e may hold opinions from conviction, the very reverse of those which he
holds to-day.

PITT'S FINANCIAL MEASURES.

Early in this session, Pitt brought in three several bills for
the better auditing and examining the public accounts, and for the
regulation and reform of the public offices, all which bills passed with
great applause; though not without some stern opposition. In connexion
with this subject he mentioned, that, from an inquiry which had been
instituted into the accounts of different persons from whom the sum of
L40,000,000 was due to the exchequer, L257,000 was ready to be paid:
he also mentioned that further sums would be recovered still, as the
examination of accounts proceeded. On the 11th of April, Pitt likewise
made a communication which was at once satisfactory to the house, and
creditable to his financial abilities. In moving for an account of the
net produce of the taxes in the quarters ending January 5th and April
5th, for the two last years, he said, that the bills passed last session
for the prevention of smuggling, and the regulations adopted for the
collection and management of the different branches of revenue, had
worked so well that, together with the extension of trade and commerce,
they had already produced such an increase in the produce of the taxes
as to justify a hope that the income of the country, would, in the next
year, not only equal the expenditure, but afford a surplus, which might
be applied to the gradual liquidation of the debt. Yet with such a
prospect Pitt found himself compelled to call for more taxes from the
house. He opened the budget on the 9th of May, and in doing so he said
that the supplies which had been voted amounted to L9,737,868; and that
the ways and means fell short of that sum by about L1,000,000, which
deficiency must be made good by new taxes. Accordingly, several new
taxes were proposed; among which was a tax upon female servants,
calculated to produce L140,000, and an additional tax upon servants,
calculated to produce, in addition to the former one, about L35,000.
Pitt also proposed a tax on retail shops, calculated at L120,000 per
annum; a tax which proved particularly obnoxious, as was also that on
servants. Most of the taxes which Pitt proposed, indeed, encountered
much opposition; but the bills enacting them were carried after several
divisions, with, however, some modifications, in order to obviate some
of the principal objections. The modifi