The Sun.
London, England, 1833-02-19 00:00:00

which the taxes had been calculated Wei diminished. As
to what had been said about the duty on the transfer of
f'reeholda, the Hon. Member should recollect that the ex-
pense of conveying freehold property was greater than on
the transfer of personal property.—(Hear.) That was
one of the reasons on which the amount of duty was
small. Another ground was, that if the legacy duty on
the landed property of the country was considerable, the
whole of that property in a little more than a century
would get into the hands of the Government.—(Hear.) He
was not answerable for Acts of Parliament passed in 1515
—(Hear)—but he believed that what he had stated was
then, and had been since, the reason given for the
enactments in question. With respect to the stamp duties
altogether, ever since he had been in office, he had wished
to bring them under the consideration of Parliament.—
(Hear, hear.) The Bills on the subject were prepared
Uear)_btse he would leave Hen. Members to guess how
much was to done, when he told them that 240 Acts re-
quired to be consolidated. There were 11 Acts to be
passed, and he appealed to any one Hon Member, espe-
cially if that lion. Member had had a seat in the last
Parliament, whether, in the state of things that had
ex:sted within the last two years, it would have been an
easy matter to pass 11 Bills through Parliament.—( Hear.)
He was not ri.ev under the same difficulties, and either
himself or some other person connected with the Govern-
ment would be prepared to bring the subject of the stamp
duties under consideration. The Hon. Member would
then have the opportunity of discussing the difference of
the scale of euties. He agreed, in some measure, with
the Hon. Member, that some of the duties on the lower
sums were too high, and that some alteration was feces_
nary.—(Hear, hear.) But he did not think that such an
teteration as the Hon. Member seemed to want Aught to
be made; nor did he believe that the Hon. Metnber him-
self, on a fuller consideration of the matter, and after hear-
ing all that could be said, would entertain exactly his pre-
sent opinions. He (Lord Althorp) should object to agree-
ing to the present resolution, taking as it did the Hiau•e by
surprise ; but he hoped and trusted that at another time,
and in a more regular manner, the subject would come fairly
under the consideration of the House. With respect to
the matter mentioned by the Hon. Seconder, the Member
tor Cork, as to the taking off the Glass Duty, he had no
limitation in declaring that his wish had been to take off
the duty on that manufacture ; but he was bound to say,
that after the taxes which had been repealed, and consi-
dering the situation in which we now stood, he could not
make any promise as to the removal of that duty. The
fh n. Member for Oldham bad rep,esentel that the stamp
ditties pressed on the poorest classes of the people. On
the poor, but not on the poorest, he admitted that they did.
—(Some Hon. Member said across the table, " Indirectly
they press upon the poorest.") Why, it was impossible
to invent any tax that directly or indirectly would not
press upon every class in the community. All must have
that effect. He confessed that if he had his choice, there
were others which bore more directly on the industry and
comforts of the poor, that he should prefer seeing taken
off.—(Hear, hear.) He did not suppose, but that if he
went over the statement of the Hon. Member for Oldhern,
he should find it correct as to the facts stated ; but he
must say, that he did not agree with that Hon. Member in
his inferences. It might be true that the effect of these
taxes was what the Hon. Member described it ; but he
could not agree that they had been impt-sed in an unequal
manner with the view and intention of relieving the rich
and pressing on the poor. If that was their effect, it was
most unfertunate ; but he must think that the Hon.
Member had in some degree exaggerated the inequality and
its consequences.
Mr. O'CONNELL said, it seemed to him that the case
had be:-n made stronger by the observations of the Noble
Lord than it had been left by the statement of the Hon.
Member; for the statement of the Noble Lord had, in
effect, shown that there were ether taxes in which the
same inequality existed. That inequality did oppress the
poor. He could not agree with the Noble Lord that the
poorest ci trts were not oppressed by these taxes, for every
man who wanted to rent a tenement of M. a year—(and
wretched indeed must he be who in England did not rent
a tenement as good as that)—every such man was op-
pressed by these taxes.—(Cties ot " Hear, hear.") He
hoped that the Noble Loid would consent to a Com-
mittee; for to come and tell them that there were eleven
Acts of Parliament, and that they should be brought in
it some other time, was nor affording that practical relief
which the people of England were entitled to expect. He
should suggest to the Hon. Member for Oldham to with-
draw this resolution, and bring it forward in another
shape.

Mr. HUNIE also recommended the Hon. Member for
Oldham to pursue that course.

Mr. D. W. HARVEY had never, since he had had a
ReAt in that House, heard from any Hon. Member so
straightforward a statement as that which the Hon.
Member for Oldham had just made. He heartily con-
curred with the object of the motion.
Mr. ROBINSON thought it would be more easy to
find olij,ct:ons in point of form to the motion of the Hon.
Member for Oldham, than to answer it in substance. He
wished to suggest that, instead of having a Committee on
the Stamp Acts, they should have a Committee upon the
taxes generally. He asked the Hon. Member for Old-
bent not to embarrass the proceedings of the House, by
pressing his motion to a division to-night.
Mr. COBBETT should be guided in his course by that
which he thought most conducive to the good of the coun-
try, without much regard to the convenience of the House,
and none to the consideration of what might be for or
against his own character. He wished to make two or
three remarks en what had fallen from the Noble Lord.—
(Order.)
The SPEAKER intimated that the present was not the
fit occasion, according to the forms of the House.;
Mr. FAITHFUL hoped that the motion would not be
withdrawn.

Mr. WARBURTON concurred in the principle of the
resolutions; and if now withdrawn, printed, and brought
forward on a future day, ha bad no doubt they would re-
ceive fuller and more satisfactory attentio❑ than if they
were now pressed to a division.
A MEMBER under the Gallery suegested that they
should be separated, and that the proposal for inquiry
should stand by itself'.
Mr. LLOYD recommended the adoption of the sugges-
tion of the lion. Member for Middlesex.

Mr. RUTHVEN declared that, although he approved
of the principle of the resolutions, he would not thus
hastily and prematurely vote for them.
Strangers were ordered to withdraw, hut Mr. Cobhett
consenter not to press the question at present.