The Sun.
London, England, 1819-06-08 00:00:00

of the country."—The House was aware that as
investigation of this kind had been institutsd
the Customs, and had been found productive el
many most advantageous arrangements. H hop'
ed soon to be able to lay before the House the
account of a similar investigatio.n. in the other
branches of the public revenue, which should
show how considerable reductions might be made
in the expences ot collection and 'management, or
the reason why it was impossible that any such
made.—(Hear, hear !)—The Right-Hoy
Gentleman-concluded by moving the first Resale'
tion—,s That since the termination of the war to
1815,.3rthe Property Tax in Great Britain, and
other taxes in Great Britain 'and Ireland, which
yielded •a revenue of Hpwards of 18,000,000
per annum, have expired,
_or been repealed of
reduced."
Mr. TIERNEY rose.—He said, that the last Ite
solution which
chat! been proposed by the WO
lion. Gentleman could not have been serinusli
meant for the House ; it was.no dOubt intended
.
as a ruse de guerre ; though the proposition wis
no doubt singular, it was in fact one of the most
extraordinary propositions ever made by a Chan"
cellor of the Exchequer ; it was in fact desiring
the House to instruct him to be economical, a 0,4
then, forsooth, he would take it into his flea
to be economical. The Right Hon. Gentleul
then proceeded to read seriatim the Resolution
submitted for the consideration of the Committee
The first and second were, he said, merely de'
claratoey of'a fact introduced for no purpose
that he could well conceive. The conclusion .0'
the sixth was the one which really went to-al
point, for that boldly announced the intention 0'
imposing 3,000,000/. of new taxes. The WO;
Hon. Gentleman had talked of the pain he soul
his colleagues felt at the imposition of new taxes ;
but the only pain which the country would teel
would he—first, at the unblushing nature of Of
proposition ; and, secondly, at the tionecessari,
introduction of it. If he (Mr. Tierney) coma
bring his mind to believe that new taxes ouglit
to be imposed to place the finances of the
country upon any thing like a permanent basis?
and that no other means remained for the act
complishment of this purpose, he should n°4
flinch from his duty in proposing them ; but sC
present he saw no such necessity. He objected,
therefore, to the absuact proposition re's!
lug on the country in its present situation an_sly-;
ditional annual burthen of three millions 0'
taxes. his objection also went to the del
and manner of doing this. At the outset 116
bad therefore no he-sit ation•in declaring his .diva
sent horn the gight Hon. Gentleman's propoili'
lion. The fifth Resolution referred to the steta
of the Sinking Fund, which wes no longer wbeeer
it wa3 originally intended to be. He insisted tit
the operations latterly earrying on had so reduce,
the Sinking Fund, that no more .remained of IC
but the name. The House must be a good deal
appalled to hear the real state of the counttil'
atter the repeated stunning boasts of its flourish'
ing condition and growing prosperity by tlig'
Right Hon. Gentleman—after the bright pictirres
and anticipations so frequently indulged in ft.°la
adhering to the system of Mr. Pitt—and after thy
flattering and overcharged representation of this
state of our revenue, our commerce, and trad"
by the Noble Lord (Castlereagh) early in (14
Session, on the renewal of the Finance Cone
mittee. What theti was the real state of 01
country at the prrseat moment ? It was this: tilB;
our ttxpenditnre so far exceeded our income, t"'
our wants were so pressing, and our embarrass:
nients, all proceeding from a long and wastef°'
run of extravagance, so great, that Minisrel
found themselves driven to propose a direct brae'
Of faith with the public creditor; for that such st
violation' was contained substantially in the Re'
solutions of the' Right Honourable Gentletrolli
nothing could shake his conviction of. The Rigl.l4
Honourable 'Gentleman professed to ground big,
Resolutions on the expediency of returning
the system of Mrs Pitt—and said, that nothing
but that would place the finances of the wooll
on a sure foundation. He, however, conteude"
that the intention of that Statesman, in wool,'
big- the Sinking Fund Act, had not been strie
observed ; that it had been varied from in 10'4
in.. 1506, and, above all, by the Right Honotirs"
able Gentleman. himself, in the principle o dee'
Resolutions he had carried in 1813, and in
aiming 'to his intricate and complicated state;
meats at that time, the House would see bowl'
-had dwelt on the incalculable advantages
as he then thought, would result from varyings"d
original and appliCation. His reasonntb'a
then was, that by allowing this fund to acctintls'!
for a few years, according to the expresadirea;
lions of the Act, the effect would be so much to
lower- the rate oriotesest, as-vitally to injure tie,
country. Since that period a sum of 5,700,00tP,
had beets taken from it; for if that had not bee;
the case, it would now amount to 21,000,001
The proposition to that effect was made on tko
plea ot saving the country from taxation to 04
same extent,. and the House was mitred by
Chancellor of the Exchequer; that if they asse°'
ed,to it, they Would be actually filled with 00;
hishment in a short time at the vast advantage
which would result. They did assent—the 11)°:
ney was taken—all the promised advantSel
were .lost—and the result, as they now her"
was, that it was necessary to go back to the aP;
cient system of Mr. Pitt. A further inroad-0%
this year to be made on this fund—its real anto!"1;
was now but t wornillions, and to increase it to'fiVe
three millions of new taxes were proposed. P.
lie did not see why an odium was thus to be 61.90;
on allthe stock-holders of the coontry, by laYi°,4
on new taxes oil an exhausted and • impoverish`o
nationfor such, in his view, was the natural cei-iee
sequence of the measure. sinking fond of Iv,
millions was judged necessary to be kept Oil
to constitute that, three millions of addition
c:
taxes were necessary ; and what was that bl.'„
saying, that to give an assurance and securitYn
the stock-holder, the nation at large was to bb
burdened with'new taxes? He asserted, that sucj
an advance was not worth such a price; he s°3ll
that even taking the fund at five millions, it 11
only a faree—it was as oothing, after taking ftwhi
frOm it thirteen •ersillioni five buodred-thousso-,
pounds—it was a mere deloSion, and there `'.11,.
really an end of all practical security to the ritio
lie creditor. The machinery of Nr. P