Star. — London, England, 1806-05-10 00:00:00

in tome manufaftures that they impaired the firength and health of thofe employed in them. This was not the cafe here, as thole empl eyed in this manufafture were remarkable for their ftrength and firm conititu tion, and their confequent fitnets to endure the fa tigues of military fervice if necelfarv, or any other fervice to which they might be called. It was calcu lated that between 3 and acci,coo perfons were, in. eluding their families,engaged in this manufaCture. It had been fume time ago calculated that the taxes of this country were at the rate of Joh a man ; it was now certainly much more. This was a fubjeft of immense magnitude. Jr was peculiar to this tax that was intended about 9 or to years ago to lay sos. per ton upon pig iron, but upon a view of the difficulties at• tending it, hi. Right Honourable Fricud had aban doned it, and he would repeat, that it was one of the great charafterillics of his mind that he always abandoned a measure upon convietion that it was wrong. He had Peed longer than the Noble Lord oppofite, and from his experience he could fay, that it would be mitch better for the Noble Lord to yield when any of his meafures were peculiarly objeltion able, than to be ton much captivated by the found of confiftency. This article was peculiarly the pro duce of human induflry. It required no particular foil, and the molt barren Ifpots were often, by its means, rendered fruitful and populous. He men tioned a particular inftance of this in the Weft Riding of Yorkshire: he had once visited Come of the molt barren moors that ever he beheld ; but happening to pars by the fame place Come years afterwards, he was aflonifhed at the fcene of human induftry and wealth which it exhibited. The conclufion was, that this was a matter of great importance, independent of the confederation of the tax. It was a principle of taxation betides, not to impofe a tax in the earlier Rages of any manufaeure. It was alto a principle of taxation, that a tam as near as poffible to what had been taken from the people, fhould find its way into the Treafury. Now this tax would take almott a million from the people, and would not pay into the Treafory much more than aoo,oool. In the mode of its operation, it would be expenfive, vexatious, and troublefnme. It would be exceeding hard to apply the Excite to any article which had been be fore free. A great many penalties would be inno cently incurred, and the expenee and verztion occa fioned would be alum& intolerable in tbis inftance. —The county which he reprefented look fearfully to the decifion of this night. The drawbacks were not fuffieient, and the Miniftere themfelves had commit. ted Come mistakes in their calculation. They had not confidered fufficiently the quantity of the raw Material. On bar iron 31. per ton was to be allowed, ism 31. cos. was the leaft that ought to be given, ac cording to their own principle; but when the in• created capital, which would bit necetary, was fit peradded, the amount ought not to be leis than 61. per ton ; on hard-wares 81. per ton would be abfo• lutely seceffary. There drawbacks were fo high that it would be much better to drop the tax altogether than to alto* them. The foreign manufaftures would he enabled to meet us in the market, and were et prefent making rapid progrefs. It was by our manufaftures and our commerce that we were ena bled to furnifh the sinews of war. He adverted to the bright profpeCts that would ante if this manufac ture were left untouched. The tax affefted agrica ture fo much, that it would be better for the farmers to have a Tax on Horfes. This was a Tax of the defcription alluded to by an acute gentleman, who laid, that in the arithmetic of the Cullom Houle and 2 did not always make 4. He oppofed the Speaker's leaving the Chair. Sir R. BUXTON thought the tat had this to re• commend it, that it would be diffufed as generally and as equally as pollible through the community at large. He particularly objetled to a tax on horfes as injurious to the agriculture and landed interest of the country. Mr. WILBERFORCE, in explanation, °Verve& that he did not think the farmers would gain any thing by the prefent tax, in preference to the other, except the tatislaftion of thinking that others were fubjeft to it as well as themfelves. He fitggefted that a tax on footmen might perhaps be produftire, and as little injurious to the country as any other. Sir WILLIAM YOUNG contended, that taxes on what were called luxuries ultimately bore upon the poor as well as every other. The use of Britifh iron manufaftures was very great in the Weft India Hands ; and he had access to know that they were there preferred to foreign wares, as better, and, on the whole, cheaper. Lord ARCHIBALD HAMILTON wolfed the tax, on grounds similar to thofe that had before been advanced; and contended, that its operation would be peculiarly ruinous in Scotland. Mr. CALCRAFT did not apprehend that the Ex cite would he to inconvenient as was apprehended to the trade ; there would be, as in other cafes, a mutual accommodation and liberality. As the export trade was not affefted by a fiuftuation in the price which took place to a much larger amount than the duty pro poled, he could not tuppote it would be touch affected by the tax. Our advantage over foreign tnanufaftures was as great in the quality of our articles as in the price. Mr. FRANCIS was forry to oppofe any of the ineatures of an Adminiftration that polTsiTed In much of his confidence. He considered, however, that the propofed Tax would be highly injurious to our ma nufafturers, and that a great par: of it mull be paid by the Government ;deli, who was the principal con :omen ;;(r. VANSITTART Paid, that although it was ufual t o abliain from laying taxes on the raw mate rial, yet there were many instances which it had been done without tenably affefting the mina-elute. Norwithßanding the Tax upon Coals, many mann frifturers which consumed a great quantity of them flourillsed in London, and in towns diliaut from the collieries There were high duties at . prefent on w ood, but that did not prevent ourhuddinil (hips. There ha 4 been , for a long time, a duty on the raw material of foreign iron.. He eme di Et tn e i d ni t i t i a n t s, on f c om ex. ports would M _eit aeda. MI 4 of the increafing number of confumers in America.— Hitherto it had increafed. notwithftanding every 4.b -n:ode which our inveterate enemy could throw in its the Tax upon Men Servants which.wlls 70yja.ofns to tobefribtlit wed, if it amounted to a-tliodres r of the produ ft of this tax, it would be much m "PSI:a-RALPH MILBANKE (aid, that although the county he reprefented would he affeaed by its from the increak it would occafion in the price of coals, as well as iron, yet he had In much confidence in the Hon. Gentleman who propofed it, that he would with the bill to go, into a Committee, in order to at. certain whether it could be made palatabk. Sir JOHN WIWI' I'ESLEY oblerved, that it was ar the time that we had quarrelled with the Northern Nations that the greateft exertions were made to work our native iron, and that that trade flowifhed the moll. It was within the memory of many in that Houfe, when iron was mannfaftured with wood irate:id of coals. Sir.•:e the change, the manufatture had doubled ; but if there had been al excife upon the manitfaCture, which would preicrihe the manner of it, uo change or improvement would have taken place. The amount of the tax, which was full 33 per cent. was greater than ever li.td been impofed upon any article in the fit II inilance. At to the propofed drawbacks, he conceived them imprac ticable, as harelovare Is general was mixed (as knives, fpades, &e.) with wood, and confequently the weight could not be well afcertained. . Alderman PRINSEP denied that it war unwife to lay the tax on the raw material. He thought it the better way, as it bore fo fmall a proportion to the /aloe of the manurrEtured article,elpecially to goods of the highell finith. No decreale of our silk manu• failure had beer: espetienced from the duty oil* ftlk. He was not at all furprifed, however, that the Iron Merchants wilbed to Ihift the burden from their own (boulders to fomebody elk. This was no more than what was natural. Mr. W. SMITH could not admit, that the Excite would be fo dangerous as tome Gentlemen fuppoted. It had been found the 1;7001 and the cheapen way of collating a tax. On the other hand, be could nit admit, that, becaufe the tax upon wood did not pre vent us from building (hips, it would therefore be tale to lay a tax en iron alto. The fat wa.., that the Americans, notwithltanding the high price of labour, built (hips cheaper than we did. He, however, whited that the Bill Gould gn into a Committee, when it might receive a fuller examination. The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER had forborne to hate his kattiments, until he heard the opi nions of the leveral Gentlemen who feemed inclined to fpeak. It was i.ut from pertinacity in his own opinion that he Rill fupported the tax, but k was from a per feverance amidft the choice of evils, in preferring the evil of this tax to that of any other which could be (uppofed to be equally produftive ; he mull again and again conjure Gentlemen, when voting againtt this 1 ax, not to fuppofe that they were voting againli this tingly, but that they were, at the fame time. voting for other taxes. From his individual know ledge he was fore, that the expence it would occafinn to agriculture would not be near as much as was hated. He knew an arable farm of 202 acres in Scot land, where the iron ufed in the year was calculated only at 61. gs. 7d. In the calculations of the expence of the farmer, the oppofers of the Tax appeared to have purpofely omitted in their calculations the value of the old iron, which would be near half of the ori ginal con. He could not approve of any tax that was propofed as a fubflitute : the taxes on articles of general confumption were carried almoft as far as they would go. A tax on the raw material was no novelty in this country. We bad a tax upon cotton, a tax upon foreign wool, and a tax upon malt. The latter might be confidered a raw material which con tributed to nourifh and fupport human life itlelf, and therefore deferved as much coraderation as the raw material of any manufaCture. Our exports of Iron had increafed conftderably of late years, and our im ports had diminifhed in a Rill greater proportion.— In 1784, we imported two million tooth of Ruffian iron ; but, in slios, only 754. 00 0, which was but a third. If, then, our iron manufaCtures had not flourifhed as they have done, there would not have been the Menet! complaint againft increafing the duties on the importation of foreign iron. If, then, Government ablolutely loft in revenue, by the in. create of Our iron trade, there was no reafon why it fhould not leek, in the flourifhing Rate of that trade, fome indemnity for that lois. It had been propofed to him, to fubltitute a tax upon coal in the pit; this appeared to him to be a worfe tax ; nor could he ever fuppote the farmers would content to a tax upon hortes being fubltituted for it. Mr. ROSE faid, he knew his Right Hnn. Fs iend (Mr. Pitt) having once abandoned the idea of the Tax upon Iron, never changed his opinion on the fubjeft. It appeared to him in many ways injurious to our manufaCtures. He remembered once, that a tax upon inland navigation was propnied, but given up as injurious to our manufaCtures. He confidered that this would died the iron rail-ways in a fimilar manner. When the Noble Lord talked of the (mall expence of iron in an arable farm in Scotland, he fop. poled the hones on that farm went, as they femetimes did in his (Mr. Rote's) country, without (hoes. He could not believe that our profpeft was Inch as had been liated,of increafing our exports to North America. That country Wss now in a high hate of population, equal, as he underflood, to England in that relpeCt, and yet, notwitliflanding this great population, the demand for our hardware from that quarter was not increafing. Of all manufaeures this appeared to be the one which they would take up &R. The Ger mans, at pi dint, nearly equalled us, even in the finch hardware. If then, the price of our goods were hill further increafed by a duty, we Ihould loon fee our exports diminifh confiderably. Mr. Secretary FOX faid, that he always received with much doubt general principles and maxims of political economy, and more efpecially in matters of finance. Thole general principles and maxims were fubjeft Winch a number of exceptions, that they mart be received with great caution. As to the principle of the prelent tax, he could not approve of it it. neither did he approve of the principle of any tax that had been laid thefe thirty years. It was not becaufe the taxes were in thernfelves defirable, but becaufe they were neceffary that they were voted. It was al molt always, as the Noble Lord exprefied it, Merely a choice among evils. If it were laid, that had fuck a tax milled eight years ago, the trade wo u ld no t now be fo tiourillsing, that was a thing he did not mean to deny. He believed that not only this manufaetnre, but every other, was injured by the taxes which it was neceffary to lay upon them, and that they would all flour& much better if it were poMblc to take off tht,:- taxes. As to the tax nr on malt, which might iie ii fome meafure confidered as a raw material, thc Han. Gentleman at the other fide (Mr. Role) always .0 lowed that it was better to lay the tax arm malt than epee beer. He could not conceive why it lhdold be raid to be impoffible for drawbacks to be given on the exportation of hardware, , At prefent there is an ex port duty, adewlecors, and he could not conceive why the valise could not be as well afcertained s for the porpofe of giving a drawback as few impofing a dirty. A duty of at. a tonna pig iron*would amount to about 31. sos. on bar iron. Now, the fineaatitin in the price had been often confiderably more than 31. sOs. a too. and 1. , : that flaination, in no degree, dimi nifited the exports. He did not believe that the far niers cnrtl.t ever be perfuadcd, by the arguments of the iion merchants, to take this tax entirely apon tiirn“elves, and to pay direly for their hottest, or intiruments of agriculture. Mr. CANNING contended that, from the variety of Materials ci which hardware articles were coin pojed, it was impr.tlihle, fairly, to levy a tax, or allow a drawback, ad valorem, e n the articles in their finifh ed Oatji. He alfi iulill ed that when a man had funk a great capital in a butiliefs; when he had eflahlifhed population in a place that was a wildernefs before ; when he had fettled a colony of dependents tinder him, the .introdultion of an excifeman to be in a man ner the mailer of his eftablithment, would degrade ans) letren the pstriarChal authority which he was ca tkin! to have over a family, es it might be called , which othirerife had none but him to look up tee for rapport or countenance. He thought it material to contradict what had been advanced by the Right Ho. nourahle Secretary, on the fubjett of the drawback to be allowed, and read a paper from the Committee of iron matters in town, which flared, that they had reprefented the necellity of Bs. per ton being allowed, but that only 6 . . was granted by the Bill. He de precated the principle of the Bill ; he could not con ceive the objeCt of it, 'inlet's it was to involve the iron mannbalory in the diitrefs that others had cxpe. rienced, and to exemplify a late quotation of a Rigin Honourable Secretary (Mr. Windham), Solaraen mlferis forks habuilre &kris. Lot he could no longer wonder at the patience of the Hmife, after they had, on a former occalion, not only with temper. but without laughing, heard the alter lion of the Right Honourable Secretary, that it was more agreeable to the public to have a burthenfome tax doubled at once, than to have it increafed by moderate degrees. Mr. Secretary FOX. with fome warmth, replied, that he had not Paid of the Income Tax, that it was more preferable to raife it to to per cent. than to in creafe it si per cent.; and no man of common /mfr. could have In underaood him (13 cry of order ! order !) Mr. CA NNING—" 1 rife, Sir, merely to thank the Right Hon. Secretary for his courtely and fpirit." l'he queaion v-as loudly called for, and the gallery cleared, when a divilion took place—For the Speaker's leaving the Ch tir—Ayes 119—Noes log. The Houle then went into a Committee pro forma , and the Bill was ordered to be recommitted on Mon. day.—Adjourned at Half part One o'Clock. LONDON. SATURDAY, MAY so. PRICE OF STOCKS THIS DAY AT ONE O'CLOCK. Coreals, for mcmcy, 64—for May 6off—Onanium af t. Esebeq. Bills, as. prem. PRICE OF STOCKS YESTERDAY. Bank Stock, at° India Bonds, par as. prem. 3 p. Ct. Rid Ann. spiti Imp. a per Cent. JO 3 per Cent Conf. 6of 60f Imp. Ann. 8 946 4 per Cent. 770 Each. Bills. par 26. pr. 5 per Cent. Navy 93444 Omnium a 4 I prent DUBLIN, MAT 5. 5 per C. Goy. Deb. nail—Ditto 34 per Cent. yd. Exchange—Dublin on London, tot. With pleafure we announce, that PAlexandre French fhip, of 8o guns, captured by the gallant DUCKWORTH, arrived off Scilly on Sunday Wl. She came into St. Mary's Road under jury malls, and had Coffered fo much at Ira, as to be forced to throw her lower deck guns overboard. We have great fatisfaftion in announcing, that his Excellency General Sir JAMES CRAIG, K. B. fur whole health great fears were entertained from the accounts laft received from Sicily, has arrived at Plymouth, with his fake, in the LivaLy, of 31 gun., which came in there on Thurfday with difpatches from Admiral Lord CoLt.tacwooto. The contents of thefe difpatches have not tranfpired. The Adive, WILLEY. of London ; the Laurel), Huns, of Liverpool; with thirteen other •elfels, were taken on the coat of Africa, by a fquadton from L'Otient previous to th; 26th January. The AAive is arrived at Waterford as a cartel. By this vcWel we learn, that a reinforcement of French troops had arrived at Senegal, and it was fup poled would again make an attempt againft Gorec. EMBARKATION OF TROOPS. With the exception of the nil Light Dragoons, commanded by Colonel ['icor, all the troops are now on board at Portfmouth. The 21(1 were ordered to be embarked yellerday, and the fleet to fail imme diately ; however, Clem has been tome delay in the embarkation of the 2111, who could not embark be foie ais day. There are two feparate deflinations for di.- em barked troops, the 2111 Foot, or Scots Fuzileers; Lord HuLacives regiment, the 3111, who behaved fo well under Aasacaostats at St. Lucia ; Lord MOIRA'S regiment the 27th; and General Letprqx's the 35th, are all bound for Sicily ; all of them crock regiments. Sir JOHN Moot is ordered to proceed to the Me• diterranean as Commander in Chief. The silt Light Dragoons, 4th battalion both regi ment, the gallant 36th, and 47th regiments, with bong re-inforeement. Tor every regiment in India, are ordered to fail with all (peed; they proceed for Polo Penang, as a rendezorts we imagine. There are eleven Indiamen, bclides Itore.fhips, fcven of the Indiamen have troop; ; the 2di Dragoons go :n tranfporu; futEcitot trankorts not being ready At Portnnouth, all that can he accommodated, which will be (even troops, have been ordered to embark, and to fail with-:u , a moment's delay. • Thefe two fleets will probably fail rr -erow•nnder convoy of the Diana, of 38 guns, and the Menus* frigate, of 32 guns. Sir WILLIAM Klllt, Quarter Mailer General, Co lonel &raw, Barrack Mailer General, and frreral others of the Staff, proceed with this firft divifion. In a Ihort time. it is faid' in a fortnight or three weeks, another divifion of troops will be embarked for, the Cape and the Eat Indies.—Several India men are now on their way from the river for Spit head. The remaining three troops of the eta Light Dragoons will then follow the Regiment; and many Officers of the different Regiments for India, who will unavoidably be left behind at prelim, fo prang are the orders to get this force under way. It is raid that the fleet of Admiral STIRLING, as well as that urder Sir Joan %Vasa's, has gone to the EAR Indies. If the divitions of our fleet in India are not attacked reparately, before the arrival of Srtat.tac and WARIAN, we will be fully a match for an enemy in naval force in India. We with we may be nearly as equal in our army there. DUTCH AND FRENCH JOURNALS. This day we received the litttr to the jd and the former to the Ilds intt. inchtfive, but they do not prefent mach novelty. The Minims, of the sd, after announcing a Levee at St. Cloud for the following day, has the following notice : " The porreffion of the Mouths of the Cattaro by the Ruffians having retarded the return of the Grand Army, the great Feflival appointed for the month of May, is neceffarily poßponed until the ab fence of the Grand Army is no longer requifite. We think, however, that this delay cannot well continue I.nger than fix weeks." Thefe papers Rate that Gaeta Rill holds out. French Funds, 6zl. 4cc. NA ?Las, APRIL B.—Prinee Jnfeph departed on the 3d intl. for Calabria, with a numerous retinue. Ge neral Maflena remains here. A melancholy event lately occurred in a town of Calabria. Twenty.one officers and three ladies, who were about leaving the place, had fearcely got nut fide the gt te, when they were affailed by a flower of balls, which deprived them all of life, except one officer, who, though badly wounded, efcaped the fury of the affaffins. The attack of Sicily will, in all probability, be (portly commenced. The 2;a delivered up at Chiehefler their horfcs to the Light Dragoons of the German Legion. There were neatly woo very fine horfes. The 4th battalion of the both regiment go to the Cape with a number of officers and non-commit Toned officers, to receive their privates from the late Dutch garrifm of the Cape. A dreadful fatal duel was fought on Monday morning lag, in Foßer avenue, Dublin, by two young Gentlemen of the Barrack Office, and inti mate friends, upon occafion of a tavern quarrel of the preceding evening. On the firtt fire, at the dif. tance of eleven paces, both parties fell ; the .one, Mr. Roc s, received a ball through his heart, and never fpi,ke after ; the other, Mr. Loan, was fhot through both his thighs, and was on Monday even ing c-nfidered as pall hope of recovery. A Coro ner's Jury brought in a verdiet of Wilful Murder Rg.tintt the furvivor. SPORTING INTIILLIGRNCE,—Yenerday at New market, the following Races took place ; I Mr. It. Boyce's Bratoworm, aft. ylb. beat Lord Foley's Little Peter, sft. Ab. M. Lord Foley to Rake 600 gs to aoogs. to 2 on Brain worm. Sir J. P•elley's Sir Lanncelot, 71t. r ilb. beat General Gower's Swiuley, Set. 91b. Acrol the flat, 100g1.-..6 CO son Sir Latin. Sir J. Shelky's Houghton Lars, M. tolb. beat Mr R. Boyce's Statentan, late Currycomb, 6ft. 71b. D. I. toogs...—Even betting Lord Grofvcnor s Jafpsr, beat Mr Lows Watery, 811.. each. R. M. zoop.-6 to 4 againft. Jafper. Mr A Craven's Frollck, aged, 9ft. alb. rec. ft. fmm Mr R. Jnnrs's Freedom, 611. L. T. M. B. C. 300 g s. b. ft. Mr Sitwell's Cocolobo, yft.3lb. rec. ft. from Lord Barrymorc's Agincourt, Eft. alb. Ab. M. Sog& Lord Grofvenor's Tudor, rec. orp. from Mr Panton's Thn, by Whilkey. 811. 31b. each. Ab. M. !cogs. Mr Watfon's Dreadnought, 311. 91b. rce. 4rgs loom Mr An drews's Fathom, 71t 31b. Two yr old C. wogs Mr C. Browne 's Mountaineer, 7ft. rec lop from Lord Barrymr.res Strap. Sit. 9tb. T hree L. M. B. C. toogs h. ft. PLYMOUTH, MAY in the DRYASTATION bomb, from Portfmouth ; the Acrivs. of 32 guns. from Ireland—the has brought in with her les Annie French fchnnner letter of marque, pierced for 16 guns, but only 4 mounted, and 20 men, laden with various merchandize, bormd from Bourdeaux to Cayenne, which the captured the 27th ultimo ; She had difpatches on board, which were dellroyed during the chant the LIVILT, of 32 guns, from Admiral Lord COLLIIIOy/OOD, with difpatches; the is originally from Meffina, and failed from thence the 7th of April. His Excellency General Sir JAMS. Claw, K. B. late Commander in Chief of his Ma. jetty's land forces In the Mediterranean, and his tithe, are pafrengers by the lavas:J.—Sailed the THITIS frigate, 1.1 brig, and the Mosecos (loop of war on a cruize. PORTSMOUTM,MAK so—Arrived the Refource gun brig, from a cruize. The DIANA frigate, with the fleet under convoy for the Mediterranean, is expo fed to fail from hence on Sunday.—Wind S. E. SCILLY, MAY 6 —Put into this port on the 4th intl. the (hip Royal Charlotte, of London, Roar. &own mallet, from Wilmington, North Carolina, laden with timber for Government, bound to Plymonh ; alfo the BRISK Atop of war, having two tranfports, . with troops on board, and feveral other veffels under convoy from Cork. Likewil: anchored the fame morning in :it. M.!ry's Road, I'Alexandre French fioni jarrve.l, und..r j•oy mails ; greet fe rs Ir woe entertained for her lounJering—all i /IC guns in Ji her lowcr tier were thrown overboard; the is now in pa fee YARMOUTH, MAY 9—A rrived the DICTATOR Iron% crui~e.—Sailed the a N I c: rizc , and feveral Oil of pri tise z o cs. F l o 64 oaa g f u r n ig s a , t i c o , r fr t c l ul . I I~ I 1 { i J # , li 4 . 1 Ii • n ! I 1 1 i ! 'I I