as the mode of public expenditure, and exalted him into an abfolute dictator. Sir William Pulteney declared his opinion, that all the minifier had faid, on the neceffity of the meafure, could not do away the doctrine that the houfe of commons had, conftitutionally, the control of the public purfe, not that it was the duty of the minifter to fubmit the meafure to the house of commons much fooner than he did. He had attended to all that the minifter had faid, but confeffed that he did not, by any means, think him juftified, from what had appeared in the difcuffion of the fubject. But an honourable gentleman, on the other fide of the houfe, had moved an amendment to the original; that amendment, in his opinion, although it came from a gentleman who defended the minifter, implied a degree of cenfure on his conduct in this matter; and he was content with any cenfure, rather than not have any. Some gentlemen feemed to think there was no blame to be attached to minifters upon this occafion. He thought there was a great deal, and therefore that there fhould be fome mark fet upon fuch conduct to denote the disapbation of the house. Mr. Wilberforce apprehended that a vote of credit gave to minifters a general difcretion: but that the whole of their conduct was fubject to the revifion of the houfe of commons. He defended the conduct of the minister. amendment, although introduced by the minifter's friend, conveyed confiderable cenfure upon the minifter; and, taking it in that light, he could not object to its adoption, although the conduct, which had been purfued, might deferve a ftronger cenfure. Mr. alderman Curtis told the houfe, that he had been that day at the common-hall, where, upon a fhew of hands, a majority appeared in favour of the refolution, to cenfure the minister before-hand, and without any confideration of any defence he night make. But he had told his conftituents that he would not vote as they required, to cenfare the minifier, till he heard his defence. With this he was fully fatifficd, as he knew that he fhould be, and therefore he would vote for the amendment. Mr. J. Nichols was afraid that he would not please any fide of the houfe: for he confidered the motion as propofing too much, and the amendment too little. Perhaps a bill of indemnity might found too harthly in the ears of minifters. A declaratory law, or any thing more palatable, might be palled. He withed Mr. Fox to withdraw his motion. And yet he thought it neceffary that fome proceeding fhould take place, in order to prevent the establishment of bad precedents. Mr. Fox concluded a long yet animated reply to Mr. Pitt, by declaring his conviction, that if the meafure, that formed the fubject of debate, was not reprobated, he fhould think that man a hypocrite who pretended to fee any diftinction between this government and an absolute monarchy. He had made ufe, in former days, of ftrong opinis ons; he did not retract one of them; Mr. W. Smith remarked that the he had no hesitation in faying that 7 occafion occafions might arise, even in a comparatively free country, when men might be driven to the neceffity of refiftance. Mr. Bragge's amendment, on a divifion of the house, was carried by 185 against 104. If the minifter gained a victory over oppofition, on the present occafion, they had an opportunity of triumphing, in their turn, a few months afterwards, in the verification of what was fo pofitively predicted by Mr. Grey and Mr. Fox, that enormous as the burden of more than two millions of taxes was, yet another million would be wanted. On the twenty-fixth of April, the chancellor of the exchequer demanded a father fupply. He ftated the purposes for which this was.neccffary, and the means by which it was propofed to be raised. The aggregate of what had already been voted, and what he propofed to be now vot d, for the public fervice, or, in other words, of his two budgets, amounted to 42,786,0007.* He propofed, at the fame time, a farther loan of two millions, if fanctioned by parliament, to the Ordnance extraordinaries, and barracks Mifcellaneous fervices, including the relief of emigrant priests Advances to the merchants of Grenada Repayment to the bank for advance to the confolidated fund of 1795 £. 12,661,000 6,600.000 3,387,000 2,088,coo 4,000,000 1,023,000 737,000 929,000 600,000 500,000 200,000 350,000 1,054,000 Ditto for 1796 Farther deficiencies of land and malt Deficiency of the confolidated fund 1,370,000 900,000 2,177,000 To discharge exchequer-bills, iffued on the credit of the confolidated fund Tax on property, transferred by private contract, at 4d. per pound Copies of deeds to be given in evidence, to be ftampt On the probates of wills, above 300l. 170,000 40,000 40,000 114,000 An additional duty of 1d. upon the ftamps of each newspaper On attorney's certificates On ornamental plate 20 000 15.000 30,000 Duty equal to the tolls on all carriages paffing the turnpikes 450,000 On bills of exchange 40.000 Infurance from fire Omitted in the fum mentioned on the produce of the stamps on copies of deeds fituation, and unneceffary to the true interests of this country. He hoped that, if the houfe retained any regard for the functions with which they were invested, and that economy which the fituation of af fairs fo much required, they would confider the fubject with ferious attention, and adopt fome effectual plan to check the extravagance which was practifed, and that neglect of their controul which marked the public expenditure. It would be found, he faid, that great as the burthens about to be impofed were, there would be ftill farther impofitions to a very great amount. Mr. Pitt was ready to admit that the accounts, on which he now reafoned, of the exports and imports, were not very correct, and he never meant to argue from them, as by themfelves fupporting a precife conclufion, with regard to the state of our commerce. They were, however, as correct now, as they had been on former occafions; and, by a comparison of them with former statements, it appeared that the excefs of the exports and imports was as great as in times of peace. He conceived it probable that the taxes would be equal to all the ends which they were affigned to fupport, and he wifhed to know, whether the experience which had already been obtained, was fuch as ought to induce him to propcfe additional burthens, while the neceffity of fo unpleasant a talk was by no means afcertained? Mr. Fox confidered the present as one of the most falfe statements of finance that was ever brought forward, calculated merely to delude the people of this country; and accompanied with fome political ob fervations, which were a libel on the conftitution. Though the houfe were about to vote burthens, equal to the whole that had been impofed during the first three years of the French and American war, they would find that above one million more was still actually neceflary. If this be true, faid he, as it certainly is, what fhall we fay of the honourable gentleman's fair ftatements? Mr. Fox having made feveral ftrictures on the terms of the prefent loan, came to the vote of credit, for money to be given at the difcretion of miniftry to the emperor: to whom he had already given, without the confent of parliament, twelve hundred thousand pounds, He had not feen the date of this advance; but those who were members of laft parliament could not have forgotten, that, for the laft three months of that parliament, not a week elapfed in which fome queftion was not put to the minifter, in which he was called upon to declare, whether he intended to grant any pecuniary affiftance to the emperor? Did the minifter mean to fay he intended to affift him, but that he thought his own authority for that purpose fufficient? If, faid Mr. Fox, thefe are the fentiments he acted upon in this country; if the minifter be permitted to carry them into effect, I declare, for myfelf, that thẹ conftitution of this country is not worth fighting for. I wish to know on what principle it is that the minifter takes this power upon himfelf, rather than refer it to the commons of Great Britain, to whom, and to whom only, it conftitutionally belongs. If he directs the application of the money of the people thus, upon foreign affairs, without the confent of parliament, I fee no reafon reafon why he should not claim the fame power (as I dare fay he will, if he fucceeds in this) over the whole of our domeftic concerns. *I am fure the reafon he gives for the one, will juft as well apply to the other. He fays, that parliament could not calculate fo well as he could upon the neceffity, and upon the amount. That may be faid as correctly of our domeftic as of foreign affairs. Until this inftance occurred, the minif ter thought it decent to apply to parliament, and to give you an eftimate of what you are to provide for; but now he tells you that he did not think it necessary to confult you, because you are not judges of the extent of it. Did he confult you on the principle of it? He certainly did not. He fuffered the last parliament to be diffolved: he fuffered you all to meet your conftituents with an affurance (I do not fay his pofitive and declared affurance, but by his filence he gave you an implied affurance) that no money was to be advanced to the emperor in the interval of this diffolution. On the twenty-feventh of December you met. Did he give you any intimation of his having advanced this money before you were called together? Did he give you any intimation of it before this very night, when he comes before you with his fresh burthens on the people? Not a word! for this conduct, I fay, he ought to be impeached. He has had it in his power to confult you on this fubject long ago, as it was his duty. He has neglected to do fo, by which he has manifefted a determination to difpofe of the money of the people of this coun try, without confulting their reprefentatives. This is aggravated by his not calling parliament together fooner. If he had advanced the money before you met, why did he not tell you fo: what reafon can be afligned for this? In the name of God, what can be faid but that the minifter thinks his judgement better than the judgements of the reprefentatives of the people of Great Britain? He has faid much upon the time on which this money was advanced. If he had any intention of advancing this money before the diflolution, why did he not ftate that intention to the last parliament? Or, if he found out the neceffity of it fince the diffolution, might he not have faid fo to the prefent parliament long ago? But he has acted merely on his own authority, for the purpose of establishing the principle that minifters are better judges fo the manner in which the public money is to be applied, than the reprefentatives of the people. The minifter fays, that we thould feel the utmost confidence in kending_our money to the emperor, becaufe Wo have seen in the emperor_those heroic qualities which ufualty accompany good faith. Now, fuppofing heroifm to be a good criterion of good faith in pecuniary concerns, I fhould like to try the effect of this mode of reafoning. pofe, for a moment, that we were in a state of neutrality with regard to the French republic, and it was propofed that we should lend money to the French, would the minifter fay we fhould lend them money } Certainly he would not: and yet, if good faith in pecuniary en Sup This prediction may, perhaps, be confidered, by fome, as in fome measure fulfilled, by the Income-Tax. |