HISTORY OF EUROPE. 



83 



entered into, which should give 

 rise to any expectation that his 

 majesty would furnish any of his 

 allies with any very considerable 

 pecuniary assistance. It was not 

 the intention of his majesty's go- 

 vernment to hold out to those al- 

 lies any expectation of pecuniary 

 aid, during the present year, beyond 

 what would be coveredby the vote of 

 credit proposed. He had also to 

 state, that though no treaty had 

 been entered into with the Austrian 

 government, previously to the war, 

 yet an expectation did certainly 

 exist on ihe part of that power, as to 

 what this country would do, in the 

 event ofa war taking place. In con- 

 sequence of this impression, with- 

 out having had any communication 

 with his majesty's government, the 

 Austrian government, on the com- 

 mencement of the war, had drawn 

 bills on this country: which bills 

 it had not deemed right to pay un- 

 til the circumstance should be 

 mentioned to parliament. He 

 would confess, that when the bills 

 should arrive, it was the intention 

 of ministers to advise his majesty 

 to recommend to parliament to 

 enable him to pay them. The 

 amount of these bills it was not 

 easy yet to ascertain. It might be 

 about 500,0()0Z. Mr. Perceval, 

 having gone through all he liad to 

 state, concluded with moving a re- 

 solution for agreeing to the terms 

 of the contract for the loan. 



Mr. A'. Vansitlart wished to know 

 whether any, or what proportion 

 of the war taxes was to be charged 

 with the expences of the loan. 



The Chancellor of the Exchequer 

 replied, that the whole of the 

 charges were to be discharged 

 from the war taxes, and particu- 



larly that part of them which came 

 under the head of excise. 



Lord Petty gave his cordial ap- 

 probation to the loan itself, and the 

 principles on which it was nego- 

 tiated, as well as the mode pro- 

 posed for meeting the charges 

 upon it. He could not, however, 

 entirely approve the intention of 

 mortgaging any part of the war 

 taxes without providing an adequate 

 fund for its speedy redemption. 

 It would, he was persuaded, be pro- 

 ductive, though perhaps not imme- 

 diately, of much inconvenience. 

 Besides, an indefinite mortgage of 

 these particular taxes might tend 

 to excite an apprehension that 

 they would be ultimately convert- 

 ed into permanent burthens. The 

 practice also tended to weaken 

 and undermine those great means 

 and sinews of war. With regard 

 to the bills drawn by the Austrian 

 government, the propriety, lord 

 Petty said, of that step would 

 depend on the previous relations 

 subsisting between the two coun- 

 tries, an explanation of which he 

 presumed his majesty's ministers 

 would offer to the house before 

 the parliament rose. 



Mr. Cannins said that there was 

 no disposition on the part of Great 

 Britain, for the sake of any com- 

 bination against the common ene- 

 my, or for any temporary diversion 

 in the cause of Spain, to have 

 Austria committed in a premature 

 struggle. However much they 

 might wish to see the enemy op- 

 posed, they could never desire to 

 see Austria engaged in war on any 

 but Austrian grounds. But they 

 stated, at the same time, that if 

 Austria was committed in war 

 with France for her own defence, 



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