portant of my Reign, if carefully enquired into, has passed away without attracting the notice of Foreign Nations, or even that of many of my own Subjects. But when 3 years had elapsed after my return into my Kingdom, never were the expences of the State less consistent with its revenues; never had it before had such an immense Army, and so disproportioned to the resources and population of the Monarchy, to maintain; and never before had it been necessary to undertake the difficult task of reimposing the Taxes which had been abolished: and yet, notwithstanding all this, industry prospered, the losses of the interior began to be repaired, the blessings of peace were experienced in every direction, and I was gratified in having succeeded in my endeavour to avoid being compelled, by mere temporary difficulties, to continue the imposition of oppressive Taxes, which, from the inability of my Subjects to pay them, it was useless to attempt to perpetuate. It is true that the Debt has necessarily become larger; that the original Debt, and that of the preceding Reign, with the Debt lately contracted, form together an enormous sum; that my Troops, whose conduct entitles them to the Nation's and my own gratitude, are suffering great privations; that they do not possess the articles which are necessary for their convenience; that their barracks are dismantled; that Towns and Individuals are still subjected to the oppressive burthen of billeting and transporting the Army; that in some places even the most oppressive exactions are enforced, and in the most unequal manner; that the Royal Navy is in want of everything; that the Coasts and Colonies are infested with Pirates; that the Insurrection in America deprives the Metropolis of its most valuable productions; that the Magis trates, and almost all the Persons employed in the public service, see days and months pass away without their receiving any portion of their moderate salaries, -all classes being required to exercise that patience which so much distinguishes them, in order to avert a total loss, and to resist the attacks of poverty, which threatens to involve themselves and families in ruin; and lastly, that it is necessary to exert all the energies of the Country, in order that Spain may recover that power and station which has been granted to her by Providence amongst the Nations of the Earth.

All will, however, be remedied, with the Divine assistance; and, by means of the improvements which I have already introduced, and are in progress, in the Royal Revenues, I have succeeded, and shall further succeed, in strengthening their most important branches, and in increasing the National wealth, generally, by the reduction of imposts, and by the granting of such alleviations of the public burthens as are enjoyed by no other Nation in Europe. My Subjects will not fail to value my foresight, and to appreciate the negative with which I have always met every proposition to impose fresh Taxes upon my People; and to applaud my reserving for a proper opportunity, such as I

conceive the present to be, the organization of a System, not of financial shifts and expedients, which is always ruinous to the Subject, but one of a general character, which might be based upon sound principles, and be free from all hazardous schemes, doubtful theories, and complicated machinery; as well as the accomplishment of another important measure, namely, the separating the Department of the Treasury from that of the Public Debt, which latter, it has always been my anxious wish to consolidate and extinguish. With this object in view, a Junta of Finance was formed, on the 31st January of the last year, 1816, composed of Persons who were duly qualified, by their character, experience, and knowledge of public business: they were instructed to enter immediately into an examination of the state of the Nation, the permanent resources it possessed, and the most practicable and least objectionable means of meeting its necessary outlays; and in order that the responsibility of the Junta might not be too great, it was thought proper to incorporate with it, on the 22nd of December of the same year, a Junta of Economy, consisting of able Generals, Members of my Councils, and Heads of Offices appointed by each of my Secretaries of State; their duty being to investigate, and to propose a reduction of expences in, their respective Departments. The two Juntas have produced the results of their important labours, of all of which you have made a Report; the observations of the Juntas collectively, as well as of the Members individually, having been read in the Council of State, in my presence, and in that of my beloved Brother and Uncle, the Infant Don Carlos, and the late Infant Don Antonio; and in a Statement drawn up by you, after having recapitulated your different opinions, described the political state of the Kingdom, exposed the most glaring abuses, pointed out the measures which you conceived it the most expedient to adopt, and passed in review the general and particular Reports of the Departments of State, which Reports had been collected by your Predecessor in Office, you shewed that, as the total amount of the Revenues of the Crown is 597,126,987 reals, and the actual Expenditure amounts to 1,051,077,640 reals, there results a Deficit of 453,950,653 reals: that this Deficit could in no way be obtained either from the People in general, or from any Classes in particular; and that the first steps which it was absolutely indispensable to take, were, to abolish all superfluous expences, reducing even those which, in more flourishing times, had been considered necessary, and allowing only those to be incurred which might be compatible with the strictest justice, and the severest economy. You also shewed the inexpediency, and the bad effects, of continuing to transfer the arrears of every year to the Public Credit, a measure which, unfortunately persevered in up to the present day, has been one great cause of our Financial difficulties; and you forcibly pointed out the danger of having recourse to the destructive custom practised by modern Nations, of bequeathing their Debts to posterity, by which they have placed themselves in the most perilous situation: you suggested that it was expedient to diminish the existing Debt at once, and to commence its extinction by ascertaining what funds could be assigned for that purpose; proving, at the same time, that all the funds required for meeting the claims upon the Royal Treasury, and for enabling it to keep its other engagements, had to be raised from the Mother Country alone, the external commerce of which was almost annihilated, and which was, moreover, deprived not only of its Transatlantic wealth, but also of the riches which, in the shape of colonial produce and the precious metals, were formerly imported by individuals, and had increased, by hundreds of millions of reals, the general amount of property, as well as the proceeds of the Customs; -all of which resources no longer exist. You likewise proved that, blessed as Spain has been by the great Author of Nature, with a vast abundance of indigenous productions, in great request by other Nations, she possesses within herself sufficient wherewith to occupy and enrich all her Inhabitants, without the necessity of their engaging in an open trade in Salt and Tobacco, if they would only apply themselves to industrious habits, and become attached to them; and that if the obstacles which have hitherto impeded their industry were removed, the Monopolies of those two articles might be made to produce returns far superior to the present amount, for which purpose, the most active measures should be used, in order to increase them as much as possible, by destroying the contraband trade, through the instrumentality of an abundant supply, an excellence of quality, a moderation of price, and an improved manufacture, of both articles of produce, rather than by severity of punishment, which has always been repugnant to my feelings: by all of which means I should obtain the chief objects of my paternal solicitude; viz., the gradual lessening of the deficit of the Public Revenues, ana the reduction of the amount of taxation. Finally, by a reference to the expences of each of the Departments of the State, you made it clear that the amount of the Revenue which could be raised by the Nation, was nearly 713,973,600 reals; -the deficit, consequently, being 116,846,613 reals: that such an extensive financial reform, by which all classes would be secured in the enjoyment of what belonged to them, without favour or prejudice, would be preferred to the continuance of the excessive obligations of the present inconsiderate and anomalous system, and that it belonged particularly to the wisdom of the Council to examine, and to my affection for my People to determine, which of the 2 following methods would be the best for raising this deficit;-either by imposing a General Tax of 70,000,000 of reals, which, together with other imposts, would cover the amount, comprehending in one all Taxes of a similar nature, some of which have hitherto, owing to abuses and mischievous practices, been [1816-17.]

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unequally collected, (as had been the case with the Paja y Utensilios Tax, which, although a General Tax, had been levied according to the accidental number of the Troops that were in each of the Districts allotted to the Army,)-and continuing, in all other respects, the same Taxes which are now collected; -or by the establishment, together with the said General Tax, of a proper System of Regulations in the large Towns, and a more economical, equitable, and regular System of Collection throughout the whole Country, by which my Subjects might be relieved from the number, exorbitancy, and consequent oppression, of so many Impositions, which are harassing to them, without being of real advantage to the Royal Treasury.

It is with the greatest reluctance that I have determined upon making this moderate demand, which is absolutely necessary for balancing the Revenue with the Expenditure: but, although it was indispensable, for the welfare of my People, for relieving them from the vexations which they labour under, for the advantage of the Army, for the preservation of order and justice, for the security of private property, for the defence of the Kingdom, and for the protection of Commerce, and of my vast Transatlantic Dominions, to find some means of providing for all the necessary expences, (as is done by every enlightened Government, even without having recourse to such extreme economy,) and of raising my Kingdom to that degree of respect and consideration to which it is entitled,-I have been anxious, on the one hand, to relieve my poor Subjects, who have been so prodigal of their lives and property in the defence of the State and of its Institutions; and, on the other, so to methodize and regulate the Taxes, that they might be sufficient to meet the bond fide expences of the State; that each Tax might have regulations peculiar to itself, which should be uniformly observed in all the Provinces of the Kingdom; that Taxation should fall upon property of every description, and be reduced as much as possible; and that other resources also should be made available, during the continuance of the present exigencies. With the latter view, following the example of my pious Uncle, Ferdinand VIth, (of blessed memory,) and others of my august Predecessors, I addressed myself, by means of my Ambassador at Rome, to the Sovereign Pontiff, laying open to him the wishes of my heart, the difficulties by which I was surrounded, and the idea I had conceived of regulating the Financial System in all its parts upon the principles of rigorous justice; for which reason I supplicated him that, since these my Kingdoms had been ruined by the last War, in which my Subjects had heroically maintained the holy cause of Religion, of the Throne, and of the Altar and its Ministers, His Holiness would be pleased to assist my views by granting, on his part, sufficient Powers for effecting as fully as I desired the arrangement which I had in contemplation; the more so, as His Holiness had set an illustrious example, in the reforms which he had himself recently introduced into the Pontifical States.

Whilst my Application was before the Holy Father, my beloved Brother, the Infant Don Carlos, the Members of the Council, and my Secretaries of State, were engaged, with all that diligence which I expected from their ardent zeal for my service and the welfare of the Kingdom, in maturely examining this extensive measure, upon the success of which mainly depends the happiness of the present and future generations, the respect and honour of the Throne, both at home and abroad, the independence of the Nation, and its permanent security in times to come. All at length expressed, both by writing and by word of mouth, their opinions, with consummate prudence, judgment, and wisdom, pointing out the advantages and disadvantages which they conceived might result from the plan, each Member explaining, in detail, the reasons for the conclusions he had drawn. The Council fully considered the variety and description of the Funds which form the Public Revenue, the nature of the Taxes, the periods when they were first imposed, the changes they have undergone, the alterations in the administration of each, and the existing state of all of them. Considering that the Revenue from the Customs might be materially increased, by the augmentation of the Royal and Mercantile Marine, by the security of Commerce consequent upon it, and by a complete and judicious regulation of the Tariffs, upon which task a Special Junta is at present engaged; that the Monopolies, in particular, of Salt and Tobacco, are susceptible of great improvement and increase of revenue, as has already been shewn; that the Revenues arising from Tithes ought to be united, and collected with better judg. ment and economy, and not, as heretofore, when the Tercias Reales were joined to the Rentas Provinciales, which are totally different from them;-(the Cruzada Duty being, however, regulated and collected with a simplicity and order which are a model of perfection;) - that great reduction may be made in the expence of raising the Revenue from Royal Lotteries; and that, in the other items which enter the Royal Chests, the punctuality of payment and unity of method of collection have not yet been duly attended to ;-they were unanimously of opinion, that the actual proceeds of the taxation of the Kingdom have hitherto chiefly been derived, from the Revenues called Rentas Provinciales, and such as were combined with them, which were at first purely indirect and under the management of the Local Authority, -from those analogous to the former, and which have been established for the last century, in the Kingdom of Arragon, under the names of Contribucion, Catastro, equivalente and tailla, and which are direct, and from the Tax called Paja y Utensilios, which was imposed upon the Nation during the last century, and is collected with great inequality in the Provinces subject to each Military Intendancy. The unequal distribution of all the latter Taxes and Duties is acknowledged: some of them being derived from the sales and exchanges of every article of commerce, thus striking at the very root of trade, and to such a degree that, in