XXII. 1786. BOOK received with extreme disapprobation; it was said to be impossible for parliament to submit to so open an attack upon their declared sentiments, and they were called upon to resist it in the most peremptory manner. Mr. Pitt, perceiving the sense of the house so manifestly adverse to this attempt, thought proper to withdraw his motion; on which Mr. Fox expressed his earnest hope " that the minister would in future pay more respect to the opinion of the legislature, and not attempt to force an obnoxious measure upon the country." The pertinacity of Mr. Pitt in this business occasioned much speculation: and those who recollected the tenor of his conduct respecting the Westminster return were not backward to throw disgraceful imputations upon his integrity. It was thought by many to be impossible that a man of Mr. Pitt's discernment could be the sincere and cordial advocate of so preposterous a scheme; and it was strongly suspected that the duke of Richmond, in the prosecution of this favorite project, relied upon far other and higher support than that which could be derived from the obscure and ambiguous decision of a board of general officers.* *The fortification projects of the duke of Richmond became, in consequence of this parliamentary investigation of their merits, the theme of the public derision and ridicule; and, according to the observation of that unerring judge of mankind, the duc de la Rochefoucault, "ridicule is like a XXII. thenational The grand business of the session, as alluded to BOOK in the speech, was not brought forward till the 1786. month of March, when Mr. Pitt moved for the ap- Mr. Pitt's pointment of a Select Committee, by ballot, to re- plan for redeeming port to the house the state of the public revenue debt. and expenditure. The result of their enquiry was in a very high degree pleasing and satisfactory. The amount of the revenue for the current year was estimated by the committee at 15,397,000l.the permanent expenditure, including the civil list and the interests payable on the different funds, amounted to 10,554,000l.-the peace establishment, allowing eighteen thousand men for the navy, and the usual complement of seventy regiments for the army, exclusive of life-guards and cavalry, was estimated at 3,924,000/-in all, 14,478,000l.; of consequence there remained a surplus of more than 900,000l. gangrene, which, when once it fastens upon one part of a cha- With gorges, scaffolds, breaches, ditches, mines; With polygon, epaulement, hedge and bank; With angle saliant, and with angle flank; Oh thou shalt prove, should all thy schemes prevail, BOOK 1786. "that Mr. Pitt observed upon this report, though this was stated to be the annual expendi. ture, a considerable interval must elapse before this reduction could take place; this term he fixed at four years. The exceedings of the army, navy, and ordnance, together with the sums necessary for the indemnification of the American loyalists, he calculated would not during this period fall short of three millions. The war from which we were just delivered had been most expensive and ruinous; these unavoidable exceedings were amongst the bitter fruits of it; but if during the first years of peace extraordinary expences were incurred, they afforded also extraordinary savings. There were sums appropriated during the war to different services, which had not been expended; four hundred and fifty thousand pounds had already been paid into the Exchequer upon this account. There were moreover immense sums in the hands of former paymasters, which it was expected would soon be brought to account; these he conjecturally stated at the sum of one million. There was a balance of 600,000l. due to government from the East-India Company. When to these were added the improvements that might yet be made by judicious regulations in the different branches of the revenue, he was not (Mr. Pitt said), he hoped, too sanguine in affirming that we possessed resources equal to all our ordinary and extraordinary de XXII. 1786. mands. The proposition which he now submitted BOOK to the house was, the appropriation of the annual sum of one million to be invariably applied to the liquidation of the public debt. The surplus of the revenue amounting to the sum of 900,000l. only, Mr. Pitt moved for an additional duty on spirits, on certain kinds of timber imported, and on perfumery, which would together be more than sufficient to make up the deficiency. This annual million Mr. Pitt wisely proposed to vest in the hands of certain commissioners, to be by them applied regularly to the purchase of stock; so that no sum should ever lie within the grasp of any future minister large enough to tempt him to violate this sacred deposit. The interests annually discharged were, conformably to this plan, to be added to and incorporated with the original fund, so that it would operate with a determinate and accelerated velocity; being in this respect framed framed upon model of the sinking fund formerly projected by sir Robert Walpole. This fund was also to be assisted by the annuities granted for different terms, which would from time to time fall in within the limited period of twenty-eight years, at the expiration of which Mr. Pitt calculated that the fund would produce an income of four mil. lions per annum. When a progress so considerable was made in the reduction of the debt, parliament might with propriety pause, and adopt the BOOK such new measures for the relief of the nation, and XXII. 1786. the extinction of the most oppressive and burdensome taxes, as to the legislative wisdom should seem meet. The commissioners to be nominated under the act were the chancellor of the Exchequer, the speaker of the house of commons, the master of the rolls, the governor and deputy-governor of the Bank of England, and the accomptant-general of the high-court of Chancery. Such were the persons (Mr. Pitt said) whom he should propose to be appointed to this trust. This plan had long been the wish and the hope of all good men, and he felt inexpressible pleasure in being able to flatter himself that his name might be inscribed on that firm column which was now about to be raised to national faith and national prosperity." It was in the progress of the bill suggested by Mr. Fox, "that whenever a new loan should hereafter be made, the commissioners should be empowered to accept the loan, or such proportion of it, as should be equal to the cash then in their hands; the interest and douceur annexed to which should be applied to the purposes of the sinking fund." This amendment, the only one of material consequence offered, was received with candor and facility by Mr. Pitt, who declared it to be "an auspicious omen of the ultimate success of the plan, that its propriety and necessity had been so obvious |