The Express. — London, England, 1848-02-25 00:00:00

THE EXPRESS, FRIDAY EVENING, FEBRUARY 25, 1848. other thanbricks with hones or hats. In the year 1797 Mr. Pitt imposed an inerea•ed tax on houses he regretted being obliged to resnrt to In extreme a manure, and many persons now alive would be able to recollect the numerous stoppages of windows which were then effected, as well as the inscrip tions, Lighten our darknos we beseech thee, 0 Pitt! ' written upon many blank windows. In the years 1802-8, two more acts were passed increasing the window duties; and in 1820 the present Sir John Cam 11obbouse, a cabinet minister and It colleague of the noble lord, brought a motion under the notice of the house similar to that which he (Lord Duncan) sulanetted, but which was defeated. In the year 1823 the then Chancellor of the Exchequer, Mr. Rubinson, found it necessary to reduce the window tax by one-half its then amount • and that assessment remained until the year 1834, when Lord Althorp repealed the house tax, and passed another act, by which, upon payment of the existing assess ment of the window tax, every person was permitted to open as many windows as he pleased, without being charged anything additional. In consequence in of their that act tunny pereons opened additional windows houses. In the year 1840 the total number of houses assessed to the window duty wa, 394,036; the amount of duty paid was 1,3.50,9301. In 1841 the number of houses assessed was 4,50,913 ; the amount of duty paid, 1,613,3081. ; showing an increase of 56.877 houses, and of 262,3781. in amount of duty paid. When Mr. Berinv brought in his financial scheme for imposing an additional 5 per cent. on cust.ima duties, and 10 per cent. on excise, there was a heavy increase on the window duty. And when, in after years the additional 5 per cent. on the cus toms was re moved, ;he additional 10 per cent. on the window tax was still imposed. Ever since the year 1841 the window duty had been tailing oil' in amount, although the popula tion was steadily on the increase. The following was the tabular results of the window tax in the years 1811 to 1841: Total number of limo*. Amman& to the Window Tax in Great Britain in the year previous and autnequeut to Baring's Act fur adding In per cents—Year ending April t. revision of taxation, while few, like his noble friend the member for Bath, were kind enough to provide substitutes for the taxes they proposed to repeal. Ile could hardly, however Ms noble friend's scheme one much distroguished by thrift OT economy, seeing that in the vale of theco proposed an attack on the capital of the flireisstilohbele Mend should have recollected, when country. His attack on the officers of the royal foreste that if of th of fi cers were nil also. With regard to the timber for the returns of profiu were nil, the salaries and emoluments l the navy, the noble lord might ha v e known tat though foreign timber was now employed in shipbuilding, the royal forests were maintained to secure a supply at periods when foreign timber could not be obtained, as in time of war. This was the purpose for which these forests were maintained, and for which the expense was incurred, and not es a source of luxury for anyone, or as a useless append este to royalty, &I the noble lord appeared to suppose. The preposition of the noble lord, as contained in the notice pap. r, was the total repeal of the windo w dut y; in the same paper was a notice Risen by hie honourable friend the member for Dumfries (Mr. Ewatt) for the total repeal of the excise duties on paper, soap, and bricks, the total repeal if the duties on butter and cheese, and the reduction of the duties on tea, tobacco, and wines. Now in the present state of the finances of the country those propositions were impracticable. Tie produce of those duues which it was thus proposed to be wholly repealed was about tour millions a year ; add to this half the produce of the other taxes, which was the extent ho believed to which it was proposed to carry the reduction, and the proposition would involve a loss to the revenue of about 0,000,0001. Were these practical propositions in the present state of our finances? (Hear, hear.) The hon. member for Dumfries had suggested as a substitute direct taxation on reelistd property ; but to impose an additional tax of 9,000,0001. upon reali-ed property—that was, upon that lelms of property included in 'schedules A and C which now paid 3,000,0001. was a proposition the house, he thought, would, under existing circumstances, pause before it adopted. (lieu, bear.) He was lar from saying the window tax was not open to many objections, especially to objections of a sanitary nature. (II at.) There were other objections, perhaps, as to the mode in which it was levied ; but when it was said tat the tax MIS one which premed exclusiiely on the lower order, he must demur to that pro position. During the last four or five years, they leoll been told by those who were the great advocates of the removal of those duties which pressed upon the necessaries of life, that the best mode of benefiting the poorer classes, was to take off the tux on corn and other articles of daily consumption, and substitute direct taxation in stead; but now his honourable friend told the house that the window tax, which came more within the nature of a property tax than any other, ought to be taken off, on the ground of benefit to those Mlle classes whom it was previously alleged direct taxation would benefit. The hon. member for Montrose objected to the tax because of the exceptions. But those exceptions were for the most part in favour of the lower orders. (How so ?) Speaking generally they were so. Out of the 3.000,000 houses in this country 500,000 only were subject to the window duty, nearly 3,000,00 being exempt, and those which were so exempt were houses of the smallest description, in which the poorer classes of the people resided. He did not mean to say that there were not some houses having more than tight windows which were te nanted by poor persona, but what he contended wa, that, taking the case generally, the exemptions were in favour of the lower order of persons who did not what was termed "beneficially occupy." His hon. and gallant relative (Col. Sibthorsi) objected that the tax was not extended to the public offices. But what would the public gain by that? If the offices in which the public clerk sat were I subji eta to the window duty, he (the Chancellor of the Exchequer) should have to call up - •n the house to vote the money necessary to pap the tex in the miscallaneout estimates. This was a proposition so err viously alourd that he should hardly have expected I even his honourable and gallant relative to support it. (A laugh.) The noble lord (Duncan) bad spoken of the exemption in favour of houses occupied for agri cultural purposes, 'eut shops, manufactories, and all I other plies used wholly for the purposes of trade , w e re also exempt, and they were so for the purpose of giving en couragement to trade, and so benefiting the industrious classes ; and thins windows only which belonged to private derellinge were charged. The noble lord had complained of I the inequalities of this tax, and had talked of the large amount raised from houses of an inferior description, as compared with that obtained from houses of a higher class. The reason was, that there was a much larger numb . r of email than large houses in the country. It only the large houses, in which the rich dwelt, were U. seseed, the tax would be almost without produce. His noble friend had laid it down that, in laying on taxes, they should be so imp ,sed as to fall fairly on the larger portion of the community ; but, if they confined the tax to those only who were at the top of the tree, the produce would he small, while the pressure would be most severe. To an a'oolute repeal of the window tax, for the reasons ho bad stated, he could not consent; and he confessed he was surprised that these who were the advocates of direct tax upon property, should object to a tax which was generally paid by the land lord, the owners of property, and not by the poorer class of tenants. The noble lord (Duncan) appeared, too, to forget what took place when the house tax was taken off in 1543. The argument then for preferring the repeal of the house tax instead of the window duty was, that that tax pressed more heavily on the lower orders than on the wealthy, and that the gentle man did not pay in equal proportion with the poor m aq. I And that was, without doubt, true; while the window tax, taking town and country together, was one which pressed most severely on the h ghee classes. (Cries of " No," and "11 Sr.") It was an indisputable fact, that the larger houses in the country paid a much smaller proportiou to the house than to the window tax. In his own case, the amount he used to pay annually to the house tax was 141., while the sum lie was charged to the window duty was 321. He, there fore, for one, should benefit by the substitution of the house for the window tax. But there was another reason for prefer ring the window to the house tax—that was, the great eliffi culty of ascertainisg the correct value of the house, while there was no difficulty whatever in ascertaining the number of windows He would not now go into the question of in ustice as perpetrated by his right hon. friend (Mr. F. T. Baring). In 1845 that question was brought forward, and the answer given by his right hon. friend was complete, and showed that no injustice whatever had been inflicted by the new armament. All that was done was to require persons to pay for the future that which they had been entitled to pay for a long time previous, but which payment they had up to such re-assesement escaped. On sanitary grounds he admitted there were valid objections against this tax, and if it could be shown to Man that the same amount of revenue could be obtained in a less objectionable way, or that the tax could be so modified as to remove some of the objections to it, he should be glad to adopt the suggestion. He had been in consultation with the Chairman of Stamps and Taxes on the subject, and various schemes had been suggested fur improving the scale on which the tax was levied, with a view to remove some of the objections which upon this bead had been urged against it. But his noble friend must remember that when he, at the head of a large deputation, waited on him (the Chancellor of the Exche quer), the language held was that it would be perfectly use less to attempt to improve the scale or tw remove the ine qualities; nothing less than the total repeal of the tax would do. (Hear.) And though one gentleni an did suggest that the window duty was levied in au objectionable way, chile the perish taxes were levied in an unoldseionable manner, and though he (the Chancellor of the Exchequer) intimated that it might be possible to substitute the one mode for the other, if that would meet the wishes of the deputation, the reply was no, that would by no means meet their object. He confess ed, theiefore, that he saw but little hope of satisfactorily meeting those who were the ad vocates of this proposition. And though he should be most willing to consider any proposal for the more equal distri bution of the tax when the only proposal before him was the total and abs olute repeal of the window tax he could not, in the present state of the finances of the country, how ever objectionable that tax might he, consent to make the sacrifice which the assent to that proposal would involve. Sir 1). L. EVANS Reid a few words in explanation, which were not heard. Mr. It. PALMER felt it impoasible, in the present state of the finances of the country, to give a vote in favour of this motion, though he looked upon the tax itself as the most ob jectionable of those which remained unrepealed. (Hear, hear.) If the tax was to be supported on the principle of an income tax why not make it one ? (Hear, bear.) As showing the gross inequality of the tax, he found, taking the twelve towns which contributed the greatest proportion of the tax, that Plymouth (which he represented) paid 11,3261. a year to the window tax, while Leeds paid only 7,710)1., though he would venture to say that Leeds repre sented more than ten times the wealth of Plymouth. Mr. WAKLEY—The hon. member for Plymouth had made an excellent speech against the window tax, end how he could have the firmness to resist the influence of his owu arguments and vote against the motion he (Mr. Wakley) could not understand. (" Hear," and a laugh.) The Ilse. member had not ouly spoken generally lag tinst the tax, but had adduced e special ease against► it, and though he repre sented the injured people of Plymouth they were to find his vote recorded against the proposition. Of what use could representation be if this was the mode in which they acted ? (Hear.) The declaration of the hon. member must, be thought, he very discouraging to those who sent him there, though it must be very encouraging to the Chancellor of the Exchequer. (Hear.) And as that right hon. gentleman had commenced his speech by alluding to the unfortunate position of the person who filled the office of Chancellor of the Exchequer, he hoped now, after the speech of the h.o. member for Plymouth, and his declaration tit-It he In tended to support the government against this motion, that he felt himself more comfortable. A strong dose of chloro form could scarcely make him more easy. (A laugh.) The public, however, would after this feel no disappointment at the rejection of the motion. All hope of retrenchment from the present ministry had gone by. He was sorry to say it; but that was his conviction, and that, too, was the napressiou of the public out of doors. (Hear, hear.) The public had looked with great confilence to the present govern ment. He had never seen more public confi dence exhibited for any ministry . than that of the noble lord. The public had entertained great respect for the present ministry; bat that was all over now. (Hear, hear.) He wished the noble lord would go down to the City, and see his committee there. Ile would be astouished at the reception he would meet with cow in the turtlessoup• eating quarter. (Hear, and a laugh.) He (Mr. Wakley) regretted that there should be occasion for such a change of feeling ; but it had taker:l;piece and not without scum. (H ea r, hear.) Still ministers moist have great hopes of the House of Commons after the speech of the hon. member for ! i ll i mouth. He hoped, however, that though this motion ht fail, many others of the same kind would be made, au that the feeling of the house would be tested over and over again on the subject of reduction of taxation, and that the yeopli: :night know who were and who were not for retrench- No. of Hotta. - InennY+r. oCknx. In. reuoe. I I:1 9 :1g I nt. But, with regard to this window duty, it was diminu tion of the that a aiminuon of the expenditure of the country ',old meat. t odious taxes ever imposed. It was only second to th e enable the government to remove the obnoxious window income tax in iniquity. It was injurious in a variety of ways. duties. , The Chancellor of the Exchequer was evidently mistaken in Lord R . GROSVENOR, who spoke in so low a tons as his view of the case. The right hon. eentleman believed— 'cartels to be audible, waa understood to suppert the motion and, no doubt, sincerely believed—that this tax did not press brougli. forward by his noble friend the member for Bath hPEEL said that fo gmohtrheozeagnenotlncee- (Lord i Duncan?. r one, could not position that 'h . peach He (Mr. Watley) did not understand assent to the pre l i t was the dety of the during is s • unjustly upon t o ll: b lo t : mi nion , " men, though he did a. amongst animals. (Hear.) But the of the country, to consent to any diminution of the meetly where the lower orders were to be found as amocgit goveroment, la the present state of the iinancial again l el or ea er Ord l ers .he ' ril the industrious classes, because small houses were from tho right hon. gentleman the Chancellor of th e Exch.- right hon. gentleman are, that the tax did not press upon window duties. (Hear, hear.) He wee glad e e m u exempt ; but did notes, the right hon. gentleman know quer that he intended, and had it in has power, to that in sal large towns where lend was valuable, the object effect some alteration in the animated' manner in of the proprietor, Wad to build high house", and locate as which the tan was levied, and which mated under the many pecade in them as they could ? Ind he not know lain now in force and e ff ect. He (Sir It. Peel) hoped tem that the great mass of the working classes were lodgers and the government or the right hon. gentlemea would not he sought to not housekeepers ? How many instances were there ie daterreal from purming the course they had laid down, hy which 8, 10, and even 12 persona were lining together in one the fact that some metropolitan deputeti .ns had waited room with a single window ? That was the case not only in upon them on the subject. He assured the noble lord at the metropolis, but in all large manufacturing towns the head of the government that no &mutation, met ro . throuehout the kingdom. This tax operated theretore as a politan or otherwise, would be able to reply to the question curse upon the labouring domes; it was injurious to their " Will you fold a substitute for the tax yeti sock t./ aboliM?" health, destructive of their comfort, and highly pre- On the contrary, if them deeutations were asked to pr'.pose judicial to their morels. (Hem, hear) They were told the substitution of another tax for that wheh they that this was the nearest approach to an income tax. get rid of, he would advise the noble lord and the govem- I Coo, teat with him would be a sufficient reason for detest- meat to throw overboard the ad it:lton of iluerCestiOnS and ing the incowe tax. H ad the right hon. gentleman, who princip les which, as regarded taxation of artiel. sof con. II had ra solved to maintain this tee. considered how it inter- 'umpteen, would prove to be futile and unaveilioin H. feted with trade and industry ? Had he consulted architects (Sir R. Peel) could bear full testimony that the noble lord on the subject—end did he not know that it prevented till the member for Bath (Lord Duncan) had • xhibited on thin improv • em. n's in architecture, and in that way robbed the question a zeal aad ability on the premnt occasion : but be , people of at least 100,000/. a year in the employment of ought to have waited until the Chancellor of the Mechem., ' labour ? On that ground, if there was no other, the tax promised a diminu:ioa of taxation, when the noble lord Mete ought to he repealed. (Hear, hear.) He was aware that putin hisclaim that the window tax should et included inthae there was no hope of the repeal of this tax from the present diminution. Without pine into the qua :Lion ef the demo. government. Ministers would however know in a few days rite (Mall taxes, or to the question of the substitution of one that the people would not submit to any increase of tszetten tax tor anothee feeliaig that it would be ummlatable in say for any purpose. (Hear, hear.) If the noble lord shape, be shoulii reserve himself until Monday next for the (J. Russel.) still laboured under that hallueinetion exposition promised. At present he collet not gave a silat by which he had recently been posmesed, at to the probabi- vote, because in his opinion it was inimitable, under the • lily of war breaking out, common sense out of doors woula existing circumstances of the country, te oimense with the soon restore hi. mind to perfect eanity. (" Hear," and a tax open which the noble lord the member for Bath had te. laugh.) The noble lord hail denied that his speech, on in- night made an attack. traducing his financial statement, was intended as a war Mr. CABBELL expressed his entire concurrence in the spa Me ; but, though be did not intend it to be a war speech, motion, the object of which was to get rid of an impost his language led people in that house and out of doers to be- which wes not only severe but prejudicial to the Lealth sad litre that we were approaching a period when this country best interests of DUNCAN the b h olly w ole comm replied, unity.an the hofie would be liable to attacks from a foreign nation. (Hear.) Lord d nse dirieea— Lord J. RUSSELL said he had explained, yesterday, For the motion l6O-ge what he had intended to say. Against it APPEAL IN CRIMINAL CASES. Mr. WAKLEY was glad to bear the explenation. But she people were in ormca that they must sub- Mr. E WART moved for leave to bring in a bill to e l m mit to increased taxation, and it was but natural Mash a power of appeal in criminal casks. Ile regreteod m e fur a thinking people to inquire for what purpose axesence fr •rn the house of the hon. and learned gentlemen : they were to be thus overtaxed. An ignorant people might (Sir F. Kelly) who had originally introduced a measure on . submit to injustice, but an enlightened and thinking people this important subject but as such a bill had already been , would not submit to it lung. The people of England coma considered he would content himself with stating its lad dered the principle of taxation was unjust, and that it was is ire features. 1;y this bill he (Mr. Ewart) preposee to gram favour of property and against the industry of the country. an appeal in criminalcases in three form—lst, an the form of (Hear. hear ) That was the general vpinion out of doors, a new trial ; secondly , in the form of a motor, in arrest of arid be hoped there were many in that house who concurred judgment ; anal lastly, as at nisi prius by the process Et in it (Neer, hear.) Considering the great talert of the entering after appeal heard a judgment for the prisoner. government, tee mesas they bad of acquiring information, The bill also gave power to the judge before whom a psi the many times subjects of finance had been considered by tuner might be tried to assign him counsel anal attorney, them, he dial expect that they would hare exereMed le- and contained also o a t th provieso th at the at the p t.i:sone e bill r shou ld also con be fur treucliment and have practised economy. He believes', nished with a copy iTh however, that they hat made no inquiry, but had come tained clauses providing for the payment et the costs incurred down recklessly and thoughtlessly with their budget and by the prosecutor and his Witne6Sta in the case of an appal, 1 their project for adding to the hardens of the people--a 'Lord NUGENT seconded the motion. pro position which had created much excitement and discon- Sir 0. GREY mid it was not the intention of the govern -1 tent both in and out of the house, and which would increase went to oflar tiny opposition to the hat:auction of this bill. unl , ss the mita° lord relaxed in his propositions. The equa• But, in consenting to its irtroductien, he wished to be batten of the land tax would produce almost two millions a clearly understood that he by no means assented to the pro. year, hut that ti.e government would not entertain. The %hien' which might be embneied in the measure. The leentey and prolate duty no real property would also praduca subject was one of great importance, end he had not been a large revenue. Could any man contend that p retinal able to collect from the hon. gentlemanni statement what the property should be subject to the duty now imposed upon provisions might be. it, while real property escaped ? (Hear, hear). If a man Leave was then given to bring in the bill. died, leaving 100,0001. in land, his successor paid not one far- EXCISE DUTIES ON PAPER, SOAI', Me. tiling ; but if a man left 1001. to e faithful servant, he Mr. EWART said he should not persevere in his ether must pay 101. to the government before he could have the motion, which stood next in twoeer •.—" To move the meney. What could be more unjust ? For years pat the abolition of the excise duties on soap, and bricks : the prinetple of taxing in this country had been most unjust to reduction of the duties on tea, tobacc o, and wine; and the tke industrious classes, and the window duty was one of the repeal of the duties on butter and cheese ; say most unjust taxes of all. It commenced at a low scale, but loss of revenue which may occur to be replaced by direct when it touched the shopkeeper and the tradesman—the man taxation on realised property." who heal to get his bread by the exercise of his industry and KILLING OF HARES. his intellect, the screw was put on to the highest point ; awl Mr COLVII.LE in wed for leave to bring in a bill "to when, again, it reached the aristocracy, it was reduced to enable all occupiers of land having a right to kill harm on the lowest point. (Hear, hear.) He hoped the house that land to do so by themselves or persons authorised by ,' apply went itself t i the pubject of finance and taxation, and them, without being r. quire& to take out a game cent& resat every extravagant expenditure on the part o f the sate." minister -thit they would investigate every item wiee the Sir 0. GREY said ho thought Met proposal a very rem matt strict scrutiny. If they did this , he believed they .eight minable one, ant es he COnceired it would not deduct a greatly reduce the taxes, and then it would be for them to shilling from the revenue he should raise no objection to its apportion what remained fairly over the surface of society. introduction. He hoped the noble lord (Duncan) would press his motion Mr. STAFFORD was sorry to observe that the hon. mem to a division , and he would support him. (Hear.) b e for Manchester (Mr. Bright). wh i had a notice ou the Mr. A. S I'AFFORD remarked upon the difference of paper f•r a bill to repeal the game lees, was not in his place. manion between the advocates of free trade, seine being in Sit G. GREY—IIe is net going to bring it on. favour of direct taxation, aid others against it—which ail. Mr. STAFFORD was sorry to bear that, as the ban. ference had been foretold by the protectionists. It was e fa• member for Manchester was the person who had obtained lacy to say that the lower chases were Lenefiied by the re- the appointment of the committee on the game laws, and duction 0; the duties on the necessaries of life ; and the wore had taken up the question so as to make it his own ; other taxes were removed because they protected particular iota- wise he (Mr. Stafford) might have submitted a motion on ram, the more would the working classes suffer. He con- the subject. However, he would now call public attention andel that the great aegregate of the taxes must be levied to the feet that the first movement ou this sublet did not by indirect, and not by elirect, taxation. come from a free-trader, but fore a gentleman on the oppo- Mr. ?MGR EGOR would support the motion if it coal be site side of the Lome, and holding °polkas in farina of pro shown that the public service would not suffer if this tax tection. (Hear, hear.) were repeal, C. After a few words from Mr. THELeWNT, Mr. le O'CONNOR inferred, from the statement tl•at Colonel SIBTHORP alluded to the two bulky volumes of while 500.000 houses only were subject to the tax, 3,000,000 evidence which lied been taken before the committees on the were not Miele to it, that many of those 3,000,000 of houses game laws, and slid that the motion of the hon. member for had their windows shut op in order to avoid the tax. (!tear, Manchester, like many other of his motions, appeared likely hear.) As the representative of a popular mnstitueney ire to end in L smoke; th Two volumes of evidence ere would be " much cry awl had little would vote for its repeal. wool." (aughter.) Captain PECHELL opposed the tax on the ground of the produced, and witnesses without end had been re examined, t hat injustice and grievances which it gave rise to. an enormous expense to the country. (He Mr. Brig Loral ASHLEY had no hesitation in saying, that without entered the house amidst loud cheering.) He was now glad a total and absolute repeal of the window duties to see that hod. gentleman on his perch. (Laughter.) It no Sanitary measurestwould be effective, or place the people seemed that hon, member had felled in eliciting any good in thet physical condition which acted so directly upon their result out of the numerous allegations that had been made ; moral welfare. He told his constituents at a public meeting and bad he (Col. Sibthorp) done to, he should have con s few days ago, that if the government were about to propose sidered himself called on to pay the expense to which the a large increase of taxation, as was then expected they would country had been put by the inquiry. (Laughter.) He simultaneously with a reduction of taxation, this was the hoped the house would " largely pause' before granting very first tax that ought to be effaced from the statute-be ale. any more committees on the moties of the hon. gentle (Bear, hear.) But he coupled that opinion with this &elm man. (Hear.) ration, that he would not give a vote that might have the Mr. BRIGHT said he had no intention of being absent effect of impeding the mschine of government, or of sedan- when the hon. member for South Derbyshire introduced leis gering in the least degree the credit of the country. And Ce motion ; nor had he any intention of opposing that bill. Bat could not but feel, looking to the present state of the rave- he was sure the house would not consider it tufficient to meet nue, and to the announcement of the prime minister that the evils now known to exist in connexion with the pre there was a deficiency of 3,000,0001. which compelled him to serving of game. The hon. member for South Derbyshire propose a large increase of taxation, that to call for a further must know extremely little of the working of the game laws reduction, by the repeal of this tax, of 1,600,0001., would be if he supposed that the placing of hares in the same category almost tantamount to proposing a species of national bank- as rabbits would put a atop to the outrams which had taken ruptcy. place throughout the country, and the thousands of convim Mr. AGLIONBY fully agreed with the noble lord, that a tions which every year occurred for offences under the game member of that house, even to please his constituents, oug!et laws. He had announeed his intention, soon after the recess, not to give a vote which he considered would have the eftect of introducing a 101 l to repeal there laws ; he had not yet of impeding the machine of government, or endangering the among st ble to bring it commwig to other engagements, public credit ; but he (Mr. Aglionby), in voting for the re- whim was the ittee on the growth of cotton in peal of the window tax, while he acted in accordance with India. When that committee had finished its labours, constitu ents, feelings of his conetituta, did not consider that he which he hoped leave to would be in about a month, then and ihe pro m- would incur either of the disasters pointed out by the noble pesed to aide introduce a entire lord. He believed, on the contrary, that such a reduction mediate repeal of the game laws, in order that the law might of the national expenditure might he made m would enable no longer give any sanction to the practice of preserving the government to remove this odious tax , without having g ame in d a w c ould net ountry so populous him from as thin. The measure this bill, now recourse to any other in its stead. (Herm.) propose hinder bringing in Mr. COWAN gave a hearty support to the motion. which would go much further. Mr. MOWATT likewise suppoited the motion, believing Mr. NE%VVEGATE said that if the game laws were that the window tax, both in principle and effect, was most repealed large districts of the country would remain mpro uninst sisal unequal, and nothing more nor less than a blun- Meted, and it would would more be n burd scary to ensom e x act a law onerous of tr than the espass, de: ing, circuitous, anal demoralising income tax. which bed Lord J. RUSSELL said that; his hen. friend the present game laws. He highly approved of the measure member for Cockermouth (Mr. Aglionby) had remarked that now propmed. it would have a bad effect upon the public if on the present Mr. H. BERKELEY wished to ask the holm member occasion all the arguments should be in favour of the present for Manchester whether, in proposing the repeal of the proposition, and that the votes of the house should run in an game laws, lie would substitute some adequate protection opposite direction. Such, however, might be the case if far the land? any particular tax was diesussed upon its own merits. He Mr. F. MAULE said he had endeavoured tom troduce • (Lord J. Russell) had yet never heard any hon. gentleman measure, two years ago, giving the tenant pensation say that any tax was a positive good in itself—Chear, and a from the proprietor for the damage done by preeerving laugh)--aral he defied any Chancellor of the ) exchequer to game. A proper t hou, told him that 200 hares came in one prove that of itself that tax was good, or that it day into a field of young grass. 'I his proved the necessity of ought to be kept up for the good of the community. The some such measure as that now propene' ; he should there hon. member for the city of Edinburgh (Mr. Cowan), who fore support it. But if it were proposed to do away with had just spoken, had declared that the excise duties upon the the game laws altogether the house would be bound to commodity (paper) which be manufactured were vexatious, provide some adequate protection for the occupiers of land, and imposed an annoyance upon the subjects of the realm whose Held, email otherwise be run over and devastated engaged in its man ufacture. That allegation he (Lord withouAGLIONBYt remedy. ,while admitting the evil of the gam e J Russell) did not deny. He admitted that all excise taxes were Mr. liable to that objection. Agaia , the hon. member forDumfries laws, felt the necessity of giving landlords and fanners som e (Mr. Ewart) had announced his intention to move this day protection, and, if possible, taking away the temptation to or the abolition of the excise duties on paper, soap, and kill game. Whatever they did the rights of property must bricks, the reduction of the duties on tea, tobacco, and wine, be main PEEL believed that the Matt effectual remedy for tained. as well as for the repeal of the duties on butter and cheese— Sir R. any loss of revenue which might thereby occur to be sem the evils attending the game laws would be a strong imprem plied by a direct taxation on realised property. These points sion, on the part of landed proprietors, that hares and rab might be diveumed, but when the house came to the cud of bits in excessive quantities were very injurious to the pro the discussion, they would find themselves by the adoption ductre nese of the boil. They would then be willing to con ed' the arguments by which each proposition had been sup- sent to diminish that excessive quantity, and, by veluntary ported minus not 9,000,0001. but some 10,000 , 0001 . or arrangement , would co nsent to the destruction of much of 11,000,0001. ( Hear , hear.) 'Then came the argument the game. (Hear.) He could not help feeling that hares stated by the hon. member for Plymouth (Mr. R. Palmer), contributed very little to the enjoyment of real sportsmen. and the noble lord the member for Bath (Lord Ashley), Wit h regard to winged game the damage done was very that the revenue could not spare the loss of the resources little. (Hear, hear.) He thought the hon. member for derived from this quarter. But it was said that it be- Manchester would find it a more difficult matter to deal with hoved the government to lay down the system of the game laws than he seemed to apprehend. Did the hon. taxation which they, as a government, would adopt as • gentleman mean to go so far as to prevent gentlemen from substitute for the less sustained by the repeol of the impost preserving game ? He did net suppose he meant to propose arising from the window duties. The experience of former anything so arbitrary ; if that were so, and if persons years, coupled with that which the events of the last few were allowed to traverse • gentleman', property for the st ate days furnished him, did not convince him (Lord J. Russell) pose of killeng gsme, they would have the c matey in a state that the course recommended by the noble lord was that of rural insurrection. (Hear, hear.) lie had no objection which the government ought to adopt. He (Lord J. Rus- to the motion of the hon. gentlemen, but he should like to sell) thought that by indirect taxation much good might know what censtruction he was to put on the word " call be done ; but at the same time he was of opinion that if the pier" having aright to kill hares. window tax was taken off, tke country would find that there Mr. COINILLE said that he did not mean that the word were limits beyond which direct taxation could not be car- occupier should extend to the Cals of a landlord who pre ried. (Hear, hear.) Indeed, in the course of the present served hares himself, but only that the tenant to whom pm debate some hon. gentlemen had expressed their regret that mission was given to kill hares by the landlord should be the government ahouldhave adhered to the window duties—a allowed to do so without a license. He meant to deal with tax, as they said, only lea odious than the income Me. (Hear.) hares as rabbits were dealt with. ,On the whole he was obliged to come to the conclusion, that Mr. HUDSON was not aware that any objection could be although the window tax was objectionable, still the govern- made to the bill of his hon. friend ; but be entirely disap' went had not the means to give it up • and though has right proved of the measure which th e ton. member for Mae hon. friend the Chancellor of the 'Exchequer had been cheater signified Les intention of introducing. challenged to find a substitute, he (Lord J. Russell) could Mr. C. WOOD and not think the hon. member for Man not recommend to the house the adoption of any such repeal chaster intended to introduce any bill which would interfere or alteration u that which had been proposed. He must with the right* of property. Wath regard to the bill before also confess that, considering the merits of this particular the house, the hon. gentleman ha clearly explained whet tax—considering the obligations by which the country was his object was, and it woula have Li concurrence. bound to the public creditor—considering that those oblige- Mr. BRIGHT mid Lo hail no intention of introducing any tions were bound and secured by acts of parliament—he measure which woula interfere with the rights of property should certainly, and with a good conscience, vote against Leave was then Risen to bring in the bill. the motion of his noble friend. (Hear, hear.) SMALL TENEMENTS. Mr. EWART supported the motion. Kr. SCROPE, in introducing a bill to exempt small use- Dr. DOWRING supported the motion, and contended malty from .oc.iltautidn, sa4 tha: great laJL,Lip had been experienced from the opera .1 sent. The law had not de and poor persons were ebb before they could establish Rushton, the magistrate, ) found the utmost difficu;• exempt, and who ought to effect, therefore, was, to i between those t o w classes he proposed thar, in the r value of 51. sofhoud between be ex 10 a po pulation I exemption should extend in large town', like Lir. , houses of the value of 10 would be a most beneficis a the noble lord. Sir G. °REY did measure, but he by no on on its introduction. Ili, measure remained unimp, GA Leave was then given t .1 Mr. BRIGHT postpo' laws till that day (vanish . LAW 1 The LOED ADVOC.. bill to amend the law of • that the evils of the pre , an effectual remedy. '1 l o ng maturing; he was fu. interests, but thought 't conveniences now r attain • cies which attended • ntai. Scotch entails the same that was given to entails a, the age at which the qualified to act from 21 t•• power to such heir to disc , lent to what was style! it which should have been •11 law, upon his reaching the also have a. retrospective • provision whereby all c deemed as dating from 0 and the next saw ewe to be entitled to dieentail i ears. In CI.. s wh.re e necessary for the • entail it, he maimed • a immediate so duregar i teral heirs. The learned lo tails respecting the menu prehended in the repo moving for have to bring tail is Scotland. Mr. C. BRUCE said tha on the details of the bill of examining it and of in meantime heave his cor,'.i it was bawd. Mr. B. COCHRANE c who spoke last in his pro se deficient in not possessun a Mr. SCOTT said,that of the bill wan concerned it entailing of property at •• that its retrospective pros is with the lan•led prophet Ts Mr. F. MACKENZII. objection might be lord would reconsider it reading. Mr. J. S. WORTLEY opinion on C.e bill anti, h details. All he could say should be glad to give the power in carrying it th • bill he had heard dc cri that which gyve it a action. No•Jsing coati be the country than the ,re Scotland. Leave was then given to SELECT COMM I'l r Mr. LABOUCIIKtI E committee on the shove hi Mr. WAKLEY &sled the superin•endents of • make the emp'oyment of Mr. LABOUCIIE RE best consideration, bit • employment of ,nrita• ns advice of the emigration that medical rocu could superintendent for the s passage back. Mr. S. O'BRIEN tho • ins the health of pawn emigrant ships a bonus to port of debarkation fr. f The committee w: i t • Mr. Cardwell, Mr. Vona. ford, Mr. Herbert , Clements, Viscount N.A.I Mr. T. T. Hodges, E ul Mr. Mensal. LEASING 0 Sir W. SOMERV ILL the above bill, explcine tain restrictions which w of mines in Ireland. ItL eg CooiMebedn atone , Thompson, committee. 6 HU T T T Er I. rs s t o d ition v ln r , L ati l ra,,,eee t n Mr. M. Milne', and Capt. PECHELL he poned. He regrett4.4 to went wee named. Mr. HINDLEY a k the memt.nr for Sou h mittee ? Mr. HUTT explai ted on the West I. dna r Int For the noble Seervir Cons wou'd prevent •tis name of the hon. rec -. Lord PALMERS fair a one as couta h .re The committee wen a PAPE On the motion • f that the petition of 'he the votes. On the motion of COpy of the judgmen quer Chamber, Ireir laid on the table of t . te MR. On the order of ti On this motion, det, Mr. C. ANSTEY to appoint the deb f • lord opposite, howe. or he (Mr. Anntey) d to on the subject. fie w fence out now (great or he would name a• . y " Go on," followed , ty Viscount PALM Ii anxious to presesd, to gentleman 'to sit t'.e for he feared if ho utd log a duet togeth r. better stand for thi d The order was ti• The house adjout •e GENERAL The committee lowing committee BOLTON.—Mr. Col. Salwey—Mr.. . ELE' KINSALE.—Dr J after which Micha' ; taker, underwent I. had anything to d.' woman Ryan. Hi b Meetora, but ultim. el Re had assisted set • Persecutions to wh, h mination of the e weather summed 1 -n mitten adjourned t LIME REGIS:- the sitting welsh..., had been proved. t bribery against tit, . a 'mutiny), but nt mittee adjourned t LANCASTER.- A inn at Heysham, P -0 men were ordered b friend of Mr. Ore, were present duri.ig journed at 4 till 11 o Somiam PTON general meeting c offices, Bishops/tit , board of directors, the proceeding., e Port of the direct the business of t receipts being 9,; ;7 half-year. The di, share for the half, annum. The set: wu ready for the appears by the re. 'o authorised by the of December last. tors for more th.,.1 readily disposed , account up to It o have twee b23 , 9T. ". balance of 6,1331 directors elected, A. TRANSMISSION: We understand tt a as letters in cons., regulations of 'th , of paying the pm punting on the e' beo though allowed hs. ~~ -- IMPERIAL PARLIAMENT. owner. Applice:sens for sale might be made to the Court of Chancery b.; en ineumbrancer of an estate, but the entire oats of that application were chargeable upon the estate, whether the master in chancery made an order for the tale or not. An owner might consequently be driven into a snit against his will, for which be would have to pay the entire charges. These objections might arise from his want of acquaintance with the law, but he thought them very setious objections, and that time at least should be given for their coosideration. Lord CAMPBELL said the astuteness of the noble lord opposite was so great that had he been bred to the law there would have been little doubt but that he would have sat on the woolsack. But the noble lord was under a great misappre hension as to the effe:t of the bill, for its effect upon the owner would be mainly to cheapen and simplify proceediven ngs of the Court of Chancery t o which the mortgagee might e at the present moment subject him. With regard to the security of the purchaser, ho directed attention to the 26th clause, under which any purchaser would have, not what wan now called an Irish title, but parliantary title world, esta blished by the legislature, and good against all tbe He very much rejoiced that the bill bad been introduced, and he expressed his confidence that it would be of the greatest benefit to the sister country. Lord MONTEAOLE admitted the value of the 26th clause, but thought it might be open to inconvenience to remedy what was now no doubt a great grievance in the partial manner in which this bill would operate. The LORD CHANCELLOR said a few words in reply, and the bill was then rem' a second time ; to be committed this day fortnight. AUDIT OF RAILWAYS ACCOUNTS BILL. The committee on this bill was postponed until Tuesday next. The house adjourned at 2.S minutes after 7. HOUSE OF LORDS.—TIIIIRSDAT, WNWAsT The LORD CIiaNCELLon took his seat at 5 o'clock. PUBLIC BUSINESS. SECOND HEADlNO.—Eacumbered &LOW i lreland) Bill. NATIONAL DEFENCES. The Earl of HARDWICKE withdrew his motion on the subject of the national defences, as the public mind had al ready been directed in various was, to the subject. THE " UNITED IRISHMEN" NEWSPAPIIL Lord STANLEY begged to call the attention of her Majesty's government to • publication to which he bad al luded a few nights ago. In consequence of different opinions which had existed in Ireland upon the question of repeal of the union, not as to the objtet; but u to the mode of attain ing it, the repeal party had been split into two sections, one adopting the caution recommended by the late Mr. O'Con nell, and the other, being snore vielent, had formed an esta blishment, which they called " The Irish Confederation," consieting of the less prudent and cautious put of heelslepea Association. In tee coofederationeas it was call rious grades of opinion had kin introduced, and shortly after a meeting of the body, whose[ published rem ar..Nlitehell and another per-on, name he did notmber, but he believed was Reilly, were discussed, and, being consi dered by a large number of the coefederation to be of • highly seditious charecter, were conde writ er mned as imprudent. Upon this, Mr. Mitchell, the of one of the letters, withdrew. sod rerablialled a newspaper under the denomination of the f 'need Irishmen, which appeared for the first time on the 12th of this month. Before he proceeded to notice some ps.agee in delivered y gentleman who condemned the too letters in question as im prudent —the speech of a Mr. Meagher, who said: "Is an insurrection probable—if so, is it practicable ) Prove that HOUSE OF CONINIONS.—TIIIIRSDAY, FEB. 24. to me and I will vote for it this very eight. You know I The SPEAKER took the chair at 4 o'clock. am not one of those tame moralists who say that liberty is PRIVATE BUSINESS. not worth a drop of blood. Min who subicribe to such • SECOND BEADING.—MoiIey Gas light Company Bill. doctrine arc fit for out-door relief, and nothing better. PUBLIC BVSINEUL Against this maxim a voice breaks in front the crowd crying, MIST READINO.I.eioing of mines in Ireland. ' Away with it ;' and would to Go Iwe could take every COMMITTEke-Ceneolidated Fund Bi ll . Weems in the island this night, and purchase with our bleed PEEBLES ELECTION. Irish freedom. My strongest Wine are in favour of the Loyd R. GROSVENOR reported from the committee ap. policy of Mr. ?Sieben. I wish to God I could support it." pointed to inquire into the return fromthe county of Peebles, The speaker then proceeded to recommend the work of in- that Mr. W. Forbes Mackenzie hart been duly elected. 'affection to the young and high spirited as noble and LANCASTER ELECTION.ILEGE. BREACH OF praiseworthy. Ant it was preci sel y those very persons who PRIV were likely to be b isled y such vehetnent and high-flown Mr. DEEDES it reported to the house that Jarnes Dodson, oratory. Such pe m rsons were most likely to be led away summoned as wness before the Lancaster election commit to become the dupes n the first instance and the victis ie tee, having been guilty of great prevarication in his evidence, the last of those who p were craftier, abler, and wiser m h than he had thought it to he his duty to cenmit the said James themselves. (Hear, hear.) Ile would now t -all attention, not Dodson to custody. to a c.asual article in a newspapr, but to the programme and Mr. DEEDES then moved that James Dodson, in peeve avowed objects of it. In 0,.e pan of it there was a discuss rication in his evidence belore a committee of the house, had shin as to the mode in which the independence of Ireland been glv uilty d. of a breach of the privileg es of the house.— was to be obtained, and in speaking of its being posesful, Resoe the writer said '. Our method IS moral enough, but neither Mr. DEEDES next moved thst James Dodson, having peaceful nor legal ; whoever desires to shake the English do- been guilty of a breach of the privileges of the house, be minion must be a confederate of our:, and one of the mem. committed to the custody of the sierjetenteit.arme—Ordered. hers of our lodge:" There was also a letter addressed "To Mr. DEEDES further moved that James Dodson be the Earl of Clarendon, an Engeshman, calling hi seeelf Lord brought before the Laticaster committee, in the said cus- Lieutenant of Ireland." The letter t.liu lid to his lordship tody, whenever the committee required his presence.— as the representative of foreign dominion in Ireland, and Ordered. stated " the Crated Irishmen newspaper has been under- LEAVE OF ABSENCE. taken by men who say that your dominion is growing near On the motion of Mr. Ileeeineo, leave of ance for one its latter days. A few bold things spoken, and a few bold month was granted to Lord Henry Lennox, on u s rgent pri deeds done, end the whole English crew would vauish. An vate business. exact half century has passed away since the last holy On the motion of Mr. W. Onalsee Goat, leave of absence war waged in this ialandtosweep it clear of the Englininam until Eager was granted to Mr. Ormsby Gore on the ground and the English nation," die. His lordship read other of illness. passages of a seditious character. And thin was the lan- CASE OF MICHAEL HOWAR D. guage used avoweely to excite the people of Ireland to re- Lori NUGEN r beg,:cd to ask the right hon. Secretary hellion, who were tpoken of as having • deep irreconcilable for the Home Depertment whether government here had disaffection to all British laws, ten givera, and law adminis. received information as to the case of Michael Howard, who waters. Whateve r newsy be their lordships' opinion as to having been found guilty of murder before the Limerick the prosecution of thin aper, ho would not apologise special commissioners heel since bi en respited from ex cu for having drawn ate .:'ion to it, for its purpose was to ex. non on the discovery that the convicted evidence by which he had cite disaffection and promote civil war—(hear, hear)--" lir been warpejured testimony ? the perpose of de ereying everything English." If such a Sir 0. GREY had wen in the paters a statement that publication had eppeered in Ergland, the good tease and Michael Howard had been respited on its being stated teethe loyalty of the peenee would have revolted at it. (Hear, Lord-Lieutenant that the evidence against him was sue hear.) The very violence of the language, like an over- pected of falsehood; but he had ne official heformativn ea dose of poison, would counteract its object. (Hear, hear.) the subject. But this was language addressed to the excitable, enthu- MEDICAL CHARITIES (IRELAND). nestle, and easily stimulated people of Ireland, suffering In reply to Mr. F. FRENCO, under great chews., and who for years had been excited to Sir W. SOMERVILLE said that the report of the meal do the utmost con-anaot with the safety of the democrats cal charities in Ireland was under the consideration of and revolutionists who led them to eirect their objects. He government. had beet informed that this paper, which WAS published at BOARD OF HEALTH (IRELAND). 54., was eagerly bought up in the streets of Dublin at 11.6 d. In reply to Mr. F. FUENeIt, and 2a. each. There was no doubt that these men were Sir W. SOMERVILLE stated that the papers relating to rebels in heart, and meant what they said in pursuing this the proceedings of the beanie of health in Ireland were in regular system of excitement to rebellion. Ho therefore course of preparatio n. MlTTEE OF SUPPLY. wished to know whether the law officers of the crown had COM been consulted on the subject, and whether it was the in- The CHANCEL on LOR of his theday), EXCHEQUmove E the R intimated house to tentioa of the government to take any n otice of it ? that he would, Friday (t for The Marquis of LANSDOWNE hail na hesitation in say- so into committee of supply, fir the purpose of taking two fag that he nail se n the paper referred to by the aoble short votes on account of oho Refer war and the excess of lord, and had reason to believe that the noble lord at the navy estimates for the list year, previous to proceeding with head of the government in Ireland bad hid his attention the Jewish Disabilities Bill. CHINESE MURDERS. directed to the articles complained of, as it wee, in fact, to every material occurrence in Ireland. (Hear, hear.) He Dr. BOWRING postponed want Friday (this day) his agreed with the noble lord that there WaS no step of false- question to tbe noble lord at te head of Ole treasury, hood or seditien which, in the putettit of notoriety, thew respecting the murder of six Englishmen at Canton. persons without property in Ireland would not take in pur- HYDERABAD PRIZE MONEY. suing their insurrectionary okjeets. But he was net prepared Col. K. TYNTE begged to ask the lion. member opposite to say that on every occasion when seditious and its- when the amount of prize money, captured at Hyderabad by flammable language was used a prosecution ought to follow, Sir C. Napier and his division, would be distributed to thou and still lens that the government ought to limit and fetter entitled to it? that discretion of the Lord Lieutenant which on every other Mr. O. C. LEWIS made an indistinct reply, the purport occasion he exercised with the greatest prudence. (Hear, of which was understood to be, that the mosey would aeon hear.) The noble lord's attention had been called to the be put in distribution, paper in question, and he would act without delay as excl. SELECT CO Niel ITTEES —E X PENDITL'RE. mon might require, but he was not prepared to say Mr. HINDLEY asked the right hon. gentleman the that h would rcsecute the wrier of these editious Chancellor of the Exchequer when it was his intention to articles. e He doubted whether thet very extent of s the ma- nominate the two select committees who were to examine lignity did not render it innocuous, and excite that into the expenditure of the country. tlisgust which was the best punishment for persons indulging The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER said that he in such languige. It was, however, a subject that any wise should nominate the committees iu the order in which his government ought to take into consideration, and be could notice stood on the paper of that evening. only say that it would be taken into consideration, and what- Mr. B. OSBORN E sail that if the right hon. gentleman ever was nee euery would be done. (Hear, hews.) attempted to nominate the two committees at • late hour of ENCUMBERED ESTATES (IRELAND) BILL. the sitting, he should oppose him in so doing. The LORD CHANCELLOR, in moving the second MAILS TO THE AUSTRALIAN COLONIES. reading of this bill, said that the situation of property in Mr. DIVETT moved for a copy of the report of the Hy- Ireland was not only detrimental to the holders of land, but drographer of the Admiralty, founded on which the route to the tenants themselves; and if he was able to lay before through Torres Straits had been sanctioned by the Lords of their lordship' avian by which the great evils which existed the Admiralty for large steamers conveying the mails to the might be removed, lie thought it would have their lordships' Australian colonies. approval. The greenest evil connected with landed pro- Admiral D. DUNDAS said there was no objection to the party in Ireland wee that the estates were encumbered and return, as he should be very glad if any additional informa mortgaged to such an extent that it was difficult to know tion could be obtained respecting the navigation of the seas who the real owner was. At present estates in Ireland could in question. not easilybesold,andin fact not without expensive proces, Mr. HUhIE said the government night to lose no time in and however advantageous ii might he to turn the Indioo making corrections in the admiralty charts in conformity to money, it was now exceedingly difficult to do so ; and it was the latest surveys and discoveries, as daily accounts were often the interest of the owner of the estate to sell it for the futnished of shipwrecks from reefs and shoals in places not purpose of paying off the mortgage. If, therefore, a mea- marked, which ought to be inserted. sure could be framed, enabling the holders of encumbered Mr. WY said that the surveys which had been exe estates to convert them into money, it would be doing a cuted by hensal service since the year 1820 had cost the great service to the country. It would afford every tempts- country upwards of one million sterling. At the present tion to the improvement 01 land, ant give the possessors of moment there was a vast amount of valuable information it the power of doing so. And why should not parliament lying dormant at the Hydregrapher's office, which had not interfere ? The principle was nut new, for in the cases of yet been published. canals, railways, and other public improvements, they did Mr. COWPER entirely agreed in the observations of the not hesitate to takeehe property required for such purposes. It hon. member for Buda in, and wished he would make his was difficult, perhaps, iu every case to protect all the parties in- suggestion for increasing the naval estimates for the purposes terested,but every endeavoue had been made in the bill to do so of the hydrographer's department, at the time when thou IL was a subject of great complexity , and therefore the mat- estimates came before the committee.—The motion was then ter had been left very much to the discretion of the Court of agreed to. Chancery in Ireland. The bill would guard as much as poi WINDOW DUTY. sible against the absence of any one interested in en estate Lord DUNCAN said that in rising to bring forward the to be sold. It was proposed thatehe manager of the estate motion of which he had given notice, he was quite aware should have a right to apply, by 'Teflon, to the Court of of the objections t h a t existed to any props al which Chancery, to put the powers of the act in motion with regard might be brought forward at the present crisis for a reduc to such estate, and every one who conceived that he had an tion of taxes. lie had, however, entertained hopes that he interest in the property might enter a caveat, and thereafter should have been anticipated in his motion b some move be entitled to notic Upony proceedings that might be tak n meet on Beeped of the noble lord (Lord ssell beams with regard to it. a petition being presented, it would right hon. friend the Chancellor' f the Exchequer use be referred, ie the first place, to a master, to inquire into the when he considered that a peace budget contained a pre fects of the case, and he would have the meats of obtaining posal for augmeating the properly tax, that augmentation all the information necessary to see that justice was done ought to have been based upon the principle that it He would also give notice to a ll p ersons interested was &substitute for other taxes which messed most grievously in the matter. He would then make a repo r t to the court on the working classes. Ho knew he should be told that and recommend what, under all the circumstances, was the the present was not the time for repealing the window tax. most expedient course to pursue ; and if he thought it desir Bat he would assert that the time for the abolition of that able that the estate should be sold he would be authorised to tax had come. He had often observed that the opportunity sell the whole interest. If the court thought there was a and the question of proper time had formed a pretext for re doubt that some interest had not been ascertained, and it fuming or for delaying to grant any demand made upon the were subsequently proved, the money would be refunded ministry •, and when he had last brought the subject of the Every means, in fact, had been taken to prevent the money window duty before the house, he had merely reeked for • being paid out of the court into the wrong hands, as well as select committee to examine into the subject. Now, how to protect, in every possible way, the interests of the owners ever, he demanded the entire repeal of the tax. He threw mortgagees, and other pereoas interested in estates ; and the himself upon the indulgence of the house. He knew the object of the bill was to give to the mortgagee his money weight of task he had imposed en himself, and he would and pay over the surplus to the owner, or invest it in land endeavour not to waste time in fulfilling it. In looking over The noble and learned lord, who was vi ry inaudible through• the whole scheme of national taxation, he had found a substi out, concluded by moving the second reading of the bill. tete for the window-tax, and he would presently place that The Earl of RODENT expressed his theeke to the noble proposition before his right hon. friend. It had been boasted lord fur the great pains he had taken to explain the object in that house, by tame advocate for the continuance of the and details of this measure. Certainly, without such a men window tax,that whilst there were ,500,000 houses inlinglend sure it would be very iiiillouit to carry out the poor law now there were only eleo,ooo of them which paid the window tax. in force in Deism!. That certainly wa, a most aeteuishine toast, for the fart upon Earl FITZ WILLIAM thought it might be desirable to which then as based wu that thousands of houses had re guard the public in England from farming any very exag duced umber of windows to seven, instead of allowing gerated idea of what would be the results of thitmeasure. He the original number which they possessed to remain. Dr. was far from (booking slightly of the bill ;on the contrary,he Southwood Smith had stated in a letter that no sanitary re thought it a very right and wise measure; but he had a strong form could by any possibility be complete until the window impression that its operation would be very slow. tide was repealed. la the same manner Mr. Byers, deede- Lord STANLEY concurred with those who thought that int of the Carpenters'Association of Loaelon, B u rs, the evil sought to be remedied by this bill was one of over- in • letter—and he (Lord Duman) called the attention of whelming magnitude in Ireland. When peen of a nominal the noble lord opposite (Lord Morpeth), as the great rent-roll of 10,00 W. or 12,0001. a year in Ireland were really sanitary advocate of the clay, to Mr. Byers' assertion — receiving scarcely so many hundreds, it was clear that they that the win dows in wrobhouses, pricier, and other places weld not properly do their duty either to the state or to at the backs of private dwellings had been done away those who were dependent upon them. But although the with, so as to lease them entirely without ventila' evil to be remedied was great, he must also observe that the tion and light, two of the greatest blessings that had been mode of cure was one accompanied by considerable difficulty. bestowed upon the human race. Mr. Byers also stated that He trusted that time would be given deliberately to consider the greatest disfigurements were modern houses, owing to the details of the measure. The principle he did not now the stoppage of windows, and that in one street (Compton object to; but it must be borne in mind that it was one street, Soho), he had stopped up windows at Nos. 21, 22, which might be pushed to • very inconvenient extent. To 23, and 24, and indeed the whole street nearly was in the tell • mass that it was for the interest of the state that he same state. He would venture to assert that the window tax should dispoeusa himself of his property because he had not was not so much a revenue question as it was a question sufficient capieal to develop all its resources was to establish whether light and air should be tree. The first net which at a principle that it was at lout very dangerous to act upon. all related to the subject was passed in thsreign of Wm.lll. Besides this, he thought that considerable practiced inconve- when a house duty of 25. was imposed on every privets: nionoe might arise from the bill. Estates might see pressed dwelling. That tax was laid on, like the income tax, for into the market , and the vat of Irish property might three years at fiat ; but in the reign of Queen Anne it wee thereby be putty depreciated. This was a consequence increased, and in the reign of George 11. it was again raised. very much to be dreaded. lie f woul venture to ask, with In the year 1747 Mr. Pelham brought in an act, which was reference to one of the details, i • tenant for Ulm entail passed, imposing, first, a duty on hotline and, in the second Lye the power of selling ? place, a window duty. The tax remained in this state until lel rd MTTEe NHAIII said he would be th e ety cp make the year 1785, when Mr . Pitt passed his celebrated act the application for male. Pa- called the Commutation Act, against the smuggling of tea. Lord STANLEY said he thought the power of sale being The excuse maligned by Mr. Pitt for this act was too rder -waited in a lite tenant would be open to great difileulry. Ha that it might effect a saving for the poorer dames • but, in iril doubts as to the security given to the manna's lieu of the duty en tea which he abandoned, Mr. ' Pitt ire. • "I. Mother difficulty he felt was, that the bill posed an increased window tax. It was in vain Mr. Fox ' .4 atifealY gave sogicient prcte‘tioo to t h e I ,:bnrred that tea am: wiado 4S hod no more to do with each uhder the u... aa at present fry" moiler it lbws la Orem Britain Armed to the W lotto, Tao. - 114,036 00.913 66.M~ F i • No. of • I Ilovemi Amount I ' lomat& 1 of Tax. C1A13.3 44 S I ... 49). 144 .t 4143 t ** 1 14 4 MCA al 1,31•2 1,1115.2,1 1,40.4 1,275 1841 460,813 1842 447,420 Intl 444.1 0 6 1d44 447,363 lacrosse.; Deczofter. 406 Doduct Increarc 1.275 E10,7 , ...5 Total decrease in nuns 3 '.30 but lacrosse of tat, £lo,;05 bur of bow. He begged of the noble lord (Morpeth) opposite only to con sider for one moment what the results of such a statistical return must prove in a sanitary point of view. The facts which he bad quoted were alone sufficient to induce the house to reconsider the tax. There was a very mistaken idea afloat with respect to the amount of the window tax being a fair criterion of the value of a house. lie vrntured to assert that there was no kind of relation between the two. As a proof of his assertion, ho would state the fact that the houses in Poland and Berwick.streeta were in no instant: rated at 2001., but sexily- at 401., 50/., and 601. a year; the amount of window tax levied in Poland-street was 4161., and in Berwick-street 8081. But in St. Jan.es's-square most of the houses were riled at 5001., 7501., and 1,0001., none being rated so low as 1001., and yet the window duty ouly amounted to 669/. In Berkeley-square no house was rated so low as 9th., but mostly . at 5001., 7501., and 1,0001.; the window duty levied was only 7121. lit Grosvenor square no house was rated under 300/., but moat at 5001., 7501., and 1,0001.; whilst the window duty levied woo only 983/. So that whilst Berwick, Poland, Broad-streets, with only one house in them rated so high as 1601., paid in the aggregate 1,2301. to the window tax. Piccadilly. without a louse under 701., and with many a% high as 1,0001. and 2.0001. a year, only contributed 1,7911. to the window duty. In Oxford.strem there ware 503 houses paying 2,3101., or an average of 41. I Is. window duty for each house, whilst 10 houses in Dufour's-place paid 781., or 71, 18s. per house, and 40 houses in Broad-street paid 3321., or 61. 161. per house to the window tax. Amongst the exemptions to the window tax he found at the head, Ireland, and he found it recorded that when Mr. Robinson, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, was asked in 1821 why Ire land was exempt from the window tax, his reply was that the poor people of that country, in order to avoid the payment of the duty, had stopped up their windows to a degree that rendered their dwellings unwholesome, for which reason he had taken it off. He earnestly begged the noble lord's (Morpeth) attention to the reasons advanced by Mr. Robin son. There were other exemptions from the window tax, amongst which were public offices and agricultural dwellings. But there was one class of exemption which operated exclu sively in favour of a rich class, and which was denied to the working classes—he alludel to-the manner in which the tax was assessed upon chambers at Oxford, Cambridge, and in the Inns of Court. lie would now al the attention of the house to another vexation connected with the tax. It was provided that no window merely blocked up with wood should be exempt, and the consequence was that many per sons over the country who had sinned through ignorance had been heavily *emend. Another grievance was, that the act did not define what was to be reckoned a window. (Ileac) It appeared that in some places any hole that let in light was charged. Having mentioned some instances of oppressive assessment of that kind, the noble lord proceeded to say that he would next call the attention of the house to the peculiar sort of sliding scale which had been established in rating for the window tax. The tax Dee been framed with the ostensible intention of-exempting the dwellings of the poor, but how had that been done ? A house with eight windows was rated at 2s. 3d. per window, from which it TON to 4s. in twelve-windowed houses, and 53. in fifteen windowed houses, and so on until it came to forty windows, when the scale began to descend, and continued doing so until it came to 180 window!. A house with that number of windows paid only ls. 6i. per window while • house with eight windows p aid 2s. 31. Thu was the operation 01 a tax which they had been told was framed so an to exempt the poor. (Hear, hear.) He now tame to that part of his plan which went to provide a sub stitute for this obnoxious tax. It appeared that in 182.5 the army, navy, and ordnance estimates amounted to 15,310,000/. In 1836 they had fallen to 11,600,0001 , but in ISO they had risen to 16,661,0001. In 1846 they were 16,957,0001., and it appear( d that for the current year they would be 18,917,0001. ' NOW, first, his sight hon. friend might fall back on the budget of 1846, which would save two millions. and so settle the matter at once, but that was not his (Lord Duncan's) I plan. He proposed, in the first place, to keep the estimates the same aa last year, and 60 save 600,0001. Nest, he would withdraw the squadron from the coast of Africa, whereby a further saving of 300,0001. would be effected. He would next dispense with the 6,000 soldiers who were returning from India, and save 100,0001. By arming each of the metropolitan police with a musket, an ample substitute would be provided. Then, without trenching on any of the royal palaces, there was much of the property which came under the jurisdiction' of the Woods and Forests, which might be made to fill the place of an abolished tax. There was the New Forest, 66,00 u acres ; and: for the last seven years the returns Of timber from it had been nit. This, with all the other royal forests, he would have sold or let, so as to become profitable, seeing that they now did nothing but support a host of verilerers and other useless officers. He appealed to the noble lord at the head of the Woods and Forests to vote for their disposal even on sanitary grounds. Why, the miasma rising from the New Forest was so great as to constitute it the cloaca notrima of England. If the item• he had enumerated were taken, they would realise 1,600,0001. or 1,700,000/. per annum, or exactly the amount of the window tax. He had been told that lie could not find in the ri port of the sanitary commission anything confirmatory of Ma views, But in turning over that report he found that in Ski Ids, Sunderland, and several other pc,- putout towns, serious ifi e jury to health had arisen from block. ing up windows in evasion of the tax. He trusted that no idle fears of invasion would prevent the abolition of this ob noxious tax. If cur enemies were to be resisted, the battle ground would be where his ancestor had met them, and not at Flamborough or Spithead. He appealed to the noble lord at the head of the Treasury, exhorting him to remember that reform and htrenchment had ever been the cries that had kept him in power. He appealed to the Irish members,who ought to remember that when their country was in want the English working-classes refused no taxes that were ne-1 weary tie their relief. Lastly, he appealed to that provi dence which knee how necessary were light and air to the health and well-being of its human creatures ; Oh, Lord of light and air; Oh, king! ota, father boar my humble prayer ; Dispel this cloud, the light of heaven restore, Grant us to see, Old Englaad asks no more. If we must perish we'll thy will obey, But let us perish in the face of day. (Cheers.)—The noble lord concluded by moving for a com mittee of the whole house, in which to move a resolution for the total repeal of the window-duties. Mr. HUME, in seconding the motion, said that there was no use in agitating questions of sanitary reform so long as they kept up a heavy taxation on light and air. Col. SIBTHOUP was understood to support the motion ; but the noise prevailing in the house prevented his obkrvu- Rens being distinctly heard in the gallery. Sir D. L. EVANS said that the advantages which would accrue from the repeal of the window tax were so great, that it was hardly necessary for him to do more than support the motion of the noble lord. It was a tax which premed most unequally, and was most felt where its absence was most to be desired, namely, in the large and densely popu lated towns. If they compared the wealthy regions of Grosvenor and Belgrave squares with the poorer portions of Westminster, they would find that while one was taxed at the rate of 2 or 3 per cent., the other groaned under a burden of from 20 to 30 per cent. He approved of the budget which hod "been put forward by the noble lord the member for Bath. especially that por tion of it which related to the royal forests. The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER said that the office which he had the honour unworthily to till was anything but all agreeable one, more especially, when, during a period of national distress, it was his painful duty to propose increased taxation. On the present occasion there was, however, another painful duty involved, the duty of refusing to remit a tax which on all sides was com plamed of as odious and vexatious. He confessed he should have thought that the statement made by his noble friend the First Lord of the Treasury, on a previous evening, would have been a sufficient answer to the present motion. (Hear, hear.) At a time when h fries called upon to impose fresh taxis noble es to the amo nd wa s of three millions be thought it would be moat unwise to , repeal any of those already existing. There was an old fable, the moral of which waa,that we could bear more easily those burdens to which we had been accustomed than those which were newly imposed. Surely a time when it was found necessary to imilbso fresh taxes was not a time in which to relinquish a tax which produced a million and a half. He bad looked oser the notice paper of that day, and he was afrC4 that max., - 041emen were struggling for a