42] 



ANNUAL REGISTER, 1813. 



CHAPTER V. 



Mr. Vamittart's new Plan of Finance. — Bill for abolishing Sinecure 



Offices rejected. 



THE prodigious increase of the 

 public expenditure, and the 

 diminiuiou of several sources of 

 revenue, in consequence of the 

 war, had occasioned a general opi- 

 nion, towards the close of the last 

 session of parliament, that some 

 new financial measures were be- 

 come necessary; and the order of 

 the day standing on March 3, for 

 the House of Commons to resolve 

 itself into a committee of the whole 

 House to consider of the finances 

 of Great Britain, the Chancellor of 

 the Exchequer (Mr. Vansittart) 

 rose to open the subject. He first 

 adverted to two measures which he 

 had formerly mentioned; the adop- 

 tion of some more efficacious plan 

 for the redemption of the land-tax, 

 and the provision of an increased 

 proportion of sinking fund for so 

 much of the loan of each year as 

 might exceed the sum applicable 

 totheredemptionofthedebt. With 

 respect to the former, he chiefly 

 relied upon a simplification of the 

 mode of the redemption of the 

 land-tax, and freeing it from trou- 

 blesome formalities. As to the 

 latter, he meant to recommend 

 that the proportion of increase in 

 the sinking fund should be one 

 half of the interest of the excess 

 in the loan. In addition to these 

 measures he should propose to the 



House one which belonged more 

 immediately to the extensive sys- 

 tem with which he wished to com- 

 bine them. It would involve the 

 repeal of so much of the sinking 

 fund act of 1802 as directs that 

 the whole sinking fund then ex- 

 isting shall continue to accumulate 

 at compound interest till the total 

 redemption of the whole funded 

 debt then remaining unredeemed. 

 The right hon. gentleman then 

 made some remarks on the bad 

 effects that would arise from an 

 accumulation of the sinking fund 

 to 30 or 40 millions, which would 

 be the case on adhering to this 

 plan, and from its sudden reduc- 

 tion when the efiect was produced. 

 He showed that the fund had al- 

 ready redeemed 240 millions, the 

 sum of the whole debt at the 

 time when it was established, be- 

 sides which, the public had paid 

 upwards of 200 millions in war 

 taxes ; whence he inferred that it 

 had now a claim for some relief. 

 This might be given without the 

 smallest infringement of the pro- 

 visions of the act of 1792, the 

 terms of which were, that provi- 

 sion should be made for the re- 

 payment of all debts subsequently 

 contracted, within 45 years from 

 their creation. He then proceeded 

 to explain how this might be done, 



III 



