The Sun.
London, England, 1854-05-23 00:00:00

THE SUN, LONDON, TUESDAY EVENING, MAY 23, 1854.

that it was a more economical reduction—a more economi-
cal funding of Exchequer-bills, for that is what it amounts
to—than had ever been made upon any former occasion.
But I cannot express the astonishment with which I heard
the right hon. gentleman say that the consequences of my
tampering had been a loss to those who invest their money
in savings banks. Why I spoke the other night of mythical
histories; but I really begin to doubt now whether it is
not a mythical history that the right hon. gentleman him-
self was once Chancellor of the Exchequer, and that being
so, he was trustee and manager of the moneys received
from savings banks. (A laugh.) Why, he either has never
known, or has entirely forgotten, the terms upon which
these moneys are held ; and his statement of a loss to the
investers is so mischievously absurd that I am bound pub-
licly to state to the house what I really should have hoped
it would not have been necessary for me to state to the
right hon. gentleman, namely, that the use made by the
Chancellor of the Exchequer of the savings banks moneys
has no bearing whatever, and no conceivable connection
with, the security of the parties for the amount invested by
them. These investments are investments made by the State
for account of the State, and at the risk of the State. The
covet-ant of the State with the depositors in savings banks
is a covenant totally irrespective of that investment—the
money, when received becomes the money of the State ; and
these are the elementary facts of the business of a Chan-
cellor of the Exchequer. But, sir, the right hon. gentle-
man stated, and I think truly, that this was not the gravest
error that has been committed. He said that the great
error of the last year, among the series of five which lie
enumerated, was the error of the peace budget. Now I wish
to know whether the hon. member for Huntingdon and the
right hon. gentleman aro or are not prepared to challenge
a verdict either from this house or from the country upon
the budget of 1853? One would suppose, from the lan-
guage of the right hon. gentleman, that that was the case,
because he has laid down the doctrine that no taxes what-
ever ought to be repealed when there is a chance of this
country being engaged in a war. Now, first of all, what
are the merits of that doctrine ; and, secondly, what would
have been our position if we had ventured to act upon it
last year? Why, sir, we had the greatest difficulty in de-
fending the taxes of the country from the rapacious fingers
of the right hon. gentleman. (A laugh.) Not following
the course which had been usual with an ex-minister of
finance, the right hon. gentleman thought he best dis-
charged his Parliamentary duty by joining with every vote
and catching every vote for the repeal of this tax or of that.
(Cheers.) One week it was the hop duties—another week it
was the advertisement duty, which, as a Minister, he had
declined to repeal—another week it was the consolidated
annuities, which, as a Minister, he had declined to remit.
(Cheers.) One week it was one tax, another week it was
another tax, but I am in the recollection of the committee
when I state that twice a week usually, until the time of
the budget of 1853, it was my duty on Tuesdays. and
Thursdays to appear in this place for the purpose of defend-
ing—and not always successfully—the finances of the coun-
try against attacks either joined in or led on by the right
hon. gentleman. (Cheers.) I would like to know what
would have been my success if I had ventured to lay down
the doctrine that as long as there was a chance of war no
tax should be repealed. (Hear.) Now, is that a sound doc-
trine or is it not? What is the situation of this country
with respect to the chances of war? Why, with the power
you possess, with your extended relations, with the arms
of Britain's strength and influence encompassing the globe,
there is always a chance of war for this country. There
has been no period for many years past at which there have
not been grave questions in agitation, sometimes in rela-
tion to one Power and sometimes to another, sometimes
in relation to one continent and sometimes to another. If
you pass over these events, you will find that if you are
to wait for a period of absolute and entire tranquillity
throughout the world, you will never repeal your taxes.
(Cheers.) And now, sir, I am obliged to say—and that with-
out rendering myself liable to the charge of self-glorifica-
tion—because the budget of 1853 is the budget of the house,
which adopted it, and of the people, who approved it—
(cheers)—l am bound to say that, at this moment, Ido not
regret the repeal of taxation which took place last year.
(Renewed cheering.) I do not regret the repeal of taxes
which gave an immense stimulus to the trade of the coun-
try, and which ended iu a surplus revenue of nearly
3,500,0001. (Cheers.) Again, I say, this question goes
very deep ;it opens up the history of past years—it opens
up the policy with which the right hon. gentleman and his
adherents were so long identified, namely, that policy
which declined to reform the finances of this country with
a view to tha extension of its industry—that policy which
is fortunately the opposite of the policy which has go-
verned the proceedings of Parliament now for a period of
ten or eleven years, and the happy and blessed fruits of
which the people of England are ;now reaping. (Cheers.)
Sir, the right hon. gentleman adverted to the charge which
I made against him with respect to the income tax. I
think he was perfectly justified in referring to that tax,
but I wish him to understand that he has entirely miscon-
ceived the nature of the charge which l made against him.
He says my charge was, that in December, 1852, ho did
not lay upon the table the schedules of the income tax.
I made no such charge against him. What I said was he
did lay upon the table the schedules of the income tax, and
he accompanied them with a declaration that schedule A
was to be taxed at 7d. in the pound, that schedule C was
also to be taxed at 7d. in the pound, and that schedules I)
and E were to be taxed at s{d. in the pound ; and my
charge against him was, that at that moment he had not
prepared any plan for carrying his proposition into effect.
I founded nay charge not upon a mere rumour or upon any
indirect information, but upon the declaration of the right
hon. gentleman himself, because, when charged by a right
hon. friend near me and others with the absurdities which
would result from the schedules as he hat stated them, his
re dy was that lie had not hail time to look into the sche-
dules. (Hear.) One word more upon the qusstion est the
peace budget The right hon. gentleman and others mix
up, in a manner not altogether convenient for the discus-
sions in this house, the responsibilities which attach to the
department of finance, and the want of foresight and fore-
thought which they impute to the Government with re-
ference to the war. I have already stated what our posi-
tion was in that respect. If the Government were wrong
in their anticipations of continued peace, and if they fell
into error on that point, that of itself is a subject for dis-
cussion and consideration in this house. We do not shrink
from the issue. We do not think the budget was a had
budget even for a time which threatened war. By that budget
instead of sacrificing the revenue of the country, we greatly
strengthened its basis and enlarged its resources. And,
sir, we did more. I would like to know whe her the right
hon. gentleman has ever considered the moral grandeur of
the spectacle which the people of Englan t present at this
moment with respect to the willingness to make great and
generous efforts for a just and necessary war? (Cheers )
ft is a noble attitude in which the people of England stand.
There is a willingness to undergo taxation such as, I think,
has never been seen in former times. Why do the people
show th it. willingness? Because, sir, they have confidence
in the House of Commons—because they see that it has
been the business of Parliament to remit taxes, and to re-
lieve them from burdens, when such remissions could be
made. In my opinion, the financial measures of last year,
which remitted such a large amount of taxation, with the
series of similar measures which preceded them, form some
part of the cause why the people have evinced so great a
disposition to meet the wishes of this house, and to make
an effort to provide by an immediate sacrifice for the great
expenses of the war. (Cheers.) Sir, the substance of
what I have to say in regard to my own past conduct is
this—it seems to me that these are questions which have
pretty nearly, to use an ancient phrase, "bolted the bran!'
I think we now know pretty well all that can be said for
or against them, and it is time for the house, if they wish
to do more, to proceed to consider them in a more definite
shape. In the meantime, it is needless for me to detain
the committee any longer upon the matter of the unfunded
debt, the conversion of the minor stocks, or the alleged
tampering with the money of the savings banks. Sir, the
hon. member for Huntingdon made a speech to which I
listened with a sense that, while it was the speech of a
gentleman opposed to us as the member of a party, and be-
longing to a most powerful and highly respectable class,
with which. quite contrary to my desire, circumstances
seem to have placed me in contact, yet, at the same time,
that it was the speech of a gentleman who stated nothing
that he did not sincerely and conscientiously believe, and
the speech of one, moreover, who well knew how to place
his opinions and sentiments before the house. I might even
go a little further, and soy, that if there was one sentence
in his speech which appeared to me entirely out of place, it
was that in which Le alluded to his own want of custom in
addressing the house, and apologised for having ventured to
speck upon aqu stion of so much importance. I must say
that I take the hon. gentleman to be a first-rate Parliamen-
tary artist. I never heard a man make either a more
elaborate or a more effective use of his materials. It ap
peered to me that ho ascended to the very height of Par-
liamentary oratory, for I never saw a gentleman display so
much dexterity in fixing the attention of the house upon
matters of secondary importance, on which we did not ask
you to vote, and in shading over and putting out of sight
the resolutions upon the table and his own amendment
upon them. (Cheers.) My purpose is, air, to draw the
attention of the house to those resolutions. They have
been described by the right hon. gentleman opposite as a
loan in masquerade. I have stated to the committee why
I think that description is fundamentally untrue. Criti-
cisms may be male upon that project. One has already
been made by the hon. member for Wick, who says that it
would be wiser to issue the Exchequer bills at a higher
rate of interest. I am disposed to coincide with the justice
of that criticism. (Hear.) The rate of 31 per cent. was
fixed at a time when, according to the best advice I could
receive, there was reason to suppose that money might
have been raised at that rate; but circumstances have
changed since then, and with the permission of the Louse I
will amend the resolution by saying, " at any rate not ex-
ceeding 4 per cent." (Hear.) I wish, sir, to describe to
the house what is the meaning and intention of this pro-
posal. When in March we proposed that we should be
authorised to levy a double income tax for the first half of
the financial year, taking into view the interval which
should necessarily elapse before we could receive the pro-
ceeds of that tax, we asked for power to raise 1,750,000/.
by Exchequer bills. When we Caine to make a further
proposal to the house, and to propose to raise nearly
7,000,0001. of new taxes, we had to consider that not only
the same but a more considerable interval must elapse be-
ore the proceeds of these two taxes should reach the ex-
chequer. Twopence halfpenny upon the income tax will
yield us about 3,250,0001., but no appreciable portion of
that sum will be realised within the financial year at all.
It will only begin to be realised, with certain small excep-
tions, after the month of April 1855. Nearly the same is
the case with regard to the other duties. With respect to
the malt duty, the proceeds of which formed the principal
item in the catalogue, after the income tax, it will not begin
to be realised in any considerable quantity until the winter
has approached; and therefore it followed, as a matter of
course, that when the right hon. gentlemen near me had
framed their estimates of what the war expenditure would
he—a work of no small difficulty—it was our duty, after
determining to call upon Parliament to make one effort to
meet that expenditure by new taxes, likewise to make a pro-
posal with regard to a temporary supply of money before
these taxes could be received. Now, sir, the lowness of the
public balances may be referred to in this matter; and it is
true that, to some limited extent, about 1,000,0001. or so,
it might have been necessary, to raise money even irre-
spective of the war. But, sir, that was a small matter.
The object of the proposition that we are making to the
house is twofold. In the first place it is necessary to an-
ticipate the taxes which the house has been pleased to vote
to supply us with funds to carry us over the
is
interval be-
fore the taxes can be raised. In the second, it impossible
at the opening of a war to form a reliable calculation of
o an
nt h s be fo
adequater -
hwahnadt. ourn eic7poe3n r eriv,t,tillthboeugfielrt thae.
elmveadme
provision for the expenses of the sYar by creating 6 mil-
lions of debt, which realised 4 millions in money ; but so
far did the expenditure exceed his estimate, that he was
obliged to create some millions of unauthorised debt in the
course of the year. I pretend not to foresee what will be
our expenditure under circumstances like these, but in
order to endeavour to provide for the future as far as pos-
sible, we ask you to give us this considerable margin—this
considerable power of raising money, with a view to the
services which may be sanctioned by Parliament, or which
it may be necessary to undertake without the sanction of
Parliament—and in order to meet th'.l extraordinary. state.
of things—a state of things unknown to our experience,