§ Sir John Newport ,conscious how little claim he had to occupy the attention of the house at any time, but much less at the present, said he should endeavour to make his statements as briefly as possible; nor should he have to trouble the committee on the subject, if it had not been for the circumstance of his having so great a share in negociating the Loan last Monday for Ireland. The hon. baronet then briefly stated the different items of the Supplies for Ireland, composed of its separate charges, and its two-seven-teenth parts of the joint charge of the empire, which made the whole charge amount to £9,561,218. Part of the loan for Ireland had been contracted for with the English 190 Loan, the remainder he wished to have separately contracted for, because he was anxious that it should be made payable at the Bank of Ireland, for the purpose of obviating the inconveniences that were felt from the Irish government, they being obliged to draw upon this country for the money. The terms, however, which had been offered by the gentlemen who were bidders for that loan, were such as it had not been thought right to accept. The loan was, therefore, contracted for by the gentlemen who took the English Loan, upon an advance of 1s. 9d. per cent. interest, which, he trusted, would not under these circumstances be thought material. The Ways and Means, by which he proposed to cover these Supplies, consisting of the loans, of the Revenue of Ireland, which he took at the same as last year, viz. £3,882,790; surplus of the Consolidated Fond, £500,000; one million of Treasury Bills; and £300,000 which he proposed by New Taxes and Regulations, amounted in all to £9,685,093 which left an excess of Ways and Means, over the Supply, of £123,875.
The new Taxes and Regulations were to produce, by excess of the Duty on Li- censed Distilleries, arising out of the Re- gulations adopted tact year, over the amount of the antecedent year £120,000 Taking the Allowance of 16 per cent. from large Distilleries 80,000 Augmentation on Duties on Horses, Carts, and Jaunting Cars 40,000 Paper 5,000 Stamps 10,000 Stamps to Retailers 5,000 Excess of Duty on Hats 10,000 An Augmentation on the Duties of Cus- toms upon Vinegar, Dye-Stuffs, and a few other articles 10,000 Together with other Items, amounting to 20,000 — Making altogether £300,000 Though the Sugar Duty imposed last session had failed to produce, the other duties had amply supplied the deficiency. The hon. bart. here enumerated the proportion in which each duty had exceeded in produce the amount calculated. Of the arrears and balances due of dead or removed collectors, £17,600 had been recovered within the last year; but this sum was considerably less than would be recovered in future years, if the measures should be persevered in for two or three years. The sum of the arrears appeared greater this year than last year, in consequence of an arrear that had accrued in the hands of the Collector of Maryborough; before he had been himself in office to the amount of £20,000, orders had been issued 191 to the Board of Excise, to reduce the balances in the hands of Collectors under £100. From this statement, he trusted, it would be manifest to the committee, that the Irish government had not abused the confidence that had been placed in it. They had a vote of credit for £400,000, and they had issued but £76,000. Measures had been taken for the reduction of 38 offices in the customs, and for carrying into effect the suggestions of the Committee of Inquiry. The trade of Ireland had improved in the last year, though there appeared a diminution in its exports.
The value of the Imports for 1805, was £5,982,000 Ditto for 1806 5,605,000 — Being a decrease of 377,000 — The Exports for 1805 8,436,933 Ditto for 1806 9,314,800 — Being an increase of £877,867 Which, added to the decrease in the Imports, made the improvement in the Trade of Ireland within the last year considerably above a million. The Trade to America had increased one third. The shipping of Ireland had increased in number 1–6, in tonnage 1–9, in seamen 1–3; the British shipping trading with Ireland had also increased 1–12, whilst the foreign shipping bad decreased 1–10, a circumstance which shewed, that the advantage of the whole increase of the trade remained within the empire. The Exchange had also fallen to 9½ per cent. a rate much lower than had been known for many years. With those proofs of the growing prosperity of that country he should conclude his statement, The hon. bart. then moved his resolutions, which were agreed to.