The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1843-05-12 00:00:00

at tiok the matisy go dstict"" H*l4oe Stated thet the
bank was instructed not to deduct hereafter the ineome tag
from
thosewhowere this year exempted, provided their
amount of stock continued the saute as at present.
HOUSE OF LORDS.—MONDAY. Sir R. PEEL declined to say whether the same proposition
The Marquis of CLANRICARDE moved for a select eom- as to the sugar duties had been made to other countries as
mittee to I consider the operation of the Irish poor law, had been made to Brazil.
stating a number of circumstances illustrative of the neces- The house then adjourned.
city of inquiring thoroughly into the system. He thought
the present law never could give satisfaction to the people of HOUSE OF LORDS.—TUESDAY.
Ireland, and one should be adopted upon a wholly different
principle. He did not wish to delay the bill which was now The Earl of RODEN referred to the agitation in Ireland
province he was more immediately
pbeengdoiinnggionnadnoutrhinegr pul,aecper,obguretssheoftthhoeubgilallt.the inquiry might for the repeal of the union, stating that it had given rise to
greater alarm and distrust amongst the loyal portion of the
The Archbishop of DUBLIN seconded the motion. He had population than had ever before existed. It was true that
paid great attention to the working of the present law in Ire- in Ulster, with which P
land, and unless it was most materially altered the growing connected, the people were sound and loyal, and were ready
opinion in Ireland that it could never be properly legislated to do in 1843 what they had so effectually done in 1798. He
for by the Imperial Parliament would be much strengthened. quoted what had been stated by Lord Althorp and by Sir
He could say of his own knowledge that since the passing of R. Peel on former occasions, and concluded by asking if
the Irish Poor Law the number of the poor had materially Government were aware of the dangerous excitement pre-
increased, and mendicancy had also very much increased, 'ailing in Ireland, and whether steps would be taken to put
and there was the additional evil that one effect of the law a stop to it ?
had been to dry up the sources of private charity. He would The Duke of WELLINGTON said that the Irish Govern-
not say that the Irish Poor. Law Bill was an attempt to raise ment were quite aware of the extent of the agitation and
money on false pretences, but he would remind their lord- consequent excitement in that country, and of the danger
ships that it was brought in with a view to suppress mendi- which might possibly flow from it. Every attention had
city. They had, however, rejected the clauses for the pur-, been givers to the subject, and the Government in this coun-
pose of putting a atop to mendicity, and passed the remainder try had adopted measures to enable the Government of Ire-
of the bill. ' land to preserve the public peace should any attempt be made
The Dnke of WELLINGTON opposed the motion. He ad-• to disturb it. It was the determination of the Government
mitted that there were many defects in the Irish poor law, to maintain inviolate the integrity of the empire, and he
but the object of the noble marquis was to have the law alto- had no doubt they would receive every aid from Parliament
gether repealed. • This he would not consent to. for he had in so doing.
the evidence of several of his noble friends near him that the' Lord BROUGHAM said their lordships would not hesitate
law was upon the whole satisfactory, though it required alter- unanimously to concur in the sentiments expressed by the
ation. There was at this moment a bill In the other house to noble duke. A severance, as it was called, of the legislative
remedy its defects, and when it came before their lordships union, meant in fact the disruption of the empire. To pre-
such alterations might be Proposed in committee as would vent such a disruption of the two countries, the whole force
remedy-the evils complained of. As to any want of attention of the kingdom, moral and physical, would be at once put
on the part of their lordships to measures relating to Ireland, forth at the first intimation of its necessity.
he must say there was no such inattention. When the ques- The Marquis of LANSDOWNE said that the Government
Lion of the poor-law was formerly before the house, he re- might confidently rely upon the aid of the house in its efforts
marked that much anxiety was evinced by their lordships on to maintain the integrity of the empire.
both sides respecting the bill which then passed into law. The Marquis of DOWNSHIRE said, that what had just
The motion was withdrawn, and their lordships adjourned. taken place afforded him the greatest satisfaction, for it was
highly requisite that attention should be directed to the pre-
sent excited state of the people of Ireland upon this question.
Lord CAMPBELL presented a petition, which brought the
question of the Scotch Church once more under discussion.
The Marquis of .Bri.EarsLeaNE pressed Lord Aberdeen
to declare what Government would do upon the subject.
Lord ABERDEEN said he had done so more than once, but
he had no objection to repeat what he had already said upon
the subject. He should be very glad if he could prevent the
disruption of the Church of Scotland, which it was said would
follow the,secession of some of its ablest ministers ; but if
the church insisted on claims inconsistent with liberty, and
with the recognised principles of law in this free Protestant
country—if they sought to establish a tyranny which it would
be odious and degrading to submit to, it was impossible to
support them. The principle which he was prepared to re-
cognise was the right of the people to object, and the right
of the Presbytery to judge.
After some further discussion, in which the Duke of Ar-
gyll, Lord Brougham, and Lord Campbell took part, the
petition was laid upon the table, and their lordships ad-

Varliatitentup 3earetbitit6,

HOUSE OF COMMONS.-MONDAY

THE BUDGET

After some business cit-i-ninnrirr4.Ortance had been trans-
acted the CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER laid before the
house the financial affairs of the country.. He much lamen-
ted, as had been stated by her Majesty in the early part of
the session, that owing to the depressed state of the coun-
try, a great deficiency in revenue had taken place. A
great falling off was also to be attributed to the repeal of
the import and other duties, for which the property-tax
and other duties had been substituted in order to meet the
annual expenditure of the country. But owing to the new
duties being charged from the time when the old ones were
repealed, they could not be made available until the period of
collection arrived which could not occur until eight or nine
months after they were imposed. The Customs duties were
estimated, by his predecessor, at £22,500,000 but after ma-
king the deductions required by the alteration of the tariff,
the ultimate produce would be, only £20,750,000; £500,000
of widch arose from the duties on wine alone. A reduction

of £200,000 had taken place in the duties of imported foreign
spirits. On timber the loss had been calculated at £600,000
but it had amonted to £676,000. Though the loss on the
last quarter of the year, viz :—from January to April,
was only £87,000, showing a revival of the timber
trade. The same was the result with coffee up

to January last, the loss was very great but owing
to revival of trade in the last quarter the loss on the
whole year would only amount to £48,000. though, if the
statement had been made in January, the loss would have
been £llO,OOO. Upon smaller articles the loss had exceeded

the calculations, which were about £270,060, but the loss
-had amounted to £316,000. The duties bad, however, in-

creased iu a degree out of proportion, when compared with
antecedent years, which indicated a materialimprovement in

the trade of the country. There had been a large increase in
the amount of tea imported, amounting to 1,000,0001b5.
weight. There had also been a larger quantity of coffee im-
ported, but it had not been sufficient to counteract the loss
occasioned by the reduction of the duties. In sugar, pepper,

a olasses, and other articles (enjoyments of the people) there

had been great increase, which denoted the improved condi-
tion of the working classes. In qlive oil, which is much
used in the manufacturing districts, the quantity had in-
creased from 1,500,000 gallons to 3,800,000 gallons. The

• .
quantity of cotton admitted for home consumption had risen
from 450,000,0001b5. to 537,000,0001b5. The revenue from
the Excise had been estimated, including the duties on Irish

jourited,

spirits, at £13,700,000, but the produce was only £12,500,000,
showing a deficiency of £1,200,000, £BBO,OOO of which arose
from the deficiencies of the malt duties, owing to the badness
of the barley crops in 1840. With the exception of paper,
soap, and a few other articles, there was a general decrease
in the excise duties. Instead of £350,000, as was anticipated
the increased duty on Irish spirits had produced only about
£56,000. £200,000 had been lost owing to the decreased

;nand for spirits. In England there was a decrease of
200,000 gallons, and in Scotland the revenue showed a falling
off of £400,000. independent of the additional duty to which
the falling off was ascribed. The estimated produce of stamps
was £7,107,000, and the actual revenue only £7,000,000.
Taxes were estimated at £4,400,000, and produced only
£4,300,000. In the Postoffice there was an increase of

£lOO,OOO. Wfth regard to the crown lands, the produce
from the ordinary advances would fall short of the estimates
by about £31,000, showing on the ordinary revenue a deficit
of £2,000,000; but that deficit was diminished by the ran-
som of Canton £750,000, so that the actual loss on the ordi-
nary revenue would be £1,280,000. This diminution in the
great branches of the revenue was not altogether unprece-
dented : a favourable or an unfavourable year would produce
fluctuations such as those announced. With respect to the
property tax, the amount paid up to the last return was
£2,500,000. The receipts from this tax, with the exception
of payments from the funded property, will not exceed one-
half the expected amount. He would not recommend the
house to get rid of the balance by raising money to meet it ;
but would leave it to be repaid by the successive surplus of
revenue as they should accrue. But to do this safely, they
must take care that the expenditure of the country be kept
within the means. The next point to which he adverted was
the estimates of revenue for the forthcoming year. He must,
however, draw the attention of the house to two heavy
charges, which did not forma portion of the ordinary expense
of the country. There was a payment for the opium seized
in China in 1839, which amount to about £1,250,000 due to
the East India Company for operations in China up to the
30th April for that year. He would exclude both these
charges from his calculation of the expenditure of the coun-
try. That war had been successfully terminated by obtaining
from the Chinese government a compensation for their ex-
penses and for their opium, and having obtained these terms
it would not be just to call upon the country to defray those
expenses. But in consequence of the representation of the
merchants, the government had declared that the payment
should be made in anticipation, and in England. The opium
claim ought also to be dealt with fairly and justly. He there-
fore should propose that £2,000,000 should be paid on these
accounts, to be repaid as the money arrived from China.
With regard to the present year, he estimated the customs at I
£l9,ooo,ooo—last year they produced £20,170,000, of that
sum £1,200,000 was derived from corn, and as be hoped for
a good harvest he had excluded that from his estimate. He
also recollected that the timber duties would be further re-
duced in October. He therefore took the estimate at
£19,000. He estimated the revenue from the excise at
£13,000,000. The stamps he took at £7,000,000, being
about the same as last year. The taxes at £4,200,000, being
about £200,000 less than last year. The crown lands esti-
mate at £130,000. The ordinary miscellaneous be fixed at
£250,000. to which he would have to add £870,000 paid by
China, which would be carried to the Consolidated Fund.
Add to that the property-tax at £5,100,000, making a total
of £50,150,000, as receivable from the revenue of the year.
The expenditure of the country appeared to be pretty nearly
according to these estimates, the army £6,619,000. This
includes the charges for the commissariat and the militia.
The navy £6,383,000; the ordnance £18,500,000; the mis-
cellaneous, including sundry smaller rates, would not exceed
£3,000,000. That included £36,000 towards Canada, which
last year was charged separately. The total of the charges
would be £49,387,000, which, deducted from the calculated
revenue of £50,000,000, would giye a surplus of £700,000,
which would go to the reduction of this deficit.
Mr. F. BARING, wished.to know how it was that while the
right hon. gent. propoSed to repay £2,000,008 moon the
future proceeds of the Chinese money, he yet had taken
credit for £870,000,-while he made no charge whatever for
the repayment of the £2,000,000.
The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER.—I am glad that
the question has been put, as it only escaped me from inad-
vertence. J propose to advance the £2,240,000, due for the
opium clainis, and the £BOO,OOO due to the East India Com-
pany, and the lion. gentleman really wishes to know why I
should not appy,this sum to the satisfaction of the demands
made on the publiO revenue on behalf of China. I stated in
a former year, that I thought the first claim on the money
received from China should be the repayment of our expen-
diture for carrying on the war. He explained that there had
been received, on account of the expedition to China,
£2,580,000, by payment from that country, pursuant to
treaty. That was in addition to the sum of £1,500,000,
granted on account of the service of the war, and to which
the right bon; gentleman (Mr. Baring) had alluded. lie
thought he was .not wrong in stating that £3,000,000 would
be sufficient to mvet the expenditure of the war in China,
and the opium compensation. The amount of the opium
compensation would be about 6,000,000 dollars.
Mr. LABuUCHERE asked if no alteration was to take place
in the duties on sugar?
Mr. GOULBURI. said be bad no intention to make any

alteration.
Mr. F. BARING contended that the government had proved
themselves to be both false critics and bad financiers. The
revenue had produced less by £2,000,000 than the estimate
of Sir K. Peel, and all that they had got out of the pockets
of the people by means of the income tax they had lost on
articles of consumption. The coal tax and their Irish spirit
duty had turned out to be failures, and the latter had led to
considerable demoralization in Ireland by encouraging illicit
distillation.—They- should-try-10-increase the revenue by a
reduction a the day on auger, butter, elleebo, and wool.
They had reduced the duty on coffee, and it would be no
harm to enable the people to purchase sugar to mix with it.
Sir R. Pt EL contended that such reductions had taken
place in the Tgrest articles of consumption, in consequence of
the measures'df last session, as would amply compensate for
the income tai' to all economical householders. So far his
prediction was verified, as was also the prediction that core-.
merce would revive as a consequence of the reductions in the
tariff. There were also apparent very decided symptoms of
a revival of manufacturing industry, although the iron, coal,
and some other branches of trade, were in a state of great
depression. As there was still a deficiency, he hoped the
house would not press any reduction upon the government.
In what a position the country would have been had it not
been for the income tax. No measure more effective, or
less objectionable, could have met the difficulty ; and although
the revival of trade had been delayed, yet the owners of pro-
perty would, he was satisfied. sustain the income tax against
any attempts at its repeal. It would have been most agree-
able to him to be enabled to propose a further reduction of
of duties; but, in the present state of the revenue, lie could
not feel himself justified in making any such proposition.
Lord J. RUSSELL said that the budget of the late govern-
ment contemplated the benefit of trade and commerce, while
the financial measures of the present government, without
that object, still contrived to preserve the whole of the de-
ficiency for which they had to provide on entering office.
The noble lord contended for the reduction of the duty on
sugar, which would be quite in accordance with the new
tariff, but the right hon. baronet was batting in the course
upon which be had started, and nothing would be done for
the commerce of the country.
Mr. Hurr asked whether it was intended to reduce the
interest on the three-and-a-half per cents?
The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER said he should be
guided by circumstances.
Mr. LABOUCHERE contended for a reduction of the duty
on sugar, though he feared if the right hon. baronet came to
deal with that subject he would act as he had done with the
timber duties. The result of the right hon. baronet's policy
would entail the income tax on the country not for three but
for ten years.
The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER said he had no
means whatever to ascertain the amount of the frauds which
had
the commission perpetrated
o
n t e
of inquiry
very cn s tom- ou se.
the
reportbeenof he
shortly, rt expectedly,and
would lay it before the house; but that would only refer to
the amount of fraud which had been discovered.
The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER stated the mode in
which those parties from whose dividends the income tax wai
deducted, but who had not an income of ..€350 a year, might