The Sun. — London, England, 1851-05-03 00:00:00

fit_ . e tt the Hon:Member for Cockermouth broug'et forward io tl , 4 tioa in 1848 th e nu mbers were two to one against i* lit 48 it m ore lik e l y now ? Was there any more pro ta2liow that his Hon. Friend would be able to gee a ,iollfrom the owners of real property in favour of the )t 11/ g and profes s i ona l c l as ses? Uoon what ground could I t i t a ket it, when ho remembered the narrow majerity (ta i en the question regarding the burdens on land, kai ne ni ,,tion, evide' tly intended to get rid of thoee bur /eV the purpose of imposing them upon rofessions an 1 kity t wa s so disposed of—a tra star of taxes from reai pro eiti the industrious clessee?—(" No, no," from the Op • t ° , ll aide of the House.) It meant th et, or it meant ih t ireit was that, or it was a sham. He might be asked I ltl ei e w that the result of the division on real property ° to one, w h at was t h e a d vantage o f bringing forward l'ei tt elet motion There mi ht. neve. thelese, be advantage was not . g one for avoiding the question ; when he N e ,ue had right an d j us ti ce on his side he was quite tt ; „' - `,to 4.0 on, and to see what the minority end majer; y Illy let him have a question where he h .d right on his etio;tHear and a laugh ) What he wanted was a dis ilb this question there, and then he would leave it kteeletnetry out of doors; but that was not the case with tt w ernbers in that House. Farts er, he wou:d show be letecise'sioll was over the differeece between the land qta,. the farmer - f o r the farmer, in fact, belonged to t mkag class. Th e H onoura ble Member for Devon '"e(l of agricultural dietrese; stated that he wanted tie,;: s the agricultural population from the burden of 'land clearly 4 ppased the income-tax for the benefit cl ass; but what did the Hon. Alderman, the ,I,em to e afmoreland, say ? He let the House a little into tt , 147: when he recommended them to remove the in . aand make up the deficiency by imposing duties n t6B i r ,inPorts. When that vas seal by the Hon. Alder • elouse must have observed how Hon. e. embers Il e .", l 'orY frankly cheered him; and when they listened f4l.,..cueer they could not fail to understand that he meant e y en Customs' duties, that he meant to restore a few o w ! of those Customs' duties which Sir Robert Peel, to l t honour, had most wisely and justly remover, the eernian at the same time recommending a moderate lera lit Y on corn for the purpose of relieving the agrli ttuilaterest. And at whose expense? It could on y k ale: : "Pea% of the industrious clssees. How much \ p ied they pay ?_not not less than 20,000,0001. annually t ) lie - e l ; h 1l Ipon import duties, Let those who talked of the h e - v "Pna real property consider that fact. Perhaps et t i "r had had the curiosity to inquire what import other ?sederved in the shape of revenue from i n,e tt la this country the Customs' duties amounted to 4') oes of the whole revenue ; but 10 or 11 per cent. was all tee - a % re i nch derived from a similar source. In Spain V e e r .' outies did not exceed 8 pee cent. of the whole W illie in Austria and Russia the per centage Xi e 4 T t e _t_he same as in Spain. It was evident, then, that ` o4. , , iagi nearly three times as _nuch_as any coun tee t .r such circumstances Hon. Gentlemen opposite frburden still further the great mass of the inclustri '"m; The Customs and Excise amounted to between , t e - " n ua and 34,000,0001. out of the 50,000,0001. which 1 1 7 annually yielded as revenue, and that was paid ep4adustrious classes. Surely, then, those who desired ill further import duties sought to place the burden :.opf.betLfreerrsons who were least able to bear it, for the pur 4141:)elieving those who could best endure its pressure. When he drank his beer swallowed as much g liquid as the nobleman did when he drank his " Was impossible to put these two classes more at• i , : 11 a level th an th e y w er e at present, and, tbsrefore, tiarna, l burde n should -be imposed OA the weaker. It of . °111 (1 they mulct the labouring classes for the par h ""Sing the wealthier portion of society? By bearing \e a,1111°4 the oughts and making them pay . a a re than they of the public revenue, their ° 4 ; i t lv aa retarded, and they were aware of that them 'the-e- Was no longer a mystery, it was known to the the people. Of the tendency of the plan there e"" ° deubt • the people knew it to be a mode of ex etitcoblie income from the poorer portion of the country. l 'riend the Member tor Motrose took a course e ffect was on the side of the n tax, yet his Hon. th e w as at all t i mes i n f avo ur of a reduction of taxation ; :le/ A rr. Cobden) would willingly vote against any tax 'Nat - te ?Pllosed to sound principle, but if called upon to llith'ue only tax that was sound in principle, though it t : f aulty in its details, be should do so. There were '')rt e •, Which he should rather see repealed than the ~le e le- st w il ; he wanted other taxes repealed before he a ( if repealing that. But Honourable Diem °PPOsite would compensate for the re a 1 ea by V putting on others that he (Mr. Cob- V at e ll still more object to. There were 15,000,000/ Ztle - t /4 , s ,and Excise duties that he would take off, in pre "aittr;,tee incom-tax, if he could get a reduction of ex aY 'flat would enable him to reduce taxation. Upon o. ito t r ip. and he should decline to join his Hon. Friend (Mr. Zlitb e •"„t,his motion.—(lronical cheers from the Protec- T h ,lit e Z e UK) If his Hon. Friend, or any Hen. Gentleman would tell him how he would advance one Even to t itorh - bh r eolodelling of this tax by bringing 150 gentlemen to w,ho wanted to get r doff is tax and vote an import ' 9 41, 'rain in its place, he (Mr. Cobden) would vote for this 'ke did not admit that this tax would remain in its ,;`4lb ;°1 long permanent tax. He hoped the country I,:lAtioire have the power to remodel the income leeeaugh-) Hon. Gent) men opposite might laugh, 'ttli,""'",ed forward to changes in the representaticaa ItlPi give the great body of the people more power ease than they had at esent.—( Hear.) When lease a 04 1., case he did not believe ~ that the present income • be allowed to continue in its present shape. Did Fty. t :lnieers ever investigate the mode of levying the pro the United States? In Massachusetts, in the 6 Atia e n t ....ld States, the State expenditure was raise by t 'lta en " property-tax. But did it exact as much from the O'idni L ai man—from the doctor who wore out his brains t e l igat watchings for a fee, and whore income was 5(101. ie ee a ,Year—as fiona the man who possessed 15,000/.. a h ',,`,,a) property They took property . wherever n %` l h, and assessed the tax upon the capital of the ne e '',...."(Rear, hear.) They did not touch income at all, e'eD 'M a great deal fairer than our present system. He li t e rted to advocate a revision of this tax, but he was OtS r t ; va ,red to do anything to endanger the principles of a,lte' e et al policy established when this tax was imposed, 4 :q40 1 (1 not censent to take off from real property the aff er ,• which it paid under the ,ncome-tax. He could t. h .' to let it escape that tax He would ask every one -4 ide who did not wish to see the principle of free a te e _ t etti t i ci eenered t o res i s t thi s transparent attempt of the GlOaof the H ouse —(" Oh!" and ironical cheers) to It ta a l s ra teni that , had been eminently to the advantage of e k ‘ • es of tne community.—(Cheers and " Oh, of t!") lee r '°l3 BFLL said the House had now to conside r P!y• w tax . in its present form against no property - ta x ikit er ., ue Y were all agreed, first, that the tax was unjust, Ota and exceedingly opppressive, and in the next as imposeible to do without it for the present i l t tli tlie e at-) The House was unanimously of opinion ) oet ta x must be levied for one year, but could they do 0," for the two years next afterwards, and would the otYeZ e t i a,t hate anything by limiting the period to one} ar ? ',lltlti`llose two-thirds of the total amount that the tax , t doe tti ‘,a,es but they would gain an amount of popularity out R~a T, e' e at Would be of great service to them. - (Laughter.) t 9P i p lia tt u . a d a change of Administration this year _the lOYe e -ate ra would reap the benefit, and the present . Mid -44113,4r the whole of the odium of having impose etta:Lthree yea rs . On the other hand, if the Govern -1411 eat rem • in office for three years, it would be taa remain t . ue the at the expiration of the year,in ei t le tak Cu at present. He should like, therefore, to see kia te `alliosed for one year, and to consider in the mean tittillteatili,e definite plan for removing its injustice. but he e t ,tt r e o placed in an unpleasant predicament. He must e tt i elleb e . to continue the income-tax for three years, 1(1 41 -e did he should be unable to look his friends out the face (A laugh) or he must vote against the tt4 l , 4‘..`ittit at a period when he, for one, considered it an (I,,V, l ".impro - per time t • place the Government in an a ', li t, e e .4 4 wition by putting them in a minority.— te,s t ikaa,frorn the Opposition benches ) He would appeal eel; tre li e Lord at the head of the Goverument whether t 4 ,0 a proper position for his friends to be in, to be biZof ° °te either against the Government or in fa -4e ee llie - e n leasure which involved such extreme hardship. e e A r oe t ecaarnuaety. If he (Mr. Bell) supported the Go thr the -Pon the present motion—(.' Oh !" and laughter ):te4ls P rotectionists)—it was only because he saw thit S "Made a party question.--,Continued laughrese) hieei . „"TeItBERT was not influenced by the same On tietl4eoelings as the Hon. Member, nor did be hold 1 1:Z 1 ,e - e ll : e t the same necessity of relieving the Goveln lieiNk e e t- expense of his own convictions The conclusion thee -e l° on the question was also irrespecti ve of par tieCen House. If the night was one of cros s-votio g s. as U N 4of I , r ated , it was likewise one of cross-reasoning. The gi v ,fo r "e Hon. M em ber for Montrose had certain attrac age 1 1 .„ 44 (Ur. S. He r bert) until the Hon. Member had i gglanlents in its favour, which were cecidedly N t ‘ale e (Mr. Herbert could not accept the motion on . 1110. Herb et from those adduced in its support. He iteiae.e„riOert) could not forget the grounds on which the (48 t . 'kat aad been imposed in the first instance. It was thet's eof hictly as a temporary tax—(Cheers) --for the Plei t e atnev effee ting certain changes in the fiscal system of itscha p is 1842, and to cover the deficiency caused by eeaOtep e l i e ,a in the revenue, The success of the tax camel 03 , ii l lva - °n for three years longer, on the special ground &kit e rti e s requisit e to test the effect of these charges. In !hale le i r a Fttin imposed for other purposes, namely, the °Ni t Asa but the understanding in each case was e „ r e to b e Ot e l i te temporary, especially in . . he latter, as the N i o a ie e ," Pass away. It was the feeling of the country . ( Pia 1111,:e" t ae-tax should only be resorte i to cm special takof 1 ,1' 1 ,, tittles of pressure and emergency—(.Loud atiel 402, )'—and that was the meaning of the term war btbjtlat """ to it. (He Mr. S. Herbert ) thought it a fair c ' 11 114: 4 11. r°Posal to continue the 'lncome tax if it was "„IlV s t n o wt ha he had to look to its justification for a -'• Re lamented that the Budget did not deal teli t ; e4 hcl ee ' itilciteir nature elastic, instead of dealing with 17 1 e, and hy that means the community would be "Uttiald b W uile income would be obtained the income to [ they h abolished. Malt and tea were elastic taxes ; 414,, th e ,"''. hot been touched. He (Hr. S. Herbert) hoped ; ° ,, uel ied; but he knew that could not be if the tot o 1 ,, a not retained for a further period. There Ti lt a heeee',.'ttarY reasons for transferring the window-taxt them. get Pitlesti en ; but it was now too late to deal with h th en wi no , was, whether there was any other but e theliul loaritbi. li e could agree. He could . . not agrea with ell ai Ne ull - r(l ees. l, Member for the West Riding as regar_dexd. "tak t ' it 8 1: 0 1 - 1 ,et. if they were to be transferred to . the E.. n waa thiati nn ; 1 4 be distinctly understood that it was it Ex he that d es cor the loss of protective duties. That b Yite cl ocur a h r iqed the ground on which the proposal of i l n ie ttih n tr be ( e t tlember . for Bucks was based. As a h" - 14' and b .". S. Herbert) thought the Honourable ; av ita, tnatte,. -13 Party had taken a wrong course ! ,ould. two h u a' Finding himself in the position of .s!tittekeept, h [Vs presented to him, neither of which he lnatt i l l % r hica felt that he ought not to vote for a propo- The tlt e house old Put a stop t( 6 ) those financial arrangemmnts 5101)%uld not had assented to, more especially as the Govern fmo.etot,kaienegtesoiniatthoin2t.btxiaet.tiziett, go on satisfactorily with a He tr.) He had stated his reasons g, ere n l q G o rem : 'neon - le-tax as a temporary tax; but there nid t inder e e ent i. reaeotis besides those implied in the ori but li q e t 1311 t.eno 1 . 11 , 14 why it should not be permanent. Ile eclilki l s: did tnai „;ust it was the most unequal tax imposed, dir t ,, t l' w as .._,Zain that it was the tax on which the in- , ih°ll e tasti o lu n u e t . dist inctly visible. Taking indeed the in thett ce esarie e 0 1) f bY the working man, tor example, upen tbei e ‘, v aa far gre he believed it would be found that wa ltC. el neetaa. e r injustice and inequality in that than in sent4 l . Th e One, however, was visible, but the other , hea e, rt) „--tid n ot "t of indirect taxation was that it was in comevirl?..erc There eived by the person paying it.—( llear, ant u op he a x. sho u l d ": another reason, however, why the in k' b t 4 •": of fraud i t '2 l . be permanent—namely, the immense grjezikli:;grngreapatelergendered. At first it was honestly paid ; and greater, was practised—small at titst, but ' fiscal carried Z . greater, until at leugth it was so in , n .est . i gat • on I A t li defy all the scrutiny of the closest in fled 11 ?cliiyih r • he same time he saw a difficulty Dleq at it ,",r altering it; while he felt satig woairl er for the V left to those whom the Honourable h ai g retz : 4 rs:eat Riding ; alluded to as the people it Div.l9`",. to wbat had heel; termed La natural. per sett, lie (11r. barber[) did net Oka,: THE SITN I _ LONDON, SATURDAY EVENING, MAY 3, 1851. the temper of the country would submit to a permanent income-tax—(Cheers) —but he did think that the objectstliat could be obtained through its agency were well worth the endurance of its weight ir a further period—he would cite the case of coffee and timber, far instance. With respect to moditieations in the ax, he had little hope of a sati,fectory result, seeing that both Mr. Pitt and Sir R. Peel had bee i able to devise none, though no man was more keenly alive to fiscal injustice than the latter. The income-tax would, therefore, have to be taken as it stood—hut taken far a short period—(Cheers). He knew what that cheer meant—it meant one year.-- (Hear, hear.) But they should "look ahead" in dealing with this question. and inquire what means existed of replacing the five millions which would be caused by its loss. 'Hon. Gentlemen said, "Try an import duty upon grain ;" but by whet process was that to be done? He bad lately heard of countervailing instead of prospective duties on - grain ; but lie confe-sed he could only regard it as a distinction without a difference.— ( Hear.) He apprehended it meant to melte grain dear, or it meant nothing.—(No, no.) If not, then, of what good was protection?—(He r.) He had been told by a great agricul tural Authority that a ss. duty would not affect the farmer favourably; that when he asked a reduction of his rent his landlord would point to protection.—(Cries of " Name." He (Mr. S. Herbert; could name many. (Laughter and cheers.) It was said that this duty could be imposed with out raising the price of corn, but that was an absurdity. Checking importation was the project, but there were 9,000,000 of quarters of grain imported, and if these were wanted. would not the check on their importation raise the price? He only mentioned these things to show that a ss. duty was not so sound a principle as a transference of local burdens to the Exchequer in the form of cornpe nation for protection. He could not vote for the motion, because there was no better budget than that before the House, but, look ing forward to the effects of future years, he should vote against it. Mr. W. MILES s as a great deal astonished at the speech of his Right Hun. Friend. He was willing to give the in come-tax for three years towards somebody's budget, but his observations perfectly wandere fom the subject. His Right Hon. Friend said that the income-tax was passed for the pur pose of repealing import duties on two occasions, but he forgot to state that it was, in fact, to make up the annual deficit of 2.000,0001., which had accumulated to upwards of 12,000,000/., hough afterwards it was employed for the purpose of revising the system of taxation.—(Hear, hear.) The Hon. Member for the West Riding appeared to be in what the Americans called a "fix," because it he opposed the motion of the Hon Member for Montrose, he would displease his constituents. The question bstore them was Luis —should they have a tax, stated to be unjust by all parties, placed on the country fir three years, with a surplus income of two and a half millions, or should they adopt the motion of the Hon. Member for Montrose. He con d conceive no proposi tion more unobjectionable than the latter. The whole argu ment of the Hon. Member for the West Riding went to show that the agriculturists were not to be relieved; but he would find that they would make themselves heard in the matter, and that they would have justice The Honourable Member then referred to the case of Mr. Be-sett, as one of peculiar hardship in respect to the income-tax. One word as to the distress of the agricultural classes. Let the House look calmly and dispassionately at the privations which they were enduring. Let the House recollect that the Spec h from the Throne declared the landlords and tenants w- re the only classes in a position of suffering—and then let the House recoil , ct, though the session had considerably ad vanced, that not an atom not a farthing of relief, was given to them.—( Hear, hear.) If Government would not give any direct re ief, at least let the House do the distressed classes some justice by sating that this tax, with all its in equalities, should only last one s ear, in pr. ference to the pro position of the Chancellor of the Exchequer, who, having a eu plus, proposed to con inue the tax , n the overtaxed people for three years longer.—(Laud cheers.) The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER said, he cer tainly felt himself under some difficulty when the Hon. Member fur Montrose sat down to know what course he should take - whether he should deal with the speech of the Hon. Gentleman or with his propo.ition ; for the one had little to do with the other. The Hon. Gentleman had put the House into some difficulty, as to whether they were to deal with a mteiitication of the tax as a permanent tax, or to renew it for a short period only. And, although the Hon. Gentleman who had just spoken had cotuplained of his Right lion. Friend the Member fur Wiltshire wandering from the subject, he thought his Right Hon. Friend was one of the few persons who had addressed himself to the nuestion before the H , use; and that he gave a reason which satisfied him, though it might not satisfy Hon. Gentlemen opposite, why the , ax should he continued fur a period bey nd one year; and be did not think his Right Hon. Friend had gone further from the subject than the worthy Alderman, who declared that his ebisct was to get rid of the income-tax alt gee her, and to impese a tax on foreign produce, or the Hon. Member for Somersetshire, who talked of nothing bat protection to the farmers. Now, the Hon. Member for Montrose said he thought the incom , -tax should be made permanent, but that it should be modified; and to effect that object, the step he took was to propose that the tax should be continued for the shortest possible period.—( A laugh.) if the Hon. Gentleman obtained a majority he would not advance one step towards a modification of the tax, but would go a considerable way in preventing its being a permanent one.—( Hear.) But the Hon. Gentleman went further than he (the Chancellor of the Exchequer) had ever gone. He never advocated it as a per manent tax. If the Hon. Gentleman took the course that s as proposed by the Hen. Member for Cockermouth in pro posing a modification, and would take the sense of the House upon it, the question would then be discussed, and his motion Would have been in consistency with his speech ; but the lion. Gentleman spoke of referring it to a Select Cotn tnittee. Why, there was no new information necessary on the subject, and it was perfectly competent to the Hon. Gentleman to propose any modification of the tax he thought proper. The objections the Hon. Gentleman had stated that evening were stated in 1842, in 1845, and 1848, but they were always negatived; and he must be permitted tea say th , t he did not know whence the Non. Gentleman had derived the netioe which he and the H in. Member for Falmouth appeared to entertain, that he (the Chancellor of the Exchequer) had intended to modify this tax ; for he had stated as distinctly as words could express his meaning, in 1842, that he thought no modification of the tax was pus- Bible, and he repeated that on every occasion on which the subject was discus4d. But the Hon. Member for Falmouth reproached him with having &tidied inquiry; and he and the Ho'. Member for Glasgow said they were pelectly con vinced that Sir R. Peel intended t , modify this lax. He believed it to be quite true that Sir R. Peel had attended to this subject with the greatest care, to see if it was possible to make this tax m re just; but he would read what Sir R. Peel said in 1848, on the last occasion of this tax being brought before the House, when he was not hampered, by being in office, with any of those difficulties which might otherwise have beets forced upon him, and had had the ex perience of six years for coming to a deliberate opinion upon it. Sir R. Peel said— " I must say, after having given the subject repeated consideration, that I think the tax ought to be on income, and that there should be no distinction made in the amount ot the tax on account of the different sources from which the incomes are derived. I never would consent to relieve from the tax incomes derived from trade and from professions, for the purpose of making an invidious, and, as I think, an unjust distinction, by levying such a tax upon funded, or what is called realized property By repealing the taxes on articles of luxury you benefit all parties equally, and therefore it seems to me that he onus of the tax which you substitute for those you have repealed ought. to be botne equally by all, whatever ;nay be the source of their income. . . . . Subsequent consideration (since the imposition of the income-tax in 1842, and its renewal in 1845) has confirmed me in the opinion that any attempt to impose a greater annual burden upon income derived from realized property would, apart from the objection that the public faith is pledged to the con - rely in the case of the funds, lead to consequences which I am not prepared to contemplate, and which I should dread to see accom plished." It was difficult for any man to say, after that, that it was the intention of Sir R. Peel to modify the tax in the way sug• geted by the Hon. Member for Montrose or the Hon. Member for Glasgow. It was no triffiug meeification of a tax, as levied on one person or another, to which the Hon. Gentle man directed the attention of the House; but he was pro posing to deal wi'h a great principle, which ought to be con sidered by the House in some other way than as a mere question of the modification of a tax. If such were the Hon. Gentleman's views, let him come down to the House and make a distinct proposition that 10,000.00 1. or 15,000,000/. of these taxes should be repeal d and their place be supplied by a proportionate direct tax upon realized pro perty. That would be a clear principle upon which the House might give its decision; and if the decision were fa vourable to the Hon. Gentleman's views, the Hon. Gentle man could state in what manner he proposed to carry out the new t -xation The Hon. Member for Falmouth fairly stated that his object was to impose upon re Azed property double the duty that was paid by income; this, again, was a broad principle which, not a Select Committee, but the House it self in Committee, was best fitted to decide.—(Hear.) The Hon. Member for Montrose admitted that his object was to render the income, or, rather, as he preferred to call it, 'lie property-tax, a permanent impost. He wondered that, with this object in view, the Hon. Member himself did not prefer to take the tax for th ee years rather than for one, as a nearer approach to his principle—(A laugh)-fur his own part, he differed from his lion. Friend on that point—(Hear) —he had never proposed or contemplated the tax as a per manent impost, but always, to borrow an expressive phrase from the Hon. Member for Buckinghamshire, as a tax under cover of which certain farther changes in our financial ar rangements might be effected. He would just put it to those who agreed with him in that object, whether any Chancellor ot the Exchequer would be mad eeough to propose any such further changes in our fiscal system, with so large an amount as nearly 5,500,0001. dependent upon an annual vote? — (Hear, hear.) The only possible condition under which such changes could be ventured upon was the approximate security of a certain amount of revenue for a definite period. Lord G. Bentinck, a high authority with Hon. Gentlemen opposite, had always been most anxous, for example, that the duties upon tea shoul i be considerably reduced, anti the Right Hon. Member for Wiltshire had just referred to those duties as of the elastic kind which he wished to see touched. Now it would be quite impossible for any Chancellor of the Ex chequer to touch those duties with an income-tax continued merely from year to year. Very true. the reduced duties might, in four or five years, by increased consumption, re cover their pristine amount, but what, meantime, was to be done, supposing the 5,0; 0,0001. of income-tax re used by the Howe in any one of those four or live years? - (Hear, hear.) 1 o effect the fiscal improvements which he, in common with a large proportion of the House, desired, it was absolutely essential that the income-tax tould be continued for a longer period than that proposed by the amendment. If that amendment were adopted, its mover must be responsi ble to the country for depriving it of those fiscal ref rms which the continuance of the income-tax could alone secure. (Hear, hear.) It had been very handsomely suggested that the Government merely wanted to keep up the tax for three years, in order to keep themselves afloat a w hil e longer in office. Were they capuble of such mean, petty motives, the amendment of his Honourable Friend might have ens creel the purpose just as well. He would simply say, in reply, that in the fist place, his object was to effect a pablic go p o l d a , ce r h d, e i d n es t i l r i e e d s t e o co p n u d t , n t o ha s t uc i - f o c fi es i s c o ia r l o cl t ia h n i g s e i s n sallowuoirasetatiksecal petition than he himself oc cupie hear.) When he considered the course of public events during the last few years, he felt it to be utterly impossible for any man to predicate what would be the position of Europe in any given number of mouths hence ; and, with such a feeling, le. protested against any course which should place the revenue in a state of such mere precariousness as would be occasioned by the success of this amendment. - (Hear, bear.) The enactment of the tax for three years, let it be remembered, would not preclude himself, or any successor of his, or any Member of the House, from proposing, in the ensuing session, such reductions or modifications as might then seem expedient. But. he put it to the House whether it was for the public good that there should be a tinanci 1 crisis every year, or that, from year to year, there should be the risk of the sudden deficit of so enormous a proportion of the revenue as 5,500,0001. — (Hear, hear.) Ile trusted that the House, by a large majority, would affirm the priocio le that for the future, as in the pant, the fug.eces of this country ou:fit t 3 retain that ,character of etability on which the ceze4 f no, the powe: pf tine cvaut7 cleponaa,---(CLwre,) Mr. DISRAELIi—Sir, the question before the House is, whether the property tax shall be continued for the spate of three years or oee year ? The amendment to the mo tion of the Minister, for one year's continuance, has been made by a distinguished member of that body of lion. Gentlemen who support the Gievernment ; but all the arguments of her Majes y's Ministers have been addressed, not to the amend ment, but to this side cf the House.—(Hear, hear.) The Hon. Member for the West Riding says there is no common object between the Member for Montrose end Gentlemen on thss side of the House, who have declared they intend to supp rt the amendmer.t of the Hon. Member for Montrose. —( Hear, bear.) Sir, °the reason I support the amendment is simply this, that I ;:kink the assessments made under the property-tax are not ,equitable—(Cheers)--and I think it not impossible to render them less unequal.—(Cheers ) That, Sir, is the main—the real—reason why 1 support the proposition of an amendment. But it is said in conse quence of certain speeChes made at this side of the House, that Honourable Gentlemen are supporting the amendment of the Hon. Member for Montrose for other reasons and with otteer objects.- (Hear, hear.) Let us see if there be any ju.aice in these allegations. The lion. Member for Wiltshire (Mr. S. Herbert), in answering the speech of the worthy Alderman (Thompson) the Member for Westmoreland, said that a great deficiency would be the consequence of the amendment of the Hon. Member for Mon trose being carried, and t hat he had a specific to supply that deficiency, and that it yens the imposition of an import du - y on foreign corn. Now the worthy Alderman never made the slightest allusion to foreige corn—(llean hear)—but he did make one specific proposal to supply the deficiency, and I give no opinion on that specific. No doubt his proposition was of a very important character, and will lead to vast con sequences. lie was to supply the deficiency by dealing with the terminable annuities ending beteeen this and 1860 and 1867 ; and, therefore, as tar as my Honourable Friend is concerned, it was not only a most erroneous repre sentation of what occurred, but it was contradictory to the course pursued by the worthy Alderman. ( Hear.) Well, what occurred next? Another county Member, the Hon. Member for Devon ( sin Buck), made a very able and in teresting speech. \‘' her: was its subject? He entered into a detailed description of the county he represented, of the condition of the various classes of his consti tuents; he showed us that the proprietor, the farmer, the mercantile man, were all equally suffering. He showed us that the consequence of that suffering was the increase of pauperism ; and he gave an opinion on the came of that dis• tress. All he said was, that you ought to modify, if it be in vour power at all, this distress by a remission of taxation. But how does this justify the sentiments of the Hon. Member for the West Riding, or the speech of the Hun. Member for Wilts, or the speech of the Right lion. Gentleman the Chan cellor the Exchequer, who all say that the Hon. Member for Devon was in favour of protection, and that protec ion was his specific for all the grievances and distress which he enumerated? :cow, a word did not escape from the lion. Member's lips about protection, but lie most carefully ab stained from even referring to the possible or probable cause of the suffering he described. - (Hear, hear.) There was a third gentleman who spoke on this side of the House, my, Noble Friend the Member for Stamford (the Marquis of Granby). His speech has been described as that of one giving support to the Hon. Member for Montrose, who had entirely changed the character of the debate by sug gesting the putting of a duty on the importation of foreign agricultural produce. My Noble Friend never referred to the subject (Hear, hear.) He only gave his own views and opinions on the subject of indirect taxation. Nothing could be more erroneous—nothing more unjustifiable, than the statements put forth, that there has been an attempt made on this side of the House to change the character of this debate, to divert the Gnu e from the true question before it, and that we have been arguing for another reason and for another cause.—( Hear.) Our conduct was too transparent, said the Hon. Member for the West Riding; the House should be aware of what was going on ; the income-tax is et stake —the income-tax, that foundation of our prosperity, hst only future guarantee for the greatness and safety of this empire.— (Cheers and laughter.) The only objection I have to a property-tax and income-tax is this, that it has always been brought into the House with representations which, to use the mildest phrase I can towards them, have never been ftilfilled.—(Hear, hear.) Happy would it have been if the Minister who felt it to be his duty to support such a policy lad made a bold appeal to the country, and asked them at once, are they of opinion that the financial system of this country should be changed or not; but. unfortunately, the ieceme-tax had been renewed, and renewed, and renewed again, while the community are led to belie v e on ever y occa sion thatl it was on the poiet of being ended.—( Hear.) But, unfortunately, the deception practised on the community had not bee limited alone to Ministerial representations to which I have referred. Other great authorities, when treat-` ing of this impost, and endeavouring to persuade this House and the country to effect great changes in the law, when alluding to that unfortunate tax always made use of the delusion which has ever been used to influence public opinion. Here is a speech, not delivered in this 11 use, but by one whose fame, like the income-tax, is likely to be tem porary. This is a speech described as the speech of Mr. Cobden on the subject of the income-tax, made in the year 1845, before the repeal of the corn-laws. " The income-tax is a fungus growing out of the tree of monopoly. (Cheers and laughter.) It is a tax that is the foundation of a new commercial system. This is the tax that is the only security for the continuance of free trade. " The income-tax is a fungus growing from the tree of monopoly ; that great mo nopoly, the coin-laws, alone renders that tax necessary." —(Cheers and laughter.) Talk of public opinion, indeed I know not who can praise it, to men ; but when we see how this opinion is directed, instructed, dealt with, one must honour the comtnon sense nil spirit of a nation that can, on the whole, generally act right and think justy.— ( Hear.) But the Hon. Member for the West Riding, commencing in that high prophetic tone which he has, indulged in so often, exclaims. " With free trade there will be no income-tax."— Loud cheers and laughter.) Now is it to be tolerated that men representing, as un fortunately a majority of Members on this side of the House do, a sutfering class of the com munity, a class whose suffering has been recognised by the Sovereign and lamented by the Minister, when a proposi tion is brought forward for the continuance of a great tax, the details of hich particularly press upon them—is it to be tolerated, I say, that because in a constitutional manner they express the feeling and vindicate the interests of their constituencies in this House, these men are to get up, who have made such speeches in other places (cheers)—and retend that this censt tutional expression, that this ful filment of our duty as representatives of the people, are nothing more than a mask to the attempt to get back those abrogated laws after the passing of which, accord ing to the Honourable Member for the West Riding, i was impossible that an income-tax could ever exist?—(Cheers.) We are told by the Chancellor of the Exchequer that no moditicatien of the grievous details of this tax is to be expected, and that the motion of the Hon. Member for Montrose oely applies to this. There is no oue in this Hause who has expressed opinions more directly the contrary to this than the Chancellor of the Exchequer him self. I give the Right Honourable Gentleman every advan tage he can make use of on the change of the corn-laws for the change in his commercial policy. I think such a defence is a very legitimate one; but his opinion as to the fixing of the assessment of the law does not depend upon the existence or non existence of the corn-laws. The Hon. Gentleman has spoken thus in 1845 : " With regard to the general argument, the inequality, injustice and inconvenience of the taxation, no attempt is made to answer." It is to this objection that I understand the motion of the Hon. Member for Montrose applies. It is only to remedy this injustice, this inequality of taxation, that I support the amendment of the Hon. Member. The Hon. Member for the West Riding, flay ing the critic on his Hon. Friend, says the course be is taking is most unwise and unadvisable. There are 150 Pro tectionists opposite ready to take you at your word; free trade rembles— totters on its base.—(Hear, hear.) Why, if you had brought forward the question properly, . and called the attention of the House to the in qui able manner in which the profits on trades and professions are assessed, you would have a chance of not endangering the existence of Government (according to the opinion of the Hon. Member f thew ell t West Riding); but, though you would be qite sure of be ng he ell beaten, you would have taken a stra u ightforward course.--' Hear.) But why did not the Hon. Member for the West Riding make that proposition himself?—(Hear.) I will tell you why—because he has an idea that these terrible Protectionists are not so callous to the sufferings of the pro fessional community as he has stated. Let him bring for ward his proposition, however, but I will not guarantee him that he will be defeated by that large majority. I give the lion. Member for he West Riding, therefore, not ice, that when he has made his statement, and when he finds that free trade and the Government are in danger, he shall not say that while he thought us dealing with the details of tax ing professional income, we were all the time dealing with his new commercial policy.—( Hear, hear.) I call upon the House now not to be diverted from the real question before it. by that stale old ruse, that this is going backward in our commercial policy.—(Hear, hear.) Let the House recollect that this commercial policy, be its merits or demerits what they may, is too vast a thing to be shaken by a vote of this House.— (Cheers ) This is not the way we mean to assail it, if we feel it to be our duty to take that course.—(Hear, hear.) But we shall not be diverted from taking a frank course on the subject of taxation because our opponents at tempt to estabisto for the five hundredth time that. we are trying for the restoration of the corn-laws. We have been treated tc-night, by Members competent to do so with lec tures on this subject. The eion. Member for Wiltshire de scribed an attempt which' I myself madeeto obtain acme small relief for the sufferings of the farmers; and he said it was not an attempt in accordance with the spirit of the age, nor made by one acquainted with the circum stances of the times. Now, I will not stop to argue these points with the Honourable Member for Wiltshire. He has given his opinion on the important subject of a protective duty on foreign corn, He said it was called by different names now it was designated a protective duty, and now a countervailing duty, although he was not able to understand the difference. lam not here to argue on the questioe of the difference between those two. - 1 hey may be good or they may be bad; but I am certain of this at least that there is a great difference between them.— (Cheers.) The opinion of no less distinguished a man then Ricardo, that great light of p litical economy; and another as painstaking and well informed as M'Culloch was, that countervailing duties were always held to be a compensatory duty, giving compensation foe some tax which the community clues not share; while a protective duty is one granted to a class, in consequence of general taxation which all sh ire. And thus we object on principle to protective duties, and are amongst the warmest supporters of countervailing defies. The Hon. Member havi ig fully described the difference between the two classes of duties referred to then continued —The only reasons for mwlosincthrolsesaurpeptohrtestehlehaavineesntdarnteedptitytharee t H h o a n. tth Member l staxb for s no regard to the agricultural position of this country; that the assessment of this unequal tax should if possible b s made more equitable. Then I look particularly to the position of the tenant-farmers, whose distress has been recognised by Goverwaent, and also to that of professional men, and I feel ' persuaded that whatever Minister be in office, whether he be on this side or the other, it will be impossible to maintain for any length of time the assessment under which the pre sent income-tax is made. (Hear.) All these anomalies and inequalities might have been borne when the Ministry who introduced this law, believing it, no doubt, to be such, in troduced it as a temporary measure, to meet a temporary exigency ; and it was thought useless to indulge in criticisms against the evils and grievances which time would soon re move.—(Hear.) But when the temporary measure may as sume a shape of an everlasting character, then it is that this becomes of a nature so serious that an inquiry into its ine qualities becomes a portion of the management of life for all those who live under its influence.—(Hear.) There is another reason why we should deal with these two points, es pecially the latter one. The temporary measure which we sup ported at first, introduced a greater degree of direct taxation into the financial system of this country than it before pos sessed. But however much people might be in favour of di rect taxation, it never could enter largely into the financial system until it was universal. That system of taxation was getting popular, I have heard, but it was with those who were not taxed at all. This system, however, is not taxation, but confiecanon. Carry out the system on a bread mile, as taxation he 'Carried mais' younpreeent legis lation, and yoware atteckirgthe capital of the country, and dimillislll l 3 the 1111'5 2 4 tirplo.T;utt 91 . ltica oAc' now support labour. It is because it deals most crudely with the principle of • direct taxation, because it is in its mode of assessment unjust and injurious to certain classes, and mere especially to the professional classes, whom we ought c:,refully to support in this House—it is for these reasons that I feel it my (Ttty to support the amendment of the Hon. Member for Montrose. If it were an amendment that either on that cr on this side of the House would crudely ask us in the present state of our affairs to negative the imposition of the income -tax, I could not sanction such a course; but because it does not interfere with the financial arrangements of this year or the next year—because it gives ample time to the Government to meet the difficulties of the case—and because lam sure no Government ill attempt to . meet those difficulties and to remove those grievances unless we take up such a course, I shall feel it my duty to support the amendment.—(Loud cheer. ) Lord J. RUSSELL-If the House is placed in any diffi culty on the question that is now before it, it is owing to that course which the Hon. Member for Montrose has taken in endeavouring to promote his own views and propositions.-- (Hear, and a laugh.) The Hon. Member for Montrose says that he wishes for a permanent tax upon property-he wishes for direct taxes in preference to indirect-he wishes for a modification of the present tax upon property and ine come. It would seem that the natural, the usual, the Far liamentary way of proceeding to effect such an object was, when the income-tax was before the House, to propose such a modification as he thought equitable -to make the tax, if he could obtain the assent of a inejority, such as he should consider to be just; and having obtained this modi fication of the tax, then to propose that the tax, instead of being a tax for three years, should be a tax of perma nent duration. That was the neural and Parliamentary course for him to pursue. But, says the Honourable Mem ber, " I cannot take that coarse, for it is a matter of ac knowledged difficuPy to make this tax equal and just. I cannot make a propositi , n which is so complete as to enable me with confidence to tender it to the House, and therefore I ask for inquiry." But if the Honourable Member wished for inquiry, how comes it that during the time this tax has lasted, from 1842 to 1851, he has never proposed such an inquiry ? Mr. HUME-I have, three times.-(Cheers and laughter.) Lord JOHN RUSSELL-I do not remember any case of the kind, and certainly since the present Government came into office such a motion has never been opposed.-(Hear.) If the Hon. Member wished for an inquiry. he ought to have proposed it, and conducted the inquiry. But, so tar as I re member, he has done nothing of the kind. Having allowed the tax to be imposed in 848 for three years, the Hon. Member now said, "Let me have an inquiry !" It is obvious he could hardly succeed in that during the present session, and at the beginning of the next he would hardly be able to state the result of such inquiry, and a renewal of, the tax for another year would be necessary. Now the course pursued by the Honourable Member had led to this very absurd consequence. The Honourable Member wishes the tax to be permanent. He is immediately supported by those who wish it to be done away with altogether.- (Laughter.) The Honourable Member is for direct taxation in place of indirect. He • would abolish many millious of indirect taxation, which he says is excessive, and would supply its place by a general direct tax. He is supported by those who are in favour of indirect taxation, and would carry it to a greater extent than it is now carried, and would diminish and abolish the tax which is a direct tax with a view of diminishing direct taxation.-(Laughter.) The Hon. Gentleman is for making the tax permanent, and he is sup ported by those who would do away with it at the first pos sible opportunity.-(Laughter.) I think the Hon. Gentleman must have been rather alarmed at the care taken of his child by those who are opposed to him upon every view which he takes. During the whole course of the debate the dandling and nursing of his infant must have alarmed him as to the future fate of that universal permanent tax which he has in eis imagination.-(Continued laughter.) But there have been other grounds on which Honourable Gentlemen opposite, in very considerable numbers, have supported the proposition of the Honourable Member: and these grounds, however much the Honourable Gentleman who spoke last has endeavoured to conceal it from the House, are the necessity of getting rid of the income-tax, of getting rid of as much direct taxation as we can, with the view of imposing import duties on foreign corn.- (Cheers.) The words" foreign pro duce," used by the worthy Alderman, who, as the fugle man of his party, supported the amendment, were uneer stood by the House to mean " foreign corn."-(Cheers.) Many Honourable Gentlemen opposite, when speaking of local taxation and the malt-tax, and questions affecting the landed interest and the general taxation of the country, speak out with the manliness which belongs to their charac ter as a party, and say, "Our real object is the restore , ion of protection," and then the Hon. Gentleman the Member for Buckingbamshire has always to rise after them (Laughter and cheers)-and say " Oon't take them at their word-whatever you have heard I have not beard." The Hon Member always happens to be in the situation that he has not heard a word of protection, although most persons on this side of the House and on the other side hear a great deal of reiteration of the necessity of the restoration of pro tection. I think the Hon. Member will at length get tired of this continual obligation to remind them of the necessity of being more prudent. If they will always march forward when he wishes them to march back-if they will always be getting out of line-if they will always be firing off their muskets when they ought to restrain their fire, the Honourable Member will at least say, "Upon my word you are too bad ; I'll not march through Coventry with you, that's flat."- (Loud laughter.) But then the Honourable Member says that the Honourable Member fur the West Riding goes and makes speeches in other places. Tnat certainly is a dreadful crime. But if the Hon. Member for the West Riding makes speeches in one place, the Protectionist party make them in another. If the Anti-Corn-law League met in Covent-garden Theatre, is there not a party which meet in Drury-lane?-(Laughter.) It is said that the members of the Anti-Corn-law League some times carried their speech - s beyond the bounds of discretion. But we were told the other day that if the corn laws are re stored 100,000 persons ate ready to follow a leader in support of the law which would be thus restored.-(Hear, hear.) These are the speeches made out of doors, and if we hear something of the same kind in this House, it is no wonder if we suppose the object is to restore protection.- (Hear, hear.) The character of the motion of the Hon. Gentleman has been entirely changed by the support given to it. The Honourable Member wishes to have the inquiry. His sup porters do not say that that is their object. They do not want an inquiry to make the tax more equal. Nobody but the Honourable Member for Buckinghamshire said that was his object. The Noble Lord the Member for Stamford said that this tax, unfair as it was, could not be made equal and devoid of faults, and that, bad as it is, its faults are incapable of amendment. - (Cheers.) if the Honourable Member succeeds in his motion, he will be no nearer his ob ject than before. He will find that those who go with hint into the 2obby to limit the tax have a different 'object in favourite ua e in views this view that they do not wi s h an i nqu i r y f o r the purp ose o f making the tax e q ua l, b u t th at th e i r rea l o bj ec t i s to put an en d to the tax, and i n so doing make such a deficiency, that then r m es i p g e h e t t, be an c d ar i r n ie t d he ou H n o i u n se th to e: i s g to h r t a . restoration of foreign import d u ti es upon gra i n. - ( Hear, hear.) Sir, t th he eir langg not at all equivocal. The Hon. Member for Devonshire, who sin ke in support of the motion, gave, as an example that we ought to follow, the President and Legislature of the United States of America, where he said all native industry was protected. Every one knows that none of the inanufac turers of this country want any protection for their cotton or their woollen goods-that their protection was taken away many years ago. They were not sufferers ley it, be cause they go into the markets of the world anehompete with other producers on equal terms. Thereforii'the only persons who requires protection - the only 'kind of native industry that now requires protectieUe asks for that protection which was formerly given to the landed interests of this country. Sir, :when, in t 842, the protective duties were very much diminished with regard to some articles of our manufacturers, many consti tuents of mine came to me, urging ins not to vote for the tariff which was then proposed by Sir R. Peel; and t h ey said, not unnaturally, " We could bear this competition With the foreigners if we were not obliged to pay an extra a n d in creased price for our food ie. consequence of the corn-laws." My answer was, " I cannot comply with your .request : I must vote for the diminution of those duties on yoar manu factures. But you must depend upon this-that this c untry will not long suffer the injustice that you should be exposed to the competition of the foreign producer and be Obliged to pay an artificial price for your bread in consequeece of the acts of the Legislature." And I f o und m y self perfectly jus tified by the event; because in a few years that protection was taken eft In the course •of some of these debates my opinions have been much alluded to with regard to the income tax. The Noble Lord the Member for Stamford to-night said that we were justified on this side of the House if we had changed our opinions with respect to it. Novi lily opinions on the income-tax, although they would be Justified if they bad been altered, have really undergone Very little change. I opposed it in 1842, and that if th I etill think I was justified in that opposition. I think e pro tective duties on corn, sugar , and timber had been very much reduced, it would then have been possible to impose a tax even ao liable to objection. e l n 1 845, h ow ever, I supported the income-tax; and so on the ground of the gre at benefits to be received as a com pensation I for suffering that tax. I said thought it was an liable to the objections o f ine q ualit y , vexation, , d fraud; and I cannot deny that I think the tax still, ca nnot see in Hans-nature, liable to these objectiOns. I What manner these objections can be r _ emoved • and I am afraid that.those they come to examine who think they can be removed, when f tax on professional men, and the question of imposing a less others who derive come to compare profession al men with. n, when they place a only a life income on- land; and legal tax ati higher on who reduced tax on one class and a have to confider what re ceive incomes from the funds, holders ofthe publi funds, I justice r : quires towards the so great thatthey will think they will find the difficulties ality. Belt when I said not be able to get rid of that on I i s li ta e ted at the same time that that I was of that opinion lacy 11 of the income tax was the only way for getting rid protection. (The Noble Lord here by the diminution of n speech on the inceme-tax in quoted a passage front his ow 1845, which was, as nearly as we could catch it, e s f o llows: if they wished to net rid of -He was confident that , the income-tax they must take the mode of endeavouring increase the inrosperityto improve the condition , andto of the empire, by opening and increasing up .new markets and the exe; admitting large importatio n ports, thereby creating en a dditional demand fur in the consumption of articles labour, and an augmentation favour and 'protection. which they restricted by imaginary favour _ or ne years to Then they might look at the en three dof the abolition of the property an d income-tax ; but if the question lay between the continuance of the income-tax and the continuance of the system of monopo, he should declare for the income-tax and the final diminution of protection and monopoly.) The Noble Lord then , proceeded:-Such not concealing the was the statement made by nie in 1845, . e but thinking that we grave objections to the income-M. should obtain more than an equivalent for the country by diminishing and reducing the taxes which pressed upon in dustry. Sir, it is impossible to conceal from one's self that to-night, as on all other nights NYlien we have had similar questions, the view of those who are to appear in oppiisition to us, is that by making the income-tax leas likely to subsist they may have a return to protective duties. -And, ha i _observed, that whereas in former times, when protective duties had not to be imposed, but only to be maintained according to an ancient system of policy, the arguments which were, derived from national independ e nce, from the necessity of the food of the people being derived hem your own soil, in order that you might not depend for the necessary articles of subsistence on foreign nations-those and similar argu ments were the chiet objections urged against a change of your policy ; but now we have almost the naked state ment that for the purpose of donee justice to one interest in this country-to enable the fanners to coutinue their occu pation with a profit, and to enable them to pay their rent to the landlord, it is necessary to have protective duties on corn.-. Hear, hear.) Now. Sir, these duties, whatever they may be, involve one o f two consequences: either-as the Right lion. Gentleman the Member for Stamford once argued in this House, in a very able speech - either a mode rate fixed duty will -not raise, the -price of corn, and in that cave the farmers will he dicatennated, :gaff rill pa)tert /21;aimt your n 57 orOler and more efficient protection ; es, on the other hood, it will rinse price of olia, sit n hie t Y ivam to pa! , x lirgq rent than he would otherwise be able to do. And then con sider what discontent von may excite among the great mass , of the people.—(Hear, bear.) Sir, we had only yesterday a magnificent sight in this metropolis (Cheers) —a sight which was gratifying on many accounts. It was gratifying to see that this nation, and other nations of the world, had assembled in one place the various products of their talent and of their industry. - It was gratifying to see that me nes have been found to place, in a splendid and magnificent building, the products of art and of industry. But what was most gratifying of all, was to see the great mass of people—(Cheers) —some say half a million others say near a million of persons—in the utmost good humour, with content upon their countenances, with loyalty in their hearts—(Cheers)— assembled to see the spectacle that was exhibited before them. Sir, these people, some of them in the poorest and meanest habiliments, showing that they had a difficulty, by their industry to gain their daily liveli hood. they saw without envy, without repining, with out complaint, the equipages of the rich and the splendid pass before them. They did so, as I believe, because they felt that injustice was not exercised towards theta.— (Hear, hear.) But if you are to tell the people that the rich are to have their incomes increased by adding to the price of the daily food of those masses— ( Hear, hear)—l say you can then expect no longer to see those cheerful coun tenances—you can then expect no longer that the institu tions of the country will meet with a ready and contented obedience. But you must expect the heart-burnings, the ill will, and the discontent which muet follow the imposition of unjust laws.—(Cheers.) Sir, I have found it necessary to say this in consequence of the turn which this debate has taken. I should have been willing to argue this question solely on the ground of the continuance of the income- tax for one year or for three, on that ground I should have argued that as a nation—as one of the principal powers of the world—it was improvident and unsafe to risk the duration of a considerable part of your revenue. I should have argued, that as this tax is liable to objections, which none of its promoters can completely gainsay, so much the more is it desirable that we should not, year by year, have it dragged into popular discussion. I should have said, that at this time above all is it desirable to show that your financial system is secure and solid. These are grounds which, as they affect the whole of this House, so they more pecu liarly affect those who take Conservative views upon this subject. The Noble Lord, the Member for Stamford, asked me to mark with attention the declaration of my Hon. Friend, that he wished for a direct tax almost universal, and very large in amount, because he thought that that would make those who paid it discontented with the amount of the establishments, which the present Government consider necessary for the safety, for the honour, for the power of this country. Sir, I did mark that observation ; but the moral I drew from it was somewhat different from that of the Noble Lord. I drew from it, indeed, the moral, that it is not desirable to lose your indirect taxation, to allow that the revenue of this country should bo derived in by far the greater proportion from direct taxation. But I also drew the moral that it is not desirable to make this tax, giving more than five millions a year, a tax which if lasting only for a short time would be exposed to perpetual criticism, and to a fresh examination in the course of every year, and thereby entail the risk of either your income fall ing below your expenditure, or of reducing that expenditure below what you deem necessary for the safety of the country. And let the Noble Lord be assured that I am not mistaken in this that whatever views may induce him and others to support the amendment of my Honourable Friend to night, that if they succeed in that amendment it will not tend to promote either the maintenance of the establishments necessary for the safety of the country, nor will it tend to the safety of those institutions which he thinks ought to be preserved. Ors the contrary, your system of finance, your system of taxation, ought to be known to the world as a stable and a settled system; for nothing tends more to shake a Government, nothing tends more to endanger a state, than when its taxes are exposed to perpetual un certainty.—(Cheers, amidst which the Noble Lord resumed his seat.) Mr. MUNTZ rose amidst calls for a division. The Hon. Gentleman said he could not understand on what principle the House should grant a tax for three years when they had it in their power always to prolong it for an additional year if it was found to be necessary. Neither the Noble Lord nor the Chancellor of the Exchequer had assigned one valid then ea : reason why they should vote the income-tax for three years Were y e t e h r e . ea r t , h say r y l that all the at one time any m ore th an t h oy s h ou ld vo t e th e arm y an d navy estimates for thre e y ears a t once i ns t ea d o f for th e cur rent )Thy were emptorolivl e t m h e a n t t th w e as toine qualities and iniq u iti es of the tax could never be removed. stop, and no remedy for a crying grievance to be adminis tered? Let them follow the example of the United States of America, which had been already referred to, and they would collect a property-tax much more sound, equitable, and free from vexation, and therefore much more satisfactory to the people at large. Whatever the Government might think, he was sure that out of doors great anxiety was felt on this subject. The people said with justice, that the tax was at first conceded for a limited period, and for a special purpose; and yet time after time it had been renewed, and they could not see when there was to be any end to it. The Noble Lord taunted the Hon. Member for Montrose with receiving support from the opposite side. tray, was the Noble Lord never supported by the opposite side— (Hear, hear)—and had he not many a time courted the assistance of lion. Gentlemen opposite? He (Mr. Muntz) intended to vote with the Hon. Gen tleman, and he hoped he was determined to do what he be lieved to be right, and accept support in doing it wherever he could get it.—(Hear, hear.) Lord JOHN RUSSELL said he did not reproach the Hon. Gentleman for being supported by the opposite side. He had said that Hon. Gentlemen opposite supported his Hon. Friend for reasons totally different and contradictory to his own views. Mr. GEACH thought the compensations derived by the country during the existence of the income-tax more! than counterbalanced the injuries it inflicted by its inequalities. He had at first felt favourable towards the Hon. Member for Blontrose's motion ; but he h'd since been convinced that the practical effect of his vote would be in a totally opposite di rection from the result he desired, and therefore he must vote against the amendment. Mr. ROEBUCK hoped be would ba allowed to defend him self from the extremely unfair speech of the Noble Lord— (Hear)—as he intended to support the amendment of the lion. Member for Montrose. Now, let the House see how the ca e stood. The Noble Lord himself did not object to the groundwork of the amendment—namely, the inequality and injustice cf this tax; but then the Noble Lord wished to fix upon leis lion. Friend and all who voted with him an im putation that they wished to bring back the tdd system of protection. Now he (Mr. Roebuck) took the aine..dment to be this—they had to raise a certain sum for the purposes of Government by taxation, and his Hon. Friend always wished to make that sum as small as possble ; but he said, ‘• If you will raise a sum so large as you do, and which I be lieve, with proper economy, would be totally unnecessary, then, for God's sake, raise it fairly !" Look at the case of a man deriving a settled income of 1,000/. a year from land, or from some other fixed source, as compared with the man deriving an income from a profession. Another man was obliged to keep his mind on the stretch, oppressed with all .he responsibilities and difficulties of existence, and might lose hit; income at a moment when his powers were di - minishing. and he was no longer able to provide for the support of his family. Compare this with the condition of the man who derived his income from land. He might be para- lytic, ignorant, idle, anything, but his thousand pounds a year remained to him. He said this was a gross injustice, and it was this that Government were fighting for. When the Hon. Member for Coventry (Mr. Geach) told them that he had sounded the feelings out of doors, he woulil tell the Hon. Member that he would meet him before any meeting of his countrymen, and he had that confidence in their spirit of justice that he believed they would be for the work ing man and his interests. Those who supported the 'amend ment wished to raise the funds required for the public ser vice in an equitable way. The Noble Lard told them they were endangering the Government; but he must ask if that was so serious a result, because he must say, seeing the w ter injustice of the Noble Lord's policy, that, if it was ne cessary to raise the present sum for the public service, it would become that House to find a fair means of doing so. —(Hear, hear.) When questions of economy arose, he hoped that Hon. Gentlemen on the other side would show the force of their convictions by taking the same line as themse ves. He was astonishet that the Hon. Member for the West Riding (Mr. Cobden), who had proposed so many Sweeping schemes of retrenchment, should withhold his sup port from this motion; if the House would stint the taxa tion of the country, they would find it an easy matter to cut down expenditure. He was not to be deterred from supporting this motion by being told that Gentlemen opposite were about to take advantage of the proposal, and oust what was called a Liberal Administration. He wished to see an illiberal Administration with ,a Liberal Opposition, for he thought nothing could be so mischievous as a pseado-Liberal Administration with a downright illiberal Opposition.— (Hear, hear.) They had seen the greatest reforms, without a single exception, carried out when Gentlemen opposite were in office, and those who now occupied the Ministerial benches were in opposition. He really thought the Noble Lord and his colleagues were cut out for the functions of op position.—(A laugh.) They rendered much more benefit to their country in that capacity - (Cheers and laughter)—and it would not be with pain that he would see the occurrence of circumstances which would place them where he believed they would shine with peculi r lustre,, and to the great benefit of their country.—(Hear.) If this were a just tax make it permanent—the Noble Lord's argument went to that; if it were not a just tax, adopt it only for so long a time as was absolutely necessary for the public service,- and take those precautions which would enable them to provide some more just tax, better suited to the p u bli c ex i genc i es .— (Hear,) Let not the Noble Lo r d s hift hi s groun d ; h e meant to make the income-tax perman e nt, b u t h e cou ld not say i t from though he Meant it.—(Cheers.) of M th r e ll E U x li chu Ee thoughte rmust there ha v e been absent wunoman th ever e Ho e us a House who ad motion in the House whos e o b jec t h a d b een more misrepre sented than his own. Th e N o bl e L or d an d t h e C hancellor when he made his speech ; the Noble Lord was most unfair in attributing to him a course which he took special care at the commencement to guard himself against. Both the Noble Lord and the Chancellor of the Exchequer, and indeed every one who had spoken of the tax, had described it as abominable, unequal, unjust, and in every way unworthy to be continued. Let the Noble Lord meet the wishes of the people out of doors, and remove the inequalities of which every one complained. Let the tax be imposed for one year , and an inquiry mea nw hil e i nst i tute d, f rom which they might judge whether it could not be made less oppressive. The Noble Lord had submitted his naval, military, and miscel laneous estimates to a Committee, and even the Ceylon in quiry,e which w as directed against an absent Governor. Id (Mr. Hume) would ac ept support from any side of the House, satisfied that he had done his duty. The Committee then divided, when there appeared — For Mr. flume's amendment ...... 244 Against it . ' ...... -----14 Majority against Ministers ...... The announcement of the numbers was rece i ved with vociferous cheering by the Opposition. The bl a nk in the Bill was then filled up with the words " on e year;" the Chair man reported progress, and the H ouse resumed. Lord J. RUSSELL ga ve notice that he should propose to go 01 with the Committee on the Prone• ty tax Lill on Mon he Mon daY. and postpone the Ecclesiastical T itles Bill till t day Villowing.— (Hear. bear.) Mr. LABOUCHERE said that, with regard to the Steam Navigation Bill, which was orde red to be committed that h day, he bad no objection to asse nt to the wish been exp resse d, that it a should be referred to Select Com mittee. lie thought it desirable that the Committee should not be numerous—seven or five Members - and he proposed to nominate the Committee on Monday. PRACTICE AND PROCESS (IRELAND) BILL. On the next order of the day being read from the chair, Mr SADLEIR said that Wit was proposed to proceed with the Practice and Process (Inland) Bill without affording the information Which was asked for before Easter respecting the officers of the Court of Exchequer, whom it wai proposed to compensate, he should move that the Chairman should report prtkgress. The AT IORNEY-GEN ERAL for IRELAND said that this Bill wile introduced in order to remove doubts which Pxiated a' to whether an Act paated hot sec ion at the in stance of the Master of the Roils for England, for regulating the general process and pracae cf ate I;:s:t r:our;s, tO the Exchequer cliii:ab.zor, C.Y. , 113 t‘Yi Ireland. The officer whom it was proposed by this Bill to compensate was the registrar and clerk of this court, whose office was a freehold held by patent under the Crown. This office had been filled for twenty-five years by Sir E. Tierney, who had a salary of 2601. per annum, and fees averaging :300/. a year, which were fixed by the Act constituting the court, pasted in 1803, and a subsequent Act regulating the court, passed in 18,3. It was proposed to give him such compensation as the Treasury might award for any reduction in these fees which might take place in consequence of the alterations in the practice and process of the court which might be effected ander this Bill. Mr. SADLERt did not consider the information given by the Attorney-General for Ireland a - , all satisfactory. Before Easter it was said that this Bill was to compen sate three officers of the Court of Exchequer Chamber, but these three gentlemen were now reduced to one. He be. lieved that, as long as he had been connected with profes sional practice in Dublin, this office had been a sinecure, so far as the personal service or attendance of Sir E. Tierney went; he had been for a large part of his life an absentee in England and upon the Continent, and if he had any duties they were discharged by deputy. He protested against proceeding with the measure at nearly one o'clock in the morning. He wished the Attorney-General for Ireland would follow the practice adopted by the Master of the Rolls last session, of not originating debates on Irish Bills after midnight, except with the concurrence of Irish Mem bers, who might be disposed to take a prominent pia us their consideration. -- ( Hear.) Lord JOHN - RUSSELL had always understood that it was an established rule that, when any change was made in the administration of justice, those who held patent offices should receive compensation for any diminution of their in comes which might take place. It would be held an in justice, and it certainly would be a thing wholly unprece dented to take away such an office -which had always been considered a kind of freehold —without compensating its holder. Mr. G A. HAMILTON saw no reason for objecting to a clause of this kind, which left the matter afterwards to be settled by the Treasury. Mr. GOOLD asked it' Sir E. Tierney was the only person to receive compensation? Mr. HAT 'HELL denied, as asserted by the Hon. Mem ber for Carlow, that Sir E. Tierney was either a sinecurist or absentee. On inquiry he found that Sir E. Tierney was the only pe son to be compensated. The resolution was then agreed to, and the House re sumed. On the motion of Mr. HEADLA.M, the following Members were appointed on the Select Committee on the laws of mortmain Headlam, Mr. Attorney-General, Lord John Manners, Mr. Mutt, the Earl of Arundel and Surrey, Mr. Fitzpatrick, Mr. Roundel' Palmer, Mr. Heald, Sir Robert Harry Inglis, Lord Harry Vane, Mr. William Mar shall, Mr. Anstey, Ma. Shafto Adair, Mr. Hardcastle, and Mr. Drummond. Mr. CORNEWALL LEWIS obtained leave to bring in a Bill to simplify the forma of appointments to certain offices, and the manner of passing grants under the Great Seal. The Bill was subsequently brought in and read a first time. Mr TRELAWNY moved the appointment of the Select Committee on church rates. Mr. BERESFORD suggested that the hour was too late to appoint the Committee. Mr. TRELAWNY said, if they did not appoint the Com mittee, the people out of doors would say they were not sin cere on the question. Mr. SrOONER then moved the adjournment of the question. The House divided, when there appeared— For the adjournment ... ... .. Against it _.,.. ... ... ... Majority ... —34 The Committee was then nominated as follows :—Mr. Trelawny, Sir Robert Harry Inglis, Mr. Henley, Sir David Dundas, Mr. Bright, Mr. Pole Carew, Mr. Alexander Hope, Mr. Horsman, Sir Charles Douglas, Mr. Hardcastle, Mr. John Ellis, Sir John Duckworth, Mr. John George myth, Mr. Littleton and Mr. Heyworth. The other orders were disposed of and the House ad journed at Half-past One o'clock. PARLIAMENTARY DIVISIONS. (From the Votes and Proceedings of the House of Ccntintens.) FRIDAY, MAY 2. PROPERTY-TAX BILL. (IN THE COMMITTEE.) Clause 1 (Rates and Duties granted by the said first re cited Act to be further continued for ) : Motion made, and Question proposed, " That the blank be filled up with ' three years:' —Afterwarcismoved, "That the blank be filled with' one year :' "—Question put, " That the blank be filled with 'one year.' " The Committee divided : 6121JOR1TY - -- -AYES, 241. Floyer, John Mowatt, FranciS Forbes, W. Ho llings, J. R. Fx eshfield, J. W. Mundy, William Frewen, C. 11. Naas, Lord Fuller, A. E. Napier Joseph Gallwey, Sir W. P. Neeld, John Galway, Viscount Newdegate, N. Gaskell, J. M. Newport, Visa. Gilpin, Colonel Noel, G. J. Goddard, A. L. O'Brien Sir:Luciva Gooch, E. S. Ossulton, Lord Goold, Wnydham Paeke, C. W. Gordon, Admiral Pakington, Sir J. Gore, W. R. 0. Palmer, Robert Gore, W. 0. Patten, W. Granby, Marquis of Peehell, Sir G. Greenall, G. Pigot, Sir Robert Greene, John Plumptre, J. P. Grenfell, C. Pasco) Portal, Melville Grogan, Edward Prime, Richard Guernsey, Lord Prinsep, II T. Hale, R. B. Pugh, David Halford, Sir Henry Reid, Colonel Hall, Sir B. Rendlesham, Lord Hall, Colonel Repton, G. W. J. halsey, T. P. Ricardo, John L. Hamilton, G. A. Richards, Richard Hamilton 'J. IL Roebuck, J. A. Harcourt, G. G. Rut Toni, Francis Harris, Captain Rushout, Captain Hastie, Alexander Sadleir, John Hastie, Archbald Salwey, Colonel Henley, J. W. Sandars, G. Herbert, 11. A. Scholetield, W. 'terries, J. C. Scott, Francis Hervey, Lord A. Scully, Francis Ilildyard, IL C. Seynaer, 11. K. Ilildyard, I'. B. Sibthorp, Colonel IEII, Lord E. Sidney, Alderman llodgson, \V. N. Smyth, Jt hn George llorsman, Edward Somerset, Captain liotham, Lord Sotherou, T. IL S. Hudson, G. Spooner, It. Ilumpliery, Ald. StalTord, Augustus J °little, Sir W. li. Stanford, J. F. Jones, Captain Stanley, E. H. Keating, Robert Stephenson, Robert Kerrism, Sir E. Stuart, Lord D. King, P. J. Stuart, John Knightley, Sir C. Stuart, H. Knox, Colonel Sturt, Henry G. Lacy, Henry C. Sullivan, Michael Langton, W. H. P. Sutton, II M. Lascelles, W. S. Talbot, C. R. Legh, G. C. Taylor, T. E. Lennard, T. B. Thesiger, Sir F. ' Lennox, Lord A. Thompson, Alderman Lennox, Lord H. G. Tollemache, Jolu2 Lindsay, Colonel Trevor, G. It. Lockhart, A. E. Trollope, Sir J. Lockhart, W. Tyler, Sir G. Long, W. Tyrell, Sir J. Lopes, Sir Ralph Verner, Sir W. Lowther, Colonel Vyse, R. H. R. If • Lowther, Henry Waddington, David Lushingten, C. Waddington, 11. S. Lygon, Gen. Walsh, Sir J. B. Macaghten, Sir E. Walter, John M'Gregor, John Welby, G. E. Maher, N. Whitmore, T. C. Meagher, Thomas Whiteside, James Mandeville, Vis. Williams, John Manners, Lord C. Williams, T. P. Manners, Lord G. Willoughby, Sir H. Manners, Lord J. Wodehouse, E. March, Earl of Worcester, Marquis Maunsell, T. P. Wynn, R. W. Maxwell, Hon. J. P. Yorke, E. T. Ileum, Sir H. Miles, Philip Miles, William Moody, C. A. Morgan, 0. TELLINI. Fume, Joseph Mintz, G. F. MINORITY—NOES, 230. Fitawilliam, G. W. Oswald, A. Foley, J. H. Owen, Sir John Fordyce, A. D. Paget Lord A. Forster, Matthew Paget, Lord C. Fortescue, Chichester Paget, Lord G. Fortescue, J. W. Palmer, Roundell Fox, W. J. Palmerston, Via. Freestun, Colonel Parker, John French, F. Peel, Sir Robert Geach, Charles Peel, Frederick Gibson, T. M. Peto, Samuel Glyn, G. C. Pilkingten, James Granger, T. C. PinneY, W. Greene, Thomas Plowden, W. 11. Grenfell, Castries W. Ponsonby, C. F. Grey, Sir George Powlett, Lord W. Grey,',R. W. Price, Sir R. Grosvenor, Lord B. Pusey, P. Guest, Sir John Rawdon, Colonel Hardcastle, J. A. Ricardo, Osman Harris, Richard Rice, E. R. Hatchet!, John Rich, Henry Hawes, B. Routlly, Colonel Hayes, Sir E. Russell, Lord John Headiam, T. E. Russell, B. c Heald, James Russell, F. C. Heueage,;Edward &rope. C• P• Henry, Alexiutder Seymour. t..., Herbert, Sidney Seymou r Heywood, James Shafts Earl of toolbar' . u Hayworth, L. , ...Man. B. B . Hindley, C. Nia t h. Vernon Honors.. T. B. _.. smith . John Abel Hodges, T. Twild''' smith John B. ismYthe. George 1111o°11ggond.. Sir J. gomers, J. P. Howard, Lor d B. somerville, Sir W. Howar d. C. W. G. spearman, H. J. Howard. •T• B. Stansfleld, W. R. Howard. B. 0 . Howard, sir It. Stanton, W. H. Staunton, Sir G. Hutch i n s, E. J. Butt, William . Stuart, Lord J. Tailored, 11. W. J J :h ri n ia s y to n, ac E . a s r i l r _ J. Tenisou, Edward K. Kershaw, James Thicknesse, R. A. Labouchere, H. Thompson, Colonel Langston, J. H. Thornely, T. Lawley, 11. R. Tollemache, F. J. Lewis, Sir 'l'. Towneley, John Lewis, G. C. Townley, R. G. Locke, Joseph Trelawny, J. S. Mackinnon, W. A. Trevor, Thomas M"raggart, SirJ. Tann, Henry Mangles, R. 1). Vane, Lord H. Marshall, J. G. Villiers, Charles Marshall, W. Vivian, J. 11. Martin, C. W. Wall, C. B. Masterman, J. 1V almsley, Sir J. Matheson, Colonel Watkins, Colonel Meade, Fos Wawn, J. T. Melgund, Viscount Weg ., Prosser, F. Milner, W. 31. Wellesley, * Lord C. 31ilnes, R. M. Westhead, J. P. Mickell, T. ..1.. Willcox, Brodie Moffatt, George Williams, W.l: Alolesworth,Sir W. Williamson, Sir H. Moncrieff, James Wilson, James Mo,gan, 11. E.G. Wilson, Matthew :Morison, Sir IV. Wood, Sir Charles Morris, David Wood, Sir W. P. Mulgrave, Earl Wortley, J. S. Murphy, F. S. Wrightson, W. B. Nicholl, J. Wyvill, Marimiduk , Norreys, Lord Norreys, Sir 1). Ogle, S. C. Ord, William TELLER!. 11111, Lord Marcus Hayter, W. G. u•-•••-• . ' .....- ' -''''' Acland, Sir T. Adderley, C. B. Anson, Viscount Arbuthnott, Hon. H. Archdull, Captain Arkwright, George Bagge, William Baia, Bon. W. Baillia, 11. J. Baldock, E. IL Baldwin, Barry Bankes, G. Baring, Francis Barrington, Viscount Barrow, W. 11. Bateson, Thomas Bennet, Philip Bantinck, Lord H. Beresford, William Bernard, Viscount Best, John Blair, Stephen _ _ Blandford, Marquis Boldero, George 11. Rooker, T. W. Booth, Sir R. G. Brarnston, T. NT. nreturidge, Richard Broadley, 11. Brocklchurst, J. Brooke, Lord Brown, H. Buck, Buller, Sir Y. B unbu ry, IV. Burghley, Lord Burrell, Sir C. . _ Burroughes, 11. N. Cabbell, B. B. Campbell, W. F. Carew, W. 11. P. Castlereagh, Vise. Chandos, Marquis Chichester, Lord J. Child, smith_ Chohnelcy, Sir M. Christopher, K. Clifford, 11. 31. Cobbold, John C. Cochrane, A. 3). Cocks, T. S. Codrington, Sir W. Coles, H. K. dolvile, C. It. Compton, IL C. Conolly,Thomas Copeland, Aid. Cotton, W. H. Cowan, Charles Crawford, W. S. Cubitt, William Darner, Colonel Dashwood, Sir G. Davies, D. A. Dcedes, W. Dick, Quintin Disraeli, B. Dod, J. W. Dodd, G. Duckworth, Sir J. Duke, Sir James Duncan, George Duncombe, 0. Dundas, George 1)u I're, C. George East, Sir J. Edwards. H. Egerton, Sir P. Egerton, W. T. Emlyn, Viscount] Farnham, E. B. Ferrer, James Fella Wes, Edward tbdy. Sir T. N. Adair, Hugh E. Aglionby, H. A. Anson, Colonel Anderson, Arthur Aiistey, Thomas Armstrong, Sir A. Armstrong, R. B. Ragshavi, John Raines, M. T. Baring, Henry B. Baring, Sir F. T. Bass, M. T. Bell, Jacob Bellew, It. M. Berkeley, Admiral Berkeley, U. F. Berkeley, C. L. G. Birch, Sir T. Blackstone. W. S. Bowles, Admiral Boyle, Colonel Bright, John Brockman, E. D. Brotherton, 3. Bulksley, Sir B. B. Bunbury, E. H. Busfeild, W. Buxton, Sir E. Cardwell, Edward Carter, J. B. Caulfelld, J. M. Cavendish, C. C. Cavendish, G. H. Cavendish, W. 0 Chaplin„W. J. Charteris, Francis Childers, J. W. Clay, James Clay, Sir W. Clements, C. S. Clerk Sir G. Cobden, Richard Cockburn, Sir A. Coke, Hon. E. K. Colebrooke, Sir T. Collins, William Cowper, W. F. Craig, Sir W. G. Crowder, It. U. Currie, Raikea Cartels, 11. M. Dalrymple, Captain Davie, Sir II Dawson, T. V. Denison, Edmund Denison, J. E. D 'EyncOurt, T. Divctt. B. Douglas, Sir C. Duff, George Duff, James Dundas, Admiral Dundas, Sir David Ebrington, Lord Ellice, Edward Ellice, E., Jun. Ellis, John Elliot, John E. Enfold, Viscount Evans, J. Evans, William EV:AIt, William Fergus, John Ferguson, (701. Ferguson, Sir It. Fitzpatrick. J. W. Fitzroy, lion. 11. [ADVERTISEMENT-]—A. Bad Leg Cured by Hol loway's Ointment and Pills after Twenty Years' Suffering.— Extract of a l e tt er f rom M r. A n d rew B rae k, blacksmith, .tye rncuth. dated August 10, 1848: —" To Professor H ollowa y . Sir,—] have the pleasure to inform you that I, have obtained a most extraordina r y cure b y t h e use o f your celebrated Oint ment and Pills. For upwards of twenty years I suffered with a dreadful bad leg, and during that time I consulted several eminent surgeons, but their efforts, failed to do any good. I then had recourse to your Ointment and Pills, which, with the I?,ssing of Providence; has completely healed toy le% and made it :L3 :wand and as perfect as ever.—Sold by all DainEt; and at Pmit: - .111. Li9ll9rqfs 94 1! StutO, _::.~si INDIA. (From the Times.) We have received by express courier from Marseillaa our dispatches in anticipation of the Overland Mail from India which left Bombay on the 3d ult. The following is our correspondent's summary for UN month of March:-- "British India is generally tranquil, and the improving state of its public finances is at present the prevailing topic of the Indian press. " Lord Dalhousie arrived at Peshawaur on the Eth of March and left it on the 17th. He was expected at Visors bad by the sth or 6th of April, and would thence make the best of his way to Simla. Robbery and murder are still rife at Peshawur. Captain Grantham died of his wounds on the 16th of March. On the same day one of Lumsden's Guide Corps was shot in the Kohat pass, and on the pith a Resildar in attendance on Captain L'aly (who was at the • time proceeding through the pass towards Peshawur to see the Governor-General), happening to go off' the road, was also shot dead. " Most summary measures are, however, being adopted fur the repression of these outrages. Mr. J. Lawrence is in vested with trill authority, as a single member of the board , to pass sentence on them, and hangings take place almost daily ; four men were executed on the morning of the 15th one of them the fellow who stole the trumpet from the artillery lines and fired on the Guide Corps sentry. It is, moreover, proposed to transport summarily to the lower pro. winces any border tribes' men caught trespassing on our lands. Martial law is to be declared paramount until the depredations and murders now so prevalent are put an end to. The negotiations with Dhoet Mahommed, which I mentioned in my last, are said to be progressing most fa vourably. " The hill tribes on the Indus frontier, south o f P es hawar, are also disposed to be troublesome; the Vi z i er i es h av i ng been hovering about the Bunnoo frondsr for some time, ready to pounce down en any unprotected part of the line, at last assembled in force at the toot of the Goomt: conimandant at ttee pass o n th e 14th of March, on which Captain Walsh Bunnoo, took the field against them with three of Ilammund's guns, a equadron of the 2d p unisub Cavalry (under Lieutenant Browne) , the 2d f un _ jab Infantry (under Lieutenant Eckford), and 200 p e n ce, horse and toot (under Lieutenant Cox). On the approach of this force the enemy showed no inclination to a.'.ait Its attack on the plain, but took to the hills on each side of the head of the pass, occupying them in groups, which were soon dispersed by the excellent practice of the artillery. Ae the force was, however, insufficient to follow up the advan tage thus gained, it was determined to withdraw it; which was accordingly effected, the movement being masked by three or four companies being thrown out as skirmishers, to keep the enemy from making a rush at the guns. e A gaol emeute occurred at Deva Ghazee Khan on the 2d of March, at midnight. Two prisoners took advantage of the inner door of the gaol being momentarily opened to make a rush past the sentry into the outer enclosure of the building, and then threw themselves over the enciente wall, the drop of which (being 25 feet) had been considered sufficient to preclude the possibility of such an attempt; 15 were shot dead by the guard and one wounded in the at tempt; some were recaptured, and parties of horse have been sent out in all directions after the 26 who got clear oft A court of inquiry was investigating the matter. " Military preparations are quietly going on at Peshawar; a force has been ordered to hold itself in readiness to move on the frontier at a moment's warning. provisions for two months and the requisite carriages are being collected; the destination of the force is unknown, but it is rumoured that the Governor-Ueneral has offered the % izieries a certain ultimatum, which it they refuse, coercive measures will be immediately taken. Whatever measures be adopted, therre is no doubt but that they will have been carefully considered, and will be effectively carried out. We are now much better acquainted with the various passes, and with the general nature of the bill country, than we were at the time of the former expedition.. " The Indus frontier of the Punjaub has been so well de scribed in Major Edwardes' late work that any comment on its present state is almost superfluous. It cannot be expected that the hill tribes of the Dejerat border should discontinue their troublesome predatory habits all at once, and it is as much as could be hoped for to be assured that they are held much more in check than they ever were in Itungeet Singh's time; and that the revenue of Djeerat is now much more fully collected, and that life and property in that province are now more secure than they ever were under any former Government. " No territorial acquisition to our Indian empire has ever been so cerefuly settled and organised as the Punjaub, and already no province of the empire is more prosperous ; though more lightly - taxed than any other district in India, it already yields a considerable surplus revenue (325,5001. exclusive of the sums realized for confiscated property), which will be much increased when the extensive canals fur irrigation, now in progress, are completed. The employment to native worka - .ea afford ed by these works and by the new statio.:s, which are everywhere progressing, has caused a de mand for labour in excess of the supply, and thus removed one of the principle sources of danger to which every newly acquired country in which large establishments have been disuauded is at first exposed An order has appeared for re gulating the enlistment of the Seikhs in our Indian regi ments; not more tean 200 Punjaubees are to be admitted into any single regiment, of which not more than 100 are to be Seikhs, who are to be dist , ibuted equally among the different companies. No Seikhs are required to cat eithe r their beards or hair, and every means are to be adopted to preserve intact their distinctive national and social cha racteristics. " The improvement of the navigation of the Indus (and incidentally that of the port of Kurrachee) is now the great desileratum fur the Punjaub. The little steam-tugs now on that river are altogether incapable of developing the com mercial capabilities of the stream, and it is most desirable that river steam-bons of a larger gee, and on the American model which has recently been adoeted with so much ad vantage in the Ganges, should be substituted for those at present in use. It is stated that a depot is about to be formed at Kurrachee for the reception of military stores from England destined for service in the Punjaub. " The trial of Jot(*) Persand still stood for the 27th of March, but it wi.s net quite certain that all the witnesses would be able to be present by that (I, te.. Mr. Wynn C.S., is to conduct the case on the part of Government. Mr. Tandy has been elected secretary to the North-West Bank, and it has transpired that Sir W. Gomm has addressed a letter to Captains Blois and Watt, exempting them from the imputation of fraudulent motives. but saying that their laxity in monetary dealings was mos: unparuonable, and he advises Captain Watt to pay back the sum received front Captain Bedew. Nawab of Bahawulpore a now on a pilgrimage to the Mahoruetan shrines of Delhi and the North West Provinces, and Sir W. Gomm was expected at liinbella by the 31st of March. "It is said that the Court of Directors have left the ques ion of the augmentation of the Bengal artillery and engineers entirely in the hands of the Governor-General. Major Baker, of the latter corps, succeeds Major Kenedy as Consulting Railway Engineer to Government. "There is nothing new from as t t h in e::z 7 a 4 7 F t o e x rr:to 4 ry 2 ;; andhe still continues his own Minister. The naval Commander-in. Chief, with her Majesty's ship ir Sphynx steam-sloop, were, by the latest accounts, at anchor in the Madras roads. "The committee appointed by Government to report on the frauds in the collection of the Bombay municipal taxes, while under the superintendence of the police department, is now ting ;as is also another committee, appointed to in quire into the existing system of public works, both as re gards superintenience en! execution. The prospectus of the Baroda 'Railway is is lied, and a wooden tramway, 4i miles in length, for the purpose of facilitating the shipment of cotton, has just been completed at Dholera, in Goozerat, at the cost of a few native merchants, at an expense of 1,4001. a mile COMMERCIAL INTELLIGENCE. BOMBAY MARKETS, FROM THE 17TH OF MARCH To THE 2D OF APRIL INCLIISIVE. BOMBAY, W EDNES DAY EVENING. A PRIL 2. The Money and Share Markets-There is n wen n tmootnee tary matters that calls for remark, unless we chliasinshownb bazaar and noticed a temporary tightness , wh g i st Marwarrie itself for the last few days, principally id an re d • e n ti , r i s t w thi ou ll should dealers i tin intendtbe d r t u a g k . i o g a e Businessstart t at aigenerallylil app ears h monsoon is not now very quire to be quick about it, as t• 8 to 102 ; tions ;-Transfer Loan, ilirs. ;ives, 98; tar distant. Securities aro ins,ctisvieccaat t F h i e ve f e o , llo i w o i i ng quota- Com a 's Fours, Simi Fours, 86; Company' 13 pan • Shares, per cent. premium , 82 to 83; Bank of Bombay 17 per cent. discount • Commercial discount; Agra B ank Shares, 8 Orient s al h Rank are-, per cont. disco.upt. As was: antl:thiptaeerrcleCtehnetp.astfortnight has witnessed a re vival of business in the import market, though scarcely to o tt f l e l eet doing En , g a l i n e d h t e li d e v p i c r e i e ce s fo o r f t c h o e t r t o d n e c h h a n v ed e . sin i cs a t h e extent w hich vial looked for. In ex p orts ther e has otbbteienr v a ce l e t ri t YP c t l li rs we do not hear of any transactions. Cotton Piece Goods--For some few descriptions of g ra y im a p n r d ov g e en m e e r n a t li i y a t p h r e i c e markets a n p o l e a t c e qualities during ap pears p it e 7 a t r nd s sig to ahnt' be looking up, owing . to the diminution of stocks, and the smallness of the shipments known to be on the way out. Business has, as before, been con ned almost excla- . sively to gray goons, and the only descriptions of bleached' fabrics which have been inquired for were mediam jilt:tonsil i t: Gg il or i lo in cid d eoo l n r_t d, in hi gs aadan a d b p o o N h - l e alav 6 me 6 B, r s e eolf d. d coarse pieces, peca. a s t hi prices g ranging have a 1 a()betweeno to 2 r t . h e qualities, have bee* and ez 2r. n 4 t a. of 6 l p l : 24* per 56-reed 40-inch qualities, for which in hichsodmeamwanhadt, particularlybti have been obtained. Th ere 45-inch CO-reed, and above m ilee akete been to 15,700 pie ces , at f T b he n ae nles tn i e n in al q i uiry aniou l rom 3r. 11a. to sr. 10a. Op. per Pie ce ' Jacconeta-Sales, 25600 pieces, at 14r. to I%r. par Vacs* On these goods also p an advance in price has been obtained. In domestics the sales amount to 3,040 pieces 12 ‘ - Asr. per piece. These have chiefly been taken' at tier. to for the Per sian and Arabian markets, at prices more favour able to the purchasers than to the sellers. Of long and T cloths stocks are now much reduced, and for the former an advanced t, 2r.. depressed 200 ditto, price has been obtained. The sales hav e bees 2,000 p ieces, at 4r. 13a. to 54r. per piece. Fancy and dyed goods remain in h con dition as formerly noticed, and the e same only si_t s les a reported are 400 pieces of bleached mulls, 40 x y 2 ; at 2 3 / 4 r.; 200 bleached lappets, 3 0 10 , at 2r. 11 a. ; 600 stelae muslin, 38 >•.: 10, at ir. 5a.; and 1,746 Turkey red scarfs, at 2r. 5%a. per piece. For most other descriptions little or no inquiry has been made. Freights-The rates of the day are-To London, 21. Es. to 2/. 12s. 6d. ; to Liverpool, V. 10s. to 3/. per ton ; and to China, 114 r. to 12r. per candy. For the former port as high as 3/. 2s. 61. has during the fortnight been paid in s going ship, and to China 13r. eor first class credit bills six months' sight, firslt.",-xcclhasasnes the rate is now 2s. 4d. to 2s. 5 , „(1. (it Lad some days since fallen to Is. 11M.), and for document bills the nominal rata is 25.1/,(i. The banks' rates are-six months' sight, Is. 1 1 i' l d. ; tolioreeicomesei ••i i r l , s. ls. lo l 7 i ts, i(141,.d.; two months' sight, Is. lid.; ; and one day's sight, ls. 107. id. On Calcutta we quote CU days' sight 98r. per 100 r., and on China 21Gr. to 217 r. per leo dolls. • CALCUTTA. (From Campbell and Burgett's Overland Pri ce Current, March 24.) The Bombay mail express letters, with London dates to the 7th of February, reached us on the 16th instant, and the general dispatch the next day, with market reports showing a continued dull tendency of most East India , produce, with a further slight depression in its value. Shortly after the departure of our last mail, our export market developed in creased spirit for more extended general business, i n a great measure encouraged by the downward turn of exchange; but supplies of leading staples still continuing moderate, the t ra nsactions did not assume the importance commensurate has, under a abovenauted luttoe artrivn, '- with the inclination evince d. This tendency p- t ilar influence of a further depression iii exchange, con tinued since Ct. !. arrie.d th. f , ea current of stc_ti_vl.--,y hcin. o lrakededll - , , the i o te r v G 2tioe ; VAIVI the • the bited ~',ll CI