The Sun.
London, England, 1819-05-21 00:00:00

be cooteoted with •a ditty of cui. per chaldronnu
coals. In the reign of Elizabeth it was increased
to is. per chaldron upon nil coals ; and in the
days of Charles the Second it ..vas considerably
i-creased, from which ditty Sir Thomas Clark re-
ceived 500!, a-year. In the time of William
it was further augmented to ss. per chaldron, by
stay of a temporary duty for the improvemeot of
the resources of war. By the .911) of Queen
Anne, there was a further additional duty of 3i.
per chaldron. The t last aio4niewations were
rendered perpet nal by an Act of George I. ; and
by the•Ajth of George lli. a Rcgula,ion Bill was
pa;sed, imposing upon London 9;. 4d. per-chal-
dron, and tis. on 41 the out-ports. The ditty for
the fornier place alone amounted to 12s. 100. per
thaldron, being a salt of consolidat.on, including
meterage, on that necessary of life. Great part
of the Lute 'om coal duty tear attached to what
was tet wed the Orphans' Fund. He thd not mean
to speak disrespectfolly of that charity or any
• other. His whole object was to move for the re-
peal of the whole duties, in order to propose some
other plan equally beneficial to the public re-
venue. lo corroboration of his sentiments, the
lion. Member quoted Dr. Adam Smith,/ and Dr.
Anderson. He thou ;ht it exceedingly hard, that
coals carticdcoastways should pay a heavy ditty,
while coals carried inland pay no duty at all.
But some Gentlemen said, that if this duty be
repealed, it would ruin vast numbers of manu-
facturers, by producing manufacturers at or near
London, who would rival or unde-sell those in
the inland- counties. They had all, no donht ,
their local attachments atol - Local prejti-
dices. The present duties not only affected
L":1(10'1, but all the .counties enrcurnjacent,
paniculatly ,hat to which he belonged (Sur-
rey). There were sixteen counties that paid the
treaty ditties now complained of, while twenty
counties paid no duties whatever. In our popu-
lation, it might be said, that our of nine mil-
lions, tour millions ,and a half pay 865,0001, nearly
1,000,0001. sterling, while one tour millions and
a half pay no duty. As an argument on the part
of those who opposed his proposition, it hail
been advanced, as no small consolation, o.hat II
the wages in London were higher; but it ought !
at the same rate to be recollected, that the du-
ties in London are higher also and that the roar
man frequently pays 12d. more per bushel fur
coals, than the rich man• At one time he was
taught to believe, that not only some men of in-
flueoce in that 'louse, but 'hat thi; Chancellor of
the Exchequer himself, considered favourably of
his proposition. Butt when he found that ibis
view of the subject on his part was all delosion,
all false hopes, he resolved at once to bring' it
forward in the shape of a repeal. • Gentlemen
who knew the constituents of that House, and
of what it was composed, need not be surprised
,that such a proposition would create a hose of
formidable enemies; all hi co-operation for their
own individual interest, without any regard to
that of the public. lu noticing those who had
declared hostility against the measure, he bestow-
ed many high encomiums on Mr. Crashaw, who,
front very small beginnings, 'lnd acquired a
princely fortune by his iron-foundry, and that by
the most faithful fulfilment of every moral obli-
gation. But is it in the, wisdom or justice
ct the Lioase, that because they hail borne
these. duties so long patiently, that they were
Dever to - be, released' from their buMen %
The people of Birmingham complained, that
if the duties are taken off coast ways, the whole
maonfactures of that important place would
be transferred to London ; but this was a mere
hypothesis unfounded in experience. The evil of
which be trots, complained had already reached
suck a niagniude as to demand an ittuntoliate re-
nedy. It.was not the application of philosophi-
cal •
principles which could afford those aggrieved
relief. They must have a radical removal of the
cell. Scotland he did not mean to include in his
general proposition, so that the Gentlemen of that
country need not entertain any apprehensions of
an innovation. The Chancellor of the Exchequer
bad referred to him for a substitute, should he

con§ent to the n►easure. Let him first carry his
ntotion and then sotnethiog might be suggested
erutilly productive. The Hon. Member concluded

by moving in substance for leave to bring in a Bill
to repeal so witch of the remit law as [dates to
the Duties on Coals.

Lord , EnutNoroN stated, that as the [lon.„
Mover had gone so fully and so ably into the sub-
ject, he thought that there was very little lett for
hind to induce tire House to agree to the motion.
In the counties of Devon and Cornwall alone, the
duties averaged 70,0001. a year, and the chief
part of it iiTas defrayed by twelve ports its those
two counties. The consumption of coals was not
general in Devon and Cornwall, but confined to,
a small portion of the population. The duties
were so oppressive in those two counties, that se-
veral manufacturers had been ruined. A china
manufacture had been lately attempted at Ply-
mouth, hut in consequence of the Iteaty duty on
coals, had failed. As the duty on Coal affected the
manure, it consequently affected the growth of
.cot ; therefore it operated as a direct tax on
agriculture.
Mr. LITTLBToN confessed he was not a little
surprised that the Member for Surrey should have
brought forward a proposition hostile to our sys-
tem Finance, When the Minister and the House
were anxious to improve it. In his censure of
the duty on sea coal, or,coal carried cost ways,
he proceeded by a grand retrograde movement to
the remote times of Rkhard H. With all this
'fine display of le,arning in the historical account
of the coal duties, he had better confined himself
to the time of the Revolution, when those dirties
first began to be modified into a regular taxation.
To agree to the Hon. Gentleman's proposition
would be great injustice to many respectable chit-
ra.'tet 4 who had embarked large capitals in
,t•artaut -national concerns. He enumerated the

counties that would be effected by the
i,,,oosed change, and those that would not feel
L. lie insisted, that the grand projectors of the
7.•;!<;:mtire had been.much disappointed ; that their
.ing at Thorn's Coffee-house and other places
:10t been productive of the petitions expect-
. !eithei• bad they been able to obtain one
,ninsier. Not having moved for !ht:
of the non►erout petitions which
i.;&(!ated against any alteration imi the du-