TWi- •X- THE UNIVERSITY OFILLINOIS' LIBRARY 35Z B875 V.5 "^wmm I / FOR THE USE OF THE ENEMIES OF ENGLAND. REAL STATEMENT \ FINANCES AND RESOURCES GREAT BRITAIN; ILLUSTRATED BY TWO COPPER-PLATE CHARTS. By WILLIAM PLAYFAIR, INVENTOR OF LINEAL ARITHMETIC. ** Thejijnc 'which the builden rgecied has become the head of the corner^ ■LONDON: PRINTED BY C. WHITTINCHAM; ANP SOLD BY JOHN STOCKDALE, OPPOSITE BURLINGTON HOUSE, PICCADILLY. 1196. 5" INTRODUCTION. IN the year 1785, my Lineal Arith- metic, or Charts of Commerce and Revenue, firll appeared. At that time this new invention was much approved of iii England*. The revenues of Ireland were alfo afterwards delineated, in the fame manner, by James Corry, Efq. and my * The Political Herald, conduaed by Dr. Gilbert Stuart, a man well remembered for his elegant literary talents, fpeaks of it thus : — " The new method in which accounts are ftated " in this work, has attracted very general notice. The pro- " priety and expediency of all men, who have any interefl in " the nation, being acquainted with the general outlines and " the great facts relating to our commerce, are unqueftion- " able ; and this is the moft commodious, as well as accurate " mode of efFefting this objeft, that has hitherto been thought " of. " Very confiderable applaufe is certainly due to this in- " vention, as a new, diftinft, and eafy mode of conveying in- " formation to ftatefmen and to merchants ; although we " would recommend to the author to do whatever he can, in " any fiUuve editions, to make his leading ideas as familiar as " polfible to every imagination, by additional illuftrations and " directions ; for thefe, in fome inftances, feem to be want- " ing." See vol. iii. pages 299, 305. This laft ftridure is certainly juft; and I have profited by the hint. A 2 original IV INTRODUCTION. original work was tranflated, and publifhed in France two years after, in which country it procured me the iirft patronage in that kingdom. I confefs I was long anxious to find out, whether I was aftually the firft who applied the principles of geometry to matters of finance, as it had long before been applied to chronology with great fuccefs. I am now fatisfied, upon due enquiry, that I was the firft ; for during eleven years I have never been able to learn that any thing of a fimilar nature had ever before been thought of. To thofe who have fludied geography, or any branch of mathematics, thefe Charts will be perfedly intelligible*. To fuch, however, * When I went to France, in 1787, I foinid feveral copies there, and, amongft others, one which had been fent by an EngUfli nobleman to the Count de Vergennes, juft before his death, which copy the Count prefented to the King, who, being much attached to the ftudy of geography, underftood it at firft fight, and exprefled the utmoft fatisfaftion. This cir- cumftance was of great fervice to me, when I afterwards foli- cited an exchifive privilege for a certain manufaftory, which I obtained during the adminiftration of (that great exceptioa to t!ie general run of French courtiers) the Baron de Brittuil, who was a plain-fpoken honeft man, poflcfTed of clear diftinft perceptions, and good views. The Academy of Sciences alfo, to INTRODUCTION. V however, as have not that advantage, a fliort explanation may be necefTary. The advantage propofed by thofe Charts, is not that of giving a more accurate ftate- ment than by figures, but it is to give a more fimple and permanent idea of the gradual progrefs and comparative amounts, at diffe- rent periods, by prefenting to the eye a figure, the proportions of which correfpond with the amount of the fums intended to be expreffed. As the eye is the beft judge of proportion, being more accurate and quicker than any other of our oigans, it follows, that where- ever 7'elative quantities^ a gradual increafe or decreafe of any revenue, receipt or expen- diture of money, or other value, are to be ftated, this mode of reprefenting it is pecu- liarly applicable, as it gives a fimple, accu- rate, and permanent idea ; it produces form and fhape to a number of feparate ideas, which are otherwife abflraft and uncon- nefted ; for in a numerical table there are to which I was introduced by Monf. Vandermond, teftified its approbation cf this application of geometry to accounts, and gave me a general invitation to attend its fittings in the Louvre. as VI INTRODUCTION. as many diflin^t ideas given, and to be re- membered, as there are fums. The order and progreflion, therefore, of thofe fums, are aHb to be recolieded by another effort of merrjory, while this unites proportion, ppo- greffion, and amount, all under one fimple impreffion of vifion, and confequently one a6i: of nnemory. This method has ftruck feveral perfons as being fallacious, becaufe geometrical mea- furement has not any relation to money or to time ; yet here it is made to reprefent both. The moll: familiar and fimple anfwer to this obje6lion is, that if the money re- ceived by a man in trade were all in guineas, and every evening he made a fingle pile of all the guineas received during the day, each pile would reprefent a day, and its height would be proportioned to the receipts of that day ; fo that by this plain operation, time, proportion, and amount, would all be phyfi- caliy combined. Lineal arithmetic then, it may be averred, is nothing more than thofe piles of guineas reprefented on paper, and on a fmall fcale, in which an inch, perhaps, reprefents the thicknefs of five millions of guineas, as in geography INTRODUCTION. Vll geography it does the breadth of a river, or any other extent of country. My reafon for adopting this mode of bat- ing the prefent revenue of the nation is for the purpofe of coiTiparing it with the paft, as alfo of comparing the progrefs of the reve- nues of the ftate with the progrefs of the influx of wealth from other countries ; for it is not from the prefent flate of things, un- com pared with the paft, that any conclufion can be drawn. The human mind has been fo worked upon for a number of years paft, and the fame fubje6ts have been fo frequently brought forward, that it is neceffary to produce no- velty, but above all to aim at facility, in communicating information ; for the delire of obtaining it has diminifhed in proportion as diiguft and fatiety have augmented. If our EftgliJJL pfeudo patriots are deter- mined to exhibit to our enemies our increaf- ing debts, and to accompany their ftatements with commentaries, foreboding deftrudion to this nation, I furely may be permitted to fhew, at one lingle view, that our re- fources overtop our burthens ; and I am fully perfuaded Vlll INTRODUCTION. perfuaded that there are certain perfons ftill living in Paris, who will pay full as much attention to this ftatement of our national refources, as any other ftatement that might ■ come through the organ of an oppofition orator in parliament. If any of thofe microfcopic gentle?nen, who infpe6t things minutely only to find fault, fhould obferve that I have left out fmall fums and fra6tions, and that the greateft degree of accuracy has not been attended to, I Ihall not deny it ; but obferve, that though units, and even fra6lions, are in fome cafes very important, they are of no confequence in the prefent ftatement, which is intended to give a very diftin6t comparative view of very large affairs^ and from that to prove, that England has ftill great refources; upon w^hich conclufion, any errors, confifting of fmall fums, would make no alteration ; and it is of more importance to arrive at this conclufion before blood begins again to flow in the field, than to arrive at it with the pace of a tortoife, and the accuracy of a table of logarithms. London^ 1 6th Mcirc/i, 1796. A REAL STATEMENT, A T all times the ftate of the finances of a great -^^^ nation is a matter of important enquiry; but there are particular moments when that im- portance is augmented by the fituation of affairs, fo as to be almoft beyond all commenfurable pro- portion. The prefent moment is one of thofe, important both to this nation and to all Europe beyond any former example. The fate of the greater portion of the civilized part of the human race depends upon the Exchequer of England ; and, per- haps, we may fay with truth, upon the opinion WHICH MEN HAVE FORMED, OR MAY FORM, OF ITS SITUATION. Our Exchequer has become the chief stone OF THE CORNER, upou Vv'hich the fabric of civi- lized fociety depends, and upon the pulverifmg B of 2 FINANCES AND RESOUkCES of which the new lawgivers of the earth truft for a cement that will give ftrength and folidity to their new fyftems and projcfts of legiflation and government — fyftems which, as uncertain experiments, involving the fate of millions, and hitherto prodaftive of mifery and woe, many con- demn, and all muft tremble to look at. Avoiding every fpecies of controverfy as to forms of government, whether Royal or Repub- lican, the difcuffion of which inflames the minds of men when they fhould be compofed to refle6l on matters of fa£t, it is a point extremely clear, that the new government of France is founded upon a deteftation and fworn enmity to all kings and kingly governments; fo that, as moft nations in Europe happen to be governed by kings, and find themfelves peaceable and happy internally, while France, amidft civil diftra£tions of every fpecies, ftill aims at conqueft, we may be per- mitted to fay, that until thofe ambitious views are laid afide, no neighbouring nation can expe6i peace or repofe. It is no fecret to any party, that France founds her hopes of realizing thofe projects of conqueft on the inability of the Emperor to carry on the war, unlefs aflifted with money borrowed in Eng- land. Their hopes of obtaining peace with us are certainly not founded on any idea of their fuperiority OF GREAT BRITAIN. 3 fuperiority by fea, on which element alone we fight with them -, but a general peace is only looked for by them, in cafe of our being unable to aid the Emperor, and fupport our own navy, from want of money. The French would never exhauft their own country of the flower of the youth, and of every fpecies of wealth, to preferve Holland and Bel- gium, if it did not expeft to gain the objeft. No, they would renounce that pretenfion, and make peace on reafonable terms, if they thought that the refources of their enemies were more inex- hauftible than their own. The point at iffue then clearly is, whether our finances are fo deranged as to compel us to make peace upon their terms, or whether we can yet find refources to carry on the war. It may be, that the diftrefles of the French have been and ftill are magnified ; but whether it is fo or not, they know the real ftate of their wants and refources, and it is doing both them and ourfelves a real fervice, it is doing the human race a fervice, to let them know ours ; it is doing all mankind a great fervice to fhew, that though England has increafed her debts, yet her refources have increafed in a higher ratio ; and that, comparatively reckoned, our burthens are B 2 lefs 4 FINANCES AND RESOURCES lefs heavy than they were eleven years ago ; and that, therefore, unlefs France has refources for fe- veral campaigns yet to come, and thinks Holland and Belgium worth purchafing at fuch a price, fhe fliould be given up as unprofitable or impoilible to keep. If there are any perfons who make it their bufi- nefs to miflead minifters with refpeft to the refources of France, they are to blame j and thofe who millead France, with refpe6t to thofe of England, are certainly not lefs fo. Whether there are any of the former or not is a queftion not publicly folvedj but that there are of the latter is very certain ; for nothing is left undone to drive us to defpair, and confequently to encourage our enemies. The declamations of thofe perfons, who wifli us to offer peace to France, are of fuch a nature as to prevent the French from making any rea- fonable peace with us ; they reprefent this country as enfiavcd and ruined. Revolt is now held up, not to be a matter of moral right or wrong, but merely an affair of prudence or imprudence, and bankruptcy is announced as being at the door. 1 heir declamations are, like the roll of Ezekiel, fu// of mourning, lamenta- tions, and woe; and the blood about to be flied on OF GREAT BRITAN". 5 on the banks of the Rhine will flow, becaufe France thinks that the laft hour of the refources of England is near at hand. Yes, philanthropifls, patriots, and philofophers, your tongues are more fraught with murder and mifchief than the fabres of the Auftrian legions ; it is you who fet the armies in array, by infpiring falfe hopes of conqueft; you fpread defolation and death, under the hypocritical mafk of good will towards men, and the love of peace ; your pretended patriotifm, whilft it fpeculates on univerfal happinefs, rifques that of your own country, and puts every thing that men hold dear to fociety in danger. Before the work of death is again begun, let us appeal to fafts; and then, if our enemies perfift, it will be with their eyes open. The fyftem of borrowing money to carry on war is in itfelf one that tends ultimately to ruin any nation that adopts it, unlefs a fund is aflign- ed for paying it off by degrees, without which it would perpetually augment. This general ftatement of the cafe, which, in refpect to truth, does not admit of being difputed, has, by its mifapplication, been productive of much 6 FINANCES AND RESOURCES many errors, and thofe errors have proceeded both from moral and phyfical caufes. Mofl men are as gloomy in their fpeculations on public affairs as they are fanguine in their perfonal ones, owing partly to the jamidiced eye with which they view the condu61: of thofe who rule, and partly to an inexplicable pleafure that the mind has in contemplating dijajler on the great Jc ale ^ and flying from it on the fmall. This propenfity has led men to apply the general principle of accumulating debt produc- ing bankruptcy with too great llriftnefs, and without confidering that feveral things may retard its operation. The diminution of the value of money, which has been prodigioufly great, has, in a very mate- rial degree, countera6led our increafing burthens, becaufe it has reduced the real fum paid annual- ly confiderably below what the nominal one is ; if it had not been for this countera6tion, Eng- land would certainly have been bankrupt ere now ; for if money were now as valuable as it was when Charles the Second iliut the Exchequer, from inability of paying the principal of a debt of j^. 1, 200,000, certainly it would be impoffible to pay an equal fum every month, which the Exchequer has done for many years paft. If OF GREAT BRITAIN. 7 If money fliould decreafe in value fafter than the debts increafe, then the burthens on the people, though nominally augmenting^ max be a5iually diminijh^ ing. This is an axiom in finance, and ignorance alone is capable of difputing it*. It follows from this, that the real increafe of debt can only be found by diminiOiing it in the ratio that the money in which it is paid has loft its value, or augmenting it, if money has become of greater value. But there are Hill two other things that (like as in the variation of the compafs) require the progrefs of the debt to undergo a farther cor- rection. The burthens of the ftate are in part borne by thofe who receive the money of the ftate; there- fore, as the revenue increafes, the quantity furniftied by the ftate itfelf augments alfo. This likewife is an axiom. The third corre6tion neceflary arifes from the general profperity of the nation, or, in other words, * The French affignats are an inftance of this. The ftate owes now f///u/T. '^ /'A/A /. Vi^-'V.- '. f/aft //. OF GREAT BRITAIN. 9 The part that is ftained yellow reprefents the free revenue of England, from the middle of the fifteenth century till now. Until the beginning of our debt, at the revolution of 1688, the whole revenue was free, that is to fay, was applicable to the yearly expences of government j and, until that period, wars or other extraordinary expences were paid for by donations or exac- tions, that is, by temporary levies of money, or by voluntary gifts from the people. Since the debt began, the portion of the reve- nue that has been applied to paying the intereft of it, has been in no degree at the difpofal of minifters, and, therefore, is diftinguiilied by being ftained of a blue colour; fo that the red line reprefents the total increafe of our revenue of both defcriptions. We perceive, indeed, an amazing and prodi- gious rife fince the commencement of this period; a rife fo immenfe as to prove of itfelf, that if collateral and co-exifting circumftances had not counterafted its operation, it would have been impoftible to have gone on till this time, as our expences are more than twenty times as great as in the time of Queen Elizabeth, and ten times as great as during the reign of Charles the Second. The revenues of France, during the fame period, are delineated, in order to compare the in- C crcafe 10 FINANCES AND RESOURCES creafe in that country with ours: notvvithftand- ing the bankruptcy that took place during the regency, anil various temporary expedients for raifing fupplies, it increafed very rapidly. One thing is to be obferved, that the debts of France arofe, ever fince the firlt years of Louis the Fourteenth, from a conftant deficit both in times of war and of peace ; and it was this deficit, and not the great amount of the revenue, that brought on the revolution. The total amount of the expences, exceeded the revenue by (on the leafi: calculation) 56,000,000 of livres, or about ^.2,300,000 fterling*, which the court was * In the days of the great Sully, and his good mafter Henry IV. there was a confiderable excefs of revenue. An anecdote of the king's minifter, that fliews the fcale on which things were then, and the manners of the times, proves it. Henry had long confidered, that to enfure peace he muft be prepared for war, and Sully feconded him well. A little before his unfortunate end, Henry, forefeeing a ftorm, went to Sully, and fat do>vn by his fire-fide in a lozu chair kept for the king's ufe. My friend, faid he, how much money have you got hoarded for me ? Guefs, Sire, faid the chancellor. Four millions, perhaps. More than that, was the anfwer; guefs again. Six millions. More than that ; guefs again. Sire. Eight millions. No; more ftlll. Ten millions. Then the good king's eyes gliflened with joy, from the double feehng of his wealth and the fidelity of his friend ; the king continued to guefs, rifing two millions each time, till he came to 30. Th;re you have it, faid Sully; when the king jumped up in a tranfport of joy, embraced his old friend and faithful fervant, and then burft into a flood of tears ! ! ! too OF GREAT BRITAIN. II too carelefs to fave by economy, as might eafily have been done, for their free revenue was near double of ours, and the nation was unwilling to pay. Another thing to be obferved here is, that money was of greater value in Paris than in London; and in the provinces of France, of far greater value than in the country of England; befides, it coft more in collefting three times over than ours does. As it is not a matter of great importance to en- quire into the exa6t proportion between our debt and theirs, we fliall only guefs at it, and in doing fo, we fhall reckon the value of money, upon an average through all France, compared with all Eng- land, to have been nearly two-thirds more. The vexatious and expenfive colle8ion augmented them another third; fo that (upon the fame fcale with ourfelves) we may fay, that France paid about forty millions annually, with this additional griev- ance, that foldiers, courtiers, and nobles were ex- empted, in fome cafes, from paying their proportion, io that thofe who received did not contribute their full fliarc towards the revenue, as in England. It may not be amifs here to obferve, that the revenues of the clergy in France were greater C 2 than 12 FINANCES AND RESOURCES than thofe of the crown, being about twenty-five millions i fo that proportion of the value of money, and every thing taken into confideration, France paid to the ftate and clergy about eighty millions annually ; and yet it was not this that ruined her, but the excefs of expence over the revenue. So true it is, as Dr. Adam Smith faid, *' That there is a great deal of ruin in a nation*." France too, though much more extenfive and populous than England, had lefs trade and lefs induftry; fo that, on the whole, it was very feverely taxed. Another oblervation to be made on the French revenue is, that its increafe and that of England going fo nearly alike, proves that fomc common caufe operated on both ; and that the politics of both countries are intimately conne6ted together. Chart II. is a glorious one for England, and fhews the great increafe of our trade fmce the beginning of the prefent century. The divifions in it are as in the firft, only, that as commerce is more variable than revenue, we have exprelTed every * I heard him cbferve this in a private company, where he difperfed true information, in elegant language, as profnfely as ever Dr. Johnfon difperfed abufe in a harfli and fevere flyle. year OF GREAT BRITAIN. 11 O year fince the acceffion of his prefent Majefty to the throne. One of the moft pleafing and moft extraordi- nary things, is to fee our trade, which, during the American war, decreafed fo prodigioufly, increafe now fafler than ever ; and that all former times are left far behind by the commercial exports of the prefent year. That this refource has increafed fafter than our burthens is clear; and certainly, before Eng- land will humble to a foreign foe, and confent either to an unfair or an illufive peace, the French, who export nothing of any value, rnuft expert that we will employ this great refource for its own prefervation. Our induftry commands twenty- four millions fterling of foreign produce and ma- nufactures, and if France is left m.iftrefs of Holland and Flanders, we cannot long expect it to remain fo; we fliould therefore be mad to give it up with- out firft making ufe of that force which it gives us to defend itfelf. This chart is that which muft, or at leafl ought, to make the greateft impreffion on our enemies, and convince them that if England has orators to declaim on her mifery, (lie has alfo merchants and manufafturers to fupport her profperity; aye. iiud to augment it too ! ! Let 14 FINANCES AND RESOURCES Let US now return to the intereft of our debts, and by dedu61ing the three quantities necefTary to afcertain its real amount, draw, as near as we can, a true conclufion, obferving, firft, that an accurate one is neither polTible nor necefTary. The moft ufeful comparifon is between the prefent time and the years 1 784 or 1 7 85, when our debts were the greateft and our commerce the lead that they had ever been at any one time. The nation began to flourifli more rapidly than ever under thofe circumftances ^ it eftabliflied a fund of a million for paying off the principal of the debt J foreign trade increafed, and manufac- ture beyond example; and it follows that the nation was then not near ruin. If then we can prove that, all things taken into account, the nation is not under heavier burthens than fhe was eleven years ago, notvvithftanding the new debts, we fliall have proved that the nation is not near ruined now ; but if we can go ftill farther, and prove that it has not fuch heavy burthens as it had then, we shall prove that England is yet far from ruin. The bafis of this demonftration is the a6lual amount of intereft in 1785, and at the prefent time, from which latter we fliall dedu6l the three (quantities which, by the three axioms before given. OF GREAT BRITAIN. I5 giveiij ought to be dedufted, that is to fay, we muft deduct the increafe of thofe quantities fince the former period. In 1785, the whole amount of the interell of the debtwasannuallvjT. 9, 200,000, to which, foon after, was added one million more for the finking fund, making in all £. 1 0,200,000 ; at that time it was cal- culated chat we paid 3J. 4J. in the pound, or one fixth of the whole income of the nation ; this lixth of the £. 10,200,000, or £. 1,700,000, is to be de- duced, leaving j^. 8,500,000 for the real amount paid by the nation at large in 1 785. Since then the intereft of debt has increafed nominally to thirteen millions, from which we fliall only deduft 3J-. 4<^. in the pound, as before, becaufe the national revenue has not increafed fafter than the revenue of individuals. This makes ^T. 2, 1 66,666, leaving then ^^.lo, 833,333. We have next to confider the decreafe of the value of money, which cannot be eftimated at lefs than one-fifth* within thefe lail ten years — It might even be efl:imated at more, but thofe who *^ This fingle article would require a volume to dlfcufs x!fe» completely ; but a complete dilcuffion, or minute inveftigation, is not necelTary, when the fa6t is evident to every one, and where we do not mean to take it to its greatefl extent. See in the Appendix a calculation on this head. mean l6 FINANCES AND RESOURCES mean to convince, fliould never ftretch to the greatcft polTiblc extent any fa6t that is in any degree doubtful ; 10,833,333 niinus, one-fifth is equal to 8,666,666. Again, the exports of the country have in- creafed, on an average, ;^. 8,000,000 ; one more million, therefore, comes to the ftate from the cuftoms directly, as they in all produce three millions; but as this is additional revenue, we muft likewife add 2^. 4J. in the pound of its amount, or one-fixth of eight millions, vv^hich makes j^. 1,333,333. So that the whole amount of our burthens now, taken for interefl of debt, are thus, when compared with thofe of 1785: Nominal OF GREAT BRITAIN. IJ Nominal amount 13,000,000 To be deducted one-fixth, or 3J. 4<^. in the pound on this fum, as being contributed by thofe who receive revenue . 2,200,000 One-fifth of the re- mainder for the de- gradation of money 2,200,000 Three fliillings and four-pence in the pound upon the ad- ditional revenue from exports . . 1,330,000 One million from the Cuftoms . . . 1,000,000 6,730,000 Real burthen now . . 6,270,000 Real burthen in 178^ . 8,500,000 Diminution in the quan- tity 2,230,000 We are then 2,230,000 lefs burthened in pro- portion to our ftrength than in 1785, when the nation flouriflied highly; fo that, provided we continue to have our prefent trade, and that money continues to have the fame value, we can D bear 1 l8 FINANCES AND RESOURCES bear 2,230,000, or full two millions, before the burthen will be more fcverely felt than in 1785. So far then have we been from getting back- wards, and fo far are we from bankruptcy, that forty millions more added to the debt, at five per cent, will only place us as we were ten years ago; with this in our favour, that the finking fund has paid ojflf fixteen millions of capital, and is now one thoufand four hundred inftead of a million, as it was then. Without attempting (or venturing) to fay that this calculation brings to the exact truth, which it is impollible for us to come at, we may, how- ever, aver, that it is not more in our favour than it ought to be; for the depreciation of money has been, moft affuredly, under rated. But as during war, great fums are expended, I and above two-thirds of them at home, hence another fund of revenue arifes; for if 18 millions are expended in a year, 12 millions of that, at leaft, pay 35. ^d. in the pound, which amounts to two millions, from which the nation at large is exonerated while thofe expenditures lajl. The increafed wealth of the nation, from the abbreviations of labour, arifing from the inventions of OF GREAT BRITAIN. ip of ingenious men, in mechanics and in chemiftry, has prodigioufly increafed our powers of bearing burthens. Monf. le Chevalier de Coulomb, who had been fent by the ancient French government into this country to look into our manufactures, faid, that he calculated that the work of three mil^ lions of people was done in England by machines^ fuch as Aleflrs. Bolton and Watt's fire-engines, the cotton-fpinning machines, &c. &;c. and that thefe three millions of labourers only coft the commu- nity at large, at the rate of three-halfpence a day. I give his calculation as he gave it me, in 1788, becaufe I have feldom feen a more ingenious, and never a more pains-taking, accurate man than him. Putting the value produced by the labour of thefe three millions at one {lulling per day, and deducing the three-halfpence, we have juft two millions of French livres every day, or a million fterling in twelve working days of clear profit, which makes twenty-fix millions a year. The truth is, then, that England has, in point of finance, great refources, and a vaft ftore of means left to continue the war, if neceffary ; and that thofe who would reduce us to defpair, by their lamentation and mourning, do not enter into the merits of the cafe; they do not calcu- late fairly, and are only harping on the fame firing that our forefathers have heard founded in their ears ever fince the national debt begun. D2 It 20 FINANCES AND RESOURCES It is, no doubt, true, that the very fudden de- preciation of money is attended with much jncon- veniency to many individuals J and that the pre- fent high price of many articles of life is extremely diftreffing; yet by no means are thofe evils fo great as to induce us to let the ambition of the French be indulged with the poffeflion of Oftend, Antwerp, Rotterdam, Amfterdam, and, in fliort, the whole fea-coaft, with all its harbours, from the Bay of Bifcay to the mouth of the Elbe — from Spain to Denmark. No — while we have fuch refources, we will employ them to proteft the fource from which they fpring. Hitherto we have not, as it plainly appears by what has here been proved, fuffered much in our finances. We have been fiourifliing in trade more and more. But even if that were not the cafe, we could make exertions, as we did during the American war, when commerce was funk, and our refources di- minifhed. Among other unfounded affertions of thofe who try to infpirit the French, and drive us to defpair, it is one, that our minifters are reduced to vile expedients to raife money. As a proof, however, of the contrary, taking the whole na- tional debt on an average, it has been borrowed at four and a half per cent, and the loan of this prefent war at four and one-fixth, which is cheaper. And as to exaggerations of arrears due^ and OF GREAT BRITAIN. 21 and other fuch hobgoblins, they are not to be confidered as any thing, when brought againil the commercial interefts or honour of the nation. The HEAD CORNER-STONE fliall not then be bruifed, nor reduced to a powder; it is as hard, as durable, and as well protefted as ever. Our ene- mies count upon the derangement of our finances for victory! They are trufting to a broken reed; their caufe is defperate. — But why do I fay fo? The French are not fo much to blame as thofe who deceive them — fo much as thofe ravens who croak fo hoarfely on the battlements of Macbeth, foreboding for this nation bankruptcy, revolt, and all the ills that attend them. The evils attendant on war are very many and very great ; but as two wars are worfe than one, it follows, that we muft continue till fecurity can be obtained, elfe we fhall have a peace attended by all the inquietudes and expences of war. That a fecure peace may fpeedily be obtained is moft lincerely to be wifhed; and nothing can con- tribute to it fo much as convincing the French, once for all, by clear demonftration, that our re- fources are far from being exhaufted, as they have treacheroufly been encouraged to believe; if this demonftration (liall be in any manner in- ftrumental in that, it will fully repay its author, who 22 FINANCES AND RESOURCES who founds his hopes on this, that wars, law- fuits, and moft contcfts, civil or military, owe their origin to a zvant of knowledge of the true fate of the oppofte party, and undervaluing their refources. To conclude ; the general grounds of thofe argu- ments are undeniably fair, and by reafonable hypothelis we find, that our finances are in a better fi:ate by a very large funi than they were ciigiitisih^. years ago; the mofl: then that any per- fon can fay is, that we have exceeded the real ftate of fafts in our hypothelis. Although con- vinced that fuch is not the cafe, yet let it be granted, that England is as heavily burthened as in the year 1786, ftill it follows, that we are far from ruined, or without refource ; and that it is not from any increafe of debt, that two or even three more campaigns can bring on, that we have a bankruptcy to fear; for certainly, between the flourifliing ftate of the nation in 1786, and a ftate of ruin and difcredit, there is a very confiderable diftance which we have to pafs over, before we fliall find ourfelves unable to act, or to aid our allies. While death only as yet hovers around the mighty armies that have been collefted, let truth, attended by perfuafion, enter into the councils of thofc in whofe power it is to avert car-r nage. OF GREAT BRITAIN. 23 nage; may they confider the confequences of failure, and the fmall profpeft of fuccefs; it is with the leaders of the French nation certainly that the power of peace lies; let them be reafon- able, and their bleeding country will for once blefs them for wifdom and humanity. On quitting this fubjefl, after demonflrating that our finances are very far from being exhaufted, it may not be improper to fay a few words, to explain to other nations, how it happens that the contrary idea has been fpread abroad. It is a very old cuftom in this country to repre- fent the conftitution as infringed, and the finances as ruined ; nothing brings oppofition fo much in favour with the people. This is a fort of nation- al mufic, that pleafes us iilanders as much as Vive Henry Qiiatre ufed to pleafe the French Royalifts, or as the Marfeillois Hymn pleafes the Republicans; and what pleafes us we readily believe, fo that aflertions of ruin go farther than proofs of profperity amongft us. The loans, during the prefent war, have been made at a lower rate of interefl: than during any former period. The funds have kept higher, and, therefore, that is a proof, that the monied people are fatisfied as to the ftate of our finances; and 24 FINANCES AND RESOURCES befides that, they arc more deeply interefted in it than any body elfe, they are better judges as being better informed. The tranfaction of the Hamburgh bills, inftead of being a proof of deranged finances, is a proof, that as oppofition are fo eager to find a flaw, as to reprefent this as a fvvindling and bank- rupt rcfourcc, they have nothing very ferious to take hold of. That operation has been a prodi- gious field for criticifm, and if minifters profit by the lefifon, they will do fomething of the fame fort every year, that oppofition whales may have a tub to -play with. The condu6l of the vt^ar has been another grand mark to flioot at; nothing but a vi6lory like the ift of June by fea pleafes us. The French navy, which in the beginning was equal almoft to ours, dares not now put to fea. Lord Howe was long turned into ridicule, and called the Marquis of Torbay, becaufe he could not bring them to action; he was exhibited in prints in the fliop windows with heaps of French gold fhowering down upon him, juft as the king and his minifters are reprefented now, fetting round a table eating guineas. The ift of June fhewed the infamy of the accufation, and the old hero anfwered his calumniators from the cannon's mouth. OF GREAT BRITAIN. 2^ mouth ; but miniflers have no means of excul- pating themfelves in fuch an oftenfible manner. Talien, Legendre, and the men who do the bufmefs of France, coft fifty times as much as all our minifters ; yet democrats will have it, that royalty is the only government to which expence is attached. This is as mean and pitiful as it is falfe. The French republic cofts more money than all the other governments in Europe put together. Not in affignats, and nominally, but in real value. They have difcovered in France, ere now, that it was not the fufpenfion of the civil lift that could enrich the nation, and give the people bread. What makes living dearer in America than in any other country ? There we hear of no cabinet dinners, and the great Wafliington does not eai gold. Yet thofe who have emigrated from this country, have found they have not changed for the better. They are now contented to confefs that they have not arrived in Elderado *, and that people may ftarve for want, in a country where there are neither places^ penjions, nor peers. They have difcovered, that the rich are but the * The emigrants to America have had at laft the candour to publifli an account of their fituation, to warn others not to follow their example. This is praife worthy. E fte wards 26 FINANCES AND RESOURCES ftewards of the poor, and that one rich man can- not enjoy his wealth, without giving bread to numbers. Where there are few rich people the common clafTes are always very poor. Scotland, where taxes are very low, and provifions cheap, is far worfe for the poor people than England. There wages are Hill lower in proportion. They can- not afford to eat the fleili their paftures feed, but muft fell it in England, where we are fo cruelly crulhed down with debt and taxes ! Truth makes its way always in the end, though fometimes flowly,andat prefent its progrefs is migh- tily impeded by the efforts that are made to pre- vent it ; but in proportion as it does make its way, its enemies become violent, irritable, and abufive. The language now ufed by the mino- rity in Parliament, and by their friends out of doors, is interfperfed with many phrafes borrow- ed from Billingfgate ; and they are applied, with great vehemence, to all thofe who, forefeeing the danger of revolutions, have endeavoured to ftop them. Mr. Burke having had the misfortune to irri- tate Thomas Paine, has drawn down upon himfelf and his friends, known by the name of the Port- land party, the peculiar vengeance of all our reformers. The Duke of Bedford need now no longer be afliamed of lending his phaeton to his OF GREAT BRITAIN. 27 his defender Mr. Thelwall, and Norfolk's Duke may lend his bob-wig to Mr. Miles, for they are fellow labourers in the field with Mr. Sheridan *. Each has had his hit at Mr. Burke, and bye blows at his friends ; and if they do wifely they will en- courage fuch men to attack them again and again ; for as Mr. Burke is now too old to charm us much longer with his elegant fancies, let us have fomething to laugh at in another ftyle, fuch as Mr. Miles's fimilitude of buttons as broad as turn- pike-roads, and like pleafantries of gigantic calibre. Mr. Miles, who delights to attack a Duke of Grafton, a Prince of Wales, or a Mr. Burke. The firft, like Falftaff 's victory, was over a dead man ; Junius had killed him long ago. The fcurrility thrown on the Prince was equally cow- ardly j and this is not lefs fo, as he perpetually exults in Mr. Burke's being a defolate old man, and that he himfelf is frefli and vigorous; befides, he has a number of aiTiftants, citizens, and gen- tlemen. When Mr. Miles is ferioufly fcurrilous, he only draws his breath once in half an hour ; and when he is jocofe, it is fomething like the witch of Endor, or old mother Red Cap, in amon rous dalliance. * This alludes to a print, in which the Duke of Bedford is reprefented as a farmer fowing guineas, Sheridan is plowing, Mr. Fox is the fun to fhine upon the work ; and the field produces pikes and red bonnets. E^ Yet 28 FINANCES AND RESOURCES Yet all thefe things give the people an idea that they are terribly opprcfTed, when dukes, lords, efquires, and fimple citizens, fight againft thofe who are reprefented as their oppreffors. Mr. Burke's penfion, fay they, muft be enormous when the Duke of Bedford, who is fo rich, thinks it too great. This, indeed, would be fomcthing like an argument, if it were not remembered, that the noble Duke's grandfather objected to the labour- er's wages being more than feven-pence a day. This fliews that rich men may have wrong ideas of fums, and that fome of them may think what another gets is always too much. Mr. Fox too, had once a penfion, and he fold it, as Mr. Burke is faid to have done. And when a man does it to pay his debts, what can be more honourable or honeft ? Is it not better than like fome oppofition orators who oblige the bailiffs to come through the roof of the houfe to feize, that the landlord may have his rent. The number of champions that fight in a caufe, are nothing to its juftice; neither is their abufe and fcurrility, any proof of it, though they may feem to be fo ; we muft not therefore form an opinion from that, but dedu6ting much for per- fonal enmities, and ftill more for perfonal intereft, fit down calmly and reckon up the good and the bad, and draw a balance fairly, inftcad of only liftening OF GREAT BRITAIN. ig liftening to one fide, and then we JJiall come at the truth, and find that England is neither ruined nor likely to be fo, and that thofe who call out fo violently are in an error ; and one of fo ferious a nature in its confequences, that to perfift is fport- ing with the lives of thoufands, and with the happinefs of all the nations now at war. APPENDIX. THERE is no certain or accurate mode by which the depreciation of money can be afcertained, except at the end of a long term of years, becaufe it takes a long time for the various articles with which it may and mull be compared to find their true level. If we were to fet about calculating the depre- ciation fince the time of Queen Elizabeth, it might be done with tolerable accuracy by the wages of labour and the neceflaries of life, but the cafe is different, when the year 1785 is com- pared with the prefent year. If we compare the price of the builiel of wheat with the pound Iterling, money would appear to have loft one half of its value. Ifwe compare it with beef and other butchers meat, it has loft one-third, vegetables have rifen in as great a proportion, but the wages of labour have not — though they muft 3© APPENDIX. mufl: follow. Carpenters, joiners, fmiths, taylors, and common labourers, have rifen from one-fixth to one quarter more than they were ten years ago; and yet, if articles of neceffity do not fall, wages will rife ftill more. As to thofe labourers and do- meftic fervants, whofe wages confift partly in their vi6luals, it is clear their money wages have no need to increafe in the fame proportion, but ftill they have increafed and are increafing. The whole aug- mentation of articles taken together, as fome have nearly doubled, others augmented one-third, and few lefs than one-fixth, it is very fair and within bounds to eftimate the depreciation of money at one-fifth. Any houfekeeper, man in trade, or common obferver, will I believe fay, that living is become one-fifth dearer within thefe ten years at leaft. This is faying that the money has loft one-fifth of its value. The wages of labourers in France were not above one-half what they are in England, except in Paris. A mafon or carpenter there, got 45, or 50 fols a day — a labourer 30 or 2,t^. That is, the mechanic about 12 or 13 fliillings a week, the labourer from yj. dd. to loj. It is therefore very fair to fay, that money was of much greater value in France than in England. All neceflaries of life, butchers meat excepted, was much cheaper alfo. Bread ufed to be 2 fols the lb. or 4^. Englifli, for a loaf of 41b. in Paris. All forts of vegetables were ftill cheaper in proportion. APPENDIX. 3« STATEMENT OF THE NATIONAL DEBT, AT MIDSUMMER, 1795. 5 per Cent. Bank An- nuities 4 per Cent. Conf. An. 3 per Cent. Red. Ann. 3 per Cent. Conf. An. 3 per Cent. An. 1726 Bank Stock South-Sea Stock . . . OJd South-Sea Ann. . NewSouth-Sea Ann. South-Sea Ann. 1751 Prelent Value of the Long Annuities . . Ditto Short Annuities Ditto Life Annuities Annuities on Lives, with Survivorfhip, 1765 Tontine Annu. 1789 . Prefent Value of Ex- chequer Annuities Funded Debt . . Navy, Victualling, & OrdnanceBills, about Exchequer Bills . . . Do. on Vote of Credit Deficiency of Ways and Means Total of the National Debt, and of the Ann. Int. thereon . Intereft and Manag e- Principal. ment. C- s. d. £■ s. d. 21,831,382 \6 7 1,101,393 5 3 41,500,000 1,678,675 41,540,073 16 4 1,264,895 4 11 142,649,696 5 H 4,921,414 10 4. 1,000,000 30,450 11,686,800 356,502 3 5 3,662,784 8 ^ ) 11,907,470 2 '^ 735,974 13 11 8,494,830 2 10 3 1,919,600 58,667 15 6 18,048,227 1 5 862,615 10 3,976,704 I 10 422,881 15 5 493,767 1 8 61,720 18 7 18,000 540 290,883 2 8 18,180 3 11 634,781 5 3 80,222 18 2 309,655,000 11 H 6,000,000 3,500,000 2,500,000 1 395,584 J 322,050,584 11 9^ 11,594,133 10 3 619,779 4 12,213,912 14 3 Since that time 1 8 millions have been borrowed, which makes the whole amount of intereft as near as poffible 13 millions. Ever 32 APPENDIX. Ever fince the year 1792, the finking fund has been increafed by an additional fum voted, and it has been provided, that every new loan (hall have a finking fund attaclied to it, equal to one per cent, on the capital ; which, at compound intereft, will pay ofFfuch loans in about forty-five years. Our loans are not therefore now to be con- fidered as perpetual ones, but as annuities FOR FORTY-FIVE YEARS ONLY. This IS a Very great difference y and if adhered to, will dejiroy entirely the fatal tendency of national debt. N. B. The amount of French revenue was taken from a very accurate ftatement, made in Paris in the year 1788. FINIS. '¥my^M^m