lion annually charged on the con'solidated fund.' We have already detailed at large the proceedings in the committee of ways and means relative to the expences of the armament against Spain, which the Chancellor of the Exchequer brought forward at an early period of the session. The payment of the capital of the expences of this armament was provided for by certain taxes appropriated to that purpose; a measure of such spi rit and energy in finance, as met the approbation of all parties. The ordinary supplies of the year were moved at a later period, the 18th of May; which we shall briefly state in abstract in this place, as the particulars, including the expences of the armament, and of the additional 6,000 seamen voted in December, 1790, are accurately specified in our Appendix. Expences of 18,000 seamen, for the service of 1791 £. 936,000 689,395 Building of ships, repairs, &c. 506,010 2,131,405 The total charges of the army, including the corps for New South Wales 1,856,326 The ways and means were provided for without the necessity of recurring to any new taxes, by the following articles :— The land and malt as usual £. 2, 750,000 The surplus of last year, disposable by parliament, after deducting all the charges on the consolidated fund The resource arising from the lottery The next article was the growing produce of the consolida ted fund for the next twelve months, beginning at the 5th day of April last, and ending on the 5th of April 1792 The committee might judge of the amount of the growing produce, from the report of the finance committee founded on the experience of the last three years. It appeared that the average of the last three years was very short of the amount of the year before the last, and still more so of the last year. The permanent taxes, exclusive of the land and malt, amounted to 13,472,2861, from which was to be deducted 11,361,000l., consisting of the interest and charges of the public debt, civil list, &c. and the surplus amounted to Outstanding balance of accounts 303,221 306,250 2,110,286 154,000 Brought forward £.5,623,757 In addition to this might be taken 150,000l. from the probable increase of receipt, viz. 100,000l. tobacco, 40,000l. land-tax arrears, and 10,000 for bounties on hemp and flax, remaining in the exchequer; for if the regulations on tobacco had taken place during that period, and if the taxes imposed in 1789 had been taken into the account, they would have made a considerable addition. The duties which would arise on the above-mentioned accounts, were taken at the very moderate sum of If all these sums were added together, they would which exceeded the expences before stated by a few thousand pounds. In the House of Lords, a committee for a similar inquiry to that which employed the finance committee of the House of Commons, was moved for by Lord Rawdon, on the 30th of March. It was opposed by Lord Grenville as unnecessary, a committee having already been appointed in the House of Commons for a similar purpose, whose report would convey every information necessary for the satisfaction of parliament, or of the public. The motion was negatived by a majority of 55 to 23. As an additional proof of the national prosperity, an act was passed, obliging every future minister to provide in every loan one per cent above the interest of the sum borrowed, for the gradual extinction of the principal; a regulation which, notwithstanding the immense loans contracted has been strictly adhered to. The state of the finances in India was laid before the House of Commons by Mr. Henry Dundas, on Tuesday the 24th of May. It appeared by his statements, that the British revenues in the East Indies, amounting in all to seven millions, after defraying all the ex 120,000 5,743,757 penses of government, left a clear surplus of near a million and a half, either to be laid out in investments, or applied to contingent services. Mr. Paul Benfield alleged, that in Mr. Dundas's statements there were several errors, which could be casily pointed out: but he declined to enter into any inquiry into the business, on account of the late period of the session. A society of philanthropic adventurers formed a project for the establishment of a colony at Sierra Leone, on the coast of Africa, in the 8th degree of north latitude, where the soil, as was attested by Mr. Devaynes, who had long resided there, is excellent, and produces cotton, coffee, and sugar, almost spontaneously. The professed object of this society (which, in spite of great opposition from the WestIndia planters, became a corporate body, liable only to pay the amount of the stores risked) was, to cultivate a track of land which they purchased with freemen; and to make the experiment,-Whether Africa could not be civilized, and rendered more lucrative as a vent for manufactures, than as a nursery of slaves? A bill for the establishment of such a company was moved for by Mr. Henry Thornton on the 30th of May. Mr. Thornton's motion was carried by a great majority; and the bill was quickly passed through both Houses of par liament. After a long and uncommonly busy and laborious session, the parliament, on the 10th of June, was prorogued to the 16th of August. CHRONICLE. CHRONICLE. JANUARY. 4th. THE HE commissioners of stamp duties met at their office in Somerset-place to let to farm, the duties payable on horses let to hire for travelling post and by time, now out of lease. They were let at an advance of 10,6191. over the sum they produced last year. This included thirty-three counties, besides North Britain and Wales. 12th. A bill of indictment was found on Friday by the grand jury of Middlesex, against lord viscount Dungarvan, eldest son of the earl of Cork. His lordship, being rather heated with wine, met a woman of easy virtue, who calls herself Welden, at one of the theatres on the preceding night, On the play being over, she prevailed on him to take her in a coach to her lodgings, which drove to No. 45, Rathbone-place. His lordship gave her a guinea, but refused to enter the house. On this, Mrs. Welsden became riotous, andcalled the watch, saying, if he did not give her another guinea, she would charge him with robbing her of three guineas and a half. On his refusal, the watchman seized his lordship, and detained him four hours. His lordship's trial came on this morning at the Old Bailey, and lasted six VOL. XXXIII. hours. The wretched prosecutrix having sworn, on the trial, that his lordship had robbed her in the coach; though she had sworn, when before the justice, that she perceived she had lost her money when she offered to give the link-boy some gratuity for his trouble in calling the coach; the jury said it was unnecessary to proceed further, and begged that the defendant might be honourably acquitted. The judge said, he was perfectly satisfied; and, although they had no such record as that of an honourable acquittal, yet it would be remembered. The jury gave in their verdict-Not guilty. The judge then said, " My lord Dungarvan, it is but justice to you to say, that it is impossible you can go from this bar with the least imputation on your character: and as to your imprudence in this affair, you seem to be already perfectly sensible." The prosecutrix and her witnesses retired from the court amidst the hisses and execrations of the audience. 16th. This day the long expected battle was fought between Big Ben and Johnson, in a small field at Wrotham in Kent. Upwards of 2,000 persons were assembled on the occasion; Johnson having Joc Ward for his second, and Mendoza for his bottle-holder-and Big Ben B with |