The Sun.
London, England, 1849-02-27 00:00:00

SUN,

duced to 103,000, which is rather more than the atneent
of' I_^ ts, ' sa *'• 7Q,," -PH
in 1845 was 100,000, that in 1846, was 108,000
men. Last year we were enabled to make a
considerable reduction in the expense without
any reduction of the force. I wish to state the
amount of those reductions which we have been
thus enabled to accomplish last year, without any reduc-
tion of the force, and to compare them with the reduc-
tion to be seen in the estimates upon the table of the
House; partly effected by a reduction of the actual ex-
pense, and partly by a reduction of the force. The re-
ductions which were effected last year amounted in the
course of the session to 828,5001. The reductions in the
estimates of this year, as compared, not with the original
estimates of last year, but with the reduced estimates
effected at the end of the session, were in the navy
730,8561., in the army 378,624/., and in the ordnance
337,8731., being a total reduction in the naval and military
establishments of the country to the amount of
1,447,353/.—(Hear.) Sir, I do not anticipate being able
to make any great reduction in the miscellaneous expen-
diture of the country, from the large increase that has
taken place in our foreign expenditure. I, however,
take the reductions actually made last year, with those
as they appear in the estimates now upon the table of
the House, to amount to no less a sum than 2,275,8531.
—(Hear, hear.) I hope the House will take these facts
as a proof that we are not insensible to the call of reduc
tion that has been made upon us, and that it will be ad-
mitted we have carried out whatever practical reductions
could be at present safely or reasonably made. It is
hardly worth while to go into any details in respect to
other items in which we have also effected great reduc-
tions, inasmuch as they must be viewed as inconsiderable
when compared with those large sums to which I have
already referred. Now the Hon. Gentleman has referred
to the charges for the collection of the revenue, and such
expenses. Sir, I can assure this House that we have
not been unmindful of this important subject, nor have
we have been induced for the sake of patronage, as it is
alleged against my Hon. Friend and his Government, to
keep up more offices than we think are absolutely neces-
sary for the general interests of the country. We have
since last year consolidated the offices of Paymaster of
Exchequer-bills and of Paymaster of Civil Services with
the office of Paymaster-General, whereby we effected a
saving to the amount of 16,0001. in these small offices.—
(Hear, hear.) We have also consolidated the stamps and
taxes and excise. I have taken upon myself the respon-
sibility of making some of these reductions. And I have
relied with great confidence, while taking this course,
upon the activity evinced by the Chairman of the Conso-
lidated Board, Mr. John Wood, the most active public
servant that I have ever had to deal with. We have been
thus enabled already to make further reductions to the
amount of 9,0001. or 10,000/., with the prospect of still
greater reductions to the amount of 8,0001. or 9,0004 more.
In like manner we have appointed Commissioners to in-
quire into the collection of the customs. Ido not, however,
anticipate that any large saving will be effected in the
collection of the revenue, because such saving can only
be made by doing that which I would be unwilling to
do, namely, by lessening the accommodation afforded to
the commercial part of this kingdom. The Commis-
sioners of Customs, in their report, suggest reductions to
the amount of 50,000/. Now, when the Hon. Member
talks of the extravagance manifested in the collection of
the revenue of this country, I must state that he is en-
tirely mistaken in his impressions. We have heard a
good deal of the dissatisfaction that it is said is felt in
respect to the course pursued by the different boards in
the collection of the revenue, and in the keeping of the
public accounts. Let me, however, inform my Hon.
Friend behind me that the charge of the collection of the
revenue here, as compared with a neighbouring foreign
country, is very low indeed. In England the charge of the
collection of customs was under 6 per cent. ; in France,
however, where they had the advantage of more detailed
accounts, the charge was 12 or 13 per cent. Now, the
charge of the collection of the whole revenue of
this country is only about 7 per cent.; whilst in France
it is 14 per cent. In another neighbouring country,
too, where the people were in the enjoyment of more
democratic institutions than even in France, where they
had almost universal suffrage, the expense of the col-
lection of the revenue is no less than 43 per cent.—
(Here some Hon. Members appeared to express dissent.)
Now, mind, I am not dealing with any particular items
of the revenue—l am taking the whole amount of the
collection of the revenue. If I were to do so, I might
mention the fact that though the stamps were collected
in this country under 3 per cent., the Post-office revenue
was collected at a cost of 59 per cent. It is not, how-
ever, fair to take any one item or another. I take the
whole revenue of this country, including the Post-
office (which is alone an expense of 58 per cent. in
the collection), as collected at a charge of 7 per cent.;
while that of France is 11 per cent., and of Bel-
gium 43 per cent. The Honourable Gentleman has
alluded to the pressure of taxation in this country.
Now this is a charge which it is very difficult to meet.
I doubt not that the Honourable Member would find it
as difficult to prove this assertion as it is difficult
for me to answer it. But comparing the incomes of
individuals of this country with the incomes of indivi-
duals in France, it is my belief that taxation presses
much less in proportion to the incomes in this country
than it does in France. I have, Sir, a long statement
which may be reasonably referred to on this subject, but
at the same time it is not one of those documents which
it is possible to quote for the purposes of my argument.
I find that in the course of the last 20 years the people
of this country have been relieved from taxation to a
most enormous extent. The taxes from which they
have been relieved, too, were principally those which
pressed upon articles of consumption and materials of
manufacture.—(Hear, hear.) I am at a loss to under-
stand, then, the grounds for these assertions which we
have heard now for the first time made, although we have
been told that they have formed the subject of grave
discussions in associations that have been formed through-
out the country, aad have found the strongest expres-
sions in public opinion. For the last 20 years there
have been repealed taxes to the amount of nearly
20,000,0004, whilst during the same period there have
been imposed taxes to the extent only of 9,800,0001. This
country has thus been relieved of burdens within that
time to the extent of 10,000,000/—(Hear)—or very nearly
10 per cent. of those taxes which we had to bear previ-
ously. This change was, however, still more material
than simply the mere amount would lead us to suppose,
because, while the taxes imposed were those which only
affected property, the taxes repealed were those which
affected the actual necessaries of life, and the raw mate-
rial for the manufactures of the country.—(Hear, hear.)
In making these remarks let it not be for one moment
supposed that lam finding fault with these changes. So
far from it I must say that I entirely approve of them.—
(Hear, hear.) I entirely concur with my Hon. Friend
in thinking that the absence of taxation upon every ar-
ticle of food of last year was an essential element for
maintaining the peace of this country. I am proud to
say that I have borne my.part in the•passing of those
measures which have contributed, in nay. qpinion, in a
great degree to relieve, the trade and commerce of this
country.—(Hear, hear.) But if we really look at the
great articles from which those duties have been taken
off within the last twenty years—when we remember
that corn of all descriptions comes in free of' duty—that
we have meat and cattle free of duty—that the beer-tax
has been totally repealed—that the duty upon sugar has
been reduced from 275. to 135., more than one-half—
that foreign sugar has been reduced from 635. to 205.,
co!onial coffee from 6d. to 4d., and foreign coffee from
201 to 6d.—when we, in fact, consider that all the arti-
cles which the great mass of the population consume
have been thus cheapened by the removal of taxation, I
think it is hardly fair that we should be met by this new
charge of pressure of taxation which is now bursting
into life for the first time. Within the last few years we
have seen, too, we have been relieved from the heavy
taxation which we had formerly to bear in respect to
sheep's wool, cotton, flax, hides, glass, and other
articles. However grievous the existing burdens may
be to those who do not like to pay, we must at all
events confess that the taxation upon the sources of
industry has been either wholly abolished or consider-
ably lightened.—(Hear, hear.) Before I sit down,
I must take the opportunity of referring to the
Hon. Member for Montrose. I do not agree with that
Hon. Gentleman in the propriety of the course which
he thinks it right to take upon financial matters. I cer-
tainly admit, after what has passed last year, that the
House has a right, upon some early day this session, to
demand a statement from mo as to how far the expects-
ttons which I held out la,t year have been warranted, by
the course of events since. The Hon, Gentleman may
remember that when I asked the House to renew the
income-tax for a period of three years I did express my
hope and expectation that at any rate in these three
years, if the income-tax were renewed, and certain
other taxes were retained, the income of the country
would more than equal its expenditure.—(Hear, hear.)
This I said somewhere about the early part of the ses-
sion, when I think it would be admitted things were so
uncertain that no man could answer what a month or
six weeks would bring forth.—(Hear, hear.) Towards
the close of the session I, however, renewed that as-
sertion, and with much greater confidence I stated my
belief that the expenditure would be kept for the future
far within the limits of our income. Now, Sir, I am
happy to state that the experience wo have had since
that time has fully borne out my anticipations. Ido not
know whether lion. Gentlemen have in their hands the
balance-sheet up to the sth of January, which is the last
authentic document of the revenue and the expenditure
of the country. The period which I referred to in my
anticipations was that up to the sth April. The period
which we have before us goes up to Jan. 5. I stated in
August last that I anticipated the ordinary revenue of
the country to amount to 51,550,0001., the old stores and
appropriations in aid to produce 50,0004, the China
money 80,0001., making altogether 52,100,0001. The
Hon. Gentleman, will, however, see, on referring to the
balance-sheet of last year, that what is called or-
dinary income amounts to 52,422,3384, and what are
called miscellaneous receipts, which are the three last
items, amount altogether to 118,6561., making the total
amount 52,540,9941., instead of 52,100,0001., as
I anticipated.—(Hear, hear.) This large sum of
China money, which we cannot fairly reckon
this year, I estimated at 80,000/. I have, however, re-
ceived 84,000/. Therefore, taking that amount off the
account, the income of the year up to January amounts
to 52,933,693/. My estimate was only up to April, and
was 52,100,000/. There is, therefore, about 800,0001.
morn than I anticipated the revenue of the country up
to April would be.—(Bear, hear.) I estimated tho ex-
penditure at 52,422,0001. It has, however, been rather
more than this amount ; but wo must consider that we
were obliged to include in it the expense of the Kafir
war, the naval excess, and the vote for Irish distress,
which I could not at the time have caculated upon.
Excluding then, these three items, which amount to
1,620,0004, the expenditure of the country is 52,563,348/.
Therefore, taking the income, after deducting the re-
ceipts from China, and the expenditure, afcer deducting
these three extraordinary items to which I have re-
ferred, we find that the income up to January 5, 1849,
is .52,933,6934, and the expenditure is 52,562,3481.,
the difference between the expenditure and the income

LONDON, TUESDAY