The Sun. — London, England, 1857-03-07 00:00:00

noble lord made the announcement which he did last night Under these circumstances, sir, I hope that the house will well consider betore agreeing to grantany new t axis, for we are not in a position in which we arejustalle ; in dealing with the property of the people. If we take the course which I have suggested we shall abridge the period which it is necessary should elapse before we recur to the country. Every convenience which the noble lord can require, every assistance which it is possible to ren der in order to bring about the desired consumma tion, I shall be most happy to sive. Let his Muiieyßil be passed; let his vote of men be agreed to, under the condition mentioned yesterday of its being a nosx.muin amount; let him have a vote of credit and everything that is necessary for the public service, but don't let es cancel and revoke solemn engagements when our authority as a representative assembly is about to expire; don't let us be called upon to put our hands into the pockets of the peopl e and to levy new tax , s. (Cheers.) We shall pre sently have a proposition brought before us which, if car ried, will have the eff,ct that I desire with regard to in direct taxes, and will prevent any addition to them ; and when we come to the incom e tax I shad ask the house to adopt a course which will as far as possible secure the arrangement of 1853, and which wit: provide that the income tax shall be not 7,1., but si. in the pound. The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER—I hope to be able to satisfy the house that the course which I am about to ask it to take is not only reasonable, but neces sary, under the circumstances of the case. The right hon. gentleman contends that we have no power to bind the decision of the next. Parliament, and I quite agree with him in that view—unquestionably we have no suck power, and if the proposition which I am about to make should be agreed to it would be competent for that Par. liament to alter or repeal those propositions. Never. the less, it is necessary that we should deal with the taxation of the country with respect to that interval of time which will elapse between the end of the present financial year and the time when the legislative action of the new Parliament can come into operation. If the argu• ments of the right hon. gentleman respecting the duties of tea and sugar were valid, they woukl equally apply to the income tax ; and he himself proposes that we should now, from the let of April next, alter the existing income tax, which is fixed by act of Parliament. The Act of 1853, to which he proposes to revert, is repealed by an act passed in 4855, which is now the law of the land and unless that be repealed the income tax of 16d. in the poupd would be leviable for the ensuing financial year. It is just as much in the power of Parliament to alter that act and to revert to the sd. fixed by the act of 1853 as it is to suspend the fall in the tots and sugar duties, and to fix them at the amounts which I have proposed. The plan which I submitted to the house was that the Ways and Means of the present year should be supplied by a fair balance between direct and indirect taxation. I proponed to reduce the income tax from 16d, to 7d. in the pound, which would hpe dimini,hed the amount. derived fr om di rect taxetioWaud, ae that would leave a deficit in the Ways and Means of the year, I proposed to supply that deficit by a small addition to the duties on tea and sugar. If that addition should not be made before the let April next the low duties would come into opera tion, immediately a large quantity of tea and sugar would be released from bond, and it would not be competent for Parliament when it re-assembled in May to deal with the question according to its deliberation. But if the house will take the course I propose it ?ill' beopen to the new Par liament to revise that decli'llosi, and to make any reduction in the duties upon tea which it way think d sugar and in the income tax at In the meantime no other plan will so well that es 4 -. " leet the exigencies of the present year as t h e - rich reduces the i ncome t ax t o 7d . , an d arrests descent upon the tea and sugar duties which would take place according to the existing law upon the Ist of April next. That arrangement is consistent with the financial exigencies of the year, and in either case the in terference of the Legislature will be required. It is the duty of this house to exercise such a power under the present circumstances, and it requires no greater exer cise of legislative power than the voting of Supply, pass ing the Ways and Means, and agreeing to the appro priation Act, authorising the Gevernment during the next six months to apply the produce of the taxes to the current service of the year. Aft-r the announcement of the right hon. gentleman yesterday, that he would offer no impediment to the necessary measures for the services of the year, I hoped that we should not have been met with a refusal to supply the requisite Ways and Means according to the financial plan already submitted. If the course proposed by the right lion, member for Buckinghamshire were adopted, and the income tax were reduced to sd. in the pound, and if our measure with regard to the tea- and sugar duties were rejected, there would inevitably be a deficiency according to the estimates for the expenditure of the year. The right hon. gentleman may say there will not be a deficiency be cause he will reduce the estimates in committee of sup ply ; but let us go first into committee of supply and see if that reduction can be effected, because until that is done it is the duty of this house to find sufficient Ways and Means to meet the estimates of the expenditure of the year. I trust, therefore, that the proposal of the right hon. gentleman to refuse the necessary means for covering that estimated expenditure will not be acceded to by the house, after the fair, but as it appears delu sive, promises which he made yesterday. (Hear.) Mr. ROEBUCK stated that he had had a petition en trusted to him by an association of merchants, praying the house to fix the income tax at 91, in the pound, rather than not reduce the duties on tea and sugar to the ra ea agreed to before the war. lie would present the petition when the proper tiino came. Mr. T. BARING confessed that the observations of hisright hon. friend (Hr. Disraeli) had sotn ee hat al lulled him. The right hon. gentleman the men.ile,r for the Uni versity had announced a re,olution for reducing the tea anti sugar duties, but he was willing to leave the income tax fit this year at 7d. in the pound. The right lion. gentleman the member for Bucks, however, proposed not only to reduce the duties on tea and sugar to the rates agreed on before the war, but also to reduce the inco:ne tat to 51. He (Mr. Baring) c.,ufesseci that that proposal filled bins with apprehensions for the revenue of the coun try. He had voted for the resolution of his right hon. friend, because he considered that the object of that vote was to refer the estimates back to the Government. He did not think they would be able in committee of supply to effect any great reduction. Had they referred the estimates back, not to a committee up stairs, but to a committee in Downing-street, this might have been done without losing the Ministry; but that resolution was re fuse I. Looking at the present tone and temper of the house, he feared they shoe! t not see any great reduction in the estimates. But they must beware cf fading into that worst economy, a deficiency of revenue. (Hear, hear,) As long as they sat there, one of their main and proper duties was to provide the means of meeting the t x,ieuditure ; and he noel I not understand why, because they were on the point of expiring, they should Mffct the worst evil on their successors and the c iun• ry by re fusing to do so. (Hear, hear) Fearing that there was riot likely to be any great economy in that house, ars' thinking that it was less likely in a new house, be was not disposed to vote for Mr. Glajstone's resolution, for the removal of that portion of indirect taxation which was caused by the war, as that would ntcessitate th keepirig on of a larger portion of the income tax. That would be a departure from the syrein that was actives] to carry on the war. It was proposed to meet those exp -rises partly by direct and partly by indirect taxation. Ii they reduced the indirect t x 't3 to the point at which they would have stood if there had been no war, and did not reduce the income tax ti the same pint, they wool 1 depart fr lu that prieci i le. There beie g sixty millions to be levied somehow or other, they c iuld not rely solely upon direct telt ;to atonnpt that would be the most injurious act that could he cornmtted to wards the poor, fir it would send all the avaalatile capi tal out of the country, and diminish employment. (Hear.) As the nail lord (Russell) had abandoned his proposal for reducing the tea duty to la. 4d., and as the Chancellor of the Etchequerhad modified his proposal— it was now only for a year—his impression was that he must oppo-e the proposal of Mr. Gladstone, because, in the present temper of the house, it would be a very hazardous Experiment as to the revenue, The house then went into committee of ways and means, THE TEA. DUTIES. The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER pro., posed the following reso'utiou : "That in lieu of the duties of customs now chargeable on tea imported into the United Kingdom the following duties shall be charged— To sth Apr 1. 1857, inticsive, Ist 9d, per pound ; from and after sth April, 18E7, to sth April, 1858, inclu , ive, ls. sd. per pound." He said—Before I submit this re solution to the committee I am desirous cf offering some explanations which wi'l apply to the objections that have been made to the plan as I originally proposed it. The object which I had in view was to moderate the amount of direct taxvion pressing upon th e coun t r y in the shape of income tax, and to reduce it to that amount at which it stood before the commencement of the war, an d at which it had remained since its im position by Sir R. Pet in 1842, Only one proposition had been made for a higher rate than 7d. before the commencement of the war. That was made by Lord J. Russell, in order to support a plan for enlarged army and navy estimates. He then proposed to renew the income tax for five years—fir the fir.t 2 years at 121. in the pound, and for the 3 following years at 7d. That plan was objected to by the house. The large e.titnates were subsequently reduced , and the contemplated increase to 121, for two years was n persisted in. There fore, there was no exampls, until the commence ment of the lAte war, of a higher ra t e than 7d. It therefore ap peared to me, looking at the strong feeling which pre vailed in the country on the subject of the incom e tax, extending to all classes of the community, not evenex cepting that class upon whom the income tax doer not directly press, that it was desirable to return to the rate which prevailed during the peace, and to make up what re what . e •er defici enc y mi g ht occur i n t h e annu al taxation , ) eui rerice to a small itierea' , e in the indirect taxes. r neth direct tax-s augmented d ur i ng th e war we re the spirit duty, the malt duty, an d the dut i es on tea an d sugar.. The spirit duty tad been fix-n 1 by a permanent act of Parliament, and the present rate of duty will continue until altered by the house. Itproducesin round numbers about one million and a half in addition to the rates which existed before the war. That may be taken as a perma nent addition to the revenue. The malt duty ceased, by the operation of the act, on the sth July last. No doubt it would have been competent for me, in the last session, to have proposed the prolongation of that duty till tis end of the present financ al year, which would have , afforded the house an opportunity before the end of the year to re-consider that duty with the view of continu ing some portion of the increased war duty. My reasons illE SON, LONDON, SATURDAY EVENING, MARCH 7, 1857. for not proposing any interference with the expiration of that duty were because, partly in consequence of the nigh price of barley, and partly in consequence of the op ration of the ii.ereaseo war rate, the consumption of malt had undoubtedly been diminished, while the con sumption of tea and sugar had not undergone a dimi nution. (Hear, hear.) At the commencement of the present year, confining myself to the war duties, the oily indirect taxes with which it was competent to deal were the duties on tea and sugar. Tire duty on tea was fixed at Is. 7d., to fall on the Ist of April to ls. 3 , 1. In round numbers every penny of duty on tea is equal to a quarter of a million of revenue. Under those cacutustances, looking to the necessity of providing an additional revenue, it seemed to me that the duties on tea and sugar offered a fair ground for levying that portion of taxation required, and that, not by in creasing those duties, not by preventing their fall a to gether, but by proposing a less descent than would have , aken place under the existing law, I was enabled to form a scale which would raise sufficient revenue to meet the estimated expenditure of the year. On con sidering the matter, I think the house will come to the conclusion that the prop isal is a fair one, and one to which their assent may with propriety be given. It is necessary the assent should be given before the first of April. If the duty had not fallen on the Ist of April, I might have run some risk of loss, and have left the matter to the decision of another Parliament. But in asmuch as it was necessary, in order to fulfil the pledge that has been given t 3 the country to reduce the war in come tax, which would otherwise be leviable at the full rate of 163. from the let April next, it seemed to me a reasenablo proposition at the came time to arrest the en tire fall of the duties on tea and sugar. In recommend. ing that plan of providing for the ways and means of tt e year, I cited a passage from a celebrated writer, whom lAr. Gladstone familier'y and humor .iuely, but not very truthfully, styled "Obi Young." (Laughter.) Mr. GLADSTONE—" Old Arthur Young " The CHANCELLOR of the EXCIsIEQUER—I would remark that Arthur Young is a writer of great eminence and celebrity, and has been recognised as such by all ectmornical writers. His fame is not confined to this con )try , it is of European extension. His works were translated into French, by direction of the French Government. He even received a reward from the Rus eian Government, which may perhaps mitigate the as perity of some gentlemen towards him ; and, I believe, with the produce of that reward he purchased an estate in the Crimea. What became of that estate—whether it is held by his descendants, I really don't know. His antiquity is complained of, but I don't see why his au thority should be diminished on that account. Arthur Young's published works have a close bearing upon the affairs of modern times. His death, certainly at an advanced ago, took place Si) late as 1820. I referred to a saying of his which commends simplicity in matters of tax ition ; and I must still say that that dictum is perfectly sound, when cerrectly understood. What that dictum condemned was an attempt to raise revenue chiefly from one great article or branch of taxation—for example, some all-absorbing tax upon property, such as was recommended by one party at the present day, or the system which prevailed in Oriental countries of providing for nearly all the ex penses of Government by a land tax. He said : " Im pose taxes upon different branches of industry or pro duce, but do not attempt to raise your revenue by one branch of direct or indirect taxation." He had in view such a system as exists in this country, and when I quoted his words I could not, for a moment, suppose that I was recommending the abolition of the policy introduced by Sir R. Peel, or that when I condemned simplicity in taxa tion I meant to recommenu anything but variety—cer tainly not to recommend complexity. I have been toll that I have thrown overboard, condemned, and repudi ated, as far as one year can go, the principles of finance that were introduced and first extensively applied when the party opposite were in peoe er. lam really at a loss to under etand how my proposal with regard to the dutieson tea and sugar is in any way inconsistent with the principles of liberal legislation. As opposed to free trade Ido not understand simply duties upon imported articles, but duties of :a protective or prohibitive ',attire. There is nothing in a duty imposed upon any article not grown in this country, as sugar, simply for the purpose of revenue, inconsistent with the doctrines of free trade. Undoubtedly every such duty raises the price of the ar ticle imported, and thereby inflicts an injury upon the consumer. But so long as it is raised merely for the pur poses of revenue, and the object is not to favour one class of producers at the expense of another, or obstruct or interrupt trade, it cannot be said that any one duty i inconsisteut with the principles of free trade. It has also been said that our present financial proposition is calculated to inspire alarm, because we are advancing steadily to a state of things in which there will be a de ficient revenue, and that unless some vigorous interposi tion of the authority of this house takes place, we may expect the most extensive financial ruin. I assume that, after proper discussion in committee of supply, our expenditure will be fixed at a legitimate amount. Whenever that legitimate amount shall be determined, can it be doubted that the resources of this country are amply sufficient to raise, without oppression of the people, a revenue sufficient to cover that expenditure ? There never was a time when the great branches of our production, agriculture, manufactures, and commerce, were in a sounder, more satisfactory, or more expansive state. Judging from the past, and without denying that temporary interruptions to the prosperity of trade may return, there never was in our history any moment when there was less ground for alarm a; to the possibility of raising an adequate revenue from taxation without se rious pressure upon the springs of industry. Looking at the state of the working classes, we find that all the indications afforded by the returns of pauperism and of savings banks concur in establishing the same conclu sion, namely, that the working classes are in the main in a satisfactory state. I therefore cannot share in those alarms that have been expressed with respect to our financial state. Provided our finances are managed with prudence, and that our expenditure is fi.ed on a legiti mate basis, I cannot doubt that this house will, in every successive year, provide the G o v ernmen t o f th e d ay w i t h ampleways and means of defraying that rxoenditure, and of guarding against any defieieacy. Let rue remind the house th it It the plan of Mr. Disraeli should be prac tically acted upon, there would be in this year, not a cal culated or a speculative, but a real and a present defi ciency. It, net, therefore, that the house will not agree with the proposal that has been made, but will be pre pared to accede to the mot ion I now make, that the duty on tea, which is now Is. 9d. in the pound, and which, accorling to the existing law, wool I fall to ls. 3d. on the lot of April, be fixed at the reasonable rate of ls. sd. in the pound. Mr. GLADSTONE said he had come down to the house with the anxious desire to addr:ss himself to the question as a practical question, and to confine himself entirely wit'ain the limits which the terms of the motion poin ed out. But the Chancellor of the Exchequer had entered upon a wide field of discussion, bad revived the topic of the previous debates, and bad devoted con siderable time and attention to the vindication of the fair fame of " Oid Arthur Young." (Laughter.) He had truly said that the principles of free trade were ails uuderst ;oil if they were supposed to require the abolition of al indirect taxation. He (Ar. Gladstone) entirely agreed wit,h that. The abolition of indirect taxation was well enough as a eubject of discussion and dispute among those who were pie teed with that sort of intellec tual exercitations, but indirect taxation was dee'ply and insx'ricably rooted in our sye,teni, and it was neither practiealds nor deter-able to get rid ef it. (Hear.) But fie st'l, held that the spirit of the Government proposals was adveioe to the principles on which the operations were net inertly getting Jid of protection and prohibi tion ; many measures eminently calculated to beetfit the country had no connection with that object. Why had we abolished all duties cn export , , and mail , hundreds a import duties that were produNive of very small win tints to the revenue—a process which had im mensely simplified our commercial system, but had no thing whatever to do with the question of protection ? A main object of all these operations, quite apart from questions of prohibition and protection, had been to afford extended, judicious, and permanent relief to the con• Burners of these great commodities imported from abroad which were essentially connected with the comforts of the mass of the population. That bad been a fundamen tal object and a capital feature in all those operations, and one on which happily there had been no cenflict whatever of party opinion in that house. On that account be contemplat e d it with all the greater satisfaction, and regretted the ultra seriously and bitterly that the plans of the Government for the present year made an attack for the first time upon those measures. Tito house was placed in great difficulty with regard to the whole of their proceedings as regarded the finance and expenditure of the country. Sir H. Willoughby was perfectly right. There was no reason why the house should deal with the ways and means, rather than with the supplies in the first instance. That course involved them in the greatest difficulty ; because they were called upon to supply, and teey did not know what it was they were going to supply. It was true in 1845 Sir Robert Peel had proposed a renewal of the income tax before any portion of the estimates were voted, hut that was an entirely distinct operation from the providing of ways and means. It was not done because it was ne cessary to support the ordinary expenditure of the cour.- try, but to ascertain whether Parliament chose to renew the income tax in order to repeal indirect taxes to a cor responding amount. (Hear.) That afforded no precedetit whatever for this inversion of the ordinary cause of pro ceedings which had been adopted by the Government on the recommendation of some influential members who sat behind them. He felt the full force of Mr. Disraeli's argu. ment—that they were a Parliament upon whom notice to quit bad been served, and yet they were called on tc impose new taxes upon the people. The language of the Chancellor of the Exchequer tended to promote misunderstanding. He said he was not increasing the duties on tea and sugar. What he meant was that he was not going to levy a heavier duty on those articles aft r the sth of April than was 11917, paid by them ; but in substance he was levying a higher duty, because it was higher than would he l ev i a bl e by th e present l aw a ft er the sth April. ([sear) It was a mistake to su pp ose that hi s (Mr. Gladstone's) motion took away a portion of the wayset artuedmeans arising from i n di rec t t axa ti on . t It was i n perfect harmony .n its was t with their recent policy. Ho did not c a ll upon the expiring rage pithto im pose any a ddi t i onal tax. That •o h m e w th h e feo os o o f th i e s propoeition, a n d b e regretted that ft hone persons were induced to believe that he was i n terfering by his proposition with the existing law' ; and taking away from h er M a j esty ' s Government the w ays and means which the existing law gave them. That was a total and gross misapprehension of his propo sition. lie would not, on the present nccasion, enter into the question of the income tax, but the Govern. ment were taking awa y from the income tax, which was granted by Parliament, for the purpose of carrying on the war. Now what he asked was that they should not, in connection with, or in order to relieve themselves from, the income tax, impose new burdens on the tea and sugar of the people—burdens which Parliament never contemplated to levy by the law as it stood. His tile friend (Lord J. Russell) the other evening replied to his observations on the budget in a tone which should have saved his noble friend from the imputation which was cast upon him in the Chinese debate. Those obser vations of his noble friend were not such as he (Mr. Gladstone) had any right to complain of, but they showed considerable hostility to the opinions he advanced. The noble lord said he had spoken in a sense to catch the goodwill of gentlemen opposite. He certainly had no ob• jection to catch the goodwill of persons wherever he could honourably obtain it. The noble lord would not hear from him any expression inconsistent with the re spect he bore him, and he could never forget the gratitude he owed him for the cordial and generous—indeed the over generous—support which he received from the noble lord in his department of the Government of which they were both members. But the main objection of his noble friend to his views was this—that whilst he (Mr. Gladstone) complained of a deficiency in the revenue, he 'ike vise objected to the proposition for increasing the ways and means by the additional duty on tea and sugar. He (Mr. Gladstone) contended that he was in the exercise of its duty, as a mernbex of Parliament, in complaining at once of the deficiency, and saying that the particular ways and means proposed by the Government were liable to mei grave and serious censure that they ought not to be provided for the service of the Government. He denied that the house had given an implied sanction to the esti mates on the table, which it had not had the means of exa mining. That construction was not borne out either by the debate or by the terms of the motion of the right hon. gentleman the member for Bucks. Now, with regard to the propositions on the subject of the tea duties, his pro position was that the duty should be is. 3d., and that after the sth April, 1858, it should fall to 11d. per lb. His right hon. friend the Chancellor of the Exche quer proposed to enact a duty of is. sd. per lb. for 12 months from the sth April, leaving the trade quite in the dark as to the duty in the following years. (dear) Now, with respect to the surplus there was, under the present law, a surplus revenue for the coming year, because by law the Government bad the income tax for the current year. But by the plan of his right hon. friend, as it now stood, there would be no surplus. He was deeply, too deeply, convinced that if the plans of the Government were adopted this Parliament would go to the country with a deficiency of ways and means for the coming year. Hia right hon. friend showed a surplus of 890,0001. when he made his first statement, but the modification which he announced in the tea duties last night would reduce that surplus to 500,0001. He thought he was quite right in saying that would be so, But this was merely a nominal surplus, for his rieht hon. friend had to provide for the whole expenses of the Chinese war, for which not a single farth ing had yet been provided, nor for tip expenses of the Per- Sian war, after the sth April; and although his right hon. friend proposed a vote for the expenses of the Persian war up to April 5, he (Mr. Gladstone) confessed that he thought the vote was far below what the expenses would be. Setting aside that eurplus of 500,0001. to meet the expenses of the Chinese and Persian ware, there would in point of fact be no surplus if the house adopted the plan of the right hon. gentleman. But if there were, he still said that it was the duty of the House of Commons not to accept a proposition of the Government as to a particular tax, simply because the plan of the Govern ment as it stood did not show a state of satisfactory re lation between the income and expenditure. He empha tically concurred in the observation of the hon. member tor Huntingdon, that the first duty of the House of Com mons was by all possible means to maintain at all times and under all circumstances a surplus income, and he hoped, therefore, the house would be disposed to take such measures with regard to the expenditure as should prevent that great evil of deficiency even in the provision tor the present year. There was no surplus income, ac cording to the statement of the Chancellor of the Exche quer. There were other items, such as the Sound dues, for instance, which the Government might have to pro vide for. He should now proceed to try the plan of his right hon, friend on its own merits. The right hon. gen tleman had very much reduced the scope of his original proposition. His first intention was, the present duty being ls. 9d., to propose a duty of is. 7d. Upon this came his noble friend with his duty of is. 4d., and he (Mr. Gladstone) not striving for originality, with his duty of ls. 3d. There was the original proposal of the Go vernment of ls. 7d., and which was afterwards reduced to is. 5d., the proposition of his noble friend Is. 41, and his (Mr. Gladstone's proposition of is. 3d. The only numbers that remain without patrons were is. Bd. and Is. id. (Laughter.) By the existing law and by his (Mr. Gladstone's) proposition the duty would be is. 3d. per pound. This the Chancellor of the Exchequer proposed to raise to is 51. He would not repeat again what he said the other night with regard to toe immense import ance and the enormous benefits which the country de rived from the reduction of the duties on the great articles of consumption. He was sure these facts had fully im pressed themselves on the mind of the house. The reduc tion cf the tea duty was proposed by the Government of Lord Darby. That Government fell on a question of finance, but those who followed took up the proposition, and, with some alterations, passed it through the house. It had therefore the most solemn and unanimous sanc tion which it was possible for the House of Commons to give. Now, for what great boon or benefit, or for what reason did the right hon. gentleman take the first step in the reversal of that policy? Was it to obtain a sum which would not exceed 370,000/. on tea, and about the same sum on sugar? That would constitute the whole gain which his right hon. friend would get by interfering with the existing law, and setting the pernicious example of retrogression in this matter. This was a most inade quate advantage for such a back ward proceeding, and its benefit, as a mode of providing ways and means, would not justify a step which was questionable on much higher and broader ground . The object to be gained, in a financial paint of view, was very insignificant as com pared with the disadvantag s on other grounds. But his hon. friend the Secretary of the Treasury said that he (Sir. Gladstone) was the great offender with regard to the duties, for that be had proposed an increase of the duty during the war. That was not so. Upon sugar he did propose an increase of duty; upon tea he did not. So deeply were the Government of which he was a member convinced of the evil of arresting the descending scale of the tea duty, that in 1154, when the Government ob tained the power of applying 12,000,0001. of taxes to the d-frayin g of the expenses of the war, they did not inter fere with the descending scale of the tea duty. Whilst the income tax, the malt tax, and the sugar duty were in. creased, the tea duty was left a 3 it was, so great was their disinclination to interfere with the progressive fall in the tea duty. In 1855, when the pressure of the war eempelled them to resort to loans and increase other taxe-, with regard to the tea duty they did not do more than ar rest the file They did not increase the duty. That was reserved for his right bon. friend. The question, there fere, now was whether they would continue in time of peace the war dutie-n, or a portion of the war duties, on tea or sugar. It was of no eyed to say that the Go vernment was not increasing the duty, that they were only euepending it. It was insignificant by what name it was called ; it was substantielly an increase of duty. Let not the house be perplexed by words which had no meaning, because if the present Government suspended the 1011, and succeeding Governments suspended the fall, it was tantamount to an increase of duty. With regard to the traders in tea great dardship was inflicted or, them, because under the expectation of a fall in the duty they were encouraged to import ; and if the pro mises hell out under the sanction of an act of Parlia ment were broken, they would have just reason to corn ; lain. (Hear ) It was all very well to say that the deal ers must liberate their tea, whether there was a remis sion of the duty or not ; but there was nothing more harsh or impolitic than to deprive the trader of the be nefit of the remission of the duty. The trader in the fiat instance had the benefit of a remission of duty, and that was the very best econ •my, because the trader was thereby stimulated to an extension of his operations, which resulted in an augmentation of supply. (Hear.) After holding out certain expectations to the traders, you anticipated their fulfilment with the ingenious re mark, that the lose, after all, would not fall on the consumer, but the dealer. (Hear.) Those who were en gaged in the China trade were perfectly entitled, except under great pressure, to the benefit which they expected by the fall of duty as provided in the act of Parlia ment. (Hear.) Much had been said on the inexpediency of prospective legislation, and different philosophers came into play on the question. Tee right principle, it was s:tid, was to vote the taxes for twelve months, as you voted tine supply for twelve months. Well, he would show what the effect of prospective legislation had been in respect to the supply of tea. His right hon. friend stated, in reply to a deputation, as appeared foom the pablic papers, on the 231 of January, ten days bet ire the meeting of Parliament, that the war duties on tea, sugar, and coffee would terminate on the sth April. He (Mr. Gladstone) must say that if these words, or words equivalent to them, were used by his right hon. friend, it became a serious question for the House of Commons to consider whether they would sanction an increase of duly, because, no doubt, if these words were used, per sons engaged in the tea trade would immediately and un hesitatingly proceed to arrange their communications with China in conformity with that statement. (Hear.) But with regard to prospective legislation, if that was bad, the proposition of the Government, which provided for the next 12 months, was good. The right hon. gen tleman opposite (Mr. Disraeli) thought differently, be cause he provided for a fall that ran through four or five years, whilst the Government to which he (Mr. Glad stone) belonged provided for four years, namely, from 1853 to 1857. • What was the consequence of that pros pective legislation ? In 1853 that prospective legisla tion was adopted, and in 1854, although under the un favourable circumstances of the rebellion of China, the efforts of traders and merchants were so active in provid ing for the public wants that the imports rose from 71,000,0001135. in 1853 to 86,000,000ib5. in 1854 To wards the close of 1854 it became necessary, in conse-• quenee of the war, to arrest the fall in the tea duty, and the consequence was that the supply of tea, which rose in 1854 by 15,000,00011 m. above that of 1853, not only did not rise, but fell 2,500,0001b5. below the supply of 1854. An Hox. MEMBER-1,500,0001b5. Mr. GLADSI'OI4E—The figures which he had were different ; but it did not matter as far as the argument was concerned, for the supply remained as near as pos sisle stationary in 1855 and 1856, shswing that as the duty fell the supply and the consumption rose, but when the fall of duty was suspended the consumption was alto arrested. The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER—What was the supply in 1856 ? Mr. GLADSTONE-86,000,0001b5. But the remark did not tell much for his right hon. friend, as what be looked to was the consumption, not the supply. Of course when operations were largely extended they could not be suspended in a moment. (Hear, hear.) The con sequence of prospective legislation had been that there were larger stocks of tea in the i pountry at the present tune than was ever the case before. (Hear.) In the present state of China this was a satisfactory result ; but the right hon. gentleman ought not to exult in the gains to be got out of the tea-dealers, because they were dis appointed in the expectations which they very naturally entertained. (Hear, hear.) The hon. gentleman (Slr. Wilson) founded his argument upon grounds which he ought to be the last man to advance. He said that the Government were in the unfortunate position of being obliged to make provision for war obligations which were contracted when they entered office, and were left unprovided for. The hon. gentleman was entirely un founded in that statement. The war obligations were not left unprovided for ; they were meant to be provided tor, and were provided for, by the half-year's full income tax which was coming in. In 1854, when the House of Commons granted Government the power of contracting temporary obligations in the shape of Exchequer bonds or hills, they did so upon the express showing of the Go vernment that they were only going to borrow upon the anticipation of the income tax. That was a very plain and simple matter, and now came the time for the re de nption of the pledge. There were 6,000,000/ of these Exchequer bonds. You had 4,000,0001. or 5,000,0001. of the half-yearly income tax in arrear. Of this 2,000,0001. were to go in payment of the Exchequer bonds. That was perfectly right, because it was a re deeming of the promise made to Parliament. But the other 2,000,0001. ought to be applied to a further redemp tion of the war obligations, and not to the ways and means of the year. (Hear, hear.) Therefore, so far from being encumbered with war obligations, provision was made for the discharge of these war obligations, but instead of applying that provision to the purposes to which Parliament intended it should be applied, the right hon. gentleman was going to apply it to maintain the establishments of the year. (Hear, hear.) Therefore there was no ground whatever for laying fresh taxes on the tea and sugar of the people, in order to make provi sion for meeting the war obligations—that prevision having been already made by Parliament. He bad spoken of the abundant stock of tea on hand, and as he subject of sugar, it would per hapshad a b e He thought his right hon. friend mad e a ser i ous error i n motion bette r alsof he on weret he t o saya few wo r d s now on it. his description of the case of sugar. He understood his right hon. friend to say that the war tax on tea and sugar had been borne without any diminution of consumption. The war tax on sugar was no doubt aggravated by the high price ; but the war tax was so much in addition to the high price, and so far from the comforts of the people not being diminished thereby, a large decrease, on the contrary, had taken place under the combined influence of high price and war duty. For the first eleven months of 1854 the consumption of sugar was 7,506,000 cwt. ; for the first eleven months of 1855 it was 7.178,000 cwt. ; and for the first eleven months of 1856 it was 6,771,000 cwt., so that in the course of only two years in this important and essential article of consumption there was a decrease of 835,000 cwt., or one-eighth of the whole consumption of the people. (Hear, hear.) That was a serious fact for the consideration of the House of Commons. They had been labouring and struggling for many years to carry these great objects. For many years the question of the sugar duties was not merely as a question of revenue, not merely as a question of pro spective legislation, but as a question connected with high social interests and the interests of humanity—was a capital question of debate in the house. (Hear.) The West India planters were the only persons who really suffered from the reduction of the sugar duties, and this entitled them to fair consideration at the hands of the house ; but for the sake of increasing the supply of sugar to the people of this country the house not only sacri ficed revenue, and broke down the fortunes and interests of a class, but risked and hazarded the serious evil of giving a new stimulus to the slave trade—such import ance did timer attach to the object of increasing the con sumption of sugar. And now, under the influence of high prices which they could not help, and war duties which were more within their discretion, in the course of two short years the consumption of the people was reduced by one-eighth of their whole consumption. (Hear, hear.) It was impossible to show more clearly that this was a matter which demanded the most serious consideration of the house. (Cheers.) It must not be said that with regard to the sugar supply it was so limit ed that it could not signify whether they added a shil ling more or less to the duty. That was the grossest fallacy in the world. With regard to tea, indeed, of which much more than one-lialf, he inelieved two thirds, of the produce of China, came to this country, there might be some grounds for saying that an addition to duty would not much affect the supply in their own market in relation to other markets, because there was no great area of supply from which they could draw, on a reduction of the duty. But that was not the case with regard to sugar; that was a product which extended over an enormous variety of countries. Our consumption was between 350,000 and 360,000 tons out of perhaps 1,400,000 tons which might be taken as the whole ex portable production. There was an immenne area from which to draw that supply. He believed that cargoes of sugar came to Cewes without any definite place of des tination, but according as the price of sugar was high in London, Hamburg, or Amsterdam, the vessels proceeded to one or the other of these places. An addition of a shilling to the duty on sugar was therefore a matter of great importance, because its effect might be to dimi nish the stock of sugar in this country. It was, there fore, by no means unimportant whether they put on an additional duty on sugar or not on the plea that the stocks were small. Though the stock of sugar was small, it would be made yet smaller by arresting the fall, that was to say, by increasing the duty. (Rear, hear.) He had stated to the committee what was ne cessary to put the question in a clear point of view, and had no wish to repeat what he bad urged on a former evening ; but be should again enter his protest against the supposition that they were then called on to take a proceeding of mere secondary importance. It was re presented that this was a mere' adjournment of the fall in the duty—that it was merely reserving the question for the new Parliament : it was no such thing. If they could leave the question in stake quo let them do so—let them leave the question to the judgment of the new Parliament ; but let them not think that this was a mere secondary or formal proceeding —it was the first step of retrogression in the path or which every onward step had bestowed such lavish blessings on the peopls. It was easy to say that they were not going to make an in crease, but merely to postpone the decline. If, however, the proposal of the Government was accepted, what example would they show to future Chancellors of the Exchequer 1 At the present moment they had a surplus revenue secured by law, yet in order to secure certain other reductions they were going to impose new duties on tea and sugar. But what would be the condition of things next year ? At the present moment they had ample means in their hands; but another Chancellor of the Exchequer would be in a very different position in 1858-59, when he had to provide for the enormous deficiency which must result from the measure of the present Government. He would have to come to the house and ask, not for an in crease, but for a further suspension of the reduction ; and in all probability he will have an infinitely better case, for he will be able to say, you suspended the reduction at the very moment you were ie possession of a surplus revenue in order to reduce something that pressed on the wealthier classes; and he will justly say, you ought never to have taken the first step. He will say that in 1857 a parliament on the eve of its dissolution left a defi ciency which he was called on to meet ; it was necessary to raise a certain sum, which he would divide between direct and indirect tax vtion, and he would, therefore, be driven to propose a further suepeneiou Ho (Mr. Glad stone) was most desirous to avoid anything in the nature of a factious opposition, and if, when he had stated his views, he found individual members were not likely to support him, he would, after taking the sense of the cornmietee, respectfully withdraw his opposition ; but if, on the contrary, he found that his opinions met with support, he would shrink fro m th e d uty of pressing them to the utmost of his power. He was convinced that it was of urgent importance to redeem the pledges of Parliament in this regard, It was important in itself, and important with a view to the- satisfaction, con tentment, and loyalty of the people, and important, he did not hesitate to add, to the stability of the in stitutions of the country. When the representatives of the people were elected not by the entire mass of the po pulation, but by those who were placed something above the level of the labouring classes, it was most im portant that the latter should feel that their interests were fairly, justly, and liberally cared for by the Parliament—(hear, hear)—and that there should be no disposition to respect unduly and unequally the interests of those who possessed the franchise. If he were an agitator for an extensive organic reform in Parlia mentary representation he would not desire a better case to put before the unenfranchised. He would say, here is a fair test of limited representation ; here is a case where Parliament had by law ample means provided for meeting the expenditure, but when a movement arose amongst the classes who possessed the franchise for a re duction, they did not first fix the expenditure of the country, but they determined, when about to dissolve, that whatever the expenditure might be the wishes of the enfranchised classes should' be met, and they began the undoing the beneficial works of former Parliaments, and increased the burdens on tea and sugar. The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER said he was totally unable to understand the drift of his right hon. friend, or the policy which he proposed. Each sen tence of his speech, taken by itself, was clear and polished, but when he came to put them together as a whole, and sought to understand them, they were totally devoid of coherence and intelligibility, and reminded ' him of the sculptor mentioned by Horace : " /Emiliuna circa ludum faber imus et ungues Exprimet, et molles imitabitur tare capillos, Infelix opens enflame, quia ponere totum Nesciet.' He confessed that if he had to submit a new budget to the house on the principles recommended by his right hon. friend, he should be wholly at a loss how to carry them into effect. His right honourable friend complained of his proposal to arrest the fall in the duties on tea and sugar. It was a mere rein i g on the meaning of words to say that to arrest the fall was to increase the duty. His right hon. friend's meaning appeared to be, that a reduction which was less than a greater reduction was no reduction at all. [Mr. Gladstone—No, no.] For how did the matterstand? The present duty on tea was Is. 9d. ; by the law as it now stood it would fall on the lstof April to is. 3d. ; he proposed that from the Ist April it should be is. 5d., and he maintained that the alteration from ls. 9d. to is. 541. was a reduction. • But his right hon. friend said it was an increase, because it was a less reduction than a greater .reduotion. His (the Chancellor of the Exche quer's) proposal was that on the Ist of April a duty should be levied which was less than the duty that now existed. Did his right hon. friend mean to contend that the reduction from 16d. to 7d. in the income tax was no reduction, or from 11d. to sd. on incomes under 1501. a year ? There was no interference at all with the fall in thd war duty on malt, so he supposed it would not be denied that was also a reduction. The same with regard to the duty on coffee, the entire reduction on which would take effect. He had made a statement on 'a former night which his right hon. friend had stigmatised in no very mild terms as an attempt to deceive the public ; he admitted that he had used a wrong expression ; he said he proposed to reduce certain duties, he ought to have said that by the plan he proposed certain duties would be reduced. Nothing could be more unfair than to repre sent him as bringing before the house a plan the main feature of which was increase of taxation. If a stranger had happened to listen to his right hon. friend, he would have supposed that he (the Chancellor of the Exche• quer) at the close of a war was bringing forward a plan for adding to the burdens of the people. All he could be accused of doing was not allowing the full reduction to take place. He would again state to the .committee the amount of reduction in the ensuing year, as compared with the highest rates of the war taxes. The reduction on the malt duty would be 2,000,0001, ; on the income tax, 9,125,0001.; on tea, 669,0001.; on coffee, 135,000/ ; and on sugar, 342,0 11 01,—making a total of 12,271,0001. It is quite true, as his right hon, friend reminded them, that the entire of that reduction would not occur within the financial year, as the taxes wero not always paid the moment they became due ; but, taking the taxation of the year on those items, as compared with the highest taxation during the war, there would be a remission to the country of more than twelve millions. His right hon. friend spoke of him as making a bargain for the Exchequer, and having an interest distinct from the public. He altogether disputed that theory ; but, even if he were to make a bargain, he was quite ready to take the law as it stood, if the war income tax was left, and the full reduction taken. On the tea and sugar duty the Exchequer would be an enormous gainer, and a much larger sum would be levied on the public. His right hon. friend meant to take all the plains out of the pud ding. (Hear, hear) He could only imagine that his right hon. friend, in the labyrinth of his own proposi ti.m, lost the thread and became bewildered in his o calculation. His right hon. friend had accused him of having denounced prospective legislation on the tea duties ;he bad done no such thing. The principle of pros pective legislation was perfectly familiar, and he had is his original resolution fully recognised it. His reason for not doing so in the resolution then before.the com mittee had been stated by the noble lord at the head of the Government on the previous evening, namely, that in the present position of the Government, and provi sional state of the Legislature, he would be acting un fairly if he asked for more than was necessary foe the service of the year. He had at first proposed to fix the duty for three years, and thereby recognised the princi ple of prospective legislation, snd withdrew his proposal for the two last years simply on the ground of the altered position of the Government. It was intended to ask for supplies only for six months, and for the Limited Mutiny Act, but it was impossible to impose a tax for a less period than a year—a shorter period would einbarra - s mercantile transactions. He had next to deal with a por tion of his right hon. friend's speech which had puzzled and perplexed him above all others; that part of it which referred to the redemption of the war loans. He said that four millions and a half of the war income tax would be collected during the ensuing year as arrears of the war income tax, and contended it ought to be applied to the redemption of the Exchequer bonds ; two millions would be so applied if the house would grant sufficient ways and means for the service of the year ; but, if the proposal to reduce the tea and sugar duties was adopted, it would be necessary to provide some other means for the discharge of the bonds. But, even supposing that the house would grant two millions more of the income tax for the purpose of this redemption of the bonds, as the law now stood there would be no power to apply that money to the redemption of these bonds. The bonds for neat year were in the hands of different parties, arid there was no power to call them in until they became due. If there was a surplus in the Exchequer at the end of the present year the Commissioners for the Re duction of the National Debt would be bound to apply it to the extinction of some of the existing debt, and in order to carry out the plan of his right hon. friend it would be necessary to pass an act to impound two millions of revenue and keep it ready for May, 1858, to redeem the bonds when they became due. Of course if his right hon. friend wished to keep up the 16d. war tax for the present year it would much facilitate the redemption of debt in the next year, but it appeared to him rather a clumsy mode of pro ceeding to keep up the tax for this year for such pur pose. It would be much better to give the peeple the relief this year, and increase the tax next year if neces sary. His right hon. friend had accused him of mis• stating the consumption of tea and sugar ; and he would therefore state the figures to the committee, that they might be able to judge whether the war duties bad a material effect in limiting consumption, and how far the pathetic appeal of his right bon. friend against this grinding and crushing tax was justified. In 1835 the consumption of tea was 36,574,0001b5., in 1845 it was 44,193,000165., in 1852, 54,713,0001b5., and in 1813, 58,834,0001b5. That was the year before the war, and would serve as a point of comparison. In 1854 the consumption had risen to 61,953,9001b5. ; 1855-56 was the time of the highest war duty, but the consumption was in 1855 63,429,0001b5., and in 1856 63,277,0001b5., so that the last two years were those of the highest con. gumption ever known in this country, notwithstanding the grinding and crushing tax of is. 9J., which he pro posed to reduce to the crushing rate of ls. sd. The present consumption was very little less than double what it was in 1835. He would next refer to sugar. In 1835 the consumption was 4,000,000 owts. ; in 1845 it was 4,800,000. Between that and 1855 a great change took place by the extension of the principle of free trade in colonial produce ; in 1862 the consuuption was 7,172,000 cwt. ; and in 1853, 7,487,000 ; in 1854 it was 8,332,000; in 1855 it fed to 7,547,000; and in 1856 to 7,361,000 ; s• that in the last two years it was greater than in 1852, and in 1855 greater than in 1853, and in 1850 nearly equal ; so that the consumption has not been materially affected by the alteration in the duties. In molasses the increase was still greater. The consumption in 1853 was 844,000 cwts., in 1854927,000, and in 1856 938,000. The article of malt, however, showed a very different result of the increase of duty in 1852, and in 1853 the quantity was 41,000,000 bushels ; in 1854, after the increased duty was put on, it fell to 36,000,000; in 1855 it was 33,879,000, and last year 36,970,000 that the effect of the increase was far greater than that produced in tea and sugar. While on this subject he would read an extract from M'Culloch, than whom there was no better authority. He stated—" That when not carried to an extravagant height, a duty on sugar offers one of the least exceptionable means by which a large revenue can be conveniently raised." He regretted as much as his right hon. friend, or any other member of the house, that the necessity should exist for imposing a duty on articles so extensively consumed, not only by the upper but by the working and middling classes, and he much wished it were in his power to accede to the exertion and allow the decline to take place ; but he feared that it they were to look for some other article of general consumption on which to lay - a tax, they would find that it would not be less onerous or less extensive in its application among the people. Mr. SPOONER, inquired whether, on the reception of a deputation in January last, the Chancellor of the Exchequer had not pledged himself to the remission of the tea duties in April The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER said the deputation bad reference to the income tax, and the tea duties were only incidentally mentioned amongst many other subjects. Lord J. RUSSELL said that having given notice of an amendment, he thought it due to the committee to state the course he intended to pursue. But before he did so he wished to say a word or two on the budget, spell which there had sprung a renewed dis cuesion. On considering the budget which the CLancrPor of the Exchequer introduced, it certainly appeared to him a very fair and just statement of the requirements of the year, and of the mode in which he proposed to deal with them. He did not think that the house would have ad mitted that the Chanceilar was ,right if he had proposed to continue the war income tax and to take off the duties on tea and sugar; nor, on the other hand, would it have been right to attempt to reduce the income tax and levy a higher duty on tea and sugar. It appeared that the Chancellor of the Exchequer, and he (Lord J. Russell) concurred in that view, that property having borne a large share of the expenses of the war, the community at large should make some sacrifices in the way of taxation. He could not see that there was the smallest ground,for the statement of the right hon. gentleman (Hr. Glad stone) that an extreme Parliamentary reformer would start with a great advantage by referring to the manner in which the Government proposed to deal with the taxa tion of the country—remitting taxation upon the rich and placing additional burdens upon the poor. There was no pretence for such an assertion. He regretted that the Chancellor of the Exchequer should have proposed his duties for a less time than oriinally proposed, but under all the circumstances he should support the Government against the resolution which Mr. Gladstone had proposed, Mr. RICARDO was sorry to find that this discussion, instead of being confined to the tea and sugar duties, bad branched off into a consideration of the budget generally, What he complained of was not so much the amount of duty as a continual tampering with arrangements alr ea d y entered into. He thought that when an arrangement was made with any trade for the remission of any duties, that arrangement should be faithfully kept. In reference to tea a contract was made, and it was acted upon by the trade, who had no idea that it would be violated by the Government. But e the trade stated that they had under stood the Chancellor of the Exchequer that the war du ties on tea were to cease on the let of April, 1857, and they had acted upon that declaration. In November last year, too, a gentleman bad written to the Customs to ask what was to be done, and the Customs, in reply, said that the reduction of the duty on tea from Is. 9d. to is. 3d. per lb. would take place in April of the present year. Mr. WILSON said that no reference was made by the Customs to the Treasury on the subject. Mr. RICARDO believed that the Customs would never have returned such. an answer without communication with the Treasury. He was the more confirmed in this by the circumstance that another gentleman having written to the Customs on the subject of the duties on sugar, the Secretary of the Customs stated that the re duction of the duty on sugar would take place " under the Act of 1855" on the 6th of April, 1856. If any let ters were ever calculated to mielead the trade these were the letters. He did not mean to say there was not a re servation in the letters on which the Secretary for the Treasury might rely, but; ho gave this as an instance in which the arrangements of trade were tampered with. He contended that this was essentially a tax on the poor man, looking to the large portion of his income which was spent on tea and sugar, and to the fact that these were his only luxuries. He believed, also, that the result of increasing these duties would be injurious to our trade. The United States were now lowering► their duties on sugar, and the effect was, that the sugar even from our own colonies went there instead of here, and employed labour in that country instead of this. But he thought that the classification of the sugar duties was even more objectionable than the amount of the tax. 4 The classification of sugar was principnry, according to colour. Thera were three elements—grain, colour, and saccharine matter. Cold any custom-house officer ascertain or define exactly what was the shade or degree of colour, grain, or saccharine matter? The consequence was, that a different duty was laid on the came kinds of sugar, not only in the different ports, but in the various docks. Continual alterations were consequently made in the standards. And the Custom-house officers were sometimes- unable to tell the rate which a particular sugar should be taxed before he had written to the honourable Secretary of the Treasury for a standard sample.. -Now this classification was, in fact, protection under a disguise. It was a protection on the lower and worse sugars of Demerara, Berbice, St. Vincent, and other colonies, enabling them to come in and be scli at the same price as the good sugars would be sold at if the duties were equal. Now the loss by bringing over the classes of Muse - mado sugars was from 10 to 18 per cent.; the loss on clayed .would be much loss. That 1 iss amounted to 460,445 cwt. of sugar per annum, or to an amount of 259,0001. And not only s but these sugars were of a most deleterious description, as was proved in the inve , tigatirms lately conducted under the direc tions of the proprietors of -the Lancet. That being the I case, he should like to see ali Muscavado sugar admitted at the same duty, in the same way in which all qualities of tea and wine, and other articles were charged. Be lieving that the trade of the country was interfered with unnecessarily, and that a bad article was imported where a good one might be obtained, he must again become one of the coalition which had been so much animadverted upon, and must vote for the motion of the right hon. gentleman the member for the University of Oxford. Mr. GREGSON contended that the answers returned by the Chancellor of the Exchequer and the Customs to the trade was the only ones that could be given. He was in favour of equalising the duties on different kinds of sugar, as he believed that the present system Ld to great confusion and difficulty in trade, and amounted to a pi otection of the inferior qualities of tea. He should not oppose the proposition of the Chancellor of the Exchequer with respect to the tea duties, as a large public meeting had agreed to a duty of ls. 4d. per pound, and especially looking to the fact that it was only for one year, and that then there would, he hoped, be a revision of the duties. Mr. POLL A.RD-URQUHART supported the propo sition of the Chancellor of the Exchequer. Mr. M. GIBSON understood the proposition before the house to be this—that whereas, by the act now in force, the duties on tea would fall to ls. 33. on the 6th of April next, the Government proposed to raise it to is. sd. Why was this necessary? Because the Govern ment told theethat this increase of duties was necessary to meet the estimates. But he believed that those esti mates cluld and would be reduced in committee ; and he did not see, therefore, how, in the last days of a moribund Parliament, and without any examination of the estimates, they were, in time of peace, to add to indirect taxation, and enter upon a reversal of that com mercial policy which they had so long struggled to main tain. A very important principle was involved in this question. The day of reckoning was near at band, and he did not know how they could give a satisfactory ac count totheir constituents, if, without knowing anything of the expenditure of the country, they were -to vote for an increase of the duties. This proposition was, in fact, the worst that had yet been made, for they had altogether lost sight of the Is., to which the dt}ty was to come at last. The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER—In regard to the year commencing the Ist of April next - , I propose that the duty shall be ls. sd. instead of is. 3d. In regard to subsequent years, the duties as fixed by the present act will remain unaltered. Mr. GIBSON objected to the proposition to increase the duty for the present year. Mr. MALINS contended that the proposition of the Chancellor of the Exchequer really amounted to an addi tional tax. He could not give the Government credit fur the remission of the war 9d. of the income tax, for it was left on by mistake, and its repeal was demanded by the country. He should have voted for the proposition of Lord John Russell had it been pressed, for fixing the duty on tea at is. 4d. for the next three years. Mr. L. HEYWORTH was opposed altogether to in= direct taxation. Mr. MOFFATT said that at the meeting of the per sons engaged in the tea trade they came to the conclu sion on the proposition of the Government, that it would he better to effect a compromise. They, therefore, sug gested a duty for the year of is. 4d. per pound. After agreeing to this, they were astonished at the new propo sition of the Chancellor of the Exchequer, which left the question entirely unsettled. It would be most fatal in its operation on the trade. Nearly all the contracts of tea were made duty paid, and hence immense confusion would arise from disputed contracts in consequence of the alteration in the duty. Mr. HORSFALL regretted that the noble lord the member for the city of London had withdr4wn his pro position. Mr. LAING believed that a far greater reduction might be made in the estimates than the amount that would be obtained by the increased duty on tea. Mr. MUNTZ could not see the connection between this question and that of free trade. He could under• stand it if we grew tea in this country. He believed him self that the importers of tea would pocket the whLle increased duty, and the consumer would never get a farthing of it. What was this duty compared with the income tax ? It [eight be said that the income tax did not affect the poorer classes, but he contended that they were immensely affected, indirectly affected by that tax, and if the country were polled the great bulk of the people would be in favour cif the Government measure. Mr. NE WDEGATE did not mean to vote for a defi ciency. Toe house bad determined to accept the esti mates from the Government as they had beon laid be- fore them. Mr. DISRAELI said in his mind this was a question of a new tax, although it was in the form of whether they should increase or reduce a tax. The temper of the house showed how inconvenient it was to attempt to impose a new tax at such a time. The noble lord the member for the City of London had withdrawn his proposition upon that ground. He (Mr. Disraeli) had already in the course of the evening said that in the last days of a Parliament they ought not to enter upon such important financial qustions. (" Divide.") He had been in the house for 20 years, and now he was interrupted by those whose voices he believed would not be heard in the next Par liament ; but he was not to be deterred from the expres sion of his opinions. It had been said that theaeroposed tenpence would not be felt; it might be said next year that is. 7d. would not be felt. The twopence produced 500,0001,, and that was an enormous burden on the consumer. The proposition of the Government struck at all those principles which up to this moment they had considered were established. The proposed tax was op posed to every sound principle of political economy and political morality. It was sail that the revenue required the proposed tax, but that had not been sho mu. They bad put the cart before the horse by going into committee of ways and means before they had considered the esti mates. (Cries of "Divide.") No, lie would not divide. (Cheers and laughter.) What would have been the usual c )urse ? Why, they would have gone into committee of supply, and the estimates would have been discussed, arid then the house would not have been proceeding in the dark, Why cold I not the financial statement be made in May ? Way` were they cal ed upon in the last days of an expiring Parliament to vote new taxes ? It was said that there had been extraordinary expenses in consequence of the war. Granted, hut why was the home not informed of what these expenses were, and then the house could judge ? But, whatever the consequences might be, he thought a duty on tea was the best duty which ought to be impend to meet it. (Cheers.) He believed the Government were acting upon a reactionary principle. • They had seen the effect of it that night, for it had been said it was only an increase in the duty, and that would be said in the next Parliament if they allowed the estimates to pass in the dark. This was reactionary policy. They might go on on that sys tem for ever adding a trifling amount to the indirect taxation, and the danger of that course was that the moment that they arrived at the point of indirect taxa tion that was intolerable, they would have to revert to direct taxation. He never would sanction in the lest days of an expiring Parliament the principle of imposing new taxes. Mr. GLADSTONE again said that the reduction of the Chancellor of Exchequer was no reduction at all. The law had already given that reduction, and the Caan cellor of the Exchequer was no more the giver of it than he was of Magna Charta. Tnis impost was among the most objectionable that could be lai•l on the table. Lord J. RUSSELL thought some further explanation was required from the Chancellor of the Exchequer. He had said that the law would be only for one year, and that in 1858 it would be ls. Now, those who bad re ceived the assurance that the tax would in April be is. 3d. would think that the Chancellor of tee Exchequer had some reservation, and therefore it would be satis factory if the Chancellor of the Exchequer Would state that he meant as far as he was concerned to fix the duty at is. The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER said he had merely stated what the law would be in 1858, but he should not hold himself precluded, if he held his office in that year, from proposing an alleviation in the duty, if it should be considered necessary and advisable. What he had said would so de tribe the effect of the law. He said that if a duty now le. 9d. per pound were fixed at le. sd. it would be a reduction, although it would not be so great a reduction as if it had been fixed at le. 3 (Great laugher.) A trader who had to pay that duty would come to the conclusion that it was a reduced duty. Mr. HENLEY had a great objection to leave the re venue in a deficiency. If they agreed to strike off 500,0001. that would leave the revenue i, a deficiency. In reply to the CHAIRMAN, Mr. GLADSTONE said that his proposition was that the duty should remain as it wa., or that, if altered, it should be 1.. 31 per lb. The question was then put, and the committee di vided. The nu nbers were— For Mr. Gladstone's proposition 125 Against it Majority Lr the Government —62 The original motion, that the duty shall be, from an d after the sth April, 1i57, to the sth April, 1858, inclu sive, 1.8. sd. per pound, was then carried. SUGAR DUTIES, &c. The CHAIRMAN then proceeded to put the resolution, fixing the duties on sugar, when Mr. GLADSTONE said he would take the division which had just taken place as conclusive respecting the sugar duties, and would not again divide the house. The CHAIRMAN then read the following resolutions :-- " SUGAR DUTIES. " That, in lieu of the duties of customs now chargeable on sugar imported into the United Kingdom, , the following duties 81,311 be charged To April 5, From and a'ter 1857, April 5, 1857, inclusive. xe Aprils,lBs B , inclusive. Sugar, viz.:— s. d. .2 a. d. Candy, brown it white, refined sugar, or su i s:ar rendered by any process e qual in quality thereto, the . ewt 1 0 0 018 4 White clayed a ?Igor, or sugar rendered by any process equal in quality to white clayed, not being refined, or mufti in quality to refined 0 17 6 Yeliow Muscovado and brown c l a y 9d sugar, or sugar ren dered by any process equal in quad.; ty to yellow Musco vado or ;)rowit clayed, and not equal to white clayed, tho cwt Brown Muscov, Nolo, or any other sugar, nc t being equal in quality Po yellow Musco vado or brown clayed sugar, the cwt. ... ...••••• 0 13 9 Mola'ses, the cwt_ • Cherries, dried... Comfits, dr, Confectionary Ginger, presrvd Marmalade Plums preserved 0 16 0 0 13 10 1 0 12 8 0 5 0 thepount; 00 23 00 2 in sugar Succades, includ ing all fruits and vegetables preserved insu gar, not other wise enumerat ed The resolutions were agreed to, ,end were ordered to be reported to the hou , e. Tne hou.le then resumed. NORFOLK ISLAND (ECCLESIASTICAL 60• VERNMENT) Mr. LABOUCHERE moved that the order for the second reading of this bill be discharged, as the Govern' ment.di3 not intend to proceed further with it during the present session. The motion was agreed to, and the order was dig' charged. INDUSTRIAL SCHOOLS BILL. Sir S. NORTHCOTE moved that this bill be coal' witted pro forma. in order that it might be reprinted. Mr. BOWYER opposed the motion, and submitted that s . s the bill was likely to lead to considerable dio" cusion, it ought not to be further proceeded with during the presec•t session. Lord PALMERSTON said he hoped there would be no division on the question of the bill being committed pro forma. Mr. BOWYOR said he would not divide. The house then went into committee, and the bill having passed thrcugh committee pro forma, the hood resumed. T1:11: INCOME TAX. The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER E$ he begged leave to move for leave to bring in a bill which he thought w. , ss not likely to be objected to , namely, a bill to reduco the income tax to sevenpence le the pound on all incomes , above 1501. a year, and five• pence in the pound on air incomes of 1001. a year, an d not exceeding 1501. Leave was given to bring in the bill, and it WO brought in and read a first time. TRANSPORTATION BILL. On the motion of Sir G. GREY the order for 0 6 second reading of this bill, which stood for' Monday' was discharged. BUSINESS OF THE HOUSE. Lord FALMERSTON gave notice that on Mondil be should mope that orders of the day have precedenc e of motions on 175ursdays. The house then adjourned at twenty-five minutes to twelve o'clock. Mr. Goddard's name was erroneously inserted in the list of pairs on Mr. Cobden resolution. That gentle man bad obtained leave from the house, and was aboot from two divisions on account of ill health. Country Markets. LIVERPOOL—MARCH 6. At this morning's market we had a moderate attendance of millers and dealers. The demand for wheat was fair, and 1 1 tolerable business resulted by holders submitting to ld 2d per bushel decline. Flour did not decline, having been overpressed and reduced in price previously. Indian CO III was in fair demand to-day, and to meet buyers holders re luctantly gave way about 6d. per qr. No other change 64. curred in oats, barley, beans, and peas. WAKEFIELD—MAnca 6. Wheat was steadily held for last week's terms, b u t there was not much progress made with sales. Fine barley con; tinues scarce and fully as dear. Beans steady, hind oats a n d shelling without material change. EXETER-MARCH 6. .4..4J. • • ... Conrr.—Wheat, v 7s 6d to 76 9d ; barleys, 6s Od to 6 5 ; grinding do., Os Od to Os Od. Oats, 3s Od to 38 2d• Beans, Os Od to 0 Od. Peas, ON Od to 00s Od. FLOUB.—Fine, 42s Od to 41s Od ; seconds, 40s Od to 420 Od per sack. CATTLE. —There was a small supply of bullocks. Best beef, from 103 6d to lls per score ; inferior, 9s 6d to 10s per score ; fat calves, —d to Od per lb ; barrenners, Os Od to 0 1 Od. per score ; cows and calves, 121. to 161. us ; butchers' calves, Od to 7d per lb., rearine calves —s to —8 each• sheep, ewes and lambs, 0/. Os to 0/. Os per couple; ewes, 74c 1 to Od; wetbers, —d Sd ; lambs, —to Od per b. rigo large size, —5 to —s ; second size, —s to —a ; slips, -- ",2 to —s ; suckers, —s to —s. Rough fat, 4id per ' l ' Pork carcases from lOs Od to lls id per score. BRISTOL SUGAR—Mum 6. The market has been exceedingly quiet this week, the anb r transaction reported being 100 hhds. brown Demerara, In 495. 6(1., being a decline of 6d. per cwt. on former rates. refiners' produce nothing whatever has been done. In 111 1, 11 some few sales have been made at 2s. 10d. proof for Demme. rants, just landed. rr.—lTAnvil 6. the close of the market. Witlisend, &a. • a. Russell's Hetton 15 g Lambton 36 ' Braddyll l5 9 , Goeforth . 13 v Kepler Grainge l6 4 3 Hough Hall 1 4 " flarton l3 6 South Kelloe 16 a 15 Acorn Close 13 Belmont 15 Ponsher . 16 9 South Hatton 17 9 itowart's I Sold . 89 'ANGE.-YESTERDAY. Gibraltar ...... .. •• 29 45 Leghorn .• • • •• •• •• •• • • _it Genoa .......... 95 4:47 , Milan •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• Venice........ Naples •• •• •••• •••••• •• 43%. Palermo .... Messina .. . •.• 1304 Lisbon .• .......... •• 31 3 4 Oporto •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• 52 Rio Janeiro ..... ....... Buenos Ayres ..... Yew York,6o dayealght Philadelphia •.. ?MUFF OF BULLION, PEI OP. Foreign Gold In Bars £3 17 9 Portugal Gold Coin .. 0 0 Mexican Dollars 0 0 New D011ar5.. ... .0 v Silver in bars 0 0 5 )71' ie [ADVERTISEMENT.]—HoIIoway's Pills the most P O. pular remedy for the cure of Coughs, Colds, am' Acthines.--Many serious and fatal complaints have their origin in a slight cold, the various inflammatory die ea,es, it generally begins above and proceeds down' wards, the eyes and nose being first affected, then the throat, afterwards the gullet and stomach suffer, Caul: ing quinsey, qualmishness, and indipetion, for, se 1 " loaves the upper part, it increases in severity in the lower, but Holloway's Pills invariably effect a cure la the course of a few days.—Sold by all medicine vendors throughout the world ; at Professor Holloway's establish' olents, 244, Strand, London, and 80, Maiden-lane, NO York ; by A. Stampa, Constantinople ; A. Guidio Smyrna ; and E. Muir, Malta. BIRTHS. OF A SON. On the 6th inst., at 7, Campden-house-road, Kensington the wife of Charles Oldfield, Esq. On the sth inst., at 6, Liverpool-street, New-road ) MO. It. C. Turnbull. OF A DATIOIITEL, On the sth inst., at Church-row, Limehouse, the wife of A. A. Walter, Esq., solicitor. On the sth inst., at 4, Blenheim-stre e t Bo n d- s treet, th wife of Mr. Scptimus Cooper, 61 , Piccadilly. MARRIED. On the sth inst., at St. George's, Hanover-square, William Everard, Esq., of Milford, near Adelaide, South Australia► to M ar i a , younger daughter of Wm. Hughes, Esq., of Stoke Newington. On the 3d inst., at Tytherington Church, Glocestershiret John Lloyd Davies, Esq., M.P. for the Cardigan Boroughs , to Elizaheth Bluett, only child of the late T. B. Hardwicke, Esq., and granddaughter of Thos. Hardwicke, Esq., of the Grange, Glocester. hire. On the sth lost , the r incumbent of .ev. Thomas Hope, ' Hatton, near War . wiek, aged 59. son, Es q., On the sth inst at 16, Paradise-terrace, Islington, Mr. Alfred No r t on, aged 49. aged 57. On the 4th i ns t ., a t 44 , P em b r id ge Vill as, Ri c h ar d Robin' On the sth inst., at Hampstead, Jane Fanny Rose, t he wife of the R ev . F ranc i s B a ll ar d W e ll s , rec t or o f W oo dchurcht Kent, a ge d 72 . .* On the 4th inst., at Bargrove, Kent, Francis H. Brock* man, Esq., aged 46. On the th inst., Harriet, wife of Frederick Le Gros Clark, Esq., of Spring-gardens, and Lee, Kent. Ou the sth hist., Anne, widow of the late Mr. G. F. F" nivall, of the Military Library, Whitehall. On the 4th inst., a t W a lto n -pl ace , Brompton, Philip CareW ' third s m of George Goldsmith, Esq. ___.... LONDON Printed and Publighed by MURDO YOUNG. of No, 112, Strand, Printer, at The Sun Office, 14° ' 117, Strand, in the Precinct of the Savoy, in the count/ of Middlehes, Saturday, March 7, 7867. COAL MAR Prloam of Coal per ton at d. Bebside's Hartley 14 6 Longridge's Wst Hartley 14 6 Bell's Primrose l2 6 Walker Primrose l3 0 Tanfield Moor l3 0 Tanfield Moor Butes 13 0 Wallsend, Eden Main l5 6 Hetton l7 0 ffaswell 17 3 Framwellgate l5 0 Hartlepool l6 01 Bireligrove Graigola 2O 0 LanibtonPrimrose l5 0 • Tees 91).1pa at .market...l2l COURSE OF 'BSI mei erdArn .... II F 6 Ditto, three months 11 18% Rotterdam . ..... 11 18N Antwerp 25 50 [lrusz , els ....•• 25 50 Ilarnburgh 13 8 Faris 25 27% Ditto, three months .. 25 67% 25 67% rtoardeaux •• ..•• Frankfort-on-Ma!ne •• 119% Berlin •• •••••••• .• •• •• Vienna .. 10 28 friesto •• •• a. •• •• •• ••• 10 29 Petersburg ........ •• .. 37 Wadrid •....... .• 49 Cadiz ••••••••••• •• 50 nArcolona Aavine...............