FUNDS. 
Fund, the South Sea Fund, the General 
Fund, the Sinking Fund, and the Consoli- 
dated Fund. 
The Aggregate Fund was established in 
the year 1715, and had this name given to 
it, because it consisted of a great variety 
of taxes and surpluses of taxes, which were 
in that year consolidated, and given as the 
security for discharging the interest and 
principal of all the Exchequer bills then 
outstanding, and of some other public 
debts ; and likewise for the payment of 
120,0001. per annum to the civil list. 
The South Sea Fund was established in 
1716, and was so called because appropri- 
ated to pay the interest and allowance for 
management on the capital of the South 
Sea Company. 
The General Fund was also established 
in 1716, by making perpetual various du- 
ties which had been granted for the term of 
thirty-two years, and consolidating them 
with some other duties into one fund. It 
was appropriated chiefly to the payment 
of the interest on various sums raised by 
lotteries during the reign of Queen Anne. 
The Sinking Fund consisted of the sur- 
pluses of the three funds just mentioned, 
whenever the produce of the taxes compos- 
ing them should be greater than the charges 
upon them. The establishment of these 
funds formed part of a plan for a general 
reduction of the interest payable on the 
public debts, and this being effected, the 
charge on each of the three funds was of 
course lessened considerably, and the fu- 
ture overplus was directed to be carried in- 
to a fourth fund, to which was given the 
name of the Sinking Fund, because ap- 
propriated to the purpose of redeeming or 
sinking the public debts. The act of par- 
liament by which this fund was established, 
expressly ordained that it should be applied 
to the discharge of the public debts, and 
“ to or for none other use, intent, or pur- 
pose whatsoever yet in the course of a 
few years many encroachments were made 
upon it, and ultimately it became a mere 
nominal distinction, the whole produce of 
it being usually taken towards the supplies 
of the curent year. 
The Consolidated Fund was established 
in consequence of a new arrangement of 
the public accounts in the year 1786, when 
the funds abovementioned were abolished, 
and the whole of the public revenue, (ex- 
cept the annual grants) included under this 
general head. Out of this fond are paid 
the interest and expenses of management 
of all the public debts, the interest on Ex- 
chequer bills, the civil list, pensions to the 
royal family and others, salaries and allow- 
ances to various public officers, and some 
miscellaneous annual expenses. The sur- 
plus of the produce of the fund, after satis- 
fying all these charges, is annually granted 
by parliament as part of the ways and 
means for raising the supplies voted. 
Hence, it appears, that the public funds 
are properly the provision which has been 
made for payment of the interest or prin- 
cipal of the public debts ; but as the pos- 
session of the acknowledgment given by 
government for the money borrowed, esta- 
blished a right to receive the payments from 
the fund on which the loan was originally 
charged, the sale of these securities was 
considered as the sale of a portion of that 
particular fund, and as the acknowledg- 
ments given were of different kinds, the ge- 
neral appellation of the provision on which 
they rested was found more convenient for 
purposes of business. Thus the sale and 
purchase of government securities was 
commonly called the sale and purchase of 
the public funds, till, in the course of time, 
the expression has so far varied from its ori- 
ginal signification, that, instead of meaning 
the revenue out of which the interest-of the 
public debts is payable, it denominates the 
capital of the debts, in which sense it is 
now commonly used. Thus, the possession 
of 10001. in the public funds, is understood 
to mean 1000 1 . capital, bearing a certain 
rate of interest at 3, 4, or 5 per cent, per 
annum, according to the original terms of 
the loan. 
The debts bearing a certain rate of in- 
terest payable till the principal shall be re- 
deemed, are denominated, in the language 
of finance, perpetual annuities, or redeem- 
able annuities, but, in the common course 
of business, they are called funds or stocks : 
a small part of the public debts consist of 
annuities for a certain term of years, com- 
monly called long or short annuities: there 
are also some life and tontine annuities still 
existing; but the whole of the terminable 
annuities bears a very small proportion to 
the permanent debts. The perpetual an- 
nuities are distinguished according to the 
rate of interest they pay, or the time or pur- 
pose of their creation ; and when by a new 
loan government contracts an additional 
debt, bearing a certain fixed interest, the 
capital thus created is added to the amount 
of that part of the public debt which bears 
the same rate of interest, and the produce 
