The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1853-04-26 00:00:00

THE LIVERPOOL STANDARD, TUESDAY, Al'ailL 26, 1853.

Zo be sorb or let

rilo he LET, a splendid FAMILY MANSION, near
1 New Brighton, containing Entrance-hall, 10 feet wide.
Three Entertaining-rooms, Fourteen Bedrooms, Hot and Cold
Bath, Kitchen on Ground Floor, Butler's Pantry, &c., Coach-
house and Stable; good Garden and Pleasure Grounds. Rent
moderate.
Also, a splendid HOUSE and SHOP, on south side of Bold-
street, with a private door; also, a back door in Wood-street,
with Fixtures complete. Immediate possession may be had.
Further particulars may be had on application to WM.
WILLIAMS, Estate Agent, 47, Itanelagh-street, Liverpool.

TO be LET, a recently-erected VILLA-RESI-
DENCE, situate in Sandown-park. Wavertree, containing
Dining and Drawing-rooms, Kitchen, Scullery, Butler's Pan-
try, Larder (on ground floor,) Six Bedrooms, Dressing-room,
Hot, Cold, and Shower-baths; W. C.'s and excellent Wine and
other Cellars.
The above may lie had with or without a Two-stalled Stable,
Harness-room, and Carriage-house.
Also, a Semi-detached VILLA, possessing similar accommo-
dation.
For particulars'apply to Mr. C. SHERLOCK, Architect, 22,
King-street, Liverpool.

LIVERPOOL DOCKS.
LOANS OF MONEY.

'Firm COMMITTEE of the LIVERPOOL DOCKS
11 do hereby give Notice, that they are willing to receive
LOANS OF MONEY, on the Security of the Bonds of the
Trustees of the Liverpool Docks, at the rate of los. per
centum per annum interest; for periods of either Three, Five,
or Seven Years. All offers to be addressed to GEORGE V. TAN-
TON, Esq., Treasurer of the Liverpool Docks, Dock-office.
Liverpool.—By order, DANIEL MASON, Secretary.
Dock-office. Liverpool. February 10. 1851.

SCOTTISH WIDOWS' FUND AND LIFE
ASSURANCE SOCIETY.
H E THIRTY- NINTH ANNUAL,__GENERAL
COURT of this Society will be held within Gibbs' Royal
Hotel, Prince's-street, on FRIDAY the27th day of May next,
at two o'clock, p.m., in terms of, stuifiw the purposes specified
in, the Articles of Constitution.afthe Society.
The Bonus Additions togr6" existing Policies for the Fifth
Septennial period of InveStigation, ending the 31st December
last, will then be declared.
JOHN MACKENZIE, Manager.
Edinburgh. April, 1853.

PROFESSIONAL LIFE ASSURANCE
COMPANY,
Admitting, on equal terms, persons of every class and degree
to an its benefits and advantages.

CAPITA L,—.€250,000.
CHAIRMAN,—Major 'HENRY STONES.
DEPUTY-CHAIRMAN,-JAMES ANDREW DURHAM, Esq.
. . . .

With upwards of Fourteen Hundred Shareholders'.

There are two important clauses in the deed of settlement,
by which the Directors have power to appropriate ONE-TENTH
of the entire profits of the Company
Ist.—For the relief of aged and distressed parties assured
for life, who have paid-five years' premiums, their widows
and orphans.
2nd.—For the relief of age' -iind distressed original pro-
prietors, assured or liar:their widows and orphans, toge-
ther with 5 per cent: per annum on the capital originally
invested by j. I,el•ii.
All policies inlrisputable and free of stamp duty.
Rates of premium extremely moderate.
No extra charge for going to or residing at (in time of peace)
Australasia, Bermuda Madeira, Cape of Good Hope, Mauri-
tius, and the British North American Colonies.

Medical men in all cases remunerated for their report.
Amirances granted againct Paralysis, Blindness, Accidents,
Insanity, and every other affliction, bodily and mental, at
moderate rates.

A liberal commission allowed to Agents.
Annual Premium for Assuring £lOO, namely :
Age-20 10s. 9d. I Age-40 13s. 6d.
30 119 6 50 316 6

Prospectuses, with tables -and fullest information, may be
had at the Offices of the Company, or of any of their Agents. .
Applications for Agencies requested.
EDWARD BA t LIS. Resident Manager and Actuary.
Offices, Cheapside, London.

Eiberpoot tattbarbf

TUESDAY MORNING, APRIL 26, 1853.

REVIEW OF THE BUDGET.

MR. GLADSTONE'S FINANCE POLICY.
THE Financial Statement of the CHANCELLOR of
the EXCHEQUER, of which we were only enabled
to give an imperfect summary last week, consti-
tutes of course the leading topic of the day, and is
entitled to a more than ordinary share of careful
consideration. Although differing widely from
MR. GLADSTONE and his colleagues, in political
principles; we do not hesitate to confess that in
this exposition of his views on the National Fi-
nances, the CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER
has shown an amount of ability for which few
were inclined to give him credit. His Budget dis-
plays an ingenuity of design, a comprehensiveness
of detail, a depth of research, and moreover a plau-
sibility of purpose, which ranks it far before that
of his predecessor; while it manfully grapples with
many subjects which previous Ministers had hesi-
tated to deal with, from the difficulty attending
complicated details. MR. GLADSTONE, however,
seems to have devoted all his energies to the task
before him, and the result has proved that he was
at least the only man of the present Cabinet so well
fitted for it. But while we give credit to the Mi-
nister for the ability and ingenuity of which he has
furnished such a striking proof, we do not on that
account unhesitatingly adopt all his propositions;
but, in justice t' our readers, shall proceed to treat
r
of them more in
with such comments as
suggest themselves detail,
fo
several items. a consideration of the

The first in order, as in
importance, is the pro-
posal to renew the pßot,..
RTY AND INCOME TAX,
not as on the last two occasions
for one year only,
but for a period of seven years,—the first two
years, at the present rate of sev
en-pence in the
pound, the next two years at six-pence, and the
succeeding three years at five-penes. In the length-
ened argument by which this subject was intro-
duced, Mn. GLADSTONE laboured to show the
difficulty of removing the inequalities of this tax
by any of the modes which had been suggested, and
herein expressed an unwilling condemnation of it.
We can readily agree with him that any attempt at
re-arrangement would but multiply, instead of di-

minish the inequalities ; but this is no reason why
a portion of the surplus anticipated might not have

been devoted to a rateable diminution at the present
time, instead of waiting two years to save a penny
in the pound. He spoke with much warmth of
the good which had been done by MR. PITT'S
Income Tax ; but we must remember that we are
now in a state of peace, and the event of war might
render such a tax necessary as an additional source
of revenue, which, under present circumstances, is
forestalled. His proposal to reduce the limit of
exemption to £lOO at a reduced rate, is less objec-
tionable in principle, though it will multiply op-
ponents to the measure. On the whole, the per-
sistence in retaining this tax strengthens the charge
against the party at present in office, that their
policy is to throw the burden of taxation upon the
higher classes, for the benefit of those who consti-
tute the majority of their political supporters. "We
may remark, however, that its extension to Ireland,
while adding but little to its productivenesss, will
increase the hostility of the Irish members, who
are sufficiently numerous to turn the scale against
the present Ministers.
The next item in the Budget to be submitted for
Parliamentary approval, supposing the first to be
acceded to, is the proposal to impose a LEGACY
DUTY upon successions to real property. There
is no doubt something exceedingly plausible in the
apparent fairness of putting all descriptions of pro-
perty upon an equality in this respect; but there
are circumstances which render them widely diffe-
rent, and considering the vast amount of entailed
property enjoyed by members of the legislature, it
is doubtful how it may be received. In the case of
personal property there is something tangible and
comparatively lightly burdened, whereas broad
acres are subject to numerous heavy charges from
which they cannot escape, and may have nothing
more than themselves out of which to pay the tax.
Mr. GLADSTONE proposes to spread the payment
of the duty over eight half-yearly instalments; but
in many cases it must be over unproductive pro-
perty, such as large parks, heaths, and such places,
and in case of repeated successions would accumu-
late very heavily. Not long since, an Earl was
succeeded by four sons in succession, and in this
case five duties would have to be paid,—an amount
approaching at least to confiscation ; and in many
cases where all the personal property is left to
younger children, the real estate would be
diminished by every succession. Under this head
Mr. GLADSTONE relies for an addition of two
millions to the revenue; and indeed it forms the
principal source of his means of reduction.

The third item of increased taxation is a proposal
to put an additional duty of one shilling a gallon
upon SCOTCH and eightpence a gallon upon IRISH
SPIRITS, from which the expected advantage will be
£436,000. 'We cannot seriously find fault with a
measure which may help to discourage the vice of
intoxication, alas ! too prevalent in both coun-
tries; but we may doubt its policy in the present
balance of parties, when a few votes from the
representatives whose constituents are thus affected
will strengthen the opposition to the Government.
It may, however, also lead to the increase of illicit
distillation, particularly in Ireland, where the duty
is collected by the aid of a military force ; so that it
is questionable whether the revenue will more than
pay the cost of collection.

The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER appears
to have resolved that his Budget should not fail
from want of being comprehensive, and therefore
he has devised a new source of additional taxation
in licenses to brewers, dealers, and others, from
which he proposes to derive an income of £113,000.
'ln most of these cases he has presumed that the
extent of business is in proportion to the rent of
premises in which it is carried on, and therein he
has not displayed his usual judgment. He pro-
poses, for instance, that dealers in TOBACCO shall
pay sixpence for every pound yearly value of the
premises. This might be very equitable, if dealing
in that article were the only or chief trade; but take
the thousands of instances of hotels, taverns, and
other expensive premises, where Tobacco is sold in
small quantities. A house worth £2OO a-year
would render the cccupier liable to an annual
license of £5, which might be more than his profits
on this particular' article; and the effect in many
cases would be a discontinuance of the sale, to the
much greater injury of the revenue, on a commo-
dity bearing so high a duty, than any profit to be
derived from the licenses. Some years since, when
the Government refused to make the usual allowance
to retailers of STAMPS, they discontinued the sale,
and the revenue was seriously injured, owing to the
less use of Stamps, from the difficulty of obtaining
them ; and a similar result would, no doubt, arise
from this increased charge for licenses. The other
trades to be affected by the proposed additions for
licenses are TEA-DEALERS, who are to pay a
shilling in the pound on their rental, which will
lead to many discontinuing the trade; to SOAP-
MAKERS, who are to pay twenty-five per cent. on
their rental, by which the relief by the abolition of
the Soap duty will he considerably lessened ; and
MALTSTERS, BREWERS, and TOBACCO MANU-
FACTURERS, who are to pay in proportion to the
extent of their business, being only another mode
of increasing the duty on their respective commo-
dities. By this plan the demand for relief upon the
MALT DUTY is met by an additional tax upon the
Maltster and the Brewer.

There is yet another item of increased taxation,
and that is upon Docs. Instead of Bs. upon the
ordinary house-dog, which is kept for protection,
and 14s. upon a few particular kinds, all dogs are to
be classed alike at 125.; and Mr. GLADSTONE
imagines that for this he will obtain an additional
£lO,OOO. The probability is rather that it will, in
too many cases, amount to a prohibition of these
useful animals.

Having gone through the various items from
which Mr. GLADSTONE proposes to add to the
Revenue, we come to the Reductions, which, to the
many, are by far the most interesting portion of the
Budget. In the selection of them he is certainly
entitled to much credit; but, at the same time, there
are some which are open to objection, and ought to
undergo some revision or modification.
The only duty of Excise, with which he proposes
to deal, is that on SOAP, to be abolished at a loss to
the Revenue of £1,126,000. It is a relief which
has been extensively demanded, for several weighty
reasons, not only as it affects our foreign trade, but
also with reference to our social economy. It is an
old proverb, that cleanliness is next to godliness ;
and now that we have Baths and Wash-houses,
cheap Soap may leave no one an excuse for not
being clean. As we have before observed, however,
the relief will be considerably qualified by the high
license duty upon the soap manufacturers.
On the question of the TEA DUTY, Mr. GLAD.
STONE has followed the example of his predecessor,
and proposed a reduction of 41d. per lb. for the
first year, but he has made his succeeding steps
more rapid, so that the shilling duty shall be
reached in three years instead of six; a change
which is thought to be a considerable advantage.
The reduction will involve the loss of £366,000 the
first year, and an ultimate loss of £1,934,000.
It will be remembered that, a short time since,
Lord ROBERT GROSVENOR proposed the repeal of
the ATTORNEYS' ANNUAL CERTIFICATE DUTY,
and obtained a majority of the House of Commons
in favour of the measure—a result not to be won_
dered at, considering how many of the membf!!'
obtained their seats through the assistance of this
class of the legal profession, Nr, GLADSTONE

partially succumbs to this vote, by proposing a

reduction from £l2 in London, and £8 in the

country, to £9 for the former and £6 for the latter.
This is so far well, but he goes a step farther, and
reduces the stamp on articles of apprenticeship from
£l2O to £BO. If there were any lack of attorneys,
we could comprehend the wisdom of this step, but
when it is notorious that more men enter the pro-
fession than can find an honourable maintenance in
it, the wiser course would have been to have in-
cluded this latter item in the list of his additional
sources of Revenue.
The ADVERTISEMENT DUTY forms another of
the CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER'S partial
surrenders to the popular voice. It was only four
days before the Financial Statement was made that
a majority of the House of Commons voted for the
total repeal of this duty, involving as it did a loss of
only £lBO,OOO. Mr. GLADSTONE proposes to re-
tain sixpence out of the present duty of Is. 6d.,
thereby withholding all the grace and half the benefit
of the boon for the paltry balance of £60,000. He,
however, goes further, and makes the singular pro-
position!to exempt from stamp duty all Supplements
to newspapers containing only advertisements.
There can be no doubt of the object of this con-
cession, as The Times is almost the only paper be-
nefited by it, and the price of the boon has been paid
in unscrupulous advocacy of the present Ministry,
and fulsome adulation of the matchless talents of Mr.
GLADSTONE, as the ablest financier of this or any
other age. We have said that The Times will be
solely benefited ; for though it is true that other
papers may publish similar supplements, few people
will pay to have their advertisements inserted in a
supplement which, containing no news, will very
seldom be rend; and, like The Times supplement,
be very often not delivered with the paper which it
professes to accompany.
Among the other reductions on Stamps is that
on policies of LIFE ASSURANCE, which was a very
minor grievance ; whereas the duty on fire in-
surances, which in most cases is two hundred per
cent. on the premium, is left untouched. In treat-
ing on this subject, Mr. GLADSTONE threw out a
suggestion that the Government might undertake
the business of LIFE ASSURANCE, in the same
manner that they now grant Life Annuities—a sug-
gestion that is worthy of consideration. lie also
proposed an abatement of the Stamps on the Inden-
tures of Apprenticeship, without premium, from
to 2s. 6d., and the duty on Hackney Carriages from
ls. sd. to ls. per day. A more important alteration,
however, is that on Receipt Stamps, which, from
the present scale varying from 3d. to 10s. on sums
of £5 and upwards, is to be altered to the uniform
rate of one penny on sums of £2 and upwards.
The strangest part of the proposal is that of paying
the duty by affixing a penny postage label to the
receipt, by which a door will be open to general
fraud. In every case the stamp, if used, may be
detached from the receipt, and at any time, when
proof of the receipt is required, the affixing of a
penny stamp would render it a valid instrument, so
that in a majority of cases the duty on the receipt
would not be paid.

In dealing with the ASSESSED TAXES, the
CHANCELLOR Of the EXCHEQUER seems resolved
to make some little compensation to the higher
classes, for retaining on them the burden of direct
taxation. He proposes a reduction on male
servants, carriages, horses, hair-powder, and armo-
rial bearings, all of which, as being among the
luxuries of the great, may be considered fair
subjects for taxation; and increases the duty on
dogs, which will more generally fall on the lower
classes. In this respect, therefore, he will gain
nothing of popular favour, though it is to be done
at a loss to the revenue of no less than £290,000.
There is also to be a further loss of £54,000, from
an alteration in the post-horse duties, sutstituting
licenses for horses and carriages in lieu of tax on
mileage. In some respects this is more defensible,
as involving the employment of many industrious
persons, although the tax is paid by a class above
them.

It was indispensable, considering the party from
which it emanated, that the Budget should in some
way be identified with the system known as Free-
trade policy, and accordingly Mr. GLADSTONE,
following the example of his former leader, the late
Sir ROBERT PEEL, has constructed a new tariff of
Customs' duties, reducing those on many articles of
ordinary consumption, such as Apples, Butter,
Cheese, Cocoa, Eggs, Nuts, Oranges, Lemons, and
Raisins, to the extent, on the aggregate, of
£262,000. In addition to this, he proposes to
reduce the duty on a list of 133 minor articles, such
as Beer, Books, Chicory, Clocks, Confectionery,
Foreign Fruits; Plate, Cotton, Linen, Silk, and
Woollen Manufactures ; Perfumery, Manufactured
Tobacco, &c., at a loss of £70,000. He also pro-
poses a further loss of £53,000, by abolishing the
duty on 123 other articles, including Hem!) Cables,
Glans, Fish, Poultry, Furniture Woods, Painters,
Colours, Dutch Clinkers, Spirits of Turpentine,
Rose-water, &c.
It will thus be seen that the Taxes proposed to
be levied consist of additional Property and Income
Tax, £590,000; Legacy Duty on Real Property,
£2,000,000 ; Irish and Scotch Spirits, £436,000;
and Licenses, £113,000 ; being a total of £3,139,000.
The proposed reductions are—Soap -tax, £1,126,000;
Stamps and Advertisement Duty, £420,000 ; As-
sessed Taxes, £344,000; Tea Duty, £366,000, and
ultimately £1,934,000; other Customs' duties,
£385,000, which, with £40,000, estimated from a
reduction of Colonial Postage to a uniform rate of
6d., makes a total of £2,681,000; so that, instead
of a reduction, there is an actual increase of taxa-
tion to the extent of £458,000. If, however, we
take the reduction of Tea Duty for the second year,
which is estimated at a further loss of £510,000,
the whole reduction will be only £52,000; so that
Mr. GLADSTONE has in reality displayed more
ingenuity in shifting the public burdens than in
relieving the community from their pressure. It is
true that the proposed imposition of Legacy Duty
on succession to real property will not be as pro-
ductive as the sum estimated for several years to
come, against which may be set the progressive
reduction of the Tea Duty; but then, on the
other hand, no allowance is made for the dimi-
nished interest on Exchequer Bills, and the con-
templated reduction of interest on the Three
per Cents. We can, therefore, Only arrive
at the conclusion that the supposed surplus
of revenue is skilfully retained for probable con-
tingencies of increased estimates of expenditure ;
while the public are ingeniously made to believe, by
a clever scheme of adding here and taking off there,
that they have afforded them a sensible relief from
taxation. We cannot deny Mr. GLADSTONE the
character of an able financier ; but before we un-
hesitatingly approve of his Budget, we must be
convinced that his plan of robbing Peter to pay
Paul is the most judicious that could be adopted.

We have thus given a brief but impartial review
of Mr. GLADSTONE'S Financial Statement, which
occupied the attention of the House of Commons for
five hours on Monday last week; but, as usual on such
occasions, was left until a future opportunity before
receiving the fiat of approval. We are told by The
Times that it has met with general approval in the
City, but we are also told by the same authority that
the Funds declined in value, and have not since re-
covered the depression. Indeel it is clear that appre-
hensions are already entertained as to its success ;
and it is said that a meeting of Ministerial
supporters has been held in Chesham Place,
and resort had to the old threat of dissolu•

tion in case of rejection ; while the Ministerial
evening paper, The Globe, has significantly
avowed that the Budget is not of itself a suf-
ficient ground upon which to appeal to the
country. It is clear that the whole fabric rests
upon the renewal and extension of the Income Tax
and the Legacy Duty on real property, both of
doubtful character, and only to be justified by strong
necessity. The former, it will be remembered, was
levied expressly for a temporary purpose, and has
now existed eleven years. Mr. GLADSTONE has
admitted the inequalities and injustice of it, and
expressly avowed his inability to improve it. In
proposing, therefore, its renewal for seven years
more, he has endeavoured to hold out a hope of
its extinction at the end of that period, but in doing
so he has drawn largely on future probabilities :
he has presumed that every duty now reduced will
have regained its former productiveness ; and he
has anticipated the falling in of the Long Annuities,
which, with more prudence, should blve been de-
voted to the partial reduction of the National Debt.
These are points of serious consideration before
accepting the scheme as a whole, and we have
done our duty in placing them impartially before
the public.