deference to
general opinion, and substituted others in its place. The rest met with
little opposition. As they finally stood they were laid on candles,
bricks and tiles, hats, pleasure horses and horses entered for races,
British linens and cottons, ribbons and gauzes, ale-licences, shooting
licences, paper, hackney coaches, gold and silver plate, exported lead,
postage, and imported raw and thrown silk. His speech on the budget,
during which he moved 133 resolutions, at once placed his talents as a
finance minister beyond dispute; it was admirably lucid and was
conciliatory in tone. He also carried some regulations checking the
abuse of the privilege of franking letters. In those days a letter which
bore on the outside the signature of a member of parliament was carried
post-free, and franks were given away with the utmost profusion. It was
calculated that the new regulations, without abolishing the privilege,
would increase the revenue by L20,000. The next year, 1785, Pitt
completed the funding of unfunded debt, choosing according to his
principle the 5 per cents. which, though entailing an immediate loss,
afforded an easy means of paying off debt. He was able to declare that
the revenues were in a flourishing state, and to speak of the
institution of a fund for the repayment of the national debt as in the
near future. He was, however, still obliged to raise L400,000 by new
taxes. Among these were an increased tax on male servants, graduated
according to the number kept, and two which excited much hostile
criticism, the one a tax on female servants, also graduated, two
shillings and sixpence on one, five shillings a head on two, and ten
shillings a head on three or more, and the other a tax on shops. Both
these taxes were unpopular; the shop tax was repealed in 1789 and the
tax on female servants in 1792.

In 1784 the East India company was applying to parliament for help, and
as its affairs were under investigation it was unable to declare a
dividend. Pitt carried bills authorising a dividend of 8 per cent., and
granting the company relief from obligations to the exchequer which the
late war made specially onerous. He then brought in his new bill for the
government of India. This measure, which was not materially different
from his bill of six months before, entirely subordinated the political
power exercised by the directors to a board of control consisting of
unpaid commissioners, a secretary of state, the chance