“The era of the Revolution is chiefly remarkable for the new dynasty having taught the government how to raise taxes in the country, and thus brought England to take the place to which she was entitled in the scale of nations, by bringing the vast national resources to bear upon the national struggles. That which the Stuarts never could effect by appeal to honor, spirit, or patriotism, William and Anne soon accomplished by bringing into play, and enlisting on their side, different and less creditable motives. They no longer bullied the House of Commons, they bribed it; and, strange to say, it is to the entire success of the gigantic system of borrowing, expending, and corrupting, which they introduced, and which their successors so faithfully followed, that the subsequent greatness of England is mainly to be ascribed. It was the system of managing the House of Commons by loans, good places, and bribes, which provided the sinews of war, and prepared the triumphs of Blenheim and Ramilies. William tripled the revenue, and gave so much of it to the House of Commons that they cordially agreed to the tripling. He spent largely; he corrupted still more largely; he made the national interest in support of taxation more powerful than those operating to resist it. The memoirs recently come out give details of corruption so barefaced and gross, that they would exceed belief if their frequency, and the testimony to their authenticity from different quarters, did not defy disbelief.” It is now known, that when Walpole’s ministerial supporters were invited to his ministerial dinner, each found a £500 note under his napkin. It is one great evil of the present age, that it persists in regarding the debt as perpetual. Immediately the expenditure is exceeded by the revenue, there is a demand for the reduction of taxation. We, a commercial people, brought up at the feet of McCulloch, with the books of the national debt as a constant study, with the interest on the national debt as a constant remembrancer, persist in scoffing at any idea of decreasing the encumbrance; and when a Chancellor of the Exchequer proposes a loan of eight millions, we growl and grumble, call it charitable, trust for better times, and read the opposition papers with renewed zest. There is no doubt that the resources of the nation are equal to far more than is now imposed; but it can only be done by an efficient revision of our taxation; and this will never be effected till the wolf is at the door. A war which greatly increased our yearly imposts would, with the present system, crush the artisan, paralyze the middle class, and scarcely leave the landed proprietor unscathed. The convertibility of the note of the Bank of England would cease; and it would be impossible to preserve the charter of Sir Robert Peel in its entirety, while twenty-eight millions were claimable yearly in specie, and the gold of the country went abroad in subsidies.