millions for Great Britain and four millions for Ireland, has been contracted for on terms more favourable to the public than have ever been known before. For every 100l. subscribed, there have been given 130l. of three per cent. reduced aunuities, and 101. 7s. 6d. of three per cent. consolidated annuities, being a rate of interest of only 41. 4s. 3d. per cent.; 15s. 9d. below the legal interest. The sum to be provided for the interest of the loan, and of the exchequer bills funded, and on account of the one per cent. sinking fund, and the charges attending it, is 970,833. This sum Mr. Perceval expressed his intention of charging on the consolidated fund; of the surplus of which, for the last year, 5,637,000!., he had only taken credit in the ways and means for 4,400,000l.; leaving a sum unappropriated of 1,237,000l. - From this large excess, which appeared to have arisen partly, from the additional stamp duties imposed in the last session, and partly from an improvement in the mode of collecting the former stamp duties, he proposed to pay the above charge of 970,8531., which would render any additional taxes in this year unnecessary.

between eight and nine millions in favour of last year. The export of foreign mannfac tured goods was last year 15,194,000%. being less than the amount of foreign exports in 1802, which was 19.127,000. But it was most satisfactory to observe, that though the exports of foreign goods had decreased, the export of British manufactures had risen in a greater proportion, and that there was an increase upon the whole of 4,180,000l. the amount of all the exports having been last year 50,300,000l.; whereas, in 1802, they amounted to but 46,120,000l. In Yorkshire alone the manufacture of cloth had increased in the last year to the extent of 1,500,000 yards. But the growing prosperity of the country was also manifest from the great public works which were undertaken and the extensive docks which were establishing on all sides. The progress of such undertakings, with as much spirit, activity, and enterprise, ' as in a time of the most profound and pros perous peace, was a certain indication of the flourishing condition of our trade, manufactures, and commerce. But it was not only in our internal resources, but, in our external means and strength, that the pro

tail, and we must therefore postpone the statement of it to our next number. In the mean time, we will notice, briefly a few of the other points in Mr. Perceval's speech.

The consolidated customs in the year ending the 5th of April last, produced 5,241,419.; in the preceding year, only 3,719,000l. The consolidated excise produced in the last year 24,476,000l.; in the preceding year, about 23,000,000l. The assessed taxes of last year produced 6,459,000l. The stamp duties of last year produced 5,193,000l., being 1,236,9071. more thau had been produced in the former year. These are the component parts of the consoJidated fund, the whole of which in the last year amounted to between forty-one and forty-two millions.

The official value of the imports last year was 36,255,2091. The prosperous year of peace (1802) was only 31,442,318. being an increase of nearly 5,000,0001.

The ex

ports of British manufactures last year amounted to 35,107,000l. In 1802, they - were only 26,998,1994. being a difference of

traced. This too had happily been made out to the conviction of our enemy. It was but a few years since that enemy had declared that all he wanted were ships, colonies, and commerce. If the attainment of such objects were his wish, what progress had he made towards their accomplishment? It was only by acquisitions from this country that he was to realize any one of them, and yet all the commerce that belonged to his empire he had lost; all the colonies that had belonged to him he had lost; and the few ships he had remaining were kept pent up in his ports without even daring to put to sea. Mr. Perceval added, that that wise measure, of the orders in council, much as they had been abused in this country, had had the effect of reducing the receipts of the customs in France from two millions and a balf sterling to half a million, a fifth of their usual amount; a circumstance which shewed how unavailing all the measures of the French ruler were to the accomplishment of his darling object.

4. A resolution was proposed by Mr.Bankes for the abolition of sinecures, which was negatived by a majority of only six, 95 voting for the measure and 99 against it. While we regret the fate of this motion, we cannot but congratulate our readers on sonie facts which were brought to light during the discussion. It appeared, that since Mr. Perceval's appointment to the situation of First

Lord of the Treasury, he had declined to receive any salary as Chancellor of the Exchequer. It also appeared that Mr. Yorke, who has been appointed First Lord of the Admiralty-in the room of Lord Malgrave, who has been made Master-general of the Oninance—has declined to accept the annual 2000% which was added to the emoluments of his edice about four years ago Such instances of disinterestedness are well calculated to make a favourable impression on the country, and to disprove much of the abuse which is thrown on our public men, as sclash and corrupt.

would be, to diminish the number of persons in that house holding offices to which no responsibility was attached.

5. The only additional point which we mean now to notice (we are obliged to omit several that are important) is the motion brought forward by Mr. Brand for Parliamentary Reform. His statement amounted to this: that a moderate reform of parliament was a measure desired by a great majority of the nation, and essential to its welfare; and that it was necessary, in order to regain the confidence of the country, that parliament should be more identified with the people. It was notorions that there were seventy members of that house nominated by the proprietors of boroughs, and not chosen by the people, and who therefore represented, not the people, but such proprietors; while, at the same time, many populous places returned no members atall. To remedy this and other evils, he should move for a Committee to inquire into the state of the representation. If this motion were agreed to, he should propose in that Com-> mittee to disfranchise such boroughs as no longer possessed property or population enough to entitle them to send members to parliament, giving a compensation to the proprietors; and to transfer their rights of election to more opulent and populous places. The only change he would propose in the counties would be, to allow a vote to copyholders as well as freeholders. In the metropolis, and other populous towns, he would give the right of voting to all resident householders paying parochial and other taxes. In the counties and towns of Scotland, he should wish to assimilate the rights of elective franchise as much as possible to what they were in England. With respect to the duration of parliament he was disposed to recommend triennial instead of either anmal or septennial parliaments; and, in concurrence with this measure, he should further recommend that the votes should be taken in districts or parishes, so as to avoid the expence, delay, and confusion attendant on the present mode of conducting elections. The only other thing he should propose

The motion for a Committee was negatived

by a majority of 234 to 115. The arguments brought against the measure were to the following effect.

That the members of the House of Commons, as now constituted, though not absolutely the delegates of the people, were virtually its representatives; and that if it weremore popular it would absorb the whole power of the state, and be apt to be influ enced by every popular prejudice, and every turn of public opinion;-that whenever the experiment had been tried, as in the time of Charles I. aud in France, of infusing a preponderance of democracy into the constitution, the issue had been the overthrow of the constitution, and in the end a military despotism;-that whatever defects there might be in the construction of the House, the system went on well-that whatever new plan was substituted, evils, analogous to those now inexistence, would be found to spring from it, so long as men continued the same and were actuated by the same selfish passions;—that those who thought the worst of this country might be challenged to compare it with any other in the world; for, with the exception of the accumulation of taxes (by means of which, however, we had been saved in that struggle with France, under which every other country had sunk), there was nothing of which to complain ;—that the national prøsperity, in spite of every disadvantage, had advanced in an astonishing degree; and that it would be the height of rashness by untried innovations to put all our comforts and enjoyments to hazard, and to run the imminent risk of being driven, through storms of anarchy and confusion, into the gulph of despotism. It was further remarked, that at no period whatever of our history which could be named, had parliaments been in a better state than now; if so, let that time be specified to which it was wished to bring parliament back: if not, it was too perilous an enterprize, to throw the British constitution into any committee of reformers in the world, in order to be new modelled, or rather mangled, at their pleasure ;-that the present time was particularly unfavourable for a measure of this sort, as the minds of men were heated by recent transactions, and had been taught to carry their ideas of reform to such heights of extravagance ;--that however mo◄ derate might be the plan now sketched out, there was no security that a committee would stop there; they might go on to um

versal suffrage; and certain it was, if they did not, that they would give no satisfaction to the great reformers of the day ;—that with respect to the elective franchise, through the diminution in the value of money it was now much more widely diffused than ever it had been before ;-that as to the proposed reform, it would produce no dimination of taxes; these must still be paid, if we would exist as anation; and there was this security against unnecessary and oppressive taxation, that the house, in taxing the nation, taxed itself also ; --that people were deceive lin supposing that the country at large panted for parliamentary reform; that there was indeed a party who clamoured for it, but who, pretending reform, sought anarchy; that these, however, were a low and degraded set, who'magnified themselves into the nation, and diminished the nation into a faction; who declared their own infallibility, and depreciated the judgment of all others; who affirmed that they alone were pare, and all others corrupt; --that as to the alleged passion of parliaments for war, the wars into which we had entered for the last century had been the wars of the people rather than of parliament: -in short, that if obliged to choose between the capricious chances of theoretical reform, and the ancient edifice which had so long upheld our rights and secured our interests, there was no room for hesitation. Let the venerable fabric which had sheltered us for so many ages, and stood unshaken through so many storms, remain unimpaired, sacred from-the rash frenzy of those ignorant innovators who would tear it down, careless and incapable of any adequate substitution.

To these arguments it was replied, That the extravagant lengths to which certain demagogues carried theirviews of parliamentary reform, so far from being conclusive against the motion that had been made, was the best reason for entertaining it; that by effecting, through the constitutional medium of parliament, such moderate and reasonable changes as had been proposed, all pretence tor disorder and clamour would be taken away that the real cause why so many governments had been overturned of late, was not that plans of reform had been deliberately adopted by the constituted authorities of the state, but that all approach to reform had been resisted by those authorities, until the storm of popular disaffection had reached its height, and with unmeasured fury levelled to the ground every ancient

institution;—that if this dreadful issue was to be deprecated, it behoved parliament calmly and uprightly to survey our state, and to consider what could be done to correct existing abuses, and thus to deprive disaffection of its aliment;-that by tis proceeding, the number of the disaffected would be so diminished as to become perfectly insignificant-that, for instance, it was impossible for any one to maintain that peers and others should continue notoriously to nominate to seats in that house, or that seats in that house should be openly bought and sold as an article of merchandize, while both the letter and the spirit of the cousfitetion stood directly opposed to such a prac tice; while every honourable and patriotic feeling militated against it;—that it was also obviously unjust and inexpedient that a num ber of boroughs, boroughs only in name, with scarcely an inhabitant, should be represented in that house, while Birmingham, Manchester, Leeds, &c. &c. were not represented at all; or, that in extensive counties, as in Scotland, the right of voting should be confined to thirty or farty individuals;--that the necessary effect of such a system was corruption; and that of all imaginable political evils, corruption was most to be dreaded: it was what gave its deathblow to public spirit in those who managed the affairs of the state; to whom also it gave an interest in propagating its poisonous taint through every class of the community; while it furnished to the enemies of social order a fair pretext for carrying on their plans of revolution and anarchy.

But we find ourselves compelled to cut short the argument, from want of room to enlarge farther.

From all that passed, we are inclined to think that the appointment of a committee is not perhaps the most adviseable course of preeedure; and therefore we do not particularly regret that that notion should not have been carried. But we do hope that the business of reform will be taken up, as it were, piece-tueal, and that one useful regulation after another will be attempted, for correcting the anomalies and abuses of our constitution, until what is unconstitutional in principle, and dishonest or injurious in prac tce, shall be checked and discountenanced, as far as the provisions of law can effect that important abject. But we must take another opportunity of explaining ourselves more fully on this important topic.

I

To the Editor of the Christian Observer. RECOLLECT to have read, some years ago, with great interest, an account of the first Protestant Mission to India, which you had extracted from the Memoir of the Rev. Dr. Buchanan. Thus prepared, I purchased with avidity a volume which lately met my eye, containing a series of letters from the first missionaries, Bartholomew Ziegenbalgh and Henry Plutscho, to their friends in Europe, in which they give a particular detail of the early progress of their undertaking. Understanding that the book is scarce, it has occurred to me that it might prove not only acceptable to you, but edifying to your readers, and useful to the general cause of missions, to lay before the public a selection of the most important parts of these letters: such, I mean, as display the spirit of the missionaries, the difficulties they eni countered, the means they used to overcome those difficulties, and the success which attended their labours.

One motive which induces me to solicit a place in your work for the following extracts, is derived from the obvious remark, that a statement of facts, drawn up many years before the subject to which they relate had become the topic of controversy, will probably be received with less suspicion, and therefore have more weight in argument, than more recent details, which, however correct they may be, the enemies of missions may refuse to admit as competent evidence, on the alleged ground, if not that they are wholly untrue,

Vol. for 1805, p. 607.
CHRIST. OUSERY. No. 102.

Yet that they are coloured or exag gerated to serve the purposes of a party.

Another circumstance which makes me wish to see publicity giyen to these letters is this; that they are stated to have been the very means which first led the venerable Society for promoting Christian Knowledge (commonly called the Bartlett's Buildings' Society) to patronize those missions to the East Indies which they have ever since continued so honourably and so liberally to sup port, and which the great Head of the Church has blessed to, the conversion and salvation of thousands. May their re-appearance in your work have the effect of again rouzing the dormant zeal of many!

I am, &c.

S.

EXTRACTS FROM THE CORRESPONDENCE OF BARTHOLOMEW ZIEGENBALGH AND HENRY PLUTSCHO, THE FIRST PROTESTANT MISSIONARIES TO INDIA.

Cape of Good Hope, April 30,1706. "The further we find ourselves removed from you, by the wonderful providence of God, the more fervent and sincere grows our love and affection to you; being assured, that, as we remember you, both before God and in our daily conversation, to our mutual joy and comfort, so you, according to your wonted love, will be no less mindful of us, and consequently will gladly receive some account of our present circumstances."

"The 29th of November, 1705, we embarked, with great joy, in a ship called the Princess Sophia Hedwigh, being dismissed by the well-wishers

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