cumstances, the
result of their enquiries was necessarily wrong, in point of time,
though the effect of which they spoke is perfectly certain to take place,
if the debt continues to increase. Their reasoning may be compared to
that of an astronomer, who observed the position of a planet, but, in
his calculations, made no allowance for the refraction of the
atmosphere, who would therefore err as to the place of the star, but not
as to its existence.

Let us now consider the natural consequence, supposing that future
increase is prevented by means of the sinking fund established for that
purpose. As to the probability of this, it depends on so many
circumstances that are concealed in the womb of time, that it would be
madness to give any other than a hypothetical solution of the question.

If the war continues, and expenses increase nearly as they have
hitherto done, great as is the operation of a sinking fund, it will not
have time to counteract the evil. If the war stops soon, it will dim-
[end of page #240] inish the debt with a most prodigious rapidity,
{193} if it continues; the question, whether taxes can be found to pay
the interest or not? can only be answered as a matter of opinion, which
is, in a case of this sort, equivalent to no answer at all.

With respect to the supposed case of the debt augmenting, the
observations that apply to that have been made already; they now only
remain to be made with respect to the debt being paid off.

It has been observed already, in the chapter on Taxation, that the case
of taxes being taken off to a great amount would be a new one of
sudden and hurtful operation. Wages of labour would be diminished,
as well as the burthens on those who live on settled income; it would
therefore render people of fixed income more affluent, without giving
ease to those who want it; in short, as the augmentation of taxes falls
most on people with fixed incomes, so the advantages of this would
principally be felt by them; and, as the baneful operation carries a sort
of counteracting antidote with it, so, likewise, this beneficial operation
would be attended with some drawback and inconveniency =sic=.

The diminution of taxes, though the ultimate is not, however, the
immediate consequence of the operation of the sinking fund, the
efficacy of which depends on the taxes being kept up to their full
extent for a considerable time. =sic= The first effect of the fund is,
that a large sum, annually