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FOR ARCHIBALD CONSTABLE AND COMPANY, EDINBURGH: AND LONGMAN, HURST, REES, ORME, BROWN AND GREEN,

LONDON.

Printed by J. Hutchison,

for the Heirs of D. Willison.

CONTENTS OF No. LXXVII.

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ART. I. Finance Accounts of the United Kingdom for the year ended 5th January, 1823. Printed by order of the House of Commons, 25th March, 1823.

THE expenses necessarily incurred in conducting the govern

ment of a civilized nation in time of peace, rarely exceed the amount of its ordinary revenue. In time of war, however, the case is extremely different. When the independence and honour of a nation are at stake, proportional sacrifices must be made to maintain them. Hostile aggression and insult must be opposed and avenged. But to do this, extraordinary funds are necessary; and the inquiry, how they may be most advantageously provided, is plainly one of the highest importance to every people.

It was the common practice of antiquity to make provision in times of peace for the necessities of war, and to hoard up treasures beforehand as the instruments either of conquest or defence; without trusting to extraordinary imposts, much less to borrowing, in times of disorder and confusion. This practice has been commended by Mr Hume. But he has wholly overlooked the circumstance of its being necessary, in order to form such a treasure, to withdraw capital from productive em ployments;-a circumstance which shows that its effect must be to diminish the industry, and, consequently, the wealth and population of every country in which it is accumulated, and to render it less able to resist the attacks of an enemy. For these and other reasons, this practice is now very generally admitted to have been founded on erroneous principles: and modern politicians and economists seem to be universally of

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