acobin meetings";
for this would restrain "that violent emigration to towns, which the
measure dreadfully threatens."[469]

A sign of the hopes of the Opposition was the re-appearance of Fox.
Resuming his long vacant seat, he declared Pitt to be the author of the
country's ruin. For himself, he upheld the funding system, that is, the
plan of shelving the debt upon the future. The palm for abusiveness was,
however, carried off by Nicholls and Jekyll. The former taunted Pitt
with losing all his Allies and raising France to undreamt-of heights of
power, with failing to gain peace, with exhausting the credit and the
resources of England until now he had to requisition men's incomes. As
for Jekyll, he called the present proposals "a detestable measure of
extortion and rapacity." The debates dragged on, until, after a powerful
reply by Pitt in the small hours of 5th January 1798 the Finance Bill
passed the Commons by 196 to 71. The Lords showed a far better spirit.
Carrington declared that Pitt's proposals did not go far enough. Lord
Holland in a maiden speech pronounced them worse than the progressive
taxes of Robespierre. But Liverpool, Auckland, and Grenville supported
the measure, which passed on 9th January 1798 by 75 to 6.

For a time the Finance Bill injured Pitt's popularity in the City.
During the State procession on 19th December 1797, when the King, Queen,
and Ministers went to St. Paul's to render thanks for the naval triumphs
of that year, he was hooted by the mob; and on the return his carriage
had to be guarded by a squadron of horse. Nevertheless, it is now clear
that Pitt's proposals were both necessary and salutary. The predictions
of commercial ruin were soon refuted by the trade returns. Imports in
1798 showed an increase of L6,844,000 over those of 1797; exports, an
increase of L3,974,000. In part, doubtless, these gratifying results may
be ascribed to renewed security at sea, the bountiful harvest of 1798,
and the recent opening up of trade to Turkey and the Levant. But, under
a vicious fiscal system, trade would not have recovered from the severe
depression of 1797. Amidst all the troubles of the Irish Rebellion of
1798, Pitt derived comfort from the signs of returning prosperity.

The confidence which he inspired was proved by the success of a
remarkable experiment, the Patriotic Contribution. In the midst of the
acrid debates on the Finance Bill, the Speaker, Addington, tactfully
suggested the inser