The Sun.
London, England, 1830-07-09 00:00:00

'nir, BEER BILL.

The Rid of MALMESBURY presented a peti-
tion from the inhabitants of the town of Binning-
ham against the Beer Bill, and from the licensed
victuallers of Birmingham on the same subject.
On the motion that the House resolve itself into
a Committee on the Beer Bill,
Viscount GODERICH rase to make the state-
ment on the subject of finance, of which he gave
notice on a former evening. In taking abantage of
the motion for going intii a Committee on the Bill
then before the Houze, in order to ask for inforrnn-
tion, and to offer some remarks on the finutteill con-
dition of tit; country, the Noble Viscount ohierVed
he was net adopting ri course quite' unprecedented,
nor was the subject of his observations so much dis-
connected with that before the House as some per
sons might suppose. The Bill on which they were
now called to go into Committee was not, it. is true,
immediately a financial measure; but it was Con-
nected with a series of Bills which had an important
bearing on tha question of finance, find which would
in their operation materially affect the incane and
expenditure of the Country. On thin account, there-
fore, he availed himself Of the motion for a Com-
mittee en the Bill, to ask the Noble Duke at the
bead of the Government a few questions with re-
spect to the present state and future prospects of
the country, and to make a few remarks on the
general financial statements Lad before thetn. At
a very early period of the. Session, he had taken the

liberty to point out to the House the real state of the
income of the country, and the probable surplus of
that income over the expenditure ; and- he haul also
taken the liberty to show in what manner he thought
relief might be afforded, so as to giver the greatest
pos4ible immediate ease, and at the same time lay
the foundation of most permanent good. In doing
this he had proceeded on the assumption, that
there was a surplus of income over. expendi-
ture,. in .the.:two years of . 1828 and of ._1829, to n
cattail, • exteitt end dun there would be, from the

saving and reduetiotis of the year 18:30, a still
further arreerof it, amount. The whole of the sur-
plus for the three yeare, he had calculated at
e 1,700,000/.; that is, he had memo(' the surplus of
the two years of 1828 and 1820, to be about an
average of 2,400,000/4 and, learning from the
Noble Duke, that the reductions • of the pre-
sent year on the estirnatea would make a
saving of about 1,300,0001., he thought he was
Rally justified in taking the whole stun to he
as he kad stated. In consequence, however, of
what fell from him on that occasion, the Noble
Doke at the head of the Government rose
and declared that the statement respecting the
extent of the surplus was quite erroneous, and that
they could not calculate on any stun beyond
1,500,000/. or 1,000,0001. Ile (Lord Ooderich)
confessed he did not at the time very clearly under.
stand the grounds on which the Noble Duke came to
that eonclusien; and he remained, not withstanding
the statements of the Noble Duke, clearly of opi-
nion, that the principles whieh he wished to apply
to the reduction of the burthens of the country could
be applied with safety, and that the country might
he relieved from some portion of its taxation, with.
out materially, affecting the necessary income which
the pliblie 'service required. It was, therefore, it
may be believed with no little satisfaction, that he
heard the Chancellor of the Dxchequer had, in the
nurse of three weeks after, come down to the other
House and proposed a reduction of taxes to the
extent of more than three millions—an amount
which, if the Noble Duke's statement had been cor-
rect, would in its reduction, :owe far exceeded any-
thing he could have considered expedient with rc-
iyeet to the financial prospects of the country. It
was, therefore, he repeated, with no little satisfac-
tion that he became able, from the err of reitie-
don, to draw the conelosion that hi, views of the '
probable surplus were correct, and that the Noble
Duke had underrated its amount at the time he re-
plied to his statements on the sehject. Under
these circtunstencee, he thought it necessary
they should know how they stood, and before
era concluded, he should take leave to risk
the Noble Duke one or two questions on
that subject. He should first, however, with their
Lord,hips' permission, make one or two observe-
tiona on the financial ktutemento to which they refer.
The amount of the reduction of duties announced
by the Government wai stated to be three millions,
and this was made ova the abolition of the whole
of the Leather Duties, of the Deer Duties, the