of making income the standard of wealth, these two perfons will be made to pay alike. But then the Minifter gets over all thefe as minor objections. He fays boldly at once, "There must be fome injuftice after all; and the only thing that can be done is, to take care that the injuftice shall be as little as poffible; that he has brought it as near to justice as he can."-To which I answer, that may be his best method of bringing measures before us, but it is not fuch as I ought to vote for; and thereby give up the domeftic comfort of the moft refpectable part of the community-upon the principle therefore, of this meafure, I am bound to oppofe it. Befides, the event may happen which the Chancellor of the Exchequer has fo eloquently anticipated to-night, namely, a choice between this measure and utter deftruction; it will then be time enough to affent to this. At prefent we are in no fuch state; and we should, in my opinion, resist such measures until we are in fuch a state, for nothing but fuch an alternative can justify such an adoption; at all events I must have it in my power to fay to my conftituents, before I adopt this, that every other refource has been applied, and exhaufled. Now I cannot fay that, for there are others yet untouched, which ought to go before this measure is reforted There are many valuable things under the church. eftablishment (not in the fmallest degree beneficial to religion, but to fwell out the pomp and pride, and imaginary greatness of fome inflated individuals) which ought to be brought in aid of the public burdens. The individuals poffeffing thefe things ought to be made to contribute their full fhare. The Corporations alfo are liable in the fame manner, as I conceive-Hear a cry of hear! hear! hear!] Mr. Tierney proceeded. I do not precifely understand what Gentlemen mean by this fort of vociferation. I, for my own part, would not take the property of any body of men as a facrifice to the ftate altogether, but, when you tell me that violent hands must be laid on the property of the public, then I will tell you, it ought to take another direction, and, I am now pointing out to you that direction. This tax is faid to fall nearly equally on all forts of property. That is not true; I will tell you a property on which it does not fall; on the property of a certain defcription of Stockholders, or what may be called the leading London Gentlemen, a defcription of perfons extremely well known, whofe patriotifm is much efteemed by the Chancellor of the Exchequer. Thefe Gentlemen can pay off any tax, without burthening themselves, indeed, indeed, the greater the taxes afe, the richer they become, and they never fucceed better than when the minifter fucceeds in taxes. The Chancellor of the Exchequer fays, that this plan will not cause the funds to fall, but will occafion them to rife, fo if any Gentleman poffeffes 20,000l. in the funds, his fortune may improve by this duty. If you rife the Stock I fay (as a worthy Alderman by his fmile feems to think you will), for inftance, two per cent. he will make a large fum of money by his capital; fo that, inftead of taxing thefe Gentlemen, (who by the way are the most able to bear it), you will increafe their fortunes, while you ruin others beyond the power of redemption. Whereas your plan, to be worth any thing, fhould compel the monied men to take, at least, their fhare of the public burthens. I know that thefe obfervations do not apply to the mafs of Stockholders, but I do fay they apply to thofe whom the Chancellor of the Exchequer always chufes to favour; I mean thofe who are called the monied men of the city. But there is another point to be confidered, and it will foon turn out to be an answer to the declaration of the Chancel lor of the Exchequer, upon the utility of his plan to the public, and the protection it is to afford to property; which is, that under it, the whole property of England will foon fhift hands. I know, that to a dry financier, that is matter of no concern; it is, to him, of no moment, to whom the property belongs, provided it produces a given fum to the revenue, but, there are others who will fee indefcribeable mif chief arifing out of it, and will feel it too. Nor is it difficult to conceive how this may happen for the great mass of the property of the country may change owners in the courfe of fix, feven, eight, or nine years. That will make a great difference in the ftate of the country itfelf; for, if the rich man in the city buys the fmall eftates of a number of gentlemen (which will be one of the operations of this plan), although the eftate will be the fame, and the revenue the fame, yet, the condition of whole diftrias of inhabitants, will be materially altered. When gentleman of fmall fortune fells his eftate, let him get ever fo much for it, there are evils arifing from that fale to fome parts of his family, which are never to be avoided, nor adequately defcribed. This is a point which, although it may be beyond the comprehenfion of fome monied men, is yet well worthy the attention of this Houfe. If I had not known the found of the voice of the Chancel- lor lor of the Exchequer, fo well as I do, or, if I had not had the pleafure of feeing him oppofite to me, I fhould, from the fenfe of his difcourfe, have thought it was fomebody who came into the House to reproach the Minifter for his eftimates for the last five years. I could hardly have fuppofed, from what was faid to-night against adding perpetual taxes, and increafing the capital of debt, inftead of railing large fupplics within the year to prevent the accumulation of the debt, came from the fame man, who has increased continually, for the last five years, the permanent taxes; who has, in that time alfo, added 150 millions to the capital of the national debt; I fhould have thought alfo, when I heard him vaunting upon the integrity and proud fpirit of his country, and the defperation and perfidiousness of the enemy, that he was speaking of a minifter, who never degraded himfelf fo far as to negociate with the French Republic. I am not calling in question his fincerity; but I am calling in queftion his recollection, when I hear and fee that the Chancellor of the Exchequer of 1798 cenfures, fo unmercifully, the Chancellor of the Exchequer of 1796. The minifter has been pleafed to tell us in very lofty language, what Europe will think of our proceedings. I am not bound to care fo much what Europe may think, as what the people of England must feel from our proceedings-I am a representative of the people of England, not a member of the Congress at Radftadt. In my confcience I do believe it is by peace, and by peace only, the British empire can be fecure; not fuch a peace as may be had on any terms, ftill less on difhonourable terms, but on peace fairly to be understood. I am as anxious as the minifter can be for the fecurity, and the profperity, and the glory of England; but when, as he eloquently fays, the people of England "pay for the falvage "of their fecurity;" I mean that they fhould pay for that falvage, and for that only, not for the fuppofed intereft, or the fuppofed honour of others. There was a time when I could have heard this language with patience, but when the people are told openly, as they are now, that this is not a war for our own honour, our own privileges, our own intereft, or our own fafety, but that we are embarking in it, for the fuppofed honour, the fuppofed privileges, the fuppofed interest, the fuppofed fafety of Europe, I thould be unworthy the fituation I am in; I fhould betray my truft if I did not lift up my voice (infignificant as I am in this Houfe) against a nieafore, when fuch are avowed to be its objects. When ever any measure whatever is propofed that tends to keep up the dignity of the British empire, the Chancellor of the Exchequer will always find me throwing afide all political differences, and fupporting him. On that ground I gave him my fupport upon the vote of the navy eftimates. It was without lofing fight of that ground that I hesitated about the eftimates of the army, and I then ftated, my reafons. I hope the Chancellor of the Exchequer has nothing in view in this vote which he now propofes, but the fecurity of England, and I can hardly think that any minister will be hardy enough to order a fingle man to go out of this country for any continental purposes, or ftill more for the fuppofed interests of other ftates. They have none of them any claims upon us that renders that a duty in us; the more efpecially ftill when he recollects that fuch is the ftate of the British empire, that a party of the land force, conftitutionally belonging to Great Britain, is now in Ireland.. Until we are in a defperate fituation, I hope we fhall not have any vifionary expeditions. I am affured that we are not in that ftate at prefent. I thought it my duty to oppofe this plan upon its principle. Perhaps when the claufes of the bill, by which the refolutions will of courfe be followed up, come to be laid before us, and the blanks come to be filled up, I fhall enter more at large-into the fubject; but I could not leave the Houfe fubject to the fufpicion that I was over-powered in my judgment by the mere eloquence of the minifter, and ftill lefs fhould I be willing to have it underflood, that I agreed with him on thofe points by which he endeavoured to maintain his principle. The Chancellor of the Exchequer, in reply to Mr. Tierney, faid, that as far as his calculations and forefight could enable him to judge, he did not expect that he fhould be obliged to call on parliament for a greater fupply than had now been laid before them in the enumeration of the ways and means. He wished it however to be understood that by this affertion he did not preclude himself from calling for a further fum, fhould unforeseen circumftances or emergencies make it necaffary, neither was it to preclude him from calling for a vote of credit. Mr. Tierney faid, that he hoped he perfectly understood the right hon. Gentleman, and that the whole of the fupplies, the ufual fupplies he meant, of the navy, army, &c. were now before the Houfe, and that no further demand would be made except the vote of credit, whatever might be the amount of that vote. The Chancellor of the Exchequer repeated, that he was not aware of any other demand that his prefent view of circumftances would render neceffary. He could not, indeed, pretend to perfect accuracy in the general detail of what he had advanced, but he could fay with perfect truth that he had no intention of bringing forward any future demand, except that which he had already ftated. The refolutions were then read and agreed to, and the report ordered to be received the next day. On the motion of the Chancellor of the Exchequer, the committees of Ways and Means and of Supply were ordered to fit on Wednesday, Adjourned. HOUSE OF COMMONS. TUESDAY, DEC. 4. Mr. William Dundas moved the fecond reading of the Scotch fmall note bill. The bill was then read a fecond time, and ordered to be committed on Thursday. Mr. Wilberforce Bird moved the second reading of the Englith fmall note bill, which was read a fecond time, and ordered to be committed on Friday. Mr. Rofe moved that there be laid before the House a three quarters' account of the amount of British merchandize exported from the 10th of October, 1797, to the 10th of October, 1798, diftinguishing the different articles and the places to which they have been exported.-Ordered. The account was then laid before the House by Mr. Price, from the Customs. The bill for allowing a grant to his Majefty upon penfions, fugar, rum, tobacco, &c. &c. was read a fecond time, and ordered to be committed the next day. On the motion of Mr. Rofe, the bill for raifing a tax upon malt, mum, cyder, and perry, for the year 1799, was read a fecond time, and committed for the next day. WAYS AND MEANS, On the motion for bringing up the report of the committee of Ways and Means of the preceding day, Sir John Sinclair rofe to obferve, that as the fubje&t about |