The Press.
London, England, 1853-06-04 00:00:00

SATURDAY,

which tmnbled all the Racial relations of life, and made it
impossible now, as it had done for the last two hundred
years. that the country should be in a state of tranquillity
and contenuneut. His advice to the Irish Liberal mem%
hers, both Protestant and Catholic, was that they should
make this question of religious equality in Ireland the
cardinal our in their political movements. Let their mem.
SIM% be practical. Let them bring the information they
had upon the subject before the people of England, and
although there was now in the pubhe mind u feeling adverts
to giving complete religious liberty to the Homan Catholics
in Ireland and in England, they might rely upon it that
these fevers would ruts away, and that calmer and better
times would come."
Mr. Fast:mum repudiated Lord J. Russell's im-
putation of submersing to a foreign authority as an
insult to the Roman Catholic clergy and represen-
tatives in that holm.
Mr. Minna: having replied, the House divided
For the motion
.Against
Majority

INCOME•TAX BILL.
This bill has passed through committee, the
greater part of Monday and Thursday evenings
being occupied in discussing its various clauses, and
the many amendments upon them, of which by far
the larger proportion related to Ireland.
Mr. SPOONER moved, as an amendment to the 31st
clause :
" That nothing in this act shall be construed to compel any
occupier, being a tenant fur the time being, to pay the arrears of
Income tax due by any former tenant or occupier of the same
lands, tenements, or hereditaments, or to deduct and retain kola
his landloni out of any subsequent payment of rent such arrears,
unless the landlord shall have received his rent fur the period
for which the urrear is due."
The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER strongly ob-
jected to the proviso. It was a just principle that
the landowner should be held liable, and the reason
was that he had a special law for his benefit
(whether fairly or not was not now the question),
whereby he had powers and security in regard to the
recovery of rent which no other creditor was pos.
sensed of.
On a division the amendment was negatived by a
majority of 145 to 09-70.
Mr. LOCKHART moved, upon the 33rd clause, an
addition, providing that a deduction shall be made
for the amount of parochial rates, taxes, or assess-
ments in Scotland, which, by statute or custom, are
payable by the landlord.
The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER admitted that
this was a case of inequality :
" The subject, however, must not be regarded from an
isolated point of view The inequality complained of
would be found to be only one of a mass of inequalities,
which would balance each other. Suppose they were to
allow the burdens chargeable on the Scotch landlords be.
fore they paid income tax, the English landlord would say
that he was treated in au extremely hard and tmequal man-
ner. If there west to be a set of deductions from the rental
the first deduction ought to be in respect of repairs, which
were lighter in Scotland than iu England. (No.) Were
the sums paid for repairs in Scothutd, on an average, as
large as those diaburacd in England?"
Mr. LOCKHART : Certainly.
The CHANCELLOR of the. Euro:qui:it was of a contrary
opinion, for the system of leasing in Scotland involved the
obligation to repair.
Mr. LOCKHART :It does nut.
Mr. 13.(n.i.n: said the right hon. gentleman, by his
argument, only met one injustice by another ; and
Mr. SNOLLETT contended that the question of repairs
had nothing to do with the amendment.
The committee divided : —Ayes, 42 ; noes, 1111:
majority against Mr. Lockhart's amendment, 50.
The committee afterwards reverting to some earlier
clauses which had been postponed in order to their
being remodelled, upon one of them, the 13th, being
proposed, which made the duty under schedule A, in
Ireland, on rateable hereditaments, payable in the
first instance by the landlord or immediate lessor,
Mr. I. BUTT moved an amendment, to limit the
immediate liability of the landlord to cases where the
annual value was under 151., and beyond that value
the occupier to be liable in the first instance:
The amendment was negatived on a division, by
170 to 11l votes.
Mr. CAIRNS moved to add to the same clause s pro-
viso, that any landlord or immediate lessor in Ireland,
charged under schedule A, may elect to be assessed
upon his actual receipt, and the duty shall be there-
upon computed on a sum not less than the amount
actually received by him within the preceding year,
without the deductions heretofore allowed under
schedule I), but deducting poor rate.
The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER objected to
this amendment, that it aimed at a system altogether
exceptional and tended to bring back the old abuses
of self-assessment.
Upon a division this amendment was also nega-
tived, the numbers being 66 for to 04 against.
The CHANCELLoIt of the EXCHEQUER proposed
several new clauses :
" The effect of the first was to provide that where a land-
lord or immediate lessor of lands in Ireland, assessed to
the duty under schedule A, had paid the same, and it
should be proved to the Commissioners for Special Per.