considered by those who remained of, and adhered to the old Whig party, as an unconstitutional expedient, and tending to the establishment of a standing army. But it appeared to be the more general opinion, that the circumstances of the country were such as made it necessary to adopt that mode of lodging troops in a greater extent, than in former periods; and that to dispose of them in barracks was now become a far better plan, than the distribution of them among the mass of the people.-Mr. M. A. Taylor, however, was so convinced of the unconstitutional tendency of these military buildings, that, (as soon as the House had agreed to the resolutions moved by Mr. T. Grenville,) he rose to make a motion on the subject. The question, he said, was precisely this: whether in the very heart and body of the country, a large standing army was to be kept up, and in a way totally unusual, as well as highly alarming: nor could he omit the observation, that standing armies are ever hostile to liberty. History affords innumerable instances of states being modelled by armies: in this country the same army which raised Cromwell to the protectorate, restored Charles the Second. Those distinguished characters who led the glorious revolution, thought it necessary to establish, by the declaration of rights, that no standing army should be kept up without consent of parliament; and, were the case otherwise, the doors of this House might as well be shut up: it was, however, without much difficulty, that they got king William III. to disband his forces. With regard to the peace establishment in this country, it had continued nearly the same during the present reign; but it had increased much since the time of queen Anne: it now amounted to 18,000 men, which appeared to him much too large, and it would be still much more alarming if the proposition he was about to make should not be agreed to. Mr. Taylor then alluded to the opinions of Mr. Harley, Mr. Pulteney, and Mr. Pelham, who expressed, in very strong language, their ideas of the danger that must arise to the constitution and to liberty, from quartering soldiers in barracks, and dissolving or lessening their connection with the body of the people. He also mentioned the opinion of lord Gage in 1739, who, in a speech against the augmentation of the troops, declared, that he considered the quartering of soldiers in barracks, and cutting off their connection with the people to be the most fatal, as it would prove the finishing stroke to liberty. If this should ever be attempted, said lord Gage, it would become the duty of the people to draw their swords, as the last effort of liberty, and never sheath them, till they had brought the authors and contrivers of the measure to condign punishment. Mr. Taylor said, he must add another great authority in judge Blackstone, whose opinion it was, that soldiers should live intermixed with the people; no separate camp, no barracks, no inland fortresses should be allowed. In the argument which he was now maintaining, he had the prejudices of the people, the reason of the thing, and the weight of high authorities, to support him. In answer to them it was alleged first, that it is a great hardship hardship on innkeepers to quarter soldiers on them; and so it might; because the price paid for hay and straw has not been raised for many years. But if a part of the large sums expended on building barracks, were applied towards a reasonable increase of the price paid for hay and straw, the innkeepers would be glad to have them: secondly, barracks are said to be necessary, to keep the minds of the soldiers, at the present moment, from being prejudiced and poisoned; but experience has long evinced, that those walls must be high indeed which can keep opinions from passing them. But it may be said, that a better discipline can be preserved in barracks. Be that as it may, said Mr. Taylor, a constitutional army is still to be preferred, though its discipline may not admit of equal vigour. He therefore moved, that it is the opinion of this House that the uniform and persevering opposition of our ancestors to the erecting of barracks in this country, was founded upon a just sense of the true principles of our most excellent constitution, and that the opinion has been justified upon high legal and political authority, that the soldiers should live intermixed with the people, &c. according to the words of judge Blackstone already quoted. Mr. Minchin confessed that he saw no danger in the measure which had been so much objected to by the honourable gentleman. He thought it on the contrary, attended with many advantages. And first it relieved a certain description of men from a grievous tax, which, during last war had been so very oppressive that seve ral publicans had given up their licences. It was likewise a measure very favourable to the exact observance of discipline. For though soldiers were at stated hours obliged to retire to their quarters, yet when they were quartered in a public house, this regulation could not be enforced. For in that case, when the officers went to bed, the soldiers might take the opportunity to leave their quarters, and might be engaged in riots or mischiefs, which there were no means of discovering or preventing. But this could not occur in barracks, which were equally conducive to the health and morals of the troops lodged in them. public houses the soldiers were continually opposed to the temptation of expending that pay which might procure them solid nourishment, for noxious liquors, equally pernicious to their constitution and morals. With respect to the utility of barracks, he referred to the example of a sister kingdom (Ireland) where they had been always in use. There so much were their beneficial effects experienced, that those towns, where they were not erected, even made application for them, and could not be satisfied without such an establishment. In The motion was supported by Mr. Fox, Mr. Courteney, Mr. Grey, and Major Maitland, and opposed by sir George Young, secretary at war, sir George Howard, lord Beauchamp, lord Mulgrave, Mr. Burdon, and the chancellor of the exchequer. It was then negatived, by the order of the day being carried without a division. On the 25th of February Mr. Dundas presented to the House his state statement of the situation of affairs in the provinces of India. This statement, he said, was different in its object from any he had hitherto offered to the attention of the House. Those of former years, except in one instance, had been confined to the state of financial affairs of the company in India, exhibiting the balance upon the comparison of the revenues and charges of the several settlements. In the present statement, he proposed to combine the affairs of the East India Company at home and abroad, and declare the general balance resulting from such a combination. The first statement included the revenues and charges of the several settlements in India. The Revenue of Bengal, on the average of three years 1787-8 to 1789-90, amounted to Of Madras Of Bombay £5,454,107 1,296,468 147,155 In these years a considerable expence was incurred by preparations for war, and therefore the average cannot be considered as giving the result too favourable. The countries ceded by Tippoo, at the termination of the war, are estimated to yield a revenue of about 400,0001.; no part of which could be included in the above average. But in order to bring this subject under one point of view, there was also laid before the House an estimate of the future revenues and expences of the several settlements in India, formed by a committee of the Court of Directors for the use of the proprietors of India stock. In every instance the revenues appear to be taken on a very low statement; and in like manner great caution has been used in stating the other articles, that there should not be any doubt of the result being better than the estimate. In this estimate the commercial charges at the several settlements are stated as charges upon the revenues. In all former views of this subject, they have been considered as belonging to the trade, as that is the only purpose for which they are incurred. By By the estimates the revenues are stated at Leaving net revenues £6,963,625 5,342,575 £1,621,050 In this view, the net revenue of India appears to be 1,621,0501. or, if the commercial charges, amounting to 104,4501. be excluded, the excess of revenue, above the civil and military establishments, is 1,725,500 1. The next subject for consideration is the amount of debts in India, as the interest on them is the first object to which the net revenue is applicable. The total of their amount on the 31st of January 1792, is stated at 9,084,550 1. which includes every article of debt known at that period; and the bills not due or presented for acceptance are considered as part of the debts then owing, which was not the case in former statements of this nature. The net surplus, after defraying the civil, military, and commercial charges and interest on the debt, amounts to 1,059,127 1. Besides this sum, there is estimated to be supplied from the sales of Europe, goods and certificates, 350,000 1. making a total of 1,409,127 1. The amount of the goods from India sold in the last three years has been, per annum Prime cost of ditto Customs Freight and demurrage Charges of merchandize, six per cent. Total £2,394,751 £1,090,185 563,269 245,782 143,684 2,042,920 Being, on the average, an excess of the sale above the prime cost and charges £351,831 This cannot be considered as the actual profit on the trade from India, because, in a mercantile point of view, the interest of the money employed in that trade, and a sum for insurance, should be allowed; but this excess of the sale value above the prime cost and charges sufficiently proves that the remittance of the surplus revenue, through the medium of the trade, is a profitable mode, and that it may be realised at home with profit both to the public and the company. On the average of the last three years, the prime cost of goods sold by the company was £1,090,185 In the directors' report, the cost of the annual investment is estimated at Which exceeds the average cost of the goods sold those three years by 1,127,000 £36,815 And consequently the sale amount and. profit on the whole should be stated at a larger sum. But, in order to keep so far below the probable actual actual result as to meet unforeseen contingencies, the profits on the India trade are taken even below the sum already stated, as it certainly appears in the estimate of the prime cost and sale amount of goods from India in the report to the court of directors. In this the sale amount of goods from India Making an excess of the sale, over costs and charges 239,466 351,831 was The difference is £112,365 Having thus shewn what are the future surplus of India, on the lowest calculation, may be stated to amount to, and having proved that a sum equal to that amount may be remitted home through the medium of trade, with profit both to the company and the public; the next object is to bring forward the state of the trade in general. Accordingly by the average of the three last years, the profit on the trade, or more correctly, the excess of the sale amount above the prime cost and charges, was 916,497 per annum. Average of three years sale amounts, March 1790 to 1793 Average of three years prime cost and charges, In these statements, the prime cost of the goods only is taken, and the charges at home, the commercial charges in India being, according to the estimate paid out of the surplus revenues. In the estimate of the cost, customs, freight, and charges in England, the prime cost, and several charges on the India and China goods, are estimated to amount Being an excess of sale amount £5,103,094 4,186,597 £916,497 £4,244,698 4,988,300 £743,602 which is less than the average of the last three years by 172,895 1. per annum, and affords another proof of the moderation of the estimates under consideration. The next estimate states the annual receipts and payments of the company at home. This, after allowing for a dividend of 81. per cent. on |