Star.
London, England, 1823-03-22 00:00:00

ternal state of the country, and to the advantages
Nrhich might arise from the extension of ampler re-"'
lief. Had that object been entirely overlooked, there
would certainly be just cause for blame; but what
had been done with respect to the remission of taxes?
Why, in the seven years which had elapsed since
1816, allowing for the imposts which had been re-
enacted, not less than twenty-two -millions of taxes
per annum. had been remitted, or one-third of what
was the whole taxation of the country during the latter
years of the war. Let their Lordships estimate the
reduction of rents as high as they pleased, they would
find that it had been exceeded by the reduction which
had been effected in the taxes. It was highly grati-
fying to find that all branches of our manufacturing
and commercial industry were recovering, or had re-
covered, from the difficulties in which they had been
involved, and that at no period had they been in a
more flourishing condition. For though their profits
were now more moderate than they had been in time
of war, they were on that account safer. They were
no longer the result of hazardous speculations, but
that of direct dealings, whiCh were carried on to an
extent which had never existed before. He was aware
of the difficulties into which agriculture had been
thrown, and did not mean to say that they were at an
end; but it was the opinion of all those who had the
best means of information and of judging, that agri
culture was now in a state of progressive, improve-
ment. Under all these circumstances, it was clear
that the country could safely maintain the principle
of a Sinking Fund, to avert the calamity of an exces-
sive increase of debt in time of war. It was this
. country which had first set to foreign Powers the ex-
. ample of a Sinking Fund. She had maintained it
under all her Authorities and Administrations, under
Mr. Fox as well as under Mr: Pitt ; and should she
be the first to abandon an institution productive of
so many advantages? The object of the present Bill
was to simplify the measure, to confine it within
bounds, and to establish an entirely new system,
combined with important reductions of taxation,
principally in the Assessed Taxes, the benefit of
which went immediately to the pockets of the payers,
instead of reaching them through a circuitous route.
He thought, therefore, that he might congratulate
the House and the Country on its having at last at-
tained a condition in which it could look its financial
system fairly in the face.
The Marquis of LANSDOWN did not intend to
follow the Noble Earl through all the topics which
he had embraced, as he approved of the object of
the Bill, and could not refuse his consent to a mea-
sure which proceeded to simplify the system of the
Sinking Fund by placing it on a right foundation,
the excess of income over expenditure. Indeed, it
was he who first, some years ago, had proposed to
the Noble Earl to get rid of the cumbersome ma-
chinery which remained of the old Sinking Fund,
lifter its substance had gone. That suggestion had
then been Tejected ; but he had now the satisfaction
of seeing the Noble Earl propose a Bill to remove the
whole of that machinery, and to place the Sinking
Fund on its only true, safe, and intelligible basis.—
He therefore wholly agreed in the principle of that
Bill so tardily brought in. But he had to complain,
that, as if by some fatality, delusion was always to be
mixed up with the Sinking Fund. In the very pre-
amble in which it was declared to be expedient and
fitting to relieve posterity to the amount of five mil-
lions a year, it was also professed that fire millions
were disposable for that purpose, whilst the real dis-
posable sum did not exceed three millions. For it
had been admitted by a high authority elsewhere,
which would not be questioned in that House, that
the present expenditure of the country was forty-
seven millions, and its income fifty millions. The
Noble Earl said that in consequence of the operation
of a measure adopted last year, which he (the Mar-
quis of Lansdown) could only consider as an attempt
to delude, a large excess of income had taken place.
But at whose expense had that excess taken place?—
At the expense of that very posterity which, it was
admitted, ought to be relieved to the extent of five
millions a year, but from which two whole millions
were withdrawn. And how was that done? Six months
after the Noble Earl had held out to posterity the
favourable prospect of the pensions of the dead money
progressively falling in, a prospect which the subse-
quent measure entirely destroyed. To that extent,
therefore, the Bill still bore a character of delusion,
from which he should endeavour to relieve it, by
propOsing, either in the Committee, or on the bring-
ing up the Report, that instead of five millions, three
snitlions be inserted, as that was the real amount of
the excess of income over expenditure. He had
heard with surprise that the Noble Earl considered a
large Sinking Fund as the best guard against those
great. changes of property arising from the alterna-
tions of war and peace. How could this doctrine
be maintained after the example of the last thirty
years, during which a greater Sinking Fund than the
country would probably ever have again had been in
full operation, and yet in spite of that Sinking Fund a
Change of property had taken place, which could not
have occurred in other countries short of a revolution?
He admitted, however, that great advantages would
arise to a country from the possession of a real Sink-
ing Fund ; but he thought it should be an open ques-
tion, whether it would be preferable in time of peace
to keep a Sinking Fund, or to make a large remission
of taxation to the people? He must own, that he
would go some way for the purpose of raising a
Sinking Fund. Without anticipating any discussion
which might afterwards arise on the subject, he could
not exclude from his consideration thaexhrce now was
a greater probability of war than i6foitner years—
seeing that this country was placed at the mercy of
events. This situation rendered him the mcire de-
sirous that she should be furnished with an eacess of
income, and would prevent him from objecting to the
Bill. The Noble Earl had congratulated the country
on the large remission of cases which had taken place,
and yet he and his colleagues had hitherto main-
tained that taxation was no cause of the distress of
the people. But, the 'strongest proof that imposts
produced those distresses was the fact, that the only
resnedy yet applied to them by his Majesty's Minis-
ters was a remission of taxes. The Noble Earl had
said that 22,000,0001. of taxes had been taken off
since the war; but the reason why they bad been
taken .off was, that they could not have been paid.
lieessimitted that the whole taxation had thus been,
• reduced One-thied j but tyere had been still greater
red'itOinti 4,tmeable matter. Many of those taxes'

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