The Sun.
London, England, 1842-04-06 00:00:00

THE TARIFF.

Mr. ALDAM presented a petition from Leeds against
any alteration in the duties on leather.
Lord WORSLEY presented a petition, agreed to at a
public meeting, in Lincoln, against the Corn Importa-
tion Bill, and the proposed Tariff, stating that the
petitioners regard with extreme alarm, the reduc-
tions of duty on corn and other articles, and espe-
cially that articles at present prohibited were to
be admitted at a low rate of duty. The Noble
Lord moved that the petition be printed, and gave notice
that he should, to• morrow, draw the attention of the
Committee to what occurred at that meeting.
Mr. R. M. MILNES presented a- petition signed by
upwards of one hundred of his constituents at Pontefract,
against the reduction of duty on liquorice, in the yew
tariff. The petitions stated that this reduction would
cause their entire and immediate ruin. They had a
large capital embarked in the cultivation of liquorice ;
its cultivation occupied three years, so that they could
not at once withdraw that capital, while it employed a
large number of the population. They, therefore, im-
plore the House not to permit so large a change in the
duty on this article.
- NOTICES OF MOTION.—GREECE.

Mr. TOMLINE gave notice that on Tuesday, the 19th,
he should move that there be laid before the House cer-
tain papers, relating to their diplomatic intercourse with
the kingdom of Greece.
THE INCOME TAX.

Mr. WILLIAMS gave notice that when the Report
on the income tax resolution was brought up he should
move certain amendments, to the effect that a tax should
be imposed on all payments out of thQ public revenue
above a certain sum, on the principle of the sliding scale,
and that real property in descending to heirs should pay
duties to the same amount as personal property.
• LEAVE OF ABSENCE.

Mr. W. S. O'BRIEN, moved for and obtained leave of
absence for a fortnight for the O'Connor Don.
TURNPIKE TRUSTS.

Mr. M.SUTTON rose to move for leave to bring in
a Bill to continue for a limited term Local Turnpike
Acts, and to provide for the better regulation of Turnpike
Trusts in England and • Wales. Considering the great
amount, of • wealth—a sum exceeding 7,ooo,oooL—that
had been invested in this kind o property ; con-
sidering the, nature of the securities on which
it had been advanced, and the state in
which many of those trusts were now placed,
from the effect the great increase of rail ways
had had, and would have, in the traffic on those
roads, from which traffic the revenue of the trusts was
derived, he was sure the House would see that it was
now expedient to enact some measure that should im-
prove the securities of the mortgagees, should maintain
and repair the roads, and, if possible, guarantee the
gradual yet certain repayment of the monies advanced.
Before he explained the provisions of the Bill he pro-
posed to introduce, he wished to say that it was not his
intention to extend its operation to those roads which
were not under the management of trustees, or to those
roads the maintenance and repair of which were pro-
vided for by special Acts; neither did he intend to in-
clude in the provisions of the Bill those trusts to which
loans had been advanced by the Exchequer Bills Loan
Commissioners, inasmuch as those loans were accompa-
nied by peculiar privileges and responsibilities with
which he did not wish to deal under the present state of
the law. The trusteesi under general local Acts, were
under the necessity, when those Acts expired, of
making an application to Parliament for their renewal,
but that application was usually attended with much ex-
pense and inconvenience. He believed that a great im-
provement would be eacted if the Legislature consented
to continue those Acts for a certain and specified time.
He proposed, therefore, that they should be continued
for a period of forty-one years ; and he proposed, se-
condly, to alter that provision of the present law
which empowered a single mortgagee to take possession
of the whole tolls and revenues nominally, for the purpose
of paying himself and the other mortagagees. He believed
that that power was liable to great abuse, and might tend
to much inconvenience; and that it practically led to a dimi-
nution of the security of the general body of mortgagees.
An alteration in the existing law would confer
great benefit upon the land, because when the
trust became insolvent, by 'common law the main-
tenance of the trust fell upon the land. lie (Mr.
Sutton) proposed, •in order to increase the se-
cur:ty of the mortgagee, to divest the trustees of the
power which they at present possessed of incurring
fresh burdens, and negotiating fresh loans—not to
take that power entirely, but to prevent them unduly
exercising it, by placing a pontrolling power in the Exe-
cutive Government. Under the existing law, it was in-
cumbent on the general body of trustees to hold a general
annual meeting, at which annual meeting the accounts (if
the revenue and expenditure of the trust should
be laid down for the purpose of examination, and to
be audited. Ile proposed that it should be incum-
bent. on the trust itself to appoint a Finance Com-
mittee, not exceeding seven in number, and not less
than five, whose duty was to he' to call half-yearly meet-
ings for the purpose of auditing the accounts of the
revenue and expenditure of the trust, as well in the esti-
mates of the expenses to be incurred by such
trust in the following half-year; and these accounts
and these estimates to be transmitted by them to
the Secretary of State, to be approved of by him.
Under the existing law in every instance the
payment of the interest on mortgage was by a lien ; but
that was not sufficient, for it was not a sufficient security
to the mortgagee, not from the inability of the trustees
to pay the money, but from their applying this money
to other purposes. He (Mr. Sutton) proposed not
only that certain half-yearly payments should be
made to the mortgagee upon a lien upon the
trust, but he proposed that it should be incum-
bent on the 'treasurer of such trust to retain in his
hands such part of the revenue of the trust as
,would be sufficient to satisfy the creditors,
and to be applied to no other purpose whatever.
He proposed that the mortgagees should receive five per
cent. per annum. Having improved the security, he did
not propose that this suns of five per cent. should be
entirely in the nature of interest, but that it should be
applied partly in the payment of interest, and partly in
the repayment of the principal. He conceived that,
having improved the interest in the way proposed by
his Bill, the interest could not fairly be calculated
at more than four per cent., whilst the remaining
one per cent. should be considered as a first payment of
the principal of the debt. It had been ascertained by
the calculations of an eminent actuary, that the pay-
ment of one per cent. per annum at the expiration of
'forty-one years would fairly and honeStly repay the
principal. Subsequently to this payment of five
per cent. per annum he proposed that the second lien
on the roads should be for their maintenance and repair.
He believed he had now explained to the House the
objects he had in view, and he would therefore move
that leave be given to bring in the Bill.—(Hear, hear.)
The question having been put,
Colonel SIBTHORPE said that the distress of the
trusts arose from the confounded system of railways.—
(Laughter.) He had always foretold what would be the
result of the establishment of railways throughout the
country.
Mr. E. TURNER said that the effect of this Bill
would be that money lent out for more than 5 per cent.
would be immediately withdrawn.
Mr. M. SUTTON said that that could not be done
under his Bill.

Leave was then given to bring in the Bill.
FISHERIES (IRELAND).
Lord ELIOT moved for leave to .bring in a Bill for
regulating fisheries in Ireland. The measure which he
intended to introduce did not differ essentially from that
which had been proposed by his Noble prede-
cessor. Every gentleman acquainted with the subject
must acknowledge that the present state of the law on
the subject was most unsatisfactory, and required amend-
ment; such being the case, he should abstain from dis-
.cussing the merits of the question, unless the House
should particularly. desire that he should do so, until the
Bill should be before the House.
Leave was then given to bring in the Bill.