The Sun.
London, England, 1839-08-05 00:00:00

IMPERIAL P-ARLI.A:MENT.

(THIS DAY.)

HOUSE OF COMMONS.
The SPEAKER took the Chair at Twelve o'Clock.
Certain papers were presented by Mr. Poole.
After a short conversation it was arranged that the House,
at its rising, should adjourn to five o'cloi:k:
Leave was given to the different Comniiitee's to sit until five
O'clock, notwithstanding the sitting of the House. - • •
NEW SOUTH WALES.
On the Order of the Day being read for the third reading of
the New South Wales Bill,
Mr. CHARLES BULLER said he felt rnitch obliged to his
Right Hon. Friend for fixing the third reading of this Bill at
such a time as would enable him to call the attention of the
House to the subject. It was not his intention to
oppose the present Bill; but he had been requested by
several of the inhabitants of both colonies to advocate their
claims to a rather more liberal form of government. The pre-
sent Bill was of a similar nature to the one passed some short
time since, renewing for a time the present government of
New South Wales. This mode of proceeding last year
met with severe censure, of which, however; it was not deserving.
He believed the Government by so doing had pursued the
most proper course, because, if in the present state of the
colony they had passed a permanent Bill, it would hhve been
impossible to give the people that state of representation which
they might hereafter hope to obtain. He, therefore, •thouglit
the Government had pursued the wisest course, and the °tie
most calculated to give satisfaction the people of the colony..,Hq '
would now call the attention of the House to the working Of the
government of these colonies of New South Walk ank4Y,an
Diemen's Land. They had no representative Government;
they were governed like the other Crown Colonies by a Go-
vernor and Council chosen by him, although he believed the
Council in these eolonies had been most fairly selected from
men of all parties in the colony ; yet, as the people
had no control over their proceedings, either in raising
money or in the expenditure of it, the consequence was
that local heats and animosities were engendered, and party
spirit ran high. There was one subject to which he wished to
call the attention of the House, he meant the amount of revenue
raised from the people of these colonies. The amount of re-
venue raised from them by direct taxation was greater than in
any other country of the world, and the expenditure of
revenue by the Governor was more extravagant and pro-
fligate. The population of New South Wales was about
100,000, and that of Van Diemen's Land was about 50,000.
In 1837 the ordinary revenue of New South Wales, exclusive
of the land revenue, which was devoted to other purposes,
amounted to 236,9001., and the land revenue amounted to
127,8661., so that the total revenue of the colony amounted to
354,766/. The ordinary revenue of Van Diemen's Land for
the same period amounted to 100,0001., and the land re-
venue to 25,000/., so that the total revenue of the colony
amounted to 125,000/. ; and the two colonies together
raised a revenue amounting to nearly half a million. He would
not apply the observations he was about to make use of to the
laid revenue, but he would remind the House that the re-
venue raised by taxation amounted to 326,0001. per annum,
raised from a population of 150,000 persons, of whom 45,000
were not free. It had generally been understood that
the people of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ire-
land had the honour of being the highest taxed of any people
in the world ; but calculating the revenue in proportion to the
population, the people of the United Kingdom paid at the rate
of 21. per head, while in those colonies the taxation amounted
to 21. 3s. per head. Besides, it should be remembered that the
Australian Colonies had no debt for the payment of the interest
of which a great proportion of the money raised by the United
Kingdom was applied, but the whole of this sum was expended by
the Government. He would grant that geod Colonial Govern-
ments might have great objects of expenditure in the judicious
encouragement of public works; but such was not the case in
these colonies, but was applied solely to the expenses of the go-
vernment of the colony, and in the same manner
as it would be in this country, except that the salaries
were out of all proportion. The expenditure of
these colonies was the largest and most extravagant in the
known world. Not only vv,is the ordinary revenue far insuffi-
cient for the ordinary ex penditure, but the Government had been
obliged to encroach on the land revenue, which the Government
had pledged themselves should be set apart for other purposes.
The expenses of the Government in this country was 3/. 10s.
per head'i in New South Wales they were 21.; they having no
interest to pay upon a national debt, having no army, navy, or
ordnance estimates to pass ; so that, in fact, 'the effective
expenditure of New South Wales was as three to one
compared with that of Great Britain. (Hear, hear. )
(The conlusion will be given in our Second Edition.)