It  was  provided  in  the  surplus  bill  that,  in  all  cases  of  a  loan
in  the  usual  way,  the  commissioners  for  reducing  the  debt  should
have  preference  as  subscribers.  If  the  minister  had  made  his
bargain  in  the  usual  way,  he  knew  the  commissioners  would  have
subscribed  the  whole ;  and  he  would  have  recdved  from  them
with  one  hand  what  he  paid  them  with  the  other,  deducting  only
the  expense  of  brokerage;  which  would  have  put  the  absurdity
of  pretending  to  reduce  the  public  debt,  whilst  he  was  adding  to
it  in  the  same  proportion,  in  too  glaring  a  point  of  view  to  escape
public  notice  and  derision.  The  point  was  plain  enough  as  it
was,  but  it  did  not  strike  the  observation  of  the  multitude.  The
amount  of  this,  with  a  bonus  of  one  quarter,  instead  of  a  gain  to
the  public  of  three  quarters  per  cent,  as  the  right  honourable
gentleman  had  originally  stated  his  bargun,  was  £1,002,500.
