The Sun.
London, England, 1833-05-04 00:00:00

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tram an individual named John Ne
A Labouring Lessee of Cornwall,'."!
qual and unfair manner in which the
upon those who held tracts of land
short leases. The duty upon their
these instances amounted to 31. 55.,
rent was more than 101. and did not exceed 50/. Jere'
was another of the wicked injustices inflicted by the
horoughmongering Parliament upon the industrious classes.
The writer of this letter said that W. Peter, Esq , M.P.,
a landed proprietor, would assist him (Mr. Cobbett) in
is exertions to have those taxes repealed, and he hoped
e should have the Hon. Gentleman's assistance, although
he
smaugcrhe
great
turclatatnuesdsfeedirt.mo—fom(nAeoyrl
tatgtotaggbhee.ld e
andwa
corrected,the
variousbyofcountry;t
k
fall
ctithahoteeudgßh3 ant
n teft value,oE take andng:
,he estates of the landed proprietors into their own tlasads!
nd then an Act was passed (3 George IV.) providiii
that all assignments of mortgages should hear the sarn:.'
duty as the original mortgage. He would not say that this
Act was passed to screen the proprietors of large estates ;
.ut however that might be, the duty payable under it on
a mortgage of 200,0001. was not higher than that paid
upon a mortgage for 200/. Was it likely the Right Hon.
Gentleman would explain this, or could he, if he were to
thump the box ever so, prove that it was not unjust? His
next resolution related to mortgages, and was as follows:
" That in the rise of mortgages, bonds, and securities
every description, if the amount of the mortgages for
instance, be twenty-five pounds, the amount of the stdthr
is one pound, or eighty shillings per cent; but if tha'
amount of the mortgage be twenty thousand pounds, the
amount of the sta:np is twenty pound., or two shillings per
cent. ; that, in this case, the poor man pays foffy Herres se
much as the rich man; and that the stamp is no tilort
the amount of the mortgage be one hundred thoueted
pounds; so that, in a case like this, the poor min pays'
two hundred times as much tax as the rich man : and
that, in this case also, tie tax goes on increasing in weight
as the taxed person becomes poor."
Here was another case of injustice that being once heard
could never afterward, be robbed out from the memory ;
and here also the poor man was made to pay forty tunes as
much as the rich. The Hon. Member then read the
following resolutions:—
" That in the case of annuities, if the annuity be for
ten pounds, or under, the amount of the stamp is one
pound ; and that, in due proportion, an annuity of toao
thousand pounds ought to pay a stamp duty of tvere
hundred pounds; but instead of that, it pays a stamp detty
of only twenty-five pounds; and if the annuity be for tea+
thousand pounds, or any greater amount, it still pays a
stamp duty of only twenty-five pounds ; so that here the
poor man pays forty or fifty times as much tax as the
rich man ; and that, in this case also, the tax goes on
getting heavier and heavier as the parties become more
and more poor.
" That, in the case of promissory notes and bills
of exchange, not exceeding two months after date'?
if the sum be forty shillings, or above forty shit,
lings, and not exceeding five pounds five shillings,
the stamp is one shilling; and, in the same propor-
t on, the stamp on three thousand pounds ought to be
twenty-eight pounds eleven shillings ; but that It p.pt
only fifteen shillings ; and that for any higher sum the°.
stamp is no more than one pound five shillings, instead of
hieing, on ten thousand pounds, ninety-five pounds four
shillings ; and that, therefore, in the former case, while
the poor man pays nearly one pound per cent., the rich
man pays sixpence per cent. ; and in the latter case,
while the poor man pays nearly one pound per cent., the
rich man pays threepence per cent. ; and that, therefore,
in the first case, the poor man pays forty times as much as
the rich man, and, in the latter case, nearly eighty times
as much as the rich man ; and here, as in all the former
cases, the tax becomes heavier and heavier, as the tax-
payer becomes poorer and poorer ; and that, in bills of a
longer date than two months, the partiality is still greater,
and weighs still more heavily on the needy man.
" That, in the case of insurance of lives, where the
sum insured amounts to less than five hundred pounds, the
stamp is one pound ; that, if it amount to five hundred
pounds, the stamp is two pounds: that, if it amount to
five thousand pounds, or upwards, the stamp is five
pounds ; so that the man who insures ten thousand pounds
pays only one shilling per cent. ; while he who insures for
less than five hundred pounds, and suppose that to be three
hundred pounds, pays six shillings and eight pence per
cant. ; and thus the man of scanty means pays nearly
seven times as much as the man of wealth.
" That, in the case of receipts, if the sum be two
pounds, the stamp is twopence; if the slam be st thou-
sand pounds, the stamp is ten shiaings, when, in due
proportion, it ought to be four pounds three shillings and
lour-pence, that thus the poor man pays more than eight
times as much tax as the rich man; and if the sum go
on increasing to a hundred thousand, or a million pounds,
still the stamp is only ten shillings; and that for any sum
expressed to be in full of all demands, whether it be for
two pounds or a million, the stamp is always ten obi!.
lings; so that in this case it may be fairly said that the
poor man pays a thousand times as much as the rich.
" That, in the case of appraisements not exceeding the
value of fifty pounds in the value of the thing appraised,
the stamp is two-and-sixpence; that, if the thing appraised
exceeds five hundred pounds in value, though it amount
to a million of money or more, the stamp is but one
pound; so that here the tax falls almost wholly on per-
sons in the middle rank of life, and the estates of the
nobility and landed gentry are all nearly exempt : that ao
estate of the value of a hundred thousand pounds ought to
pay an appraisement stamp of two hundred and fifty pounds,
instead of the one pound which it now pays ; so that here
the people in the middle rank of life pay, in many cases,
two hundred and fifty times as much as the rich.
"That, by the aforesaid Act of the 55th George the
Third, the duty on deeds as expressed by the Act, limits
its operation to deeds containing no more than 2,160
words ; and the Act provide., that for every 1,080 words
beyond that number, there shall be a further duty of ono
pound ; and no difference is made as to this further duty,
be the amount of the thing conveyed what it may; so
that, in this respect, an estate of the value of an hundred
pounds pays as much duty as the estate of the value of a
million of money; and that it frequently happens that
the deed conveying the small estate requires a greater num-
ber of words than the deed conveying the large estate.
" That with regard to apprenticeships, the parents of
a poor boy who give no premium at all with him, have
two pounds to pay for the indentures and the counterpart;
that in this case, however, where nobody but tradesmen
are concerned, the stamp goes on gradually and fairly
from thirty pounds to a thousand pounds, a premium
under thirty pounds paying one pound stamp, and a thou-
sand pounds paying sixty pounds stamp ; because, in this
case, the nobility, clergy, and landed gentry are not con-
cerned; and here we may observe, that while the poor
boy's parents are thus taxed, the settlements made by the
rich, pay only a twenty-fire-shilling stamp on a thousand
pounds.
" That, according to the aforesaid Act, every transfer,
assignment, disposition, assignation, or re-conveyance of
any mortgage or wadset, had a duty imposed upon it, on
a certain od valorem scale ; so that the transfer, disposi-
tion, or assignation, &c., paid the same ad valorem duty
as was imposed on the original mortgage or wadset; but
that, by the last of the aforementioned Acts, viz., chapter
l 7 of the 3d of Geo. IV., an alteration was made in
this respect; and in such wise as to make the duty in all
ems whatsoever the same sum, namely, one pound fif-
teen shillings; so that the stamp on the transfer of a
mortgage of two hundred thousand pounds, or a million
of money, has, since the year last mentioned, been the
same as on the transfer of a mortgage of no more than
two hundred pounds ; thus compelling the tradesman, or
other small proprietor, to pay just the same amount of duty
yhaissicesst,amdpe-etdas:
"to tisheimaitdnobuyntt the
hundreds
nethe
dpstornoa
fn sttfhheero
utorsfa.
nnhsdifsse
rosfomf
pa 10.1
pounds.
"all
and instruments for making provisions for building, re-
pairing, tracts, ct et: total
mortgages,exemption f rcooninv et
or purchasing houses, and other buildings, for the
beneficed clergy on their benefices.
for "aITI bhoant
That by several Acts of Parliament, ending with 55
Geo. HI., chapter 142, which Act imposes duties on
dts,herceoois
things sold by auction, a duty of sevenpence in the pound
is imposed, in Great Britain, on the amount of the
sale of any interest in possession or reversion in any
freehold, customary, copyhold, or leasehold lands, tene-
ments, houses, or hereditaments, and on any share
or shares in the capital or joint stork of any
corporation or chartered company, and of any an-
nuities or sums of money charged thereon, and of any
ships and vessels, and of any reversionary interestat in
on thell
aublic funds, or of any plate or jewels ; but that
sales of furniture, fixtures, pictures,
books, bones, and
inlandowner or his tenant,
duty is only twopence in
w the first purchasers,
the
this duty all sales of gt ods
els
iarairaerl
pound ; and that from
and y
hererr ia
gises: dutyand oa all
one other
shilling gtheoodsa ntdh a c hPaotut whatever,wilile nn
wool, sold for the benefit of
t and all sales of wuods, coppitest
cattle, live or dead stock, and all unmannfactured pro-
tfeonre
mrneennt s
,or tithes, all sales of leases of

( PRICE 7-11.)

n stamps, amounting annually, in the aggregate, to up.
cards of seven millions a-ye ir, the utmost care has Leen
-then to exempt the nobility and great landed proprietors
from bearing any but a very small share of the burden;
ind further, to make the tax heavier and heavier, in pro-
aortion to the smallness of the amount of property on
which it is levied ; so that each tax goes on, pressing
heavier and heavier, from the very rich down to the very
'moor, as will clearly appear by a reference to the letter of
the said Acts,"
Nothing could be more unjust or unequal than this, and
his only hope was that the resn!t of this and the other
instances of oppression which he should be able to establish
As inflicted by those laws would induce the House to vote,
it all events, for the resolution with which he should con-
i•onclude• He now came to the next resolution, and it
appeared--

" That by the first of the said Acts, various duties en le-
gacies are imposed, applicable to different degrees of rela-
tionship between the legatees and the successors and the
deceased, beginning at one per cent., and going on to ten
per cent.: but that, from these duties all freehold property
is wholly exempt, and, therefore, from this tax, which is,
on an average, about three per cent., besides the probate
duty, on all other property in the kingdom left by will,
the estates of the nobility and landed gentry (including the
advowsons and lay-tithes) are exempted, while the father,
the mother, the child, of the fundholder, the tradesman,
' the farmer, or other person bequeathing personal property,
has one per cent, to pay on the amount of the legacy,
while a brother who has had a thousand pounds left him
by a brother, has thirty pounds to pay on this duty, and
while a distant relation of the deceased has, on a legacy
of the same amount, to pay one hundred pounds."
Here it would be seen that p4sonal property alone was
burdened with this impost, while real property was ex-
empted, and had not to pay a single farthing. Vas this
pair? Perhaps the Right Hon. Gentleman opposite (Mr.
Rice) would answer this statement. He might deny the
truth of it if he pleased, but although he had thrown down
the gauntlet, he (Mr. Cobbett) would defy him to answer
it.—(A laugh.) But the hardship of this part of the
case was beyond all conception, and would almost lead the
man who reflected upon it to imagine that the injustice it
caused must have been premeditated. He should wish to
believe that this was not the case, fo: he would be un-
willing to think even that the Members of Parliament
by whom such an Act was passed could have been
aware of the hardships it would inflict. The effect of
this tax was, that in many cases it swept the whole
property away from the unfortunate legatee, and left- the
intentions of the testator a dead letter. A correspondent of
his had written to him to say that he had been left an
annuity of 501. for his own life and that of his wife and
child, and the legacy duty he had to pay for it exceeded
1301. This was more than the amount of two years' an-
nuity, and before the poor man could enjoy the advantage
intended for him and his family, he was absolutely obliged
to go in debt to pay the tax upon it. Was not this ini-
quitous? But the noblemen and gentlemen by whom
such a law was made could not have been aware of its in-
justice ; but if they did not know it, it was time they
should, and that was precisely the object he had in view.
He now came to his next resolution :—.

" That, in regard to the probates of wills and letters of
administration on intestate succession, if the deceased leave
property above the value of 201., his successors have to
pay a stamp duty of 10F.—that is to say, at the rate of
21. per cent. on the value of the property ; but that, if
the party dying leave by will any sum from 30,000/. to
5 0001., the duty is only I/. 10s. per cent. ; and that, in
this case again, all freehold property is exempted."
It was undoubtedly true that the personal property of the
rich man paid this duty as well as that of the poor man,
but not, it was self-evident, in the same proportion. For
instance, the widow, or orphan, or fundholder, who was
left a sum of 1,000/., would have to pay 45/. as duty;
but the real property left by a bishop, although it might
be worth 300,0001., would pay nothing. He had heard
of an Hon. Baronet who had paid 15,000/. on 1,000,0001.
of money. This might appear an extravagant sum, and
it bad been stated that it was the largest sum ever paid as
duty by any one individual; but then it should be recol-
lected that if the Hon. Baronet had paid at the rate that
the middle classes of society were obliged to pay,
instead of paying 15,000/. he would have to pay double
that amount, namely, 30,0001. Here, again, the small
such bad to pay twice as much as the large. Was this
as it ought to be ? The Right Hon. Gentleman, perhaps,
would explain this. He had defied him (Mr. Cobbett) to
the combat ; but now, instead of treating them with me-
taphysics, he ought now to tell them why it was that the
man who got in this way 300,000/. should pay not quite
so much as the man who received 1,0001. If he (Mr.
Cobbett) had one acre of land, and another man had one
thousand acres, that man ought to pay one thousand times
as much as he paid; but, instead of this, be with one
acre was compelled to pay a thousand times as much as
the man with the one thousand acres. Was that not
something like confiscation of his little estate ? When he
brought forward the subject before, the Noble Lord (Al-
thorp) gave him a most satisfactory answer, and said,
that if real property were to be taxed in the same propor-
tion as personal property the result would be that the
whole of a real estate would pass through the hands
of the Government through the medium of taxation
in the course of one hundred years. But the Noble
Lord had altogether overlooked the effect of this
tax upon personal property. The nicest calculation
that ever had been made upon the subject was that
of the late Baron Mdziere, who clearly showed that
by the operation of these laws the whole of the personal
property of the kingdom would be swallowed up in the
shape of duties in the course of 116 years. If, then, this
WAS the case, where would be the injustice or hardship of
placing property of all kinds upon the same footing ?
Why should those who worked for their money be obliged
to pay in this manner, while landed proprietors were re-
lieved from the burden altogether? It was this most in-
tolerant and iniquitous tax which had rendered the families
of the middle classes less wealthy than they otherwise
would have been. Although he said this, he begged it to
be understood, that he had no wish that the landowners
should be deprived of their estates. He wished no wrong
to any class, but his main object was to have the middle
classes relieved from a burden which, in common justice,
they had no right to burr, by obliging every description of
property to contribute in the same proportion. Did they not
think that the middle classes had a right to say, " If our
property is taken from us in a given number of years, why
not also take the estates of the landowners from them in the
same way, for is it fair that they should be allowed to enjoy
their estates while we are deprived of the fruits of our
industry ?" This was a home question, and one that it
would be difficult to answer eatistactorily. Now common
rumour stated that the property to which the Earl of
Fitzwilliam succeeded was worth 180,0001. ; but did this
pay duty ? Oh,no. But ought it not to have paid it ? Ought
it not to have been charged as highly as the personal pro-
perty of a person belonging to the middle classes? He
(Mr, Cobbett) had no wish to see the Earl of Fitzwilliam
stripped of his property, but be certainly was anxious that
the properties of persons in the humbler walks of life
should not be wrested from them by means of an unjust
Act of Parliament. He now came to the article of con-
veyances of all descriptions, and his resolution on this part
of the subject was as follows :
" That, in the case of conveyances of all sorts, the duty
upon a thing of five pounds, or on anything under twenty
pounds value is ten shillings, and the duty upon a thing
of two hundred thou•and pounds value, or any sum above
tha►, is a thousand pounds ; so that, in the latter case it
may be less than ten shillings per cent. on the value of the
thing conveyed, and in the former case, if of five pounds
value, it is two hundred shillings per cent. on the value of
the thing conveyed; and thus, in this case, the poor man
pays twenty times as much tax as the rich man on pre-
cisely the same sort of property, and under the same Act
of Parliament • and that, as the Act will show, the weight
of the duty goes on increasing from ten shillings per cent.
to two hundred shillings per cent., exactly in the propor-
tion that the value of the property becomes smaller and
smaller in amount." _ .

His next resolution related to leases, and this would ex-
hibit another instance of the injustice that was done by
these Acts to the labouring classes, viz.

" That in the case of leases of lands, tene-
ments, &c., where the yearly rent is five pounds, the
starnp-duty is one pound, or twenty per cent. ; but where
the yearly rent is a thousand pounds, or any sum above
that, the stamp-duty is ten pounds, or one per cent. ;
and that the tax goes on, from four hundred a year rental
to five pounds a year rental, getting heavier and heavier,
but increasing in the email rentals in a most dispropor-
tionate manner."

la illustration of the hardship pointed out in his resolution
:he Hoe. Member read a letter which he Lad received

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