Star.
London, England, 1816-02-09 00:00:00

•

is

sinners, lid to isesii .soda of. ' '
'private ammo t *Oaks s pithass
. go all this degradation, ladle answer wiry
put to Alm-his exataktition was takes down is It*
ting, in nee of the Kg's Ikeveynt:;4l4 was
aft desired to withdraw. In the face of the
sta4inate.to which be had sworn.nithotithis bow
bog what might have been said in hisnbsenee -bow
iedeharrer inlet have been wilifieil....be was wide;
in, and told that the Commissionersidl
thooght proper to.confirm the surcharge.-(Heer;
. hear, keen) This was a gross evil, and cut up:pub
Be morals by the roots, and opened id oor to 8U
kinds-of profligacy,—.... .
[Here the business of the Coon sins. interrupted*
for some time by the entrance of:the:Archdukes John
and Lewis of Austria, who, on the motion of the
LORD MAYOR. were allowed to sit on-the right hand
of the Chair.] • * , '
The Honourable Member resumed his discourse,
by stating, that from these multiplied evils there was
So relief-and that the subjects were effectirally de.:
prised of all right of appeal. The Taii4 howevex,.
reduced in its amount, was sub an encroachment on'
the liberty of the subject, that it ought never for a
single moment to be tolerated. • He knew a great
deal had been said of the reduction in price of the
produce of land, and that from the depreciation of
this tax pressed particularly hard on the landed
interest. But such Was the state of trade, that the
Cite of Lendon might safely say that •thii:lromoree-
ciarpart of the community were as little *le to SUS.
1140 the Pressure of t 'les is the landed interest. He
wished nere to observe one thing.. Even if the lan.
dad interest were more oppressed than traders in ge-
neral, yet the hailed proprietOn had taken care to
relieve themselves from the inquisitorial 'powers-
however heavily they might be taxed, they. were ex.
empred prom all surchstges-all inquisitonal exami.
nation. It was this most odious feature of the Tax
against which he chiefly complained, becassee though
the agricultural and Mercantile interests were so
closely ;laird that they could only subsist together,
yktbe oppression fell with an undue weight on the
one side, in a manner different frorri that in which it
fill on the landed interest.. He had heard .of fanci-
ful schemes for making the tax palatcablea-the con-
tinniag it to the landed_ gentlemen only. They
thought that if die tax was cuntinued, lend ought to
be relieved from it ; while others again thought the
Mx good with respect to land, but not so with respect
to commerce and inane). To all these schemes and
modifications he was decidedly averse. The tax, if once
allowed in any manner to be continued, woe Id soon ef-
fect the destruction of the Constitution. It would
stick to them for ,ever, like the excise scheme.-
As to the country. he had no doubt.that it was
decidedly with them. However unanimous they
might be on this occasion, he trusted they would not
beep their opinions to themselves, but state them in
a manner becoming Englishmen and freemen, that
they might produce a due impression on the Legit.
Lowe. . The HoncuraKle Gentleman concluded with
moving a series of Resolutions (for which see the Ad-
vertisement.)
Mr. KIRBY seconded the motion, and contended
that the tax was subversive of our rights and liberties.
Mr. HARVEY expected from' the Gentleman who
iltrnoen Icosvord the motion, that he would have gone
mere into the krnunds of the measure and less into
the policy of it. It was in the recollection of
all that this country had been (educed to the neces-
sity of yielding to the Property Tax, or any other
measure which the Minister might propose, because
it was iielieved that the existence of the country was
at sub.e. It was certainly not a little sini;olar, how.
ever, that that which had only been yielded to in
days of necessity, should be the coreplieF.: ....I y re.l
suit of days of prosperity-(Hear, h,:ar.) 11:: cot:.
ter ded that a great part of out grievances were
owing to the indifference with which public It ellIbile•
tions were viewed in this country, and he quoted an
illustration from an elegant historian, attributing the
di dine oldie Roman Empire to a similar indiffer.
ena, and pointing out the manner in which the Ro-
Mans were successively burdened with Customs and
Excise, and at last with heavy Taxes, affecting every
description of property. The Honourable Member
then made several observatiohs on the tyranny and
impnVcy of the measure, and in conclusion re-
marked, that instead of the blessings of peece to
which they looked forward, after the exertions they
bad made, the privations they bad submitted to, they
were still threatened in peace with all the horrors of
war, without any of its glories. That could never be
pol:tic teli;ch WAS unjustifiable.
Mr. S DIXON compHmented the Gentleman who
introduced the question for the close and ptieeise man-
ni-ein which he had argued it, and approved of the
strong and manly language of the Resolutions. The
first idea of an Income Tax was well founded; as
nothing was so fit for' taxation as profits ; but then
it was an irksome thing -fur is man to let the world
know his circumstances. With respect 4to him.sell,
toriflownee, he WAS gut ashamed to say, ,that by the
loci of a West India fleet all his well f .pros.
pests were destroyed ; and after all his Is, he
was a loser in the course of the year. Was he then
to &date this to the world, or otherwise be obliged
to pay a Property Tax when his income was uorse
-than nothing. He had never felt any oppression
from the Commissioners of the City of London, bat
it was too true that in the neighbourhood,of this city.
and throughout the kingdom, regular surcharges
were made of so heavy and -oppressive a nature, as
were not to be borne. He hoped there was sufficient
patriotism in the people of this ,country boldly to
meet the exigencies of our situation, but still he ex.
pected that those who administered the affairs of the
country should set on foot a system of retrenchment.
When, such a system of retrenchment should be ho.
noumlily set about, every person of ibe kingdom
would be willing to contribute their utmost to meet
the fair claims,of the public creditor. lie concurred
in opinion with the other Gentlemen as to. the itispo-
licy- of continuing this tax; and he would not agree
to three,• two, or even one per cant. if it was Mid,
to become perpetual.
14r. Gitinitte entered into some.partieulars of in.
ekviduals acting as Commissioners, who were is the
receipt of large incomes from the Crown.
Mr: Swore said be would not redrew the example ,
set bun by the last speaker, in mixing up personal
isielstigs, amid personal transactions with this question.
iiis would take the broad basis of that Gentleman,
who bad kiwi' them a beautiful allusion to the case