The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1845-03-25 00:00:00

HOUSE OF COMMONS.-TUESDAY

Lord DUNCAN moved for a select committee to inquire
into the present mode of assessing, levying, and collect-
ing the window duties in Great Britain, and to report
their rpinion thereupon to the house. After giving a his-
tory of the various acts of parliament under which the
window duties are assessed, and after commenting on the

unaccountable manner in which the scale of duties rose
and fell, he called attention to the contradictory returns
furnished to parliament respecting the amount of taxation
thus paid into the Exchequer. He showed that it bad
been falling off from the year 1839 down to the end of
1843, and that during that period the population had been
steadily increasing. He considered that a sufficient proof
that much mischief must have been done, and great in-
convenience sustained, during that interval. lie men-

tioned several cases in which persons had been subjected
to much vexatious annoyance anti persecuti:m under these
acts of parliament, and complained of the difficulty which

was encountered both in properly shutting up windows
that were open, and in properly opening windows that
were shut. Many gentlemen who had been opening win-
dows for many years found themselves suddenly in the
,irrris of a very hungry Chancellor of the Exchequer,
whilst many of those who wanted to shut them up knew
not how to do it legally, as they were compelled to build
up their windows exactly of the same materials as those
of which the walls of their houses were built. He as-
serted that one of the chief objections to the ventilation
of our towns was the variety of objects which opposed
themselves to the opening of new windows in the houses
of the poor; and, arguing that solar light and air were ab-
solutely necessary to health, and were very essential ior
the prevention of immorality and crime, he appealed to
the present Premier, who had declared his intention of
bringing in a bill this session for establishing new sanitary
regulations in all our large towns, and asked him to grant
to the people of England a committee, which wculd ena-
ble them at a future, aid he hoped not a distant, period,
to obtain a better supply than they had at present of those
two great necessaries of lite, light and air.
Captain Roos, in seconding the motion, bore testi-
mony to the very impressive character of this tax upo❑
the lower parts of Westminster and Lambeth.
The CHANCELLOR ON THE EXCHEQUER said, that
taxes were evils, but necessary evils, and must be raised
so long as the house was determined to maintain public
credit. He therefore could not give his assent to this
motion for a committee ; for if the house were to agree to
such a motion, it would lead people out of doors to be-
lieve that the house intended to repeal these duties, and it
would embarrass the government by making it seek for
some commutation of taxation equal to the amount of the
duties which Lord Dunca❑ wished to have repealed. Ten
years ago it was resolved that the house-tax should be
abolished, and that half of the window-tax then in exist-
ence should be continued; but if they were now to auolish
the window-tax, and to re-impose the house-tax, they
would make a change of taxation which would be ob-
noxious to a greater number of persons than the present
system. The window-tax applied t r one-eleventh part of
the houses in the country ; but the house-tax applied to
one-seventh part of them. Tt.e house-tax would, there-
fore, bring under assessment 270,000 persons who at
present were not contributing either to the house-tax or
to the window-tax. He asked the opposition to recollect '
what was the effect on rents when half the window-tax
was taken away ; and then contended that if the present
window-tax were also removed, the amount would go into
the pockets of the landlord in the shape of increased cot.
It was the duty of government to examine into the effects
t taxation, and to prevent any abuse or grievance which
might exist in the levying and collection of it. To the
prevention of grieva ce be would readily pay every atten-
non ; but to go Into a committee en this subject would he
to excite expectatons which he could not gratify. Lord
Duncan had stated that the w indow• tax was the cause of
insalubrity arid ill-health in our large towns. Undoubt-
euly there were cases in which the window-tax might have
prevented better ventilation ; bet in general the poor man
looked to the warmth rather than to the ventilation of his
dwelling. Indeed, so tar from being anxious to adrn t
ventilation, the poor were anxious to stop up every aper-
ture in their rooms to procure more warrotn. 'lice tarn-

tary zeport did not attribute the want of ye tiiation in our
large towns to the operatio❑ of. the window-tax, but said
ti.at it was occa,iuned by houses bring built in narrow

ourts back to back to each other, to rui— pertect drainage
and sewerage, and to various ether causes. For these and
many other reasons he was determined to resist this

ihquiry

Miter a lengthened debate the House divided, when the
!notion was negatived by a majority uf 93 to 47
Mr. El OPE,it. moving for papers rehitive to

New Zea-

land, obsersed that in making this motion he should leave
the general question of the affairs of New Zealand un-
touched till a future opportunity. His object at present
was to show that no deception had been intended ur prac-
tised by Lord Stanley, and that the charge was unfounded
that his Lordship, after having come to an arrangement
with the New Zral..no Company in 1813, and atter hav-
ing undertaken to give certain instructions to the Gover-
nor of that colony, had produced one set of instructions
to the Directors of the New Zealand Company, and had
sent another and an inconsistent one to the Governor.
For this purpose Mr. Hope read to the House, and as he
read commented on, a very voluminous correspondence
. • . . , . .

aid Captain Fitzroy, on the une side, and the Dirtetors
of the New Zealand Company on the other. He showed
that no instructions had been given to any one save to

Captain Fitzroy, anc

fiat none at al.

had been cJmnauni-

cated to the few Zealand Committee. The only in-
structliais to Capt,in Fitzroy were issued on the 26th of
Jnne, 1843. and a copy of those was never asked for by
the New Zealand Company till the January following,
woe!' it was sent to them with copies of the correspond-
ence referred to in it. The word " confidential" was at the
head of the instructions, and as the papers were wanted
fur publication, he had m tiered it to be erased, in order to
prevent any embarrassment to the printers. After sub-
mitting that he had shown reasons sufficient to exempt
the noble lord from the charge of a breach of faith and
deception which had been brought against him, he read
to the House the opinion of the Directors of the New
Z,aland Company themselves upon that point. The
Company received all the corn spondence between Cap-
tain Fitzroy and the Colonial Department on the Ist of
February, 1844, and sent a reply to it to the Colonial
Department on the 29th of the same month. They ex-
pressed their great reliance in the good intentions of
Captain Fitzroy, and in the spirit in which he would carry
his instructions into effect, and said further, that they left
their letter in Lord Stanley's hands, with a full confidence
in his justice and his benevolent intentions. That letter
was written a year ago ; and he trusted that what he had
then said would induce Mr. C. Buller to withdraw the
charge of duplicity which be had preterred on a former
evening against Lord Stanley.
Mr. C.BULLER observed, that it was with great pain
he rose to answer the statement of Mr. Elope, and to
speak in defence of the statement of the New Zealand
Company, by which, however, be must stand if he had
any regard to his own character. The New Zealand com-
pany had suffered material wrong from Lord Stanley.
Several of the members addressed the House, and the
motion was agreed to.

HOUSE OF COMMONS.-WEDNESDAY

The Railway and Land Clauses Consolidation Bills
were read d third time and passed.
Sir R. PEEL, in answer to a question from Sir R.
Inglis, said if the house agreed to an increased grant for
the College of Maynooth, he thought it would be desira-
ble to make it permanent, and not have a discussion on
the subject every session.

Sir J. GRAHAM, in answer to Lord Duncan, said there
was no intention on the part of government to make any
alteration in the act of last session, respecting abolishing
imprisonment for debt. He also stated_ in rPniss ►r.

another question, that it was not the intention of govern-
ment to propose a committee of inquiry into the poor-
laws.

The house then discussed the various items of the ue
Tariff.

Attempts were made to exempt grease, tanned hides,
lard, and thrown silk from the operation of the measure ;
but in vain. Ail the articles in the Schedules for reduc-
tion or remission were agreed to, and the resolutions
were ordered to be reported. The house resumed, and
the report was forthwith agreed to.