The Sun.
London, England, 1852-05-01 00:00:00

TI4E

predecessor was not free, and that was in charging the
people of this country with an impatience of taxation. The
Right Hon. Getleman said it would be very difficult, if not
impossible, to revert to a system of taxation on imports. He
entirely agreed with the Right Hon. Gentleman in that
opinion; but he did not think that argued in the least de-
gree an impatience of taxation on the part of the people.
The Right Hon. Gentleman made a similar remark with
regard to the Excise duties, but failed entirely in proving
that the people had any impatience of taxation which a
Chancellor of the Exchequer had a right to find fault with.
—( Hear, hear.) In 25 years, from 1790 to 1815, the taxa-
tion of this country was greatly increased, and increased on
no principle which had reference to the real interests of
commerce, or of the people—(Hear, hear) —but OR one
getting as much as possible, by any means whatsoever, from
any class of the people who might be made to yield taxa-
tion.— (Hear, hear.) And up to so recent a period as 182;,
it would probably have been impossible for the mali-
cious ingenuity of statesmen to have devised a system
of taxation that did more to strangle industry, to create
poverty among the people, or to prevent the creation of
wealth, than that then in existence.—(Hear.) There were
thousands of men in this country, at the present moment,
who understood the principles of taxation, and who would
better arrange the financial system of the country, than the
men who managed its financial affairs for the period to
which he had referred. The Right Hon. Gentleman had
shown that the result of taking off the import duties had
been of the most advantageous character to every interest in
the country—(Hear)—and if the taking off of 11,000,0001.
or 12,000,000/. in taxes during the last ten years, had pro-
duced so very advantageous a result, it was a reasonable con-
clusion that if they were to go back and begin on the old
system and to re-impose the import duties, they should be
putting an end to the advantages they had gained, and
bringing back the evils which our miserable fiscal system of
past times had inflicted on them. There was no man in that
House who did not see that the Chancellor of the Ex-
chequer would not dare to stand up in his place and make
—now in a time of peace, at any rate—any proposition
that went to impose further duties on the im-.
portatiospeaking'
mated indirect taxation, the Right Honourable Gentleman inti-
nof articles from foreign countries. In speakin
mated his opinion that the people were impatient, and he
(Mr. Bright) thought the Right Hon. Gentleman spoke as if
he considered they were also unreasonable. Now, he (Mr.
Bright) did not believe there was throughout the country
any feeling whatever against the principle of direct taxa-
tion to the amount involved in the receipts from the income-
tax.—(Hear, hear.) He represented a constituency which
was, perhaps, as much affected by the income-tax as any
borough constituency in the kingdom ; but he had never
been commissioned by his constituents to make any protest
in that House against the principle of direct taxation, and
he believed, though many people in 1842 were exceedingly
exasperated when the income-tax was first imposed, that as
soon as they found that the receipts derived from it were
used by Sir Robert Peel with a view to introduce a new and
improved system of taxation, the objections to that tax were
then almost altogether removed ; and he believed, also,
from that time to this, they had given, through their re-
presentatives, their most cordial consent to the continuance
of that tax.— (Hear, hear.) It was one of the most satis-
factory things to his mind that the Right Honourable
Gentleman had in so courageous a manner proposed the
prolongation of that tax to. a _period,, at all events, when
some further steps might be necessary in respect of it,
arising out of the report of the Committee which was now
sitting on the subject. He would, however, remind the
Right Hon. Gentleman that there were two objections to
that tax. There was, first of all, its inequality in regard to the
various kinds of income, but he did not propose to go into
that at present. It was an exceedingly difficult question, and
he did not believe it was possible to adjust it so as there
might not still be inequality; but they might make some
approximation to the desired end. But there was another
source of grievance, and that was the body of Commissioners
throughout the country by whom the income-tax was ma-
naged. When the tax was levied in 1842, the Income-tax
Commissioners were directed to be chosen from the Land-tax
Commissioners. Now he knew that in some parts of the
country, where party feeling had been exceedingly high, the
Income-tax Commissioners, from the circumstance of their
being chosen entirely from the Land-tax Commissioners, had
been belonging almost exclusively to one political party. He
should like to make a suggestion to the Chancellor of the
Exchequer with regard to the mode of constituting the
Income-tax Commissioners. If the Right Honourable Gen-
tleman could' arrange a system by which the persons who
paid income-tax in any given district during the last year or
the last three years, might be allowed out of their own body
to choose the Commissioners for assessing the income-tax for
the next year or the next three years, as the case might be,
he believed it would give great satisfaction, and remove one
of the greatest grievances existing in connexion with that
tax. With regard to the general question which had been
discussed on both sides of the House, he thought they might
almost conclude that, on the great questions which had been
illustrated in the speech of the Right Hon. Gentleman, they
were pretty much agreed. But he should just wish to state
to the House that the origin of that speech, and the facts on
which it was based, might be ascribed to the Committee on
the import duties which sat in le4o. From . the evidence
given before that Committee had come all the train of grand
and eventful circumstances connected with the fiscal changes
in this country.—(Hear, hear.) About the same time the
Manchester Chamber of Commerce took up that question,
worked it with very great perseverance, and prosecuted it
to so successful au issue, that Sir Robert Peel was con-
vsrted to their opinions; and through those conjoint cir-
cumstances they had landed now on a position exceed-
ingly fortunate for this country, when, on both sides of
that House, the leasing statesmen in Parliament admitted
that those great principles which all the illustrious writers
on this subject had advocated, were not only sound in theory,
but had been productive, after being practically introduced
into the fiscal system of this country, of the most extraor-
dinary advantages to the nation.—(Cheers.) The Right
Hon. Gentleman the Chancellor of the Exchequer referred
in the course of his speech to the question of the sugar duties,
and described the remarkable gain to the country by the re-
duction of those duties. He recollected the Right Hon.
Gentleman complimenting another Right Hon. Gentleman on
the Opposition side of the House, with having converted two
Secretaries of State. Now, the. Right Hon. Gentleman had
sitting by his side another Secretary of State—( Hear, hear)
—who had taken a great interest in the question of the
sugar duties, and he (Mr. Bright) hoped the Right Hon.
Gentleman would succeed in converting him (Sir J. Peking-
ton) to the wisdom of the existing policy in reference to the
sugar duties,—(Laughter.) At all events he trusted the
Right Hon. Gentleman would not in future consent to the
people of this country being put on a short allowance of sugar.
—(Hear, hear.) He understood the Solicitor-General was
to address a large meeting at Ipswich to-morrow. He
did not know „what was the Hon. and Learned Gentleman's
brief—(A laugh)—but if he was in the confidence of the
Right Hon. Gentleman the Chancellor of the Exchequer
betore he left town he (Mr. Bright) hoped the Right Hon.
Gentleman gave him a hint not to expose himself in the
manner he had done on a recent occasion.--(Laughter.)
The Right Hon. Gentleman had shown the great increase
in the consumption of tea and sugar among the people
within the last few years; he (Mr. Bright) hoped the Right
Hon. Gentleman would not have cause to regret if he also
found a corresponding increase in their consumption of bread
and butter.—(A laugh.) With respect to the question of
the surplus, he thought that had been underrated. There
was still a surplus of 460,0001. The Right Hon. Gentleman
said he assigned 350,000/. for the militia. He (Mr. Bright)
was glad that the question of paying for the militia had
come before the House. There had never been two military
or naval men in that House who had been agreed as to the
propriety of calling out the militia. The truth was, the
whole question of the militia was in a haze. The Noble Lord
the Member for London had been hoaxed in reference to
it, and 'the present Government, in their turn, had been
hoaxed also. The House had already voted 15,000,0001. for
the defence of the country, a sum which none of them could
conceive in amount, and equal to what, we derived from our
Excise duties; and yet, atter having voted that enormous
sum, they were now asked to pay 350,000/. for the militia.--
(Hear, hear.) The Chancellor of the Exchequer, like his
predecessor in office, had taken advantage of a most dis-
creditable thing, in the case of the farmers, and the mode in
which they were assessed to the income-tax. The farmer
was only rated on one-half of his rent, and in addition to
that advantage they gave him a right of appeal against the
sum at which he might be assessed. The late Chancellor of
the Exchequer (proposed that arrangement, and carried it
through the House without any discussion. He (Mr.
Bright) thought the present Chancellor of the Exchequer
would lose 150,0001. in that way, as indeed he had ad-
mitted ; and therefore the Right Honourable Gentleman
had let the trading classes down to the extent of that sum
on that particular point. He apprehended eventually that
the. Militia Bill would become a hustings question, and
when it came to be worked they would find that every
large constituency, scarcely without an exception, and
certainly that of every city and borough, would be op-
posed to such a Bill. Now he thought, out of a sum like
800,000/. the Chancellor of the Exchequer should have given
some relief to the industry of the country. The principle on
which they ( the free trade party) had acted in their agita-
tion in the country and in that House was a scientific and
an honest one.—( Hear, hear, and an ironical laugh.) They
did not regard a man as a farmer, a landowner, a cotton-
spinner, or a shopkeeper, but they intended to apply that
to the whole industry of the country.
principle lf the
Chancellor of the Exchequer had been a little more coura-
geoue, and had shaken off the Militia Bill, and removed
the hop duty among others, he would give much greater
satisfaction to his (DI:. Bright's) side of the House. Again,
he would ask the House whether the repeal of the advertise•
-
ment duty, or the newspaper stamp—both of which could
have been done for the sum they were going to expend on
the militia—would not have been infinitely better for the
country.— (Hear.) The fact was, that the militia question
was a great hoax, which had been played on the Noble Lord
lately at the head of the Government. Some inflated letters
which
doubtless appheeaer
been
donthesubjteoct in the Times newspaper had
Gentleman represented the Noble Lord as the expres-
sion of public opinion, and he fell into the trap.— (A laugh.)
admi-
rable one.
He (Mr.
case before himvfaad
Bright) thought the speech of the Right Hon.
But the Right him, the
It was
Chancellor of the Exchequer was an admi-
.the speech of a man who, having a great
dition of the people, Gentleman had not improved the con-
what he could to make the best of it.
Schedule D on thenor had he modified the operation of
Hon. Gentleman's
to that; but he (Mr. Zit le
greatosti mass of the community. The Right
had been unfortunately adverse
his (Mr. Bright's) side of the forcible exponent of the opinions 9 -was
i long held by gentlemen on
glad to find in him a
4wweir, and that, on looking at
ofna.ceGoefntiPetnarA hail as
'lament and—a the country, to
theyh had done before
the facts bearing on those
the courage to
place before it the policy he had so deliberately
hstiamndtfileorthßiignhtthile
Sir J. PAKINGTON did not intend to , adopted.
Member through the great variety ee topics follow the Hon.
touched upon. He .had, however, been pointedly he had
referred
to by the Honourable Member with reference to the duty
be w shed to make one observation
on sugar, and
Hon. Member had implied that with re-
gard to it. Thethe (Sir J.
becomeon. a convert on
Pakingtou) had the subject of the
because his Right Hon. Friend the Chancellee nf
sugar duties,
d "tted the remarkable ext t • en to which.
the Exchequer had a mi
f sugar had been stimulated since 1845.
the consumption o
for him to point out that, in deal-
It was hardly necessary .
at empire that,
various
various
in with the affairs of this e
gr'clered ; and he thought the
general interests to be considered;
admit that there were other
Honourable Member would
hich the Government
in-
terests besides that of consumers v.
tion of the sugar
were bound to consider on the ques
duties. They were bound to consider the interest of the
n. Member
colonies, and also a question—which the Ho
the estion of
ought to be the last to disregard
qu
slavery. He confessed that the increase in the consumption
of sugar during the last year had been very remarkable, but
the increase was not attributable to the Act of 1846 . It
the
manufacture so happened that of late the cultivation of beet for the
manufacture of sugar had been encouraged to a great ex-
tent on the Continent, and that in Germany the quantity of
beet-root sugar had increased to an enormous amount. Tile
result had been the exclusion to a considerable extent from
the north of Europe of slave-grown sugar, which of late had
found its principal market in England.— ( Hear, hear.) That
was a fact which ought to be kept in view, and the Hon.
Gentleman ought to consider when he appealed to him so
triumphantly, whether, looking to the general bearing of the
question, the increase in the consumption of sugar in this
eeuntry wa4 altogether a subject of cougrattilation. 'The