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

had no doubt that if the duty on soap were also reduced iC
would have the same effect, whilgnit added to the employ-
ment of the people, and we might become au exporting
country fur soap, as we were for other articles. But the pre-
sent budget was a stand-still budget.—(Hear,
and cheers.) It
was a budget to do nothing but to continue the burdens of
the country.—(Hear, hear.) The Right Hon. Gentleman
might say he wanted no relief—he was contented ; but he
(Mr. Hume) was not contented.—(Hear, hear.) He was
one who had certainly expected a very considerable relief to
those classes who were so much affected by the Excise
duties; and he would put it to the Right Hon. Gentleman,
it he would only use his own discernment, whether he could
rise from the consideration of the Excise duties on great
articles of consumption with any other conviction than
that it was a most mischievous system ? He hoped that
the duties on paper and soap, and also' that upon ,
malt, would be removed, and that thereby they might get rid
of a system of Excise which cost the country 600,0001. or
701,000/. a year for its collection.—(Hear.) Now, the Right
Hon. Gentleman hsd proposed the renewal of the income-
tax as temporary ; but if he had proposed it as a permanent
measure, on just and sound principles, no man in the House
would be more ready to support it than he (Mr. Hume) would
be. But he would do it only to enable the Right Hon-
Gentleman, as the late Sir R. Peel required, to make changes,
ant remove the odious taxes that existed. The Right Hon.
Gentleman said that direct taxation was carried on to a great
extent ; but he would tell the Right lion. Gentleman that it
amounted only to ten per cent. of the whole taxation of the
country, while the Customs and Excise amounted to 75 per
cent. Let him extend the principle, and let every man feel
the weight of it, and know that he was contributing his
share anu quota to the taxation of the country ; but let hint
be convinced that by that means he was enabled to
remove indirect taxation on the necessaries of life, and
that, while he paid one penny to the income-tax, he was
relieved from twopence of indirect taxation. The Right
lion. Gentleman had denounced with great force the injus-
tice of the house•tax of last year; but, if he thought it
was unjust as it stood, let him extend the tax to all houses.
The Right lion. Gentlemon had stated a fact which he (Mr.
Hume) wished him to explain. He had stated that out of
4,000,e00 houses only 350,000, or some bagatelle like that,
were assessed. Well, why were not the whole number ase
seesed ?—(Hear, hear.) if the Government had not pro-
ceeded upon sound principles of legislation hitherto, let the
Right lion. Gentleman begin now. He (Mr. Hume) wished
to see the income and property-tax continued and made
permanent, in order that means might thereby be provided
for enabling them to get rid of the indirect taxes. For these
reasons he felt bound to disturb the unanimity which seemed
to prevail in the House, and to express his dissatisfaction
with the statement of the Right Hon. Gentleman.—(Hear.)
Mr. NE WDEGATE said that the Right Hon. Gentleman
the Member tor Halifax (Sir C. Wood) had taunted him
with having, year atter year, printed, published, and cir-
culated statements with respect to the balance of trade
which he was pleased to say were illustrations of exploded
fallacies. Now, he (Mr. Newdegate) begged to say that he
had made the same calculations for this year, and had
found that the balance of trade was against this country to
the amount of 13,000,000/.—(Hear, hear.) If the Right
Hon. Gentleman doubted the fact that any such amount of
capital had been lost by the commercial classes of this
country, lie begged to refer him to Mincing-lane and Liver-
pool.—(Hear, hear.)
Mr. BARING said that one of the great motives which
actuated him in supporting the financial views of his Right
Hun. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer was the same
as that which the Hon. Member for Montrose had given for
opposing them. It was because hit Right Hon. Friend, with
his estimate of the expenditure, had determined to do
nothing, that he (Mr. Baring) had determined to sup-
port him.—(hear, hear.) So far from thinking it a
demerit in Government to stand still when they were
not sure what might be the future expenditure, and when
they anticipated a reduction of income, he confessed it
seemed to him to be a ground of approbation.—(Heart
hear.) He knew very well that there was great popularity
connected with the taking off of taxes, but he knew also
that it there was one duty more incumbent than another
upon a Ministry, it was not to endanger the futureelor any
momentary popularity.—(Hear, hear.) But there.waa One
thing in which he agreed with the honourable Member for
Montrose, and that was an admiration of the motives of
the late Sir Robert Peel.— (Hear, hear.) He was one of
those, indeed, who had never doubted the purity of his '
motives.—(Hear.) He was one of those who had always
felt the greatest admiration for his talents; and he
could imagine nothing snore painful in the future, as there
had certainly been nothing more painful in the past course
of his life, than the necessity which compelled him to with-
draw his support from that Right Hon. Gentleman in 1846.
But he was then of opinion, and the opinion still remained -,
uuchanged, that in dealing with great commercial questions,
and in dealing with great interests of any kind, sudden
revolutions were the worst and most dangerous —(Hear,
hear.) He thought that his Right Hon. Friend the Chan-
cellor of the Exchequer had taken rather too bright a view
of the late commercial prosperity. From all he had been
able to gather on the subject, he should say that the year
1851 had been a most disastrous year.—(Hear.) He did not
mean to say that there might not here and there be found
an exception ; that there had not been some well combined
operations or some happy speculations; but what he meant
to say was this, that taking the exports and imports of the
country, he believed it would be found that the prices of reali-
sation had left a serious loss upon the interests in operation.
He admitted that these losses did not necessarily
affect the
manufacturing interest, and that the bulk of them had pro-
bably fallen upon the middlemen. He rejoiced to find that
his Right Hon. Friend had been able to state that the manu-
facturing interest was, on the whole, in a state of prosperity,
and he hoped to see also that Schedule D showed satisfac-
tory results. But, financially speaking, he did not wish to „
touch the question as to what extent free imports had been ,
batterconducive
treatto the
thepqrousepateirtitny
thelie
rfitnhaonllcgihaltlyit.
aotf
ptrhe
se,
ncto ua ril
ttorgye.
He though that when they attributed their financial prospe-
rity to the measures of 1846, they really meant the measures
of 1842. He considered it impossible that without the income.
and property tax, then imposed under circumstances of
pressing emergency, and since continued for other purposes,
_a
we could at any period have been without a deficiency, nee
he could not see, after all the reductions which had siv!,'w,
taken place in the Customs and Excise, that we could It3ti'ea
dispense with it. - (Hear, hear.) But there was an the
question. To what extent bad the country gained '''' ane
transfer of taxation which had taken place? It Wiles 1:00/.
that the country had, since 1842, been relieved of 10,0 ".ease
of taxation ; but it ought to be recollected that during `'._,,,
ten years the Government had been regularly abstractitubt
5,5110,0004 annually from the pockets of the people ill „la
shape of new taxes, so that, in those circumstances, they cc).
well afford to give the people a little in the way of reroisysl_°_..ll
now and then. If he gave them 51. out of his pocket e er.r
afford to
year for ten years, he thought they could easily nll as
give him a present of 101. at the end of the period. as well If,a pound now and then in the course of it.—(Flear')
then, they took a debtor and creditor account
country had paid, on the one hand, in the shape of inc.ell of
tax, and saved on the other in the shape of a remission of
the
taxation, he should be surprised if they did not find that.,
gain was not so large as they supposed.—(Hear, hear:)
There was another point which he wished to allude to. 181,L1
of what ttl!
Right Hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer bad said
that he could account fur the reduction in Schedule D.
.51,_7
(Mr. Baring) quite agreed with him that a bad year Ila:
1847 must influence several years; but he thought it impos-
sible sible to account satisfactorily or the reduction without
supposing the existence of evasions. He confessed he
thought there must have been evasions in the re-
turns, otherwise there must have been diminished
profits in trade. But how were they to test their pros-
perity ? Honourable Gentlemen opposite always said,
"Lcok at the exports." If the exports were to be taken :
a real test of prosperity, he thought they would find that
the produce of Schedule D ought not to have diminish%
But be did not believe that the exports afforded a real ''''
of their prosperity—though it was one which was alsvel believed-
pealed to by gentlemen on the other side. What he,l,7erce
was this, that so long as the income-tax continued 1" --•
the means and disposition to evade the returns would be t t
swell the result, and the adversity of another
creased ; that although the prosperity of one Year 134 h
it, the tendency and disposition always would be to vale
the returns. While, therefore, he did not thick that tae
prosperity prosperity of our commerce was so great as had been stated;_
while he did not believe that either the colonial interest, or
the shipping interest, or the agricultural interest was 11/he
year doiminisde
state of prosperity, there was one point upon which he thonith
there would be no difference of opinion, and that w" Wthe
regard to the ability which the Right Hon. Gentleman ~,„.
Chancellor of the Exchequer had displayed on this occasr;
—(Hear, hear.) His was a mind which seemed to be abler ~
grapple with anything; and, grapple with whateve
004
might, the result was always to elucidate and enforce it.
nisi
sing
success occasion his great talents had been applied with "
success to the practical concern of the administration of the
country.—(Cheers.)
Mr. WILSON thought they would arrive at an unwise
conclusion, if they wore to suppose, as the Hon. Member
e°,',
North Warwickshire (Mr. Newdegate) would have th,tt,
that because of the losses sustained by the merchants of
:11.,'„
verpool and Mark-lane, the country, generally, was not ient
prosperous condition. On the contrary, he was satisfied tibilf
although the commercial losses of last year were almost one
precedentedly large, yet in consequence of those losses te c
prices of produce had fallen so much abroad that the trade el
the present year promised to be more successful than it bade
been for many years past.—(Hear.) He agreed t.
Hon. Member for Huntingdon (Mr. Baring),
ports of the country could not be accepted ashynhileae it ,
evidence of the prosperity of the country thou ht
ed from
would be admitted that the amount of revenue deriv
wee
the Customs and Excise afforded very satisfacto la
eV
Honourable
on that point.— (Hear, hear.) Now, the Right iinseif
thaw. the i
iebal;
Gentleman the Chancellor of the Exchequer h h „
0,000,0001 e
shown in his speech on that occasion, that while the
esits"
toms' duties had been reduced to the ext.nto
the con-
and the Excise duties to the extent ofd 1,500,0001.,
to such an extent
sumption of the country had
fact
c tt yieldoou ought
ht"ait that this important
before.—(Hear, hear.)
He
thought that
evidence of the
amount of revenue as
But the Right Hon.
general prosperity of thest country.atement in the course of his able
Gentlemen had made one
within
thb:entaaken triflees ofant huinenqcaasee
He had attributed the increased amount
bear him out in. - with
the circumstances connected
speech which the trade accounts of this year would hardly
the trade accounts of the present year
proved Exhibition ;but
Exhibition had very little to do with the
that the
proved
respect to sugar, for instance, although,
of consumption in 1851 to ,
o
tion of that articlelast year was large
case.
doubt,
teilVeithconsusip
of
that for the first three months of the present as compared with that the preceding year, yet it A;
peered
the consumption had been 15,000 tons more than the
eemption of last year fur the same period, thus showing
that it was not the accidental circumstance of the Exhibition
which was the cause of the increase, but that the contain*"
tion was going on in an increasing ratio.—(Hear, hear.)
Mr. GLADSTONE said he had heard some remarks feat
the Hon. Member for Huntingdon (Mr. Baring) upon a polcita
so vitally important, that he was unwilling to allow tr.
ilili
to pass without a few words of observation. He
Gladstone) should be perfectly willing to allow the case oa
the commercial policy of the last ten years to rest upon th a
statement of the Right Hon. Gentlemen the Chancellor. )1
' the Exchequer.—( Hear, hear.) In a manner 16,043.
' honourable to him and with an ability peculiarly
that
own, he had laid before the House the results of tu
1 policy; and he (Mr. Gladstone)
I speech which the Right Hon. Gentleman had delivered t,tibaat
ventured to
night would constitute an epoch in the history ot_;_le of
policy, and would not soon be fOrgotten.—(Loud cries
" Hear, hear.") But the Hon. Member for Huntingl,,ae
had grappled with a statement which lied been made hY,al.O"O.
Right Hon. Gentleman, and repeated by the Right
e-1 ee
Baronet the Member for Halifax; though he confessed say that
that
did not think that his attempt to impair their st tni;a,
was at all successful. How did the matter stand?
col:, i,
vitally important that it should be brought outl ,
y'Y the
the face of the public. The figures, as put together o
2 200 000/. or tee-
that since 1842 Parliament had reduced 1 , '
the surces
Right Hon. Baronet the Member for Halifax, stood thus'
that
tion, and that the produce of the taxes from. Oa
hear. If they 0,
of the original amount.—(Hear, . )
they gave away IIP
upon which the reductions had operated had risen I,d4eodoacted
.
from the 12,200,000/. the money which
.. e
character' ate
the window-tax, which was not of a reproductive
aa.d a
Ithteaccount would stand thus :—that Parliament b r To, 4 e 'l. 0 .
1,1,000,1401• of titatatitna tipcn the elastic pot 4 1 '