Star.
London, England, 1826-05-05 00:00:00

*easing the burdens of the people, the distress that
new stalked over the land would continue its ravages.
The increase of crime also he should establish by returns'
on the 'table. (Hear, hear). He found that the average
annual number of persons committed for trial in the
years 1821 and 1822 was 21,000; in the year 1823 it
-had increased to 22,000. At the list Old Bailey Ses-
sions, 450-prisoners were tried for larceny and other
petty crimes—most of which might fairly be ascribed to
distress. Thus, pauperism had been produced by taxa-
tion, and crime had ft 'wed from pauperism. Taxation
'was the primary cause of pauperism, although he ad-
mitted that the Corn Laws, the Currency, and other
'grievances, most have added to it. Undoubtedly many
'reductions in the public expenditure might be made—
the Sinking. Fund might be added to tte.public incom-
-but unless taxation were reduced, the relief from these
Sources would be comparatively trifling. (Hear, hear).
tie shr.uld, therefore, call upon the Right Hon. Gentle-
'man (the Chancellor of the &chequer), and would
day, if any thing should happen that could affect the
credit of the country, he would be accountable for it.
If war should t.ccur, the country was naturally strong,
enough to meet it—but if we were—pow in the
eleventh ye rr of peace, to keep up a war eatabli-hment,'
I.e very much reared that when war should actually
happen, we should not have the means of supporting it.
However, let what mischief might occur, he, for one,
could acquit his conscience of any participation in its
production. He had repeatedly warned Ministers of
the convquence of the system they had pursued. He
trusted they would now turn round and candidly admit
they had blinded the House and the country. If it were
necessary. ao prove the distress which existed in tbe
country, he had in his possession letters so descriptive
of it, nut merely of individual but of general distress;
and which he could ascribe to no other cause than the
great and unnecessary establishments that were kept up,
and to maintain which the people were so ground down
by taxation. He should therefore implore of the House
to concur in the resolution which he should have thel
honour to propose. In taking that step, he hacrno °Nett
but to warn• the country of the calamities with whiclr
it was threatened. He was no gloomy anticipator;
but he had felt it his duty to point out the state of the
country whenever it had appeared to him that matters
were not going on well. England possessed energy—
England possessed capability—but he would still say,
that one class should not be benefitted ai the expeuce of
all the rest, and of the public safety. He was not afraid
of the amount of our debt—but' he would say, " let us
not increase it by keeping up unnecessary establish-
ments." He was, he trusted, the last man in the
House, whir would refuse to keep up establishments
necessary to the rank and security of the nation. But,
those which he sought to reduce, were unnecessary for
either purpose. The Hon Gentleman concluded by
moving—" That an humble address be presented to his Majesty,
praying that he would be graciously pleased to take into his con-
sideration the present alarming state, of the nation; and to direct
an inquiry into the causes which have produced such wide-spread
distress, and to direct measures for relief of the existing ember-
rassments."—(llear, bear!)
The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER—When
1 state to the House that it was about eleven o'clock
this forenoon that I first saw the series of those Resolu-
tions to which the Hon. Gentleman, so much in det iil,
has called the attention of the House; and when I state,
that those Resolutions are no less than forty-five in
number, and that they occupy twenty-six printed pages;
that they embrace all imaginable questions of finance
In all their complicated details; that they relate to
matters concerning the funded debt, the unfunded.
debt, and the sipking fund; that they embrace also the
general receipt bf the revenue, divided, as it is, into
such numerous-branches; that they include every ima.
ginable topic that can be introduced into such a ques-
tion, involving all the prciduce of the country ; I think
the House will not be surprised when I say that it is
absolutely beyond the physical powers of any man to
enter fully into the discussion; and I shall therefore take
the liberty of entreating pardon of the House for saying,
that with respect to II far the greatest part of that
Honourable Geotleman s statements, I cannot attempt
any satisfactory or even intelligent esplaaation—( Hear).
When I received this morning the long series of Resolu-
tions which the Honourable Gentleman has stated to
night, I had no conception that the conclusion of that
Honourable Member's address would be a motion like
that which he has now proposed, namely—a motion to,
Address the Crows, praying that certain measures may
be adopted, the first of which is the reduction of taxa-
tion. When these Papers, containing the Honourable
Member's Resolutions, were presented to me, I felt it to
be my duty to read them with the view of seeing how
far I could accede to them, and what portion of them
I should be compelled to oppose—.(Hear, hear).—ln
doing this, 1 was, of course, struck with the first
Resolution; which I find, charges me with having
been guilty of making false statements to the House.—
[Mr. Huwa here said across the table, that he had not
made such a charge.]--I cannot descend to such quib-
bling, nor will I, at the Hon. Gentleman's suggestion,
affect to misunderstand the drift of-his Resolution. That
it contains a charge of deliberate falsehood is obvious,
from the words in which it is couched. What does the
Resolution say ? " That the assertions made by the
Chancellor of the Exchequer are not consistent with the
accounts before the House." sir, if they were not con-
sistent with the accounts before the House, they were
delibet ate falsehoods, and with uttering such the Hen.
Gentleman's Resolution charges me; but I never did
say that the reduction which had taken place *as ef-
fected by the operation of the Sinking Fund ; on the
contrary, I took especial care to state that it did not.=
If the Hon. Gentleman charges me with having made
unfounded statements, let him.read the documents on
which he rests that charge. On the day referred to, I
bad the honour, in the discharge of my duty, to propose
certain Resolutions to the House, for the purpose of
simplifying the opetation of the Sinking Fund; and be-
fore doing so, I felt myself bound to spew to the House
what was the actual state of the public debt, which I
did in terms which-I shall presently read to the House,
fi on) which the Hon. Gentleman and the House will'
see that the words " Sinking Fund" de not occur in
that statement ; and, consequently, it is impossible that
be can have referred to it—(Hear, hear, hear). Now,
I first protest against being bound by any thing which
i is reported of me; and next, I deny that I used the
words ascribed to me by the Honourable Gentleman.
[Mr. Hulas said, he did not rely on the words stated in
any publication to have been uttered by the Right Ho-
nourable Gentleman, he relied on the statements made
by the Right Hon. Gentleman himself; statements
of which he had a perfect recollection, for when the
discussion was over; he had gone over to the bench on
which the Right Hon. Gentleman sat, and had pointed
out to that Hight Hon. Gentleman the errors of his
statement] Still I dolly that I ever used the words