in England in criminal cafes was merely granted by the favour of the fovereign: in this he totally differed from him; becaufe, though it was true that a fubject of England convicted of felony could not demand his writ of error as a matter of right, ex debito juftitiæ, yet, if he could affign any real errors, those who advised his majetty would act very unconftitutionally if they counfelled him to withhold that fa

your.

The learned gentleman had afferted, that it would be better at once to alter the whole law of Scotland, and make it fimilar to England, than to adopt this fpecies of alteration. He muft again differ from the honourable gentleman, because he could never think it advifeable to alter all at once the laws of a great kingdom. The alteration ought to be made almoft imperceptibly, and by regular gradation. It was that which, in his opinion, gave fuch a fuperiority to the laws of England, which were not brought to perfection all at once, but reduced by regular degrees to their prefent ftate of unrivalled excellence. It was of the utmost importance that a judge fhould know that his decifion was liable to revifion, as well for his own fatisfaction as for the intereft of the perfon tried because, whatever the good intentions of the judge might be, they could not be leffened by the knowledge that his judgment was liable to a folemn revifion by other perfons. Upon the whole, he thought the measure proper to be adopted; at least it ought to be fent into a com`mittee.

The folicitor general thought, that upon a point in which it was propofed to alter the laws of a kingdom in fo important a manner, it was neceffary to lay very ftrong ground before the house, which he thought was not done in the prefent cafe. He wished gentlemen to avoid that principle which must be fo generally felt, namely, that of wishing to introduce our laws among other people, without confidering how far they may be adapted to their habits or customs. He concluded with declaring, that unless stronger grounds were laid before them, he should vote against

the motion.

Mr. Fox reprobated very strongly the idea that no alteration fhould be made in the law, unless that alteration was called for by the people; becaufe no principle could tend more to create riot and confufion than that: but he conceived there was no fuch principle in the law of England, because every member was at liberty

1

to propofe whatever measure he thought for the benefit of the public. He argued the abfolute neceffity, in every well-regu lated ftate, of having an appellant jurifdiction. No man of a found judgment and a philofophic mind would, he contended, affert the contrary; because every man of that description must allow for the frailty of human nature, which always required revifion. The hon. gentleman had afferted, that there were no inftances of an appeal from the court of jufticiary before the union: but, though there wasno appeal to the parliament of Scotland before the union, yet there was an appeal to the privy council, which proved, that the idea of an appellant jurifdiction was recognized in Scotland. Mr. Fox then argued much at length upon the neceffity of an appellant jurifdiction in every cafe, in order to fecure the impartiality of the judge; and added, that the fituation of that judge must be miferable indeed, whe knew his judgments to be final.

Mr. Anstruther faid he did not mean to fay, that there ought to be a general complaint of the people before any step toward an alteration took place; but that, in a cafe which was fupported by no other arguments, it might have been expected that at least the general with of the people would have been stated as an inducement to the house.

Mr. ferjeant Watfon declared himself against the bill.

The mafter of the rolls agreed with the right hon. gentleman (Mr. Fox) upon the propriety of an appellant jurifdiction, where it could properly be established; but contended, that the laws of England and Scotland were fo effentially different that it would be impoffible to attain that object.

Mr. Adam then rofe, and replied to the various arguments which had been advanced against his motion; and gave notice, that if the house should negative this motion, at all events he should early in March move for leave to bring in the other bills of which he had given notice.

Mr. Stanley faid a few words in favour of the motion, and Mr. Montague againtt it.

Mr. Drake spoke in oppofition to the motion, and concluded with the following observation :

Nolumus leges Angliæ et Scotiæ mutari!
The house then divided,
For the motion
Against it

Majority

31 126

95

On Wednesday, Feb. 5, in a committee of ways and means, the chancellor of the exchequer rofe, to open the confideration of the Budget. He would lay before the committee, he faid, the different articles of national expenditure for the current year; a confiderable part of which, he obferved, had been incurred on account of the critical fituation in which the nation had been placed, by the machinations of an unprincipled enemy; and the greater part of which expenditure had already received the fanction of the house.

For the purpose of a vigorous and effectual profecution of the war againft fuch an enemy, the military and marine eftablishments of the nation, must be confiderable; and these expences conftituted the far greater part of the fupply; the particulars of which, as well as the ways and means for meeting them, it now became his duty to state to the committee.

The article, generally brought forward firft, was what related to the navy; of which he would obferve, that the number of 85,000 feamen had been voted for the prefent year-a number, which, in the fecond year of the war, was confiderable beyond former precedent; and of which, he was happy to state, near 76,000 were actually mustered, and between 50 and 60,000 of the number had been raised in the courfe of the last year; which manifefted a degree of affiduity in the fervice, beyond any former example. The expences relative to the feamen, &c. he ftated to be 4,420,000l.; the ordinary expences of the navy, 558,000l.; and the extraordinary expences of the fame, 547,000l. ; which conftituted the total expence of this establishment to be 5,525,000l.; but which fum was to be confidered as exclufive of the debt incurred last year, on account of the rapid increase of our marine force.

The next point was our military force, and with respect to this, he obferved, that the fame exertion for rendering it refpectable had been manifefted, as in the cafe of the marine fervice: this eftablishment, as the exigencies of the national fituation required it, was extenfive, and the means taken in the last year to render it fo, were vigorous beyond any former example; as by means of the recruiting fervice upward of 30,000 troops were added to the army, which, including the lately raised fencible regiments, and the national militia, constituted a force of near 140,000 men; to which might be added, between 30 and 49,000 foreign troops in British pay,

The expences of the army, were 4,362,8131. of foreign troops, 1,169,000l.. and the extraordinaries 808,000l. making the total 6,340,000l.

In the ordnance department the artillery › men had been augmented to about 6000; and the total expences of this department were 1,345,000l.

He then ftated the aggregate number of our marine and land forces, which, including the different fervices, the militia, and foreign troops, constituted a force refpectable, beyond that of any former period, amounting to at least 250,000 men.. The entire expences, therefore, of the army and navy would be found to be 13,210,000l.

To thefe expences were to be added feveral incidental and cuftomary expences of the current year, the principal of which were the miscellaneous fervices, which amounted on the prefent occafion, to 200,000l. the deficiencies of the grants of last year, 474,000l. the like in the land and malt taxes, 350,000l. The fum of 200,000l. which, in the year 1792, had been voted in addition to the million vefted in the commiffioners for reducing the national debt, and which operation was to> be continued, notwithstanding the war.. The fum neceffary for the payment of exchequer bills iffued last year, and a fum,. which he propofed to apply for to the committee, on the fame principle as the vote of credit last year, to enable his majefty to take the advantage of any circumftances which may arife in the course of the enfuing campaign; the amount of this could be afcertained only on conjectural eftimate. However, he deemed, that the fum of two millions would be found adequate for fuch purpose; these circum-stances, added to the estimates of the dif ferent fervices, as above, would constitute afupply of about 19,940,000l.

To meet this expenditure, the ordinary ways and means, and the national refources were to be confidered.-The firft article was the land and malt taxes, eftimated at 2,750,000l. It was proposed to raise by exchequer bills 3,500,000l. From the refources which were furnished by thegrowing produce of the confolidated fund for the year ending April 5, 1794, by thefurplus of certain taxes, and the continuance of others, the particulars of which he ftated in a complicated detail, a fum of about 2,697,000l. would be found to arife. To this could be added 500,000l. furnished by the Eaft-India company; and which, notwithstanding the temporary

derange

derangement of its affairs, on account of the war, there was every profpect of its annual continuance. Thefe conftituted the ways and means of the prefent year, and amounted to about 8,947,000l. which would be found to fall fhort of the fupply in a fum of nearly 11,000,000l. which deficiency, he would propofe, thould be provided for by a loan.

RECAPITULATION.

Total of Supply, as above, 19,940,000 Total of Ways and Means, ditto, 8.047.00 Difference to be provided for 10,993,000 This balance, ftating it in round numbers, at eleven millions, as he before obferved, was to be provided for in the way of loan, and toward railing which he exerted himself to obtain the most advantage ous bargain for the public, at the fame time with a liberal attention to the interefts of the fubfcribers. He stated that, as expedition in the bufinefs was neceffary, he had already clofed with five gentlemen of adequate refponfibility, for the loan. The particulars of which were as follows: For every one hundred pounds the public was to give the contractors, 100l. in the 3 per cent. confols. which was equal to

Allo 251. in the 4 per cents. which was equal to And a long annuity of 11s. 5d. at twenty years, and oneeighth of a year's purchase, which amounted to

Thefe fums made

67

21

II

. s. d.

10 0

o o

99

99 199 Which fum the public actually gave for 100. therefore the fractional difference was in favour of the public.

In addition to the above deficiency, he ftated that there was a confiderable debt incurred in the naval department on account of the very great exertions which had been made in the equipment of our marine; this he faid, was about 3,200,0col. and which he could not think of fuffering to lie over and accumulate until the end of the war; a part of it, therefore, he intended fhould be funded immediately, and the remainder he would propose to be funded or fettled for on a future day. Mean while he would confider the whole as funded, and apply for a grant for the interest thereof from the prefent time; a measure which he was induced to take, with a view to put a ftop, as much as poffible, to the ruinous practice, which had obtained on former occafions, and last year, respecting the discounting of navy bills; he there

8

for propofed that those bills in future should be made payable in fifteen months from the day iffued, and bear an intereft of four per cent.

The confideration which now came before the committee was, the provision to be made for the payment of the intereft of the above loan, and the exceedings of the navy debt; and toward furnishing a confiderable part of which intereft, he regretted that it became his duty to point out where an increase of taxation was most expedient: he faid the fum to be provided for the intereft, would be about 893,000l. and which was to be increafed by the repeal of two forts of taxes, which were equally galling on the lower orders of people, and unproductive to the nation. He alluded to the glove duties, and the taxes upon births and burials, which produced together no more than 10,600l. This would increase the annual fum to be now provided for, to upward of 900,000l. but a great part of which he was happy to ftate, would be answered by the difpofeable furplus of certain taxes, the nature of which he detailed to the committee, and ftated that the amount would not be much lefs than 400,000l. per annum. The remainder, he was forry to fay, must be furnished by increafed taxation, but on fuch articles as were already very lightly felt by the public, and were generally of fuch a nature, as the committee would concur with him, in deeming, to a certain degree, to be luxuries.

What he propofed was, an additional tax on British spirits of one penny per gallon, which, on a conjectural estimate, as were all the following, would produce about 107,000l. per annum. an additional duty of ten-pence per gallon on brandyditto on rum eight-pence per gallon, which, together, would amount to 136,000l.Ditto on bricks and tiles one thilling and fixpence per thoufand, which would be 70,00ol. On flates carried coaftwife ten fhillings per ton.-On tone ditto, two fhillings and fixpence per ton; thofe together were calculated at 30,000l. crown glass, an additional duty of eight fhillings per hundred; and on plate-glats, one pound one shiiling and fixpence, ditto, 52,0col.

On

The duties of excife on paper, pafteboard, milboard, fcaleboard, and glazed paper, to ccale.-24. per pound excife duty upon paper ufed for writing, drawing, and printing. 1d. per pound upon coloured and whited brown papers (except elephant and cartridge.)-4d. per pound for wrapping paper.-24d per

pound

pound upon every other papers, (except Theathing and button paper.)-10s. 6d. per hundred, upon pafteboard, milboard, fcaleboard, and glazed paper. A drawback to be allowed on exportation.

That the duties of customs on the above alfo fhould cease.

1od. per pound on No. 1, imported.2d. per pound on No. 2, imported.-6d. per pound on paper for hangings imported. 1od. per pound upon all other paper imported.-20s. per hundred upon pafte. boards, &c. imported. Amount of new duties 63,000l.

Lastly, an additional tax upon attornies (a loud and general laugh for fome mi. nutes in all parts of the house) it was intended to impofe on every indented clerk to this profeffion 100l. and for each perfon fworn an attorney, a further fum of 100l. This tax was estimated to produce no more than 25,00ol. The whole of which, added to the difpofeable furplus abovementioned, would be found to produce an annual fum, rather more than the interest required for the purposes before stated. He then moved a refolution, relative to the granting of the loan to his majestyand the question being put,

Mr. Fox rofe to thank the right hon. gentleman for his very candid and perfpicuous manner of stating the financial concerns of the country upon fo important an occafion. He concurred with him in the far greater part of his affertions, and was happy to say, that he approved of the bargain concluded for the loan, which was as much to be commended as that concluded last year was to be cenfured. He likewife applauded the manly and truly politic manner with which the right hon. gentleman met the public exigences, by fairly looking thein in the face at first, and meeting them with firmnefs. He alluded principally to the propofed measures refpecting the navy debts. The most vigorous exertions we were capable of, he would agree, were neceffary to be made for profecuting the war, but he could not aveid lamenting that the taxes, notwithftanding the way they were touched on by the right hon. gentleman, would be felt, and in fome inftances feverely, by the public; and in molt of thofe cafes, he obferved, that the tax would be fhifted on the confumer; and he afferted that, as in the cafe of the fhop-tax, that now projected on attornies, they would by their ingenuity, find means to avoid, and to make their unfortunate employers pay it for them. He also could not avoid feeing, nor of course lamenting, the domestic