which did not exist, consenting to sacrifice that fund. He would not now, in answer to the right honourable gentleman, go into a detail of all the advantages which had arisen out of this fund to the internal credit and external security of the country. He was not now called upon to defend it, because it was not attacked, and he trusted the time would never arrive when he should be so called upon. He hoped gentlemen would always remember the great purpose for which that fund was instituted, and that they would never show a disposition to violate the most solemn pledge which Parliament could give to the national creditor, or think they could promote the public interest by surrendering public honour.

It had been the fashion to consider the public creditor as the only person interested in the application and preservation of the fund; but this was a proposition from which he entirely dissented. The interests of the nation were as much bound up with it as those of every individual fundholder. If any gentleman was disposed to doubt this, he would only beg leave, in order to remove his doubt and produce conviction, to refer him to the state of the country in 1783, at the conclusion of a long and disastrous war, and before the Sinking Fund was created. The debt was then about two hundred and thirty millions, and the revenue such as to exhibit a deficiency, or at least to afford no surplus for its diminution. The only question among the politicians of that day was, not how they could reduce the debt, but how they could raise taxes to pay the interest of it and support the establishments of the country. But at that time the resources of the nation were intrusted to the direction of a man, whom no obstacles within the range of possibility to surmount could overcome, and whom no difficulties in the accomplishment of his object could deter. Mr. Pitt saw that the situation of the finances exposed us to danger, in the event of a fresh war, and afforded us no

hope of seeing our burdens reduced during peace. By his eloquence he roused the nation to a sense of its danger, and by his energy and perseverance he rescued it from its embarrassment; providing, in the course of three years, a revenue that not only was sufficient to support all the national establishments, and pay the interest of the public debt, but which afforded a surplus for a real and effective Sinking Fund. Had his lamented friend not taken that course, or had he followed the one now recommended by the right honourable gentleman, we should not have had that fund which had since supported public credit, and enabled us to display that power which had gained us such influence throughout Europe, and brought us so much character and glory.

In 1786, then, the Sinking Fund was first established. And here he could not but remark on the strange observation of the honourable and learned gentleman, who had said, that he would wait for some declaration of war, or some insult to the national honour that would lead to a war, before he would consent to impose new taxes to relieve us from the weight of our public debt. But, if we waited till then, he was afraid we should wait until it was too late. On the contrary, in his opinion, it was our duty, as well as our policy, to make exertions for our future relief during peace, as the best preparation for carrying on hostilities with vigour, if war should unfortunately be rendered necessary for the protection of our interests, or for the assertion of our honour. When gentlemen spoke of the weight of the present taxes, it might not be amiss to remind them of some which had existed previous to 1792. Those taxes had been acquiesced in for many years with patience; and yet they were such as no minister of the present day would think of proposing. They were four in number; all direct taxes, and all in the class of assessed taxes. The first was an assessed tax,-on what? on female servants; the second was a tax on carts and

waggons; the third was a tax that would not now be thought of for a moment, namely, a tax on cottages with fewer than seven windows; and the fourth was a tax of a halfpenny a pound on tallow candles. The situation of the country was now very different from what it was when the first Sinking Fund was created. The nation had then just concluded a long and disastrous war, by an ignominious peace: now, we had concluded a long and successful war, with glory to ourselves, and with such advantages to Europe, as were likely to secure the continuance of peace. But though our present tranquillity might not be likely to be soon disturbed, it behoved us, as the best and only security for its duration, to be prepared for future exertions.

The Committee divided. For the resolutions, 329. amendment, 132. Majority, 197.

For the

SETTLEMENT OF THE CIVIL LIST.

May 8, 1820.

On the 2d of May, the House, in a Committee on the Civil List acts, agreed to the following resolutions :

1. "That for the support of his Majesty's household, and of the honour and dignity of the Crown, there be granted to his Majesty, during his life, in that part of the United Kingdom called England, a revenue of 850,000l., to commence from the demise of his late Majesty; and that there be granted for the like purpose, in that part of the United Kingdom called Ireland, a revenue of 207,0007., to commence from the same time.

2. "That the said revenue for the support of his Majesty's household, and of the honour and dignity of the Crown, be charged upon, and made payable out of, the Consolidated Fund of the United Kingdom.

3. "That the several hereditary revenues in that part of the United Kingdom called England, which, by an act of the first year of his late Majesty's reign, were, during his Majesty's life, carried to and made part of the aggregate fund, and have since, under the act of the 27th of his late Majesty's reign, been carried to, and made a part of the

Consolidated Fund of Great Britain; and that the several hereditary revenues in that part of the United Kingdom called Ireland, which, by an act of the parliament of Ireland, made in the 33d year of his late Majesty's reign, were carried to, and made a part of the consolidated fund in Ireland, shall, from the said demise, and during the life of his present Majesty, be carried to the account of the Consolidated Fund of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland.”

The Resolutions being reported to the House, the Chancellor of the Exchequer moved, that the report be now taken into consideration; upon which Lord John Russell, to give further time for inquiry, moved that the consideration of the report be deferred for a week,

Mr. HUSKISSON said, he had always been of opinion, that there was great difficulty in discussing this question, because, from the terms made use of, it appeared as if there were conflicting interests at stake; but he was quite sure that every honourable gentleman who carefully directed his attention to the subject, would perceive that the Civil List involved the general interests of the State. In the first parliament of a new reign, such an inquiry as the one proposed by the noble lord, was likely to be received with great favour; but he would tell the noble lord, that, in the practice of former reigns, he would find no precedent for such a proceeding as the present. There was nothing in the circumstances of the late demise, or in the present accession, which could be urged as a reason for taking the Civil List out of its ordinary course. The amount of the expenditure necessary for supporting the dignity of the Crown, and defraying the charges of the civil government, was not necessarily changed by the demise of one sovereign, and the accession of another. On the present occasion, indeed, there were circumstances which, even supposing, for the sake of argument, that precedents were in favour of the noble lord's motion, would, he thought, induce the House to deviate from such a course. When the noble lord talked of the groom of the stole, his answer to the noble lord was, that the groom of the stole belonged to his

late Majesty, and that the saving arising from the termination of that office would be carried to the account of the public; for the whole of the Windsor establishment terminated with the demise of the late sovereign. If no change had taken place, from the situation of regent to that of sovereign, the noble lord might have had some grounds for demanding an inquiry. But when it was proposed to give back the whole of the establishment which had been made for the late sovereign, neither the one nor the other of the noble lord's propositions could be sustained. It could not be made out, that the establishment for the Prince of Wales, when regent, had been greater than was necessary; or that, in the administration of that establishment, there had been any unnecessary expense.

As to the first of these propositions, the noble lord would not say that his Majesty ought to have a smaller income as king than he had enjoyed as regent; and if the noble lord was disposed to quarrel with the manner of the application of that income, he had not made out the shadow of a case. All the particulars of the application of the Civil List were before the House, in the report of 1815, in details so minute, as to be almost derogatory to the dignity of the Crown; so that any gentleman, if he thought there was a single instance of unnecessary expenditure, might point it out without any farther inquiry. The office of master of the hawks had been laid hold of, and held up to ridicule, as one that added nothing to the dignity or safety of the Crown, and that ought therefore to be abolished. But when he stated, that this office was a freehold, granted by a former monarch, and as much property as any grant of lands made by Henry VIII., he thought he had satisfactorily answered all that had been urged against it. The same might be said of several other trifling salaries which had been made the subject of animadversion. A learned gentleman had, on a former evening, mentioned the