may not, with a small degree of attention, become as fully master of the subject, as those whose official duty has led them to make it their peculiar study.

The first point to which I wish to call the attention of the committee, is the amount of what may be considered as the probable future income of the country; and I will begin by racapitulating the result of the accounts for different years, which have been already stated. The produce of the permanent taxes in the last year, from the 5th of January 1791, to the 5th of January 1792, appears to have been 14,132,000l.; which, with the addition of 2,558,000l. (being the average amount of the annual duties on land and malt, as stated by the select committee last year,) would make the total revenue of the year 16,690,000. To this there must be added a sum, which, in the accounts on the table, has been included in the produce of the separate and temporary taxes imposed last year, for the purpose of defraying the expense of the Spanish armament, but which, in fact, makes part of the general and permanent revenue. It will be recollected that an addition was made last year to the duties on bills and receipts, and the addition was consolidated with the old duty. The whole of this consolidated duty has been carried to the account of the separate fund; but only the excess beyond the former produce can be considered as arising from the additional duty; and a sum equal to the former produce, being about 40,000l., is to be added to the other sums which I have stated, making the total revenue for the last year 16,730,000l.

The produce of the year preceding was 16,437,000l. after deducting the produce of a fifty-third week, which was included in the account of that year.

The principal branches of the revenue being paid from the respective offices into the exchequer, by weekly payments, on a stated day, a fifty-third weekly payment in the course of a year recurs nearly in the proportion of once in every period of six years. In judging therefore of the probable future amount of the revenue, the produce of the fifty-third week ought not to be

included in any one particular year, and it is therefore here deducted; but, on the other hand, one-sixth part of its amount, being about 32,000l., ought to be added to the average formed on any number of years. The average formed on the two last years, without this addition, would be 16,583,000l., and with it 16,615,000l.

The produce of the year ending on the 5th of January 1790, was 15,991,000l., and the average of the last three years (making the same allowance for the fifty-third week) amounts to 16,418,000/.

If we look back still one year farther, the produce of the year ending the 5th of January, 1789, was 15,565,000l., and the average formed on the last four years, amounts to

16,212,000l.

It appears therefore that the actual produce of the year 1791, being 16,730,000l., exceeds by above 500,000l. the average formed on the last four years ;·- that it exceeds the average formed on the last two years by above 100,000l.; — the average on the last three years by nearly 300,000l., and the actual produce of the last year but one, by nearly the same sum.

If then I form my calculation of our future revenue, not on the separate amount of any one of these particular years, but upon the average amount of four years, during which there has been a constant increase, I am certainly not attempting to lead you into too favourable an opinion; but I am rather wishing to recommend that degree of caution, which the importance of the subject always deserves, and particularly at the present moment, when we are holding out hopes of relief, in which, above all things, we should be careful to avoid the chance of disappointment. I propose therefore to rest my computation upon this average produce of four years, being 16,212,000%., and this sum, on a general view of the subject, we may safely assume, as not being likely to exceed the permanent annual revenue of the country.

I shall next desire the committee to compare the statement of the annual revenue, with that of the permanent annual expendi

ture; and I shall take as the basis of this comparison, the estimates contained in the report of the committee appointed in the last session to examine the public income and expenditure, only making such corrections as arise from certain additions on the one hand and reductions on the other, which at that time were not foreseen. The whole permanent expenditure as stated by the committee (including therein the interest of the national debt, the million annually issued for the reduction of debt, the civil list, and all the permanent charges on the consolidated fund, as well as all the establishments which are annually voted) is 15,969,000l.; to which there was added in the course of the last session (but subsequent to the report of the committee) the sum of 12,000l. charged on the consolidated fund, for the establishment of His Royal Highness the Duke of Clarence; and a further sum of about 12,000l. for defraying the expense of the separate government of the province of Upper Canada. Besides this, some further provisions will be necessary for the establishment of His Royal Highness the Duke of York, on the happy event of his marriage; and this may probably occasion an addition of 18,000l.

The amount of these additional charges is 42,000/.

I have next to state those reductions which, as far as we can at present judge, may be expected to take place in our permanent establishments, although they cannot operate to their full extent in the present year. The first article of reductions is under the head of the naval service, in which I am inclined to hope that the number of seamen may be reduced to 16,000, being 2,000 less than last year. This will produce a saving of 104,000l., and a further saving of about 10,000l. may probably be made in the estimate for the works to be carried on in the dock-yards.

In the actual establishment of the army, (after allowing for the proposed additions, which were explained when the army-estimate was voted,) there may probably be a diminution of about 50,000l.; and 36,000l. will be saved in consequence of the expiration of the treaty for the Hessian subsidy, which, under the

present circumstances, His Majesty has not thought it necessary

to renew.

If, therefore, allowance is made on the one hand for the addition of 42,000l., and for the reductions in the army and navy, amounting together to about 200,000l., the estimate of the permanent annual expenditure will stand at 15,811,000.; the amount of the income of the last year, as I have before stated it, exceeds this sum by 919,000l.; the average of the amount of the two last years exceeds it by 804,000/.; the average of the three years by 607,000l.; and that of the four years on which I rest my calculations, by 401,000l. This, then, is the comparative view which I take of the permanent income, and the permanent expenditure; and, according to the lowest of these calculations, there remains a disposeable annual surplus of about 400,000., after defraying the expense of all the establishments, and applying the annual million to the reduction of the public debt.

Before I submit to the committee the manner in which I would propose to distribute this surplus in future, I wish to advert to the supply, and ways and means, for the present year, because in these there will be found some additional articles both of expenditure and of receipt. The supply for each year, as gentlemen are aware, includes all the establishments and the charges for the various branches of the public service, together with all incidental charges which are defrayed by annual grants. It is independent of the interest and charges of the national debt, of the million annually issued to the commissioners of the civil list, and of the other charges on the consolidated fund. The amount of all these articles is 11,391,000l., and being permanently fixed, forms no part of the supply voted in each year.

For the navy we have voted this year 16,000 seamen, of which the charge is 832,000l.; for what is called the ordinary of the navy, 672,000l.; and for the extraordinary building and repairs (including the work in the dock-yards) 350,000l. We have also voted 131,000l. towards the reduction of the navy debt, which is sufficient for defraying the whole of the extra-expenses

5

of the naval department in the last year, (including those of the armament,) as far as they have not been already defrayed by the surplus arising from former grants. These sums together make 1,985,000l.

The establishment of the army for the present year is 1,474,000.; the extraordinaries 277,000l.; besides 63,000/. advanced for the troops in India, which will ultimately be repaid by the company. The total voted for the army is 1,814,000l.

For the ordinary expenses of the orduance there has been voted 221,000l.; for the extraordinaries nearly 157,000l.; and under the head of services performed in former years, but unprovided for, 44,000l., making in the whole the sum of 422,000l.

The estimates for the colonies and plantations amount to about 31,000l.

Various miscellaneous services, including the expense of African forts, the Mint, the roads in Scotland, the maintenance and transportation of convicts, the sum paid for printing journals, and some other articles, (particularly a compensation to the owners of African vessels for losses sustained in consequence of the late regulations, and likewise to the settlers removed in the year 1786 from the Mosquito shore,) amount in the whole to 114,000l.

There are two other articles which always form part of the annual statement of the supply, under the heads of deficiency of grants, and estimated deficiency of the land and malt, the nature of which is fully explained in the report of the committee of the last session, and for which allowance is made, though in a different shape, in the comparison of the permanent income and expenditure. The amount of the deficiency of grants is 436,000l., which includes in it the sum of 123,000l. repaid to the Bank, in consequence of the diminution of their floating balance, out of which 500,000l. had been advanced for the supply of last year; and the deficiency on the land and malt may be estimated at 350,000l.

To these articles I shall propose to add two others; the first is

.