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could not be considered as income, but was rather a loan made in aid of the expenditure of the year. As to the probable amount of the income of the present year, he anticipated an increase of about 800,000l. The Customs had produced in 1827 more than in 1826, by about 600,000l. But in 1827 the necessities of the country had caused a large importation of corn, which came in under a heavy duty; so that the duty paid on that commodity alone amounted to 800,000%. He could not fairly calculate on any such importation in the course of the present year, and therefore he was bound, in his estimate, to deduct from the revenue of last year the sum of 800,000l. derived from the duty on corn. But there were other branches of the Customs, by which we should be enabled to supply the want of revenue arising from the importation of

corn.

Those branches were sugar, rum, brandy and wine. The Customs duties on sugar fell off in 1827, as compared with the preceding year, to the amount of 300,000l. The crop was greatly deficient in 1826. This occasioned an increase of price, with a corresponding decrease of the consumption, and defalcation in the revenue. This year the reverse might be expected. There was an improved crop, which would create an increased consumption, and, of course, revenue. The amount of that increase he calculated at 300,000l.; for, on referring to the returns of the last six months, the duties received on sugar amounted to 100,000l. more than was received in the corresponding six months of the preceding year. The duty on rum had fallen off in 1827, as compared with 1826, 400,000l. In the commencement

of 1826 the heavy duties on that commodity had been lessened, and the consequence was, that the consumption increased to an inordinate extent. In 1827, there was a considerable falling-off; but, in the present year, it was fair to calculate that the consumption would amount to the mean of the two preceding years, which would make the increase of revenue on that article this year, as compared with the last, 100,000l. With respect to brandy, there had been a fallingoff in the Customs last year, for reasons which he was not competent to explain, nor was it necessary to his calculation; for it was known that the consumption of brandy hore a considerable proportion to that of rum. He, therefore, was justified in putting the increase of brandy at 50,000l. Wine stood in a different situation from any of the articles he had mentioned. There had not been any diminution of the consumption for some time. On the contrary, the increase was steady from year to year. In 1827 the Customs duty on wine exceeded that of 1826, by 200,000l.; and the last six months exceeded the corresponding six months of the preceding year, by a very large proportion. He therefore calculated, that the increase on the whole year would be very considerable; and he put it down at 150,000l. The additions to the revenue on which he calculated would stand thus :--sugar 300,000l. rum and brandy, 150,000l.; wine 150,000l.-making in all 600,000/. This would still leave a deficiency in the Customs of 200,000l. as compared with the amount of last year. The Excise, he expected, would be more productive in the present than in the preceding year. In 1827, 700,000. less had been

paid into the Exchequer, on account of Excise duties, than in the year preceding. There were circumstances last year which had greatly diminished the manufacture of malt, and, in the same proportion, decreased the duty; so that the falling-off on this one article alone amounted to 850,000l. This was to be accounted for by very obvious causes the deficiency, for instance, of the crop of barley, and the state of apprehension and alarm in which the persons engaged in that manufacture were placed, in consequence of the alterations in the law. The alarm was now entirely dissipated, and a large augmentation of duty on that particular article might be anticipated. In some of the Excise duties of last year, there had been a falling-off; in the duty on beer there was a deficiency of 170,000l. The consumption of this article was on the increase. On the whole he estimated the increase under the head of Excise, in the present year, at a bout 750,000l. Deduct from this the deficiency in the Customs, he felt justified in taking the surplus on the two branches at 550,000l. The next branch of revenue was the duty on stamps; and he calculated the increase in them for the present year at 200,000l.; being a sum rather short of that actually realized up to the present moment. In the assessed taxes, also, the augmentation had been considerable. The increase under this head, in the last half year, had been no less than 81,000l. As the produce of these taxes was subject to great variation, he was content to calculate on no larger an increase than 50,000l. respect to the Post-office, pensionsduty, hackney - coaches, smallbranches surplus and poundage

With

fees, he would merely suppose that they would produce the same amount as in last year, and estimate them accordingly. The whole augmentation, under the different heads which he had enumerated, amounted to 800,000l. In the two quarters already past, the augmentation on the articles he had mentioned in Great Britain alone, was 856,000l.; which exceeded the sum he ventured to calculate on, as the increase for the whole year. On the other hand, as the corn-duty was principally received in the latter part of the year, some deficiency might be expected in the subsequent quarters, which could be made good by the present surplus.

Hitherto he had spoken only of Great Britain. But the revenue of Ireland had increased, during the period to which he had referred by the sum of 150,000l.; and he might fairly calculate that a further augmentation would take place. The result of what he had stated to the committee was, that the total ordinary revenue of the year 1828 might be considered as amounting to 50,381,530l., to which was to be added the sum to be received from the trustees of naval

and military pensions, 3,082,500l. and extraordinary and miscellaneous payments,438,000/-making a grand total of 53,902,080/. He next came to the expendi

ture.

The interest of debt, exclusive of the Sinking-fund, but including the interest on Exchequer bills, amounted to 28,038,0007; to this was to be added, 1,692,8701. for naval and military pensions and for other charges on the consolidated fund, 2,213,6067, ; making a total of 31,944,476/. The votes which the House had agreed to for the army, navy, ord

nance, and miscellaneous services, amounted to 18,028,046/., which, added to 31,944,476l., made a grand total of 50,104,522l. Deducting the total expenditure from the total income of 53,902,0304, there remained a surplus of income over expenditure of 3,797,5081. From this he had to deduct the advances to public works 708,800, which left a clear surplus of 3,088,7081. When this surplus was compared with that of 1827, which was 1,132,227., it would be seen that there was a balance in favour of the present year of nearly 2,000,000/.

That being the surplus of revenue above expenditure, if we were to provide according to the forms now prescribed for the annual payment of the Sinking-fund, the sum required for that purpose would be, in addition to the surplus, little short of 3,000,000l. If it were considered necessary to comply strictly with the existing law with respect to the Sinkingfund, there were but two courses which he could recommend to the committee, either to raise the sum required, together with surplus revenue for the Sinking-fund, by adding to the burthens of the people, or to supply the deficiency by creating fresh debt, either funded or unfunded.

It was impossible, in the present circumstances of the country, to think of supplying the deficiency of the Sinking-fund by means of additional taxation; and it was inexpedient to add to the funded or unfunded debt: consequently we had no alternative but to reduce, from the present period, the nominal amount of the Sinking fund to that of the real surplus of revenue. In thus nominally reducing the amount of the Sink

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ing-fund, we would reality, have as much money to apply to the extinction of debt, as heretofore. The only difference would be, that, instead of redeeming apparently larger sum by creating a fresh debt, we should in future redeem a certain sum annually without incurring any new debt. The amount of debt redeemed, in the course of the last eleven years, was 29,000,000l. His proposi tion was, that we should in future apply 3,000,000l. to the redemption of debt, which he believed to be equally for the advantage of public credit and the best interests of the country. It must be ac knowledged, that the existing system of incurring debt with one hand and redeeming it with the other, was liable to the charge of delusion.

The Chancellor of the Exchequer next called the attention of the House to the state of the supplies, and ways and means for the present year.

The sum voted for the army was 8,049,9387., which was less than the vote for the same purpose in the preceding year by nearly 145,000l. The vote for the navy in the present year was 5,995,9651., which was less than the vote of last year by 130,000l. The vote for the ordnance this year was 1,597,196l., being a reduction of 50,000l. below that of last year and the miscellaneous estimates this year were 2,184,9617. being 90,000l. less than those of last year. The total reduction on these several estimates amounted to nearly 418,000l. Add to that the vote of credit given last year, but now no longer necessary, and the reduction on the estimates would be about 1,000,000l. The whole of the charge for the public service of the present year was

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CHAP. IV.

Repeal of the Test and Corporation Acts-Motion for a Committee to consider these Acts, carried-Resolution that they be repealed, carried-Declaration to be taken instead of these Oaths-Discussion in the House of Lords-Motion in the House of Commons for a Committee on the Catholic Claims, carried, and referred to the House of Lords for their concurrence.

O subject discussed in parliament during the session excited greater interest, than the progress of a bill for repealing the Test and Corporation Acts, which excluded Dissenters from offices of trust and power, and shut the doors of all corporations against them, unless they consented to take the sacrament according to the ritual of the church of England-a necessity from which they were relieved only by the passing of the Annual Indemnity bill. On the 26th of February, lord John Russell moved, "That this House will resolve itself into a Committee of the whole House, to consider of so much of the Acts of the 13th and 25th of Charles 2nd, as requires persons, before they are admitted into any office or place in Corporations, or having accepted any office, civil or military, or any place of trust under the Crown, to receive the Sacrament of the Lord's Supper according to the Rites of the Church of England." To these he subsequently added, the 16th of Geo. 2nd, for indemnifying from penalties individuals who had not qualified according to law for certain offices. His lordship prefaced the motion by a review of the history of the statutes in question, from which he

inferred that they had been originally enacted for reasons which no longer existed; and he maintained its justice and expediency on the ground, that, while these tests were an infliction on the Dissenters, which only the most imperative necessity could justify, they did in truth afford the church of England no protection, but_exposed her, on the contrary, to dangers to which she otherwise would not be obnoxious. Without serving any good purpose, they made the Dissenters irritated enemies, smarting under the continual sense of injustice, instead of converting them into peaceable and amicable companions, if not into cordial friends. It was notorious, he said, that the Presbyterians and Independents formed the main force of that party which carried through the struggle against Charles 1st. It was natural, therefore, when his son recovered his regal rights, that one of the first steps, which he took, should be, to endeavour to apply a check to the power of those who had contributed to the dethronement and death of his father. In the preamble of the Corporation Act it is stated, that, "notwithstanding all his majesty's endeavours and unparalleled indulgence in pardoning all

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