/770 speciAL coLLecxrloNS OouqLas LibRAR]? queeN's UNiveRsiiy AT kiNQSirON kiNQSTON ONTARIO CANADA THE CONDUCT O F The parliament of 1784, CONSIDERED. Libenterque his fum teilimonio, omnibufqiie cro, qui bene de republica merentur. Cicero. LONDON: PRINTED FCR JOHN STOCKDAI.E, OPPOSITE ^ BURLINGTON-HOUSE, PICCADILLY. 1790. Price is. 6d. (io^ C CONTENTS. Page STATE of Affairs previous to the Meeting of the Parliament of 1784 - i India - - - 10 Finance - - - 30 Commerce and Navigation - 44 Foreign Politics - - - sy Conclufion - - 62 CONDUCT O F The parliament of 1784.* CONSIDERED. THE flourifhing (late of Great Britain at the prefent moment, and the general content and happinefs which reigns in every quarter of the kingdom, forms fo marked a contrafl: to that fcene of diftrefs and defpon- dency, which prevailed previous to the dilTo- luticn of Parliament in 1784, that it cannot fail to make the ftrongefl: impreflion on any man, who is either converfant in the public affairs of his country, or even judges of them by their efFed on the fituation, wealth, and happinefs of individuals. In 1784 our credit was at the lowefl eSb : our expenditure, though in peace, exceeded our annual revenue: our finances were weigh, ed down by an oppreflive and increafing load of debt i the couniry was without a fingle fo- reign ally j our commerce, which had funk B under 3q3oT ( b 1 PREVIOUS STATE under the long interruption it had fufTered, was dill kept down by the low (late of public credit, and by the difpiriting profpeft before us : the affairs of the Eaft India Company were in a ftate of emb'arraffaienr, which ren- dered their fituation in the utmoft degree cri- tical : and, to .complete the whole, the country was fo diftracled by factions, that ic fcarcely feemed poffible to form any fettled govern- ment, to whom the people could look up with confidence for any relief from fuch a compli- cation of difficulties. The reverfe in 1790 is fo extraordinary, con- fidering the fnort fpace of time which has in- tervened, that we fhould almoft doubt the reality of our former diltreffes, if the hi (lory of what has paffed fince the meeting of the Parliament of 1784, did not furnifh us with caufes fully adequate to the happy effefts, which we have experienced, in fo fpeedy a tranfition from the brink of ruin to an enviable pitch of national profperity. In order fully to recollefl our fituation at the melancholy period here alluded to, it is neceffary to take a view of the circumftances which preceded the diffolution of the former Parliament. The repugnance which the coun- try fliewed in the fpring of 1782 to the conti- nuance OFAFFAIRS. 3 nuance of the American war, and the general opinion of mifconduft in its profecution, hav- ing driven Lord North from the helm, he was Succeeded by an adminiftration compofed of a variety of jarring interefts, which had been kept together more by the circumftance of having one common enemy, than by mutual confidence, or uniformity of principle. Their differences were, however, confined to the cabinet j nor did any open rupture appear, till, upon the death of the Marquis of Rockingham then firft Lord of the Treafury, a ftruggle took place for the nomination of his fuccelfor. The events, which followed, are too frefli in the minds of every one to need any thing more than a bare recapitulation. Lord Shelburne being appointed to the head of the Treafury, Mr. Fox and his im- mediate connexions refigned their offices: and after having but a few months brfore dwelt with peculiar energy on the cliftreiTcd fjtuation of the country, which Mr. Fox even ftated in the Houfe of Commons, when a cabinet mi- niiler, as worfe than he had ever reprefented it in oppofition, erected a ftandard for the declared purpofe of embarrafTing and thwarting thole, in whofe hands the King had committed B 2 the 4 PREVIOUS STATE the adminiftration of his diftraded klnf* doms. Lord Shelburne had fcarce been in office fix months, before he accompli fhed that objed for which, in the opinion of Mr. Fox, even the unconditional facrifice of acknowledging Ame- rican independence, prior to any negociation* was to be made without any hefitation. He cfFefled a treaty of peace with the four feveral powerSj with whom we were then ar war ; and, though in the judgment of all parties it was not a time for us to di(flate our terms, we obtained fuch, as, confidering our diftrefles, it was highly our intereft to accept. By this time however, Mr. Fox had formed a coalition with Lord North, the adverfary to whom he had fo lately been op- pofed, and whofe removal from office he had confidered as an objeft worthy to be attained even at the hazard of all the mifchicf re- fulting from an unremitting oppofition to the meafures of government during the progrefs of an extenfive and complicated war. The reful^ was the condemnation of the peace, which, as it was faid at the time, Lord North had rendered neceffary, and Mr. Fox had declared to be fo. This was followed by the refigna- tion OFAFFAIRS. 5 tion of Lord Shelbnrnej and after much and evident reludance on the part of the crown, ic became necefTary to admit them to the objefts of their ambition on the fecond of April, 1783. The period of their government was fhorr, buc it was fufficient to give the public Tome infight into their fyttem. Their extravagant loan, their attempt todoubletheincomeof theP. ofW.and finally, their projed of verting in certain indi- viduals of their own body, by Mr. Fox's Bill* a degree of power and patronage, which would exceed, and might bid defiance to, that of the crown, were the expedients to which they re- forted, under a confcioufnefs that they did not poffefs the confidence of their country. This laft meafure, while it alarmed the Sove- reign for the fafety of his rights in the keeping of fuch fervants, rouzed the indignation of the people againfl: the Houfe of Commons, who had aflifted them with their fupporr. The bill failed in the Houfe of Lords, — and in its failure involved the difgrace of its au- thors, who inftead of obtaining the perma- nency of power they fought for, were difmiil'ed from office ; and, notwithftanding their re- peated attempts to force themfelves back into office, they ftruggied in vain. The Parlia- ment, which had fupported thern as well in this as in the other violent meafures of their admini- 3 6 PREVIOUS STATE adminiftration, to the neglecfl of other public concerns, which required their attention, were difTolved on the twenty-fifch of March, 1784 j an event which gave general fatisfa^flion to the whole kingdom, who eagerly took this oppor- tunity of fhevving their fentiments on the late tranfaiftions, by their marked rejection of thofe who had fuppported the meafures of the late miniftry. The new Parliament met on the eighteenth of May following, and the people waited with a moft anxious fufpenfe the refuit of their deliberations. Let us here take a view of the fituation in which they found the country. The picture is gloomy j but in juftice to thofe who have delivered us out of that fituation we ought not to forget it. The party fpirit which had been fomented during the oppoficion to Lord North's govern- ment, the frequent changes which had hap- pened fince that period, and the ftruggles with which they had been attended, had fo unfettled the minds of men, that the country had been in one continual ferment, which had not yet even begun to fubfide; and, as people lliil looked forward to frefh changes, no termination could yet be expected to fuch an evil. The remedy vvould OFAF FAIRS. 7 would depend on the eflablifhment of a wife and tennperate adminiftration, rooted in the good opinion of the king and people, and polTeiring the confidence and fupport of both, To as. to put an end to thofe projeds of ambi- tion, which had bred continual difburbances, and kept the kingdom in a ftate of fluctuation and iiifpenfe, fo detrimental to its intereftsj and dangerous to its fafety. The Eaft India territories were reprefented to be in fuch a flate of diforder, and the finan- ces of the Company in a fituation fo defperate, that it was at that time declared fcarcely prac- ticable to fave the one from anarchy, and the other from bankruptcy. The fubjecl had fevcral times been recommended to the confi- deration of Parliament, in fpeeches from the throne : but this recommendation had only led to the produdion of a projed: of ambition, which, if it had palTed, would itfelf have been a greater evil than any of thofe which it af- fected to remedy. Subfequent to the defeat of that violent meafure, the fubjecft had indeed undergone fome difcufilon ; but the temper of the Houfe was fuch, that it could not be brought to any fatisfactory ilTue, The main bufincfs therefore, of applying an adequate^ and at the fame time a conRicutional remedy* to 8 PREVIOUS STATE to the .affairs of the Eaft Indies, remained for the new Parliament The war, which we had undertaken in pur- fuit of a revenue from America, had led us into a fyflem of borrowin^^, which mortgaged every advantage that could be propofed to us from luccefs. In addition therefore to oiir lofs of refources by the feparation of the em- pire, we found ourfelvcs loaded with an in- creafe of debt fo enormous, that notwith- ftanding the heavy burthens which had been yearly impofed, we had not yet been able to provide even for the payment of its annual in* tereft; mod of the new taxes impofed by Lord North proving very deficient, and a confider- able unfunded debt ftill remaining without any provifion. Our commerce had fuffered fo much by the long continuance of the war, and the prefiTure of incrcafing taxes, that its animation remain, cd, as it were, fufpended, and it required a foftering hand, in any degree to reftore it to health and vigour. While therefore the fitua- tionofthe finances required further taxes, care was necelTary that they fliould not bear upon commerce in its then feeble ftate; and regula- tions were neceflary for the encouragement of OFAFFAIRS. 9 of trade, without leffening our revenuesj which would not admit of diminution. The high rank and ftation which this coun- try had always prcferved among the powers of Europe, had been utterly loft amid the diftref- fes we had fuffered, and the degradation we had undergone. Even .thole who had formerly courted us, not merely as faithful allies, but as powerful protedlors, appeared new forward to join the general combination againft us, and . infult over our imbecility. It was therefore become important, not only to our national honour, but even to our national fecurity, to raife the country from that ftate of utter aban- donment and hegledt, into which it had fallen, and to recover its- confequence among foreign nations : a work of particular difficulty, as, exclufive of the natural impediments arifing from our diftrefled and helplefs fituation, vi'e had to encounter the prejudices of foreign powers againll us, from the humiliation which we had fuftered in the eyes of Europe. Such was the fituation in which the country was delivered over by the former parliament to the new body of reprefentatives. The prof- pedl before them was fuch as muft have alarm- ed the moft fanguine, and damped thefpiritof the moft cnterprifing. By what means it has C fince lo INDIA. fince happened that we have not only furmount- ed every danger, but have become fo profperous at home, and refpedable abroad, as ahnoft to have \oi\, within- fo fliort a period, even the memory of our recent diftrefles, will appear on a review of the meafures, which have been carried into effedl fince the meeting of the Par- liament of 1784. The affairs of INDIA, which had been the fubjedt of fo much contention in the late Houle of Commons, and which had occafioncd the fubfequent appeal made to the people, natu- rally became the firft objedt of concern to the new Parliament. Here two principal evils prefented themfelves, for which it was their duty to provide. Firft, the mifgovernmentof our territorfes in India, which had fo recently engaged us in deftruftivc and ruinous wars, and which, by the fyftem of bpprefilon which was alleged to prevail^ remedied diftionour on the Britilh name. Secondly, the apprehended bankruptcy of the Company, in which the finances and credit of this kingdom would have been deeply involved. I. The INDIA. II I. The admin iftration ofthe Company's go- vernment in India laboured under the imputa- tion of v/afte and oppreflion, and was liable to all the objeftions, which naturally occur againft intruding political affairs of fuch an extent to the exclufive management of a mercantile company: objedions which were thought of fufficient magnitude to juftify, in the eyes of fome men, the dangerous remedy of Mr. Fox's Bill — a remedy pretended to be for the refto- ration of tiie Company's affairs, and the better adminiftration of their government ; but felt to be a political expedient to maintain a par- ty in government, againft the wifhes of the Crown, by fecuring to them a degree of power and patronage, greater than that ofthe Crown itfelf. This meafure having been happily re- jeded, it remained for the legiflature to pro- vide fome other plan, founded on lefs ob- noxious principles, and calculated to meet the urgency of the cafe. Accordingly, one of the firft meafures of the Parliament of 1784, was to pals a Bill for the better government of India. Whether this meafure was objedionable on any other grounds, (hall be enquired in a fubfequent pare of this difculTion. But it muft in the firft place be obferved, that it was at leaft unqueftionably C 2 free 12 INDIA. free from thofe important obje6lions which had been To fuccefsfully urged againft Mr. Fox's Bill, as being dangerous ro our conflimtion at home. That the new bill differed from Mr. Fox's in that relpefl, wasindeed admitted atthe time, even by thofe who argued mofl againft its alledged weaknefs and inefficacy. A con- trary aiTertion has lately been advanced, and an attempt has been made to fupport it by what •was called a Coinparative Statement of the two Bills. That pamphlet cannot however be confidered as a ferious argument in defence of a propofition (o palpably abfurd, but muft in fairnefs rather be regarded as one of thofe pa- radoxical difputations, which are fomctimes maintained for the purpofe of difplaying inge- nuity, by men who are difpofed to think very highly of their own talents, and very meanly of the underftanding of the reft of mankind. Mr. Fox's Bill was objected againft as a violent and unjuftifiable breach of the Charter of the Eaft India Company, becaufe it depriv- ed them, without their confent, of the rights of which they were legally poficfTcd, and this ■without even a pretence of necefllty •, as it took from them not only every fpecies of inter- ference in the political or territorial govern- ment of India, but alfo all fhare in the direc- tion INDIA. 13 iion of their trade, the very obje(fl: for which their charter was originally granted. The prefent Bill was grounded on principles exprefly alTented to by the Company. It efta- bliihed that fuperintendence over their poli- tical government abroad, which for the fake of this country and of India, was agreed on all hands to be neceffary ; but it left to the Com- pany the exclufive and uncontrouled manage- ment of their commerce. Mr. Fox's Bill was alledged to ered a new branch of executive government, diftin<5t from the Crown, and paramount to icj btcaufe the commiffioners, in whom the whole manage- ment of the Eaft India Company's affairs was exclufively vefted by the Bill, were named in Parliament, were appointed for a fixed term of years, and were not like other minilters, re- fponfible to the King for their conducl, or removeable by his authority. The prefent Bill gives to the Crown the power of appointing commiffioners to fuper. intend the political government of India; and thofe commiffioners are like every other part of the executive government, . removeable at the pleafure of the Crown. M.-. 14 INDIA. Mr. Fox's Bill was univerfally believed to be calculated for the purpofe of creating a cor- rupt influence in Parliament ; becaufe it gave to his parliamentary commiflloners the whole patronage of the Company^ both at home and abroad, to the amount of" above a million fterling per annum. The prefent Bill gives to the King's com- mifPioners no patronage whatever, either at home or abroad. Mr. Fox's Bill gave to a political party in this country, the abfolute and unreflrained power of difm/ifilng at once all the Company's iervants, both in England and in India, and of appointing any perfons to fucceed them, without diftinflion or lin^itation of any fort; and this was objeded to, as opening an ample field for the abufe of this patronage, to the purpofes of faction and ambition. The prefent Bill left the patronage in the hands of the Direflors of the Eaft India Com- pany; a fiucluating body, not leagued toge- ther by principles of political party, or by ob- jefls of private ambition. It eftablifhed a fyflem of ftrifl oeconomy, which has left no of- fices in that country, but fuch as were found to be INDIA. IS be of abfolute necelTity for carrying on the governnnent there. And it impofed many inn- portant reftraints on the exercife ofthe remain- ing patronage, by which the means of abufe in the hands ofthe Directors are greatly dimi- nifiied. Till therefore Mr. Sheridan can perfuade the people of England that the confentof a char- tered body is of no moment, vvhen a fubfifting charter is to be altered j that it is the fame thing to take from a commercial company the ma- nagement of their commerce, or to leave it ex- clufively tothem; that the appointment of aper- manent executive government, independent of the Crown, confers no greater or more lalting powers on the perfons fo appointed, than when they are named bythe Crown, and are remove- able at the King's pleafurelike his other minif. ters ; that no more influence in Parliament can be acquired by an unlimited patronage of above a million fterling per annum, than by no patronage at all : or laftly, that patronage given without rellraint to a political party is not more likely to be ufed for party purpofes, than patronage left under great reQraints in the hands of men not forming any political party: till, I fay, Mr. Sheridan can efl-ablifh thefe propofitions, the people of England will 2 probably i6 I N D I A. probably continue to believe, that their re- prefentatives, whom they chofe in 1784 for their avowed deteftation of Mr. Fox's Bill, ilid tiofj within three months after their election, " pafs another bill refembling it in all thole points on which their objeftions were princi- pally grounded." And it may fafely be af- fumcd, that the new Parliament have fo far at leaft performed their duty, as confided in avoiding the f^iults fo juftly imputable to their predecefTors. But this is not enough ; if they have not pro- vided effedtually for the remedy of the then exifting evils, or if the reproach which was made againft the new Bill, at the time of its pafiing, by thepartizans of the old Bill be true^ that this Bill is wholly inefficient and inade-^ quate to the objects which Parliament had in view. The objeds which Parliament had in view in pafTing this Bill appear to have been the three follov/ing : refponfibility in the govern-^ ment at home j reformation of the fyftem of government abroad 3 and a mode of trial for offences committed in India* To INDIA. 17 To accomplifh the firfl: of thefe objefls, it was neceflary that fuch government (liould form a part of the general executive governnnent of the country, fhould be fubjecl to the appoint* ment and removal of the Crown, fhould be liable to the conftant fuperintendence of Par- liament j and in thofe matters which are not llriftly of a political nature, fhould alio be unable to conceal their proceedings from the Direftors, who arc in io many refpecls intereft- ed in a knowledge of them. To thefe ends the Bill eftablifhed a board, with powers of fuperintendence and controul over the affairs of India, confiding of fix per- fons, connected with the executive government for the time being, appointed under his Ma- jefly's commiffion, and daily refponfible to Parliament for every circumllance in the exe- cution of their office. No power is given to them to interfere with the commercial con- cerns of the Company ; but the board has au- thority over their political affairs, fo as to be enabled to fecure their attention to thofe fet- tled maxims of government, on which all m.en are agreed the profperity of that country de- pends. D The i8 I N D f A. The next objed, that of reforming the fyftem in India, was accomplifhed by new modelling the conftitution of the governments, and eftablilhing rules for the conduct of the Company's fervants in India j rules, which fhould tend to introduce a plan of oeconomy, to preferve the faith of treaties, to check all impolitic views of aggrandizement, to afford fecuricy to the landholders, and protedlion to the manufacturers : by lodging in the Go- vernor and Council of Bengal an autho- rity over the other governments i by making provifions as well in favour of feveral of the princes of India, as of the Zemindars and other native landholders of that country, by direding a revifal of the eftablifhments, a fup- prefTion of ufelefs places, and a fuccefTion by feniority, together with a return to Parliament of the progrefs made in thefe reforms : and laHly, by providing againfl: fuch evafions of the laws, and fuch extortions and mal-prac- tices as were mofc prevalent in that country. With regard to the third objed, that of a judicature at home, for offences committed in India, experience had repeatedly pointed out the neceflity of erefting a fpecial tribunal for the purpofe. Our ordinary courts of law had proved wholly inadequate to the cafes of Strat- ton INDIA. 19 ton and of Rumbold. Nor does that mode of trial, whi-ch has fince been reforted to in the inftance of a parlian:ientary impeachment, appear entitled to any preference over the other courts, in cafes of Indian delinquency. It would not perhaps be rcafonable to im- pute to the 7node of proceeding all the de- lay which has arifen j but, with every al- lowance on this fcore, it may be doubted, whether this mode could have been made ef- fedual, even in the moft important cafesj and it is evidently inapplicable to thofe which are lefs fo. The Bill has therefore provided for this defe<5l by eftablifhing a tribunal for of fences committed in India, aflfimilated as nearly as pofTible to that palladium of Englifli rfberty — the trial by jury, and differing from it in minute forms only. To compofe this tribunal, members are chofen from each Houfe of Parliament, by a fpecies of ballot which gives a due fhare of weight to all parties and defcriptions of men. And out of this number are feledled, partly by challenges and partly by lot, four Peers and fix Commoners, to which are added three of the twelve Judges, one from each of the courts. Thofe who are converfant in the principles of the Englilh law, will at once fee how every effeniial in- gredient of a trial by jury is preferved in this D 2 ellablilhmenti 20 INDIA; eflablifliment ; and, though it differs from it in fome particulars of the mode of proceed- ing, fuch as in their power of adjournment, and the unanimity of their verdidl, it muft be confidered that thefe points have never been confidered eflential to the fpirit of juries ; and the variations are adapted to the nature of the caufes which are tp come before the court. II. But whatever improvements may have been effedned by this Bill in the adminiftration of the Company's political affairs, yet the Parliament of 1784 will have but imperfectly performed their duty if they have not alfo attended to the Company's finances^ fo as to refcue them from that danger of bankruptcy, which was reprefcnted hourly co threaten them. A long and unfuccefsful war in India, the diftreffes of which were partly occafioned by the ill policy of our government there, in pro- voking the native powers j and partly by the operation of European politics in our poflef- fjons in the Eall, in expofing them to the united attacks of France and Holland, had exhauftcd the finances of the Company abroad. The cffcfts of the embarraffmenr, thus originating in INDIA 5M in India, were foon feverely felt by them at home ; their treafury here, being drained, and their future income anticipated by the payment and acceptance of bills drawn upon them for the expences incurred by their governments abroad j and their refources being almoil an- nihilated by the diminution of their inveft- ments, and the repeated capture of their Ihips. The attainment of the peace relieved them from the latter of thefe difficulties •, but left them burthened with a load of debt at home, which the profits of their trade afforded them no pro^pefl of difchargingj and the revenues of India, abforbed by the expences of the cftablifhments, which were Hill kept up, appeared fcarcely fufficicnt to fupport the credit of the government there, by the regular payment of the intereft on its debts, and the gradual difcharge of arrears to an indefinite amount, at the different fettle- ments. In December 1783, the Directors of the Eaft India Company laid before the Houfe of Commons a ftatemenc of their affairs at home and abroad, according to the iatefl: advices then received. But 22 INDIA. But againft this ftatement it was urged by thofe, who at that time endeavoured to depre- ciate the flate of the Company's affairs, that debts to a confiderable amount exifted, which were not brought forward, and that many of the articles included in the aflcts were not applicable to the difcharge of the Com- pany's debts i that others were greatly over- rated ; and that others, fuch as the debts ow- ing to the Company in India, amounting to between three and four millions, were of very doubtful realization, and ought not to be rec- koned upon — And that taking thefe articles into confideration, and allowing for them, there would exifl: an acfbual deficiency of feveral millions in the Company's affairs, which war- ranted the aflertion of their being at that period in a (late of a(flual bankruptcy. This was denied j but not by a denial of the exifting deficiency, but on an aflertion that the general fituation of the Company, their trade, and their territorial revenues, would, by management and oeconomy, en- able them to meet and overcome all their dif- ficulties, allowing even for confiderable further demands in India beyond what then ap- peared. In INDIA 2^ In fad there were debts to a great extent, which came forward when the accounts of the army, &c. came to be adjufted, and the large amount of arrears incurred put in a train for liquidation. But thofe accounts were not fuf- ficiently diftindt to afcertain the precife amount due at the dates to which the ftatement of 1783 was comoutcd. Indeed at this period the orders from home were frequently difregardtd j contentions fub- fiftcd between the different fettlements ; the controuling power of the Bengal Governmenc was difputed by that of the other fettlements^ and criminations refpefting the wars they were engaged in were alternately made againft each other: hence the expences of particular de- tachments were thrown from one fecrlement to another, and not brought forward by either* it will therefore be in vain to lookfor accuracy in any of the ftatements made up at that time ; nor was it till the interference of the Parlia- ment of 1784 had remedied thefe diforder?, and eftablifhed regularity in the proceedings of the Indian Governments, that the a(flual ftatc of the Company's affairs there could be afcer- tained with prccifion. The 24 I N D I A. The information of the peace in Europe did not arrive in India till the month of June, 1783, and it was not earlier than March 1784, that peace was concluded with Tippoo Saib 5 and, as the new adminiftration of the Company's affairs at home, under the fuperintendence of the Board of Controul, was not eftablifhed till Auguft 1784, it was a confiderable time after peace was eftablifhed, before the arrangements ordered, and the oeconomical fyftem adopted at home, could operate with effect. It appears from the accounts before Parlia- ment, that in the year 1786 the ftate of the Company's affairs was as follows : Debts at home — ;f 11,882,625, Effe(51:s ditto, ditto — — £iOj22S'77^* Balance againfi: the Company at home — — — ;^ 1,546,849' Exclufive of the capital ftock to the proprietors of — — ;Cj,200,ooo» Abroad. Debts in India — — ^9,6i8,23i, China — — . ^— jC5^o,84I. ;^io, 129,072. ■ ' Effeds INDIA. 25 EfTefls in India — ^^5,101, 661. China — — — £203,640. Balance againft the Company abroad — — £4.823,771. So that, on the whole, there appeared a balance againft the Company, in 1786, of no lefs than £6,370,620. exclufive of the capital flock to the proprietors. The efTefl of the meafures, however, which had been already adopted, and now began to be felt, was fuch as to enable the Company to meet thefe difficulties, and in the courfe of four years to pay otf debts at home, to the amount of — £4^572,386. And abroad, to the amount of £ i > 1 37 565 r , £5,710,037. And this in addition to the payment of the current demands of their trade, and the increafe of their trading capital, which is greatly aug- mented by the Commutation Aft, and alfo in addition to many extraordinary expences abroad, beyond their ordinary eftablifhments. It is true, that for this purpofc they have been authorifed by Parliament (not '* to re- E celvc 26 INDIA. ceive aid from the public finances," as was aflerted, in 17S3, to be neceflfary, and was urged as one of the grounds which gave Par- liament a right to feize their whole affairs into its hands), but to ufe their own credit by ilTu- ing new bonds to the amount of ^1,034,000. By money borrowed of the Bank ^^ 100,000. And by new ftock fold — ;r2j98c,oco. ^4,114,000. Above half of which is abforbed in the addi- tional fums invefled in trading property. While they have been doing this, the confi- dence of the public in their affairs has gradu- ally increafed ; their ftock, which in December 1783 was worth only 120 per ce?2t. in M^rch 1790, was worth 174 per cent. Their bonds, which in December 17S3 bore an intereft Q^ ^ per cent, and were fold at ;^^. difcount; jn March 1790 bore only4/>£'r ^n2/f.intereft,and fold Sit £c^, I'js. premium; and their paper in Bengal, which in 1785 bore a difcount of Q.O per cent, and upwards, is now negcciated at a premium. And on the whole, confidering the increafe of their property, and the dimi- nution of their debts, it appears by the ftate- ments which have at different times been laid before Parliament, that the affairs of the Com- pany INDIA. 27 pany were above ;f 4,000,000 flerling better in March 1790, than in 1786. And at this time^ when the Parliament is, as it were, to render a fort of account of the affairs of this bankrupt Company, they deliver over to their fuccef- fors a body enjoying a clear furplus revenue in India of ^1,1 40,000 ^^/-^^z^z?^;;/, after paying their whole civil, military, and commercial eftablifhments, the intereft of ail their debts there, and of thofe which have been tranf- ferred home, together with the expences in- curred for recruits; fees to officers, &c, in England, and polTeffing a trade, which, after paying upwards of jC^S'^j'^'^^ P^^ annum to Government for cuftoms and duties, yields them a profit of ;C540iOoo per annum* Thus it has happened, that a vafl: con- tinent has been fubjeded to the controul of this kingdom, without the fmallefl: injury to the Britifli confticution ; and the finances of a great Company, clofely inter- woven with thofe of the nation, inftead of holding out to the public the dangers of bank- ruptcy, have been fo regulated as to be a means of addition to the general refources of the empire. E2 FINANCE. THEfecond point, that of the general flate of the NATIONAL FINANCES, is of ftill more importance than even what relates tolndiaj and is one which was equally an ob-. jecft of peculiar attention and anxiety, at the opening of the prefent Parliament, and which has in an equal degree, almoft ever fince, di- vided the opinions of the leading political par- ties in the country. The infufficiency of the exiting revenue to meet the burdens which the war had en- tailed upon the country, the failure of the taxes which had been impofed to defray the intereft of fuccefllve loans J the alarming and increafing progrefs of fmuggling ; the decay of trade and manufadures •, the fcarcity of mo- ney, and the confequent check to enterprife and induftry ; the immenfe accumulation of debt, and the low ftate of public credit, had produced a degree of apprehenfion and defpon„ dency, greater than perhaps ever before exifted in this country. The new Parliament, however, from its commencement, held out to the people, a determined intention to meet fully the public 4 mbar- FINANCE. 29 cmbarrafirnents, and endeavoured to raife an opinion, that the refources of the nation, pro- perly applied, would ftill be equal to every exigency, and would gradually afford the means ofeftablifliing a fyftem for the reducflion of the national debt, which was confidered as indif- penfably necefTary for the credit and fecurity of the country. Inthefe general principles even theOppofition profefled to concur; and they not only took everyopportunityof reprefenting the necefTity of taking efTe(5tual meafures, without lofs of time, for realizing this profpe6l j but, during all the ftruggle preceding the dilTolution of the former Parliament, ihey had dwelt upon it as the moft urgent motive for the fpeedy eftablifhment of a ftrong and aflive adminiftration. Very early, however, in the new Parlia- ment, they began to Ihew that difference of opinion, which they have uniformly main- tained, and that fpirit of oppofition which they have conftantly (hewn to almofl: all the parti- cular meafures, which have been propofed by Government, for the improvement of the finances. And though they have continued to maintain the necelTicy of a finking fund, yet in every felfion, from that of 1786 to the prefent, they have conftantly denied the fuf- ficiency of the refources provided for that pur- pofe, and have uniformly controverted the ttatemenc 30 FINANCE. • ftatement made of the exifting or expedled im- provement in the revenue, and of the progrefs made towards the reduiftion of the public debt. In order to afcertain in the cleared manner a point of fuch peculiar importance, and that the Public may be the better enabled to decide upon a queftion, in itfelf lb interefting, and •which has been productive of fo much differ- ence of opinion and difpute between the two contending parties, I will proceed to ftate what the fituation of this country was with refpect to her Finances at the clofe of the year 1783, and what it is at the prefent moment. The total annual produce of all the taxes (excerpt the Land and Malt), including thofe taxes which were raifed to defray the expence of the Loan of 1783, together with certain duties due from the Eaft India Company in the courfe of that year, amounted at the beginning of the year 17 84, to £10,359,000. The annual interefl: and charges of the Funded Debt amounted at that time to ^^8,053,072. and a large unfunded debt, con- fifting of Navy Bills and Ordnance Deben- tures remained to be provided for, which, when it was afterwards funded^ created an ad- dicioa FINANCE. 31 dition to the annud intercfl: of £1,213,000. The expen^^ of the peace efcablifl-iment, in- cluding ,^900,000 for the King's Civil Lift, could not be eftimated at lefs than about ;f 5,200,000, making the total annual expence _£i4, 466,072 J to meet which, we had, as above ftated, a revenue only of about / 10,359,000. which, by the addition of Land and Malt, might amount to about ;ri 2,950,000 per ann, Befides this deficiency, the war, though clofed, had left behind it a long train of ex- pence, with the profpeft of a variety of extra- ordinary demands for many years to com^, and for which provifion muft be made: and the ob- taining if pofTible a furplus fund for the reduc- tion of the national debt, was a point the ne- ceflity of which was felt by every one, how- ever little the (late of the finances appeared to juflify a hope of its being accomplilhed. Such was the fituation of affairs when the Parliament of 1784 were called upon to retrieve the Finances of their country; and at a time when the means of carrying on the war were no longer to be found, and peace had on that account been declared to be indifpenfibly necef- iary ; when the refources of the country ap- peared to be almoft exhaufted; when the in- genuity of former minifters had been ilretched to its utmoft extent, and every objed of taxa- tion 32 FINANCE. tion feemed pre-occupied, they fucceeded in the courfe of the years 1784 and 1785, in fup- plying the large deficiencies of the former taxes, in providing funds for the payment of interefl on frefli loans of fix millions, which it was found neceffary to borrow in the year 1784, and of one million which was required for the year 1785, and for liquidating the greateft part of the i^nfunded debt, to the amount of near ^T 18,000,000. Having fur- mounted thefe difficulties, and having furnifh- ed the means for the regular payment of the interefl on the public debt, their next object was to devife fuch a plan as fhould feem moffc practicable and moft efFecflual for the gradual redudlion of the debt itfclf j and for this purpofe a Committee of the Houfe of Commons was appointed, in the year 1786, to examine and ftate the feveral accounts which had been laid before Parliament, relating to the public in- come and expenditure, and to report their opinion to the Houfe. The difficulty of afcertaining with precifion what the probable amount of the future income of the country was likely to be, was pointed out by the Committee in their report to the Houfe. The fame difficulty occurred in cal- culating the future annual expenditure. Judg- ing, however, of the future produce of the old FINANCE. 33 old taxes by that of the preceding year, and eftimating, as far as they were able, the proba- ble annount of thofe taxes which had been newly impofed, the Committee ftated their opinion to be, that the future annual income of the country might reafonably be expefted to amount to about ;^ 1 5,400,000, to which fum it had been raifed in the fhort fpace of little more than two years, from being, as is ftatcd above, lefs than jT 1 3,000,000. With refpefV to the expenditure, they forefaw that many extraordinary demands (the confequences of the war) were likely toarife in thecourfeof each year for fome time to come, beyond the computed annual expence of a per- manent peace eftablifhment : But they dated their expeftation, that when thofe extraordinary expences were defrayed, the current annual expenditure, viz. the interefl and charges of the National Debt, the King's Civil Lift, the Eftablifliments of the Navy, Army, and Ord- nance, and other mifcellaneous fervices, would not exceed a fum of about £ 1 4,500,000. The balance between the income and expenditure, according to this ftatement, left a furplus of ;f 900,000 per annum, in favour of the former ; and in the fame feffion, the Chancellor of the Exchequer propofed to Parliament to raife new taxes to the amount of ^^100,000 per annum. The furplus being thus increafed to One Million annually, this fum was appropriated to the F purchafe j4 F I N A N^C E. purchafe of ftock on account of the public, by Commiflioners appointed for that purpofe. A regular and permanent fyftem was thereby ellabliflied for the gradual reduction of the national debt. The grounds on which the late Parliament afted in this inftance, were the fubjedl of much difcuflion and difpute between the different par- ties in the Houfe, TheOppofition aflerced in the year 1786, and have perfifted in maintaining their propofition in each feffion, that the ftate- ment of the Committee, both with refpecl to the income and expenditure, was fallacious -, that there was no reafonable ground to hope that the income would amount to the fum it was eftimated at; and that the expenditure would not admit of the propofed reduction. They agreed, however, in the propriety of making provifion for the payment of the national debt, but urged the neceflity of impofing confiderabie additional taxes on the people j a meafure, which though certainly it mufi: have been re- forted to, if it had become neceffary, the pa- triotifm of that Parliament did not allow them to adopt on light or unfubftantiated grounds. The accounts prefented to Parliament in the laft fefiion, have now brought the difputed queftion, FINANCE. 35 queftion, To far as relates to the income of the country, fairly to iffue, and have juftified the wife forbearance of Parliamentj and their re- lu6tance to load their country with unnecefTary burthens. By thefe accounts it appears, that the total produce of the taxes (including the land and malt) between the 5th of April, 1789, and the 5th of April, 1790, amounted to no kfs than £ 16,345,000; and that the average produce of the laft three years, from the 5th of April, 1787, to the 5th of April, 1790, amounted to £ 15,846,000, which exceeds the fum dated in the report of the Committee (after allowino; for the amount of the new taxes raifed in 1786) in no lefs than ;£ 349,000 pe^ annum. The amount of the future peace expenditure mufl: ftiil remain uncertain, till the period ar- rives at which it was expecfled to take place, and till Parliament (hall then,on a deliberate review of our fuuation, decide on the amount of the feveral eftablifliments to be maintained to meet the different exigencies of the public fervice. The augmentation which has been made fince 178V'), in the number of feamen kept in peace, and of the troops maintained for the fecurity of our Eaft and Weft Indian polTeffions, if ic lliould be continued, muft evidently increafe F 2 our 36 FINANCE. our expence beyond what was calculated for a fmallcr cftabliniment. The wifdom of that augmcntacion is certainly fufficiently apparent in the prefent moment ; but whether it Ihould be permanent, is a queftion which our future Reprefentatives mufi: decide. It may poffibly be found difficult to reduce fome other expcnces to the precife level of the eiVimate fortned in 1786 J but it is no inconfiderable matter of fa- tisfadion to the country, to fee, from the pre- ceding ftatements, that, fuch is tae dourilhing fituation of our finances, that even if fome in- creafe fhould unavoidably arife in the future annual expences of the country, an excefs of income actually exifts more than fufficient to counterbalance it. In addition to what has been faid on the fubjefl of our annual income and expenditure, it is material to remark, that fince the com- mencement of the year 178^, various extraor- dinary demands have been fupplied on account of different publicfervices ; and particularly from the unexampled liberality by which the laft Par- liament has fo much diftinguifiied itfelf towards the American fufferers. Thefe have amount- ed in the whole to more than £ 6,000,000. befides the amount of capital of funded debt which has already been annihilated by the 4 operation FINANCE. 37 operation of the finking fund, and which is no lefs than £ 5,184,000. The whole of this has been done with the afTiftance only of about £ 400,000 increafe of navy debt, and of a loan of one million, the greater part of which was rendered neceflary by the expences of the arnnaTient in 17S7, by which Holland was detached from France, and by the paynnent of the debts of the P, of W. The meafures by which this great altera- tion in the fituation of our finances has been produced, have been fo much the objecl of public attention, that it can hardly be necef- lary to enter into any detailed explanation of them. The mod material of them, are thofe which were adapted to the fuppreiuon of an illicit commerce, which had nfen to fuch a heighth as to endanger almolT: the exiftence of all re- venue, and even in many parts of the kingdom to bear the appearance rather of open refinance to the laws, than of a fraudulent evafion of them. This was Hated in the report of a Committee of the Houle of Commons, pre- vious to the diffolution in 17843 but till after the meeting of the Parliament then chofen, no 38 FINANCE. no meafures were taken for remedying fo alarming an evil. '& The fuccefs of the fteps fince adopted for that purpofe, is notorious to all the kingdom, nor is there any individual in it whofe perfonal obfervacion will not enable him to bear tef- timony to the merit of the Parliament of 1784, on this fubjefV. By lowering the duties on tea, and on fpirits, the, principal temptation of the fmuggler has been removed, while by the fubfidiary regulations and additional duties which accompanied thofe meafuref, and by the increafe of the legal confumption, the re- venue was fecured from lofs, and the public burthens became more equally diftributed among thofe who were befl able to bear them, infiead of falling with difproportioned hard- fliip on thofe whofe obedience to the laws of their country, prevented them from making themfelves parties to fraudulent pradices. The fame object has further been fecured by extending the provifions of the excife laws to the articles of wine and tobacco. By the former, fo great an efFeft has been produced, that the legal confumption has been, more than doubled, and the duties now collected on wines amounx to a larger fum than they did previous to the French treaty, not;^'iih- (landing FINANCE. 39 ftanding that in confequence of that treaty the rate of duty was reduced in feme inftances one-third, and in fome one-half of its former amount, as the compenfation for the admiffion of all our manufaflures under moderate duties into the ports of France. So that this great advantage to our manufadurers and merchants, has been fecured without its occafioning a di- minution of revenue. There has not as yet been fufficient time to afcertain with accuracy the efFe6ls of the ex- tenfion of excife to tobacco. But as far as can be collected from the experience of a few months, as laid before Parliament in the laft fefTion, and from the acknowledged prevalence of the frauds againft the revenue, in that ar- ticle, there is every reafon to hope that the greateft advantages will be derived from that meafure. In thefe inftances, where the excife was evi- dently more applicable to the due coUedion of the revenue, than any other fyftem, this mode has been reforted to, and has been fuccefsful. In other cafes, a difpofition has been fliewn to remove thofe articles which would admit it, from the management of that branch of revenue. On this principle the taxes on fervants, and fome other duties of a fimilar 40 FINANCE. fimilar nature, (for the colleclion of which many thoufand perfons were before fubjeded to the controul of the excifc) were transferred to the head of airefTed duties j and here, too, the experiment has been fuccefsful, as the du- ties have under the ntw mode been more ac- curately collefted. The condu6t of the Par- liament was guided in both cafes, not by an unmeaning clamour againft the name of ex- cife, which, if any weight at all were given to it, would apply with equal force to the annihi- lation of fix millions of revenue j but by a confiderate and attentive examination of thofe articles which could with fafety be placed under a different management, and of thofe where the fame object which juftified the impofirion of taxes, equally julliiies and requires that the duties, when impofed, (hould be placed under the excife, as the only effectual mode of enfuring their due collection. It would be too long to inveiligate a variety of other particulars ; it is fufficient to refer to the beneficial effects of the French Treaty, as confidered with a view to revenue only; to the Confolidation of the Cufloms, a meafure approved by all parties and defcriptions of men j to the new regulations for the colle(5tion of various taxes, and to that unremitting attention given by the late Parliament to thofe minute details FINANCE. 41 details on which a fyftem of revenue mud always fo much depend. The mode in which loans and other money tranfadions have been conduced, on the principle of open competition, deferves, however, to be parcicularly mention- ed, becaufe .its advantages are not confined to the benefit arifing from it to our finances, but are produflive of more important confequences to the honor and independence of Parliament, as muft be felt by every man who recollecfts what pafTed on the fubjedl of loans engaged for in fecret, during the courfe of the lait war. It is alfo material to advert to the very great amount of extraordinary refources which have been brought forward by the vigilance of Parliament, in aid of the public exigencies j becaufe it is of importance to obferve, that a great part of this aid arifes from the falutary provifions which they have made for the examination of the public accounts, in a more expeditious, and at the fame time a more accurate manner than before prevailed j and for the fteps taken, in conformity to the fame principle, for bringing up arrears, and enforcing the punctual payment of taxes. It will hardly be conceived by any man who is not acquainted with the facl, that the office of auditing the public accounts was become an avowed finecure in the hands of thofe who were nominally refponfible for it ; and that while the (helves of the public offices G were 42 FINANCE. were loaded, year after year, with frefh volumes of unexamined accounts, the balances of unac- counted millions were accumulating, with intereft upon intereft in the coffers of perfons indebted to the public. This evil is now remedied ; and the beneficial effects of what has been done in this refpe6l, are not confined to the temporary aid which has been derived from it to our finances fince 1784, but will be (till more ftrongly felt, whenever the circumflances of the country (hall again place us in the fituation of incurring the expences of war. Thefe can only be kept within bounds by an ac- curate and fpeedyinveftigation of accounts, and by that check which refults from bringing the national expenditure forward into public view, inftcad of fufFering it, as in the lafl war, to accu- mulate in balances, or to be concealed in an unfunded debt, of which no man could con- jevflure the extent. On this fubjeft of the national finances, it remains only to fpeak of the plan eftablifhed for the gradual redudlion of the national debt : and on this point, however important in itfelf, it is unnecefTary to dwell long, becaufe no difference of opinion has ever exifted upon it. Some doubts were ftated as to the poITibility of carrying this plan into effect, without impofing frefh burthens on the people j and even thofe 4 doubts FINANCE. 43 doubts have been difproved by the event. But no man has ever queftioned the advantage which this country derives from the eftablifh- ment of the fyftem itfelf j and the merit of the particular regulations adopted for carrying it into execution, is fufficiently obvious to any one who has at all confidered them. What the efFcd has been of this wife and falutary meafure, for the fake of which the Parliament were con- tent to rifk their popularity with their conftitu- ents; — how rapidly the public credit has fince been re-eftablifhed, and the value of the funded property of the kingdom increafed by nearly one half of the rate at which it ftood in the beginning of 17S4; — how ftriking a con- traft the fituation of this country forms in that refped, even with the leaft embarrafled of thofe nations with whom Ihe has had to con- tend : — Thefe are points which are already deeply engraven on the mind of every man who is acquainted with the interefts of his country, who knows the means by which we are become a profperous nation, and the foundation on which our profperity muft reft. G 2 COMMERCE COMlNiERCE and NA\^GATI0N. HAVING thus gone through the detail of the two former heads, we come to the third of the general divifions dated in the com- mencement of this work. The univerfal defpondency on the fubje<5l of India, and the defpair v.'ith which people looked at the embarrafTed ftate of our fi- nances, were hardly greater, or more diftref- fmg, than the difcouragement which prevailed on the fubjetfl: of our trade. It had long been felt, that the confequence of this country as a naval power, and our internal wealth and profpcrity, depend on the fiouriQiing (late of our Commerce, Naviga- tion, and Manufactures. The American war had indeed, for the lad four years of its duration, been carried on chiefly on account of the fears entertained of the mortal blow which the feparation of the Colonies from Great Britain would give to our trade; and we had on this account per- fifted, long after our hopes of revenue from thence were abandoned, . When C O M M E R C E, &c. 45 When therefore this reparation at laft took place, and when, to the lofs of intercourfe and connexion with that country, was added the necefTity of impofing additional burthens in this, which fall in fome degree on the neceflaries of life, and thereby augment the price of labour, it is not to be wondered at that men fhould have apprehended a very great deficiency in our trade, and fhould have looked with defpair to the fuuation- of our commercial concerns. This fubjedl has therefore neceflarily engag- ed a large fhare of the attention of, the Par- liament of 17S4, and of the Government whom they have fupported. The abolition of the Board of Trade and Plantations having been feverely felt by the trading interefts, a feparate commercial de- partment was now reflored, and rendered an efHcient branch of the public government, with- out trenching upon thofe principles of ccco- nomy which had occafioned the abolition of the former Board j as none of the Members of the Committee of Privy Council, appointed for this fervice, received any other falaries from the Crown than what they previoufly enjoyed in other departments of government. The 46 C O M M E R C E AND The firft general proof of the efFeds of the meafures brought. forward by this department, is the amount as ftated in the Cuftom-Houfe accounts, of our Imports and Exports for tlic year 1789, and of our Navigation at the commencement of that period, being the lateft account which has appeared. The whole of our Imports was, in 4789, ;^I7, 828,887.^ which in 17 S3, at the clofe of the war, was only ;^i3, 1 22,235. The whole of our Ex- ports was in 1789 ;C*^>5^3>03^j ^^^ ^^ ^7^3 only ;^i4, 756,818. And what makes this ftatement the more ftriking is, that of the increafe of Exports, amounting in the whole to near four millions, above three mil- lions arife from the great augmentation of Britidi manufaiftures exported to all parts of the world. The number of veflcls belong- infy to the different ports of Great Britain, has increafed from 8,342 in 1783, to 11,085 in 1788. The tonnage, from 669,221 tons in 1783, to 1,054,456 tons in 1788; and the number of failors from 59,004, to 83,286, during the fame period. Flatterino^ however as this account is, it is, in many refpefts, Icfs favourable to the im- provement of the country than what would appear on a detailed examination of the par- ticular branches of which it is compofed. The NAVIGATION. 47 The firfl: great commercial queftion which came under the confideration of the Parliament of 1784, was, the Colony Trade with America. Under the old fyitem the States of America, being then our Colonies, had received great and peculiar benefit of trade from us ; particularly the advantage of fupply- ing our Weft India Iflands with materials for building, and with provifions. They had alfo the advantage of fending thefe bulky articles in American veffels j a mode of carrying which was before the war annually increafing, to the great detriment of Britifh navigation, as neither the profit centered here, nor were the failors at our command, in cafe of emergency; nor was any encouragement given by it to fhip-building in England, which is fo eiTential a point to our maritime ftrength. The moft ftrenuous exertions were however ufed in 1784, for the continuance of this in- dulgence. And this point was much prefTed, both by the friends of the United States of America, and alfo by the Welt India intereft. This was however refifted j and meafures were taken, which, at the fame time that they have fecured to the Weft India Iflands a con- ftant fupply of neceflaries from America at a reafonable price, have greatly increafed the navigation 48 C O M M E R C E AND navigation of this country. And this fyftem has flood the teft of experience, and is now approved by every man in the kingdom who has any knowledge of our commercial interefts. Other fubfidiary meafures have been adopted for the fame purpofe^ particularly the Regifter A(5l : and the following (latement of the de- creafe of foreign fhipping, at a time when our own fliipping has been rapidly increafing, muft afford the higheft fatisfadlion to every true friend to this country. 1783. 1788. Cleared ^ Britifh Veflels 7,329 12,936 outwards 3 Foreign Do. i>544 969 8*873 i3y9°5 Entered 7 Britifh Veflels 7,690 11,121 inwards 5 Foreign Do. 2.741 i>83o 10,^31 12,951 And on the whole it may fafely be flated, that the navigation of this country has at no period been in fo flourifhing and increafing a ftate as at prefent. Thefe meafures have been equally beneficial to our remaining Colonies, which have rapidly increafed in population, wealth and com- merce. NAVIGATION. 49 merce. The population of Quebec has in- creafed nearly half of its former number-, and the provinces of Nova Scotia and New Brunf- wick, in. a confiderably greater proportion : Their exports to this country in 1783 were 91,000, and are now above 135,000. And as thefe Colonies are fupplied from Great Britain, the amount which they confume of Britifti M an u failures muft obvioufly be in- ' creafed in the fame or a greater proportion. An equal degree of attention has been given to our European commerce. Befides the con- flant negotiations which are known to have been carried on with other foreign nations, (and from which in feveral inllances confiderable benefit has been derived, though in fome not fo much as this country may have a right to claim and may ftill hope for), the French treaty affords a ftriking inftance of beneficial arrangement. I cannot agree with thofe who confider this treaty as exclufively advanta- geous to England, and it muft be the effeifl of a narrow policy to wifh it to be fo ; but when we recolledl the violent oppofition given to this treaty, as deftruflive to our manufac- tures, it is impofiible not to contraft it with the adlual effeft produced by it, which has been fuch that our export to France has in- creafed from little more than ^^500,000, which H it so COMMERCE and it was in 1786, immediately before the con- clufion of the treaty, to ^TSfOjOoo in 1789; and it is to be obferved, that this cxtenfion of our commerce coofifts principally in thofe very articles of manufadliire which we were fo confidently told that the treaty was to an- nihilate. The whole export of Britifh merchandife to different parts of Europe in 1783, was 5>592j934; and in 1789 6,823,852. Theincreafe of our cotton manufacture is known to every man who is the lead converfant with fubjedls of this fort. It appears by the Cuilom-Houfe accounts, that the whole amount of the cot- ton and mixed goods exported in 1783 was ^^787,462, and in 1789 £1,175,2^0. But it is to be obferved, that thefe fums are ftated at the Cuftom-Houfe valuation, which is far below the real value. It is fuppofed that the adual amount of thefe articles exported in 1789, is above two millions, and confequently that the increafe is in the fame proportion greater than it appears from the fums above ftated. If thefe accounts (hould appear in any degree imperfed, they are ftrongly con- firmed by the following ftatement of the quantity of the raw material imported into this kingdom for the purpofe of the manu- fadture. 4 ■ COTTON NAVIGATION. 51 COTTON WOOL. Pounds. In 1783 the quantity imported was 9,723,805 In 1784 - 11,482,083 In 1785 - 18,400,384 In 1786 - 19,475,020 In 1787 - 23,250,268 In 1788 - 20,467,436 In 1789- - 32i576>023 The woollen manufaflure cannot be ftated • from fimilar documents, becaufe the raw ma- terial is the produce of our own country, but from an account of the number of cloths milled at the feveral fulling mills in the Weft Riding of the county of York, it appears that in 1783 the quantity of broad cloth milled was 131,092 pieces, 4,563, 376yards. And in 1788, 139,406 pieces, 4,244,322 yards. And of narrow cloths, in 1783, 108,641 pieces, 3,292,002 yardsj and in 1788, 132,143 pieces, 4,208,303 yards. And by the Cuftom- Houfe accounts it appears that the value of woollen goods exported in 17S3 was ;{^3, 494,506, and in 1789 ;r4,i6i,8io. And this valuation is liable to the fame remark as that of the cotton goods, being far below the real value. H 7. ' The 52 C O M M E R C E AND The (late of the linen manufadure in Great Britain may partly be collcfted from the fol- lowing accounc, which relates to Scotland, as it is well known that the Englifli linen manu- facture has increafed in at leafl: as great a proportion. From the ift of November 1782, to the ift of November 1783, the quantity of linen cloth ftamped in Scotland amounted to i7;074i777i y^rds. In 1788, to 20,506,310 -^ yards. In 1789, to i 9,9916^075 yards. It would be tedious to go through a fimilar detail of all the articles. But the greateft increafe of all is in the article of iron, where our manufacture has had fuch an extenfion, that notwithftanding the immenfe quantity of the raw material now produced in this coun- try, the importation of iron from foreign coun- tries has increafed from 47,911 tons in 17 8 j, to 51,043 tonsi ni7 89. This is the mod valuable and the mod rapidly increafing of all our m an u failures. It is an article ablblutely neceffary for all the common ufes of life, and in which we poflefs great and peculiar advantages. Its fale has been greatly facilitated by the French treaty; not NAVIGATION. 53 not only by our fupplying the confumption of twenty-four millions of inhabitants in France> but alfo by the additional nneans of accefs to other markets, which we derive from the right of importation into this kingdom. What has hitherto been ftated relates chiefly to the export of our manufadures. Their total increafc, including thofe for home con- fumption, is ftill more difficult to be afcer- tained. It may however be ftrikingly inferred from the following ftatement : viz. That on an abftra<5t made from the Cuftom-Houfe accounts, it appears that the whole amount of raw mate- rials of manufa(5lure imported into Great Britain in 1784, was about ;^3,8oo,coo; and in 1789, 4,900,000 j and that the whole amount of Britifii merchandife exported in 1784, was ^^8, 800,000 J and in J789, ^13,400,000. In addition to thefe accounts of the increafe of our Navigation, our Commerce, and our Manufadures, there is another material article to be attended toj and this the rather, be- caufe it is one to which the attention of the Parliament of 1789 has been turned with a peculiar degree of anxiety, as appears from the 54 COMMERCE and t^.c various laws that have pafled for the en- couragement of our fiflieries. •D" It was flated In the debates upon the Jaft peace, by thofe who oppofcd that wile and neceflary meafure, that the ftipulation refpedt- ing Newfoundland had annihilated our fifhery there, and in effcd: furrendered it to the French ; and this, like other affertions of the fame nature, was re-echoed in the publica- tions of that party, and particularly in fome of Lord Sheffield's pamphlets. Immediately before the breaking out of the laftwar, when our Newfoundland fifhery was at the higheft, the whole number of fhips and men employed, and the quai tity of filh they brought to market, were as follows : Ships. Men. Quintals of fifli. 1773 - 525 3^37^ 489.665 1774 - 533 4,281 516,338 In the year 1789, the number of fhlps em- ployed is indeed lefs than in the two years above ftated; but the tonnage of the fhips in the former period is not dated {o as to enable us to form a comparifon of the quantity of lliip- ping employed. The number of men is much the fame as in the largeft of the two years, and the NAVIGATION. 55 the quantity of fifli confiderably more, as ap- pears by the following account : Ships. Men. Qaintals of fifh. 1789 - 472 4288 782,791 It is alfo well known, that during this period the French nfhery at Newfoundland, inftead of fwallowing up the Britilh, as was foretoldj has been gradually dccreafing-, while cur's has, as appears above, equalled its amount in the mofl: flourilhing period, as to the number of pcrfons employed in it, and far exceeded it in the produce of their induftry. The tonnage of fhips employed in the Greenland fifhery, has increafed from 14,000 tons, which was the amount in 1783, to 73,000 in 1788. The proportionate increafe of the Southern Whale Fifhery has been confiderably greater. In 1783, no more than 1,040 tons of fhipping were employed in this adventurous and ufeful enterprize. In 1789 the tonnage was 9,880, and the value of their produce fold for above £100,000. To all thefe particulars attention has been paid by Parliament, and the fuccefs has more than 56 C O M M E R C E, &c. than equalled the moft fanguine expedatlon that could be formed. On the whole therefore it appears, that in the fpace of a few years, our Navigation, our Commerce, our Manufa(flures and ourFifheries, have been extended far beyond what they had cvet been before. And that this has been done at a period and under circumftances which had given rife to the moft alarming apprehenfions, even for the exiftcnce of a great part of thefe aftonifhing fources of wealth and powera FOREIGN FOREIGN POLITICS. HAVING thus examined the prefent con- dition of this Country with refpe£t to thofe points which are of mod importance to its in- ternal profperity, it remains only to examine its relative fituation, with refpeft to the other powers of Europe. The importance of this part of our fituation to the general interefts of the empire, and even to our domeftic fecurity, is fuch as no man can be ignorant of. It is in vain under the exifting circumltances of Europe, to fuppofc that this country can remain an unconcerned fpedator of events which materially alter the fituation of its neighbours, and which might in that cafe by our negligence afford to our rivals the means of dedroying all the fources of that profperity which has fo long been an objedl of jealoufy to them. It is equally true on the other hand, that our fituation affords us the advantage of not being involved in every trifling and unimportant difference which may arife upon the Continent. The wifdom of the government of this country confifts in obfcrving a proper medium between thefe two extremes j and in proportion as this point has I b«en 58 FOREIGN POLITICS. been fyftematically purfued, or as it has fallen into negle(fl, the confequence and fecurity of the Britifh nation has always increafed or diminifhed. It would perhaps be fuperfluous now to enquire, by what fatality it was that ac the commencement of the American war wc were found without a fingle allyj and that while every year brought feme frefli acccffion to the league, which during the progrefs of that war was combined againft us, we were left to the laft to maintain the ftruggle, with- out any other afiiftance than the national vigour and refources of the country, dif- couraged and crippled by fo many concurring circumftances. But without referring to the caufes of this misfortune, the effefts of it wc have all felt, and muft long remember. The united hoftility of fo many of the powers of Europe, and the more than fufpicious neutra- lity of the reft, reduced us to the necefTity of concluding a peace on terms of conceffion and humiliation. And by a natural efFc preceding CONCLUSION. 63 pre-ceding pages. To what caufe this prof- pcrity is ultimately owing, it is unneceffary to mention. Every one who is acquainted with the fa6l, will confider it as the happy confe- quence of a virtuous and able legiflaturc, ading in fupport of a wife and fteady fyftem of government. And indeed, if from con- templating the general advantages which we have derived from the wifdom of the late Parliament, we turn our eyes towards their condufl upon a particular critical occafion, we fhall find ftill greater fubje6l for our gra- titude and admiration. When the Sovereign was rendered incapable of exercifing the powers of his ftation, and when there was, in the minds of mod men, little probability of his being ever able to refume them, the Minifter found himfelf ftill fupported by the Reprefentatives of the People. They flood forward to defend the prerogatives of the Crown, and to difplay their affedlion towards their Sovereign, and at atime when thepatronage and power ufually attendant upon Royalty, and which might otherwife have been fuppofcd to influejice their conducfl:, were transferred into other hands; they faithfully discharged their duty, looking to no other reward than the confcioufnefs of having performed It, Eledled by the people for the purpofe of giving fupport to the Crown, in the jufl exercifc of its lawful prerogative, they fhewed by their fubfequenc condud, the fame lleadinefs in fupport ^4 CONCLUSION. fupport of the claims of the two Houfes of Parliament, to a6l on behalf of the nation, and in defence of the Crown, when no longer able to exert its own prerogatives. Under the diredlion of a Parliament thus difinterefled in principles and condu6l, the credit of the nation has been raifed to its prefcnt flourifhing condition j and it muft be the wifli of every true friend to his country, that fucceeding Parliaments may clofely imitate its example. la particular we muft feel anxious, whilft under the apprehen- fion of approaching war, left our enemies Ihould be fuffered to grow confident by any fuch change in the legiflature, as might pre- vent the continuance of that fj'ilem of govern- ment which has been of late adopted, and by which this country has been already placed on fo formidable a footing. There can however be little doubt, but that thofe men who arc now returned to their conftituents, will receive the reward of their patriotifm, by being again honoured with the confidence of the people ; fince to thofe only can we look with well- grounded hope for the continuance of the prof- perity we enjoy, who have placed us in a fitua- tion in which we are enabled, in the language of His Majefty's Speech, either to meet the exigencies of war, or to cultivate, with increa- fing benefit, the bleffings of peace. THE END.