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The History of England in Three Volumes, Vol.III. / From the Accession of George III. to the Twenty-Third Year of the Reign of Queen Victoria cover

The History of England in Three Volumes, Vol.III. / From the Accession of George III. to the Twenty-Third Year of the Reign of Queen Victoria

Chapter 909: QUESTIONS OF FINANCE.
By Edward Farr
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The volume traces British political, parliamentary, and military developments from the accession of George III through the early nineteenth century, chronicling changes of ministry and cabinet, debates over colonial taxation and the American conflict, parliamentary controversies involving figures such as Wilkes and Warren Hastings, questions of Catholic relief and slave-trade abolition, and responses to the French Revolution and Napoleonic wars, including major naval and continental campaigns, the union with Ireland, and domestic legislation on finance, civil liberties, and parliamentary reform.

QUESTIONS OF FINANCE.

While these explanations were proceeding, that committee of finance which had dissolved the late administration, was appointed. The motion was made by Mr. Peel, now the acknowledged leader of the house of commons. He prefaced his motion, with an able and comprehensive statement. By his details, it appeared that a reduction of £48,608,000 had taken place in the funded and unfunded debt since the year 1815, while the actual sum of unredeemed debt amounted about £777,476,000. This being the total encumbrance, Mr. Peel next looked at the revenue and expenditure; and after detailing the various items, he stated the income of last year at £49,581,000, and the expenditure at £49,487,000, thus leaving an excess of income equal to £94,000,000. The estimates of the present year, he said, were not completed; but, without binding himself down to extreme accuracy they would be less than those of the present year by £1,168,260. After having made this general statement Mr. Peel declared that he and his colleagues would listen to any suggestion of the committee, for the appointment of which he was about to move. He took that opportunity, he said, of pressing one subject particularly on its notice, namely, the simplification of the public accounts, in imitation of France and America. The motion passed without opposition, except from Mr. Hume, who contended, that if any good was to be done, there should be ten or eleven finance committees; but his plan received no countenance, except from Mr. Brougham; and a single committee of twenty-three members was appointed. The labours of this committee were multifarious and important. One of the first fruits of its appointment was the discovery that the public was regularly losing large sums of money by the system on which the government annuities had been granted. Mr. Hemes submitted a statement to the committee concerning the finances, which Lord Althorp described as, “able, clear, and satisfactory;” and it appeared from that exposition that these annuities had been sold at a considerable loss. The evidence of this was found in certain calculations made by Mr. Finlayson, who was said to have communicated the fact to Lord Bexley in 1819, and subsequently to Lord Goderich. His calculations stated the rate of loss to be £8,000 a month, and to arise from a false calculation of the duration of life in the tables given by Dr. Price. Either these tables were originally inaccurate, or human life, in consequence of increased comforts, conveniences, and scientific aid, was extended to a longer period. The truth of this statement soon appeared to the committee; but nothing could be done to alter those annuities which had been sold. On the recommendation of the committee, however, a bill was brought in and speedily passed, to suspend the operation of the act under which they had been granted, until a more correct system could be arranged. During the session the committee reported on various matters which had been brought under their consideration, but not early enough to allow their recommendations to be carried into effect. In a report on the state of the ordnance department, the abolition of the office of its lieutenant-general was recommended; but this proposition was opposed by the ministry, and a motion to give it effect was lost by a large majority.