64] ANNUAL REGISTER; 1796. 
sible than ever. France would in- 
dubitably aim at the formation of a 
respectable marine, and so would 
every power that could in any de- 
gree maintain its consideration at 
sea. Our incontestible superiority 
on the ocean rendered us:an object 
of universal envy and dread; and 
these were cogent motives with all 
the Europeans to seek for our de- 
pression: bat they were no less 
urgent to induce this country to 
preserve that superiority, without 
which our internal security was 
evidently precarious; but, had we 
been sufficiently attentive to the 
means of preserving it? Had we 
not lavished, with scandalous pro- 
fusion, immense sums, for which no 
adequate services had been per- 
formed? Seventy-seven millions had, 
in the course of the last three years, 
been added to the public debts ; to 
pay the interest of which, taxes had 
been laid, amounting to two mil- 
lions six hundred thousand pounds. 
The expences of former wars, how- 
ever great, did not equal those of 
the present; and yet those wars 
were more extensive and important 
in their object than the present, 
In the contest that lost us America, 
ministerial profusion was notorious ; 
the debt contracted did not, how- 
ever, exceed sixty-three millions, 
notwithstanding the duration of that 
fata] quarrel, was twice what this 
had now been; and we had all 
Europe to contend with... When 
the present war began, the mi- 
nister engaged, in a solemn manner, 
to obviate, by every possible means, 
extraordinaries of all kinds; but 
how had he kept his word? not- 
withstanding the most liberal] grants 
that ever minister had experienced, 
the extraordinaries of the navy 
amounted so thirteen millions seven 
hundred thousand pounds, while the: 
commerce of this country had suf- 
fered more from the enemy than 
in any preceding quarrel; the ex- 
traordinaries of the army were nine 
millions, ‘These were unconscion- 
able expences, as, notwithstanding 
the advance of price in all articles 
of public or private demand, they 
had not risen to such a height as to 
justify the difference between the 
cost of the present and of former 
wars. The extraordinaries of the 
nine years war, from the revolution 
to the peace of Ryswick, in 1697, 
were twelve hundred thousand 
pounds. Those of eleven years 
war, in the reign of queen Anne; 
were two millions. They did not 
together amount to one-half of the 
extraordinaries of the present year : 
the cause of this increase of expence, 
was not so much the difference of 
price in necessary articles, many of 
which continued, the same in this 
respect as at that day, as the ad 
dition of. unnecessary expences. 
The extraordinaries and the votes 
of credit, in 1778, 79, and 80,, 
were less by three millions two, 
hundred thousand pounds than the 
present: in: the ordinance, the ex- 
traordinaries arose to near three 
millions. These, augmentations in 
the national expences were obyi- 
ously unconstitutional, as they were 
made without parliamentary sanc- 
tion. The total of the money thus. 
expended was upwards of thirty- 
one millions; and together with that 
voted by the parliament amounted 
to sixty-six millions eight hundred ~ 
thousand pounds. This immense 
sum had been expended in three 
years of an inglorious and ruinous 
war, Another unconstitutional pro- — 
ceeding, of a most alarming nature, . 
was the erection of barracks. These 
were 
