The Sun.
London, England, 1860-09-07 00:00:00

Counties.

Chester
Cornwall
Cumberland
Derby
Durham
Hants

Hereford

Kent
Lancaster
Lincoln

Middlesex
Norfolk
Somerset
Stafford

Sussex

Worcester
York

The improvement in the assessment under Schedule A in
Scotland for 1858-9, over that for the year 1857-8, amounts
to £76,000, and in Ireland the increase under the same
schedule is £32,000.
The assessments for the year 1858-9 under Schedule D
exhibit a very slight increase over those for the year 1857-8.
The profits on trade on which income tax was charged in
each year was a follows :-
1857-8. 1858-9. Increase. ' Decrease.
England. £73,107,000 .. £73,444,000 „ £337,000
Scotland 7,107,000 6,738,000 £327,000
Ireland.. 4,510,000 .. 4,587,000 .. 77,000 ..
Total.. 84,721,000 .. 84,811,000 .. 87,000

The increase in England arises principally in the assess.
ments at the undermentioned places :

SCHEDULE D.

Assessment Assessment Increase.
in 1857-8. in 1858-9.
City of London £13,688,000 .. £14,376,000 .. £688,000
31anchester
Salford
Leeds 1 014 000 .. 1,162,000 .. 148,000
. _ - -

On the other hand considerable decreases are to be no-
iced in the returns from the following places, having ex-
;ensive commercial operations :

Assessment Assessment
in 1857-8. in 1858-9. Decrease.
Liverpool £5,310,000 .. £4,976,000 .. £3:14,000
llull

- - -
Newcastle 924,000 .. 847,000 .. 97,000

898'060 79, 000

Wakefield 718:000 .. 66:66 2'2:40

If we are to judge from the eases which occasionally come
under our notice, the amount of evasion of the duty undcr
Schedule D must be very considerable. We may remind
your lordships of one instance which we had occasion to
mention in a report during the last year, the magnitude of
which appeared very remarkable; the returns of the persons
liable for the profits of their partnerships having been for
many years about £6,500, and the amount really charge-
able, and on which duty was ultimately paid, being about
£32,000 per annum. In this case, too, there was no room
for the excuse which is often made, that the acquiescence of
the detected persons in an enormously increased charge was
extorted from them on account of their reluctance to ex-,
hibit their accounts to the commissioners, the actual profits

having been ascertained by our officers from inspection of
the books of the firm, and with their voluntary assistary
ce.
We regret that no proceedings for penalties were inst:,tuted
against these offenders. The officers who discova
red that
some evasion of the duty had taken place thou v:,tit it more
important to obtain payment of the deficifincy than to
punish and expose the delinquents, and luvd agreed with
them before we heard of the case, that, ha consideration of
a full disclosure of their accounts, there should be no prose-
; cution. We should not have taken this view of the sub-
ject, although the amount of duty recovered was consider-
able, and could not have been obtained by resort to legal
proceedings ; bnt we did not feel justified, aft,,3r what had
passed, in suing for penalties.

In our second and third reports we stated that, in our
opinion, it would be very desirable to, alter the present sys-
tem under which both the assessed taxes and the income-
tax are at present assessed and collected. For some months
past our earnest attention has been specially directed to this
important object. It was suggested to us that, instead of a
general application of the principle of the assessment and
collection by officers appointed by the Government in lieu
of the present parochial officers, that system should be car-
ried into effect in those divisions only where the local com-
missioners might voluntarily desire it. It was believed that
a change thus introduced would, after a time, find favour
with all who had noted its working, and if not spontaneously
adopted in all the districts of the kingdom, might soon,
without fear of opposition, be made compulsory. But more
careful examination of the plan in detail, and an attempt
which we made to prepare for its execution, forced upon us
the conviction that it would be so liable to failure from
want of the necessary organisation in the particular locality
in which we might be called upon to act, that we could not
undertake the responsibility of recommending its adoption.
The present distribution of our officers throughout the
country not being made with reference to these new duties
which they would be required to perform, we should pro-
bably find ourselves, when called upon to provide for the
assessment and collection in a particular district, entirely
without the proper instruments for the purpose, and either
be obliged to resort to some imperfect temporary expedients,
or incur great and unnecessary expense in forming a special
establishment for that district alone. But the main objec-
tion to the scheme was the impossibility of working it upon
any uniform system. In each district our proceedings
would require to be regulated by a separate code of laws.
In one we might have the means of collecting from house
to house ; in another we should be obliged to exact from
the tax-payer an attendance at some fixed place of collec-
tion; in a third we should require that attendance on cer-
tain fixed days to meet our collector on his rounds. Now
regulations such as these must Le supported by the sanction
of an Act of Parliament, and it is not easy to see how any
Act could have been framed for the purpose so as to meet
all the various circumstances of the different districts in
which it might come to be enforced.
We. therefore, have been obliged to abandon this scheme ;
but, in order to ascertain how far the principle upon which
we intended to proceed, of making the assessments and col.
letting the duties through the instrumentality of Govern-
ment officers, instead of individuals appointed by the
parishes, would be acceptable to the local commissioners
throughout the country, we addressed a letter to the clerk
of each division (a copy of which will be found in the ap-
pendix), giving an outline of the proposed plan, and
inviting the commissioners to express their opinion of it.
Answers have been received up to the present time from
550 divisions out of 693, the total number in England and
Wales; and we regret to state, not only that the majority
of the commissioners ardladverse to any change, but that
the terms in which that adverse opinion is conveyed are so
strong and decided as to lead to the conclusion that any
measure of the kind would encounter the most vehement
opposition in Parliament. Under these circumstances, we
cannot take upon ourselves the responsibility of advising
your Lordships at present to introduce the changes which
we advocate, although our views on this subject have not
been substantially altered by any of the representations
which have been addressed to us.
MISCELLANEOUS.

We have sustained a great loss by the death of our secre-
tary, Mr. Keogh, which occurred on the Ist of April last.
In announcing that event to your Lordships we dwelt at
some length upon those estimable qualities which endeared
him to all who knew him, and those talents and acquire-
ments which rendered him so useful to the public service.
In reply to this, Mr. Hamilton wrote :—" The value of
Mr. Keogh's services was not unknown to this department ;
and my Lords cordially join in the testimony borne by you
to the eminent merits of that gentleman, whose energies
and ability have been so unremittingly devoted to the public
during a long and honourable course of service."
The office of Chief Secretary held by Mr. Keogh has not
been filled.
When the consolidation of the Department of Stamps
and Taxes with the Excise took place it was supposed that a
Chief Secretary could undertake the general management
of the business of all those three branches of revenue ; and
Mr. Freeling at, first for a short time, and Mr. Keogh af-
terwards held the office, upon the supposition that after a
while this view could be carried into effect. Practically,
however, it has been found impossible to carry out the con-
solidation to its full extent in such an office as that of Se-
cretary, and Mr. Keogh's time was entirely devoted to
that portion of the business with which he was familiar
from his previous training,—namely, that of stamps and
taxes, and chiefly the former.
We therefore thought it much better to abolish the place
of Chief Secretary, and to substitute two joint secretaries,
one for Excise and one for Stamps and Taxes, and by giving
to each of them an assistant we felt convinced that we
should fully and satisfactorily provide for the requirements
of this great department.
Your Lordships were pleased to agree to our recommen-
dation, and to appoint the former assistant-secretaries, Mr.
Dobson and Mr. Sargent, joint secretaries, and Mr, Corbett
and Mr. Charles Hay, assistant-secretaries.
The vacancy in the office of Accountant and Controller-
General, occasioned by the death of Mr. Lyne, has bean
provided for by a somewhat similar arrangement, three chief
accountants having been substituted for the one officer for-
merly charged with the superintendence of the accounts of
Stamps, Taxes, and Excise.
Consolidation of offices is accompanied with an apparent
economy and simplicity which render it very attractive, but
it may so easily be carried beyond the point of safety and
efficiency that every experiment of this nature should be
carefully watched by those who may be called upon to re-
peat it. Without going the length of saying that the union
of offices which now constitute the Inland Revenue De-
partment was a measure of doubtful expediency, we cannot
but think that it was at least one in which the principle of
consolidation has been carried to the utmost limit consistent
with safety. What is wanted in subordinate officers in a
public department is intimate and accurate knowledge of
the subjects on which they are engaged, and it is obvious
that the best security for obtaining this is to confine the
attention of such officers to a class of subjects limited in
number, and homogeneous in description ; and that the
more the principle of consolidation is adopted in the case of
the chiefs of departments the less is is practicable with re-
gard to subordinates ; for the chiefs, not being able to mas-
ter the details of the numerous matters which then come
before them, are obliged to rely entirely upon the know-
ledge possessed by their subordinates, and if that is not
both extensive and accurate much mischief may ensue.
Experience rather points to division of labour as the true
principle on which public departments should be arranged.
The change which we made in the last year in the system
of instructing a certain number of our Excise officers in
chemistry appears likely to be very satisfactory in its re-
sults.

Your lordships are well aware of the great advantage de-
rived for many years past from our haling secured to our-
selves the means of detecting adulterations in articles sub-
ject to the duties of Customs and Excise by officers so care-
fully imbued with the necessary scientific knowledge that
we could safely rely upon their conclusions. Up to last
Year these officers received their in structions at the Univer-
sity College, at an annual cost of about £BOO. Now, how-
ever, that our chemical department at this office is so e
cient, and that the laboratory is so spacious and complete,
we consider that the training of our chemical students can
be more effectually and more economically conducted under
the superintendence of Mr. Phillips. We have entire confi-
dence in his ability for this undertaking ; but, in order that
we may have the most satisfactory evidence of the acquire-
ments of his pupils on the completion of their course, we
have made it a rule that they shill then be examined by
some eminent chemist unconnected with this department.
Nine officers were accordingly selected in the early part of
the year IK 9 to attend in the laboratory, and when the
time arrived for their examination we were so fortunate as
to induce Dr. Hofman to undertake the task.
It is impossible to speak too highly of the pains which
that distinguished professor bestowed upon the investiga-
tion of the knowledge and abilities of each of the students ;
and it was very gratifying to us that, after classifying
them in order of merit, and pointing out that some of
them had displayed a degree of proficiency which had
surprised him, he was able to speak in the most favourable
terms of the system of instruction which they had un-
dergone.

We• have the honour to be,
Your lordship? most obedient humble servants,
CHARLES PRESSLY,
C. J. HERRIES,
ALFRED MONTGOMERY,
HENRY ROBERTS,
ALEXANDER DUFF GORDON,
JAMES DISRAELI.

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