The Sun.
London, England, 1866-05-25 00:00:00

CUSTOMS AND INLAND REVENUE BILL.

In reply to an Hon. Member,
The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER, in refe-
rence to the motions of the hon. member for Buckingham
on the Customs and Inland Revenue Bill, and the hon.
member for Dudley on the Terminable Annuities Bill, with
a view to obtain a reduction of the fire and marine
insurances, said that if the house did not determine the
question on the motion for the hon. member for Bucking-
ham, the hon. member for Dudley ought to have an oppor-
tunity of raising his question on the Terminable Annuities
Bill.

On the motion that the bill be read a second time,
Mr. HUBBARD moved that it was inexpedient to retain,
as part of the inland revenue for the service of the year, the
present duties on fire and marine insurances, which were
unjust in their incidence on property, and injurious to
tilt) national industry. The hon. gentleman took the
opportunity of going into the Government profits, and
said that he considered that the fairest and best manner of
devoting the small surplus was by remitting 6d. of the
fire duty, and reducing the duty ou marine insurance to
3d. per £lOO.

Mr. MARSH seconded the resolution. Ho said
the mo-
tion opened up the whole of the Government proposals
contained in the financial statement made by bthe righto
hon. gentleman the Chancellor of the Exchequer. s
e
of the proposals he thought would be veryeb beneficial,
especially that for equalising the duty on foreign
wines in cask and also in bottle, because ho
anticipated the best results. With respect to the plan for
the paying of the national debt, that was a matter of the
highest importance, and he thought the house ought to
pause before it tied itself down to a particular project for its
gradual reduction. The proposal of the Chancellor of the
Exchequer, it seemed to him closely allied to the old sink-
ing fund return, which had resulted in thorough and com-
plete failure. He did not think the house would be acting
wisely if it finally determined to pay £1,000,000 a year for
a very long period, let whatever crisis arise.
The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER, although
admitting that the marine insurer had an urgent claim for
reduction of duty, did not think that the fire insurer had
the same claim, inasmuch as it was a tax upon property.
The revenue returns would, however, not admit of any re-
mission of insurance duties at present.
After a few words from Mr. WHITE and Mr. HENLEY,
the motion was negatived without a division.
TERMINABLE ANNUITIES BILL.
The CHANCELLOR of the EXHCHEQUER said, in
moving the second reading of the bill, he must begin
with a confession on his own part, and at the same time
with a plea in mitigation of any blame that might be
due to him. He must confess that he ought to have
given
a much fuller explanation of the measure in order
convey a clearer idea of it to the house. But the house
would understand that the financial statement annually
made involved sutcohadad
amass of varied matter that
be was unwilling
the o a
purposespe ech which u
entering
ne-
cessityiug
into all the details whichgwer requisitet to enable the
House to understand the nature of
in e proposal which he
now recommended. He would,
misapprehension might have
endea-
vour to obviate anythe first place,
cahutiously used.
arisen out of words that he may have incautiously
It was true that in the financial statement e dwelt prin-
cipally, in connection with this subject, upon opinions
which
he thought were coming more and more into vogue with
respect to the supply of coal. His intention was not to
make those opinions the basis of a proposition, but to
em-
ploy them in reinforcement of the ordinary considerations
which he thought they might safely take for granted as
belonging to the fixed financial policy of the country—
considerations amply sufficient to justify the proposal he
now made. On the evening on which that statement was
submitted to the House, the right hon. member for Ox-
fordshire, with his usual discernment, observed that the
Proposition was a somewhat small one when measured ,
with reference to the prefatory reasons by which it was
introduced. He thought that observation was a just one.
But_the prefatory reasons—which might be dispensed with
if
the Present proposal were to be judged simply as an
isolated, matter—were intended to b • to the mind of the
House considerations somewhat wider than those involved
inthem
adopting a more
ecoansidsrations connected with the policy of
years,
course, not only in the present,
but in future
had not
regard to our action upon the
public debt. He
of England was
exc.ust esltated either that the greatness
they were to look forward Z 3 dependent upon coal, or that
theen exhaustion of coal. He
treated coal as a peculiar elem greatness of Eng-
land, largely contributing nottnaltile
that
a greatness
recedence
in
erl p
general, but in particular to their
Comm ci
over other countries, and that was the
essential to keep in view. That England would •
her coal keep an equal place in the race he had no without
doubt. But it was her precedence in the ra:o reason to
she had already made—it was her maintenance ni
that
start
it was the increased development from year to yeartlysthart. ,
he had exhibited—it was the speciality in her conditionh
which enabled her to produce and send to market the
cheapest coal in the world
largest quantity of the cheap t
be .
These
were considerations which could no
presented in the
form of determinate propositions, but they were considers._
tions of great weight at the present day. He adhered to the
general scope of those observations, but with the explana-
tion that they were indeterminate, and afforded consider-
able scope for debate. Returning to the precise points in-
volved in the bill, he had two propositions to submit to the
house. First of all, a portion of the argument he had hoard
from the hon. member for Salisbury, and a portion of the
argument he had heard in various forms on the subject of
the bill, was to be metby this observation, that the policy of
paying off the public debt in fixed portions from year
to year under the form of terminable annuitio had