o his majesty in Great
Britain, exceeding the yearly value of one hundred pounds--an imposition
of one shilling annually upon every dwelling-house inhabited within
the kingdom of Great Britain, over and above all other duties already
chargeable upon them, to commence from the fifth day of April--an
additional tax of sixpence yearly for every window or light in every
dwelling-house inhabited in Britain which shall contain fifteen windows
or upwards; a continuation of certain acts near expiring, with respect
to the duties payable on foreign sailcloth imported into Great Britain,
the exportation of British gunpowder, the securing and encouraging the
trade of his majesty's sugar colonies in America, and the empowering the
importers and proprietors of spirits from the British sugar plantations,
to land them before payment of the duties of excise, and to lodge them
in warehouses at their own expense--an annual tax of forty shillings
for a license to be taken out by every person trading in, selling, or
vending gold or silver plate, in lieu of the duty of sixpence per ounce
on all silver plate, made or wrought, or which ought to be touched,
assayed, or marked in this kingdom, which duty now ceased and
determined--a cessation of all drawbacks payable on the exportation of
silver plate--a law prohibiting all persons from selling, by retail,
any sweet or made wine, without having first procured a license for
that purpose--and a loan, by exchequer bills, for eight hundred thousand
pounds, to be charged on the first aids to be granted in the next
session of parliament. These provisions amounted to the sum of eleven
millions and seventy-nine thousand seven hundred and twenty-two pounds,
six shillings and ten-pence, exceeding the grants in the sum of five
hundred and ninety-three thousand two hundred and sixty-five pounds,
six shillings and nine-pence, so that the nation had reason to hope
that this surplus of above half a million would prevent any demand for
deficiencies in the next session. By these copious grants of a house of
commons, whose complaisance knew no bounds, the national debt was, at
this juncture, swelled to the astonishing sum of eighty-seven millions
three hundred and sixty-seven thousand two hundred and ten pounds,
nineteen shillings and ten-pence farthing; a load that would have
crushed the national credit of any other state in Christendom.

The liberality of the parliament was like the rock in the wilderness,
whic