before the consideration of parliament. He deprecated any interference on the part of the house in a question in which commercial considerations were mixed with those of maritime right, and, pending a delicate negociation, dictating to the executive government the course it ought to pursue. After various observations in defence of the policy and justice of the orders in council, and in answer to some of the mover's statements, the noble lord came to the point by saying, that Great Britain would consent to suspend her orders in council, provided America would suspend her non-importation act. The experiment might then be tried of the practicability of restoring things to their ancient system. Under these circumstances he trusted that the house would not consent to the address-and he moved the order of the day. Mr. Whitbread then begged the noble lord to say precisely what he proposed to do with respect to America. Lord Castlereagh said, that he meant that a proposition should be made to the American government to suspend immediately the orders in council, on condition that they would suspend their non-importa tion act. Mr. Whitbread was of opinion that if this proposition were to be sent out to America, and it was expected that the house and country should wait till they received an answer, it was the greatest delusion that ever had been attempted; and he proceeded to express in strong terms the urgency of the distress felt by the manufacturers, and the necessity of giving the intended relief without delay. Mr. Ponsonby also spoke against the measure proposed, as calculated to create delay. Lord Castlereagh, in further explanation, said that it was never meant that there should be any delay in suspending the orders in council: the intention was that they should be suspended for a definite time, and that this circumstance should be communicated to the American government for the double purpose of ascertaining whether it would in consequence abrogate its non-importation act; and also that it might apply to France to return to the ancient system of belligerents. Mr. Wilberforce objected to the mode proposed by the noble lord, because it shewed an unwillingness to do that which, in fact, he intended to do. Mr. Canning, in giving a kind of middle opinion on the subject, contended that revocation was better than suspension. Mr. Brougham, after congratulating the house on the prospect of speedily getting rid of these orders, hoped that the noble lord would withdraw his motion for proceeding to the orders of the day, and explain more distinctly what was the exact intention of govern ready prepared to make the sacrifice which the voice of the country rendered inevitable. On June 23rd, there appeared in the Gazette a declaration from the Prince Regent, absolutely and unequivocally revoking the orders in council as far as they regarded American vessels; with the proviso, that if after the notification of this revocation by our minister in America, the government of the United States do not revoke their interdictory acts against British commerce, the same, after due notice, shall be null and of no effect. Mr. Brougham, on this occurrence, declared the full satisfaction of himself and his friends with the frank and manly conduct of go vernment in the mode it had adopted; and both sides of the house seemed happy in the prospect of the amicable intercourse which this proceeding would restore between the two countries. We cannot, however, refrain from expressing our astonishment, that during the debates there appeared so little consciousness that the question of repealing or continuing the orders in council, was a real question of peace or war with America; and that deferring the decision so long, was rendering it altogether unimportant. In fact, before the news of the repeal reached the United States, they were actually at war with Great Britain! CHAPTER CHAPTER XI. The Budget. N June 17th, the house hav Ning resolved itself into a committee of Ways and Means, The Chancellor of the Exche(the right hon. Nicholas Vansittart), declared that he could not rise to perform the duty which that day imposed upon him, without feeling sensations unusually painful at the recollection of the singular situation in which he was placed, and the remembrance of the la:nented individual whom he that day represented. Considering in whose place he stood, whose papers he held in his hands, and whose plans he was about to state to the House, he felt rather that he was executing the last of the official duties of his lamented friend, than the first of his own. Happy should he have thought himself if he could, at the close of the day, resign those papers again into his hands, after supplying his place upon a mere occasional absence; but happier still if he could inherit his talents and virtues, and close a life of public service with the same testimonies of public approbation, and equal consciousness of unblemished integrity. Under these peculiar circumstances, the committee would not expect him to do more, than to state as briefly as possible, what, with the exception of a few particulars, which he would point out when he came to them, was the intended budget of their departed friend. He should, in the first instance, recapitulate the charges of the present year, and then proceed to the statement of the Ways and Means by which it was proposed that those charges should be defrayed. The whole amount of the supplies was already within the knowledge of the committee, having, excepting a few inconsiderable votes for miscellaneous services, been agreed to by the house. It certainly was an enormous, he might even say, a terrible extent of charge; but he had the consolation to reflect that, great as it was, the resources of the country were still equal to support it. On a reference to the papers on the table, it would appear that, for the navy, exclusive of ordnance for the sea service, the sum voted was 19,702,3997. ;-for the army, including barracks and commissariat, and the military service of Ireland, 17,756,1607.;—an additional vote of 90,0001. for the barrack department had been agreed to by the house; but the treasury had determined to strike off this sum, and diminish the grant in the appropriation act by that amount. This diminution of charge proceeded from a resolution to post pone my incurred last year, beyond the sum granted, amounted to 2,300,000l. besides which there had been voted for the present year 5,000,000l. for Great Britain, and 200,000l. for Ireland. For the ordnance, including Ireland, 5,279,8977. The miscellaneous services, including a few sums not yet proposed to parliament, and 400,000. for the Irish permanent grants, might be taken at 2,350,0002. pone the execution of the pre- The extraordinaries of the arjected barracks at Mary-le-bone park, and at Bristol and Liverpool. He begged to be distinctly understood on this part of the subject; he by no means meant to insinuate any disapprobation of the plan for the erection of those barracks, on the contrary he thought it probable that a considerable part at least of the plans which had been sanctioned by the votes of the House would be ultimately carried into effect; but his noble friend at the head of the treasury board and he had not sufficiently considered the subject to be able to give a decided opinion upon it, and they had determined not to make themselves responsible for works of great magnitude, and of no immediate necessity, without full consideration. It was also intended to propose a vote of credit of 3,000,0007. for Great Britain, and 200,0007. for Ireland. The subsidies granted in the present year were nearly the same as those of the last, being for Sicily 400,000l. and for Portugal 2,000,0007: These several items would therefore stand as follows: SUPPLIES, 1812. *£. Navy, exclusive of Ordnance Sea service....19,702,399 14,577,698 17,756,160 equal to the amount actually paid on that account in the preceding year; it was also proposed that the amount of exchequer bills to be i-sued on the aids of the next year should be less by 2,387,600/. than those which had been circulated in the year preceding. He felt himself bound to state that this arrangement, which formed part of the intended plan of his late right hon. friend, had been suggested to him by the directors of the Bank of England, who thought that the circulation of exchequer bills had been carried to too great an extent; and this suggestion sufficiently proved that the directors of the Bank were not actuated by that desire which was so often and so unjustly attributed to them, of increasing the gains of their corporation by an unlimited extent of paper currency. The three items which he had last named, amounting to 4,187,8921. constituted the sepa rate charge of Great Britain, and when added to the sum of 58,188,4567. which was the total of the supplies he had before stated, made the general amount of 62,376,348/. From this was to be deducted the Irish proportion of joint charge, amounting to 6,845,700/. and the Irish proportion of the civil list and charges on the consolidated fund, being about 180,000/. and making toge ther 7,025,7007. The result was, that the total of the supplies to be provided for by Great Britain, was 55,350,6487, |