The Statesman. — London, England, 1815-02-01 00:00:00

THE STATESMAN: PROPERTY TAX. COUNTY OF HERTFORD MEETING. A Meeting of the County of Hertford was held at she Town-hall, Hertford, on Saturday, the 28th of January, to take into consideration the propriety of petitioning Parliament against the Property Tax. The business was opened by Mr. HALE, jun. who, in a clear and energetic manner, pointed out the oppressive operation of the Tax; the engagement that had been made with the public, that it should cease a: a certain period ; the reason they had to believe mi n isters intended its renewal, which made it tteces vire in his opinion to petition Parliament against loch renewal in any shape, or under any modifica tion; he then proposed a string of Resulutions,which were seconded by Mr. Halsey, in the same strain of po i n ted eloquence against the unequal and oppressive operation of the Tax. Mr. N. CALVERT differed from the Gentlemen who proposed and seconded the Resolutions, and entered into a comparative statement of the operation of the property Tax compared to the Salt Tar, Coal, Malt and other taxes, which might he repealed to the great seller of the poor, while the Property Tax made the rich contribute their full share of the public burdens, for those reasons he should oppose both the Resolu tion% and Petition. Mr. !Au hoped the people would not be disap pointed by having other taxes as had in the place of She Property Tax; he trusted there would be econo my and retrenchment in every department, it was but a very bad argument to say a few hundred thou sand pounds was nothing, it was like a man whose affairs where in so despairing a state, that he dare not look into them. _ _ Mr. BAaEIL rose and stated, that he considered the tax most certainly as expiring at a given period, and whether it would be necessary that any other should be substitoteti in its stead, he could not de ride, as he was apprehensive we could not long re main iu a state of peace ; but while he stated this opinion, ha begged the Meeting to understand he did not come tare to speak against the tax, as some Gen tieme'l had done in other counties, to court popu larity. i".(• had read in a Norfolk Paper, that Mr. Coke had said he thanked GOD he had newer voted for war or taxes ; then, Sir, 11r. Coke has never voted for the honpur of his country.—LLoud hisses and disapprobediois,j—llaving, however, made this declaration, he thdught the engagement of Govern ment should bt; kept with the country, and he there fore approved of the Resolution to petition against the continuance or reneeal of this tax. - . Mr. BRAND then rose, and stated to the Meeting the inequalities of the tax, and its oppressive ten dencies ; showed it to make professions pay '2O per cent. and the land in proportion, and was particu larly distressing to the tenantry of the country. Ile regretted there were not more of that description of people present ; but he accounted in some measure for their absence, by stating, that a very large dis trict in his neighbourhood was obliged to attend an appeal, occe,ineed by the surcharges under the Act we were now met to oppose. He objected to the fez, on account of the facility it gave to a profligate, or a Supposed profligate Court, to be lavish la their expenditure. Mr. Brand also regretted the attack which had been made on Mr. Coke by Mi. Baker.— Ile concluded by supporting the Petition. Mr. GEORGE FORDIIAM Said he could not approve of the Petition, as he did not allow the tax to be ne cessary ; the - war that caused the tax was, in his opinion, itself unnecessary ; he expressed his sur prize, that those present who had thought the war just and honourable, should stand up to oppose the tax; it Was the consequence of the war, and if the war wasjost and honourable, the tax was also just and honourable. He strongly objected to the Peti tion, because it declared the necessity of the tax, and declined supporting it, as he himself had never voted for or considered the war necessary. Mr. FLOWER rose and said that various as the motives were which induced people to oppose the tax, his was something different to any that had been expressed ; he stated that there wai no necessity for it ; and that those Gentlemen who wished for its continuance, bad net shown that necessity ; he called upon the friends of the Ministers to prove tbeir case. Mr. F. paused for a few minutes, but no one comirg forward to show the necessity of the tax, Mr. F. thought it right to content himself with the assertion, that the renewal or continuance of the tax, was both unjust and unnecessary. He also expressed his regret at the attack which had been made on Mr. Coke, and expressed his surprize at the quarter whence it came; whatever might be the political opinions of Mr. Coke, he stood high in the estima tion of the public for consistency and integrity, and was incapable of acting from so unworthy a motive as bad been imputed to him ; he might have said to his Constituents what the Honourable Gentleman could not do, be might have said—l have never unfurled the standard of liberty before you, and when it answered my purpose deserted my stand ard, and turned upon my very friends. Would to God that the Genlenian who attacked Mr. Coke could put his hand to his heart and say, neither his pride nor his passions had contributed to shed the blood of his fella% men ; he thought then the decline of his days would be more peaceful.—Ple. F. mat Men called to order, amidst much tumult of appro bation and disepprobation.i—Mr. F. said, he must consider the attack that had been made upon Mr. Coke was like the barking of the cur at the bright lu minary of the moon.—[Cries of order.] —Mr. F. then said he was ready to stand corrected, if it vas allowed that the attack on Mr. Coke, which produced the retort, was also irregular. —[This was admitted.] --M. F. then gave i other reasons why there could be no necessity for the Property Tax, except for the purpose of affording a facility for granting money as lavish E the Ministry did last Session. If the Ministry meant to send Ambassadors with large salaries where' there were neither Kings nor Courts, then they would not only want the continuance of the Property Tax, but double its amount. He said, by the ovidence t ikee before the House which he had penned with attention, it was proved most clearly to his mind, tire impossibility of the landed interest to support the 1 present amouet of taxation. If then, Sir, Ministers declared they could not do without that which it was impost:Rile to collect, it was nothing short of an eoeutiog a national baultreptcy, the friends of Mi- Miter* therefore dared not attempt to prove its necessity. It would have been natural to suppose the feeling of the Ministry towards the people for their patience in bearing the sufferings and privations during the war, would have been exhibited by an endeavour to relieve them as soon as possible from the burdeus they had endured, instead of which a contrary course has been pursued, and an attempt has been made to perpetuate their sufferings. It has been my lot to attend lately, as well as yours, the festive board, and join in the triumphant chorus that Britons never will be slaves; but if, under present circumstances, you bad passed over such treatment as you have met with, without expressing your disapprobation, you would have been the tamest slaves that ever existed. An Honourable Gentleman at the beginning of this meeting stated his objections to the present petition, and wished that the tax on malt, on coals, on salt, which •p. pressed the poor, should be repealed rather than the Property Tax. Mr. F. had expected after such a declaration, that the Gentleman had intended to pro pose this as an amendment to the Petition, and if he was sincere in this declaration, he hoped the Meeting would adopt this measure also. He remembered the Chancellor of t&,* Exchequer, Mr. Pitt (whom he al ways hated)---{ Loud uproar of applause and approba tion]— once proposed a tax, and a Gentleman oo the opposite side of the House objected, and proposed some 'other ; Mr. l'itt adopted both and Mr. P. wished the Meeting would imitate him and adopt both propositions of the Gentlemen, by petitioning against the continuance of all th e War Taxes, which certainly might be spared if economy and retrench ment were resorted to on the part of Government ; he should be happy if the Petition was amended. Mr. BAKER rose only to reply to the observations of the last speaker. It was but necessary to state to the Meeting what he had before stated to them en his conduct, and to refer to the marks of their ap probation which he had so repeatedly received ; only in one instance had he failed of success, when he was taken by surprise by such a coalition of par ties that he had never before witnessed, and which he thought could not be justified ; he expressed also his surprise that the Gentleman who has censured his attack on Mr. Coke should have spoken in such severe terms of Mr. Pitt, now dead, and could never enter into his defence, if necessary. Sir Jolts; SEBRIGHT rose, and expressed his regret at the attack made en Mr. Coke, by his friend Mr. Baker, and equally regretted the remarks that it had drawn from his friend Mr. Flower, because he knew that the latter Gentleman had a great regard for the private virtues of his friend Mr. Baker, as he had heard it from his own mouth: and as it regards thelpoli tical conduct of his friend - , however improper it might be in him to enter into his defence who was so able to defend himself, he must say, that if he had not acted with perfect uprightness and integrity, then was he mistaken in the character he had formed of him. Sir John also expressed, in strong and ener getic language, the impropriety of the continuance or renewal of this tar (being e war Cu) when we were at peace with all the world. _ _ The question being now called for, the Reso lutions were put, with the dissent of fire on the first, eight on the second, and three on the third. The Petition was carried, as it originally stood, against the renewal of the Property Tax. ESSEX COUNTY MEETING. Pursuant to Requisition, a Meeting of the County of Essex was held yesterday at Chelmsford, on the subject of the Property Tax. ROBERT WILSON, Esq. the Sheriff, took the Chair, and in a short speech stated the object of the Meeting. Mr. C. T. TOWER rose to propose the Re olu tions, which he did in a speech of very considerable length. lie went over the usual grounds which have been 40 often taken on the subject, and in a very able manner argued against the renewal of a Tax, w ich he described as inquisitorial, unconstitutional,►, nd oppressive to the extremest degree. Mr. BARNET LENNARD seconded the Resolutions in a speech of considerable merit, which he delivered with much energy. Mr. J. C. WRIGHT rose to do justice to the abilities and eloquence of the promoters of these Resolutions, while he described them as being ac tuated solely by party views. In the course of his speech he made an allusion to Mr. W. Smith, the Member for Norwich, who was seated in the Grand Jury Gallery, whom he accused of inconsistence, in cautioning the public against hoping for a decrease of taxes, while he was urging the repeal of the Pro perty Tax. After many •bservations against the Resolutions, and in favour of the conduct of Ad ministration, he moved, as an Amendment, that 4 6 Notwithstanding the oppressive nature of the tax, particularly upon the annuitant, the Petitioners mill continue to submit to it until the accounts of the late glorious and successful war were wound up, and the good faith of the country discharged." Colonel CARR seconded the Amendment. Mr. Wm. SMITH said, after the pointed attack which had been made personally upon him, some of his friends might think it necessary for him to say something in reply. He found himself accused of the most egregious inconsistency ; but he was ready to repeat and to act upon what he had said at the County Meeting to which the Gentleman had al luded. That Gentleman seemed to think all tax ation alike; but because he (Mr. Smith) thought the necessary expellees of the country were to be maintained, and the debt of the country paid, was he bound to maintain that every method of doing this ought to be supported ? The Gentleman had ne right to say it would appear like a party meeting; it was not a party question, bet a question of the tenantry, of the landed interest ; the landed in terest themselves were only taxed according to their receipts, the professional man the same ; but a tenant holding a farm might have to pay a tax for his loss. As to the winding up of the war, he thought Ministers, when they framed the Act, must have been very well an are that there would be a tail end to a war; but the year would received nett termination odium upon tax, he woo wally kw'. less in the support of Government, a few months be. fore Mr. Pitt proposed' this tax in the Commons, there appeared the very substance of this tax, pur porting to be neither more nor less than the acme of despotism, as what was likely to be imposed upon the French people in a year or two—when, behold ! in about three months after, Mr. Pitt proposed this very measure to the British Commons. After some observations upon the impolicy of telling the poor that the rich are rising above them, Mr. Smith traced the tax from its creation to the period of the present meeting, and said, that what the Poet had said of vice might not inaptly be applied to the Property Tax : " Vice is a momter of such frightful mien, That to he hated needs hut to he seen; But teen too oft, familiar with her face, We first endure—then pity—then embrace." lie hoped, however, we should never arrive at the 'degradation of embracing it by going and begging Mi nisters to continue it another year. hear !] --Lfloar, Mr. TowEa and Mr. %LIGHT explained. Mr. HALL was In favour of the Resolutions. Mr. C. W. %Volrsaw agreed entirely with Mr. Smith, and pledged himself to support the cause of the.country in and out of Parliament. C4neb Cann seeing the sense of the Meeting against the Admendment, desired to withdraw kis nanseas the Seconder thereof! Mr. WitIGILT then withdrew his Amendment, and the Petition was then unanimously adopted. Mr. nommen expressed his willingness to present it, but refused to support it. After some explanation from the SIIERIrr, relative to hit mode of advertising the Meeting, Thanks were voted to him, and to the Mover and Seconder, and the Meeting adjourned. COURT-MARTIAL. TRIAL Of' LIEUT.-GEN ER AL SIR J. MURRAY. TM:ADA lir - TEN Tll DA Y. Captain Milner uas again called in, and examin, ed es to the letter sent by Sir John Murray to Lord Wellington. The witness repeated his assertion, that theburry was so great, teat there was not tuna to copy it. Q. What did Sir John Murray then do with the dispatch ?—A. lie took it into the after cabin, where, I belierc, Admiral *llallo‘sell was at the time. Q. Do you know how long after I came on hoard my dispatch was sent otf?—A. It was ready to he sent off in a liale more than an hour. I do not briloll when it Wag act ually sent oir. _ Admiral liallowel! then expressed a wish, that the evidence of this witness might be tend over to him, before he proceeded to cross-examine him, in order that he might correct any part of it that be 511011 q see required correction. Ile did not oi6h to take any advantage of Capt. Milner. Capt. Milner said, that lie had no wi'h that it should be read to him, and was not aware that there was any thing to be corrected in it. Cross-examined by Admiral Ilallorcell. Q. Did you keep any diary of the proceedings of which yo•u spoke yesterday, or do you rely altoge— ther on your memory ?—A. I kept a jour:•.il of the whole campaign, but not particularly of what I spoke of yesterday. Q. Do you think that at the distance of eighteen months you can speak with accuracy respecting par ticular dates and expressions ?—A. I may not be able to speak with accuracy as' to dates in general, but I can speak with accuracy as to dates about the' time of raising the siege ; and I tlo think I can speak with accuracy of the Admiral's expressions at that time. Q. At what hour did the fleet anchor on the 2cl of JUIN', in Tarragona Bay ?—A. I cannot suite the exact hour, but I think it was about 12 o'clock at noon. Q. Do you recollect at what time Sir John Mur ray, Colonel Cabanes, and myself went on shore on that day l—A. It was soon after the Admiral's dinner. Admiral Hallowell said, that this was no answer to his question. He could dine at two o'clock, or he could dine at six. Q. What hour was it ?—A. The Admiral dined about four; and I think it wasa little after five whew they went on shore. Q. Was it dark or not when we returned ?—A. It was dusk when the Admiral returned. - i - , sii. Upon recollection a . iltiet - trid i • ' ! that I never saw a s as you must know, and myself . - 1 . fr f;ur. s o 'k e e r n ed i4lll" g l r g ;.' I. that . ;wards came on board in a ~.boat" o e g ame, and Colonel Cabanes returned - : in a boat ifelenging to one of the nun-boats I—A. I t ! know nothing about the Admiral's gig, although I --- GIZUCESTER COUNTY MEETING. On Saturday a numerous Meeting of this county was held at the Booth-Hall ; Sir Charles Cockerel!, the Sheriff, in the Chair. Colonel BERKELEY (late Lord Berkeley), in a very argumentative and impressive speech of consi derable length, moved a Petition to the House of Commons against the Property Tax, coached in the most energetic language. Colonel - KittoscoTiseconded the motion. Mr. Caters, in a qualified manner, also agreed to it. Mr. AUSTIN argued at great length in favour of its continuance, until ' 4 the War Accounts were wound up !" Mr. ANDREWS, of Bristol, spoke, in a most forci ble manner, in favour of the Petition. Mr. SHEPHERD, of Uley, addressed the Meeting in a most eloquent speech of considerable length he described, in very glowing language, the injus. tice and oppression of this Tax, and gave his most he arty and unqualified assent to the. Petition. The Rev. Mr. TOWNSEND spoke on the same side. Sir BERKELEY GUISE said he agreed entirely with the Petition, and should have great pleasure' in pre senting it tp the House of Commons and giving it every support in his power. The Rev. Mr. liacivax spoke very warmly in fa vour of the Petition, which was at length voted una nimously. in a boat know ...ing about the Admiral's gig, igh dare say that was the boat in which be went on shore ; but I heard him afterwards say, that he never saw a greater surf. The words "In his life," which were introduced into the last question, were not part of my former answer. Q. You have said that Sir John Murray's dispatch of the 14th was written in a great hurry, and that he only came on board the Malta after I had sealed my letter. Do you recollect where Sir John slept on the night of the 13th 2—A. I rather think that he slept on board the Malta, but he , went on shore early in the morning of the 14th. 1 slept on board the Malta on the night of the 13th. - Admiral Hallowell then wished that the dispatch of the 14th, from Sir J. Murray to. Lord Wellington should be shown to the witness, which was accord. iogly done. He then asked him, after having seen that dispatch, by whom was the body of that letter written ?—A. It was written by myself, and signed by Sir J. Murray. Q. You have stated (hat no copy of this dispatch was made. Do you mean, then, that this was the first rough sketch of the dispatch, and that it was not afterwards transcribed ?—A. This dispatch was written by me from Sir J. Murray's original dis patch. He directed me at first to copy it in the book ; but while I was doing so, he took it front me, and said that there was no time to copy it, and it must be sent off. Q. At what time was Sir J. Murray's dispatch closed P—A. I think at eleven o'clock, or a little after. I cannot speak positively as te the time. Q. Do yon know at what time the Hyacinth sail ed P—A. I do not. I was not upon deck, and did COVENT-GARDEN. not see her sail. Q. Did you afterwards take a passage in the Thames from Balaguer to Alicant, with Sir 3. Mut- MISS O'NEILL TAKEN SUDDENLY ILL. ray ?—A. I did. During the performance of the arduous character ' Re-examined by Sir J. Murray. of Isabella, last night, Miss O'Neal. identified her. Q. Did Igo on shore immediately after the dis. self so entirely with the sorrows of the mourning mo.. patch was closed ?—A. Sir J. Murray went on shore they and supposed widow, that she sunk overpowered : shortly after the dispatch was written. under the weight of woe, and fainted about the mid. I Captain Drewitt was the neat witness. His eel dle of the second act. She was carried off the stage! deuce en the direct examination was as follows:-- by Mr. ABBOTT, who after the lapse of halfan hour, i He was Aid-de-Camp to Sir J. Murray during the came forward and stated, that Miss O'NEILL was , siege of Tarragona. He was present at an interview so exceeding ill, as to be unable again to ,appear ! between Sir John Murray and Colonel Mansol ott that evening : that a Physician of eminence hay.: the 10th of June. That officer informed Sir John ing been fortunately in the house at the , time, had Murray, that the enemy's columns were marching immediately attended her, and that by his direc.' from Barcelona in force about- 9000 men, and that tions she had just left the house in a carriage, but i it would probably be increased to 11,000 by dettich. that Mrs. FAUCIT would read the part. Here ; ments from the garrisons. On the 11'h of June, the tumult became excessively violent. He then' early in the morning, he accompanied , irJ. Murray, added, that for a lady placed in so delicate a situa- who was going to see Gen. Copons at Vendrils, as far • tion, and under such imperious circumstances, he as Torre del Barra. Sir John left his head-quarters at • trusted the House would grant every indulgence. fire in the morning, and gave the command of the This appeal produced a temporary silence. After army, in his absence, to General Clinton. When considerable delay, the curtain drew up, and Mrs. he had arrived at Torre del I;srra, Sir John order- Furore appeared with the book in her hand. The ed him to stop there to refresh his here, a n d tumult then rose louder than before, and became so to be ready to take nny order that lin might violent, that she was alto led of the stage in a state think proper to send to General Clinton. Sir Jo!,n, of great agitation by Mr. ABBOTT. This Gentle- then went on to Vendrils. About five in the even man then once more cameforward, and made repeated ing Sir John returned to Torre del Btrra. Oil pass apologies, conjuring the House to allow the play to log through Altafulla, he had someconversattnit with . _ . ' - part of the audience calling Lord F. Bentinck, who commanded the cavalry. A ', the tragedy was not at- short time after leaving the town .Sir John- order,' last drew up, in the midst .him to go back, and tell Lord F. limainck to keci ' the feats of Harkquin ,a good look out, and to place a strong picquet ott Tragic Mose, and tilti. the road. He accordingly delivered those orders to • pease and good iiu. his Lordship, in the presence of his Brigade-Major. .. ' About eight o'clock, on passing by Oliva, the wit, COL • BERKELEY then moved the thanks of the Meeting to Sir William Guise. All the Resolutions were carried by acclamation, and the Meeting ad journed. On the 24th, a meeting of the Freeholders and other Inhabitants of the County of Durham, was held at the New Courts of Justice, in Durham City, to take into consideration the propriety of Petitioning Parliament against the renewal of the Property Tax. JOHN CARR, of Dunstun, Esq. was called to the Chair, in the unavoidable absence of the High Sheriff. Sir RALPH MILBANK moved se veto( Rsolutions against the renewal of the Tax, %%Ilich was seconded by Mr. BAKKR. The Earl of STRATHMORE moved an amendment, the object of which was, not to press the immediate extinction of the tax, which was seconded by the Rev. Dr. GRAY. Mr. LAMBTON, in an able speech, supported the original Resolutions, which after some further discussion, were agreed to by a very considerable majority. The Amendment moved by Lord STRATH. Moat having been previously negatived. A Petition founded upon these Resolutions was also agreed to. At the Salisbury Meeting, on Friday last, in the Town Hall, the Petition against the renewal of the Property Tax was not only carried unanimously, but with loud acclamations. • } . , le argument of continuing this tax another proceed ; but the greater par' go for nothing, as Ministers bad already loudly for the Pantomime, c. arty the collection of one year from the tended to. ,The curtain at lei of the war. If be wanted to throw more of oeme disapptebetion, and i this unconstitutional and inquisitorial followed the efforts of the ild advert tozoiroemstance sot toury se. MAIO stirendid restorli ?we. Ia a wspipp f alw j ap.nakiita •a; gangs dir • I r,~ ~ I I +let 1: 4 +1 A d •p /II Ito r. t. . ~, 4re 'Or of l's he ed s; 2d to , ~1 '