money; and
allowed one hundred thousand pounds for the maintenance of the prince
of Wales; that the article of secret-service money had prodigiously
increased in the late reign; by an account which happened to be laid
before the parliament, it appeared that vast sums of money had been
given for purposes which nobody understood, and to persons whom nobody
knew. In the beginning of the following session several members proposed
that this extraordinary account should be taken into consideration; but
the inquiry was warded off by the other party, who declared that the
parliament could not examine any account which had been presented to a
former session. The debate was fierce and long; and ended in a division,
by which the motion was rejected. A motion of the same nature was made
by lord Carteret in the house of peers, and gave rise to a very keen
dispute, maintained by the same arguments, and issuing in the same
termination.

SCHEME FOR REDUCING THE INTEREST OF THE NATIONAL DEBT.

The next remarkable contest was occasioned by a motion of sir Robert
Walpole, who proposed the sum of one million should be granted to his
majesty, towards redeeming the like sum of the increased capital of
the South-Sea company, commonly called the South-Sea annuities. Several
members argued for the expediency of applying this sum to the payment of
the debt due to the Bank, as part of that incumbrance was saddled with
an interest of six per cent., whereas the interest paid for the other
sums that constituted the public debt did not exceed four per cent. Many
plausible arguments were offered on both sides of the question; and
at length the motion was carried in the affirmative. The house having
resolved itself into a committee to consider of the national debt, sir
John Barnard made a motion, for enabling his majesty to raise money
either by the sale of annuities, or by borrowing at an interest not
exceeding three per cent., to be applied towards redeeming the South-Sea
annuities; and that such of the said annuitants as should be inclined to
subscribe their respective annuities, should be preferred to all others.
He said, that even those public securities which bore an interest of
three per cent, only, were sold at a premium in 'Change-alley: he was
therefore persuaded, that all those who were willing to give a premium
for a three per cent, security, would gladly lend their money to the
government at the same interest, should books of subscr