solidated Fund, and of the estimate amount | Deducting from this the War Taxes at which he would take each of the items. £. 5,607,000 .... 18,835,000 100,000 135,000 1,051,000 38,793,000 pledged for the interest of the debt And there remained to be granted for 2,706,000 21,020,666 It remained for him to state the conditions on which the Loan had been contracted. These he thought were so far satisfactory that all parties ought to be satisfied. They did not impose a greater burden on the public than was necessary, and if beneficial to the contractors, it was 75,000 24,000 not so much so, as to give them an unfair 20,000 advantage. For every 1001. subscribed 170,000 they received 1101. in the 3 per cent. Reduced Annuities, 60%. in the 3 per cent. Consols, and 8s. 6d. in the Long Annuities. The charge to be provided for was very considerable. The capital debt created 41,199,000 was 35,700,000l. the interest 1,160,2501. the one per cent. to the Sinking Fund 36,260,000 536,9991. To this was to be added for 5,239,000 management, 11,379.; making a total charge of 1,708,6281. The total debt created by funding in the present session, was 54,780,4231.; the interest on it was 2,062,0661. 18s. 44d. The per centage to 1,350,000 the Sinking Fund amounted to 763,9147. 1s. 1d.; the charge for management was, 17,1031. 2s. 6d. ; and the total charge to the public was 2,845,0841. 1s. 114d. The House would understand that he meant to propose to cancel such part of the debt as the sum in the hands of the commissioners was sufficient to cover. On this subject, he however thought it at present unnecessary to trouble the Committee, as other opportunities would occur for going into it; reserving to himself, therefore, the right of giving any explanation that might appear necessary, he should trouble them at present no farther. The right hon. gentleman then moved his first Resolution, which, as well as all the others, passed without any discussion. 3,889,000 3,281,000 Surplus remaining for present year £. 608,000 The right hon. gentleman proceeded to show in what way he had formed his Esti mates of the War Taxes. The Customs and Excise averaged in the three years ending April 5, 1812 £.9,502,965 Add Duties imposed in 1811, and the present year. Aud for the higher Duty on Sugars of 3s. per cwt. in consequence of the high price, which might be taken at 550,000 250,000 The total would be..... £. 10,302,965 This Sum, then, he took as an average of the Customs and Excise. Of the Property Tax there remained of former Assessments on April 5, 1813 Estimated produce of the present year 9,361,946 12,960,000 22,321,946 8,898,245 13,423,701 23,726,666 IRISH BUDGET.] Mr. William Fitzgerald said it was his duty now to address the Committee. If ever any man had to solicit the indulgence of the Committee it was for him to do it, being not only for the first time to bring under the view of parliament the financial situation of Ireland, but being called upon to provide for a de mand beyond that of any former year, and to supply not only the means for the coming time, but to make up the deficiencies of that which had been truly stated by his right hon. friend Mr. Vansittart, to have been a year of unexampled expenditure. He would not occupy too much, he hoped, of the time of the Committee, yet he feared he could not avoid trespassing at what some would deem too great length upon their attention. He would proceed to state as briefly as he could the different items of the Supply. They were as follows: SUPPLY. ...... Deficiency of Contribution 1812, ex- £. 2,226,037 9,372,494 4,951,501 21,604 Total Supply.... 16,571,636 8,500,000 16,631,616 In devising the means of answering these charges, he felt that he was placed in a situation more disagreeable than any person who had preceded him in his office, had experienced. At a time, when the country was labouring under very considerable difficulties, he was obliged to call upon her for annual duties to meet the charges which he had just stated. To understand perfectly the exertions which Ireland was required to make, it was only £. necessary for the Committee to call to its 3,281,478 recollection, what Great Britain had pro4,600,000 vided in the present year, and to contrast 100,000 73,425 her contribution with that of Ireland. It would be found that Ireland was, at the present moment, charged with fresh impo76,713 sitions to the amount of upwards of 600,000l. He was aware, that it was the opinion of some gentlemen, that the system recently introduced in this country, might apply, in a certain degree, to Ireland; and that recourse might be had to the Sinking Fund. But, however this might be demanded, by the hope of avoiding fresh and onerous burdens, yet, the arguments applied to the principle in this country, 1,366,718 could not be applied to Ireland in an equal 2,029,009 extent. It had been his principal wish, in the taxes which he had already the honour 3,329,727 to propose, several of which had met the concurrence of the House, and the sanction of parliament, to press as little as pos sible, on the lower classes of the community; and to avoid bearing on those great sources of prosperity, which were absolutely necessary to the well-being of a ris ing country. To have pursued a contrary line, in a country deficient in resources, and possessing no great capital, would be the means of defeating her prosperity, and rendering ineffectual those burdens which were imposed on her. He had already stated, that the charge for the loans of the present year was 595,8394. He would 595,839 now proceed to lay before the Committee, the means by which it was intended to The first Item in the Estimate, viz. the Surplus of the Consolidated Fund, stood thus: Balance 5th January 1815... 114,249 Surplus of Consolidated Fund.. £. 3,281,478 The Charge upon the Loans contracted this year would be: Irish Loan, 2,000,000l. at 67. 5s. 9d. for Money English Loan, 6,500,000%. at 77. 4s. 72d. ditto..... 125,750 470,089 meet that charge. He had already sub-known to have been distilled in any one mitted to the House a proposition for the year, would be 110,000l. further increasing the rate of the custom duties in Ireland, that increase was 25 per cent. which was estimated to produce 77,3261. The increased duty of 12s. 9d. per 100lbs. on tobacco, was estimated at 43,722. The additional duty on coffee, 1,900l. The increase of one-third of the difference between the British and Irish duties on foreign wines 40,565l. These, with one or two other alterations in existing taxes, formed an aggregate of 265,000l. It had been argued, at the time when he first proposed these alterations, that it was not possible to calculate on some of the articles so accurately as on others; but to prevent any disappointment which might be apprehended from that circumstance, care had been taken to lay the estimate as low as possible. At the same time, he did not think it could be fairly admitted, because a tax in the first instance had not reached the estimate, that therefore it would always continue unproductive. In the present instance, the sum likely to be produced by the additional duties was very considerably under-rated in the estimate, and it was very probable that the amount of the taxes generally would cover any diminution apprehended in particular items. The next duty was that which had already passed the House, the addition of 3s. per barrel on malt, the produce of which was estimated at 115,000l. The right hon. gentleman here entered into an elaborate detail of the data, on which he founded his assumption that this additional tax would produce the sum specified; particularly as it was accompanied by certain regulations with respect to the malt made use of in the distilleries. The next duty he had to notice, was one to which, if he could judge from the general leaning of the House, he could expect no opposition; he alluded to an additional duty of sixpence per gallon on spirits. It had been argued, that 3s. having been imposed on each barrel of malt, there should be a corresponding duty laid on spirits. He did not think that the addition of sixpence per gallon could materially affect the interests of the distiller; at the same time, he was assured, that an increase of duty on the distilleries was a measure which parliament ought not, and would not, in the present posture of affairs, be anxious to oppose. The amount of this additional duty on spirits, calculated on 4,400,000 gallons, a less quantity than was ever He believed the consumption of spirits to be more than of twice the amount upon which he had made his calculation, and he did not despair if parliament would arm the executive government with sufficient power to put down the evil of illicit distillation, and if those, the best guardians and enforcers of the laws, the gentlemen of the country, those resident amongst the people and the most interested in the preservation of the public morals and the public peace, would lend their aid fairly to its suppres sion, he did not despair, while they would be providing best for the happiness, as well as they would promote most the industry of the people, of obtaining from the distillery in the ensuing year, a greater revenue than it has ever yet yielded to the state. It was known to those members for Ireland who had sat on the committee above stairs, and he was anxious to re-state in the House that assurance he had given them of the anxious wish of the government to accompany any strong measures which might be recurred to, to get rid of the pernicious practice of private distillation, by provisions for the encouragement of small stills throughout the country, and he hoped that the indulgences which he meant to extend to them by bringing the market home to the neighbourhood, and the door, as it were, of the farmer, would take away the inducements to this practice, while the enforcement of the law would punish its violation, if the practice should continue to prevail; upon this subject, however, he would not say more; he would wait until the proper time for the discussion of this point should arrive, and he had the satisfaction of thinking, that he had the almost unanimous support and sanction of the representatives of Ireland to the measure which the Committee had instructed him to introduce. The next duty he had to state was one to which parliament had already acceded, that was the augmentation of the assessed taxes; this augmentation was on the whole of their amount estimated at 25 per cent. It did not however operate generally as a duty of 25 per cent. because persons in the lower ranks of life, and who might be supposed unable to bear it, did not come within its scope to that extent. Its principal produce was expected from the rich; taking, therefore, the whole tax, he estimated it would produce 100,000l. The alteration in the postage duties, which had been agreed to by the legislature, he | Customs with Excise on Tobacco Spirits, 6d. per gallon Assessed Taxes, increase of 25 per cent. 1,300,000l. above the year 1810. With respect to the debt of Ireland, it would be sufficient to state, that the redeemed debt, in 1801, was only 1,000,000l. while in the present year, it amounted to 16,886,3457. At the former period, the proportion of the sinking fund to the unredeemed debt, was one to eighty-one; while, at £.265,000 the present time, it was as one to fifty.115,000 With respect to trade and navigation, they 110,000 had increased very much in the last twelve Whatever opinions gentlemen 100,000 years, 15,000 might hold on the Act of Union itself, 5,000 however strong the objections which they might have imbibed against it-(objections which he meant not to oppose, for, if he had had an opportunity, he would perhaps also have urged them at the time)still, it was evident, from a comparison of the official value of exports for twelve years preceding, and twelve years succeeding the Union, that they had greatly increased in the latter period. £.610,000 He had laid before practical persons, conversant in calculations, several of these proposed duties, and they had estimated their produce at a much greater amount than he had taken them at. Having thus stated to the Committee the taxes intended to be raised, it would not be amiss to compare the general state of Ireland, at the present day, with that of former years. Those, he believed, who were acquainted with the state of Ireland, and the nature of her resources, and who considered the calls which had been made upon her since the Union, could not suppose it possible for that country to have made greater sacrifices than she had done, during the period which had elapsed. Still, however, she had increased in prosperity, as might be perceived by a cursory view of the documents which he held in bis hand. In 1802, the year immediately subsequent to the Union, the net produce of the revenues of Ireland, (the customs and excise being taken together), was 2,169,4661. In 1810, the customs alone amounted to 2,508,9187.; being 300,000l. more than the amount of the customs and excise in 1802. In 1811, the net produce of the customs amounted to 1,555,663.; in 1812, to 1,838,6531.; and in 1813, to 2,157,5914; being as much as the whole amount of the customs and excise in 1802. The whole statement produced this result, that the net revenue of Ireland, which in 1802 was 2,441,3851. had increased greatly, taking the average of the four last years, of which the year 1811 was remarkable for the number of defalcations. -The year 1810 produced 4,335,016.; 1811, 3,673,714.; 1812, 4,241,0351.; 1813, 4,975,0001. Here was an increase of more than 700,000l. in the present year above that which preceded it, and of | And the like favourable result would appear if any other averages of years were taken. Now, he was aware, that it might be argued, that the increase of imports was not always a proof of the increase of wealth; but it could not be supposed, that so great a difference could be produced in the course of twelve years, unless the country was in a flourishing state, particularly when gentlemen considered what the articles of import were, being principally the consumption of the higher classes of society. The number of ships which entered inwards in the twelve years man then enumerated the principal articles of exports, viz. barley, oats, wheat, flour, oxen and cows, sheep, swine, bacon, butter, and pork, and pointed out the increase which had taken place in their exportation during the last twelve years, and noticed that the export of wheat in the last two years was 703,846 barrels, which exceeds the exports of the twelve years immediately preceding the Unionand he hoped for still more extensive results, if the beneficial measure which his hon. friend, sir Henry Parnell, was to introduce, and which he should certainly support, should receive the sanction of the legislature. With respect to the general improvement of the country, it was pretty evident from the state of the exchange between Great Britain and Ireland, which, notwithstanding the sums annually transmitted to absentees, was very much decreased. The rate of exchange was formerly as high as 17; but in the present year it fell to five one-half or one-fourth. Many objections had been made in former years, when the Irish budget was brought forward-one of these was the high charge of the collection and management of the revenue. He was happy to announce, that a very great improvement had taken place in that respect. The right hon. gentleman then entered into a statement to shew the saving which had taken place in the collection of the revenue since 1811; from which it appeared, that the gross revenue was now collected 5 per cent. under the rate of that year; and the net revenue 8 per cent. In the Post Office department, the revenue was now collected at a much more moderate rate, and with much greater ease than formerly. The difference in the rate at which the net revenue of that department had been collected, being 20 per cent. less than the preceding year. The right hon. gentleman then observed that Ireland would not bear in addition to the taxation already imposed upon her those strong direct taxes in the contemplation of some gentlemen, without trenching on those resources which were the foundation of her prosperity. He was favourable to an union of the financial departments of the two countries, from which he conceived most beneficial results would be derived. He was aware that a more efficient controul of the departments would be one of the first consequences, of establishments, and a diminution of ex penditure. He went however no farther than to desire to unite the treasuries and to consolidate the debts. For if gentlemen supposed that Ireland could afford a contribution, on the same principles as England, even in the proportion which her growing means, and increasing population might induce them to reckon on, they would find themselves greatly mistaken indeed; even those who calculated on a great increase of general receipt, by the imposition of these taxes which Great Britain paid, were deceiving the country and themselves. Ireland now paid taxes on her consumption, from which Great Britain was exempted-the principal articles of that consumption were of British manufacture and of British produce-and besides those articles, which were charged with heavier imposts, Ireland paid nearly 300,000l. per annum, on the importation of articles, most of them of prime necessity, none of which were liable to any internal duty in Great Britain. It would scarcely be contended by the warmest advocate for what was called vigorous taxation, that if the financial system of the two countries were to be in other respects assimilated, that the Irish people were still to be subjected to duties such as these; to preserve them as protecting duties would be in his mind the most puerile economy; since it was no other than to compel every consumer in Ireland to pay more than the article of his consumption was worth, or than he ought to pay for it. Here then there would be a loss of near 300,000l. per annum in our customs, which the new system of finance must supply. But there was much more. The property tax payable on the interest of the Irish debt received in this country, would surely be considered applicable to the Irish supply, and ought to be carried to the account of that country, which provided with such difficulty for its charge. The same result would arise respecting the property of Irish absentees; at least in equity he was sure it ought, and the deduction on these two last-mentioned grounds be at least half a million from the general resources of the empire. On this he only estimated the remittances to absentees at two millions, which was the amount presumed in the year 1804, when a committee of the House of Commons enquired into the state of the exchanges between Great Britain and Ireland at the same time he had little doubt that the |