place, he had been given to underftand, that the fpeaker's fees, communibus annis, might be computed, on an average of ten years, at the fum of 1,232/. and on an average of twelve years, at the fum of 1,2661. and that the allowance to the speaker from the exchequer was about 1,680, fo that putting the two fums together, the emoluments of the fpeaker did not amount to 3000%*, a fum by no means adequate to the dignity of the office, which he and every member of that houfe muft wish to fee properly fuftained. It was on this account that the predeceffors of the prefent fpeaker had generally holden places under the crown. Sir Spencer Compton had filled the office of pay-master of the army; and Mr. Onflow, a name never to be mentioned in that houfe but with reverence, had been treafurer of the navy. He did not like that the fpeaker of that houfe fhould be under the neceffity of looking for the favours of the crown, and, therefore, he wished the house itself to make an adequate provifion for him. He related the following anecdote in confirmation of his argument. When Mr. Onflow was fpeaker, and held the office of treafurer of the navy, upon a warm difcuffion of a certain political point, the queflion came to be decided by the cafting vote of the speaker, which Mr. Onflow gave in oppofition to the court. This conduct was refented by the Court party, and the place which he held was thrown in his teeth. Mr. Onflow, being a high-fpirited man, the very next day refigned his place; and though he held the office of fpeaker for eighteen years afterwards, to the difgrace of the house, he received no more than the ufual income, of the amount of which the house was now apprized. The confequence was, that when he refigned, Mr. Onflow muft have retired in a very uncomfortable state, indeed, had not the house, aware of the circumftance, and feeling its own credit or difgrace involved in its conduct on the occafion, voted Mr. Onflow a penfion of 3000l. a. year. With regard to fees arifing out of the bufinefs of the house, he thought they should be left exactly as they were, as a check upon frivolous applications. If the fees were abolished, the houfe would be overwhelmed with fuch a deluge of private bufinefs, that it would be impoffible to get through the whole of it. With refpect to the other part of the fpeak-. er's emoluments, he should propofe that fo much might be added out of the finking fund as to make up the whole 5,000l. a year at least. Such an addition might be confider-. ed as the price paid for the purchase of the fpeaker's independence; and the public (he conceived) would chearfully pay for a purchase, in which they had fo great an intereft. Having explained what he meant to fuggeft, when the houfe fhould be in a committee, Mr. Montagu begged leave to addrefs himfelf perfonally to the chair, and to affure the fpeaker, that he had heard his manly addrefs at the commencement of the feffion with great pleasure, and that * Mr. Montagu afterwards stated to the committee, that, befides these emoluments, the speaker was prefented at the commencement of a new parliament with 1000l. for equipment money, 2000 ounces of plate, 1037. for flationary, and two hogheads of claret annually. he had witneffed, with infinite fatisfaction, fince he had held his high office, his great politenefs and affability, his ftrict impartiality, his great attention to bufinefs both public and private, and, above all, his care and attention to the forms of the houfe, and forms, he must be allowed to fay, were the very effence of a popular affembly like the house of commons. Mr. Montagu, in conclufion, moved, "That this houfe will, on Monday next, refolve itself into a com"mittee of the whole house, to con"fider of an allowance to be made "to the speaker of the house of commons for the time being, "more adequate to the dignity of “ the faid office, and to the expence neceffarily attending the fame." The motion being feconded by the honourable Mr. Marfham, and the Chancellor of the exchequer having figuified his majesty's confent, Mr. Huffey rofe to exprefs his difapprobation of the measure, as tending to incrcafe the influence of the crown, by annexing fo large a falary to an office undeniably in the difpofal of its minifters. He was of opinion that it would add nothing to the independence of their speaker. Those who had formerly held offices under the crown had not been complained of; and he had no doubt but that the worthy gentleman who now filled, and those who should be called to the chair, would be equally independent with or without a place. The arguments of Mr. Huffey appear to have made no impreflion upon the houfe, and the motion was carried without any other diffentient voice. In the committee which fat on the 15th, Mr. Montagu moved, "That it is the opinion of this com 66 "mittee, that for more effectually fupporting the dignity of the fpeaker of the houfe of commons of Great Britain, the lords com"miffioners of his majefty's treasury "be directed to ifiue from the ex chequer fuch, fum as, together "with the falary of the faid office "of 5 per day, and the fees there"of upon private bills, will make "the whole gocol. Amotion being made by Sir James Johnffone, that instead of 50cal. fhould be inferted 6000l. the fame. was carried by a majority of 154 to 28. On the 31st of March Mr. Dundas opened the India budget. He began with the flate of Bengal, the revenues of which, he faid,, exceed the charges by a sum of 2,136,71 EZ This excefs of revenue was 178,000l. above the eftimate of the last year, and he accounted for the increase from a better collection of the land revenues, and an increase on that of falt. This great increase of revenue he confidered to be a strong proof of the profperity of the country, which was fo rapidly increafing, that he doubted not but in a very few years, the company would be enabled to pay off the whole of their arrears; and that the British poffeffions of India would be more flourithing in wealth, in commerce, manufactures, and in every enjoyment, than any other part of the whole continent of Hindostan. He then took a review of the finances of Madras, the establishment of which, he faid, exceeded the income; but he was of opinion, that meafures might be taken to bring the expenditure within the revenue, Of Bombay, he faid, he had not received later accounts than those, on which he had grounded the refolu Leaving a clear furplus of From which was to be deducted, for Bencoolen and the Prince of Wales's Island, 65,000%. which would leave a nett revenue of 1,852,4541. and gave an exceeding over the laft eftimate of 336,335 % To the before mentioned nett revenue of 1,852,454. was to be added for exports, 239,3617. which would make a fum of 2,147,815. applicable to the difcharge of debts, and purchase of inveftments. The debts of the company for the last year, were 7,604,7544. thofe of the prefent year, 6,501,3851. giving a decrease of 1,103,3691. He flattered himself that by the ftatement he had juft made, the committee would be enabled to judge accurately and fatisfactorily of the revenues of India, which were in a moft flourishing state, and had been gradually improving for fome years. He confidered the increafe on the land revenue to be permanent; he would not, however, fay the fame of 5,053,997 Total of Charges. 1,917,454 that on falt, nor did he wish an increafe of revenue from that article, if it was occafioned, as he believed it was, from a rife of price on the confumer, which, he faid, must be an oppreffion on the natives, to whom falt was an abfolute neceflary of life, and to whofe eafe he fhould confider a decreafe in the revenue on that article a very good facrifice. He gave it as his opinion, that our eftablishments might be confiderably lowered, and the furplufies thereby increafed. This country, he faid, was likely, from a variety of circumftances, long to enjoy an undifturbed peace at home and abroad. When her fituation was compared with that of other European nations; and when our connection with Holland, a power of great confequence in India, was alfo remembered, he hoped he fhould not be confidered as too fanguine in the opinion he entertained, that England had no danger to apprehend [F 3] from from any European rival in India; and he was confident that we fhould have nothing there to fear from the combination of any Indian powers, fo long as we continued to preferve our prefent good faith toward them, and trod in the path we were now in, that of moderation. It was well known, he observed, that there was a prince, who, inheriting all the ambitious and turbulent views of his father, poffeffed the fame rancorous fpirit against the English, whom he ever had, and moft likely ever would endeavour to extirpate from India. That prince had, however, loft no inconfiderable portion of the confequence he formerly was poffeffed of; and his opinion was, that our eftablishments had for fome time been more than fufficient to repel any attack he could make. Other circumftances had recently occurred, which ftill rendered us more formidable, and our establishments ftill more competent to bear a reduction, without endangering the public fafety. The circumftances he alluded to were, the state of the French fettlement at Pondicherry, and a requifition which had been made from the king of the Tavancore country (one of the old and best allies, of the English in india) for a confiderable body of our troops to be taken into his pay, for the purpofe of covering the fron-, tier of his territory to the weftward, which requifition would be complied with, and orders fent out for the purpofe in the courfe of the prefent year. By this arrangement our military establishment at Tellichery, would in a great measure be fuperfeded; and thofe of Madras and Bombay might fafely be diminished. He concluded by ftating, as an additional proof of the profperity of the affairs of the company in India, that the discount on their bonds at Bengal, which were at eight per cent. on the commencement of the government of Lord Cornwallis, had fallen to the inconfiderable difcount of lefs than one and a half. Mr. Huffey was of opinion, that to judge fairly of the Company's fituation, their affairs at home and abroad ought to be confidered toge, ther; he could not confider their af fairs at home to be in a profperous way, while they were continually borrowing; and had borrowed from the year 1781, no lefs a fum than 5,800,000l. Mr. Francis made a long reply to Mr. Dundas. He infifted that the true, the proper, and the only intelligible proof of the propofitions in queftion, would have been to have produced a fhort and fimple account of debts paid off, of an investment purchafed with a furplus of revenue, of nett profit upon that investment, and of a thriving, happy, induftrious people in the Indian provinces under our dominion. What fignified all the right honourable gentleman's arithmetic, when the notorious facts were, that we had no return from India, but a return or transfer of debts, which the Company could not pay, and which fooner or later, must fall upon the fhoulders of England when the Company, inftead of difcharging their bonds, and clearing themselves from the burthen of their debts at home, were every year coming to parliament for affiftance, for leave to borrow more and more money, for an authority to increase their capital, or for the direct power of the legiflature to protect them againft their creditors, either by authorifing them not to accept, or not to pay the bills they had accepted; and, and, finally, when the letters from Lord Cornwallis, now lying on the table, defcribed Bengal as a declinning and almost ruined country. As a proof of the diftrefs of the company's affairs at home, and the poverty of their treasury, he flated. that they were then taking up filver, tin, and copper upon credit, which formerly they used to pay for with ready money. The difcount upon their Bengal bonds he alfo confidered as another fymptom of diftrefs. With regard to Bengal, Mr. Dundas had faid, that the jumma's being collected entire was a proof of the profperity of a country, and that therefore Bengal was molt profperous. Neither the premifes nor the inference were founded on fact, fince an oppreffive government might get their revenue entire, and the country be nevertheless rapidly going to ruin. Mr. Francis proceeded to take notice of what Mr. Dundas had faid refpecting the revenue arising from falt. He had truly ftated falt to be a neceflary of life in Bengal more than in any other country. It ac tually was fo; and nature feemed to have confidered the circumftance, as it hath made falt one of the cheapeft manufactures of the country. They could get it there for next to nothing, if an oppreffive revenue were not derived from it. The late Lord Clive, who was accused of having established a monopoly of falt, had expressly provided, "That the price "of falt, fold by the Society of Trade, fhould never exceed 20 ཡོ rupces per 100 maunds;" and Mr. Bolts, who stretched every thing to the utmost that could be brought to bear against the government of Lord Clive, ftated 500 rupees per 100 maunds, as the highest price to the confumer. The felling price of the company at Calcuta, appeared to have been in Auguft, 1789, about 300 Sicca rupees per 100 maunds. At one period within thefe two years, the price, at the company's fale, had got up to the enormous amount of 700 Sicca rupees; upon which there was alfo to be a proportionate increase for profit and charges on the retail. But fuppofing the final retail price of falt, in the provinces, to be 700 Sicca rupees per 100 maunds, it would then coft the contamer twopence three - farthings per pound English. Every individual native would, as long as it is poffible for him to get it, confume half a chittac, or one ounce per day; confequently a family of five perfons, living on the labour of one man, muft fpend 5-16ths of two-pence threefarthings in falt, or about three-farthings a day. The medium price of labour throughout Bengal, is one anna and half per day, or three pence halfpenny English. Confequently, when he has paid for the falt, without which his vegetable food would be poifon to him, he has just feven farthings a day left to provide himfelf, a wife, and three children, with every other neceffary of life, and to pay fome rent for a 'mud-houfe; not to mention any allowance for falt for his cow, if he has one; for without falt the cattle in that country cannot exift for any afeful purpofe. Mr. Francis concluded with fome obfervations upon the letter of Lord Cornwallis, dated zd Auguft 1789. The firft paflage he remarked upon was the following-"The fecurity of property, however, and "the certainty which each indivi[F 4] "dual |