Star. — London, England, 1816-03-19 00:00:00

4 re v LI en at ~.t ll' 'l' 41 . PO' Pt likl' lio• .• • t imp pettntivon o the °trek k *, en is natal l e w r at ha d been the opinion of the Chancellor of the Exchequer at the period before referred to.—( R ass a, we d),_The Noble Lord had said, that 40 if he were di s posed to hazard an opinion as to the expediency of continuing the Property Tax after a Peace, it was bin op i n ion that it was desirable to retain a small par don of that duty, as less borthensome than some of. the War Tani. The propriety of continuing or re vealing it would be regulated , however, not b y his own opinion; but by the public opinion and feeling." O s ar, hear, from th e Oft/to:Woe ).-t—His (the Chan c alor of . , t h e : chequer'-) own speech, which had m q w ee o d corresponded exactly in sentiment with be of the Noble Lord. He had, indeed,' rat no one had ever thought of proposing a tseh Tax in Peace, in the shape of an annual ant; but, at the same time, he had asserted, that if t iara *, under particular circumstances, could he a„ ss la to consent to such a preposition , the Tax j' a V e be wisely resorted to. He theufht he had iloucunpletely made out his case, that in 1802 no pl e jae bad been given that the Tax might not be toed under some possible contingencies. He b a d shurn it from written documents, and could os firm it by his own personal recollection of what Ibis took plade. He came now to the transactions a ttest year: and certainly he could say, that at least the circumstances of that period afforded do sea seeable opportunity of making a pledge to the calm ay. It was true that when the Ca: was proposed, li rat many Gentlemen suggested various modifi cations: but he had recommended to the House not to eater, at that important crisis, into minute details, expressing, at the same time, an opinion, that the consideration of the modifications would come on better at the end of the year, when the question of renewing the Tax would be discussed. That time had now arrived, and now was the oppor tunity for proposing and debating on the modifica tions. He bad, perhaps, detained the House some "ha; too long with these preliminary remarks, but he b a d done so because he felt that a very strong Ito pressrun prevailed out of doors that there had been a breach of a solemn pledge. Nor was it to be won dered that those who did not possess the knowledge of Henow able Members on this subject should be de aired, when it appeared that even Hon. Memh themselves, with all their opportunities of accurate knowledge, had been completely mistaken. (Hear.) It certainly was highly honourable to the maimed character, that the people were so actively alive to say supposed violation of faith on the*part ot public men. But Ix must say, that, in this case, it was al most impossible that ary pledge of faith could have been given. It was almost impossible, because the supposition implied, that a contract could be entered into between the people and their representatives, that. these same representatives should never, under any ruble circumstances, reconsider whether a particu- measure might not be beneficial td the people.— (Hear, hear.) A minister must be very indiscreet, and entirely unworthy of his situation, who could wake such a kind of promise. But, however that :night be, it was undeniable that, in the present in stance, no such promise had been made. Nothing bad occurred which ought to prevent either hims.:lf teeny other person from proposing a renewal of the tax. No Minister had ever pledged himself to its in dimeasible disCOntinuance ; and Mr. Pitt, or. the contrary, had gone so far as to expressly pledge its continuance. The question, therefore, of its revisal, from all these circumstances, might be pronounced to be wholly open to discussion. He came now to that pert of the .subject which, though in some points ot view not so momentous as the question of public ho mier involved in the supposed breach of faith, was. bowerer of more immedi .te and practical impor tance—and this was, the necessity of imposing this lbarge. Here he was ready to meet the Alderman. It was true, as he had said, that the teat was brought b when public credit required it. The pet iod of 1797 Its one when the necessity of supporting this public eedit was of the severest an I most urguit nature. — 'he different misfortunes which then pressed upon the country were aggravated by the loans, amounting to fety-six millions — a weight beyond what the :no ' upmarket could bear. The depression of the funds was consequently very great—so great, that it was thought advisabie to raise the supplies within the Par. Now, what had been the case with respect' o the two years 1814 and 181 S? Exactly 100 millions lad been borrowed—a sum so large, that Parliament Wii called upon to use ail its exertions in order to re- Sere the burthens of the.moncy-market. There had ken in fact no period when public credit more re quired support.. At the peace of Amiens—a peace hr less glorious and secure than the present, a peace which, in all its relations, was rather a contrast than a parallel with the present peace—yet even.then, at the very naoment of negotiating the loan, the funds were as high as 75. Gentlemen need not be told bow different were the present prices ; nor was it matter of surprise, when it was considered, that in the four last years no less than 165 millions had been borrow. ad. And here he must be allowed to say, that what ever animadversions might be made on the enormity °ribose loans, yet whenever he considered the asto- Wing series of successes and of glory which had resulted from them, he could not but esteem it the highest honour that could have befallen so humble as individual as himself, that he bad been the in !,tnirnent of proposing ouch a plan of finance to the rarliament. The effect of the measures which had been carried through that House had been felt -through all the operations of the war. No service had been delayed for want of adequate pecuniary ratana.--cto success, ha:. been checked in its earl for want of the efficient supply of proportionate resources. Large, indeed, our expenditure had been, lest th ere h ad been no waste, and that had been found CO be the truest economy, which, by expending l a Proportion to the occasion, produced results pro- Pettionate to the expense.--(Hear, hear.)—He was aware that there was another species of economy likely to be recommended and enforced by the Hon. Pointleman opposite: all he would say on that sub leCt at present was, let Gentlemen wait till the pro- Pr opportunity and proper documents came before than. He would merely add, that he himself an- Paled a considerable reduction in several branches "a public expenditure. Au Honourable Baronet had roPued four alternatives for the Property Tax—all, weever, founded on the principle ot borrowing in stead of raising money. lie stronglyobjected..to this I t iße i iics We s u b. la il d alludy SWIM, the money uteri:et should be relieeel, not burthenea. There was A time when the very idea of a loan in a miri• d of peace would have excited general - alarm. The institution of the Sinking .Fond had served tb relieve much-of these tears ; and wuen the system of , credit shaft ;cot,- taecome improved, a-loan may be resorted to: but the loan most tollow, hot nreceoe, the improvement of this credit. He had heard in. deed that it had been said, that a small loan would give animation to the money market. Now, though he was inclined to respect the opinions or practical men, whose experience he had generally found very sate to rely upon in ale practical matters ; yet dive was something so paradoxical in this assertion, that he could not subscribe to it, notwithstanding all his respect for the quarter from which it came. Though he had no doubt that the assertors of this opinion be lieved themselves to be perfectly disinterested in the advice which they gave, yet it was not easy to acquit them of some sort of bias. Same latent motive, unknown even to themselves, might be created by the difference between paying 5 per cent. out of their income, and adding 20 per cent. to it.— On a former occasion he bad illustrated the advan tage. of taxation over borrowing, by supposing the familiar instance of a miraculous shower of. gold— (/' laugh)—by which every man might have a guinea in his pocket. In this case no man would. irons the possession of a single guinea, be the mare able to pay a debt of 510. No man, in fact, woula •delive any serious or permanent advantage from such au acqui sition. On the other hand, let the collected mass of these individual guineas come into the hands of the Chancellor of the Exchequer, and then pass through the different channels of the Bank, and the country batiks, into the hands of those who most want it, it would thus become an active productive capital to the nation. Agriculture and commerce would be encou raged, and the system of money speculati ns would revive and flourish. Eve:). Gentleman laws., he be lieved, see the applicability cf . this illustration; every one must see that .he principle of it had been the cause that, under all its difficulties, the country had not beta irrecoverably depressed —that in tact its re:out-eels had accumulated, and that the largest loans and mist extensive expenditure had only d:rangt..l, and could not destroy. the uttancial means of the nation...- lie was unwiliing in the present stage to troaule the Committee by entering into pat oculars, but he trusted he had proved that nu other tax could raise the large sum required with so little pressure as the Property Tax. Among the many opinions el winch he had listened. he had hardly ever heard the general rpm ilt), and equity 01 the Property Tax denied - (Near, hear, hear, front the Opposition side)—he meant I compared with the circumstances of tue individual and the weight at other taxes ; those upon articles of ' consumption bore with a very unequal pressure, not being in proportion to the resoarcts, bat to the ex• penditure of the individual, which a thousand circum stances might affect. In the course of the last Ses sion, with a view to provide a substitute for the tax in question, he had suggested the adoption of various others—to the nature of them he need not now refer, but he was willing to submit the Property Tax to be tried by that criterion. Those substitutes were selected by him after the Oiliest consideration ; and the general sentiment in the House and the country seemed to be, that they would be much more bur thensonse and injurious than the impost they were chosen to succeed. Previous to the meeting of Par liament, he had received many suggestions from dif ferent quarters as to the modes of regulating parts of this measure, and among them there certainly was j shown a disposition to exempt from the operation of the bill 41:1 profits derived from industry. He was 'ready to allow, that could this object be fairly ac complish..d, some advantages might result; but, in the first place, the landed interest would then have, a right to complain that the whole mass of commer-' cial property was exempted from all payment.— The Committee was also aware that a questwu of de licacy existed with respect to money in the funds, and it had been uniformly contended by Mr. Pitt that that species of property could not justly be sub jected to taxation, if All Littler sources of emolument were ti, t also rendered Wide. Then, indeed, a real question of a breach of public faith would arise, for in in every Loan Act a distinct clause was inserted, providing treat the chvidend of the loan should never he subject to taxation. If it were the pleasure of. the House to entertain the Bill in the first instance, he thought that means might be sound in its progress to remove or weaken the major pit of the objections to it. (Hear, hear.) That portion of the tax raised upon money in the Funds, deducted by the officers appoin ted to pay dividends, was the most perfect machine that could be devised : neither more nor less than the fair amount was retained, without the possibility. of evasion or over charge. He admitted that in that past of the measure which related to incomes derived from industry there were considerable defects ; the, machine here lost its simplicity and its facility.— Those defects divided themselves chiefly nato two great• branches, distiognished in the Act by schedules B. ' and D. the first referring to the landed, and the last to the commercial interest. Under the present pecu. liar circumstances of the agricultural tenants, it could not be denied that they were entitled to great relief, of which he had spoken on - a former night, and lbw ' modifications then noticed, lie believed, had given general satisfaction, as being adequate to the object. He scarcely thou h t it necessary to restate what be had then said ; the committee was, aware that the profits of the tenant had hitherto been calculated at three-fourths of the rent he paid : under the new Bill these proits were only to be estimated at one-third of , the rent, which, besides being a great immediate re duction, would also operate mach in favour of a large portion of the tenantry of the country, by bring ing them within the aliases entitled to abatements.— The accounts spot* the table shelved, according to the last assessment, that of the tenants of land entitled to exemption only amounted to 114,000, but by the pro posed modi fi cation t hestumber would be increased to 527,000: those not entitled to any allowance amounted to 400,000, and their number would in future be re duced to 53,000; and 42,000 tenants, who hitherto had not been permitted to make any abatement, bold ing farms of the yearly rent of 5e4511 would hereafter be only 6,000. besides this rdliet, it was his intention to propose a diminution Of the tax upon horses em played in agriculture : it the Property Tax should pass, be should suggest that only 7s. 6d. should be paid for each horse, and that.all farmers occupying Iliad* a has amoral awn than £lOO, should not be • required to tenth rite at a ma—This alto is • tion would be a most important a dvantage to the Western Codfities and to Wales. -As to schedule D. Jae CULILIACd that he had not been able to discover any remedy for the complaints of persons included in it: the same grievances that afflicted the tenant did not operate against the tradesman; for the tenant of land was not charged upon 'any return made by himself. but upon an assumed profit calculated by the amount or the rent ; therefore an increase of tent, though it reduced his emoluments, compelled him to par a heavier - contribution to the State—(Heer, hear.) — With respect to him, therefore it was the wish of the supporters of thi s measure to a fford as much relief as was consistent with the nature of the case; and it was intended to give the Commissioners some additional powers, to enable them to make a fair allowance, in Case of unexpected and extraordinary losses on the part of the Lumen—(llear, hear.)—The merchant, on the other hand, could never be assessed but ac cording to the amount of his own tem% and any deficiency in his income could be stated in the return of the succeeding year. In order, however, to obviate some of the objections on this part of the question, a, clause would be introduced into the new Bill, under which an individual in trade might be charged ac. cording to his estimated profits of the last year; St. that he would not be called upon to make a fresh seturn, but might pay the 5 per cent. upon a sum previously stated. If the Merchant submitted to this charge, of course no further inquiry would be neces sary ; and it was consequently in his power; by the payment of the sum he contributed last year, to avoid any painful and inconvenient disclosutet— (Rear, hear, from the Opposition side.)—Undoubt‘, edly, many cases might occur where the profits bad, diminished, and then fre s h r eturns would be deemed necessary ; but if they bad increased, no addition would be made to the assessment. It would, there fore, ue enacted, that every person in trade not laying 40 appeal within a fixed period, should be charged to the Amount of his previous return; if an appeal were laid, his affairs must necessarily be subjected to a new exansioation.—(Hear, hear.)—The regulations ander which this inquiry would be conducted, he moped, would weaken the strenuous opposition by Gentlemen on the other side of the House, for it would be proposed to revive the clause of 1806, which gave the trader the liberty of being charged by referees of his own nomination; if, however, he preferred to make his return to the Commissioners, the investigation should not be made, as at present, by all the Commissioners, but only by one of them, to be selected by ballot, or any other impartial mode, assisted by the Clerk ; they should receive the expla nation of the party appealing, being themselves distinctly sworn to secrecy, and to destroy all memoranda or other documents that might lead to an exposure of the affairs of the Merchant.— the tribunal would thus consist of only two persons, and the report of the Commissioner so chores: should be final. With these further, and in his opinion very material improvements, he hoped that the House would not only entertain the proposition in the first instance, but, with such other amendments as its wis dom might suggest, would sanction its adoption. (Hear.)—lt might be proper to mention again whit had fallen from him on a former night—.that, in order to give saiisfacticn to the public, and to set all hearts at rest as to th e continuance of the TAX, the time of its duration should be stated in the preamble, with the addition, that it was contiloaed only for the pur pose of defraying the extraordinary charges occa sioned by the war in the first years of peace. The fact of the existence of those charges, he apprehended, could not now be a matter ct discussion, the estimates on the table communicating the details: if there ap peared that eight or nine millions would be required tor the service of the present year, and four or five tor the service of the next. Mr. TIERNEY eked across the table for some of the items of charge. Tne CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER replied, that it would be difficult for him to state thei particular articles, with their amounts. One charge was tor repairs of the navy, which would be exten sive, not only during the next, but several succeeding years: there were, besides, considerable naval expenses of other kinds. A large sum was devoted to the ord nance, and others to various military departments. If the opinion of any Gentleman should depend merely upon the question, whether twelve millions were necessary beyond the amount of the peace esta blishment, he could undertake in a very short time to satisfy him upon that point. 'Io raise this sum was the object of the Property Tax, and he earnestly re commended it to the House as a measure of urgent necessity, and of great importance.—(Haar, hear.) He had been most anxious to render the burden as light as possible, by the introducdon of practicable modifications; and he should be happy to adopt others at the suggestion of Honourable Gentlemen , on either side of the House, if they did not diminish the amount to be produced by weakening the powers of the measure. The passing of this Bill would fad!. litate most materially the operations of the whole financial machine of the country s while the Property Tax was affording a temporary supply to a temporary want, that machine, of late years much disorganized and complicated, might be put into a state of repair and activity which would facilitate the whole pro ceedings of the nation • with the Property Tax, the money market would 1:e relieved, and he anticipated a certain, if not a rapid, improvement in the public pecuniary copcerns ; without it, the people would be heavily burdened in other ways, Ind he could foresee nothing but a long succession of difficulties and em , barrassments.—(Herr, hear, hear.) Upon this point, it was not necessary for him to enlarge, since pro spects far more gloomy than any he was accus tomed to paint could be drawn by Gentlemen on the opposite side of the House. Some persons bad' required that, after the struggle, a breathing time should be allowed to the country—he only asked a breathing time to public credit, which was, in troth, almost the same thing.—(Hear, hear 4— Although, during the last three years, a burden of 100 millions had beet: thrown upon the money mar ket by repeated loans, yet he congratulated the House that it bad been accompanied by no increase of taxa tion that system he hoped to see continued, and he called upon the Thuse to continue a Taz calculated to raise little more than bad been saved during the two last years. By the operation of the plan of nuance of 1813, the public had been spared the weight of nearly nine millions of permanent taxes Sit the Mating Fund bad 1611 bees tail for all pm : It COlll.l tacit, hi sent sustain any greater pressure, tested, would be attended Rs, consequences, more especially to the and for this ~, ason the plan ot the Et net (Sir J. Shaw), which proposed diminution of it, was least eligible, b mittee would be aware, that whether borrowed in the market, or taken fr , Fund, the operation was nearly the litical and military glory of Ore it Britain had bees carried to its utmost height, but it had been attended' by a pressure upon her finances, from which they could not be relieved without a virrous sertio It was true that we had gained a happy An i secu e peace, but we ought nut to be-in ti n great haste :o enjoy its advantages! precipitation mrgirt be rumor's. while a wholesome restraint, a short dell, mtuid enable us to render our blessings substarviai and p.ra manent. He concluded by moving a It..solution for the continuance of the Property Tax, ssitti the modi fications noticed in the coarse of his speech. The question having been nut, Mr. W. SMITH would almost oppose this Tia 'in war or in peace. He particularly objected t its . inquisitorial operation, with respect to commercial men. The proposition of the Chancellor of the Es, chequer that Merchants should pay on their old as sessments or submit to a new enquiry int- their fairs, he did not approve. It was known that many had sustained great losses in the present year, and to conceal these they w.buld pay on their old ass .ssmt-rits. The tax would thus become a tax upon outgoings ra, ther than income. He dwelt with much warmth on air hardships endured under this tax, and hoped if any Irish Gentleman had been brought over the Channel to fix this impost upon England, that they would pause before they carried this design into effect, and red..ct, if they acted thus, whether it was not probable the English would soon determine upon extending it to Ireland. He proved the Tax to be at variance with almost every page of Dr. Adam S nith, in winch be treats on what should be the principles of taxation. A loan he (Dr. A. Smith) considered would be a less inconvenient mode of meeting the expenditure of the year. He particularly objected to the tax, on account of its pressing heavy on professional men, whose incomes not only ceased with life, not only with health, but often through caprice or accident.- rhis, which was one of the_ greatest hardships sits. tained under it, the Chancellor of the Elk h gun- had not proposed to modify—he had not aeemei to thi,ak it worthy of his consideration at all. He denied the truth of the assertion so often made, that it till e e n the rich, and ant upon the poor. The I.:come Ti., was a conscription upon property, and, as impased by Mr. Pitt, was is tyrannical as that of B.inaparte upon men. He should not enter into details ; this vs is not the proper time, and he was o ifident end time would never come, but that on the very. first question this odious tax would be lost. (Hear, hear.) Mr. ROSE, amid loud cries of Queth,n,proceed , 4 to defend the character of his departal iris ;td ( 71 ,- . Pitt) from the attack that had been made sewn it 'lr the Honourable Gentleman who had just sat dm. That Honourable Gentleman had denied Mr. Pitt's financial abilities, and, describing a test by uelieh talents were to be tried, denied that by that teat &s departed trimd could be considered as a gre it financier.—( Here an evident impatience was test tied by the House, and cries of Question were re 3 uhied). —Mr. Rose cantinued. Shah an attack be permitted on the•character of an indivilual, and shall it not be permitted to his friends to offer any detente ?-.. He was willing to adopt the test of the Honour. able Gentleman, and he was persuaded that Mr. Pith's character would be established by the ap. plication of it beyond the reach of question or dispute. The Honourable Gentleman had said, that great abilities were proved by the amen. plishment of great undertakings, through great difficulties, and with small means. Let the House look at the first period of Mr. Pitt's Adminispation a and, considering the circumstances in which it corn. menced, compare them with the state of the country after two years of his exertions and services, and there could not remain a shadow of doubt of the greatness of his financial character. When he entered upott office at the end of the American war, he found pulse lic credit exceedingly depressed, the national re. sources in a state of great exhaustion, and the re. venue of the country insufficient to defray the peace establishment, with the interest of the debt contracted in a long, lextensile, and unfortunate struggle...-. ' He found it necessary to impose £950,000 of new taxes ; but by this addition, by economy, and by an improved collection of the revenue, 'he not only ' brought the annual income of the nation to meet the annual expenditure, but provided a million for the Sinking Fund, which he established in the year 1786. Before he came into office, the war expenditure ex. ceeded the war revenue by three millions a year.-- What the Honourable Gentleman had stated con. corning Mr. Pitt's opinion of the Property Tax, was founded in error, or at least was without authority. He had never called it a War Tax, or declared that it could not be continued in peace. So much was his conduct: opposed to such a suppos:hon, that •be bad mortgaged it for 56 millions. Had the interest of this great sum not been provided for from another source by Mr. Addington, who succeeded Mr. kat, in 1802, it was calculated that the Property 'fax could not have been disengaged or removed for nine years of peace. rie (Mr. Rose) allowed, with an Honourable Alderman, the liberality of the Bunke, c, Merchants, and Tiaders , of London, in fiist suggeh. lag this Tax, _ and submittitig to it with such cieer. fulness; but he denied that there was any pledge given to abolish it at the end of the war. The T.I x produced at first three millions, which they raised to six. —[Here the cries of Question became so frequent, that although the Hon. Gentleman continued to speak for some time, nothing but unconnected sen tences could be heard from the gallery.] Mr. WHITSHED KEENE r , se, in the midst rf the same interruptions. The Honourable Gentkinass (said, that it was the duty of his Majesty's Mtilistei a to get money for the public service, and to get it by the best means. He wished to increase the froeerty Tax to 20 per cent. and to take .off all the other ta x es, n especially thosi on leather, beer, salt, and those that bore on the poor. The Mined-r had sham right endeavouring to continue the tax. It woutu, he eon shirred, be much more effectual to relieve the tamper s and to give him an increase, than to 4114011tIalie a . • • preavved sffec- however. .1t pre- And a loan, Is post detrimental e Sinking Fu id; ronour4ble 800, I a still lurthtr o.eause the C the money were inns the Slating !lune. The , t 1 1