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the fund will go on without interruption. Long, and very long has this country struggled under its heavy load, without any prospect of being relieved: but it may now look forward to an object upon which the existence of this country depends; it is, therefore, proper it should be fortified as much as possible against alienation. By this manner of paying 250,000l. quar-. terly into the hands of commissioners, it would make it impossible to take it by stealth; and the advantage would be too well felt ever to suffer a public act for that purpose. A minister could not have the confidence to come to this House and desire the repeal of so beneficial a law, which tended so directly to relieve the people from their burthens.

The persons who should be appointed to this commission should be of rank and distinction, to secure them from suspicion, and to give, as far as character could go, a belief of their discharging it with faithfulness. In the first place, I think it right that the respectable commoner, whoever he shall be, who fills the chair of this House, should be placed at the head of it. Parliament, in instituting a commission of so much importance towards the support of national credit and prosperity, could not more solemnly, nor more pointedly promulgate its high sense of the duty by which that commission is bound, than by appointing the first member of this House to be at the head of it. I think also, without ascribing any thing to myself, that the person who holds an office so intimately connected with finance as the chancellor of the exchequer, ought to have a place in this commission. There is another person who, from his high rank, as well as from his virtues and reputation, I think ought to have a share in this business, and he is also, at present, a member of this House: this is the master of the rolls. The governor and the deputy-governor of the Bank of England I think ought also to be of the number. Also the accountant-general of the high court of chancery, who, by virtue of his office, was already employed in the money of all suitors and wards in the funds, and increasing, by that means, the capital, by the accumulation of compound interests. Such as these persons I shall propose to be appointed to this

There might

trust, when the bill comes before the committee. be some difficulty in determining how to regulate the conduct of the commissioners in the purchase of stock; but that might, perhaps, be left to their own discretion. But although it might be proper to leave the manner of doing this to their own prudence, it would not be so proper, by any means, to leave to them the regulation of the time when they were to purchase: this, I think, ought to be on every transfer day in the quarter, at regular periods, and in equal sums.

I am very far from ascribing any merit to myself in suggesting this scheme; but, I cannot but think myself peculiarly happy in having a task to perform so very different from any of my predecessors, and that, instead of expending the money of the public, I should have the great good fortune to be led to set about to diminish our burthens. This plan, which I have now the honour to bring forward, has long been the wish and the hope of all men; and I am proud to flatter myself that my name may be inscribed on that firm column now about to be raised to national faith and national prosperity.

I shall not detain the House longer, because I am persuaded that they must be already tired of the tedious detail upon which I have been under the necessity of entering. The time when the operation of this fund is to begin, I think should be upon the 5th of July. At that time let 250,000l. be paid into the hands of the commissioners for this purpose; and after that, continued quarterly; this will make 750,000l. to be expended during the three quarters. I shall just mention upon what I found the expectations of having a surplus this year, of 750,000l. after paying the current expenses of the year; by which there will appear a surplus over and above the stipulated annual one of some hundred thousand pounds.

The House had voted for seamen.......
Ordinary of navy........................................

Extraordinary.....

L.

936,000

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800,000

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The total of the supplies would be..................................................

..12,477,085

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Arrears from East-India company life annuities, &c. 1,086,000

Amount of ways and means for the current

year, 1786...............

From which deduct the surplus, as above............ 12,477,085

Remainder, £. 885,395

From this sum deduct the three quarterly pay

ments beginning on the 5th of July, of
250,000l. per quarter, for the reduction
of our debts, amounting to.........

750,000

And there would be a neat surplus of............... £. 135,395

But if, 'as the committee stated, the revenue

rise according to the latest experience,
there would still be a farther difference in
our favour of.................

Making, in this case, a clear excess, accruing at Christmas next, (above the regular surplus) of the sum of...................

313,698

£. 449,098

I shall now move, Sir, "That a sum of one million be annually granted to certain commissioners, to be by them applied to the purchase of stocks, towards discharging the public debt of this country, which money shall arise out of the surplusses, excesses, and overplus monies, composing the fund commonly called the sinking fund."

The motion was agreed to without opposition.

February 12. 1787..

THE House, pursuant to the order of the day, resolved itself into a Committee of the whole House, to consider of so much of His Majesty's speech as related to the Treaty of Commerce concluded with France.

MR. PITT then rose:

He trusted that when the House considered the magnitude of the subject, they would not only forgive him for trespassing upon their patience with an extended investigation, but would encourage him in his attempts to throw all necessary lights upon its nature, and its possible effects. Convinced that he could not enter into details without employing much time, he should, on this account, avoid needlessly prolonging the hours of debate, by the introduction of any extraneous matter whatsoever. If the treaty should be found to comprehend principles hostile to the received notions and doctrines of British commerce, and that thereby a general spirit of objection and discontent had spread abroad over the country, he was assured that it would little avail him to stand up in that committee, and argue for the acceptance of a negotiation, which was generally offensive. The committee would not be seduced, by any thing which he might be able to advance, from the exercise of their clear and independent judgments; and certainly they would not be bound in any degree to the confirmation of this treaty, unless, after the most deliberate and solemn discussion, they should perceive it sup

trovertible policy; and so finding it, declare their sense of it, by adopting the means necessary for carrying it into effect.

On this occasion, he should not hesitate again earnestly to contend, that the treaty, in its commercial aspect, had been be tween four and five months before the public, and it was on that ground that he had confidence in going into the committee, and commencing its discussion. For if, after remaining between four and five months in the hands of every manufacturer and merchant in the kingdom, after being freely discussed in various publications, it should turn out that no one complaint had been heard; that no great manufacturing body of men had taken the alarm; and that nothing whatever had happened to prevent the discussion, save the petition presented upon that day, praying for time, from a few manufacturers collected in a certain chamber of commerce, he should certainly think himself justified in calling the attention of the committee to the discussion. If even that very chamber who thus presented the petition, did not at the same time state any reasons against the treaty, but leaned itself simply on the vague and unsatisfactory ground, that after four or five months they had not had time, he was sensible that gentlemen would not think it a substantial ground for delay; after the expiration of such a period of time, it appeared that all upon which they had determined, was to entertain doubts, and of course avoid bringing forward an opinion upon the subject. But another transaction had been mentioned and coupled with this, he must say, in a very singular manner — he meant the Irish propositions. Did the honourable gentleman mean to insinuate that there was any analogy between this treaty and those propositions? Surely he did not intend to conclude from that experience, that the manufacturers were a body of men slow to apprehend their own danger, or to communicate their apprehensions to parliament; or did the honourable gentleman wish to keep the resemblance in another way? Those propositions, after being canvassed, discussed, and debated, were at length, on

* Mr. Sheridan.

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