furpluffes and favings, after all deductions paid, amount annually to a very confiderable fum; particularly in the year ending at Christmas 1764, to about two millions and a quarter. For, as the intereft on the national debt has been at feveral times reduced, (by the confent of the proprietors, who had their option either to lower their intereft, or be paid their principal) the favings from the appropriated revenues must needs be extreamly large. This finking fund is the laft refort of the nation; its only domeftic refource, on which muft chiefly depend all the hopes we can entertain of ever discharging or moderating our incumbrances. And therefore the prudent application of the large fums, now arifing from this fund, is a point of the utmost importance, and well worthy the ferious attention of parliament; which was thereby enabled, in the year 1765, to reduce above two millions fterling of the public debt. But, before any part of the aggregate fund (the furpluffes whereof are one of the chief ingredients that form the finking fund) can be applied to diminish the principal of the public debt, it ftands mortgaged by parliament to raife an annual fum for the maintenance of the king's houfhold and the civil lift. For this purpose, in the late reigns, the produce of certain branches of the excife and cuftoms, the poft-office, the duty on wine licences, the revenues of the remaining crown lands, the profits arifing from courts of juftice, (which articles include all the hereditary revenues of the crown) and alfo a clear annuity of 120,000 l. in money, were fettled on the king for life, for the fupport of his majefty's houfhold, and the honour and dignity of the crown. And, as the amount of thefe feveral branches was uncertain, (though in the laft reign they were computed to have fometimes raised almoft a million) if they did not arife annually to 800,cool. the parliament engaged to make up the deficiency. But his prefent majefty having, foon after his acceffion, ipon taneously taneously fignified his confent, that his own hereditary revenues might be fo difpofed of, as might best conduce to the utility and fatisfaction of the public; and having graciously accepted the limited fum of 800,000 1. per annum, for the fupport of his civil lift, (and that also charged with three life annuities, to the princess of Wales, the duke of Cumberland, and princefs Amelia, to the amount of 77,000 1.) the faid hereditary, and other revenues, are now carried into, and made a part of, the aggregate fund; and the aggregate fund is charged with the payment of the whole annuity to the crown of 800,000l. per annum. Hereby the revenues themselves, being put under the fame care and management as the other branches of the public patrimony, will produce more, and be better collected than heretofore; and the public is a gainer of upward of 100,000 1. per annum, by this difinterested bounty of his majefty. The civil list, thus liquidated, together with the four millions and three quarters, intereft of the national debt, and the two millions and a quarter produced from the finking fund, make up the seven millions and three quarters per annum, neat money, which were before stated to be the annual produce of our perpetual taxes: befide the immenfe, though uncertain fums, arifing from the annual taxes on land and malt, but which, at an average, may be calculated at more than two millions and a quarter; and which, added to the preceding fum, make the clear produce of the taxes, exclusive of the charge of collecting, which are raised yearly on the people of this country, amount to upward of ten millions sterling. The expences defrayed by the civil lift are those that in any shape relate to civil government; as the expences of the houfhold, all falaries to officers of ftate, to the judges, and every of the king's fervants; the appointments to foreign ambaffadors, the maintenance of the queen and royal family, the king's private expences, or privy purse, and other very nume rous rous outgoings; as fecret fervice-money, penfions, and other bounties. Thefe fometimes have fo far exceeded the revenues appointed for that purpose, that application has been made to parliament, to difcharge the debts contracted on the civil lift; as particularly in 1724, when one million was granted for that purpose by the ftatute 11 Geo. I. c. 17. The civil lift is indeed properly the whole of the king's revenue in his own diftinct capacity; the rest being rather the revenue of the public, or its creditors, though collected, and diftributed again, in the name, and by the officers of the crown; it now ftanding in the fame place, as the hereditary income did formerly; and, as that has gradually diminished, the parliamentary appointments have encreased. Of the Military and Marine ftrength of Great Britain. The military state includes the whole of the foldiery; or, such persons as are peculiarly appointed among the rest of the people, for the fafeguard and defence of the realm. In a land of liberty it is extreamly dangerous to make a distinct order of the profeffion of arms. In such, no man should take up arms, but with a view to defend his country and its laws: he puts not off the citizen when he enters the camp; but it is because he is a citizen, and would wish to continue fo, that he makes himself for a while a foldier. The laws therefore, and conftitution of these kingdoms know no fuch state as that of a perpetual standing foldier, bred up to no other profeffion than that of war and it was not till the reign of Henry VII. that the kings of England had fo much as a guard about their persons. It seems univerfally agreed by all historians, that king Alfred first fettled a national militia in this kingdom, and by his prudent discipline, made all the fubjects of his dominions foldiers. In the mean time we are not to imagine that the kingdom was left wholly without defence, in case of domestic infurrections, or the profpect of foreign invafions. Befide thofe, who by their military tenures, were bound to perform forty days fervice in the field, the ftatute of Winchefter obliged every man, according to his eftate and degree, to provide a determinate quantity of fuch arms as were then in ufe, in order to keep the peace and conftables were appointed in all hundreds, to fee that fuch arms were provided. These weapons were changed by the ftatute 4 and 5 Ph. and M. c. 2. into others of more modern fervice; but both this and the former provifion were repealed in the reign of James I. While thefe continued in force, it was ufual from time to time, for our princes to iffue commiffions of array, and fend into every county officers in whom they could confide, to mufter and array (or fet in military order) the inhabitants of every diftrict: and the form of the commiflion of array was fettled in parliament in the 5 Hen. IV. But at the fame time it was provided, that no man fhould be compelled to go out of the kingdom at any rate, nor out of his fhire, but in cafes of urgent neceffity; nor fhould provide foldiers unlefs by confent of parliament. About the reign of king Henry VIII. and his children, lord lieutenants began to be introduced, as ftanding reprefentatives of the crown, to keep the counties in military order; for we find them mentioned as known officers in the ftatute 4 and 5 Ph. and M. c. 3. though they had not been then long in ufe; for Camden fpeaks of them in the time of queen Elizabeth, as extraordinary magiftrates, conftituted only in times of difficulty and danger. Soon after the reftoration of king Charles II. when the military tenures were abolished, it was thought proper to afcertain the power of the militia, to recognize the fole right of the crown to govern and command them, and to put the whole into a more regular regular method of military fubordination: and the order in which the militia now ftands by law, is principally built upon the. ftatutes which were then enacted. It is true, the two laft of them are apparently repealed; but many of their provisions are re-enacted, with the addition of fome new regulations, by the prefent militia laws; the general fcheme of which is to difcipline a certain number of the inhabitants of every county, chofen by lot for three years, and officered by the lord lieutenant, the deputy lieutenants, and other principal landholders, under a commiffion from the crown. They are not compellable to march out of their counties, unless in cafe of invafion or actual rebellion, nor in any cafe compellable to march out of the kingdom. They are to be exercised at ftated times: and their difcipline in general is liberal and eafy; but, when drawn out into actual fervice, they are fubject to the rigours of martial law, as neceffary to keep them in order. This is the conftitutional fecurity which our laws have provided for the public peace, and for protecting the realm against foreign or domeftic violence; and which the ftatutes declare, is effentially neceffary to the fafety and profperity of the kingdom. But, as the fashion of keeping standing armies has univerfally prevailed over all Europe of late years (though fome of its potentates, being unable themfelves to maintain them, are obliged to have refource to richer powers, and receive fubfidiary penfions for that purpose) it has alfo for many years paft been annually judged neceffary by our legiflature, for the fafety of the kingdom, the defence of the poffeffions of the crown of Great Britain, and the prefervation of the balance of power in Europe, to maintain, even in time of peace, a ftanding body of troops, under the command of the crown, who are however, ipfo fallo, difbanded at the expiration of every year, unles continued by parliament. The land forces of thefe Lingdoms, in time of peace, amount to about 40,000 VOL. VII. E men, |