The Sun. — London, England, 1852-12-17 00:00:00

' t p,fsl w ! 8 3'Mpathise, as far as that important prin dir-eeerned, with the policy of the Government. t taxes, though applied with wisdom, temper .Prildelleo, become a party question. (Cheers.) I,,Ministrative reform ! Talk of issuing commis la' T I P. e into our dockyards ! Why, if I were, 'Plipossible, by intense labour to bring forward fir" ich might save a million to this countrY, ad. th ee e reform would be a party question to-morrow. r e.l Yes, I know what I have to face. I have itatealition. (Cheers.) The combination may be N it . -A- coalition has before this been successful. th at i , °lls , although successful, have always found This triumph has been very brief. (Loud (erle I know, that England has not loved coali . o . O e rs.) I appeal from the coalition to that WC ° 4 which governs this country—to that public d "e wise and irresistible influence can controul the h . e ' e r,ees of Parliament, and without whose sup august and ancient institutions are but "the Ouric of a vision." (The right hon. gentleman 'us seat amid deafening and prolonged cheering.) !OSTONE rose, but for several minutes was "° Obt a i n a hearing in consequence of the agitation in the house. At length he said—l am of I tr. Patten, to trespass upon the committee, but t° me that th e s pe e ch we have just heard is a k 0 t , 42 °light to meet with a reply, and that, too, on ' " eet.--- (loud cheers from the Opposition) — and, sir, b 7 telling the Chancellor of the Exchequer that I ' fo r some minutes the inquiry whether he knows §4. ; but there are some things which he, too, has yet (Great cheers, counter cheers, and confusion.) 4 t e ethe r reasons b es id es th e reaso n of triviality ': v44 eY why a discussion should have been avoided k i 4 -4 1, the subject of emigration. (Renewed confu e'eers-) And I tell the right honourable gentle ,-e---that the licence of language used—(cheers and ki i,. '")—the phrases he has applied to the characters ', 4 ;' l eu—(tremendous Opposition cheers, and inter '''ut the Ministerial side of the house)—that the go er —(a has applied to the characters of public men , -I. eer—(s. renewed outburst of clamour from the , benches drowned the remainder of the sentence, q ght honourable gentleman was obliged to remain I ,: s everal moments. When order was in some de ‘ifbered b e said] :—Mr. Patten, my wish is to keep 41t heugh I confess that I could not hear those , 1 4 ; s ' 1 and remain totally unmoved — my wish is to ~B el f strictly within the bounds of Parliamentary iti; l , 4 Propriety, and I beg of you, sir, that if in one '4: t respass beyond these bounds you will have the t ° correct me. (Hear, hear, and cheers.) I do O " myself to those gentlemen belonging to the t Opposite, from whom I have never received N l :g out courtesy and forbearance ; but notwithstand - e %rts ot some gentlemen in a remote corner of the Lee rs avail themselves of darkness to interrupt me— lt L e ers and confusion)—l will tell them this, that they " to have their Chancellor of the Exchequer, who '44 t ee in his comments upon the conduct of others, ~ t° the bar of the opinion of this committee and t hose laws of decency and propriety—(tremen tl4'ld confusion, which drowned the remainder of ' lell )rP e e)- Sir, we are accustomed here to attach to 4 4 ° 1 ' 1 7 of the Minister of the Crown a great authority "tCat disposition to attach authority, as it is required .4 e, h l) ,tlhlic interest, so it has been usually justified by and character of those Ministers, but I must 'tl i : g 'ight honourable gentleman that he is not entitled e With insolence men who—(renewed uproar and again drowned the remaining words of the sentence). .'4tl (I 'll the right honourable gentleman that he is not t (', t t° say to my right honourable friend the member 11.rliale that he regards him, but he does not respect , t1,,, ( 4 4.41 d cheers.) I must tell the right honourable )tli + 44 that whatever he has learned — and he has learned ' , he has not yet learned the limits of discretion, k - ,' e ration, and of forbearance—(great cheering and t e e , °n )—that ought to restrain the conduct and language qtr e '' memb ers of this house, the disregard of which is d i t l'ee in the meanest amongst us, but it is of tenfold When committed by the leader of the House of 1... , 415 . (Loud and long-repeated cheers.) And now, g on from this most painful subject—(cheers)— Nt i q c call the attention of the committee to the vote befor e us, and convey to them my opinion of the st n which we stand. We are coming to a vo' e, sir, 4),,erst of a ser i es o f reso l u tions which have been place Si b : hands. In that first resolution was contained two PrOPOSitiOIIS, in which the proposal now made to !tOtuittee varies the present state of the law. By one v4 i 7 Propositi on s the area on which the house tax is a ,ttended beyond that space which it at present oc th' unt is ex t en d e d on ly t o h ouses o f the value of 101. i dZ o ther of these provisions the rate of the house tax ki,t," i ed, and it has been said t o-night, and it has been !t i l l : Other occasions, that if gentlemen will but vote s, double ho use t a x on this occasion, they will be per ftee to depart from and alter that vote on any future the measure. Now, sir, it is most important that 1 4 - ,°'1 1 (1. know in what sense this is true. I apprehend 1 / 4 . e "e have here an unbounded liberty of action—that '4) 5 area vast number of stages provided in every mea 'ldzh,' Order that every gentleman may reconsider the 4 t - t Zkt which he has formed, that it is open to any 7, of Parliament to vote for and against every mea 'kl4,"at passes through the house at its alternate stages. * i , the liberty, and no other, which you will have to N en e e amount of the house tax, when the present reso 'oC/4 once passed. You have perfect liberty to do that. S e . t rY reduce the tax to a ls. on the bringing up of the . " - 3' o ll may bring it down to 6d. at a further stage, and kty 6 third reading you may abolish it altogether—you 41,_ adopt that as you may any other perfectly inconsistent '44 upon any proceeding in which this house or this L i ttee is engaged. This is the precise amount of your S l P:,,' and I wish you now to recollect that you are not liWgaged. in the performance of a mere technical and Ld,uty. (Hear, hear.) There is a meaning and the rules of the house which require that the im -4'itti."ll of tax committee be receded by a formalcommite. The ; that is-not to obtain a sanction ' ew tax. but to have a thorough and searching discus 'l,l3 a ed to give all the authority by the decision of that 4,4littee which can possibly be given to a proposal for any t ,lti t p, ax • (floor.) And now we have heard the right hon. ,1 1 "'llan speaking in lain age of the severest condemna- Nef those who have withdrawn their budgets. He re -,itt,Zetra four years ago. His recollection goes back to Mr. ; 4 t,,,ue is fresh in the dates of 1848. Does he recollect 4 ti o ;:e \ nts of this evening ? (Loud cheers from the Oppo ,4hZ9, Does he remember—his memory sometimes re ? 1 1„" ' 0 be refreshed—does he remember that this evening i h " 44 it declared by the organ of the Government that 4, l,lerease of the house tax was the principle of the vote, `lpdTat by that vote the Government would stand or fall ? ' 4 % ll en,'by the mouth of the right hon. gentleman the L " d e Secretary he stated that he was perfectly willing to an amendment which, introducing into the reso ki'ne terms " not exceeding one shilling," would have !ti ed 'u. it of the character of an increase, and have aban- N ; the proposition upon which the Government had ,1 4 (11,, 4 ts stand. (Hear, hear, and cheers.) And one hon. itl e ilrliad gentleman who spoke to-night complimented and my friends upon the great vigilance which we ktiltezercised. If he had meant his words as a compli- Ne r ,should have valued them, as well for the manner in t eh t " spoke as for the high character of the speaker— tk)----but they were meant as a reproach, and all T, t have ,"sk( l .with respect to that vigilance is this, that if was ';ii.ever knew an occasion upon which there was an ~4 1 b;,emand for vigilance. (Hear, hear, and cheers.) I tt en all occasions approve of the financial policy of the gentlman the member for Halifax. I opposed him e x :tat year in company with the present Chancellor of bs One , theoccasion on which we opposed him nah r alf so exceptionable as the present. But the 4 1 , Vs of that right hon. gentleman, whether they were I,ll l _ l 'eed hether the were withdra wn,were advanced or 4], - 'rk9;l ( l )rw the case may be, in a manner the most V', most as straightforward, the most free from all 'l)k-ikon of evasion, and the least requiring vigilant in -1 ice : , ! t t t he - res ( o lje t tlr, hear, our and h Lou s d cheers.) Now, sir, I re d whether considered as a °ll the h u ous le e n t i a a x y or a vote on the budget—l reject it 'esolution on the house tax, being at the same time by bisa ,N 'is prepared to concur with those gentlemen who expressed themselves in a manner unfriendly to the &Tie of an extended house tax. While sensible of the va ntages of that peculiar . form of . taxation, yet I think tk e difficulties were fairly met that it might be placed . 4 1s Widened area at a moderate rate, and that it might in Ztt, Cl4 l 2 . form a most convenient area of the financial fC e l of the country. (Hear hear.) But there are many titTletilties attending the house tax, which appear to me 1 1 Z t to have been overlooked altogether, or, if considered, S!_e been decided wrongly in the proposition before the For example, whether the area should be .11s e led beyond the limit of 10/. is a question upon which. say the right hon. gentleman has offered no justifi "heZ for th e proposal of the Government. The question k - 1 ; 14 ,e1s it would be wise to graduate the rates of duty b 'tenses is one which does not seem even to have met A NTl'lee of the Government. Now, it should be recol- Nt; t hat in our previous House-tax Act this law of gra t4`°ll expresslywas included, and I am not prepared to lo w for the adoption of the proposal of the right hon. gen 'which disregards hew principle upon which the for- N ei) * 4o use tax was based, thout at least hearing some , s "h t i,, t 's Why we should abandon what appears to me, on the to be a salutary arrangement of the graduation 110 4,i`„ house tax. Again, sir, there is a most ira .7 question with reference to the relative rati n g s led " 1 0 and country, or rather of this metropolis in,"" pro • ces, in' respect to the house tax. It kkilostible to examine the terms of this house tax, I ,Se.C„d that London and Middlesex pay very nearly ,Nst i . 4l of the whole amount, without being convinced N e 'ee whole matter of the rating requires to be placed `,‘k 4 some special supervision if you resort to the hour!, t h e great instrument in your financial system. Well, AD, z) re is a gross flaw in the house tax which has been OAt , by the right hon. baronet the member for Ports ,te Then how are you to justify the doubling of the ° , 0 5 4 3 f the house tax ? I cannot justify a scheme .so 4 ' k,,Y . unequal as that which taxes, it seems, the mansion i ;ll,,,q ( ovle s on 501. a-year, while the ordinary shopkeeper 1N0." 440 n is taxed on 2501. or 2001. Why have not these t e fight considered ? After the deliberation of months, ap i ,"'t hon. entleman produces a plan which, I confess, b ea re to me that he might as well have given to us the f ,"ate - ` ) P I. after he tookkoffic g e as after the six months during pes i t l i he has remained in office. (Hear.) There is another i:4,I ( T ---- a most important question—namely, whether t in t , 0 houses of low value the tax ought to be collected 'te landlord or from the occupier—a question the nh ldti°4 of which may greatly facilitate the consideration 'hole matter.. But . the . right hon. gentleman has ), 4 ‘11 0 0.,T , 0 say on this point—it never crossed his mind, t: l4 l's - ' he has spoken five hours on one night and three a . 4 °4 another—(hear, and a laugh)—and he found room ,ent 11 (1 i 55115 that he was to make a change in the Irish office, +_ 4° Me other office; but he did not devote one mo- C 4 t 1 41 - " era ,esc. ribe the reasons why he entely passed by the ec e , ulen of this great question, the m whole of which it eht 1 1 - „ 8 ' 4 9 to search and sift to the bottom before the t 4 ' (1 gentleman comes forward with a proposition e t4,l ° , - wimg the house tax. I tell the right honourable ke f ;7.n plainly that I will not legislate upon the 42 either for this Government or for any Govern- -` meat whatsoever, until I see that all those questions which aro now opened up have at least been fairly con sidered, and that the decisions which have been arrived at upon them, whether they meet with my approval or not, are decisions conformable with the rational and deliberate convictions of the House of Commons. (Hear.) The right honourable gentleman must excuse me if I now impeach his policy upon a ground somewhat more broad than even that of the house tax. I can hardly conceive a reason which would induce me to consent, not to a single proposition, but to a financial scheme which introduces into the taxation of the country two, and only two, new taxes, and which is so adroitly contrived that both of these taxes, being both of them direct taxes, shall strike pre cisely the same class. (Hear, hear.) I know not whether that was the object of the right honourable gentleman ;but if it had been his object, I defy him to have hit upon a nicer and more accurate calculation. The man -Those in come is from 501. to 1501. is also the man who lives in a house of from 101. to 201. rent. (Hear, hear.) And now, sir, the right honourable gentleman has rallied my right honourable friend the member for Carlisle on the subject of the poor clerk. The right hon. gentleman is fond of instances. I will try him upon instances ; and, as 1 know he may not have any peculiar sympathy for the poor clerk, I will go to those classes for which we all know the warmth and redundancy of the sympathy of the right honourable gentleman. I want to know how his financial scheme will bear upon the yeoman of this country in occu pation of his own lands. (Hear:hear.) That is a class that I know the right honourable gentleman esteems. In the days when he was accustomed to make motions in this house upon the subject of agricultural distress—(hear, hear, and laughter)—he used carefully to inform you that it would be a gross mistake if in viewing the agricultural interest you looked only to the great landlords ; there was a very large class of men, amongst the most valuable in the community—the yeomen, the ancient proprietors of Eng land, that truly English class, who seem even now to revive among you especially, and more than any other, the days and the institutions of your Anglo-Saxon fore fathers. The right honourable gentleman was earnest in their behalf. Now, how does he propose to use them ? I take the occupiers of lands of his own to the value of 801. a year—no uncommon case. This man, I will suppose, lives probably in a 121. home. At pre sent he pays no house tax and no income tax, and perhaps his lands are heavy wheat lands too. Well, he pays no house tax and no income tax. He hears that his friends have come into office. He has not a moment's hesitation— in one way or another of the double monopoly of the brewers and of the malt tax. Half of three farthings, or three-eighths of a penny, is then the amount of the reduc tion on a quart of beer. That is, what is now sd. will hereafter be 4g d. That is the reduction for which we ale now called upon to surrender 2) millions of public revenue. (Cheers.) Taking the reduction as I have stated it, it would amount to 7 per cent. on the cost of the article, but even supposing there was a reduction of 10 per cent., I want to know how that is to tell on the recovery of the revenue. The right hon. gentleman the Chancellor of the Exchequer has become a pupil of free trade, and is now going . to legis late on the principles of free trade. One main consideration I must tell him in the reduction of a duty is the way in which it will stimulate the self-producing powers of the revenue. And I want to know how the five millions that he now receives from malt are to be reproduced, or what por tion of these five millions we are to receive under the re duced duty. He explained to-night,what I confess was to me before obscure. Ho tells us that for 1854-5 he has estimated his loss at 1,700,0001. upon peculiar grounds. 600,0001. he will then obtain, which will be a payment once for all, and which thereafter will not accrue. 200,0001. is the modest that we had a definite and intelligible plan presented to us. (Hear, hear.) There is nothing that can excuse the Government, or acquit them of the heaviest responsibility to the country, if they open a question like that of re-ar ranging the different contributions of all classes in the country to the income tax, unless the production of a plan which shall be intelligible—which may be subjected to scrutiny—which may be tried on its merits—and which will meet the view of the public as a plan, and not merely as an abstraction. (Loud cheers.) If, on the other hand, a Government, because they know that amongst a large class of the community there is great favour entertained for a particular mode or principle of taxation, depart from the sound rule that binds them to submit their proposi tions, and to be responsible not merely for the general ideas on which they are based, but for the means by which they will be carried into execution—if a Govern ment thinks proper to appeal to favour for the sup port of their principle without confronting the difficulty of carrying it into effect, then I can only say that whatever others may do with regard to the finan cial policy of such a Government, I will be the firmest opponent of such a financial policy—(cheers)—because I know that such a course of pandering to the worst elements of popular feeling and the coarsest passions must expose the country to the gravest dangers. (Hear, hear.) We are told that it is necessary to moderate and check the pro gress of democracy, but there is no surer way of advancing the progress of democracy than by casting loose on the world attractive and seductive ideas with regard to finan cial arrangements, which those who propose them know cannot be carried into effect. (Cheers.) I shall explain in a few words the view and policy with which the income tax was first propounded ; and I may say by way of pre face, that the case of the fundholders is one of a score of cases with which hon. gentlemen will have to deal ; and I shall endeavour to show, when the proper time comes, that if you arrange the income tax in good faith as I understand it, that good faith will compel you to place the fundholder at the lowest rate. (Hear, hear.) Has the right hon. gentleman submitted to us a plan for the reconstruction of of the income tax, or has he not ? I say that a man who promises to vary the different rates of the income tax in different schedules, without having formed his plan for doing so, is guilty of a high off ence ag ainst the public. (Hear, hear.) I say that,.because it appears from what was said by . the right hon. gentleman to-night, that the question is involved in almost hopeless obscurity. (Cheers.) Hon. gentlemen who did not hear the speech of the right hon. gentleman the member for Portsmouth, may find it convenient to say no ; but that right hon. gentleman tested the plan of the right hon. gentleman the Chan cellor of the Exchequer, and he showed that the right hon. gentleman who says he will distinguish between realised and precarious incomes, has, according to his re solution, proceeded upon no principle whatever. (Hear, hear)—and if I understood the answer of the right hon. gentleman, it was this, that not having had time to adjust the details of his plan, he had proposed the tax upon the basis of the old schedules without change ; but if he did, why introduce exemptions with respect to those clergy men ? Is not that a point of detail ? (Hear, hear.) In the first place the right hon. gentleman should recollect that if we vote in the committee of Ways and Means that resolution of his relating to the income tax, we will be absolutely . precluded by the forms and rules of the house from raising the full rate on certain income or property. (Hear, hear.) Schedule D is now going to pay 51 per cent. ; and what is contained in Schedule D ? The entire realised mercantile capital of the country —every farthing of it is contained in Schedule D. The foreign fundholders • in this country, unless they happen to have their . _ sum he estimates for the increased consumption. The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER-400,000 1 . Mr. GLADSTONE—If it is 400,000 g., I am afraid he is rather extravagant in that expectation. I will look back to past experience. You are now going to reduce the malt tax in a manner which will give a reduction of 7 per cent„ or we will say 10 per cent., on the price of the article ; and the question is, what increase will that effect in the con sumption ? In 1830 my right hon. friend near me effected a reduction more than twice as great by the repeal of the beer duty. By that repeal of the beer duty he took 20 per cent. off the price of the article, and we now find that, after the lapse of 20 years, the aggregate increase up to this moment is only 25 per cent. Well, if 25 per cent. in crease in the consuption is produced in 22 years by a re mission of duty amounting to 20 per cent. on the price of the article, I want to know what is to be the amount of the reproduction of the revenue that he now proposes to sacri fice ? Well, now, that is the most important light in which this question strikes me ; but I must say that I con sider his scheme an irrational one if considered with regard to producers, and to any relief that he may desire to give them. He has got a distressed class, for I will assume that they are distressed. There may, indeed, be some question about that ; but there is a class that have been distressed, and have suffered. TheSe are the cultivators of the heavy wheat lands, and how does he propose to relieve them ? By a boon to the cultivators of the light lands. How is this boon to reach the cultivators of the heavy lands ? Why, it is to be filtered through a four-fold or a five-fold strainer, and I will certainly give but little to the farmer of wheat lands for the advantage which will reach him. In the first place, it is to be filtered through the closely organised trade of the master, and secondly, through the still more closely organised trade of the brewers. It is then to be still further diminished by the effect of the sys tem of licensing public-houses, and then any benefit of the reduction which may survive these three is to be encoun tered by foreign competition, and in comes the malt from Belgium and other places to meet the British grower of barley. But the right honourable gentleman has made another most important announcement to-night, that is, the withdral of the excise credits. It is important that the house should understand the operation of these credits. The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER : Not the withdrawal. iiel;;Zturdies;;;fidence in the talents of the Chancellor of the Exchequer. Forgive me if I explain that Ido not question the genius of the Chancellor of the Exchequer. I pay to him the sincere respect that genius deserves. I do not wish to go into any other—l will not mix any other consideration with the feelinc , which I express'. Between the right hon. gentleman and myself there never has been anything in the nature of a misunderstanding, as regards personal matters. His measures and his political conduct I freely canvass ; but to his genius I pay as willing a testi mony as can be rendered by his most ardent admirers. But now I am describing the feelings of this poor man. (A laugh.) It is just because of the reality of the right hon. gentleman's talents that the more bitter will be the disap pointment of my poor yeomen. (Laughter.) He knows the abilities of the right hon. gentleman. He knows more —he knows the high character as well as the distinguished station of the noble earl at the head of the Government. He knows and thinks that, if his friends cannot do all that he expects or that they wish to do for him, at least they will shield him from further injury. He has given up pro tection—he has given up compensation ; but surely he is not to be wounded at their hands. But how is he treated ? He is smitten by three taxes of which he has hitherto known nothing. Upon his 801. rental of his lands he must pay 7d. • and this amounts to 21. 6s. B d. His profits bring him within the magic line of schedule E, and this adds Ils. Bd. more to his burden ; besides which he has to pay 18s. as his contribution to the house tax. Therefore, in consequence of the advent of the right hon. gentleman to power, and of that brilliant and triumphant success which the right hon. gentleman anticipates already for his budget, he will have to pay three taxes of which he has hitherto known nothing—these three amounting to five per cent. upon his gross income ; and he is told that he may save a fiftieth part of the sum upon his tea and his beer. (Hear, hear.) Well, if he is a reflective man, and accustomed to contemplate the works of nature, and the revolutions of the seasons, he may draw comparisons in his own mind between the four familiar divisions of the year and the four visits of the tax-gatherer, upon each of which he makes his de mand. (Laughter.) I take another instance, that of a class to whom he shows tender and affectionate regard, and that class is the clergy. Sir, the right hon. gentleman proposes to introduce on behalf of the clergy, and of the clergy alone, a special exemption on the income tax. He proposes to take them out of that class of life-renters—l mean those of Mr. GLADSTONE : I cannot exactly make out the measure he proposes, but it is at any rate a reduction or diminution of those credits. He proposes to withdraw 600,0001., which is practically an advance to the maltsters. How does that advance operate? That subject was ex plained by Sir Robert Peel in 1845, who then showed that the system of advancing capital to the maltster was to no small degree a compensation for any burden which the duty might entail upon the grower ; for you actually put capital into the hands of the traders, by means of that ar rangement, the plain effect of which—whether wise or not not in another point of view I do not now inquire—is that it facilitates the entrance of competitors into the malt trade, and by multiplying the number of purchasers of barley, secures the farmer a better price. That 600,0001. is to be taken back, the number of maltsters will be proportionably narrowed, and the competition for the farmers' produce proportionably diminished, and the price consequently lowered. Besides the extreme partiality of the operation of this remission, I look upon it as one of the most ineffi cient measures that could be devised for the relief of those agriculturists who are alone in a position to urge that they have been distressed—the cultivators of heavy lands. I must observe that it is altogether, as it appears to me, a most delicate operation which the Chancellor of the Ex chequer has undertaken. He is going to impose ono tax in order to repeal another tax. Now that is a most uncom mon proceeding on the part of a Chancellor of the Ex chequer. It is an operation which may possibly be justified, but it is one that is sure to draw upon it the severest and most jealous scrutiny. How will this new tax be borne ? The tax he has proposed will fall upon per sons spread through all classes. It will be felt in every portion of the community ; and how unpopular will that tax become if, being one that is unpopular in itself, and under any circumstances there is connected with it that idea that the right hon. gentleman has an ulterior purpose —that he has lurking behind a purpose to turn that re duction of taxation which is shown to be so unproductive both to the consumer and to the revenue—to the com pensation of the agriculturists. Well, a comparison has been made between the proceedings of the present Govern ment and those of Sir R. Peel, and we have been told last night by the Secretary for the Colonies that the present Government were acting as nearly as possible upon the principles upon which he proceeded in the year 1842. Now the first difficulty which arose in my mind when I heard that declaration from a minister of the Crown was this—Does it accord with the still more authentic declara tion which has proceeded from the mouth of the Chancel lor of the Exchequer, the financial organ of the Govern ment ? Has he ever mentioned the name of Sir R. Peel as his leader and guide in the measures he now proposes ? Has he ever referred to that great statesman in terms that can give the slightest reason for believing that he recog nises any kindred between the measures of 1842 and those now before you ? Certainly not. His announcement is flatly at variance with those of the Colonial Secretary. The right hon. gentleman said, if I understood him rightly, that he never promised a revision of taxation. What he promised was this—that he was going to administer the finances of the country upon new principles, that were to do every body good—principles that had never been heard of before. He said, addressing his constituents, " Do not suppose that when the now Parliament assembles you will see marshalled before you the old parties that have go verned the country ; you will have new principles of action introduced, and new policies founded on those principles, recommended to the House of Commons." Are these principles, then, new, or are they old, or both new and old ? The right honourable gentleman says they are new, the Home Secretary says they are old. I do not know 1 whether there are any honourable gentlemen in the house who can manage to hold with both. I cannot. I am with the Chancellor of the Exchequer. I think both that the principles themselves are new, and that the mode of carrying them into execution is new, I may presume to have an opinion on the question of what were Sir It. Peel's principles of commercial reform. Long associated with a recollection that will ever be dear to me, and sharing in the first struggles that he made for that great object, I must necessarily have had many opportunities of observing the workings of his mind upon the subject, and the whole house and the country have ample means of knowing by records of the time, if their memories do not enable them to know, what his principles were. The principles on which his commercial reforms rested were—first, to set free the raw materials of industry from duty. How has the right hon. rgentleman acted on that principle ? There is still one raw material, and a most elementary raw material, that Sir Robert Peel, though he had the wish never had the power, and the late Government, though they also had the wish, never had the power, to entirely free from duty mean timber. The repeal of that duty would have ope rated most beneficially for the shipping interest. But I have heard an honourable gentleman to-night say that be cause only 7s. 6d. a ton will be saved on one class of ships, and 2s. 6d. on another, the relief thus given would be in significant in amount. Why, if the average reduction were only ss. per ton, that would amount to 501. or 1001. in the building of some classes of ships. But I wish to point out to the house that when the Chancellor of the Exchequer had a surplus of 1,500,0001., one principle of Sir R. Peel would have led him to consider whether there was any raw material in the tariff not set free from fiscal burdens. He has, as he says, examined the tariff most carefully, but he has passed by the article of timber. What was the next of Sir R. Peel's principles ? It was to remove or diminish duties, protective in their character, and especially those that fell upon articles of food. Are there no duties of that character still remaining in the tariff? Are there no duties on the importation of silk, of butter, or of cheese ? But, the right hon. gentleman has passed them by, and I might mention many other instances. Ho has passed by every one Of them—he leaves them as he found them, and that is, in his view, acting on the principles of unrestricted competition. He certainly does not re-enact protective duties, but he stops at the point where he finds the work of reform, and declines to carry it on. The third of Sir R. Peel's principles was to clear from the tariff unproductive and unnecessary duties, whose collection absorbed the whole, or the greatest part of the produce. The right hon. gen tleman has done nothing whatever in pursuance of this principle. The last principle of Sir R. Peel was to reduce the price of highly-taxed articles of food. And, passing by every other point in the policy of Sir R. Peel, on that, and that alone has the Chancellor of the Exchequer chosen to bestow not only his whole surplus, but a great deal more. Three of Sir R. Peel's principles he has left en tirely untouched, and the fourth he has exaggerated by the course I have described. Does he in that, or does he not, offend against another principle of Sir R. Peel ? What ever Sir R. Peel did with respect to commercial reform, he did it always subject to the paramount obligation, of which he was conscious, to maintainthe principle that ample sums should be raised in the year for the sevrice of the year, and the maintenance of a steady surplus of revenue above expenditure. He never allowed even his eagerness for com mercial reform to make him deviate for one moment from that fundamental and yet more important view. All his operations were conducted subject to the control of that principle. It is the principle, as I shall presently show, that the right hon. gentleman has disregarded and con temned. That is the case, as I conceive, of the commercial principles of Sir R. Peel, and that is the relation of the Government to those commercial principles. But Sir R. Peel, it is said, performed the operation which the right hon. gentleman is now preparing. He imposed a tax— the income tax—to repeal customs duties, a case precisely parallel to the course pursued by the right hon. gentleman. The right hon. gentleman is going to impose new taxes upon the householder ; he increases taxes that have been paid already, and imposes them upon large classes that have not yet paid them, in order to repeal the malt tax. That is, I should say, he is going to impose a tax on the general body of the community, to make a most ineffectual and worthless attempt at the relief, not of a class, but of a portion of a class, This is precisely an inversion of the policy of Sir R. Peel, for he imposed a tax on a class to re lieve the entire body of the people. It was to you [turn ing to the Ministerial benches] that he made his appeal. You—the party opposite—are the men called upon, as the possessors of property ; to you he made his special appeal to accept the income tax, in order that that relief might be given to the springs of industry, and to the great con suming classes of the country. You answered that ap peal, and I hope you will now maintain the character you then gained by the support you gave Sir R. Peel, in the struggle for that great benefit, which you enabled him to confer on his country. I proceed to another question which must not be omitted, for it is of vital import ance, and lies right at the root of the whole discussion before us—l mean the question of the income tax. My right honourable friend the Secretary for the Colonies is very much mistaken if he think that in approaching that question, all he has to do is to set aside the particular ob jection that I have taken as regards the particular case of the fundholder, or to pass jokes at the expense of what he calls my ingenuity. (A laugh.) The right honourable gentleman and the Government may depend upon it that they have opened a question of a most formidable charac ter ; and in what position is it presented to us to-nigh ? I really though, until the distinction that was made to-night, dividends paid - by an agent, are to be taxed 54d., bui if the dividends are paid by an agent in this country, then they are taxed at 7d. (Hear, hear.) I may be met by being told that the Chancellor of the Exchequer has no idea of the amount of foreign funds and securities held in this country—(hear, hear)—but well-informed men in the city of London have told me that they do not amount to less than 80,000,0001. or 100,000,000/. • not so great in amount as the mercantile capital—that may be calcu lated by hundreds of millions—another of the exceptions with which we shall have to deal. (Hear, hear.) It appears that the great finance Minister who is going to revise your system of taxation, and introduce new plans that will benefit every one and injure no one—who is going, above all, to reconstruct your income tax—asks you to pass a vote to put 54d. on schedule D, which will prevent you from putting the full tax on all this realised income, which he says himself ought to pay the full tax. The view of the income tax as first proposed was one that did honour to the great statesman who conceived it. (Loud cheers.) It was undoubtedly required in part to meet a deficit, but it had also this ulterior and principal purpose—to effect a great and needful commercial reform ; to lighten the springs of industry ; to give activity to trade ; and to cheapen com modities of all descriptions. (Hear, hear.) My belief is, that Sir Robert Peel viewed the income tax as a temporary measure—(hear, hear)— -by which I mean a measure that was to continue in force so long as the great reason that called it into existence was to continue in force. (Hear, hear.) I mean a bona fide temporary measure, a temporary measure not limited absolutely to three or five years, but the number of years that would be required to effect com pletely a great system of commercial reform. (Hear, hear.) That was the true basis of the income tax. (Hear.) The income tax is odious in the judgment of many gentlemen in this house, and I do not think it is an unreasonable senti ment ; it is open to argument, but I do not pretend to say it is an unreasonable opinion. It may be thought to bear hardly on various classes of persons, on annuitants, on per sons receiving salaries, and, above all, on persons in profes sions ; and, in a secondary degree, on persons exercising trades, but surely that which brought the bane brought also in no small degree the antidote. With a tax of 7d. on actual receipts, and as regarded land with a tax of 7d. on something more than actual receipts, commercial reforms were effected that made the receipts far larger than they ever had been before. (Hear.) And though persons receiv ing salaries, and engaged in professions, might at first sight undoubtedly object to paying the same rate as the posses sors of property, I will ask, were not the articles which they consumed cut down in price, and did they not receive the benefit of that reduction? (Hear.) The right hon. gentleman very properly said, in speaking of the clerk, that there is no one who received so much advantage from the imposition of the income tax and the commercial re forms as he has done, because he is a consumer and is not a producer of any saleable commodities ; but does not the right hon. gentleman see that that applies to the whole class of persons receiving salaries ? But though I say this, I don't deny that the question of the reconstruction of the income tax is open. All I say to the right hon. gentleman is this, "Let us have a plan." (Loud cheers.) I consider that the House of Commons will forfeit and forget its duty if it deals with this matter in the abstract. Instead of commanding the respect of the country, and making a pro vision for its permanent interest, it will become a mere panderer to public opinion, and be driven hither and thither by the force of it. What is the use of a Minister of the Crown rising in his place, and saying the time is come *hen we must recognise a difference between temporary and precarious incomes, and when challenged upon the ab surdities and anomalies, inconsistencies and self-contradic tions of his plan, by a gentleman of weight in the house, he says, " That is not my plan 1 I found it in the schedules as they stand • but they are all to be reconstructed." One word on a small interlude that took place in vindication of the right hon. gentleman (Sir J. Graham), whom the Chancellor of the Exchequer " respects but does not re gard." The CHANCELLOR of the EXCITFIQUER.—I did s the right hon. gentleman not say that. will co . rr GL ec A t DS me. ONE.—Perhaps The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER (rising)—l did not use those words. I do not recollect those words. (Cheers, and cries of " Oh, oh 1") I may in the haste have said something to that effect ; but not, I hope, in those terms. (Cheers, and cries of "Oh, oh !") Mr. GLADSTONE—If it were a mere hasty word . ; of course I should be the last person to take notice of it ; but n allusion been we e n t m h a e de which I am part p ro p ri etor — l refer to the comparison which position of a bishop and a judge : honourableP° by my right hon. friend, in friend the Secretary for the Colonies denied the com p ar ison, because he said a judg e could be removed from his office ; and I now venture to a My drew right i has g between t say a bishop may be deposed. If my right hon. friend pursues the cas e a little further he will see that the two cases approximate as closely as possible. I refer him to an act that passed in 1843, under which a bishop who is incapable may have the spiritualities of his diocese trans ferred to another bishop, and the temporalities of his diocese transferred to another ecclesiastic. I have asked the governor of the Bank of England, who agrees in prin ciple with the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will accept his plan, and he said it was impossible ; for what does the right honourable gentleman do ? The salient point of the whole case is on the public annuities, above all annuities for years expiring in 1860. They were in the one ease always chosen by common consent, to make visible, as it was thought, the uncertainty of the present acts. The right honourable gentleman leaves this capital and cry i ng grievance — so much of a grievance, indeed, that it has always been made by common consent the standard bearer to the rest, precisely where he 'found it. The annuitant is still included in Schedule C, and is still liable to 7d. in the pound on his interest and his capital. Now no two men have agreed upon a plan for getting rid of these difficulties. (Hear, hear.) You appointed a committee which sat in 1851 and 1852, and examined wit nesses. That committee looked the question in the face, and the consequence was that they could not agree upon a plan. The honourable member for Montrose agreed upon a plan, but he agreed with whom ? Why he agreed with himself. (Laughter.) My right hon. friend the member for Wiltshire agreed upon a plan too, and he also agreed with himself. The truth seems to be that government no more than anybody else have agreed upon a plan. Now I have endeavoured to deal manfully with this question. I say it behoved the Government to inquire into this sub ject, and see if they could not discover a plan which would be likely to satisfy the wishes of the community. I see at least no reason why they should announce that they intended to give effect to the principle before they had inquired whether effect could be given to it. It is a serious condition for the country when the Ministers of the Crown—when a government appointed to stop the pro gress of democracy—(cheers) —stoo ps to pursue a course in which they endeavour to call upon the Conservative party to support them, Now I beg to touch on the last subject, I think, on which I shall trouble the house. (Ironical cheers, answered by counter cheers.) I pass from the in come tax with only this remark, which I commend to the serious consideration of hon. gentlemen—namely, that while I blame the conduct of the Government, I can make no complaint I must say of the favourable reception which their proposition, if it may be so called, appears to have met with at the hands of the great bulk of their sup porters. Those hon. gentlemen especially represent the landed interest in this house. They already pay the full rate of income tax, and they are now ready to accede to the principle of the plan which will not only lead them to continue paying that full amount, but which will, through the operation of exemptions, throw on them a larger bur den. But I wish to commend this point seriously to their consideration. The Chancellor of the Exchequer says it is time to recognise the distinction between permanent and precarious incomes. So far I am ready to follow him, sav ing always my right to support the case of the fundholder. I am ready to follow him into the examination of his plan. But the right hon. gentleman, and those who support him, should consider that there is another kind of gradation of which little or nothing has yet been said. It is no doubt true that the medical man with his 3001. a-year is a poorer man, and a good deal more so, than he who has 3001. in the funds. But is there not the yeoman of 501. a-year, who can not quite so well afford to pay 7d. in the pound as the duke of this or the marquis of that, who, being like the yeoman in possessing land property, differ from him in this, that while he possesses land property of the value of 501. a year, they possess landedproperty worth 50,0001. a year? (Hear.) I hope hon. gentlemen will well consider whether they are prepared not only to distinguish between the landowner and the professional man, but likewise to graduate between the holders of large and the holders of small properties. I come now to the question which is vital to the whole of this matter. Has the Chancellor of the Exchequer, I ask, included in his new scheme principles that involve the sub version of all those rules of prudence heretofore deemed necessary for the conduct of the financial affairs of the country ? Has he, in other words, presented to the house them who have under 1001. a-year--he takes them out of the class of life-renters to which they belong, and to grant them the benefit of a peculiar exemption. Well, I must confess, while there is no man more bound than I am to study the interests, the temporal interests, of the clergy in this house, I must confess that I am far from convinced of the wisdom of bestowing upon them an exceptional pri vilege. I do not wish to see the clergy held up as in vested, not only with the public endowments that they en joy, to the satisfaction as well as to the benefit, I believe, of the public, but with exceptional privileges that may attract odium and envy. (Hear, hear.) But, sir, the clergy have a real grievance at this moment. It is ad mitted by all authorities—Professor Jones, Mr. Cornewall Lewis, and every man who has examined the subject of local rating will tell you—that the clergy suffer cruelly by being rated upon their gross incomes. Now, I would rather redress that grievance of the clergy than grant them a new and exceptional privilege. What is the feeling, I want to know, of the clergy of 1201. a year, under the circum stances of the accession of the right hon. gentleman to power ? lam supposing the case of the village clergyman, who will fall, therefore, under the sweep of the right hon. gentleman's income tax. This clergyman has greater rea son, if possible, than the yeoman, to build expectations upon the right ion. gentleman's accession to office, because it is from local taxation that this clergyman suffers. It is from local taxation that this clergyman suffers, and who, I want to know, is the great doctor of all England on the subject of local taxation ? That clergyman will have watched with the deepest interest the past career of the right hon. gentleman the Chancellor of the Exchequer. He will have seen that he has argued the grievances of local taxation with the utmost power, with unrivalled assiduity, and with that peculiar pathos which always be longs to great earnestness. (Cheers, and laughter.) What will have been the clergyman's expectations on this occa sion, and what will be his condition ? Why, he will have read the speech of the right hon. gentleman on the intro duction of his budget—he will have found that the right hon. gentleman, with a gravity which cannot be too highly commended—(laughter)—stated in detail the case of the agriculturists under the head of local taxation, wrapped up all their claims in a bundle, and pitched them into the bottomless abyss. (Cheers.) Sir, we are sometimes told, and I agree with it, that there is much, not only in the doing of a thing, but in the manner in which it is done. Those who were present in this house will recollect the manner in which this was done. I myself have voted with the right hon. gentleman on previous occasions for the relief of the farmer in respect of local taxa tion. (Hear, hear.) I did it at much expense of feeling, and I have been often censured for that vote. I did it in no vain idea that the landlords of this country were en titled to compensation for the repeal of the corn laws. I did it, whether rightly or - wrongly, upon this principle — that there was much of t feeling mixed up with this ques tion, and that the farmer of this country was passing through a crisis in which the holding out of a helping hand by Parliament would have given him in a moment of uncertainty and of danger the greatest encouragement to persevere in that struggle his success in which was essen tial to us all. I, therefore, had these feelings on the sub ject of local taxation; but I must say, that if I had been the sternest and bitterest opponent of the granting of a single farthing of relief to the farmer, I would have been perfectly satisfied with the matter and the manner when, in his speech on the budget, the right hon. gentleman dis posed finally of the question of local taxation. (Hear, hear, and laughter.) Well, sir, that is the case with the clergyman. His expectations are smashed. He will have to pay income tax on his income of 1201. a year, and to pay on his house of 15/. rent towards the house tax ; although at present he knows nothing of either the house tax or the income tax. If the right hon. gentleman's budget— I make the supposition—l think it a strong one—if his budget succeeds—(laughter)—this clergyman will pay 31. 10s. 3d. in income tax, and 1/. 2s. 6d. house tax, making together 41. 125., or nearly 4 per cent, of his in come. That will be the consequence of the right hon. gentleman's accession to office. (Cheers.) Well, my third reason (and it is the only other reason with which I will trouble the house) for opposing the reduplication of the house tax, is because it is connected with the repeal of the malt tax. Now, on the question of the repeal of the malt tax, I mean to give no opinion which would exclude, under favourable circumstances, its fair and favourable consideration. Although I grant you you ought not to regard the consumption of malt with pre cisely the same favour as you can look upon the consump tion of tea or coffee, yet on the other hand, I must recol lect that while malt liquor is conterminous on the one side with tea and coffee, it is conterminous on the other side with the article of spirits, and is still the old beverage of the country; and if you could succeed in breaking down the monopoly of the brewer's trade, and also effect a modi fication of the licensing system, thereby giving freedom to the trade, and insuring real relief to the consumer, and which, if it was found necessary, would still leave you a revenue from the article in its final manufactured state—if such a scheme as that could be devised, then I think that the repeal of the malt tax might fairly, under certain cir cumstances, come under the consideration of this house. But the scheme before us has not one of these recommen dations. The hon. baronet the member for Kent (Sir E. Doling), made a most admirable and candid speech on this subject. He said that the repeal of one-half the malt tax would do little or no good, but he accepted it as a stepping stone; and if I may venture to interpret in words what he did not fully express. I understood him to mean that the repeal of half the malt tax would leave the remainder of it in a position so indefensible, would exhibit the tax as so unsatisfactory in itself, and would make the amount of evil entailed by the restriction so monstrous, as compared with the remainder, that it would be a powerful lever for effecting the abolition of the rest of the tax. That was the reason which influenced the honourable baronet. But that is not a reason which can influence the House of Commons. If we have got, which I shall show that we have not, 2,500,0001. of public income to dispose of, we must dispose of it in the best manner we can. It is not enough to say that you will do something good by the change. You must look over the existing duties calmly and candidly, and consider by what relief or remission you can do the greatest good to the consumer, to trade, and, to the revenue. By that rule, and by that de only, we can judge. And if a latent idea lurks in the mind of some that although the malt tax may not be a very good tax to pro pose for the public interest—may not be a very good pro position for the public interest, yet there is a smack and a savour of compensation to the public interest about it— then, I must say that, in the first pla.ge, I think it untrue in the point of fact ; and that, in the second place, it is en tirely at variance with the principle which the Chancellor of the Exchequer has himself laid down to-night, and on other nights, in the fairest and most explicit manner, that all remissions of taxation must be judged of as public benefits, and that, if any benefit accrae to the grower, or producer of any article, it must be merely that accidental benefit that always accrues to the producer of any article the price of which is reduced. The right honourable gen tleman has been facetious to-night on the subject of the articles used, to show that the repeal of the malt tax will not reach the consumer. He purported to aim these shafts exclusively at the gentlemen opposed to him ; but it did appear to me that there was a sidelong dart which found its way to the side of one of the most respectable members of the house—the member for the North Riding of Yorkshire (Mr. Cayley). There is not a greater authority on the subject of the malt tax • and what estimate does he give us afte r h av i ng s t u di e d the question during the whole of his parliamentary career ? What does he say as to the amount of the benefit which is to reach the consumer from the repeal of one-half of the malt tax ? He says that sd. is the present price of a quart of malt liquor ; 2d. is the cost pneeof it, id, is the duty; 2id is, as he says, the effect THE SUN, LONDON, FRIDAY EVENING, DECEMBER 17, 1852. a budget without a surplus ? I submit that he has pre sented a budget without a surplus. The Chancellor of the Exchequer said there were no profits at all- The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER : A mil- lion and a half. Mr. GLADSTONE : Well, if you hold to that, I will tell you how that matter stands. The case is really this : the Exchequer Loan Fund Commissioners have had two systems of administration. In one of those systems, which to a certain extent depended on each other, there was a discretionary power given, and if the accounts be accurate, there has been a considerable profit from the operations which have been conducted in the exercise of that discretion. Whilst, however, the commission, in the free exercise of its right arm, had been making money for the public, it had been spending money faster than it made it by the compulsory exercise of its left arm. The right honourable gentleman has now, for the first time, in detail told us plainly that the 400,0001. which appears in the ways and means, and which constitute his sole surplus, are 400,0001. not belonging to the services of the year, not drawn from the people by the service of the year, but repayments of money, for merly obtained upon the credit of the country. The right hon. baronet stated that the Government did not send its balances to the bank because the bank allowed no interest. The right hon. gentleman can hardly have considered the elementary terms between the Government and the bank. It was true in the letter, but not in the spirit, that the bank gave interest for the balances of the Government. But what does it matter whether you receive interest on your ba lances, or the bank engages to transact your business and lend you money when required at small rates of interest? When the bank charter comes to be granted, the directors will cast up their averege balances, and will be regulated by their amount, as to the terms they mill give you for its renewal. But, apart from this question, the sum of 400,0901. is neither more nor less than borrowed money, and it is this which, upon the showing and statement of the Chancellor of the Exchequer, alone constitutes his surplus. (Cheers.) The House of Commons was called upon to consider whether it would give its sanction to a financial scheme which proposed to create a surplus only out of the borrowed money. The Chancellor of the Exchequer proposed to vamp up a surplus out of borrowed money, and with that fictitious surplus he hoped to obtain the sanction of the house. I fully agree with the right hon. gen tleman that the committee in 1812 recommended that this fund should be devoted to " ways and means," in order to its being applied to the payment of the debt ; but at that time there was a considerable surplus re venue. The same remark will apply to the recommenda tion of the committeeoflB2B, also quoted by the righthon. gentleman. I am well satisfied with one or two of the ex planations offered by the Chancellor of the Exchequer. I was pleased with what he said with respect to the Kafir war, and I cannot bring myself to criticise his intelligence too harshly. Let us cherish the illusion, if it be one, till at all events it is displaced by intelligence not open to dis pute. I thank him also for his explanation respecting the malt tax for the years 1844 and 1845. though I think he has not allowed sufficient for the drawback, or for that reduction in the quantity of malt consumed by the brewers previous to the drawback. (Loud cheers.) — I am not satisfied with his statement respecting the re fining of sugar in bond. It will have the effect of increasing differential duties and increasing the expense of collecting the revenue. In his statement with respect to the income tax there is a palpable hiatus in his figures, and upon ad ding them up the total falls short by nearly 140,0001. (Cheers.) These are not times when we ought to trifle with the revenue. No economy is so good as that of maintain ing the finances in a high state of credit. The right hon. gentleman has referred with triumph to the high price of the funds, but every one knows that the money market is, to a great extent regulated by those who buy with the view of selling again immediately for profit; and not with a view to permanent investment. The Chancellor of the Ex chequer has departed from the sound policy of supporting a surplus revenue, and no minister will ever receive my sup port for his financial policy which proceeds upon such a sys tem. It is a principle most dangerous, and most of all dan gerous and inconsistent in a Conservative Government. The right hon. gentleman spoke of terminating the war of classes. Why, sir, he has done more than any other man to revive and renew that war—(cheers, and cries of " oh ") —and if I saw the hon. member for the West Riding (Mr. Cobden) in his place, who I know to be as strongly attach ed to the principle of establishing a difference in the income tax, I would make my appeal to him, and say, " That is your principle, and you are ready to adopt a reasonable plan for that purpose ; " but, I ask you, if you approve of a Government which is submitting its plan, announces a popular principle, obtains a temporary harvest of popu larity. and leaves the question of giving effect to its announcements to the chapter of accidents. (Cries of " oh," and cheers.) I will ask gentlemen who are so squeamish on the subject of anxiety for popularity, if they heard the speech of the Chancellor of the Exche quer, in which he has laid out before the public the good deeds of the Government, as a shopman lays out his wares ? (Laughter and ironical cheers). Many similar deeds have been done by former Governments, but they were never paraded before the house and country as they have been by the Chancellor of the Exchequer to night; as though they were the carrying out of one of the " new principles"—(a laugh)—upon which we are hereafter to be governed by enchanters and magicians, has at any rate been governed by men of sense and honour in former years ; and I venture to say that no man who has held high office has not over and over again effected operations when the occasion required of equal or greater importance with out parading them to the house in a speech on the budget. (Loud cheers.) When I speak of the right hon. gentle man renewing the war of classes, I do not mean that he is reviving it on the question of protection ; but I found my statement on the fact of his having launched opinions with respect to the reconstruction of the income tax, not supported by any executory means. (Cheers.) But the Chancellor of the Exchequer closed his speech by stating that he was opposed by a coalition. (Mi nisterial cheers.) What is the meaning of these charges of combination and coalition ? and where is the evidence by which they are supported? Is it because the right hon. baronet the member for Halifax (Sir C. Wood) opposes the budget—and I likewise have the misfortune to do so— that there is therefore a factions combination between us ? Does the evidence of factious combination depend upon concurrence in a vote ? If so, why was not the com plaint of combination raised about a fortnight ago, when we, from a sense of justice and duty, gave a vote not alto gether inconvenient to the Government ? (Cheers and laughter.) And why is it, because we now conscientiously differ and dissent from the financial policy of the Govern ment, that we are not to be free again to give an honest and independent vote ? (Cheers.) It seems to me that the right hon. baronet and the right hon. the Secretary of State for the Colonies appear to think that they have a vested interest in the votes of hon. members near me. (A laugh.) I vote against the budget of the Chancellor of the Exche quer, not only because I disapprove upon general grounds of the principles of that budget, but emphatically and peculiarly, because in my conscience=though it may be an erroneous belief—it is my firm conviction that the budget is one—l will not say the most liberal, nor the most radical, but I will say the most subversive in its tendencies and ulti mate effects which I have ever known submitted to this house. (Cheers and counter cheers.) It is the most regardless of those general rules of prudence which it is absolutely ne cessary we should preserve, and which itis perfectly impos sible that this house, as a popular assembly, should ob serve unless the Government sets us the example, and uses its influence to keep us in the right course. Sir, the House of Commons is a noble assembly, worthy of its historical and traditional associations ; but it is too much to expect that we should teach the Executive its duty in matters of administration and finance. If I vote against the Government, I vote in support of those Conservative principles (derisive cheers, followed by loud counter cheers)—which I thank God are common in a great degree to all parties in the British House of Commons, but of which I thought it was the peculiar pride and glory of the Conservative party to be the champions and the leaders. Are you not the party of 1842 ? Are you not the party who, in times of difficulty, chose to cover a deficit, and to provide a large surplus ? And are you the same party to be united now in a time of prosperity, to convert a large surplus into a deficiency? (Cheers.) I appeal to you by what you then were. I appeal to you to act now as you did then. Us you have cast off. Ido not blame you for that. I am, indeed, always disposed to view with regret the rupture of party ties—my disposition is rather to retain them. I confess that I look, if not with suspicion, at least with disapprobation, on any one who is disposed to treat party connections as matters of small im portance. My opinion is, that party ties closely ap pertain to those principles of confidence which we entertain for the House of Commons. But us you have cast off for inconsistency. Have we ever complained of that ? Have we ever made it matter of charge against you ? No, certainly not ; you owe us no grudge on that account. But you must remember that you also have a character to maintain—that you also are on your trial— that you also are bound to look with suspicion on those principles of financial policy which depart from those rules that not only all statesmen, but the common sense of the country, agree to be essential to the prosperity of this nation. You are now asked to vote for a budget which consecrates as it were the principle of a deficiency, and which en dangers the public credit of the country, and which may peril our safety—if, indeed, the circumstances of the present day are circumstances of uneasiness ; and if the Government have thought it right to call upon you for increased exertions in providing for the defences of the comi try—(cheers)—l say, then, that I vote against this budget in concert, at least in company, with the right honourable baronet the member for Halifax, feeling that in giving that vote I do the work, so far as depends upon me, which you ought to join with me in doing. (Loud cheers.) Ido not express that sentiment in an offensive manner, but I say it because I feel deeply attached—having sat for so many years in this house, and having been connected during many of those years with public office, I feel profoundly attached to the institutions of the country. I look back with regret upon the days when I sat nearer to many of my hon. friends opposite than I now am, and I feel it my duty to use that freedom of speech which I am sure, as English men, you will t o l era te, when I tell you that if you give your assent and your high authority to this most unsound the ed Government e no o w f —you may accompany _onyewuhimchaythreefufineeanmcryale7pheeami the Chancellor of the Exchequer into the lobby ; but my belief is that the . day will com e when you will look back upon this vote—as its consequences ti principles based—you sd sooner or later unfold themselves —you N . nlllook back upon this vote with bitter, but with late and ineffectual, regret. (Loud and prolonged cheers.) After an abortive attempt on the part of Mr. CONOLLY to address the house, The committee divided. The numbers were — Ayes ................... r.... N0e5........................ 28G 305 Majority against the Government 19 The house received the result with repeated bursts of applause. On our admission to the gallery, we found The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER standing. When comparative silence was obtained, he said :—With regard to the vote just come to by the committee, it will be more convenient for the transaction of public business that the house at its rising should adjourn to Monday. I shall therefore at present move that you report progress and ask leave to sit again. The house then resumed, and the chairman reported pro gress. Mr. G. A. HAMILTON moved that the house at its ris ing adjourn to Monday. The motion was agreed to, and the house adjourned at a quarter to four o'clock. CARGOES OF GOLD.—The Lady Flora, which sailed from Port Phillip on the 4th August for London with 77,500 ounces of gold, valued at 310,0001. sterling, put into Rio Janeiro on the 16th October, and sailed for London on the 28th idem. The second mate had been detected pilfering some gold, and sent home under arrest. The Emperor, with 8,000 ounces of gold from Sydney, has put into Monte Video in a leaky state, and this amount of the precious metal has been transferred to her Majesty's steamer Plumper, for conveyance to England. -- r ------- ` _ -~-- .w,.~ THE DIVISION LAST NIGHT. WAYS AND MEANS—THE HOUSE TAX. IN THE COMMITTEE. Question again proposed,—` Tha t,towards raising the supply granted to her Majesty, from and after the sth day of April, 1853, the duties granted and made payable by the Act 14 and 15 Vic., c. 36, upon inhabited houses in Great Britain, accord ing to the annual value thereof, shall cease and determine, and in lieu thereof there shall be granted and made payable upon all such dwelling houses the following duty (that is to say)." —Motion, by leave, withdrawn. Motion made, and question put,—" That, towards raising the supply granted to her Majes ty, from and after the sth day of April, 1853, the duties granted and made payable by the Act 14 and 15 Vic., c. 36, upon inhabited dwelling houses in Great Britain, according to the annual value thereof, shall cease and determine, and in lieu thereof there shall be granted and made payable upon all such dwelling houses the following duties (that is to say):— For every inhabited dwelling house which, with the house hold and other offices, yards, and gardens therewith occupied and charged, is or shall be worth the rent of ten pounds or upwards by the year : Where any such dwelling house shall be occupied by any person in trade who shall expose to sale and sell any goods, wares, or merchandise in any shop or warehouse, being part of the same dwelling house, and in the front and ou the ground and basement story thereof : And also where any such dwelling house shall be occupied by any person who shall be duly licensed by the laws in force to sell therein by retail beer, ale, wine, or other liquors, although the room or rooms thereof in which any such liquors shall be exposed to sale, sold, drunk, or consumed, shall not be such shop or warehouse as aforesaid : And also where any such dwelling house shall be a farm house occupied by a tenant or farm servant, and bona fide used for the purposes of husbandry only, there shall be charged for every twenty shillings of annual value of any such dwelling house, the sum of one shilling: And where any such dwelling shall not be occupied and used for any such purpose, and in manner aforesaid, there shall be charged for every twenty shillings of such annual value thereof, the sum of one shilling and sixpence."— The committee divided : Ayes, 286 ; Noes, 305. AYES. Acland, Sir T D Fraser, Sir W. A. Morgan, Octavius Add erley, C. B. Freshfield, J. W. Morg, C. Rodney Annesley, Earl of Frewen , C. H. MullinsJ. Randolph Arbuthnott, General Fuller, A. E. Mundy William Archdall, Captain X Gallwey, Sir W. P. Murrough, J. P. Arkwright. G. Galway, Viscount Naas, Lord Astell, J. H. Geste% James X. Napier, J. Bagge, W. George, John Neeld, John Bailey, Sir J. Gilpin, Colonel Neeld, Joseph Bailey, C. Gipps, Henry' P. Newark, Viscount Bailey, H J Gladstone, Captain Newdegate, C. N. Baird, Janes Goddard, A. L. Newport, Viscount Ball. Edward Goold. W. Noel, Gerard James Baldeock, E. H. Gordon, Admiral North, Colonel Bankes, G. Gore, W. 0. Oakes, J. H. P. Barrington, Viscount Graham, Lord M. W Ossulston, Lord Barrow, Wm. H. Granby, Marquis of Owen, Sir John Beckett, William Greaves, Edward rack., 0. William B, nbow, John Greenall, Gilbert Pakenham, Captain Bentinck, Lord H. Grogan, Edward Pakington, Sir J. Bentinck, Geo. P. Guernsey, Lord Palmer, Robert Beresford, William Hale, Robert B. Parker, R. T. Berkeley. Sir G. Raiford, Sir H. Peacock, M. Bernard, Viscount Hall, Colonel Percy, J. Blair. Colonel Halsey, Thomas P Phillipps, J. H. Blandford, Marquis Hamilton, Lord C. Pigott, F. Boldero, Colonel Hamilton, Geo. A. Portal, Melville Booker, T. W. Hamilton , 3. Hans Powlett, Lord W. Booth, Sir R. Hanbury, Spencer B Prime, R. Bramston, T. W. Harcourt, G. G. Pugh, D. Bremridge, R. Hardinge, Charles S. Repton, G. W. J. Brisco, Musgrave Haye., Sir Edmund Robertson, P. F. Brooke, Lord Heard, J. I. Rolt, P. Brooke, Sir A. B. Heneage, G. H. W. Rushout, Captain Bruce, C. L. C. Henley. J. W. Russell, F. W. Buller, Sir J. Y. Herbert, Sidney Sanders, G. Burghley, Lord Herries, J. C. Scott, Francis Burrell, Sir C. M. Hildyard, Robert C. Seaham, Lord. Burroughes, Henry N. Hill, Lord Arthur E. Seymer, H. K. Butt, Geo. Medd Hope, Sir John Sibthorp, Colonel Butt, Isaac Horsfall, Thomas B. Smijth, Sir W. Cabbell, B. B. Hotham, Lord Smith, Sir F. Cairns, H. WCalmont Hudson, George Smith, W. M. Campbell. Sir Arch. Hughes, W. B. Smith, R. J. Carnac, Sir J. R. Hume, W.Fitzwilliam Snx,llett, A. Cayley, E. S. Inglis, Sir R. H. Somerset, Captain Chandos, Marquis of Irton, Samuel Sotheron, T. H. Chelsea, Viscount Jocelyn, Viscount Spooner, R. Child, Smith Johnstone, Sir J. Stafford, A. Cholmondeley, Sir M. Jones, Captain Stanhope, James B. Christopher, R. A. Jones, David Stanley, Lord Christy, Samuel Kelly, Sir F. Stephenson, R. Clinton, Lord Robert Kendall, NichOlal Stirling. W. Clive R. H. Ker. D. S. Stuart H. Clive, Robert Kerrison, 'E. C. Talbot, C. R. M. Cobbold, J. C. King, J. K. Taylor, Colenel Cocks, Thomas S. Knatchbull, W. F. Taylor, H. Codrington, Sir Wm. Knight, F. W. Thesiger, Sir F. Coles, Henry B. Knightley, Rainald Thompson, Ald. Conolly, T. Knox, Colonel Tollemache, J. Coote, Sir C. I 1 Knox, W. S. Trollope, Str J. Corry, Henry Lowry Lacon, Sir E. Tudway, R. C. Cotton, W. H. S. Lollar, R. M. Turner, C. Cubitt, Alderman Langton, W. H. Tyler, Sir G. Davies, D. A. S. lascelles, E. Tyrell, Sir J. T. Davison, Richard Lennox, Lord A. F. Vance, J. Deedes, W. Lennox. Lord H. G. Vane, Lord H. Dering, Sir E. Leslie, C. P. Vansittart, George H Disraeli, B. Lewisham, Ld Verner, Sir W. Dod, John W. Lindsay, Col. Villiers, Hon. F. Dodd, George Lockhart, W. Vivian, J. E. Drax, J. S. W. S. E. Lopes, Sir Ralph Vyse, R. H. R. Drummond, Henry Lovaine, Lord Waddington, D. Du Cane, Charles Lowther, H. Walcott, Adm. Duckworth, SirJ. Lowther, Captain Walpole, S. IL Duncombe, H. A. Lygon, General Walsh, Sir J. B. Duncombe, H. 0. Lytton, Sir E. G. Welby, Sir G. E. Duncombe, H. W. Macartney. G. Wellesley, Lord C. Du Pre, C. George Macaulay, K. Whiteside, James East, Sir J. B. Macgregor, J. Whitmore, Henry Egerton, Sir P. Maddook, Sir T. H. Wigram, L. T. Egerton, Edward Melina, Richard Williams, T. P. Egerton W. T Mandeville, Viscount Willoughby, Sir H. Evelyn, W. J. Manners, Lord G. Wodehouse, E. Farnham, E. Basil Manners, Lord J. Worcester, Maqs. of Ferrer, James March, Earl of Wyndham, 0 en. Fellowes, Edward Mare, C. J. Wyndham, W. Ferguson. Sir R. Masterman, J. Wynn, Herbert W. Filmer, Sir Edmund Maunsell, T. P. Wynn, Sir H. W. Fitzgerald, W. R. S. Maxwell, Hon. J. P. Wynne. Wm. W. E, Floyer, John lieu', Sir Henry York, E. T. Follett, B. Spencer Michell, W. Forbes, William Miles, W. Forester, Colonel Miller, T. J. Forster, sir G. M. Mills, A. ,Franklyn, G. W. Montgomery, H. Fraser, Sir W. A. Moore, Ross S. TELLEI.O. Ilateson, Thomas Mackenzie, W . F NOES. A'Court, C. H. W. French, Fitzstephen O'Brien, Cornelius Alcock, Thomas Gardner, Richard O'Brien, Patrick Anderson, Sir James (leach, Charles O'Brien, Sir T. Anson, General Gibson., Thomas M. O'Connell, Maurice Armstrong, R. B. Gladstone, William O'Flalierty, Anthony Atherton, Wm. Glyn, George Carr Oliveira, B. Baines, M. T. Goderich, Viscount Osborne, Ralph Ball, John Goodman, Sir George Otway, A. J. Baring, H. B. Goulburn, Henry Paget, Lord Alfred Baring, Sir F. T. Gower, F. L. Paget, Lord George Barnes, Thomas Grace, 0. D. J. Pechell, Sir G. Bass, M. T. Graham, Sir James Peel, F. Beaumont, W. B. Greene, John Peel, Colonel Bell, James Gregson, Samuel Pellatt, A Bellew, Captain Grev , lle, Colonel F. Phillimore, J. Berkeley, Admiral Grosvenor, Lord R. Phinn, T. Berkeley, H. F. yladdeld, George Pigot, Sir Robert Berkeley, C. F. Hall, Sir Benjamin Pilkington, James Bethel', Richard Hanmer, Sir J. Pinney, William Biddulph, R. M. llarcourt, G. G. Pollard-Urquhart, W. Biggs, William Ilastie, Alexander Portman, W. Blackett, J. F. Mgt°, Archibald Potter, R. Benham-Carter, John Pieadlam, Thomas E. Power, N. Bouverie, E. P. Henchy, D. O'Connor Price, Sir R. Bowyer, George lleneage, G. H. W. Price, W. P. Boyle, Colonel Herbert, H. A. Richard°, 0. Brady, John Herbert, Sidney Rich, H. Brand, H. B. W. Hervey, Lord Alfred Robartes, T. J. A. Bright, John Heywood, James Roche, E. B. Brocklehurst, John Higgins, G. G. 0. Rumbold, C. E. Brockman, E. P. Hogg, Sir James W. Russell, LordJ. Brotherton, Joseph Howard, W. G. Russell, F. C. H. Brown, Humphrey Howard, Lord E. Sadleir, J. Brown, W. Hume, Joseph Sadleir, J. Browne, V. Hutchins, E. Sawle, C. B. G. Bruce, Lord E. Hutt, William Scholefield, W. Brace, H. A. Ingham, Robert Scobell, Capt. Butler, Charles S. Jackson, William Scrope, G. P. Byng, G. H. Charles Jermyn, Earl Scully, Francis Carter, Samuel Johnstone, James Scully, V. Caulfield, Colonel Johnstone, Sir J. Seymour, Lord Cavendish Charles C. Keating, Robert Seymour, H. D. Cavendish. George Keating, 11. S. Seymour, W. D. Challis, Alderman Kennedy, Tristram Shaft°, R. D. Chambers, M. Keogh, William Shee, Williamil Chambers, Thomas Kershaw, James Shelburne, Earl Chaplin, W. J. King, P. J. L. Shelley, Sir J. Charteris, F. Kingscote, R. N. F. Sullivan, M. Cheetham, John Kinnaird, A. F. Smith, John Abel Clay, James Kirk, William Smith, John Benj. Clay, Sir William Labouchero, Henry Smith, M. Tucker Clifford, Henry M. Laing, S. Smith, Rt. Hn. R. Clinton, Lord C. P. Langston, J. H. Stafford, Marquis Cobbett, JM. Langton, W. H. G. Stanley, W. 0. Cobden, Richard Laslett, Willie Stanstield, W. R. Cockburn, Sir A. Lawless, C. Stapleton, John Coffin Walter Lawley, , F. C. Strickland, Sir G. Collier, Robert P. Layard, A. H. Strut, Edward Cowan, Charles Leah, G. C. Stuatrt, Lord D. Cowper, W. F. Lemon, Sir C. Sullivan, M. Craufurd, E. Lewis, Sir T. Sutton, J. H. M. Crook. Joseph Locke, Joseph Swift, R. Crossley, F. Lockhart, A. E. Thicknesse, R. A. Crowder, Richard B. Loveden , P. Th o mpson, G. Currie, Raikes Lowe, Robert Thornely, T. Erashvrood, G. H. Lucas, Robert Tornline, G. Davie, Sir H. Luce , Thomas Towneley, C. Denison, Edmund; Macaulay, T. B. Traill, G. Denison, J. E. Mackie. John Tufnell, H. Devereux, J. T. Mackinnon, W. A. Tynte, Col. C. J. K. Divett, Edward M'Cann, James Vane, Lord H. Drumlanrig, Viscount M'Gregor, John Vernon, G. E. H. Duff, G. S. M`Malion, Patrick Villiers, C. Pelham Duff, James M'Taggart, Sir J. 'Vivian, J. Henry Duffy, C G. Megan, W. H. Vivian, Henry H. Duke, Sir James Maguire, John F. Vyvyan, Sir Rich. R. Duncan, George Mangles, R. D. Wall, Charles Baring Duncombe, T. Marshall, W. Walmsley, Sir J. Dundas, Hon. F. Martin, John Wa'ter J. Dunlop, A. Massey, W. N. Warner, E. Dunne, Michm.l Matheson, A. Wells, W. Eccles, W. Matheson, Sir J. Whalley, G. H. Ellice, Hon. E. Maule, Colonel Whatman, J. Ellice, E. M catcher, Thomas Whitbread, S. Elliot, John M fall, Edwaad Wickham, Henry W. Esmonde, J. M illigan, Robert Wilkinson, W. Euston, Earl Mills, A. Wilcox, B. Evans, Sir D. L. Miner, W. M. E. Williams, W. Evans, William Milnes, R. M. Wilson, J amen Swart, William Milton, Lord 'Wilson, Mathew Pagan, W. Mitchell, T. A. Winnington, Sir T. E Ferguson, Colonel Moffatt, G. Wise, John A. Ferguson, Joseph Molesworth, Sir W. Wood, Sir Charles Fitzgera'd, J. D. Monck, Lord Wood, Sir W. P. Fitzgerald, Sir J. F. Monad', William Wortley, Jas. Stuart Fitzroy, Henry Moore, G. H. Wrightson, Wm. B. Fltzwilliam, G. W. If ostyn, E. M. Wyvill, M. Foley, J. H. Mul grave, Earl Young, Sir I. Forster, C. Muntz, G. F. Fortescae, Chichester Mitre, Col. Fox, R. M. Murphy, F. S. Fox, W. J. Norreys, Lord Freestura, Colonel Norreys, Sir D. J. TELLERS. !raptor, W. G. Berkeley, Gra' illo PARLIAMENTARY BUSINESS. (From Votes and Proceedings of the House of CONTROVERTED ELECTIONS. The SPEAKER acquainted the house that he had re ceived Reports from the Examiner of Recognizances, stating that the recognizances to the election petitions respecting the following places were unobjectionable, viz. Toni pons, Totnes. Carlow County (2). Norfolk (West. Div.). Harwich. Plymouth. Dublin City. Dublin County. Londonderry County, ST. JAMES'S THEATRE. — The Marionettes increa se i n the valuable quality of " plu?kines!. Who would dream of the opera of Guy Mannering, with all the heavy busi ness, performed by dolls only? The task is indeed formid able, but nothing can be more respectable than the per formance of the puppets. Colonel Mannering is an espe cially stately personage—he sits with such a gentlemanlike ease at table—his movements are so courteous—the gestures with which he accompanies the vocal achievements of a sister doll show such power of appreciation. Generally the principal puppets have been much improved since their removal from the Lowther Arcade. Instead of wearing dull immovable faces, they open their mouths, and pretty widely too, whenever they are supposed to discourse or sing. The real vocalists—the persons behind the throne — are good enough to give effect to the operatic entertain ment,—Tines. THE MOTHER TO HER DEAF A DUMB CHILD. (From Eliza Cook's Journal.) Thou art not beautiful, my voiceless child, — Thou canst not fill thy mother's heart with pride ; Thou dost not heed the words that have beguiled My other noisyiOung ones to my side. Thou cant not chatter music in my way, Nor call me by a sweet and holy name ; Thou dost not ask thy sisters if they'll play, Nor scold thy brothers with a sportive blame. But thou art precious in my household love, Thy form is closest watched, my poor dumb boy 1 I stroke thy fair hair, and I hang above Thy quiet features with a solemn joy. I hear thy father praise the quick replies Of his bright eldest one—l often see His face light up, when his two girls surprise The twilight circle with their saucy glee : He tells them long and wonder-waking themes Of Siubad, Crusoe, and the Fairy Queen ; He leads their games, he joins their laughing screams, With many a fond and wild embrace between, But there's a something deeper in his smile When his poor dull one leans upon his knee, And something gentler fills bis heart the while HiS fingers make a paper boat for thee. The other young gay spirits talk and shout In tones that come like songs of morning birds; Or, pressed by childish grief, they wail and pout, And pour their anguish forth in sobbing words. I seldom see thy grey eye give a tear When their red cheeks shine through the pearly gem ; But I believe, my child, that thou canst hear The secret, deep, soul-whisper lost to them. When they surround me with engrossing clutch, And some loud tale of auger or alarm, I turn not as I do to thy soft touch, That falls like ringdove's wing upon my arm. My silent boy ! I hold thee to my breast Just as I did when thou wert newly born ; It may be sinful, but I love thee best, And kiss thy lips the longest night and morn. I never listen to the coming feet That chance to slip and stumble in the hall ; But my heart leaps with quick and sudden beat, Lest thou, my speechless, be the one to fall. I never look into a story-book, And hear the joyous hum thy brothers maks. But leaf by leaf I turn with hopeful grief, And wish it held some pictures for thy sake. I never stand among ye to divide The birthday apples, or select the toy, But I assign the fruit with rosiest side, And daintiest plaything, to my wordless boy. Oh thou art dear to me beyo.a .11 And when I breathe my trust and bend my knee For blessings on thy sisters and thy brothers, God seems the nighest when I pray for thee. I would not they should know it ; but if Fate Did its worst work, and snatched away my young, I feel my soul would bear a deadlier weight To miss thy silent love than their fond tongue. Oh 1 thou art very beautiful to me, My own dumb boy ! my gentle voiceless one I And while it throbs, thy mother's heart will be Thy best and first interpreter, my son ! COUNTRY MARKETS. BOSTON—DEO. 15. There was a falling off in the supply of wheat, and prices receded 6d per qr, for all ordinary qualities ; but fine dry samples realised about previous rates. Oats a fair supply, at 6d to is dearer. Barley, beans, and peas were in steady request, at last week's prices. Wheat, red, 39s to 48s, white, 48s to 50s, extra 52s ; barley, 25s to 31s ; oats, 14s to 21s ; beans, 33s to 40s ; peas, 28s to 35s per qr. DENBIGH—DE o. 15. There was still a tendency to rise in the article of wheat, although other grain remained much the same as last week. Wheat, 18s to 18s 6d ; barley. lOs to 00s 1 ; oats, 6s Od to 6s 6d. per hobbet ; tub butter, 81d to Sid ; fresh ditto, lld to llid per lb. RHYL—DEC. 14. Wheat, 18s ; barley, lls 6d ; oats, 7s 6d ; and beans, 3s 6d per hobbet. EDINBURGH GRAIN-DEC. 15. We had a good supply of grain in to-day's market ; sales were briskly effected, at prices above those of last week. Wheat on the top 3s Od and the average 4s 5d up ; barley on the top is Od, and the average lld up; oats on the top 2s Bd, and the average is ld up ; beans on the top 2s, and the average 8d up. Unsold, 101 qrs. wheat-34 qrs. barley 67 qrs oats—and 21 qrs. beans. Top of Wheat Barley... 57 lb 33s Od Oats Beans 67 lb 40s Od Total Supply and Sales. Wheat BlB qrs sold 717 qrs Barley 1,157 qrs sold 1,123 qrs Oats 1,258 qrs sold 1,191 qrs Beans 129 qrs sold 108 qrs AVERAGES PER IMPERIAL QUARTER. Average of wheat £2 14 0 11-12ths Ditto of Barley 1 9 8 1-12ths Ditto of Oats 1 2 11 4-12ths Ditto of Beans DUBLIN-Dim 15 White wheat, 26s Od to 31s Od ; red. ditto, 25s Od to 29s ; barley, 12s 6d to 15s 6d ; oats, 10s Od to lls 6d ; rapeseed, 21s Od to 23s per brl ; oatmeal, Ils Od to 12s 6d ; baker's flour, 14s Oct to 18s Od per cwt ; Indian corn, 31s Oct to 34s Oct per 480 lbs. CORK-DEU. 15. Eris. Currency. 26 White wheat 26s 6d to 27s 6d Os Od-20 stone. 61 Redwheat 23s Od to 25s 9cl 59 Ditto 25s 9d to 263 6,1 25s 9d-20 do. Ditto 00s Od to Oos Od 592 Barley l3s Od to 14s 4d 54 Ditto 14s 4d to 14s 6d 14s 4d-16 do. Ditto 00s Od to 00s Od Bere 00s Od to Oos Od .0s O. 509 Oats lOs 9d to lOs 43 288 Ditto lOs 4d to lOs 6d 10s 1d do. 307 Ditto lOs 7d to 10s lld 232 Pigs 34s 6d to 36e 6d Sss 6d per cwt. Quantity sold at the highest prices :- 24 barrels white wheat ; 19 red ; 54 barley ; 0 beve ; 5 oats ; 8 pigs. Quantity of grain and number of pigs sold last week : Wheat, 1,505. Barley, 2,166. Bere, 0. Oats, 6,961. Pigs, 771. PRICES OF BUTLER. CURRENCY. First quality Second quality Third quality 7Bs Third quality 69a Fourth quality Fifth quality 6ss Fifth quality 564 Sixth quality s4s Sixth quality 4ss Return of cattle sold for week ending Dec. 11 : Pigs, 748. Sheep, 186. Cows, 171. CAWI'. - - CORK. -Flour—First, 155 Od to 16s Od ; extra, 17s Od ; seconds, 14s Od to 15s Od ; households, lls Od to 135 ; thirds, 88 Od to lOs per cwt. Meal—lndian meal, 8s 6d to 8s 9d ; oatmeal, lOs 6d to lls ; wheat meal, lOs to lls 6d per cwt. Indian corn, 8l 2s 6d to 8/ 7s 6d per ton. Bran, 51 to 51 2s 6d per ton. Hay—Farmers, 22s Od to 35s Od ; average, 28s ; dealers, 32s Od to 40s Od ; average, Os per ton. Straw— Farmers, 16s Od to 23s Od ; average, 20s ; dealers, 25s Od to 00s Od ; average, Os. per ton. Bread—Wheaten loaf, 7d to Od ; household ditto, 6d to Od per 41b. RAILWAY SHARE MARKETS. LIVERPOOL, DEc. 16. STOCK MECHANGE.—There has been very little business done to-day, the market being flat, without, however, any material change in quotations, which are thus reported in the official list :—Lancashire and Yorkshire, 85 ; London and North Western, 136/ ; Midland, 101 ; North British, 10c. ; South Eastern and Dover, 24k. MANCHESTER, DEC. 16. STOCK EXCHANGE.—There were more sales to-day than yesterday, without, however, any corresponding increase in prices ; the market closed weaker in fact. The follow ing are the closing prices as published in the official list :-- Caledonian, 944 ; Eastern Counties, 13i ; East Lancashire, 19 ; Lancashire and Yorkshire, 14 3 / 4 • ditto, West Riding Union, 2R dis. ; London and North 'Western, 126 ; ditto, Manchester and Birmingham Quarters (C), 1 13-16 prem. ; Manchester. Sheffield, and Lincoin, 311; Midland Railway Consols, 798 ; North British, lok u ; South-Eastern, 21 ; Warringtox ane Altrincham, prem. BIRMINGHAM, DEC. 16. STOCK EXCHANGE.—The Railway Share market wag flat to-day, the chief amount of business transacted on 'Change being chiefly in local stocks. The only sale reported in railways was the South St affordshire stock at 3 dig. BRISTOL, DEC. 16. STOCK ExcHANGE.—The share market continues very dull and inactive, with no business of importance doing. Ma. BARTLEY. — This veteran comedian will take a farewell benefit at the Princess's Theatre next Satu r d ay, as Falstaff in Henry IV., under the patronage of her Ma jesty. The day will be the 50th anniversary of his first appearance on the stage. After the play Mr. Bartley will address the audience on his final retirement from the theatrical profession, to which he has so long been a credit and an ornament. _ COAL IN THE SOVEREIGNTY.—We are in possession of a coal, which may be obtained in abundance on the Sandt River, district of Winburg. This coal appears to us to one of f our first-rate school-boy quality pastimes—that; and w bonewereofledmakito.ningdulgasge by n means of a tobacco-pipe. When the town of Bloemfon tein shall have attained to a more compact shape, we hope to have our stores, streets, &c., lighted with gas. We understand th a t certa i n boers in the vicinity of the mines, are ready to transport any quantity hither at lOs per muid. Should use be found for any extensive supply we doubt not that it could be obtained at a more econo mical rate.—Cape Town Mail, Nov. 6. [ADVERTISEMENT.]—DEAFNESS.—Nve DISCOVERY.- 39, Albemarle -street, Piccadilly. Observe, opposite the York Hotel. The Organic Vibrator, an extraordinary powerful, small, newly-invented instrument, for deafness entirely different from all others to sur p ass anything of the kind that has been or probably ever can boproduced, being of the sa me colour as the skin, is not perceptible ; it en ables deaf persons to hear distinctly at church and at public assemblies ; the unp l easan t sensation of singing noises i n the ears are entirely removed ; and it affords all the assist ance that possibly could be desired. The Royal Exhibition —Valuable newly:invented, very small powerful waistcoat pocket glass, the si ze of a walnut, to discern min ute objects at a distance of from four to five miles, which is found to be invaluable, for yachting, and to sportsmen, gentlemen, an d gamekeepers. Telescopes, possessing such extraordi nary power, that some 36 inches, with an extra eye piece, will show distinctly Jupiter's moons, Saturn's ring, and the double stars. They supersede every other kind, and are of all sizes for the waistcoat pocket, shooting, military p u rposes, &c. Opera and race-course glasses with wonder ful power; a minute object can be clearly seen from 10 to 12 miles distant. Invaluable newly-invented spectacle. —S. and B. Solomons, A.mists and Opticians, 39, Albe. merle-street,ricesdilly t Observe, opposite tho York Hotel. - "`t, L;P e ' ori e _ d Pr c tIO o' 3 ace d 0 91 xi t o i tt le a