The Sun.
London, England, 1816-03-19 00:00:00

TnEVETITION FROM' LONISON.

. Sir W. CottTts, from the Oppbsitiou side,' said
he rose to moye.for leave to present a Petition
from the.Mereitants, Bankers, and Trailers of the
City of Loudou. It wit., u
_week or ten *flys ago
since, the Petition was left for signature, Aunt it
was in 06, recollection of many, GehtleMen
that house, that there nevcr,yras a meeting so
res.,cotahle its ihat,which tpuit place at the Man-
-honse, nor one at whiat_themleodmirs %vete
so derenoined io perform 'theit' duty in rietitionitt,'
against this odious rh,s it.„„; lit
recolleetcd, ‘vOs tilt' irork Of the sonic
body of people who. in 1793', crane fOrward to
encourage the Griveronient. of the Country a;t
a mjast 'awful crisis, and who, their 'resolti-
revietl time -pint of the 'capital., The Sante
persolis held several otherartertings.in the coutse
of the war, as nt the time of the, si,tttinyc, nod, 01)
other oecosions,. Oat) by their loyal lespitttions.
.gave confidence not only lathe miuds
,and 'spirits
of the,Gentlemen•iu that liottse, but to the Coins-
try..at 1798, why !ilk tax:was prO-
-1000, and When. stocks were, SO IMI/ that, adorin,
could not kte'r,iisetl with advantage,,,it was nnani-
muusly resolved that, great benefit wooldbe
sivcd from reising the stipplies"withib the year:;
on which the Right lion. cientleman, now no,
tome, fratlfoundett Isis 23111 for the PropertYTax,
lie declaed it to he, a War tax,. to continueduring the war, and no lon;er. he was there-
fore 05toulahei1 to hear the manner 'in whiclr.
his Right honourable Friend opposite•
Made use of the ‘erirds " no longer," whiehrdk
Considered is a paltry trick. lie would not4ifiii.
grilse that thardlonse .the people in the
country looked upon it se a wartax they, ntiOr
would have allowed themsrl‘es tO, undergojhe
opprrasiee inquisition, which no Briton couht or
ought tAbcar, if, they, had riot thought. it was to
be aboli3hed in peace. 'There never was a More,
respectable meeting,
.and out of time 22,009'per
sons who had signed the Petition, ,there was
riot an individual who did not feel and know
Isis own situation. -Why. should tot. the .uto-
ney be raised by other itteipts—t What teas the
difference whether it was raised by Loan, or
taken Out of the pockets of the people Min -could
eta afford to buy stock. .; Tlrere was nut
iinercantilc .rna who did not feel the Tax full a;
arty class, wag 1 ley mak e 8 ILI
deeply as e •ti II •I
to 'pay it,' because they probably had More means
than, other people. flax, after all that could he
said-, it, was. an obnoxious Tax that the people of
this country ought not liow, to hear. There imd
been sontething going forWitrdlately, ass an at-
tempt to see What could be done- by a .Counter-
Petition ; :but he heard had been signed .by'
about seventeen persons, when the framers, being
ashamed of it, took it away'in their pocket's, vod.
nothing' more bad been heard of it. lion.
Baronet then tutivedJor leve to present the Pe
tition, .
OU Its being brought tip;
- _ ,

Sir J.tstes SHAN.). horeleatitnotty to the extra-
ordinary respectability of the Aleeting,, wiittik were
so unanimous in their opinion, tisat only .one soli-
tary disseniient voice was heartlagititist the ivies-
t tenni(' ask the Noble Lord and the 'tight
(ientletuatt, on his -own part
,and that of
some of their hest (Fiends, whether they still in-
tended to adhere to Illeasitre iihriost every
intiitidttril in the einintry eoriderened-i And; why
was all this pertinaz.ity ? Could they iluitv 'any'

i„.1,1/11
1.“11131,i SUI I. &J. •••••••
heard :1 single argument that op-pealed to be
plisuaible. Was the want of six millions a reason
far-imposing a tax so abhorrent to the genius and
feeling of all the ne 001 e of ,Eugland ? lie eves.
satisfied that t.lt tax was one which the people'.
coidd not pay, which .they onght not to pay, and
whicit, if carried this'year, ttinst be relinquished
the next. On what ground was it that this measure
was originally.proposed- in 17_98 ? The funds:bad
fallen so low, front 50 to 47 that it wits impos-'
slide to raise a lean ; but 'now a loan could be
-procured' under five per cent. Various modes lend
been suggested" to prevent` the continuance of this
oppressive tax, bet, none of them suited the Molina
Lions of this Majesty's Ministers. It had bean liege
;vested not to lay the-weight of a fat thine, on the
people this,year ; but Ministers disliked this eil-
%lee. Mode, had been recommended by an
Gentletean opposite, that of applying to the
Siehing.Fuud; they did not like this. They had
been adviSed to pay the interest of a loan 'at the
eiel-of two years, as was done in America, and
Lou it to answer extremely well ; but this was ob-
jected to. m colllij nut, thereforeibut feel sorry
tleat Minitteil, who lied shewn so moot) gOod
sense oh other occasions, should now he to -blind •
to their own interest as to persevere in a measure
so eenerally obnoxious.
MeeTlN,thought, that, if Ministers. had
borne in tided the very little chance they hail of
carrying the measure,
_they would have 'given it
up. But understanding that they meant to per-
peyere, and expected to succeed by only' a very
small 111810rity,.be must tell them that they would
. do more to elienthe the affections. of the country
by it than by the.adoption of any other measure
Whatever.
Aldernoin Atril-tes observed, that the House
had witnesseilih*.Very great joy exhibited by Minis
stek that evenit'ig;tiri the contentS'of a Petition that
might he considered in favour of the Tax; signed
by only fotty 'persona. lie hoped that .protior-
tionate credit would he•given to this which bore
the signatures of no less than 22,000 of ,the most
disinterested atidenliglitened men in the country,
amongst erhoia were those who heihrtverryrsup-
ported Gtiveinnient; [le hall puhliiily expressed
()Pinion, 'before` eo loni the lomoar of a mot
•in that „Howse, when the T:oi raised from fat:
per tent. 5, but, even if he were now iu favour of,
the Tax, when he saw what,-were the feeliegs of
the, whole country upon it, he should be 011/111iStf
to Offer' opioioo ageiust them. Ile Itad
oely said theSe few, words, beceir;e it had not been
111 bispower to attend tiVe meet mg
11r. B.t4iNG'said, as the Meeting had been sti
fully attended, it was hertily *necessary for ilittlltl
say a few `•O in- favour,of the petition. It lusil
tihe eilditirite, not Only of the Corporation .of the
, City of I.ihrttlisti, bur (gall the °thir enlightened
persons. - lie never saW such a number
.of
persons of the utmost respectability collect-
ed• together—. lie believed there never was,
• •riti:ll•X Meetingson any occasionwhatever. If the
Arnim had been distressed, the merchants had
been equally so. But the whole argument
turned ou the degrading sift/mint) in which people
.were placed: once a year, by beieg subject to the
inquisitorial exatuinntions. Mire the tax cane
regidarly before the Mese iu tecomittitiee.„ the, •
would be the time to explain the, natere a.that .
fceliug 91::6dicg.fiitlis.tr;? a i
iellf,)1111(11g of.whieli those who bcen4texcited peery
part of
'were cotmected only with landed pteperty, could
form no ciMneeptien„ and
,there. wits no doubt
that they would: give their concurrence to get rid
of it. Thoo Cictitlemen w1:10 IVcre the promoters
of the 'has when le. Ayes 'first. ,load on, were
the very same persons who now petitioned,
against it. It was a Tax (.4 thatexecrable na-
_Jure,. that . nothing but, the most agent neeessity
could tolerate its ,existener ; and though the
Noble Lortfand Mr-C(4lo%lles .were •so ready to
.cheer,the language cif a.petition which contained '
the signet eres ,of• thirty-stx persons, they would
*MO, if they Carried the measure, by u small ma.
.jority, thiit it wonid_reenire sonseithing more than '
theinfluence of such persons, or even of the Cann,
to keerthent in their sittiatiows.
, ts,lr PgNsoN3y congratulated the lipase on the
• true light iii which the snbject.had been placed.
y It was tic abominable principle of the Tex; the
acte;taws, inipikiterial'power that ft
,gave, which
Oufßed.the 4.2,0d0 persrms.of tondo') to sign the
°Petition for condemnation. • lie did hiestech
the Chancellor the ii'sx-allegner to remember
what the it euse had.beerr told, on a,former ocetm-
sion, that Petitions were • to heestimated only by
their uteri's, amj not by the gold chilies and.
furred gowns of, those.who hroeght them to the
bar,. But this Session. we .haul
,clie whole weight
, and judgmeut of the commercial population'.
'of London in a' Petition, • And the 'tight Ho-
noitrahle Gentleman would do well to' consider,
whether the boon he pretended tit offer them wits
really a boon or not; for Would find nearly
the whole mass of the funded interest: in the king
-clam rejecting.it. Noble Lord had talked of
clat»ouring down proposition for continuing
' this tax ; bitt 'think these 22,000 -persons
. could be licensed effstleft u tlisErrisition ? They bad
beerd ,day •&ter-atay, what had been said in this
" House, ue&read, Wleit'hail'ffeen printed,' for and'
against the tax,-and'nriw came.thein'etition. He'
woolil'ttere.fore leeve:it to the Noble Lord to say,
whether this
_N.,.4s:th)e,' petition' imf ignoeanrand•im--
.patient persons, 'clamouring down.a measure, or
tint sol)e.r sentiments of the most enlightened
periple of the country., •
Mr. heexasibee Said, ho felt that the Tax Wail
`n great inciinvenience ; he felt it so in his own
Nitrate. ; hot- he also felt that it wasa beno•
fit to his'constituents. All the monied men be
had conversed with bad agreed that it was the
:wisest and best •ineasare that could be adopted,
and therefore lie'sboilld cOniaiencionaly give it his
vote. it .would make people pay in one way who
would not have paid in any- way.
Colonel Et.ctsoN said, it was his-pridt,to have
voted with that; great • man,' Mi. Pitt, ft was a
wise measure that enabled, the country to meet
the expenditures within thliyeari it was a War
Tax, nod as such' (we understood him to ,say)
.anight properly-be-continned to Wind up :the e)s-
penees of the war:.. He should,noi he ,carried
it way by Clamour; hut :.be' thought time
, tlid.`dttre'llic? tnOseirbportaut.4;he ihaf had
beta

I

on-the subject of this*Petition; but he found it
necessary 16 Asity a few words. The Hon.,Mem.•
hers for thie.City of London bad correctly. stated
it to be signed, not only by a large -majority of
their constituents, • but by mavy..,44ousands .of
others, who could not but be suliptiscit to he well
acquainted %vita the subject. Bit as alit lion. Gene
tleman MI6 sat behind hint (Mr. Alexander) had
spoken with great et ntidence of the opinion Of
the monied- interest in his Borough, it would he
worthy of the consideration of the House, whose.
opinions were best fotmded. it the opinions of
_the monied interest were not to he collected front,
the City of -London, where were they to be ob-i.
tallied' from ? lie would certainly sooner trust.tro -
their united opinion (ban to any private reprcsen7%
tat inn. The Bolt, Gentleman had spoken, if his
ears had nut deceived film, of the opinions 114,
constituentX. No doubt these opinions must navel
great weight with the House.: they were the opi.
mans' of the constituents who were to lits'lonini,
within the walls of that very respeetahle'Borooelz
in Wilts, Old Sarum ! The Ibis. Gentleman hail
great:y exaggerated his constituents, for, it lie
!night use such a phrase, he believed they might,
all be comprised in- one. What monied interest
there might be amongst them, he cooldinot pre
tend to say ; or whether the surprise and astonish"'
tnent with which the Petition signed by , 22,000
had impressed the Hon. Gentlemen, hind ref !e,,e4
him disinclined to go into the question.
hoped, it this werd the case, that when be hack
recovered froth his astonishment, he would no 4:
be disposed to vote the wrong wit!".
Mr. A LexaNnet.explained. • Ile had ex. reSita'
,
not only his own opinintiors- a man engaged
in
trade, but that of mail `persons
liacl dealings, and who had money in his kaneis..„
The Petition was then ordered to lie on the
table. with whom he

RECORDER'S REPORT.
Mr. Bnarserk, seeing the Noble Secretary of
State in his place. wished to know why his Royal
Highness :he Prince Regent had not received that'
Recorder's Report, as tneve h ;teen for some
time past no lets titan 58 persons under sentence,
of deth, . ,
Lord CASTLIIREAGtt said it was not an oil
thing to 'assemble a Council at a distance fro,
Court. cause of the delay was solely owing
to the indisposition,' of the Prince Regent, WitiO
kept his Royal Highness from town,
Lord.,"Mtt.ToN declared, that he Inst.& With as''
touishment anti indignation what hail• fallen from
the lips of the Noble Lord. What sort of Mills-.
position Was it that prevented an act which tva4
the most, rllnn of any that came under 1114
Kingly office % Was it mere indisposition, as it
commonly called—and if so, was thi9 a 3 MOW,' why
the Royal pleasure should not be taken on 00
hies of those who had unfortunately been eapi.•
tally convicted, but that they sholild Ire left tar
weeks and months in the most direful suspeaset
because' the Royal Personage happened to be ahs
the Noble called indisposed ? IF Brielitow veer°
500 miles from town instead of 50, he would sate
it was the duty of the Minliterf.: of the Crown fa
recommend the holding of the Council, for such •
etti enormity ought not to he suffered: He was,
aware that be had spoken with more shipusual
warmth ; but the interest of thessibiect must be
•his excuse. He should move for an account of
the number of persons under sentence of death.:
with thc dateS when they were respectively stn..
tenced.
The ATTORNEY GENERAL Could conceive- that
the feelings of Members who might have visited.
Newgate, and 'fonnd what a number of person'.
were under sentence of death, might have beets
strongly excited. No doubt their situ/Hien was
one of great anxietrand auspence ; *but if the
Hon. Gentlemen ,liad intinited, • they would ittqs
found that this delay,was -by no means a new ore
currence. But what practical inconvenience couldl
result frOm this delay bear !)
would repeat his question, for he could not cots'
ceive any. The decisions on their cases were ne- .
cessarily postponed Fromthe indisposition of the
It.tiyal person, and from the necessary attendance
Ad, those persons whose experienoe and: hunaaue'
consideration always had proper weight.
Recorder's Report comprised a great mumher
individuals, with respect to whom it was
the kingly pleasure that the sentence of 000
should be remitted, and thete were few who werits
convicted with whdoi, the law was antlered
its.'ebiirse. He woidil admit that the niimbe.ry!Ag•-;
_great, hut few would have ninchterisMi'. to catty.'
plain-of the 'which, be repeated, had bete['..
unavoidable.; anti though there was noaftuatioli
in life :Which called for more •anxious,
• Lion than that of the persona in question, he sot!'
Ale good that could result from the motion, 4'174'-1!
'which he thought there was no substantial gronniL,r,
Mr. W. WTNNP expressed astonishment -rte
'hearing-from the -AttornerGeneral, that no ita~
convenience could result frOnfkeeping'sB per,Orls
now under sentence of death in a ~tote of once-
'tlainty. Did he really think that ihereArnanno:
ground of complaint, when those corivicted"ott:lle.,
last December Sessions were still ignorant 'l/41'hat
was to be their fate He was sorpOSpil, that-S4lOll
a circumstance. should have occurred.:„ Within the ?'
last ten days there bad .been Council tipon,Coun-
cil at Brighton—dant! It appeared strange to .
him, while this was.-known to be the-ftder;:tha(is •
subject of-a nature so serious that which 40
• just-been referred te, should not have-been takers •
into Consideration on account. of the Prince gi'•
genes, indisposition. it ;was .said that it. Wou(d
be inconvenient for -the Law- Officers to lent et
tort-) to, wait upon the Prince at Brighton. 1 1.).6
H admitted, this might be .so, :but thought
It
'an ineonvenience which might to:be snbmittea
to, in order to avoid which, was prOdnetive of
incalculable. mischief`: The Recorder and '616
1* Lord Chancellor were the only legal' cliaracfcr9
whose presenee was absolutely necessary,' Wile'',
the Report oftore Convicts tinder sentence ?L',
death was taken into consideration. . He,co"l",
therrfore, see That the difficulty in the 'year "
such .report being made, was insurwountable•—: •
,tNhat:Atvle,laosyt,owitihicieleiti7liteten7c-itstr'hreiedh.otillietiplenlbitl.i:iebnuttlt74!
is:o) nt o
o ,fcai
whatl.istvai pe4i
asit,bseh
iwneoni
ald;ask,j'i~titicd the la dl e-
n
preOwned might heirxnected to he produce. bY
the example thus-atiOrded I 1.'6 Mike this helm

II

o -...vas becels;vy, teat tale con9ealon „e;:t.y,t.i.!:.
the tritgi, 'afithlit dteadful iii tsibinent which was
its reward„ebould be elUt distinetly marked, If
two or, threknaliiiths'were'iiiffered to interveneiVe.
*teen. the'senteirce and the execittient, 'iii'd crtme
i was .no longer 1 etnevnbered .by.the 'molt itit6l
pf C They only heard . that po many Ten were to be
I hinged, 'and the death of the unforteliate offenders
furnisheda: show foil the'idle', and °that was all:
The delay of whirl% he complained, it,would Altus
be seen, was injurious to the public at large, and
it was unneCestary for him to describe to OF
house the leelings of the. Persons tinder sentence,
who Were kept. for .so,considerable a period in a
„
:1 state of miserable strspenee. ‘ - -
. , The ATTORNEY-GENERAL, in explanation; said,
lie,had not asserted there was no inconvenience to
be.complained of, as his Right:Hl). and Learned
' Vriend. (Mr. Wynne) had supposed ; he had; on
•• enee, which it was desirable to surmonnt, if this
tml:etree°pnotsrs3irbYle .sutislitr there
tlts e was grunt
eraSe7teca:ceinco:nd:l-,
,whose sentences were nut to be carried into effect,
,the delay only postponed for 'a time the consider-
q sttion of their-eases, for the purpose of CollllllUt-
ing.the punishment. • .
• The.motion was'then agreed to.
1 PROPERTY TAX: •
The Order of the Day
having
Mouse going into a Con ** been read, for the
onatee of Ways and
M Means, the !-louse resolved itself into a Com-
Inittee. • •
. • .
Tlie,CHANceuma of the EV:CHEQUER Stild it
Was With much swisfaction. that lie at last found
- • the period was arrived at which 'he could submit
to the calm and scrims ileliheratiou of that House
the important question which for many weeks had
occupied so much of their attention. They were
now about to enter upon the considei•ation of that
proposition which he had intimated on the. first
meeting of Parliament it was his intention to
bring before them'—the renewal of the Property
! Tax; After the most laborious investigation, the
louse had given its sanction to the great outline
Of that establishment, which they had been in-
formed would he required for the present year.
- They now toalecide on' tee Ways and !leans
by which the Supplies granted could be met, end
he,.kbew of no one less exceptionable than the re-
' )ml%* of the Property Tax. The objections which
the conversation's in that 1-louse had given rise to,
would, lie trusted, be in a great mtastire removed,
when the subject .came to beytnore clearly under=
stood by the country, 'in' consequence of its hay-
ing, been brought more distinctly under the donsi-
aeration of that Huse. He had been repeatedly
tidied upon by Petitions from .varioit's - parts of
the country, but the duty lie owed the pub:
lie had made him feerthe quest iota ought to ho
submitted to Parliament,- and by the decision of
f Parliument he was content to abide. The Peti-
,
titans: presented from a small portion of the pen-
Ple—(Hear, hear, hear!)--comparatively they
weer but from a small portion of people—
(Hear; hear, hear !)—contained nothing which
could induce, hint to change his plan ; and fiat)
these conveyed the settee of a 'much • larger pro
[I portion of tlteNation than be believed they did, he
should still have thought it his duty to live Parlia
Theo ansopportenity.of*.takingthe subject into its
consideratimt, by stating the grotto& on ivitich he
lad adopted the project whicie he bad avowed ---
r Baying ,paid great ,attention to many of the Pe-
tit idhs Which had-batn proonted-,, he wetter from
abittking the lapwing, of thine could"be held to ex.:
press that dellheratejudgment on t Itteinestion which
that thillie o,,itiltlettine to, taking a corep'relientlive
view orthe,teerits of the case, or &at 4ould hare
been given by the Petitioners themselves, had they
hod time dispassionately to look into it, ae;rl hav-
ing that io.ormation to guide-them;• whii:ll would
abliklt this; fletibitMS of .Par.liartteet: . He was led
' to this conclusion from'findivg; in almost ell of
Ithfhtinion itafottedett compliiiritof a pledgebaving
. been violated, which Wltt salletted- to have' been
A 4411 lay Parliament, that this Tax should not be
7"lelvetl' In the very last Petition 'which had
neer) presented, which will most respectable on
account of the quarter from which it came, and
on atcount of the names attached to it, -this-charge
was urge.), and the worthy Alderman who. had
brought It np had reiterseted it in the speech
which he had made: If this wasone,of the ergo.
mews on which he principally 'depended, the
House would know how to value his opposition
to the measure, and he, when he saw such a state-
ment as that to which he bad referred, in the Pe-
tition:which had been presented,' could' not 'hut
feadisposed .to consider it as any thing rather
klittn-the expression of the deliberate judgment of
the Hankers end Traders of the City of London.
- The worthy Alderman bad stated this Tax to have
originated in consequence of certain •Resoltitions
• • come to in'tbe City by the' persons' who framed
. ' the Petition which imilitist been brought up. He
!sad told *them Mr.' Pitt founded the Incottie Tax
on the proceedings in the City, anal pledged hirn-
*elf that it should 'hot continue in force
later the termination of the war. If ill the
orgionenta of the 'Honourable -Baronet had no
,
better foundation • titan this assertion,. the
• House .mould not feel• at a loss how to treat
+ammo, The., meeting which '
Was called in I 708,
, - bad-ended incertain Resolutions in favour of vo.;
ittatary cOntribiitions for the purpose of cal eying
on the was', and highly to the honour of the re-
apeetable:i l; ; 1 ..v.ntio, concerned, in consequence of,
' the '&reps; thui taken 'to assist the Government' of
the century, a very considerable stint was 'Sub=
scribed. In the succeeding Session of Parliament.
Mr. Pitt brought forward a sew meestire, (which
boweser lie believed to have been -in his cuptem-
plation some time before),' the object df which
trtis to relieVe the money inerket from that great
Pressure winch had been thrown- on it by our
: funding
.'ystete. 'Phis relief eves to be atordo
• by raising in the year a. IMICh. larger proportion.
of thestapplies than it had been common to oh-
Ph) by taxation, With this' view. he introduced
14
- ' ' Er!ilPr Aids soli Lo
' litribatiom, which caused.
4 11"VY Increase to be made to the Assessed Taxes;
and this being remplained of, in tho.next 'year hp
brought fortVard. his tux upon income.- In sub..
misting this tax to, Parliament, he (the Chancel-
lor tit the EXchectiter) wiSbed it to he partieolarli
°Ills""ii; that Mr. Pitt, far irons pledging him-
self th,at it should tcsminate with the "r, 144
P")liosed that tor every year it. was continued in
torce dariow; the war:, .' 4 Iti In i lo (Vera"
it. s 90 rt. Li II
.►. , ..

roiinstance, -Ituttlii lie'contintted in ist's,,e,
for three years, for the. purpose of- pro'seenting
kire, war,!-it- was his intention tiiietain it,for three
years after the conclusion of, a peace. It cliri~»c+c
end here ;-7not only did Mr. Pitt recommend,
thar, for every year o.f war it should be continued
fora year in. peace, that in the latter it initt.ht, pa.i
off the burden; supposed to be incurred in: the
former ;. but he pi oposed to pledge the tax fr.r
portion of the loan, very Judah' larger than the
produce of, theitax, in one year.. Thus, for instance.,
when a loan of 20,000,0001. whereto be -borrow,l
ed, he had recourse to perManent taxes, hot to
pay the iverest of foor tnillio us and a half,ot that
sum; the charge created by the remaining
15,500,000/., he threw upon the Ineome Tax.
The consequence of his acting on this system
(which it had been said he had pledged him-
self should immediately cease on the return of
peace); was, ilott when the Treaty of Mucus
was concluded, the Income Tax stond itledg
ed for, stuns which it would have required eight
years to have raid off. At,that period, however,
the Tax was given up.• '!'lie Minister of that day
(now Lord Sidmoutb) had nut had recourse to
that measure, .bitt bad found a substitute for it.—
He, proposed a larger addition to. the Permatietit
Taxes than had ever been made. before,bod pro-
posed new duties to 'the imonict of 5,006,000 t.--
On the renewal of the war in 1803, Lord Sidmouth
proposed the teuewal of the Income fax, such. as
is now is,-under the-name of the Property Tax
No loan was then charged upon it, as hail been
formerly done, and it was had recourse to but to
strengthen the IVays and Means of the,year. lu
1806, a consider :hie addition belts nt the to it, as
it was increased hy the then Cioverument trfint
to 10, per cent. On this subject he thottot it tie.
cessary to take some notice of certain comments
which had been made ou some expessitins which
had fallen from hun in one of their late nestiltinv
discussions. lie Will ht.eat understood to say the
Goveinment of 1806 Ita:4 it in cometOptation to•
pledge the Property Tax in time of. Peace. He
denied that he skid the NUble Lout, then at
the. lwad.of the 'Fri asury, had any desire or wish
to continue the Property Tax in time peace,„..
What lie lied mentioned was, that at that time it.,
was'not made a. question of'good .faith, but simply
one of expediency and iliteret.on. This, by. a :ter,
ence to documeins„ hc.proved,w,as. the only:vieW
which had been token of it by 'the Administration.
of 1806. While bee spoke of the Noble Persons at
thailead of rnatiGeovernaent.with that' sincere 're-
spect, which C. O. conduct grad always inspired, he
felt it necessary to state that no pledge had :been
given by them that the-Property Tax should runt
be renewed,. He tnett proved, from' a refereti'ee
to the debates of 1,506, that the_uresent Treasure!
Of. the Navy, himself, and the then Chancellor of
-the. Exthequer, hue; concurred thinking the
Property Tax might be adeautageously toritintied
no a redee:d scale, it this. were not oppos'ed to the
general feeling of the pcople,,• lie "then she Wed
oat no pledge ,had beta given, last, year, that it
ihould not be renewed, • He had then opposed,the
thodifications recammendetf, on the gt'olltni, that:
these could not be SO well iniroduCed then, when
the Tax was to he renewed but for one year ; its
at a future Teriod, if 'recourse. should' be had to it
again. The time was vow coine'iythenthese could,
be properly co-bidered; IVit6l this Tax was first
proposo, it was iuteodeti to e the lilooey,mar.
kit, 4reatly depressed' by the loivis of 1796
and 1797; Which had together aniOunied. to
56;000,0001 'ln tilt years.lBl4 antllBls, the sums
burrowed bad amounted to' no' lesi Than 100 milt
lions. Though there WA a totisidei:Able dill'.. recce
between the price ot the•Fto.diti4w 'iii 1797,
yet, when ti.e 3-ter cents were 6ttt fil, alter so
glorious a peace as he hist, it 'Mist lie seen that
something was neethai,i,,• to 'relieve the money
ni,rket from its depressed'statt', more especially
when the effect of, the peace of Atm. tison it was
remenitiered which, iii point of honour, sectiti7..
ty, 40:1 efgcao, wag certainly the very opposi.e
of the- late pa,:ifie:ition.' The worse .w,itich
nisrers tom. proi:osed to pursue he
.held to he not
inconsistti'et with trne vcooolny, and' tie tin,teti
this would be adMitted by the douse, when the
Itedoetions now in progress were properly known.
Art Ilonrnirable BdrOttt't bad privosed lout ways
of meeting the, eXigeneics, of the year, but aft
these 'yen' toborro,t not to raise the stint
which was necessarily demanded for the sr; vice
of tpe year. The money market, and the coma-
!tierce of the Country, he emit ended would gt) iii.
relief if the mohey were. raised, which it contd.
not be hoped, would be 'afforded to them if • it.
Werebartii%ved. Aires a time 4loan teen in peace
might not be improperly called fur, but. this must
grow ina of an iMproved state of public et edit
and not precede it.' It had indeed been said:by
Sonic Centime!' that a smal,l.hion wpold rather'
animate than depress, the !monied interest
this, though he katt great respect for the opinions.
otpraetial men, seemed to him rather too pant-
doxical to merit serious attention:. The Gentlemen
who adviled a 10an were very likely. to be called
Oran to contribute to it, and it mte was raised;
and he could itot but think they were nucouscious•
ly influenced by a Perception of the. difference be-
tween it measure that went to take 5 per cent. from
their inedine, and one that would add 25 per cent
to it. 'He proceeded ,to set forth the, importance
of drat relict .which Ise contended' the retiewal of
the PropettL Tax' wool_ el afford the commercial
and nimitetfriterests of the coentry. The equality
and jttliee of the Tax be particularly insisted
upon, and claimed for it a superiority over others
which pressed with .equal weight on expense,
without; reference to the disparity between the
met'ins, of individuals. He repeated his statelnent'
Of the. modifications which he had it in content',
plati‘M to introduce. These consisted, in making,
a tenant pay a third instead of three-fourths of
his rental, and ia exempting those whose farms
Were tinder the value. of 1001.. per annum, wholly
from the operations of the 'Tax, while the duty of
7s. Gil. On each horse used for the purposes of has,
bandry was to bit taken off.. it was further his
intention,in ease of severe:losses being sustain-
ed, to
„give the c'Unrmssioners the power of
making further allowaneeS in favour of the far.
titer. , For the merchant,. it WE IS Nils intention
• tO, anbieet- birn to no neW inquiry, chose
topay,on ;his old :,aisessatent. Those Who. did
not appeal itgainst tills within a s.ei,.,sat

i .
iaely.;. Lied thosc..trlao irepeaateseintist give ;it new
reteret, andatiAteit to he examineihto their ilf--
mfrs., It %vas et; ilettna,oit to t evive the prbeisione
of a former. Act, ftle-allostistw the tr.oh.setati ao
name r.teree,.-if belboeight.'piqer. Shiiiil:d. be
prefer. going heferei he CommiSsiniters , he. would
i:utt,be examined as eederalie pre)eut A, t, het the
!' CI ik and one,of the (.', oiniiiis-ioners steected by
UtiferorOltei-Wise wonld condoet the itofairy io
private, he swore to secrecy, 9nd compelled to
destroy Lll tippers and memoranda relating; to the
bilsintss. .1n the preamble of the B:il it wits his
intention that it should be statA, the Tax was
resived for two years to .wind op the expellees of
the late war, and to Meet the charges of the first;
yeirs of peace. The sent t% !licit: this Tax was:
expected to produce. in the two yearS, anti whiCi.e,
wnitd he wanting- to wind up the expencus of the
war, was 1•2 or 13 000 000/... It %vies calculeted.'
that 8 'sr 9,000.000/, would be called for in the pre-,
sem year and about 4,500,0001; in the next.. By
having recourse to the Property Tax for. this nter,
pose, lie looked for a great iinproventent in our
finances; .and if this were not ttreetl.to, he could
not but expect the country would have to struggle
With a lung successitor of ditlicelties. and embar-
vassments. .13ut some who Were opieiscd to • this
measure celled foribreathieg time I,i the country.
That was what he wanted. All he asked ..was,
. that thenieactire lie had Proposed should be re-
sorted to, to give the Credit of the country breath-.
ilia; time, after the immense burdens which .had
heel) I.tid epon it by the loans of the. two. last
years, which, as he I, id already stared, had
tormented to
.100,000,601. . The Shiking Fund
was tq,aal to all-the puepoies tor which it was
established; hut it was not equal' to other financial
oeerations at present. To touch this now:or take
a heet, would not be a safe experimeut. • The
country must not he in too great haste to enjoy.
the advantages it had gained; it must wait till it
attained it situation in whicleit child safely be re-
lieved front its hurt hens, before it claimed the
toll benefit of peace. He Concluded by moving a
Resolution, declaring it expedient to renew the
Property Tax,, at the rate of fe'e pet tent. .
sir W. cuirris oppostal the motions. H c e on•
sidered the Preperty Tax it war tax' only, and
eherefofe one which ought to be discontiened - ie
time of.Peuce. Solong . as its inquisitorial anti.
oppressiee nature remained, it should Meet With
oppoiitiOn.from him.
• Mr. W. SNITti would ,almost oppose this Tnx
in war or in peace. He particularly objected to
its inqiiisitoriel operation, with respect to cdm-
tnercial men'. The proposition of the Chancellor
Of the Exchequer that merchants should pay on
their old iffiessments or' .submit to it newPintpiiry
into. their .affairs, he did not approve.. It .was
known (bat manthad sestainedgeeitt losses in the
present year, and to conceal these-they would pay
onlbetrAtil .assessments. The tax world thus
become stink upon outgoing rather than income.
He dwelt with much warmth on dui hardships
endured ender this tax, 'and !ioped if any Milt
Gentled:oi 'had been brought over. the Channel to
fix
.this inspost upon England, that they would
pause before they carried this 'design., inn) effect,
and reflect, if they acted thtis,whetheriiwas.not
probable: the English would soon determine Upon.
extending it , to Ireland.-.41e rrueed the Tax to
be at variance wit h•sitnost every page of De; Adam
Smith, in which he treatir'on what.eliould hello:
'•
principles of taxation. ,Attatt'lje (IX.:A;.Ntstitli)
considered would be a less inconvenient mode .of.
Meeting the espentlittne•otalte year. "He partie
ciderly . objected to the Tax, on account. of its
pressieg heevy on professional men, whose. in-
comes not only ceased with life, not only with
14.7slith, 'trot often through caprice or accident.—
his:, tt hicoWas one of the greatest hardships
sustained tietliVit, the Chancellor of the Ecxelle-
quer had not proposed to mortify-he hail not
seemed to think wort liye.of his consideration at
, all. • lie deuied the truth of the aasation so often
Male, that it tell upon the, rich and lica upon the
. poor: lile'ln'coine Tax was a conscription upon
property, HIM ass imposed by Mr. Pitt, was as ty-
raimieal es that, of Btioneparte,,upoe men. He
shied!' not enter into detads ; this was diet the
proper tittle, and lie was confident that time would
oever.`coltie.• but !hit on Chic Very first • question
qlsis adieus's-art wank' be lest.---(Cries of
,Ques-
tion.) .
, . . • ,
' Mr. ROSP.'got up in theanidst of repeated cries
of question', which frequently interrupted his
anerch; 'lnd rendered the greatest. pare of it jnatt-
&tile. lie defended the conduct 'of Mr. Pitt, who
when he had (mitre to the adininistratiOn of the
country, had toned it . exhallsed by the 'conse-
quences of time AilltPleall War, With all unfiltered
' debt of 2G nililionsao provide for ; yet, with small
means he had 511ritiOhrited those difficulties. ' In
1797 the funds had fallen; under the pressnre of
- repeated luaus, teed 7 anti a frecrion. It:was them
11r.-,Pitt reierted to tlte.Property. Taxro r;dieee
then), and on the Ist. of January, . l'illS, it was
proposed.- Its etftict had .ansetierett 'his expecca-
liolll, }lnd the
.titaillS had leenVered. 'Neither
could he intend it as a War Tax only„ as he had
Mote eaged it for filly•slx millions of debt, which
Mr :Addington had tended.. The country was niter
in et situation to render:it impottsibleto Withhold
this, Tex, than which it was impossible fur the
mind of man to sleviSe one more equal. , ~.•
• ' Mr. WHITSIIM KatNE. rose, in the midst of
the sionehuerruptions. All we could understood
was, that he conceived that., acctuding to the pre"
' sent tomplic'ated system of taxation, the people
paid 931. inevery 1001. and that it would be prefer-
able to abolish all other taxes,.'anti to double the
Pioperty `l;'are. The pockets of the country world.
then be relieved, and every. man would be .per-
feetly contented.
.• Mr. HART. DAVIrs considered that the Property
Tax was destined to Wipit up the expenses of the
war, end theretore completelsejestifiable. He toad
listened with Weestste' to the luminous explana-
tion given by the Chancellor of .the Exchequer;
but lie wished. to be informed On one. point,, whe-
ther, tli tex would be exacted from landlord* who.
could prove that they liad received_ no rent. He
thought Itis.,Majesty's Minions,' he meant Mini-.
sters—(laughter)—had taken a wise precaution,
alter is war of meaty years, to propose the Pro-
perty Tax, in order to: %and up'ils expenses. It
would give them time to reviSe their. Whole fittan-
eiel .syStern,:'and,tetthle thtins.totelieve the people

upon theltii!ttry.
. The effANcr-la.. of,the ,ctir-cv.;te ex I.' •
p Jul
v4l, Om !i.,. hijelided !0 intr•ol,ce cl Oka
ro ndirvqlitmlio who .11,,t11;1 not,ha'Vere,-
(.eir,•(l their tents, through they f ighr. or tits in.!
tiol ency of tlieir tenants,:--q(;ries of Question.)
Mr. 13A0brorflluled *to Site Right nolionrable,
Trelslirer of the N'ar'y its the too general
gyrist of all taxes end all tax-gallierers. Plchati
no doubt that the llou, Alititther for .13ristol.
(Av. )-fart
,Drvics).i.ad strong rea.stMs. for nutiipft
sisidCt lii.petitioni of his eoits;i:trients, btu he
festal thlTnever woull fi'od out how the Property
Tax ,t.Olll/1 ',rise the value of their cows ft outto 11/. lie calks.) upon „the HOn. Geniis man to,
observe, that 'contrary to Ida assertion, the.
ChancellOT or Oe E*elieqocr had slot
~pie(igiol
himself to continee the,TaN for, tw'o oisly,,
The object of Aliiiisters was to, have prina
ciple of the Property :nix onset .fiXell in Onto
of peace, and then the country wonid :never
see its end. knight ITRnotinible ticinasa heti
compared the period of 1,797 wish the present,
Bitt there was HO an:4l.olv here, co Liept, frs°
1797 there Was a. pn Exi:itNy..s. , rick
Cutttry. It was then necessary to drtw tins
wealth. of the country Into, the heyter.
But now .There was. a rich .Exchesper and a
poor country, 4ild ant:-
.50 oe I.estow-.
ed on the Country. 8.11 not on the Exr.heqeer.......
The finances of, theeountry.went eat
~ety toll';
there was no (facility in horrotving, 110 :le this-.
trees of every. cl.t& wits to he met, not by taking'
more money put of their pockets", hut. by taking
off taxes.—The Chancellor of the ler
treate.l the conntryes ft set of pampers.- The..y
not .want to burrow money, but a se .ri.zet son !heir
produce.. lie denied that the au •tIS‘ were .it at
state of depression. They ytel,led at thk moment
more tlistr_ five" per cent. They were far more
likely to:he affected by.* shrinking of the pro, ,
pert y of the count iy, when. people %lonic] be so.
reduced as. to sell their st or Ks, out of the 13 ink..
The effect Produced, bya.. loan of .nine rn )Bona!
would bonothing it(enjori,Jni, nod in one week,
or two, would not be felt ',in circulation. He
woe'd he the last however: to. recommend
but Exchequer Bills might. he issued, anitaffoat•;
ins :leht. created to be funded tit more favour-,
able opportunity. The, C.lnitkeellor, of the
chequer had shewed-notioanenti tiecelsity for the
Tax. If -he •wanted it only two' yejsz,...sop,-,
nosing' his former pledges, gootl, he tnight,raise,
his ten millions iu a different mainter. If hb took
five per cent, from..the:Sinking
.I,lt.irel, the whole •
hut-then would he One million,' The tinirstintx;
therefore wits, whether it would be prefer/TA tO,
revive this oppressive Tax, loailedwith the exe-
cration of the country ; to Sacrifiee 'the etl:Crt&ter
of Parliament ; or to take oueqnillion '604 the
twelve millions' of the Sitiking.Fand.
Lord CAST.I.E.REAGH assured the. !douse, that •
nothing, hut,* strong,sensei.of...duty coulttiddine
the government to risk losing ehe.taVour'ertho;
Country, and.twoppose itself toit4.natural desire
to be relieved from
turn then' backs on their own duty, it-,they, gave
•
up the paidtil -task:. Helm& .thehighest repeet
for•the petitions of the 'people; but it wpfe'nkbe-: .
7011,0 its.wells that Parliament -Were ,to.seek..for.
guides in the.executioteof theirrlu.s.. When he
lookedit the Pei it ionS theinselybov„'he eves tent di -'
posed.to the COsintry
turn its- back on that finstsielal sysetern
Carried itothrimgh He waS tinet :c
astonished at the number or the stature of the Ecl
titions presented ti, 'the House:, 111,any.,,tlf-titeitt
contained e,itritneous ma:tet,, which if. attended,
to would shake the security of :the empire to its
fontobition, The meetingS had nOt'beell called to '
(lb,clists tlie 'Property Tax • alone. It 11,1,1 been'
mentioned .bienuse it was a p:lplitr tpoti t 6,
wield, hot had been used only to introduce ;,th'er
seritiMents:. - He sheirld mention-ae-titi liottimeeW
certain meeting, where an -lion. Gent, opposite
(Mr. lipmgluvm) had' conic 'to sprat: against the
Property Tax,'esid havl_nyt, 'Lim able to obtain a
hearing. solittle wits.the Tax itself the.nbieet .of
the meeting.' He'centended that only oire-fiinillf
'of the counties of Great Britain had petitiorted•
There were 90 counties. and duly 19 had expresi.ed
their sentiments. There were. in all +shout 400 Peel-
tions arnd one-third oft hose had come from Counties,
for the habit ,oflietitioning by pail:sites. ,1414 hem'
lately.adopted ; 130
„had; thus lie6l projittrefl'hy(
DeyonShire and ..11iitHleex„..and'200
conittiesi. The commercial towns wesle
'opinion. When lie reflected :on the conrse
lowed hy..the lientlertien • oppiillt, of! •,,thcir ti .t,,
fluence in" the, Cotintry; and WO' ends atones. by,
ClaMostr to persuade the peOple that his Nltijestv's'
Ministers were '.guilt
it of a breach • of l'icitir; 'fat'
front being astonishe ast.the nitioberiptpetitions,
he only,wondereii,iltat,it wee" nest. niMeisoosider..
He o wned,that theve,wktbkis troop; e%pectett iota
throughout theeountry, thattliefaxtwould termi--
Date,with the,war (Hear, hearl)z-Littod it it could
be done, consistently with their duty ro the nation,
Miniitero would,hebotinit :to do.it. Bet it was it
delnooli th say', tlitit't hey Were pledged to 'i;c urns
thine the'Tax -with. the war ; so far from. its b.etng
ut contCmplation.,7all'Administrations hail inte.nst-
ed to mortgage it in time of-peace.. 'lle then V**.
peated Unit 'Lords Grenville artittlenry n
have had that- in view when.they prolso3,l their
plan of linaice, and therefore coals) not. csmottler
it no"si breach of ftlith..' He eobtenilitt, that his
Right tion..,Ftlent! tile Chancellor of, the Exehei,
quer had tlOinctly stated that the Property Tae
would be Only wanted for two years. Hi would,
in round numberi', explain the financial tt
of the wintry. lts.expenditure this year would
he 30 millions, but next
.ear only
.20 millions
Sterling. VIII` clear revenue In Annual .'taxes and
littrplo of .theConsolldated'Fand !vas six,rnillians:
Out of 24 millions of , War Taxes," only two
Ilona and a -half were mortmed 21,4500,0U0i,
therefore still remained, which, with the six mil-.
)inns already mentioned, would form; 28;000;0001:
to meet an expenditure of 30,000,0001. It was
now intended to remit eight itliiiitms at taxes t? , ,
the people, or nearly one-thiki of the revenue.
whteli most.be inside uft this year by the arlvt4iCe-
from theliank, and the surplus of the Consolitha. . •
ed Fund. The reduction of the Property Tex to
five, per cent. and the removraof one miliiau
Of taxes ••trOm th'e ;,g, ie,sh vrotlil '
own 014• clear revenue to 14;000;000h pelt eA