The Sun.
London, England, 1836-04-28 00:00:00

EXCISE LICENSES,

Mr. W. MILES begged to know whether Government
had taken into consideration the subject of the additional
duty on Spirit Licenses, and the claims of the Licensed
Victuallers ?
The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER had re-
ferred to the Board of Excise upon the subject, and had not
yet received any Report from the Commissioners.
AGRICULTURAL DISTRESS.

Sir J. WR OTTE SLEY presented a petition from Staf-
fordshire, in favour of the agricultural claims.
Colonel SIBTHORP, and the Marquis of CHANDOS,
each presented petitions on the same subject ; the first from
Lincolnshire, and the last from Buckinghamshire.
Mr. HUME submitted, that when Wednesday was set apart
for measures promoted by individual Members, it was very in-
convenient that they should be deprived even of that one day
as the Noble Marquis proposed to do, by the motion he inten-
ded to make on the first Order of the Day.
The Marquis of CHANDOS had stated, on Friday, that
it was his intention to bring forward the motion of which he
had given notice for that day (Wednesday) ; but if it were
the wish of the House that he should not proceed, he was
most willing to submit to their determination.—(Cries of go
on, go on ?)
After a few words from Mr. BUCKINGHAM,
The Marquis of CHANDOS said—lf he felt himself, in
the claim which he made, coming into collision with the de-
mands of other classes of the community, or in any way in-
terfering with the reduction in taxation considered necessary
by the Government, he should entertain fears for the result of
his proposition ; but feeling that he did not, in the slightest
degree, interfere with the arrangements of the Chancellor of
the Exchequer, much less with the just pretensions of other
classes of the community, he could not bring himself to be-
lieve that his resolution would receive the opposition of the
House. The Right Hon. Gentleman the Chancellor of the
Exchequer had already announced his intention of making
some reductions in the taxation of the country. He did not of
course know by what means the Right Hon. Gentleman in-
tended to effect that object, nor did he mean in any way to
call on him for the statement of his mode of affording the relief
which was promised, but all he desired was to have the Right
Hon. Gentleman's assent to the declaration, that in reducing
the taxes which pressed on the other classes of the community,
the feelings of that class, whose interest he stood forward to
represent on that occasion, should be attended to. Therefore
it was that he proposed a resolution, calling upon the Govern-
ment, that in the course which they might think proper to
adopt for the relief of the community from the burdens of
taxation, the claims of the agricultural class should not be ex-
cluded from their consideration.—( Hear.) The Noble Lord
the Secretary for the Home Department, laid down as a fair
rule to judge of the interest taken in any public question, the
number of petitions which were presented upon it. Now, he
thought he should be borne out by the Noble Lord, when he
said that not only on that evening, but on every previous even-
ing, the number of petitions presented on this subject were
very numerous. Of this fact he was quite satisfied, that if the
House were to sit for an entire year, not a day would pass
without the presentation of petitions on the subject of agricul-
tural distress; and the reason of the frequency of those peti-
tions might easily be accounted for by the conviction on
the part of the landed interest, that nothing effectually has as
yet been done for their relief.—( Hear, hear.) He might be
asked why it was he thought proper to introduce the question
of agricultural distress when the Committee appointed to :n-
-quire into it, had not as yet made their report. To that ob-
jection he had this simple answer—that as a member of the
Committee he had no right whatever to prejudge their opinion,
or to anticipate the report which they might make ; but there
was not a member of the Committee who could fairly oppose
the motion upon which he considered it his duty to take the
sense of the House, because the report of the Committee was
not in the slightest degree affected by it..—( Hear, hear.) But
whatever force there was in that argument was completely met
by the fact that there were two reports already presented con-
taining a great mass of information bearing directly and dis-
tinctly on this subject ; and with much regret did he say it, for
the cause which he advocated, that these reports unequivocally
showed (and he appealed to the Hon. Members who composed
the Committee for a confirmation of his statement) that the
farmers of 1833 were not improved in circumstances, but that,
on the contrary, in many instances their condition now was
worse than at that period'. He believed there was evidence to
prove the fact that the heavy clay soils must go out of cultiva-
tion if the farmers did not receive a more profitable return
for their produce. The testimony of thirty-six witnesses, who
had been already examined, went to show that there were great
distress and difficulty amongst the agricultural classes. As he
had already said, in urging the claims of the agricultural in.
terest, he did not wish to depreciate those of the other classes
of the community. The Right Hon. Gentleman the Chan-
cellor of the Exchequer had voluntarily declared his intention
of reducing the stamp duties and the tax on spirit licences. It
was not for him then to pronounce any opinion on these re-
ductions, but he did say this, that it was the Right Hon. Gen-