136 ANNUAL REGISTER, 
gether with the heads of the genuine 
state he had given of the supplies 
and ways and means, would evince 
the deficiency he had sct out with 
stating, of more than two millions 
sterling ! His lordship then pro- 
ceeded to calculate the different 
heads of revenue and expenditure, 
upon a more enlarged scale, and to 
demonstrate deficits to a more con- 
siderable amount. He then expa- 
tiated on the conduct of ministers, 
in having concealed the true firiane 
cial ‘circumstances of thé country ; 
and condemned the system of the 
political conduct of ministers, as 
equally censurable with the other 
part of their conduct ; at the same 
time disclaiming all ideas of perso- 
nal animosity; so far from it, that for 
several of them he entertained the 
warmest feelings of friendship and 
regard. The ‘great object of his 
argument was to shew, that they 
had not met the financial difficul- 
ties of the country in any one in- 
stance. He adverted to the salu- 
tary expedient of their predecessors 
of raising part of the supplies within 
the year, which he thought they 
acted unwisely, as well as we eakly; 
in not’ following up. Their aban- 
donment of the: system of finance 
laid down | by the present minis- 
ters had reduced them to the mise- 
rable expedient ‘of peace loans, 
measures which would eventually 
palsy the operations of the sinking 
fund, aud check ‘effectually, the 
gradual extinction of the public 
debt ; he principally. condemned 
the financial system pursued by 
ministers, which at the end of two 
years, left them with'a real defici- 
ency of four millions, instead of the 
hoasted ‘surplus of a million ster- 
Jing. And ‘he insisted, that no 
financial minister, in the present 
1803. 
circumstances of the country; would 
do his duty, if he shrunk from the 
project of equalizing the actual re- 
venue with the necessary expendi- 
ture of the country. 
Lord Westmoreland, defended 
the statement of the minister, and 
thought it unfair to expect an ex- 
act balance of revenue and expen- 
diture in the first year after a war, 
If peace should continue, he had no 
doubt, but that the estimates would 
be found correct. __ 
Lord Pelham defended the minis- 
terial statement of the finances, but 
considered this as a question which 
according “to established usage, 
ought rather to be discussed “in 
the other house of legislature. 
The bishop of St. Asaph, thought 
this was no time for invidious and 
warm discussion of such a nature, 
Parliament ought rather now to 
shew itself perfectly united against 
the foreign foe. 
The question was then put on 
lord King’s motion, and negatived. 
The question of adjournment to 
Monday the 16th was then put and 
carried,after a few observations from 
lords Darnley , Spencer, anda short 
reply from the lord chancellor. 
However the opinion of the pub- 
lic respecting the political abilities 
of the minister, might have hither- 
to oscillitated ; certain it is, that 
previously to the discussion of lord 
King’s motion in the house of lords 
on the 13th of May, it inclined 
strongly in favour of his financial 
science and administration, 
~ The pompousand laboured state- 
ment which had been given of the 
resources of the country, when 
contrasted with its expenditure, in 
the month of December, and which 
had been re-echoed throwsh the me- 
dium of a publication, “avowedly 
under 
