ooo: HISTORY (OF EUROPE. 
were justly, by judge Blackstone, 
_ styled inland fortresses, ,and,were 
undeniably intended, to separate. the 
‘military from the civil classes, and 
to, keep the latter in.awe by means 
of the former. They had been 
ereéted too without consulting, par- 
~ liament, and had cost, since the year 
1790, eleven. hundred . thousand 
pounds, and more was,.now de- 
manded for their completion. Mi- 
nisterial demands of loans from the 
bank were also, become, of late, 
enormous, and. entirely repugnant 
to the primitive motives of its in- 
stitution, which were to assist the 
"mercantile transa¢tions of the king- 
dom, and to. maintain. its commer- 
cial credit: but it bad, in many 
respects, degenerated into;anmengine 
of state: it was now near twelye 
millions in advance to government. 
Mr. Grey entered ‘into other: par- 
ticulars, toshew theirregularity pre- 
vailing in the financial. departments. 
He concluded by affirming, in con- 
sequence of farther details, that the 
national revenue fell short of the 
peace-establishment by two.millions 
and,a half, the latter being twenty- 
two millions, the former only nine- 
teen millions five hundred thousand 
ounds. , Thus we should. be loaded 
with. farther taxes , to, supply that 
deficiency, even were a peace, to en- 
sue. On these premises, he, moved 
ae the. house spe resolve itself 
toa ‘committee, to, enguire into 
Pthe state df the nation. 
The positions of Mr, Grey were 
~ gontroverted by Mr. Jenkinson, who 
_ maiptained, that the commercial 
_ pituation of Great Britain,. notwith- 
maansing. the weight, of so great a 
War, Was More prosperous, than at 
any antecedent periods, The aves 
Tage of exports, during ‘the three 
t years of peace, the mostflourish- 
[63 
ing.ever known jn this country, was 
twenty-two millions five hundred 
and eigbty-five thousand pounds; 
and the same average for the last 
three years. of war was twenty-four 
millions four hundred and fifty-three 
thousand. The advantage in the 
borrowing of money, at present, was 
one andahalf per cent. greater than 
during the American war. At the 
close of the warin 1748 the national 
debt was eighty. millions, in 1762 
one hundred, and forty: but had the 
present system of appropriating a 
million annually to, the extinétion 
of that debt, been fortunately adopt- 
ed at the first of these periods, that 
heavy load would now have been 
totally thrown off the nation. ‘The 
expenditure of this war was, doubt. 
less, immense ; but the exertions, 
to which, it waz applied, were of no 
less magnifzide. Never was. the 
energy, of this country so astonish. 
ingly displayed, nor its resources so 
wonderfully proved : our fleets and 
armies. were in,a far, superior con- 
dition, both as to numbers and 
equipment, to those maintained in 
the American war, It was unfair 
to complain of increasing expences, 
The augmentation of price in all 
the articles of life and, social inter- 
course, added of consequence, the 
same proportion of increase in mi+ 
litary expences; nor ought the sub- 
sidies to our allies to be reputed 
extravagant, considering their utility 
to the common cause, by enabling 
these to aét much more effeétually 
against the foe, than if they were 
left to their sole exertions. The 
pressures of the enemy shewed how 
wisely the treasures of this country 
had been employed in strengthen- 
ing. the: power of his continental 
adversaries, while our successes at 
sea bud reduced him to the lowest 
state 
