The Northern Daily Times.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1856-02-07 00:00:00

a a due regard for the pockets

zulating th

3 expenditure of the
ad our local bodies

have allow

These considerations are,

however,

foreign to the question now at issue. Parliament

is asked to deal with Corporate incomes as
though they had been levied for purely local pur-
poses, and expended on 'undertakings in which
none but the Burgesses of this Borough had the
remotest participation. A few individuals consti-
tuting a small municipality take upon themselves
gigantic works, which the State ought to have seen

carried out for the national benefit; and when
they have discharged this great administrative duty,
Parliament is quietly asked to despoil us of the
income which we have applied for the nation's
good, and to throw upon a small section of the
community the entire cost of that which is an
incalculable gain to the whole Empire.
Mr. Lown, as Vice-President of the Board of
Trade, ought to know, and ought to have stated
broadly to the House, what practical effect the
abolition of our Town Dues would have. The
right honourable gentleman might have ascer-
tained that the rates of this borough average
ss. in the pound, and that the abolitionof
the Town Dues would add probably from 2s. to 3s,
in the pound to our already high tariff of
local imposts. Is the Legislature ready to
expose any one locality in the,kingdom to an amount
of taxation ranging from 7s. to Ss. and which, under
by no means uncommon circumstances, might
reach 9s. 6d., in the pound ? When a young legis-
lator essays to tamper with the established order
of things in the great entrepots of trade, he
should make himself master of the injurious as
well as the beneficial effects of the measures he
proposes. To secure a national good he should take
care that he is not doing a gross individual or
local injustice. If Mr. LOWE had inquired a little
into the past operation of increased local burdens
in this Borough, he might have discovered the
extraordinary and instructive fact, that when its
inhabitants were called upon a few years
ago, to pay a poor rate of 3s. 6d. in the noun&
the number of unoccupied houses, not including
those assessed at or under 101., within the limits of
the Borough increased to the extent of nearly 2,000,
and that a depreciation of from 20 to 30 per cent.
in the value of house property was obliged to be
submitted to before people could be induced to
rent, houses within the Parochial boundary.
Now, what would be the effect of Mr. LOWE'S
prop
osed addition of 2s. ed. in the pound
gari to our.
ordinary rates. Are we to have another
among our resident population, and the rateableYa
property of the town again depressed 20 or 30 p er
cent? The trade of England has not suffered
by
the existence of the Town Dues, if Mr. LOWE'S
department speaks truly. But if any portion
of that income is to be made good by
such an addition to the present local
rates, Liverpool will be the highest taxed portion
of Her Majesty's dominions after adding to
the Imperial property and wealth an amount of
trade:greater than that of all the other ports of the
kingdom put together ! We admire Mr. LOWE'S
towering genius and untiring industry, and we
regret much, that in the early days of his career he
should have abandoned his pure political concep-
tions for the time-serving fallacies /of the crafty
official. Mr. Lows must know as well as we do,
that all Liverpool boasts of having done is
simply work and labour performed for the national
weal ; and as an honest man he must admit, that
if our sources of local revenue are swept away, the

LIE Chambers of Commerce of Liverpool and
Manchester held their annual meetings on Mon-
day last, and these two bodies appear to
rival each other in the extraordinary diversity
and magnitude of the subjects to which they direct
the attention of the mercantile world. In the
discussion of matters relating to commerce,
politics should be entirely laid aside, and every
subject brought under review dealt with purely
on its merits. Liverpool seeks to advance its
own interests, and Manchester labours to increase
its prosperity, and both are equally to be
lauded. If one excels the other, in the variety
and importance of the questions it brings under
notice, it can leave no room for cavil. The Man-
chester Chamber has excelled that of Liverpool
this year in the length of its programme, still, it
has left untouched many great national subjects,
and other questions of immense importance to the
merchants and manufacturers of the North,
to which the Liverpool Chamber has given
much consideration. Being associations com-
posed of the leading and practical men
of business of the country, their proceed
ings cannot fail to have great influence
on the Government of the day; and those now
in office would do well to take special heed of
the sentiments which were uttered, here and in
Manchester, on the subject of the diplomatic
efforts which appear to have been made to in-
volve this country in a war with the United
States. This is a question in which all classes
of the community are deeply interested, and on
which the public voice is sure to speak out in
unmistakeable language.

Meanwhile, we must keep our eyes steadfastly
fixed on those changes which are taking place
in commercial law, and others which,
though of a local character, embrace great
national advantages. The Liverpool Chamber of
Commerce first alluded to the recently enacted
measures of the Legislature with regard to bills of
exchange. It congratulated its members on the
recent alteration which has made bills of lading,
together with the property they represent and the
contracts based upon them,
legallyprobably because it added so much to our paper
circulation in the shape of a
transferable,
quasi-legal
tender
The reform recently effected in the law with
respect to bills of exchange, was also highly
commended, on the ground that it gave the bona
fade holder power of recovering summarily,
while it protects the " ostensible" acceptor against
fraud, but not against usury. On the subject of
limited liability the Liverpool Chamber were
divided, and had not therefore ventured to pro-
nounce an opinion ; but in Manchester the late
and proposed changes were denounced with a
vehemence rarely equalled in conclaves not actually
infected with a political phobia. Touching Dock
Extension our Chamber has arrived at pretty much
the same conclusion as that of Manchester. Both
agreed that Dock Extension was wholly unneces-
sary; the former urging that any new Dock works
that may be undertaken, to extend or improve those
now in existence, either at Birkenhead or on this
side of the river, should be considered on their
merits. On the Danish Sound Dues question, our
Chamber pronounced in favour of their total aboli-
tion. And then, adverting to a scheme for reforming
our postal communications, the changes we pro-
posed nearly two years ago were brought before
the meeting by Mr. MACFIE, whose name and
interest will, we
time, tend to securetrus t; h
eaifrt e ra
dsoop
tlioonng. a
WI ahpaste
woef
have been doing for
our paper before years, in the delivery of
eight
circle of five miles round o'clock, a.m., within a
can surely do as often Liverpool, the Post office
th
done
Passing i n
on
London. rOugeh thebt
obtaining
naiyn, gas
pit f isa
to the teleg
with Holyhead, and
thraphic eomm nication
more accurate return of the value of
imports, it is much to be desired that the
our
efforts of our Chamber
may be attended
with perfect success. Next w© come to
Charter Act of 1844, and the 1,4
the arguments advanced
at the meeting in defence of the course pursued by
the Council with respect to the requisition pre-

orate should take upon itself the whole of that sented by the merchants and traders of this town,
indebtedness we have incurred in promoting the soliciting the Chamber to convene a meeting of its
interests of shipping, trade, and commerce, and members to consider what steps " should be
thus practically relieve these three great arms of " adopted for the relief of the community then suffer-
Imperial prosperity from all those local taxes "ing under the influence of the present monetary
to which they are now exposed. " system." The CHAIRMAN, in alluding to this
If the country requires millions of tons of ship- subject, stated that while the Council declined to
ping, and thousands of acres of docks for their convene a meeting of the Chamber, a Committee
accommodation, no one interest or locality ought was appointed "to watch the course of events",
to be specially taxed for that which is a boon to and to report to the Council; but, considering the
every member of the community. We have nothing numerous topics our money laws embrace, the
to say in defence of local taxation affecting ship- Committee "required a great deal of time
ping and commerce. The merchants and manu "to consider them before they could
facturers of 'the North are ready to push Free " arrive at any conclusion." In making
Trade to its "legitimate consequences," but their this statement, the CHAIRMAN must have forgotten
• efforts will be in vain, as long as committees of the that the Council jumped at a conclusion when they
Houses of Parliament, Presidents and Vice-Presi- did not think fit to call a meeting of the Chamber.
dents of the Board of Trade, and governments of At the same time, they admitted that something
every shade of politics sanction the creation of was wrong when they appointed a committee to
local tariffs, which are infinitely more prohibitive, watch the current of events, who were to
and therefore more oppressive, than any professed act when the evils complained of hai
Protectionist Administration would venture to pro- produced a positive crisis. Now, it is a
• pose. Still, while the people of this town hold these notorious fact that the answer to the requisition
opinions, they call upon the Legislature to re- in question was drawn up by an individual
member that the Town Dues are as much their member of the Council, and that its result, if not
property as the houses and lands which the law its object, was to stultify the public opinion of
forbids the Corporation to alienate without the this great emporium of trade, on a subject which
express sanction of the Burgesses. They have more directly affects its best interests, than any
obtained the right to levy these dues by purchase, of those topics which the Chamber has volun-
and they expended their proceeds in creating a tarily taken up.
Liverpool, which is as great an ornament to the The evils complained of by the requisition-
State as it is useful to the commerce of the world, ists were a sudden contraction of the currency
and to deplume the Liver after it has brought into and commercial accommodation by demand-
life such a nestling of present greatness and future ing usurious rates of discount. The sole
promise, is a species of political poaching in which question the Council was required to solve was,
we are sorry Mr. LOWE has been detected. If he whether the circulation had been so contracted, and
had known the ground on which he was treading, whether Banking rates of interest, varying from
we question if, for the title of " right honourable:, six to ten per cent, were usurious, and likely to
and a prominent seat at the Ministerial board, he produce the suffering complained of. On these
would have entered upon so dangerous a career as points the Council need only have gone back a few
that of killing with one hand, and bag- years to have seen what a similar monetary condi-
ging a contemptible mite of one-sided popu- tion had led to, in this town. The Chamber has
larity with the other. If, however, Mr. not, therefore, dealt reasonably with this great
LowE hopes for an acquittal, let him at question, and it would have been better for it
once adopt the common sense declaration that to have confessed at once it did not understand
all the Lighthouses, Docks, and other facilities it, or to have announced boldly, as the Manchester
afforded to navigation, are required to carry on Chamber of Commerce has done, that notwith-
the great maritime business of the realm ; and standing " the Bank Charter Act of 1844 had
that, as the revenues by which they are now sus- " caused a good deal of excitement, still, until a
tained cannot be taken away, without doing gross " suspension of cash payments, or something like
injustice to several localities, their whole cost " a crash Caine, the Chamber would not interfere
should at once be carried to the Consolidated " with regard to that act." There is something
Fund, and their future maintenance provided for candid in this avowal, and if the Liverpool
from the National Exchequer. The public would Council, or Committee, had been equally
then know what Mr. LowE really meant, and they outspoken, the public would have known
would be able to judge whether they were dealing how to have dealt with those " sufferings"
with an A.nglo-Polynesian Beanstalk as a legisla- which have nothing at all to do with
tor, or simply a man of undoubted genius, who the understanding between the Government
enunciates great principles, in order to render the and their bankers ; the privileges or monopolies
perpetration of unheard of cruelty and injustice granted to this or that institution; or the innu-
palatable to those political assassins, who applaud merable theories employed to give a false colouring
the death-blows he levels at those commercial to our commercial condition, and which simply
towns which have done so much for the nation at resolve themselves into this narrow focus,—is a dis.
count market, ruled from six to ten per cent.,
usurious, and sufficient to prostrate the trade and
industry of a mercantile country?

PUBLIC INCOME AND EXPENDITURE
-4.

The official accounts published yesterday show that, in
the year ended the 31st of December, 1855, the income of
the United Kingdom amounted to 63,364,6051., and the
public expenditure to 84,505,788/., leaving the somewhat
alarming deficiency of 21,141,1831.

Of the revenue, the customs yielded 20,987,7521. ; the
excise, 16,389,486/. ; the stamps, 6,805,6041.; the taxes
(land and assessed), 2,945,7841.; the property-tax (income-
tax), 13,718,185/. ; the post-office, 1,137,2191, ; the Crown
lands, 280,515/. ; the sale of old stores, &c., 522,138/. ;
moneys received from the)East India Company, 60,0001. ;
miscellaneous receipts, 402,7681. ; and unclaimed divi-
dends, 115,1491.

Of the expenditure, the interest and management of the
permanent debt cost 22,792,5941 ; terminable annuities,
3,868,2931; unclaimed dividends paid, 173,2401; the
interest of exchequer bonds (1854), 217,0001; the interest
of exchequer bills (supply), 560,6351; deficiency, 9,3361;
and ways and means, 26,7491; making a grand total, for
the public debt, of 27,647,8991. The civil list entailed a
charge of 396,5701; annuities and pensions, 340,9911;
salaries, &c , 162,6971; diplomatic salaries and
pensions, 149,2441; and courts of justice, 493,082 i.
Of the " supply " service, the army cost 14,545,0591.
the navy, 19,014,7081; and the ordnance, 9,632,2901.
The vote of credit (additional expenses of the
war with Russia), 5,200,000/. ; and miscellaneous civil
services, 6,741,1261. The balances of public money re-
maining in the Exchequer on the 31st of December last
amounted to the sum of 3,688,6001. against 6,015,6121. on
the sth of January, 1855. In an earlier account, made up
to the 30th of September, 1855, the revenue is made to
amount to 62,990,580/., and the expenditure to 78,505,553/.
—leaving a deficiency of 15,514,9731.