The resolutions were then agreed to unanimously. answering the ends, proposed by the ministers themselves, in the augmentation. In vain was it pleaded, that if intended for war, the numbers voted were too few, if for peace too many. Government still maintained a sullen and unaccountable reserve, and they in entrenched themselves in the position that this force was meant solely r to repel hostility and aggression; to defend our own empire against all encroachments; and to enable us to look with vigilance, to the state of the continent. To this vague and indeterminate explanation, if it could be called explanation, did they confine themselves; nor could the splendid eloquence, the convincing reasoning, nor the bitter taunts of their adversaries, procure any more specious or more solid reply. Support however, was given by all parts of the house, to administration, with but a few, and those individual exceptions. The friends of the late minister, (who however did not himself come forward) and the "new opposition," supported the estimates, as manifesting some small degree of energy, in what they termed a feeble and spiritless government; and the partizans of Mr. Fox did not oppose them, although they shewed evident symptoms of dislike, at the slightest appearance of a renewal of hostilities with France. An exceptionhowever must be made, with respect to Mr. Sheridan. His senti On a review of these two very important and highly interesting debates, it will have been seen that the note of preparation was swelled to a still higher pitch; and that, in calling for a vote for 129,000 men for the service of the year, independently of the great naval force already granted, (however ministers might conceal the real causes of alarm) a renewal of hostilities was, even by them, supposed not very distant. But the effect of this vote, on the public mind, was by no means dubious. The alarm which was given by the speech from the throne was now universal, and received abundant confirmation from those measures of Parliament which had, since that period, taken place. The public funds experienced immediate depression, and the minds of all were aroused to a sense of danger, and that too immediate; the more surprizing to a people, who but a month before, were wrapped round in universal confidence and security. Yet, to the astonishment of the whole country, could not the minister, nor his colleagues in office, be prevailed upon to assign satisfactory and sufficient reasons for those great demands, unprecedented in time of peace, on the public resources. In vain was it urged, that it was unconstitutional and unparliamentary, to press a vote for such an enormous increase of the military establishments, as delivered in his speech on, ments of the country, without the night of the 8th of December, any information to guide them in when the secretary at war moved the propriety of passing it. In vain the peace establishments of the was explicitness demanded, as the year; and which was replete with best means of rousing the public sound reasoning, argument, and spirit, and even, as the best mode of wit; was decidedly in unison with the the sentiments of the government, whom he professed to vote with, on that occasion, with the greatest Cordiality and cheerfulness. In a moble burst of eloquence, he painted to the life, the atrocious conduct of bonaparte, with respect to Switzerhad; which of itself, he said, if But other existed, was almost a legitimate cause of war; and urged from a review of his systems, his patics, and his power, the neces sity of resistance, "prompt, resolute, determined resistance, to the first aggression on his part, be the consequences what they might." These sentiments were received by the house and the public, with the warmest applause; and were the more attended to, as coming from one, whose personal attachment to the leader of those, who supported the pacific system, could not be doubted.* A portion of this speech however, produced an effect very different, we believe, the intentions of the ingenious and able character who delivered it.-It was ant to be, as indeed it was, a ministerial speech, and supported the measures of tration with energy and effect. But in the playfulness of that wit and fancy, distinguish Mr. Sheridan's oratorical effusions, he fastened a degree of personal de ca the premier, the effects of which long remained, after his more serious ents were forgotten; and was of far greater detriment, eventually, to his politistence, than the assistance he this night afforded him was of advantage. Some *d resemblance in the deportment of Mr. Addington, to that. which common bas usually attached exclusively to the professors of medicine, coinwah the circumstance, of his being the son of the highly respected and eminent c of the same name; had procured him, partially, the familiar appellation of the Doctor." Mr. Sheridan, in the course of his celebrated speech on this evening, Latented, (under pretence of giving their adversaries' sentiments,) with holding sters to view, as the "lees of a bottle of Tokay, on which white wine had been to make it pass for genuine ;"-one as a" mere goose quill,”— another as "a stick Can wax, which, as soon as the drudgery of signing the peace was over, were to dered as functi officiis, and thrown aside-allusions which were quickly and kept the house in continued laughter-took occasion, in stating the scal dislike of some gentlemen to Mr. Addington, to quote Martial's epigram, Non amo te, Sabide, nec possum dicere quare; Hoc tantum possum dicere, non amo te. ch he said the English parody would be more applicable to the partiesI do not like thee, Doctor Fell, &c. (vide speech.) Te particular emphasis which he laid on the word doctor, and his subsequent repefit, cecasioned it to be instantly applied; and thenceforward the minister was y distinguished by the apellation of THE DOCTOR. The public prints in the art of his opponents, re-echoed the title, and twisted and tortured it into every of allusion, that wit and humour could bring to beat upon the man and his es, and held them up to that ridicule which is always fatal and destructive to aracter and confidence. -ance to a nick name. Let ot be considered, that we have given in this note, too much consequence and It has been remarked by one of the most acute and philoof the French historians, that the epithets which were affixed to the descendants agne, such as the bald,' the stammerer,' the fat,' and the simple,' to the contempt in which they were held by their subjects; and were the which their enemies prepared those subjects for the destruction of the Carand the admission of a more vigorous dynasty! CHAP. CHAP. IV. Preliminary Observations.-Committee of the House of Commons on the Supply and Ways and Means.-General Statement of the Finance, by the Chancellor of the Exchequer.-Four Millions granted from the Excess of the consolidated Fund, towards the Supply.-Petitions from the Shipowners, against the Tonnage Duty-Ordered to lie on the Table.-Bil for appointing Naval Commissioners, for the Purpose of Enquiry inte Naval Abuses-Debate thereon.-Further Debate on the second Reading -And, on the third Reading-carried.-Debate in the Lords on the Malt Duty Bill.-Speeches of Earl Spencer-Lord Pelham-Earl o Carlisle-Lords Limerick-Grenville-The Lord Chancellor.-Read first Time.-Debate on the second Reading.-Speeches of Earls Spence -Suffolk-The Lord Chancellor-Earl of Carlisle-Darnley-Lore Hobart-The Duke of Norfolk- Lords Grenville-Pelham-and Minto -Bill committed and passed.-Naval Commission Bill passed in th Lords.-Observations.-Christmas Recess. THE HE unexampled demand in time of peace, of supplies for an immense augmentation, both in the marine and military departments; made it more than ordinarily necessary for ministers to come forward, with a comprehensive, and, if possible, satisfactory statement, not only of the supply for the year, and the ways and means of providing for it; but also a general review of the whole financial system; accordingly, the day after the preceding debate, December the 10th, the chancellor of the exchequer moved the order of the day, for the house to resolve itself into a committee, for those purposes; which being read and agreed to, he moved that the amount of the produce of the permanent taxes for 1802, be referred to the said committee; which being ordered, the house resolving itself into a com mittee of the whole house, the entered into a statement of the sup ply for the year, and the mode b which he intended to raise it. H first observed that he was induce to bring forward the motion, c which he had given notice, fo granting to his majesty a sum o the growing produce of the consoli dated fund, at a season of the yea earlier than usual, by the very sa tisfactory circumstance of the ex traordinary produce of the revenu during the last half year. It woul be recollected that four millior and a half had been voted on th credit of the consolidated fund fo one year to the 5th of April next of that sum no less than 3,800,000 had been realized on the 10th October last; and there was litt doubt, that on the conclusion ป the ensuing quarter on the 5th of Jacary, the surplus of the condated fund would exceed the 400,000 necessary to complete the sum which had been voted. The committee therefore would be aware, that unless a power were givthis majesty's government to ly such further surplus as might accrue to the public service, a consable sum might remain dead and useless in the exchequer : while ey must be raised by other means to defray the necessary expes. He then shortly recapitulated the principal measures of fare in the year 1802; and obsered, that the unfunded debt in exchequer bills and navy debt, Wach in Nov. 1801, had amounted to upwards of £37,300,000, had been reduced to about 19 millions, making a reduction of nearly 18 millons, which in the course of the year had been either funded or paid Of the remaining sum of 19 ons, three millions which had ee advanced by the bank as a nsideration for the renewal of ther charter, bore no interest, and ot payable till 1806, and 2900,000 were charged on the antaxes of the present year, the arrears of which would be sufficient discharge them. Deducting e sums, and £4,500,000 of nadett, the remaining exchequer scarcely exceeded 11 millions. That in order to effect this reducto provide for the present serof the year on that extensive which the circumstances of The state had required, and to rethe country from the pressure income tax, it had been _<ary to make provision for 97 Vol. XLV. millions of funded debt; of which 11 millions arose from the funding of exchequer bills, 57 millions from the stock charged upon the income tax, and about 30 millions from the loan of the present year. That the charge accruing from so large an addition to the funded debtamounted to above £3,100,000, for which taxes were provided, which were estimated at four millions, but which in the first quarter in which they had become productive, had brought into the exchequer about £900,000, although scarcely any thing had been received on the additional assessed taxes, which were estimated at one million. Adding, therefore, one-fourth of this sum to that which had been realized, it would appear that the produce of the taxes of 1802, in the quarter ending the 10th of Oct. in that year, might be estimated at no less than £1,170,000. He had the satisfaction to state, that so far as a judgment could yet be formed, the services of the year would be defrayed by the grants of parliament, with the single exception of the extraordinaries of the army. Gentlemen would recollect that he had expressed his apprehensions in the spring that a considerable excess would arise on that service, and a large addition of expense had undoubtedly been occasioned by the detention of our troops upon foreign stations longer than had been expected. He had reason to believe that the excess beyond the sum of £1,600,000 provided by parlia ment, would exceed one million; but he had the consolation of being able to state to the committee, that the total expense of the extraordiE naries Ditto 787,947 524,573 £13,899,000 1,000,000 issued in 1802) 2,000,000 Miscellaneous-England } Ireland He next proceeded to conside the supplies of the year as distin guished between permanent service and such as were only occasional Under the former head, he observed might be included the navy, the ar my (except that sum which migh be voted to make good the excess the extraordinarics of the preser year, which he estimated at or million,) the ordnance, the misce laneous services of Great Britain ar Ireland, and the interest on e chequer bills, although on all thos services it was possible that redu tions might hereafter take plac The total amount of those charg was about 16 millions, of which t British proportion would somewh exceed £14,100,000. In the lat class might be placed the co bounties, the excess of the army traordinaries of 1802, the rep: ment of exchequer bills, and of advan |