The Express.
London, England, 1853-04-29 00:00:00

to be represented in that house an ambitions or uuterupu-
loos minister might make use of them, if they were not
pawned of a virtue more than ordinary—(laughter)—for
the purpose of oppressing the English people. (Hear,
hear.) On the present occasion the government, true to
the system of compromises which existed in this country,
proposed to give Ireland what was nearly as equivalent for
accepting her portion of the income tax. (Hear, hear.)
He, who knew the temper of the people out of doors on
this subject, would whisper to the lion. gentlemen opposite
(the Irish members) to close the bargain. (" Hear, hear,"
and laughter.) If they refused to accept the bargain,
it put them out of court as advocates of the poor in Ireland
—(hear, hear)—because the poor tenants who bad
holdings under 51. a year would have to pay half
of the consolidated annuities, whereas those only who
had 1001. a year would be subject to the income tax.
How many farms in Ireland would pay the income tax?
Those only which paid 200/. rent would, have to pay
on 1001., and how many tenants were there in Ireland
who paid 'MI. a year rent? (Hear, hear.) With
regard to the licenses, he thought the right hon. gentleman
had erred in principle. lie (Mr. Cobden) could not under-
stand why a dealer in tea or tobacco should be subjected to
a license from which traders in other articles were exempt.
(Hear, hear.) Ho could understand why, for excise
purposes, a nominal fee should be imposed for registration,
but why a trader in articles on which the government al-
ready placed a tax should be required to pay au ad ra/orens
duty on their rent for trading in those articles was what he
could not at all understand. It he found:that these traders
were exempt from tuxes to which others were subject he
could understand why they were required to pay for li-
censes. But it was not pretended that this was the case.
He was glad that the right hon. gentleman was going to
take this matter into his consideration. (Bear.) He now
came to the advertisement stamp, and on this point he had
recommended the right hon. gentleman not to make two
bites of a cherry. (Hear, hear.) Ho wished to see the
connexion between the press and the government
dissolved. (Opposition cheers.) He knew the meaning
of that cheer, but it only illustrated his argument.
He knew it was said that the right boo. gentleman in pro-
posiog to remit the supplement stamp was conferring a
boon on one newspaper. (Hear, hear.) The remarks on
that point were matter of notoriety. (Hear.) Now, ho
did not believe that the right hon. gentleman was capable—
(cheers)—he thought the right hon. gentleman had too
mach credit for a character of sincerity and truthfulness to
suspect—that, be would be a party:to a transaction of that
kind; that he would propcse to remit the duty of id. on
supplements, because it favoured one particular newspaper.
(Hear, hear.) But see how tho advertisement duty kept
up the connexion between the government and the news-
papers. Some newspapers wanted the duty off altegether,and
others wanted it on And the government for the time
being made use of the rival influences for the purpose of
making them shape their public course accordingly. (Hear,
hear.) The government should have no connexion with
the press. The right hon. gentleman must be aware that
by reducing only the advertisement duty, and taking the
stamp off supplements, he was benefiting only one existing
newspaper, and perhaps only one prospectively. If the right
hon. gentleman should be advised by some provioci .1 news-
paper to alter his plan so as to levy a sum of 14, on the
newspaper, and allow the supplement to go free, whether it
contained news or advertisements, or both—if the right hon.
gentleman adopted that advice, he would fall into au error
of the same character, though not the same is degree as he
fell into with regard to ono newspaper. The right hon.
gentleman at the outside would only confer a benefit on
half a score of papers which now published supplements.
But how would the proposal act prospectively ? It would
act in direct opposition to the principle which the right hon.
gentleman laid down as to the mode of dealing with
licenses, for there he proposed to levy the tax
in proportion to the business carried on. But what did he
propose with regard to the newspapers ? He proposed to
allow a paper twice the size of the Times to be published
with the penny stamp, whilst the struggling newspaper,
only one-half the size of a sheet of the Tames, would have
to pay the same amount for the stamp. (Hear, hear.) The
effect of this would be that the small paper would have to
pay • penny stamp at an immense disadvantage as com-
pared with the great sheet. (Hear.) He had seen in Lan-
cashire, where some papers published supplements gratis,
that the readers liked so mach to have a large mass and sta-
ll face of reading before them, that other papers were also
compelled to publish supplements, or they would be tram-
pled out of existence. If, therefore, the right hon. gentle-
man levied a penny stamp on small papers, and allowed
others to publish for the same stamp any amount of news
and advertisements on large sheets with supplements, it
would be the most destructive thing for second and third
rate newspapers that ever took place. He hoped hon. gen-
tlemen on the opposite side would consider this, for the
newspapers in their interest had not the largest amount of
advertisements. The right hon. gentleman proposed that if
a man kept a vehicle with two horses, he should pay say
15s. tax ; but if he kept a carriage with four wheels, he
would have to pay double that amount. But in the case of
newspapers he reversed that course, and allowed a person
to keep four sheets in hand for the same stamp that he
charged on the single sheet. With regard to the soap duty no
one could deny that it ought to be dealt with. He con-
fessed that when he heard persons at public meetings for
sanitary reform talk of the blessings of cleanliness, and re-
collected that there was a duty on soap, be blushed for the
hypocrisy of his country. (Hear, hear.) Again, when he
heard them speak of the blessings of education, and taxed
the material of which that education was to be diffused and
promoted, that would also stamp the country with hypo-
rny as long as it continued. (Hear, hear.) Ho sincerely
hoped that the budget, in its main provisions, might pass
the house. (Hear, hear.) As far as he had an opportunity
of judging, it was generally acceptable out of doors.
(Hear, hear.) The imposition of the legacy duty
removed one sore that festered in the miads of the people
for a long time. (Hear, hear.) He sincerely believed it
would be for the advantage of the landed gentry that they
should get rid of this exemption and take their share of
equal burdens. (Hear, hear.) He had heard that this im-
position would not meet with much resistance in the other
house. There were but few in that house who expected
successions—here there were some. (Laughter.) He had
been breakfasting with a gentleman of the diplomatic corps
the other morning, who remarked to him that it was easy
to explain why this tax would not receive much opposition
from the House of Lords, for, said he, the House of Lords
is La Chambre des Pairs (Peres), and the House of
Commons is La Chansbre der Fibs. (Much laughter.)
There was only oars . point that he wished to
add. He desired to be perfectly honest about
the income tax—he wanted to make a clean breast. The
right hon. gentleman held out an expectation that they
were going to have this tax only till 1860. He would not
be any party to sanctioning such an idea. (Hear, hear.)
He had a firm conviction that they would go on to remit
indirect taxation, and such being the case, he would not
be honest if he said that there was any prospect of getting
rid of the income tax. There were only two ways of get-
ting rid of titian:. It might ha done by substituting some
ether direct tax for the income tax, or by retrenching ex-
penditure. (Hear, bear.) He believed the right hon.
gentleman was sincere when he said that the tax might be
abolished in 1860, and that if the right honourable
gentleman was then alive—and be hoped they would
all be alive then—(loud laughter), he would, if
prevented from carrying intfleffeet the view which he sin-
cerely professed, rather resign than be a party to a breach
of faith. (Hear, hear.) But how few of them might be on
these ben es in 1860? (Hear, bear.) How could they
bind the parliament of 1860 ? (Hear.) No it was not pos-
sible. There might be a reform in parliament before then.
(Hear, hear.) This tax might be changed into a mere pro-
perty tax, and they might capitalise incomes before then;
they might desire to have more of the legacy and probate
duty. Any of these things might happen, but he would
not pledge himself to the abolition of the tax in 1860.
(Hear, hear.) (The hon. gentleman, after thanking the
house for the attention with which he was listened to, sat
down amidst loud eheen.)
Mr. Serjeant SURE said he wished if possible to allay
some of the exasperation which the speech of the hon.
member for the West Riding had produced ; but fins, he
had a word or two to say respecting the speech made by the
hon. member for Carlow on a previous evening. The lead-
ing principle of that honourable member's political
appeared to be, a systematic attachment to
the government that happened to be in power.
(Hear, hear.) With respect to the general question
it did appear to him that the opposition of the Irish mem-
ben to the income tax was one which in justice the English
legislature should respect. He woald beg to remind them
that Sir R. Peel, when Inland was more prosperous than
at present, and the present President of the Board of Con-
trol, both declined to propose it. So it had been since the
Union, and therefore he thought there was some ground
fur now asking the house to pause before it inflicted this
new tax on Ireland. (Hear, hear.) One reason was, that
it could not be honestly or justly imposed. They talked of
faith with the public creditor, was there no faith to be kept
with our fellow-subjects ? (Hear.) If the right hon. gen-
tleman succeeded in imposing the income tax on Zeeland,
he would perpetrate • great injustice, because, let
him recollect that at the time of the Union, the
debt of England was 486 millions, and that of Ireland
was 28 millions. In 1816, the debt of England
was 735 millions, that • of Ireland 112 millions.
How had the debt f Ireland so risen in so short a time?
The representatives of Ireland were entitled to some con-
sideration in that house, because they were only 100 to
500, and were therefore quite powerless, except from the
English sense of justice. To ascertain how that debt of 112
millions had been brought about, he would refer to the Act
of Union itself, and he thought he could prove therefrom
that the increase was caused by partial and unjust legisla-
tion. By the Act of Union Ireland was protected from the
previous responsibility of England, unless one of three
things occurred—either the liquidation of the joint debt,
the approximation of the two debts in the proportion of 7
to 1, or—improved circumstances in Ireland. Of these con-
tingencies the second only had occurred, in the increase of
the debt of Ireland, in consequence of the unfair
and oppressive demends of the English treasury.
The fact was that the interests of Ireland had fre9uentlybeen
sacrificed to the merest whims of England ? 14 as she not
made to support a church establishment with which she
had no sympathy, merely to gratify the religious whim of
England. (Hear, hear.) The tax for that whim was
nearly 600,000/., besides 500,000 or 600,000 acres of lands
and all for a mere whim. He trusted that this matter would
be considered in the next budget. (Hear.) Again, gaff
of the public expenditure in Irelsnd was a consequence of
English whims. Of what use was that enormous army in
Ireland, if England governed her as a Roman 'catholic, not
a pntestant country ? Of what use that large army of
police, if Ireland were governed as she ought to be ? He
knew the police rate woes joint burthen, but it was levied,
and demanded more taxes, merely on account of the whims
of Eagland. It was our religious laws and our landlord and
tenant laws that made these forces necessary in Ire-
land. He bad been surprised to beer the cool in-