hope, that the finances of the country would now also soon be relieved from difficulties. With respect to the period referred to, the taxes corresponding with the consolidated fund were then the sole resources of the nation. But at present we had more than twentyfour millions of war taxes. Supposing, therefore, we added something to our burthens, we had this twenty-four millions, from which a diminution would still be effected.

"The right honourable gentleman had stated, that but for him the sinking fund would have been between 15 and 16 millions. But, would the right honourable gentleman lay his hand to his heart, and say, if he thought that the country would have been more flourishing than it was at present, if the sinking fund had been untouched, and from six to seven millions of new taxes imposed on the country? If they should have occasion to call for new taxes, the best preparation for them, was the having forborne to impose any new ones so long. By merely imposing at the return of peace those taxes from which the country had been spared during the last year of the war, the right honourable gentleman's problem might at once be solved. The right honourable gentleman had rather triumphantly asked, what had become of the fund which was to be reserved for the time of peace? That fund had certainly been reduced by the necessities of the country; but there would at Christmas next be sixty millions still remaining, instead of between thirty and forty millions, as had been stated by the right honourable gentleman. Now he apprehended, that if at the close of any former war the most prosperous, any Chancellor of the Exchequer had been enabled to inform parliament that he had 60 millions of stock applicable to the public services, this would have been considered as a most singular circumstance. He was

aware that the situation of the country was such as to require a full investigation; but this could not be done till the establishment of peace, as till then the permanent expenses of the country could not be known. He, for one, would not shrink from any such inves tigation."

After some further discussion, the resolution was agreed to.

The sum of 2,286,375l. was next voted for victualling the navy, 1,956,500l. for the wear and tear of ships, and 318,500l. for ordnance for the seaservice.

The Chancellor of the Exchequer then moved, "That 1,650,000l. be granted to his majesty to discharge the remainder of the bills of credit, or other securities, issued by virtue of the act of the 54th of his majesty, intituled, An Act for giving Effect to certain Engagements of his Majesty with the Emperor of Russia and the King of Prussia for furnishing a Part of the pecuniary Succour for assisting his Majesty's said Allies in supporting the Expenses of the War with France,' together with the interest due thereon."

This motion was agreed to. The right honourable gentleman next moved, "That the sum of 12,500,000l. be granted for the discharge of outstanding exchequer bills, created under the 54th of his majesty."-Mr Ponsonby enquired, what was the gross amount, at present, of outstanding exchequer bills?-The Chancellor of the Exchequer said, the amount would be laid on the table in a few days; he believed it to be about 59,000,000l. Mr Ponsonby observed, that 54,000,000l. was the greatest amount of outstanding exchequer bills he ever before recolIt would be well, however, lected. when the account was laid before them, if the amount was not found to exceed the right honourable gentleman's calculation. The motion was then agreed to; as also another, granting the sum

of 15,000,000l. and 10,000,000l. for the discharge of the outstanding exchequer bills issued for the service of the year 1814, charged on the aids of that year outstanding and undischarged.

On 18th November, in a committee of supply, the Chancellor of the Exchequer moved the following resolution: "That it is the opinion of the committee, that a sum, not exceeding eight millions, be granted to his majesty, towards making good the amount of bills of exchange, drawn upon the lords commissioners of his majesty's treasury for the extraordinary expenses of the army, and which have been paid out of money paid to the paymaster of the forces, between the 24th December, 1813, and 1st November, 1814."-Mr Tierney remarked, that it was extraordinary that the committee should be called on to vote to pay a sum of eight millions, without explanation, particularly as nine millions had been voted for the same purpose last year, of the expenditure of which no account had been given. This remark produced a statement from the Chancellor of the Exchequer, full of very valuable and satisfactory information, relative to the military and foreign expenditure of the country. He stated, "that when the great amount of our military expenses was considered, nothing could justify that expenditure but the result. He was perfectly aware, that unless he he were able to shew (as shew he could with perfect ease) that if parliament had not entrusted to his majesty's ministers the mighty means which had been confided to them, the Duke of Wellington would, at this moment, have been defending the frontiers of Portugal, and our allies have been pursuing a hopeless war, or have made a separate and inglorious peace, on the Vistula or the Öder, he should not be justified in proposing the vote of that

evening. But, satisfied as he was that the events which had taken place could be proved to be the results of the liberality of the British parliament, with as much certainty as any thing could be proved that depended on the contingency of human affairs, he had no difficulty or hesitation on the subject. The accounts that had been laid on the table would show that, a sum nearly amounting to 19,000,000l. had been drawn this year by bills on the treasury for army extraordinaries. would state the places from which they had proceeded, the amount from each place, and subsequently their objects. Guernsey and Jersey, 24,000Z.; Heligoland, 46,000l.; Germany and the north of France, 1,411,000l. ; Spain, Portugal, and the south of France, 8,612,0007.; Gibraltar and the Mediterranean, 4,259,000/ The two latter sums, amounting to little less than 13,000,000 were the immediate consequence of the war in the peninsula. The West Indies, 889,0007; North America, 3,112,000l.; South America, 233,000l. There were seve ral other smaller sums, making a total of 18,900,000l. It would appear by the papers that our expenditure in the peninsula alone, including the sums drawn from other quarters, but appli ed to the same service during the year, amounted to at least 15,000,000l. To all those who recollected the situation of things two years ago, nothing could be more obvious than that there was at that time a great crisis in the affairs of Europe. At the moment of the explosion of the war between France and Russia, it was clear, that whoever was the conqueror would remain master of the destinies of the world. Had the French emperor succeeded in his design of subjugating Russia, England would have been the only nation in the world who could have withstood his arms; it, indeed, she could have stood alone amidst

the general ruin. This appeared to those who at the time were entrusted with the conduct of British policy, a crisis in which all minor considerations must yield to the necessity of a most vigorous exertion. Nothing short of an expenditure, which might almost be called unlimited, and which was not calculated upon any former experience, was in fact adequate to the occasion. In 1812, soon after the deplorable catastrophe, which had placed him in his present office, by depriving the country of the services of one of the most virtuous and amiable of men, the Duke of Wellington wrote to his majesty's government, informing them that he found, whatever military force he possessed, he could not extend his operations without a much greater supply of money. Unprovided with this, he must remain chained to the posts which he then occupied, and to a defensive system, as he could not advance to a distance from the supplies he received by sea; but he thought that if he could be furnished with about 100,000l. a month, he might be able to do much. His majesty's ministers undertook to afford him this supply under any inconvenience, and at whatever hazard. During the first year, they furnished him with money at about the rate of 150,000l. a month. In the last year this supply was considerably increased; and during the spring of the present year it was sometimes carried as high as 400,000l. or 500,000l. a month. Of the money thus remitted from this country to the Duke of Wellington about 3,300,000l. was in specie, besides 410,000l. in specie imported from South America, (a part of which, however, had since been sent to Canada) so that a sum of not much less than 4,000,000l. had been furnished in specie for the use of the British army.

To all this was to be added large sums drawn by bills on the treasury, which made the whole amount

that which he had already stated. The fact was, that even with every aid that could be afforded him, it required all the profound skill and admirable combination of our great commander to effect a movement of the British army through a country so exhausted as that in which it was to operate, and to furnish it with an adequate supply in its march. Having said so much of the exertions made by us in Spain and the south of France, he would proceed, in compliance with the hint of the hon. gentleman, to explain those engagements with our allies, to which, in some degree, was attributable the glorious success of the campaign in the North. Many of these engagements had already received the sanction of parliament, as would appear by the papers on the table. By the treaty of Chaumont, the British government agreed to advance to Austria, Russia, and Prussia, the sum of 5,000,000l. for the year 1814, if the war should last the whole year; if not, then a proportionate payment of two months was to be allowed to Austria and Prussia after the signature of peace, and of four months to Russia, to assist the troops of those nations to return to their respective countries. The whole of the money which we had thus stipulated to pay, had been discharged, with the exception of a sum for the Russian fleet, respecting which some difficulty had arisen, that had been referred to the adjustment of his noble friend at Vienna.-[Mr Tierney enquired the amount of that sum.]

The sum remaining in doubt was not very considerable, about 100,000%. more or less. To Austria and Prussia we had paid 970,000 each, their proportion for seven months of the third of the 5,000,000l.: to Russia 1,250,000l.; to Sweden 500,000%. for five months subsidy for the war; and 300,000. being three months allowance for the return of the Swedish

The

troops to Sweden; 10,000 Danes had also been subsidized, according to the treaty on the table of the house, and 150,000l. had been paid to Denmark in consequence. By a treaty, long since laid on the table of the house, it was stipulated that 400,000l. should be received annually by his Sicilian majesty to the end of the war. proportion had been paid. He had recently explained the nature of our pecuniary engagements with Portugal and Spain. For some years we had made Portugal a formal allowance of 2,000,000l. annually, partly paid in money, and partly furnished in supplies. Of that sum we had paid Portugal the proper proportion for the service of her troops in the present year, and four months allowance for their return. With Spain, we had no such regular agreement, but we had advanced 1,000,000l. a-year to the aid of the Spanish armies, of which we had paid Spain her proportion, together with the allowance for the return of her troops. We had also afforded considerable assistance to the Spanish government, in advances of supplies, which it had been agreed to consider as a loan, for which that government was still indebted to us. The only remaining article was a subsidiary corps of 15,000 Hanoverians, placed originally under the command of the crown prince of Sweden, and now garrisoning the towns of the Netherlands. We had only, however, paid half the expence of the troops since the month of July, and even that would eventually be repaid. The right hon. gentleman here recapitulated the various sums, and stated that the total was somewhat less than 7,300,000l.-Towards the defraying these subsidiary payments, parliament had first grant ed the sum of 4,200,000l. and after wards granted three millions more, by way of vote of credit, falling only one

VOL. VIII. PART 1.

hundred thousand pounds short of the payments."

The resolution was agreed to.

On the 21st November the House of Commons resolved itself into a committee of supply, to take into consideration the estimates for the army ser vice ;-when Lord Palmerston moved, "that 284,386 men (exclusive of the men belonging to the regiments em. ployed in the territorial possessions of the East India Company, and the foreign corps in British pay), commissioned and non-commissioned officers included, be maintained for the service of Great Britain and Ireland, from the 25th of December 1814, to the 24th of June 1815, both inclusive, being 182 days."

This resolution was agreed to, with several others, for making provision for different articles of the military expenditure.

On the 28th November the report of the committee of supply was brought up, and the whole of the resolutions which it contained were agreed to by the House.

On the 2d June, 1815, the House again went into a committee of supply, for the consideration of the army estimates; when Lord Palmerston made a minute and very distinct statement of the alterations on the different branches of military expenditure in 1815, as compared with those of 1814.-" On a general view," his lordship said, "including the augmentation since the change in our relations with France, there was a diminution in the estimates compared with those of last year, without including the militia, which could not with propriety be taken into the comparison, but merely the land forces and foreign corps, of 47,000 men, and 2,652,000l. charges." The noble lord concluded with moving his first resolution: viz. "That a number of land forces, not

B

exceeding 199,767 men (exclusive of the men belonging to the regiments employed in the territorial possessions of the East India Company, the foreign corps in British pay, and the embodied militia), commissioned and non-commisioned officers included, be maintained for the service of the united kingdom, from the 25th of December 1814, to the 24th of December 1815." This resolution was agreed to; and several sums were then voted for the different heads of army expenditure, forming in all a total of 7,917,387.-The Chancellor of the Exchequer then moved, that a sum not exceeding nine millions be farther granted for defraying the extraordinary expences of the army for the year 1815, which was agreed to.-On the 9th June the ordnance estimates were laid before the committee of supply by Mr Ward, who stated, that the to tal amount, for the service of Great Britain, forthe year, would be 3,459,6007. 1s. 10d.; and that for Ireland 375,8207. 18s. 10d., making a grand total for the service of the united kingdom, of 3,835,4211. 8d.-This sum was greater than our peace establishment by nearly 1,500,000l.; and less than our last war establishment by 784,000.He therefore moved for the above sum; and after a long discussion, arising out of minute objections to different articles of the estimates, the motion was agreed to.

On the 14th June, the House resolved itself into a committee of ways and means, for the consideration of the Budget. Before stating the proceedings which took place on this occasion, it is necessary to mention, that in the month of February preceding, the Chancellor of the Exchequer had proposed certain new taxes, consisting of additional excise duties, and of assessed taxes, in order to raise the supplies which had been granted. In proposing these taxes, it was stated by ministers that the property-tax would

expire on the 5th April following, and that it was not meant to be renewed. The return, however, of Buonaparte from Elba, his resumption of the government of France, and the new war into which this country was consequently plunged, rendered it necessary to make provision for a much larger expenditure than had been contemplated. Accordingly, ministers determined to abandon the new assessed taxes which had been agreed to, and to propose a renewal of the propertytax for a year longer, to the 5th April, 1816. A bill to this effect was accordingly brought in, and passed by the House of Commons upon the 5th of May. The majority on this occasion was very great, being 160 to 29, a proof, notwithstanding the clamorous petitions which were presented against it, that it was generally considered as the most proper and effectual nieasure which could have been fallen upon, in the circumstances of the times, for meeting the sudden demands which had come upon the nation. While the property-tax bill was in progress, a motion was made by Mr Bankes for extending this tax to Ireland, but it was negatived. On the present occasion, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, after a particular state. ment of the supplies for the year, in which he included some articles of comparatively inconsiderable amount, which had not yet been voted, gave the following recapitulation of the supplies for 1815: