1 81 6.] and Prospects of the Finances. 



as to displease ihc whole nation ; tliat is 

 to say, after usiiipf the wiiole resources in 

 our power, the deficit will still be enor- 

 mous. 



I do not think tliat the basis of tliis 

 calculation will be objected to; I only 

 take the late of taxation at 3s. 8d. in 

 the poinid, a sum not nearly so great as 

 is generally supposed. An<l, as to the 

 diminution of the incomes of individuals, 

 I think I have underrated it, if the ge- 

 neral complaints are near the truth. 



It will be answered 1o all this, that 

 twenty years ago the ruin of the state, 

 through excess of debt, Wiis anticipated 

 the same as now, and that in realitt/ 

 those are onhj the gloomy predictions of 

 the discontented. 



I admit, that forniany years the alarm 

 on account of the national debt was 

 much gieater than was warranted, and 

 that the power of the nation to bear 

 taxation has greatly exceeded the ex- 

 pectations of the most sanguine calcu- 

 lators; but, unfortunately, those serve 

 only to prove tlie more completely our 

 present danger. 



The premature alarm has been in 

 tins case, as it always is, succeeded by 

 incredulity; the incredulity as to danger 

 gives a coulidence, that nothing but the 

 real arrival of danger will destroy ; and, 

 as for the capacity of the nation to sus- 

 tain burthens far beyond what was ima- 

 gined, that arose from two causes, now 



ceasing to exist — the increase of riches 



and the diminution of the value of 



money. 



In 1792 all our taxes amounted to 



16,6t>0,000; in 1815 to 66,000,000, or, 



as near as possible, to four times as 



much; but. during that period, the value 



of money had diminished at least one 



half; and, in the latter year, govcnnnent 



expended 120,000,000; when, in the 



former, it only expended 16,600,000, 



b(,irig something more than 100 millions 



of cNcess; and the rate of taxation at 



3.S. 8f/. in the pound, would niaUc those 



who n ceived this excess contribute 



17 millions: so that, though the amount 



of taxes has (jnudrnpled, the rate of 



taxation to individuals was not even 



doubled as things stood last year; but 



now, that money is coming back to its 



liirmor value, and the expenditure of 



government is reduced .'iO millions, the 



pressure will be felt in a most severe 



nianncr. 



There is no analogy, no comparison, 



between this and any former p<riod. 



Wc! never before hail peace without 



bciog able to inukt; our icsuiuci.'S niuct 



our expences ; and we ought not to be 

 supine or incredulous on account of the 

 false terrors of former calculators. The 

 proofs of our inability to square our 

 expenditure with our income, consist 

 now of physical facts. Formerly, opi- 

 nions were formed and were the ground 

 of apprehension ; and, theretbre, we ara 

 not, in judging of our present situation, 

 to pay any attention to what have beea 

 the mistakes at any former jjcriod. 



W. Play FAIR. 

 P.S. It is evident that taxation will 

 not fall off in the same proportion with in- 

 dividual income, because reduction falU 

 chiefly on luxuries, and taxes fall chiefly 

 on necessaries. Salt, shoes, soap, and most 

 exciseable articles, arc the last to feel re- 

 trenchment. For this reason I liave made 

 great reduction of the proportion. The 

 reduction is, however, certain, though it 

 can only be guessed at ; I should think, out 

 of 45 millions, the deficiency will be from 

 7 to 10, leaving about o7J()00,000 per- 

 manent revenue. 



To the Editor of the Monthlif 5Iagazme. 



SIR, 



THE various philological papers 

 which have recently appeared in 

 your valuable pidjlication, ath)rded me 

 great pleasure, as viewing this kind of 

 investigation to be, at length, advancing 

 towards a regular sys^tcm, worthy of 

 maintaining a raidv among other esta- 

 blished sciences. 



From my peculiar jmrsuits, and having 

 the ancient langnagc of jiritaiu for my 

 mother tongue, 1 have ascertained some 

 imi)ortant facts, connected with this, to 

 me interesting, subject, upon which it 

 was my intention to form an extensive 

 work; but obstacles to the acqtiircment 

 of the necessary materials, for the pur- 

 pose of rendering it so complete as I 

 w ished it to be, have caused a delay of 

 Mich h ngth of years, that I now look 

 upon the task as impracticable. How- 

 ever, being reluctant that the know- 

 ledge of those facts, with their intrinsic 

 characteristics should be entirely lost, 

 and prcsuiiiing that tiiey might .-illonl 

 useful hints for the further il lustration 

 of language; with your permission, IMr. 

 Fditor, I shall here oiler to the notice 

 of your readers a general outline, or the 

 conclusions to be drawn from them ; 

 intending, also, at convenient intervals, 

 to protluce cxami)les and explanations 

 of the most prominent |>arts of a system, 

 to which, in my mind, they give a beau- 

 tiful and consistent form. 



1. iVIankind liad an original language, 



wJiicIi imJeiwcijt a confusion, cither 



suddenly 



