320 



ANNUAL REGISTER, 1817. 



tion, the saving, which they con- 

 template as one of the iniluce- 

 nients fur substituting this mode 

 of recompensing public service, for 

 that which is now at the disposal 

 of the crown, might be ultimately 

 disappointed. 

 Marcli23, 1817. 



SECOND RFTORT FROM THE SELECT 

 COMMITTEE ON FINANCE. 



[Ordered by the House of Commons 



to be printed, March19, 181T-] 

 The Select Committee, appointed 

 to inquire into, and state, the 

 income and expenditure of the 

 United Kingdom for the year ended 

 the 5th of January, 1817. and also 

 to consider and state the probable 

 income and expenditure (so far as 

 .the same can now be estimated) 

 for the years ending the 5th of 

 January 1818, and the 5th of Ja- 

 nuary, 1819, respectively, and to 

 report the same, together with 

 their observations thereupon from 

 time to time, and also to consider 

 what further measures may be 

 adopted for the relief of the coun- 

 try from any part of the said ex- 

 penditure, without detriment to 

 the public interest, have proceeded 

 to investigate the principal estab- 

 lishments of the country, begin- 

 ning with the army. 



In this dei)artment the first 

 object that presents itself is tlie 

 numerical amount of force. 



Your committee are deeply sen- 

 sible of the extreme difficulty of 

 ascertaining the precise point at 

 which our military establishments 

 should be fixed, on account of po- 

 litical considerations, and others 

 of a still more delicate nature, 

 which must necessarily involve 



themselves in the question. In 

 taking into consideration the peace 

 establishments of the country, it 

 must be remembered, that if on 

 the one hand they are proposed to 

 be kept in a state of complete pre- 

 paration, with a view of affording 

 entire security to the nation both 

 at home and abroad, the conti- 

 nued expense must bear so heavily 

 upon the resources of the country, 

 as to preclude all hope of relief 

 from the burdens of taxation, and 

 the load of debt incurred during a 

 long series of protracted hostili- 

 ties : on the other hand, if they 

 should be reduced too low, the 

 temporary gain in point of eco- 

 nomy might be more than coun- 

 terbalanced by the hazardous 

 situation in which this kingdom, 

 together with its numerous and 

 distant dependencies, might even- 

 tually be placed upon the breaking 

 out of an unforeseen or sudden 

 war ; for which such a state of 

 deficient military preparation 

 might possibly offer no small 

 temptation. 



It is rather, therefore, for the 

 executive government, acting on 

 their responsibility, to propose, 

 and for the wisdom of the House 

 to judge of, a matter of this high 

 importance, than for your com- 

 mittee to offer an opinion ; but 

 they observe, in the mean time, 

 with satisfaction, that upon a com- 

 parison between the estimates of 

 the two last years, and those for 

 the present year, much will appear 

 to have been effected in the way 

 of reduction, both as to numbers 

 and as to expense ; and they en- 

 tertain a confident hope, that such 

 further reductions will continue to 

 be made, as may be found con- 

 sistent with all the true interests 



of 



