The Sun.
London, England, 1850-04-17 00:00:00

he (the Chancellor of the Exchequer, thought tbsi
he rather overrated the degree in which the
duty pressed upon publications. He had been told since
he came into the House that a most valuable book, "The
Commercial Dictionary," which weighed 4/Ib. and sot"
for 505., only paid 4d. paper duty. (Loud cribs of
" Hear, hear.") He did not think that could interfere
much with the publication of that work. The next duty
to which reference had been made was the duty on
newspapers. There, he must say, that the Right .11°e;
Gentleman had attributed to him much that he bad
never said. He had never said that the duty must be
kept un to prevent cheap newspapers, neither had be
ever sf.i 1 that the stamp was a security against libel,'
The Right Hon. Gentleman had displayed a great deal
of ingenuity in hunting up difficulties as to the interpre-
tation of the words " news" and " occurrencies," but
there had been no complaints whatever of any practicsi
inc-mvenience being felt on that ground. The Board of
Inland Revenue informed him that there bad been 0!
great dissatisfaction manifested upon those points ; and
he was ieclined to believe that the extent of the griev-
ance rested rather in tt e imagination t f the Right nee'
Gentleman than in the pracCLe of parties more con-
careed in the matter.—(Cheers.) He objected princi'
ally, however, to this proposition with respect to its
hearing upon the revenue.--(Cheers.) The Right Hon.
Gentleman had fairly stated the amount of the duties
embraced in his motion. His object was to repeat
the taxes on knowledge, and he (the Chancellor of the
Exchequer) would not say that the time might not
come when they would be repealed; but he must sal
that it was impossible, with a due regard to the public t
creditor and the public faith, to repeal them this seasion,
and that nothing could be more unwise than for the
House t) pledge itself for the next session. If there
was one thing more than another which a Chancellor of
the Exchequer was bound to do, it was never to diseloSe
any intended changes in taxation until the moment
came at which it was regularly made public. He (the
Chancellor of the Exchequer) objected to the repeal now
and he objected still more strongly to any promise or
pledge as to what should be done in the future. The
duty on paper was an increasing duty; it showed 00,
symptom of decline from which it might be inferred
that the excise interfered injuriously with it. It pro.
duced in 1840, 581,000/.; in 1841, 758,0001.; in 1842,
785,000/4 and in 1849, 810,000/. The duty on news'
papers last year was 348,000/4 on advertisement',
163,0001.; and on foreign books, 7,000/. The produce
of all the so-called taxes on knowledge was—to 1848,
1,264,000/.; and in 1848, 1,329,000/; and he was not
prepared to sacrifice so much of the revenue.—(Hear.)
He trusted the House would forgive him if he addressed
it for a moment on the subject of the various '
propositions for the repeal of taxation which had been
made within a brief period, which was made on the pre'
sent motion, and which was to be made on another
motion which stood on the paper for that night. He
hoped he was not more nervous than Chancellors of the
Exchequer might naturally be expected to be upon
questions of taxation, or anything affecting the revenue;
but he could not look without serious anxiety at the
course the House of Commons seemed disposed to per'
sue on various questions connected with taxation. Ile
had had the honour of holding the situation of Chan'
cellor of the Exchequer far about three years and 0
half, and he had the misfortune during that time, tobsfe
to deal with periods of extraordinary depression. First,
there was the famine in 'rebind; next, the period 0'
commercial panic which followed; and then the disturb'
antes on the continent in 1847 and 1848. All these
events, over which they had no control, had a most de'
pressing effect upon the revenue, and there was, beside",
the large expenditure for the Kafir war, over which the •
House had no previous control. Their financial position
had now just begun to improve, and he had had the
pleasure that night of laying a balance-sheet upon lir
table which showed a surplus of 2,500,0001. Thil
was the first time he had been able to show a Or:
plus, but he declared most solemnly that there we'
greater danger when they had a surplus then
when they had none—(ob, oh, and a laugh)—because,
deficiency created by events over which they had no con'
trol was widely different, as affecting the public credits
than a deficiency produced by the wilful and deliberate,
conduct of the House.—(Hear, hear.) He had state'
about a month ago that the surplus would probably be
1,500,000/.; and he proposed to give relief on two items
of taxation to the amount of 750,000/. He proposed fur'
ther to apply 250,000/. to the purchase of that most tle"
profitable annuity the Equivalent Society; and to kale°
500,0001. to be applied to the reduction of the debt.
this scheme the stamp duty, which was now one-hal Per
cent., was proposed to be reduced to one-quarter peA
cent.; but the House was not satisfied with that, an"
voted a further reduction, which, at the lowest estimate'
involved a loss to the revenue of 100,000/. Now the
Right Hon. Gentleman proposed to take off taxes to t"e
.
extent of 1,300,0001, less what would be paid for the
postage of newspapers. He would yield to no man in
desires for economy, but he contended that it was utterer
impossible this year to effect a further reduction of W
penditure to the extent of 1,000,000/. sterling, as all the
t
large votes had already been taken. What, then, 113119
be done? Taxes of one kind or another must be ter'
posed to make up the deficiency. Hon. Members on
that side of the House wished to substitute direct taxe:
tion for indirect taxation, and they therefore had le"
objection to create a deficiency by abolishing indi-
rect taxes if it were made up by direct taxation.
Honourable Gentlemen on the other side of the House
knew there was no chance of re-imposinte import dutiel'
and they were, therefore, not indisposed to support gen:
tlemen on the other side of the House in creating a den'
ciency.— (Hear.) Each party were anxious to have as
opportunity of currying out their own schemes, without
re fleeting what e oeld be the effect upon the House, the
Government, and the country. If the House by its own
deliberate act en ated a deficiency, it would then have I
settle how it must be made good—whether by additions;
direct taxation or additional indirect taxation. He Just
thought it possible that, before they were able to sett'
that point, beh sides would come to the conclusion that
;
it was far better to submit to the old burdens until tu
Financial Minister wa; able to deal with the most ob'
noxious of them. But what effect would this have uP;
the public credit?—(Loud cries of " Hear, hear.")
deficiency was bad enough when it was created by e":
cumstences over which they had no control.—(l-I°7
hear.) It was most essential that the public credit sbou
be kept up. He did not impute to the Right ar'
Member any wish to impair it—any notion of repuelleci
tion had always, he was happy to say, been disclairoekt
in that House; and he did not for a moment doubt
its sincerity; but he was afraid, if these votes wen,
agree-1 to, the country would be put into a Pelf
tiou from wh:oh it would take years to recover. 0
the House wilfully created a deficiency without some
definite and probable prospect of making it good, the,io
would be great difficulty in maintaining the pubta
credit. If propositions of this kind wore t arried, eed,
so large an amount of revenue sacrificed without sde
nite proposal to make it good, the House would be 1,
flitting, he would not say an irreparable, but a ri°l„,,
gerous, wound upon the public character. The ion
Member for Montrose had, besides, a motion for t,
night, which would sweep away 1,500,0001. of the re
venue.

Mr. HUM—It is only completing free trade. arab
The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER--;
but on seeing the notice he had ordered a return, and
found that. it duties were remitted according to the pre;
position of the Hon. Member, the revenue would se";
to the extent of 1,538,0001, which, with the other clef
tion now before the House, made up a remission of u:;
tics to the extent of 2,838,0001. He trusted the flou't.
would not think him unduly anxious on this subiee tb
but when propositions of this kind were made aign,
after night—when, on a recent occasion, a zep",l
tion to repeal one single duty, which prodne-0
1,820,000/., was defeated only by the narrorie 0
possible majority—(Hear, hear)—there was more 014
enough to excite the most serious anxiety to find veg"
thus given without a full consideration of their coase;
quences upon the public credit.—(Cheers.) These a'sj.,
the grounds upon which he resisted the motion of P'ti
Right Hon. Friend. He thought it unwise, unsafe, se;•
discreditable to the character of the House to make I'm;
reduction of 1,300,0001.; and he thought it Writ'
though not so discreditable, for the House to pledge''
self to deal with any particular tax in the ensuing
,1;
sioa. Those must anxious for economy could bar" '
wish to destroy, by this course, the happy state of trite°
quillity which, by the blessing of God, had made 05
land the refuge of the world.—(Cheers.) He could /314
express himself sufficiently against a course which iveure
be a political suicide. The question was not a reo.
matter of 10,000/. here and 20,000/. there, but it be
essentially a question touching the public bredit; anuies
trusted, therefore, the House would neither deal to,
these taxes now, nor pledge itself to do so vext iess'w
but negative the proposition of the Hon. Member.
Mr. HUME said no man was more desirous than PI o
self of upholding the public credit, and he woultl6os
further than the Right Hon. Baronet, and assert t,ilio
any attempt to interfere with the claims of the powch
creditor would bring on the country calamities 03130-
greater than anything hitherto heard of. But the
raises of the Right Hon. Baronet were not correct, Ile
he would show that the House ought to take a ec tot
just the reverse of that which the Right Hon. Bsr"heil
recommended. The Right Hon. Baronet said that, wileolt
he stated his proposal how the surplus was to be /hir.
with, it met with universal acquiescence. lie ;0 De
Hume) considered the brick duty a very proper one; of
repealed, but he objected to the purchasing up elfoose
part of the national debt while there were taxes t) fait
ing fur immediate repeal. That did appear to ~,"
ns
error in judgment, and he said so at the time, ant,,,ose•
the acquiescence was not unanimous even in that 11).' the
.rde
It was absurd to apply a trifle like 500,000/. Wt..— shev
liquidation of a debt of 900,000,000/. ; but the
which was insignificant as compared with oral
debt would have relieved the public from se far•
taxes, the repeal of which was loudly called 00i.
The Right Hon. Baronet bad not stated fairly thejtbe
tion of the finances. It was true there had been pass
famine, the commercial distress, and the distuals to
abroad; but the Right Hon. Baronet bad no rig ft
attribute the deficiences of the revenue to thesteat•
arose mainly from the extravagance of the GoVerithech
The revenue remained untouched and undirojel' or
The deficiency was created by the unnecessary ea oa.
dituro in the warlike establishments. The Rightifiog
airoeet had epekon of this motion as inv- (Mr'
1,3 00,000/. ; bat in truth, his Right Hon. Friend OO
Gibson) only proposed to deal now with the duty/o,
stamps and advertisements, amour.ting to 300,000t0t of
deed, the speech, just delivered was no reply 102' 006
the Right Hon. Member, which was one of the
0,0 be
able, the most convincing, and the 'most condo .AO.O,
had ever heard on the subject of the taxes online/re:at
(Cheers.) This question was the more ileP_u_iiop,
because large sums were annually spent in °dna:nine
and the House was about to consider a national s
t139;00
fir that purpose, while the abolition of thes?, „fret
would do snore in that direction than all they coa_l_a_7so
by this expenditure, actual and proposed. It "oat
reflection upon the House and the country_ like
these taxes ,were allowed to continue. It wit
expending money in sanitary improvement and reps