The Sun.
London, England, 1845-02-20 00:00:00

THE BUDGET.

TIMES. —Th e Budget is now before the nation, and has
already been subjected to an examination more deliberate
than that which was necessarily biassed so largely by
the grandeur of the financial changes proposed, and the
wonsierful command of facts, readinessi, and perspicuity
displayed by the propounder. Thus far there is
something singular and ominous in the result
of this examination. There are two things most
undeniable in the Budget : first, that it is such
an one as the nation would have expected from
the Whigs, supposing that unfortunate party ever
to have been in a condition to give it ; secondly, that it
is decidedly popular in its tendency; for, except in the
matter of the income-tax, it emancipates commerce at
the expense of property, and ostentatiously favours the
poor. Accoreingly, it was received by the Ministerial
side in comparative silence, by the Opposition with
hearty cheers, and by the people generally with
satisfaction. The walls of the metropolis are
placarded with Sir Robert's " Free Trade Budget.
The economists are delighted. Yet, after all, that
silence is worth more than those cheers and accla-
mations. The Whigs immediately set to work discover-
ing
short-comings in the most liberal measure. In the
multitude of grievances now redressed,f
r theyu oHobert,
dis-
cover only that some have been
instead of reducing taxes to the whole extent of the
toomitted.be
existing surplus, leaving the augmented estimates for
the ensuing year to be provided for by the probable
improvement of the revenue, and leaving the void of
the income-tax to be filled up from that source also,

THE KEN TISH AND SOUTH-
, EASTERN RAILWAY.
TO THE EDITOR OF THE SUN.
Sin,—The Report of the Railway Department of the Board
of Trade on the Kentish and South-Easternßailwey schemes,'
enunciates the general principles which guide the Board in }to
decisions.
The first is—" To keep steadily in view the attainment of
the greatest amount of public advantage."
The second—" To give protection to existing Cotnpatiieer
by allowing them to complete the railway communications
of particular districts, where the lines proposed by them are,
in all substantial respects, sound In themselves, and not iirlea'
rior to those proposed by any other parties."
Before applying these general principles to the particular
cases embraced by the report, reference is made to cases of
competition between existing 'and new C,omptlbies, with
respect to which the following propositions are laid demi
Ist. " That an established Company, which hiss vgliNtl46
property and large available income, independent of thetOet
scheme, can of course offer a guarantee for the falfilment nl
all that it undertakes to accomplish, greatly superior to that
of a new Company, however respectable."
This 'proposition is supported by reference to various in..-
stances, in which new Companies failed to accomplish the
objects for which they were incorporated.
2dly. " That the traffic of a system oflines, connected with
one another, can always be worked more economically =and
conveniently under an uniform management than by iude-
pen dent Companies.
3dly. " That an established Company can always, if so
disposed, offer guarantees and advantages for a greater ex-
tent of railway than the new Company—viz., for the existing
as well as the projected lines.
4thly. " That whatever guarantees may be'thus offered by
existing Companies, possess the double advantage, is com-
pared with similar offers from new Companies, of coming into
immediate operation, and of being more certainly rendered
effectual. An offer from a new Company to bind itself to
charge fares considerably lower than those usual upon eYthet
lines might readily be made in the hope of thereby securing
their Bill, but the fulfilment of it would depend almost en•
tirely upon the eventual success of the line, and its ability td
perform its engagements."
From these propositions the conclusion is dedtKed, "that
preference should be given to the schemes of existing Ear!'
way Companies for supplying their own districts, where illem
schemes are as good, or better, than those of other pserleli
where no special reasons exist to induce the expectatioQ of
advantage from competition, and where the old Company
voluntarily offers such guarantees as may be reasonably re-
quired to protect the public against the abuses of monopoly
on such conditions as at once place the public in a better po-
sition than they could hope to obtain from competition.".
If we apply the general principles and reasoning of the
report to the proposed schemes for facilitating the commtmi-
cation between London and York, and between Lincolnshire
and the north and south, and the manufacturing and mineral
districts—viz., to the schemes of the existing Companies on
the one hand, and to that of the London and York on 'the
other, I am at a loss to conceive on what grounds the con-
fident assertion of the promoters of the London and totl4
line, that their undertaking is to be sanctioned by the report
of the Board of Trade, can be based.
If we keep steadily in view the greatest amount of publid
advantage--we cannot disregard the cost of construction—
the London and York line is to cost 6.500,0001., whilst I con-
tend that the objects which it seeks to attain may be as well,
or better, attained by, or in connexion with, existing Cone'
panies at a cost of 2,500,000/. ; surely if this be so, nr/ 610
can reasonably doubt which of the two schemes is most lily
to benefit the public.
Let any man refer to the map of the London and York
line, published by Mr. Herapath, in his Railway Journal of
the Ist inst. Starting from London, he will see on the west-
ern side a continuous line of railway from London to York;
on the eastern side a line made, or nearly so, from London to,
Cambridge. The estimated cost of continuing the line nortlt
of Cambridge to York, so as to accommodate the local wants
of Lincolnshire. and connect it with the north and south and
the manufacturing districts, is as follows .
From Cambridge to Lincoln £1,174,200
Proposed
From Lincoln, by Doncaster to 730,000
From Doncaster to the York and North Midland 200,000
Stamfordßranches to Boston, Spahling, and
280, 000

had quietly laid on three or four millions of new taxes,
he could not have been met with more strenuous
defiance. The metropolitan delegates and their Par
liamentary allies set up their backs at tie Premier,
measure their obstinacy with his, and accumulate
on his devoted head the sins of all the tax-gatherers
for the last thirty years, merely because, while he
utterly sweeps away five important branches of re-
venue, and immensely reduces a sixth, a seventh also
is not added to the list. After all, the flattery of foes
is not worth the patience of a friend. We entirely agree
with the gentlemen we have just referred to, and whose
speeches we print in another column, that the window
duties are most inconvenient, most unsalutary, most un-
equal, most unphilosophical. They spoil the inward com-
fort and outward appearance of our houses. 'I heir exces-
sive and stupid rigour is a constant provocation to the
man of taste and the thrifty householder. They mar
the process of building as much as the duty on glass
does, or rather did, the process of that manufacture.
But, in our humble opinion, they who insist so valiantly
en an immediate abolition of the duty, are
hound to provide for the deficit in as distinct
and categorical a form as the Premier has provided
for his six reductions and six deficits. Let them
bear in mind the various necessities of the case;
that the only portions of our expenditure which are
not absolutely and irreversibly fixed do not amount to
13,000,000/. ; that under existing circumstances, as Sir
C. Napier himself will acknowledge, it is impossible ade-
quately to reduce those portions, or go on safely and re-
spectably, without some increase ; that the window
duties produce about 1,700,0001., and they will
see that something else is necessary than simply
voting the tax a bore. At least, the ,Minister whose
unfortunate responsibility it is to make, as well
as to unmake, will proceed with a little more
caution. The comparison of the window duties with the
duty on glass is simple enough. Sir Robert enumerated
four subjects of reduction, not as being all that there
were, but as being particularly applicable at the present
juncture, when there is an obvious necessity to choose
such reductions as shall themselves heal the
wounds they make in the revenue. There
were duties on articles of general consumption
—on the raw materials of manufacture those
which require expensive establishments, and those
which restrict demand, and consequently trade. By
these four tests at least the duty ran glass has better
claims than its competitor. It affects more than
3,500,000 houses, instead of only about 450,000, besides
that windows are only one branch of the glass manufac-
ture. Notwithstanding what was said on Isaturday at the
meeting referred to, the window duties are chiefly raised
from the wealthier classes ; more than four-fifths of
the whole being contributed by houses with more
than 12 windows. They require no distinct establish-
ment for their collection ; and, on the other hand, it is
impossible to calculate the increase of demand which a
remission of the duty on glass must originate. The
Premier mentioned watch-springs, pipes, tiles, and
chimney ornaments ; he might have added conserva-
tories, now only within the reach of the wealthy.
They talk even of glass bells for churches.
There are of course important grounds of reduction
besides the above four. But just now those four
have the pre-eminence. Moreover the window duties
are a mode, a very clumsy mode perhaps, of taxing
houses. They are a property-tax. Evidently the
day is approaching, as one of the speakers at the meet-
ing we have referred to intimated, when the whole
question of property will be reconsidered with a view £2,404,200
to a fairer, less vexatious, and more permanent duty
than what the nation now groans under. So, while Your readers will perceive that this extension of existing
there can be no possible harm in demonstrating from lines will connect London with York by the eastern route,
whilst it will at the same time amply accommodate the local
facts the injurious character of the window duties, wants of Lincolnshire and connect that county with Prheflield
we must recommend patience for a year or two and Wakefield ; in short, that it will do ail at a total cost
longer. But, having given this general approbation of within 2,500,0001., which the London and York line, with ito
the Minister's proposed remission of taxation, and in loop, aims to do at a cost of 6,500,0001.
truth of the Budget generally, we cannot let the tax In my letters to you of the 27th January and 3d February
upon property and income pass without saying a few last I entered into various details to prove, tishtaatnevie•hetTteictereean
words upon our previous opposition to the tax affect- taerntdn
aansdathmeenorsthor oshoarsteningthe d
connecting Lincolnshire. with
ing the latter ; for we still maintain that a tax upon the ports of London, Ipswrich, and Harwich, or with Ova
income—that is, upon industry—to say nothing manufacturing
of its inquisitorial character, is .unjust and inju- scheme was uncalled for and indefensthle. The accuracy of
and ineral districts, the London and resk<
riou.;. First, with respect to the duration of this the statement which I then made remains to this day un-
tax ; the profession that it is only to continue so many questioned, and those statements afford abundant evidence.
and so many years reminds us forcibly of the follow- that irrespective of the cost of construction, the lines of, and
ing little anecdote :----A person who kept an asylum in connexion with, the existing Companies, are, in all nub-
for the better class of lunatics had invited a friend or stantial respects, sound in themselves and not inferior to lyrist
two to dine with him, some of his patients being proposed by the London and York. Let us now test the relae
admitted, sub rose, to the same table. The host tive advantages of the competing schemes by the proposi-
tions which the Board of Trade has laid down.
being called out on some occasion, one of the
patients says to one of the guests, " What', First, which offers the best guarantee for the acconlish-
ment of what it undertakes.
the state of your malady, Sir ? how long have EXISTING COMPANIES. I.OF.DON ANT) YORK.
you been suffering ?'' " Suffering ?" replied the guest, The Midland and Eastern If the Eastern Counties and
"I am not suffering at all. I was invited to dine with Counties, with a large avail- Northern and Eastern Coin-
Mr. So-and-So (the host), and I am going home again able income independent of panics failed to attain the oh-
this evening." " Ah, sir," said the patient, "so they the new lines which will con- jects for which they were tea-
told me, in order to get me here. I thought that I nect them together, offer the corporated, what can be els,
should go home again the same evening, but now most unquestionable security pected from the London and
I fancy lam in for life. My only escape hence for the accomplishment of York, who undertake the
will be to the grave." And just so it will be with what they undertake; whilst, construction of 330 mil's of
inyri ygnenaenxdior i
il,‘,,•iotlni tillie,
e,Cfraeinm- railway6r
001 ;n1
Selectestimated coats ioi,
the income-tax. We were tempted into it at first
for only three years ; now we are to have it for its comparative cheapness, engineers in the inagnt?o.rn
other three ; and when those are ended, and we are ex- they will be able to afford if two will say that the line
pecting a release, like the man in the madhouse, we shall the greatest amount of ad- and its branches may be
find our burden commensurate with the lives of all of vantage to the public, with made for the estimate, four
us. It will be a perpetual tax. If the people suffer it an adequate return on the will assert that it will require
let them ; but let them not be deceived ; let them, like, outlay. at least half as much again.
the patient in the asylum, enter in freely, and know that It is a great mistake to But it the line is made, how
they are to be detained there for ever. The unfairness suppose that the ports of Boa- can it possibly pay either the
ton, Spalding, and Wisbeach public or the shareholders?—it
of the tax we have argued and proved again and will be benefited by a com- must be a competing line
again till argument and proof are needless. munication with each other— with that now existing on
On the present occasion Sir Robert Peel puts the what they want is a commu- the western route, and from
question fairly and temperately in every other respect nication inland from their re- Bawtry to London there will
except that of duration. He says, in effect, will you spective ports. Nevertheless, be, "ex necessitate rei," a
have it, or have it not? Between the produce of the the existing Companies are third competing line to the
property-tax, ae separated from income, and the casual prepared to make a continu- eastward of it; inasmuch, as
fruits of industry, on the one hand, and the amount of ous chain of communication, sooner or later, a line must be
taxes remitted, on the other, there is very little differ- by a double line of rails, along made direct from Lincoln,
the eastern coast, as well as through the heart of the
ence•, and we firmly believe that the deficiency which
would arise from the abolition of the income part of ther:d deirteoctijniirelnfrotmn
eaCsaenrt
where it
:t i
ll
.oin Peterborough,onefro from
this general tax might be easily supplied in another should be recommended by the Eastern Counties. Besides,
way.
the Board of Trade. The cost the traffic from Hull should
GLOBE.—We are not amongst those who consider of the coast lines from Lin- come, via Gainsborough, to
direct taxation of property,—or income so far as it can coin by Boston, Spalding, Lincoln, and why should it be
be considered as representing property—objectionable Wisbeach, and March, to Ely, sent round the coast by Boa-
in principle. But we must have an ardent appetite in-
is estimated
deed for direct taxation, if we could acquiesce in the "'" i •
unamended continuation of the income-tax as it stands. Secondly—With respect to the economical and convenien
If it is impossible to adjust the incidence of that working;i'thetraffic.
impost, so as to render it less unequal than it has been
The Counties, Midlands,ies, and Cambridge Eastern The London and York,
and with their main line and
repeatedly shown it is at present, then nothing but a
case of urgency could justify its original im Lincoln Companies have ar- loop, must have a double
position, ranged that their system of staff and stations, and can-
and nothing but a continuance of the same urgency can lines, connected with one not be worked withi the same
now justify its continuance. It stands on somewhat a another, shall be worked economy ; whilst,from having
similar footing to the system of impressment for manning under an uniform manage- only a single line of rails
the navy in war—supposing, for the sake of the argument, so as to ensure economy through Lincolnshire, they
went, impressment distinctly indispensable to that object. and expedition. will not adequately accom-
It is admitted that impressment is a peculiar hardship modate the traffic of that
on merchant seamen; and if that hardship were pro unrtr.i..
Thirdly and fourthly—As to theco guarantees which
tracted (without the alleged necessity) in time of peace
may,be
offered to the public by establishedeane and new Com-
the case would be somewhat analogous to that of I,anes, and the relativevalue of such guarantees.
an unequal income-tax protracted to similar periods. The existing Companies A stronger case cannot well
If, therefore, it is impossible to impose any other in- may offer such advantages, be imagined to justify the
come-tax than the present, it is impossible to de- not onlv in respect of the refusal of the Board of Trade
fend its imposition by any other plea than necessity. projected lines, but of their to listen to the biddings of
That plea abandoned, the ground is cut from under existing lines ; they may offer low fares, &c., by a Company,
its continuation. It behoved Sir Robert Peel, who to lower their rates, and to in the hope of thereby securing
afford greater accommodation their Bill, than this of the
was pre-determined, it seems, to continue it, to have
overthrown this position, which not only strikes every enth eitrheexseistlinngeslinnens,,jearndtiti(e)
regardLondont
oant tile
reflecting mind, but which is irrefragably deduced from bring I.:9)Ln; estimated cost
arrangements now proposed of the line, and the certain4r
that which he himself assumed in laying on this im- for all new railways. of its being a competing line
post. It was on the plea of necessity that the objec- It is clear, too, that the offers with one, if not with two other
ttons against it were met. It was on that plea—on the of the existing Company will lines, no reliance can be
case of urgency for suppporting the public credit—for come sooner into operation, placed on the ultimate aol-
filling up tke deficit which for one or two years had and will be more certainly veney of the Company, and
existed, after indirect taxation was said to have reached rendered effectual, whilst the its ability to perform its en-
its limits that this war tax—this income impress- entire route to the North will gagements—in fact, it never
went—was alone defended. It cannot be defended so be opened much sooner to the can pay as an incestmtente—fes
now. It must be fairly admitted that the public allowed en
public by their means than and the concluding sen
the plea—so far as silence gives consent. It was an by the rival scheme,of the
honourable feeling that prompted them to take the word arepeeroeipioarrt diyuanpperrep thisiia headte:
"No Act of Parliament could
of the responsible Minister both for the necessity he compel an insolvent concern
alleged, and for the concurrent duration of this forced to carry at as low rates and
requisition with that necessity. His " supplemental afford as ample accommoda-
noses" should have sympathised (like Taliacotius's) tion as a prosperous under-
taking might be able to do—
with that which they first were cut from ; his grand
a moderate offer from an
excision was justified by necessity; and with that neces- established Company, who
sity its product was bound to drop. Even then, it can be relied on to fulfil their
is true, certain Whigs declared there was no engagements is therefore pre-
necessity in the matter. They were not listened to : ferable to one apparently
we are not sure that they should have been listened to advantageous front a
more
on so vital a point. The great advantage which Sir new Company.'
fadvantages, which would be conferred on the
Robert Peel had, at that time, over his opponents, In the lisitwo
London and York Railway, according to their
was, that while their propounded resources were hypo- pliblct,y
statement,t there is not one which will not be more
thetical, and discovered very suddenly—his were direct. publishedceaply and as well afforded by the lines of, and in connexion
perhaps vulgar, but there was nothing untried, notfhoinge
with, the existing Companies. Great stress is laid on the
experimental about them. Had the Whigs been in force
supply of coals to Lincolnshire, but the s:ngleline of rail from
to propose a property-tax, along with their other <Alyce!
Lincoln by Boston and Spalding to Peterborough will not give
that accommodation which Lincolnshire requires. Coals
—as an interim measure awaiting their full effects—they
3a
who from Swannington_i and from Clay Cross, must be brought
would have pre-occupied that strong gr?unbe
swo)
Minister holds in England (long Uzi tlftoerdMildnadnd and Syston and Peterborough line, to
by the Cambridge and Lincoln main
confronts boldly the worst emergmeany9let
e ; but how liitem —'
and branches they would be distributed through the
vantage Sir Robert Peel toek at star,.
strength of his case heart of Lincolnshire, which by the
then he claim it now ? rtin This
ad-
, LondoU and York line,ret
be
the
case
meansAgaitii coalsolecbaragrtilit from Yorkshire then was the exceptfi,,,,rnailt.Thet e alike of the crisis
nature
the one would pass to Lincoln would b
and of his provision ell'olrsinchoilrne
away, and the other would vanish along with it—that main line and its branchesybn dispersed through(g the heart of
county; not so by the London amYork line, which
the extraordinary effort wooed cease with the extraordi- the "
—was the fair prospect held out. Well— would carry them round by the ports of Boston and Spelt).-
nary occasion
; and what has
.become of the pros- ing, avoiding the most populous parts of the county.
the occasion
.hr past .
If the income-tax is to be It has been publicly stated that the Board of Trade have
. an" of the promise ?
peel,
it must be on grounds opposite to those
permanent,
• determined to report in favour of the London and York line.
' One gentleman connected with that Company hasstatedthat
imposition. The arguments on which the ono was justi- lie h- •it I fact. I give no credit whatever to this
lied will so far from " coldly furnish forth.' the other— ' easement,dns and()r onlya refer to- it from its mischievous effect in
that they must actually be reversed. We were then told raising the price of shares. lam satisfied that the Railway
that it was a measure of last resort, to meet an exigency Committee of the Board of Trade have suffered no intimation
of instant peril. Such measures in their own nature of their opinion to transpire. Sanguine and interested per-
must be bad. The more complete the Premier endea-
voured to make his demonstration of the urgency—the sons who have been courteously received by them may have
know o wma that a
been misled by their own wishes, but they cannots
more evident is it that a measure of urgency belongs not to 'fact what the decision of the Board will be.).l r samureent
am
the
it cannot be an. easy matter to satisfy. I li
a season °filo urgency. He hashed time for setting his house
he e-
in order. If this direct. tax wasto be perpetuated, he has had schemes
to
it, or that any special reasons exist to indue_e
___,
n f, and in connexion with, the exiting Companties are
time for turning it into something else than a perpetuation pectation of advantage from competition, or that else
ce
inaldvCbc La -
of injustice. It is alleged that all taxation must press un- flies have not voluntarily offered such guaranteesnctfe :
u,e,
of
mono_
equally. taxes public in a better
Yes—but upon expenditure have this sonably required to protect the public aste
theh b
element of equality in them—that expenditure generally poly, on such conditions as at once.pl
will be proportioned to means. In proportion as taxes 1 P'sition than the"SPECTATOR.
from competition.—l am,
servant,id dhopeto obtaln
' Sir, your obediencto