The British Press; or, Morning Literary Advertiser.
London, England, 1819-05-06 00:00:00

easily combated. At the time Lis Rt. Hun. Friend
(Sir J. Newport) introduced the Bill alluded to.
those taxes were only annually, awl only a tttttt elly
collected. If he had not interposed and made the
alteration which be then effected, the consequence
would ter, that the tax must have beet' soinuelly
renewed. His Right Hun. Friend wished to put
the Irish taxes on the same footing with the taxes
of thit„cauntry—namely. that they should be voted
permanently. not annually. The consequence was,
that. instead of having an annual application to
Parliament for the renewal of the Window 'Pax. it
remained a permanent tax. liable, however. to the
ririgiiiat condition annexed to its enactment, that
of being repealed as loom as the war ceased.
Was it stated, at that time. that an alteration was
to he made by converting a war tax into a pence
tax ? Jo, the alteratiop was from an Kitimat tax
into a permanent tax. In 'argning this question,
the Right flon.'Gentlemisti (Mr. Vansittart) ought
to return), not es if he were taking off a tea, but as
if lie were laying a tax on—end, if lie could prove
that it was • proper tax to he imposed on Ireland,
he would withhold his opposition. The Right
Hon. Gentleman' in arguing that Ireland ought
not to be relieved from this tax, stoical that the
owed a very considerable debt—that tier income
was little more than sufficient to meet her animal
charges—and that provision was made in this
country to pay the interest of her .rkbt. Did
the Right Honourable Gentlemen meals to say,
that behind ought to meet this deficit.? Was she
to raise 4400.000% to liquidate her debt ? Did
there twist, in that country. the tomes of Meeting
such a demand ? Ireland had been engaged in a
snarl career sauce 1800. She nominally contri-
buted to the exigencies of the empire, when `she
was, itt fact, in a state of bankruptcy. It was lint
Ireland merely that was the victim of this delu-
siou—this country had also Bern the victim of
it. The bubble had burst—the truth) was dis-
covered—she load berm going on at a rate (utterly
iliscalcolated at the time of the Union) which it
moi quite impossible for her to support. It was not
K dodo of Ireland, who could not liquidate it—but a
debt of England, who was able to pay it. They
were not now striking a debtor and creditor account
--it wa4 nut now lair !liens to say, that Ireland
must make good a certain balance. The fund.
of both countries were one common food to
be applied to the rxigenciet of the empire—
mid, it the Right limo. Gentleman could 'hew
that Ir.-laud could hear more than she did at pre-
vent, lie would agree in the proposition that she
ought to bear it. If the Right Hun. Gentleman
would point out any feasible and practicable
mode by which her contribution could be raised,
he would comcur in it. The people of Ireland
would not complain. They were nut a causelessly
comp, lining people. They had bled as freely in
lbw lioaucial tiiits, to support the exigencies of
the country, as they had in their physical veins, to
forward the glory and greatness of the empire. He
belated, in his conscience, their complaints were
wrung from the miseries and dist tt . of their coun-
try. The y felt that they were unable to pay the
amount of this odious tax, without suffering en ac-
ce.sion of grievance—awl, therefore. they complain-
ed. If the Right Hon. Gent. were now, for the first
lime, calling too the House far this tax. how could
lie monport it ? It was • tool on civilization—it was
a tax on the improvement of the country—it was a
tax calculated to keep Ireland in a state of poverty
crud aretchrdness ! Every house built in that coun-
try was a fresh pledge of a desire to draw closer the
a animism with England—every thing that made
the people of Ireland feel that they had scant.
thine; to protect, was worthy of encouragement—it
tended to remove any remnant of barbarity, and to
raise the people in the scale of civilized life. It
placed the people above that situation in which
mere subsistence was looked for, end taught them
To estimate social blessing' and social comforts.—
space to the country, this tax operated bane-
-but with respect to the city of Dublin it
was ino.t unjust. Upwards of one-fourth of the
whole tax was levied on the city of Dublin. Wu
that a fait system of taxation, to take, from a peril-
collar district, one-fourth of an impost ?—(Hear.)—
No part of the empire had suffered so grievously by
that measure (the justice and propriety of which he
was set going to canvas), that was thought neces.
many for the consolidation of the State, us the city
of Dublin. Before time Union, it had within its
wall a resident Parliament and a resident Nobility.
one hundred Noble families at that time lived
within the city of Dublin, who were no longer to
be found there. They were transferred to another
country, where they laid out their money in the
eiicouragetnent of arts and manufactures.—/Hear.)
The Learned Gentleman then drew an affecting
picture of the meagre and squalid misery which
was observable in every part of Dublin—and ino-
ceeded to argue.as an additional reason for abandon.
ing this tax, that it became kw and kit productive
every year.
For 1817, the &loamy was
Ear 1818
Fur the last year 77,910

Part of the diminution in the last year might per-
haps be attributed to the reduction of the tax,
which the Chancellor of the Exchequer had sow-
boned ; but the Right lion. Gentleman would per.
ceire a regular course of diminution—and, he pre-
dieted, that he would dud the tax daily decreasing
and becoming more unproductive. Ihe Learned
Gentleman then adverted to the number of notices
discontinurnce given in the last three years.
_ _

They amounted to-32,324-ond of this number
3,301 were given in the City of Dublin alone.
These were notices of discontinuance for distinct
houses—each of which tenements (for the tax here
operated strongly against the lower order.) was per-
haps inhabited bye or to wretched families. if this
were the fact, not less than 30,000 unhappy beings,
in the course of 3 years, were compelled by the ope-
ration of the measure, to deprive themselves of the
light and air of heaven.—(Hear.)—The Right
Hon. Gentleman said, it was incumbent on those
who opposed the tax to propose some substitute.
he made that observation the Right Hon.
Gentleman forgot his duty. He fell fir the situ'.
tine in which the Right Hon. Gentleman was
placed —he felt the difficulties which presented
themselves in raising money—he felt fur him,
when, last night, lie was obliged to plead
for a tax which, he believed, the Right Ho-
nourable Gentlemen condemned in Ins heart.—
When he could nut spare the virtue of his own