ADMINISTRATION OF LORD LIVERPOOL.
Considerable difficulty was experienced in supplying the vacancy occasioned by the death of Mr. Perceval. Overtures were made to the Marquis of Wellesley and Mr. Canning; but they refused to associate themselves with government, assigning as their reason the avowed sentiments of ministers on the Catholic question. An address was moved to the prince regent on the 21st of May, by Mr. Stuart Wortley, praying that he would take such measures as might be best calculated to form an efficient government. This address was carried; and in his reply the prince regent said he would take it into his most serious consideration. The Marquis of Wellesley was the first applied to; and he proposed, as the chief conditions on which the new cabinet should be formed, the early consideration of the Catholic question, and the more vigorous prosecution of the war in Spain. He attempted to form a ministry on these conditions, but failed; and at length, on the 8th of June, Lord Liverpool informed the house of lords that the prince regent had that day appointed him first commissioner of the treasury, and had authorized him to complete the arrangements for the ministry. The principal accessions made to the cabinet by Lord Liverpool were Lord Sidmouth as secretary of state for the home department; the Earl of Harrowby as lord president of the council; and Mr. Vansittart as chancellor of the exchequer.
FINANCIAL STATEMENTS.
On the 17th of June Mr. Vansittart, the new chancellor of the exchequer, brought forward his budget, which had been nearly arranged by his predecessor. The charges were stated at £7,025,700 for Ireland; and £55,350,648 for Great Britain. This was a terrible extent of charge, he said; but great as it was, the resources of the country were still equal to it. By an enumeration of ways and means, he produced a result of £55,390,460, including a loan of £15,650,000; but there had been previously a loan of £6,789,625; which, added to the new loan, and to exchequer-bills funded this year, created an annual interest of £1,905,924. To provide for this Mr. Vansittart proposed to discontinue the bounty on printed goods exported, and to increase the duties on tanned hides, glass, tobacco, sales by auction, postage of letters, and assessed taxes. The aggregate product of these increased duties were estimated at £1,903,000. The augmentation of the duty on leather was strongly opposed; but the whole budget received the sanction of the house.
POPULATION RETURNS, ETC.
During this session returns under the population act were laid before parliament. From these returns it appeared that Great Britain in 1801 had a population of 10,472,048 souls, and in 1811 no less than 11,911,644. These results revived the question of population compared with its means of subsistence. It appeared by accounts produced about this time, that during eleven years, from 1775 to 1786, the average quantity of grain imported was 564,143 quarters, from 1786 to 1798, 1,136,101 quarters, and from 1799 to 1810, 1,471,000 quarters. The average prices were in the first period named thirty shillings per quarter, in the second forty shillings, and in the third sixty shillings. During the last year no less a sum than £4,271,000 went out of the country to purchase subsistence for its inhabitants. It must be remembered, however, that at this period vast tracts of land remained uncultivated, and that the science of agriculture was but imperfectly understood.