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

regard to the revenue raised from slave grown tobacco.—
( Hear, hear. ) And slave growq coffee.—(Cheerse) On
which a reduction had been made in that very tariff—( Hear,
hear)-=how was it. possible for him under those circumstances
to think that slavery was the real object in view, and he must
confess diet it was a strong effort of charity on his part to
believe the Right Hon. Baronet sincere.—(Laughter and
Cheers.) If he were to find other reasons why a reduction
of the ditty on sugar was not proposed as one of the
means to meet the deficit of the revenue, upon looking to
the whole history of the matter he might suggest that last
year, when it was determined to turn out the late Govern-
ment, and the popular cry of slavery was raised, and a reso-
lution was passed in terms condemning the project of the late
Government on philanthropic grounds, the names of one or
two Hon. Members were mentioned in connextion with the
subject.—( Hear, hear.) Now he (Mr. Macaulay) appeated
before a constituency at all times zealous in the Anti Slavery
sauce, and he found all the statements of the party opposite
were treated as hollow pretences.—(Cheers.) Well, the Right
Hon. Gentleman came into power after the vote of last year,
and he did not propose a reduction of the duty on sugar because
he knew that he could not propose a measure, which
he opposed on moral grounds, without exposing himself
to the charge of gross inconsistency, but an income tax was the
price which the country had to pay.—( Hear, hesr.) The
Eight Hon. Gentleman when he could not find reasons for his
proposition, made them, and with one swoop he did away with
600,000/. derived tom the timber duty, and his firm belief was,
that the throwing away of 600,000/. of timber duty, was a
greater misfortune than what had occurred in Affghanistan.
It was clear that they were going to loose 600,0001. in the one
case, and he hoped that co great a sum would not be lest in
consequence of what had happened in Affghanistan.—( Hear.)
And when, instead of making an additional 500,0001. by tim-
ber, the Right Hon. Baronet pitched over the 600,00t4 they
were receiving from it, and was forcing an income tax on the
country to supply the deficiencies in the revenue, he must say
that he seemed to him to be employed in making a deficit in
order that he may have an excuse for imposing an income tax.
—(Cheers.) Believing, then, that the tax could be proved,
and had been proved, to be one which should not be imposed,
except in the extreme necessity of the country ; that the Right
Hon. Baronet had exaggerated the financial difficulties of the
country ; that he had brought into the discussion of thesubject
matter whi h should not be connected with it ; that he had made
vague hints of the crippled state of the Indian finances,
wthout giv.ng the smalles enlightenment on the subject—that
he had refused a plan simple and plain, and which would
benefit the public, while it would partly supply the deficiencies,
—that he had thrown away sources of revenue. Under these
circumstances he felt he would not be discharging his duty if
hedid not vote for the motion of his Noble Friend.—(Cheers.)
Lord STANLEY said, that he was anxious before the
debate carne to a close—especially after the speech they had
just heard from the Right Hon. Gentleman who last sat down
—to state as shortly as he could the grounds on which, not
without reluctance, but from a conviction of its necessity, he
concurred in that course which was unanimously
resolved upon by her Majesty's Cabinet as the only
course—as the fitting course by which they should meet
the great difficulties of the country, and endeavour to find a
remedy for the financial and other embarrassments bequeathed
to them by the late Government.—(Loud cheers.) Widely as
Gentiemen on both sides may stiffer as to the course they were
taking, and to whatever vote they may come on the present
occasion, it was satisfactory to him to know that much of the
time of the House had been saved by the concurrence, more
unanimous, or, at least, more general, than he ever remem-
bered on any question approaching to the present in weight
and importance, as existed with regard to the premises on
which their conchision is to be founded.—(Cheers.) The fact
of a deficiency was clear, palpable and notorious.—(Cheers. )
It is admitted by the Noble Lord, that for a successioniof years
there was a continued increase of a deficiency in the revenue to
meet the annual expenditure of the country. He stated th
truth—not the whole truth—but ha stated the truth with re-
gard to the deficiency of the present year of 2,500,0001.,
and for the next of 2,600,0001. But he went further ;
for, now being no longer in office, he charged them
with those acts for the purpose of creating that popularity of
which Hon, Gentlemen on the other side were so fond.
They were now no longer charged w.th the responsibility of
proposing taxes as a Government to meet the financial em-
barrasments of the country by vigorous rheasures.—(Cheers.)
The time for mate shifts had passed away.—(Loud Cheers.)
The time was came to when they must take same
effectual mode of equalising the revenue with the expen-
diture, and they thought it right and necessary . to raise
the amount of taxation requisite to meet the deficiencies.-
1 ( Hear, hear.) Here was another admission made by
.Gentle-
man on the other side—namely, that the commercial interests
laboured under a state of great depression and difficulty,
and on every side it was admitted that there was a great and
growing deficiency; that that deficiency must be met; that no
temporary expedient could abate that deficiency, that it is
impossible to do away the evil by a temporary plan to meat the
evil, and that they must raise the amount required by taxation,
and that commerce labouring in distress must not be
subjected to any additional burden. —(Loud Cheers. )
Now, here were admissions made not only by that Gentleman,
but by every Member on both sides of the House who had ad-
dressed themselves to the consideration of the question that
then engaged their attention ; and they had also another valu-
able admission, he believed from the Hon. Member for Taun-
ton, the Vice-President of the Board of Trade; prom him the
had an admission that if they were now to have recourse
the scouted and condemned budget of last year, which they
Noble Lord brought forth in his resolutions, that that budget,
and a large increase of taxation in addition to it, would be in-
sufficient to meet the present emergency.—( Hear, hear.) These
were the unanimous admissions made by the House when it
came to discuss the question of how they were to meet the de-
ficiency. And now, not to be behind Honourable
Gentlemen opposite in admissiona, they, on this side
of the House admitted that the income tax was
a measure which, except in a case of great emergency,
could not be justified, The question before them, then, was
this : Is this such a case of emergency ? If Hon. Gentlemen
opposite admitted, as they must admit., the necessity of equalis-
ing the revenue and the expenditure ; and if they cannot show,
as a less objectionable mode of meeting the exigency, they must
come to a direct taxation. He said direct taxation, because
the Noble Lord h. sso carefully worded his resolution, as to
iiit conceal beneath it a most impolitic ambiguity; the )dif-
ference of opiai which he knew existed in the ranks of his
supporters with regard to the kind of taxation to be resorted
to. Having now mentioned the points of agreement, he
might now be permitted to mention the , points of
disagreement among Gentlemen on the otheeraide of the
House.—(Hear.) The Honourab'e Member' for Ipswich,
who seemed to have got up a little scheinof his own, which
at the proper time he would propounder> the House, in dis-
cussing the question of the emergeney said, he (Lord S.) en-
tirely agreed with him, that peaee'laad its times of emergency
as well as war, and admitted tire they were in that condition
i n which d.rect taxation must be resorted to.—( Heir, hear. )
By the confession of the don. Member for Ipswich, the bring-
ing forward a property tax was a wise and politic measure. ' But.
the Noble Lord, if he admitted a property Sax at all, contended.
that all equity and 'justice and sound sense required them to'
admit an income tax also, and that if they threw out the in-
come tax, they could not for a moment stand up;and support a
property tax. But, said the Noble Lord now, admitting that
I couple them both together, the present . circum-
staimes - of the country give no reason for introducing
a property tax as any direct tax whatever. They had also the
testimony of anniher Gentleman on the other side, the Member
for Greenock, and he states that in his judgment a property
tax end an income tax must go together; the House could not
object to one and not to the other ; tkat if they resorted to
direct taxation, it must take effect on all property alike, de-
rived from incomes of every,description. In this he entirely
agrees with the Noble Lord ; but he would be found to differ
from very many gentlemen on the other side of the House,
who were exceedingly ready to tax all real property—(heer,
hear)—who cared not how heavy were the burdens they laid
upon the landed •or funded property—(Hear, hear)—but
who took especial care of all property arising from un-
certain and contingent sources. Then the Hon. Member
for Coventry when he came to discuss what they should take
instead of a tax or income, or property, referring to the bud-
get of last year, said that they were periectly right in the state
of their relations with foreign countries, not to take the duties
on sugar as part of their budget. With regard to the timber
'duties, the Right Hon. Gentleman who had just sat dawn, had
told teem thae the loss on the timber duties was equal to the
great financial diastar that had occurred in Affghanistan, of
which he shouln presently have a word or two to say to the
Right Hon. Gentleman,—(Loud cheers from the Ministerial
benches. That was the language held by the Right
Honourable Gentleman on the other side, while the Hon.
Member for Coventry, speaking of the same duties,
and the same reduction of them says, that for the extension of
the commerce and the general community, it was impoasibe
to propose a measure more beneficial. Here was a sample of
the agreement and the harmony among gentlemen en the
other side of the House, when we propose to meet the emer-
gency which they cannot deny ; they cannot avoid all sorts of
differences among themselves without being able to point out
any better expedient. Now what are the circumstances in
which it is justifiable to have recourse to an income tax? It
was not the emergency of a state of war alone, but the emer-
gency of that state of things in which the revenue was• insuffi-
cient to meet the current expenditure; a state of things which,
if permitted to go on, must injure the credit, and con-
sequently damage the prosperity of the country.—( Hear.)
The Noble Lord told them that in no case should an income
tax be resorted to, except in a time of war : he dial not think
that that admission of the Noble Lord was very complimentary
to the Government, by whose management and policy, the
finances of the country, at the end of twenty years peace, were
brought into such a state that there should he a necessity to
resort to an income tax to supply the deficiency.—( Loud
cheers from the Tory benches.) To that extreme measure,
which heretofore had been considered among the peculiar re-
sources of the country in a time of war—(Cheers)—but
neitner could he admit that in the present state of things they
were in such a condition as that described by the Hon. Member
for Lewes, who said they were in a state of profound peace. A
state of profound peace. Letthem look at their relations with
all the world, relations that had been bequeathed to them by
Hon. Gentlemen opposite—(Cheers.) Let them look at the
state-of their relations in the North, in the South, in the East,
in the West I Let them look at this moment.—(Oh, oh, and
cheers from the Ministerial sides) He earnestly hoped, and
he was sanguine enough to believe that their differences with
the 'United States of America might be brought to a friendly
and happy conclusion ; but he asked when ever had it been
necessary for the state of their Canadian provinces to keep
there 20,000 British bayonets ?—(Cheers. ) When before, in
a state of profound peace, had it been necessary to maintain in
Canada an army of 20,000 men ?—( Cheers.) A state of pro-
found peace ! Look at China. Look at the war they had
stirred up there, and let them tell him the amount
of financial difficulty they had created. Let them cakulate. if
they could, the amount of financial embarrassment which they
had secured them for time fortune of the war.—(Cheers.) Do
not measure it by the number of troops, by the 0,000 or 10,000
men of all arms, and by the fleet which they had there, but
was there not a war, then, of which no man could see the
result, and in which every man knew but little glory could be
' reaped by the British arms, while there was much uncertainty
whether or not, they might encounter signal disaster and
failure. A state of profound peace 1 Look at India. Let
the Right Honourable Gentleman turn his eye to that portion
of the Indian empire, of which the Right Hon. Gentleman
had spoken, contending that the disasters in Affghanistan, even
nude a mere sophistry and plausible argument. The state of
Affghanistan mere sophistry ! The Right Hon. Gentleman
himaelf, was glad enough to disclaim all personal responsibility
for that,
state of things.--(lmmense cheers from the Ministe-
rial benches.) The Right lion. Gentleman who had subse-
quently filled the situation of Secretary at War, must have had
means in his official capacity of calculating to a certain extent,
the dangers and disasters they were likely to meet, and well
end wisely did the Right Hon. Gentleman tell them, that when
the expedition was undertaken he was not in power—(Cheers)
—that lie was not in the Cahinit—that he was not even in
Parliament ; that so far from counselling such a war he was
not even in England, nor a Member of the Administration till
the expedition had come too its completion. Ah ! but then
came the time when they were warned by the Duke of Wel-
lington what would be the result. They would recollect
the prophetic sagacity with which he told them
that triumph they might that he had full confi-
dence in the bravery of their troops, and in the gallantry
and skill of the army, but when they should have succeeded
then would come the difficulty of -keeping possession. -And
you did succeed, and you slept on the top of the volcano, and
on woke only to find yourself overwhelmed by the fiery tor-
n nt, 'I he 'Right Hon. Gentleman admitted, indeed, that this
was a great disaster, but that, in a financial point of view, it was
nothing at all—that, in afinancial point of view, while, addressing