The Sun.
London, England, 1851-02-18 00:00:00

THE SUN,

for the limited time the renewal of the income-tax
should take place, that the same exemption should be
renewed with respect to Ireland as it had hitherto
been.—(Hear, hear, and cries of " No, no.")
Because I believe, after the shock which
property had had in that country, that such a course
would be the wisest and best.—(Hear, hear.) Added to
that, I think it would be under tho circumstances
impolitic and cruel not to make that exemp-
tion.—(Hear, hear.) I propose of course to re-
new for the same time the stamp duties in
Ireland as heretofore, and I propose to renew
the whole for the term of three years.
I will also ask the House to come to a decision upon this
important subject as early as possible, because it must
be obvious that the financial scheme of the year will
depend upon the renewal or non-renewal of the income-
tax.—(Hear, hear.) If the tax is renewed, then I shall
go on with the other measures I propose; but
if it is not, then it will give to those Gentlemen
who will fill the offices we have now the honour
to hold, time to consider the propositions they
should bring before the House.—{Laughter and cheers.)
Now, Sir, my Honourable Friend the Member
for Montrose asked me the other day to make
a return, or rather, perhaps, a motion, as
I understood him, of the different items of our
taxation, but my Hon. Friend hardly seemed aware that
ho had imposed upon me one of the hardest
tasks ever imposed upon the Chancellor of the
Exchequer—(Hear, hear, and laughter)—because upon
this subject the most learned people differed.—(Loud
and continued laughter.) One party stated that he
thought the malt-tax was paid by the producer
of barley. Now, lam of opinion that the malt duty
is paid by the consumers of ale.--(Laughter.) Then,
with respect to tobacco, it seems to be thought
that the duty upon it was inflicted upon the
occupiers of land. Never was there a greater
fallacy; why, the fact was, that the duty was upon the
foreign producer. Then, with respect to tithes, a great
difference of opinion existed. It must therefore be clear
to my Hon. Friend that he has called upon me to
produce a return, to do which the greatest difficulty
existed.—(Hear, hear.) I am willing to state my
impression on any question I can to the
House, and acting in that spirit I have had
prepared a return of the many items of taxation,
and am prepared to state what that document is to
the House, in order that it may afford Gentle-
men some notion of what course I should pursue.
I have taken the finance account up to January last.
I have taken the gross receipts of Customs, merely
taking the amount paid in daty. I have taken the same
course with regard to the Excise, making certain
omissions. First of ail, I have taken the
revenue on articles of food, butler, cheese, oranges,
sugar, and many other things, producing an
income of 20,000,000 L, then I have taken the Excise,
tobacco, spirits, &c., which produced nearly 11,000,0001.,
so that it . will be perceived that the whole pro-
duce derived from what we eat, drink, and
smoke is 31,820,7281.—(Great laughter.) On gloves,
books, opium and other articles of similar manu-
facture, the returns were 246,2481., showing an advan-
tage on that department of 764,000/. Then I come to
the landed classes, people of property, on whom were
levied bills of exchanges and the costs for leases,
and all the other charges to which land
was liable, and that I find, including property
tax, to amount to 35,100,0371. The trading classes
have their own peculiar burthe,ns--there are bills
of exchange, promissory notes, insurances, and all
the various charges to which a trading community
is liable. These I find have produced about 4,650,0001.
Then, I think that railways ought to bear
their fitting proportion; the ways and means
by them bring in 648,0001., making a total
income from similar sources of 1,491,000/.—(Hear,
hear.) The whole amount of public income derived from
the trading and landed classes is consequently about
12,459,0001., and from parochial rates something more
than 13,000,0001. Now with the 13,000,000/. derived from
parochial rates I have nothing to do. The amount,
then, with which I am justified in dealing is
45,415,0001., so that, in fact, if I were only to
take the surplus, and allow the income-tax to die
out, there would be a deficiency instead of a surplus, and
the only sum with which I could deal would be 850,0001.
Hon. Gentlemen would remember the different circum-
stances that prevailed in 1845 and 1848. If the difficulty
was great in 1848, how greatly was it increased in 1849.
If such was the case then greater reason prevails now,
and I am, I conceive, perfectly justified at the
present time in adopting the expedient of 1845.
Having thus stated the general position of our taxation,
I:should wish to say ajew words on a proposal which
I see was brought forward elsewhere, namely, that there
should be an equal or a new division of taxation. Now
I think, in the present state of the House, such a result
as this would be difficult to arrive at, because I appre-
hend my lien. Friends behind me are anxious to remove
duties from articles of consumption and the materials of
raw manufactures, and re-impose them directly upon
the accumulated property of the couutry—(Elear)
while Honourable Gentlemen opposite, judging from
what they say, will be equally anxious to remove
taxes from property, and impose them in some
other shape.—(Hear, hear.) I do not think there-
fore that any large scheme of this sort would meet
with the general favour of the House.—(Hear, hear.)
An Hon. Friend cef mine has also observed elsewhere,
that the surplus we have in hand results from an increase
in our taxation.—(Hear, hear.) Now, Sir, I do not
think this :is the case—(Hear, hear)—but the Hon.
Gentleman followed up his remark with a proposal that
there should be a general change in our mode of levying
the taxes.—(llear, hear.) It may be said, however, of
finance as of politics, that sudden revolutions are inju-
rious, though in 1842 I agreed to a change in our fiscal
system, but the policy which was then commenced I
believe is now firmly established, and instead
of reversing it we ought to pursue it, year by
year, until those principles propounded in 1542 arc fully
developed.—(Hear.) That was the course Government
had followed ever since it had come into office,
and I believe it is the course best calculated to
improve the interests of the country.—(Hear, hear.)
Now, Sir, having at the request 'of my Hon. Friend
behind me endeavoured to explain the whole tenure of
our taxation, and I hope not to the dissatisfaction
of the House, I will pass on to notice other
topics which it is desirable I should bring
under notice.—(Hear, hear.) I have stated that
the probable surplus of our taxation next year will be
1,890,0001. ; and it is necessary that I should here ad-
vert to a remark which I see was made elsewhere, to the
effect that we have had a lasting surplus without
any reduction in the taxes.—(Hear.) Now, I do not
think that is fair, considering what we really have done;
for if Eon. Gentlemen will compare the income of the
year 1847 with that of the year 1850, they will find that
there has been a great reduction of taxation in one way or
other, while there has been an increase in the revenue
of 739,0001., and a reduction in the cost of the army,
navy, and ordnance of the difference between 18,500,000/.
in 1847 and 15,391,000/. in 1850.—(Cheers.) The
reduction cf expenditure in the three years, therefore,
has, been no less than 3,100,000/.—(Cheers)—and I
think, after that, the House will do us the justice to say
that we have not been unmindful of economy.—
(Cheers.) Now, Sir, I come to the proposal I
shall make to the House, on the supposition
of course, that the income-tax is to be continued. In
the year 1845, Sir Robert Peel proposed to renew
the income-tax, and stated what ho should do if that
renewal was granted. I propose to follow his ex-
ample, and to state to the House what we are
prepared to do in the event of the House renewing the
income-tax.—(Hear, hear.) Of course it is obvious to
everybody that what we propose to do must fall to the
ground if the income-tax is not renewed.--
(Hear, hear.) Now I think the first claim
upon us points to some reduction of our debt.--(Cheers.)
I stated last year that since the year 1830 wo had bor-
rowed 35,000,000/. ; we have since then paid off
8,000,0001., and therefore up to this time, in 20 years, we
have increased our debt by 27,000,000/, and I do not think
we ought to stop short now in endeavouring to reduce
that sum.—(Hear, hear.) I am one of those who
think we ought to make great efforts for the re-
duction of our debt. I do think that year
by year, as we maintain a reasonable surplus, we ought
at the same time to make some reduction, however
slight, in the debt.—(Elear, hear.) Now, I am
happy to say that in the course of the last
year we have paid off the amount we borrowed two

years ago.—(Hear, hear.) The House will remember
that in the year 1846, we borrowed 2,000,0001., and on
the sth of January; last we had not only paid off that
sum, but the interest too, making together 2,330,0001.
The House will admit that it would be essential to main-

tain a certain portion of the surplus in order to reduce
the amount of taxation. lam not disposed to put that
portion very high. I stated some years ago, when I sat
on the other side of the House, and I have not since changed
my opinions, that I thought in round numbers one-
fiftieth part of this income should ha held back to pay
off the national debt. Now, with regard to the surplus
available for the reduction of taxation I have had a
great number of applicants. I believe within the last
month I have received deputations on the subject of
every description of taxes, all stating that the particular
taxes which they paid were the most partial, iniquitous,
and unjust. Some Hon. Gentlemen in this House came
with more than one deputation, and yet made the very
Same statement on different taxes, any one of which, if
repealed, would have absorbed more than the whole
surplus.—(ilear, and laughter.) Among these various
taxes I had to decide which, on the whole,
if repealed, would benefit the country. It is
quite obvious that it would be perfectly impossible for
me to reduce taxation to anything like the amount
stated; but I hope parties will give me credit that
I am desirous at the earliest possible opportu-
nity to remove the different inequalities of
the particular taxes of which they complained.
I fully admit there were many claimants whom I should
have ben glad to meet if I had had a larger surplus.
Their claims are postponed till a more favourable op-
portunity, but they must recollect somo taxes must
come off before others, and I hope they will think I am
proceeding in the direction they wish, and I only trust
that the revenue in future years will so increase as to
°agile the House to go further in the course
of reduction. I must say, of all tho claims
which have been put in, that which bears on the
the health, and the morals of the
li.ave.r classes ought first to demand our consideration. mean, at any rate, such an alteration of the window
duties as is calculated to that end. Now, when I state
the amount of the window-tax is 1,856,0001.
a year, it must be obvious that ' an un-
conditional repeal of the window-tax would ab-
solve tho whole surplus which we have in our
possession; and I must confess, objectionable as any
Gentleman may think the tax, it would be most unjust
to the classes who pay other taxes, if the whole
surplus was used for such a reduction ; and I
Kill only observe that those objections to the
tax in a sanitary point of view might be alto-
getter reP2QTed withOUt a ref:l464(4a §Dy pot the