The British Press; or, Morning Literary Advertiser.
London, England, 1821-04-04 00:00:00

"repeal of I*. Q. per bushel on all malt, t ngliqh,
iri.h, and Scotch. That duty was a war duty,
and it was only becoming the good faith of Parlia-
ment to remove it in time of peace. He moved
that the Order of the Day should be then read.
The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER, though
he would oppose the second reading, admitted that
the case of Scotland was a, props: one for in-
gamy, and repressed his willminess to have it
subjected to a parliamentary examination.
told A. HAMILTON said, that tat the
laying on those duties,. he had drawn tip sea
volutions, to whew the unfairuess of the r
respecting Scotland. The average crops of Scotch
barley were poor, and could not bear melt high
duties as those of .England. He now considered
the cause of Scotland hopeless. If, by joining the
English gentle Men, who chiefly guarded the land-
ed interests of the country, he could obtain a ge-
neral repeal of Is. 2d. per bushel—that at tiny rate
would be so much done for Scoalacol. He would
vote for the motion ; he had heard that an Hon.
Friend of hit. behind him objected to the advati-
loge before enjoyed by Scotland. Ile wished to
learn from the lips of his Hon. Friend whether he
might hope on some future occasion lOr his assist-
tome in endeavouring to obtain some measure of
relief for the agrieulture of Scotland.
Mr. CONE, having been appealed to, had no he-.
sitation in replying to the appeal. He thought that
the Scotch Members who usually soppoi led Millis.
tors would do better to desert the RI& floe. Gen-
tleman ors this ofecosiort than own to any after proof-
peet of relief. The House could never do any good
while it was so divided in parties, nor unfil the
parties could all act as one man would there in.
any reduction oT taxes. As to Scotch barley, he
aditsitted that the ling Kerley was very inferior, but
in other oortstfhe Scotch crops were not worse than
they were in many of the lands in Northumberland.
Lincolnshire, sod Norfolk. Ile wished for a union
of the House to throw off the tax slrogether, and
afterwards he would have no objection to a Cony-
suttee to confider the peculiar rase of Scotland.
His °potion was that the less taxation the better,
and he was anxious to reduce its present enormous
amount.

11

r~

Ordtr of the Day was then read.
Jr. Wa rßaw moved that the Bill be now read
a second time.
Sir .1. SHELLIY would vote for the 'notion, be-
-visits, it went to relieve the country from burdens
.which could no larger he borne. lie described
'the state of agriculture to be most distressed—many
farms, and those not bud lands, but of very lung
cultivation, trot being able to retnunerote the ex-
penses of cultivating them, and the taxes and poor
rates. A great deal had been said about hoinerr
haviog lived like gentlemen in their !prosperity, and
the necessity toe their returning to the rank which
they before held. But it all amounted to this,
that farmers who had not much capital were quite•
• ruined by the cultivation of the land. If the *vs.;
rein went on, the owners must be cement with a
very different tenantry. from the respectable per-
sons also had hitherto lielid'their estate,. After the
American war the Government assisted the distresses
of the merchants. Why then not assist the agri-
culturists, whose claim was equally urgent ? lie
wished at any rate to see the - taxes more equally
borne by all. Ha was therefore in favour of a
small property, such as two per cent. rather titan
the continusAce of Ibis malt tax. He aupported
the motion.
Mr. •si
_s 4111 A • NIA the subject under three
point, oil Aim, ett•fienta ,That of going on with the
,present ispthitillttee, aetompanied with the repeal
of Chia tax; Second, That of reducing the expen-
diture to the amount of the tax to be repealed ;
Third, That of laying on a more equal tax in its
. place. Arta the first, it was too intricate and scientific
a subject for him to enter into. It implied, of
-course, the alienation of the Sinking Fund, Ile did
• not approve of this. because after all that had been
• raid shout the establishment of the finances, it would
look so iike.vacillation. Some pelsons, it was true,
• represented the Sinking Fund as a fallacy—one Hun.
•••=bleinber had described it by a coarser epithet. If it
-was a fallacy, it hod deceived the greatest nation in
the world, and the wisest statesmen that ever existed
in that nation: no delusion had ever been so gene-
ral, for it had been implicitly confided in by the
people of this country for thirty-five years past, and
among them by Mr. Pitt and Mr. Fox. lie could
• out consent, fur his owu part, to do away with the
Sinking Fond. .As to retreoelanents, as far as he
• -
' -had beard them proposed, they went to a consider-
i'• • -able reduction of the establishments, which, he
. . ' thought, ought not to be lowered. The peace of
• , -Europe had been already violently interrupted,
. • and could only be preserved, as far as this
country was concerned, by retaining arms in their
• blotto. The ambition of monarchs and the yen-
. geance of the people might yet embroil Europe in
a considerable degree of difficrulty. As to the
• 'income Tax iu any shape, the Hon. Baronet could
~ •
• ecereely hop* that it would be borne more patiently,
...1.•• •or be felt as lightly by the agriculturists as the
Mart`Tax. The machinery of the Income Tax had
-been described as inquisitorial and vexatious. He
• tied .an inclination to restore it. What was he to
. •
odo then ? As he thought the taxes essential to the
enanitertince of the establishments, and that the
' .•a • • est.ohlishments were indispensable, lie hoped he
• would be excused if he should continue to support
-the Molt tax untilirome better substitute should
•, 'be offered. Their only choice lay then between the
reduction of the establishments and shaking the
•• 'foundation of the financial system. The friends of
Governmen!„..who had supported them in every
wear:airy of expenditure, ought not to desert them
now. It was ouly for those who were generally Ism-
tile to the ineaeures of Ministers to Ise üble.con-
aistenily to starve them as to means.
Mr. GilE/IFSLL had no faith iu a Sinking Fund
kept up by -.borrowing. He thought that a great
delusion. Hit waist Mend, however, to a Sinking
Fund, when the, principle of that fund was, what
only a true Sinking Fund could be, the excess of
income over expenditure; that was the character
of the present Snaking Fund, and *niters should
• • do all iu their power to augmeut too-resources as
. .well by retrenehearet a, by every other mesh,.
wasdie
d sorry to be obliged to differ from his lion.
" . nen s near him on the present occasion. lie was
. • . one of those who, is 109, gave 100 humble vote
. • . fur the levying of new taxes to put the nuances
'.of the coit," al' on, theiro 'best footing.
.It Rould
;bit greatest `ineossisteacy in him to vote fur

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