CHAP.

V.

1818.

The slave trade.

three various additions to be made to this sum. In the first place, the deficiencies and arrears of previous years amounted to 337,744l.; and in the next place two other formidable items had also to be provided for. Ever since the conclusion of the war Wilberforce had been pressing on the ministry the duty of urging foreign powers to imitate the example of England and abolish the slave trade. The ministry had, at first, only faintly seconded the exertions of the great philanthropist. But the temper of the country had convinced them that more vigorous measures were necessary; and Lord Castlereagh and the Duke of Wellington had been instructed to urge abolition on the representatives of every nation at Vienna.1 Spain, among other countries, undertook to abolish the trade; but she pleaded, as an excuse for delay, the losses which her subjects would suffer if the trade, in which they had embarked their capital, and to which they had devoted their abilities, were suddenly destroyed. The British ministry, in consequence, agreed to pay to the Spanish Government 400,000l. as a compensation for these losses; and the payment of the sum added the second exceptional item to the expenditure of the year. It is probably impossible to defend a grant of this description on strict principle. It is difficult to see why one country should be compelled to compensate another for doing an act of ordinary humanity. But, if it be difficult to defend a grant of this character, it is still more so to condemn it without reserve. The generosity of the action forms its fittest excuse, and redeems its authors from the charge of extravagance. The circumstances of the grant afford a striking testimony to the progress

1 See Wilberforce, vol. iv. pp. 189-200.

2 The treaty, which was concluded on Sept. 23, 1817, made it illegal for Spanish ships to carry on the slave trade, on any part of the coast

of Africa to the north of the equator from the date of the treaty; and from May 30, 1820, abolished the African trade entirely. Cf. Alison, vol. i. p. 352, The treaty was evaded, and was of very little good.

V.

which abolition principles had made. Only eleven years CHAP. had passed since the British slave trade had been abolished by Parliament. An agitation, protracted through 1818. an entire generation, had been barely sufficient to ef fect its abolition. In the eleven years which had succeeded, the abolition of the slave trade had become a pressing question; and Great Britain had, on two successive occasions, in the case of Portugal in 1815, and again in the case of Spain, displayed her readiness to pay for the success of the cause which she had been foremost in advocating. After a year of unexampled distress, when her own citizens had suffered unprecedented reverses, she devoted 400,000l. to the purpose of removing the scruples of the Spanish monarchy.

for new

The third exceptional addition which was made to Grant the expenditure of the year was agreed to at the time churches, almost with unanimity, but will be regarded with different views by the present generation. The ministry imagined that the disturbances which troubled the country in 1817 were attributable to its irreligious condition; and that the provision of a greater number of churches would improve the disposition of the people. There can be no doubt whatever that the church accommodation in the larger towns was wholly insufficient for the requirements of the population. Parishes which had 4,000 inhabitants and upwards contained an aggregate population of 2,947,698 souls; and they had only church room for 419,193 persons. Other parishes whose population exceeded 2,000 persons contained 4,659,786 people; but they had only church room for 949,222. The more populous parishes, therefore, had church room for only one person in every seven; the smaller parishes had church room for only one person in every five. No one, who had the interests of the Church at heart, could be satisfied with this state of things. But a good many people, interested in the welfare of the Church,

V.

1818.

CHAP. might very reasonably have doubted what the Government of the country had to do with it. Most persons are now of opinion that Parliament has no concern with the church accommodation of the people, and that the various sects into which the nation is divided should be left to build their own places of worship. This conclusion, however, had not been generally formed in 1818 The Church of England was, at that time, the Church of the State in the strict sense of the term; and the men who controlled the destinies of the State thought that they could not do better than enlarge the influence of the Church. The ministry proposed that 1,000,000l. should be granted by Parliament for the purpose of building new churches. The grant, it was thought, would be increased by local contributions, and it was estimated that 100 new churches could thus be constructed. The policy was, in one sense, successful. The populous suburb of Chelsea led the way with the construction of St. Luke's; and other parishes rapidly availed themselves of the liberality of Parliament. But the results of the policy will hardly commend it to the approval of the present generation. The accommodation which was required by the Church ought not to have been provided out of the funds of the State; and the provision should not at any rate have been made at a time when the country was overburdened with debt, and only slowly recovering from a period of unprecedented distress. The Church itself and the contributions of her children should have supplied the funds which she required; and men of other sects and other creeds should not have been taxed for the purpose of enlarging the usefulness of the Church of England.1

The religious difficulty, however, which in later times has agitated the world, had not arisen in the days of

Hansard, vol. xxxvii. pp. 1116-1131. Ann. Reg., 1818, Chron., pp. 33, 77; and ibid., 1820, Chron., p. 189.

Lord Liverpool. Lord Liverpool boldly stated his desire to abate Dissent; and his statement only elicited from Lord Holland a feeble protest that Dissent was no evil, and the expression of a faint hope that he should never see it extinguished. The Opposition, instead of disputing the principle on which the measure was based, addressed themselves to the subsidiary point whether the churches which were built under the grant should or should not be ornamental edifices. Thus proposed, and thus criticised, the measure was, of course, adopted. The 1,000,000l. which was required was readily voted. Fresh influence was added to the overpowering authority of the Church of England; and the Nonconformists and Roman Catholics, stripped of all power, saw themselves taxed for the support of the dominant Church.1

The 1,000,000l. for the new churches was raised by Exchequer bills. The grant did not, therefore, directly affect the expenditure of the year. Excluding this sum, the expenditure stood at rather more than 68,000,000l. The normal income of the year was estimated at 52,500,000l.; the deficit accordingly exceeded 15,500,000l. The deficit, however, was as usual only nominal, and could have been removed by the termination of the Sinking Fund, which amounted to more than 15,000,000l. The Sinking Fund, therefore, absorbed almost the exact sum by which the expenditure exceeded the income of the year. Its suspension, or termination, would have at once established an equilibrium in the National Balance Sheet.

During the remainder of the summer the trade of the country continued to prosper. In closing the session the

1 Yonge's Liverpool, vol. ii. p. 366. See ante, p. 469 note, where the expenditure is given as 67,351,7371. In addition to this sum, 400,000. had been granted on account of the Spanish Treaty, and 337,000l. on

account of arrears.

3 The Sinking Fund on the permanent debt amounted to 14,832,4671.; the Sinking Fund on the unfunde:1 debt to 560,000l. The entire Sinking Fund, therefore, reached 15,392,4677.

V.

1818.

V.

1818.

CHAP. Regent was able to assure the Legislature that the revenue was in a course of continued improvement.' The improvement in the internal circumstances of the country,' he went on to say, 'is happily manifest, and promises to be progressive;' and he felt a perfect assurance that the continued loyalty and exertions of all classes of his Majesty's subjects will confirm these growing indications of national prosperity by promoting obedience to the laws and attachment to the constitution from which all our blessings have been derived.' The improvement in the internal circumstances of the country and the continued loyalty of all classes must have been especially welcome to the Government at this juncture. The Parliament of 1812 had existed for six years, and the time was, therefore, arrived when its dissolution could not be much longer delayed. The session was brought to a close on the 10th of June, and Parliament was immediately dissolved. The dissolution would probably have occurred at a rather earlier period if the session had not been prolonged by an unexpected difficulty.

The Alien

Act.

During the continuance of the war the ministry had demanded and the Legislature had given them power to remove aliens who might become the objects of suspicion, from the limits of the United Kingdom. The power was renewed in 1814 for a further period of two years; in 1816 it was again renewed for a similar term. The renewal was not granted at that time, however, without considerable opposition. In 1818, when the same power was again applied for, the bill in which it was demanded was strenuously contested. The Opposition endeavoured to resist its introduction: they met it with a direct negative at every stage, and they attempted to limit its scope in committee. But their efforts were all vain. The voting power of the Government ensured them success on every division; and the Opposition were only able to delay a measure which they were not strong enough to defeat.