The Sun.
London, England, 1856-02-05 00:00:00

ASSAULTS UPON WOMEN.

Mr. DILLAVYN asked the Secretary of Stlte far the
neme Department whether theattention of Government
had been directed. to the insufficieney of the j..HVg a 4 it now
stands to raorass vi.,:ent aseaults upon women and chit-
and whether it was their intention to propose any
measure to Parliament to aa.end the law relating to such

offencea ?
Sir G. GREY said the insufficiency of the law had no'
been proiled ; and it was not the intention of Govern
went to Make any alteration in the uresent law.
COUNTY COURTS.

Mr. -KEATING asked the Secretary of State for the
Home Department whether it was the intention of her
Majesty's Government to introduce in the preient ses-
sion any measure founded upon the report of the com-
mission on county courts?
Sir G. GREY said a bill was in preparation.
PARTNERSHIP AMENDIIENT BILL.

In answer to an HoN. MEMBER,
Mood o❑ the paper 'for next
Mr. LOWE said if hon. members objected to proceed
Veld' Wednesday—o--nbaitixiisel7,ltlhicehPartnership Aineudraent and
the Joint-stock Amendment Bills—he should postpone
the consideration of them till another day.
THE LATE CLERK Or THE HOUSE.

Lord PA LMERSTON gave notice that te-morrow he
should propose a vote of thanks to Mr. W. Ley, the
late Clerk of the House.
PASSING TOLLS AND LOCAL DUES ON SHIPPING.
On the motion of Mr. LOWE,
The house resolved itself into a committee on the acts re•
lating to merchant shipping.
Mr. LOWE, in moving for leave to hring in a bill fir the
abolition of passing tolls and the regulation of local dues, ob-
served that the questions relating to the mercantile marine_
had occupied much of his attention. When tho navigation
laws were repealed it became the obvious duty of the Govern-
ment to look into the condition of the British shipowners,
who ware exposed to unrestricted competition with foreign.,
shipowners, and to see that they wore iu no respect preju-
diced by laws imposed upon them during the time they en-
joyed protection ; and he must observe that it was only duo
to the gentlemen who had held the office of President of the
Board of Trade since that time to say that no department
of the State existed in which greater or more beneficial
reforms had been effected than in that regulating
the mercantile marine of the country. He would not
detain the house by a list of those reforms, but would men-
tion that since the time to which be had alluded all the laws
relating to shipping had been consolidated into one act, so
that every person whose business it was "to be acquainted
with those laws might become conversant with them by the
study of that act ; the claims of her Majesty's ships for sal-
vage, which formerly created so much difficulty and ill-
feelin 2., had been regulated ; masters and mates were now
subjected to examination being before entrusted with the
lives and property of her Majesty's subjects; an office bad
been created by which sailors were enabled on coming on
shore to receive, in respect of their ray, money orders, pay-
able at any port of the United Kingdom, by which thousands
of pounds wore annually saved, which otherwise would have
been thfown Eaway in the first orgie of recovered liberty ;

a machinery hal been provided. for the collection,
without expense to the seaman, of the wages !and
effects of deceased sailors, by which. an equal auuMnt,
that would otherwise have - been totally lost in ex-
penses, had been saved to their widows and families; and a
systems./ inquiry into wrecks, caused by misconduct or other-
wiee, had been. instituted, which had operated as a cheek4pon
piasters of vessels, and had been the means of introduleing
among them habits of sobriety and carefulness which had not
always existed before. Nor was this all :—receivers of Aim!.
ralty d nits had been created, and the Taws relating to salinge
• had been placed on a. touch more•satisfactory footing'; so that
in ease of salvage being claimed for veseels, or things.lost from '
Vessels, while the rights of the salvor were duly etteuded to,
they were prevented from seizing the wreck, huldiag-it, land
treating themselves as its owners, when they had uo colony of
right to do so: An important improvement had been etfeeted
in the matter of lightiouses. Time sum vested iu the Tri its
t
Corporation had been estimated at 105,0001. a-year, au so
wisely and prOvidentially had-it been employed, that new light-
houses were constantly being erected, great numbers in Scot-
la.nd and on different parts of the coast.' He merely mentioned
these samples of the activity which had prevailed in !the
Board of Trade ou this subject since the repeal of the navi-
gation laws, to show that in the measure which he was about
to propose he was only e,.ri ying out a series of important im-
provements al:eaCy begun. In the year 1852 the right hon.
gentleman the member for. .Buckinghamshire, who was then
.Chancellor of the Exchequer, in the speech which ho made
when he brought forward his budget, made serae remarks, to
the effect that-it seemed indispensable, when the principle of
unrestricted competition was establ.shed, that the shipping
intereist of the country should be relieved from the payment
of taxes for lights, and ex;.ressive of his opinion that all duties
levied under the name of passing tolls were vexations, griev-
ous, and opprCssive, .Thos , remarks led to the course adopted
by Lend Aberdeen's Government ou shipping. After their uc-
cession to power a commission issued Under the great seal,
empowering three commissioners to inquire into the local dues
• odshipping, and report to her Majesty: They investigated the
subject with groat diligence, end their report was the founda-
tion in almost every.respect of the bill li e was about to ask leave
'to intreduec. Trimlthis.bill,• and all that related -to it, the •
port of London was ex,2laded, because the City of London and
its aft:airs were already under the investigation of another
commission, which had since reported ; and its recommenda-
tions were strictly in accordance with those of the commission
whieh sat on local dues on shipping. To give some idea of the
magnitude of the subject, he would state that the total amount
of dues levied on ships in 1852, for harbours, and .alb other
purposes, was 1,095,396/. ; and of that amount there was ap-
plied to maritime purposes only 820,0991., leaving a balance
of taxation levied ou shipping, but not applied to shipping
purposes, of 275,2911. • It was with the appropriation of that
surplus that they were concerned. They had to inquire what
become of this 275,0001. annually drawn from the shipping of
this country, and whether it was jus; that it should continue
to be so drawn ; and if not, whether, and en what manner
they could remedy the injustice. The subject seemed simplo,
but it unfortunately branched off into almost infinite ramifica-
tions. The items making Up -this amount consisted principally
of passing tolls, which were tolls levied on ships passing a
harbour, but not entering it ; town dues, which were dues
levied on shipping by municipal corporations, but not de-
voted to municipal purposes; -charities, taxes-letiOd on ship-
ping, but applied to charitable purposes, not to those of
shipping ; and special taxes, such as were levied on ships tu
the ports of Dahlia and Cork by her Majesty's Customs,
and devoted in a great measure to the liquidation of debts
due to the. Consolidated Fund, with some small exceptions.
The amount of these taxes pretty nearly covered the sent
he had 'mentioned ; they amounted to 263,2041. - The figures,
ho stated; were those of 1852. Of course, from the great
increase of shipping an I commerce, they had very much
augmented since that time ; so that the real relief would to
mu Ai larger, by at least ten per cent., as computed by those
who knew best. Thus, the total of the taxes put down at
263 20S1. was estimated to amount, at • the present time, to
284,0001., and the statements he made with regard to payment
would require a similar increase. He had not employed the
latest returns because they were not complete. The first
charge lie had to consider was that of the passing tolls. They
were four in number, levied by the ports of Dover, Ramsgate,
Bridlington,, and Whitby. They amounted altogether; to
37,496/....Thupassing toll at Dover was levied on all ships,
and was computed to amount at the present time to about
12,0001. It was levied on all vessels not in ballast passing •
by Dover above 20 and leis than. 300 tons burthen, and
consisted of. a tax on all calm, stone, and other things.

This was a tax imposed for the benefit of one party upon
another party who derived no advantage from it, because the
port of Dover was not available as a port of refuge. It is dry
at low water and at high water it is only 7 feet in depth,
while for la hours out of the 24 it is inaccessible to vessels so
small as 150 tons' burden. Upon this toll, together with
other dues, is settled .a debt of 85,514/. The Admiralty is
making a large pier—in fact, a new harbour at Dover. Nov,
thoio tolls aro levied in respect of the old or inner harbour,
which, by the erection of time new harbour, wilt be rendered
of.very trivial important ). The commissioners have therefore
recommended that the Admiralty should take Dover harbour
altegethn• out of the hands of the local authorities, especially
as it is used principally for military, or, I may say, for politi-
cal purposes, and that the passing tolls should be abolished.
The next toll to which I will call the attention of the com-
mittee is the passing toll of Ramsgate, the amount of which
at the present time is about 14,050/. It is levied upon all
vessels laden with coal, or eulm, steno, and upon other
vessels above 20 tons burden, including foreign vessels. Rams-
gate affords the greatest aceonmio lation for shipping of all
these harbours, there being as lunch as eight feet in at low
water, although that depth is, of course, quite inadequate to
constitute a really good harbour of refuge. Its entrance is
narrow, it is difficult of access, it is looked upon as dangerous
by mariners, and the ships which pa-s-s by derive no benefit
from it. It is of use to shipping lying in the Downs, as they
are able to take refuge in it in ease of:1=113a, but it has
claim whatever us a harbour o' refuge upon the shipping
which passes by, and nothing Cale'.l)e more, unjust than' to
make that shipvinie pay for itfunaintenance. Repairs 'are
• going oilere which. have turned out £o be more costly and
troublesome than it was at first supposed they would be,
awl every estimate and every report which is made shows
that more and more is likely to be demanded. With a
view to mitigate the evil, various saveetious have
been made. The general effect of this bill is to transfer
the harbour to trustees,• together with certain dues
upon coals now levied at Ramsgate, itt order to keep up
a sufficient revenue after the abolition of the passing tolls.
The next harbour to which I shall refer is that of Bridlington,
It is inaccessible at low water, and a toll' is levied upon all
coal coming southward of id. por 26 tons of coals. The har-
bour has a narrow entrance, and is totally unfit for the pur-
pose If a harbour of refuge. The amount levied by it at the
preent time is 2,835/., and its debt is 28,8581. The passing
toll at Bridlington differs in one respect from the other pass-
ing tolls, for it will cease to exist in 1868. The last passing
toll to which I have to call the attention of the committee is
that of Whitby, to which the same remarks apply as I have
made with regard to the others. The h Lrbour is dry at low
water, it is unfitted for the purposes of a Barbour of refuge,
and it levies a tax wrio4 coal corning from the port of New-
castle—not, mean, from the. modern port upon which the
town is situate, but from the ancient port, including the town
of Sunderland. The amount of the toll is 4,111/ , the debt
Upon which is :32,720!. The total debts upon the two latter
lolls, including what I may call the charges iu embryo, such
as these for repairs of the harbours, amount to upwards of
60,0001; The next head of taxation upon shipping that 1
have to deal with is what aro called town dues. The dues
levied upon shipping by municipal corporations and town
authorities, by which I mean authorities having control over
lighting, paving, health, and such matters, and applied by
them, not to shipping purposes, but to their own purposes,
in England, Scotland, and Ireland, in the year 1852, was
182,0581., and is now probably little short of 200,0001. It
is difficult to trace the origin of these dues, Tim Crown had
an undisputed prerogative in earlier times to create petty cus-
..

. _
tome wherever it pleased, awl these customs were often
granted to corporations, and often to favourites of the Crown.
They were the objects of bargain and side, like any other kind
of property, and many of them by this means came into the
hands of municipal corporations.. They wore originally saddled
with a sort of trust for the maintenance of the harbours in re-
spect of which they were levied, and it is still the law of. Scot-
land—much to Vie credit of the jurisprudence of that coml-

try—that if a man be the propi:ieto; of a harbour he has an
implied trust to keep such harbour in repair. Bat in Bag-
laaathe r:ghts of property have always been more darab:o
and permanent than the duties imposed upon property. The
tendency among us, in cases in which trusts have eon created
upOn property, is for the property to remain, but for the trusts
or obligations upon it gradually to drop off. Such was the
case with regard to all these harbours. They gradually came
into the possession of the old self-electel corporations which
were destroyed by the Municipal Reform Bill, and these cor-
porations disposed of the rcvenuss much as they pleased.
Then came the Municipal Reform Bill, abolishing the old cor-
porations and substituting for them bo lies elected by the
people. It also seized upon all the corporate property and ap-
propriated it to corporetion purposes. The whole of the re-
venue to which the corporation was entiVed, whether derived
from the rent of estates or from the duties levied upan ship-

ping, or from any other sources, went into oue borough fund
and the 911 section of the act (sth and 6th of William IV.,
chap. 76) declared that this fund should first be applied to the
payment of debts, to the administration of local justice, and
to the maintenance of local police, and the surplus, if any
remained, was to be cxpendoi for the benefit of the inhabi-
tants of the town. Thus, by the operation of the Municipal
Corporations Act, in consequence, as I apprehend, of an
oversight on the part of those who prepared it, the tolls
levied upon shipping became part of the borough fund, and
were saddled with a trust for the benefit, not of the shipping,
but of the inhabitants of the town. Before that act was passed
the corporations were at liberty to do justice to the shipping,
if they pleased, by applying the money obtained from it to its
benefit; but they have since had no choice, and, therefore,
if I denounce as unjust the enormous gains derived by them

from this source, I shall do so without the slightest intention
of imputing iujustice to them in applying the money to bo-
rough purposes, as in doing so they only carried out the ex-
press directions of the act. Au example will be better than
env amount of disquisition to enable the committee •te nu-
dersta.ml the working of the present system. I will therefore
take the most pr3miuent instauee with which I am acquainted
—that of the great and opulent town of Liverpool. (Hear.)
I am not so sanguine as to imagine that the hen. gentlemen
who represent that important constituency will be persuaded
by anything I can say to yield their assent to the provisions
of this bill; and I will, therefore, state my case against them
at once, in order that the committee may understand the
great mistake under which they aro labouring. (A laugh.)
Liverpool is said to have acquired its (Ines by purchase-from
the family of Lord Sefton, about 100 years ago. The whole
amount of town dues appropriated to municipal purposes iu
England, Scotland, and Ireland is 163,0001., and of that
amount the municipal corporation of Liverpool levied in 1852
' by dues upon shipping no less than 105,2501. (Bear.) Out of
this they are obliged by law to apply to maritime purposes the
munificent sum of 4001. a year. (A laugh.) They are, however,
better thauthe law obliges them to be, for in that year they ap-
plied to those purposesuo less than 3,0441., the remain derbeing
expended for the benefit of the ratepayers of the berough.
The debt upon this sum amounts to 1,017,6961. The muni-
cipal revenue derived from rates levied in the borough and
from property belonging to the corporation is 103,325/., and
no doubt since 1852 the revenue derived from tax" upon
shipping has increased 22 per cent., and now amounts to about
125,000/. The value of rateable property in Liverpool is
1,400,V001. Besides the euormons tax I have mentioned, the
docks of Liverpool levy on the shipping 273,2841., the whole of
which is by no means paid for services conferred. A ship is
liable to pay if it discharges or takes in any cargo in the stream.
The steamer Sarah Sands, from America, was too heavily laden
to go into Birkenhead docks, and discharged part of her cargo
in two lighters. Stilt she was made liable to Liverpool docks for
P this, and paid 611.. The steamer Brazil took iu a fewpackages in
the stream, and paid 44/. to Liverpool docks. The severity of

mtc.tlyutBpiect:ihtdlsi,irlieit.eu6envieoaetaliyoki:ffisviinhli.oteiliteyaigen:lss.sioie.i:togrs.p
municipal
this tax is not to be exceeded, and what makes it worse is that
n
the Liverpool portexteuds from the river Dee to the Ribble, and
from the entrance of the Mersey to Runcorn. It extends also
to Birkenhead ; and Birkenhead and Runcorn have to,cen-
tribute to the Liverpool docks and town dues. It is a Come
plaint on the part of some that 'persons. in South Wales, }f,
they send coals thence to Runcorn, pay. a duty of 2d. per
ton, which is equal to the whole of the royalty demanded of
the owner of the coal; and, en the part of others, that'iron
from Scotland is soot by Fleetwood instead of Runcorn, to
avoid the duty of 3d. per ton.- 'The immunity of the freemen
of Liverpool from these duties is also complained of ; and it
is stated that a freemen was enabled to obl.aiu a certain eon,
tract in preference to .another person, because he got the
goods necessary for carrying out the oontraet toll free. This,
tural
are
c.
nvedifit
otpctittisrth,aaiuun),oelsiniseceibeieim:tic.untsnesiliial..iii
nhalcHiwtytte.otsjbeeau.itcinaliaaaislailr
ttlet,ir;oia.
hlvpliecafiecniejohae,sl.aylo)dnattaepil
(i,mil an for whose benefit the tolls are int-
pesed not contributing towards them, and being enabled
0001.
e, and
l
iously
her
s
ude
thereby successfully to compete with his neighbour.. In con-
sequence of these duties a great deal of trade is driven out of
ter,
ese
ll
three
acgi-eteloiytahoi.ogn
ittyetelwtotetas
allr..l\tiievys e.totfh,AttN,:alevitytoothoog.
htfigtustriieleLliu, jenowbu,aoysw spokenlllol
ev'Lnayileio;ditt(iNeii.oohhs
disad-
vantage vhanhosheet:e:
total of the to Wn dues is 118,500/- It
s
ably
only
loi I enormousivlyuo regulationssthey
heyi tribute
hfoarvethtdisturb
i:obsrtitthltisiee.abruleecifytooaiime.redy:
be-
causee
Liverpool pockets seine 100,0001. at the expense of
the shipping interest, that town is really a gainer to that
extent ;• for thesodues doter people from coming to it,
and cause •a circuitous mode of transit to be had
recearse to. [The right honourable gentleman next
referred to the large amount taken from the shipping
interest for the Trinity-liouees and for charities, by some
of which only the shipping interest was beaeiitteil
Taking the case of tintp.tell_ Trinity-house a. - an example,
the right lion, geetleenan- read the foll Owing stAtetuent :•;11,e-
ceipts-Tolls on ships and goods, 15,0011. 7s. 4d. ; til;'fereu-
tial dnes, consolidated find, 8,245/. 12s. lid. ; remaining
revenues from property, &c., .5,313/. 65.-total, 28,5631. 7s.
3d. Expenditure (accounted for)-Buoys, beacons, and
other shipping purposes, 5;113/. Is. 7d.; elder brethren and
assistants, 14 U.; almshouses, pensions and charities, 15,983/.
17s. 74.-total, 21,2401. 19s. 2d. Unaccounted for, 7,3191.
Bs. 15.] Thus, as regards this charity alone, the effect of the
measure will belto free the trade of Hull front a tax of 10,000/..
a-year, and the Consolid ited Fund from a charge 'of Mee*
the
ee
unjustoae
tienle: advantageyi)principle,la cf
eostfhtt oleigeefit.oitsit.
8,0001. a-year. Another subject worthy of attention is the
case of the Russia corporation. This company was originally
established by charter in the reign of Philip and Mary,.
on the old principled f monopoly of trade. It seems
to have been similar to the Levant and other trading
companies having a monopoly of trade with Russia, and
power of governing the persons engaged in it. Under these
powers certain tolls were established, which are still levied.
This company levies in Russia, at St. Petersburg, about
12,0001. on British shipping. If the war with Russia has
had no other good effect, it has, at all events, saved the
shipping interest from the payment of that sum. Of this
UMW. tle • stun of 1,4001. is for a Russian Customs' tax,
2,5001. is for British episcopal churches in Russia, and the
remaining 8,0001. or upwards is applied iu paying agents
at St. Petersburg and Cronstadt for communicating with
the Russian. Government (as if British merchants wore not
able to -communicate with the Government themselves), and
for other agency business, which, if wanted at all, ought to
be done and paid for by voluntary arrangement between the
merchant; and agent. Besides the foregoing, the company levy
in English ports on goods imported from Northern Russia
2,178/. By the accounts of the' company it appears that a '
portion of their money, every farthing of which is derived
from British shipping, except the interest on their savings
though I suppose those eavings were originally, derived from
the same ,ource-was expended in 1852 is the following mane
nor :-Salaries, &c., chaplains, 1,059/. 9s. 9d. ; ditto, agents,
500/. ; pensions t a widow and a clergyman, 150/. ; rent of
office, 50/. ; plate to gavernor, which is an annual charge,
85/.; courts and .committees, 2201. ; salary, &e., secretary,
3001 : ditto, sergeant, 30/. ; Custom-house expenses, 12/.
lls. Gd. ,• Sound. lists, 48/. Ge. tit. ; printing, &c., 14/. 7s. ;
postage, &e., 141. ss. ; ditto, Russia, 12/. 9s. Bd. ; stamp
duty on freedom, 14/. ; law expenses, 31. 18s. 6d. ; grant for
schools at St.- Petersburg, 100/. ; grant for organ at Moscow,
257. ; miscellaneous, 174/. 12s. 7d, ; housekeeper, 121. Os.
105. ; total, 2,894/. ls. 45. There is a charge of 25/. for au
organ at Moscow, a praiseworthy object no doubt, but one
which does not seem to have much to do with shipping. Then
there are the annual charges-such as 1,0001. a year for chap-
lains, and 3001. for secretary: Some of the extraordinery ex-
penses are rather peculiar: In 1838 there is a charge of 1931.
for an entert dunicut to the Russian Embassy on the occasion
of the (tieen's coronation, and, in 1839, there was an enter-
tainment to the Grand Puke Alexander, the present Emperor
of Russia, which cost 5951. There is 141. for expenses con-
nected with the receipt of his portrait; 2101. for engraving,
and 2001. for framing and embellishing the portrait of the late.
Emperor Nicholas. Last of all, there is 1001. for the church-
wardens at Moscow.. Wherever the seaman wont he seems to
have been consideied fair game. Something w•ts to be got put
of him, and, accordingly, innumerable corporations appear to
have lastoue 1 on him, and the funds which they have drawn
from him, they have considered themselvesat liberty to apply
just as they chose,.witho ut the slightest sense of respnusiiillity to
anybody. I will take another chmity-one which is conneeted
with the city of Landon, but which, as it is not included in the
report of the City Commissioners, will have to be dealt with
in this bill. It is the Marine Society, which in 1790,had trans-
ferred to it from the Westminster Fish-matket Trustees the
right of levying 2s, on every boat-load of fish which passes
the Nore. It is a society I believe of the most deserving
character, welch has f, e. its objec'c, the apprenticing of tae
children of destitute seamen, and I have not the sligittestovisn
to say
it recei

than 5,9891. qu .er
and 97G.'. to the inspector, who was appela_
forestalling and regrating. The charity only received3,slse,
so that the expenses of collection amounted to 42 per cent.
'I pass now to special taxes on shipping which aroicollected by
her Majesty's Customs, amounting to 13,8651. Of this sum the
greater part is collected at the harbour of Kiugstown, and
about 4001. is collected in the shape of entry dues at Cork. I
am not quite certain now asto the circumstances under which
this last sum is collected, whether they aro such as to call for
compensation, but I will take care to inform myself on the
point. I come now to the case of the differential dues. The
committee is uo doubt aware that many of these corporations
and charities have been in the habit of imposing differential
dues on shipping ; that is, higher dues on foreign vessels
than on those which are the property of British owners. Iu
1810 this country concludei a reciprocity treaty with Portu •
gal, and in 1815 with the United States ; but when these
treaties came to be put into operation it was found that these
localdues stood in the way. An' act was accordingly passed
which treating these dues in accordance with the political
econoinyof the time, as the property of the corpora,tioas fiy
which they were enjoyed, took away all power of levying
them in every case where these reciprocity treaties came lute
operation, but at the same time enabled the Treasury to give
compensation. This same principle of compensation was ex-
tended likewise to all reciprocity treaties then existing, or
which might afterwards be made. Under this act no less
than 52,7911. has been paid from the Consolidated Fund for
compensation for differential dues during the year 1855.
This compensation has increased very rapidly ; in 1845 it
wes 22,000/. ; in 1846, 27,003/. ; in 1847, 31,003. ; in 1848,
3.1,200/. ; in 1849, 52,000/. ; in 1853, 44,000/. ; and, uo
doubt, if allowed to go on increasing, it would soon amount
to 10),004. In the same way foreign vessels have been
obliged to pay higher for pilots than British vessels, and, as
the reciprocity treaties require the abolition of that privilege,
a large sum has been paid as compensation for that abolition.
The town of Liverpool received is 1852 6,500/. from the Con-
solidated Fund as compensation loss of these pilotage dues,
over and above the compensation for the differential dues ;
Newcastle received 3,5 V. for the pilotage and 6,000/. for
the differential dues, and'Hull 10,5001. for the dues and 501.
for pilotage. The question now cornea, how are we to deal
with all these charges ? And, first, as to the passing tolls. The
Government has no hesitation in saying that these tolls
ought in every instance to be abolished ; they rest on no
ground of justice or policy; on the contrary, they rest upon
claims which, now that the principles of taxation are better
understood, would be repudiated by every free citizen. The
true principle of taxatioe I take to be thii, and it is the guide
we have followed iu framing this bill, that it is only allowable
for a portion of a class or a division of the country to tax
itself for its own benefit, but that it has no right to tax its
neighbours or the community at. large. There is always a
question about the incidence of these dues. Part of them
undoubtedly fall on the shipping interest, which immediately
pays them, and part upon the consumer, but in the various
fluctuations of the market it cannot be denied that a great
portion of them must be paid by the shipping interest.
I look upon it that the parties concerned are the public at
large and the shipping interest. As to passing tolls, the bills
provide in the first instance that they shall be totally and
entirely abolished ; but they leave behind them a difficulty
as to dealing with the debts connected with them. At
Dover, where the toll is 12,030/. a year, the debt amounts
to no less a sum than 85,0001., which is charged upon this
toll and other property. We propose, and the Admiralty has
consented, that the Admiralty shall take the management of
that harbour, shall receive its revenue, with exception of
these tolls, and shall be liable fur its debt; so that those who
advanced the money will obtain, in exchange for the, securi y
of these tolls which are to bo abolished, that of the Gover-
nment. At Ramsgate there is no debt, but, what is almost
equivalent to it, large works
for the improvement of the harbour,h
improvementsgich
otii
onbfgeal believe
emot hunoeledif-ce2eh.
,seos'a7 to:
110;1;
propose that the cost of these
frayed partly out.of the income which is already vested in the
harbour authoritles of Ramsgate, portly
a-year, the product of a tax upon coals, to be transferred to
them from the town authorities by the operation of a subse-
quent portion of this bill, and partly out of certain new dues,
which it is suggested should be imposed. If these sums are
not sufficient, we must have recourse to some other fund to
make up the difference. tAt Bridlington there is a debt of
28,000/., and at Whitby a debt of 32,0001,, which will both
be paid out of the Consolidated Fund, and the payment of
which tt
thinkspassing
thattollsh
If
this
si these
saa
h
be abolished,
ea!d
any one
out of the Consolidated Fund, I \yid refer to the fact that, in
the speech I have already quoted, the. right hon. gentleman
the member for Buckinghamshire (Mr. Disraeli) recommended
that 100,000/. of the public revenue should be devoted to the
purpose of extinguishing these maritime dues ; and I will also
remind the house that the Government will be greatly a gainer
by the abolition of its payments on account of differential dues
to which I have referred. That disposes of the passing tolls.
The town dues, or dues levied upon shipping, and applied to
the purposes of municipal corporations, also appear to me to
be susceptible of very simple treatment. I grant that there is
legala right to these dues, because it has been given by
act of Parliament; but I cannot conceive upon what prin-
ciple, ese (equo et torso, a corporation can be justified in rais-
ing, by taxing the shipping which conies into its harbour,
stuns applied for the benefit, not of shipping, but of the rate-
payers:of the town. I have shown how injurious such a
practice is to the places where it obtains ; and I need only
add that the shipowner is clearly as much entitled to justice
as the ratepayer ; and that, as in the case of the ratepayer,
all sums raised by rates levied upon him arc applied to pur-
poses in
which he has an interest, so the shipowner has a
right to claim that all sums raised by taxes on shipping shall
be devoted to purposes in which shipping is interested. I
will put the case uo higher, and it seems to um that, put so,
it is impossible to answer it. Of course
this we
house
h h shall r
dof
vested interests; but over and over again as ea
e-
cided—and I think it will not go back from that decision—
that in this niatter there is the widest possible distinetioube-

„k,,,,,,„,,,,.
r
v....,.,..•,..,,,,
tween corporations er public bodies and private iiidiriduale: .._ fr*7 ;,,,,...7.
Mr. Hallam, a high authority on such points, says, in the.7,l-4:1,0.. 4:,V„,
first volume of his "Constitutional History of Englend,lthat 'lr-eet ereelie;s'ee
Parliament, although bound to respect the legal interest of a S
private persons, is not withheld by any such rule with regard
to corporations when it can be shown that the abolition of
such interests is for the public benefit, or that their reten-
tion would be unjust er impolitic. 1 therefore conclude
that we shall do no wrong whatever by relieving the shipping
interest from the payment of the enormous sum of 182,0001.
—probably now more than 200,000/.—a-year, wrung from
them by various corporations of England, Scotland, and
Ireland, and applied to matters in which it has no inte-
rest, and from which it derives no benefit whatever.
The matter is not, however, so simple as it might appear.
1 T e funds raised by these dues are charged with debts, and
the question raises what is to be done with the debts ?, Her
Majesty's Commissioners unhesitatingly. recommended that
where these debts had been contracted for town purposes in
which the shipping had no interest they should be trans-
ferred to the borough fund. To the justice of that recom-
mendation I cannot wholly subscribe. It seams to me that
the corporations, contracting debts on the faith of the re-
sponsibility Of these two funds—the borough fund, and that
raised by the dues on shipping—did ne more than they legally
Mielit and were bound to do for the interest of the boroughs;
and it would be a great hardship to make them liable for the
whole of debts which they would probably never have Ci)11-
(trActe I had they known that the revenue derived from taxiag
'ships was to cease. The prieci.ple we propose to adopt is
this :—As to the creditor there will be no change. He will
still have his remedy against either the borough fond or that
derived free' the duties on ships; but, as between these
funds, we propose to divide the debt iu proportion to their
respective amounts. We propose to take this sum—as the
borough fund, or the lund arising from the taxes on town
property; is to the fund arising from the taxation of shipping,
so shall be the portion of the debt horse by the borough flied
to that borne by the shipping dues fund. The debts charge-
able on town dues in common with other town revenues in
England, Scotland, and Ireland, are 2,576,3781. ; the town
dues on shipping, 182,058/. ; the remaining town revenues
are 416,010/, ; the sum, thereflre, is— as 416,0101. is to
182,0381., so will be the portion of 2,576,378/. which shall be
borne by the borough fund to that which shall be borne by
the shipping dues rend. The result of this will be, that the
portion to be borne by shipping will be 784,2721., and that
by other town revenues 1,860,001.; thus it will appear
that, if all corporatiohs were equally indebted, and all the
debts and all the dues could be accumulated into two funds,
the debts might be paid off in Uwe , years and a half. , Of
course, as the debts are unequal, this cannot be done. Of
the amount of town dues on shipping, 182,1581., we calcu-
late that 14,0001. must be applied to shipping purposes, and
the remainder. 168,158/.; will be at the disposal of the bill,
Now for the manlier in which we propose to carry out our
objects. We propose that these town dues, hitherto col-
leeeted.by..theenimieipal authorities, shall henceforth be.eol-
lected by the ce;Mmissioners of Customs ; and that in the
case of leases of these tolls the rent shall be paid over in the
same manner, saving any encumbrances which there may be
upon the leases. To facilitate the discharge of the debts,
every town authority shall be called upon to furnish to the
Board of Trade an account of its revenue for three years up
to the passing of this act, showing how much came from
shipping dues, and how much from other sources, upon the
receipt of which account the Board of Trade is to ascertain
the amount of debt to be borne by each species of revenue iu
the manner already mentioned, Creditors may use their right
to go against either fund ; but if one fund pays more than its
fair proportion of the debt it shah be reimbursed by the
other, We also provide for the formation of a sinking fund
to pay off the debt. It is evident that the sooner a eiertner-
ship of liability of this sort is.dissolved the better, and' to ac-
complish this dissolution, we provide a sinking fund to pay
off the debts, and also to facilitate any arrangement for bor-
rowing money and for other purposes. ”As regards such of
these dues as may not be required for the purposes of the
sinking fund or for the payment of interest, it is propoetsi
that there shall be reserved to the Queen a power of abolish-
ing or retaining them as she shall think fit, by an order iu
Council, the object being that the harbours may be iu no
danger of " starving," so to speak, through the sudden with-
d-awal of the funds on which they have been accustomed to
depend for support. In the interest of the creditor also, who
Might otherwise •be left without his remedy, it is desirable
that a power should be reserved of raising the dues anew in
case it should. be found necessary to do so, With respect
to charities, it is intended to apply to them the same rule
of treateueut to which municipal corporations are to be sub-
jected, with this difference, however, that in dealing wits•
charities we shall be relieved from the disturbing element of
debt. We propose to take the collection of the charitable
revenues out of the hands to which it is at present confided,
and to intrust ii to those of the Customs' authoriths who are
to 'be empowered to allocate of these funds as much as may be
required for strictly maritime purposes, to pay all pensious
already vested for life, and to abolish the remainder, or to
apply themes may be found necessary to shipping purposes.
The Trinity-house finds that it has under its control certain
liehttiouiee not within the jurisdiction of harbours, and it is
proposed to transfer the management of all such lighthouses
to the Triuity-house of Deptford Stroud, so as to make the
system of admiuistration as complete and uniform as pcsdble
As it is very possible that the c airsa proposed to be taken
under this bill may be assailed and resisted by arguments
founded on the old plea of vested rights, there is.a precedent
which, as I think, satisfactorily disposes of all such pre-
tences, and to that precedent 1 would especially direct the
attention of the house. In 1853 her Majesty's Government
made an application to the Trinity-house to discontinue the
practice of levying dues for charitable purposes. The Trinity-
house very properly took up the cause of the charitees, and
offered every possible opposition to the proposal of the Gee,
verninent. A correspondence ensued, from which I will take
the lib: r';,y of reading a few passages, which place the quce.
Mon in a very clear light, and vindicate a principle which
was noeonly.sound in theory, but beneficial in practice, for it
.was subsequently acted upon, and caused a saving to the ship-
ping interest of this country of no less a stun than 105,00 u/.
a year, and was a 1,,, of great service in promoting the erec-
tion of lighthouses:—

'"
The Trinity-house Corporation, in their representation,
call attention to the case of Royal grants of lighthouses and
light dues to individuals, and to the recognition, by acts of
Parliament, of these lighthouses and light dues as the
private property of the individuals to whom they ware so
granted; and they contend that the claims of the corpora-
tion are at least as deserVing of favourable consideration as
those of individuals, They further allege that the light
dues belongin to the corporation have been from time to time
invested in the erection or the purchase of lighthouses ; and
they submit that the lighthouses and light dues beloy - to
4he-

alienation of property devoted to the benefit of decayed mas-
ters and seamen of the merchant service and their families,
and a gift of that property to the shipowners; and they In-
sist that such a measure would be neitherj ustuor expedient."
To the arguments thus urged tee committee of the Board of
Trade, to whose consideration the matter was referred, re-
plied thus—
" The lords of tho committee do not call in question the
title of the corporation of the Trinity-house to the property
so alleged to be vested in them ; but there is, as their lord-
ships submit, this distinction between the case of the corpora-
tion and that of the individuals referred to—that the proper, y
so vested in the corporation has been held and is held by
them, so far at least as relates to the light dues in question,
in trust for public purposes and liable, therefore, to be dealt
with upon coasiderations Of public policy. Their lordships
cannot admit that there is any violation of the principle of
property in the reduction of a tax levied for public purposes
where no vested interests have been acquired in the proceeds
of the tax ; and where the tax in question is one levied upon
a parti fular class of your Majesty's subjects, without that
class deriving any adequate advantage in return (and any
excess of light elues beyond the amount necessary to main-
tain the l'glits is a tax of this character), the reduction of
such a tax not only involves no violation of the principle
of property, hut is in the highest degree just and expe-
dient. (Hear.) Theirlordships cannot recognise any vested
rights in the expectants of the bounty dealt out to poor
mariners and their families, at the pleasure of the cor-
poration, from the surplus revenues of the lights; since it is
of the essence of a vested interest that the individuals to
whom the privilege is secured are ascertained and known to
the law ; and while their lordships would religiously abstain
from interfering in the slightest degree with the pensions or
other benefits already conferred upon any person whatse:ver,
they can acknowledge no injustice in resolving, upon grounds
of public policy, to confer upon no new persons a right to
which at present no individual can advance any claim or title."
-That, I take it, is the common sense of the matter. (Hear.)
The principle is a sound, just, and sensible ono, end it has
th s further recommendation, that it is not simply theoretical.
for it has been already acted upon, and by means of it n oat
important benefits have been secured to the shipping interests.
(Hear.) As for the Russia Company, the tax which that cor-
peratiou has been in the habit of levying en Euglish shipping
will be completely done away with by this bill. (Hear.) The
war has already suspended the operations of the Russia Com-
pany, and I hope that with that peace, the early approach of
which we are now awaiting, will not revive the right of the
Russia for
trailin
the a
either IMeoradjo.oefusatbyetiistais,peulsia:i enocabtist
viewedrgig'evli t.ho
i•
no f schogis
thecaot company
TT).uy Petersburg,teoT 'ana:e
l'
strict,
is (ii
ct t , are
t
ehiol thoseilaudable,glywho p
a andply t
nothing
such purposesexceedthinigcan on
the credit
that of
their own, or money which they are authorised so to dispose,
funds not belonging to him, and be generous
but it is very little to o.
flohrseeenhttcoi,
anplo(uuffdtru•
ae
•oen.nfsr
e. manillondsyTothoe.
seTt.m.hht
The
safalyo:ttrsb;eeqh
divided
aus hteisottiuleobs in.
misappropriate
at the expense of other people. 111 U
eotl?
into two classes hose held by corporations and local bodies,
which amount to 23,5451., and those held by private persons,
into whose possession they have passed either by purchase or
inheritance. The 23,545/. paid out of the consolidated fund as
that arisesial ea
ist° Thealvt
an equivaleet for differential dues we mean to abolish altoge-
ther. (Cheers) A river May not mount higher than its source.
It may have been justrand expedient to respect the right of
public bodies to tax foreigu at a higher rate than British
ships as long as the principle of protection was allowed to go •
vern our legislation; but when that principle was discarded
in favour of, the free-trade system, and when the country
gave its sanction to the doctrine that our legislation should
be framed without reference to other nations, simply
with a view to what might be most conducive to our own in-
terests, this claim of public bodies to tax foreign ships . at a
higher rate than British ceased to have the slightest founda-
tion in justice ; and those who may be interested in its main-
tenance, so far from having any reasonable ground of com-
plaint because of the course now about •to be taken, should
think themselves very lucky for having been so long per-
mittedi to enjoy a privilege that rested on so fragile a fount. a-
ka
laws it did not wait to see whether or not other cnonueurtrwe
ties. When Parliament proposed to repeal the navigation
would pursue a similar policy, and so in like
ewithaout paus-
should not hesitate, upon public grounds,
andexample, to abolish these
ing till other nations followed our
and these subordinate corpora-
(dared policy of this country;
the sn worn
'differential duties on shipping. Such is avowed and de.
tions are bound to follow in its policy _
.1 _ e corpora-
tion of the State. At least, if thierehh'ttfvuelrecflraai nu: refrained
frome adopt-
ing
ne
o.nlosed to the imnPeilsas:
tio:uf
for
settled princi-
ples• f imperial legislation. I apprehend that if
and maxims o
were to be argued now, we should undoubtedly
this question
avicutotnirti
the removal of the existing unequal
refuse compensation for
iatlnieicytilizeny,
.1
taxes on foreigners ; and we are thus entitled to apply this
rule to the payment duo for the next year, and so to :emit
these imposts for the future. We therefore propose that the
23,000/. which is paid from the consolidated fund to munici-
pal col p • ora • tions and other public bodies should he at once
abolished. Then:earthling 29,2451. is due either to individuals
in reward of services rendered (as in the case of pilots, who are
(matted to higher compensation for the higher fees they would
have charged on the principle of differential duties against
foreigners), or to persons whose property has come down to
them by regular and notorious descent. These persons are
entitled to compensation, but not out of the consolidated
ftind—the charge upon which in both of these instances we
think ought altogether to cease. In the latter case, how-
ever, we arc of opinion that powers should be granted en-
abling the parties to raise their rates so as to indemnify them-
selves for the loss they will sustain ; our assumption being
that the individual is entitled to compensation, while the cor-
poration is not. By this transaction we shall relieve the
consolidated fund from the payment of 51,0004 a-year—a

.en of destitute seninen, andl have not the slightest wisu they suunnt tnat the ngutuouses anu light dues belong to
anything inSjaparnelltralt,P,'Jt, „but2froai 1.t:t45 to 1854 thetn for
.the purposes of the corporation, and are in the
iv..,/ ont ofike pockets of t:er:7l4a llorr lislh)rmen noless Aryl,' 3,.... tit! • . open, : . r those purposes • and they
i,959/. One (in trtn• of this sit •4156t0 the s.?,cretary, allege that fA alto ,;, .n pease of intsintaining the
.. a• ',the -'4,;i.,'., fliers the use c,f this property
'. .
'M. to the inspector, who was appointed to prevent
without any. ge
lights would be, as afiteting the corporation's charities, au
ailing and regrating. The charity only received 3,5151.,
f 41h* ravrtnr.ima ea ow.ll no f LAn :1 Illfmnted to 42 her cent. alicnat:on of property devoted to the benefit or decayed uins-