The Sun.
London, England, 1851-07-01 00:00:00

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......, , °.,...•••0•••••••.....u..0Y01.......a.......... 1 form that
opposition toethe principle upon which the alterations i. a_ factory, gr
the duties were made, which were to give the advantage tee able and at
the British shipowner over the foreign shipowner. He hope° 1 law should
that the Right Hon. Gentleman would give him some better
would i wo
znilpioDilsuachprii
explanation upon this point than anything he had as yet to believe
heard him give. Ile did not intend to ask rue Committee to about to en
divide upon the proposition, nor was be then l'ully prepared somparativ
to go into the whole question. He hoped that in 'a short these days
time he would be able to call their attention to the present eassions. •
state of their shipping interest, when this questicle
be put prominently forward for discussion. He woold then we at presi
have a better opportunity of showing how extrem,llY 'Fla:
politic it was for the Government to adopt the course Will"! Of raising
they proposed. In the meantime he wished to re Vein A'reaterthe
some explanation on the point from the Chancellor of ' the the greater
Exchequer. far from la'
The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER did not me 'an Vie mode (
to enter into any question of the navigation•laws. He I. al: I would 1
lieved that so far from any interest having suffered by ta 10 the Exeae
alteration in these duties, this alteration had proved most be ee at may till
neficial to the shipping interest as well as to the people gee duty,` or a
nerally. He was glad the Right Hon. Gentleman would• But althou
offer no opposition on this occasion, as no opposition had been
.oeleparatie
made on a former occasion when there had been a reduction ieeilspersua
of the timber duties. It would be a hardship if per.so ns were Ith Het
should
hhloevnllghcl
now to be called upon to pay the duty twice, as it heed been direct ta:
suggested. He begged to say that he never consider, ed the even the
law of 1846 as a final settlement of this question ; btref• that system, i
whenever an opportunity presented itself they ought I. I re- principle.
duce the duties on an article of such great important e as
able !_.•ninP?incii
timber for building and various other purposes. He was, .
to say that the importation of colonial woods had incre at. tied,
whilst that of foreign timber had fallen off. He refer'', ec.' to °P'ttNzll'ienaeeenc.P!'nableniies:
the circular of one of the largest timber dealers to show that ta •d be
the consumers had received the whole of the benefit of the b j.ation
reduction of the duty. Another, a large builder, told 1 lira 'establishesen abe
that the reduction of the duty made to him the difference ill e
the price of the roofing of a house.
Mr. MITCHELL was understood to say that to the con—
sumer the reduction in the prices of Baltic timber was 10s. a.
than a lei
load, whilst the reduction of the duty was only 7s. 6d. He' e_ that
could say that Canadian timber had increased in value since, !e, its orip
direct t
the reduction of the duty. He did not approve of the- attempts.
stunt its °rip
that were made to interfere with these arrangements, and he y, h,
told the Right Hon. Gentleman (Mr. Herries) that he .did not tereaorary
represent the shipping interest in this country on the present ?escary, o,
question; that the only persons opposed to the change. were rt.' hing
great shipping owners in Glasgow,
fleet of ships in Canada. You come f
who had built a great -Principle i
do •
Mr. HERRIES replied that the Hon. Gentleman was' en- f is that
+hely mistaken in thinking he was connected with in diVie °Unded ui
duals in Glasgow. There was neither truth nor justic ein ,
lahte.ed it, to
such an imputation. Representations had come to him on I Sea-, le
this subject from Ireland, great pores in England, and GI Is- ! Int rows:
had imir3set';
banavde Iva:
gory amongst the rest. As to the Right Hon. Gentleman tbe e aae4 if car
Chancellor of the Exchequer, he had not answered at all t. 'lO ' -` time, km
matter of objection that he had touched upon. "e MI ca
The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER explained. (Cheers P)
Mr. `YAWN objected that under the present system a ship. • by Sir lie'
could be built at Bremen duty free, and on arriving at a e introdu
port had all the advantages of a British register. Speech he
Mr. HUME, as a supporter of the repeal of the naviga-
tion-laws, complained of the heavy burdens impost'd upon alange
partiner(
the coasting trade by the lighthouse dues. Those: dues Itt'siolcratelc.eyuursaen.(,
ought to be put upon a different footing, as it had be en re- eemPorary
commended by two Committees of that House. The Board '
ftlaactillie.
of Trade could not be got to move, and the consequenc e was that t
their coasting trade was. destroyed—there was not-• only sea_nla e the
the loss of money, but there was the loss of a sups 4y
.of. .
seamen.
the t -
The Marquis of GRANBY maintained that the colonial
interest looked upon the agreement of 1846 as being fin'al; liehirtilhle"rfic
lve:uireenctheiri
and he could not now allow the Bill to pass without p ro-
testing against the injury inflicted by this system of legisihr . , _ year he sea
.I!xxitghwee:3EinxV
teen upon their colonies.
air. CARDWELL observed that the principle laid downi, , o
‘l'lleelesashinkouicnytd(l.
in 1849 was to remit duties upon all the great raw rmeterials: - a'''. fC
of manufactures. They had done this with cotton, silk, flax:- , •
wool; a d now a ship was the only article which was ad; '
mitted duty free when manufactured. and yet
a duty on the articles of which it was composed. He was' though a
very glad that in this Bill they were making a step in ed.- of the I
vance by lowering the duties on those articles. He wig- • fram,_ ,
gested that lancewood poles should be included with furiat- he eel'g e
aid fra
turn wood.
The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER promised t 0 , time for a
consider the question upon the bringing up the report.
Mr. A. BAILLIE observed that the reduction of the timber cannot co
duty was no advantage to the agriculture of this country. on
Our fin
There never was a time within the last 100 years in which . impost
native timber was so unsaleable as the present moment.--
(Hear.) He had occasion lately to refer to the sale of timaer . pas li:etT
for the last 100 years, and he found that, while almost every
other article had risen in value, the case was different as to
timber. an amour
The resolutions were then agreed to, the schedule amended, Plied to 1
the preamble arranged, and the Bill was ordered to be re.- (Hear, 1
ported with amendments. since th
INHABITED HOUSE-DUTY BILL.—FINANCIAL RE- p a
, art of
SOLUTION. templatic
Upon the motion of the CHANCELLOR of the EXCHE- But I _
QUER that the House resolve itself into Committee on this the HourBill
• When I
Mr. DISRAELI said—The Hon. Gentleman the Member aehiev
erc
for Bridport (Mr. Mitchell) has very unexpectedly made a dalged in
very unfair attack upon me. The Hon. Gentleman seems the eornr
to suppose that it is not legitimate in a Memberof this Hausa elnlwhi
to question the propriety of any vote at which this House - e (Hear,danger,
aht
may have arrived; that if once its opinion is expressed. in dangers
that manner— taatropb,
Mr. MITCHELL—Without opposition. they hay
mortal
Mr. DISRAELI—Yes, without opposition—for lam not Andy'. )
1. ea
aware that the explanation of the Hon. Member makes any , it is re,
change in the question he thus raises, or in the principle for . tfheaattu.lrieui
which he contends.—(Hear.) Does the Hon. Gentleman t 11? ece
mean to say that a vote of this House is equivalent to an thr:f'4evt9e
Act of Parliament? Such it is not in the contemplation, • templet
of the Legislature.- (Hear.) It has always been suppose°. Would e•
that when a Ministry came forward and requested of this coropaa
House to sanction an alteration in the tariff it did so under thee_
circumstances that had been so well matured and considered arid root
that there was the prospect that its proposition would be fairly cc
adopted with so much certainty that the country might' giai
Derail), assume that the vote which it had called for veeu,d. (Rear )
afterwards be ratified in the form of a Bill. No doubt would baps ' .
generally be entertained that such an anticipation woe,' ' az;, eat
afterwards be justified by the act. Still it never has been 4 inc,
supposed that a vote of this House on the tariff could be re- souse t(
garded as eoual to a solemn decision by an Act of the Legis- that thiE
lature —(Hear.) What, then, has happened in this session? consider
than et 1
What are the circumstances that have occurred? This
[louse has been called upon to assent to certain alterations • founded
in the tariff under quite different circumstances from !Pon th
eeeee
the circumstances under which the Bill is now brought
arils
before the House, and which Bill is the consequence of the . teed, wi
vote on the tariff. The circumstances of the revenue are cilele wt
almost entirely changed between the one period and the other. the sari
Is there not the proof that the condition of the revenue of this aPalicat
country to a certain degree is now in a precarious position, . say nail
and that the surplus which was announced by the Minister at Sur now
the commencement of the session, and which as a surplus he
distributed in the mode which seemed best to him —one of the fins
hese being the remission of the timber duties referred to by corned,
the Hon. Gentleman—but that since that proposition was analysis
made the surplus that had been calculated upon as certain that i
has become essentially provisional.—(Hear.) Under these sent . n
circumstances, then, I thought I was not taking an unusual assume
course; but, on the contrary, that I was taking one which is surplus
in accordance with the customs of this House - that is, not dependa
only actually proper, but called for. Before this House is Chance
prorogued, and that we are sent back to our constituents, %vete
this House, the country, and our constituents should clearly eturelus
understand what is their financial position.—(Hear, hear.) false, d
It has ale ays been considered that that was a topic on which intendi
it was most important that we should possess the most clear of will
conceptions ; it always was considered that that subject was (Hear,
peculiarly the care of the House of Commons. If we re- three r
turn to our constituents now we may give them, as regard/3 • Minor
the exercise of our functions, a very clear, and, upon the sition 1
whole, I hope, a very satisfactory account. When the House " for me
met it announced to us that one important interest in Oil Windo,
country was suffering great distress. As to the causes of ' aeocial,
that distress Gentlemen in this House were divided; but no ' I Mai
doubt was entertained that the subject was one of great in- Windo
terest and importance. And no one can deny that it has regret
been discussed amply this session, and that the House by con- flatly
siderable numbers on both sides, who by their speeches or their had it
votes manifested an interest in that subject, has shown the , Piaci,
constituencies of the country that it has taken care to arrive the pi
at a distinct and definite conclusion on the subject.—(llearf a surf
hear.) So, also, with that all interesting subject, the Papal - ing a
aggression. Whatever may be the contrary opinions of hear.'
Members of this House, there is no doubt that we have pure • ranch
sued a course which has conducted us to a result which the , fatale
country can understand.—(Hear.) Government, for in- entree
stance, has brought in a Bill which they considered all what
efficient Bill, but which, on this side of the House, was not most
considered to be an efficient Bill; and the united efforts of than
the two parties- in the House, which the country must ac- class,
knowledge, even if it does not realise that which it expected, the a
have at least produced a piece of legislation which is clear possi
in its object and definite in the results it wishes to attain.--• and •1
(Hear.) But if you come to the question of finance, ',defy resot
any Member of Parliament to go back to his constituents Stan
and tell them clearly what is the condition of our finances.-e- ' dwel
(Hear.) a
ear.)Yhether we have a surplus or whether we. have whic
surplus; Whether the winces of our revenue are pea• lion
manent or whether they are fleeting; whether
they are pro- iecte
visional, and, if provisional, whether they are provided for wits
a time so brief that, before another year shall have elapsed, upa
the principal features of our financial system may be changed. the
On this topic, then—the revenue of the country, which de.w tam
pends upon the taxation of the subject—we are not in a do i
position at the present moment to speak with that satisfac' win
tory certainty which our constituents have a right to expect afte
and to demand from us. Sir, it was with this view tax
of the case that I have thought it my duty to endea- tha
deavour to induce the House of Commons to enter into a con
discussion upon the present state of the finances of the the
country—a discussion limited to that interesting and im-
der
portant topic, admitting no extraneous matter; and indeed
raet
hir.:aiuti
introduced
niaoet
and
odtt
dhwahenhe
eiuedhnt subjectunimpassioned
hpoa
sdpose commandi nomon tea
dy ti
beshpei, requireiedtt:
attention
discussed
eeelndxatei
ntrtar;
teahae extraneous
taulostn House.naa
aty aid,
I t
chi
I i
thetilmet ter to
is
no
tio
shallpart havewith all
no mdeeafenrienngcewpitlehcre beforeespe
respect to
thethe H
opinions
thioneswerhitchhenl ho
ell
that which I have attempted to express in the resolutions
ca
which I have laid on the table of the House. I shall ca.'
tainly set no example of admitting into this discussion an/ 'eh
eel
other considerations than those which are essentiallyfinancial, th
and I am persuaded, if the debate be conducted in that spirit, be
that, whatever may be the conclusion we arrive at, the dee h(
bate will be one which will pot discredit the House, but tend W
to satisfy the public.—(Hear, hear.) It is scarcely necessary to
for me to call the memory of the House to the financial state- di
ment of the Minister which was made • early this session. lel
The House was congratulated on the advantage of having s of
financial statement made when the House met early in Fe- g
bruary, but that financial statement, so far as its details h
are coucerned, and I will even say its principle, is not come ii
plated at the end of June.—(Hear, hear.) On that occra. (
sion the Chancellor of the Exchequer calculated that a sure 1
plus of about two millioas sterling was at his disposition;
and he stated to the House several remissions of, t
taxation, which, assisted by that surplus, irrespective of 1
maintaining a fund for the reduction of the public debt, he I
contemplated to accomplish. 'That surplus, I need not re- 1
mind the House, was assumed upon the fact that the House I
of Commons would renew the expiring tax upon income. •
Upon the assumption that that renewal would take place, 1
and for no inconsiderable time, not merely for a term of three
•
years, but until certain results were obtained, which the •
most sanguine cannot suppose are of easy or immediate se'
cemplisbment—upon the assumption of that law being re-
newed, the Chancellor of the Exchequer found himself ill
possession of this surplus. Now I would beg the attention of
the House—tor the consideration is important—to the cha-
racter of the tax the renewal of which was the basis of the
financial statement of the Minister. Considerable contro-
versy has often taken place as to the intentions of the emi-
nent Minister who first reintroduced the tax upon proper*"
and income into our modern financial system—considerable
controversy has subsisted as to the real intentions of Sir E-
Peel—whether in effect it was his intention originally that
the tax upon income should be a temporary tax, or whether
that was only a Parliamentary pretence under which he
wished to introduce a permanent feature of our financial
system. Now I wish to state my belief, and to adduce the
reason for that belief, that the object of Sir R. Peel in the intro:
duotion of the Sex non ,inOme wee a temporary olteot, iv