Above : Illustrating Picture Of Napoleon War

In order to pay her quota of the joint expenses, Ireland was obliged to borrow very large ; her revenue fell short of the sum required by almost 50 per cent. The £78,000,000 raised by taxes (1800-1815) faced by an expenditure of £148,000,000 ; whereas the £31,000,000 revenue of the earlier period (1785-1800) had fallen short of expenditure only £10,ooo,ooo; and that, too, during fifteen years, several of which were years of war, and one of which saw war abroad and rebellion home. The interest on the money borrowed became an ever-increasing burden, and the final result was that Ireland’s National Debt, which at the time of the Union was 32 millions, had reached by 1815, 112 millions, or, in other words, had almost quadrupled. During the same period that of Great Britain wanted a good deal of having doubled. It will be remembered that one of the clauses of the Act of Union set forth that, if and when the value of the respective debts of the two countries became to each other as two to fifteen, the Parliament might order the amalgamation of the exchequers. In 1815 it appeared that the condition had been fulfilled, and a Parliamentary Commission was appointed. Acting on its report, a Bill for the Financial Union of Ireland and Great Britain was introduced, and passed without protest. England took upon herself the National Debt of Ireland, joining it with her own. This debt had been, however, as has been pointed out, in a great part, incurred in a vain endeavour to satisfy the unreasonable demands made on the poorer country by the terms of the Act of Union.

Now (from January, 1817), all the Irish revenue would be paid into the general” Consolidated Fund of the United Kingdom,” and this would be charged with all the expenses connected with the Government of Ireland. The taxes were to be in general the same for both countries, but Ireland might obtain certain concessions in her favour. At first the concessions were considerable, some taxes not being imposed at all, and many articles being taxed at a lower rate. But these advantages were gradually withdrawn, and soon after the middle of the century, they became negligible.

The difference between the cost of the government of Ireland and the amount realised by her taxation constituted her contribution to what was described as “Imperial Expenditure” ; such matters that is, as the upkeep of the army, navy and other Imperial services. This sum was at first considerable, but as Irish administration grew more costly, and as the population diminished, it became less ; until finally, for some years before the outbreak of the war of 1914, Ireland cost more to administer than was raised from her taxes. The heavy war-taxation imposed on her as on the rest of the United Kingdom, of course, put an end to this state of things.