GENERAL HISTORY. 



L99 



The ways and means exceeded 

 the supplies about 40,000/. 



He woulil now return to the 



I mode in which the amount of the 



j surplus of the consolidated fund, 

 and of the war (axes, had been 

 calculated. 



I The surplus of the consolidated 



' fund had been estimated upon the 

 average produce of the principal 

 branches of the revenue in the 

 last three years, adding thereto so 

 much as was necessary to com- 

 plete the estimate of the yearly re- 

 ceipt of the permanent duties im- 

 posed in the last session. The 

 aveiage produce of the customs in 

 that period, with the addition he 



I had raentioned, was 5,106,000/. ; 



I of the excise, 18,188,000/. ; of 

 the assessed taxes, 5,999,000/ ; 

 of the stamps, 5,191,000/. ; and of 

 the post office, 1,240,000/. To 

 these principal branches of revenue 

 were to be added other funds of 

 a less considerable, but generally 

 of a less fluctuating nature. Of 

 these the principal was the land tax 

 remaining unredeemed, amount- 

 ing to 1,035,000/. ; there were 

 also the duty on pensions and per- 

 sonal estates, which would pro- 

 duce 141 ,000/. ; the surplus of 

 exchequer fees about (iO,000/. ; 



rj the crown lands about 50,000/. ; 

 and some other small branches of 

 revenue, producing together about 

 246,000/. ; and making, together 

 with the greater branches of re- 

 venue before stated, in the whole, 

 37,202,000/. ; to which adding 

 2,700,000/. of war taxes appro- 

 priated to the consolidated fund, 

 the total income of that fund 

 would be 39,958,000/, ; from 

 which deducting the charge as it 

 •ftood previously to the loans of 

 the present year amounting to 

 34,504,000/. there would remain 



a gross surplus of 5,454,000/. 

 From this was first to be deducted 

 the additional charge created bv 

 the loans of the present year, 

 amounting to 1,906,000/. ; but 

 against this charge siiould be set 

 the expected produce of the taxes 

 of the present year, which, to the 

 5th of April, 1813, might be esti- 

 mated at 951,500/., deducting 

 which sum, there would remain 

 954,500/. to be deducted from the 

 surplus he had stated of 5,454,000/. 

 leaving a net surplus of 4,499,500/. 

 Before this sum could be applied 

 to the service of the year, the sum 

 of 927,000/. which still remained 

 due upon the grant of the pre- 

 ceding year, must, however, be 

 made good. The remainder, which 

 would be applicable to the ser- 

 vice of the present year, would 

 therefore be 3,572,500/. He 

 should accordingly propose a vote 

 of 3,600,000/. as being the nearest 

 round number. 



He was aware that it might 

 probably be thought unfair to esti- 

 mate the produce of the revenue 

 for the present year, upon the 

 average of the three last, as it 

 might be stated that the revenue 

 was gradually declining. This, 

 however, upon an examination of 

 the accounts, would not appear 

 to be the fact. The total produce 

 of all the duties in the quarter 

 ending the 5th of July, 1811, fell 

 considerably short, even to the 

 amount of 760,000/. of the quarter 

 ending the 5th of July, 1810, 

 The quarter ending the 10th of 

 October, 1811, fell short, by 

 469,000/. of the corresponding 

 quarter in 1810 ; but the quarter 

 ending the 5th of January, 1812, 

 exceeded the quarter ending the 

 5th of January, 1811, by 31,000/. ; 

 and the quarter ending the 5th 

 [H 2] of 



