The Express.
London, England, 1853-04-15 00:00:00

THE TAXES ON KNOWLEDGE.

Several hon. members having presented petitions praying
for the abolition of these taxes,
Mr. M. GIBSON also presented petitions from the pro-
prietors of the .11andieseir Extsoniner and the Coreittry
Herald, fur the repeal of the advertisement duty; and
from • great number of places, fur the removal of that and
kindred imposts. the right hon. gentlemen then prose led
to say—Sir, I propose to submit to the house a motion, con-
sisting of three separate resolutions. I have thus acted in
consequence of having observed, that although the three
duties or taxes to which my resolutions relate may appear
in the minds of many persons to be unconnected taxes, yet
for the last 130 years they have been dealt with by the le-
gislature at the same time, or nearly at the same time; and
although they may appear to be distinct matters, yet I view
them as parts of a system and policy which has been in
force in this country, to a certain extent, for restraining
the peen. (Hear, hear) These duties were imposed at
the same time and they were reduced at the same time;
but I do not now call upon the house, by embracing the
three taxes in one resolution, to commit themselves by •
single vote to the full extent of my propoetion. The re-
solutions will be submitted separately ; and to vote upon
one does not commit any gentleman to the othen. I en-
tertain my own opinion upon the expediency of dealing
with them all, hut I have not presumed to ask the house to
go an far with me as to record their votes in supeort of one
bread and comprehensive resolution emerecing these three
taxes. It may be said, as a preliminary objection, that I
ought to have waited, previously to dealing with a subject
of this kind until the bowie was in possession of the finan-
cial views of the government, and until they had heard
the statement of the Chancellor of the Exchequer on the
position of the public revenue and the expeuditure of the
country. Sir, I have had some experience in bringing
forward this morion—nnt in this parliament, it is true, but
in other parliaments. I have brought the motion on before
the budget; and I have submitted it after the budget ; and
my experience does not tell me that sty position was in the
least benefited by my .1. leering the proposition till after
the budget. (Hear, hear.) The first proposal I sub-
mit to the house is "That the advertisement duty
ought to be repealed." (Hear, hear ) That relates
to • small amount of revenue, but I will show that there
are reasons for believing that that revenue will be speedily
replaced. (Hear, hear.) My second resolution is, " That
the policy of restraining the cheap periodital press from
narrating current events, by rendering it liable to stamp
duties, and other restrictions, if any public uews, intelli-
gence, or occurrences, or any remarks or observations there-
on,' be contained therein, is inexpedient, and at variance
with the desire now generally expressed in favour of the
diffusion of knowledge amongst all classes; and it appears also
to this house that the law relative to taxes on newspapers,
and other regulations affecting public prints, is in an unsal
tisfactory state, and demands the attention of parliament."
That resolution hon. gentlemen will observe raises a ques-
tion of policy, and can hardly be said to relate to revenue
at all. At any rate I shall be able to show that the policy
which I recommend may be adopted by parliament with-
out any considerable portion at least of the public revenue
being sacrificed. The last resolution is—" That the excise
duty on paper, whilst impeding the development of an im-
portant manufacture, also materially obstructs the produc-
tion of good cheap literature; and the maintenance of this
tax as a permanent source of revenue would be impolitic
and inconsistent with the efforts which parliament is now
making to promote education amongst the great body of the
people." Now, sir, I admit that this last revolution does
affect a considerable amount of public revenue. It deals with
an amount, I believe, of something like 900,0001.; but
if hon. members will do me the favour to consider the word-
ing of this resolution they will see that it dace no; pledge
this house to any immediate repeal of the duty on paper.
It only recommends the house to record its opinion, that to
maintain the duty on paper as a permanent mode of
raising taxation—as a good tax—is • policy which ought
not to be sanctioned, and that at an early period,
when the circumstances of the country will permit,
with safety to the revenue, the step ought to be taken of
totally abolishing this duty. I might point out various
misebiefs resulting from this tax in • commer-
cial point of view ; but probably my argu-
ment would be common to the other excise duties;
and would, perhaps, not apply with greater weight to
paper than to soap and the other excisable articles. But
them is a certain peculiarity about paper, in its being con-
netted, with the diffusion of knowledge amongst the people,
which does not apply to those other duties. Even in •
commercial view I think there are also some peculiarities
about it. Paper is an article which is manufactured from
a worthless raw material, and the whole of its value, there-
, fore, consists in the labour which has been bestowed upon
it. It employs men, women, and children. his likewise •
rural manufacture. The paper mills are spread over the
country districts, and there is no ohs so interested in
widening and developing the manufacture of paper as the
residents in the various counties. (Hear, hear.) There is
some lameness at this time in reference to the greatly in-
creasing departure of labourers front this land ; but, if you
wish to stay the tide of emigration, then, I say, open the
field of employment at home by removing this oppressive
excise duty upon paper, which prevents the develop-
ment of the manufacture in our agricultural districts. By
so doing you will be able to give profitable employment
to labourers at home, and you will retain them in this
country; whereas if you allow the field of employment to
be contracted by this duty, you must, of necessity, lose
your labour, which will flow to other lands where such
manufactures are unrestricted. (Cheers.) What is going
on now? Why, the refuse from which paper is made is
being purchased in this country, is carried to lands where
no
paper duty exists, is manufactured into paper, and then
sentout to the British colonies to supply your own popula-
tion. (Hear.) That being so, this is not a question as of
town against country, or of country against town ; but in-
asmuch as paper mills must Clint where there are pure
streams, and amongst a country population, the represen-
tatives of the counties have, above all, the greatest interest
in getting rid of these duties. (Heir, hear.) These are a
few of the passing allusions which I have ventured to
throw out upon a commercial view of the subject.
When the commissioners reported upon the different
branches of the excise system, they recommended
paper to be dealt with. At the present moment the duty is
remitted oo all paper used for the Bibles and Testaments that
are printed in those universities. This is an admission that the
duty has an effect in preventing the diffusioa of knowledge.
The question of the paper duty on expensive books is not
the issue I raise. It will be no answer to tell me that a three
volume novel would not be rendered perceptibly cheaper
if we repealed the duty on paper, or that a large book like
M'Cullocb's Dictionary would nut be sold for a perceptibly
smaller amount if we abolished the tax on the raw material.
That is not the question. The question is the diffusion
throughout the country of the advantage of a cheap litera-
ture, in which the cost of the paper is a principal considera-
tion ; and of which the existence of the duty raise* the
I price far more than the amount of the impost itself.
(Hear, hear.) Mr. Knight says, in one of his works,
that during • period of twenty years, he has paid
about 80,0001 to authors and to literary men fur their
labours, and that he has paid 50,0001. to the state in paper
duty,ia order to give the benefit to the public of the composi-
tions of those literary men. So that for 80,0001. worth of
hdellect and knowledge, before you can circulate it in the
limited way in which it is now circulated, he has had to pa
no less a sum than a toll of 50,0001. to the state. (Hear.)
Fifty thousand pound* for ciieulating 80,0001. worth of in-
tellect through a country which is c instantly proclaiming
to the world the great desire which it has to diffuse know-
, ledge sad to promote education amongst the people.
(Cheers.) We at this time are unable, frens the deficuitien
of our petition, to pass an education measure. We are
compelled to resort to all manner of petty expedients of
partial legislation, in order to get educetion bit by hit
through the country. (Hear, hear.) But here is a plan,
i at least, which you can adopt, which is free from your reli-
t AfiOUS centrover-ies—(hear, hear) —free from controversy as
. between voluntary and stare eiluesitiosi—(Rear, hear)—and
all that you are a,lied to do is to remove those ebstruetiens
which prevent the people from educating themselves.
(Chet re.) How much does it increase the risk of literary
' soeceletions, when we consider that tee duty upon paper'
must WI be p cal ; teat there are no drewhicks, no bonding
of paper and taking it out as it is consumed ; but when a
m m ventures nn a lit‘rary mesculatinti, he mud print the
number of copies of a work that he intends to sell, and if
the work fails to sell, there is no return to him of the citify
he has paid to the state, in the it,effectual
effort he bra mode to diffuse knowledge amend the people.