§ The noble lord said he would next proceed to state the Ways and Means. In the first place there were the Malt and Personal Estate Duties which he took at 2,750,000l.; then the Grants of the Proceeds of the Ships captured prior to the war. His majesty's intention on this subject had been communicated to the house. Though the suns of 1,000,000l. thus obtained, belonged ex- 569 clusively to England, yet it was thought proper to allow two-seventeenths to Ireland. The lottery he should take at 380,000l.; the surplus of the Consolidated Fund at 3,500,000l. The War Taxes had been taken last year at 14,500,000l. but for reasons he should explain, he should take them at 18,000,000l. The Ways and Means would stand thus:
| Malt and personal Estate Duties | £. | 2,750,000 |
| Grants from proceeds of Ships captured prior to the War | 1,000,000 | |
| Lottery | 380,000 | |
| Surplus Consolidated Fund to 5th April, 1807 | 3,500,000 | |
| War Taxes | 19,500,000 | |
| Deduct as likely to be outstanding at 5th Apr., 1807 | 1,500,000 | 18,000,000 |
| Loan | 18,000,000 | |
| 43,630,000 |
§ The loan he had made this morning was for 20,000,000l. of which 18,000,000l. was for England, and 2,000,000l. for Ireland. The terms of it he believed had given general satisfaction; of this loan no less a sum than 5,800,000l. was to supply arrears and deficiencies of last year, so that the loan for the current year was only 12,200,000l. Part of those arrears consisted of subsidies, with respect to which it would be difficult to submit any estimate, from the circumstances under which the treaties were made, as it was not ascertained what sums they would be entitled to receive.
| For the East-India Company | £.1,000,000 |
| Deficiency of the Malt Duty | 340000 |
| Deficiency of Ways and Means | 1707000 |
| Interest of Exchequer Bills | 1000000 |
| To pay off arrears of 5 per Cents. for 1796 | 1200000 |
| Making in the whole | 5247000 |
§ Having stated the Ways and Means, he should go somewhat more into explanation. First, as to the war taxes, he held documents which would enable him to state the rise and progress of the war taxes. The causes of that rise were such as justified the house in carrying them as far as the patriotism of the public would render them productive. In 1798, the right hon. gent. who had preceded him in office, had thought it necessary to have recourse to the principle of raising a considerable part of the supplies within the year. It was needless to go through the various modes on which this principle applied, or to recall the efforts made under the name of the Assessed Taxes, Income Tax, or, more recently, the Property Tax. But, to enable the house to judge of the general expediency of continuing those efforts, he should state what 570 had been the effect of the system of the war taxes last war, compared with the present war. On the 5th of February, 1793, the unredeemed debt was 226,989,000l. On the 5th of February, 1803,480,572,000l,. which was an increase in the ten years of 253,583,000l. making an average increase in each year of 253,583,000l. This fact would enable the house to judge of the additional security and strength the country had derived from having had recourse to such a system. Feeling the propriety of it, he should proceed to state the mode in which he meant to apply it; and first, as to the Property Tax. It was not for him to give his opinion as to the policy of such a tax being originally adopted, but he had a right to say, that compared with those which had preceded it, such as the assessed taxes, it was the most equal and equitable tax; but there was this additional reason in its favour, that it was an established tax, and, considering all the experience the house had had of the difficulty of enforcing a system of direct taxation, and the complex machinery that must be set on foot to give it effect, he thought no apology would be required for making use of the