moment, His Majefty's Minifters had not confidered themfelves as at all refponfible for the money, which had iffued to the Treasurer of his Royal Highness, and over which the board of Treafury had no controul. The money was iffued to his Royal Highnefs's Treasurer, and it was left to his difcretion to lay it out in the way that might be most agreeable to his Royal Highness. Mr. Pitt afked, whether there was not an objection in point of delicacy to inquire into the fubject? At any rate he did not recollect to have heard any ground alledged for the motion.

Mr. Fox thought the inquiry ought to be gone into, and, Mr. Fox. he believed, there was not the leaft objection on the part of his Royal Highness, to the moft minute examination of the fubject. When Parliament voted money for building Carlton House, he thought it material to the honour of the House of Commons, that it fhould not be applied to any other purpose, and that the money fhould have been fufficient to have completed the purpose for which it was voted. It was not creditable to that House, that a specific thing was voted to be done for his Royal Highness, and that afterwards that thing fhould not be done.

Mr. Dundas expreffed his reluctance at speaking upon the Mr.Dun. fubject; he however could not reftrain himself from giving das. his opinion upon it. He perfectly recollected, he said, the original question which gave rife to that debate. Four years ago a propofition was brought forward for the payment of the debts of his Royal Highness, and there was then a fum included on account of Carlton House. He wished, therefore, to ask whether any gentleman had understood, that the money then voted would not be fufficient for finishing Carlton Houfe? Mr. Dundas faid, he did not like the way in which the bufinefs was then brought forward. To the motion, in its present shape, he felt a direct objection, fince it did not appear to him the way in which a bufinefs of that fort ought to come before the Houfe. Could any man underftand, that a farther fum was neceffary for finishing Carlton House, without a fresh application to Parliament? it had been stated by a right honourable gentleman (Mr. Fox) that 5000l. only had been allowed for furnishing Carlton House. That, however, was a mistake; because the 5000l. was given for finishing the furnithing of it. This, like every other measure, Mr. Dundas contended, ought to have been brought forward, not in an indirect, but in a fair, open, and manly way before the Houfe.

Mr.

Mr. Powys afked if a Committee were appointed, and on inquiry it should be found that the money voted was duly Powys. applied, but had failed in completing the purpofe, whether

Mr. Fox.

Sir Wm.

they would not grant a farther fum for completing the work?

Mr. Chancellor Pitt faid, when 20,000l. was voted on account, His Majefty was not sure that the whole of the fum ftated in the estimate (35,000l.) was neceffary, and whether fome favings might not be made; but it was afterwards not thought proper to make any reduction, and it was deemed moft adviseable to iffue the whole fum. Knowing this to be the fact, Mr. Pitt declared, that it was his peculiar duty to bear teftimony of that fact to the Houfe, and, he said, he could not confent to vote for more money on the subject, with out full explanation.

Mr. Fox replied that he very much doubted whether any fpecific fum was ever mentioned within thofe walls. He had not the fmalleft recollection of it, although he dared fay it was true, fince it was ftated by the right honourable gentleman. Mr. Fox faid, it was not honourable for the House to vote money for a particular purpose, and then not effect that purpofe. The right honourable gentleman had faid, he would do nothing till he had the fullest explanation. Mr. Fox confidered it as a duty incumbent on the House to confider this fubject as a little ferious. He had no doubt but that every Member of the Houfe had a proper attachment and respect for his Royal Highness, and would fee the propriety of fomething more being done.

Mr. Powys explained.

Mr. Ryder objected to going into a Committee.

Sir W. Dolben obferved that Carlton House had been the Dolben. refidence of his Royal Highness's grandfather and the Princess Dowager, who had made improvements, but never called on Parliament for money. Sir William thought it was proper that there fhould be a place fuitable to his dignity for the refidence not only of the Prince of Wales but of a Prince of Wales; and if it were fairly done, he would not object to any reafonable fum; but he wifhed the Houfe to remember, that the money voted for every stated claim was fqueezai from the hard hands of the laborious and moft induftrious or der of the people.

Mr. Fox.

Mr. Fox explained that Carlton Houfe was the leafehold property of the King, for fourteen years, and then it fell to the Crown.

Mr. Chancellor Pitt propofed an amendment to the motion of Lord Sheffield by moving, that thefe words fhould be left out of the motion, " to examine whether the refolution "of this Houfe has been complied with." This amendment was carried. His Lordship's motion then remained in this fhape, "That a Committee be appointed to examine re

Specting

"fpecting the application of the money for the additions to, "and furnishing of, Carlton House."

Mr. Harrifon did not conceive it poffible for any objection Mr. to be made to the motion, and he thought that they ought Harrifon. to go into a Committee to fee whether the money had been properly applied. He faid, as he understood it was the Prince of Wales's wish that the application of the monies should be inquired into, he would give the motion his fupport.

Mr. Chancellor Pitt and Mr. Dundas were both of opinion that very serious doubts were to be entertained whether the motion ought to be granted. They believed it was almoft without precedent to have a Committee of that fort, unless they knew explicitly that the motion was defired by his Royal Highnefs the Prince of Wales. A motion more difrefpectful could not be made, Mr. Pitt faid, unless it had his Royal Highness's confent. He faw nothing elfe to counterbalance his objections on the face of it. Unless therefore fome gentleman would get up and pledge himself that it was the Prince's wifh, he muft object to it, and he did not know but he should go beyond his duty as a Member of Parliament to agree to it even under any circumftances or any explanation.

Mr.

Mr. Windham faid, he was the laft perfon to fufpect any mifapplication of the money voted for Carlton Houfe, but Windham they ought to know how the money already voted had been applied.

Mr. Noel Edwards thought it was highly proper to inftitute an inquiry on the subject.

Mr. Chancellor Pitt asked if the honourable gentleman had Mr. Pitt any inftruction from the Prince to declare it to be his wifh that the application of the money fhould be inquired into.

Mr. Windham-faid, certainly not.

Mr. Sheridan here read a letter from Lord Southampton to Mr. Pitt, one of the papers prefented that day, from which it clearly appeared that his Royal Highnefs the Prince of Wales was extremely defirous that an inquiry fhould be made, and the whole application of the money fully inveftigated.

On that ground, the Chancellor of the Exchequer agreed to a Committee.

The Committee confifted of the following gentlemen: Lord Sheffield, Lord J. Ruffel, Mr. Dundas, Lord Apfley, Mr. C. Townsend, Sir W. Dolben, Mr. B. Watfon, Mr. Anftruther, Mr. Baftard, Mr. Pulteney, Mr. J. Smith, Mr. Huffey, Mr. N. Edwards, Mr. Fox, Mr. Pitt, and Mr. Sheridan.

The

The order of the day being read for the House to refolve itself into a Committee, on the Report of the Select Committee appointed to examine the feveral papers relating to the public Income and Expenditure, Mr. Jolliffe took the chair.

Mr. Mr. Sheridan rofe, and faid, he rejoiced that they were Sheridan. now in a form to examine with accuracy, whether his affer tions and predictions on the ftate of the finances, or those of the Chancellor of the Exchequer, had been verified by facts and events. The Committee need not be alarmed at the number of the refolutions which he meant to move (furty) although they were, he believed, one for every Member prefent; because, being founded on the reports of the Revenue Committees of 1786 and 1791, it required but little argument to support them. It was unneceffary, he faid, for him to prefs on the attention of the Committee, that no fubject could be more important, than whether or not Parliament was doing its duty to the Public on the ftate of the finances; was exhibiting a true account of their actual fituation, and watching over every circumftance in the receipt and expen diture of the money levied on the people, with the attention that their duty to their conftituents required.

Experience thewed, that all the circumftances of domeftic economy, in which nations were formerly interested, the patriotifm of their rulers, and the characters of this or that great man, were becoming daily of lefs importance, except the management of public money, and the mode of taking it from the people. When he confidered this, he faid, he could not but be surprised at the conduct of the House of Commons, on a fubject to which he thought they could not be too attentive. Instead of attention, he had obferved, for many years, a remiffnefs, which was far from creditable. From the examination of public accounts they feemed to fhrink as from a task, which was either not within their province, or above their comprehenfion. Revenue regulations and tax bills they appeared to confider as things which they were to vote on confidence in the Minifter, notwithstanding the multitude of provifions which they generally contained, by almost every one of which the liberty of the fubject was more or lefs connected. In confequence of this confidential careJeffnefs, Mr. Sheridan faid, he had never been able to get a tax bill printed, though he had often attempted it, an attempt in which he was perfuaded he must at length fucceed; for it was not to be believed that the Houfe would perfevere in paffing bills, containing a great variety of important and complicated claufes, without taking the ordinary means to comprehend and underftand them.

It

It was not a little extraordinary, he faid, that when they had appointed a Select Committee to examine and revife the report of the Committee of 1786, on the state of the public revenue and expence, when the Committee of 1791 had made an estimate of the probable expence of the future peace establifhment, exceeding the eltimate of the Committee of 1786 by half a million, that the Houfe had received that eftimate without asking a fingle queftion refpecting the cause of the increase; and had voted fupplies' for the peace establishment of the current year, independent of the armament, exceeding the increased eftimate by 800,cool, without a single reafon affigned why the peace eftablishment of 1791 fhould be greater than that of future years was expected to be. It was equally extraordinary that the Committee of 1791 told the Houfe that the revenue had rifen half a million above the eftimate of 1786, and that the permanent expence had risen above the estimate in the fame proportion; fo that all the produce of new taxes, of arbitrary and oppreffive regulations, of the unjuftifiable extenfion of the Excife laws fince 1786, had gone to the fupport of new eftablishments, and not to the reduction of the public debt. It was not the duty of the Select Committee to inquire into the increase of the establifhments. They had, however, made an eftimate of it in their report, and fuch was the refult of it. The Houfe had received it without the leaft furprife. Were an hiftorian to give an account of the affairs of Europe fince 1786, in his Chapter of Finance, after detailing the fituation of other States, he might naturally fay, "When we look to Great Britain, after the inquiry that he had inftituted, and the principles of economy that he had laid down, we muft fuppose that she was availing herfelf of the quiet of her only formidable rival, and the fecurity which the confequently enjoyed was employed in reducing her eftablishment, and applying her increated revenue to conquer the only enemy the had to dread, her national debt." Inftead of this, we had been increafing all the means of defence in proportion as our fecurity increafed; and our Ministers had thought it their duty to look out for new enemies, when France ceafed to be the object of our dread. Mr. Sheridan faid, he had heard the extraordinary increaf of the revenue, exultingly ftated by an honourable gentleman (Mr. Steele) before Christmas; in oppofition to which, Mr. Sheridan faid, he had then afferted, that the average receipt, fince 1786, did not amount to the estimate of 780, and the report of the Committee now proved the affertion. In that average, he could not include the receipt of the last year, because he had not the accounts of it before him. But he admitted, that it had been

great,