the prefent expences with what was then expended, and with the expences of the American war; and it will appear that the prefent expences exceed thofe to a degree that will aftonifh the house, though the profufion prevailing at that time is well known." He proceeded to fhew that we were in that war matched with nearly all Europe, befides the vast and diftant continent of America. There we had an army of 40,000 men, whilft we fupported a vigorous war in the East and West Indies, and at Gibraltar braved the united forces of France and Spain. Yet in fix years of that war, conducted as it was with acknowledged prodigality and Javifh profufion, we had incurred only a debt of fixty-three millions. He might, he faid, be told, that a war like the prefent called for great expences; and this he allowed: but fuch expences .called for a comparifon between the fervice and amount of the debt, with thofe of former wars. In the last three years there had been (fpeaking in round numbers to avoid confufion) incurred a debt for the navy of ffteen millions two hundred thousand pounds; for the army, feventeen millions fix hundred thousand pounds; for the ordnance, two millions fix hunoxed thousand pounds. Thefe fums were all voted upon eftimate; the real expence was much greater. In addition to this, enormous fums of money had been expended with out the confent of parliament. The first article to which he called the attention of the houfe was the navy. In 1782, the fpeech from the throne, for which the prefent minifter, as he then held his prefent fituation, must be confidered as refponfible, ftated the defire, that an eftablishment should be made with refpect to future debt, which fhall 7 improve the mode of payment; and recommends to their attention the navy and the ordnance, the dif count upon navy bills having proved them a ruinous expedient. This had been confirmed in 1783, when the minifter had afked for a loan of four mill.ons eight hundred thousand pounds; and faid he had made ample provifion for an extenfive fcale of expence. At the beginning of this war the minifter had pledged himfelf, as far as he was able, to keep down the extraordinaries of the navy, and to prevent the accumulation of unfunded debt, as it had been fuffered to accumulate in preceding wars. By the accounts on the table, the navy debt was flated at 10,788,cool. to this must be added other fums, and it would appear that the excefs of expenditure beyond the votes. would amount to 13,700,000l. With all this, Mr. Grey contended, that the British trade had been more fubject to depredation in the prefent conteft than in any other; and that, with refpect to the army, we were not in a better fituation. The extraordinary expence for this branch of fervice, above the eftimate, exceeded 9,000,000l. and the vote of credit was more than double that of any former period: the whole fum expended under this head, not fpecifically voted for that purpofe, amounted, he faid, in reality, to upwards of 14,000,000l. over which parliament had no controul; for the items had not been previoufly fubmitted to it. This fyftem, he obferved, had been strongly reprobated under lord North, and that in a committee of which the prefent minifter was a member. He was ready to admit that the increafed expences of wars would be in proportion to the increase on other expences; but no advance had taken place place which could justify the difference of expenditure between this and former wars. In the war of king William, which lafted nine years, the amount was 1,200,000l. In queen Ann's war, which lafted eleven years, it was 2,000,000l. together they did not amount to one half of the extraordinaries of the prefent year. Yet even in William's time, a jealous houfe of commons had inveftigated public expences. And what was our comfort under this expence? not even a fingle victory. Nor was it true that there was vaft difference in the neceffary expences: many then were precifely the fame as now, and many now were added which were unneceffary. The extraordinaries and the votes of credit in the years 1778, 1779, and 1780, did not amount to within 3,200,000l. of the prefent. Let us compare too the fervices performed in the American war and now. We had then an army of 40,000 men acting offenfively: we acted vigorously in the Weft Indies: our fuccefs at Gibraltar was brilliant. What were the victories of our armies last year? We had a continental army which came home without achieving any thing. We had an army at Ifle Dieu and Quiberon in the West Indies had we an army even to act upon the defenfive? In the ordnance, we are told, there had been a great reform and reduction of expence : for this fervice 2,608,cool. was voted on estimate; and from the accounts, the extraordinaries amounted to 2,964,000l. To this deficiency every obfervation made upon the army and navy would apply with equal propriety. This mode of increafing public expenditure was unconftitutional, condemned by parliament, recommended in the king's fpeech to be altered, and condemned by the minifter, by his repeated promifes that he never would yield to fuch a fyftem; yet this fyftem, fo reproached and con demned, was increafed every year by that very minifter. The total of fums expended without the confent of parliament, he stated at 31,280,000l. and with the fums voted by parliament amounted to 66,800,oool. funded in the three and four per cents. and spent in three years in the pretent war of difconfiture, defeat, and disgrace. Besides the unconftitutional mode of obtaining money without the confent of parliament, already mentioned, there were other unconftitutional practices on the part of the executive government: a principal one was the erection of barracks. It was alarming enough to raife money for any purpose without the confent of parliament; but when that practice was growing into a habit, and made ufe of to invade the rights and privileges of the people, it was not only a breach of duty in a minifter to incur fuch expence, but a ftill greater breach of duty in that houfe to fuffer it. Since 1790, 1,100,000l. had been expended for barracks. This was, however, not the whole; and he had confequently asked for the expence intended to be incurred, and a fomething to that effect had been laid before the houfe; and he wished to know whether a greater infult could be offered to it than that of calling upon them for 227,850l. more to be advanced on this account? After recapitulating what had been advanced on a former occafion refpecting barracks, Mr. Grey ob ferved, that the opinions of our beft writers were clearly against their erection, and that they were with propriety termed by judge Black Blackstone "inland fortreffes."With respect both to national economy and national liberty, they were in the highest degree reprehenfible. The conduct of government in the transport fervice was feverely cenfured by Mr. Grey. Comptrollers, he stated, had been appointed, to go through a part of the fatigue of office; a new board was inftituted for this purpofe, in which he had been informed there were five commiffioners, at 1000l. per annum each. The debt of the navy, on account of the tranfport fervice, he ftated at 2,444,000l. This, in lord North's adminiftration, had been thought an extravagant eftimate for building 70 fhips of the line. Yet our trade, notwithstanding thefe enormous charges, had been ill protected; and when complaints had been made, they were fent from office to office, till thofe who complained difcovered they could have no redrefs. Admiral Chriftian was deprived of the means of failing in the beginning of October, for want of readinefs in the ordnance tranfports. He applied to the fecretary at war -he was referred to the tranfportoffice and then to another department. The minifter, he obferved, had on a former night unwarily admitted that the vote of credit of this year was to be confidered as applicable, in common with other votes for fpecific purposes, to the current fervice of the year. This, he contended, was a mifapplication and violation of a vote of credit, which was intended to fupply unforefeen fervices. There was ftill, however, a more forcible objection to the conduct of minifters in raifing money. It arofe out of the contents of papers, which ftated the amount of fums advanced from time to time by the bank, and outstanding. Money advanced to government by the bank might undoubtedly, he said, receive a parliamentary fanction: but it was a mode of raifing money, which had from time to time been limited by the juft and conftitutional jealoufy of parliament. When parliament recognized the establishment of the bank, they did fo upon public principles, and purely for the fake of public utility. No maxim was better understood in the houfe, than "that no advance fhall be made to government by the bank in anticipation of the revenue." This prevented the minifter from having a command of money without the confent of parliament, and provided that a fufficiency fhould always remain in the bank to anfwer thofe commercial dealings for the fake of which it was inftituted. These falutary provifions had never been fo much infringed as by the prefent minister; and his practice had been greatly diftreffing to the commercial part of the country. He feriously believed this to be the caufe of the inability of the bank to affift as ufual the commercial credit. December the 31ft, 1792, they were in advance to government 11,643,000l. and were in advance alfo upon two votes of credit. The fums ftated had been advanced on bills of exchange from the treafury, authorized by a late act of parliament. This practice had been provided against by the act of Will. and Mary; but when a bill upon a vote of credit a few feffions ago paffed through the houfe, a claufe was fomehow or other furreptitiously introduced, to do away the falutary effects of that act. This was, he contended, an unconftitutional mode of raifing money, and noticed, that last year a loan of unufual magni tude tude had been raifed; that in After a series of accurate details, Mr. Grey that our prefent income could not poffibly Non hydra fecto corpore firmior Vinci dolentem crevit in Herculem.” He concluded by moving that the whole houfe fhould refolve itself into a committee, to inquire into the state of the nation. Mr. Jenkinson contended, in reply, that the prefent pofture of affairs afforded no ground for fuch an inquiry, and that, without fuch as were peculiarly ftrong and fubftantial, there were many objections to one being inftituted. With refpect to the comparative expence with other wars, every war was more expenfive than the war preceding it; and, according to the wealth, profperity, and extent of the nation, this was an inevitable confequence. If, at prefent, the prices of provifions, &c. were nearly doubled to individuals, muft they not be equally fo to government? Muft not our expences and exertions alfo keep pace with those of the enemy? If the war was just and neceffary, which he fhould always maintain, fince it had been fanctioned by parliament, then he did not fee why the expence of the war, which was alfo fanctioned by parliament, fhould be a fufficient ground for inquiry!!! The ftateiments of Mr. Grey refpecting the American -- American war were, he contended, erroneous, and the expences of France exceeded ours by feveral millions. The four laft years of that war, the money borrowed, together with the unfunded debt, amounted to 64,500,000l. and eftimating the expences of the prefent war at 51,000,000l. there was a balance in favour of the present argument, of 13,500,000l. The revenues of the country were stated by Mr. Jenkinfon as in the most flourishing ftate: and, with refpe&t to its commerce, he said, The exports, taking the three last years of peace, the greatest period of commerce the country ever knew before, the average of each year was The average of the last three years of the present war, So that the exports of the war exceeded thofe of the best years of peace, annually, Exports of the average of the three best years of peace as before, Average of the three last years war, The excess of the war over peace, The money borrowed during this war, in proportion to that borrowed in the American war, was at an advantage of one and a half per cent. in favour of this country. At the clofe of the peace of Aix la Chapelle, the funded debt was eighty millions; at the end of the next war it was 140 millions; which, if the prefent plan of funding one per cent, had been in practice, would not have been in exift ence at this time. This appropriation of a million annually was calculated to preferve individual liberty, the conftitution, and the very exiftence of the country; and the plan of paying off the national debt produced a faving to the nation fufficient to pay the intereft of the debt incurred in the profecution of this juft and neceffary war. The funded fyftem adopted by the prefent minifter would certainly leave a balance in our favour, however great might be the expences of the war. The exertions of minifters, he contendéd, were fully proportioned to their £.22,585,332 24,453,338 1,868,000 19,286,000 20,964,333 1,678,333 expences. In the American war there were 314 fhips in commiffion; now there were 368, and thofe larger; and our troops, amounting to 217,206, were far more confiderable than in any former war; our exertions were greater than had ever before been expe rienced, and the expence of fubfidies not at all too much, confidering the benefit to be derived from them. There was, indeed, a large unfunded debt; but that was provided for in the ways and means of the year. Confidering the different quarters in which the war was carried on, it was impoffible to prefent more fatisfactory estimates: this, and the complication of eftimates, fully juftified raising fums without the authority of parliament! Mr. Jenkinfon ftrongly defended the fyftem of barracks, as proper to be carried to its utmost extent. With respect to what we had gained in the war, he adverted to the diftreffed state of the French navy, the acquifitions. in the Eaft Indies, the Cape of Good |