so abundant in this country, have been unremittingly directed to the discovery and cure of that deep-seated and all-pervading evil; but unfortunately, the opinions of the many eminent men, who have attempted to point out the cause of such transcendant calamity, are so various, so partial, and so contradictory, that the most important of all national questions, on the solution and right understanding of which the welfare of millions depends, is left involved in doubt, confusion, and uncertainty.

However, after carefully comparing these opinions, and examining the foundations on which they rest; after bestowing the most serious reflection on the subject in all its bearings; and considering, with mature attention, the various parts of the wonderful system, on which the financial concerns of this mighty empire are conducted ; the author of this work is forced to the conclusion, "that the main source of the deplorable evils which afflict this empire, is, the enormous pressure of the national debt on the vital parts of that system, and its baneful effects on the sources of production." All other causes are deemed merely accessary and partial. These may be clearly demonstrated by national writers, and even utterly removed; but while the chief cause remains behind, all their labours will be vain and fruitless, like palliatives applied to a cancerous or consumptive disease.

Firmly impressed with this conviction, the author has conceived the plan (perhaps too boldly) of attacking and annihilating the evil at its very source, by the payment of the debt itself. Most economical writers, deterred perhaps by the magnitude of the undertaking, and the apparent impossibility and doubtful result of the operation, and dreading the intolerable shafts of

ridicule, have entirely neglected this great financial problem; and the few, who have laudably attempted to discuss it, have executed their task in the most awkward and imperfect manner. Rather opposing, than consulting, the interests of those powerful parties, on whose cordial co-operation the success of the measure itself depended; resorting to partial expedients, instead of recommending general measures, and confining their inquiries to portions, instead of taking into consideration the whole economical system of the empire, and the reciprocal action of its parts one upon another, and contemplating the measure as one that could not be effected without the joint concurrence of all the branches of that system,-these writers have, in fact, with the best intentions, adopted the worst and most inadequate means to attain their end; and have proposed measures calculated rather to defeat, than to accomplish, the great national object they had in contemplation.

The mode in which this important inquiry is conducted in this work, is entirely the reverse. It sets out on the principle, that no financial measure of this magnitude should be proposed or attempted, without taking into consideration the whole system of national economy in all its branches and ramifications; without duly estimating the sources of production, consulting the various and conflicting interests of all portions and classes of the empire, and calculating the effects of such a measure upon all those branches, sources, and interests, along with its general results, and the great and important benefits it will eventually bestow upon the whole extent of the British dominions.

Pursuing this plan, it was indispensable, in order to trace the evil to its most remote source, to discover the

very origin of the excessive pressure to which it is attributed; and-1. to ascertain the origin, progress, and present state of taxation and expenditure in all their branches, and the progressive and actual amount of the national income; to notice the objects to which it has been directed, the perversions and abuses of it, and particularly the large portion applied to the payment of the interest of the debt, which those perversions have rendered necessary. 2. To consider the origin, follow the course, and state the actual amount of this debt; to examine the measures and schemes by which it has been created; and, in connection with these, the engines which have so strenuously contributed to raise such a portentous mass of treasure, have been deemed worthy to be described, and their abuses denounced. 3. The amount of the national debt, thus created, being so enormous, it became necessary to estimate the extent and amount of capital in all parts of the empire; to calculate the annual produce and determine the assets and means actually available to the grand operation of its liquidation, without impairing the capital itself, or injuring the sources of production; and preserving at the same time unhurt, the main springs which supply the means for the unavoidable expenditure. 4. Having arrived thus far, it became important to ascertain the effects produced by the pressure of the interest of the debt upon the springs and great agents of production, and its blighting influence upon all classes of society; and finally, to suggest the only remedy for this overwhelming evil, by pointing out the mode in which the means of the empire may be effectively applied to the liquidation of the debt itself; by demonstrating the practicability of the plan, explaining

the general and particular advantages which would infallibly result from the measure, and answering the objections that might be urged against it.

In treating a question, where the rights of property are so complicated, the interests of all ranks so various and opposite, the opinions of national writers so contradictory, and the collateral economical questions so many and so important-the task of steering successfully through such a mass of jarring interests, and such a chaos of conflicting opinions, was extremely arduous. Indeed, the uncommon dryness of the subject, the difficulty of unravelling the accounts, the monotony of reciting almost the same measures to raise revenue and debt-in fine, the novelty and vastness of a design, assuming to develope the economical system of the whole empire, explain its practical effects throughout its whole extent, shew the foundations upon which the power, resources, and prosperity of the British empire rest, and solve the greatest of all national problems; all these presented, to the mind of the author, obstacles and difficulties of such magnitude, as to produce extreme diffidence in regard to the result of the enterprize, and almost to deter him from the attempt.

But convinced that any development of the productive powers, any increase of the wealth of the British Empire, will influence and augment those of all other nations; and animated by the pleasing and flattering idea of the beneficial results which such a measure would produce, in alleviating the distresses, miseries, and burdens of a mighty nation, and in diffusing happiness throughout the world at large (of which that nation has become the very centre)-he was emboldened to undertake a task, perhaps exceeding his abilities, but to which his attention has been long directed; and

to which he has been at length impelled, by the cheering prospects opened by the great measure of Reform.

Intent solely on the grand object of the universal happiness of mankind, not a line has been written with reference to personal reputation, not an idea has been expressed through flattery or fear, nor has an intention existed of offending any individual or corporation. The constant endeavour has been, to collect and offer authentic facts, to state them fairly, reason upon them correctly, and deduce from them necessary consequences. The feelings which naturally arose when describing extortion, tyranny, injustice, and the oppression of nations by their rulers, or when contemplating the immense waste of human blood and treasure for objects generally unconnected with, and often contrary to, the true national interests,-have been openly, freely, and candidly expressed.

To remove the dryness of the subject, and render it if possible agreeable to all classes of readers, the tiresome accounts and details of figures have been relieved by and interwoven with a relation of the most remarkable historical events, and greatest revolutions of the world; pointing out their fundamental causes, and the fiscal measures which brought them into immediate action; and distinguishing the personages who figured most conspicuously in them, by their characteristic features and, in a few instances, the satirical and ridiculous have been attempted.

Unfettered by party spirit, and regardless of forms of government, equal impartiality has been shown to republicans and royalists, whigs and tories, serviles and liberals. The tyrannical proceedings of Charles I., and the infamous excesses of the republican saints, have been alike condemned: and while some of the financial