142 



On the late Meteor. 



fSept. 1, 



a fiirc and certain one that cngmffid tlu'ir 

 attention ; not the uiiiiual and calii;il 

 liivin^,s tVom tlie public expenditure. 'J lif 

 powers of c(>ni|.(jnii(l intcrcd tlicy were 

 well ac(|UHinted with ; and, wluU may he 

 conlidtitd ot'more in)|<ortJince, tlicv fiw 

 cleai'ly and diltnUlly tiie method by » Inch 

 the fi.nd could with facility be applied to 

 the attual and unremitting extinction of 

 a debt, the majiiiiluile of which had oc- 

 ralioncd fiich defjiondency : which me- 

 thod was in fu<-t at'lerwaids adopted. 



Under thofc inipuHimib, they in Sep- 

 tember 1784 connnunicated their ifleas 

 to tl;(: late Mr. I'iir, ihioiigh a moli rc- 

 i'pe^table and otiicial channel, lie car- 

 ried the plan with liim to Brichthelm- 

 lione, and upon hia return from thence it 

 was rel'crrefl to the coiilideration of G 

 IJofc, Elq., at that time fecrctary to the 

 Treafury. 



The fund which theypropofcd was pe- 

 culiarly fuitcd to the object in view. It 

 v.as founded not only on the principles 

 of real juliicc, but of obvious expedi- 

 ency. It is prcfunu'd that few, or none, 

 will object to the alfertion thai every (pc- 

 cies of property in (ircat Britain Ihiuds 

 as a fecurity to the national creditors. 

 This being iiranted,- it appeared to the 

 gentlemen before alluded to that the 

 ealieft, the inoft jull, and rational nu- 

 thiyd of difcharging the ponderous debt 

 f)r wliich tlie national iiroperty is liable, 

 would be when in iranjilii, or palfuig by 

 the deceafe of the poliiifor to Jieii-s or 

 lucceiibrs of e\ery denomination and dc- 

 fcriptioii. It was propofed to include 

 c\ery fpecies of property whatever. 



Tlie plan, of which tUe above are the 

 outlines, after having been fubniitted to 

 'the conhdi ration of JMr. Rofe, as beforc- 

 niciitioiicd, and alter fe\eral conferences 

 with one of tlie gentlemen, was by hihi 

 declared iiniiraCticablc. The propofers, 

 therefore, of courfe, bellowed no fur- 

 tiier attention tipoii it. Their furprife, 

 howe\er, may be eaiily imagined when, 

 in the fellion of parliament w hich com- 

 menced about the eiul of 1785, they 

 found the linking fund eliabliihed with aii 

 annual, but limited and coniiigeut pov er 

 of only l,'^'00,000l. Here it may be ob- 

 i'erved, that if this Aim had fucceeded fo 

 well, it may calily be imagined, without 

 the aid of calculation, that the piogiefs 

 would iia\c been much greater at this 

 time, and would be compi^ratively valily 

 moie fo leu or fifteen yi'ars hence, if a 

 tiiiui derived fioni the univcrlal chan<.e of 



property, and occafioned by tlie deceafe 

 of the poffeiVors, had been annually fo 

 ajjplicd ; and if a contribution liad been 

 drawn from the pafling |)roperty, fuit- 

 able to the nature and jultice ot its ap- 

 plication. 



If the propofers of the plan were fnr- 

 priled at tlic fudden eflablillimcnt of the 

 linking fund, and upon 'the very method 

 of conducting it w hich had been traced 

 out in one of their l(L-hemcs, they were 

 equally i'o wlien, at no great diftance of 

 time, the very tax which before h;id been 

 deemed impracricablc, when propoled to 

 be applied to tlie difcharge of ine public 

 c.ed.tors, was adopted v\ithout any dith- 

 cnlty, and for llie purpofe of defraying 

 the annual cxf enccs of government; but 

 upon a fyfiem extremely partial, com- 

 plicated, and |)erhaps unproductive, com- 

 pared with the capability of tlie iubject 

 from w hence it is derived. 



It is not intended by (he prefcnt ob- 

 fervations to ini|uire into the caufes or 

 motives i>y whicli his Majeliy's mni.llers 

 vere iiillueiiced and guided ; becaufe, 

 whether the plan was at that timedeemed 

 practicable or impracticable, does not 

 afFeCt the objeft at prefent in view, which 

 i:> to inform tlie public in general, that if 

 the fortunate and feafonaiile Uiggeltioiis 

 of the genth'inen fdiuded to, ai.d liie at- 

 tractive nature of the iiropolals Kibmiited 

 to the coiilideration of the late Lhaiicellor 

 of the I'AclK'quer, had not taken place 

 at the time mentioned, the prefent link- 

 ing fund, in all probability, wiiuld never 

 have e\ilied; the coiifer|ticiices of which, 

 in the courfe of the wonderful anil event- 

 ful years tJiat have elapfcd from the tune 

 that Dr. Price and others tidl founded 

 the alarm, are left to the coiifideiatioii 

 and determination of a canditi public, 

 who, it is hoped, will be of opinion that 

 they have tfcajied from the edge of the 

 j)rccipicc, and trom the certain and un- 

 avoidable ruin to which they were ra-t' 

 pidly advancing, as predicted by the late 

 I)r. I'rice. 



Gloj'ixon-, ' Investigatok, 



Jiclij l«0(i. 



To the Editor of the Monthly Mugazin*. 



Slli, 



IT may perhaps fomcwhat aflift Mr. 

 Farcy in his object, to inform him, 

 tliat the meteor defi-ribed by him in page 

 10.'5-10'4 of your la!t number, was dif- 

 tiiictly fecn by me at this place. I was 



thea 



