The Press.
London, England, 1857-02-07 00:00:00

THE PRESS.

have been paying a reduced assessment upon our
incomes. Those who are int3rested in real property
have not hail that reduced assessment. You may
say that those who are not interested in real pro.
perty have been in t'te same position, but remember
that the possessors of real property pay a sum of
:2,000,000/. a year without receiving that equivalent
on which they had a right to count—(Hear)—and
if you disturb the settlement of 1853 you raise up a
110,4 of dangerous and embarrassing financial ques-
tions which I had hoped had been settled for ever.
First of all, you raise the question as to the differ•
ence between permanent and precarious incomes.
Secondly, you revive a system of exemption *hick
I myself attempted entirely to extirpate, and which
the right hon. gentleman considerably diminished.
I see by the newspapers that it is laid down as a
principle that small incomes should not be taxed, as
if any person could define what is a small income—
(Hear, hear)—as if small incomes did not depend
on the circumstances of the family who possessed
them. (Hear.) You will have a revival of the old
bitter quarrel as to the peculiar burdens of taxation
upon the holders of real property.

These are questions which will embarrass any
Minister, and their solution will be found to be diffi-
cult, perhaps impossible. My opinion is that you
ought to adhere to the settlement of 1853.
(Cheers.) Do not attempt to deal with the income
tax without dealing with the whole question in a
frank and unequivocal manner. Any other course I
cannot approve, and shall never support. (Cheers.)
I believe that the policy which her Majesty's
Government are at present pursuing is a dangerous
policy, that that policy is owing in some degree to
the sources which are derived from the income tax,
and I therefore think that those sources ought not
to be granted to them for another year. (Hear,
hear.) I understand, from the declarations that we
had from those officially connected with her Majesty's
Government—some in v..ry high office, and some in
insufficiently high office—(laughter)—that it is not
the intention of the Government to insist upon levy-
ing this revenue. But I think that upon that suu-
ject there ought to be no doubt—(cheersl—and I
highly object to any settlement of it being post-
poned. I think it most impolitic that we should wait
for a month, or for two months, until her Majesty's
Ministers give us their financial statement. Some
may think that it is unnecessarily hostile to the
Government to take an early opportunity in the
session of eliciting the opinion of the house upon
questions of finance. I can assure the house that
they will find ample precedents of the best and wisest
of our ancestors for taking that course, which, in
fact, is the proper and constitutional course. Our
supply precedes our ways and means. We are not
to suppose that the Chancellor of the Exchequer of
this country fashions his demands according to what
he may fancy will be received by the Exchequer. He
fashions his demands upon the House of Commons
by one test, and one test only—the wants and proved
requirements of the country. (Hear, hear.) If the
Minister lays before the house a scheme of finance
and estimates which we believe are justified, who will
tell me that there is ever a House of Commons that
refuses such Minister the ways and means that are
necessary? But I protest on our part against our
being placed in the position of, as it were, stopping
the supplies for expressing our opinons upon the
taxation of the country before the Chancellor of the
Exchequer submits to us his financial statement. In
asking the house to give an opinion upon the income
tax I do not mean to imply that the ways and means
which the Government may require shall be stinted.
All that I ask is, that the sources of supply shall not
be tampered with until the opinion of the house
shall have been pronounced respecting the taxation
of the country. I believe that it is of the utmost
importance in the present state of the public mind—
and I am the last who will defer to anything like
illegitimate agitation—that we should upcn this sub-
ject come to an early decision. (Hear, hear.) It is
due to the country, to ourselves, and still more to the
Ministry. Let the Ministry know what the opinion
of the House of Commons is upon this great subject,
and they may then take that course which they in
their wisdom may think proper. I understand—for
I was nut in the house at the time—that some
notices have been given by some gentlemen upon
this subject. Ido not wish to speak of any gentle-
man in the usual exercise of his parliamentary privi-
lege in any other than a most unfeignedly respectful
manner ; but I think that it is of importance that if
the opinion of the house is taken the question should
be brought forward by some one who undoubtedly
speaks the feelings of a large party in this house.
(Hear, hear.)

I think the question ought to be brought forward
early. I am totally opposed to tacking upon the
Address in answer to the Speech from the Throne
any opinions of the house on this subject. I think
that would he an unworthy and unsatisfactory mode
of dealing with this subject. I think that it is due
o the house, to the country, and to her Majesty's

[SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 7, 1857.

Ministers that fair end sufficient, but no more than
fair and sufficient, notice should be given. I should
have been glad that some gentleman who sits near
me should have undertaken the task, but it has been
thought by many that I ought not to shrink from it,
and on this day fortnight, if it be convenient and
agreeable to the house, I will ask their opinion upon
this subject. I think my course will be to move for
a committee of the whole house in order that I may
introduce resolutions. My first resolution will be to
express the opinion of this house that taxes which
have been granted in time of war for the purpose of
carrying on hostilities, by way of income tax, should
not be levied in a period of what we are assured by
the hon. mover of the Address is one of profound
peace. (Hear, hear.) My second resolution—of
course I am nct pretending to give the language 1
should lay upon the table of the house—will be that
the house should express its opinion that the settle-
ment of 1853 by the right hon. gentleman the
member for the University of Oxford (Mr. Glad-
stone) should in spirit be adhered to. (Cheers.)
I cannot but believe that if these resolutions are
carried we shall witness some beneficial changes in
the financial system of this country. I think we
shall give a great impetus to salutary economy—
( Hear, hear)—and shall in a most significant manner
express our opinion that it is not advisable that
England should become what is called a " military
nation "—(Hear, hear)—though we are prepared to
vote all the ways and means necessary to establish
those sources from which an effective army can at
all times and in due season be raised. lam not in
favour of any new and still mysterious military
system—great, I am afraid, beyond proportion, and
of which we have had it said that it could in ten
days land an army on the Continent. If that is the
policy which the Secretary for War has proclaimed,
and which is being pursued by her Majesty's Minis-
ters, we shall, I am afraid, check all that disarma-
ment which is now taking place on the Continent—
(Hear, hear)—and prevent that reduction of warlike
establishments which in Austria and France is now
occurring, and which is necessary, I will not say to
the existence, but to the best interests of those
countries. (Hear, hear.)
Sir, I am not afraid to express the old-fashioned
opinion that a stau•ling army is dangerous to the
liberties of this country. (Cheers.; I know that
we must have troops. We have had an army of
which every man has reason to be proud, and I wish
to see that army maintained in its spirit and its effi-
ciency. What we want are scientific officers, and
that the machinery of our militia shall be nurtured
and maintained in efficiency. (Hear.) For the
rest we may trust to the resources of the country,
which will increase in proportion as we reduce its
taxation. (Hear, hear.) I have observed with regrit
that an eminent person has recently spoken of the
absurdity of supposing that an army can at this
moment be dangerous to the liberties of this country,
saying that it is no longer under the control of the
Sovereign, but that Parliament is our safeguard
against all possible danger from such an institution.
I may be permitted to say that if an army is to be
under any authority, I should prefer it to be under
the authority of her Majesty rather than under that
of the Parliament of England. (Hear, hear.) We
have had armies under the control of the Parliament,
and we have not found the consequences of that
arrangement to be favourable to our liberties. An
army must be either a disciplined or an undisciplined
body. If undisciplined, the troops of which it is
composed are bandits, like the prretorians of Rome
and others, and all we can do is to guard our pro-
perties and lives from them ; but if they are disci-
plined they must obey one man, and that one man is
the master of the State. (Hear, hear.) I care not
what may be the form of government—Royal, Im-
perial, or Republican, when there are 500,000 men
in arms, highly disciplined and obeying one man,
that man is dictator. I hope, therefore, that the
glory of the late war, and the, if possible, greater
glories of wars to come, will not induce the people
of this country to sanction extravagant military
establishments. I will express my opinion that,
with due economy and with able administration, the
more you reduce the burdens of the people the
greater will be your strength when the hour of
danger comes. With this conviction I shall on
Tuesday, if convenient to the house, and if the day
be vacant, introduce the resolutions of which I have
given notice. I shall therefore on this occasion not
ask the house to express an opinion upon the
importaat topics to which those resolutions will refer.
It is, sir, with this explanation of my views as to our
present position, and guarding myself front any
unnecessary agreement with any of the sentiments
expressed in it, that I shall support the humble
Address in answer to the gracious Speech from the
Throne. (Much cheering.)

London : Printed and Published by ALFRED lye, at the Office,
110, Strand, in the Precinct of the Savoy, in the county of
Middlesex, on Saturday, the 7th day of Febreary, 1057.