Iw 'Y -^^ \ ^>mr^{^W 
 
 . ■!«;/, 
 
 THE UNIVERSITY 
 
 OF ILLINOIS 
 
 LIBRARY
 
 THE 
 
 SUBSTANCE 
 
 SPEECH '. 
 
 OF 
 
 THE RIGHT HOJ^OURABLE 
 
 HENRY ADDINGTON, 
 
 COMMITTEE 
 
 OF 
 
 WAYS AND MEANS, 
 
 On FRIDAY, DECEM B ER the lOth, 180^ 
 
 PRINTED FOR J. HATCHARD, BOOKSELLER TO H£K 
 MAJESTY, NO. I9O, PICCADILLY. 
 
 1803.
 
 -oiq §^ 
 
 
 i>3;t^H 
 
 ..■'Mi eai
 
 THE 
 SUBSTANCE OF THE SPEECH 
 
 OF 
 
 THE RIGHT HONOURABLE 
 
 HENRY ADDINGTON. 
 
 Mr. Addington began by observing, that 
 before he entered upon the subjects to which 
 his notice referred, he was desirous of submit- 
 ting to the Committee the grounds on which 
 he was induced to bring them forward so early 
 in the session. It would appear from the notice, 
 that it was his intention to propose a vote of 
 4,000,000/. on the credit of the growing pro- 
 duce of the Consolidated Fund ; and also to 
 take a general view of the financial situation of 
 the country, as far as it could be explained with 
 any degree of accuracy, at the present period 
 of the year. 
 
 The immediate occasion of the motion which 
 he had to propose was to be found in the extra- 
 ordinary produce of the revenue during the last 
 half year. It would be recollected that 4,500,000/. 
 had been voted on the credit of the Conso- 
 lidated
 
 4 
 
 lidated Fund for one year, to the 5th of April 
 1803. Of that sum, no less than 3,800,000/. 
 had been reahzed on the 10th of October last ; 
 and there was little doubt that, at the end of 
 the current quarter, viz. on the 5 th of January, 
 the surplus of the Consolidated Fund would 
 exceed the 700,000/. necessary to complete 
 the whole sum. The Gommittee, therefore^ 
 would be aware, that, unless a power were given 
 to His Majesty to apply to the public service 
 such further surplus as might accrue, a con- 
 siderable sum might remain dead and useless 
 in the Exchequer, whilst money must be 
 raised by other means to defray the necessary 
 expences, • A 
 
 The reason for the second part of the notice 
 was, the intimate and inseparable connection 
 betyeen the state of the Consolidated Fund and 
 the general financial situation of the country ; 
 and as the House had already voted a large part 
 of the supplies for the ensuing year, it could not 
 but be material, that the public should be ap- 
 prized of the means by which those supplies >verc 
 to be raised. 
 
 Mr. Addington then proceeded to advert to 
 the financial operations of the year 1 802. The 
 Committee would recollect that, in the last 
 session of the late parliament, a capital of 
 97,000,000/. had been provided for ; of which, 
 
 5^,500,000/.
 
 5 
 
 '66,300,000 1. v:as the amount of the sum, fot 
 the redemption of whicli the Income Tax had 
 been made responsible; about 11,000,000/. 
 arose from the funding of Exchequer Bills, and 
 the remaining 30,000,000 /. from the loan of the 
 present year. 
 
 For this sum, the charge to be provided 
 somewhat exceeded 3,100,000/. It would not 
 be forgotten that a hope had been expressed on 
 his part, that the produce of the taxes intended 
 to cover the amount of this charge would prove 
 considerably more than adequate to that ob- 
 ject ; and he had peculiar satisfaction in stating, 
 that the hope so expressed had been realized. 
 A complaint had, at the time, been made, of his 
 having proposed taxes, the produce of which 
 would greatly exceed Avhat was requisite to 
 defray the charge of the debt to be pro- 
 vided for. To this accusation he had pleaded 
 guilty, and had admitted his expectation to be, 
 that their produce would not fall short of 
 4,000,000/. How did the matter stand ? In the 
 first quarter, the taxes on malt, beer, on ex- 
 ports and imports, and on the tonnage of ship- 
 ping, actually yielded 926,000/. To this might 
 be added the additional assessed taxes, of which 
 scarcely any part had yet been received, and 
 which were estimated at 1,000,000/. per annum. 
 With the addition therefore of one-fourth of 
 
 this
 
 6 
 
 'this sum to that which had been realized, 'it 
 %^Olild appear that the produce of the taxes of 
 'Kt>2,'''iii tlieijtiatter' 'ending the 10th of Octo- 
 ber in that year, mighi'tfeffafrl';^ 'estimated at 
 
 " "Mr. Addington then said that it would be re- 
 :niernbered he had stated on a former day, that 
 ;"one effect of the ample provision made in the 
 ^jksi'^^ssion had heefi, that it had afforded the 
 iitfeans of accomplishing a considerable rediic- 
 "tion of the outstanding unfunded debt, of Avhich 
 'ftbless than 18,000,000/. had beentdketi^btitibf 
 'ffie market. "' • •^^• 
 
 ,The unfunded debt, in Exchequer- Bills 
 ■^nd Navy Debt, which, in November tBO^, 
 
 amounted to upwards of 37,300,000/. had been 
 ^rediiced to about 19,500,000/.; of which 
 ^ j,'000?000 /. which had been advanced by the 
 'Bank as a consideration for the renewal of their 
 "charter, bore no interest, and was not payable 
 'ti.il the year 1806; and 900,000/. Avas charg^ 
 'oh the annual taxes of the present year, the ar- 
 "r^^i^s'bf which would be sufficient for the li- 
 'Ijuidation of that sum. Deducting therefore 
 "3^,900,000/. which never came into the market, 
 "■^fid 4,500,000/. of Navy Debt, the remaining 
 
 Exchequer Bills scarcely exceeded 11,000.000/. 
 
 and of these, Parliament, since its meeting, 
 'liad provided for the discharge of 4,281,000/. ; 
 -^^- - and
 
 and it would appear by tlie accounts laid befare 
 the House, that the outstanding Exchequer Bills, 
 previous to the commencement of the war, 
 amounted to 9,500,000/. 
 
 It also afforded him the greatest satisfac- 
 tion to be enabled to state, that, with the 
 exception only of the Army Extraordinarics, 
 the grants of the last session had been found 
 sufficient to provide for all the service^ of 
 the year. Gentlemen, he was sure, would 
 recollect, that he had formerly expressed his 
 apprehensions that the sum of 1,600,000/. 
 which had been voted for Army Extraordi- 
 narics, would prove inadequate to the demand. 
 Every one must be aware of the impossibility 
 at all times of making a correct estimate for 
 that branch of the public service; and in the 
 present instance an unavoidable increase of ex- 
 pence had been occasioned by the detention of 
 our troops on foreign stations longer than there 
 had been reason to expect. He could not but 
 feel concern in estimating the excess in that 
 particular branch of the expenditure at upwards 
 of one miUion; but he had the consolation 
 of being able to state, that the total expences 
 of the Extraordinarics of the Army in 1802 
 would not be found to exceed one half of their 
 amount in the preceding year. It was also sa- 
 tisfactory to reflect, that the economical ,ipa- 
 
 nagement
 
 nagement of the Naval Service had efifected a 
 reduction of no less than 4,500,000/. of the 
 Navy Pel?t,^ which, had been discharged out 
 of the votes of the year. 
 
 He next proceeded to lay before the. Com* 
 mittee a statement of the Supplies and Ways 
 and Means for the ensuing year. For tlie 
 Navy there had been voted 50,000 seamen, at 
 7/. per man per month, the expence of which 
 would amount to 4,550,000/. 
 
 By 
 
 SUPPLIES, 1803. 
 
 NAVY.— 50,000 men, at 71. per man per month, £. 4,550,000 
 Ordinary and Extraordinary - - . 1,218,238 
 Buildings, &c 90l!l4rt £ 
 
 ,669,378 
 
 5,500,000 
 
 ARMY ----.-.. 
 
 Extraordinaries (including Surplus Extraordina- 
 
 ries issued in 1802} .... 2,000,000 
 
 7,500,000 
 787,947 
 524,573 
 
 ORDNANCE 
 
 CORN BOUNTIES - - , . . 
 
 MISCELLANEOUS, Ei^gland - ..." ~ 
 
 Ditto - - . . Ireland - . _ \ 1,000,000 
 
 IRISH PERMANENT GRANTS - - - T ." I 363,339 
 
 Amount of joint Charge - * 16,845,237 
 ENGLAND'S SEPARATE CHARGES : 
 
 To pay ofF Exchequer BiUs on Aids 1801 - - 2,781,000 
 
 Ditto ..... on Aids 1803, Bank . 1,500,000 
 
 Repayment to India Company - _ . _ 1,000 000 
 
 Interest on Exchequer Bills, and Discount, &c, - 600*000 
 
 Reduction of National Debt - - - . 100,000 
 
 '— — 5,981,000 
 
 Total Supplies . - 22,826,237 
 * 2-17ths of the above sum of £. 16,845,237, are ta 
 
 be contributed by Ireland - - _ . 1,981 792 
 Add for Ireland 2-17ths of £. 1,200,401, for Civil 
 Listahd other Charges on the Consolidated Fund, 
 
 not relating to the Public Debt - . - 141,223 
 
 On Account of Ireland - — 2,123,015 
 
 On Account of England . - _ 20,703,222
 
 By the estimates on the table it would appear, 
 that the remaining Naval Services, for which 
 votes would shortly be proposed to Parliament, 
 , amounted, under the head of Ordinary and Ex- 
 traordinary, to 1,218,238/. and for Building and 
 Repairing Ships of War, to 901,140/.; making 
 . a total expence for this great branch of our na- 
 ' tional defence of 6,659,378/. 
 
 For the Army there had been voted about 
 5,500,000/. and when the amount of the Extra- 
 ordinaries 
 
 s — I ■■ , " ' ■ 
 
 WAYS AND MEANS, 1S03. 
 
 Land and Malt £. 2,750,000 
 
 Surplus- Consolidated Fund --..-. 6,500,000 
 
 Exchequer Bills on Aids 1804 11,000,000 
 
 Lottery 500,000 
 
 f. 20,750,000 
 
 .xSLl 
 
 Eitimate of EXCHEQUER BILLS Outstanding on 
 Te, 31st December 1801 - . . £. 14,180,000 
 
 To be funded ... 7,000,000 
 
 To be paid off - - - 4,231,000 
 
 11,231,000 
 
 Proposed to be issued on Aids 1804 
 
 idth DrciMBiR, 1002.
 
 10 
 
 ordinaries Av^as laid before Parliament, \v'liicli 
 cquld npt take place till the end of the year, a 
 farther vote would be proposed for repaying the 
 excess which had arisen under that head, and 
 for providing an estimated sum for the service 
 of the ensuing year. These sums, as nearly 
 as he now could judge, would amount to 
 ^,000,000/. making a total of military expence 
 of 7,400,000/. 
 
 , iFor the Ordnance there had been voted 
 787,947 /. 
 
 For the repayment to th6 Consolidated Fund for 
 Bounties on the importation of corn, advanced 
 out of the revenue of Customs, 52,4!,573l. , 
 
 Of the Miscellaneous Service^ for t}^e United 
 Kingdom, he could not at present form an accu- 
 rate statement; but judging from the expenditure 
 of former years, he thought they might probably 
 amount to about 1,000,000/. ; to which were to 
 be added the Permanent Grants for the Civil 
 Government of Ireland, amounting to 363,339/. 
 
 The total of these various sums, amounting to 
 16,845,237/. formed the joint charge to be pro- 
 vided for by the diiferent parts of the United 
 Kingdom, in the proportions settled by the Act 
 of Union. 
 
 The proportion of Ireland being two-seven- 
 teenths, would be 1,981,792/. and that part of 
 the United Kingdom was likewise bound to 
 
 contribute
 
 11 
 
 contribute two-seventeenths of the ex pence of 
 the Civil List of Great Britain, and of the 
 other cliarges on the Consolidated Fund, not 
 connected with the Public Debt, amounting to 
 141,223/. ' wii.i/i.j ,. 
 
 He should now proceed to state ^€s€pskdie 
 charges to be provided for by Great Britain, 
 omitting those of Ireland, which would, on a 
 future occasion, be stated by his right honour- 
 able friend, the Chancellor of the Exchequer for 
 Ireland. 
 
 The first sum arose from a vote, which had 
 lately been agreed to by the House, to pay oft" 
 Exchequer Bills charged upon the Aids of 
 1801, amounting to 2,781,000/. 
 
 The next to be considered was a sum, of 
 which an account was on the table, and for 
 AV'hich a vote would shortly be proposed, being 
 the remainder of an advance of 3,000,000/. 
 made by the Bank in the year 1798, upon the 
 credit of Exchequer Bills, and -which had been 
 annually renewed till the present year, when one 
 half of them had been paid off. The remainitig^ 
 sum amounted to 1,500,000/. ^-^ ' 
 
 A further charge arose from an account sub- 
 sisting bet\veen Government and the East India 
 Company, for military expences incurred in 
 different expeditions. As the accounts of the 
 aniiament wliich had been sent from India to
 
 Egypt were not yet brouglit home, 'no pjecisfc 
 estimate could at present be formed of the ba?* 
 lunce. But it appeared pro])ab]e, frorii an in- 
 vestigation which had already taken place, that 
 a considerable sum would be due to the East 
 India Company, and he should for the present 
 make provision for a payment on account, of 
 
 a,,ooo,ooo/. 
 
 .:>7irhere were other separate charges, the amount 
 of which could not at present be ascertained 
 with complete accuracy ; they arose from In- 
 terest on Exchequer Bills, Discounts on the 
 Loan and Lottery, and certain other payments,, 
 which, in the account annually laid before 
 Parliament of the distribution of the moneji" 
 granted for public service, were classed under 
 the title of Payments, not being part of tlie 
 supplies of the year. He should estimate thein 
 nt 700,000/. and he had no reason to think they 
 would exceed that amount. The total of these 
 Separate charges was 5,981,000/. ; which, added 
 to the total of the joint charge before stated^ 
 at 16,845,257/. amounted to the sum of 
 £2, 8 26", 2 37/. From this sum, deducting 
 2,123,015/. to be contributed by Ireland, it 
 would appear that the expence to be provided 
 for by Great Britain was 20,703,222/. 
 ■ To meet this supply, Mr. Addington saitl 
 he should propose the following >Fays and 
 ;txigiot Means
 
 13 
 
 Means. The annual. Malfr Tax, and the otheir 
 taxes usually granted from year to year in the 
 room of the Land Tax, had alrearly been 
 voted by this House. iTl^eii' amount had been 
 taken at U,7oO,000/. and there was no proba- 
 bility of a deficiency arising upon these annual 
 grants, as bad formerly been' the jcase, the Land 
 Tax having usually fallen short of its nominal 
 amount, while the taxes substituted for it ha v^ 
 constantly produced the estimated sum.i-if£i'/7 "io 
 
 The next head to which he should proceed, 
 was thesurplusof the Consolidated Fund, which 
 he should estimate at 6,500,000/. His reasons 
 for expecting a produce to that amount, and for 
 the ditiercnce between that sum and 4,000,000/. 
 for which a vote would be proposed to the Com- 
 mittee, he begged leave to defer to another part 
 of his statement. ^ubui.!-- 
 
 \ The produce of the Lottery for the ensuing 
 year he should estimate at 500,000/. ; and with- 
 out entering at present into any detail on that 
 part of the subject, it would be a satisfac- 
 tion to the Committee to know, that the. new 
 system which had been introduced into the 
 drawing and regulations of the Lottery, had 
 been productive of the most beneficial effects. 
 
 The only remaining article, he had to state, 
 was an issue of Exchequer Bills, on the aids of 
 1 804, to the extent of 1 1,000,000/. Gentlemen 
 
 might
 
 u 
 
 might be sutpmetl at his mentioning solar^^'a 
 Sinn, and it might be necessaiy for him to es.^* 
 plain the grounds of this proposition, and the* 
 mode by which it was intended to carry it in*®/ 
 effect. He had akeady observed, that the Eja^f 
 chequer Bills now in circulation amounted W. 
 about 1 1,000,000/. only, exclusive of those which:; 
 were held by the Bank and bore no interest ; and' 
 that the amount of those outstanding, previous 
 to the war, was about 9,500,000/. The increase 
 of our trade, and the enlarged sphere of our 
 money transactions since that period, made that 
 additional sum no more than was commensurate 
 with^ perhaps necessary for, the convenience of 
 onr pecuniary dealings, and our commerce. Of? 
 this there were abundant proofs in the premium- 
 which Exchequer Bills now bore, notwithstand^i 
 ing the reduction of their interest ; in the uit^-) 
 willingness of the holders to pay them into the 
 Exchequer in discharge of taxes ; and in the ap- 
 plications made for fresh bills, in place of siich 
 as were advertized to be paid off. — Assuming, 
 therefore, that the quantity of Exchequer Bills 
 n^w in the market, was not greater than publl^"^* 
 convenience required, he should proceed to she# ■ 
 that it was not his intention to make any cotii-' 
 sidferabie addition to it, but that, at the end of 
 the year, they would not be more than eqitaf t^f 
 their present amount. "oong 
 
 The
 
 15 
 
 The Exchequer Bills now oritstanding, includ- 
 ing the sum advanced by the Bauk, amounted 
 to 14,180,000/. of which it was proposed to 
 vote the repayment of 4,28 1,000/. This sum 
 would be replaced by the gradual issue of the 
 5,000,000/. which have lately been voted oivtlie 
 aids of 1803; and when by the addition of fori^^ 
 ther sums, which Parliament might vote after 
 the recess, such a number of Exchequer Bills 
 should have been issued as to admit of the 
 measure, without too great a reduction of their 
 amount, it was his intention to propose that a 
 part of them, to the extent of from 6, to 
 8,000,000/. should be funded. This, however, 
 would not take place till a late period of the 
 session; and it was the only financial operation 
 which he had at present in contemplation. The 
 Committee would understand, that if at the time 
 it should be found impracticable to make a bar- 
 gain with the holders of the bills proposed to 
 be funded, on terms sufficiently favourable to, 
 the public, it Avould be necessary to propose a 
 loan to the same extent, for the purpose of 
 paying them off. He should not now trouble- 
 the Committee with any statement of the means 
 which had occurred to him for defraying- 
 the additional charge which would thus be 
 created; but he had a confident hope, that he 
 should, at the proper time, be able to propose 
 
 such
 
 16 
 
 such as would be sufficient for the purpose, 
 without any material addition to the burthens of 
 the public. Supposing, therefore, 7,000,000/. 
 of Exchequer Bills to be either funded or paid 
 off, and adding that sum to 4,281,000/. for 
 which Parliament had already provided, it would 
 appear by deducting that aggregate sum from 
 14,180,000/. the amount of Exchequer Bills 
 now outstanding, added to the 11,000,000/. 
 proposed to be issued, that the Exchequer 
 Billsj at the close of the year 1803, would 
 be reduced near 300,000/. below their present 
 amount. In this statement he had supposed the 
 5,000,000/. lately voted, although charged on 
 the aids of 1803, to form part of the 1 1,000,000/. 
 intended for the service of the ensuing year, 
 because such part of that sum as might be paid 
 off, would be replaced by other bills ; and so 
 many as might remain in circulation, would 
 be considered as constituting part of that sum. 
 Upon a recapitulation of the Ways and Means, 
 they would be found to amount to 20,750,000/. 
 exceeding, by 47,000/. the amount of the 
 supply. 
 
 Mr. Addington then stated it to be important 
 to take a review of the services of the ensuing 
 year, distinguishing such as were of a perma- 
 nent nature from such as were merely occasional 
 and temporary. It was only by such a review, 
 
 that
 
 ^ 17 
 
 that it would be possible for the Committee to 
 form a judgment how far the ordinary resources 
 of the country were capable of meeting its per- 
 manent expenditure. 
 
 Amongst the permanent services, he included 
 the Navy and Army, except such a part of 
 the Supply as might be necessary for defraying 
 the excess of the Extraordinaries for the present 
 year, which was to be considered, not as part 
 of the services for the year 1803, but as the 
 repayment of a debt contracted in 1802. To 
 these were to be added the Ordnance, the Mis- 
 cellaneous Services of Great Britain and Ire- 
 land, and the Interest on such Exchequer Bills 
 as might be usually kept in circulation. In 
 speaking of these services as permanent, he by 
 no means meant to infer, that they were likely 
 to continue at their present amount, but merely 
 that they were heads of expenditure, which 
 might always be expected to exist, although 
 varying in their extent, according to the cir- 
 cumstances of the times. The total of these 
 charges in the ensuing year would be about 
 16,000,000/. of which the British proportion 
 would somcwliat exceed 14,100,000/. 
 
 In the class of occasional payments, he should 
 
 place the Corn Bounties, the repayment of the 
 
 excess of Army Extraordinaries of 1802, the 
 
 payment of the Exchequer'Bills charged upon 
 
 B the
 
 18 
 
 the Aids of 1801, and of the Loan from the 
 Bank in 1798,- and the discharge of the balance 
 vwhich mi"ht be found to be due to the E^st 
 India Company. The total amount of these 
 several sums he estimated at 6,800,000/. 
 -: With respect to the permanent expences, he 
 was deeply impressed with the conviction, which 
 he trusted was no less strongly felt by the House, 
 and by the country, that whatever might be 
 the permanent expenditure, which a due regard 
 to the support of public credit, and to out 
 actual situation, might require, we ought reso- 
 lutely to determine that the amount of our per- 
 manent revenue should be made to correspond 
 with its demands. Even if instead of the prospect 
 of an increasing revenue, he had been obliged 
 to lay before the Committee the statement of '^ 
 deficiency, his opinion on this subject would hk 
 the same. We must not attempt to compro- 
 mise by endeavouring to reduce our expendi- 
 ture to our revenue, but resolve to keep oui* 
 revenue on a level with our necessary expendi- 
 ture. In such a system alone could he see solid 
 wisdom, or discern the probability of future' 
 honour and security. "'^' 
 
 He next called the recollection of the Cdfii-J 
 mittce to the difference which appeared be-' 
 tween the vote which it was his intention to 
 propose to them on the credit of the Gonsoli-"^ 
 
 dated^
 
 19 
 
 5d[] rao 
 
 ttate||,.Fitnd, namely, 4,000,000/, and th6 suhi 
 of .6,^.00,000/. which in his statement of the 
 Ways and IMeans lie had estimated as the suqilus 
 in the ensuing year. Me had proposed a vote 
 so moderate, hecause it would answer the imme^ 
 diate purpose of enabling him to apply to the 
 public service the sums which might be realized 
 as the surplus of the Consolidated Fund in tlie 
 two next quarters, and would aftbrd the means 
 of ascertaining, by actual experience, whether 
 the expectations, which he thought himself 
 fully justified in entertaining of its produce 
 during the remainder of the year, were likely 
 to be accomplished. By so cautious a pro-* 
 ceeding, the public service would be guarded 
 against the effects of any possible disappoint- 
 ment. He would however shortly state to the 
 Committee the grounds of the confidence which 
 he was disposed to entertain : it was founded 
 on the actual produce of the three last quarters, 
 ending the 10th of October last. The amount 
 of the surplus of the Consolidated Fund in 
 that period was 5,508,067/. To this was to be 
 added the bounties paid on the importation of 
 corn within that interval, and not yet repaid by 
 Parliament, being 431,729/. ; and the sum which 
 might have been expected from the produce of 
 the taxes of the present year, which were i^ot 
 In collection during the two fust of those quar- 
 ters,
 
 20 
 
 ter$j tlie$e iii^g-ht , ^ .^^Ijien at $,000,000/! atitf 
 tlie total would be 7,939,796/. From tHis wis ' 
 to be deducted the sums which had been paid 
 into the Consolidated Fund during the same 
 period on account of the Income Tax, and 
 which amounted to 2,054,893/. Allowing for 
 this deduction, the total produce of the three 
 quarters woidd be 5,884,903/. If the ensuing- 
 year proved equally productive, the total of 
 the surplus in four quarters would be no less 
 than 7,845,000/. And it w^as satisfactory to 
 observe, that this sum greatly exceeded the pro- 
 diice of the most favourable year on record, a^ 
 the largest amount ever known of the surplus 
 of the Consolidated Fund, which was in the 
 year ending 5th January 1792, a period of in- 
 creasing wealth and acknowledged prosperity, 
 Avas no more than 4,300,000/. Yet though he 
 saw no reason to apprehend a diminution of anjf^ 
 part of the revenue, he -would not reckon upon a 
 sum so large as might have been inferred from 
 the experience of the three last quarters, and 
 he had therefore limited his expectations to 
 6,500,000/. 
 
 Inferences no less favourable might be drawn 
 from the produce of the Permanent Taxes in the 
 year ending the lOtli of October. It would ap- 
 pear from the account referred to the Commit- 
 tee, that the net produce of the old Permanent 
 
 Taxes
 
 i2i 
 
 Taxes in that period ^vas 13,853,724/. To this 
 should be added the payments for Corn Bounties, 
 amounting to 1,630,000/, This made a total 
 of 15,483,724 /. Comparing this sum with the 
 produce of the same taxes in the year 1792,' the 
 most productive year previous to tlie Avar, and 
 with the year 1799, the most productive ever 
 known, it Avill appear to exceed the amount 
 in the former year by al)0ut a million, and to 
 fall short of it in the latter by about 250,000 /. ; 
 but it must be recollected, that for one quarter 
 of the last year the distilleries were stopped, in 
 consequence of which a very material branch 
 of the revenue was considerably reduced ; and as 
 the distilleries were chiefly carried on during the 
 interval between the months. of September and 
 April, the loss in the quarter which ended on 
 the 5th of January was nearly equ£il to the loss 
 of half a year's produce. To the sum just 
 mentioned of 15,483,724 /. was to be added the 
 produce of the taxes, imposed since the com- 
 mencement of the war, which in the same 
 period was 11,345,364/. making a total of per- 
 manent taxes of 26,829,088/. : ? 
 These statements, with reference to the last' 
 year, would be admitted to be satisfactory. 
 Our future prospects were no less so. It would 
 be found, by a reference to the accounts which, 
 from time to time, had been laid before tlje 
 
 House,
 
 JI5 
 
 House, that a progressive increase had for several 
 years past, taken place in the produce of tjxe p^cr- 
 manent taxes; not t^at; ^very, y^ar had exKi- 
 bited proofs of increase (as indeed the course 
 of the seasons, and many other accidental cir- 
 cumstances, must necessarily occasion fi^equi^t 
 fluctuations) but if periods of three, four, or 
 five years were compared, the average of the 
 latter would be constantly found to exceed 
 that of the preceding period. Considering how 
 much the produce of the revenue was connected 
 with the prosperity and comforts of the people, 
 as evinced by their consumption of the arti- 
 cles on which it was levied, this continual in- 
 crease was an undeniable proof of the growing 
 wealth and resources of the country. But there 
 were other indications not less satisfactory and 
 decisive of its increasing prosperity ; he meant 
 those which were to be found in the accounts of 
 our Commerce and Navigation. 
 
 It was not possible till the conclusion of the 
 year (when all these accounts were made up) 
 'that they could be laid regularly before the 
 House, or stated with exactness. Great pains 
 had however been taken to procure the most 
 accurate and complete information which the 
 period of the year admitted, and he thought 
 himself justified, by what had been obtained, in 
 pronouncing the Commerce of the country to 
 
 b«
 
 «|3 
 
 '^■^^ify. ' It appeared that' 'tlie real value of the 
 prtftcipal articles of British produce and nianu- 
 
 ^^Bttires exported during tlie yfear eridtikg '1 0th 
 '6f Octo'ber 1802, was 27;900,t)00/.'U'hile}n the 
 preceding year it was something- less than 
 24,500,000/. Supposing these articles to hear 
 the same proportion to the Avhole of our exports 
 which they had done in former years, the total 
 ^'klire of British manufactures exported in the 
 fear 1802 would not fall short of 50,000, 060/. 
 sterling, being an increase of 8,000,000/. above 
 the year preceding; and compared with any 
 former year, the increase would be still more 
 
 -'eic'traorclinary. ' *''"' ''""''' 
 
 'The accounts of shipping were more imper- 
 
 ' lect-thaii those of trade, as no quarterly account 
 was made up, except in the port of London; 
 but so far as the fact could be ascertained, it was 
 no less satisfactory, especially with regard to 
 the important circumstance of the increase of 
 British Shipping, and Seamen. '*/ '^'^'^ 
 
 In the year ending the 10th of OcBfeWdl, 
 1^762 British ships, measuring 418,631 totis, 
 and manned M'ith 23,09^ men, had entered that 
 port, and 1,331 ships, measuring 350,634 tons, 
 and carrying '24, 070 men, had cleared outwards. 
 In the year 1802, the British ships which entered 
 inwards were 2,459, the tonnage 574,700, the 
 
 men
 
 24 
 
 men 33,743. The British ships wliich cleared 
 outwards were 1,933, the tonnage 419,067, the 
 merits,,! 12.) — The diminution of foreign ship- 
 ping was not less remarkable than the increase of 
 British. In 1801, the number of foreign ships 
 which entered inwards was 3,385, their tonnage 
 452,677, their men 20,388. The foreign ships 
 which cleared outwards were 3,381, their ton- 
 nage 445,651, the men 23,302. In the year 
 1802, the number of foreign ships entering 
 inwards was reduced to 1,549, their tonnage 
 $14,117, the men 10,555. The foreign ships 
 which cleared outwards were 1,868, their ton- 
 nage 262,006, the men 14,826.— These details 
 he feared might be tedious, but he was per- 
 suaded the Committee would excuse him for 
 having entered with minuteness into the proofs 
 of the increase of , our commerce and maritime 
 strength, which were the great sources of our 
 prosperity, and of our power. 
 
 Mr. Addington then said, that he was aware 
 it would be useless for him to take up the 
 time of the Committee by any comments on 
 these statements, or to attempt to strengthen 
 the impression, which he trusted had been m§.de 
 by the plain and incontrovertible facts which ho 
 had laid before them. He might, however, be 
 permitted to express some satisfaction in looking 
 back to the period to which this statement 
 
 applied
 
 25 
 
 applied, and to the circumstances which had, 
 ias it now appeared, justified the hopes he had 
 held out in tlie last session of Parliament. It 
 t^VDuld be recollected, that strong apprehen- 
 sions were then expressed, that the conclusion 
 of peace would be followed by a diminution 
 of our commerce, and consequently of our re- 
 venue. The event had happily proved, that 
 such apprehensions were ill founded. He 
 added, that whilst every individual in the 
 United Kingdom, capable of feeling for the wel- 
 fare of his country, must rejoice at these un- 
 questionable indications of our commercial pros- 
 perity, there was perhaps no country in Europe 
 which might not justly participate in that 
 feeling, as being interested in our commerce, 
 and partaking of its benefits. What was gained 
 by Great Britain, was very far from being lost 
 by the continent. So far from the pre-eminence 
 of Great Britain in this respect having proved 
 injurious to other countries, it had not only 
 enabled her to stand forward as the protectress 
 of civilized Europe, but of the trade and com- 
 merce of the rest of the world. In the known 
 and established policy of this country — ^in our 
 resources — in our maritime strength, the greater 
 part of Europe had, for more than a century 
 past, found its best security. And he would 
 affirm, that whatever might have been our 
 
 views,
 
 ,nriews, whatever our principles, whatever our 
 :^iinotives, in some of the contests in which 
 we had been engaged, the general tendency of 
 our connections with the continent had been to 
 preserve the due relation between the foreign 
 P^^wer^j^aiidir'to maintain their rights and their 
 independence. Such had been the effect of our 
 operations on the continent : such had been the 
 consequence of our exertions on the ocean. He 
 -.could not look forward to the renewal or im- 
 ^'provement of the commerce of other countries 
 with any apprehension of inconvenience or 
 danger from their rivalship. It had been wMl 
 said by a noble friend of his (Lord Castlereagh) 
 in a preceding debate, that M^e had the start of 
 them all ; and he could not entertain a doubt 
 but that the combined operation of pre-eminent 
 skill, credit, capital, and industry, would pre- 
 serve to us the superiority which we now pos- 
 sessed. 
 
 Mr. Addington then adverted to the state of 
 the Sinking Fund, which he considered as one 
 of the most powerful instruments by which the 
 country had been enabled to cope with and sur- 
 mount its greatest difficulties. When that wise 
 and salutary system was first adopted, the sum 
 applied to the reduction of the national debt 
 was about one-tenth of its interest, which thtfn 
 amounted to near 10,000,000/. Siieb, however, 
 
 had
 
 d*7 
 
 had been the happy operation of that system, 
 
 othat, at the present moment, when the amount 
 
 %pf the interest is 18,000,000/. the sum appHca- 
 
 hie to the reduction of the debt is 6,000,000/. 
 
 ^^-which, instead of one -tenth, is equal to one- 
 
 ^,tliird of the interest of the existing debt. The 
 
 sum of 6,000,000/. was thus annually thrown 
 
 _,^nto circulation, and was daily operating to- 
 
 ^iwards the improvement of our agriculture, the 
 
 encouragement of our manufactures, and the 
 
 , extension of our commerce. The effects of this 
 
 T^ystem were thus diffused'in numberless channels 
 
 jtnrough the whole body of the country, improv- 
 
 ^ ing its resources, invigorating its strength, and 
 
 'ifgradually enlarging its means of prosi:)erity. 
 
 Having stated circumstances so highly fa- 
 vourable to the revenue, the commerce, and the 
 future prospects of Great Britain, Mr. Adding- 
 ton said, that it M^as impossible for him to re- 
 frain from troubling the Committee with a few 
 words on a subject of no less interest and im- 
 portance, and which could not fail to afford 
 the utmost satisfaction to every gentleman 
 who heard him : he alluded to the rapid in- 
 crease in the prosperity of Ireland. In consider- 
 ing the sources of this happy change, he could 
 not hesitate to declare his decided conviction, 
 that its primary cause was to be found in the 
 imoortant measure of the incorporation of the 
 
 two
 
 28 
 
 two kitigdoms. Of this he thoiigt there wast 
 abundant and substantial proof, though other 
 collateral circumstances might probably have 
 contributed to produce it. He had the satisfac- 
 tion of being enabled to state, that in August 
 last the revenue of Ireland had been found to 
 exceed that of the corresponding period in 
 the former year by the sum of 920,000/. He 
 was not enabled to inform the Committee what 
 was the excess at the present moment, the 
 accounts not having been made up. But from 
 what he had mentioned it was evident that the 
 improvement in the revenue of Ireland had 
 been even greater in proportion than tliat of 
 Great Britain. 
 
 He then observed, in answer to some appre- 
 hensions which had been expressed in a late 
 debate, that our finances might not prove equal 
 to a permanent establishment so large as the 
 present ; tliat it v/as to be recollected, this was 
 only the estabhshmjent of 1803, which it was 
 not probable would increase, but might possibly 
 admit of no inconsiderable diminution. He 
 had not stated that our revenues (augmented as 
 they had lately been) were equal to the support 
 of all the establishments on such a scale as that 
 of the ensuing year : but he had said that, with 
 strict economy, a military establishment far 
 greater than had ever been known in time &f 
 
 peace^
 
 29 
 
 peace, and not very much inferior to the prc^* 
 sent, miglit be maintained by the revenue of 
 the country, supposing its future produce to be 
 in proportion to that of the three last quarters. 
 To ilhistrate this statement, he would assume 
 that a reduction to the extent of 1,000,000^, 
 might, at a future time, be made in our mihtary 
 expenccs. Deducting this sum from the Army 
 Estimates of the present year, and allowing'^ 
 500,000/. for Extraordinaries, the expence of 
 our Military Service would amount to 5,200,000/, 
 For the Naval Service in its different branches he 
 should allow 4,230,000 /. a sum capable of main- 
 taining a force nearly double of that which had 
 been kept up in any former peace. For the Ord- 
 nance he should allow 800^,000/. which rather 
 exceeded the sum voted this year ; and for the 
 Miscellaneous Services of -the United King- 
 dom, including the Irish Permanent Grants,, 
 1,300,000/. The total amount of the joint 
 contribution would in that case be 11,530,000/. 
 Adding 500,000/. for the separate charges of 
 Great Britain to the British proportion of the 
 above sum, the total to be provided by Great 
 Britain M'ould be 10,533,000 /. To meet this 
 expence we might reckon on the following- 
 Ways and Means. 
 
 The usual annual taxes amounted to 2,750,000/. 
 The surplus of the Consolidated Fund, estimated 
 
 according
 
 66 
 
 according- to its produce in the t^rec last quar-* 
 ters, 7,845,000/.; and the Lottery 500,000/. 
 The total of these sums was 11,095,000/. ex-" 
 ceeding- the Supplies he had stated by upwards 
 of 500,000 /. To this might be added the con- 
 tribution from India of 500,000 /. a year; for he 
 was convinced that his right honourable friend 
 who lately presided in the Indian department, 
 was fully justified in thfe confidence he had ex- 
 pressed in the solidity and progressive improve- 
 ment of thfe resources of the East India Com- 
 pany. He added that this opinion w^s not 
 hastily formed, for that he had recently thought 
 it his duty to investigate the grounds upon 
 which it was founded Avith all the minuteness 
 and attention in his power. 
 
 Mr. Addington said, that he doubted not the 
 Committee would participate in the satisfaction ' ' 
 with which he contemplated the result of the - 
 facts he had thus laid before them. But how- 
 ever sanguine might be our hopes, however well- 
 founded our expectations, we ought not to giv& 
 way to feelings of disappointment if they should 
 not hereafter be realized to their full extent. 
 Our minds should be made up to the result, 
 whatever it might be. Should greater expences 
 prove necessary, the means of providing for them 
 must be found. Should unforeseen difficulties 
 present themselvcSj they must, and lie had ti6 
 
 doubt
 
 SI 
 
 doubt they would, be met with the firmness and j^ 
 spirit which they called for, and by which alone . 
 they could be surmounted. No one would 
 deny that a frequent recouree to loans in time, > > 
 of peace would be injurious to the interests off,-) 
 the country. The estimate of our permanent-jt 
 peace establishment could not as yet be ascer- 
 tained with precision; but he could not too,, 
 often repeat, that at all events our revenue must., 
 be made to meet the demands of our expen- 
 diture. 
 
 Mr. Addington, after apologizing for having , 
 detained tlie Committee with statements so much 
 in detail, which, however, on such a subject, , 
 appeared almost unavoidable, requested thei^^V 
 attention for a short time longer. The state- 
 ment which he had made had chiefly been 
 confined to matters of fact, and had required : 
 little illustration. He had hazarded no con- 
 jectures, except on grounds which appeared tOji,, 
 him to be solid and substantial ; and he was un^jvi 
 Avilling to trespass further on the indulgence of 
 the House, by entering into a detail of the causes . 
 which he conceived to have led to our present,,, 
 prosperous and flourishing condition : he shoulduC.f 
 only say, in general, that much of it was to b^fl^,. 
 ascribed to the eminent talents which had lately, . ; 
 presided over the finances of the country ;-—(j^;; 
 much to the wisdom and fortitude of Parlia-,,,) 
 
 nient;
 
 5^ 
 
 ment ;— ^much to the good sense and energy of 
 the peq^le. For himself he claimed no merit 
 but that of having adopted the system, and of 
 having endeavoured to follow the example which 
 was before him. But he would venture to appeal 
 even to those who had indicated no little aspe- 
 rity in commenting on his general conduct, 
 whether he was justly chargeable with having 
 shrunk from the financial difficulties of the 
 country. It seemed to be admitted on a former 
 night, that, during the continuance of the war, 
 it could not be imputed to His Majesty's present 
 servants that they liad neglected to prosecute it 
 ■with energy and vigour : and he trusted that 
 lie should not be accused of having been back- 
 ward in encountering very trying difficulties of 
 another description. He felt, however, that in 
 dwelling on this topic, he might subject himself 
 to a renewal of the charge lately brought against 
 him by a noble Lord (Lord Temple) of growing 
 confident in himself, exactly in proportion as he 
 lost the confidence of the country. The charge 
 of presumption was one which he owned he had 
 not expected: and perhaps it might be thought 
 that it did not come with peculiar propriety 
 from the quarter from which it had been made. 
 Whether he had the happiness of enjoying the ' 
 confidence of his country, and in what degree 
 he might be so fortunate as to possess it, he did 
 
 not
 
 35 
 
 not presume to conjecture. But he knew that 
 he 'served a just and generous pubhc, who would 
 judge of him from his own conduct, and not 
 from the language of others. There was in- 
 deed, one species of conddence m hich he did not 
 mean to disclaim; it was that which arose from 
 the consciousness of having acted with zeal and 
 fidelity in the situation to which he had been 
 called by his Sovereign: of having had no mo- 
 tive whatever but public duty, and no object 
 but the wellfare and prosperity of his country. 
 He begged pardon of the Committee for having 
 dwelt at all on a subject which related perso- 
 nally to himself: 'it was the first time he had 
 done so ; and he tmsted it would be the last. 
 
 Mr. Adclington then adverted generally to the 
 situation and prospects of the country, which, 
 he said, appeared to him to afford abundant 
 ground of satisfaction and hope. These, how- 
 ever, were sentiments, which it would be impos- 
 sible for him to entertain, except under the 
 conviction that the people had formed a just esti- 
 mate of the actual circumstances of the present 
 time; and that they were neither inclined to 
 give way to an apprehension of exaggerated 
 dangers on the one hand, nor to a sense of false 
 security on the other. We were unquestionably 
 possessed of great means and great advantages ; 
 and when he saw a re^^enue rapidly increasing, 
 c from
 
 34 
 
 from causes which he was persuaded wei'e solid 
 ^nd permanent; Avheii he perceived an extent 
 of manufactures and commerce beyond all .for- 
 mer example ; when he recollected that we had 
 at this moment a navy which might defy any 
 force that could be brought against it, and which 
 might soon be made equal to oppose any mari- 
 time combination ; that we had made provision 
 for a numerous army, and for a militia of 90,000 
 men ; that we had also a powerful body of armed 
 yeomanry, and, that which was the life and soul 
 of all, and without which all were weak and fee- 
 ble, a resolute and manly spirit pervading all 
 descriptions of people ; when he contemplated 
 the unanimity of loyal sentiment, with the ex- 
 ception of a few individuals, sufficient however 
 to require [the vigilance of government — nu- 
 merous perhaps in a tavern, but nothing in the 
 Strand ; — under the impressions arising from 
 such considerations, he could not but be alive 
 to the strongest feelings of satisfaction and of 
 hope. These were means and advantages of 
 ■which this nation was happily in possession, and 
 which he was satisfied she would be disposed to 
 employ, not for the prosecution of objects of 
 ambition and aggrandizement, but for the sup- 
 port of her just rights and the maintenance of 
 peace.' Placed in such a situation, and animated 
 Jjy such a disposition and determination to fulfil 
 ' the
 
 35 
 
 •the duties which that situation requires,' l^is 
 country would continue to comtrisU544;l?iai*fsJ3€l^ 
 and admiration of the world.-^ asiucto^luflum 1: 
 A>.. Mr. Addington, after having- thanked the 
 Committee for the indulgence they had she\(ti 
 him, concluded with moving, that towadlsi?aii^- 
 ing the Supplies there be granted a sum o£ 
 4,000,000/. out of the growing produce of thie 
 Consolidated Fund, i i>n£ «v:ifnii> tuoidmua £ lo^ 
 i>"This motion was immediately agreed to by 
 ^e Committee, and ordered to be reported lo 
 the House. ^^ si^'^'' 11^ rfot/fv/ jnofftiw brus .IIjj'^q 
 ih 
 
 
 
 3V, ::-? 
 
 lo J8 3rfi O* 
 
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 Creat Windmill-Succt, Haymarket. 
 
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