Commons Sitting of 3 March 1807

FINANCE RESOLUTIONS.
Sir James Pulteneyrose for the purpose of moving his Resolutions on Finance, pursuant to his former notice. He did not propose to enter into any detailed observations on his plan, till his calculations should be before the house, and should then content himself with shewing that a considerable saving would accrue from the adoption of his views, without any inconvenience whatever, The necessity stated by the noble lord; on a former ocasion, of giving an advantage to the stockholder, by increasing the amount of the sinking fund, would be met by his plan. If it should be necessary to increase the sinking fund, that might be done at any time, and any to amount, by a loan, which would bring a large sum into the market, and keep up the price of stocks. If he could spew this, he should hope to

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ade the house to adopt his plan, and the ruinous consequences of that of noble lord. By his mode, he proposed to take advantage of the war taxes during the war, and to mortgage them only at the end of the war, and then to charge the war debt upon the war taxes. By this plan there would be a smaller amount of permanent debt, and a larger sinking fund created, than by the new one proposed by the noble lord. In this case, the supplementary loans would not be felt during the war, and the amount of the war loan would be but 11 millions annually, the interest of which he proposed to provide for in part out of the proceeds of the sinking fund. If the noble lord should, on looking into his calculations, think them worthy of his attention, he should be happy to furnish him with every information on the subject; and he had no doubt that he could prove to him, that his own ideas could be better carried into effect by this, than by the new plan. The hon. baronet concluded with moving the following Resolutions:

. "That, in the New Plan of Finance, it is proposed to mortgage, during each year of war, a certain portion of the War Taxes, to provide for the payment of the Interest and Sinking Fund of part of the Loan, which shall be made in that year; and also to provide what shall be further wanted for the Public Service by a Supplementary Loan."

"That, the War ,Expenditure being stated at 32,000,000 l., it will be necessary, in addition to the War Taxes unpledged, to make Loans in the first year to the amount of 12,000,000 l. in order to meet that expenditure, and Loans to a larger amount in each subsequent year."

. "That if no part of the War Taxes ere to be pledged, a Loan of 11,000,000 l.annually would be sufficient for this purpose.—That the amount of the present nking Fund is 8,331,709 l., and therefore Annual Interest of a Loan to that amount might be provided, by appropriating for that purpose the Interest of Debt redeemed annually, without causing any diminution in the present amount of that Fund.—That the interest of 2,668,291 l. Being the difference between the present amount of the Sinking Fund, and the sum of 11,000,000 l., with the usual Siniking, Fund of one per cent. upon the nominal capital, would be 177,886 l. per annum, supposing the 3 per cents. to continue at 60: and that if it should at any time be thought
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expedient to appropriate for the interest of such sum, viz. 2,668,291 l., a part of the Interest redeemed by the operation of the Sinking Fund within the year, there would be on that account, a reduction of such Sinking Fund in each year to the amount of 133,418 l. That the employment of a considerable sum in the purchase of Stock, at successive periods throughout the year, under the provisions which now regulate the purchase of Stock by the Commissioners for the Redemption of the National Debt, has a tendency to keep up the price of the Funds, and is consequently, in the time of war, of advantage both to the Public and to the Stockholder."

."That the Sinking Fund may in each year be carried to the amount proposed for such year in the New Plan, by making a Supplementary Loan equal to the amount of the difference between the Sinking Fund, as it would otherwise stand for such year, and the amount proposed in such Plan for the purpose of supplying that difference."

"That such Supplementary Loan, when added to the Sinking Fund, by reducing an amount of Interest equal to the charge of Interest increased by raising the same, it is obvious, that, whatever advantage might result from so large an increase of Sinking Fund, operating in the market, (if an increase to the amount proposed by the New Plan, and wholly produced by adding to the Loan of the year, can really be deemed advantageous,) might equally be obtained by this mode, without any additional burthen to the public."'

. "That the smallness of the Loan for the service of the year, in proportion to the Sinking Fund, must also have a tendency to keep up the price of Funds."

. "That this advantage will result in a greater degree from the system of borrowing 11,000,000 l. only in each year, than by having recourse to the larger Loans, which would be required for the service of each year under the New Plan."

. "That this mode of providing for the War Expenditure, would consequently be more advantageous to the public, and to the Stockholder, than the New Plan; and that if, upon the return of peace, a portion of the War Taxes exactly equal to what would be pledged at the same period, by the New Plan, were then to be pledged, to meet the annual charge of such portion of the Total Debt, as that amount of taxes would provide for at an interest of 10 per cent., including the Sinking Fund upon the

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same, the remainder would be the permanent Debt, leaving the present annual charge of the portion of the debt so deducted and provided for, to be added to the amount of the permanent Sinking Fund."

"That the debt on the War Taxes, being in the same manner deducted on the return of peace, from the Total Debt which may have then been contracted upon the New Plan, the remainder would be the Permanent Debt incurred by that Plan, and that, the Sinking Fund of the War Taxes being deducted from the total Sinking Fund, which may have in arisen within the same period, the remainder would be the Permanent Sinking Fund."

"That the operations of the mode now proposed, whilst they afford some comparative advantage during the continuance of the War, would place the Finances of the county in a much more favourable situation, at the restoration of peace, than those of the New Plan, at whatever period peace may be concluded; and that at the termination of the period of 20 years the comparison would be as follows:—

Permanent Debt by the New Plan

£. 318,311,495

Permanent Debt by the mode proposed

285,595,705

Less Debt by the mode proposed

£. 32,715,790

Sinking Fund, mode proposed

14,359,900

Sinking Fund of the New Plan

12,762,691

Larger Sinking Fund by mode proposed

£1,597,209

Amount of Taxes imposed by the New Plan

£ 2,051,000

Amount of Taxes imposed by mode proposed

£ 1,983,228

Less amount of Taxes by the mode proposed

£.65,772

The resolutions were ordered to lie on the table, and to be printed, and the debate on them was adjourned to Thursday se'nnight.