The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1853-05-03 00:00:00

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 27.

The second reading of the Attorneys' Certificate Duty
Bill was postponed till the Ist of June.
PROPOSED NEW LICENSES.—Mr. BAss, alluding to the
proposal to alter the duty on licenses, said that the
amount which would be imposed on Messrs. Barclay, as
brewers and maltsters, would amount to £2,850 a-year,
and the total amount of the new duty on brewers and
maltsters would approach to £100,000:per annum. The
Chancellor of the Exchequer also proposed to levy a new
duty on five ether classes of tradesmen ;. but he (Mr. Bass)
understood that it had been discovered that this would be
so impracticable in practice that the right hon. gentleman
had undertaken to re-consider his measure, either with the
view of renouncing it altogether, or rendering it fit for
operation. The proposition, as it stood, was tantamount,
more or less, to an additional malt-tax to the amount of
£lOO,OOO a-year, and he therefore thought it fit that the
House and the country should be acquainted with the facts
he had mentioned.
REDUCTION OF THE THREE-PER-CENTS.—The third
reading of the South Sea, &c., Annuities Commutation
Bill was further proceeded with, and some clauses were
added. The object of one set of the amendments was to
limit to £30,000,000 the power of conversion into 3k per
Cents., as well as the power of conversion into 2i per
Cents., plus, the 10,000,000 of the minor stocks. But the
Exchequer bonds were absolutely limited to £30,000,000
altogether.
IRISH CHANCERY REFORM.-Mr. WHITESIDE Ob-
tained leave to bring in a bill to facilitate the sale, parti-
tion, and exchange of lands by the Court of Chaneery in
Ireland, and the recovery of moneys secured by recogni-
zance.

THURSDAY, APRIL M

The Oldham Corporation and Oldham Gas and Water-
works Bill was read a third time and passed.
Mr. CHAS. TURNER presented a petition from the Wes-
leyan Methodists, of the Liverpool northern circuit,
against opening the Crystal Palace on the Lord's day.
Mr. DUNLOP presented a petition from the inhabitants
of St. Stephen the Martyr's district, Liverpool, to the
same effect.

TOBACCO AND TEA LICENSES.—In reply to a ques-
tion from Mr. Labouchere, the CHANCELLOR of the
EXCHEQUER said he was very sensible that the scale of
licenses proposed would operate with great severity, which
was not at all intended on the part of the Government,
and he therefore freely gave a pledge that the scale should
be reconsidered and reprinted in time to give notice to all
parties concerned.
CORPORATE PROPERTY.—In answer to a question,
whether property in the possession of corporate bodies
was to be subject to the duty on successions, the CHAN-
CELLOR of the EXCHEQUER said, that the terms of the
proposal which had been submitted to the House, that
certain duties should be imposed on the succession of
property, in consequence of death, did not apply to cor-
porate property. The Government, however, would sub-
mit a further proposition to the House, having reference
to the property held by corporate bodies.
TAX ON WAGES.—In answer to a question as to the
mode of calculating the wages of a family, with a view to
the imposition of the income-tax, the CHANCELLOR of
the EXCHEQUER said, that man and wife being, in the
eye of the law, one person, they would be so considered
in the assessment of the income:tax, but it was not pro-
posed that the earnings of the children should be brought
within the scope of the assessment.
DEBATE ON THE BUDGET.

The adjourned debate on the resolution for imposing
the Property and Income-tax for seven years, and ex-
tending it to Ireland, was resumed by Mr. COBDEN, who
spoke generally in favour of the Budget, but condemned
the relief of advertisement supplements only from stamp
duty, as a boon to one paper.
In the course of the discussion which ensued, Sir Chas.
WOOD entered into an elaborate defence of the Budget
against the various objections to it which had been raised.
The debate was then adjourned till Friday.
SCOTCH SHERIFFS COURT.—The Sheriff Courts (Scot-
land) Bill was referred to a Select Committee.

FRIDAY, APRIL 29.

Petitions were presented on a variety of subjects.
THE KOSSUTH AFFAIR.—In reply to inquiries by Sir
Joshua Walmsley, as to the result of the legal investiga-
tion into the seizure of warlike stores at Rotherhithe, and
to the employment of the police to watch the residence of
M. Kossuth or other political refugees,—Lord PALMER.
STON said, the house was aware that one of the proceed-
ings before the police-court had closed, and that the
magistrates had thought the other matter ought to be
inquired into before another tribunal. With re.
spect to the second question, it was the duty
of the police to watch the proceedings of English
men or foreigners suspected, rightly or wrongly, of eon-

templating a breach of the law, and neither M. Kossuth
nor any other political refugee could be exempted froth
the ordinary precautions.— Mr. BRIGHT complained
that Lord Palmerston abstained purposely from saying
anything that could lead the public to feel that there vraS
no evidence against M. Kossuth. He asked whether the
Home-office had instigated the proceedings, and whether
there was any evidence to show any connexion between
Kossuth and the making of the warlike stores.—Lora
PALMERSTON, with some degree of warmth, expressed his
extreme surprise at the ignorance evinced by Mr. Bright
of the constitutional principles which ought to govern 0
minister of the crown, and every member of that house,
in taking him to task for not choosing to answer a ques.
tion which no man had a right to put to him, and whiff
it would be contrary to his duty to answer, as to the effect
of a judicial inquiry now pending. To the question
whether the proceedings were authorized or directed 1)9
him, he answered that they were. It was the duty of the
Secretary of State, if he had reason to think that refugees,
who while in this country were free as the air thel
breathed, abused its hospitality, to take steps to obtaie
information, and to punish any man who offended the
law, whether Englishman or foreigner.
_ THE BUDGET.

The adjourned debate was resumed by Mr. Mooat;
who contended that the measure, as applied to Ireland!
must be justified upon one of two separate and distinct
grounds—either that Ireland was not sufficiently taxed!
or that she would not be more taxed under the budge,
than at present; and neither had been or could be
established. But, whatever became of the budget, t°3
was sure there would be a universal feeling on the pai
of the committee that it ought to be pruned at least 0
one unnatural excrescence which occasioned a suspicion'
a bare suspicion only (" but Ca sar's wife should be abee
suspicion")—that there might have been a bargain ke•
tween her Majesty's government and a portion of PI
press—a suspicion which ought to be removed, for I
should not be permitted even to be suspected that die
government was capable of trafficking with the press, 0t
that the first journal in the empire was a hireling scribe'
Mr. J. M'GREGOR, Col. HARCOURT, Mr. H. HERBEIO
—Nlr. C. FOSTER, and Mr. C. URQUHART supported thed
budget, and Mr. C. R. MORGAN, Lord A. VANE, de
Lord JOCELYN opposed it.—Mr. CARDWELL said the
question was, whether we were so satisfied with past eVi
perience of the income tax—upon the happy results
.‘,Ol
which in effecting financial improvements he dwelt wit°
much force—that we were willing to make another great
experiment. The inequalities of the assessment had heel
pressed into the digouosion but no plan had been offered
by which those inequalities could be redressed.-41P
HENLEY subjected the general scheme of the budget t°
a minute critical examination, observing that it did not
hold out any particular charm for the landed intereett
and that the continuance of the income tax for 504
years would, in effect, exempt our whole taxation frold
the constitutional control which parliament had alwet
exercised over a certain portion of our revenue.—bl_,f'
CAIRNS spoke against the budget, and the debate Wo'
adjourned till Monday.