The Sun.
London, England, 1849-01-01 00:00:00

£346,117 0 0

Excise :
Salaries of inspectors of corn returns

and officers ...
Compensation to revenue officers, &c.
Hereditary Pensions to—
The Duke of Grafton ... ••
Earl Cowper ...
Assignees of the late Charles 800ne...
Fishery Board ... ...
Towards the Judicial establishment,—
Sheriffs, &c., Scotland ... ... 36,710 10 0
Annuity to Agricultural Company,
Scotland, under Royal sign manual .
Miscellaneous

5,454 0 0
4,330 0 0

7,191 12 0
1,595 16 0
1,200 0 0
16,978 10 0

-----
. X 97,106 9 44

10,600 0 0
13,046 1 4:

Total, Excise ..
Post•office. Ifercditary Pensions:—
Duke of Marlborough... ...
Duke of Grarton, over and above
7,1911. 124. from Excise ~.
Heirs of the Duke of Schomberg
Adv.:nee to Milford Haven works ...

4,000 0 0

3,407 10 0
2,900 0 0
875 15 0

Total Post office ... £11,183 5 0

Taxes:—
Augmentation of stipends to Scotch
clergy, &c.
Advanced commissioners of roads
Miscellaneous ...

... 17,824 0 0
... 5•,'000 0 0
48 15 0

£22,872 15 0

Crown Lands:—
Woods and Forests, perpetual pensions,
annual stipends, picks, &c. 286,646 15 0
Recapitulation of payments, deducted from the revenue,
exclusive of charges, on its way to the Exchequer,

viz :
Customs...

Excise ...
Post-office
Taxes ...

... 346,117 0 O.

Crown lands

... 97,106 9 4
... 11,183 5 0
... 22,872 15 0
... 286,646 15 0

Total ... ...£763,926 4 .q
There was an excess of the expenditure over the in-
come during the following years, viz.:—
In 1827 of ... ... ... £826,674
1831 „ ... ... ... 698,857
1837 „ ... ... ... 655,760
1838 „ ... ... ... 34.5,228
1839 „ ... ... ... 1,512,792
1540 „ ... ... ... 1,593,970
1841 „ ... ... ... 2,101,369
1842 „ ... ... ... 3,979538
1847 „ ... ... . . 2,956,683
exclusive of the sum received of the loan contracted
for Ireland. The years 1837- 8-9-40, and 1841, were
periods succeeding commercial distress and bad har-
vests, and of the insurrection in Canada ; there were,
in consequence, the following additional charges
spread over those years. The insurrection in Canada
drew out of the Treasury, from 1837 to 1841-2, the
enormous sum of 2,106,0461. The Chinese war drew
out of the Treasury in 1840, 1841, and 1842,
1,652,9211., and in 1843 an additional amount of
437,8491., and for the opium compensation 1,254,8231.;
and further, in 1844, 404,964/. for opium compensa-
tion ; total on account of our quarrel with China,
3,752,5571. The moneys received from China
realised in 1843, 1,315,209/. ; in 1844, 385,008/. ; in
1845, 1,142,9241.; in 1847, 667,6441.; total,
3,510,785/. ; loss to the Treasury by the Chinese war,
239,9751. If we add to this the expenses of the
Kafir war, which, we fear, will at least exceed
1,250,0001, and of the Canada insurrection war,
there will have been an excess drawn from the
Treasury, for warlike operations, of more than
3,595,8181. sterling, besides very great contingent
expenses, which have increased those of the army
and navy. -
There was an excess of revenue over the expendi-
ture during the following years :—viz., in 1828,
3,246,9941.; in 1829, 1,711,5511.; in 1830, 2,913,6731.;
in 1832, 614,559/. ; in 1833, 1,513,083/. ; in 1834,
1,608,1551.; in 1835, 1,620,9411.; in 1836, 2,130,0921.
Then came a commercial crisis—a Canada war—bad
harvests—and a deficient revenue, until 1343, when
there was an excess over the expenditure of
1,443,304/ ; but then there was an excess of taxation
on the one hand, caused by the income-tax, of
5,387,455/. ; but on the other hand, the Custom-house
duties were greatly reduced on various articles of
consumption, which I will notice further on. The
income-tax, instead of being imposed for three years,
having been continued, there was a surplus revenue
over expenditure, in 1844, of 3,356,106/. • in 1845 of
3,817,541/. This included 1,142,924/. dhina money.
Inasmuch as the opium compensation, the China war
expenses, had been paid off, during the two pre-
ceding years. In 1846 there was a surplus revenue of
2,846,308/. ; but in 1847 the country was overwhelmed
with the crisis consequent upon bad harvests, the
potato rot, an Irish famine, and the railway specu-
lations ; which latter locked up many inconvertible
millions of capital ; and all which causes combined
effected a stagnation of trade, a greatly diminished
employment of labour in manufactures and other
branches of industry, and the ruin of many great
commercial houses of long standing, and with re-
sponsibilities of unexampled magnitude. The failure
of those houses brought countless others of minor
standing into ruin, that might otherwise have con-
tinued solvent. Let us add the elements of disturb-
epees that were preparing their development on the
continent of Europe, and we may, I believe, then,
consider it remarkable, that the falling off of the
revenue was not much greater. It is certainly more
surprising than otherwise that there was not a much
greater deficiency in the year 1847 than 2,956,683/. ;
and we must also take into account that more than
one-half of that amount was occasioned by the sum
of 1,525,800/. sent to relieve distress in Ireland.
The expenditure on account of the navy, army,
and ordnance, and for paying the interest and ex-
penses of the public debt, was, during the following
years, as follows :

Total
-':":.------------- Navy,
_, . Expense Army,
Ord- Total
Yrs. Navy, Army. nanCe. of Debt. Ordnance,
and Debt.
-----
____.—
X £ X --______ ____—__ i_
WI I 205 813 X
2 033 535
1827 -1,876,653 6,414,727 ,914,4-1 6' '^4 29,118,8'9 4 . ' 0 13,914,6 i
8,522,507'40,787,61
1830 6,991,163 5,309,605 ,613,908 i 1833 16,5rJ0,06t4,361,235 ,314,306:12,265,103 2
504,09640,570,153
1834 .6,493,92%14,503,999 ,008,223 12,066,057 28,
'4,610 40,171,096
1835 ,f 1.706,143 4,099429 ,151,9141
, I 1,657,486 28,5. .
', 59941,356,567
45,623,356
29,417,0.43
1830 16,173,183 4,205,726 ,434,059 12, I 12,963 29,24-,
57112,906,468
1837 16,521,716,4,750,6%8 1,414,523 12,716,8 A 9 29,489,-
1833 16,815,641 4,520,428 1,3,4,6811 t,720,730,29,260,23.3 41,98°,968
3 43,078
1839 ,6,512,66215,490,204 1,952,2013,981,076 29,454,002 4 , 1 13,5
1840 16,893,267 5,597,511 1,631,641 14,119,418'29,381,718'43'50 '
1841 '6,418,422 6,487,074 1,815,13214722,623 29,450,145:44,172,873
1842 5,947,921,6,640,163 2,174,873 14,802,757 19,423,120'44,230,817
1813
15,997,1566,606,057 1,919,70,414,513,917 29,269,860'43,783,077
1844 6,173,714 5,858,219 1,924,312 13,961,245 30,495,459 44,456,704
1845 16,774,589 6.809,87.4 2,109,707 it 15,064,169 28,253,872 43,918,041
1846 i 6,699,699,7,803,4642
,361,534 16,864,697 28,077,937 44,982,684
1847 17,540,405;3,013,873 2,947,869'18,512,147 28,141,531 46,653,678

From all the foregoing statements, Which I have
compiled with great care from the official finance ac-
counts of each year, it will appear conclusive, that if
we are unable to reduce the expenditure of the navy,
army, ordnance, and the interest of the public debt, it
is vain for us to expect a very great diminution of
the national expenditure. The interest of the public
debt we cannot honestly, and without disgrace, re-

duce much lower than its present amount, but we do
believe that the naval expenditure may be reduced
without enfeebling its strength and efficiency. We
believe, by adopting a different system in the British
possessions, and especially in Ireland, the military and
ordnance expenditure may also be greatly diminished.
But the condition of Ireland—the great expenditure
and small revenue of that p.irt of the United King-
dom, meets and perplexes us at every attempt we
make in financial calculations.
I am, however, of opinion, and I feel prepared to
show, that we may accomplish the following reduc-
tions, but not without their being contingent upon
other measures. The reductions I would propose, and
still maintain the efficiency of the services, are :
The naval expenditure to ... £6,500,000
The army expenditure to ... 6,000,000
The ordnance expenditure to ... ... 1,750,000

Expenditure in 1847

£14,250,000
18,500,000

Saving £4,250,000
The national debt interest we must not
estimate at less than ...
Add navy, army, and ordnance ...

... £28,250,000
... 14,250,000

Total debt, navy, army, and ordnance £42,500,000
Various payments out of the
consolidated fund, from... £2,319,530 to 2,200,000
Miscellaneous services, from 3,561,067 to 3,250,000
Charges of collecting the re-
venue, from

Other payments out of the
taxes in their progress to
the Exchequer, from ...
Civil list, from ... ...

3,963,539 to 3,350,000

£9,844,136 £51,300,000

763,926 to 710,000
393,830 to 390,000

£ 11,001,892 £10,000,000
Total proposed gross expenditure.. ... 52,400,000
Total of expenditure in 1847 (after deduct-
ing 1,527,8001. for Irish distress)

57,704,614

Total proposed saving £5,304,614
These calculations are, however, based upon greatly.
diminishing the amount paid out of the revenues of
Great Britain, and spent for military and police pur-
poses in Ireland, which I will hereafter notice. I
think, further, that we might possibly reduce the
gross revenue nearly half a million more ; or say
Gross revenue, including charges of collection,
52,000,0001.
Now, the next consideration, and the greatest diffi-
culty is, how to levy this revenue in the most equit-
ably practical manner.
First. With respect to the chief sources of re-
venue—the Customs and Excise :--
In 1840, I submitted a pre forma tariff, reduced
to 20 rates, or heads of Customs' duties, to the Com-
mittee of the House of Commons. I there stated
that it was far from being the best commercial tariff
I would propose, for that I considered all articles the
essential food of man, and all raw materials for ma-
nufactures, should pay no duty whatever. But, under
all circumstances, it was the most approximate scale I
then thought practicable. It was, however, a far
better revenue tariff than the present ; for I propose
(though not on principle) a fixed duty of Bs. per
quarter on wheat, and duties of from 10 to 20 per
cent. upon provisions generally ; 10s. per cwt. on
butter ; Bs. on cheese ; and from 2fd to 5 per cent.
upon most raw materials, and 10 per cent. on ma-
nufactured articles. Instead of reducing the duty on
colonial wood from 10s. to ls. on fir timber, and to
2s. on deals, &c., I proposed 7s. 6d. per load on tim-
ber, and 11s. per load on deals, and I reduced the
foreign duty on timber from 555. to 255. per load,
and on deals in proportion. I proposed on all other
woods, for ship or other building purposes, a duty of
ss. and 10s. per load. The revenue levied on timber
of all kinds during the year 1.39 amounted to
1,603,1911. I contemplated a large increase in this
revenue. But the duty may be said to be abolished
on all colonial timber. It has been so on all furniture
and on nearly all ship-building woods.
In 1846 the quantity imported of all colo-
nial timber, not deals or split, reduced
to loads, was, in round numbers, about
800,000 loads, which, at 7s 61 per load,
would yield a revenue of ••• •••
Deals, staves, &c., about 500,000 loads,
would yield, at 11s. per load ...
Foreign timber, about 580,000 loads, at
255. per load, would yield ...
Foreign deals, about 300,000 loads, at 30s.
per load, would produce ••• .•
Oak and other ship building and furniture
woods, from British possessions, 60,000
loads, at 55., would give ..• •.•
Ditto ditto, foreign, 40,000 loads, at 10s.
per load

£300,000

31G,000

725,000

450,000

15,000

20,000

Total revenue from timber

.. . £ 1,826,000

The present revenue is about half this amount, and
as we have abolished the duty on cotton wool, sheep's
wool, flax, and hemp, and most other raw materials, I
would now recommend that the duty on timber should
be altogether repealed. It has already been abolished
on mahogany and on all furniture woods, on logwood
and on all dyewoods, and on several kinds of ship-
building woods.
I also proposed in that tariff a protective duty on
colonial sugars of 10s., viz.-20s. per cwt. on colo-
nial sugars, and 30s. per cwt. on foreign sugar. I
contemplated by this tariff an increase of revenue
which would have prevented the necessity for any
new tax, and, considering the vast distance which
then appeared to separate us, between the then exist•
ing corn-laws, sugar, and other duties, and any real
approach to free trade, that tariff, which was really
throughout protective, was considered a most revolu-
tionary and desperate project, and that too by men
then high in office. I was only, however, two years
in advance even of the most timid statesmen of the
day. Lord John Russell, as the leader of the Mel-
bourne Government, proposed, in 1841, the fixed
duty which I had submitted to the Commi'tee in the
previous year, and it was proposed to reduce the pro-
hibitive duty on foreign sugar to a revenue duty of
365. and 5 per cent., or to a duty of 375. 9d. 3 5 ler
cwt. The agricultural protectionist party, and those
who represented the West Indian interests, combined.
They refused to receive those rates of protection, and
the Melbourne Ministry, on being in a minority, im-
mediately resigned. Instead of Bs. per quarter, the
agriculturists will, in a month, have no protective
duty whatever ; and the West Indians, who have now
only a few shillings, will, in three or four years, not have
one farthing. Both parties were, assuredly, not wise
in their generation. They both, however, assert, in
no Christian spirit, that they have been betrayed by
Sir R. Peel. The fact is, they have deceived them-
selves ; he never has deceived them. He voted against
a fixed duty ; but he never promised them any more
than a moderate sliding scale ; and if that should fail
(as it did), he gave them no pledge that he would not
abolish the duty on corn altogether. He never pro-
mised them high protective duties on sugar. He
would have shut out sugar produced by slave labour,
if that should have proved practical, but he would
not exclude any sugar produced by free labour, and
he gave them the benefit of that experiment, which,
when it failed, he joined in voting for that measure
which he considered more practically good, as every
able and wise statesman would and will do.

At the end of 1843 I again examined the whole
state, item by item, of our taxation—the revenue it
produced, and the expenditure. I reduced the result
of my labours to as precise a shape as I could,
and printed a very few copies of the document for the
the confidential use, at the time, of a few persons. On
19th of February, 1844, the substance of this docu-
ment appeared in a leading article of the Times. This
contained a free trade tariff, as far as the revenue
would allow, an exemption from duties upon com-
modities, and also a pro forma financial project. In
that project I proposed to abolish all taxes then under
the excise (excepting spirits, malt,and licences),allthe
assessed taxes (excepting the unredeemed land-tax),
and all the duties of Customs, except on eight articles.
I then, with a good harvest, a flourishing trade, and
peace over the world, estimated that a gross revenue
of 50,000,0001., including charges of collection, would
be required.
My project, calculated with great care, then stood
as follows, viz. :
Pro forma View of equalising the Annual Revenue
and Expenditure, presuming that the Excise and
Assessed taxes, and the stamps on marine and fire
assurances, and also the duties of Customs (except
on eight articles) should be abolished, and adding
distilled spirits and malt, now under the Excise, to
the Customs, and Excise licenses to the Stamps :
abolishing all other of the Assessed taxes, andl the
whole Excise establishment.
First. Assuming the total annual expendi

ture not to exceed" ... ... £50,000,000
Revenue, necessary to meet this expendi-
ture to be raised as follows.—

1. From uniform duties on (1) tea ; (2)
sugar and molasses ; (3) coffee and
cocoa ; (4) tobacco ; (5) distilled
spirits ; (6) wines ; (7) dried fruits ;
(8) spices... ... ....£21,500,000
2. Home distilled spirits ... 5,000,000
Malt, whether made at
home or imported from
abroad ... ... 5,000,000
3. Stamps, leaving out marine and fire in-
surances, and including licenses now
under the Excise.-
4. Unredeemed land-tax
Deficit to be provided for during the first
year ••• • • ••• •• •••

31,500,000

7,500,000
1,200,000

9,800,000

450,000,000

This deficit to be levied, not by doubling, or rather
more than doubling, the present income-tax, but by the
less inquisitorial and more direct and equitable plan of
an annual assessment, in the pound, upon the annual
value of all realised property, viz., the rents and profits
of all lands, tenements, houses, constructions, funds,
stocks and shares: including factories, warehouses, docks,
shipyards, railways, canals, public funds, Bank of Eng-
land stock, East India and South Sea stock, and the
stock and shares of all companies whose stocks and
shares are bought and sold in the market.

Total, deducting articles now
duty free •• „ ..... .•

* Now all free except hams.

21,527,8531
t All

21,226,7201
except clov,

21,238,578
-er free.

It will be observed by the forego ng table there has
been a great advance made, as far as the Customs re-
venue is in question, towards the pro forma scheme which
I proposed in 1843,and that out of the 34 heads then yield-
ing the whole Customs revenue (excepting 404,7371.),
the duties have been abolished on-1, cotton wool; 2,
sheep wool; 3, silk, raw, waste, and thrown; 4, flax and
hemp; 5, quicksilver; 6, barilla and bark; 7, saltpetre;
8, metals (nearly all); 9, hides and skins; 10, tar and
turpentine; 11, oil, train, sperm, palm, olive, cocoa-nut,
&c.; 12, dyes and dyestuffs; 13, animals living; 14,
bacon, beef, and pork (except hams); 15, fish of all
sorts (anchovies, salmon, turbots, oysters, and eels ex •
cepted); 16, seeds (all except clover); 17, rice. So that
there oily remain 16 of the 34 heads, and of the 35th or
miscellaneous head, which included, in the tariff of 1841,
about 384 articles, absolutely enumerated, with special
duties, in that tariff, the duties have all been abolished,
and so have the duties on all unenumerated articles
whatever. There now remain about 150 articles still
specified, es enumerated in the tariff, which altogether
have yielded only 408,9381. in 1847, but the duty on
many of those articles is BO purely nominal as not to
amount to one-eighth per cent. We may remark that
the duties on coffee have been reduced from the several
duties of 15d., 12d., 9d., and 6d. per lb. to duties of 6d.
and 4d. ; on sugar the duty has been greatly reduced,
and on a scale which will in three years admit them at
revenue duties, without distinction as to the place of
growth ; on foreign spirits from 225. 6d. to 145., greatly
on spices, on tallow from 2s. 6d. to is. 6d. per cwt., but-
ter from 20s. to IGs. per cwt., cheese from 10s. to ss. per
cat. The duties are also abolished on bacon, pork,
and beef ; and the duties have been either abolished or
reduced t..) revenue duties on every article of impor-
tance excepting tea, tobacco, and wines upon the first
of which the high duty is certainly the most objection-
able of any tax now remaining upon articles of con-
sumption.
We shall now proceed to examine the duties of Excise
and the Assessed Taxes.

The Excise duties yielded in 1843 a revenue of
14,450,9034 Sir Robert Peel then abolished the duty
on auctions, which yielded a revenue that year of
305,3391. RI 1847, the gross amount of the Excise re-
venue amounted to 13,919,6524, viz.: bricks, 681,3291.;
hackney stied stage carriages, 104,8671.; hops, 440,403/ ;
licenses, . 993,0111.; railway-tak, -61,948/.; post-horse
duty, 161,1181.; ditto licenies, 6,8324; paper, 761,1744;
soap, 896,6481.; sugar, 1691.; malt, 4,456,7381.; home-
made spirits, 5,245,4901.
Now, there is not one of the above taxes, except that
upon spirits, to which we do not highly object, and we
are equally opposed to Excise laws, and even to the
uc cessary rigour of those laws; but from what source
are we to replace the revenue derived from them. The
least objectionable of the above taxes are certainly in
their order—spirits, malt, railway-tax, and licenses, and
we would abolish all the others first. Spirits, malt, and
licenses yielded, in 1847, 10,764,0184; the remaining
articles—bricks, Irish game certificates (only 8234), car-
riages, hops, paper, post-horse duty, soap, and sugar,
3,242,49,1. It would be a great relief if all the latter
amount were, as it ought to be, abolished.

The revenue of stamps, duties of legacy, probates, &c.,
yielded in 1847, 7,082,4331. in Great Britain, and
588,990/ in Ireland; total, 7,671,423/. The moat ob-
jectionable of these duties are those on marine and fire
assurances, amounting to 1,257,591/, and the duties on
stage carriages and hackney coaches, 329,0771. They
produce together a large revenue, 1,587,6681. I am,
however, of opinion that these duties may be abolished,
when a much more productive distribution of the stamp
duties can be made, and by adjusting the probate and
legacy duties, as proposed by Mr. Pitt. The revenue
now under the head of stamps might, after abolishing
the marine and fire insurance duties, and stamps on
stage carriages, on being more equitably levied, realise
at least its present amount, or say 7,500,000/.
The assessed taxes come next. They are not levied
in Ireland, and in Great Briiain they yielded, in 1847.
viz., land-tax, 1,154,745 L ; window-duty, 1,663,320/. ;
or both, 2,818,0651.; and the other taxes, on servants,
carriages, horses, dogs, horse-dealers, hair-powder, ar-
morial bearings, game licences, and the additional 10
per cent., amounted to about 1,735,7951. All the latter
duties are, as well as the window-tax, highly objection-
able, being unequal in their pressure, offensive in their
collection; and the window-tax is injurious to health,
and to the construction of dwellings.
The income-tax, which does not extend to Ireland,
realised in Great Britain, in 1847, 5,612,6541. The
Post-office yielded a net income, in 1847, of 923,0001.,
and a gross revenue of 2,181,9501; and the Crown lands,
&c., about 480,000/.
I have now gone through the heads of revenue, and
I have therefore to propose a pro forma project, with a
view to raise a revenue for defraying the lowest amount
to which I believe it will be found practicable to diminish
the expenditure, viz.:—
A gross expenditure, including charges of
collection, and all payments now made in
its progress to the Exchequer ...
To meet which I propose :
I.—DUTIES OF CUSTOMS.

... £52,000,000

(A) Tobacco ••• _
(13) Sugar (at present) duties
(C) Distilled spirits, all kinds ••• ••
(D) Wines (at duties adjusted for revenue)
(E) Spices of all kinds ,„ •••
(F) Fruits of all kinds ••• •••
(G) Tea, at ls. the lb ... ••• ••
(U) Silk manufactures, and other articles of
luxury, at an ad valorem duty, exclud-
ing all raw materials, and articles of
food - - ..• ••• •••

£4,000,000
5,500,000
2,500,000
2,000,000
100,000
500,000
3,000,000

900,000

2.—EXCISE, UNDER ONE OFFICE, WITH STAMPS.
Spirits and malt ....£10,000,000 t
...
Licences ...
... ... 1,200,000
Stamps, legacy duty, and probates...
3. Post offiee, gross revenue •••
4. Crown lands (should give more)

11,200,000

... 7,500,000
~. 2,300,000
... 500,000

Total from ordinary sources ... £41,000,000
5. Duty of 5 per cent. upon the rents or
profits of all realised property, whether
funded, houses, lands, warehouses, docks,
East India Stock, Bank Stock, and all
stocks and shares whatever, bought and
sold in the market, which I estimate at
220 millions sterling per annum...

... 11,000,000

Total estimated revenue to meet esti-
mated expenditure ... ....£52,000,000
The last item of eleven millions will appear startling at
first sight to those who are not fully acquainted with
our taxation and sources of revenue. But I am pre •
pared to prove, as
the result of very laborious calcula-
tions, that it is by far the most equitable mode of levying
the balance of revenue which it is necessary to levy, ex.
elusive of duties on commodities, in order to meet the
expenditure.
In the first place, an income-tax—for all in-
comes temporary or permanent, yields ... £5,600,000
The other direct tax which I pro-
pose to abolish are window
taxes, and other assessed

taxes, exclusive of land-tax ...A2,818,000
Fire insurances ab,,ut 1,100,0001.
and duty on bricks 680,0004,
are in reality taxes on pro-
perty ...

... ... 1,760,000

4.598,000

Total

... £10,198,000