The further fums to be provided for in the courfe of the fellion, were, he observed, first, the pavy debt, which had increafed to five milfions. This was not, however, to be regretted, confidering the proud height to which our navy had rifen. This was chiefly to be afcribed to the purchase of India fhips, and the employment of numerous tranfports. In the enfuing year he expected a faving in this branch of at least two millions and a half. The army extraordinaries would, he thought, not exceed two millions and a half. Another important fum to be attended to was the bounty upon corn to be imported. He did not think 1,000,000l. was fo wide a fum as was likely to be called for. There was, however, he obferved, a fund to which the house might look with confidence, if they were difpofed to refer it to the public fervice. Upon an average of three years, the provifron made for the American loyalifts had produced 300,000!.; of the charge upon this fund only 250,000l. would be due after this year. The permanent taxes, and the growing produce of the confolidated fund, were more than equal to the exifting charge upon it; and the taxes of laft year bade fair to come up to the funs at which they were taken, as they had already

18,000,000

£.27,485,000

amounted to two-thirds. The taxes for the loan of 18,000,000l. for which he had contracted, he should fubmit to the house, after premifing that the intereft upon every 1ool. borrowed was 41. 13s. 6d. to which was to be added the one per cent. wifely provided by parliament in aid of the fund for discharging the national debt. This made the intereft amount to the annual fum of

1,111,500l. and for this he should propofe taxes upon collateral legacies, an addition of 10 per cent. on the affeffed taxes, a tax upon horfes, a tax upon tobacco, a tax upon printed cottons and callicoes, a duty upon falt, and a reduction of the bounty upon the export of refined fugar. With respect to the tax on legacies, it had already been tried in Holland, and been found neither oppreffive, nor had it in any degree taken from industry its ftimulus in the acquifition of wealth. Nor was the principle new in this country, where a tax upon legacies had exifted feveral years. He meant to propofe, therefore, a tax of two per cent. on all legacies above a certain extent in the first collateral degree, and alfo to extend to refiduary legatees three per cent. on firft coufins-four per cent. on fecond coufins and fix per cent, on more remote relations, and on strangers. From the calculations re

fpecting

curred, when a new loan was contracted for, previous to the discharge of the payments upon the one preceding, and that great inconvenience would arife from fuch a loan being at market before the dividends on the fcrip were paid off. Further, that when, in negotiating the laft loan, they propofed paying the laft dividend on the 1ft of February 1796, he had objected to it on the probability that a new loan might be wanted before the laft fcrip was paid. They had therefore concluded that he would not negotiate another loan previous to the former being paid off. The governor of the bank had con firmed the reasonings of the contractors; and he could not, confiftently with public faith, without their confent, contract for a new loan. He was therefore bound either to wait for the expiration of the last payment, or so to act, that the former contractors might not find themfelves aggrieved. The delay, he thought, would be highly prejudicial. Taking, however, the alternative not to forego a fair com. petition, and ti at the terms of the loan fhould be juft and wife, the former contractors were willing to enter into a competition of offers, on condition they fhould have an option to take the loan at one half per cent. lefs advantageous to the public than the lowest terms offered by any other contractor: and this half per cent amounted to 90,000l. Fearing that this might prevent bid. ding, and to fave the public from any disadvantage, he had taken precautions, before he confented even this qualified competition. Mr. Boyd was willing to take the loan on fuch terms as he fhould award, on the event of Mr. Morgan's refufal to govern the terms by the prefent price of stock; and on

Mr. Morgan's refufal, he had fixed them as advantageously for the country as could be established with a view to policy and public credit. He had ftated to the contractors, that an unfunded navy debt of five millions was likely to enfue in the next year, and referved the free option and difcretion of this country to enable the emperor to raise a fum for carrying on the war. This aniounting perhaps to three millions, added to the navy debt, made the poffibility of raifing eight millions in the enfuing year. Under thefe circumftances, Mr. Boyd ac cepted the following terms:

120 in the 3 per cent. confols. 25 in the 3 per cent. reduced. And 6s. 6d. in the long annuities. The whole amount for 100l. 1041. 55. 3d.

fcount

In the laft loan the discount was 21. 5s. in this it would be 5s. more, arising from the difference of payment on the 3d and 30th of this month. The loan of the former year had, he faid, been agreed to be favourable for the country; the terms of the loan this year were a quarter per cent. more favourable. Though larger by one half than the loans in the American war, which were at from 51. to 61. interest, this was at little more than four and a half. It would not fuffer in comparifon with loans in time of peace. On comparing it with the loan in 1789 for the Spanish armament, it appeared to have been made on better terms. When he confidered that the new taxes kept pace with the fums at which they were estimated, and were fully adequate for the purposes intended, and the numberless circumstances which proved the rifing credit of the country, and her full ability to carry on the arduous conteft in which he was engaged, he felt his

heart

heart dilate with pride and fatis faction!

condition. This was' in February; yet the May following another loan was entered into for the emperor, when the hares of 12,000,00ok were at difcount. That loan was the best ever made for this country; and it was therefore reasonable that those who had fuffered on a former occafion fhould have had the right of preemption. A pre-engagement with the prefent contractors did not hold good in all its connections, Mr. Boyd had it again, with a different lift of individuals. No fub fcriber to the former loan had af ferted a claim to the prefent, for which there was a very good reafon, fince that was worth from 12 to 14 per cent. confequently they could have been no lofers. After fuch advantages, Mr. Smith thought it very unreasonable that they fhould have the pre-emption, to the exclufion of those who had loft by a former loan, and to the great dif advantage of the public. To call the terms offered a competition, was, he thought, a mere abufe of words. Had it been rejected by Mr. Boyd, that rejection would have proved its want of value; and any man who had taken it, with the addition of 10 fhillings per cent. would have proved himfelt at ideot. The public mind was fo much made up that Mr. Boyd was to have the loan, that bets were publicly offered upon it. Contrary. to the common practice in making loans, Mr. Smich afferted that this had been concluded with uncom mon precipitation; and Mr. Mor gan had heard of it on 'change, when he conceived the matter was still under deliberation. The money borrowed might, he contended, have been had at two per cent. lefs; of which he was ready to produce proof at the bar of the house. Four hundred thousand pounds

Mr. W. Smith thought the point for difcuffion refpecting the loan was, whether there were fufficient grounds for the existing contract, and whether the terms were fuch as the house ought to fanction. He was inftructed by the petitioners against Mr. Pitt in the prefent instance, to ftate, that on the night preceding the 26th of November, when the contract with Mr. Boyd was figned, that gentleman's memorial had not been prefented: it therefore appeared, that, had every thing on all fides been fairly and liberally intended, the night before figning the contract would not have been the time for the first plea of the memorial, when notice had been given of an open competition ten days before, and a circular letter was written by the fecretary of ftate, in which a general invitation was given, without any mention of preference. The grounds for preference in Mr. Boyd's memorial were, that he had a lease of the monied intereft for one year, or at leaft, to the payment of the last Loan of 1795, which was computed to amount to 5,000,000l. and might be greatly injured by the intervention of another contract. This Latement he was in fome meafure prepared to deny, and could prove, that only 1,400,000l. remained in the market. Mr. Smith proceeded to contend that there was nearly as much money, loft by the prefent negotiation on one part, as the 477,000l. if it could have been loft, would have been on the other. If any preference were due, it was to Mr. Morgan, who, three years ago, had made a loan of 12,000,000l. when he objected to another loan, till all the fhares were difpofed of; and the loan was made on that

F 4

might,