The British Press; or, Morning Literary Advertiser.
London, England, 1803-06-14 00:00:00

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let in the world, in spite of all the efforts .f our
enemies to prevent it, I should he without excuse,
if 1 did not avail myself of that expeaation, in order
to derive froni the manufactures a considerable sup-
ply. 1 propose on all exports an additional one per
centend volo,-em, to Europe, and thi ee per cent. to all
other parts., which I estimate will produce the cum
460,0001. When the duty on exports was originally
proposed, an application was made by the cotton
manufaaurers, the: manufaauied cotton should be
exempted, and the tax substituted on the raw mate-
rieha dutywas.,laid upon the. taw: material, of some-
thing more than 1 d. per lb. I should propose to fol- '
low up that plea, by exempting manufactured couorn
and increasing the duty one -penny per pound,
which. would be something less than the duty pro-
posed in •1795 ; the produce of this I should esti-
mate at 150,Qe0 I. Th ere is another article which,dur.
iug the continuance of war,- I conceive may be
charged with a very considerable augmentation, I
meats the tonnage of ships; that is the last tax I
have to propose under the head of Customs. The
tonnage duty, equal to the consolidated duty, will
be 1 30,0f10 1. making in the whole a sum (
2,160,0001. There wed probably be an increase of
dralvbacks, I shOuld therefore wish' to dedua
J 60,0001. and estimate the net produce at 2,000,0001.
• The next brinch of revenue on which I shall pro-
posi to the Conimittee to derive a considerable por-
tion of supply is the Excise. For this purpose, it is
not my intention to propose, as ohjefts of increased
taxation, any of the smaller articles on which duties
of Excise are payable. I have sole atal four objeas
en which the expediency of deriving a large reve-
nue must he obvious; the first is the article of Tea ;
and here permit me to observe, that except under
the circuritstances of a war, accompanied by
those mimes which must enal.le us to intercept
that indirect trade, by which the ftir trader suffers,
I should not • think it my duty to propose any ad-
ditional duty on Tea ; but as I am convinced thole
frauds onef he prevented, I may alsume, that if the
mischief of aeeuggiiiig can be put an end to, there
cannot he a tale.: object of taxation than Tea. I
propose then a du'seof le per cent. ad voiorem, on
coarse teas, and 45 per cent. on the finer sorts ; the
ereet will he the. of raiehrg the prices of the finer
ter somewhat higher than they were, at the period
of the commutation tax, and to leave the coarser
teas considerably lower; the produceol this tax, I
estimate at 1000,0001. The next article which I
shall propose to charge with an additional duty, is
'Wine, which, I collect ire, under the present circum-
stances, there can be no i.,j,aion to;..lxing. In the
year I;nrs, a duty of lel. per ton was cliarged upon
that article, the consumption did not dirainiLh in
consequence of that duty-, on the contrary, the pro-
duce of the duty' on wine has been augmented in
a greater proportion ; I recommend to the com-
mittee to charge 10L per ton, which would he equal
to the duty laid on in 1795 ; the sum at which I esti-
mate tl:e produce cf this tax is, 500,0001. Some of
the same considerations which have led me to recom-
mend to the Committee an additional tax on wine,
have induced me to consider that foreign spirit; may
be a fair object of taxation ; for that reason, I sled!
propose-a similar addition on Foreign Spirits, as well
as theme-made Spirits. I shall submit to the Cern-
niittee an addition of SO. per gallon on all Foreign
and Home-made Spirits. It is my intention to pro-
pose a duty equal to half the present duty, winch
will yield a su.n 1 estin.ate at 1,530,0511. The
other article on which I have to propose an
tional duty,, is one which I race:ion with extreme
reluctance ; but, I feel I should not be doi-ng my
Olio. if I shrunk front the olnigetion imposed on me
at this most grave and critical period ; the same I
entertain of that duty tells me that I ought not to
hesitate as to the propriety of recommending to the
House the adoption of a mode of increasing the
public revenue, which must be prodnaism of incon-
venience in quarters where I am most unwilling it
ehould be; but where the burthen is cf indispensable
rseeessity, I feel a perfect confidence in the sen-
timents entertained by the great muse of the
community ; I am sensible they feel th..t the
. ceuee in w Lich the country is engaged, is one
which calls for all their exertions, and that
they arc all prepared to make greet sacrifices.
mean sacrifices which may be eactual to the accom-
plishment of the important objeas soinnlit to be at-
teintel ; the netted, to which I advert is Malt It
would be a great satisfaCtion to me, if 1 could find
it possible ter propose an augmentation shell of that
which I shell submit to the consideration of the
Committee ; I shall endeavour to propose the aug-
mentaton in such a way as to avoid too great a
pressure on those concerned in the brewing trade.
f tits rresent profits of the brewer must be allowed to
be very considcrable, but I am ready to adn.it that
t:!e situation of the public brewer was, for a long
period, far from being one of advantage, I shall
therefore propose to the Committee sues an aug-
mentation as will give the public its whole amount,
leaving to the brewer the possession of those advan-
tages which he now enjoys, and which, I am satis-
fied, it investigated, would be admitted to afford
a liberal and large profit ; the addition I should
propose is 2s. per bushel,. which I calculate
will afford an increase of revenue of 2,700,00,)1.
the amount of the addition last year has
been 2400,0001. There will be a sum of thir-
teen pence per barrel, which will be the allowance
• ' that will be divided between the brewer, the mal-
ster, and the private brewer. Right-pence pee barrel
would not be a compensation to the brewer for the
advance of his capital, was it art for the considera-
ble crops of which he is in possession. I am aware
.1 could not justify prOposing etch a tax as this is, on
the common beverage of the country, without pro-
posing a tax on spirits, on the beverage of the
higher orders. Let it be recollesfed, that for the last
forty years, the duties on beer, including the
present duty, if the Committee should agree to
adopt it, have not exceeded forty-five per cent.
In the year 1763 a tax was laid on, that had the ef-
. • feet of adding an halfpenny upon the pot of porter,
and from that period to the present, the whale
additional duties on the common beverage of the
people, has been no more than 45 per cent while
the amount of the additional &idea on the beverage
of the higher orders bar been in a proportion in-
finitely higher. The duties on wine for the same
poi ied have amounted to 200 per cent. ; under these
circumsnusces, when - the consumption of the =tide
is iarreasing, I treat it will not be imputed to Par-
Damen.. that in levying taxes they sire actuated by a
diepuaition either to spare themselves or the higher.
orders of soeletv. The whole amount of the duties •
. yrafer tie head of Excise, will stand thus i
Tea..l.3,)%ntirql. Wine, 34' r;),0001. Spirits, 1 ,fiti;),..:!oo 1.
70:114 ; waking in ate *bole 6,04),j,1.A:N:J.

which added to the sum of 2,160,0001. to be raised
by ditties on Customs, amounts to 8,160,0001. In
addition to these increased duties, I have to vbmit
to tip committee a measure very extensive m its
opestation; it is founded in the principle, of the tax on
incente, a. tax which, however, condemned and re-
probated by some persons, I shall ever contend
was the great instrument of supporting. public
credit, and the principal means of carrying the
country through the arduous contest in which
it was engaged ; this is not a matter of opi-
nion, but. is capahle of positive and indisputable
proof. No one, who supported that measure, was
answerable for the objettlions which were justly
'or eed against some parts of it, anti let it not be con-
sidered that any mode can possibly he adopted
which is not, liable to some objection or other. If
you ,look at any of the propositions I have snisniitte.l,
with a supposition that they are not liable to ohjec-
tion,l fear that the hopes I have entertained, of sug-
nesting a plan that should meet the approval of the
Committee, must be completely handed. The prin-
cipal objection to the measure. arises from the disclo-
sure of the circumstances of individuals, an incon-
venience which it is impossible to avoid, but which it
must be the wish of every person to contra& within
as narrow limits as possible. The outline of
the measure which with reference to this suhjeit
I shall submit to the Committee, is this, to make a
ciistintlion between that species of property, the
value of which, to the proprietor, does in no de-
gree depend on skill, talents, or industry, and that
species of property which wholly depends on per-
sonal ability and industrious exertion. Under the
first head include land, and the interest of
money in the funds, or belonging to corporations,
and various other descriptions of property which it
is unnecessary to particularize. Proprietors of pro-
perty of this description must, J AM satisfied, be re-
lieved from the necessity of discicsiegtheamount of it;
but all personse freeing on tt Ade, peceons in professions
or deriving their incomesfroni their personalexertions,
must He brought under the inspection of commis-
sioners, and as` far as pereons of this description are
concerned, the objection cannot be got rid of. '1 he
powers which were given to the commissioners
under the income Bill went to weaken the, operation
of the bill by the. objections they created in tile
minds of those who went before them ; but the
powers intended to be given to the commission...re
will, I trust, have the circa of narrowing those
obj eStions. The tax I would propose on the rent
a lend would be on the net rent, as far as it can be
ascertained, suggesting at the same time a anode
by which I trust the net rent of land may be
ascertained without any difficulty or possibility
cf evasien. I should po pose a tax cf One Shu-
ling is the pound, chargeable on the proprie-
tor; and I should propose a tax of Ninepence in
the pound chargeable on the tenant; hut as some of
the tenants in Croat Britain pay poor? rates, and
others do not, I should propose that Ninepence in
the pound should be paid to the tenant who pays to
the pours' rates; and that those who do not pay it,
as well as the tceants in Scotland, where there are no
pours' rates, should be charged seMI a duty of Six-
pence in the pound only. I have endeavoured to
obtain, from various sources, the best means of form-
ing en estimate of the amount of that part of the an-
nual capital in this country, the imprevement of
which does not depend on personal industry ; any
estimate must be cenjeetund; hut the operation of
the Income Tax has enahled me to form a pretty
accurate judgment. I believe I shall not he fsir udde
in estimetiog the annual revenue tfthis description
of capital. at 30,00,0001. and T shall assume, that
that part which would be assessed under the opera-
tion of this measure, would be from sixty to seventy
millions. I estimate the amount of the revenue of
that species of'capital, consisting of lands and taxes,
at about twenty-eight millions ; of houses and
buildings, not agriculture', about ten millions
sterling. Probably not more .than three-fifths
are charged, and I should therefore make the esti-
mate of 6,000,0e001. in England, and in Scotland,
ensno,Olol. The Governor of the Bank, the East-
India Company, and Chartered Corporations, I esti-
mate at 18,'.L)0,0001. 'Foreign possessions and debts
bearing interest at 4,500,01) 1. ; canal navigations,
mines, tolls. Sic. from 5, to 7,000,0001. I deem my-
self warranted in stating that the whole of the an-
nual revenue of this capital, may be taken ar
67010,0101. ; this, at ore shilling in the pound, is
3,3750001. ; this is the amount it they are assessed
at one twentieth ; to these I conceive that an addition
may be made of full t:0,000,0001.1 by tenants
faits ; these, therefore, if assessed in the manner
I have stated, that is, 9d. for England, and 6d. for
ticetland, would yield atolls: 500,0001. It is diffi-
cult to conjecture what may be the amount of sala-
ries and professions ; it hai been estimated at
4000,0001. ; of this one-twentieth would yield
200,0031. With regard to the income on trade, it
is more difficult to form a conjecture; much must
depend on the success of the regulations for ascer-
taining it ; but allowing for the deductions, which
I should recommend in all cases of this description
of property, the value of which depen.is on personal
skill and industry, I should eniatate the produce,
with the exception of persons holding less than
601. a-year, at 4,700,01 n I. The Income Tax was
eight millions; it is proposed to include a large
proportion of property, which was exceeded foam
the Income Tax, i mean that property; which in no
degree depends upon the skill of the proptietor. In
that will be included the interest money invested
en Gevernrns nt Securities. I know the-delicacy
of this House with reference to that species of' pro-
perty ; but I am sure it cannot be contended at a
time when it was thought expedient to derive a re-
venue from every species of property, that this which
is so considerable should be exempt. The only
difficulty is, how the principle shall be carried
into eilea, in order thet this species of •property
may he cie-g-ed with its doe proportion, The
commissioners, as they were under the Income Tax
Bill, were resiaent in London ; Inn it is intended to
give the same power to commissioners residing in
different parts cf the country, that was before given
to the Commercial Commissioners residing in the
metropolis. It is proper that all persons should be at
liberty to carry their statement of income before
such cenimissioners. No person possessing property
in the fends can be charged hi any ogee manner
than by such commissioners, except from his own
choice. I shall proceed, that if after a given period
persons shottlei not have made their returns to the
commissioners; it should he understood they
have nia,le their ekilion, and that the portion for
which they axe lie Ula to be assessed should be col-
lefted at the .I.lani: ; this, however, can only take
place by their own choice. The Ccumaittre, I .0,4

•,

with, om
tfeorremi
gynste,
sf, wil
echthcaatints laspapinlyetali
cure the operation aetiTee
t f lonnot
• agents. The Committee' must l'.el that such
residing nut of the kingdom, or their
persons cannot be comprehended in a tax of this ne- •
tare; 1. therefore reoposeto exempt them. he Corn.
mirtee must he aware, that if they should he deter-
mined to raise so large a sum by additional duties,
theta considerable portion of it cannot be raised within
the year. I should suppose that the whole amount
that could possibly be raised within the year would
be. 4,500,0001 ; this will render it necessary to pro-
vide 10,00f),0001. to meet the amount of the charge;
and I have this day entered into an agreement with-
some considerable merchants of this capital, to raise,.
by way of loan, the sum which will be recnured, the
sum raised is 1€2,000,000 14 bat the sum for the
service of Great Britain, is ten millions only, the
remainder being for Ireland; the ternee'of the con-
tract are for every hundred pound advanced,-there
shall be given eighty three per cent. Consols, which
taken at fifty-eight and a half, leaves forty-six pounds
fourteen shillinga. Eighty three per cent. Reduced,
taken at fifty-eight and a half, also leaves forty-six
pounds fourteen shillings, referring to the price
on Saturday last. The bidding was on the
Long Annuities, and the parties who offered to
take the least aureola in value of Long Annuities
became the contractors at Gs. sd. which, at seventeen
years and a half, will amount to 51. 12s. To this is
to be added the value of the discount ; the bonus to
the enntredots is 11. 6s. (id. I have to congratulate
this House and the Committee, that, under such
circumstances as the present, so favourable a loan
has been contracted ; I should not feel tile satisfac-
tion T do, if I did not entertain a sanguine hope that
the advantages of the loan would be eventually as
much in favour of the contras ors as of the public,
for I feel with every Member, that it is a subject of
deep regret, when those who have come for ward to
assist the c ountry, have, in consequence of their pa-
triotism experienced any serious loss. I do congratu-
late the Ilonse on this bargain, for there are few
instances of a bargain more tavonrahle for the pub-
lic, with reference to the price of stocks) there have
been, however, two periods when bargains more fa-
vourable for the public have been made; they were
in the years 1;O:t and 1800, and in these years there
was an actual premium to Government against the
contractors, of cis. id., and the bonus was ten shil-
lings ; these are the only instances during the late
war in which bargains for loans were contracted
upon such advantageous. terms as the present one ;
but it is necessary the committee should advert to
the circumstances under which those bargains were
contracted t the first was under the operation of an
act, by which an attempt was made to raise the sup-
plies within the year, and the second was under the
operation of the income tax, aft peribd when there
was a pressure, arising from an increased price of
provisions. I.et it be recollected by the committee,
that in the year 1790, the produce of all those taxes,
which constitute the criteria of the wealth and rea-
sources of the country, was most abundant. What
is the inferenc .4 The inference is, that the measures
of Government had such an effect upon public
credit, that men were disposed to embark their
pmperty upon the security of Government ; it was
this principle which lead to the advantageous bar-
gains I have been speaking of, and the circum-
stance ought to hold nut a lesson to us, encourag-
ing us to have recourse to that same system which
was then adopted with so much success. I have now
stated the ways and means of providing for the in-
terest of the 1:',000,(X)01. to be raised by way of
loan, the annual interest on the .16,030.0001. will
be 1.30p00 1. the duties by which I propose to rake
the increased revenue I have stated, are those
which arise from the Excise and Customs, and pro-
perty ; in general the mode by which I should pro-
pose to make up the remaining part of the charge
necessary to be provided for, would be by suggest-
ing an alteration in the mode of collecting a tax on
receipts. I should pro;:ose, that in all instances
where money is to be paid, it Should he competent
for the person by whom the money is paid, to re-
quire a stamped receipt, and I should propose, that
the amount of the stamp should in no instance be
lower than twopence, nor higher than ss. This
augmsntation, which would not be attended with
serious consequences to any individual, but rather
a:Ford facilities to their mutual, transadions, I
should estimate at 220,0001. which, with what I
have calculated upon, would yield a sum appli-
cable to the whole service' of the present year.—
The Right Flnn. Geetleman here recapitulated the
heads of the Ways and Means, after which he thus
rroceeded : the Committee will perceive that the
great objet to which I recommend them to dired
their attention, is that of raising a large proportion
of supplies within the course of the year. The extent
to which I would wish to carry this principle is,
that during the war there should he no accumula-
tion whatever of the public debt; that we should in
the first instance estimate the whole charges of the
war, and that we should mike such efforts as will
enaale us to sustain a vigorous and protraded con-
test accretion of debt. Unless there should he de-
mands arising from the intervention of other powers
who may wish to make a common cause with Great
-Britain, die utmost exertions of the country will not
r :quire an annual expence of more than `6
Lbeg Cie House to understand, that I consider this
as a great and enormous suns, but I am desirous of
stating what I hope will be the utmost extent of ex-
penditure necessary for carrying on the. war. If I
should succeed in inducing the House to adOpt the
principles of the measure, it will appear, if I am
• ight in my estimate, that out of the general pro-
duce of the consolidated fund, 10,000,0001. would
be applicable to the service of the public ; if the
taxes I have mentioned should tall short of the es-
timated produce, even as much as two millions,
there would then be no necessity for making a
greater provision than the one I have stated. Wall
the growing produce of tile conselidated fund,
which is likely to he increased, unless a visita-
tion of Heaven should take place, similar to
that which happened a few years ago, and with
the produce of taxes C,500,0001. beyond what they
were originally stated at, we may easily be enabled
to provide a sum of 25,000,0001. without the slightest
addition to the public debt ; that this is a great ob-
jed, no one can doubt. If Gentlemen will consider
arithmetically the effects of recurring to the funding
system, I will venture to say, that the conclusion
they must come to, would be in favour of what 1
proposed; they would find that the difference be-
tween :.he whole amount of the taxes to be levied
only during the war, and on the other hand,
during peace, supposieg it should continue for
I fierty pare, would, by the adoption of one system ol

preference to the (sew-, not he worth coe.i leritig in
a pecuniary point of view. If you were to raise six-
teen millions by the funding system in preference to
the proposed, it wool be found to i)(21
mo sstY:thrtaetionrconsidering the means and resources
of the country for raising k within the year. We
find the etred of the system of raising the supplies
within the year, in the increase of public credit and .
confidence in Government ; the mere pecuniary ef-
fects are not the only ones that result from such a
system; the effects are much larger and more exten-
sive in their operation ; the adoption of temporary
taxes instead of permanent ones, will have the effett
of convincing the enemy that it is out of his power
to contend with the finances of this country, and that
it is out of his power to exhaust them ; it will con-
vince
the Powers of Europe they may safely assess
ciate with us. I will not fatigue the Committee, by
stating all the advantages of such a system. The
Right Hon. Gentleman here referred to the Loene
formerly made in this country, and the system of
taxation adopted in cases of national emergency; he
abserved,that not even servants'salar ies were exempt-
ed, and that in the reigns of King William and Queen
Anne, not only had a land-tax of 4s. in the pound
been carried into etred, but that stipends of every
desctiption lead been taxed: he inferred that these
hurthens had been patiently submitted to, at a pe-
riod when the country was under circumstances of
far less difficulty. lie likewise adverted to the in-
creased produce of the permanent taxes. He stated,
that, from the year 17 t 0.1803 a period of eleven
years, there had been an increase in the permanent
taxes to the amonne of 1,700,0001. The taxes, said he,
imposed during the war, have greatly exceeded the
charges for which they were to provide. The
taxes during the war were laid to provide for
3,200,0001. but at the end of the present year, those
taxes will have produced 5,00010001. which is an
increase of 1,800,0001. ; you have every other indica-
tion of internal strength; your manufactures and your
commerce have been increasing from year to year.
The sinking fund, which is the sheet anchor of the
country, seems to derive additional rigour from the
apparent difficulties of the country; it will continue
to increase during the war, and the debt, to the li-
quitfittion of which it is applicable, instead of in-
creasing, must greatly diminish. In the support of
such a system as the one I
.have recommended,
all descriptions of the community must be interested.
I have. therefore, thought it incumbent on me to
propose such modes as were likely to be effec-
cual„ though I perfectly well knew that the effect
Of part of that system would bear hard on those
wham I would most wish to spare ; but I am con-
vinced I should do injustice to the poorest peasant
in the land, if I did not believe that the cause in
which this country is engaged came home to his
boson'. lam persuaded that he will with pleasure
contribute a portion of his pittance rather than see.
his Country trampled upon and become the subject
of derision to an insolent foe—for that is really the
question. The question is, whether Great Britain is to
maintain her rank among the nations of Europe,
or whether she is to add to the catalogue cf those
Powers whose rights have been violated, and whose
liberties have been destroyed. If we mean to res-
cue the country, and carry it through its present ar-
duous contest with honour and glory,' we must
shew the enemy that we ate not only able to main-
tain a vigorous contest, but that we also have the
means of supporting a protraded one. I recollect
a Gentleman, a distinguished Member of this House,
making a memorable reply to an Hon. Gentleman
who asked, weal interest a poor peasant, who sit
reading a newspaper in his !tumble cottage, by the
help of a rush-light, could possibly have in the pre-
serVation of the balance of power in Europe? He
remarked, that the circumstance of his having the
pi ivilege to read the paper without the controul elf
any one, was that privilege which identified him
with the independence of the government and the
country.' I will .'not .underrate British feelings
so much as to suppose that the poorer classes
of society are not actuated by a sentiment of
resentment against the common molly. They were
men of that description, who fought under the ban,
ners of Abercrombie. They are men who, though
in an indigent state, are entitled to veneration and
respect. It is on the sentiments by which they are
influenced, I rely, when I, recommend the adoption
of measures that must bear so extremely hard upon
.them. lam sure, that as far as the system I have
proposed goes, it does indicate a disposition on my
part to devise taxes which shall hear equally on every
ciass of the public. I have endeavoured to arrange
the system in such a manner as to. avoid all possible
ground of complaint. Perhaps it will be ex.
pected, that when such an appeal as this is made
to the public that something should be said with
regard to the conduct Government mean to pursue.
feel the duty of exertion on the part of his Majesty's
Government, and 1 trust that be found that
every possible exertion has and will be made; it is
the wish of his Majesty's Ministers to avoid com-
promising the honor and dignity cf the country, and
to avoid entering upon a war which they fell must
be a war of extermination. They have gone to
war with reluctance, and I ask Parliament to
sanction great public burthens for the support
of the contest, from a'conyiction that we are at
war because we cannot be at peace, and that we
can entertain no prospcd of•peace, but from the
vigour of our arms. Government is desirous of
acting upon that principle, which will shew that
they wish to manifest firmness and dignity, and a
mode of conduit equally devoid of arrogance and
pusillanimity. I know the unjust insinuations that
hive been thrown out against those who have
avowed the sentiments which at present adeete
his Majesty's Government; but I will avow those
sentiments in spite of every species of clamour that
may be raised against me ; let it be seen, when
toe day of trial comes, whether those who have
anted upon the system I have mentioned, will sheitee
from any charge that may be brought against then'.
Let it be recoil ected that lastyear,when there werehopee
of peace, that the provisions made for the year were
greater than those which had been adopted at any
former period, during a state of 4aual warfare. His
Majesty s Ministers have been charged with riot
hissing had recourse to measures sufficiently strong
and energetic. It is not to avoid such an imputa-
tion that they bring forward this measure now. I
of raising g
whent e suppliesacoris iLi
had the satisfat.ctionof expressieg my approbation of
theth elsays'etra:rvai within dyeegr
ee year.o f p rler•
i
judice existed with regard to that measure, I stated
my opinion in favour of it, and' intimated, that in
the event of the renewal of .war, a principle of the
same nature would be resorted to. Let it not then be
Ow we were so vesek 555 to 4e courti •
ng pope

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