the free and full enjoyment of all that was dear and valuable to them, the fruit and return of so much treasure, necessarily and usefully employed.

"Notwithstanding this flourishing State of the Public Credit, and the good effects of this happy situation, there were not wanting those, who attempted to disturb the quiet and satisfaction that almost universally prevailed in the minds of your people, by publishing and promoting, with the greatest industry, most noto12 rious misrepresentations of the true state of our Debts, and of the provisions made for the discharge of them; and by infusing groundless jealousies and insinuations, as if the Produce of the Sinking Fund bad been but little and inconsiderable, or that, by wrong and imprudent measures, had oeconomy, neglect, or mismanagement, unnecessary expences had been made, and new Debts contracted, that not only equalled, but exceeded by several millions the amount of the whole Debts, that had been discharged.

"These artful insinuations and misrepresentations served to a double purpose, to make our fellow-subjects restless and uneasy under their present difficulties, by persuading them, they were endless, and inextricable; and, at the same time, so apprehensive of new engagements, that they might be prepared rather to suffer all sorts of insults and injuries, than, by endeavouring to do themselves justice, to enter into new expences, every where represented as destructive, and intolerable.

"This prevailing Mischief called for an immediate Remedy, and made it necessary to enter into a strict disquisition of the truth and certainty of these affairs, that your Majesty might be truly informed, and your faithful and wellaffected subjects have the satisfaction to see, how grossly the world had been imposed upon by these groundless misrepresentations; and that your enemies might be convinced, that the wealth and power of Great Britain is not so exhausted, as to render this nation, under

your Majesty's happy government, less considerable and formidable, than in the time of any of your royal predecessors.

"We observed, that what gave any foundation for the belief of these notorious falshoods, was, the liberty which some misinformed, or ill-designing, persons had taken from the several alterations, which had been made of late_years in the shape or denomination of our Public Debts, to make and publish imaginary states of the whole of those debts, by putting fictitious values upon them, at their own will and pleasure, and from thence making balances, that might serve their purpose, but were not really true.

"But the difficulties of making up this Account in that manner, with any certainty, made us carefully avoid going into a method, which might be afterwards liable to cavil and disputes according to the humour, caprice, or private opinion, of every man.

"That we might therefore avoid, as much. as possible, any doubt or perplexity, we proceeded to state the truth of this fact in a method, that was plain, obvious, and intelligible to the meanest capacity; and took an Account of the several National Debts, incurred before the 25th day of December, 1716, which, since that time, had been actually paid off, or discharged, and also an Account of the several National Debts, that since that time, had been contracted or incurred, and were still subsist ing; upon comparing of which together, it will appear, whether the National Debt is, since the establishment of the Sinking Fund, increased, or decreased, and to what amount.

"Having now gone through this enquiry with as much care and exactness, as was pospossible, we beg leave, in the most dutiful manner, to lay before your Majesty two Accounts, the first containing the several particular Articles of National Debts, incurred before the 25th day of December 1716, and since discharged; which is as followeth :

9,534,357 13 114

1,204,786 3 42

910,000 0 0 706,175 15

203,824 5 D

169,000 0 137,526 6 8

31,479 18

"In the stating of which Account, we leave humbly to represent to your Majesty, that the Articles, stated therein by way of Estimate, are the Interest and premium, said to be due on the Exchequer Bills, the Debt for the building of Churches, and the value of the difference in the terins for the short annuities; which Articles are so small in respect of the whole, that any alteration in those estimated values would make no material difference in the real increase or decrease of the whole debt.

"We beg leave further humbly to represent to your Majesty, that all the Articles in this Account are stated as the Debts stood on the 25th of December, 1716, except the first Article of the Lottery Annuities, which is stated at the sum, that was made principal at Michaelmas, 1717, by the act that established the General Fund, and also the Sinking Fund, from which time only the Sinking Fund commenced; for which reason, no credit is taken in this Ac count for any principal money, paid off in part of the four Lotteries, comprehended in that sum between Christmas, 1716, and Michaelmas, 1717; nor is any thing charged therein for the deficiencies of funds standing out at Christmas, 1716, and unprovided for, although the deficiencies of three of those Lottery funds only amount

418,952 17 2

299,252 0 10

Debts discharged.

119,700 16 6,648,762 5 1

ed at Lady-day, 1717, to above 270,000l.; so that notwithstanding, upon the subscription of those Lotteries into redeemable annuities, one quarter's interest due thereon between Midsummer and Michaelmas, 1717, was made principal, amounting to 140,8847. 6s. 31d. or thereabouts, yet the same was much short of the deficiencies then incurred on those funds, and therefore properly charged amongst the Debts incurred before the 25th of December, 1716.

"And we think it proper further to observe upon the Article of the Short Annuities remaining unsubscribed, which are stated at 29,925l. 4s. 1d. per annum, that it appears, the real sum did amount to but 24,335i. 17s. per annum; which mistake did arise by a misrecital in the act, of the sixth year of your Majesty's late royal father; which difference, being valued at the same rate, that the whole annuities are herein valued at, makes a difference of 22,3571. 8s 4d. to be deducted out of the total sum of the Debts discharged.

"The next Account, which is most humbly submitted to your Majesty's consideration, contains the several particular Articles of Debts, contracted and incurred since the 25th of December, 1716, and now subsisting, which is, as followeth :

£ s. d. 141,547 19 12

14,846 18 8

25,831 4 10

182,226 2 7

107,802 17 42

290,029 0

"From these two Accounts, we presume most humbly to represent to your Majesty, that the several National Debts, incurred before the 25th day of December 1716, which have been since discharged, after deducting the before-mentioned sum of 22,8571. 8s. 4d. do amount in the whole to the sum of 6,626,4041. 16s. 91d.; and that the several National Debts, incurred since the said 25th day of December, 1716, and now subsisting, amount together to the sum of 3,927,988l. 7s. 1 d.

"Which being deducted out of the amount of the Debts discharged, the difference is so much real decrease of the national debt since 25th December, 1716, being 2,698,416l. 9s. 7 d.

"And, that the State of the new-contracted Debts may appear in a true light, we think it necessary, for the better information of your Majesty, to distinguish them under the proper Heads of Services, for which they were contracted, and, by way of explanation, to observe, that a considerable part of the new-contracted Debt, amounting to the sum of 703,7401. 6s. 24d. was occasioned by the annual provisions, made by parliament for making good the yearly deficiencies of the General Fund to and for the year ending at Michaelmas, 1726, pursuant to the directions of the Act establishing the General Fund, the surplus whereof composes part of the Sinking Fund; and by these means the Sinking Fund has received annually some proportion out of the supplies of the year:

66 And, that the further sum of 290,0291. has been raised by new-contracted Debts, and is included therein, for making good at several times the deficiencies of the original and additional funds of the South Sea Company, which two sums, amounting together to the sum of 993,7691, 6s, 24.μ. having been applied towards

making good deficiencies of the General Fund, and other funds, established before the 25th day of December, 1716, ought to be distin guished from the National Debt incurred since that time:

"As likewise the sum of 328,673l. 4s. 10žd. another part of the said new contracted Debts, which was occasioned by stock created for so much of the money to Le advanced by the South Sea Company, upon the enlargement of their capital stock by the subscription of the tickets in the Lottery Anno 1710, pursuant to an Act, of the 5th year of the reign of your Majesty's late royal father, as was paid into the Exchequer; and, as the same was applied to the uses of the Sinking Fund, and no part of it to any other public services, this sum ought also to be distinguished from the rest of the Debts, contracted since the establishment of the Sink ing Fund which three sums making together the sum of 1,322,442l. 11s. 1d. and being deducted out of the said sum of 3,927,9881. 7s. 14d. the remaining sum of 2,605,545l. 16s. 0žd. is the whole National Debt, that has been contracted or incurred, for answering or defraying the annual charges and expences of the public for the current service of the several years since the 25th day of December, 1716, including therein the whole debt of the navy, as it stood on the 31st day of December, 1727.

"And further, to obviate any objections, that may be made to the stating of the account of National Debts, contracted and incurred since the 25th of December, 1716, and stili subsisting, it is proper to observe, that no notice is taken therein of the Debts by Loans, or Exchequer Bills on the annual Land Taxes, or Malt Duties; because, as those loans, or bills, are weekly discharged out of the produce of

those taxes, and as often as any deficiencies happen thereon, they, as well as the deficiencies of grants, are not suffered to remain as Debts, but are constantly, from year to year, discharged, by being made part of the supplies, granted for the current service of the subsequent years; and accordingly provision has been already made for such of them as can be any ways ascertained, out of the supplies for the service of the year 1728; therefore they were not proper to be brought into this Account.

dation was laid, by establishing the Sinking Fund; the consequences and advantages whereof will best appear, by considering, what it is, and by what means it was perfected.

"The only methods, that could be thought of, for paying off the National Debts, must be, either by improving and augmenting the pro duce of the Funds, already settled for the payment of the principal and interest, or by granting new taxes and impositions upon the people, or by a reduction of the interest, made payable on the several debts; and, as the first method would have been found not sufficient to answer this desirable end, and the second would have been very grievous and buthensome to the people, the principal method, that was then thought expedient, and most free from

"At the Accession of your Majesty's late royal father to the throne of these realms, a great part of the Public Debts consisted of absolute Annuities, granted for very long terms of years, which were only to be discharged by the wearing out of those terms; other great parts thereof were the capital Stocks of the Bank, the South Sea and India Companies, at very high interest; other Debts were charged upon particular funds, appropriated to pay off and discharge the principal monies, with interest, at very high rates, in course, to multitudes of people both at home and abroad; other great parts thereof were in Exchequer Bills, circulated and exchanged at very high rates for interest, premium, and charges; and the Debts of the Army, which were very considerable, were not then liquidated, nor had any provision at all then been made for the discharge of them: Besides this, the funds themselves, appropriated for these Debts, were most of them deficient; so that, if these debts had been suffered to continue in this state, so far would they have been from being lessened to any degree, that new burthens must have been laid on the nation, for securing the Debts unprovided for.

"Soon after his late Majesty's Accession, an unnatural rebellion broke out, during which, not only all thoughts for any method for the more speedy payment of our Debts were of necessity suspended, but new and heavy debts were contracted; and in the year 1715 annuities, at 51. per cent. redeemable by parliament, were sold for 1,079,000l. besides a considerable addition to the capital stock of the South Sea Company.

"But no sooner was that Rebellion defeated, and the fears of the people removed, but the parliament immediately began to set about the great work of putting the National Debt in a method of being sooner discharged with honour and justice: and, in the year 1717, the foun

other charges, payable on all the public Debts. But, as great part of those Debts were not subject to any power of Redemption, and as none of them were redeemable, but on payment of the principal money, it manifestly appeared, that such reduction could never be made, without the voluntary consent of the proprietors of such, as were irredeemable, or a legal tender to the others of their principal money; both which seemed at that time almost impracticable; but, by an extraordinary zeal and application to the public service, this difficulty was surmounted, with respect to the whole of the Debts, that were then redeemable, by procuring, not only the voluntary consent of the South Sea Company to the reduction of the interest on their whole capital stock, then consisting of ten millions, from 6l. to 51. per cent. and of the Bank to a like reduction on an annuity, then payable to them in respect of a sum of upwards of 1,775,000l. and to a great abatement in their allowances for circulating Exchequer Bills, then amounting to more than 1,500,000l. at an annual charge of above 71. per cent, but also by engaging those corporations to furnish sufficient sums for paying the principal money to such of the proprietors of other redeemable debts, amounting to more than nine millions, as would not voluntarily choose to accept an interest at 57. per cent. for the future.

"This provision being made, the Act passed in the 3rd year of his late Majesty's reign, for establishing the General Fund; whereby the proprietors of certain debts therein mentioned, all carrying an interest at 67. per cent. had their free election, either to accept an interest at 51. per cent. per annum, or to receive their principal money; and so general was the satisfaction of all the proprietors, that few and very inconsiderable sums were demanded to be paid off; but the principal sums, that were voluntarily reduced to 51. per cent. amounted to 9,932,3117. 4s. 24d. or thereabouts; and by this method more than 25,800,000l. was at once voluntarily reduced from 67. per cent. or upwards, to 5. per cent. which was an annual saving of above 320,000l.

By the same Act, not only the surplus of