Star.
London, England, 1820-05-12 00:00:00

DUTY ON WOOL.

Mr. S. WORTLEY said, that in the course of the
evening sever al Petitions bad been presented from
persons connected with the Agricultural Interest,
praying for relief. He had now to present a Peti-
tion from a different class of persons—the inhabitants
of a number of populous villages in the West Riding
of Yorkshire, who also prayed that the House would
consider their case, and afford them assistance. One
passage of this Petition he would take the liberty of
reading to the House, because it shewed the depla-
brable situation in which those persons were placed.—
He here begged leave to observe, that' the Petition
came from a body of people, than whom no men in
the kingdom were more ready to support the present
order of things. The Petitioners stated, that the
pressure of distress, arising from want of labour, was
great without example. This fact they could not
prove more clearly than by referring to a recent in-
vestigation of the distresses in their parish, from
which it appeared, that out of 8000 persons, 7000,
after having paid theiirent, received only 110. per
week. From this it was evident that the greater part
of the population were in a state of absolute pau-
perism. They, therefore, prayed that the House
would take the state of the country into consideration,
and devise some mode of relieving them, particularly
with reference to the Tax on Wool, which they con-
' ceived to be the great cause of their distress. The Pe-
tition, which was from Kirkheaton, in the West Riding
,of Yorkshire, was then read and laid on the table.
EXCIIEQLTER ' BILLS.

Mr. MABERLY reminded the Chancellor of the

Exchequer, that last June he had proposed to the
House a plan for raising the Sinking Fund from
£2,000,000 to £5,000,000. To effect this, the Right
Hon. Gentleman had proposed several taxes, many
of which pressed heavily on the middle and the
lower classes, one of which, though it did not imme-
diately press upon them, was ultimately felt most
severely by those classes—he meant the Tax on
Wool. By taxing the raw material on which, when
imported, many of our Manufacturers were usefully
employed, the lower classes were greatly injured.
The Right Hon. Gentleman. had been told that his
taxes, as they pressed on the poor, who were unem-
ployed, must fail. But he (the Chancellor of the
Exchequer) had been of a different opinion. For the
failure that had since taken place he did not blame
the Chancellor of the Exchequer, as he was confi-
dent that he was sincerely anxious to see the Reve-
nue in a nourishing condition ; but he was a little
surprised that he should come down as he had done
in February, when he knew that the new duties, from
, the state of the exports and imposts, had failed ; the
exports having failed to the amount of £300,000, the.
I imports to no less than £10,000,000, and state that

•
he expected to hare a clear Sinking Fund of
£5,000,000. He must have known that the state of
the exports and imports would in a great measure
determine whether the new taxes would be produc-
tive or not, yet he had declared that he expected the
Sinking Fund, on which he had previously calcula-
ted, when he knew that these had failed. The Re-
venue in the year ending January 5, 1820, that wal
the produce of .the year 1819, had been such, that
when set against the expenditure, it left out a ba- ,
lance of £919,340 for a Sinking Fund. lie was not
sure that there would be so much, for taking other
circumstances into considera•..ion (which he particu-
larised) it would appear that there would remain hut
• a balance of £395,316. At the time the statement
was made it was very much doubted by the Honour •
able Member for Winchilsea. Now, instead of
£5,000,000, it was clear that the Right Hon. Gen-
tleman would have a very little Sinking Fund, or
none. The Revenue of Great Britain appeared to
have fallen off considerably in the last year, as com-
pared with the preceding year. The produce of
the year ending the sth of April, 1819, had been
£49,050,000. That fur the year ending April 3,

1820, was £48,208,000. It would therefore be seen,
that there was a deficiency of no less than £838,388,
and including the falling off on account of Ireland,
be doubted not the total deficiency would exceed
£1,000,000. It was of importance that the House
should have their attention directcd to this subject.
It was also to be remarked, that the unfunded debt
' had not been diminished, though a large sum had
been voted for that purpose last year. It would be
seen, that of the Exchequer Bills issued between, the
sth January 1519 and 1820, there were Bills outstand-
ing to the amount of 1:9,698,0(X), notwithstanding
£10,400,000 had been voted by the House to reduce
the unfunded Debt. The Right (lon. Gentleman had
taken the sum of £2,000,000 on account of the in-
terest of Exchequer Bills, but for the last twenty. one
or twenty-two months, the interest on them had not
been paid, and in the pi esent year it appeared that
interest to the amount of £1,100,000 remained un-
satisfied. it must be clear to every tine, that if it was
intended to maintain the public credit, the interest'
on Exchequer Bills must be paid. He did not know
that there had ever been so great an arrcar on Ex-
chequer Bills before. How this could be made a
part of our permanent system he could not under-
stand; he would rather that it should only be tem-
porary. He objeced to the calls made on the Bank
for advances to cover the deficiencies of the Consoli-
dated Fund. If this practice were sanctioned by the
House, the Consolidated Fund, it might be expected,
would always be found in arrear. If the Revenue
went on as it was going on now, at the end of the July
Quarter there might be a deficiency of £2,000,000.—
He meant that the charges on the Consolidated Fund
would exceed its income by £2,000,609; and this
would make it convenient to call on the Bank for
new advances. At a future period, from the Bank
being obliged to pay in gold, or other circumstances,
they might be unable to meet these demands; the
consequences would be serious, and, therefore, he
considered it most dangerous to pursue the course of
which he complained—that of covering the arrears'
of the Consolidated Fund by advances from the Bank.
To him it appeared necessary to meet in earnest the
difficulties of the Country—not by taxes, that must
fall on the lower classes of the community, or on the

raw materials of the manufactures, which must
throw them out of employ, but by a solid tax on
property. If a tax to the amount of £10,000,000
were raised on real property and the Assessed Taxes
given up, this would be a boon to the middling
classes who were at present severely burdened. It
ever there was a period when property could be fairly
taxed it was the present. Could any man say that
there was any comparison between the price paid for
corn now, and that for which it might be purchased
if the ports were open? Supposing the effect of the
present system to impose but an addition of £1 per
quarter, and taking the annual consumption of corn
at 15,000,000 quarters, here was a tax of £15,000,000
paid, not to the Government but to the corn growers.
The landed proprietor who shared this, and the stock-
holder, and the possessor of every other sort of pro-
perty, ought to be taxed, if taxes must be raised, as
certainly they must, unless it were thought prudent
to give up our public credit, which he did not sup-
pose would be thought good policy. The Assessed
faxes might amount to J.:7,000,000-6y a Property
Tax £10,000,000 might be raised. But when he
spoke of a Property 'fax, he did not mean an Income
Tax. That he detested as much as any one could do.
He would not tax trades, professions, and•income,
but property and property alone. This, he thought,
in the present state of the Country, was necessary,
and he could see no other way out of our difficulties.
He thought, that in the first instance, economy ought
to be resorted to in every possible shape. Last year
the Chancellor of the Exchequer had given them
reason to hope that some inquiry into the drawback,.
and bounties, which came to so large an amount,
would take place. Out of £62,000,000 annually
raised, but £52,000,000 found its way into the Ex-
chequer, the other £10,000,000 being consumed in
expenses of collection, in drawbacks and bounties.
He concluded by moving "for accounts of all Ex-
chequer Bills and Irish Treasury Bills outstanding on
the sth-January, 1820, with the interest due thereon,
separating the amount of the interest from the prin-
cipal of each."
The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER did
Lot mean to follow the Honourable Gentleman
through all the views which he had taken with re-
gard to the financial interests of the Country. Un-'
doubtedly, he had introduced what must be a sub-
ject of great curiosity, but he (the Chancellor of the
Exchequer) should not feel himself justified in at pre- I
sent disclosing what might be the intentions of Go-
vernment. The Honourable Gentleman had sup-
posed, that the late taxes had all proved deficient in
their expected amount, but the papers already on the
table led to a different conclusion. He applied this
remark, in particular, to the amount of the Duties in
Excise, and a part of which was forthcoming, hut
not yet actually paid into the Exchequer. Taken
into this view, the whole amount fur England alone
was £2,190,000 upon three Quarters, being, on an
average of the whole year, only £lOO,OOO short of'
what was anticipatzd when these taxes were first pro-
posed. The deficiency actually experienced took
place only in the Customs t but, even in that depart.
ment, he now entertained a confident hope that the
improvement would be as progressive as it was in'

the Excise. The Hi:metre& Gentleman must he
aware, that the practice was to pay the interest ol
Exchequer Bills at the same time with the principal,
and the present state of arrear was partly owing to
the Bank having declined to receive interest on the
Exchequer Bills in their possesyion. Though he
could not hold out to the House any confident
pectation on the subject, he still continued in the
hope, that there rhipla ho, on the whole account of
the year, a surplus of 1:1000,C00.
Mr. JOHN SMITH did not mean to blame the
Right Honourable Gentleman fur declining to stale
the views which. the Treasury entertained upon this
most important subject ; but he did think, that the
present condition of our ri ti.MGCS cper'ated iniu-
riously in various respects. It was undeniable, that
men of capital tr.n.e withdrawing it in .d 1 directions.
Though done, perhaps, upon absurd surmises, or un-
founded alarm, these could be no question as to the
fact. The only remark which he had to make on the
suggestion of the I ionourahle Gentleman (Mr. Ma.
berly), with regard to a tax on property, was, that
every future tax ought certainly to be laid on those
classes which could pay it. He sincerely trusted,
that his Majesty's Ministers had in contemplation to
introduce, during the present year, some fixed and
permanent plan oftinancial policy.
Mr. BARING was as anxious as any other Hon.
Member could be to see a definite and permanent
policy adopted ; to see, indeed, the country in an
independent situation, which it never could be in its
present financial circumstances. We were, however,
so peculiarly placed, that it was very difficult to es-
timate correctly our own resources. He made this
remark in candour and fairness to the Right Hon.
Gentleman. Though sorry to learn, as a matter of
information, be could easily conceive why a defi-
ciency should have taken place upon the last Quarter.
IVhat he -dreaded was, lest the same uncertainty
should attach to every future estimate of our Reve-
nue. Nothing, however, could be calculated oa,
without a greater degree of quiet and subordination
at present existed. In the present untbrtumate
state of the country, he was averse to any decisive
measure till he could sec the strength of our means.
Labouring, as they did, under a w ant of credit and
of confidence, from the s:ate of the country, he did
not think that any decisive measure could at present
be proposed. There was, indeed, plenty! of money
in the country, but would there be such a depression
of stock if there was not a want of contidei,ce ? If
there r. er e a Sinking Fundof 500,000,000 k—he meant
a real Sinking Fund—it might be said that that would
resle:e c: edit, and bring stocks to their proper price.
The shaken state of the great interests of the coun-
try rnt(le it extremely difficult to adopt any decisive
financial measure. Some other expedients, he under-
stood, were to be adopted, which he thought highly
dangerous. He had understoird thit these were large
drafts, for long periods of credit, drawn on the
English treasury, and circulated abroad. He had
been informed that there were drafts of this kind for
three months in Paris.. This was an extremely ob-
jectionable expedient—it was of the same descrip-
tion as that of Mr. Pitt with Boyd, ss hich Mr.
Piet was so much blamed for. If the Right lion.
Gentleman would give the amount of such drafts,
or consent to a motion, by him on the subject, he
should advert no farther to it at present; bat it was
an expedient practiied only in the greatest distress,
and fur the purpose of raising money —(Hear).—
Ile must say that he thought it extremely discre-
ditable—(Hear, hear).
The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER said,
that Mr. Pitt's drafts in Hamburgh were of a
diffefent description. The drafts at present cir-
culated abroad were made applicable .to the funds
abroad. In a few months he would wind up the
whole account, and then present to the House most
regular and accurate accounts el all.
Mr. GRENFELL observed briefly on the. large
quantities of silver imported into this country, and the
large drafts on the treasury of this country, arising
from such imports.
Mr. BARING said, that it was quite sufficient for
him to hear the intention of the Right Hon. Gentle-
'
man to present the accounts. If the Right Hon. Gent
tleman hRd general bonds for money outstanding on
the Continent, he would say, as far as he knew on the
subject, that it was a measure extremely objection-
able ; and be had heard that there were drafts at
three months circulated all over the Continent.

The CHANCELLOR ofthe EXCHEQUER said,
that those drafts were for silver imported into this
country.
Sir JOHN NEWPORT said, that he could never
consent to the strengthening of the Funds at the ex-
pense of the community. If the Funds were im-
proved by fresh burdens on the country, that world
be improving them at the expense of the other in-
tercets of the community. The stockholder already
received increased value, for he had become a stock-
holder during a depreciated currency, and now he
received increased value by means of the meliorated
currency. No sacrifice ought to be made of the gi eat
iaterests of the country for the benefit of the stock-
holder. The Commercial and Agricultural Interests
were already in great difficulty, and their difficulties
seemed not to be diminishing. He, therefore, must
protest against any improvement of the Funds, at the
expense of the landholder.
Mr. MA BERM( said he rose chiefly to reply to
the remarks of the Right Honourable Gentleman
who had just sat down. His observations had no re-
ference whatever to the stockholder, but they had a
reference to the country at large—(Hear, hefir).—
Ilis object was to put the Sinking Fund and the
Finances on a permanent and solid footin. Whig
respect to the remarks of the Chancellor of the Es-.
chequer, what he complained of was, that in le.•
bruary List, when he knew the exi ectations which
he had excited in the former year, and the impossi-
bility that the Revenue should amount to %%hat he
had calculated—when, in fact, he knew that theUe-
venue for the Quarter ending the 5:11 of d.otuary,-
1820, was £:600,000 short of the corresponding
Quarter in the preceding year, deducting the new
Taxes—he complained that the Chaneetlor (.1 the.
Exchequer had, with this knowledge, come down to
the lions; and induced .the House to believe that
the Sinking 1.1044 would amount to what he /lad
held out on the former year. He (Mr. M.therly) re-
collected that, in answer to a -question from the
Member for Winchelsea, who afked if the Chancellor
of the Exchequer could tell the House now thlt there
", would be :[clear surplus of ,115,00%000? the I:iyht

1

i'einerable Gentleman had stint, that, in a short
time—that was, by a certain time—it would be
i.aul that all he had said in the last year would be
eeilreel. Ile could nOt answer for the correetneis of
ce: e•ords, but such, he was certain, was the sub-
eane2 ef the Right IlonourableGentleman's reply.
lie 1:11caled to the !louse. whether such observations
en 1:; ‘varranted the remarks and arguments
ef Eight Honourable Gentleman, which were
fetee':d on the supposition that he wished him t,)
disc:ose his plans of Finance for the year—( Hear).
SocS a k;isclosure would be very improper; and no
31e.a!%er of that House could accuse him of saying
what c,nl.! induce the Right Hon. Gentleman to
i. Ake t!'at re:ly. The new taxes had amounted to
1,000,0(VI. fer the last year ; there was theref ire a
decrease of '2,000,000/. in the last year, as compared
Cie rear enk!ing :sth April, 131 S. It was ac-
tually 1.00 n.OOOl. less than the year to which he had
alln,!ed ; as there was 1,000,000/. produced by
e ,•tv ~axes in the last year, it was obvious that
ti c:,• s it, a decre.q, of 2,000,0001. The Right Mo.
Centlernan had spoken of articles charged. 'Were
we all ai tidies charged? If not, there could be no
i::come frkun them. In the passing Quarter did he
r.:!,:u I ate the Revenue, up to the sth of July, by the
:it ount of articles charged ? Iva; not the amount
c::arged, bat the amount received, which constitu:ea
t!y income; and he would ask, saying nothing of
keland, whether the income of the last year was nor
1,000,00:V. less than that of the year ending 5.11 of
ISIS? The Right Hon. Gentleman had trans-
;'erred 1.000.000/. from the Customs to the Excise,
ea,i 500,000/. of the wool-tax he had given to the
Cestorrei—but the Customs were not improving.—
Ale A:1,000,000 were again added to them, ihey
ee,uld be bound not to have improved, and there wa,;
!.0 reason for expecting any improvement at this
ei,nnent. He cared not shat tax should be imposed
!,r the purpose he had mentioned ; but it should be
etch a tax as would place the finances of the country
a solid loin:dation, and would not press on the
over classes of the People.
The motion was then egreed to; as was anr,:her
for the amount of Exchequer Bills and Interests
thereon, ii:cluding Issues the 60th George 111. from
.5111 January, 1520, to sth April, 1820.