It is indeed a question of too deep importance, in our minds, to allow us, for a moment, to swerve in search of ornament from the shortest course by which we may attain our result. This feeling, and the desire of avoiding any imputation of imposing on our readers, either by declamation, or by leading them into a labyrinth of digressive argument, are our only apology for our extreme conciseness. Confident, however, that our results will be highly gratifying to the public mind, and believing that they will at once serve as a confutation to all the unconnected patches of abuse against the system, so indiscriminately thrown about by the Enemies of Civil Order, we trust we shall be pardoned for pressing with all eagerness, in the clearest way, to our conclusions.

We propose, therefore, in the first place, to shew That the grandeur and prosperity of England have arisen out of, and now depend on, the existence of the national debt.' 2dly, As the debt must have a maximum, to inquire how that maximum is to be found ;' and lastly, To consider the most advisable modes of raising money for the public service, in the three different stages of the debt, namely, before it has found its maximum, when it has arrived at it, and after it has passed it.

These questions it is our intention to treat on popular and general principles, without the aid even of arithmetical calculation; but that we may still further throw aside every shadow of obscurity, we shall commence each chapter with a general view of the arguments contained in it.

That the fluctuations of the funds are no criterions of public opinion.

That a fall, therefore, is no token of general alarm or poverty, much less of universal bankruptcy.

SECTION II.CONSTITUENT PRINCIPLES OF THE SYSTEM.

That the debt is the symbol of real property existing in the country.

That this property would have been useless to the nation, and to its owners, without the public debt.

Or detrimental to the country, by making the value of all the necessaries of life no comparison greater than at present, by the ruin of the manufactures, or by the extravagant depreciation of money.

That the present wealth of the country, therefore, could never have borne any proportion to what it now does, without this debt.

That a nation, where there exists the means of a continual accession of wealth, cannot avail herself of them without a national debt.

And, that the present state of the debt proves that it is not too large for our accumulation.

SECTION III.--POLITICAL EFFECT OF THE SYSTEM.

That the grandeur and prosperity of the country have arisen out of, and now depend on, the existence of the national debt.

PROOFS.

SECT. I. That the fluctuations of the funds are not a criterion of public opinion. The present amount of the debt is about five hundred millions, of which sum there is not, at any time, fluctuating to and from the market, more than ten millions, besides the new loans for the time being-upon an average, therefore, not more than a fiftieth of the whole is this fluctuating part:-from the comparative magnitude, therefore, of the mass and this part, it follows that the holders of the latter bear a small proportion to those of the former; but this will more appear, when it is considered that the numbers of the one and the other are not even in the direct proportions of their magnitude; for the mass is held by persons of all descriptions, and principally in very small, and consequently numerous, portions ;-whereas the stock in the market is held by men who trade in it, and generally are holders of very large sums, which farther reduces the proportion very exceedingly.

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If, therefore, the fluctuations of 'stock were really founded on the OPINIONS of these few, it could not be taken as a criterion of the public voice but the fact is, that these holders are men whose business it is to create artificial changes, by exciting false hopes or false alarms, or by a variety of manoeuvres, known only to themselves. So far, therefore, are the fluctuations from being, in any case, a general criterion; they are in most cases no index even of the real opinions of the very jobbers themselves.

In fact, the mass of stock-holders, satisfied with the security, and certain of receiving the interest, never so much as bestow a thought upon the variation of the price from one year's end to another.

From what has been said, therefore, it follows in a direct line, that a fall is no token of general alarm or distress, much less of universal bankruptcy. We have seen it does not prove even real alarm or distress, in the jobbers themselves. What symptom is it, therefore, of general bankruptcy, which could only happen if all the stockholders in the country were so frightened, as to become sellers; and if at the same time no buyers were to be found absurd as it would be to suppose the first possible, the last by no means follows.

But farther than this the truth really is, that the lower the funds may be, the farther off is any such bankruptcy. Because, supposing, as the enemies of public confidence must do, that the fall is owing to the too great magnitude of the debt, the less the price the more the commissioners can redeem,* and reduce the evil. Men, therefore, who have this apprehension, ought to rejoice and take comfort, when the funds are at a low ebb; for, they may assure themselves, that the lower they go for a time, the higher they will rise afterwards.

SECTION 2.-We shall now, therefore, proceed to the second section. That the debt is the symbol of real property existing in the country.

Every million of the national debt has been purchased by a bona fide value given and received-either accruing from the sale of lands, the profits of industry, or the actual importation of property.

In the first instance, therefore, it must be the symbol of real property; and so it

In the course of this investigation we shall have occasion to say more on this point.

remains, because the substance of every loan is immediately expended and circulated in the country, or in the extension of power, dominion, and commerce. The few millions of subsidy sent out, certainly bearing an inconsiderable proportion to the whole; not to mention that they as certainly return into the country again, by the balance of trade; hence the great argument against us on the Continent, that we pay them with their own money.

Nor is the CAPITAL that is thus created, as we have often heard contended, a fictitious capital. It is a real capital, consisting of our East and West India possessions, our fleets, our public buildings, and a certain proportion of every article imported into the country-for these are all purchased by the disbursement of this debt, not to mention our importance in the scale of nations, and a system of commerce produced by it, which cannot desert us-an aggregate in our opinion far beyond the amount of the debt, even were it of no utility in our internal economy.

But had not this means existed of employing the property thus invested, it would have been useless to the nation and its owners; for neither the possessions of land and houses, nor manufacture and commerce, can be carried on with good effect, beyond a certain extent. And the value Land, &c. now bears, together with the present flourishing state of manufacture and trade, sufficiently prove that neither the one nor the other is neglected by monied men for the purpose of the purchase of stock: that, in fact, as much money is invested in all these other branches as they require, or will bear.

The SURPLUS, therefore, is only invested in STOCK! and, consequently this property would otherwise have been useless to its possessors; or, as we shall now prove, detrimental to the country, by making the value of all the necessaries of life no comparison greater than at present, by the ruin of the manufactures, or by the extravagant depreciation of money.

Men will not submit to have their money lying unemployed; and, consequently, they would either have forced the purchase of land, and have thereby so enhanced its value beyond what it bears in the present system, that the price of every article of produce must have been prodigiously raised. Or they would have embarked in commerce and manufacture more than could have been well employed-ruin must have ensued, and money have been so depreciated, that the whole system would have been encumbered;-for, it is as certainly possible to have too much money thrown into any line as too little. Now, however, by having the means of otherwise using this SURPLUS at pleasure, no channel of industry is choaked up, and the whole system balances itself to a nicety.

It is therefore evident, that whenever any surplus accumulation had arisen, if no extra means of employing it had existed, it must have checked the further progress of wealth; a very confined limit would have been found, and only a certain accumulation would ever have been made, and this could not have been constantly in existence, but must have ebbed and flowed. As it is, however, the progress of wealth is unlimited, and the industry of the country goes on uniformly increasing the surplus. One man makes his fortune, and another succeeds him; because, when the first is inclined to retire, he has the means of investing his gains, without overloading the particular branch in which he acquired them.

We may, therefore, conclude, that the present wealth of the country never could have borne any proportion to what it now does, without a public fund-and, indeed, if we look back to the date of the debt, and the first appearance of a rapidly rising accumulation of property in the country, we shall find them nearly coeval.

It also follows, that a nation where there exists the means of a continual accession of wealth, cannot avail herself of them, without a national debt.

What has been already said goes to prove this in every point of view; but it must be further considered that, independent of the profits of home trade and manufactures, there is an immense influx of property from the East and West Indies: if, therefore, we find that without the debt the first could not have been employed but to the detriment of the country, what further evil would not this importation have brought with it, though now absorbed to the general good, without any draw-back-Persons having realised such wealth, could not have enjoyed any income from it, and must have been content to consume their capital.

The last point we have to consider in this section is, that the present state of the debt proves it is not too large for our accumulation.

When we have seen such immense loans absorbed during the last war, as fast as they were made, and have moreover seen the good aspect of the funds when the war had ended, we cannot but conclude that the country was not only not over-stocked at that time, but that it was capable of taking up more, if brought forward: more especially when it is considered that the peace opened new and fair field for speculation in the manufactories, &c.; and that consequently much of the then surplus would diverge from the Stock Exchange. If, therefore, nevertheless, stock rose in value, what reasonable man shall say the debt was too large?

SECTION 3.—And now we come to the last consideration, as to the political effects of the system.

When we look at the size of this island, and the number of its inhabitants, and when we see its immense consequence in the scale of nations, we must be convinced that it is to be attributed to some artificial, and not to any physical, cause; but the question is immediately solved-it has arisen from our wealth and the exquisite orga, nization of our finances. That these are terms synonimous with the existence of a national debt, we have already proved-to destroy the one, therefore, is to destroy the other: and he that would cancel the debt, is either an enemy to his country, or must not have considered the merits of the question.

Thus, in every point of view, the truth of the principal proposition of this Chapter is abundantly evident-" That the power and prosperity of England have arisen from and depend upon her national debt."!

(To be continued.)

MARTELLO TOWER.

Much has lately been said concerning this description of Fortification, and it having been in the contemplation of Government to erect it in certain favorable positions on the coast, long before Mr. Windham introduced the subject in Parliament, it may not be uninteresting to the public to have the following Section of the identical Tower which did so much mischief to several of our ships at CORSICA.

This Tower is thirty-five feet in height, 25 feet in diameter; and the solid masonry of the walls is 7 feet thick: it is, therefore, cannon proof: and moreover, it is arched at top, so as also to render it bomb proof. It is armed with two 42-pounders, mounted on traversing platforms, so as to be worked with great ease, and laid with the greatest nicety, and is provided with a furnace for heating red hot shot. Thus posted, ten or fifteen men may render themselves terrible either to Line of Battle Ships, Flotillas, or to an Army advancing, and may thus most completely defend any pass: for the men posted on it are not only secure from the effects of a cannonade, but completely defended from a storm; the only entrance being through a small aperture, at a considerable height, by means of a ladder which is afterwards drawn in. It is therefore, impossible, from its height and construction, that any number of men could carry it either by assault or by escalade: for in the first place, they could not approach it without being exposed to showers of fire balls, fire hoops, hand grenades, or shells rolled from the projecting parapet. And in the next place, from the thickness and slope of this parapet, should they gain the summit, they could not make good their entrance! The only mode of driving out ever so small a party must, therefore, be either by famine or by sap.

Mr. Windham however, (though he seems to have been aware of the excellence of these towers,) needed not to have recommended them-seeing they were actually about to be constructed-or if he could not refrain from being thus over officious he should have so far made himself master of the subject, as to have recommended them where they could be applied.— -For the defence of a harbour mouth or a particular pass; or even any particular Bay, very favorable to the landing of troops, they might doubtless be of the first importance; but to stick the coast round with them, thick enough to be of any use, would be downright folly and quixotism, and a most enormous expence; used, however, in particular spots they would combine the power of an impregnable fortress with all the advantages of the light-house, signal-house and beacon. And indeed an experienced Officer of the British army has devised a plan of the most simple and the least expensive mode of completely fortifying either large Towns or particular Posts, by mixing Towers of this description (but upon a larger scale) with common field works.

We shall take occasion hereafter to present our readers with a sketch of the enlarged Tower,