GENERAL HISTORY 



[97 



to be received on the property 

 tax. In the last year 1,522,61'8/. 

 had been received from that 

 source. Still 350,000/. remained 

 to be collected, of which it was 

 calculated that about 250,000/. 

 would probably be received in 

 the present year. There was also 

 a sum of 21,4'4-8/., arising from 

 the profits resulting from the loan 

 of 1,000,000/. of exchequer bills 

 granted last year, to promote 

 public works, and for the general 

 employment of the poor ; which 

 profits the commissioners for 

 managing that loan had already 

 paid into the exchequer ; and 

 much more was expected to be 

 returned in the course of the 

 cuiTent year. The total amount, 

 therefore, of what might be called 

 the ready money of the ways and 

 means, was 7,271,448/. He did 

 not this year mean to take credit 

 for any surplus on the consoli- 

 dated fund ; for although he had 

 no doubt that there would be a 

 considerable surplus, yet he did 

 not believe it would be more 

 than sufficient to replace the defi- 

 ciencies of the income of thatfund 

 in former years. Those arrears 

 however would this year be dis- 

 charged, and in the next year he 

 hoped a very considerable sum 

 would be at the disposal of parlia- 

 ment, from the surplus of that 

 fund. — Comparing the sum of 

 7,271,448/., which he had already 

 described as the ready money of 

 ' the ways and means, with the sum 

 of 21,011,000/., which he had 

 stated to be the total amount of 

 the supplies, it would appear that 

 there was a siun of about 

 14,000,000/. to be provided for, 

 for the service of the year. With 

 a view to provide for this sum of 

 Vol. LX. 



14,000,000/., and also to effect a 

 considerable reduction of our un- 

 funded debt, ministers had re- 

 solved to enter into the arrange- 

 ments which it was now his duty 

 to explain to the committee. In 

 the first place it would be neces- 

 sary that he should state the 

 objects which government had in 

 view in these arrangements ; the 

 principal of which was, byfunding 

 a certain portion of exchequer 

 bills, to effect a considerable re- 

 duction in the unfunded debt. 

 The committee must be aware 

 that it was always usual to take 

 the earhest opportunity after a 

 peace, of funding a great part of 

 the floating debt, which never 

 failed to accumulate in time of 

 war. There was no doubt, an 

 unusual amount of this debt at 

 present, which government had 

 been naturally anxious to reduce 

 as soon as circumstances might 

 favour the operation, but i-espect- 

 ing which, it had not until that 

 time been deemed advisable to 

 take any step. It plight be re- 

 collected, although perhaps it 

 was not a matter of any great 

 consequence, that in 1816 he 

 had given a sort of notice of his 

 intention after the expiration of 

 two years of peace, to propose 

 the funding of a certain amount 

 of exchequer bills. If the state 

 of our finances had not been so 

 favourable as to warrant the exe- 

 cution of his intended plan, he 

 should certainly not have con- 

 sidered himself bound to act 

 according to the notice he had 

 alluded to ; but he had the satis- 

 faction to say, not only that the 

 expectations which he entertained 

 in 1816 were realized, but that he 

 was enabled to do much more 

 [H] than 



