e done,
there should be ten or eleven finance committees; but his plan received
no countenance, except from Mr. Brougham; and a single committee of
twenty-three members was appointed. The labours of this committee were
multifarious and important. One of the first fruits of its appointment
was the discovery that the public was regularly losing large sums of
money by the system on which the government annuities had been granted.
Mr. Hemes submitted a statement to the committee concerning the
finances, which Lord Althorp described as, "able, clear, and
satisfactory;" and it appeared from that exposition that these
annuities had been sold at a considerable loss. The evidence of this
was found in certain calculations made by Mr. Finlayson, who was said to
have communicated the fact to Lord Bexley in 1819, and subsequently to
Lord Goderich. His calculations stated the rate of loss to be L8,000 a
month, and to arise from a false calculation of the duration of life
in the tables given by Dr. Price. Either these tables were originally
inaccurate, or human life, in consequence of increased comforts,
conveniences, and scientific aid, was extended to a longer period. The
truth of this statement soon appeared to the committee; but nothing
could be done to alter those annuities which had been sold. On the
recommendation of the committee, however, a bill was brought in and
speedily passed, to suspend the operation of the act under which they
had been granted, until a more correct system could be arranged. During
the session the committee reported on various matters which had been
brought under their consideration, but not early enough to allow their
recommendations to be carried into effect. In a report on the state
of the ordnance department, the abolition of the office of its
lieutenant-general was recommended; but this proposition was opposed
by the ministry, and a motion to give it effect was lost by a large
majority.

MOTION FOR A GRANT TO THE FAMILY OF MR. CANNING.

When Mr. Canning died he was a poor man. He had begun the world without
fortune; he had spent his life in the public service; and the emoluments
of the offices which he had held had scarcely sufficed to cover the
expenses of his station. As, therefore, he held no sinecures, his sudden
death had left his family without a due provision. On these grounds the
chancellor of the exchequer proposed to grant a pension of L3,000 a year
to his second son, as a mode of