An ACCOUNT of the PUBLIC FUNDED DEBT of the ; distinguishing the To p in the Names of the Commissioners for the Reduction Redemption of Land-Ta Years 1813, 1814, and 1815; Debt Unredeemed and ¿sioners; Life Annuities applicable to the Redemption of Debt; Total Charge of Regent of Portugal, paya e Life Annuities payable at the Exchequer Bank of England South Sea Company Chief Cashier of ditto Ao. 1751 31. per Cent. Consolidated Annuities 31. per Cent. Reduced Annuities 31. 10s. per Cent. Annuities 41. per Cent. Consolidated Annuities 54. per Cent. Consolidated Annuities 51. per Cent. Annuities Ao. 1797 & 1802 *51. per C Ann formerly paid in Ireland 31. per Cent. Annuities Ao. 1726 Long Consd Bank Anns to expire Ao. 1860 Annuities for 10 Years, expired Ao. 1797 For Redemption by Act 26 Geo. III. 42 Geo. III. Ditto. ditto Ditto, various Acts from 1st Feb. 1793, to 5th Jan. Ditto 41,000,000l. in Exchequer Bills, by Act 1 Geo. IV. cap. 111 S Charges of Management of Unrd, Debt Funded. £. s. d. s. d. LOANS TO THE EMPEROR OF GERMANY. 31. per Cent. Annuities Ditto Annuities for 25 Years, 1795, which Į ceased 1st May, 1819 11. per Ct. on Stock created Ao. 1797 Charges of Management OF FIR >. 3, for raising 12,000,000l. pro Ao 1819 1.4, cap. 17, for 5,000,000l. pro Ao 1820 to. 3, cap. 42, for raising 12,000,000l. ioners for reducing the National Debt S for ditto pro A°. 1820 from ditto. of the Bank of England, pursuant to the Surplus of 100,000l. therein on ads, Lottery Prizes, &c. and which, is applicable to the Supplies of 1820; adry times a deficiency of 100,000l. been, pursuant to the first recited I therefore was not available to the ars 1818, 1819, and 1820; and in pursuance of the said Act, a like Sum cap. 48. 959,5481. 58. 11 d. has been so carried in the Year ended 5th ON THE &c. &c. THIS country has been for nearly six years at peace; but still it labors under the burdens imposed by its wars. Тахаtion presses heavily on it; its agriculture languishes, and its commerce fails. It has triumphed over its neighbours by the power of its arms; but it sinks before them in its mercantile competitions. The distresses of the country are obvious and palpable. The remedy, perhaps, may not be quite so clear. Patience may be useful, but it will not remove the evil; and the evil, unless removed, will continue to increase. Pauperism cannot in this country be owing to the deficiency of the necessaries of life: the land produces much, and is capa ble of producing more; and our Continental neighbours are ready to supply us, in case of failure of our crops at home: there is land which wants cultivation, there are hands which want work. All this is resolvable into the simple circumstance of a transition from a state of war to a state of peace. A state of war has certainly been productive of the evils we now feel; but, what is worse, a state of peace does not promise to alleviate the burdens imposed by war. Our misfortune is, that the national expenditure exceeds its revenues even in peace. Where is the remedy for this evil? While the nation was at war, and its expenses were necessarily great, and its exertions extraordinary, the government could plausibly enough take up loans, whose interest could be paid in war, and whose principal should have been paid in peace. This in fact is the only ground on which a loan ought to be taken up. If my neighbour has an income which in ordinary times exceeds his expenditure, but on extraordinary occasions falls short of it, I can safely lend him assistance on these emergencies; but if his ordinary expenses exceed his income, and he persists in borrowing, he is going the high road to ruin, and he is dragging his neighbours with him. This is the present condition of the national expenditure: it cannot hope to live on less, and it continues borrowing. There must be, in time, a stop to this system-gradual or instantaneous. But, I would ask, is there any financial dexterity that can increase the public revenue? It may be difficult, I acknowlege, to say, how far taxation may go: it has already advanced to a most unthought-of extent, and it may be carried yet farther; but it does not follow, that because it has already transgressed all probable or anticipated limits, it therefore has no bounds. When there is no room for new taxes, and when the nominal increase of those already imposed does not make them really more productive, that looks as much like a limit to taxation as any thing can: and we are now as near as possible to this point. It seems very obvious that the ordinary means of taxation will not relieve the nation from its difficulties, or prevent the necessity of having recourse to loans. Borrowing, therefore, seems the only resource left to meet the current expenses of the year. This practice cannot last for ever. Say, for example, that the expenditure exceeds the ordinary revenue by three miltions: this sum may for 14 successive years be borrowed; the accumulating interest must be paid, and by that time the deficiency will be doubled; the difficulty of raising the means for paying the interest of the debt will of course increase, and in proportion to this difficulty will be the reluctance of individuals to advance money. And let us imagine, what may not be very far distant, that the ministry attempts to raise a loan, and fails in the attempt; this of course brings the affairs of the nation to a crisis: public credit will not only be shaken, but absolutely destroyed; and only desperate measures can be resorted to. There must be an excessive imposition of taxes to meet the difficulty, or the public creditor must be compelled to give up at first a part, and then the whole of his claim, and at last have no remedy for the sacrifice, and no compensation for his loss. It is clear that a time will come, when the public creditor must surrender a part of his claim. Perhaps it may be as well to look the evil calmly and steadily in the face, and enquire when and how this can be best done. In this enquiry, it may be useful to look at every thing that may be considered a remedy for the evil of an expenditure. |