The Sun.
London, England, 1808-05-12 00:00:00

ASSESSED AND PROPERTY TAXES.

. The Cl4APeCsil,.l:oil 1:;11 the EXCHECAUmt, pursuant
to his notice, rose to more tor leave to bring in a
Bill tor the better eolleetion of the Assesced Tat*
and the cluty on -Property, Trades, and Yrote,ions.
The view hi had in'propesing this measure was to
simplify the collation of these taxes, and to procure
uilifurra ciecution of the laws for theit

!ion
throitghoutiih
!1c
,-,?...,p;fi(2,5%,.,
ro foti
trie pelt tind,
tveatintiC 'hot in these here rhpee,fet
as vexatiOns lhose hose dotetfic:d bt.
C,e :init/ay of these Otficere„ Atte •er ebjeCtiii
Bill was; 10 provide fur t he.-erft'Ar cuiledioti of lilt 4:
taxes. These ever i ateliffetipal object- or- tif:t
sure, • end how tar be likely oteecorophis:i
Would be judged of by the Honte' lien htl!.shoili.
bring in the Bill. The first peovisiori of the /3111 teas -
to ent.sl.! -the' asse3sors to begin their work at the
I commencement, by providing tor their appoint-
.' merit before the sth of April, or t case of their not
being appointed, by euthorisies,dle asse.sol'h of the
former year to ael, or by enabling the collectors
to a& :at assessors, so that. the business sh eft! be
proceeded in •with adivity. •The part of the Bill
which was. to provide nit the earlier collection of
these taxes, if the House should'adopr the provision'
he meant to propose, would enact that, the offiGers
should, upon assessit tem, go into the collection wrote
out waiting either ideappeal, or surcharge, and re,
quire one moiety or the avers." to be paiit bt foto -
,any decisitn . on eirirel:. ‘l>tild then he fro oia:;.
cesion,•as tinder ,the prete.nt:regulation,' to delaY. th`ti
-collection till the decision. of the epeea' or Sureaeree,` •
which deterred•theeolleOioti: to. a fatoperiod the
year. He also proposed that the dtitiee should be
colleeted• hail yearly, 'though they would be stilt
due quarterly;, for the coneeolettee of ibstiing exicilts
in the case of feilures. essessed taxes were ref
br eolletted oge wHo quarterly devs, and the on
property Oct the other Iwe quarterly days, so that
the Elet-saus who v.,0121.:1 bate to pay these cute,
would thus be relieved from ' the. inconvenience
I of paying both ow tho 'wine days. It wai
proposed to extend the tithe for z.ppeithhg '
ti surcharge, . even, though: no Melee should be
given of an appeal to the eseeeser, in order .
fi 0 afford persons• who might: be absent from home,
'or otherwise provented,ini opportunity of prosecut-'
ing their...appeal; .The time fier :it appeal a6aitisi atk-
assessment,. was gear ryas at-present ; but
that for an appeal agailt3t esuicharee was to be ex= -
tended, with 0 power to the Gonunissioaers even to
adjourn then' detß;lon, in'Ord4r to give the' parties a!
full opportutn(-to prepare fair their defence. There
wan 'another
.provision' of the Bill, which, he had
adopted on the Li ngestion of an Hon. Member op,
pestle (Mr. Wardell), though he cook not go the•
whole lougth that Hon. Member recommended,
fee the puitishment of assessors and collectors who,
might be guilty of vexatious proceedings.. This was.
• a subject. upon which he had alwaysetilt much ditll4.
culty. The HOLM:, at the seine time that it might.
think it desirable to prose a individuals from Ve:ta-
tious surcharges, would be aware that it was to the
activity of orticers that they were to look for the pre.
Velltien Of frauds. At present a surcharge migtif be
set aside on the oath oreelie parries. To what he
proposed to proceed. on this stibjeet, he had next to
state. In the event of a veLitious surcharged he
proposed that a penalty of lOW. er
the value of the sow surcharged, at the. option of
the party, should be reeoveree .on action brought
by the party injured by the surcnarge, from the per-
son guilty of the vexatious surcharge: This •penalty/
I was to be recoverable not only with costs as ue.
ri tweet) party and party,. tyot with .1 he whole costs
out of pocket, upon a certificate .ftutu the Judge
befere wheal the may be tried, that the
case was vexatious. But !,besieges (els !evilly
1. and costs, theoilicer, upon such convtcoon, V. as to
be ipso jOeiq disetiargeri from his office. \\•-sii..ri
such severe peealtitneweri to be imposed upon the
Officer, the
,I.fouAe wottid feel that they, ozght to se-
t cure to inch tine ti'etielit Of the decision of a Jury, and
therefore it was th..l 11::!! could not accede' to that;
! pat of the 'suggestion of the HOuourabie Gentle-
man, which wet to give. the Commissioners the
power to decide Olt once. Another object he had
in view, was to pr.)cure an uniformity' in the
execution of the Acts fur colie4ing these taxes,
!, in all parts of .the country. There was eto evil
more seriously et leioueci of cOMplaint, 'than that
ill one 'district the duties' were collek-ied
effectually in one way, in the .ountiguous disci-ea
they were coilected in so lax a mariner as, to
sutler several descriptions of property liable to.
• assessment to escape without paying • the duty.
With , a view to rethelly this evil' he • proposed
to increase the number orSpecial Commissioners in
London, where, 9ss3(red- three were too few,
and also to app.,;nt. or her Special Cominksioners,
with power to visit ditfeient diStrias, to. inspect We
bunks, to inquire ;,•itito-'the mode of collecting the
taxes, and to examine the Surveyors and Collectors ,
upon oath. These, Commissioners were then to rt.!-
port the result to the CoininkslUneri of the district,
whom .they We.re to have power to authorize to.
assemble, but they were also to have auilewity to at-.
eend their meetings and explain their views,
.but by
•no means, except in the twin of Ille Cintl•
MisSidilVi's winning their assistance, to aGt With thebi
as joint
.Corninissioners.. 'Toe Special Cetrunissieti-
ers, in the event of any differeeee of opinion with re-
spect to their. suggestioas at the Board, were to have
power to apply tor a case to be submitted to the
Judges, as would also thopeconimiisioriery who teient
happen to be ih a minority on Such draeons. Thus,
by referring all disputed cagey tram every part or, the
kingdom where they.mayuceer, to the Judge; of ilia
laud, these Judges,, by their, ClooSiQni, Upoll 'bent,
would establish one uni3Orin code for the e):,:oution
of the Acts throu&hent the k4egtiorti. Theo; weta'
also some clauses to be: letrodeteel for reniovinescer-
tain doubts in the.presentlaw, as'lbr instance, to as-
,certiin under what head -of property' gardens :led
hop-grounds were to be artsestivd ; also to provide,
that where a tenant at will shall bare held 'his
.tenure for_ a greater number or years than seveit,
without alteration of rent, to provide that soL:h.
tenure than ber-tasessed as a lca!3etiolti, antecedent to
seven year,. These were the provisions of the Bill
he meant to introAice, and lie hoped tjlvy W 01.14
prove as beneficial in their oeeratien upon the public,
'as he was sure they would be adVantageous tU this.
Revenue. He theiefure moved for leave to britte,
in a Bill to amend and regulate the coliedical
the Assessed Taxes„ and Of trieljet:l;s on i'roperiy,
Trades, and Prelessiont.. '"!

-Mr. WARDELL returned thanks tot)le Right Hon.
Genttenon for theattentioa-wtio he inid bestowed
upon 06 subject. The. proyi4ioni 14: had explain-
ed would remove much of hardships of which
he complained, .but he was tiut y4t piepated to bay
whether they would ref:wet:lh: who!,; vt thew.

\ J

Mr SPIP.II-CER STANUOPE eon 'MIA:led the .Welt
Von. Gentleman for the. great pains be Ilad taken.
upon Ibis subject, but was arraid that his ,regulations
would do little fur the lower classes of persoucliable
to the abuses complained of.. The-tich.were able to
take 'care of thetnselves, but if the poor were only
left to their aelion; he feared they would not derive
any benefit fromthe regulations proposed.
"Mr. W. SISII-111 concurred in the sentiments of his
lion. Friend, and considered the. recovery bf the pe-
hillty by arraEtion in 'a _Court _of • Law, as a mere
hoWpkfidinen, so
.far as the poor ,were considered.
Eut, as he should have other opportunities of stating
his sentiments upon this sobje% he should abstain'
trom further observations upon it,
The CHANCELLOR' of, the EXCHEaUER replied,.
that the Bill, by giving with the option of a penalty.
of 1001. or, three times the sum surcharged, not only
the costs, as between party, but also the whole
coAts out of pocket, placed the pauper in the situa-
tion of the opulent man. if he could satisfy his At.
torney that the surcharge of which he complained
1;1;4 vexations, he would be at,no loss for one to con-
duct the action with such a certainty of full.remu.
neration.—Leave was given to bring in the JAIII.

•
Pktvli.EGE:
Sir FRANCIS BURIUtTT had waited till he saw the
House •
its a sufficient state of attendance, before be •
stated how he was circumstanced with resped to a
trensatlioo which, in his view of it, involved a
breach of the privilege of that House. -.lt would be
necessary for him, in order to explain the situation in
which he stood, to state to the House a transaCtion
•Which had taken place in one of the Courts below.
It was well known, that at the List EleCtion for the
City 9f Westminster, the,Eletiors had nominated him
as one of the Candidltca without his knowing any .
thing of the fad ; and it wets only towards the close
of. the ii;leCtion that, he was Made acquainted with
The Eleaors . claimed to be exempt from
paying any pelt of the expence of thai elelion, and
the,High Bailiff of Westminster bad brought an
scion against him, as one .of the Candidates, to re-
cover a proportion of the 'expense of taking the
election. Though there wa's no law to authorise such
a,demanci( nor any custorw to the pranice,
though it was well known that he had not talcemany
share or portion in the cendnel or direction of that
election, yet without any proof of the.existence of
law or custom to sata4.tion the demand, the Learn-
ed Judge in the Court below had thought • proper
to direa the Jury to find a verdiet against hip), merely
because he had taken his seat. This was the reason
delivered by that Learned Judie to the :Tory, why he
had incurred the 'expeuces for which the action was
brought. Now as to his •taking his seat, that. was
not: voluntary on his part, as he had clone it in cons-e
pliauce with the writ,, and any individual who-
-May eletied was..compellable to, attend mid do
his duty in that. House. Yet the Learned-, Judge
bad held that the circumstance of his having taken
his seat had rendered him liable to expenses incurred
inn taking the, electron. He was . yet to learn what
benefit it was to,an individual to sit in that. House,
it he came there . to discharge his duty with in-
tegrity ; and he was therefore surprised to hear any
Learned Judge say, accordingto the law, as it is at
present, that- a seat in that House /was any other
than a beirthen upon the individual eleacd to that
s mation. He was not, however, surprised to find that
LeSinedJudge consider a twat in that House a benefit,
as it was to him a stepping stone to the Bench. But
had not expetiled thet' Judge upon the, Bench
u (mid lay it down, that 14 individual for yielding
obedience.. to the writ, had incurred a penalty for
doing what, if' he had trot dime, would have made
him liable to the censure,a that House, person
who hada duty imposed upon him ought to he suf-
fered to do it without let or impediment; but this
• was an involuntary a4l npon his, part, and ought
not, according to any constitutional law, and he,
aleyea that. all .suelf law wa‘not altogether forgot-
ten, w sublet him. to any such .penally: It was
said in Lord- Raymond's Ileparts,.. that Judges
did not understand the laws of Parlianient.—
The matter was of small moment tohim, it was
even an ()bra of perfelit indifference, but it was-of
material importance to the 141e6lors of Westminster,
and to the Privileges of that House. He 'did ,not
make it a subjea of complaint. • What be mention-
ed the transaaion for was, to know whether he
was to comply with the demand that would be
made upon him, in consequence of the .decision•of
the C'ourt beloW. He applied but for the advice of
the House, in order, that, by his.silently submitting
to that decision, the Privilege of that House should
'not refer any breach in his-person.'
The CHANcri-LOR of 'the Excartairea did not
know hoW to address the House on this occasion ;
indeed, he felt he shOuld apologize fqr offering hirtl
self, as there wits no motion betore them. He trust-
ed, however, that the House would allow him to
hates what occurred to him in the vieW be at present
had of the case; and from every attention that be
cUuld give to the statement of the Hon. Baronet,
it did not appear to him to be a ease in wt ich the
House could interfere. If the Hon. .Baronet' was
right its his conception of the law respeolltig the mis-
alretaion of the Learned Judge, he bad been very
ill'advised by his Couusei, not to apply for a review
of the whole case, by a motion fora new trial, or by
a bill of exceptions.' As be apprehended the case,
the ;Aaiun Lad been -brought against the Hon, Bart.
tor the use which ho or .tosageots had.made of cer-
tain erationsfor 'hustings, and UK:46e went to. be
decided upon to Jury. The direaion of the Judge
night be right or might be svroog, hot in either the
that House Was nor the proper tribunal in which. to
have the proceedings of ;Ate Court below reviewed.
The course of praCtice. in the adminiStratioo of boy,
was•in such cases either to proceed by motion to the
Court oot-of which the record issued for e new t
or by a bill of exceptions ; and if either of these had
heep resorted tri.,by the litire.liarotacL and not been
there would be no relief ti)t, him. It was
not for htm to say whether or not the direftion of
tic LeariCed Judge wocorreet ; but The Jury had no
doubt decided upon .the evidence -produced to them
of throw made of the ereatioua by the dents of the
Hon, Bart. That Wes hiS Vie..v of thermbjea ; but
it would remain for the Hon. Bart. to:decide what
course he should pursue eto attain any ehjea he may
Lave in eentemplistinie.
11r. CURIVELS vindicated the Learned Judge from
he impel:oou of having obtained his prcient exalt-

ed station by,any party services, and contended-that
his elevation was altogether owing to 'his trans-
cendent talents, as an abler or more upright, Judge
had never sat upon the Bench.
The SpgAnErt did tint know . but he was
bound, upon an application of this description to the
House, to state what occurred to him upon the sub-
je&. Undoubtedly, as he understood the., matter,
the Honourable- Alember li,ui oftered himself to the
House with lerfe& regularity, on a transaaion,
which appeared to him to amount to a 'breach of
their privileges: The Hon. hart. in taking 'this
Course'had done his duty, and it was; ri'grave clues-
tionhe had SubMitted to their' consideration, so,lar aq
it regarded a breach of the privileges for that HouSo,.
and atteaed the diameter eminent person in a
high judicial office. If he had had any notice of
such an application, if he had but the slightest' inti-
mation of the intention of the Hoo.:Baronet, he
would have endeavoured to be better.prSpared to,oll-
tisfy his inquiry. At present he had to apologise to
the House, if he should not beable to give that sa.--
tisfaaion which on such a question was to be desir.
ed. '1 h HotiSe could not be prepared in this in-
stance to give advice to the Hotakaronet. What he
would recommend was, that he should wait till
some practical consequence should result from the'
decision of the Court below, and if he should con,
ceive that consequence to be a breach of the privi-
lege of the House, he could 114 sou 804611 bring it
under the view of the House, nor could' the House
too soon proceed to take it into consideration.
After' a few words from Sir fuANOri
disclaiming the 'having brought the queitior' lot ward
as a complaint, his objea haYing been, to obtain ad-
vice from the House, -Ow .matter was allowed to rest
there. •
DOCTOR DM ENAN.

Mr. &tuftAm, in rising to make the motion, of
which he had given notice, on the appointment at
Dodor Patrick Duigenan to be one of his Majesty's
most Honourable Privy Council for 'lreland, dis-
claimed *being aauated in the• slightest degree by
personal or party motives. He was aware how
humble an individual be was,: but the mallet on
which he had to move the House, was of such
magnitude as to make good thei,A4piency in point
of importance tinder which the advocate laboured.
He addressed the tionse in the full convi6tion that
if the motion he had to oiler should' be received in.
the manner he. wished and hoped, it would have
great effed in 'allaying_ the irritation produced 'by a
recent vote •of that Home (the curtailment ssi the
allowari6.: to Maynooth College). The (hint; itself
to which he had to call the attention of the I-louse
was of little magnitude ; but its influence on tile'
feelings of the Catholics was great, and greater hi
proportion as it was found that they were irritated
with so little hesitation for a purpose of sach trifling
moment; If the Right Hon. Gentleman' opposite
(the Chancellor of the Exchequer) wished not .to
considered as regarding the Catholics of Ireland
as his enemies, nor to be regarded as an enemy by
them, he would pause before he would carry into
effed an appointment SO offensive to them: If, by
bringing forward this motion, he could produce that
effeet, he was satisfied he should do a great publiC
service. But even if he should not be able to carry
the niotion, he ‘vas convinced the diseUssion mus.t.be
beneficial. For he was hot one of those ,
cared the disens3ion of the Irish Catholic Question.
It was material that . the Roman. Catholics, o;'en
thotigh they obtained not the rights to which they
were entitled, should ~know they had friends in
that House on whom they could rely; 'For if' at
any time they
,should have reason to think that they
were objects of no- regard or 'consideration, their
groins would he deep thotigh net kind, and it would
be soon evinced by some dreadful convulsion, that
notaing was dangerous as the 'SilenCe of adi eou,.
tented. peoplt% The Church Establishment of Ire-
land wawa perfect anomaly forced on the 'people.
The established and beneficed' Clergy Were often
without duties .to perfcinu ; and the Catl)Olic people
were Often without Clergymen to administer the
rites of religion. to them. Thus there: :wire pas,
tnrit• WithoUt flocks, and frocks without pastors.
This situation of a country presented to an en-
lightened Legislature grounds of 'peculiar care and
attention, lest ,a powerful and artful enemy should
find the means 'of -converting to his own interest;
the discontents to „which, without that, care., the
situation was naturally liable, W first ought to be
done to remedy this state of alias, it was nut easy
to say, at least it was not easy to get all men to agree
on the remedy : but What Ought not to be done was
matzer of clear and universal ,assent. The feeliugs
and passions of the mass of the people thus subject to
an eitablishment of a dilferent communion, ought
not to be irritated by petty.provocations. It must
be universally allowed, that-neither Government nor
Parlianent ought to Sandion the language of those
who described so great a body of the subjetts as
enemies to the State. ,He thought highly,in many
respects of the charader and abilities or fix, present
MiniSters; but this high character tended only to
give a :more pernicious influence to the unhappy pre-
iticCees Whicti, they entertained ou one most material
point. He was satisfied, that if the powerful and
artful enemy of this country wore to chose the Ad 7
ministration most favourable to his designs against:
us, i would be an Administration which, with good
char.tckrs and dispositions, was yet stained with pre:-
judi .es which must make them, he regarded as cue-
!lnes by the bulk of the people, As nothing could
be more benefieiak than the influence of pure re-;
ligion, so nothing could be more pernicious than the
etleas of that religion that caught, hold of the pas-
sions. The one exalted man above his nature, the
other degraded him beneath, the level of time brutes.,
Ile would not search into dialonaries fur explana-
tions of the word toleration.. He would boldly ap-
peal to the assembly 'he was addressing, and 'ask if
there could be toleration in thi§,age without exemp-
tion and restriaions. This was what every man
who ilkcharged his wity-to the State 'cas entitled to,
kle would recall to the recolle4lien of the 'House the
salutary el etas produced by the abolition of religious
distinaions in Silesia by Frederick the Great, when
that province came under, his deminion in a' state; of
most deplorable distraction front that: cause, In a
little tittle such was the coneord,.that the Protestants
used the same
_Church in the afternoon which the
Catholics used in the morning, and vice Lusa. He
-did not say' this was practicable or desirabie in. Ire-