The Sun. — London, England, 1853-04-19 00:00:00

think it far better-fa, more in accordance with our own obligations, and far ,:iore likely to auvai.e:.: +e i 3 o: the country-that we should present to you what we think -and I will tell why we think it by and by-a real substantive plan-(hear, hear),-under which the income tax may, if Parliament shoull think fit, bo got rid of, than that we should come with some paltry proposal to shirk the difficulty by re- enac ti ng it f or two years, or re-enacting it for one year, and thereby prolonging the uncertainty and dissatisfaction, and giving rise not only to doubts as to the position of the tax, but as to the perfect good faith of-Parliament in dealing with the country. (Hear, hear.) Now, Sir, we think that the descending rates which we have embodied in the proposal for the renewal of the tax will tend to show Parliament and the country that our in tention to part with it, or, at all events, our intention to Put Parliament in 1860 in a condition to part with it, is a real bona fide intention. (Hear, hear.) But you will say -and say justly -that that intention does not of itself put Parliament in a condition to part with the tax,-that it is very well to say that it shall, for two years, remain at 7d. in the pound,--that for two years more it sh a ll b e 6d., an d for three years more sd. ; but that when it comes to sd. We may find th a t th ere i s st ill a d e fi c i ency, and that you again want the 7d., or that when you come to the end of the period for sd. in the pound you may find you cannot Part with it. (Hear hear.) With respect to this obj ec ti on I ha ve t o say, that ' before the close of ray present state ment I shall endeavour to give you full satisfaction on that Point ; and I will further venture to s;y that, whatever You may think of the plan I have to propose, no gentlem- n in the committee will think that the Government are pal tering with the House of Commons, or that I am not pre senting a proposal which is at any rate substantive and ietelligible. (Hear hear.) I say, Sir, that our principles with respect t o the income tax (which' is the corner stone ef our whole fi nanc i a l plan), our principles with respect to the income tax required of us these things :-In the first P l ace, to mark it effectually as a temporary tax ; in the second place, to meet, in a way which we think good and effectual, the public feeling with respect to the inequality of th e tax ,• and I will expl a i n h ow we mean t o d o thi s b y and by. beyond this, I wish to ask-and this is the important question to which I wish to call the attention of P arliament-if you determine to renew the income tax W ill you m a k e it s early extinction your first and sole object, ur will you, i n or d er to bring - to completion the noble work 9f c ommercial reform which is far advanced, associate the income tax once more with a remission of duties, exten sive in itself and beneficial to the community ? We have c.on s idered fully th e s e t wo quest i ons ; and we have decided deliberately in favour of the second. (Hear.) While we propose to renew the income tax, we pro- Pose to associate it during the years which it has still to ran with a great an d b ene fi c i al remission of taxes. (Hear, r e ar.) But the st a t emen t w h ich I have already made with ,fpect to the surplus is one not a;together promising in revect. He would be an ingenious minister of finance ;Who should found an extensive remission of taxation on a It a l it is as of 84:l°,°"•, 200,0001. or 300,0001., of which he re uncertain. If we are to propose a remission . of !taxes we must have funds out of which to make the remits mu This is of course an elementary truth, but lam sorry (.° saY et hat it is not wholly useless to impress it upon the tiiL°llB6' it We have, therefore, to consider-and now aboulue invidious part Z e ' Sir, is +l, of my task, upon which I to enter-we have now to consider what are t he paeans o to us, in consistency with justice, for Creating sm. e i a fund which, in conjunction with our present l ietis, we can apply to an extensive and beneficial re ,. this -if of taxes. Now, the first question which is raised ' 1 the income tax , is to be continued, shall it also be enft en ded? (He ar , h ear. ) A n d th e v i ew o f o f th e Govern in e nt is this- that the late Administration were right stating that, if th e i ncome t ax was t o b e con ti nue d, the exemptions und er it s h ou ld b e narrow ly considered :Tar, hear and therefore we are prepared to deal with re question of exemptions. (Hear, hear.) What, in the Cot place, l e t me as k , i s t h e case of persons enjoying in ln" immediately below 1501. per annum ? There may he the se who say that it is dangerous to attempt to levy that in come tax on incomes b e l o w 1501.; but it is my opi n i on the safety of the measure depends in a great degree • ma y say mainly-on it s justice ; and if you can show that is required by s lustice to other classes, and that it would oe advantageous fie the country, and even to the parties them °elves who wou ld b e immediately affected by it, I am not afraid, with the confidence I entertain in. the feelings of the English people, that there would be any danger attach ing to such a measure. (Hear.) Thera were apprehensions, we know, entertained in 1842 that the imposition of the income tax in any shape would be found unpopular ; but the sense of justice and enlightened prudence of the people, appreciating as they did the great benefit achieved by its ins trumentality, divested it, if not of the unpopularity, certainly of the odious character, which it was thought Might generally have attached to it. (Hear, hear.) Well, e zlow, what is the case of pe rsons en j o yi ng i ncomes b e l ow 4 501. ? It is well known that persons of that class have • very largely benefitted by the measures consequent on the income tax up to the present time. (Hear, hear.) Twelve millions of taxes have been remitted, and they have enjoyed their full share of this without the charge of one farthing. (Hear, hear.) I don't propose that we should carry the tax down to the regions where it would trench on labour. To my view it is a right and expedient principle-taking in connexion with it all the circum stances of the case-that we should not trench upon what I would call the territory of labour. That territory will probably be defined sufficiently for my purpose by the figure of 1001. a-year ; and what lam saying now has reference to the case of incomes between 1001. and 1501. Their case is, that they have enjoyed up to the present time the full benefit of the remission of the 12,000,0001. of taxes to which I have referred. But that is not all. If we were going to continue the income tax for a short period without any compensating advantage, then, indeed, it might not b e ex p e die n t that I should ask you to extend it to a lower amount than at present ; but I am going, be fore I conclude, to ask you to support the Government in enacting a great and beneficial remission of taxes ; and I gay, before you confer that great additional benefit, let us consider whether the results of our plan can be distributed equitably among the various classes of the community. I will present to the committee what I think they will con sider some interesting results with respect to the past operation of our recent legislative remissions. With a * view to the decision of the question which I am now opening, it appeared to me a matter of extreme interest to •eollect a number of bona fide cases of the distribution of .the expenditure of particular families receiving different rates of income, making the proportion in which they had each profited by the adoption of the income tax and the te leasures connected with it. My right hon. friend the head his of th e P oor -l aw B oar d (M r . B a i nes ), ki n dl y l en t me nis Most effective aid, and we have collected a body of in telligence of the kind which I am now about to present to the committee. I shall not trouble you with the details, but merely give the general results of a few bona fide cases of actual expenditure, and I believe they are fair average cases, which will exhibit the actual savings which have been realis e d b y persons w h o se incom es are below and also by th ose w h ose i nc omes are above 1501., in ta n r se e - - quence of the adoption of the income tand of Mission of taxes and changes in our conlmercial system which were brought about through its medium. But it should be recollected that, in estimating the savings, I have taken credit for the further remissions which I have promised as well as for those which have already taken place. I have collected six cases of incomes varying from 1751., to 4001. a-year ; and, after taking credit for all their savings, and fairly putting down the various items which go to make up their incomes, I find that their gross incomes amount to 1,3591., and their gross savings to 631. ls. 3d., making a saving of above 5 per cent. on the gross amount of their incomes ' • and even if you deduct the income tax Which they paid there will still remain a saving of 221.165. 60. or nearly 2 per cent. upon their incomes. This, I t hink, is not an unsatisfactory result which I have pre sented to the committee. (Cheers.) But I have likewise tout four cases of the actual expenditure of persons with incomes between 1001. and 1501., and these, the committee should understand, are not cases which have been selected fez ' the purpose of arriving at a particular result, but are ea ses which have been fairly and honestly collected for the Purpose of showing the actual distribution Of the expendi ture of the two classes to which I have referred. One is t he Case of a country tradesman with 1201. per annum ; the s eeped is the case of a retired Liverpool tradesman (six children) with 1201. per annum ; the third is the case i o f,,, s ,a widow in the country with an income of from 1201. to (say 135/. per annum) ; and the fourth is the case of a Clerk in a country town with 100/. per annum ; making a total income of 4751., and their gain has been 291. 65. . 41(1 ., or between 6an 7 per cent. Deducting iucome tax at the rate of sd. d in the pound, the savings would a mount to 191. 95., or more than 4 per cent. So that 3 " see clearly from this that the persons with in between 100/. and 1501. have apparently profited , 0 3 - the change in our legislation to a greater extent than those with incomes above 1501. (Hear, hear.) I ought hapsaY that in estimating the savings I have endeavoured to ki_eep strictly within the bounds of moderation, and that I strictly doubt that the results could easily have been swelled if we had chosen. Now, Sir, it appears to us that these facts offer a rather strong reason for considering Whether, when we propose to renew the income tax in the case of persons with incomes above 1501., it is not de- Mended by justice that we should expect that persons with income s below 1501. should moderately become sharers in the burden. (Hear, hear.) Her Majesty's Government think that in justice we ought to do so. (Hear, hear.) What we propose is this-we propose so far to complicate the tax as to introduce a provision that incomes between 1001, and 1501. shall be liable at the rate of sd. in the pound for-the whole time during which the tax is levied, so that, for the first two years, incomes above 1501. will pay 7d. in the pound, and incomes below 1501. sd. ; for the next two years, the one will pay 6cl. and the other 5d., and for the following three years both classes will alike pay at the rate of sd. in the pound. I estimate that this tax of sd. on incomes from 1001. to 1501. will produce 250,000 e, but as it will not be levied till the latter half of the present Year, the sum of 125,0001. only will come to credit in the financial year of 1852-54. (Hear.) I now come to another great question-the exemption of Ireland. (Hear.) T e e_ land, in like manner, has received the benefit of the income tax through the changes in our fiscal system but at the sanie time the equivalent which was intended to be taken has not been exacted. That equivalent was twofold. In the first place it consisted of a duty upon spirits of ls. a gallon, which was abandoned almost as soon as it was e nacted. In the second place it consisted of an augmenta tion of th e s t am p d u ti es - w hi c h augm entation was indeed levied for two years ; but in 1850 my right hon. friend the President of the Board of Control (Sir C. Wood) made a treat reduction in the stamp duties both of this country and of Ireland, and in that reduction disappeared the in l'ease which was enacted in Ireland as an equivalent for e income tax. lam not able to speak with absolute pre cision, but as nearly as we can make out, it would appear that, the rate at which Ireland pays stamp duties on her tr ansacti ons is as nearly as possible, on an average, the throe as it was in 1812. (Hear, hear.) It is, indeed, true et'at since theft rst enactment of the income tax Ireland 'as been visited with an awful calamity, and although that st ill has been merc if u ll y w ithd rawn , y e t t races o f it ti ll remain i n many soc i al an d econom i ca l f orms -(h ear, he ar), and especially in the form of a very heavy and bur tneusonae debt. (Hear.) That is but a fraction, indeed, to ?f the generous aid accorded by the pe Parliament thed .necessities of Ireland, but at hemtme time it cannot _ ll emed that it is a very heavy and enduring burden, not Ireland% generally, but on its most distressed parts. t those who look at Ireland cannot avoid being struck CertainlY tbe fa c t th a t all Ireland is not alike-that there are full districts that do not need to shrink from their plea taxation -and which have no reasonable claim or _to offe r f or exemption. (Hear, hear.) Let me re ,lslsli the com m itt ee what exemption means. (Hear hear.) m eans that we h ave not got a bottomless p arse , and that We caanot dispense exemptions to one man without in jeux.elct anoth er ; that th e exempt i on of one man means the 7.,"ra taxatio n of another aud exempti on o f one country the extr a t axation of another. - (Hear, hear.) And as this applies to changes in the income tax g:eneraly, s . o it applies ;`)r Ireland relatively to England. What we think, there idrcra, itsiethhaiththeee case of Ireland demands very special con ration with the burdens that have been ica Peeed on her, to which I will say more by d bye, as a sequel or re e s o Pe re c llary to the present branch of Y eubject? but, in the meantime I ave to say that we see ° l'eaa on Why the come tax should not bQ levied on Ire- land, as she h, .s received a great portion of the benefit .at t:.3 of up to the present ti.ee, and is likely also to profit largely by the remissions I have to propose to the house. The produce of the income tax. which will be laid on Ireland under precisely the same conditions and for the same term as in England and in Scotland—the produce of the income tax in Ireland I estimate at 460,602 a year; but as the tax will not to levied till June next, there will be only 230,000/. to come to credit in 1353-54. I will now give the committee an account of how my esti mate stands, .as a whole, with respect to the income tax. The estimated produce of the tax—supposing there to be no change in the existing system—is 5,550,006/. Deduct life assurances (120,000/.), of which one-half only comes to charge this year, viz., 60,000 ~ there will be left 5 , 390 , 0001 . The extension below 1501. we reckon at 125,000/. ; and the extension to Ireland at 230,0001. ; snaking the total for the year 1853-54 according to the proposed plan, 5,815,0001. (Hear, hear.) I now come to another proposal for the aug mentation of taxation to which I invite the special atten tion of the committee. It is one of great importance. It involves both economical and social considerations of the highest nature. I have stated to the committee that we propose to enlarge our means by new taxation with a view to further beneficial changes in our fiscal system. That is one object we have in view. Another object is—and it is likewise an important object—to meet the public feeling, which we recognise and share, that the operation of the income tax is severe upon intelligence and skill as compared with property. I frankly own my total inability to meet the feeling which has been excited upon the subject of the income tax, and that I think I should be guilty of a high political offence if I attempted it. But let me now point out to you that if you think that intelligence and skill un der our system of taxation pay too much, and property too little, there are means of equalising the burdens of the two classes in a manner which would be on the whole safe, honourable, and efficacious. Sir, I refer to the question of the legacy duty—(load cheers)—a question which it is perfectly plain cannot be dismissed from the consideration of the house. In my opinion it is a question of which the earliest settlement will likewise be the beet. It requires settlement. The tax is not just as it stands. And how is it unjust? I frankly confess that I have always thought the view of the case, as stated by the hon. member for Lambeth (Mr. Williams)—who has exerted himself effec tively on this subject—(hear, hear)—l have always thought that his view, if I may stirso without offence—was a most inadequate view of the state of the case. (Hear, hear.) The tax is supposed to favour landed property, which I do not deny; but it also favours property which has not that claim to favour which landed property and household property might perhaps fairly urge as a ground of exemption from taxation. (Hear, hear, from Mr. Williams). lam glad to hear the hon. member echoing that sentiment. I wish to set aside the impression that the question bears on its front the odious aspect of a question of class. It does no such thing (Hear, hear.) We propose to alter it, and, subject to conditions which I will state, to extend the legacy duty to all successions whatever. (Hear, hear.) With respect to the probate duty, at the present moment we do not venture to deal with it. The probate duty itself, I grant you, calls for re "form, and if the Government had the means of carrying out that reform in the present year it would have been satisfactory to have done so. As it is, we are obliged at present to postpone it, but we hope that in a future and early year it will come under consideration. It is said that the legacy duty is in the nature of a tax upon property. It is a tax upon property, and beause it is a tax upon pro perty it meets the views which have been so much favoured by a large portion of this house and by public opinion— namely, that if the income tax is to bear unequally upon intelligence and skill as compared with property, then that inequality ought to be redressed in some way or other. I think this is a safe mode in which to redress that inequ ality, and if this is a tax upon property it is divested of the danger that attends the taxation of property generally. The mischief of taxes upon property is the liability of a constant recurrence of those struggles of classes. But in carrying into effect this increase in the legacy duty you have this great advantage, that the liability to pay occurs only within the limitation which the laws of a higher power have ordained ; that it only occurs once, on the death of a man ; and that no man can (lie more than once. (A laugh.) I may be wrong. (A laugh.) But I assure the committee that it appears to me that this is a most weighty consideration for those whose duty it is to inquire how they can best neutralise the social dan g ers incident to all questions connected with the taxation of property. You find the principle of this tax recognised in our law; you find its operation so limited by the very conditions under which it exists that there is no reason to apprehend the disturbing of a fair settlement of these duties, if once made ; and you will, I think, be of opinion that this is a fair and right tax to adopt for itself, and that it is one which in other respects meets, in the best, safest, and most effective manner, the feeling which is I know is pre valent in this house—that the present operation of the in come tax is severe upon intelligence and skill as compared with prop er ty. (Hear, hear.) I propose to retain the present scale of consanguinity, with one change. (Oh, oh.) We cannot go into that now, because the emotion of the hon. member might produce a duellum between him and me that would inconveniently cross the course of my gene ral statement, and we must adjourn the consideration of that to another time. (Hear, hear.) We propose to re: tain the present scale with one mitigation. Under that scale relations of affinity are treated as strangers—a son in-law and a daughter-in-law pay a duty of 10 per cent. We propose tp place them on the footing of relations by blood. (Hear, hear.) We propose that the exemption of real property should no longer exist, subject to the condi tions lam about to mention. The Government propose that the exemption of settled personalty should no longer exist, and as we abolish the exemption, I now come to the question— a most grave one for the Govern ment to consider, and which they have carefully con sidered—would it be just that all descriptions of pro perty, personalty and real property, should be charged at the same rate of duty to the legacy duty ? Our opinion is that it ought not, and we think that a dis tinction ought to be taken, but not taken exactly as here tofore. It is obvious, when we regard the burdens upon property in this country, that there is a great mass of tax ation that attaches to property which may be roughly called—l do not know whether the term is legal—rateable property, which includes along with real property a great amount of leasehold, copyhold, and so forth, which is not real property, but which is subject to the burdens of real property, which is subject to taxation by tho income tax, which is subject to the land tax, though in a less degree, which is Subject to the extra charges on the transfer of pro perty, and which is subject generally to all the charges that affect visible property as contrasted with invisible property, and which is liable to the great weight of local taxation. There is between these items a sum of 14,000,000/. or 15,000,000/. of taxes laid entirely on rateable property, to which not real property only, not land only, but leashold and copyhold property also are subjected. This property is now subject in both ways to the legacy and probate duties, and to all the burdens incident to real property. The Government propose to amend the whole foundation of the law, by striking a new distinction, and by saying that whatever exemption or partial advantage shall be given to real property shall be given in conjunction to other property which is now subjected to special bur dens. We propose, therefore, to abolish the effect of set tlement, so that the person who succeeds to personal property will pay according to his interest. He will pay upon the capital, if he succeeds to the capital, and if he succeeds to a less interest he will pay on the value of that less interest. The Government, then, thinking it just that a less amount shall be taken from rateable property than from property that does not pay these special burdens, have to ask in what way that distinction can best be struck. It has long been the policy of this country—the result of a measure accidentally taken, but not the less beneficial that visible and rateable property should be in a manner taxed in the form of an annual charge. Now it would be obviously highly inconsistent, while you are relieving the average annual burden, to make up for it by laying a heavy charge upon the capital. For the Government would then force and accelerate by the pressure of fiscal enactments changes in the tenure of this property, and that acceleration would be, in my opinion. not only unjust, but most cruel and mischievous in a social point of view. We think that if anything in the nature of a distinction is taken in the legacy duties in favour of rateable property as against the other descriptions of property, the fairest mode in the case of an estate would be found to be this—that the successor to real property should be in all cases taxed upon the life interest only, and on a minor interest if he has only a minor interest. It is difficult for me to enter upon a full discus sion of all the reasons that have led us to that conclusion. The question is very much connected with the great diffi culty of any attempt to ascertain the capital values of real property. As a matter of fact, under the social arrangements of this country, our great estates are settled estates. Leaving this subject, however, for future discussion, it is our view that our proposal ought to include the legacy duties, and that some remission ought to be granted to property which is now subject to a great weight of peculiar and exceptional taxation ; and we think that the be'st mode of framing that provision would be to charge the succession of rateable property upon the life interest after the deduction of incumbrances. We propose that the duty should be leviable, as was proposed by Mr. Pitt, in eight half-yearly instalments. In cases where there is a succession to a life interest, our proposal would be that the tax should drop in the case of a new successor before the new instalment is payable ; but in the case of a succession in fee the whole will be paid, and if death occurs before the remaining instalment is paid the duty will be a debt to the Crown against the estate. That is our proposal with regard to the legacy - duty. I now come to the results which we anticipate. The prodUce in the first year will be small. We do net propose to charge the new duty upon any succession anterior to the period when the committee shall adopt the resolution. The law allows 12 months for the payment of the legacy duties, and it will be impossible to fix the payment of the duty upon rateable property, if the committee should adopt it, until after one of the ordi nary periods of rent day. The duty in personalty cases will come in more quickly, but I cannot reckon upon a larger receipt from the alteration of the legacy duties for the year 1853-54 than 500,0001. additional duty from this source. In subsequent years the amount wi Ibe greatly t l i a e larged. I have no objection, as far as I am able, to state think siddtos notof rn e y investigationggerat. exaggerate when say, that future thisye a years, tax, a it if I is adopted by the committee, while it will add 500,0001. to the incom e of the present year 1853-4, will add a ie: crease of 700,000/. to the year 1854-5, 400,0001. more to the year 1855-6. and 400 000/. more to the year 1856-7, making a total addition to , t OO 4O O 2 d the' I. tohfisnoltmlensesttrtnin permanent oo taxation of the country per annum. (Cheers.) And wholly untouched the iliCittee is a tax which will leave you aim at by and skill of the country. (Cheers.) It is a tax that s ti t le he relief, and more than ta b t ut does it witho y ut the danger which would re construction of the hincomeere relief x t necessarily attend that re-construction. (Cheers.) d Mr. DISRAELI.—Doe s th a t apply to the three king som? The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER. —lt is a general change of the law in the present legacy duties, and one which tikes no cognizao at and prok.te kingdom or the other. One great object of our all fin of one policy would be the equalisaticn of the spirit duv ane t., :al tween the three countries. It is, however, a very dihscuueli problem. It is very doubtful whether it will over en tirely attained, but such an approximation to it as would stop smuggling might, perhaps, be reached. It is quite plain that such an equalisation cannot be obtained at pre sent by a reduction of the spirit duties in England. y ou must. take the English duties as the ruling point to which the other must be raised. In the present year we do not propose to make any change in the English spirit d u ti es , for that question is so muc mixed up with the licensing system, and would involve so great a change in the princi ple of licenses in populous districts, that for the present the . English spirit duties must stand over. But the Government are of opinion, after a careful con sideration with respect to Scotland, that there is no reason why, in the case of Scotland, there should not be a moderate iEcre in the duty upon spirits. I believe that an increase of the 'duty, confined within due hounds, would not be opposed to public opinion in Scot land, or unacceptable in Scotland. (Hear.) An increase on the duty upon home-made spirits would render neces sary an adjustment of the duty upon colonial spirits, which I only mention now without going into details. Our proposal will be that a duty of ls. be added to - the ' 3s. ree a a ain a - s g al at l o n upon present. Scotch le s e p e i n r t u s i — n p t t h i e e nmal int d s r b la a n c ( l i e to 7,170,000 gallons, The actual revenue is 1,315,000/. The expected revenue is 1,633,0901. which is a gain of 3 1 8, 0001 . I may here stop to congratulate a noble lord opposite (Lord Naas) on having attained a triumph. I ought to have re served this until I came to Ireland, but his victory is at andlength likewise the time achieved.telielvvelot—hohyna distiller, iking an allowance for waste upon spirits in bond. (Hear, IVO of this propose hous t house—(a • la hear.) That allowance for waste will be in Scotland the increase of the duty upon spirits in Scotland 278,000 1 . 40,0001., which will give the net increase of revenue from The Government have also anxiously considered this ques tion as it regards Ireland. It is quite plain : I am I afraid, that an allowance for waste upon spirits in w bond will entail a dimuuition of revenue; in fact, that amount to a considerable proportion of the revenue arising from the duty upon spirits. At present the spirit duty in Ireland is extremely low in comparison with the duty in the two other countries. There has been found to be a great difficulty as to the means of levying the tax, and we think it would not be safe to levy an additional tax of ls. a-gallon upon home-made spirits in Ireland. But we have looked carefully t o the means at our command fur enforcing the levying of this tax. In Ireland there is a revenue police, which has hitherto had the exclusive charge of enforcing this duty. But there is also maintained in that country at the public cost a large force, the constabulary, which has had no share what ever in giving information to those who have been engaged in levying the spirit duties. We contemplate a change in the relation of these two forces. I cannot say whether it will be by an absorption of the one force into the other, or in what way it will be done, but the constabulary will in some manner give their assistance in the levying of the duty upon spirits. We think we may fairly propose an increase of duty of Bd. per gallon on Irish spirits—namely, from 2s. Bd. to 3s. 4d., subject to the deduction of 40,0001., the allowance for waste spirits in bond. This will give us a gross gain of 238,0001. upon the consumption of Irish spirits, but, deducting the allow ance for waste of 40,0001., we have a net gain of 198,000/. That gives from both countries—Scotland and Ireland —an increase of 476,0001. But it is necessary that I should make an allowance for waste in England, not for the sake of English distillers, but for the sake of Irish and Scotch distillers, with whom it is a great object to bond their spirits here. (Hear, hear.) There will therefore be an allowance of 40,0001. for waste in bond in England, which will leave a net gain from the increased duty upon spirits of 436,0001. a-year. (Hear, hear.) There is one very small augmentation of revenue that I propose, and that is the revenue upon certain classes of licenses. If the committee examine the present scale of licenses, they will see that they bear very unequally upon the minor and the greater tradesmen ; upon some it is uniform, as upon gro cers and teadealers, and they pay the same, whether they pay rent to the valxe of 51. or 5001. We do not propose to take up the more importai4 questions as to the licenses which are connected with the sale of spirits, wine, and beer, but•we propose, in regard to the licenses of 'brewers, dealers in tea and coffee, tobacco, and soap, to make an additional scale of licenses, raising them at the upper end of the scale to an ad valorem value. The gross increase of revenue arising from licenses is 113,0001. The whole amount of increased taxes which we propose to levy, and which will come into the accounts of 1853-4, is—income tax, 295,000/. ; legacy duty, 500,0001. ; duty on spirits, 436,000/. ; licenses, 113,0001., which amount to a total of 1,344,000/.—(cheers)—which, with the anticipated surplus of 805,0001., will give a fund of 2,149,0001. available for the remission of taxation. (Cheers.) I cannot proceed further without stating the nature of our intentions with regard to Ireland. The committee have found that we propose to make the income tax payable in Ireland for a moderate term, and at a descending rate, as in England, and that we propose to levy an increased tax of Bd. on spirits in Ireland, which may be a net tax of 6d. or 7d. a gallon, after allowing for the waste of spirits in bond. But I have now to refer to that case which I lately men tioned of rent-charge formed by the consolidated annui ties. It was the opinion of the Government that it was impossible for them to arrive at a final decision upon that important subject. They represent a capital of 4,500,000 e of public money, and in dealing with them the Govern ment must have regard to the actual situation of Ireland, recovering as it is from a season of the deepest distress, and having also regard to the harmony of the relations be tween the two countries, the Government thought they could not come to a final decision till they had considered the general plan of finance which it was their duty to re commend, and its bearing upon Ireland. They now re rommend a measure which, if you adopt, as I trust you will, will advance us one great step towards establishing an equalization of taxation between the three countries. (Cheers.) It is true that the income tax is of temporary duration, and that you will show by levyi ng it th a t th ere is a bond fide intention and a rational prospect of equalis ing the taxation. But, at the same time, it is important that you should consider the great necessities of a portion of that country, and when you come to consider these thin g s it will be plain th a t th e di s p os iti on of Parlia ment will be to adopt large and generous measures, and not consider this as a mere question of money. You will consider this—you will consider all that it represents—the recollections of the famine, the peculiar character of that awful visitation, the feeling of England to Ireland, and of Ireland to England, whatever made a more kindly tone between the two countries, and made this debt less of a national creditor and debtor account. The Govern ment have determined to make a largo proposition. The 4,500,0001. of consolidated annuities represent 1,500,0001. of debt that strictly belongs to the establishment of the poor law in Ireland. That was a great social and na tional good —a great and vast good to Ireland. But every good to Ireland is also a good to England. (Hear, hear.) The other 3,000,0001. consist of debts entirely con nected with the famine. A committee of the other house of Parliament have sat on this subject, and the have recom mended a remission of 2,000,0001. of this taxation. Sir, the plan of the Government, after maturely considering the whole question, is to propose to Parliament that, from and after the 29th of last September, the consolidated annui ties shall be wholly wiped away. (Cheers from the Irish members.) They propose that the whole sum due from Ire land to England shall be remitted. In remitting these charges, and in proposing an income tax upon Ireland, you will make a great stride towards that, the advantage of which I hardly know how to appreciate with reference to bringing the two countries towards the establishment of the principle of equalised taxation. On that subject I need only add, because I am asked what I mean to do with the arrears, that arrears in respect to consolidated annuities due to the 29th September will be paid as they would have been if the law had continued in force. On the other hand, nothing will be collected which has become clue since the 29th of September—and any money which has been so col lected will be returned to those who have paid it, so as to take care that the non-paying classes obtain no advantage over those who have paid. (Hear.) Wo are inviting you to remit a capital sum, which was ne a rly 4,500,0001 ., an d i s still above 4,000,0001., and to remit an annual charge of 245,0001. Three-fourths of that amount would continue for 40 years, and one-fourth for from 10 to 30 years. The taxation we propose for Ireland would in the first two years be considerably higher than the taxation we propose to remove • but if we look to the time w h en , as I say, Par liament will be in a position to part with the income tax, Ireland would enjoy, and for a long term of years, a much larger remission of consolidated annuity tha n it wou ld b e subject to additional burthens in the shape of the spirit duty. So much for the case of Ireland : and now I have done with that most offensive part of my task, the imposi tion of taxation, I feel—as it is said men are wont to feel, and as some of us have felt—when they have come an up-hill journey to the top of the Alps. Now I have got to the downward road, and the plains of Italy are before me. (Hear, hear.) I come to consider the more agreeable subject of the remission of taxation—that remission of taxa tion which up to this moment, not from obstinacy, and not from petulence, but from a conviction of our pub lic duty, we have thought it right steadily to decline ac ceding to. (Hear.) Tho first remission of taxation I shall propose has reference to the Excise department. It is im possible to deny that there are great evils connected with the soap tax. (Cries of " hear, hear.") In the first place, the system of drawbacks, which is a system incident to the use of soap in our manufactories, entails an immense loss. In the second place, this is an article of taxation which is both injurious to the comfort and to the health of the people. (Hear.) In the third place, this is an article on which the pressure of the tax is so severe that, notwith standing the general wisdom and fairness with which your Excise laws are administered, notwithstanding the draw back you grant on exportation, your productive power is crippled. (Hear, hear.) You cannot compete with the foreigner —your export trade dwindles day by day—and gentlmen who have come to me to represent the case with respect to soap well-informed gentlemen have stated that if we only take that bold measure with respect to the soap tax which we recommend, over and above the entire rate of duty the consumer of soap would benefit to the extent of no less than 25 or 30 per cent. in consequence of the cheapened production. (Hear.) Therefore for every penny of duty we ask you to surrender we feel that we are giving you double that advantage. There is one other point to which I cannot but feel that I must advert. The question of the African slave trade is one which excites different feelings. We have but one feeling with respect to the extinction of the slave trade, but there is a difference with respect, to the measures to be taken for that extinction. Some have thought the means of force used are unavailin g , but that the promotion of le gitimate commerce would be the most satisfactory, the most effective, and the most desirable of all instruments you can apply. (Hear, hear.) It may be said th ere i s a wide interval between the premises and the conclusion if I say, in order to extinguish the slave trade repeal the soap tax. But a connection more intimate than this any gen tleman cannot well imagine. Tho map would show how the rivers of Africa might become depots for the trade in palm oil. The quantities you may receive from that source are almost immeasurable. There are the great ma terials for a trade which, if youonly relieve it from checks, will show that the energy, the capital, and the intelligence of the country are as well entitled to carry away the palm in this particular---(hear, hear, and a laugh) —as they show themselves to be in so many respects. The gross receipt from the soap duty is 1,397,000/4 the drawback, 271,0001, ; the not receipt, 1,126,0001.; the cost of c o ll ec ti on , 15,0001.,• the net loss, 1,111,0001. But with refer ence t o th e general. necessity for fixing a time to commence the remission of duties, the most convenient time for this purpose in regard to the soap duty was the sth of July. But there was al ways a power of keeping in bond if it were thought fit to do so. There is already a sum due with reference to the quarter just expired of 140,0001., and before the present quarter is out probably 200,0001. will be due. We have to credit this year 340,0001., and the net loss for this year will be 771,0001. I come next to the division of the stamp duties. It is not possible for the Government, with all the means at their service, to deal with all the articles they would wish. There are articles —suchas fire insurance and marine insurance—on which they would gladly, if they could, grant remissions of taxation. But they have made the best choice in their power. One subject that naturally presented itself to them, both in connexion with the in come tax, and likewise as bearing directly as a tax o n pru dence, and bearing especially on the poorer classes, is the present tax on life assurance. It bears very heavily on the poorer classes, though not severe in itself. At present it amounts to 2a. 6d. per cent. We propose to reduce it from 2s. 6d. to 6d. The produce is 40,0001.—the imme the country, diate loss o r re li e f w ill b e 2 9,0 0 01. We propose next to deal with an ar ti cle which in its present state is most un- Isvai't;3scfs does e a du'otorV, and that is s t am p s on rece i p t s. Thi s i s a d u t y not s i i h t iosu evadedg h t with wholesale,the transactions u duty of deaalimneere' which I must say entails very considerable inconvenience. with particular It is not question of charge, but the ne cessity,,in the particular papers, stamped enter very much into t 1 e proposeamounts,requires, conve nienttlisi ,rt'efetureall:cee a mwe t propose n m o n money, yt i 1 ,0 aa e sp n po t icseortnenangtcyr contrasted i nae g a ly, instrumentsato f en n f or s t apps. y pon ith negotiable instruments, to make such payment valid. Though the first loss to the revenue will not be incon- sidefable=nanielY, 155,0091., it is not a loss without hope of recovery. (Hear, hear.) We think that is a loss to which the committee, for the sake of so great a conve nience, would be disposed to accede to. [Mr. Bright put a question.] The penny stamp would be necessery to con stitute a valid document. As you have to pay 3d., 6 d., is. at pre sen t, so we propose to annex the single condition of affixing a penny head as sufficient. We propose to make a change with respect to those indentures of apprentice ship which are known as indentures without consideration. This is a duty which produces very little, from the charge being too high ; from 20s. we propose to reduce the duty to 2s. 6(1. The next question is popular with the majority , -unpopular with the minority. It is the case of the at torneys. (A laugh.) I must confess that I don t think the vote of the House of Commons taken upon this ques tion would have justified the Government in proposing a remission of this duty, because we feel strongly that a vote of the House of Commons given on a particular duty, is given necessarily on considerations attaching to that par ticular duty, and without reference to the comparative and relative claim s o f o th ers. (Hear, hoar.) But we do think, in consideration of legislative changes which have lately been made, and which have tended, by indirect as well as direct action on the law, to diminish the business of at torneys, th a t there might be a remission of taxation. What remission should it be ? We aro not satisfied with the proposal made by the profession. The profession is subject to three charges. The first is on admission to practice, which is small. The charge for the annual cer tificate is 121. for the metropolitan solicitors, and 81. for country solicitors ; and the charge for articles of clerkship is put at the enormous amount of 1201.-a charge on capi tal paid by solicitors in anticipation, though they may die, though they may turn out incompetent. The profession said, " Take the tax ;X the annual certificates for those who aro in the profession ; leave those who are to enter to pay precisely the same." (A laugh.) We don't think that would be a fair mode of dealing. (Hear, hear.) Having made up our minds that we may propose a remission of probably about 50,0001., we propose to reduce certificates from 121. and 81. to 91. and 61., and articles of apprentice ship from 1201 . t o 80 1. I come now to the question as to advertisements. (Hear, hear.) With respect to that question I hope th a t the comtnittee,will not consider that it indicates any disrespect for the judgment to which the majority of the house arrived, if having the same object in view, and desiring to bring about some or a more effective classification of taxation, we have been led by our examinations to believe that there is a better mode of proceeding than that which the house adopted, think it our duty respectfully to submit that mode of proceeding to the deliberate consideration of the committee ; and it is right I should say that the plan I am about to state was a plan which the Government had adopted at the time of the debate on Thursday last. (Hear hear, hear.) It may perhaps, be said, " Why did you not say so ?" My answer is this-that it was from no motives of mortification, that it was from no desire to practise an undue reserve ' it was because we feel that, if the E xecu ti ve Government is, with ad vantage to the country, ordinarily to discharge the func tion of the initiative with respect to finance, it is absolutely necessary that the strictest silence should be observed. -(loud cries of "Hear, hear")-not in contempt of pres sure, but yet, notwithstanding pressure-till the time arrive when the views of the Government shall be disclosed. What we propose with respect to the duty upon advertise ments is this-and financially our proposal comes within a mere trifle (within 20,0001.) of the other. The present duty on advertisements is 181,0001. We propose to reduce the duty from ls. 6d. to 6d. (A cry of "Oh ! ' followed by cries of " Hear, hear.") The hon. gentleman could not wait on Thursday last for four days, and now he cannot wait for as many minutes. (A laugh.) May I make that moderate demand on his patience ? It is absurd, and most of all would it be so, to take only the plan of the right hon. gentleman the member for Manchester, who hadconsidered this question, and consider the duty on advertisements alone. You must consider it with reference to the other duties which affect the journals in which those advertise ments appear. (Hear, hear.) I venture to say that, if you repeal the duty on advertisements simply, and leave the duties on the supplements to newspapers as they are, it is very doubtful whether a great part of your reduction will not go into the pockets of newspaper proprietors. You want a large increase in the number of advertisements, but you must take care that you don't subject people to taxation in another form by multiplying their advertise ments. Take the case of the Times. You know it is obliged to limit its advertisements. I will not go into that subject ; but there is a point beyond which, in consequence of the Id. stamp on supplements, and the id. stamp on supplements, it does not pay to insert advertisements, on account of the supplement ; and therefore a time comes when they must have a limit to the advertisements, and put a higher price on them, on account of the supplement. this-to ef reduce taidng the duty advertise mentsdthuteyroenmninderef the duty on advertisements, to repeal altogether that with What w te e 6d., propose nn d which the plan of the right hon. gentleman did not meddle, namely, the ld. and id, stamps on the su ppl emen t s o f newspapers which are used for printing advertisements. is (Hear, hear.) And I venture to say the plan we propose instead is far more sure to secure to the advertiser the benefit of the reduction than the plan which you propose ; because, if you remove the advertisement duty altogether, then when advertisements come into a newspaper, they must either be limited to the present sheet of the newspaper, with the present limited space, and no competition, or they must be liable to that heavy stamp duty which discourages the printing of supplements. The first loss on the adver tisement duty and the supplement stamps will be 160,0001. The only other change we propose is contingent on a bill by which the noblelord the Secretary for the Home Depart ment proposes to effect a material reduction for the benefit of the metropolis. It is proposed to reduce the taxation r p e r m o o s s s i e o n t o of red ta u x c a e t i t o h n e on duty th f e r o d m i v i l s s i . o n 5 ( 0 1 . f a s on hackney carr i ages. A common hackneycarriass Ye pa slOs. d ta a m y p to d i n s t . ie a s -d w ay il , l a-week. We think there ou g ht t o b e a reduction. We p r tn which will give a relief of 26,000/. The t o relief h ef e fromdty theon be 418,0001. With re f erence to the point advertisements, I hope that, in addition to the proposition I have stated as regards the bearing of the plan proposed here and the beari ng o f th a t proposed by the Government, likely to be produced by sweep i ng away all branches of the committee will be willing to con s id er t h e effect that is the revenue, if they are not revenue of a description which does not seriously interfere with or constitute a burden on the community. I really don't see how it is possible to maintain any duty on fire and marine insurances -any duty on a great many articles which I fear have over long propo sition e v of e , it ti snteohomtfeeftncahoit e l m t assessedi dutyibteaar c opushed ul :t a o t s t u oin ch a t been the objects of taxation-if the arguments against the ke a which ; That i t s h a e prop p o length as to stop nothing short of absolute remission. We opera tion is not an easy one. If it is to bo successful it must proceed on three principles-the abolition of what aro called the progressive duties ; the abolition of what aro called compositions ; and, lastly, the abolition, or the almost abolition, of exemptions, and the substitution of rates and taxes which shall be few, simple, and as nearly as possible uniform. What the Government proposes is, that instead of the present duties on men-servants, be ginning at a minimum, rate of 11. Cs. 6d. and running up through a groat variety of rates, a uniform rate of one guinea on servants above 18 years of age shall bo levied, and of 10s. 6d. on servants under 18. Upon private carriages we propose, -instead of such charges of 61. 12s, 41. 15s. 6d., and 3/. lls. 6d., to charge 31. 108., 21., and 15s. The duty on carriages let for hire, such as post chaises, will remain at 3/. ; but the particulars relating to this subject will be more explicitly stated in the resolu tions. The duty on horses, beginning at 11. 11s. 7d., runs up to a great variety of rates. We propose that trade horses shall remain as now, that the duty on ponies shall be 10s. 6d.., and on other horses 21s. [An hon. memberput a question.] The hon. member asks what we propose with respect to agricultural horses. We propose to leave them as they are now -exempt. (A laugh.) We may be wrong. Exemptions, as exemptions, I do not like ; but it appears to me that the case of agricultural horses is strictly ana logous to that of steam-power on railways. Our object is, irrespective of fear or favour, to propose what we think impartial justice to every class. I have received proposals suggesting the imposition of taxes on steam-power. Of these I need not say they were summarily dismissed. that tt theytb. sh Whatever my love of symmetry, I don't think it just to remove the exemption of duty which applies at present to horses employed in agriculture. We propose to make a simplification of the duty on dogs, which are not so much taxed as the rest of the community. There are two rates of charge at present on dogs-a duty of 145., and Bs. ; and these we propose to unite at a sum of 12s. The immediate effect of these changes will be a loss of 87,0001. on servants, 95,0001. on private carriages, 118 , 0001 , on horses ; b u t we h ave a gain of 10,0001. in the case of dogs-so that the ;first loss by the remission of assessed taxes will be 290,0001. As in the case of stamps, however, our hope is that the first loss will be made up to the re venue. The assessed taxes are levied under 72 acts of Parliament-(hear, hear)-and if the house wants the sys tem of these assessed taxes reformed it must be prepared to support us in the principle of subjecting to moderai e duties a great variety of articles. (Hear.) We propose, also, to change a system that does not strictly apply to as sessed taxes, but which is of an analogous character. I allude to the post-horse duties. (Hear.) The case of the post-herse masters is a very hard one. The present system is exceedi ng l y unequal. The duty, which is heavy and burdensome, is levied on mileage, and is subjected to all manner of difficulties in the collection. It is raised by the issuing of tickets taken up at the first turnpike ; and I may state, in the first instance that I believe the largest postmasters in the ki ng d om are in London, whose principal traffic is to the railway stations, where there aro no turn pikes whatever. (Hear, hear.) Altogether the system is difficult, the duty onerous in its amount, and, as I have said, is unequal in its distribution. We propose, in deal ing with this matter, to take the plan that has been sub mitted to us by the postmasters themselves. Their own proposal was a very fair ono, for they were not so much for a remission of taxation as an entire change of the sys tem. They propose that the bulk of the tax shall be levied in the form of licenses, which licenses shall vary according to the number of horses and carriages. (Hear, hear.) In this way we propose to make a remission of 54,0001. a year iu favour of the postmasters. (Hear, hear.) We propose a scheme of duties on the licenses for horses and carriages which will realise a sum of 161,000 1 . a year, giving, as I have said, a remission of 54,000 1 . a year. (Hear, hear.) o f Another change under. the head assessed tax es i s pro _ posed with the view of giving greater facilities for the re demption of the land tax. The present provision of the law for the redemption of the land tax is very stringent, and its operation is exceedingly limited arou may redeem a tax of 11. levied on the land, by transferring to the Com missioners for the Reduction of the National Debt 225. a year in the funds ; but these are extremely unfavourable terms ; and, instead of recov ering 10 per cent, more th an the amount of the tax, we propose to reduce it by 1 7i per cent.-to take 7A per cent. less than the same amount of stock in land. (Hear, hear.) The committee should be aware that any change made with relation „te to resen tl t iese matters cannot come into operation durin o p we should ask the im a u n s d e if at a future period of the session to pass an act called the Assessed Tax Act, we shall th en 1853 and not for sth A pr il , fix the date for sth October, 1853. Out of all these losses of revenue, or commutations the assessed taxes only of taxes, under this branch of come into eff ec t thi s 54,0001. of post-horse duty would year, and only one-half of it would be charged from sth branch of remi ss i on t o October. I have still an important mention. a loss of revenue in the pl an proposed with reference There would be to colonial postage, but on that I do slot enter, as I doubt if any p a rt of it would come i n t o to Now, w ith referencethe Cu s t om s the present year. duties, I may state t hat no branch of revenue has attract the Government, as they feel ed more the attention of that it is hero, after all, that the elasticity of the powers , hear) -and they b ee n h ear -am of the country have p think that it is by these o wers they are supp or t e d i n the re - duce an effective result as regar d s pro posal they make t o P duties. (Hear, h many articles of Custom s' ,ear.) I will first we can make of importance in which m ention an article no change, an 1 that is the article of wine. I refer to this tax, as it is subject of peculiar susceptibility, and the ut of doors, which is almost as peril cause of an agitation o ous to the wine duties as certain climates are to the grow th of wine se t lf-(a laugh)-and because it is desirable that if the house and the Government think no change can be made in the duty, that opinion of the house and the Go vernment should be clearly and intelligibly expressed. (Hear.) There are three plans, any one of which might be followed with regard to wines. One would be to reduce the duty to a low uniform duty of Is. 6d.,0r 25., or 2s. 6d. the gallon. Now, you cannot do that unless you are pre pared to sacrifice an amount of revenue for the first year of 700,0001., besides an increased difficulty in the drawback on stocks on hand, with respect to which it is not impossible that the Government might form a sturdy resolution in which the House of Commons might afterwards be induced to concur. (Hear, hear.) But whether that be so or not, a loss to the revenue of 700,0001. or more is not to be put in comparison with other objects that the Government have in view. (Hear, hear.) Another plan would be to fix a duty of several rates on wine of different values, somewhat resembling the duty on different qualities of sugar. But if that is attended with difficulty in the case of sugar, with how much greater difficulty would it no t b e attended in that of wino ? (Hear, hear.) It has the recommendation, certainly, that it would admit low classes of wine at a less loss to the revenue. But the Revenue Department would have the greatest difficulty in carrying out such a system ; it would bo complex in its operation ; the wine trade, almost to a man, is opposed to it; and I cannot say that public opinion is so much in its favour as to induce us to attempt to carry it into effect. (Hear, hear.) That being so, there is no choice for us but to say that / whatever be our opinion of the operation of the present wine duties, we are unable to propose any change in them at the present time, neither can we see any early prospect of a change hereafter. (Hear.) Igo to the next article, which is tea. (Hear, hear.) I won't discuss th e reasons that exist for reducing the tea duties. It would be idle to do so, for they are already settled in public opinion. (Hear, hear.) And, as we have agreed to make a reduction in the tea duties, so We have acceded to the general principle recognised by the right hon. gentleman (Mr. Disraeli) as that of the late Ad ministration, that it would be most unwise to make the reduction to ls. by a single leap. (Hear, hear.) It is almost demonstrable, as far as a negative is capable of de monstration, that you cannot have the slightest hope of such an increase of supply as would indemnify the revenue, or even bring loss within moderate bounds, and, what is of yet more importance, secure the main benefit of the reduc tion to the consumer. (Hear, hear. ( What we propose is this—to take the first step that was taken by the right hon. gentleman opposite last year, and reduce the duty at once from 2s. 24d. to ls. 10d. (Hear.) We have carefully considered the state and prospects of the supplies of tea. The condition of the Chinese empire at this moment is cer tainly not favourable to such extended supplies as we could wish. We cannot entertain very sanguine expectations that any large addition will be made in 12 months to the quantity available for the wants of this market ; but in the end, we hope and believe, if there be not a chronic state of revolution in China, that, so far as the production of tea is concerned, a short time, a couple of years or so, would be sufficient to put us in possession of a large addi tion to our supply. (Hear.) We propose, therefore, to take the first step as the right hon. gentleman (Mr. Dis raeli) took it, but we propose thereafter to proceed some what more rapidly. (Hear.) We shall take the duty from the date when the house, if it coincides with us in opinion, shall adopt the resolutions. To the sth of April, 1854, it will be ls. 10(1., to the sth of April, 1854-5 it will ls. 6d., to April, 1855-6, ls. 3d., and from April, 1856, it will be is. (Cheers.) The whole time occupied in effect ing the descent from 2s. 24d. to ls. would be less than three years. We hope, with favourable circumstances, thus to bring in the supply necessary to meet the increased demand, but we could not venture to recommend to the house the adoption of. any shorter period for effecting the change. (Hear.) The house must not suppose that this is a change which, if we take a clear and dispassionate view of it, can be effected without a heavy loss to the revenue in the first instance. The amount of remission, indeed, will be enormous. If any gentleman will calculate the differ ence between 2s. 44d. and is. on the amount of tea con sumed during the last year, he will find it come to 3,000,0001.—a sum much too large to reckon upon recover ing all at once. By the arrangement I have stated the loss for the first year will be 366,0001., for the secon d year 510,0001., for the third year 454,0001., and for th e f our th . year 6040001., making altogethe r a loss iu Customs' re venue in these years of 1,934,0001. (Hear.) But at the same time the loss, we trust, will undergo a rapid and steady diminution. In proceeding to consider more gene rally the state of our tariff, we have been desirous to carry out something like a new revision of taxes, and to apply to it the following general rules:—First, to abolish altogether the duties which are unproductive, except in cases where there may be some special reason on account of their rela tion to other articles ; and, in the next place, to abolish, as far as considerations of revenue will permit, duties on articles of manufacture except such as are in the last stage, and commonly connected with hand-labour, in regard to which cases we have thought it more prudent and proper to proceed in the mode not of abolition, but of reduction, and in these cases we have endeavoured to fix the duties in such a way that they should not roach, as to any class of goods, higher than 10 per cent. on their value. As I have referred to 10 per cent., I may state that we have not thought it right to propose a reduction in the silk duties, which are 15 per cent. The question of the silk duties is mainly a.question of revenue, and in regard to it we d o not think it is an article th a t hasi the strongest claims upon our consideration--for, in so far as it is an article into the manufacture of which protection enters, the protection has mainly reference to certain classes of operatives, with re spect to whom it would be the disposition of Parliament to proceed carefully, and cautiouely. We desire further whenever it can be done to take the mode of substituting rated duties for duties ad valorem, and to get rid in every case, except in a few instances, where it is important on account of revenue, of the five per cent. Customs' duties made in 1840, which, besides raising duties, greatly complicate the tran sactions of business. (Hear, hear.) We propose, in many instances, where there are at present differential duties in favour of British possessions, to sink those differential duties altogether by lowering the foreign article to the level of the colonial ; but where we are not able to lower the foreign article to the level of the colonial we have not thought it would be considerate in any case to raise theduty on the colonial article. (Hear, hear.) Lastly, we have been desirous to lower the duties that press on foreign articles of food which enter largely if not into the necessa ries of life, at any rate into the solace and comfort of the people. (Hear.) Now, the application of those rules is this—First, as to articles of food we propose to lower the duty on a number of articles, of which the principal aro as follow :—Apples, from 2s. a bushel to 3d.; cheese, from ss. to 2s. 6d. per cwt.; cocoa, from 2d. to Id. per pound ; nuts, from 2s. to ls. per bushel; eggs, from 10d. to 4d. per 120; oranges and lemons, to Bd. per bushel; butter, from 10s. to ss. per cwt.; raisins, from 15s. 9d. to 108. per cwt. (Hoar, hear.) The produce of these articles to the revenue at the present moment is 571,0001.; the immediate relief given by the reduction on the same quantities would be 262,0004 ; b u t, w i t h the allowance which we think may bo made for an immediate increase of consumption, the probable net loss will bo 185,0001. (Hear.) Besides those articles of food, which are 13 in number, including tea, are 123 articles which wo propose to set altogether free from duty, involving a loss of 53,0001,, and 133 more arti cles which we propose to reduce, involving a gross loss of 70,0001., but which, with increased consumption, may bo taken at 52,0001. (Hear, hear.) The effect of this will be to create a simplification of the present system ; but at the same time ,I must draw attention to the fact that the changes of ad valorem duties into rated duties will call for greater specification, and the resolutions I shall lay on the table will enable the house, when they come to the consi deration of them, to assist the Government in determining whether in any of the cases I have stated it will not be better to Adhere to the ad valorem duty. (Hear, hear.) All I now say is, that if the proposal does not wear the appearance of simplicity that may be desired, it is because the change tends to multiply specification. (Hear, hear.) The effect of these various changes in the Customs' duties, as applicable to the year 1853-54, will be to produce a gross loss of 1,338,0001,, but a loss which, we trust, will again be reduced by increase of consumption to 658,0001. (Hear, hear.) The remission of taxes we propose as applicable to 1853-54 will cause a gross loss in the Excise of 788,0001., or a net loss of 771,0001.; in stamps, a gross loss of 417,0001., or a net loss of 200,0001.; in post-horses, 27,0001.; in Customs, altogether, the gross amount of 1,338,0001,, or a net loss of 658,0001.—(hear, hear)—thus showing a re mission of taxation for the present year of 2,568,0001. (cheers)—and a loss incurred by the revenue after allow ing for the degree in which the remission will be placed by increased consumption, of 1,656,000/. (Cheers.) There fore, Sir, the state of the account for 1853-54'stands thus : —We have a surplus of 805,0001. We invite you to grant us the means of raising by now taxes the sum of 1,344,0001, —making an available fund of 2,149,000/. We propose to enact, and to take effect at once, a remission of taxes that will entail a loss to the revenue of 1,656,0001. There will remain a surplus sum of 493,0001., of which a portion, ex ceeding 200,0001., will be, not from permanent sources, but money that will not come in again. The committee will be of opinion that it would not be prudent, especially as wo have in contemplation a scheme affecting the debt, to pro ceed with a surplus less than this. I have still the import ant duty to discharge of redeeming the pledge which I gave the committee, to the effect that th e G overnmen t w ere no t paltering with you nor with the people of England about the income tax but that when w e s t a t e we propose t o pl ace you in a condition to remove it at a future day, which we are prepared to define, we make that proposal on the basis of calculations which, though they might not bo tried as minutely as if they referred to the present moment only, yet, I think, are on a most safe and secure calculation. (Hear, hear.) First let me present the balance-sheet for 1851-55. We left the year 1853-54 with a surplus of about half a million, a considerable portion of which does net consist of permanent income. In 1854-55 I give you an additional source of income that will be available. That additional charge will be—on the tea duties, 510,0001. ;on post horses, 27,0001. ; the remainder of the soap duties, 340,0001. ; assessed taxes, 170,000/. ; colonial postage, 40,0001. All the additional charges which we now invite you to calculate upon for 1851-55 will be 1,087,0001. (Hear.) Then the legacy duty will be available for the second year to the extent of 700,000/. ; the 34 per Cents., of which, according to the usual principle of computation, one-half is taken credit f.or, will give a sum of 312,0001. The second moiety o f the extension of the income tax will add to this income 2 95,000/. Putting these sums together, you will find that the whole additional charge proposed to be made for 1854-5 will be 1,087,000/. • and additional income which I p ro p ose b e i ng 1,307,0001., there will be, so far as that year is concerned, a profit which will justify the house, I think, in giving its assent to the remissions which I have proposed for relief. At the same time it is right that the committee should have fully and clearly in view the complete extent of theso remissions of indirect taxa tion. They will be as follow :—Soap duties, 1,260,000/. (I am now taking the extent of the relief) ; stamps, 418,0001. ; assessed taxes, 290,000/. ; post-horses, 54,0001. ; total—so far as the Board of Inland Revenue is concerned —1,888,0001. Then, in the Customs' duties the gross loss will be no less than 3,084,0001.; on articles of food—butter, cheese, and so on-262,0001. ; on m i nor d u ti es, 120 ,0001. ; or a otal relief under the head of Customs' duties of 3,466,0001. (Hear, hear.) Adding to these various amounts the small sum I have described under the head of colonial postage-40,0001,—the entire amount of remissions of in direct taxation to which the Government now invite the committee to assent will be not less than 5,384,0001. (Cheers.) With the remission of indirect taxation we propose to combine the bringing about a state of things, or the rational prospect of a state of things, in which you can, if you so please, really part with the income tax. (Hear, hear.) Lot me represent to you the state of accounts which sums up and winds up the whole of this protracted statement. The remissions of indirect tax ation proposed amount, as I have just explained, to a gross loss of 5,384,0001. Looking back to the remissions which have been made in late years, which began in 1842, and which were renewed on a very large scale in 1845, 1846, we find that these remissions—in terms, some of them of 11 years, some of them in five or six years, but in tho mean term of seven or eight years—have completely recovered themselves. (Hear, hear.) The effect of such remissions we have found to be two-fold—first, that upon the parti cular consumer, enabling him to increase his particular consumption of various articles ; secondly, that upon the general consumer, operating to the extension and invin tion of the trade of the coun t ry, and in that way extend ingb and widening the means of consumption of the gr ea t body of the people, an d so i n a still more powerful manner replacing the loss occasioned by remission. (Hear, hear.) We assume that what has happened before will happen again ; that th3so remissions of indirect taxation, which are anala;ous with the remissions which have been made heretofor ). will, an II crc former remissions have done, re place thems Ives in about the same time— (hear, hem) and I therefore assume that, so far as these remissions are concerned, you will, by the expiration of the income tax, find these taxes very nearly in amount what they now are. I will not enter into the question of what taxes you may think proper to repeal or reduce in the interval. It is suffi cient for me to provide for the remissions which I now pro pose, and in the propo,ition of which I do not invite you to undermine, but on the contrary, I ask you to increase the stability of the financial system of the country. (Cheers.) Well, then, how are we to attain a rational prospect of being able to part with the income tax in 1860 ? The country after so many announcements that have been made to it from time to time that the income tax was to be parted with, has become, doubtless, incredulous on the sub ject, and may, perhaps, conceive that we are aiming at a fictitious and undeserved popularity when we seek to show that by the effect of indirect taxation we can enable the house to supersede the income tax ; but the statements be fore the committee, the committee and the country can form their own judgment on them. (Hear, hear.) The amount of the income tax, as we have it now, is 5 ,550,000/. —this amount will be increased, as I have proposed, by the addition of 590,000/. The gross amount, ther e f ore , o f this duty, so i ncreased, will be 6,140,0001. I will not enter into a detail of its composition, and of the descending rates, but, taking the tax at 6,140,000/., let us i nqu i re i n what condition P ar li ament will stand with referenee to the part. hag with so large a sum of money. It will stand thus :—ln the first place there will be, as additions to the permanent sources of income --legacy duty, 2,000,000/. ; spirits, 436,0001.; licenses, 113,000/.; m a ki ng a total of 2,549,000/. towards the fund which we must provide in order to put Parliament in a position, if it should so think fit, to part with the income tax. (Hear , urp hear.)osi view as it t p h o e s n, i w ye e a c d o di me . to the anticipated reducti ons o f charge, which of course will be as effectual to the pa n tions to the revenue. (Hear, hear.) The first of these re ductions of charge is that on the Three -and-a,-Q Rafter per Cents., which we owe to the wise measures of the right hon. member for Cambridge in 1842 ; that will bring to the account 624,0001. Bad as is our case with regard to the national debt, and loath as I am to encourage extravagant expectations in that quarter, yet it must be recollected that by the regular application of surpluses, and by the lapse of annuities, we in a small way operate from year to year, both on the capital debt and on the charge. (Hear, hear.) since Loo k I b B a n ck for the t h h e e v l e as r t ed l e l ee y d ea t rs h , e and you charge ebf will y tBhoe, fin ooona d tli.e t p h ne a er t l debt, ama i . rre l sp l e rili ctiv e e ssu o m f e gre thi at e e t r e o ee pe n r tin ati u o e ns , , aseaming, at the same time, that whatever the pressure upon ou r fi nances , and whoever may hold the reins of Government, that we shall always think it one of our main public duties--the oftvheeryeffifiresiteney of th makeourd e u p ti u e b sr ie to servieeand ampl te e h pro er v e i d si i o t n en fo d r honour of the country. (Hear, hear.) I will assume, I say, that we shall continue to have the same fund appli cable to the yearly reduction of the charge which we have had heretofore, and taking this at 80,0001. per annum for the eight years up to 1861, this will give you a sum of 640,0001. Adding this reduction of charge, which may be reasonably expected, to the sums to be created by the new means of taxation—which latter I have stated to be 2,549,000/.—we shall have an aggregate total of 3 ,813,0001. Then, in 1859-60, there come falling in the heavy burdens of the Long Annuities and of another large portion of our terminable annuities, which together will operate a relief of 2,146,0001. Adding this amount to the sum of 3,813,600/., which I have already stated, you will find that, between the additional sources from taxation, and the reduction of charge whi c h w ill accrue i n the interval, and the falling in of the Long and other Annuities at the expiration of the period I have named, there will be an available increase of means at the disposal of Parliament, should the present plan of the Government be adopted, to no less an amount than 5,959,0001., against the 6,140,000/. of income tax, which will be the total amount of that tax at that period. (Cheers.) Thus, if the committee has followed me, they will understand that we stand on the principle that the income tax ought to be marked as a temporary measure be(hear, hear) ; that the public feeling that relief should given to intelligence and skill as com pared with property, ought to be met and may be met ; that the income tax in its operation ought to be mitigated by every rational means compatible with its integrity, and above all that it should be associated in the last term of its existence, as it was in the first, with those remissions of indirect taxation which have so greatly redounded to the profit of this country, and have set so admirable an example—an example that has already in some quarters proved contagious to the other nations of the earth. (Hear, hoar.) These are the principleson which we stand, and the figures. I have shown you that if you grant us the taxes which we ask, the moderate amount of 2 ,500,0001. in the whole, a mush less than that sum for the present year, you or the Parliament which may be in existence in 1860, will be in the condition, if you so think fit, to part with the income tax. (Hear, Lear.) lam almost afraid to look at the clock— (cheers)—shamefully reminding me, as it must, how hens. I have trespassed on th e ti me of the house. (Cheers.) Aln can say in apology is, that I have endeavoured to keep closely to the topics which I had before mo "—immensum spatiis confecimus sequor, Et jam tempus equum ftunantia solvere cella." These are the proposals of the Government. They may be approved, or they may be condemned, but I have this full confidence that it will be admitted that we have not sought to evade the difficulties of the position—(hear)—that we have not concealed those difficulties eitherfrom ourselves or from others—that we have not attempted to counteract them by narrow or flimsy expedients—(hear) —that we have prepared plans which, if you will adopt them, will go some way to close up many vexed financial questions, which, if not now settled, may be attended with public inconvenience, and even with public danger, in future years and under less fa vourable circumstances—(hear)—that we have endeavoured, in the plans we have now submitted to you, to make the path of our successors in future years not more arduous, but more easy—(hear)—and I may be permitted to add, that while we have sought to do justice by the changes we pro pose in taxation, to intelligence, and skill, as compared with propert whe we have sought' to do justice to the great labour commonity of England by furthering their relief from indirect taxation, we have not been guided by any de sire to put one class against another. We have felt we should best maintain our own honour, that we should best meet the views of Parliament, and best promote the inter ests of the country, by declining to draw any invidious dis tinction between class and class, byadopting it to ours e l vs as a sacred a i m t o diff use and distribute the burdens, if we • must—and the burdens, if we can —with equal and impar tial hand ; and we have the consolation of believing that by proposals such as these we contribute, as far as in us lies, not only to develop° the material resources of the country, but to knit the various parts of this great nation yet more closely than ever to that throne and to those in stitutions under which it is our happiness to live. The right hon. gentleman resumed his seat amid loud, long continued, and general cheering. The CHAIRMAN having read the resolutions which had been put into his hands by the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Mr. DISRAELI asked on what daythe right hon. gentle man proposed to take the discussion on them ? The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER said that he should lay the whole of the resolutions on the table, and proposed to h ave th e d i scussion on them on Monday next, taking the income tax first, the legacy duty next, and the spirit duties third. Mr. HUME said that the speech of the right hon.gentle man was so extensive that it was impossible, without some consideration, to weigh its disadvantages and its advan tages. There was this great point about the statement, that it manifested the determination to carry out the principles of free trade, but he deeply regretted the manner in which the question of the income tax had been taken up. He was satisfied that the taxation of the country would never be placed on a proper footing until a property tax to a large extent, and justly regulated, became a permanent source of revenue. From such a tax eight or nine millions a-year might be easily raised. He regretted, too, that any increased taxation should have been proposed, considering as ho did the expenditure which gave rise to that increased taxation worse than useless. (Hoar.) He thought con tinuing a tax for nine years was almost making it a per petuity without giving the house the advantages of de ciding whether or not it should be 'so. If they were to add to the taxation, he must express his regret that they had not adopted a simple, easp, and possible mode of raising the required amount of revenue without one-tenth of the difficulties which the Chancellor of the Exchequer had felt in his budo et. Mr. FREWEN hoped the right hon. gentleman would give some explanation of what he meant to do with the land tax. The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER said that under the present system, they might redeem a given amount of land tax, by transferring to the Commissioners of the National Debt as much stock as would produce a di vidend the amount of the land tax and ten per cent, more. What he proposed was, that inst ea d o f b e i ng boundto give as much st oc k as would produce the amount of land tax and 10 per cent. more, they might redeem it by giving as much stock as would produce the duty less 7i per cent. ; that was, altogether, 174 per cent. less than at present. Mr. 13ALL had been prepared to receive the budget of the right hon. gentleman with very great apurobation, but ho received it w ith d eep regret, and should ( o all he could to induce the house to vote against it when it came regu larly before them. When the corn laws were repealed, it was expected that some relief would be given to the agri culturists, and he was exceedingly surprised, therefore, that the right hon. gentleman had neglected to afford them the relief of the repeal of the malt tax. As to the reduction of the duty on tea, the poorer clas ses wou ld d er i ve no be nefit from it, for it had been ascertained that the greater part of the tea that was consumed was purchased in quan tities from a quarter of an ounce to a quarter of a pound. The late Government was wrecked on the budget of the right hon. gentleman below him, and it was not unlik e ly the present Government might be wrecked from the same cause. Mr. MAGUIRE understood that, as to the advertisement duty in England, there was to be a remission of is., so that it would be 6d. only, instead of is. 6d. But the advertise ment duty in Ireland was but ls. Ho should wish, there fore, to know what the duty was to be in future. In Ire land there was no such thing as a supplement to a paper known, and he believed that even in London, too, the Tinto alone published a supplement. The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER was under stood to say, that, with respect to the advertisement duty, he was willing to compound for it in Ireland at the same amount as in this country. Mr. COBDEN wished to know whether the right lion. gentleman proposed to remit the stamps on all supplements, or whether he meant to put the stamp on supplements with news. The CHANCELLGR world notolfth extendoEXC.ll EtQoUsuErßplesliedntthsethat were re mission of the stampl s v io o n t of newspapers. simply an exto n Mr. COBDEN—Did_ the right hon. gentleman mean that pplements might_g_P_Py post " Th CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER — Mr.Certinly° COBDEN believed that there was but one news p in the kingdom that published a supplement full of -ape/. advertisements. Mr. IMAM wished the Government would take into their consideration this absurdity—that ships built with foreign timber might be brought into this country free of duty, but timber to build ships here cannot be brought in without paying duty. The CHA.NCELLOR of the EXCEIEQTJER was ex tremely sorry to say his want of means, and not his want of will, prevented him from taking off the timber duty. If his hon. friend would give him 300,003/. or 4 00,000/. more ho might be able to do so. (A laugh.) Mr. HUME said, that if th 3 property tax was fairly levied it would give 10,000,000/., and would enable the Chancellor of theTExchequer to take off the timber duty, and do much more. The house then resumed, and the Chairman reported progress, and asked leave to sit again. SOUTH SEA AND OTIIER ANNI7ITIES COMM.I7- TATION BILL. bill,on the order of the day for the second reading of this _____,........ „ am....../........m.„,..m.m....... / Mr. J. B. SMITH sa id , he would not object to the second reading, if it were not understood that by doing so the house assented to the principle of the measure. The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER said, his reason for desiring that the house should kindly consent to the second reading was, that the question of time was very important for the convenience of parties, as notice must be given to all persons holding South Sea Stock. Mr. HUME objected to the principle of the bill. lie thought they were not in a condition to make such an ex periment as was proposed by this measure. The bill was then read a second time, and ordered to be committed on Thursday next. COMBINATION OF WORKMEN. On the order of the day for the third reading of this bill, The ATTORNEY -GENERAL objected to the bill being read a third time, on the ground that the measure was unne cessary. He understood the object of it was to correct a supposed misapprehension of the law on the part of Mr. Justice Erle in a case that was tried before him at Stafford in 1851. It was supposed that ho laid it down as the law, that workmen could not legally combine for their mutual protection with a view to keep up the rate of wages or limit the number of hours during which their masters might employ them. He believed the learned judge had stated the law correctly ; but whether that were so or not, the Court of Q ueen ' s B enc h h a d s t a t e d the law upon the subject quite correctly. The learned judge stated that the) law was quite clear, and that workmen had a right to com bine for their own protection, to obtain such wages as they chose to demand, or to gain themselves any benefit; but a combination to prevent men from working, or for any such purpose, was unlawful. The case afterwards came on before the Court of Queen's Bench, and they laid down the law in the same way. He could not, therefore, think this bill was necessary. Mr. DRUMMOND said it was very well for the learned gentleman to say the bill was unnecessary, but he had stated no other reason against it. It was to do what was intended by the Remedial Bill introduced by the hon. member for Montrose several years ago. There had been great discussions between the masters and workmen for many years, and Lord Stanley, at that time a member of the house, presided over the committee, and a bill was prepared, with whi c h a ll parties were satisfied, and which put an end to all disputes. So the matter stood as to the taa d ( hn ri n o e r a e l a aa r l i e hoo t wothbr another s e e e a o r r u l n a . necessity of the case. The bill might be unnecessary for the Attorney-General, or possibly for himself, but there had been contradictory decisions in the courts of law. ) kinv, L gb o Lord Chief might he waas enJusticeot whoi immortal—(a Campbellluj,n oi.tewan (oatm laugh)— and Ja g u h o gst Joseph, a h z , might decide another way. As a proof that the t clear an d , to u p in ay e t p h e e rs c o o n s s ts ha , a d io g oun ot t i i m o ri o sor oo er AfsotllarttihnhegraNsvkheadt tbilyotlhiaws r bill N y va w s a t s ) . have a declaratory stat u t e p t o h s a e t d tahae therebill. amare to b e a Mr 3 1 r u f . F m O E R S t h T o E u R g h o t f. difference of opinio n among the lawyers it d • ble to pass the present bill t o settle the doubt wasddesirable Mr. HADFIELD supported the bill. The house divided : For the third reading Against it ... 57 •• . 70 Majority against the bill ~. ... 1 3 THE CUSTOMS' DEPARTMENT. Mr. WILSON gave notice that he would make his state. ment on this subject on Thursday at 5 o'clock. On the motion of the same honourable member a bill was brought in and read a first time to consolidate the London and Edinburgh Gazettes. The other business on the paper being disposed of, the house adjourned at a quarter past 11 o'clock. THE FRENCH EMPIRE. The ceremony of presenting the newly appointed Car dinal Morlot, Archbishop of Tours, with the cardinal's hat, took place on Sunday, at the Tuileries. Two court carriages conveyed the new cardinal and his suite to the palace. He was accompanied by Mgr. the Ablegate of the Pope, by one of the noble guards of his Holiness, and by a master of the ceremonies ; and his suite con sisted of the Abbe Malmouche, First Grand Vicar of his Eminence ; and of the Abbes Monceau, canon of Tours ; Etienne, general superior of the seminary at Tours ; Deguerry, cure of the Madeline ; Martin de Noirlieu, curs of Saint Louis d'Antin ; Duplessy, honorary canon of Nevers, curs of Pithiviers ; Mac Carthy, Chicollot, and Noirot, Inspector-General of Public Instruction. The cortege alighted at the Pavil lion de Fiore. The cardinal proceeded to a room near the chapel containing the ornaments of his dignity ; and the Ablegate was conducted to the audience of the Emperor, in the cabinet of his Majesty, where the princes of the Imperial Family, the Ministers, and the officers on service were assembled. The ceremony was both gorgeous and impressive. It appears that Louis Napoleon has once more ap plied to the Austrian Government for the remains of the Duke de Reichstadt. His wish is that the remains of, the Emperor Napoleon and his son should be trans ported at the same time to the Cathedral of St. Denis. It is probable that this new request will meet with the fate of its predecessors. The Austrian Government has steadily refused to give up the body of the Duke de Reichstadt, which lies amidst the rest of the Imperial family of Austria in the Church of St. Augustine, at Vienna. Every day adds to the number of persons arrested in Paris and the departments. These measures are directed exclusively against the Socialists, and have been caused by a subscription for a loan which MM. Felix Piat, Biochot, and Caussidihre have attempted to get up in France. Some of the subscription lists have been dis covered, and all the subscribers have been arrested. L The legislative body met yesterday ;M. Billault in the chair. The Assembly then commenced the discus ' sion of the bill relative to the promotion of the superior officers of the navy. The Patric says :—"The Chartists of London cele brated the anniversary of Robespierre on the 13th. The French refugees were invited to attend, but only Nadaud and a score of Socialists of the lowest class were present." The market for rentes continues to improve, and prices have again advanced, exhibiti ng f i rmness, with an upward tenden c y at the close of business. The Three per Cents. for the account rose 30c., and the Four-and-a,-Half per Cents. 40c. ; in the Four-and-a- Half per Cents, for cash no change occurred, but the Three per Cents, advanced 25c. A decline of sf. again took place in Bank shares. The closing prices were : For Cash : Three per Cents., 80f. GO. ; Four -and-a-Half per Cents., 103 f. 70e. For the account : Three per Cents., 80f. 60c. ; Four - and-a-Half per Cents., 103 f. 70c. Bank shares, 2,730 f, In the railway share mar ket to-day there was much activity, and an advance in price took place in those securities : in Paris and Rouen to the extent of 20f., and of 13f. in Paris and Stras bourg; most of the other principal lines improved from sf. to 10f. each. The last prices were : Northerns, 917 f. 75c. ; Orleans, 1,050 f. ; Paris and Strasbourg, 853 f. ; Paris and Lyons, 949 f. ; Paris and Rouen, 1,105 f. ; Lyons to the Mediterranean 812 f, 50c. ; Western of France 777 f. ; Rouen and Havre, 532 f. 50c. ; Bordeaux and Cette, 647 f, 75c. ; Caen and Cherbourg, 635 f. ; Dijon and Besan9on, 580 f. SPAIN. We have rece i ved in due course the Madrid journals and letters of the 13th, but they do not contain a line of information which had not previously reached us by ex press or by telegraphic dispatch. The Deaotts says :—" In the list of the new Spanish ministry figures the name of M. Ayllon, now Spanith Ambassador at Vi enna. There is reason to believe that General Lersundi has not consulted him on the subject, and that he is not certain of his consent. The friends of M. Ayllon, who is very well known in Paris, where he was attached to the Spanish embassy, doubt his accept ance of the portfolio of Foreign Affairs. We, in fact, remember that h e was some years since named to that important post, but that he refused it." We read in the Union:.—" Our letters from Madrid confirm the facts before stated on the subject of the sus pension of the Cortes. The following. are more complete details : --The speeches of General Emanuel Concha to the Senate, and of General Prim to the Congress, in the sitting of the 6th, excited great alarm and considerable discontent in the Court, and it is raid that they were sent for to the palace in order to be remon strated with. Far from paying any attention to this, General Concha declared that in the sitting of the Sth, he would produce written proofs of the charges which had been made on the inalversa tions which had taken place not only on the railways from Madrid to Aranjuez, and from Aranjuez to Al manza, but also on other points of the public adminis tration. His declarations, ho said, would tend to com promise somovery exalted personages, but nothing should stop him. In the evening the President of the Senate t w h a e s d o e r g d r e e r e e d e f t o s u r s e p a:l n s a i e t e v and r e c ry q u o e p s e n d i g l t o t f o t a ll el allow sitting any one to speak, and it appears that, in order to support these orders, a company of infantry was in readiness to clear the hall of the Cortes in case of resistance. In consequence of this event several high functionaries, both civil and military, were tclimensispsaedn,siM. particular) territory; General Schnell, director-general . o f cavalry, and Orvognes, civil governor of Madrid. Others re orders to take up their resid ence i n ceived provincial t owns, the names and several of wer the latter e leaxpeerlle d from h are not mentioned. i " ITALY. The Ticino Gazette announces that the Council of State of that canton having asked permission of the Federal Council to devote the 10,000 f. it has sent for the relief of the poor Ticinese expelled from Lombardy, to furnishing those who are willing, with sufficient money to leave the country in order to seek work in foreign parts, the Federal Council has acquiesced in that course. A letter from Milan of the ,in the nione of Turin, st a t es that the deputationl3th of Milanese gentlemen who had gone to Vienna with an address suggested to them by Count Gyulai himself praying for a mitigation of the sequestration-decree, has met with an extremely cold reception at Vienna. The Grand Duke of Tuscany left Florence on the 11th for Leghorn, in order to visit the preparatory works in the new port of.that city, the execution of which is car ried on with gre*activity. .-_ THE ZnicssoN.--This noble ship lies at her dock in Williamsburg, where improvements are being made in the machinery. The main difficulty hitherto encountered has arisen from the want of a perfect connexion of two sections of an air pipe, near the bottom of one of the cylin ders. Though connected by rivets, the working of the engine prevented such a union of the parts as to allow of the full use of the po wer o th erw i se ava il a bl e. It ig 8"` that it h as b een d etermined to substitute a single casting for the defective parts, and that the difficulty will made. The other viated at once. This change is now beie..7 l, - 1 1 when both are engine has been perfect througho; Ericsson will be in a much complete, it is believed that the ,_ be better condition condition to peovo her c. p Herald. THE SUN, LONDON, TUESDAY EVENING, APRIL 19, 1853.