The Sun.
London, England, 1818-02-04 00:00:00

PROPERTY-TAX PAPERS.

- - -
I'lr.llttouonam,wisited- know i the.Ciran-
cellor_,of t' a Exctretin,r could give ~ny informa-
tion respectitriz the 'oe'..trtiction of Papers mating,
to t,,e' Property -Tax
The CHANCELLOR Kii the tli'Actislatiga said, • a
vyry con*,itlerable titne ago, a circular le' ter had
beets s,at round, directing the (lest'ructi.ia 0! all
iets 'of papers conneCted ith the Property-
Tax. He had reason. to believe the older hattbeett
immediately complied
Mr. ilaotionAn wished to know if copies of
the pap, rs so ,!estroyed had nor peen kept}
The•CHANCELLOR of the -Excitg'QUeit under-
stood all lite copies to have beeii destroyed as well
as the originals.
MR. HONE.

Mr. W. SMITH, Ctibringing forward the motion
of which lie had given notice,•stated it to be kis
object to Jay some foundation for a treasure ro
correct the present course of proceedings '.on cx
officio iiilc,nmet.tioos. He-should not go into the
main question at the pre•ent moment ;lie should
content himself with moving for an account of all
stints paid into the Crown Office by Mr. /Hone,
,the authority on which they were slemanded, and
the use to which they were applied He merely
did this to- obtain for the lion authentic infOr-
mation'Of the evil which wished to correct.
case of Mr. Hone was rather the occasion
than the cause of his making this motion, as be
had had the subject in his mind for the last 30
years, and he mi( great Mame to himself for not
having brought it forward before ; 'tor had he
done so, he •Inight have been the means of
preventing what had, lately occurred in the
-case of' Mr.. Hone. Of that person he admired,
'in' common-with <the- public, the fortitude, 'the
sagacity, -and skill which - he.- had displayed
throughout the triais. He (Mr. Smith) had had
-several. interviews with him, anti he found him,
possessed oft he manners of a Gentleman. and 'aril-
mat ed by a very proper -spirit on the' present oc-
casion. For his own part, he (Mr. Smith) highly
disapproved of the parodies, and he thought it.
not the 'least. praiseworthy part • of. Mr'. Hoties:
conduct, that he had• .stopped the circulation of
them as he had done. He did not think them
fit subjects to he animadverted upon in a Court
of Jusiiceiitod was of-opinion such condemnation
as they had received in that -House, would do more
to check their popularity than the verdict of a
Jury would have done, even had one been given
against Mr. Hone. (Mr.- Smith) did not
now-stand forward to coruplain• of any one ; Mr.
Hone had spoken to him in the warmest -terms
of the urbanity, politeness, and attention with
which he had been treated by the Attorney-General,
who had throughout acted the part of a Gentle-
man. Mr.- Hone was also treated with eveur at-
tention and civility at the Crown Office. Nothing
had been refused to him ; nothing had he to com-
plain of bat the law. He (Mr: Smith) brought
no charge-against the Attorney-General or against
any one else. When he complained of the sums
demanded at the Crown Office, he complained of
the kw: This was the sole complaint olMe. Hone,
.for he did riot deny that 'the .1m1-4e to whom he had
applied for cories, had, in refusing them, acted
strictly according to the law. He moved—

" That theft? should be laid before Ilonse Accounts
of all Sums received in the Crown Office from Mr. Vin. Elone,
fur Copies of Inforniations filed against hint by the Attor-
ney-Geneval, with the authority' on which the Stints had been
demanded, and the use to which the same had been applied."

The ATTORNEY-GRNERAL did not know that it
was necessary for him to offer any comments on
the present motitin. He was glad that it was ad-
mitted that Mr. Hone had been treated in every

respect is, any...n!her tle,lcOan! wohi,iitave been
treated. if tlie,.Lion Cileiglemln had wisherd to
obtain iuffirtrAti9p with /I view to.imend the. 14 w
in any tesciect,.4 might have ottAined. it if Jilt:
motion hit,d.heen,more generally frattieds instead
of being founded, on the case of r..h ione,., That.
person, .lie §hewed, had been treated precisely as
Huy outer inch idilal would hale been under the
Sallie circumstances. The ifttormation now called
for was Already known ,to every, b•idy, at least
every holy !night know it, as it might b,e ftpind
on the Journals of that Honse. The demands
no,wmade were twit as had been customary from
1690. He koew not how long.they had,existed
rior to that date..i.o alteration had been rnade
with r.Cspect to , them since that tine, unless it
wrrr in.the st;arup.. ;+stlte smug demanded
now were, ti,ttu ,had .teen returned to the House
in the year.he bad named, Htool itt
,1730. .TheOtfi-
leer.ltad claimed %is fees hut, as t*, which, had
' been customary ;from time
,immegtorial. Under
these cimumstances the House would see the'pre-
sent motion was wholly ondecessary.., ,

fir F. BURDETT defended the motion, and, con-
sidered the course taken by the Hon. Gentleman
to he the proper one, to chew the grievance of
which the pnblic had to complain, from.the manT
tier in which legal expenses were multiplied.
,The
evil it.ppeaed to him to grow out of the insatiate
spirit of taxation.
The ATTottsey-GyNERAL, moved the previous
iinestion.
Mr. W: SMITU thooa:ht the mode by which it
was proposed to ger rid of his motion, most ex-
traordinary. . He described the charges made for
furnisidng copies of the informations to he most
enormo,s. They anionnte:l in the whole to no
lesc ti sum than 9/. To raise this slim Mr. Hone
had been o'oliged to sell, at a great loss, various
articles of his property.
Lord Cis'ruottdott sa.ll, if the House granted
the information call,d- for On this motion, they
would :appear to do so, not on account of what
was nbjectionibie in the practice, but in consi-
deration:of the case of Mr. House. He should,
Ilivrefote, support the previous question„ though
lie thought it tvould have been better to meet the
motion witha direct itepfive.
Mr. 11'401.1c1-lAm would take upon hiniself to
Sav, that it a return were made to the House of the
charges :made at tne 'Crown Office for rite stump,
and sheet, they would be as numb in the daik as
ever. Ile wished, as they oljected to giving the
information required in such a way that it might
appear giveo•to the case of Mt Hone, that five or
six other rec.ent ,ca!ses.ittight be joined, that the
return might not seem particularly to refer to
that case.

1111-,•Ba-rnuasT observed there vvas no obj ction
to give the information required, .soiit were.not
called for in connexion with the case of Mt,
*For the purpose the pre•ent motion was
not tiecessat y. It Air. Ilone had not been allowed
copies of the informations, he:might have perused,
the originals at the Crown °flee.
L-rd VoLK.E•ToNe said, when oftthat side of the,
House H measure of-general i-chief was proposed,,
it was ever the praetiee,nl Ministers to calll or the
particular griev.inee.to avhick it was tobefliplied.'
ohjecf Hos ittade to the present !notion nid;
tint uue o ith a very good grace from men who,
usnally took the,t:otirse he hid described. He
cornestiled, a defend..tit in the situation of Air.
Hone had nor Ott gays an opportunity of reading
the infornia,ions at the Crown Office, and if he
-had. vie cursory view he could t bet e take of them
would sot be sufficient for the purposes of his
defence.

Mr. IV. SMITII, if the Right Hon. Gentleman
would frame t4)1) to call for the information
required, would be disposed to acquiesce in aoy
thing that not stand in the ,way of the object
he had in view.

Mr. BATllunst had no objecion to frame a
motion siv6ien should. call tor all the information
he thought necessary, hat
.he did not feel coinpe-
tent to do this on the moment.

Mr. V. SMITH upon this said he would bring
the subject forward *igain,to-.n►orroW.

, .
The motion was then withdrawn.

Mr. S. Boutt-NE postponed his motion for re-
viriog- the Commiitee on the Poor Laws till to-
morrow.