The Sun.
London, England, 1833-03-26 00:00:00

parish of Covent-gardeu, out of five hundred houses, in I
consequence of the pressure of assessed taxes, fifty were
empty, while 357 had refused to pay those taxes in con.
sequence of surcharges. He was one who had concurred
with the re-establishment of the standard, for he thought
it Wes right that it should be done, but then he said
to the Government, when they had done so, they ought to
hying the expenditure of the country down to the same
level. Had that been done, the present difficulty would
not have existed. In 1826 he showed the House that the
averaee income of the years 1814, 15, and 16, o hich was
sixty one millions, gave, actor ing to the then price of corn
13,800 000 quarters, while for the years 1824, 25. and 26,
when there had been a nominal reduction of 17,000,0001. in
the taxation, there had been an actual increa-e, for, ac •
cording to the then price of corn, it gave 17,000,437
quarters, being an increase of more than 10 per cent. If he
took the price of corn for the last year at 53s and slts per
quarter, it would be found that the taxes, valuing them as
corn, were heavier than in any of the preceding years.
--(Hear.) He contended that corn and bullion
would so regulate the general affairs of the country,
that they ought to be taken as a fair criterion of the state
of the country. There was one point ,o which he would
call the attention of the House as being of great importance.
He believed that poverty was one of the great causes
of crime. The average of five years, from
1805 to 1809. of persons commit!ed for offences was
4,692, while the average of the five years, from 1820 to
1825, had decreased to 13,000, and from 1828 to 1832
the average had been 18,764. If that was to be
taken as a criterion of dist' ess, it deserved great attention,
as showing the difficult es to which the people were re-
duced, and showing also the necessity of a large reduction of
tax salon, in order to give the people relief. They ought,
then, to take the view of the sto ject which had been re-
commended by the Finance Committee of 1828, and make
every reduction in the naval and military establishments
that was practieab'e. They were in the habit of looking
at the amount of those establishments in detail, but when
they summe t the whole together, it was surprising to see
the amount to which they swelled. This year, for in •
stance, they were -.deed to vote 27,000 men for the service
of the navy, 89,000 for the army, and between 8,000 'nil
9,000 for the marines. This was exclusive of militia,
yeomanry, and volunti ers, which cost the country at least
half a million sterling. He thought that 120.000 men
were quite disproportionate to the wants of the country,
and that the House would do well not to vote that force
for the present year, but, on the contrary, that they should
proceed to the reduction of taxation. He should wish
them to go back to the estimates of 1792, as a pattern
by which they should proceed, but they had been told
that it was imposs ble to make so great a reduction.—
(Hear, hear.) He, however, did not think so, for
the Finance Committee of 1828 thought that reduc-
tion in the navy was, at that time, not only possible but
necessary, though the number of the men voted for the
service of that year was only 16,000, marines included.
Yet now, though without any prospect of war, or of any
cause for our increased force, the question was, whether
they should vote 27,000 for the service of the present
year. Ministers ought certainly to have the confidence of
their supporters; but, at the same time, when there was
exhibited such a remarkable discrepancy between this year
anti another, it was proper and necessary that the House
should have every explanation they required befiire grant-
ing the estimates. The Hon. Member th n, on the sub-
ject of the navy estimates, referred to the opinion of the
G alant Officer (Sir George Cockburn), whose long expe-
rience gave the greatest weight to what he said. This
officer had been asked his opinion as to the keeping up
so large a force as 30,000 men. He s.id that nothing
but State necessity could justify it. He was then asked
what number of men he should consider necessary
and sufficient to be kept up in time of peace. He
had made an estimate. which altogether amounted to
about 16,000 men. This was the opinion of that Gal-
lant and most exp:rienced officer of the amount of force
requisite to be kept up in time of peace; and he (Mr.
Hume) would ask, what was there in the state of the
country at this moment which required the maintenance
of inure than a peace establishment? We had certainly
embroiled ourselves in meddling with Holland, but he
trusted that this unluckly affair would soon tie settled—
even if it were not, it would not require such a very large
naval force to be kept up. The present Administration
had call d themselves an economical one ; and very great
thing had been and were expected of them ; yet it was a
tact that a larger naval and military force than ever,was
kept up by them. The Duke of Wellington's estimates
were considerably exceeded by those of the present
Ministers. In the Naval Service, 2,700 men had been
taken from the Preventive Service by Sir James Graham;
then these had been merely added to the Coast Guard.
This was, therefore, not a reduction, but a transfer from
the Admiralty to the Customs. In the year 1817, there
hail been a Finance Committee appointed; and if Hon.
,Members had an hour or two to spare, they could not
employ them better than in studying the Report of that
Finance Committee, where they would find the strongest
recommend itiono of strict economy—recommendations
which he was deeply grieved to see had not been attended
to. Then, if they looked at the speeches of Lord Castle-
reagh, they would find that Minister expressing his deep
regret at being unable, from the hostile demonstrations
displ iyed, and at miss kept tip by other European nations,
to make any reduction in the number of our force;
expressino, however, a determination to make the most
It.t.i ,ed reductions as soon as ever these hostile demonstra-
ti,ins should subside. Now, there were no such reasons
for keeping up au enormous military force n'.w ; yet it
was notorious that our naval and military establishments
were greater now than ever. Wi,h respect to the Marines,
these are now 10 000. where 5,000 were hereoforefiund
outfit-lent The number last year was 10,000, and this
year it was proposed to keep up a ho 'y of 9,000 Marines
—half on land and half at sea. Taking an average of
the number of .Marine., for six years, from 1817 to 1823,
it at geared that this aver age was only 20,000—not 4,000
each year ; but this year it was proposed to have 9,000.
Now, he should he glad to know what there tvas in the
sate of England, or in the state of Europe, to war-
rant the keeping up such a preposterous force.
There were full eleven thousand more seaman than could
possibly be made use of. These facts were a full answer
as to what rendered it necessary to levy such an enormous
and overwhelming amount of taxation from the people.
--(Hear, hear.) In the year 1823 there had been a
very large inctease in the number voted. Another year
the state of alines in India rendered a further increase
necessary ; and again, the state of Portugal called fur an
addition to the already enormous force, of some more
thousands. But here th re had, at least, been some
grounds alleged for the various increases. Now there was
no reasonalile pretence for keeping up such a preposterous
larce; everything was quiet, and none of the causes
' which had been assigned for firmer additions could now
be brought forward ; and, indeed, if we had not so un-
warrantsbly and blarneebly taken upon ourselves to meddle
and make in the affairs of other people—(Hear, heir)—
we should not have occasion to keep up a greater force
than 16,000, or at the utmost 20,000. The Noble
Lord pt °posed to the House a vote for 27 000 ; but he
(Mr. flume) would strongly urge that the greatest amount
that tney ought to vote would be 20,000 It was true
that we were obliged to keep up a force in Portugal
at the present time, hut this was fur the purpose
of protecting our merchant property there. He
should earnestly entreat the House, before they
voted for these estimates, to show the Government
and the people by a large majority, their full determination
to make large r eductions in the taxes; the army and navy
being the cause of so great a portion of those taxes, must,
consequently, undergo a proportionate reduction ; and
both these departments, particularly the former, would
admit of a very large decrease in numbers. He did nor
mean to go took so far as 1792 fur is standard, though,
as the whole of the troops, including toose stationed in
Ireland, consisted but of 45,24-2 men, he did not see
why there should be a larger force kept up now, when
there was less occasion titan ever for large establishments.
Speaking of Ireland, he could not hut express a feeling of
deep regret at the apathetic indifference with which the
English people had for the last twen'y years suff rid
themselves to be taxed for the support of eleven or twelve
thous mil soldiers in Ireland, kept there too for the main-
tenence of despotism and tyranny.—(Hear.) The number
of our troops Was gradualk increasing up to the year 1824,
when their number was 73 000 ; but our army was never
so great as at present, since those years when we required
such large forces to be kept up in France. At the pre-
sent period, even making an allowance foe the additional
„„hoika, there can be no possible necessity for any force
above 55,000 ; but as to the number of forces proposed
to be kept up by Ministers, amountino, to no less than
89,000, he conceived such a proposition to be monstrous,
and one to which the House ought never to give
its consent, In another branch of this department, where
a force of 4,000 had been hitherto found quite adtquare
fur every purpose, the present Ministers required 8 800.
The whole amount of men composing the three descriptions
of our forces exceeded 120 000. Adding to this number
the military staff, the volunteers, and the yeomanry,
making altogether an additional armed force of nearly
60,000 men, there would altogether be found to be the
tnoi mous body of 180,000 armed men. There could he
no possible necessity or excuse for maintaining such a
monstrous force as this. There must be a decided and
a tfectual reduction in their numbers ; it would be no use
to strike off a tivarter-tuasttr here, or a drummer boy