The Sun.
London, England, 1844-04-30 00:00:00

reckoned that. sum in my estimate of the
expenditure fur the current year. Another
item of expenditure arises from the operation of that
measure which I had the honour to submit to the
House a short time since, I mean the reduction
of the Three-and-a-Half per Cents. The House will,
no doubt, bring to mind- the large amount of debt
on which we at that moment operated. lam sure I
am bound to return my thanks to the House for the
cordiality with which they expressed their approba-
tion of that measure, and supported the views which
T. proposed to them, and which mainly contri-
buted to the happy results of that mea-
sure—(Hear, hear.)—and to that support is
mainly attributable the feeling of universal satisfac-
tion with which that measure was received throughout
the country. It was naturally to have been expected
that there would have been a considerable body of
dissentients, who would have demanded to be paid
off. That expectation, lam happy to say, has been
falsified. The amount of dissentients in England
amount to 60,9941., and in Ireland to 13,2801., of
those whose assent is required to be expressed.
I mean those who hold stock of 1818, the amount of
stock held by those who have not expressed their as-
sent amounts to 172,8411., so that the dissentients on a
question involving the conversion of an amount of stock
of 250,000,0001., amounts only to the trifling sum of
247,110/., and these is contained in that portion of the
holders of stock who are residents abroad, and in the
colonies, - and who may within the time
limited be expected to avail themselves of
the opportunity of signifying their assent.
Now, Sir, it has been customary, on former occa-
sions of this nature, when the amount to be paid off
has been considerable, to raise money by loan for
the purpose of paying off that amount; but I
think, considering the small amount of the charge to
be paid off, considering also the state of the revenue,
and on other accounts, it is desirable that we should
make provision for the sum which is neces-
sary to pay off these dissentients ; and, therefore,
I propose to take a sum of about 200,0001., which I
conclude will be about sufficient to pay the charge,
and which will form a part of the expendi•
Lure which I' have to lay before the House.
There is another matter which requires
some expenditure, but which I think is likely to re-
sult in futureconomy. The House is aware that in
the year 1815 an engagement was entered into with
the South Sea Company that they should continue to
receive an annual interest from the Customs, together
with an annual payment from the country on account of
their establishment, until the guarantee-fund of the
Society was renewed. The history of that Society I
need not now state at any length. I may shortly
state, however, that it was originally vested
with peculiar and extensive privileges connected-
with trading to the South Seas ; that those privileges
were repealed by the Act of the 55th of George 111.,
to which I have referred ; and that by that Act they
were assured that they should receive from the public
an addition to the capital of their stock.
as the price of the surrender of their privileges, equal
to one-sixth of the stock which they at that moment
possessed, being the sum of 610,000/. In order to
provide this guarantee .fund a sum was annually
paid to the Commissioners for the Reduction of
the National Debt, and invested with a view to its
accumulating for this Society. It has now pro-
duced about 300,0001.; and there is a deficit
of 239,0001. required to make up this gua-
rantee fund, for which the public are, in fact,
paying an interest of 11,868/. a year. There are
other advantages beyond this saving of interest, which
may result from making an arrangement at the present
time with the South Sea Company. So long as the
Funds were low, it was in fact nearly impracticable
to make any useful arrangement with the Com-
pany to relieve the public from the charge
to which it was subjected. Whatever terms
we might have made with the holders of this stock,
they would have been entitled to demand from
the public the full amount of „:100/. for
every, 100/. of stock which they possessed.
And, therefore, so long as the funds are lower
than par, so long it is impracticable to effect
that further reduction which may now, in the
result of the funds coming to par, be bene-
ficially effected. Therefore, Sir, I think it is
now necessary for the Government to be placed in a
position, that if the opportunity should arise for making
such a reduction, it may be able to take advantage
of it by paying off the remainder of that debt,
namely, 239,0001., thereby laying the foundation of
a future 'considerable saving.—(Hear.) The total
expenditure of the year for the ordinary service is-
-17,700,0001., and the extraordinary service to
which I have lately adverted, amounts to 846,0001.,
making a total of 18,546,0001. So that,
if you add that sum to the debt, which'
is 30,097,1701., the total expenditure of the
year will be 48,643,1701. If that be deducted from
the gross amount of the revenue, that is 51,790,0001.,
it would leave an apparent surplus (subject
to the reductions which I have before alluded to) of
3,146,0007., but if you make allowances for that por-
tion of the debt which will be due next year,
that will leave the surplus 2,376,0001.---(llear,
bear.) In a country like this where
every one has the means and uses the means of in-
forming] himself of public affairs it is not other
than could be expected that it has been for some time
generally ' known that the result of this year's
revenue would. not be different from the an-
ticipations which had been held in every quar-
ter. I find, in consequence of that anticipa-
tion, that I have been assailed by communications
from various parties recommending that the increase
of the revenue should be made available for
'of taxation on almost every article of consumption.
I can assure those Hon. Gentlemen, many of whom
I see now, that nothing could be more gratifying to
me than to yield to their application. Nothing
would be more gratifying to my feelings, if I felt it
consistent with. my public duty, than to make
those large and general remissions of the taxes
which I was requested to do. But, Sir, when
we consider of the remission of taxation, we
must also consider the nature of the burdens
which exist at the time that remission is to be
made. I would beg the HOUse to bear in mind that
when I bald them that we had at present a surplus
revenue of 2,370,0001., that that revenue is not a per-
manent annual excess of regular and permanent revenue
over the constant expenditure of the country, but it
is the result, but for one year of the receipts of the
revenue or the country over the expenditure, which
has been incurred in the course of that year •;- that
it is •a fund upon which, for the present year,
we may rely, 'but it is not a fund of constant
and future annual occurrence; The House must
al:so bear in mind that, in the present year, that fund
has been produced by the imposition of an extraordi-
nary tax.,rin tjg6,„pygar 1842, and 'which produces
5,1-00;000Er;014401T-$4t), the main ground of sur-
plus.• which, this evening, I have announced to
the. House of Commons. Now, I', will
call the attention of the House to the circumstances
under which that tax was imposed. -It was imposed
at a period: when the country had been labouring for
a considerable number of years under the evil of the
revenue of the country failing to equal the expenditure,
and when there was the necessity for great exertion
in, order to make the revenue sufficient to bear
the .necessary charges of the country. It was
imposed also with another object—namely, with
a • view of giving
_relief to the commercial
interests •of the country; by reducing the
amount of taxes upon a variety of articles, and
for the purpose of trying the experiment whether by
immediate reduction in certain duties you might not
bring round in a limited period the revenue to the
same amount as that which it was before the reduc-
tion took place. It was imposed, therefore, with the
double object of supplying, during an interval, the
previous deficiency of the regular revenue of the
country, and for giving time for the repealed
duties to •• recover, so as to be as pro-
ductive as before th.e reduction was effected;
with that view it was submitted by my Right Hon.
Friend to the House, and he stated his opinion, that if
that tax 'were continued for five years, it would have
the effect which he anticipated.—(Cries of " Three
years.") My Right Hon. Friend took it for a shorter
period.—(Laughter.) My Right Hon. Friend
indeed took it for a shorter period for
three years—and he did so en this ground,
that •if at the expiration of • that period the
result which he had anticipated to'occur at the end
of five years should not occur,lhen the House would
have an opportunity of considering whether they
would continue. that impost for the same period,
or whether they would take another mode of
supplying any . deficiency which might exist.
I have no hesitation in saying that, at the present
moment, I cannot form any estimate of what those
reductions -may-be. When I,look at the list of arti-
cles in the tariff on which reductions of duty took
place, and at the increased consumption which has
taken place of those—when I find that only on five
has consumption decreased, while on all the test con-
sumption has increased —I must say, I entertain, very
sanguine feelings as to the ultimate success of the ex-
periment. But the House will be good enough to bear
in mindthatin somemain articles—timber, I will espe-
cially mention —on which a reduction of the
duty has taken place, that reduction did not
come into 'operation until the middle of last -
year. The experiment, therefore, in these instances,
has not had a fair trial ; and I am not therefore pre-
pared to say what course *ought hereafter to be pur-
sued in respect of them. In the course of the next
year the property-tax must necessarily come under
the consideration of the nouse, and it will be "for
it to say what course it .will pursue with
respect to the continuance or discontinuance
of, that impost. Such being the circumstances, I think
it must be obvious to every one that I should not have
acted • a becoming part if I had induced the House to.
consent to a large reduction 'of duty, which
-might have had . but- one effect, namely, that
of hindering rulininent. 'froni • 'conning •to' an