The Sun.
London, England, 1853-05-14 00:00:00

which furnished very valuable information with respect to
the opinions of members of that house, that the hon.
gentleman held opinions of this mature—he was in favour
of sueh a course of legislation with regard to agriculture as
would keep wheat at I;4s. per quarter, new milk cheese., at
from 525. to 60s. per cwt., wool and butter at ls. p a lb.
each, and other produce in proportion. With respect co the
main proposition
of the Chancellor of the Exchequer of ex-
tending the succession-tax to all descriptions of prop() Iy, he
believed to be wise, just, and beneficial. There was probably
no matter of taxation in which the people of this country,
especially the town population, were so much interested as
in this question of the legacy duty; and the Chancellor of
the Exchequer had adopted a very sagacious mode of carry-
ing the unpalateablo income tax through Parliament by
tying it up with this proposition of the legacy duty.
(Hear, hear, and a laugh.) Though lie agreed in the
proposal to extend the legacy duty, yet ho thought the
right hon. gentleman was in danger of introducing a prin-
ciple almost as unjust and difficult to defend as that which
ho bad undertaken to overthrow, for ho proposed to extend
the legacy duty in such a manner as afforded a confirmation
which ho (Mr. Bright) never expected to come from that
(the Ministerial) side of the house, to all the statements
made on the other side with respect to the excessive bur-
dens on land. As to the income tax, the Chancellor of the
Exchequer had not exerted his powers of mind to carry out
some discriminating mode of assessment such as the coun-
try required ; but when ho came to the legacy duty, all the
powers of his mind were bent in that direction, to show
that, while the country was in the expectation of seeing
all kinds of property equally subjected to the duty, one-half
of the laud ought to be, and was to be, exempted. The
right hon, gentleman had not ventured to touch the probate
duty, and he (Mr. Bright) did not blame him for that, be-
cause he knew a Chancellor of the Exchequer could not do
everything at once ; but he took it for granted that at
some future time the probate duty must either be taken
off the property that now paid it, or be extended to that
class of property which was now exempted from it. (Hear,
hear.) He rose, principally, however, to enter his protest
against the general principle of the Chancellor of the Ex-
chequer, in charging rateable property only one-half of the
legacy duty ; and he wished it to be distinctly understood
that he was not to be foreclosed in future from urging his
views upon that subject. He had asked a question
last night as to which side of the line, with regard to
this tax, railway property would be ranked—whether it
would be taken as rateable or non-rateable property ; and,
though the Chancellor of the Exchequer could not at the
time answer the question, he thought he rather intimated
that it was a description of property which should be
charged with the whole duty and not one-half only. Now,
railways paid a larger share of local burdens than any other
description of property in the country, and it would be scan-
dalously unjust to say that railway property should pay a
larger sum to the succession tax than rateable property.
(Hear, hear.) The Chancellor of the Exchequer said
nothing about mines. He believed mining property was
not rated to the poor, and they would require to know on
which side of the line that property was to be placed.
There was also the property of growing timber. On which
side of the line would that be placed ? He mentioned
these things, first, to call the attention of the Chancellor
of the Exchequer to them ; and second, to show him the
line he proposed to draw between rateable and non-rate-
able property was one that would involve him in consider-
able difficulty.. (Hear.) The principle of a life interest
adopted by the Chancellor of the Exchequer did not seem
to him to be just, because he thought the amount only of
the property, and not the age of the person succeeding to
it, should be taken in the imposition of the tax. (Hear.)
He might refer to the property of corporations as also bear-
ing upon this question. There was the property of the
London companies in the north of Ireland ; there was also
the property of the Church, and various others that might
be named.: They paid income tax, and were secured by law
and rendered safe by the protection of the State, and it ap-
peared to him that, unless they adopted the monstrous
principle that they should pay no tax whatever, they had
no excuse for exempting them from the tax en successions.
(Hear.) It might be said that property of this kind did not
pass into new possession by death. In one sense this was
true; but last night the Chancellor of the Exchequer took 30
years as the time at which property was, generally speaking,
in the hand of one generation ; and, upon that principle, he
(Mr. Bright) did not see why, every 25 or 30 years, a cer-
tain percentage should not be taken from this description of
property for the purposes of the State. (Hear, hear.) In
the case of bishops and rectors succession really came by
death. The property went into the hands of the state, and
the state, through the Lord Chancellor or the Prime Mi-
nister, put some bishop or rector in possession of the pro-
perty for life. Now, that was a property which ought to
pay its fair share of taxation. (Hear, hear.) There was
no property which required more the defence of statute
law to maintain it in its present position than that pro-
perty. (Hear, hear.) The hon. baronet below him (Sir
R. Inglis) would not object, he was sure, to his referring
to the opinions of Vattel on this subject, who observed
that there was no property which could be more fitly de-
voted to the service of the State than church property,
because such an appropriation must be highly acceptable
to God. (Hear, hear.) In conclusion, he gave the Chan-
cellor of the xchequer credit for the courage he had
manifested, but, at the same time, he believed that the
country, from one end to the other, was of opinion that
this tax on succession should be imposed equally on every
description of property. (Hear.)
There were loud calls of " Withdraw," and the gallery
was cleared, but no division took place.
Mr. DISRAELI said, it was of the utmost importance
that the subject matter of this resolution should be fully
discussed, and he wished it to be understood that the dis-
cussion had only as yet commenced. At the same time lie
should be sorry to move the adjournment of the debate,
and had therefore advised his friends not to oppose the
resolution, in order that the Government might be enabled
to bring in their bill. His object in doing so was, that an
ample discussion might be taken on the second reading of
the bill. (Hear, hear.)
The resolution was then agreed to, and the house
resumed.

thority of Adam Smith and other great political econo-
mists was opposed to the imposition of a tax on successions.
Now the very reverse of this was the fact, for the doctrine
of Adam Smith was that every subject of tho State ought
to..be made to contribute towards the support of the Go-
. —vernmeist in proportion to his ability and to the amount of
. ' the reeetitue he enjoyed under its protection ; and that in
ehserva.nce or the neglect of that maxim consisted what
;was called equality or inequality of taxation. Now, what
' • 153 the amount of the burden of this tax upon land?
an estate yielding 1001. a-yeer. This at 33 years' pur-
e *As .09e would give a capitol worth 3,3001. A succession tax
' of 1 per cent. upon that ()ante of 3,3001. would amount to
lee., or something less that one-third of the first years'
rental ; whilst for all the remainder of his life the owner
would be secured by the State in the enjoyment of an in-
come obtained without the least exercise of industryle• oil
skill. That being the amount of the burden in
t
vase of a small estate, the position of the large proprietor
would be one that ho could not justly complain of. So
far
from praying the Chancellor of the Exchequer to exempt
himself himself from a tax paid by his neighbours
be inclined to pray him to add the probate duties he
to those
already existing. He feared that the Chancellor of the
Exchequer was not going to carry out measure
he •so fullys
his speech had seemed to indicate, and that was
going to place the gentleman who succeeded to a landed
estate in a better position than the labourer who received
a legacy of 101. No poor person could now escape without
paying at the lowest two and a half per cent. probate duty,
and one per cent. legacy duty. A difference of one degree
of consanguinity farther off would increase the legacy duty
to 3 per cent. Now in the case of real estate, the Chan-
cellor of the Exchequer proposed to impose on the first
degree of consanguinity only 1 per cent.-1,0001., viz., on
succession to 100,003/. ; and for the payment of
this paltry
sum he gave a period of five years, which he considered
equivalent to taking 20 per cent. off the amount. But he
would advise the right hon. gentleman to take half per
cent., for ready money, because, before the first five years
were expired, there would in all probability be one hun-
dred thousand accounts to keep against the landed estates
of the kingdom, and the expense attaching to such arrange-
ment would be inordinate. Besides, he did not see the
morality of giving five years' credit to a rich man, and to
a poor man not a single day. It was also a very extraor-
dinary thing that °rely poor people could be got hold of for
the payment of these duties ; but the registers demon-
strated the fact.
Mr. AGLIONBY had no intention to oppose the proposal
of the Chancellor of the Exchequer. He did not always
agree with the present Government, but he would support
them on this occasion, because ho could see no possibility
of forming a Government to replace them with advantage
to the country. The honourable member who had just sat
down proposed to go beyond the proposition of the right
hon. gentleman, and he inclined to agree with him :
for the same reason which convinced him of the propriety
of extending the legacy duty to land would induce him to
impose the probate duties also. If there existed any in-
equality at all between the real and personal property in
respect of taxes, that inequality ought to be removed.
But there were peculiar burdens on lend which he thought
ought to be removed before the measure was carried. The
poor rates he believed to be oppressive upon landed pro-
perty, and he wished to revert to the principle of the
statute of Elizabeth, which decreed that the poor of the
country should be maintained by the wealth of the country,
and bring in personal property for a share of The local
burdens.
Mr. LIDDELL was opposed to the addition of any new
burden en the already heavily-burdened landed interests of
the country. He looked upon the retention of the income
tax as a great injustice. It was originally imposed for the
especial purpose of providing the means by which indirect
taxation might be remitted for the benefit of the labouring
classes. These remissions had doubtlessly fulfilled the ob-
ject for which they were proposed, but the landed interest
had derived no benefit whatever from them, and it was a
great injustioe to make still further remissions now, and to
call upon the real property of the country to make good the
deficit in more ways than one. He believed, too, that this
addition to the taxation on real property must eventually
work disadvantageously to the labouring classes, since it
would cripple the means at the command of the landowner
for the employment of labour. It was stated by the
Chancellor of the Exchequer that the tax on succession
would be equivalent for the inequalities of the income tax;
but in his opinion it would operate still more unequally
than the latter. With regard to the probable amount
which it would produce, he had the authority of persons
well able to judge for believing that it would produce very
much more than 400,0001. He should resist this tax, be-
cause he thought it had been brought forward in a
spirit—a spirit with which the First Commissioner of
Works (Sir W. Molesworth) confessed he sympathised—
againse which it would ever be his duty and his pride, as a
member of the great party to which he belonged, invariably
and strenuously, though he feared successfully, to contend.
(Hear, hear.)
Lord GODERICH said, as the chief ground of objection
to the proposition to the Chancellor of the Exchequer had
been that it would bear with peculiar pressure on the land,
and AS hon. gentlemen on the other (the Opposition) side of
the house were not the only persons whose interests were
entirely bound up in the land, he was anxious to state the
reasons why he should vote to-night in favour of the motion
of the Chancellor of the Exchequer. His hon. friend who
had just sat down must admit that, in principle and in
theory, there could be no objection to that proposition,
because decidedly it was desirable that every tax should be
levied, as far as possible, equally upon all ; and that, unless
some special case could be shown to justify an exception,
such exception would be unjust. The noble lord, the mem-
ber for Northumberland, the other night, when speaking
of the budget, warned the committee how they proceeded
to break down the aristocracy of the country ; and called
upon hon. members to look to the history of France before
the first revolution He told the house it was by the im-
position of taxes of this nature that the French aristocracy
fell to the ground. But he (Lord Goderich) ventured to
tome to a different conclusion. If he read history aright,
the fall of the nobility of France was from other causes; it
was, that they claimed for themselves exemptions from an
equal share in the burdens which were imposed upon their,
eountrymen, and resisted the timely and salutary measures
recommended by the wisest and best men of their
age—by Turgot, Necker, andfothers of equal eminence.
He would, therefore, ask the committee to pause before
they rejected this resolution upon the special ground on
which it had as yet been argued, and thereby strengthened
the feeling already prevailing in the minds of the people,
-that the landed proprietors of England were desirous of
shielding themselves from the burdens which were imposed
upon their fellow-countrymen. (Cheers.)
Mr. CAYLEY said he had heard with satisfaction,
which he was sure was also felt by the house, the speech of
the noble lord who had just clown—a speech so full of
promise and ability, and so worthy of the distinguished
name he bore. (Hear, hear.) The noble lord, however,
/seemed to imagine that the landed interest of the country
desired to shelter itself from the due weight of taxation ;
bat if he had considered for a moment he would have seen
that the landed interest was just the property that could
not so shield itself, for it was always there, open to taxa-
tion, while personal property was only evanescent. (Hear,
hear.) One of the great difficulties of the income tax, as
was stated by the Chancellor of the Exchequer, was that
although it was laid equally on personalty as upon realty,
yet, in nine cases out of ten, it did not only not pay its
full share, but, in fact, did not pay more than one-sixth as
compared with land. The right hon. gentleman the Chan-
cellor of the Exchequer had embarrassed the question be-
fore the house, which was, indeed, not one as between skill
and intelligence and property, but as between realty and
personalty. Skill and intelligence escaped taxation, and in
that way trades and professions paid less than land. The
noble lord had referred to a tax which had been very much
alluded to in the course of these debates—the land-tax.
That was one of the grievances under which they really
suffered, as compared with personalty. It was not im-
posed as the noble lord supposed ; it was a tax upon land,
and upon all other kinds of property—upon means and
substance, and that was what those who were connected
with land complained of. Both that tax and the poor-rates
ought to fall equally on personalty, and it was only be-
cause they did not do so that the legacy duty had been im-
posed on that description of property ; whereas now, in
consequence of clamour, not from its injustice, but as he
feared from some other peculiar motive, because that tax
now rested upon personalty, which had for so many years
evaded the land tax and the poor rates, it was to be im-
posed upon land. Before this country was more accommo-
dated to the change in our commercial policy, he was not
prepared to assent to the imposition of any more taxes. He
had given his support to the budget of the right hon.
gentleman the member for Buckinghamshire, because he
thought the right hon. gentleman had entered into a com-
prehensive view of the wants of the community as re-
garded taxation, and that the principle of his budget was
wended upon financial justice—justice to all persons, not
only to the landed interest, but to shareholders, traders, and
professional men. He had no strong personal feeling, but was
determined, as far as he could, to see justice done to those
interests which he thought had been hardly dealt with in
the changes that had taken place ; and, thinking there was
still a very undue share of burdens upon land—that virtu-
ally it paid four or five income-taxes or legacy taxes for one
paid by personalty—he would not give his assent to the
imposition of the legacy tax on land. All he asked was,
that the lauded interest should ho put in the same cate-
gory with that the manufactories. (Hear, hear.) If ll'
C 011993 were good for malt and hops, they were as good for
calicoes and yarns ; if Excise duties were good for malt and
hops, they were just as good for hardwares and cottons.
He asked for nothing more than justice to the interest
with which he was connected.
Mr. VETO, after adverting to the advantages which
the holders of laud had gained from the new tinyncial sys-
tem of the country in consequence of its having raised the
wages of the poor man, made labour more abundant, and
emptied the workhouses, observed, with respect to the pre-
sent budget, that it would receive his support because it
appeared to him to deal more equally and fairly with all the
interests of the nation, as a whole; than any other scheme
that he had hoard suggested. They had been told a good
sisal about land being encumbered ; but the house had no-
thing to do with that, its sole duty being to see that
there was no inequality in the taxation of the country.
(Hear.) The hon. member for South Northumberland had
referred to the impolicy of further dealing with indirect
taxation, and regarded the land as injured by any tax
being placed on it in order to diminish the former. Had
the hon, gentleman ever made a calculation of the taxes
paid by •the labourer as compared with the landowner?
He (Mr. Peto) know thousands of men who had—and it
would be wise in that house not to give them ground to
point out anything done for the protection of the rich to
the injury of the poor. (Hear, hear.) The general feeling
in the country with regard to the present budget was that,
though the income tax was not liked, that evil would be
endured for the sake of the good which accompanied it ;
and it was matter of rejoicing in the country that the
taxes or, soap, tea-0 • and
wore to be reduced. n necessaries comforts of life—
that every corafuocAd Let the landowners bear in mind
those already they gave the poor man, in addition to
ellioYed, rendered their own possessions
more secure. (Hear, h )
Mr. NEWDEGATE em.asid.', that as the Chancellor of the
Exchequer had carried
insured against
for the income tax,
ho was, therefore,
rod
the the possibility of a de-
ficiency, if he inana
with any prudence ;
consequently the right
lien.h gentfinalteweevreaßedt had no right to ex-
pect those sitting in Die,
house., who in some degree repre
property,
presented realises!
part of the
to consent to the imposition of another tax, under
which,
all the exigencies of the war, had never yet lievie
as extended to real property. The tax might been
now, but, once placed on, who could say it veoulrcrdeerat:
moderate, especially as, by the reduction of indirectrtamxaeie
they narrowed the sphere of taxation, while by a new lie'
form Bill they proposed to extend the political franchise,
thus diminishing the power of those paying the taxes t„;
protect their property? This ho declared, was a policy
tending rapidly towards confiscation. (Hear.)
Mr. BRIGHT referred to the speech of the hon. mem-
ber for the North Riding (Mr. Cayley), and observed that
his opinion ought to be regarded with a good deal of sus-
picion on matters like the one under consideration, as the
hon, member had held some very heterodox notions on the
question of land, and what ought to done by
..Parliament. for
the land. It appeared from a statement which appeared
some yes* Iwo Li) Mr, pod's parlialnotary Coopanivn,

THE SUN, LONDON, SATURDAY EVENING, MAY 14, 1853,

ROYAL SURREY ZOOLOGICAL
GARDENS.—Open for the season Whit-Monday ani fair
following days.—The Zoo'ogical uorecti,n contains a variety of in-
teresting specimens, and the Gardens throngbout have been Improved
and beautified. The Pictorial Represerlation is an extensive 'VIEW
of the BAY and FORT 3 of C[iLT painted by Messrs. Danson,
and at dusk is represented the attaik of tlia Chines:3 fin3-rafts on the
Br tish fleet, explosion-eh N. Ste. inapt Voc d nod Instrument,l
oncert. Ervagewent of the eminent vocalist, iMi,s Cicely Nott.
Conductor, Mr. Godfrey.— May-day Gaines and Rustic Sports, May-
pole and Morris Dances. " Pop goes tic Weasel," by 25 coupe, con-
ducted by Mr Flexmorc.—An extra Mdltary Band durinu the day-
time ; and at dusk a grand d:s;ilay of Fireworks, combined with the
Feast of Lanterns and other displays. —Doers open front 9 in the
morning. Admiss:on, is.

THEATRE ROYAL, HAYMARKET.
tinder the managamont of Mr. Buckstone.
THIS EVENIY(7„ M&y 14,
_ _

Will be produced (first time, TILE MOUSETRAP. Characters
by Messrs. Tilbury, Chippondale, lto,;ers, Buckstone. W. Farren,
and Edward,:; Mrs. Poynter, Misses A. Woulds, Louisa Ilcward,
MIs.F
which, i:un, and
e o
Mrs.illsSitenl72.
After 8
ASCENT
OF
IiOUST PAR-
!LASS.
To conclude with DEAF AS A POST.
EN

ROYAL PRINCESS'S THEATRE, OXFORD-STREET.
Under the Management of Mr. Charles Kean.
THIS EVENING, MAT 14,
Will be performed the new and original Comedy, in three acts, by
Douglas Jerrold, entitled ST. CUPID; or, Dorothy's Fortune.
Principal characters by MOssrs. w right, W. Lacy, Harley, J. Vin-
ing, Terry, F. Cooke, Everett, and Chester; Mrs. W. Lacy and Miss
Murray.
To conclude with the new Drama, adapted front the French of
%tons. Scribe, by Mr. Paigrave '.linipson, called MARCO SPADA.
Principal characters by Messrs. W. Lacy, J. Vining, Ryder, Grattan.,
and Ever.:tt ; Misses Heath and C. Lecler.:q.

ROYAL LYCEUM THEATRE.
Under the Management of Madame Veatris.
THIS EVENING, MAY 1 i,

Will be performed A.S.S. Characters by Messrs. F. Mathews,
Suter, and liosiere; Mrs. Macnanriara and Miss Wyndham.
After which, A FAST TRAIN —HIGII PRESSURE EXPRESS.
Characters by Messrs. C. Mathews, Baker, and Suter.
To be followed by TRYING IT OX. Principal character by Mr.
C. Mathews.

To which will be added a DIVERTISSEMENT, in which Miss
Itosina Wright will appear.

To conclude with THE CRITIC. Characters by Messrs. C. Ma-
thews, F. Matthews, and K. ltoxby ; Miss St. George, and Mrs.
Maenamara.

TIIEATRE ROYAL ADELPIII.
Preprieter, Ur. B. Webster. —Directress, Madame Celeste.
TIIIS EVENING, MAY 14,

be performed MASK AND FACES; or, Before and Behind
the Cuttaiu—by Mersrs. B. Webster, L. Murray, Honey, P. Bedford,
and Cullenford ; Madame Celeste, and Miss Woolgar.
After which. A DESPERATE GAME.
To be followed by THE PRETTY GIRLS OF .STILSBERG.
To conclude with TUE DA.NCING SCOTCHMAN.

ROYAL OLYMPIC THEATRE.
Lessee and Manager Mr. Farren.
THIS EVENING, MAT 14,

WIN be performed THE MILLER OF DERWENT WATE/t.
Characters by 3lessrs. H. Farren, F. Robson, Shaldera, G. Cooke, and
Charles; Mesdames Anderton and E. Turner.
After which, UNCLE CROTCHET. Supported by Mr. Far-
run, &c.

To be followed by MACBETII. Supported by Mr. Samuel Mac-
beth and Mr. F. Robson ; Mrs. Sarah Macbeth and Mrs. A. Phillips.
To conclude with THE SWISS COTTAGE. Lisette, Miss H.
oordtict.

ASTLRY'S ROYAL AMPIIITHEATRE.
. Sole Lessee and Manager, Mr. W. Cooke.
In oortibliance with a generally•expressed wish, Mr. W. Cooke has

the honour of announcing that
A GRAND JUVENILE MORNING PERFORMANCE

Will take place on WHIT-TUESDAY, May 17, commencing at
Two o'clock. By Permission of the Commandant Col. Clark, R.H.,
and by special Invitation from Mr. W. Cooke, the Boys of the Duke
I York's School, with their Band, will attend.
LAST FIVE NIGHTS of THE KAFIR WARFARE, which must
be Withdrawn for the entirely new sporting Hippo Drama, illustrat-
ing LIFE ON THE TURF, to be produced for the WHITSUN
HOLIDAYS,
THIS EVENING, MIT 14,

The entertainments will, as during the week, commence 'with the
grand spectacle of AMAKOSA; or, Scenes of Kafir Warfare.
To be followed by a display of Equestrian Scenes in the ARENA,
inroducing Mr. Cooke's highly-trained steeds. The infant Victor
Claude Cooke and his pet Drawing-room Pony. The Entertain-
ments supported by the eminent Artistes of the Establishment.
To conclude with Hugo 'Vamp, Esq.'s, new Comic Drama, entitled
IN FOR A DJG; or, Life at the Diggings.
Box-oftice open daily from Eleven to Four. Stage Manager, Mr.
W. West.

HIGH WATER AT LONDON BRIDGE.
raIS DAY —Morning 2:2 min. after 5 1 Evening 45 min.aft. 5
To-Moar.ow—Morning 7 min. after 6 Evening 33 min.aft. 6

THE WEATHER.—Strx OFFICE, MAY 14.
THERMOMETER, IN TEEN SHADE.
57—highest since noon yesterday.
47—lowest this morr;ng and during the night.
59 this day at noon.
BAROMETER, 30'10.
WIND, E.—Light, pleasant breeze, and fine, clear
weather.

b_ft_,. _