The payment of the national debt has been one of the
staple dreams of enthusiasts. It would be difficult to believe the
wild nonsense that has been written on it; and Hogarth, in his
dreadful picture of a madhouse, appropriately represents one of his
principal figures hard at work on it. But the remarkable thing--and
what shews the perilous nature of such speculations--is, that these
theories were worked out by chancellors of the exchequer, and adopted
by parliament. There was a faint sinking-fund so early as 1716; but
Walpole one day swept it up and spent it, having probably just
discovered that it was a fallacy. It was in the days of the younger
Pitt, however, that it came out in full bloom. After it had been for
several years in operation, a retired and absent-minded mathematical
student, Robert Hamilton, shewed its falsity in a book printed in
1813. The exposure was conclusive, and no one since that time has
ventured to support a sinking-fund.
As already stated, it is a very good thing to save something out of
the revenue and pay off part of the debt. But no good is done by
keeping it to accumulate at interest, because the debt it would pay
off is just accumulating against it.
Pages:
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39