The Express. — London, England, 1853-04-15 00:00:00

PERIAL PARLIAMENT HOUSE OF LORDS.—THURSDAT, Aran. 14. Tim 4rou CNA mcmou took Wettest at 3 o'cieck. • re. }. trl of KIN MAME and the Earl of FimGALL took the oaths sod th-tr .►ata. PETITIONS PRESENTED. UNIVZIVIITT 1...n.1 EU LINTON, from raw, againgt 1 1ATIIS IN ellateria.—By Lord LINDUUI ST , from holmium. us the so4eet nt. PINITAOItrkirrIittCoLONIIIN —BytheNimquis f BREAD- A LIIANE. Itunt a plate nut hear I, praying flat the system of penspirAtag• might his estended to the eolecies. - . Mary 'luxes' ISt last.Axo. —By thollarquisof BREAD. *LISA NE. from Donegal, toriplasoing of the icerlicieney of the laws for the supprissioo of disturbances. The petitioners pr ,)rd that magistrates might have the weir of refusing licenses to public-house which gave itutertaaiment to per sor s holding illegal meet•ngs. The Dub!, Marquis sold thst within the list three wicks, n•, le►s than three prams hail been tired at in noon slay in the district from which the pumas came—one of them being s 'Warn catisolic priest. who hail denounced these practices from tie attar, although his brother was one of the party. ()HUMPS ol Till ('‘ %%% % PAI.ArE Till annn n —l:y the 1111. ho;• WINCIINSI KIL, from rt luthauspten, am I the Berl oa WINCIiILSLA, trots several Ours against. 1 ON UIT TO MATN. , oTO.—By the Earl of HODES, from several pliers; and lb* Earl of WINCIiILSEA, from Ledo. Reid% Tanhridge Wells, Walverhaniptee, and snag other plasm: against. In.revrtox ur Nt xsEittiti. —ll3 , the Earl of WIN. Clll Lhk,h. from severel places, la favour of. i AIMS COX KIIO% Lcout —137 Lord LYTTELTON, from Britton, mistiest the taxes ea aesepspers aad adver tssearram BRIBERY AT TILE CLITIIF.ROE ELECTION— ADDRESS TO THE CROWN. After • Warn of the managers en behalf of their lord ships from • conference with Cie managers fur the Com mons on the subject of the address to the Crown with refer ence to • cossisisaion to inquire into alleged corrupt prastices at the ret eat election fir Clither. The Earl of ABERDEEN move I for the production of the report of the committee, and gave notice that he should bring the subject before the house on Thursday nest. Agreed to. Cord LinnwasT begged to suggest to his noble friend opposite, hi coasegoeisee of what had recently passed, that it would be macs:mat to have the report of the Chat. roe ennunit•ire, sad he would move that a mes sage be sent to Co. other hose for the purpose of obtaining a copy of that report. lie would take that opportunity of stating what he had mentioned in the house the other night, and which ap peared to a eert dn extent to have been mis understood out of d...urs, and to have been misrepresented. He said that he thought it would he establishing a danger ous precedent, if, instead of inserting in the address to her Alb Jetty the report in the tgrins expressed by the committee, they were to adopt other eapreuinns in lieu of them. And he 'nether stated that he thought they had no right to refer to the report of the committee and the evidence, for the purpose of extending end varyinr the terms of that report. These were not technical points, but emphatically points of principle up..n which the act uf the last onion of parliament Was rounded. flow far the &dike he gave might be con sidered prudent or not when they came to consider the Clitherot ca.e, ne would not anticipate. It appeared to him, howeser, that the Clitheroe else had some extraordi nary circumvences connected with it, because he found, on looking at the papers that even;ng, cabinet ministers, of both sections of the government, voted distinctly against the address. The Earl of ABERDEEN said he had already moved for a copy vet the resort. Lord CAMPBELL merely rose to acknowledge the per fect accuracy with which his noble and learned bleed had stated the principle upon which he proceeded ; end as some obs,rvations had been made upon what he (Lord Campbell) had said, he begged to explain the principle which he laid down, and which was that under that act of parliament they were proceeding judicially and not legislatively, and they were bound by the act o f p ar li amen t un d er which they proceeded. They had no right, undo r that statute, to ad dress the crown not- is the election committee had reported their reason to believe that there had been extensive bri bery. But it was not necessary that those very words should he used, foe if the words adopted were equivalent, they had then a perfect right to pt ,ceed under the act of parliament. Ile utterly dia:laimed the idea that he thouaht, without such a report, their lordships had any authority to The in such an address, or that a commission could i s ms. The conditiooa must be fulfilled upon which their power was founded; and units, the petition did substantially say that there had then such a report by the committee, they had no power to address the Queen. In every instance where it appeared there had been nu such report, he should undoubtedly resist any address to the crown. VACCINATION EXTENSION BILL. Oo tie motinn of Loral LrrrcLrur , the houssi ".' went into committee on this bill. O.) clause 6 being ►ead, be irl of ELLENBOII.OUOII moved the insertion of a paragraph to the effect that in.t,•ad of the registrar giving notice to persons who informtd him of the birth, he should give notice direetly to the parent. of the child. Lord LYTTELTON had no cohj•ction to the insertion of the word.. The clause as amended was then agreed to. On clause 9, The Earl of ELLENBOR01;011 said he had some doubt whether the Commons would receive with favour a claw from this house imposing the payment of a fee. It was not unusual to insert a penalty io a bill in this house, but a fee was a obvelty. Lord LYTIELTON wu understood to say that he had winched the floliaitor-Ocoeral, and eked him to suggest the wor.l. that should be used. Whether this ens was right or not he growls' not takeoa himself to say. Atter a few words from Lord caurnett, The Earl of SHAFTESBURY thought it would be ad visable that their lordships should come to some wider standing with the other house oa this point, se as to prevent the rublie business from being isspiJed, as was probable it would be now. As the House of Commons was at present coastitoteJ It treeld be supposed that the liberty of the subject would be fouliod by to• House of Lords is a bill adding er a mall DNB Wes salary of a medical officer. He h Out tome raeossmat would be some to so as to enable this Mess to ismsubtle measwres without the ne ces•ity of this er the right of the House if Com- Leal CAIIIIIPML said this woo wally • provision for Idol sod was so emeroacheeent on the right of the H wM d Ormeaons : their lordships were not votieg supplies. herl seedy n espial/ what was to be the ressasera new trr weefai law fhePosrleii WICKLOW said their lordships Imo rais ing dilleoltios is their owe inegisatiose which did sot oust. Be elwer usistsieed that the Mosso of Gowns did sit oaths it ea ithimpnsmt of their privileges when this Imo lasi the amitest of a Sao or a fee. - - After stew weeds from Earl Ciammtaa, the flame was agreed le nto rewahalag dames were agreed to, sad Use house re vealed. FUNDS IN CHANCERY. This Rail of SALMESBU HY said that he bad bora re queued by his noble triad Lord Si. Leopards, who was usable to &weed in the house this evening, in assaisquesee of indisposition, to postpone the question of which he bad given astir* ea the subject of the admiaittration of the funds la Chatermay natil to-marrow. EDUCATION AT MAYNOOTH. Lord BEAUMONT begged to put a question to the noble earl at the head of the government A noble earl (Winettilmo) had a notice on the paper to move for a cow mime to inquire into the education at )(eyetooth. It was generally Raderstood that the government did not intend to meet that motion by a direct negative, but to move an ameadmeat of soother kind. Would it be convenient to the noble earl to lay on the table the words of that amend moot if not to-day. at any rate to-morrow ? The Earl of ABERDEEN—Undoubtedly I will to-mor row lay the precise words on the table REPAYMENT OF ADVANCES (IRELAND). The Marquis of CLANRICARDE gave notice that be should to-morrow (this day) present a petition on the sub ject of the repaymeat of advances to Ireland, and take the opportunity of calling the attention of the house and the government to the state of that question. Their lordships the, adjourned at five minutes past six o'clock. BOUSR OF COMMONS.—THURSDAT, APRIL 14. 1 The Eirsacza took the chair at 4 o'clock. PRIVATE BUSINESS. TEIGNIIOUTH HARBOUR AND TETON NA.VIOA. TION BILL. Certain oftesdawats proposed by the promoters of this bill were agreed to, and the bill was ordered to lie on the table. IRWELL VALLEY WATERWORKS' BILL. This bill wee eoMid.red, ar.d ordered to be laid on the table. PUBLIC BUSINESS. PETITIONS PRESENTED. Taxes tie KNOWLIDOI —By Sir G. B. PECRELL, from the.memben alb* Brighton Atheneum; Mr. DUN LOP, from the Mechanics' Institute of Pennock; Mr. H. RUSSELL, from Luton ; Mr. W. J. FOX. from min bore of the Oldham Lyceum ; Mr. T. DUNCOMBE, from inhabitants of the metropolis, awl from working men meet ing st National-ball, Holborn ; Mr. HADFIELD, from the letter-prese printera of filiettl-ld ; Mr. MIALL, from the inhabitants of St. Neon, Hunt*, and from the city of Chester; Mr. TUFNELL, from members of the Wedues• bury Mechanics' Inc itute L,rd D. STUART (2), from Msrylebone and Pimlico; Mr. HUTT, from the proprietors of the "Gateshead Review" newspaper, sad from the lett•x-pram printen of Hull ; Mr. FERGUSON, from in' habitants of the city of Carlisle ; Mr. H. BERKELEY (2), from Bristol; Mt. COBDEN, from Iluddenfield. Holm firth. Neindhill, and Shepley, Mr. COCKS,:from Reigate; Mr. S. FITZGRRALD, from the presidtnt and menthe's of the Liceraty and Scientific Instttution of Horsham; Mr. RICARDO, from Lurigton and Staff .rd‘hire Potteries; Mr. CAIRNS, hem Belfsst; Mr. RICARDO, from Stoke npun-Trent ; Sir J. WALM , LEY, fr-rn inhabitants of the borouch of Leicester; Mr. C. TURNER, from the letterpress prison of the booties of Liverpool; for repeal of OA. A13 , 1E1113 . DCTi.—By Sir J. DUCKWORTH, from R. J. Trowman and Co., propriet ire of the " Exeter ryioir Post ' • " Mr. BOLT, from the editor a n d p ro p r i e t or of •' Jvitao's Woolwich Juurnal and Army and Navy Or Celle ; " Mr. l; NELL,Itorn proprietors sif the " Devon port Independent ; " It in. A. PONSONBI, from the pr •prieturs of the " Cirencester and Swindon . Espriss ;" Mr. COWAN, from Mr. J. G:eig, editor .4 the "Scot. lush Press " newspaper ; Mr. SANDAUS, front Wake field ; Col SMYTH. from the editor of the Yorkshire Gazette:" Sir O. GOODMAN, from Mr. Frcilt. Rohm., of Leeds; Mr. A. ILISTIE, from Peter M•Yenzie end Co., props. tors at cm .` Scotch Reformer's " newspaper ; J. WALMSLEY, fr dn the prm rietors of the "Leicester Mercury ; " Mr. CAIRNS, feint Bilfast ; Mr. GLYN, fnner tine- ertilor of the" lientlll Mercury;" Mr. HAN. DINOE, from the editor of the "Dowopatrick Recorder;" Mr. B. 111:ORES, from a place not heard; Lord ELMLEY. from the editor of the " Worcester Journal ; " Mr. C. TURNER, from Robert Pearson Thacker, proprie tor of the " Liverpool Standard "newspaper ; for repeal of. ADMISsIOS OF JEWs To PARLIAMENT. By Mr. MOODY, from Welliagt ; Lord SEAIIAM, from a pariah, in the county of Durham ; Sir J. DUCK WORTH, Irom the Dean and Chapter of Exeter, from in habitants of the city of Easter. and from the parish of St. &dwell, in Exeter; Mr. BEsuseK, from Little By. burgh, in the county of Norfolk ; Sir G. TYLER, from parishes in the county of Glamorgan; Mr. C. TURNER. from the ministers, churchwardens, and congregation of St. Mary's, Bootle, is the county of Lancaster; against OFINISO or THE CRYSTAL PALACE ON SUNDAYS —By Sir J. SHELLEY, from Horsham artisans and others, Keighley woolcombers, Bradford artisans and labourers, Nutiingimin workmen, Rochester inhabitants, Barnstaple ditto; Banabridge (near Newton) weavers and others, Boll fair in Yorkshire) inhabitants, 1,13.5 signatures; Lord WORCESTER, from the inhabitants of the parish of Dowdeswell ; Mr. CAIRNS, from !AO ar: lions and mem bers of the working classes in Belfast; Mr. RICARDO, from Stoke upon-Treat; Mr. P. BENNET, numerously signed, from Polstead and stoke by Nayland ; Mr. K IN NA IRD, from working men of Camden district, Camber well, Christ Church, Camberwell, St. Damian's, Sterney, Kinievcross, All Saints, Norwood, and four other places; Mr. MASTEIIMAN. from wicking men, under the visita tion of the Poultry Chapel A.sociatiou, in the City of Lon don ; Sir G. TYLER, from the parishes of Manley and Llaudstf; Mr. MOODY, from 24 parishes in Bristol, Clif ton, and its neighbourhood, signed by 3,825 person; Mr. H. W. WICKHAM, from the inhabitants of the township of Manoiligham, in the borou eh of Bradford, Weld Riding of Yorkshire; against. Mr. I'. DUNCOMBE, from inha bitants and artisans of Clerkenwell; Mr. W. J. FOX, from Topsham; Devon ; in favour of. MAYNOOTII.—By Sir J. ANDERSON, from the free south congregation, Stirling ; against. Elmskirne Cocare (SCOTLAND) BILL.—By Mr. G. S. DUFF, from the provost. Magastr.ites, sod town roamed of the royal burgh of Elgin ; Mr. A. HASTIE, from the deacon, convener, collector, eel members of the trades house of Glasgow ; Sir J. ANDERSON, from the provost, ma gistrates, and town council of Stirling; for reform of. BETTER REOULOTION OF PURLIC•ROVSES (SCOTLAND) HILL.—By Mr. A. HASTIE (Ii). from licensed victuallers and others inhabitants of Glasgow; Mr. COWAN, from the directors and officers of the Edinburgh City Mission, and from the Lord Proviso, magistrates, and town council of Edinburgh ; in favour of. Iscomg TAX —By Mr. J. Fs. SMITH, from the medie..l profession of Stockport; Mr. MOODY, from Wellington, from medical men in several tow us of Soinersetabire; pray ing for a ri-adjustment of. COSIMNATIoNS uk• WORILMF.N BILL.—By Sit J. WALMsLEY, from the %garotte ropemakers of the port of London, and from the journeymen shoemakers of Green wich; Mr. T. DUNCOMBE (2), Irom London ; in fa your of. ATTORNEYS' CEItTIPICATI DUTT.—By Sir W. CLAY, from solicitors of Hull; Mr. DUNLOP, from the faculty of nrocurators of Arrock; for moral of. PARLIAMENTARY PAPERA.—By Mr. TUFNELL, from Uttunoter Mechanics Institute ; tor. THE WATER COMPANIES OF THE METRO- POLLS. Lord D. STUART presenTeit; petition agreed to at a pantie meeting of the ratepayers of blarylebone, which re• terred to the bill brought in in 18.51 and 18.52, for the better supply of water to the metropolis. The first bill did not pass, but the second bill did, and the petitioners complained that alterations made by the select committee to which the bill was referred had the effect of destroying the object of government in bringing in the bill, which was that of afford ing a sufficient supply of water to the inhabitants, and to give them a constant supply, and that a capital of 4,247,929!, had been allowed to be fixed as the capital of the companies. and power given to them to pay themselves an annual 'livid• ad of 10 per cent., being an increase of no less than• 20631.5/. on their present di%idends. The petitio n e r s ' furttier a tt i red that this amount of capital was mentioned by the committee without the committee hearing evidence on behalf at the inhabitants of the metropoli-, although such evidence was tendered to the committee more than once ; and the petitioners prayed that the house would appoint a committee of the whole or a part of the members who re present the metropolis, before whom they might produce evidence is support of their allegations. NOTICES OF MOTIONS. Mr. J. BALL gave notice that, on the 10th of May, he would bring forward his motion, of which he had already given notice, respecting oaths administered to members of parliament. TRANSFER OF LAND IN IRELAND. Mr. Y. SCULLY gave notices of his intention to move for leave to bring in a bill to facilitate the transfer of land in Ireland. cINQUE PORTS. Vistioost CHELBF.A ntoverl for accounts of all the capi tal Fonda now in hand which are applicable to superannua tion or other relief to members of the Fellowship of Clique Poets •PltoM or their families, or to the payment of salaries Of 1111,M0110, or to pilot boats, or to any general expeases IlanMild with pilotage; stating 'he sources from which the/ have been derived, and distinguishing between toe (linnet tends applicable to different purposes. Of the different receipts on account of payments made by Cinque Porta pilots, or other sources of lucerne applicable to any of the ,Ypres above mentioned; stating the nature of each reompt, the gross annual amount of each class of receipts, the mode in which it is applied, and the authority under which it is received. And of the several kinds of payments made for the abovemsentioned purposes; stating the nature of sack payment, the ruse aaaral imouit of iiach elms of paymintb,*and the authority under which it is made, and in ease ofvemuneration, the nature of the employment or ser vice for which it is paid. And of all sums paid by ezieting Cinque Ports pilots and superannuated pilots to the widows, children, and appointees by will, of deceased members of ' the fellowship; specifying, separately, the amount paid by each pilot. and esperansnated pilot, and the authority nadir Which such payments were forced. CENTRAL CRIMINAL COURT. Oa the motion of Mr. Huns a return was °run& er the number of days, and number of hours is each day, in each, seseion, in which the Casual Criminal Court sat &Wig. each of the twelve melonssession, appointed to be holden Wlegadon, or the suburbs thereof, wider the act 4 & 5 s; IV., e. 36. r. 15, for each year since the passing of lba add sat in 1834. CENTRAL AMERICA. Sit DE L. EN ANS asked Lord John Rowell, in refer encia to late negotiations with the United or Central Ame -1 rican States, whether the rights end interests of this country and British settlers in Honduras, and those of our toeless: ally the chief of the Mosquito most, have been pre- Nerved, or if modified, to what degree or extent. Lotd J. RUSSELL said there were negotiations still pending on this subject, and therefore be could not lay the papers on the table of the home at peeseat. It certainly would hi the object of the government to reserve the rights and Interests of this country sad of British settlers. THE ORDNANCE RURVEY.-THE NATIONAL GALLERY. Colonel BLAIR asked whether government were pre pared to state their intentions with regard to the scale on which the Ordnance Survey of the southern counties of Scotland is to be resumed: and whether it is intended to apply the a yon a still larger stale to towns of 4,000 inhabitants and upwards. The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER said he was quite aware of the great interest on this eabjeet in Scotland and elsewhere, and he was much indebted to the hon. end gallant gentleman for haviug informed hint of his intention to put this question. He was net now in a con dition to state distinctly the intentions of government. The question was of great importance, and involved the ezpenditure of a large sum of money. The course that had been nunued to the present moment had not been quite consistent, nor was it quite clear and beyond doubt what was the best course to be pursued with regard to the scale of maps to be peblished. He meant with regard to the large scale, because with regard to the small scale, the inch scale, there was no doubt it would be finished. They had been desirous, before coining to a decision, of aseertainieg front the best informed persons what was the best scale for a largo Ordnance map. He ho, ed to take advantage of the county meetings to which the hon. gentleman had refe-red ht the purpose of obtaining valuable information on the matter, and that he should also obtain information from those per sons who, by their scientific qualifications as well as from their official relations with the government, were qualified to give an opini mon the subject. When that information was collected, her Majesty's government would lose no time in coming to a decision on the subject. Perhaps he might be allowed to take this opportunity of answering a question which was put the other day by the hon. member fur Poole with regard to cleaning the pictures in the National Gallery with warm water. The trustees of the National Gallery had had the matter under consideration, and they had fur nished him with reports both from Mr. Uwin., the keeper of the Gallery, and Mr. Seagur,who had the care of the pictures. Mr. Seegur give a distinct account of the mode which had been adopted, and it was his (the right hon. gentleman's) intention to forward that report, together with Mr. Coins's, to the chairman of the committee which had been ap pointed with reference to the National Gallery. Accord -1 lag to these replete there was no reason to suppose that any injury had been sustained by the Pictures; but no further cleaning could be thought o, until after the present ses•ton had terminated, so that there would be ample time to con i eider the subject. QUARANTINE STATIONS. Mr. FORSTiilt tarred for an address for in de. tail, of the name of every officer, with the title of his office nr employment, and the amount of s ilnry, fees, r•r emo!oments received by each offic, r, at the several quarantine starinns in Great Britain; Ireland. and Malt t, not also in the odi of superintendent ofqu irmstine. for the year 18.52 (in esidens lion of peril anentury taper, Nu. 616, of session WA.) Agreed to. ECCLESIASTICAL COURTS (IRELAND). Mr. GEORGE asked tb' Secretary ftr Ireland whether it was the intention of her Midesty 'a govt rnrnent to intro duce any bill during the present IcaiOU to reform the testa mentery jurisdiction of the EecleriasticAl Court. in Ireland, or to extend to• Ireland any similar meaealre that might be brought in fur Ragland ? §ll4. YORDTO said the government was not going to hay* any separati measure on the subject for Ireland ; but when the E .glish hdl should be brought forward it would be found nkcoutrain proviaions which would make it appli cable to Ireland. - CONDUCT OF BUSINESS. Mr. SPOONER 'Liked when it was intended to take a rots on the miseellaneoua ntimates ? Lord J. RUSSELL replied that tlie vote for the miscel laneous estirmnes stood for to•mo*rel► (this day), and said that he would take this oppoitunity of stating the ceder in which he proposed to deal with certain measures before the house. Ile would take the Jewish Disabilities Bill first ; and if the bill which the Chancellor of the Exchequer had introduced with regard to the public debt bad been deli vered to the members sufficiently early, then he would move the second reading of that bill ; after which they would proceed to the committee of supply. They would not take the second reading of the right hon. gentleman's bill unless due n' Lice of it could be given. Mr. DISRAELI—You will not take that bill at a late hour ? Lord J. RUSSELL—Certainly not. MAYNOOTII. Mr. SPOONER pavenotieetitrtWhen the miscellaneous estimates eicue before the house he should move the omis sion of the proposed vote to Meynooth. (Hear, hear.) THE EXPRESS, FRIDAY EVENING, APRIL 15, 1853. 11 know of nothing that can be done so calm rated to promote the interests of authors and literary men, and to furnish the reward fir good intellect, as the repeal of the duty oa paper. (Haar, hear.) Recollect, air, you cannot get it by adding to the price of the sold publication. If you want to command a large circulation, you must go to the penny publication, like the " Penny Cyalopanlia." You cannot say that, in eossequence of there being a duty on paper, it shall be sold at Id. and a fraction, or I}. There is no such course open to you. If you increase the price to Ild. or 2d., as the Messrs. Cham bers attempted to do, then tho sale decreases, and you do not get the circulation. You are limited to the penny ; therefore you ought to remove those duties which prevent the penny covering the cost of paper and the duty, so as to leave a fair profit to the author and the publisher. (Hear, hear.) But, having taxed this pipet, which is the field of knowledge, the state is not satisfied. It says: " There are two particular kinds of information which, if printed upon paper, shall each, ander certain conditions, bear other taxes duty of Is. 6.1. upon each announcement known by the name of an advertisement, if it is printed on this paper ; and another tax if a particular kind of knowledge called news is printed upon this paper. (Hear, bear) It is conceivable that, if parliament had in former times had no thing in view but to derive a revenue from paper, when they had put a tax upon paper, they should immediately set to work to impose other taxis to prevent people making use of this paper a certain way, thus lessening the revenue which they a rofesaed to have in view ? It is a barbarous tax. (Cheers) Is there anything so essential to society as that all should be a spede of communicating to each other their mutual wants ? (Hear, hear.) Does it not lie at the very root of all our progress—at the very root of all com mercial transactions ? (Cheers.) For every communication that you prevent by this toll, is it not probable that you prevent some commerc al transaction that might be benefi cial to those engaged in it, and also beneficial to the state ? (Cheers.) But whet a monstrous thing it ia, that if, when an Amazon steam-skip is lost, or when there is an Irish famine, and when it is necessary by repeated advertisements to public attention to those calamities, the exciseman requires that there shall he la. 64. paid upon every one of these annauncensents ; thus convertin; the advertisement duty into a tax upon calamity, and causing the funds of subscribers, who fancy that they are contributing to an Irish famine, or the orphans and widows of men lost in the Amason, to contrihute to your state necessities, and to pay a porti in of their money into the Board of Inland Re. venue ! (Hear.) It appears to me that this is a kind of tax which we ought not to encourage in a commercial country; for is it possible to conceive anything mere unwise than to stand in the way of communications between men that cause commercial transactions, and that operate fa vourably upon the customs and excise revenue. (Hear, hear.) Talk of the inequality of the tax,—l know it has keen frequently mentioned that a poor servant maid has to pay as heavy a toll to the state for making it known that she wants a place as a peer of parliament has to pay to the state for making it known that he has an estate to dispose of. (Hear, hear.) Everybody is aware of this gross ine quality ; but the strength of the argument, I contend, lies against the tax altogether. (Hear, hear.) I sa y it is a tax oaly worthy of a barbarous country. (Cheers.) It is a sort of short-sighted attempt to get a little revenue at the ex pense of the most valuable interests of the country, and pro bably destroying, in other ways, a great deal more revenue than it creates. (Hear, bear.) Can anything be more un just, also, than its application exclusively to the newspaper press ? I know the act of parliament says that advertise ments shall be taxed when inserted in a book as well as in a periodical. But the law is not en forced. Books insert a Ivertisements; and no duty is in practice levied upon them. Look at the tier and unfairness of this competition between the book containing advertisements and the newspaper. Take the catalogue of the Great Exhibition. In the shilling cata logue you will find no less than 53 pages of advertisements, not one of which paid any advertisement duty. (Hear. hear.) Can there be a more favourable mode of advertising than in a catalogue to be cireulated amongst many thousanne of people ? And, when the New Crystal Palace is opened, I have no doubt that the catalogue of the various matters therein contained will be accompanied perhaps by hundreds of pages of advertisements, not one of the number paying toll to the state; while the unfortunate, struggling pro prietor of a newspaper is not allowed to insert the slightest announcement without being pounced upon by the Board of Inland Revenue, and having this tax cleated from him. (Hear, hear.) Why do not the board enforce the law ? Be• cause they dare not. (Hear, hear.) Because they know that, if they were to enforce the law as it is upon the sta tists bo it, there would be such strong remonstrances that they would have to abandon the tax. For the sake, I should say, of the independence of the newspaper, (or the sake of those men who are struggling against great difficulties to give valuable organs of intelligence to the country, relieve them from this unequal contest. Long as this tax has lasted, it is not too late to do them an act of justice; thr.ugh many of them, I believe, are so far injured by the unjust system to which they have been exposed, that pro bably it would be beyond the power of this house to recover them from their position. (Hear, hear.) But shall we, after, all, lose any ne * • and if we ,10. what is it? 178,0001. per annum. We do not generally show such delicacy in dealing with the public money, and are not generally so timid at the sound of a large sum that we should be fsightened, even if we did risk revenue to the amount of 178,0001. (Hear, hear.) But will not that be supplied ? Does not every advertisement give rise to correspondence? (Hear, hear.) There are in the United Kingdom in round numbers two millions of advertisements is a year—perhaps somewhat more. In the United States, with the same population, there are eleven millions of advertisements. (Hear, hear.) There is no advertisement duty there ; arid yet, under your free trade system, you are called upon to compete with a country which has that enormous advantage of communicating freely, without let or hindrance, all its mutual wants. But I ark, as there are eleven millions of advertisements in the United States, and two millions here, is it not probable that in t his eountry--similar in many respects to the people of the United States u the people of this country are—that our advertisements would very materially increase? (Hear, hear.) If they do increase, does not the advertisement give rise to letters of inquiry, to applications in consequence of the announcement? (Hear, hear.) I have received a letter to-day front Mr. Edward Baines, the proprietor of the Leeds Sinewy, a highly respectable and highly influ elitist provincial journal. lie states that on en average eight letters are received for each advertisement, but that in some instances 200 letters have arrived for one advertisement. Taking merely the avenue mentioned here—eight letters for each advertisement—if the advertisements increase by an amount of five millions the revenue will be replaced by the postage charge upon letters. (Hear, hear.) The re venue will be upwardof 166,0001. for these additional letters ; and thus, if we are to believe that what has hap pened in other cases will happen as to the increased number of advertisements, we shall ant lose any revenue at all, but we shall replace it to the full amount, with the great addi tional advantage of setting free this mode of communication throughout the country. I will now address myself to the last resolution—that in reference to the policy of restraining the cheap periodical press fr om inserting news. I have a justification for submitting this matter to the house. I was chairman of a committee of this hone which inquired, in a former parliament, into the working of the stamp duty on newspapers; and that committee recommended in the re port that the attention of parliament should be drawn to the a- tensile, of the stamp duty, to the state of the law, and le the mischief of the policy of preventing cheap periodicals rem containing news. It is rid that this is a question et revenue. I contest altogether that view of the question. hem the time when the press had influence in this country ...an go back to the earliest period—there has bees legislation for the purpose of restraining it. You had the censorship—you had the licensing system—both K which were abolished in 1694. During that period there was always • jealousy of what is called news. (Hear, hear.) It was said that extreme political writings, sad writings questioning the truths of religion, ought to be prevented. Hut if we look into the proceedings of past times, we shall find that there was something else which they were always very much afraid of ; and that wee the eircula.ion of news, and the narration to the country of the current events of the day. Mr. Hallam says that the ministers of that day were annoyed at the vivacity of the press—(bur)—both in periodical and other writings, which led to the stamp duty, intendedebiefly to diminish their onus bee, and was nearly producing more pernicious restrictions, such as renewing the licensing act, or making authors ac knowledge their names. They did not restore the licensing act ; but, with the same intent, they adopted the stamp duty, for the purpose of trying, as Mr. Hallam sap, to lessen the number of papers. In 1712 a meow came down from the crown, calling upon this house re re strain the press ; vsrious resolutions were proposed, and were adjourned from time to time; and at last, as the histories tells es, some member of the committee of ways and means sug;ested the idea whether the object io view, namely, the restraining of the press , might not he accomplished by a heavy tax upon all newspapers and printed pamphlets. (Hear, hear.) That is to be found in the journals of this house. Such was the origin of the stamp. We trace it down to its extension under one of my Lord Castlereagh's acts, knows as " the Six Acts,"—the 60 Geo. 111., cap. 9. That ant of George 111. was embvslied in the act of William, which is now in operation. The new act reduced the stamp duty ou papers from 4d. to 11. ; hut it did nothing more all the old restrictions being left. On that occasion Lord Lyndhurst, acting in co-operation with his party, said— and • dietinguished member of that party saw in this house will perhaps observo the words—' Reduce the duty ! Why nit bring in • bill to repeal the stamp duty on newsp ipers altogether ? " Lord Lans downe replied to that remarkable question, and said, "under present circumstances I am not prepared to say that the tax could with safety be removed to the unlimited extent to which the noble and learned lord has expressed himself favourable." Mind that the term "safety," as the contest shows, was not applied in reference to the revenue, hut in reference to the political policy of such a proc..eding. Well, I &A, would it be safe now? (Cheers.) Are there now any circumstances in existence which should preveut the leaders of all parties uniting in carrying out • literal and fair policy in this matter? (Hear, hear.) I hope 1 do not appeal in vain to any party ; and I declare on my c ntscience that I am not re• garding this as a party question. What were the results of the • toil upon the character of tie newspaper press ? Are your papers deteriorated ? Mr. Walter, the proprietor of the Times, and father of the present member fir N , ttinehatn, snips:wed the reductton, i n a speech i n this house, but I du not think that the Timer has sulf.di d by the risalry which it was prej eted toe reduction would prey die. The result, in th.,t • cert sitily shows the I liy of suppraing 11 , 11 t the success or position of a newspaper can be dependent upon taxes or revenue arrangements. (Hear, hear.) Well, for that reason, I don't think existing iuterests should be afraid of another reduction. The result of a reduction I believe would be this: that clew newspapers would then go i into fields where no newspapers go at present. (Hear, '1 to i rd s e I fe ar. bear.) would T u h n keep p t a h p i e s ' st point h this hich l public m h confidence,a.most have t makealready saontmdh the pub l ic have v i o c a t t : c- i t o n n n g: ippon the peculiarities of the law relating to newspapers. It is said by a great number of persons who oppose the abolition of the stamp that an equivalent for the stamp is the facility for transmitting the paper free through the post If that is so, I will make a proposition that the ex ! theisti e l! g b papers ji b e mu l a: f ia t l a i c t r h e e pe y a a te r e d , l y w i t t h h e t h u e m s e t a c m o p p , y and th ro w . i g t i h t the post; but that other papers be permitted to paldish without the stamp, and therefore without the postal privi lege. (Hear, bear.) In that case the revenue would be quite safe, whsle the public will get all they want—stamped or unstamped papers. as they pie ise. (" Hear, hear," and laughter.) Give the poor an option; give those who want a cheap paper, and don't want a postal privilege, the publications which they are craving tor. (Hear, bear.) .You expect the laws to be obeyed ; let the people hive a chance of knowing what the laws are. (Hear, hear.) Working men won't read the Times, or the Herald, or the Post; and why do you stand in the way of their having the papers which are suited to them? (Hear, hear.) Sir James Mackiutosh said of the reduced duty that it would he a duty on mill puhlicatioas; and if you will examine the act you will see that it is aimed at papers small in size and low in price. See how easily they get over this postal obstacle in the Ueiteil States; there a cer tain weight of any description of printed matter goes through the post for a small stamp affixed to that matter as to • letter. That is the right principle ; let those who use the post pay for it. Do not connect news, as news, with a stamp ; and if for no other reason, because, as I will show you, such a system exposes the revenue to extensive frauds, and is in all respects the most clumsy system of getting at revenue wh,ch it is pos sible to conceive. Postal privileges, indeed ! NYhy, what privileges do you give those penny publications ? We can send the full-sized newspaper to the extent of 4 oz. by post for the penny stamp; but the penny paper pays at a very I much higher rate. We can send a morning paper to Liverpool fir the penny, in the shape of a ' stamp; but it would cost us 4d. to send the Family llera:d to Greenwich. (Hear, hear.) But let us see what that involves, and how absurd such an arrangement turns out. In the evidence given before the committee it was shown that on one occasion 5,000 copies of • ' single publication, unstamped, was in the Post ' office at one time; and then there was nothing to be done with them but to throw them aside, for the per sons to whom they were addressed would not have paid the leg d postage, and nobody could tell who had put them in the post. An unstamped copy of Punch or the Rtlnnuruni would go by pus', because there would be no time to exa mine it. It is, therefore, clear that your system is a very clumsy one. If you must get revenue out of the diffusion of knowledge, levy the revenue at the post•office, and do not force us into this eter nil Migration of the question, " What is a newspaper ?" D in't be afraid of the revenue; I believe your revenue would remain as high es before from newspapers, if you taxed them as printed matter, and taxed them only for actual transmission through the post, at the same time en couraging all publications to reek the Post-ollice by charg ing low rates of postage. And there can be no Lubt whet ever, that such a chance would be of iucalculable advantage to our labouring population. (Hear, hear.) Then, as to the state of the law, I ask is it creditable to the legislature to pass statutes which it cannot enforce ? (Hear, hear.) You give your revenue officers a law with the perfect knowledge that such a law cannot be carried out in its integrity. Cmy out the letter of the statute and there is not • publication you can conceive which would not be liable to the stamp. (The right hon. gentlemen here read the words of the act.) This inflicts a penalty of 201. for each offence on every man who prints on unstamped paper, within certain int,rvals, anything affecting church and state. I ask the law officers of the crown and the law officers under the late government whether they mean that this is law which they would enforce ; and it they do not, why such an act is not repealed ? The practice is to ignore the strict law and not to enforce securities and recognisance', lon any papers which do not contain news. The law was directed ostensibly with a view to the prevention of libel ' lous publications: but observe the effect. If I publish a paper for the avowed purpose of libelling private character —and the act includes private libels—or for the purpose of questioning the truths of Christianity, or for the purpose of bringing into discredit the sovereign of the realm—if I addresses large number of people iu a small public a tion of i that sort, I em allowed to do so, under the present practice of the board, without entering into any securities whatever; for securities would not be asked unless I gave news, which I can easily avoid, as the word is used. (Hear, hear.) The Musical Times, and the Journal of the `ocitty of Arts, which give news, as some people would consider it, but as the Board of Inland Revenue does not consider it, are unstamped publications : but in the case of the Journal of the Society of Arts—Prince Albert being president of that society— security has to be entered into to provide for possible blas phemous and seditious libels. (Hear, hear.) On the other hand, there was a publication called Nana Sly, brought out for the purpose, and far no other, of libelling private characters; and in that ease, when a clergyman at Bath, who had been libelled, was anxious to bring an action, he found that no s 'curities for that publi cation had been entered into, and that there was no use, neither redress nor damages to be g ,t, in proceeding against men of straw. (Hear, hear.) Again, the Board of Inland Revenue proceeded against one of our most eminent and useful writers (Mr. Charles Dickens), for publishing with out a stamp a monthly periodical which contained - news. Supposing the board had succeeded, what benefit would the couutry have derived—what would the revenue have bene fited ? (Hear, hear.) If you had enforced the stamp, the periodical would have been discontinued, its circulation being dependent on its low price. (Hear, hear.) You per secute Mr. Dickens, it was said, in order to test the law, and to put down the class of monthlies like the Household Nar rative. Pretty policy in days when we are talking of edu cating the people! (Cheers.) To prevent, by your stupid law, Charles Dickens, with his mind and intellect, from addressing the greatest possible number of his fellow countrymen, is, I say, a disgrace to the legislature. Again remi nding hon.lgentlemen that separate divisions will be taken on each of these resolutions, I entreat them, if they cannot go the whole way with me, at least to go with me for a part of it. I ask them not to reject the whole three, but to give to each that favourable consideration which their importance entitles them to receive. (Cheers.) A messenger here attended from the Lords, to request a copy of the report and evidence in the case of the Cotheroe election committee. The request was acceded to. Mr. EWART seconded the motion. After the admirable speech of his honourable friend—(sheen)—equally masterly for its eloquence, and for the extreme clusencsa with which ' the subject was pursued into its farthest recesses, he felt that he ought not to trespass on the attention of the house for more than a few momenta. The two principal reasons' why he should support the motion were that it was favour able to the cause of knowledge, and that it was favourable to the cause of order. (Hear, hear.) It was vain for them to found schools or libraries, it was vain for them to take other means of extending information among the people, if they did not encourage the diffusion of the current literature of the day. (Hear, hear.) These taxes were not taxes on the accumulated stores of knowledge, but on what might be termed the current coin of the literature of the day, which ought to be allowed t o c i rcu l a t e f ree l y among the masses. (" Hear, hear.") He was anxious that the people should be allowed to edu cate themselves. It might be remembered that Gibbon, in his own Life, observed that a man received two kinds of education, one given him by others, the other acquired by himself, and of the two the last was by far the most valuable. (Hear, hear.) How could they better promote self-education than 4 encouraging the free circulation of local newspapers ? (Hear, hear.) The effect of the repeal of the stamp duty and the advertisement duty would be to create in England, what already existed in the United States of America, those local papers which, to use a phrase of Lord Bacon's " came boos* to the business and bosoms of men." He knew some persons imagined that the remission of these duties would give rise to bud publications ; but they had unquestionable testi. monyeo the effect that in Manchester and other large towns good publications eventually triumphed over bad. So much for the beeriest of these duties on the diffusion of know ledge. He had stated that another reason why he sup ported the motion was, that he believed it to be favourable to the cause of order. If they looked to those European countries which of late years had been least subject to agitation, they would find them to be the countries in which the press was most free. Austria, France, Prussia, and other countries where the press was shackled, had been shaken to their foundation ; whereas, Sweden, Belgium, and England, had remained firm and unshaken amid the shock of empires. Of all countries the United States was one of the most free from internal commotion, and he believed the cause of this was the perfect liberty of political discussion. (Hew, hear.) Ile hoped, therefore, that they would no longer sanction the contemptible shackles which bound the press of this country, but at once scatter them to the winds. It was a most admirable distinction between ancient end modern times that whereas in the former the people were appealed to by their orators, is the latter they were appealed to by the press; and he held that the leading articles in newspapers were better guides than speeches which addressed themselves only to impulse and passion. (Hear, hear) The nation which consulted a free press was far more secure than the nation which was swayed by the appeals of craters. This being the great distinction between ancient and modern times, he maintained that the power of the press should be conceded 1 to the utmost extent, and that no impediment should be retained to its free circulation. These shackles were ea I excrescence and a deformity in our constitution. They dated train only 140 years ago, being introduced in the reign of Queen Anne, in consequence of the existence of a war, and with an understanding that after the war had terminated they should be repealed. lie rejoiced that the cause had such an able advocate as his right hon. friend, and he b ‘lieved that the government would soon be I obliged to concede the repo ii of all these duties. On the question being put that the advertisement duty ought to be repealed, The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER said—Sir, I have lietened with very great interest both to the able and coniprehen.ive speech of the right hon. gentleman who moved these resolutions, and the intelligent and temperate address of the lion. g. ntletnan who has just sat down. I freely own th it in those speeches there was much that de serve. th attention of the house. They relate partly to subjects of 1 , hey, and partly to ' , abject. of r,eou u , e suit ,eta it wail be my dill, as far as I ant able, to disco tae front one another; and I shall ruileavour to show the house, though I do not in the least degree desire to guilty the d. seription which I have give', of the speech, s just delivered, that it would not act wisely in adopting the resolutions. Upon the question of policy, the taco to 1 hold of course gives me no special authority to speak ; bet the comparatively limited questihn on which the right hon. gentleman, the member for Manchest e r, has herowed considerable intent' — nsmely, that which grew out of the prosecution in the case of Bradbury and Evans, is one to which I ought, perhaps, fu the first tristaisce, to advert. Sir, with respect to that question, we ere asked to express as opinion " That the law relative to taxes on newspapers, and other regulations affecting public prints, is in an unsa. tisfactory state, and demands the attention of parliament." It is the intention of her Majesty's government t o b r i ng in, and I trust that they will be able to introduce within a very short period, a bill for the purpose of clear ing up the state of the law. (" No, ue."i %Vele sir, if bon. members think thin the etc wing up of the state of the law is not a desirable object in itself, I ern obliged to differ from them. (Hear, hear.) I say, it is the intention of the govereineut to bring in a hill our the purpose of clearing up the state of the law with respect to newspapers, and fur the purpose of preventiug any harsh or severe interpreta tion of that law by those who are called upon to a d m i u i ster it, quite irrespective of the further question, wh ic h I f ully grant calls for serious consideratio n . I t ap pears to me, however, that there is a cl ear iiistnic lion between these two objects. Th e question of the repeal of the stamp duties is one invol v i ng • very large sum of money; it is a material questi o n o f revenue; the question which has ariseu with regard to the publica tions to be classed as newspapers is one with respect to which individuals weuld have a fair right to COIIIO4III if any material delay took place in calling the attention of parliament to it. (Hear, hear, hear.) I must now look mare closely at the questions which are involved in the motion. The right honourable gentleman pro poses that by one resoludou we should tondo inn the adv.!, tieement duty, that by • second we should condemn the stamp duty, and that by a third we should condemn the paper duty; and this is the part of the xueject upon which it is my especial office to speak. Now, air, IL think the right hon. gentleman himself would almost admit that it would be a breach of duty on my part to encourage or advise the house to pass these resolutions. I must re peat the warning which I have given the house against condemning taxes that they aria not prepared in stantly to repeal. (Ilear, hear.) I least the huuse will never lower the high character which it has meintained by sliding into a practic -of raising expectations which it is net prepared to fulfil. (Ile .r, hear.) lie who condemns Chan cellors of the Exchequer for not discriminat log between wee end unwise modes tit raising revenue, does he d•serimina:e ? (Hear) He has condemned the unwise modes of teasing revenue—has he pointed out wise ones ? Mr. lit. GIBSON wee understood to refer to hit sugges tion of a postage stamp on newspapers. The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER—I beg pardon, the right hon. gentleman did suggest that a stamp duty might be levied on newspapers sent by post ; but if million and a half of money is to he raised in that way, em afraid the right hon. gentleman's friends will be iu a worse position than the are at present. (Hear, hear.) Now, sir, I do trust that the 'Lamle not prepared to fall into the practice of condemning taxes until it is prepared either to dispense with them or to provide a substitute for them. (Hear, hear.) The right heu. gentleman eutered late some calculations in relation to the advertisement duty, upon which lam sorry to be compelled to dmhl.r front him. He said you might assume that every additional advertisement would cause eight letters to pass through the Post-office; and calculating that there would be 5,000,000 extra adver tisements, he said that would create 4e,000,000 additional letters, which would yield HANOI., so that, in fact, there would be nu loss of revenue, lam sorry to differ from the right hon. gentleman in his arithmetic. Unless lam much decieved, however, out of every 31. received by the Postoffice, 21. is absorbed in expenses. (Hear, hear.) With respect to the paper duty, I fully admit that, large as is the revenue derived from that source, I should he delighted if it could he dispensed with. (Hear, hear.) I think the right honorable gentleman was a little too severe on the paper duty ; because although it is • duty which there aro abundant reasons to make us wish to get rid of, yet we must recollect that it is nut one which presses mainly upon li:e rature, but one which falls most heavily upon the coarser descriptions of paper. At the same time I vent that it is a duty which it is desirable to repeal; and I shall be as happy as the right hon. gentlemen himself can be when the time arrives when we shall be able to find a substitute for that duty or to dispense with it. Su also with regard to the advertisement duty. I fully grant that at pre sent the charge imposed by the advertisement duty is a very heavy and onerous one; but the right hon. gentle. man will recollect that in matters of this kind we must be content with what we can obtain. Let the right hon. gentle man cense:La: what mischievous consequences must result from the practice of introducing into the House of Com mons a series of votes making assaults upon the taxes with out at the sometime taking • comprehensive view of the relation between our revenue and expenditure. (Hear, hear.) Is the house disposed to think that the hest mode of managing the affairs of the country is lay succes sive votes proposed by individual members, and influenced by all the chauces and accidents as to precedence which affe.ct such motions, thus to fritter sway the revenue? If the house be of that opinion I have no more to bey, but that the best reduction they could propose would be the reduction or rather the total abolition of the office which I have now the honour to hold. (Laughter.) I see ne reason why a gentleman should be paid a considerable salary and decorated with a certain title for being steward of the public revenue, and guardian of the public credit, and responsible every year for the production of a balance sheet as to the national receipt and expenditure, if the house be of opinion that the best mode of arranging the revenue is to condemn its separate items week by week by means of separate and abstract votes. Since I have been in office, one sum after another, the lowest being 120,0001., and the highest rising to the dignity of two millions, has been pro posed as a fit subject for remission, until the whole reaches the rather important aggregate of upwards of seven millions. (Hear, hear.) As I said before, this is a serious matter fm• the consideration of the house. It is impossible for me to do mo.e on the pre sent occasion with regard to the fiscal question than I hays already done. With regard to the question of policy, I have stated in the most distinct terms dust the government have no wish to retain, nor will they retain, any restraint on the press for the sake of restraint ; that fur them it is a purely fiscal question, and that the claims of the news papers for relief from taxation—if it can be shown, as it possibly may be shown, that they pay more than the service they receive— will receive a full and fair consideration. What do 1 mean ? A just and fair comparison wiU be made between their claims and those of the other great interests of the country. (Hem, hear.) I am sure the right hon. gentleman will not ask me to say more, and that if he were in my T. ace he would not say more himself. lam sure that if lit were finance minister, he would not consent to adopt a pilicy of promise rather than one of performance. (Hear, hear.) There is a time once in every year in which the finance minister of this country is brought to book. I say, hold him to that duty. If his proposals be good, take them; if bad, reject them: but do not anticipate him in the production of his annual scheme of flounce. (He tr.) As to the details of the question, the advertisement and stamp duties, I have told the right hon. gentleman that apart from fisc al duties I should be delighted to see them ff; but I hope, consider ing the number of financial and departmental questions which now press upon me, be will not be disappointed if I am not prepared to enter into his whole statement in detail ; but I must frankly owa that I do not clearly understand the system he means to propose with re ference to the newspaper stamp duty in lieu of the present. I think he said, " Leave the established newspapers as they are, but allow penny priata containing news to go free." Mr. M. GIBSON wss understood to say that he wished the option of stamping for circulation by post to be given. The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER—Then I understand that the right hon. gentleman would leave with the printer the option of payment ? Mr. M. GIBSON—What he had said was—let the esta blished papers have the stamp, as they considered they had an equivalent in the transmission by post ; and then the revenue would suffer no loss by allowing the publication of local papers at a penny. The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER—But the established papers are not a corporation under seal, and therefore can give us no guarantee that they would be satis fied with such an arrangement. What I understand, then, is that those may pay the stamp who choose, while those who object to it shall be permitted to refuse. (A laugh.) I understand him to say further that postage might be substituted for stamps, and that may be • subject for consideration; but, with respect to the fiscal 'sunken, the press suffers only in common with other important interests of the country, and solely from considerations of revenue. That there may be neces sity for modification at some future peried I do not mean to deny ; but Ido trust that the house will not persist in this practice of condemning taxes until they have &seer , Mined whether the public service can do without their proceeds. With regard to the second resolution, I object again to the affirmation of au abstract principle, while I agree with the right hon. gentlemag that we should not restrain cheap periodicals from narrating current events under any notion that they might not be made great engines of public instruction. I agree further, that the taxes oa newspapers fully !writ the consideration of parliament, but at the same time, I hope the right hon. gentleman will agree with me in thinking it very much better that those who are entrusted with the management of public affairs, should introduce their plans of fiscal and administrative re form, carefully prepared and fully digested, and should not deal with promises which really' are of no value, and which, as performance always lags behind promise, can only be made instruments of popular delusion. Such_ pro- misc., although well intended by those who Iluiake them, ars a mischievous practice, highly injuri ous to the public interest, to the dignity and honour of parliament, and teud to weaken the confidence of the people in those who are entrusted with the charge of their affairs. With these observations I beg to move the previous question. Mr. BRIGHT said that the speech of his right hon. friend had not received anything like an answer from the Chaucelloi of the Exchequer, and, indeed, from the motion of that right hon. gentleman be (Mr. Bright) did not sup pose that he meant seriously to controvert the propo sitions which had been laid down by his (Mr. Bright's) right honourab.e colleague. In fact the speech in which the question had been introduced was so comprehensive, so logical, anal so full of facts, which although they seemed new must at once receive acceptance from :how who heard them, that the conviction must come hornet° entry one that nothing an nun shade fiscal arrange ments could po.sihly be so `2ll.iii as the imposts known as the knowledge taxes. (Hear, hear.) The Chancellor of the Exchequer had begun by admitting that the present state of the law was unsatisfactory with regard 1 , the stamp, and that with regard to the case of Bradbury and Evans government intended to introduce a spa Mal mea,ure more chanty defining the law. The part of the house in I I BOROUGII OF CLITUEROE. The proceedings of the house were interrupted for a few moments while a conference on the subject of this borough was had with the Lords. On the return of the members appointed to menage it on behalf of the Commons, Mr. GASKELL stated that they bad left the address with their lordships. TILE INCUMBERED ESTATES COURT. Mr. FRENCH moved f'r a ►eturu of the number of petitions in the Incurabered Estates Court in which no order had hen made; the number of petitions in which conditional orders only had yet been made; and the num ber of acres comerised in each class. ILAI LWAYS. In answer to an lion.amOET, Mr. CARDWELL said that he would bring forward his resoltvions upon this subject to-morrow at time time of pri vate business. THE TAXES ON KNOWLEDGE. Several hon. members having presented petitions praying for the abolition of these taxes, Mr. M. GIBSON also presented petitions from the pro prietors of the .11andieseir Extsoniner and the Coreittry Herald, fur the repeal of the advertisement duty; and from • great number of places, fur the removal of that and kindred imposts. the right hon. gentlemen then prose led to say—Sir, I propose to submit to the house a motion, con sisting of three separate resolutions. I have thus acted in consequence of having observed, that although the three duties or taxes to which my resolutions relate may appear in the minds of many persons to be unconnected taxes, yet for the last 130 years they have been dealt with by the le gislature at the same time, or nearly at the same time; and although they may appear to be distinct matters, yet I view them as parts of a system and policy which has been in force in this country, to a certain extent, for restraining the peen. (Hear, hear) These duties were imposed at the same time and they were reduced at the same time; but I do not now call upon the house, by embracing the three taxes in one resolution, to commit themselves by • single vote to the full extent of my propoetion. The re solutions will be submitted separately ; and to vote upon one does not commit any gentleman to the othen. I en tertain my own opinion upon the expediency of dealing with them all, hut I have not presumed to ask the house to go an far with me as to record their votes in supeort of one bread and comprehensive resolution emerecing these three taxes. It may be said, as a preliminary objection, that I ought to have waited, previously to dealing with a subject of this kind until the bowie was in possession of the finan cial views of the government, and until they had heard the statement of the Chancellor of the Exchequer on the position of the public revenue and the expeuditure of the country. Sir, I have had some experience in bringing forward this morion—nnt in this parliament, it is true, but in other parliaments. I have brought the motion on before the budget; and I have submitted it after the budget ; and my experience does not tell me that sty position was in the least benefited by my .1. leering the proposition till after the budget. (Hear, hear.) The first proposal I sub mit to the house is "That the advertisement duty ought to be repealed." (Hear, hear ) That relates to • small amount of revenue, but I will show that there are reasons for believing that that revenue will be speedily replaced. (Hear, hear.) My second resolution is, " That the policy of restraining the cheap periodital press from narrating current events, by rendering it liable to stamp duties, and other restrictions, if any public uews, intelli gence, or occurrences, or any remarks or observations there on,' be contained therein, is inexpedient, and at variance with the desire now generally expressed in favour of the diffusion of knowledge amongst all classes; and it appears also to this house that the law relative to taxes on newspapers, and other regulations affecting public prints, is in an unsal tisfactory state, and demands the attention of parliament." That resolution hon. gentlemen will observe raises a ques tion of policy, and can hardly be said to relate to revenue at all. At any rate I shall be able to show that the policy which I recommend may be adopted by parliament with out any considerable portion at least of the public revenue being sacrificed. The last resolution is—" That the excise duty on paper, whilst impeding the development of an im portant manufacture, also materially obstructs the produc tion of good cheap literature; and the maintenance of this tax as a permanent source of revenue would be impolitic and inconsistent with the efforts which parliament is now making to promote education amongst the great body of the people." Now, sir, I admit that this last revolution does affect a considerable amount of public revenue. It deals with an amount, I believe, of something like 900,0001.; but if hon. members will do me the favour to consider the word ing of this resolution they will see that it dace no; pledge this house to any immediate repeal of the duty on paper. It only recommends the house to record its opinion, that to maintain the duty on paper as a permanent mode of raising taxation—as a good tax—is • policy which ought not to be sanctioned, and that at an early period, when the circumstances of the country will permit, with safety to the revenue, the step ought to be taken of totally abolishing this duty. I might point out various misebiefs resulting from this tax in • commer cial point of view ; but probably my argu ment would be common to the other excise duties; and would, perhaps, not apply with greater weight to paper than to soap and the other excisable articles. But them is a certain peculiarity about paper, in its being con netted, with the diffusion of knowledge amongst the people, which does not apply to those other duties. Even in • commercial view I think there are also some peculiarities about it. Paper is an article which is manufactured from a worthless raw material, and the whole of its value, there , fore, consists in the labour which has been bestowed upon it. It employs men, women, and children. his likewise • rural manufacture. The paper mills are spread over the country districts, and there is no ohs so interested in widening and developing the manufacture of paper as the residents in the various counties. (Hear, hear.) There is some lameness at this time in reference to the greatly in creasing departure of labourers front this land ; but, if you wish to stay the tide of emigration, then, I say, open the field of employment at home by removing this oppressive excise duty upon paper, which prevents the develop ment of the manufacture in our agricultural districts. By so doing you will be able to give profitable employment to labourers at home, and you will retain them in this country; whereas if you allow the field of employment to be contracted by this duty, you must, of necessity, lose your labour, which will flow to other lands where such manufactures are unrestricted. (Cheers.) What is going on now? Why, the refuse from which paper is made is being purchased in this country, is carried to lands where no paper duty exists, is manufactured into paper, and then sentout to the British colonies to supply your own popula tion. (Hear.) That being so, this is not a question as of town against country, or of country against town ; but in asmuch as paper mills must Clint where there are pure streams, and amongst a country population, the represen tatives of the counties have, above all, the greatest interest in getting rid of these duties. (Heir, hear.) These are a few of the passing allusions which I have ventured to throw out upon a commercial view of the subject. When the commissioners reported upon the different branches of the excise system, they recommended paper to be dealt with. At the present moment the duty is remitted oo all paper used for the Bibles and Testaments that are printed in those universities. This is an admission that the duty has an effect in preventing the diffusioa of knowledge. The question of the paper duty on expensive books is not the issue I raise. It will be no answer to tell me that a three volume novel would not be rendered perceptibly cheaper if we repealed the duty on paper, or that a large book like M'Cullocb's Dictionary would nut be sold for a perceptibly smaller amount if we abolished the tax on the raw material. That is not the question. The question is the diffusion throughout the country of the advantage of a cheap litera ture, in which the cost of the paper is a principal considera tion ; and of which the existence of the duty raise* the I price far more than the amount of the impost itself. (Hear, hear.) Mr. Knight says, in one of his works, that during • period of twenty years, he has paid about 80,0001 to authors and to literary men fur their labours, and that he has paid 50,0001. to the state in paper duty,ia order to give the benefit to the public of the composi tions of those literary men. So that for 80,0001. worth of hdellect and knowledge, before you can circulate it in the limited way in which it is now circulated, he has had to pa no less a sum than a toll of 50,0001. to the state. (Hear.) Fifty thousand pound* for ciieulating 80,0001. worth of in tellect through a country which is c instantly proclaiming to the world the great desire which it has to diffuse know , ledge sad to promote education amongst the people. (Cheers.) We at this time are unable, frens the deficuitien o f our petition, to pass an education measure. We are compelled to resort to all manner of petty expedients of partial legislation, in order to get educetion bit by hit through the country. (Hear, hear.) But here is a plan, i at least, which you can adopt, which is free from your reli t AfiOUS centrover-ies—(hear, hear) —free from controversy as . between voluntary and stare eiluesitiosi—(Rear, hear)—and all that you are a,lied to do is to remove those ebstruetiens which prevent the people from educating themselves. (Chet re.) How much does it increase the risk of literary ' soeceletions, when we consider that tee duty upon paper' must WI be p cal ; teat there are no drewhicks, no bonding of paper and taking it out as it is consumed ; but when a m m ventures nn a lit‘rary mesculatinti, he mud print the number of copies of a work that he intends to sell, and if the work fails to sell, there is no return to him of the citify he has paid to the state, in the it,effectual effort he bra mode to diffuse knowledge amend the people.