The Press.
London, England, 1853-05-28 00:00:00

MAT 28, 1853.

in favour of England by the budget as it was now proposed
wold be 1,040,000., while there was a Whens, against
heluaad of 413,000/.1 ; and looking to the year' Pule, and
supposing, the whole of the chancellor of the ExchLsmer's
proposition to he curried out, and the income tax to be then
nettled, the result would be a permanent remission of
taxation for England to the extent of 6,71:000/.. while the
remissions to Deland would be only ai,lMMu. t Homy.
Hr. &WS recommended his fellow -11 ishmen to
endure au equalised income tax, because they would
lion have a just plea to obtain other and more valu-
able concessions, especially with regard to the poor
rates and county cess.
Mr. MAGUIRE stated the stun in plain figures.
460,000/. a year of income tax imposed, against
250,000/. of debt remitted. To call that a fair ex
change, much less a good bargain, was nothing but a
juggle and a trick. How could members who voted
against Mr. Disraeli's proposal to levy 60,000/. in-
come tax in Ireland, because it was the last straw
which broke the camel's back, support the present.
budget, which imposed no straw but a really intolerable
weight on that country ? Mr. Gladstone's heartless
speech and flippant assertions about the consequences
of the Union would have made him a convert to Re-
peal, if he had not been a Repealer before.
Mr. E. BAIA. urged the necessity of applying some
invigorating stimulus to Ireland, now just recovering
from an almost fatal disease, instead of the process
of depletion which was now prescribed for her.
On dividing, the house rejected Colonel Dunne's
motion for a select committee by a majority of 164
to 61-103.
The committee being funned,
Mr. FREWEN proposed an amendment to the first
clause, by which the duration of the tax would be
limited to two years. He did not think it expedient
for Parliament to tie its own hands front dealing
with the tax for a longer period.
The CHANCELLOR of the Exeitetivint pleaded that
the chief motive for taking a seven years' lease of the
tax was to proeide the means whereby it might be
effeetually extinguished.
The committee divided—for the amendment, B'2 ;
against, 213: majority, 141.
on clause 2 an amendment was moved by Mr.
Witt.roty. to distinguiali by the word "net" the pm-
portion of the ostensible profits of trades and profes-
sums on which the tax should be levied. He wished
to make the tax more equitable with regard to pre-
carious and industrial incomes, foreseeing the time
when Parliament would be asked again to renew it.
Mr. GrAns-roxs objected to tints opening up the
obi question of the " schedules." Government
thought the tax could not be levied upon the differen-
tial principle, and had endeavoured to equalise the
financial burden on different classes in another way.
The committee divided, and the amendment was
lost by 104 votes against ill. Clause 3 was then
agreed to.

CHURCH RATES.
Leave to bring in a bill "to alter and amend the
law relating to church rates" wi►s moved fur on

Thursday by
Mr. R. Ptum,utionE whointroduced his motion as a
consistent member of Church, and with the olkject
chiefly of strengthening anti dignifying the Estab-
lishment. Laws, which he twist back to the
Reformation, hail made it the bounden duty of every
parishioner to contribute to the repair anti main
tenance of the parish church ; but circumstances
had gradually altered, anti, with the spread of dissent
and the progress of toleration, it had become neces-
sary to assimilate the law to the new condition of
things. It. was now of great importance that the
Church should make large sacrifices for the sake of
peace, and it was of equal importance that the house
and the dissenting community generally should know
how extensive those sacrifices were. Detailing the
successive lint. unsuccessful propts4itions that had
been made in the Legislature to amend the law re-
lating to church rates, describing some of the more
successful attempts matte in the country to evade it,
anti tracing the complieated anti expensive course of
suits growing out of church-rate tpubstions through
various courts of legal arbitrement, Mr. Minimum
proceeded to explain and defend his proposed mea-
sure. He intended simply to declare every Dis-
senter free from any compulsion to pay church rates.
lie did not seek to defend dissent, hut. left it for
eery individual to inscribe himself as a separatist
who wished thereby to mold contributing to the
maintenance of the Established Church
"What he 'imposed was that all itissenterm should be
exempted from the payment of chords rates by the simple
process of stating iu writing that they were dissenters from
the Church of England, and handing that statemilit to the
churchwarden. 'That that statement should is; kept, by
the churchwarden, mid a certified copy of it produced in
4101 ii should be sufficient evidence of exemption. He prop
posed further that the persons who had cu declared them.
selves Dissenters. and objected to support and maintain
the Establiaheit Church, should have no right whatever to
any church rights. or pi% or I'VrO'iiiinliCS; that they
".1'"61 1" IN, Ale to compel the clergyman to the per-
tortualice sot any religious service. Also he *tailed that
than '11"111,1 lie a mode left them of returning to the

from the church rate, .'ante to the same conclusion.
He %jetted at the seine time to simplify the ease, by
substituting a general resolittion—that the money re-
quired for repairing eltunittes should be drawn front
funds belonging to the Church.
Sir It. H. I sous opposed both the motion and the
amendment. The former would denationelise the
; the latter throw the charge) for maintaining
the outer &brie of 'inmates 1111011 a fund already
pledged to the relief and supply of spirituel desti-
tution. There was no pulsing pressure now ea.
petienceil against the elniech-rate system, and the
tax fell not on persons, hut on properties to whielt
it had been attached from time immemorial
.• Who felt the evil? Ile defied any honourable member
to produce a single instance of a taa in favour of which No
ntauy petit' hwl been presented. He felt bee was jus-
tuiwl iu saying that the lulu-trot* the peoples were indentgled
with the (lurch. and would gbully support it voluntarily
hr the way the law now provided. For fourteen centuries
this property heal Issas devotee's to the nutititenance
eel the
Csiablislie,l church. It hail vier been looked upon as an
sippanagi, which was essential to the existence of the
witiewility of the 'hunch. This WAS an impost upon pro-
pull,. it WO. MVO* quibble' to say that it was a fa% upon
404411105.-
Mr. A. l'El.t.srr, on behalf of the Diasenteni, de-
Oared that the proposition brought forward by Mr.
Phillimore would utterly fail in satisfying them. He
then proceeded to argue in support of the amend
uncut : that. the elinrch rate system was most unjust ;
that it gave rise to feelings of animosity, and was
the cause of much that wax unseemly and unchristian ;
and that the voluntary system where it had been
tried in the ease of the Church of England itself
hail operated moat beneficially. The Church
had already an amount of property which, if
wisely managed, would enable bur easily to diapeniiii
with ally compulsory nit".
Mr. NI lAI.I. believed that it would be easy to dispense
with church retes—eithstitute, or no substitute. His
%enters intpportisl 17,1100 places of worship by vOltill
Lary contributions, and Clittrehmen could do the
saine, as they hail done during earlier sod purer ages.
Mr. Wilinim refused to interfere with an arnoige-
mint whieli, by dawing a revenue from property,
maintained a Churcrh for the poor out of the wealth
of the.
Sir O. linty attributed little importance to the
proposition as regarded the strength and safety of .
the Established Church. If church rates were extin-
guished forthwith, the Church would remain as firm
and stelae as ever, and be as deeply rooted in the
affeetione of the people. Pleading the " difficulties
that sumitnileil the (lineation" as an excuse for his
own inconsistency if he should now see cause to sup-
port any plan of aettletnent which he had opposed in
yeani pest, Sir G. t irey proceeded to declare hue Cott-
tinned objection to Mr. l'hillineire's scheme :
" 'there wens large members of Disauittera who mingled
in their religious services with the professore of the ectahe
fished religion, and it would be preptlicial tie the interests
of that Church. and to the nutiott.taa et. of that gond feeling
%Well it was desirable Amnia subsist. 114.1Weell the WM-
-114.n4 of every creed, that a distinction should be drawn
in
the ease of Dissenters, and that they should be exempted
from money payments. lie believed it would draw
a lino
of dithst itectiiill between !monikeor% of thee Katablialted Church
aud
ese who hitherto ucasi many ennuis( into its
forms of weenthip, which would he productive of anything
hut that kindly spirit which should pervade thee members
of rwry form of Christianity."
respect to the amendment 1.0 had not made up
his mind, and wished te tiro the proposition it con-
tained embislieil in some tittlgillie fibrin.
Ineril .1. Iti•ssEt.t. concurred in believing that the
Church could exist without rates. and joined also
in finding much to object against the bill now pro.
11154.11. He recommended the postponement of any
legislative act until the celebrated Braintree case,
which was still before the Muse of Lords en appeal,
had WWII derided, and t.ho actual state of the law
regarding church rates defitiiiively laid down. On
the wheelie he preferred doing iiiithi.i.• to the adoption
either of the motion or the iimendnieut.
Mr. nitwitr remarked upon the meonsisteneies
between Lord .1. 11usseill's speech that MOIL and vu..
im previous oeciisiens. Ile sawawin why
England and 'lreland slionhl be treated differently in
restwct to church rates, and looted upon the voluntary
principle as the most soimil atilt sate method of
priniiling the funds necessary to keep churches in
repair.
'lwo divisions were taken. First on the original
motion, which was rejeeted by 20 votes to 1E13:
majority, 22. Secondly on the amendment, which
was put as a substantive question, and also negatived
bv...e2ti to 172 : majority, 4s.
COMMON LODOING-HOUSES.
The House of Lords passed this bill through com-
mittee on Thursday.
The Karl of Sustorritavey stated, as a ground for
antieipating much benefit from its operation, that
under the imperfect act already passed there were at
this time 80,00 persons living in registered houses,
and in Monmouthshire alone there would very
shortly be 20,000 more. The consequence was, that

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