The Sun.
London, England, 1856-05-20 00:00:00

and annually to apply it to the extinction of the debt.
All ether contrivances of financiers-all pretended sinking
funds, however ingeniously formed or concealed under
specious phrases, will be found in practice delusive and
disappointing. (Hear, hear.) When we intrust to sub-
ordinate bodies the power of raising money upon the seen-
ritypf taxes we impose an obligation of creating an annual
sinking fund which is devoted to the extinction of a por-
tion of the principal of the debt. In every case where a
county or a borough, a board of guardians, or any of the
various municipal bodies with which England is covered,
receives from Parli iment the power of effecting a loan, it
is always accompanied with a condition , which requires
that, an annual sinking fund shall be set ap..rt for the ex-
tinction of the loan. I believe there is not a single instance
in which the power of borrowing thus conferred by Parlia-
ment upon any public body is not accompanied by a condi-
tion of that sort. Parlia men t recog uisee the wisdom and policy
of that principle as applied to all public bodies except itself.
Unfortunately, it has hitherto been remiss in applying that
mode of extinguishing debt to the largest of all debts—viz.,
the debt which the nation has itself incurred. The loan
which will presently be submitted to the committee has
been effected in Consols, without any resort to terminable
annuities. Perpetual annuities have been found by expe-
rience to be that form of borrowing which is at once most
advantageous to the borrower and to the lender. It is con-
venient to the borrower because he never can be called upon
for the principal of the loan ; his creditor is a mortgagee
who never can foreclose.; white it is aloo convenient to the
lender' because it is an advantage to him not to be corn-
pelledto receive his money before he wants it. At the
same time he can go into the market whenever he chooses,
and by selling his perpetual annuities realise his capital.
The position of the public creditor reminds me of the de-
scription applied to the keeper of a, celebrated club at a
time when gambling in clubs was more common than hap-
pily it is now—
" Who, nursed in clubs, disdains a vulgar trade,
Exults in trust, and blushes to be paid."
(A. laugh.) Stich are the feelings of the public creditor.
He wishes not to be compelled to receive the capital which
he has advanced to the Government ; and it is an advan-
tage to the Government, on the other hind, not to he
forced, before it can effect the operation upon favourable
terms to repay the sum so advanced. Bat it is an entire
mistake to suppose that because the annuity is perpetual,
therefore the debt must b t perm anent.. The Government
has the same facility of paying off the creditor who has ad-
vanged his money 41 perpetual annuities as it has been the
ease, of the treditor who has advanced in terminable an-
nuities. It is true that in etrectine; a loan in terminable
annuities the Government compete itselfto repsy anau.lly
a portion of the principal ; but in subjeettue itself to that
necessity, it makes worse terms en behalf of the public than
it would. do if the loan were effected in perpetual annuities.
Sir, there seems to he an imoression iu seine quarters; that
at this period of transition from war to pence we onglot
to enter upon a revision of our whole system of taxation.
(Hear, bear.) •Itis s that the p. ceout moment affords
a favourable opportunity for a complete review of our
whole fiscal system, and thal we are imperatively called
upon to undertake it. Before we adopt that view, let
us consider what great exertions have of late years
been made in the revision of our taxation. In 1 '42
Sir Robert Peel subjected the whole of .our tariff to a
complete review. In 1316 a large part of it again came
under the consideration of Parliament, and in 185:3
the whole of our Ceetoms' duties underwent revision. . By
these successive revisions all prohibitive, protective, and
excessive duties have been swept away, and the only duties
as far as I know which can now be pointed out as being
of the nature of protective duties are those on foreign
spirits and on hors. The Customs duty ou foreign spirits
is, no doubt, somewhat higher than the duty upon British
and colonial spirits. The duty on foreign spirits is 153. per
gallon ; white on colonial spirits the duty is Sc. 2d., and
on Brietish spirits Bs. However high apperentlyenay be
the dotty on foreign spirits, it has never been considered
liable io serious objection on the greeted of being a protec-
tive duty. With regard to hops, it is true the Customs'
duty, in more than double the Excise duty, and in ordinary
years amounts nearly to a prohibition upon the introduc-
tion OF foreign hops. The eutiro revenue derived from
stanTa received very close attention when my right hon.
friend at the head of the Admiralty (S r C. Wood) held the
office of Chancellor of the Exchequer, and that branch of
revoiine is now in a satisfactory state. The wb&e subject
of bills and receipts was cheat t withinlBs3 by the right hon.
gentlinna.n the member for the University of Oxford, and
the newspaper stamp duty was repealed list session. The
windo .v tax was repealed in 1851, at a loss to the revenue of
1,170,000/. The assessed taxes were revised in 1833—rates
were reduced and exemptions abolished, which resulted in
rerni!nion of 290,00 W. a-year. With regard to the land tax
the r ittes are irrevocably fixed, and there is no opportunity
for rt.;vision. As to the income tax, we lately hal a de-
bate 'hi this house, in which a plan was proposed for com-
muti se; it into a property tax—a plan which I trust will
never; receive the sanction of this house. With regard to
the e seise, the whole revenue from that source has been, of
later Oars, constantly under the consideratioa of Parliament.
The • duty on bricks was repealed in 1850, being a remission
of 45 reooo/. The duty on soap was repealed in 1853, being
a rerei:ission of 1,126,0001. In the same year the hackney-
carrheee and post-horse duties were reduced, and in 1855
a re.":, uction was male in the stage-carriage duties.
The -?ust-office loses the character of a branch of reve-
nue, inasmuch as the whole net revenue of the Post-office,
after the reapenses of the inland Post-office aro defrayed, is
only e. little more than sufficient to cover the expense of
foreigeo mails. It seems to me, the great obstacle to the im-
prove patent of our system of taxation is owing not to any
want of care on the part of Parliament, nor to any want
of frtiquent revisions and suggestions elaborately carried
out by successive Governments, but to the necessity under
which, we are unfoetuzately placed of raising a large reve-
nue t O meet the expenditure of the country. A. 4 long as
that irecessity exists I fear it wilt be impossible for us to
avoid imposhig some taxes and maintaining others at cer-
tain ates, which we should be willing, if we hat the op-
tion, to alter. At the present moment, after the large ex-
pense:4 of the last !lbw years, it may be interesting to the
committee to hear how the public expenditure of this coun-
try st ands in relation tothat of other countries. With re-
gard to the prop ,rtion which the debt bears to other
branches of expenditure. and the similar exnenditure in
some foreign countries, I have prepared a table which, I
placf:s the matter i a the clearest light :