gentleman are important, but they are so only in a secondary degree. I think the question of right in dispute between us and the confederated powers, so eminently important, that it claims, at this hour, the undivided attention of this house. As to what has been said on other topics, of the censures which ought to be cast on the counsel we have had any share in giving, for the prosecution of the war, I have the consolation of knowing what they are likely to be, from a recollection of what they have repeatedly been-that they will most probably be put in the same way, and will admit of being answered in the same way, as they have been already answered as often as they were brought forward, and I cannot help flattering myself with the same success. I hope also that the public will feel, as they have repeatedly felt, that the calamities which have overspread Europe, and which have affected, to á certain degree, this country, though much less than any other, have not been owing to any defect on our part, but that we have pursued principles best calculated for the welfare of human society, the nature and effect of which have been frequently commented upon by those who have opposed, and by those who have snpported these principles, and with whom I have had the honour to act, and still have the honour of acting; on which, I say, the power, the security, the honour of this nation has depended, and which, I trust, the perseverance and firmness of parliament and the nation will not cease to pursue, while his Majesty's servants dissharge their duty.

February 18, 1801.

THE order of the day being read, the House resolved itself into a Committee of Ways and Means ;--when MR. PITT rose and addressed the Chairman (Mr. Bragge) to the following effect:

Sir, in submitting to the house the statement of the provisions which are proposed to be made for the service of the present year, the first part of the duty imposed upon me is, to notice the charges incurred by the union of Great Britain and Ireland, which has taken place, and it is my business that the expenses to which both countries are liable should be properly explained. In doing so, I shall take a view of the supplies for the joint service, and conform to the accustomed mode, by entering into a recapitulation of the different branches of the expenditure for which we are now called upon to make the necessary provision. I shall, therefore, begin with stating the distinct heads under which the various articles of supply are generally classed.

The first article which presents itself is the Navy, and for the expenses of this important branch the sum of 15,800,000l. has been granted. Gentlemen will observe that this sum exceeds that which was granted last session by a difference of 2,600,000l. as the supply then given was only 13,600,000l. This excess arises from the reasons which have been mentioned on a former night, from the increased number of seamen whom it became necessary to employ, and from the firm persuasion of the utility of the meaIt must have appeared most desirable to every man that this branch of the national strength should, under the present circumstances, be considerably augmented. I do not mean to take up the attention of the house, or to trouble gentlemen by going into the separate votes which have been given on this head, and shall therefore state the supply at 15,800,000l.

sure.

The next article of supply which it is my duty to notice is the Army, for which the sum of 9,617,000l. is to be applied. It will be recollected that the vote of last year was 8,850,0007. so that the difference is not very material: and if we add the extraordi

naries for the year 1801, which are estimated at 2,500,000l. we shall have a total of 12,117,000l. for the service of England. The sum voted for the service of Ireland amounts to 3,785,000l. and it is formed upon estimates proportioned to the former estimate for Ireland: consequently the whole of the supply for the army of the united kingdom makes a sum of 15,902,000l.

The third head of service is the Ordnance, which for Great Britain is estimated at 1,639,000l. and for Ireland at 299,000Z. The former sum is nearly the same as that which was voted last year, and the latter is calculated upon a principle similar to that on which the expenses of the army establishment of that country has been already estimated. The committee will perceive that, taken together, they give a sum of 1,938,000l.

With respect to the Miscellaneous Services, under which the plantation estimates, the interest due on exchequer-bills, and the deficiency of ways and means are classed, the sum appropriated last year to that branch of the public service appears to have been 750,000l. between which and the grant for the present year there is but a trifling difference, as it did not exceed 757,000l. For the miscellaneous services of England it is proposed that the supply shall be 550,000l. and for those of Ireland 207,000l. as I have already stated. There are certainly other charges of a separate nature, arising out of the union, which remain to be noticed, but I thought it necessary first to bring forward the expenditure of both countries. The vote of credit is stated at so0,000l.; for, not conceiving any cause of demand for subsidies, in the present state of Europe, it does not appear necessary to propose a larger sum. The house will, however, I trust, agree with me in thinking that we have no cause to regret those which have been granted, and which, notwithstanding our disappointments, have so eminently tended to evince our firmness and good faith in the prosecution of the contest. This sum is, however, to be considered as applicable to England alone, as, in that which relates to Ireland, the proportion has been adjusted, according to the conditions established by the union. The sum for Ireland, therefore, taken according to the Irish grants, which are gene

rally called permanent, is 390,000l. or, in the currency of that country, 423,000l. giving together the sum of 1,190,000l. If gentlemen will take the trouble to recapitulate the different articles which I have stated, they will ascertain their amount to be 35,587,000l. I may have been guilty of some fractional omis. sions, but the items will stand in the following order;

In the estimate of the joint charges incurred by both countries, I must, Sir, beg leave to observe, that those placed to the account of Ireland are calculated with the strictest attention to the terms of the union. They are ascertained by the scale which has been laid down of two-seventeenths for Ireland and fifteen-seventeenths for Great Britain, to provide for the common expenditure of the united kingdom. Ireland, according to this estimate, will be rated at two-seventeenths of the whole, or at 4,210,2897. and England at fifteen-seventeenths, or at 31,377,1737. It must not, however, be forgotten, that Ireland is also to be charged two-seventeenths of the share which she necessarily must take in our peace establishment, exclusively of those that may be incurred by the provisions of the union in time of war. She will therefore have that allotted proportion of 1,170,000l. for the civil list, and other charges on the consolidated fund, to make good; or, in other words, she wil have to provide for 167,7117. making the whole of her contribu

tion 4,342,000l. I think it proper to observe, that, in considering, the antecedent debt of Ireland, there can be no doubt that it must be a charge to Great Britain; and I have now to submit the separate charges from Ireland previous to the 1st of January 1801, the day on which the union of both countries was carried into effect. It is almost unnecessary for me to call the attention of gentlemen to the state of the country, which has been this year unusually heavy, from circumstances which are unfortunately too notorious, and 'have, independently of great distress, affected in a - material degree the general produce of the revenue. The scarcity of food has been severely felt, and there has consequently been a defalcation in the public receipts. There are also some other articles in the shape of arrears: but, whatever they may be, and however seriously they may affect us, they certainly constitute no part of the joint charge which affects Ireland. Whenever any separate charge occurs which may have taken place before the union, we are not to consider it as applicable to Ireland, and I am convinced, Sir, that we shall conduct ourselves with that liberality which ought to distinguish this part of the united kingdom. Upon these grounds, the first statement I have to make to the com. mittee with respect to the charges which belong exclusively to England, is the deficiency of the income tax. Upon this unexpected deficiency, I have to remark, that though we were in possession of the most satisfactory grounds to believe that it would produce no less than seven millions, yet such have been the disappointments and failures which have taken place, that we cannot venture at this moment to rely upon its producing more than six. As far, however, as I have had opportunities to extend my in-quiries, and examine the returns, I can see no great reason to form an opinion that the produce for 1801 will be materially defective in the former sum, But the deficiency which occurs, remains to be made good. We are also called upon to provide for the discount on the loan, and the deficiency of malt, as well as for that occasioned by the exchequer bills issued in lieu of the assessed taxes in 1798, and the income duties in 1799, The only just opinion which the committee can form on these points, is by com