The Sun.
London, England, 1842-04-12 00:00:00

eies the safety of the State Was (lid attpreme law, to
tahich every ether consid-ration should yield. But inequality
aifl injiistied so welt ad Wera admitted to exist in that tat
were evils as great, that. eactrarti6 necessity alone could lead
them to sanction snail a rneasttre: It the: fax was unjust in
substance. its made of collection was not led oppresalie: The
Right Hon. Baronet appeared, on a former (wavier', to lean
very much to an opinion expressed by the Hat. and Learned
Member for Bath (Mr. fteebuck), ao opinion which lie
believed was somewhat of this kind, that no hone't man should
be afraid to state openly and honestly the amount of his pro-
perty. But was that a general feelina. Was it not a fact
that people in this country ftlt ashamed to make an avowal of
poverty ? Was it not a fact that men were anxious to look
well in the eyes of the world? And did not
that feeling prevail among that class in particular
upon whom the proposed tax would press most severely?
Waa it not a fact that half of their lives was passed in a con-
stant strugg!e against their poverty—in a constant struggle to
appear a little above their real means? if thin were the cafe
it would be to no purpose to say that a little philosophy would
raise men above those feelings. While these were the feelings
which people entertained, it would be cruel to despise :hem. For
his part he should no more think it adv,sable to interfere with
such feelings than that when he was in In da, he should treat
diarespecifully that feeling among the native women of rank
that it was a degradation that they should be seen unveiled, or
that they should la/ seen talting with men. He knew that
the f-eling was unreasonable, and he did not share it.—( A
laugh.) But he did think that in legislating for a people he
was bound in corniuon humanity not to treat their prejudittes
with contenvil. He would appeal against the authority of the
Right Honourable Baronet, and against the authority of the
Hon. and Learned Member for Math, to the authority of one
of the gtaivest moral philosophers, and certainly the greatest
water upon political economy that ever lived—
he meant Adam kim:th.—( Hear, hear, and chrers.)
His declaration on that subject was strong, distinct, and expli-
cit. Ho said, that a tax on income could be raised only by
means of an unusaal investigation into income, and such an in•

...... _se ,
vestigetion would necessarily be felt as more grievous than any
tax whatever. Here, then, they had a tax, admitted to be in
its own nature, and in substance, unjust ; pronounced by the
greatest authorities, and felt by the body of the people, to he in
the mode of cellection, the most vexatious of all taxes. This,
then, was a tax which should be resorted to only in the last
extremity. Did that extremity now exist? He denied that
it di 1. He conceived that the Right Hon. Gentleman who
carried this point on Frid y did not succeed in making out such
a case. With regard to the question of Affghanistan, he
thought it was no more than the truth to say, that though the
Right Hon. Gentleman made a rhetorical use of that topic, yet
what he said on the subject could be regarded in no other light
than as mere sophistry.—(" Oh, oh I" from the Ministerial
benches.) "Do you say," said the Right Hon. Gentleman,
" that there are no disasters? Was there ever such a disaster
as this?" And then, with great feeling, and, he had no doubt,
with deep. sincere feeling, such as they must all entertain, he
exclaimed, " Was there ever such a disaster—ever anything
heard of like this—a whole army perishing, only one, two, or
three persons. out of a great army, escaping to tell
the tale of its destruction; and yet you talk of this
as no extremity."—( Hear, hear.) He believed that in rme
sense no person could feel more deeply than himself that this
event was a deep and gainful disast, r ; not from any feelings
such as those which an Hon. Member on the other side had at-
tempted some time ago to excite on that (the Opposition) side
of the House ; for even if he did not consider that expedition
defensible, and that was not a time for examining the question,
he bore no share in the responsibility ; he was not even in Par-
liament when the expedition was sent; he was not in office till
the expedition was over and Shah Soojah dethroned. There-
fore, in anything which he said on the subject, he spoke with-
out any sense of personal responsibility. But if every person
who had read that story, if even foreigners who had read it, and
foreigners entertaining no friendly feeling towards this country,
were melted into sympathy, what, he might ask, must be the
feelings of one who had been on terms of friendly intercourse
with the brave and honourable men who had been bqtchered, and
with the amiable women now at the mercy of the murderers of their
husbands ?—( Hear, hear.) He could safely say that no public
event which had ever occurred had given him so much pain.
Disastrous in that sense, indeed—disastrous if they talked of
disgrace to their arms—disastrous if they talked of the do-
mestic suffering entailed—disastrous if they thought of the
brave men who had fallen—irretrievably disastrous if they
thought of the feelings of some who were living—disastrous
in a.l these respects all must admit the event to have been.
But they were then to deal with it purely as a financial ques-
tion ; and the courage, the tremendous loss of life, the suf-
fering and wretchedness of the few who survived it, should not
be introduced into the debate for the purpose of aggravating,
fur the purpose of exaggerating. That was what he pro-
nounced an unfair, sophistical, and rhetorical use of this great
calamity.—(Cheers from the Opposition.) The question
which they were then to discus, was not a question of cala-
mity—the question was the income tax, as it affected pounds, shil-
lings, and pence. He would ask was it in the contemplation of that
calamity that the Right Hon. Gentleman brought on his in-
come- tax ?—( Loud cries of " Hear, hear," from the Opposi-
tion. ) Was it not altogether an after-thought? This event,
which was put in the fore front when the income tax was to
be justified, was it even known when the income tax was de-
termined upon ?—(Cheers from the Opposition.) Had the
Right Hon. Gentleman thought it necessary to add a single
farthing to his Ways and Means in consequence of that cala-
mity ? And if he had not thought it necessary to make al
addition of a single farthing to his Ways and Means, in conse-
uuence of that disaster, how could he call it, financially speak-
ing, a great and unparalelled disaster—a disaster such as
' was never known in the history of this country ?—( Hear,
h, ar.) And though no information had been received from
the Secretary at War, they were not altogether without the
means of judging what would be the effect of the disaster in a
financial point of view. Of course he did not mean to say that
he could_ produce an exact estimate, or anything approaching
to an exact estimate of the charge, but he could form some-
thing like an opinion. It was the ordinary course for the
estimates to be brought in, and the supplies voted, before the
Ways and Means were provided. Not having at present any
estimate of the amount he could only say that he felt firmly
satisfied that nothing could. be more futile than to cons itute 1
any comparison between the charge which this elisestrous event
was likely to ley upon the country, and the charges even of
the cheapest Europe in war—the charges of the last war it would
be idle to talk of in comparison. His opinion was most strong
and decided, as far as he could see, that the Government we e
at present taking a very bold and spirited course': He knew
nothing of the subject except what he saw in the public prints,
but it appeared from all the information which lie had ob-
tained, that they were taking must vigorous measures for fur-
warding troops to the seat of the war.—(Hear, hear.) In all
such measures they =tumid have his full and cord:al
support, as much so is thiugh he sat en the other side of the
Ileu,e. No sum of money, which was bona :fide necessary for
tha• purpose, would be refused. Ile did not, however, antici-
pate, ,f ordinary rigour and prudence were shown, any disas-
trims consequences from the ovent to which he had referred.
There was no deubt that firmness and prudence would be
shown.—( Hear, betas.) There was no doubt that a Govern-
,
ment,which had the Duke of Wellirgton fdr one of members,
and which had access to the advice o so many eminent and
experienced military
effort were not made Which could tend to remedy the disaster.
meet, would msst inexcusable if every
—( Hear, hear.) Besides, the Right Hen. Gentleman must
vi
remember that the principle ordinarily acted upon—he believed,
invariably acted upon—was that all the troops sent upon such a
service as this were a charge upon the Geverement. of. India.
English Kyle should bear the charge of the re-in-
flenerteohnitiennStusppsoesne thtaotut Right Hon. Baronet intended that the
the
to
India. Why, what re-inforce
merits did he intend,
.to send out there? He would
-
suppose that 10,000 or 12,000 troops added to those which
were in India would be most amply sufficient for any service
for shish they a ight be designed. Noe, it he correctly re-
membered the army estimates, a regiment of 1,100 men in
India cost 32,0001, or thereabouts. He believed the whole
charge of the addition which the Right Hon. Gentleman con-
template' would fall somewhat under 400,0001. a-
year. Now, let them remember under what circumstances
the income tax was introduced f irmerly. When the income
tax was intrthiced in 1793, Englan stood alone against France,
Austria, and Spain : France ranging itself un the banks of the
Mine, Austria bound this by a treaty, England not having a
single ally; Ireland in rebellions in that year ; the three per
cents. at 50—under those circumstances, the income tax was
introduced. 'there were then 300,000 soldiers in the
army, 1110,000 seamen afloat ; . the navy estimates alone
were higher than the whole estimates of the arm‘,
navy, and ordnance, for the present year.—(Hear.) Of
course he referred now to the year 1806. The late calamity
was indeed a most seriqus and painful one; but it was not so
great a.blow as to require that they should resort to a remedy
which nothing but. the last extremity could justify.—(Hear,
hear, hear.) He -must say it appeared to him that
neither the proposition, nor the language of the Right
Honourable Baronet was calculated to inspire a
high and just idea of the spirit and resources of this country.
Not. indeed, that he said the calamity was irreparable ; he
now referred to his first speech ; yet wherever he (Mr. Macau-
lay) opened the French papers he found them using such
language as this t—" See ,the signs that the English aristo-
cracy—that huge power which has been the terror
of Europe. is now beginning to decline the most
odious tax which could b devised, never before
resorted to but in time of war, is about to be
revived. Praise to the Minister who has shown such spirit."
Were those terms of applause which an English Minister did
seek to call forth ?—( Hear, hear.) He believed it to be a most
certain and demonstrable fact, that at this moment England was
better able (God forbid that the necessity should arise) to
maintain a great war than she ever was in the whole course of
her history.—( Hear.) Believii.g this, Ile could not wonder
that politicians abroad, who knew the odiousness of this tax,
that as soon as peace was restored it was the first which the
voice of the whole nation compelled the Parliament to repeal—
it was not strange that politicians abroad should form an err*
neous Notion of the effects of the late disaster as esp:cted the
power and resources of this country.
Sir R. PEEL made some observations across the table.

Mr. MACAULAY—The light Hon. Gentleman de-
clared that be had said nothing so alarming as
be described. He (Mr. Macaula.}) had said what he believed
to he important truths. He believed that the Right Hon.
Baronet had taken advantage of the feeling naturally excited
by the late calamity, and had used it with the skilfulness of a
practised debater, to make it tell upon the financial question
before the House, which was in fact a question totally
distinct from it.. A few words with respect to another
topic. The Right Hon. Gentleman had thought fit to
, the state of the Indian
said that there was a
and he intimated that in
iiidnentfiarctolicdteuint.e
Ii
nlndtioil
ae that.
as Hight% well
c Haussosintro: nE,
8:
agi
rai:mnneedlt!
some mode or other it might be necessary for this country to
make up the deficiency. surely it was important, before they
voted away money, to know precisely for what purpose it was
to be applied.—( Hear.) He (Mr. Alacaulay) must altogether
dismiss from his view this unexplained demand, and confine
his attention to existing circumstances and difficulties. Since
the last war there had been twenty-two millions of taxes taken
off, and he believed .he was not incorrect in saying that those
taxes, if new in existence; would yield a much larger sum.
Why was the tax which was the last imposed and the first re-
pealed, to be, without any overbearing necessity, re-inflicted
upon the country. Consider for a moment the article of sugar.
the Right Honourable Gentleman's memory appeared to
fail him on that subject, when he said on Friday that
he had never denied that an increase of revenue
might he derived from the alterations proposed by tin
late Government In tne duties on timber and sugar.
The Right Hon. Gentleman said he used the argument with
regard to ether things, but his (Mr. Macaulay's) memory was
quite the other way, and he had got a copy of the speech mode
by the Right Hon. Gentleman, which confirmed his impres-
sion. And he believed he may appeal to the whole House,
whether the report was not almost verbally correct. The
Right Hon. Gentleman then referred to that part of Sir R.
Peel's speech, in which he said that he could not expect to de-
rive an immediate revenue by having recourse to theveasures
• of the late Government. Iherefere his (Mr. Macaulay's)
memory was confirmed by the report of the Right Hon. Ba-
ronet's speech, and the only argument which he brought for-
ward, and which had received such an overwhelming answer
from his Right Hon. Friend. ho said, on Friday night, he
had not used with rega (I to sugar and coffee. The truth was,
that when he eitt!red upcn that ~ process of exhaus-
tion," and enumerated the devices for obtaining a
revenue, and when he came to that part of the plan of the late
Government which he ought have repeated, he felt the diffi-
culty, and he now said that he had not used any arguments
wttit respect to it, beenu,••• he knew that they , eul.l h • utterly
. flitting at,,l impotent. --(etteer,• ) 'utiii:, abu..ilicd of 1 now
i
arguments he returned for the first time to the itory about
slavery, but when he (Mr. Macaulay) saw-hou'ples with