The Sun.
London, England, 1850-03-19 00:00:00

the transfer of property, to mortgages, bonds, and leases
He did not say that ne other portico of our system of
stamp duties re quired the consideration of the House;
but it would be remembered that the subject of a go-
nem' revision of those dude; had been under the consi-.
deration of various Gevernrceots for many years Fast.
In the time of Lord Althorp a sell, me bad actually been
prepared upon the subject; a similar scheme had been
entertained by his Rtght lion. Friend (Sir F. Baring),
the First Lord of the Admiralty, and he believed the
Right Hon. Baronet the Member for Tamworth had also
had his attention directs[ to the matter. It bad been
found, however, tint the greatest difficulties presented
themselves in the way of the adoption of a general plan
fir dealing with the question. The experience they
had already had epen tee subject, tied the inquiries he
had himself instituted with respect to it, convinced him
that it would be bon r to deal with the case in de-
.ached portions than to attempt to embrace all its com-
p'ev ds tails in a general measure. The object ef the resolu-
tion he had then to submit to the Committee was theadop-
tior, as nearly as possible, of an ad valorem duty on
that class of stamps on a hick he proposed an alteration
of the existing law. Of course, however, it would ho
impossible strictly to enforce :such a duty, as that would
render it necessary that they should enter into endless
details. At present the "jumps" were very large, being
ler instance from 1,000/. to 2,0001., and from 2,000/. to
3,C001. He proposed to ado nt a more minute scale, to
make the diflerences vary teem 2.5/. to 50/, from 50/. to
100/., and thin every 100/. after up to 1,0001. Perhaps
the most convenient course he could then pursue would
be to state a few iestances cf the changes which he pro-
posed to effect. In doing so he should first confine hire-
eelt to mortgages and bondr. At present on mortgages
and bonds not exceeding 501. the duty was 1/, he prc-
posed to reduce it to 55.; on mortgages and bonds be-
tween 50/ and lOW. the duty was at present 11 10s., he
proposed to reduce it to 10,; en mortgaees and bonds
between 100/. and 200/. the duty etas at present 2/, he
proposed to reduce it to 11.; on mortgages and bonds
between 5001. and 1,000/ the duty was at present 5/., ho
proposed that between 5001. and 6001. it should he 31.;
between 6001. and 700/., 10e.; between 700/. and
8001., 41.; bete eel 800/. and 9001, 4/. 103.; and
between 900/. and 1,000/., 5/. After that, and for
sums over 10,000/., 1;e should propose to go by same
of 100/. He did not see why an ad valorem duty
should not be carried to the higher scale for the purpose
of indemnifying the revenue for the loss it might sustain
by the reduction c f the duty on the lower sums. He,
therefore, proposed to approximate by half per cent.
upon mortgages over that amount. The question of
stamps upon conveyances and transfers of real property
was of a more difficult and complicated character. In
re;reet of this branch of the subject, he' proposed to
adopt, in the first place, a different phraseology from
that used in the present law-namely, to substitute the
words " not exceeding" such an amount, instead of " be-
tween" that and the following amount. He had, on the
last night on which ho had addressed the House, read
an extract from the report cf the Committee appointed
by the Home of Lords to ie.quire into the burdens on
land, and he had shown, by the quotation of evidence
taken before that Committee, that the stamp duty
upon the transfer of real property was one of those bur-
dens. He had quoted the evidence of Mr. Baxter on
that subject-a man of intelligence and information-
and if it was any consolation to Honourable Gen-
tlemen opposite, he (the Chancellor of the Exche-
quer) might add, he was the Conservative agent of
the West Riding. What he should propose in ac-
cordacce with that statement was as follows:-" Con-
veyances and transfers, relieve up to 1,4001., half per
cent. up to 5001, :I to 1,0001., 1 after 1,0001.-Not
amounting to 201., lease 10s., release 109.; not exceeding
251., proposed 2s. 6,1.; amounting to 20/. and under 50/.
lease 155., release 20e., present 1!. 15e.; amounting:to
501. and under 150/, lease 205., release 303., present 2/.
10s.; exceeding 251. and net exceeding 50/., proposed
55.; exceeding 50/ and ne t exceeding 75/., proposed
7s. 6d.; exceeding 75/. and not exceeding 1001, proposed
10s.; exceeding lOW. and not exceeding 125/. proposed
12s. 6d.; exceeing 125/. and not exceeding 1501., pro-.
posed 155.; amounting to 50/. and under 300/., lease 355.
refs ase 40s. present 3/. 155.; exceeding 150/. and not ex-
ceeding 175/., proposed 17s. 6i.; exceeding 1751. and not
exceeding 2001., proposed 205.; exceeding 200/. and not
exceeding 2501., proposed 25e.; exceeding 250/. and not
exceeding 300/. proposed 305.; not exceeding 5001., pre-
sent, 7/. 155., props std 2/. 10s.; not exceeding 800/.
present 10/155., proposed 61. 155.; not exceeding 1,0001,
present 13/. 15e., proposed 71. 10s.; not exceeding 1,200/.,
present 13/. 155., proposed 121.; not exceeding 1,4001.,
present 131. 155., proposed 14/." He proposed to repeal
altogether the stamp duty upon leases for years. At
present the transf..r duties upon small properties were a
consideration. It amounted to 10e. on the lease, and
10s. on the deed-that was to say 1/. in all. He
proposed to reduce them to hair-a-crown upon all leases
under 25/. This was his proposition-" Leases, where
the rent reserved is under 20/, present 1/.; not exceed-
ing 251., per cent. proposed 2s. 6d.; amounting to 201.
and under 100/., present 1/. 10s.; amounting to 100/.and
under 200/, present 2/.; amounting to 2001. and under
400/., present 31.; exceeding 25/ and not exceeding 50/.,
proposed 55.; exceeding 50/. and not exceeding 75/,
proposed 76. 61; exceeding 751 and under 100/, pro-
posed 103.; exceeding 250/. and not exceeding 300/., pro,
posed 1/. 10s.; exceeding 350/. and not exceeding 400/,
proposed 2/.; and so on." He had intended to have a
uniform scale ti 1,000/.; but he found it would only in-
crease the amount of the duty upon the lower transfers.
He proposed, therefore, that the stamp should be half
per cent. upon 500/, per cent. up to LOOK, and 1 per
cent. afterward. Upon all transactions of this kind
between 1,000/. and 2,0001 the duty was now 3/. 15s.
He proposed that the new duty should vary with every
100/., leaving the stnal'er trensfers at the low rate he ha
named, and increasing in an ad valorem ratio with the
higher. On the authority of Mr. Baxter, he could state
that the consequence of the existing duty was injurious.
This was hie statement-" There is one suggestion that I
would me ke with re ference to theexpense of the conveyance
of property of small value: that is, that the stamps upon
the sale ot land should not stand, es they do now, higher
upon the smaller amounts of property, but be regulated
by a per centage. I find that at present the stamp upon
a 50/. sale, calculating a certain length of conveyance,
would amount to 12:1 per cent. That the stamp upon
100/. sale would amount to 51. per cent., and upon a 300/.
sale would amount to 2/. 103. per cent.; upon a 500/.
sale to 1/. 14s. 3d. per cent., and then above that only
cue Ler cent. This is not effected by saying, in so many
words, that a boner to the amount of 50/. shall pay
1,21. 10s. per cc nt., which is the amount that he does pay;
but it is in consequence of burdening the transfer of pro-
perty with a second conveyance, which we call a lease
for a year. It was a principle of law that you were
obliged to have a lease for a year, and a release, in a
transfer of property; so that you had two distinct stamps
and two distinct deeds. An Act was passed, about a
twelvemonth ago, relieving you of the necessity cf haring
two deeds, but continuing the necessity of having two
stamps. The consequerce of that is, that that small
stamp attaches to a 150/. purchase as much as
it attaches to a 100,0001. purchase. It bears, there-
fore, peculiarly hard on small properties ; and
a reduction of the stamps to an equal rate of one
per cent. upon the amount of the sale would be a sen-
sible relit f, if it would not be a great loss to the revenue."
lie (the Chancellor of the Exchequer) had heard an ob-
jection to this proposition. Ile should he sorry to see
the land in Eogland so subdivided as it nets in a neigh-
bouring country, where many proprietors were but little
removed from the eondition ot l wipers; but he did be-
lieve that the operation of the reduction he proposed
would be to cause the purchase of land by labouring
men, who might be anxious to invest the fruits of their
industry and skill in that description of property. He
thought that this would be an object gained, because ho
believed it to he most advantageous to hold out an in-
ducement for agricultural labourers to better their con-
dition by becoming proprietors of the soil. With regard
leases, he believed, as he had be fere stated, that many
persons had attached more importance to them than he
did, as connected with ti • improvement of the land.
They were not common in his part of the country, and
their scarcity was not found to be an evil. In tact, as
far as he could discover, this circumstance did not any
way inte:fere with the improvement of the land.
Others, however, differed from that view of the case;
bet be that as it might the present heavy stamp
duty upon leases hal the direct effect of preventing
leases from being given in most instances. It
was, therefore, desirable to reduce that duty,
and he proposed to do so. His proposition was to
adopt the same principle as he had laid down in the first
instance-namely, an ad valorem duty. This would be
the effect of that reduction :-Leases for rack rent,
under 501., now ii.; proposed,:up to 25/, 2s. 6d.; 25/.
to 50/, ss. Rents, not exceeding 10/, now 55., proposed
2s. 6d. ; 10/., and not exceeding 201., now 10s., proposed
2s. 6d. ; 254, and not exceeding 50/, now 155., proposed
se. Rents, with a fine, lower, up to 75/. per annum,
He wished to call the attention of gentlemen from Ire
land to what he was about to say in in connexion with
this point; because leases in Ireland were exempt in
some cases from stamp duty, and in so far that country
was not on the same footing as England in this respect.
His wish was to pia' e them upon tho same footing, but
he was not prepared to insist upon it, if there was any
objection on the part of Irish Members. He proposed
that leases under 501 should have a half-crown stamp.
With regard to all the others there would be a consider-
able reduction of the present amount. At present there
was a difference between ecclesiastical leases and com-
mon leases, which he proposed to do away with. What
he proposed was that leases of 10/. per annum should
bear a stamp of half-a-crown, and so on up to 501.
Up to that there would be a relief on the present stamp
duty; after that there would be an increase to a certain
extent in the existing duty. He was not, however, as he
said, willing to do anything calculated to raise objec-
tions on the part of Irish Members; and he would not
insist upon altering the present exemptions if he was
opposed. These were his propositions. He believed,
upon the whole, that it would be more convenient to
postpone the discussions on the details to the next stage
of the Bill, inasmuch as all the transactions of the
country, which it affected, would be held in a state ot
suspense until it was passed; and he should be very glad
if the House would take that preliminary sage as a
matter cfcourse, accordingly; or defer the discussion on
the details until after Easter, especially as he could not
conceive any ps reon opposing a reduction of taxation.
The Right Hut, Gentleman concluded by moving a re-
solution, to the effect that the stamp duties containel in
the schedule should have force in Great Britain and
Ireland after the passing of the Bill, and that the pre-
seat law regulating those duties should be so amended
and altered.

Alderman SIDNEY asked whether the proposition of
the Right Hor. Gentleman applied to home property?
And also whether it was his inteni7on to alter that part
of the Stamp Act which regardel persons taking up
their freedom in cities upon redemption (55 Geo. III.)

Th© CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER said the
rcduction would apply to the transfer of all kinds of pro-
fely. The only difference was that leases for years