Page:William Blackstone, Commentaries on the Laws of England (3rd ed, 1768, vol I).djvu/345

 Ch. 8. ea fund, being the produce of the taxes appropriated to pay the interet of uch part of the national debt as was advanced by that company and it's annuitants. Whereby the eparate funds, which were thus united, are become mutual ecurities for each other; and the whole produce of them, thus aggregated, liable to pay uch interet or annuities as were formerly charged upon each ditinct fund; the faith of the legilature being moreover engaged to upply any caual deficiences.

cutoms, excies, and other taxes, which are to upport thee funds, depending on contingencies, upon exports, imports, and conumptions, mut necearily be of a very uncertain amount; but they have always been coniderably more than was ufficient to anwer the charge upon them. The urplues therefore of the three great national funds, the aggregate, general, and outh ea funds, over and above the interet and annuities charged upon them, are directed by tatute 3 Geo. I. c. 7. to be carried together, and to attend the dipoition of parliament; and are uually denominated the inking fund, becaue originally detined to ink and lower the national debt. To this have been ince added many other intire duties, granted in ubequent years; and the annual interet of the ums borrowed on their repective credits is charged on and payable out of the produce of the inking fund. However the neat urplues and avings, after all deductions paid, amount annually to a very coniderable um; particularly in the year ending at Chritmas 1764, to about two millions and a quarter. For, as the interet on the national debt has been at everal times reduced, (by the conent of the proprietors, who had their option either to lower their interet or be paid their principal) the avings from the appropriated revenues mut needs be extremely large. This inking fund is the lat reort of the nation; it's only dometic reource, on which mut chiefly depend all the hopes we can entertain of ever dicharging or moderating our incumbrances. And therefore the prudent application of the large ums, now ariing from this fund, is a point of the utmot importance, and well worthy the erious attention of parliament; Rh