10] 



ANNUAL REGISTER, 1818. 



public service. It had also made 

 inquiries on the great subject of 

 the general revenue and expendi- 

 ture of the country, and how far 

 they were likely to square and 

 meet. Other objects still re- 

 mained for the consideration of 

 the committee, and he should 

 therefore move that it be revived. 

 He should not think it necessary 

 to give a detail of the measures 

 which the king's ministers had 

 adopted in consequence of that 

 report, but it would be their duty, 

 immediately on the reappoint- 

 ment of that committee, to give 

 a full account of what they had 

 done, on its recommendation. 

 When he had first proposed the 

 formation of this committee, he 

 had observed, that a committee to 

 inquire into so large a subject as 

 the income and expenditure of 

 the country after so long a war, 

 would probably go on to a second 

 or perhaps a third year before it 

 would conclude its inquiries. His 

 honourable friend, the member 

 for Bramber (Mr. Wilberforce ) , 

 had taken up this admission, and 

 concluded, that because the in- 

 quiries were to be so long conti- 

 nued, nothing was to be done in 

 the mean time. It would be seen 

 that this inference was erroneous, 

 and that the country had received 

 substantial relief in point of sound 

 economy. 



He should now move to i-e-ap- 

 point the committee of last year, 

 and should propose the same 

 names, as well on account of their 

 respectability, as on account of 

 the great addition to their expe- 

 rience. His motion was to the 

 following purpose : " That a se- 

 lect committee be appointed to 

 inquire into and state the income 

 t 



and expenditure of the united 

 kingdom for the year ended the 

 5th of January 1818; and also 

 to consider and state the proba- 

 ble income and expenditure, so 

 far as the same can now be esti- 

 mated, for the years ending the 

 5th of January 1819, and the 5th 

 of January 1820 respectively, and 

 to report the same, together with 

 their observations thereupon, to 

 the House ; and also to consider 

 what farther measures may be 

 adopted for the relief of the coun- 

 try from any part of the said ex- 

 penditure, without detriment to 

 the public interests." 



The motion was agreed to, and 

 22 members were appointed from 

 the number. 



Lord Castlereagh oh the same 

 day presented, by command of 

 the Prince Regent, a green bag, 

 containing information I'especting 

 tile internal state of the country, 

 to be kept in the custody of the 

 clerk of the House. 



On the 5th of February, Lord 

 Castlereagh rose to move, that 

 the secret papers respecting the 

 internal state of the country which 

 he had brought down from the 

 Prince Regent, be referred to a 

 committee. \Vliatever views gen- 

 tlemen might have as to the late 

 transactions, they would come to 

 the discussion much better able 

 to enter into it, when the sub- 

 stance of the information con- 

 tained in the papers was presented 

 to them by a committee. It had 

 been supposed that the committee 

 had been appointed, not to con- 

 vey to the House an account of 

 the state of the country, but to 

 lay the foundation of some parti- 

 cular measure. This was not the 

 case. He would frankly state 



that 



