GENERAL HISTORY. 



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ports, viz. barley, oats, wheat, 

 flour, oxen and cows, sheep, swine, 

 bacon, butter, and pork, and point- 

 ed out the increase which had 

 taken place in their exportation 

 during the last twelve years, and 

 noticed that the export of wheat 

 in the last two years was 703, 846 

 barrels, which exceeds the exports 

 of the twelve years inamediately 

 preceding the Union — and he 

 hoped for still more extensive re- 

 sults if the beneficial measure 

 which his hon. friend, sir Henry 

 Parnell, was to introduce, and 

 which he should certainly support, 

 should receive the sanction of the 

 legislature. 



With respect to the general im- 

 provement of the country, it was 

 pretty evident from the state of 

 the exchange between Great Bri- 

 tain and Ireland, which, notwith- 

 standing the suras annually trans- 

 mitted to absentees, was very 

 much decreased. The rate of ex- 

 change was formerly as high as 

 17 ; but in the present year it fell 

 to five one-half, or one-fourth. 

 Many objections had been made 

 in former years, when the Irish 

 budget was brought forward — one 

 of these was the high charge of 

 the collection and management of 

 the revenue. He was happy to 

 announce, that a very great im- 

 provement had taken place in that 

 respect. The right hon. gentleman 

 then entered into a statement to 

 show the saving which had taken 

 place in the collection of the re- 

 venue since 1811; from which it 

 appeared, that the gross revenue 

 was now collected five per cent, 

 under the rate of that year ; and 

 the nett revenue eight percent. In 

 the Post-office department, the re- 

 venue was now collected at a much 



more moderate rate, and with much 

 greater ease than formerly. The 

 difference in the rate at which the 

 nett revenue of that department 

 had been collected, being 20 per 

 cent, less than the preceding year. 

 The right hon. gentleman then 

 observed that Ireland would not 

 bear, in addition to the taxation 

 already imposed upon her, those 

 strong direct taxes in the contem- 

 plation of some gentlemen, with- 

 out trenching on those resources 

 which were the foundation of her 

 prosperity. He was favourable to 

 an union of the financial depart- 

 ments of the two countries, from 

 which he conceived most benefi- 

 cial results would be derived. He 

 was aware that a more efficient 

 control of the departments would 

 be one of the first consequences 

 of establishments, and a diminution 

 of expenditure. He went however 

 no further than to desire to unite 

 the treasuries and toconsoHdate the 

 debts. For if gentlemen supposed 

 that Ireland could afford a contri- 

 bution on the same principles as 

 England, even in the proportion 

 which her growing means and 

 increasing population might induce 

 them to reckon on, they would 

 find themselves greatly mistaken 

 indeed; even those who calculated 

 on a great increase of general re- 

 ceipt, by the imposition of those 

 taxes which Great Britain paid, 

 were deceiving the country and 

 themselves. Ireland now paid 

 taxes on her consumption, from 

 which Great Britain was exempted 

 — the principle articles of that con- 

 sumption were of British manufac- 

 ture and of British produce — and 

 besides those articles, which were 

 charged with heavier imposts, Ire- 

 land paid nearly 300,000/. per 

 [G '22 



