The National Register.
London, England, 1816-05-12 00:00:00

LE VI lIER TAX.

Lord Auriton en, in rising to make the present motion, felt
It liceesSaly to State, that he should not have stood forward on
this occasion, had it not be."ll that his constituents were eatly
and particularly iaterested in it hat so strong ttas his opinion
of the nece,sity of the repeal of this tax en ono of our
greatest staide commodities, that let whoct et wound have
brought it forward, the inotioa would ha, c had his soppoi:o
Formerly we had always been able to meet our opro tient., and
to undersell them in a 10ie.gli market; but now, owing to the
additional, dirties laid tipoa the trade, it Was in the greatest
state or depression. If, however, the aluty were takenonl, the
price of the oracle would fall, and 013,export would, in his
opinion, increase in propoi thin equal to the late elniStlinpl ion
of the army; trade would increase, and employment woold
main be roomd for our ilhdressed Jrinneymen. Thus much
the re peal of the tax would do towards the rciief of the trade ;
but still more ..voithl be dote fur the tanners by a relief from
the vexation attending the collection of the ditties. The Noble
Lord then entered at length into a sletail of the nodes of col-
lecting the duties on leather. In Nt, the duty was only
814,0.191. and in the present year there must itnavoidibly be a
still greater filling inf. The Noble Lord concluded by moving
for kayo to bring iu a Biil to repeal the tax upon leather.

Mr, W. swivel_
would feel its very serious measure, in the
present situation of the country, to take off a tax producing
COU,OJOI. a year, tinless there Was a prospect of reimbursing the
Evellegiter almost to the full amount. lie thought, however,
this might be done, and many inconveniences avoided, by
doing away the stamping of little, and obliging the tanner to
eater to a book all hides sent into his yard, and all sent out; awl
upon these hides he should psy a duty oi two shillings.
The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQL ER tuna, tf the Noble Lord
and the Honourable Gentleman had contented theniselt es with
Mao ving for a Committee, to which the petitions on the table
might have been referred, to enquire into the subject, he should
pot have opposed the motioa.,—He thought the plan by Mr.
Reath worthy of consideration ; with regard to the depre%sion
ender which the Leather Trade had laboured, the Noble abed
had answered himself, by saying, that every other trade was
a(so depressed. The Leather Trade must 1137 s felt an extraor•
binary depress;op in consequence of the pews. Within the
two last years, after the opening of the rivers in the South of
America, the imperialism '4. hides hail greatly ins!rease.d, in
consequence of the cheapness and good quality of thw e hides,
in piefereuce to those of the Coutinent. The Noble Lord
haul mid nothing of the effect of the tax upon the consumer.
Hut it would be a satisfaction to the House to know that the gene-
ral prices (ilia:at:ter erre lower than beforetlie hope .ition of the
tax. Tile pi ice was then Ithlt. now it had decreased to Ibid.
If Mum, es obtained thoin raw materials cheaper, it was hut
reason:ll4Mo suppose that the cons/truer would reap the benefit
of the diminution. Bark, in. fedi, was under S3I. in 1813, it
was 361. iu the present year it bad deureased ;Alike to betweose
2A. aid 211. thus falling one third in pries, or 15 per cern':
upon Leatke,.. 41.1 upon the article of Bark. 30 per cent. Raw
Ludes were 1i0w441. to sd. per lb. on the average. This year
they ha I Callen from 2,1 to 3d. making a difference of 25 per
cent. With respect to thetas, the House must be aware of
the necessity of maintaioing the revenue entire, it' it could be
&we without real injury to the country, aild at the same time
afford an adequwe protection to trade. It was his duty there-
fore to abandon the tax, for the reason he had slated. A Com-
nom e loud sat in 1813, and au inference was to be drawn from
the emptily before them, nata:ly, that }self measnres would not
do, tor the Noble Lord desired the repeal °film entire ,Tax— a
repeal of half of it would not have mow ered the ohjerrrof tl:c
ptlitioners. Wishing, however, to give every satisfaction, he
should move for an enquiry to see mutt (mold be done,
ao:I object to the e f the Noble Lord her the repeal.---
11c then moved an atnenulmeee—., For a Coalmine.. taeonsider
the state of the laws relatia* to the maitufactuty of, and duties
ay, Leather."
Loud COMPTON 'sea in favours: 111 e oriellual motion. The
fall in the price of leather arose from the depression i!strade.
11:e eltjections which he loud to the tax were, that it was most
aapensive in its collection, fell heavily and equally omthe poor
and aperutrel to, the Mittry of uiricultarrik .