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

E SUN, LONDON, FRIDAY EVENING, DECEMBI4_;R 17, 1652. iz7 ---•.---.-----.___ 44 sYmpathise, as far as that important prin fredee..llld; with the policy of the Government. 114• , "'Iasi, though applied with wisdom, temper- PMdence, become a party question. (Cheers.) . irMistrative reform ! Talk of issuing coMmis titcolltlre into our dockyards ! Why, if I were, li ,,.n e possible, by intense labour to bring forward i,,, u1 b might save a million to this country, ad reßreferm would be a party question to-morrow. k to ~.). Yes, I know what I have to face. I have antion. (Cheers.) The combination may be i. A coalition has before this been successful. 1 / 4 1° ns, although successful, hive always found ) tll.eir triumph has been very brief. (Lou d ( ,t, N al s I know, that England has not loved coali opitli e l's.) I appeal from the coalition to that Iv h ° II which governs this country—to that public °se wise and irresistible influence can controul the decreessup most of Parliament, and without whose sup f,i'. august and ancient institutions are but "the hi, fabric of a vision." (The right hon. gentleman v " seat amid deafening and prolonged cheering.) ,i4-kDSTONE rose, but for several minutes was pr ' ° obtain a hearing in consequence of the agitation h'''ailed in th e h ouse . At length he said — l am ' %. Patten, to trespass upon the committee, but thu t° me that the speech we have just heard is a k o , ie 'night to meet with a reply, and that, too , on f' --- -(loud cheers from the Opposition) — and , sir , t ie l te lling the Chancellor of the Exchequer that I e r some minutes the inquiry whether he knows tli , bat there are some things which he, too, has yet , tel, (Great cheers, counter cheers, and confusio n. ) N e e other reasons besides the reason of trivial it y ° ,ht v alley why a discussion should have been avoided ki ee. the subject of emigration. (Renewed confu eui, e ers.) And I tell the right honourable gentle that the licence of language used—(cheers and ace) —the phrases he has applied to the characters eel en—(tremendous Opposition cheers , a nd inter ' t i i t cni the Ministerial side of the house) — th at the e has applied to the characters of public men, fr eer —(a renewed outburst of clamour from the II benches drowned the remainder of the sentence, e r ight honourable gentleman was obliged to remain several moments. When order was in some de red he said] :—Mr. Patten, my wish is to keep ! t hough I confess that I could not hear those "kil and remain totally unmoved—my wish is to Yseit . 44 ~, strictly within the bounds of Parlia mentar y 1 Propriety, and I beg of you, sir , that if in one e I trespass beyond these bounds you will have the l:to correct me. (Hear, hear, and cheers.) I do " 88 myself to those gentlemen belonging to the 4 , k ii il ait y opposite, from whom I have never received It tile g but cour t es y a nd forbearance ; but notwithstand ,N e fforts of some gentlemen in a remote corner of the 1' 4 1,4 1 /vh o avail themselves of darkness to inter ru p t me — 'l e ers and confusion)—l will tell them this, that they b 7 to have their Chancellor of the Exchequer , who comments upOn the conduct of others, It f„, h the bar of the opinion of this committee and phs . Y those laws of decency and propriety—(tremen .lZ4 and confusion, which drowned the remainder of w '''euce). Sir, we are accustomed here to attach to ° , 1.1 s of the Minister of the Crown a great authority ft li '44 disposition to attach authority, as it is required *4 Public interest, so it has been usually justified by 4 1I duct and character of those Ministers , bu t I must 'A l e right honourable gentleman that he is not entitled urge with insolence men who—(renewed. u proar and tat a gain drowned the remaining word s of the sentence). kii t ell the right honourable gentle man that he is not ti t ell to say to my right honourable friend the member N%rli ale th a t he regards him, but he does not respect Oki ( Loud cheers.) I must tell the right honourable i e l l nau that whatever he has learned — and he h as learned -- that he has not yet learned the limits of discretion, I4Neration, and of forbearance —(great cheering and If el , tlei°ll )—that ought to restrain the conduct and language k :IT members of this house, the disregard of which is Iti ° t ' e nce in the meanest amongst us, but it is of tenfold n lit , o tt , b , when committed by the leader of the House of tit, Passing (Loud and long-repeated cheers.) And now, I ) t i,', ass ing on from this most painZul subject--(cheers) — V l O call the attention of the committee to the vote 1, ), , i Is before us, and convey to them my opinion of the kt t b ieb • ill which we stand. We are coming to a vo`e, sir, t 4 ~,'`e first of a series of resolutions which have been place I, l 4 t tr hands. In that first resolution was contained two 14 li g propositions, in which the proposal now made to !it e u : ° Taroittee varies the present state of the law. By one laia . e % propositions the area on which the house tax is a b .,• 13 extended beyond that space which it at present oc )',le'i, but is extended only to houses of the value of 101. l ii ti le other of these provisions the rate of the house tax k ii 4 abled, and it has been said t o-night, and it has been !,,, 11 other occasions, that if gentlemen will but vote t et ' t ; F ke double house tax on this occasion, they will be per -44:3' free to depart from and alter that vote on any future 'el f sir, it is most important that ),? 0 the measure. Now, •ii i % liauld know in what sense this is true. I apprehend H iW e have hero an unbounded liberty of action—that er 0 414 are a vast number of stages provided in every mea 411' d e in order that every gentleman may reconsider the Ment which he has formed, that it is o p en to any tae kber o f Parliament to vote for and against every mem tar, I l th a t passes th roug h the house at its alternate stages. 1, B is the liberty, and no other, which you will have lo ttil 'l the amount of the house tax, when the pres ent reso ititlen is once passed. You have perfect liberty to do that. te l l may reduce the tax to a ls. on the bringing up of the ai r, ll,- -you may bring it down to Gd. at a fur ther sta g e, and I , l ' . 'he third reading you may abolish it altog ether— y ou to Y adopt th a t as you may any other perfectly in consistent to lirs e upon any proceeding in which this house or this i i ill Mittee is engaged. This is the precise amount of your muse, and I wish you now to recollect that you are not f f i " engaged in the performance The mere technical and t jtcal d u ty. (Hear, hear.) eis a meaning and ,i ) : E .'e in the rules of the house which require that the im q.lition of taxes shall bo preceded by a committee. The to Ject of that committee is not to obtain a formal sanction i o 4 , new tax. but to have a thorough and searching discus toil ', and to give all the authority by the decision of that li "Muitte e which can possibly be given to a proposal for any e V tax. (Heor.) And now we have heard the right hon. entletnan speaking in language of the severest condemns -11,1°4 of those who have withdrawn their budgets. He re -I,eubers four years ago. His recollection goes back to Mr. ti i i , - -he is fresh in the dates of 1848. Does he recollect h i t ! events of this evening ? (Loud cheers from the Oppo cl,l,-)' Does he remember—his memory sometimes re ct-res to be refreshed—does he remember that this evening tk e had it declared by the organ of the Government that ~, ' s increase of the house tax was the principle of the vote, l l ( I that by that vote the Government would stand or fall ? And "'erne then, by the mouth of the right hon. gentleman the "'erne Secretary, he stated that ire was perfectly willing to ~ eede to an amendment which, introducing into the rose- Il tion the terms " not exceeding one shilling," would have l i vested it of the character of an increase, and have aban- OW the proposition upon which the Government had taken . en its stand. (Hear, hear, and cheers.) And one hon. andm yself learned gentleman who spoke to-night complimented nself and my friends upon the great vigilance which we „.7°. exercised. If he had meant his words as a compli 'gent I should have valued them, as well for the manner in W hich he spoke as for the high character of th e speaker— teogeers)—but they were meant as a reproach, and all I have Ray with respect to that vigilance is this, that if it was greatTaal I never knew an occasion upon which there was an A 'llui., I demand for vigilance. (Hear, hear, and cheers.) I right not on all occasions approve of the financial policy of the i hon. gentleman the member for Halifax. I opposed him i ll l , June last year in company with the present Chancellor of ~..'e Exchequer, and the occasion on which we opposed him ; 48 one not half so exceptionable as the present. But the proposals of that right hon. gentleman, whether they were "kivanced or whether they were withdrawn, were advanced or ~W i thdrawn, as the case may be, in a manner the most 'rank, the most straightforward, the most free from all B nspicion of evasion, and the least requiring vigilant in spection. • (Hear, hear, and loud cheers.) Now, sir, I re- Ject the resolution in your hands—whether considered as a ''ate on the house tax or a vote on the budget—l reject it It s a resolution on the house tax, being at the same time by l l ° means prepared to concur with those gentlemen who have expressed themselves in a manner unfriendly to the principle of an extended house tax. While sen sible of the ; „`Lisadvantages of that peculiar form of taxation , ye t I think 4 the difficulties were fairly met that it might be placed " a widened area at a moderate rate, and that it might in that shape form a most convenient area of the financial system of the country. (Hear, hear.) But there are many qifticulties attending the house tax, which appear to me eith er to have been overlooked altogether, or, if considered, t ° have been decided wrongly in the proposition before the c ommittee. For example, whether the area should be Widened beyond the limit of 101. is a question upon which ." must say the right hon. gentleman has offered no justifi cation for the proposal of the Government.' The question Whether it would be wise to graduate the rates of duty ~ tiPon houses is one which does not seem even to have m et the notice of the Government. Now, it should be recol tected that in our previous House -tag Act this law of gra. "Illation was expressly included, and I am not prepared to vote for the adoption of the proposal of the right hon. gen tleman, which disregards the principle upon which the for tier house tax was based, without at least hearing some reasons why we should abandon what appears to me, on the 'whole, to 'be a salutary arrangement of the graduation of the house tax. Again, sir, there is a most im portant question with reference to the relative ratings 43 f town and country, or rather of this metrop olis and the provinces, in respect to the house tax. It impossible to examine the terms of this house tax, and find that London and Middlesex pay . very nearly ',no-half of the whole amount, without being convinced that the whole matter of the rating requires to be placed }bider some special supervision if you resort to the house tax as a great instrument in your financial system. Well, s ir, there is a gross flaw in the house tax which has been exposed by the right hon. baronet the member for Ports ruouth. Then how are you to justify the doubling of the rate o f the house tax? I cannot justify a scheme so grossly unequal as that which taxes, it seems, the mansion Knowles on 501. a-year, while the ordinary shopkeeper 1 1 1, .London is taxed on 2501. or 2001. Why have not th ese t hings been considered ? After the deliberation of months, e right hon. gentleman produces a plan which , I confess, ;l i r appears to me that he might as well have given to us the brat hour after he took office as after the six months during Which he has remained in office. (Hear.) There is another question —a most important question—namely, whether in regard to houses of low value the tax ought to be collected from the landlord or from the occupier—a question the s olution of which may greatly facilitate the consideration °I the whole matter. But the right hon. gentleman has nothing to say on this point—it never crossed his mind, .Ithough he has spoken five hours on one night and three hours on another—(hear, and a laugh)—and he found room Io tell us that he was to make a. change in the Irish office, and in some other office ; but he did not devote one mo blent to describe the reasons why he entirely passed by the fensideration of this great question, the whole of which it is necessary to search and sift to the bottom before the tight hon. g e n tleman comes forward with a proposition r doubling the house tax. I tell the right honourable gentleman plainly that I will not legislate upon the 1104 8 0 tax, either for this Government or for any Govern- ment whatsoever, until I see that all those questions Which are now. openedsnp 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 t h at both of theEie 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 bit upon a nicer and more accurate calculation. The man whose in come is from 501. to 1501. is also the man who lives in a house of from 10/. 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. house. 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 — he has boundless confidence in the talents ofsthe 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 feeling 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 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 sur el y he is not to be wounded at theirlands. 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 . 6 s. B d. H is p rofits bring him within the magic line of schedule E, and this adds lls. 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 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. Cornwall 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 exp ectations upon the right hon. 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, 1 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. gent4man the - Chancellor of the Exchequer. He will have seen that he has alined the grievances of local taxation with the utisost power, with unrivalled assiduity, and with that peciliar 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 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 151. 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 Si. 10s. 3d. in income tax, and 11. 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. Dering), 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 uo 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 powerfu l 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, 2,500,000/. 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 isle 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 place, I think it unt rue 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 accrue 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 after having studied te question during the whole of his parliamentary career? What does he say as to the amount of the benefit which is to reach the on cs er fumrom 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 price of it, id. is the duty; 21d is, as he says, the effect in t erne 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 4ad. That is the reduction for which we ale now called upon to surrender 2 A millions of public revenue. (Cheers.) Taking the reduction as I have stated it, it would amount to 74 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 lion. 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 confesswas to me before obscure. lie tells us that for 1851-5 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. 200,000/. is the modest sum he estimates for the increased consumption. The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER-400, 0001 . Mr. GLADSTONE—If it is 400,0001., I tun 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 7L, 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 2 5 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 lueow 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 maltster, and secondly, through the still more closely oreanised 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. 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 Ido 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 prop ortionabl y 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 one 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 new 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 whether there are any honourable gentlemen in the house who can manage to hold with both. I cannot. lam 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 R. 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 hall 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. rgentlegran 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 hatl the wish, never had the power, to entirely free from duty —I 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 reduct i on were ony 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. He 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 lie 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. Peers 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 maintain the 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 snake 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 g eneral 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, 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 class° 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 grayest 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 offence against 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 di s tinguish be tween 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 dividends paid by an agent, are to be taxed 54d., but if the dividends are paid by an agent in this c ountry, then they are taxed at 7d. (Hear, hear.) I may be m et 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 100,000,0001. ; 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 fo 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 51d. 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 effett 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 bond 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 ingsalaries, 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 IMy 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 tho house, he says, " That is not my plan ! I found it in the schedules as they stand ; but they are all to be reeonstructed." 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 EXCHEQUER. —I did not say that. Mr. GLADSTONE.—Perhaps the right hon. gentleman will correct me. The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER (rising)—l did not use those words. Ido not recollect those words. (Cheers, and cries of " Oh, oh !") I may in the haste have said something to that effect ; but not, I hope, in those t erms . (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 an allusion has been made by my right hon. friend, in which lam part proprietor—l refer to the comparison r . ight honourable friend the Secretary for the which he drew . 'between the position of a bishop and a judge.Coloni Colonies denied the comparison, because he said a judge could be removed from his office ; and I now venture to say a bishop may be deposed. If my right hon. friend pursues the . case a little f ur th er h e will see that the two c ases apprwumate as closely as poss ibl e . 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 governor to another of hte Bank bishop, an d th e temporalities of his diocese transfer red to ano ther ecclesiastic. I have asked the rno of England, who agrees in prin ciple with the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will acce pt his plan, and he said it was impossible ; for what does the right honourabl e gen tl eman do? The salient g point of the whole case is on the public annuities, above all annuities for years expiring in 1860. They were in the one case a lways chosen by common consent, to make visible, as it was thought, th e uncer t a i n ty of the present acts. The right honourabl e gen tl eman l e aves 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 ann uitant is still eluded 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. (L a ughter.) My right hon. friend the member for Wiltshire a greed upon a plan too, and he alio 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 sat isf y 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)—stoops 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 !lay 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 lam 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 300/. in the funds. But is there not the yeoman of 501. a-year, who can not quite so well afford to pay Td. 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 ? Ras he, in other words, presented to the house a budget without a surplus ? I submit that he Vas pre sentod 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' th e 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 p eople by the service of the year, but repayments of money, for merly obtained upon the credit of the country. The right hen. 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 s p irit, that the and s , bank a o-a.ve interest for the balances of th e Government. But what does it matter whetheryou receive interest on your ba lances, orthe 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 will give you for its renewal. But. apart from this question, the sum , of 400,090/. 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 th e p a y ment 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 committee of lB2B, als o q uoted ,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 184 t and 1845, though I think ho 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 p ublic 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 lie 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 ao— that there is therefore a factious 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 ditY, 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 ixecutive 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 gr ud g e on that ac count. 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 coun 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 sentiraent 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 ono friends friends opposite than I now am , and I feel it my duty use that freedom of speech which I am sure, as English men, you will tolerate, when I tell you that if you give your assent and your high authority to this most unsound and destructive principle on which the financial scheme of the Government is based — y ou ma y refuse my appeal now —you may accompany the Chancellor of the Exchequer into the lobby ; but my belief is that the day will come when you will look back upon this vote—as its consequences sooner or later unfold themselves—you will look back upon this vote with bitterr, 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 .................. Noes.... . 286 .. 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. Wh en co mparative 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 me t a l has been transferred to her Majesty's steamer Plumper, for conveyance to England. THE DIVISION LAST NIGHT. , . WAYS AND MEANS—THE HOUSE TAX. IN THE COMMITTEE. Question again proposed,—"Tha t,towarcls 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 '-)e occupied by any person in trade who shall expose to sale Al any goods, wares, or merchandise in any shop or warehouse, being part of the same dwelling house, and in the front and on 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, althoug h 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, (Waxing Adderley, C. B. Freshlield, J. W. Morgan, C. Rodney Annesley, Earl of Frewen. C. 11. Mullings J. Randolph Arbuthnott, General Fuller, A. E. Mundy William Archdall, Captain hi Gallwey, Sir W. P. Murrough, J. P. Askwright. G. Galway. Viscount Naas, Lord Astell, J. 11. Gaskell, James M. 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, James Goddard, A. L. Newport, Viscount Ball, Edward Goo'd. W. Noel, Gerard James Baldcoek, E. IL Gordon, Admiral North, Colonel Bankes, G. Gore, W. 0. Oakes, J. 11. P. Barrington, Viscount Graham, Lord M. W Ossulston, Lord Barrow, Wm. H. Granby, Marquis of Owen, Sir John Beckett, William Greaves, Edward Packe, C. William B. nbow, John Greenall, Gilbert Pakenham, Captain Bentinck, Lord li. Grogan, Edward Pakington, i s J. Bentinck, Geo. P. Guernsey, Lord Palmer, Robert Beresford, William Uwe, Robert B. Parker, R. T. Berke`ey, Sir G.: Belford, Sir H. Peacock, M. Bernard, Viscount Hall, Colonel Percy, J. Blair, Colonel Halsey, Thomas P Phfllipps, J. H. Blandford, Marquis Hamilton, Lord C. Pigott, F. Bolder°, Colonel Hamilton, Geo. A. Portal, Melville Booker, T. W. Hamilton, J. Hans Powlett, Lord W. Booth, Sir R. Banbury, Spencer B Prime, R. Bramston, T. W. Harcourt, G. G. Pugh, D. Bremridge, R. Hardinge, Charles S. Repton, G. W. J. Maw, Musgrave Hayes, Sir Edmund Robertson, P. F. Brooke, Lord Beard, J. I. Bolt, P. Prooke, Sir A. B. Heneage, G. 11. W. Rushout, Captain Bruce, C. L. C. Henley. J. W. Russell, F. W. Buller, Sir J. Y. Herbert, Sidney Sanders , G. Burghley, Lord Berries, J. C. Scott, Francis Burrell, Sir C. M. Hildyard, Robert C. Seaham, Lord. Burroughes,lierny N. Hill, Lord Arthur E. Seymer, H. K. Butt, Geo. Medd Hope, Sir John Sibthorp, Colonel Butt, Isaac Horstall, Thomas B. Smijth, Sir W. Cabbeil, B. B. Hotham, Lord Smith, Sir F. Cairns, H. M'Calmont Hudson, George Smith, W. M. Campbell, Sir Arch. Hughes, W. B. Smith, R. J. Carnac, Sir J. R. Hume, W.Fitzwilliam Smollett, A. Cayley, E. S. Inglis, Sir R. IL Somerset, Captain Chandos. Marquis of Irton, Samuel Sotheron. T. LI. Chelsea, Viscount Jocelyn, Viscount Spooner, R. Child, Smith Johnstone, Sir J. Stafford, A. Cholmmdeley, 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, Nicholas &tiling. W. Clive. R. H. Ker, D. S. Stuart li. Clive, Robert Kerrison, E. C. Talbot, C. R. M. Cobbold, J. C. King, J. K. Teti lor, Colonel 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. II Knox, W. S. Troope, sir J. Corry, Henry Lowry Lacon, Sir E. Tudway, R. C. Cotton, W. H. S. Laffan, R. Ai. Turner, C. Cubitt, Alderman Langton, W. H. Tyler, Sir G. Davies, D. A. S. Lascelles, E. Tyrell, Sir J. T. DaTison.Richartr Lennox, Lord A. F. Vance, J. Deedes, W. Lennox. Lord H. G. Vane , Lo , dH. Poring, Sir E. Leslie, C. P. Vansittart, George H Disraeli, B. Lewisham, I d 'Verner, Sir W. Pod, 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. It. Drummond. Henry Lovaine, Lord Waddington, D. Du Cane, Charles Lowther, H. Walcott, Adm. Duckworth, SirJ. Lowther. Captain Walpole, S. H. Duncombe, H. A. Lyzoii, General Walsh, Sir J. B. Duncombe, H. 0. Lytton. Sir E. G. Welby, Sir G. E. buncombe, H. W. Ai acartney, G. - Wellesley, Lord C. Du Pre, C. George Macaulay, K. Whiteside, James Fast, Sir J. B. Macgregor, J. Whitmore, Henry Egerton, Sir P. Al addook, Sir T. H. Wigram, L. T. Egerton, Edward Mathis, 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. .lan es March, Earl of Wyndham, v en. Fellowes, Edward N are, C. J. Wyndham, W. Ferguson, Sir R. MaQterman, „T. Wynn, Herbert W. Filiner, Sir Edmund Maunsell, T. P. Wynn, Sir 11. W. Enzgera'd, W. R. S. Maxwell, Hon. J. I'. Wynne. Win. W. E, Floyer, John 'Mena, Hon. J York, E. T. Fol ett, B. Spencer Alichell, W. Forbes, William Miles, vif, Forester, Colonel Miller, T. J. Forger, Sir G. M. Mills, A. Franklyn, G. W. Montgomery, H. Fraser, Sir W. A. Moore, Ross S. TELLE3.I. Bateson, Thomas Mackenzie, W . F NOES. A'Court, C. 11. W. . French, Fitzstepben O'Brien, Cornelius ,jock, Thomas Gardner, Richard O'Brien, Patrick Anderson, Sir James Geaeh, Charles O'Brien, Sir T. Anson, General Gibson, Thomas M. O'Connell, Mau-ice Armstrong. It. B. Gladstone, William O'Flaherty, Anthony Atherton, Wm. Glyn, George Carr Oliveira, B. Raines, M. T. Goderich, Viscount Osborne, Ralph Ball, John Goodman, Sir George Otway, A. J. Baring, 11. 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 Greville, Colonel F. Phillimore, J. Berkeley, Admiral Grosvenor, Lord R. Phinn, T. • Berkeley, H. F. Hadfield, George Pigot, Sir Robert Berkeley, C. F. Hall, Sir Benjamin Pilkington, Jameil Bethel, Richard Hanmer, Sir J. Pinney, William Biddulph, It. M. Harcourt, G. G. Pollard -Urquhart, W. Biggs, William nestle, Alexander Portman, W. Blackett, J. F. Hastio, At chibald Potter, R. Bonham-Carter, John Beadlam, Thomas E. Power, N. Bouverie, E. P. Henchy, D. O'Connor Price, Sir It. Bowyer, George Ileneage, G. 11. W. Price, W. P. Boyle, Colonel Herbert, H. A. Richardo, 0. Brady, John Herbert, Sidney Rich, H. Brand, H. B. W. Hervey, Lord Alfred Rohartes, T. J. A. Bright, John Heywood, James Roche, E. B. Brocklehurat, John Higgins, G. G. 0. Rumbold, C. E. Brockman, E. D. 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. Butler, Charles S. Jackson, W illi a m Scrope, G. P. Byng, G. H. Charles Jermyn, Earl Scully, Francis Carter, Samuel Johnstone, James Scully, V. Caulfield, Colonel Johnston e, Sir J. Seymour, Lord Cavendish Charles C. Keating, Robert Seymour, H. D. Cavendish, George Keating, H. S. Seymour, W. D. Challis, Alderman Kennedy, Tristram Shaft°, R. D. Chambers, M. Keogh, William Shee, Williamll Chambers, Thomas Kershaw, Joined 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 Labouchere, Henry Smith, M. Tucker Clifford, Henry M. Laing, S. Smith, Rt. Hn. R. Clinton, Lord C. P. Langston, J. IL Stafford, Marquis Cobbett, JM. Langton, W. H. G. Stanley, W. 0. Cobden, Richard Laslett, Willia Mansfield, W. R. Cockburn, Sir A. Lawless, C. Stapleton, John Coffin Walter Lawley, , F. C. Strickland, Sir G. Collier, Robert P. Layard, A. H. Strutt, Edward Cowan, Charles Legh, G. C. Stuart, Lord D. Cowper, W. F. . Lemon, Sir C. Sullivan, M. Craufurd, E. Lewis, Sir T. Sutton, J. 11. M. Crook, Joseph Locke, Joseph Swift, It. Crossley, F. Lockhart, A. E. Thickness°, G. R. A. Crowder, Richard B. Loveden, P. Thompson, Currie, Itaikes Lowe, Robe rt Thornely, T. Dashvrood, G. 11. • Lucas, Rober t Towline, G. Davie, Sir H. Luce ,Thomas Towneley, C. Traill, G. Denison, Edmund: Macaulay , T. B. Denison, J. E. Macke, John Tu thell, H. D e vereux, J. T. Mackin non, W. A. Tynte, Col. C. J. K. V a ne, Lord H. Divett, Edward M'Ca nn, James Drumlanrig, Viscount M‘Gregor, John Vernon, G. E. H. Duff, G. S. WM ahon, Patrick Villiers, C. Pelham Duff, James M'Taggart, Sir J. Vivian, J. Henry Duffy, C. G. Magan, W. 11. Vivian, Henry H. Duke, Sir James Maguire, John F. Vyvyan, Sir Rich. It, Duncan, George Mangles, R. D. Wall, Charles Baring Buncombe, T. Marshall, W. Walmsley, Sir J. 1 Druids% Hon. F. Martin, John Water J. Dunlop, A. Massey, W. N. Warner, E. Dunne, Micha 1 Matheson, A. Wells, W. Eccles, W. Matheson, Sir J. 'Whalley, G. H. Ellice, Hon. E. Maule, Colonel Whatman, J. Ellice, E. Meagher, Thomas Whitbread, S. Elliot, John M tall, Edward Wickham, Henry W Esmonde, J. M ills an, Robert Wilkinson, W. Enston, Earl Mills, A. Wilcox, B. Evans, Sir D. L. Mi ner, W. M. E. Williams, W. Evans, William Milnes, R. M. Wilson, James Ewart, William Milton, Lord Wilson, Mathew Fagan, 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. I). Monck, Lord Wood, Sir W. P. Fitzgerald, Sir J. F. Monsen, William Wortley, Jas. Stuart Fitzroy, Henry Moore, G. H. Wrightson, Wm. B. Fitzwilliam, G. W. Ifostyn, E. M. Wyvill, M. Foley, J. IL Musgrave, Earl Young, Sir F. Forster, C. Mintz, G. F. Fortescue, Chichester Mure, Col. Fox, E. M. Murphy, F. S. Fox, W. J. Norreys, Lord Traylor, W. G. ills Freestun, Colonel Norreys, Sir D. J. Ber keley, Granv TELLERS• 1 PARLIAMENTARY BUSINESS. T01M110713 or (From Votes and Proceedings of the House CONTROVERTED ELECTIONS. The SPEAKER 'acquainted the house that he hadzances, re. ceived Reports from the Examiner of Recogni stating that the recognizances to the election petitions respecting the following places were unobjecnable, viz.:— Totnes. Carlow County (2). Norfolk (West. Div.). Plymouth. Dublin City. Dublin County. Londonderry County, Harwich. ST. JAMES'S THEATRE.—The Marionettes increase in the valuable quality of " pluckiness." 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 s ing. The real vocalists—the persons behind the throne — are good enough to give effect to the operatic entertain ment,--Times. THE - MOTHER HE:R_DEAF-AND DUMB CHILD. (From Eliza Cook's Journal.) Thou art dot - beiiitiful," my voiceless - child,— Thou mist not fill thy mother's heart with pride ; Thou,dost nat heed the words that have beguiled My other noisy young ones to my side. Thou canst not chatter music in my way, Nor call me by a sweet and holy name ; Thou Bost 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 ! I stroke thy fair hair, and I hang above Thy quiet features with a solemn joy. hear thy father praise the quick replies Of his bright eldest one—l often see :is face light up, when his two girls surprise The twilight circle with their saucy glee : :e tells them long and wonder-waking themes Of Sinbad, Crusoe, and the Fairy Queen ; ie leads their games, he joins their laughing screams, With many a fond and wild embrace iletwaeu But there's a something deeper in his smile When his poor dull one leans upon his knee, Aud something gentler fills his 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 caust hear The secret, deep, soul-whisper lost to them. When they surround me with engrossing clutch, And some loud tale of anger 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 went newly born ; It may be sinful, but I love thee b, And kiSs thy lips the longest est 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 make. 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 beyond all others, 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 ! thou art very beautiful to me, My own dumb boy ! my gentle voiceless one ! And while it throbs, thy mother's heart will be Thy best and first interpreter, my son t COUNTRY MARKETS. • BOSTON—DEC. 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 t,n 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, 281 to 35s per qr. DENBIGH—DEO. 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 ; oats, Gs Od to Gs M. per hobbet ; tub butter, B.ld to B,id ; fresh ditto, lld to 11id per lb. RHYL—DEC. 14. Wheat, 188 ; barley, us 6d ; oats, 7s 6d ; and beans, 13s 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 id up ; beaus on the top 2Es 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. 818 qrs sold 717 qrs 1,157 qrs sold 1,123 qrs 1,258 qrs sold 1,191 qrs 129 qrs sold 108 qrs AVERAGES PER IMPERIAL QUARTER. Average of wheat £2 14 0 11-12ths Ditto of Barley -12ths Ditto of Oats 1 2 11 4-12ths Ditto of Beans Wheat Barley Oats Beans DUBLIN—Dsc. 15. White wheat, 26s Od to 31s Od ; red ditto, 25s Od to 29s ; barley, 12s 6d to 15s 6d.; oats, lOs Od to lls 6d ; rapeseed, 21s Od to 23s per brl ; oatmeal, lls Od to 12s 6il ; baker's flour, 14s Gd to 18s Od per ewt ; Indian corn, 31s 0(1 to 34s 0(1 per 480 lbs. CORK-DEC. 15. 130 s. Currency. 2G White wheat 26s Gd to 27s 6d. Os Od-20 stone. 61 Redwheat 23s Od to 25s 9d 59 Ditto 25s 9d to 26s Gd 25s 9d-20 do. Ditto OOs Od to 008 Od 592 Barley l3s Od to 14s 4d) 54 Ditto 14s 4d to 14s 6d} 11s 4d-16 do. Ditto OOs Od to 00s Od Bere 00s Gd to 00s Gd Os O. 509 Oats lOs 9d to lOs 4d 288 Ditto lOs 4ul. to 1.08 6d lOs id do. 307 Ditto lOs 7d to 10s lld 232 Pigs 34s 6cl to 36s 6d 3 58 6d per cwt. Quantity sold at the highest prices :- 24 barrels white wheat ; 19 red ; 54 barley ; 0 hero ; 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 BUTTER. CURRENCY. CANT. First quality Second quality Third quality 7Bs Third quality 69s Fourth quality Fifth quality 6ss Fifth quality s6s Sixth quality s4s Sixth quality 4ss .Return of cattle sold for week ending Dec. 11 : Pigs, 748. Sheep, 186. Cows, 171. CORN. -Flour—First, 15s Od to 16s Od ; extra, 17s Od ; sec onds, 14s Od to 15s Od ; households, Ils Od to 13s ; thirds, 8s Od to lOs per cwt. Meal—lndian meal, Ss 6d to Sc 9d ' • oatmeal, 10s' 6d to Ils ; wheat meal, 10 s to ns 6d per owt. Indian corn, 81 2s 6d to 817 s 6d per ton. Bran, 51 to 51 2s Gd per ton. Hay—Farmers, 248 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, 250 Od to 00s Od ; average, Os. per ton. Bread — Wheate n loaf, 7d to 0,1; household ditto, 6d to 0,1 per 41b. RAILWAY ,SykARE MARKETS. __.......___-. LIVERPOOL, DEC. 16. Set o- ES has been very little business done to-day, the market being flat, without, however, a ny material change in quotations, which are thus reported in the official list :—Lancashire and Yorkshire, 85 ; London and North Western, 1361 Midland, 10.1 ; North British, ; South Eastern and Dover, 24k. MANCHESTER, DEC. 16. --- STOCK EXCIIANGE.—There were morn 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 : Caledoniaib 9411; Eastern Counties, 13i ; East Lancashire, 19i ; Lancashire and Yorkshire, 14k ' • ditto, Wok. Riding Union, 2g dis.; London and North Western, 126 ; ditto, Manchester and Birmingham Quarters (C), 1 13-16 prem- ; Manchester. Sheffield, and Lincoln, 31i ; Midland RailwaY Consols, 79R ; North British, 10k n ; South-East ern, 2 4 Warrington ane Altrincham, prem. BIRMINGHAM, DEC. 16. STOCK EXCHAIIGE. — The Railway Share m arket was flat to-day, the dud amo unt of business transaci;cd on 'Change being chiefly in local stock s. The only sale rel warted in railways was the South Staffordshire stock at 3i di's. BIIISTOL, DEC. 16. STOCK EicHANGt..—The share market continues doing. vciy dull and inactive, with no business of importance her ----=----- ----- his first h p ea at t r r o o na n g e e xt o S f Mn. BARTLEY.—This veteran comedian will take .a. ;the as Falstaff in Henry IV., farewell benefit at the 1.-Prinuncdeseer appearance on tho stage. After play • Bartley will jesty. The day will be the rpt i the amniversary : ,f 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 be of first-rate quality ; and we were led to indulge in one of our school-boy pastimes—that of making gas by 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 that certain boers in the vicinity of the mines, are ready to transport any quantity hither at 108 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. [ADVERTIkiEIHENT.I—DEAFNESS.—NEw DiscovEay.— 39, Albemarle-street, Piccadilly. Observe, opposite the York Hotel. The Organic Vibrator, an extraordinary powerful, an tall, newly-invented instrument, for deafness entirely cliff ?rent from all others to surpass anything of the kind that h as been or probably ever can beproducekl, being of the same colour as the skin, is not perceptible ; it en ables deaf r emus to hear distinctly at church and at public assemblies •; the unpleasant sen sation s of o singing noises ff rds all the assist the ears ar o entirely removed ; and it . desired. Thpowerful Exhibition ance that possibly could be ll w • t —Valuable newly:invented, very sma . . waistcoat walnut, to discern minute objects pocket gl ass, the size of a , sportsmen, , ._ . f at a dist ante of from four to five m hich isfound to, be invabaable, for yachting, and to gentlemen, and gamelAeepers. Telescopes, possessing such extraordi ' nary pow er, that some 3:1 inches, with an extra eye piece, will sho' ,v distinctly Jupiter's moons, Saturn's ring, and the doe ble stars. They supersede every other kind, and ar©, If all sizes for the waistcoat pocket, shooting, military' purposes, &c. - Opera and race-course glasses with wonder ' f a l - rower; a minute object can be clearly seen from 10 ' to 1 I macs distant. Invaluable newly-invented spectacle. • --f 3. ands B. Solomon, Aurists and Opticians, 39, JUbe nit ale-areet,Piecadilly. Observe, opposite the York Hotel. N I ~ .~ 7.1