Star. — London, England, 1825-03-01 00:00:00

the high duty has acted as a kind of prohibitory duty n the importation of foreign iron, the mmediate loss to the revenue will not be anything worth naming; bur I am certain that, before the end of the year, it will be found that the low duty will have made a considerable addition to the income from Customs--(Hear, hear). — One of the objects in view in removing those high prohibitory duties is to set other nations an example of what will in the end be for their as well as our interest. Some countries have already shewn a disposition to avail themselves of it ; but it cannot be expected that all countries will at once enter into our feelings on the subject. There are, however, some States willing to adopt our regulations, and to open their ports to articles of our produce. To these the remission of the heavy duties will for the present be confined, and they will find from us a full compensation for the advantages 'they are thus disposed to give; and I have no doubt that our example will, in the end, produce general imitation, provided that we ourselves are consistent There is another article of foreign-produce upon which. though the duty is high, it has not a prohibitory effect I mean the duty on hemp. This, though it is not an article which interests the community generally, is still of great consequence to a very important class— the shipping interest. The high duty presses upon them heavily, and it is necessary that they should be re lieved; for after all, our naval interest forms the grand fulcrum of our national prosperity—(Hear). I shall propose a !eduction of 50 per cent. on the duty on hemp, that is, to reduce it from one penny to one half penny in the pound. The immediate loss to the revenue ft om this reduction will be about 100,0001. The nex article on which I prolose a reduction is to be coffee which, though not very important in itself, is so in re ference to an interest of great value to the country. The duty on %Vest India coffee at present is is. in the pound, and that on East India and other foreign coffees is higher. That duty had been increased in 1819, and since then the consumption has considerably fallen off. To renew the consumption, I pi opose to diminish the present duty (me half; and another object in view is, to give every encouragement to our West India planters for its cultivation. The reduction intended, is from Is. to 6d. in the pallid, by which I calculate a reduction of re venue to the amount of 150,0001. The next article to which I shall call the attention of the Committee is one of \A I: ich the consumption appears to be matet ially affected by the amount of duty, which has been often noticed in this House. I allude to foreign wines. 1 have noticed thy decrease of consumption by the increase of (lades ; and by that decrease, the power of other na tioi.s to take our commodities has been also reduced. Now, in ',Joking at the amount of consumption of wine, I find that in the years 18J1, 1802, and 1803, when the duty was much lower than its present rate, die avetage consumption in this country was, of Fiench .. wines, 2,745,590 gallons ; and of port and other wines, in the same time, the consumption was 7,396,165 gal lons. I now speak of Great Britain only. And I find that in the year 1821, nearly a qua' ter of a century af ter, notwithstanding the immense increase in our popu lation, in our trade, commerce, and in our general prosperity, the consumption of French wines was 254,263 gallons; and of Portugal and other wines, it was reduced to 4,847,976 gallons. How are we to account for this fact? lam told that the habits of the peoi:le are changed, and that people do not drink so much wine as they did formerly. Perhaps they do not; but one reason is, that the duties are too high, and the natural remedy for this is to endea vour, as fir as possible, to remove them—(A laugh). The present duty on French wine, is 11. sd. a gallon, or 145/. is. Gd. a tun ; the duty on port wine, is 7s. 7d. u gallon, or 991. I Is. a tun. In the years 1801, 1302, and 1803, the duty on French wine WAS, for the year 1801, Bs. 9J. and for the years 1822 and 1823, Bs.lod. the duty on port wine, for the same periods, was 6s. sd. and Gs. Gd. I propose, therefor e, to substitute, for tlitpre sent duty on French wine, which is 11 s. sd. six shil lings, which will be a little more than fifty per cent. I propose to reduce the duty on port wine, Spanish and Rhenish wines, to four shillings, which will be very little mute than half the present duty. The reduction of duty which I propose on the wines of France, will amount to Is. 3d. a bottle, and the reduction on Porto guese, and other wines, to nearly one shilling a bottle. Reducing the duty, therefore, to a lower point than in the three years to which I have alluded, I do not think I am making an extravagant calculation, when I say that the consumption will rise to the average of those three years. With respect to Ireland, the difference in the consump tion of Wine in that country, which may be attributed to the magnitude of the duty, is still more striking than. iin England. Id o not at a ll b e li eve t h at t h e h osp i t ality of the country is in the slightest degree diminished, and I should be very sorry to suppose that that ancient cha racteristic of the Irish Gentry was effaced.—Whatever change I may wish to see in Ireland, I trust that none will take place in her habits of 'realty, hospitable, and generous conviviality. I think there is every reason to believe that the reduction will have the most beneficial effects in the revival of the ancient hospitality of Ire land, especially as there are no assessed taxes there— (/' laugh ).—I will state in round numbers what is likely to be the loss of the revenue from this reduction, for there will certainly be some loss. Supposing the con sumption in England and in Scotland, where I hope also that the ancient hospitality will be revived, and that they will drink claret with as much zest as they were wont to do—to be equal to the consumption of those threeyears, and in Ireland to two-thirds of that consumption, I calculate that the loss to the revenue . Iwill amount to 230,0001.—The next branch of the re venue which I wish to bring under the consideration of the House, is one of very peculiar importance. c le e s k l . r ould omit no me an s that afford an ythi ng lik e a p robability of lessening so great a mischief. It haunts us wherever we go ; i t surroun d s our coasts , an d f orces its way into e very sea - port , i nto every h ar b our an d No place is exempt from its mischievous in fluence, no class of society. It gains admittance into the cottages of the poor, and offers temptations in the pa laces of the wealthy, where I fear its seductions are not always resisted. All classes, in a word, are affected by. thi s crying evil. We have had recourse to a variety of expedients to put it down ; we haveblockaded the coast, x. e have employed lot ce, ne have put the law in force, !‘. have died everyt hi ng b ut an a l terat i on o f t h e l aw . 1:e I.t N is the cause of the evil. I say, therefore, alter true law. W e h ave a l tered the law in Scotland an d Ireland, with the most triumphant success. The House law, recolle ct , t h at w h en i t was proposed to a l ter t h e _ with respect to ilicit distillation in Ireland, some lonourable Gentlemen e x c l a i me d— w h at re d uce t h e l duties on spiiits? Make all the people drunk?—for H eaven's.sake-abstain fipm so fatal a measure. We aitered the law, however, and how did •it tutu out? So far from producing the effects which were andel- oated t it restored order and peace by the prevention of those evils to which smuggling had given rise. Why should we not do here what the Legislature has already done in Ireland? It is quite obvious that the reduction of the duty on spirits in Ireland and Scotland, though it was calculated to produce all the benefits to which I have alluded in those two parts of the country, has produced indirectly a corresponding evil in this coun try. I believe i t i s per f ect l y true , t h at we h ave driven the smuggler out of the North of Scotland, but I am afraid it i s e qua lly certa i n t h at h e h as , w ith characteristic sagacity, established himself in the South. What I propose to do is this: I consider it necessary, in order to effect our purpose, that we should endeavour to apply to England the same system of laws which , prevails in Ireland and Scotland. Everybody knows, that as the law now stands in this country, a dis tiller must begin by making a raw spirit, which cannot however be sold in that form, for he must give it into the hands of the rectifier, who re-distils it, and com• pounds it with other materials, and distributes it to the consumers under the denomination of gin. Whit:key, which is the pule extract, is not a liquor that can be sold in this country. Ido not pretend to say whether the people of this country would like to drink it, but I propose to enable the manufacturers in Ireland and Scotland to export whiskey into this country. The Ho nourable Member for Aberdeen, among various offences of a similar kind, to which he pleaded guilty, declared that he was annually in the habit of smuggling a certain quantity of Scotch whiskey : now the change which I propose will enable the Honourable Member to indulge in that beverage, without the chance of incurring a pe nalty, and I congratulate him on the effect which this measure will have in exempting him from all unplea sant liabilities. This measure, however, will not, in my opinion, be sufficient to effect the object which 1 have in view, unless accompanied by a reduction of duty,— I am aware that objections have been made to the re duction of duty on spirits, and it has been contended that it is a most dangerous policy to render ardent spi rits too cheap to the people; this objection is not en tirely without force, hut it is to be recollected that ar dent spit it, are cheap because they are smuggled. The 'obit w hich is now smuggled from . Scotland into the North of England makes it cheap here. All the gin which i. smuggled from Holland, and all the brandy from France, make those commodities cheap here, so that the ieduction of duty w ill not necessarily have the effect of rendering spirit formidably cheap, but rather that of bringing under the Excise a great quantity of spirit which now evades the payment of duty —at the same time, I do not think it will be advisable in the first instance to reduce the duty to the same extent as in Ireland and Scotland. The duty in Ireland and Scotland was fixed at the present rate of two shillings, because this was absolutely necessary to put an end to the evil of illicit distillation, but that evil does not exist in England in the same way as in the remote parts of Ireland and Scotland. I propose that whereas the duty is 10s. 6d. per gallon, it shall be hereafter only ss.—upon all that is manufactured from malt, Gs. I also propose a !eduction of duty upon colonial spit its, rum, and ts hiskey distilled from gin in other parts of the British dominions, from 10s. 6d. which is the present duty, to Bs. The effect which will result to the manu facturer of rum from this change of system will be.to enable him, if he thinks proper, to distil in the Colonies a raw spirit of the same nature as whiskey, which he may bring here and sell as whiskey, or by putting it at any time into the hands of the rectifier, convert it into gin. I mention this, becaus? it was proposed to me to allow rum to be at once converted into whiskey by the rectifier; I have met this proposition at least 1•alf way, but I did not think it safe to adopt it in the first instance, as the Revenue would be likely to suffer to a very material extent, if we had allowed rum to go into the hands of the rectifier. The loss which the Re- venue is likely to sustain from the reduction of the duty on Spirits and Rum, will amount to about 750,0001. It would amount to a great deal more if I did not feel confident that the measure will have the effect of displacing out of consumption a very large portion of that spirit which is now illicitly im ported from Scotland and Holland. The other articles which I shall mention are small in amount, but not of small importance. I mean the duty on cyder. In those parts of the country where it is manufactured, the gaols are constantly filled with persons for a violation of the ' Revenue Laws affecting it. In the villages where the system of smuggling cyder prevails, it becomes the source of almost every other evil. I propose, therefore, to apply some remedy to this disease, which, though local, is by no means trifling. The duty at present is 30s. on each hogshead, which I mean to reduce to 15s. [Mr. HussE—Say 105.3 W The Hon. Member proposes 10s. in place of 15s. ell, I shall not haggle about so trifling a difference ; let it be 10s.—(Hear). My motive for proposing 15s, was, that it had been suggested by the individuals themselves, who are most interested. Taking the reduction, then, at 10s. it will cost the re venue about 20,0001. and we shall relieve six counties from the tremendous grievances which atise from smug gling ; for let it never be forgotten, that though the immediate effect of smuggling a particular article may be local, it is calculated to extend itself far and wide in its operation. Smuggling one article leads to the smug gling another. Atter the numerous Petitions which have been presented to this House, many of which have been brought forward on the present occasion, and were supported by different Members of this House, who have expressed their sentiments favourable to the views of the Petitioners, I feel it incumbent upon me to endeavour to satisfy the House, that the course which I propose to pursue, is one of which the Petitioners ought not to complain. It has been stated by the Honourable Member for Surrey, that there are in the Petition from Lambeth many names of rank, and wealth, and station. I would ap peal to them, and ask whether they can permit their personal interest., however important (and I do not deny their importance), to overturn the balance against all the great interests I have undertaken to advocate? If any man of rank or station should hold such opinions, I should blush for that class of society of which I am an unworthy member; I should say to them— " Incipit ipsorum contra to stare parentum, Nobilitas,claranxque facem przfetre pudendis." —(Hear).—l would tell them to weigh fairly all the individuals who are exposed to the temptations of smuggling ; I would point out to them the advantages resulting from the commercial regulations ; and I should further add, that they had no right to asseime that nothing had been done, because it was not done in the manner they wished—(Hear, hear).— But the question of commercial imps ovement, founded on the principles I have laid down, bas peculiar weight ' when applied to the condition of Ireland —( ilea? ). The misfortunes of that poor country are of long growth ; they are deeply seated, and spring from many ' a root; it may be impossible wholly to eradicate them, but mach has already been done, much still remains to be accomplished; and I know of nothing more likely to effect the object of general improvement, which must be the desire of the whole Hothe, than to give the utmost freedom of intercourse with the rest of the world—a circumstance which must be attended with peculiar advantage to Ireland, since no part of tire British dominions possesses, at the present niome:r., so many inducements for the application of capital(Cheers). It is the duty of every Member of the Legislature to assist in producing these re•ults; and I would address myself in an especial manner to those Hon. Members who feel that they cannot conscientionsly gralt that peculiar boon which would diffuse such general hene ht. I would say, that upon them it is ten t!;ini. sand times more incumbent to grant every other boon which it is in the irv.ver uf the Lev.i,la ture to confer (Loud cheers from all :ides of Me House). I would appeal to those Gentlemen front their owls id terests, to the feelings of general inter est,and generosity, and sympathy for a country which is a pa: tof them selves, and ask them whether it would not be more gra.. tifying to them to see Ireland rise in the scale of na tions, and take her seat by our side, than leave her to the chance of any subsequent opportunities ?—(Cheers). In that country there is a population of seven millions, and yet the Revenue does not amount to more than three and a half millions, and what other cause can be assigned for this than the impoverished condition of tire country ? But it is satisfactory to find that her situation is mending ; capital is extending, the . rev.2nue i; aug menting, and I would venture to stake my existence that a long period shall not elapse before the three and a half millions of revenue shall he doubled —(Cheers). Then, 1 say, begin there, and pursue steadily the course you have begun (for not to pursue it now would be more mischievous than never to have commenced it), and you will lay the foundation of every improvement of which the country is susceptible—(Fleur).— But al though I cannot accede to the entire wishes of those Petitions, lam prepared to go a certain extent. I prepared to make a reduction in the Assessed Taxes, and although the reduction I mean to propose cannot be a relief to persons of rank or fortune, yet I am happy to say it will confer a very substantial benefit on the poorer classes of society—(Cheers)—and in doing so, 1 shall be able to comply with the prayers of some of the petitions, and particularly with that presented by the Honourable Member for Surrey, which prayed relief for the humbler classes of the community. I have a long catalogue of the proposed reductions, containing a great number of small things—they will not amount to much in point of sum, but I flatter my self they will be productive of great good. There are many items so small that I fear the Howe would ra ther be disposed to laugh if I were to read the list, than attach the importance to the statement which the probable consequences deserved—( Cries of Read, read). Well, then, the first item relates to small four-wheeled carriages, which certainly are not much in possession of the wealthy; they are drawn by ponies, and are subject to a tax, which, although not large in amount, I think it wise to repeal altogether. The loss occasioned to the State will be 8.571.—(4 laugh). The neat is a tax which is very seldom paid, and I tear that many of us here are guilty of the evasion; I mean the tax on occasional waiters; this amounts to 1,3431. Newel pi opose to knock that off—(A laugh). The next is the coachmakers', the levies amounting to 3544. and I also mean to repeal the tax upon carriages sold by commission, which, as they were subject to the Auction Duty, I meant to repeal, this will amount to 3,3911. In some parts of the country, particularly mining coun tries, mules are much used in carrying ore, and are sub ject to a small tax, which I mean to remove. The next relates to thd House Tax. According to the present law, if a person quits a house, after the commencement of the year, he is liable to be assessed for the whole year, and the alteration I propose to make is, that he shall be only liable during the period of his occupation. This will amount to 5,0001. Houses in which merely a single individual is left to take charge of them are subject at present to a tax, which I think should be removed ; this will be 4030/. There exists a regulation which in dairy countries i; attended with great inconvenience, the effect of which is, that whereas in places and where there is a cheese room and a dairy beside, there is but one window al lowed ; and, to evade 'the law, they are compelled to have both in the same room. This I propose to remove, which will amount to 10001. The next refers to a cer tain class of farm-houses, as for instance, when a farm is thrown upon the hands of a landlord, and he puts in a labourer to take care of it, according to the existing law, unless a division is made between the part occupied by the labourer and the remainder of the house.the whole is liable to the tax. The amount of this repealwillbelooo/. , There is a certain class of servants used in husbandry who are employed in the capacity of grooms; they are not servants in the strict sense of the word; they do not wear livery, but still their master is compelled to pay for them. I therefore propose to relieve them from this tax, the amount of which will be 2,0001. Amongst small farmers in the country, it would be a great accommodation if they were enabled to let out their horses, when they had no employment for them. This would be an advantage to them as well as to the borrower; and I, therefore, think it would he well to place them all m i nder the general denomination of husbandry horses. The amount of the reduction will be 4,0001. The next reduction relates to taxed carts, which are very useful to puny classes of the community, and I propose to repeal the entire of the duty, which will occasion a loss of about 18,9131. The last repeal which I propose is the whole of the duty on windows on houses not having more than seven ; inhabited house duty on houses under 101. rent. This will amount to 235,0001. and will give relief to 937,867 persons—(Hear, hear). I hope,then,fiom this statement, it will be found, that, whilst I have abstained from con ferring relief on those who were best able to sustain the burdens, I hare not neglected the interests of the poorer classes of the community ; and I am convinced, that those very parties who have petitioned for relief, will feel gratified with the reflection that their poor and indigent neighbour is relieved from some of the burdens he had to sustain. I think that this arrangement will enlist the best feelings of the petitioners on my side, and I have no doubt my Hon. Fi iend who presented that Petition, will be himself the first to acknowledge it- 1 (liear,kear). This, then, is the result. I propose to repeal the Assessed Taxes to the amount of 276,9851. The re peal of duties to promote the practical benefits of commerce,• and to give the death-blow to the Giant Smuggler, .and at the same time to afford relief to those who must require it, will amount to 1,515,0001. The total loss occasioned by the reduction, between thin , r ... _ - 'petind and the end of the year 1827, wilt be . 3,650,0001. and against that, I calculate we shall have a surplus of 4.000,6241. If the principles I have laid down rest upon a sound basis, I may venture, I think, to call en the House for their support ; and I anticipate, as matter of course, that the calculations respecting the Revenue will be realized. Tne,e, then, ate the propo sitions I have to submit. With these propositions in my hand, I would riot fear to go into a:iy meeting of the people of the country at at” time, and under any circumstances, and appeal to their justice and candour, and without any overweening confidence or arrogant ;resumption, hut with an honest confidence that I had then, good •crvice, I would claim from them sup- _ cort and approbati: , n. The !light lion. Gentleman sat down amidst universal chee►s. Mr. 11 SUNIN ER gave his hearty and cordial assent to the !&iclgrante.l to l eland and to the poorer classes of the C0111::' , :1;!y. Ile was also much gratified by the general suaement Itig:it llonourible Gentleman. Sir 11. PARNELL ,ai !hat he telt perfect satisfac ti.n at the statement ref the Right Honourable Gentle mar and pArticularly as it regarded Ireland. MEIBERLY concurred in most of what hail( fallen from the Right 'Honourable Gentleman. He wi'hed the diNcitscion to be rstroned, as the House at pret,ent would be t4ken by surprise. For himself he meant to give no pledge one way nrr the other. He emelt thereeolutiona sho . iild be printed, and be coolly considered. Mr. SYKES said, that the shipping iitrere r wnuld bail the reductions made by the Right Honnurab'e Gentleman, os hemp and iron, as one of tae gre..te)t boons that could be conferred on them. Neither did he object to the taking away the bounty on oil, though it would be felt by a particular class. The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER, in an swer to the observations of the Hon. Member (Mi. Ma bei ly), said he should only move in the Committee our Resolutions.-1. The reduction of the Wine ditty, on which it was necessary for the expression of some opinion on the part of the Committee.-2. The ditty on Coffee. —3. On Hemp. -4. On so much of the Assessed Taxes as he pro posed to repeal. Mr. M ABERLY thought the discussion should not take place till the Resolutions had been printed. Mr. BRIGHT thought something should be done for the West Indies in a pecuniary point of view. The taking away the bounty on sugar and rum would materially affect the West Indies. The measure would cause in conceivable consternation in that part of the world. He hoped therefore time would be given to inquire into the , übject. By reducing the tax on tobacco one half, smuggling would be put down, and the revenue would be injured nothing. He trusted, should the Chancellor of the Exchequer refuse, some Member would move a Committee. No equivalent had been given to the West Indies by the superior encouragement given to the cultivation of coffee. Mr. W. SMITE! said, he would reserve for another opportunity, his opinion on the subject. Colonel DAVIES stated, that he had given notice of a motion on the subject of the tax on tobacco. Mr. HOBHOUSE thought the duty on wine should have been equalized. Ile was certain that the country would Lot be satisfied with what had been done on the subject of the Assessed Taxes. Many individuals would deface their houses, and injure their health, by bt inging their win dows within the number that would exempt them tram taxation. Mr. J. SMITH thought some reduction mi. lit ~ave been made of the duty on sugar ; he highly approved of many of the reduction.; made by the Right Honourable Gel:dolma. Mr. HART DAVIS expressed his surprise that the Duty on Tobacco had not been taken off. As some proof of the smuggling in this al ticie, he wouid state, that in Ireland, twelve years ego, w it. ii the populcion was 4,509,000, duty was paid on 9.000.000 putinds of tobacco; and now, when the population amounted to 7,000,000, duty was paid only on 3,000,000 pounds. Mr. Alderman THOMPSON was very glad to see the duty on hemp diminished. He had not expected so great a reduction in the duty on lot eign iron. Although deeply intereste4in the iron trade, yet he had always wished to see the most liberal system adopted. He did not believe that the introduction of foreign iron w ould injure English iron in the market. A- reduction of the duties on copper and tin was also much desired. Mr. HUME -said, the reductions ~n some articles were very desirable, but it was surprising that Tobacco and Brandy had not been noticed. The Chancellor of the Exchequer had begun to return, to 'sounder prin ciples of policy, and the House ought not to allow him to stop short before all the possible good had bee,i ef fected. Smuggling would never be put down unless the duties on tobacco and brandy were reduced. The Chan cellor of the Exchequer said, that some articles on which the duties were repealed last year, bad inci eased twelve, thirteen, and twenty per cent, in consumption, but on malt and tobacco the increase was only three per cent. The reason was, that the duty on them ex ceeded what the articles would faitly bear. If they were lessened forty or fifty per cent. the increase in the Re venue arising from them would be greatly augmented. Let the experiment be tried, and the advantage w.trild be soon manifest.— iThe Honourable Member concluded, by expressing his disappro bation of the Sinking Fund.. Mr. HUSKISSON said, that so few objections were made to the propositions detailed in the powerful and luminous statement of his Right Honourable Friessd, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, in his remission of the public burdens, that there seemed to be no necessity to defend him. The House generally approved, and ad mired his principles and their results; they approved his statement and intentions to-night, and he telt so would the country, when it became acquainted with them. There was a reduction on foreign iron—he was glad to see she worthy Alderman, who was so deeply interested in that community, receive it in a manner to worthy of his knowledge and liberality. The proposed remission was caused—not because it was necessary for the Blitish miner, but because it was necessary tor the manufacturing classes that it should be made as speedily as possible. It could by no means injure the admission of British iron—but the chief cause of the remissions on iron was for the extension of our com merce, and the improvement ('f our manufactories. — The excellence of foreign iron was well known in the production of those commodities, which were so admi rably manufactured ; but orders for which could not be performed, owing to the former high duties on foreign iron. In some time, he might propoae a re.hiction on c a o v, p , p is e h r, to no r t e ‘ v v i i :e h all any theseview tbostitir:drapncrue,hibbuittoimyer,elulytiews-t The chief complaints were made by the Iloaourable Member for Bristol, with respect to the West Indian Colonists; but what was the enti:e matter, but a bounty upon sugar? How did the taking away the refiner injure them? No one could contend. save by the removal of a bounty ; however, they slimed their desire to serve the Colonies in other articles; and parti:ularly, their ' reductions on coffee proved the wish they had to serve the Colonists, and lighti he lahr if the slay- HI also thought the reLiur must be of vast benef and those spirits which - iffi .13 1 Melt the lithouts of the .laves. He [moil vn turn from 6J. to Bs. - !fit to them. As to smuggling, ;1 were generally smuggled, such I