human events: limited only by the immutable principles of reafon and juftice, it cannot be restrained or fettered by the acts of antecedent legiflatures; nor can it, by its own acts, divest itself of the right of exercifing, or communicate to others any check upon the excrcife of this or any other power, inherent in its nature, and effential to the execution of that truft, which is the fole end and purpose of its inftitution, the promotion of the public good. "But, not to reft upon general reafoning only, we examined into the appropriations themfelves, and the power that has been exercifed by the legislature over them; and for that purpofe, we procured from the auditor of the receipt of his majesty's exchequer, an account of the number of branches under which the accounts of the customs are kept in that office, and to what charges or fervices thofe branches are feverally applicable. The branches are ranged, in this account, in the order in which we received them from the custom houfe the titles of them, in ufe both at the custom house and the exchequer are inferted; and, that we might the more eafily refer to them, we have added the numbers. "It appears in this account, that the number of heads in the exchequer is lefs by three than the number at the custom house. The heads, number 40 and 43, are omitted in the exchequer; for the duties collected under thofe heads in the customs, are directed by the receiver general, upon his payment of them into the exchequer, to be placed to fuch branches as he particularly mentions. The heads, number 44 and 45, though feparate in the customs, are blended together in the exchequer, as arifing from the fame fubject, and neither of them appropriated. The duties under the first head, intitled "customs," are collected under three feparate branches; but they are paid into the exchequer in moieries, under the heads of the half fubfidies 1712 and 1714. "As many of the duties are carrier over to various funds, that it might appear at one view what duties are carried to each fund, we required from the fame office, an account to what funds the duties of the customs are carried, when paid into the exchequer, and what branches of thofe duties are kept under diftinct and feparate heads. This account fhews`us, that fix of them are carried to the general fund; thirteen, and a moiety of the duties under the head of cuftoms, to the aggregate fund; fix, the fouth sea fund; and eleven to the finking fund: that eight are unappropriated, and the remaining twenty-four, with the other moiety of the customs, are kept under diftinct and separate heads, and appropriated to specific services. "The appropriation of these funds does not appear in these accounts; and, therefore, we applied to the fame office for accounts of the fervices to which the general, aggregate, fouth fea, and finking funds, are refpectively applicable. 66 Being thus furnished with the knowledge of the appropriation of every custom duty, in the office of the receipt of the exchequer, whether by itself, or in common with other duties; and, being affifted by the information of Mr. Hughfon, clerk of the debentures in that office; we are enabled to form fome judgment, whether any objection arifes to this plan of confolidation from the circumftance of the appropriation. "In the account of the funds to which the duties are carried, there are three diftinctions; the unappropriated duties, the duties carried over to the compound funds and, thofe thofe kept under separate and diftinct heads. "The first clafs, not being appropriated at all, an account of the produce of them is laid before parliament fome time in every feffion, and that produce is applied to the current fervices of the year. There does not appear to us any reafon why this produce, being applicable every year to whatever fervice parliament think fit to direct it, fhould not be received into the exchequer as one fum, and thefe eight branches be united and blended together under one head. "The duties of the fecond clafs, being carried over to their refpective funds, are mixed with certain other duties, collected together from almost every fource of revenue. The number and variety that compofe each fund, appear in an account from the exchequer, of the feveral duties of which the general, aggregate, fouth fea, and finking funds are refpectively compofed. The duties thus brought together form in each fund one compound cash; out of which the fervices to which the fund is made applicable are fupplied as they arife. In this iffue all diftinction of feparate appropriation is done away; there is no connection between any one of the fervices and any one of the component branches; the entire compound fund is made fubject to each fervice feparately, and to all them taken to gether. "It is true, that the diftinction in the receipt fhews how much each branch contributes to the common stock for any given period : but that knowledge feems to be mere matter of curiofity; no ufe is made of it; it is the ground of no operation of finance; the quantum of the produce has no relation to the quantum of any particular fer vice: the fund receives the whole; and whether it be more or less productive, equally affects every fervice; if the fund produces enough for every fervice, it is immaterial what fhare each branch contributes to it. "It is frequently neceffary, for the regulation of the commerce upon any particular article, to know the annual amount of the duty produce by it; but that knowledge cannot be collected from the fum produced by any of these branches, because the fum paid into the exchequer upon any branch, does not diftinguish from what articles the duties arife which compofe that fum; it comprehends the aggregate of the duties collected upon every article that has been imported or exported, within the time of the collection, liable to the duty. This knowledge is obtained from the infpector general of imports and exports, who keeps an account of every fpecies of goods, whether im ported or exported; and, the quantity of the goods, and the rate of the duty, being given, the fum of the duty produced by it in any given time is easily computed. "Since the distinction of the branches thus carried over in the receipt of the exchequer feems to us to be of no ufe, we are of opinion, that all the branches of the custom duties, carried over to these four funds, and amounting together to thirty feven, may be added to the eight unappropriated branches, and the produce of them paid as one fum, under one head, into the re ceipt of the exchequer. Of the twenty-five remaining branches, twenty-two are appro priated to the payment of annuities; one, to the coinage; and the other two, to the encouragement of the growth, one of cotton in the Leeward Islands, the other of (K 2) hemp hemp and flax in England and Scotland. "As to the coinage fervice, the act of the 18th of Charles the Second, chapter the 5th, impofed two duties, the one on wine, the other on fpirits, and directed the produce to be diftinguished and kept apart in the offices both of the customs and exchequer, and to be applied to no other ufe but that of defraying the expence of the mint. One of thefe duties, that on fpirits, is, by the 9th of George the Second, chapter the 23d, fection the 17th, carried and appropriated to the ufes of the aggregate fund. "At prefent, the whole produce of the remaining branch, the duty on wine, is applied to the coinage; but this fervice generally exceed ing the produce of the duty, the deficiency is paid out the fupplies of the year. any "Nothing has as yet been iffued of the duties collected for the encouragement of the growth of cotton in the Leeward Iflands; nor has there been demand from England for any part of her fhare in the produce of the other branch. Scotland has feceived payments on account of her fhare, which is feven fiftcenths of the produce. "It cannot be material out of what duties thefe fervices are fupplied they may, whether limited or fluctuating, be made a charge upon any fufficient fund, or upon that of which these three branches may form a part. The twenty-two remaining branches are appropriated, each to the payment of fome particular annuity, granted between the year 17c6 and the prefent time. The public creditors are of two defcriptions; bodies corporate, and individual proprietors of particular government fecurities. Thefe latter are no otherwife connected than as proprietors of shares in the fame fund or annuity. At the creation of thefe annuities, the legiflature has always appropriated fome exiti ing branches of the public revenue, or created fome new branches, either in the act that grants the annuity or in fome fubfequent act, as a fund out of which the annuity is to be paid. The act of the 5th of Williain and Mary, chapter the zoth, which incorporated the bank of England, and the act of the 9th and 10th of William the Third, chapter the 44th, which gave rife to the Eaft India company, each imofes a variety of new duties, and, out of the produce, appropriates a certain fum to the ufe of thofe perfons who fhould become fubfcribers to a loan propofed to be advanced to government, upon the terms mentioned in the act. The act of the 9th of queen Anne, chap'er the 21st, which erected the South Sea company, creates a fund, out of duties then exifting, to answer the annuities granted by that act, to those proprietors of certain public debts, who fhould fubfcribe them into the flock of the company. In all the acts which have occured to us, for raifing money by granting annuities to individuals, until within these few years, the funds appropriated for the payment of the annuities have been inferted in the fame act: but of late years, the annuities have been granted by one act, and the funds created by fome fubfequent act of the fame feffion. In this latter cafe, the fubject does not lend his money upon the credit of any particular fecurity: ignorant what it will be, he leaves the choice of the fund to the legislature, and relies for the payment of his annuity upon fuch means as they fhall think proper to adopt. & Where "Where the fecurity is coupled with the loan in fame act, the fubjet exprefly accepts the fecurity as held out to him, and lends his money upon the credit of it: and yet the legislature, reprefenting all the creditors of government as well as the rest of the fubjects, and confulting their good as blended with the common good, do retain, and muft, from the nature of its inftitution, for ever retain, a power over that fecurity, to be exercifed at whatever times, and in whatever manner, the common good requires. The only right vested in the creditor, and which the legislature cannot, without injuftice, infringe, is, the right to the full and regular payment of his annuity, and the re-payment of his principal according to the terms of his loan; and this right fubfifts in full force, independent of any appropriation. Should both the specific and fupplemental funds, propofed and accepted as the fecurities, fail, his right to his principal and to his annuity does not fail: the whole property of the public, the real and perfonal eftate of very fubject, the produce of his labour, is liable and bound to the payment of every debt contracted for his defence, fecurity, and protection. "If the creditor derives, from the aft that creates the loan, any exclufive right to the fund destined to the payment of his annuity, it must be a right to that fund exactly in the ftate in which he accepts it as his fecurity; for there is no refervation or limitation annexed to his acceptance. Such a right in the creditor would exclude the right of the legislature, unless he confents not only to change the fund, but to make any alteration in the duty arifing from any one article of commerce that contributes to that fund. On the contrary, any principle that empowers the legiflature to vary one of tho e duties, equally em powers them to change the fund. The only difference is, the degree of violation of the right of the cre ditor in the one cafe, and the extent to which the legiflative power is exercifed in the other. The continual exercife of this power over the appropriated duties, without the confent of the public companies, and of the proprietors of the government fecurities, is a proof of the legiflative right, and efablishes the prin ciples upon which we have fuggefted this right to be grounded. "That we might the more eafily trace the alterations that have been made in the duties appropriated for the annual payments of the fumş granted to the public companies, at their first creation, to answer the intereft of the debts contracted by them with government, we procured from the auditor of the receipt of the exchequer, an account of the feveral duties out of which the annuities to the bank, South Sea com, pany, and Eaft India company. on account of their ftock, are feverally paid. To enumerate the variety of changes that have from time to time been made in them is needlefs; a few inftances are fufficient for our purpose. The act that incorporates the bank of England, impofes a tonnage duty on hips, and an excife duty on beer and other liquors, and charges this compound fund with the annual payment of 100,000!. to the ufe of the company. three years after, by the 7th and 8th of William the Third, chapter the 31, the tonnage duty is taken off, and another fubftituted in the place. In "The act of the 7th of Anne, chapter thth, appropriates the two (K 3) thirds thirds fubfidy and certain duties on coffee and other articles, impofed by former acts, to the annuity payable upon the enlarged capital of the bank of England. The act of the 1ft of George the First, chapter the 12th, throws the two thirds fubfidy into the aggregate fund. And the act of the 10th of George the First, chapter the toth, repeals the duties on coffee and other articles, and fubjects fome inland duties to the payment of the annuity. "By the act that erects the South Sea company, the duties impofed by the 2d of William and Mary, chapter the 4th (one of which is an impoft duty upon rough fax), and a duty upon home-made falt, are appropriated, among other duties, towards payment of the annuity granted to that company; and, by the act that creates the Eaft India company, additional duties are impofed, both upon home-made falt, and upon the import of foreign falt, and form a part of the fund deftined for the payment of the annuity to that company: and yet the act of the 3d of George the Second, chapter the 20th, upon the ground of relief to the fubject, repeals these duties on falt, and, to prevent any injury to the creditors of the public, from the diminution of the produce of the funds on which their feveral annuities are fecured, arifing from the fubtraction of the duties repealed, the deficiencies are charged upon the aggregate fund; and, the East India company having confented to a reduction of their annuity, the whole annuity, fo reduced, is made a charge upon the fame fund.By the act of the 4th of George the Second, chapter the 27th, the duty on rough flax is taken off, and an annual fum, taken from a medium of feven years produce of that duty, is fubftituted in its ftead, and made payable to the South Sea company out of the fame fund. "One of the articles fubject to the duties of the old fubfidy, the one third fubfidy, and the two thirds. fubfidy, is woollen yarn. The act of the 12th of George the Second, chapter the 21ft, upon the principle of utility to the manufacturer of Great Britain, repeals a part of thefe duties, and subjects the ag gregate fund to the payment of a fum, taken from the mean produce for feven years, to the feveral creditors who had an intereft in that produce; in fhares proportional to fuch intereft. These three fubfidies, being part of them appropri ated to the payment of the annuities 1706, 1707, and 1708, and part carried to the aggregate fund, the repeal of this duty effects those annuities, and all the various fervices to which the aggregate fund was at that time liable. "Great raifins is an article liable to the fame duties. The act of the 14th of his prefent majesty, chapter the 74th, reduces the rate payable upon the importation of them, from 17. 1cs. to 1s. only per hundred weight, without fubftituting any other duty in its ftead, and confequently diminishes the fecurity pledged for the payment of all thofe fervices to which the three fubfidies above mentioned are made liable. "By an act of the last feffion, chapter the 16th, the additional duty of one per cent, and part of the aliens duty, both of them parts of the branch of cuftoms, are difcontinued, and no duty impofed to fupply the place of them. The diminution of the duties on tea, and the fubftitution of a new tax, by another act of the fame felfion, chapter the 38th, affects nine branches of the customs, and, con fequently, |