The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1842-03-22 00:00:00

flaring's) first fruits in " fishin-, for a budget" on his side of
the house. The right lion. gentleman then proceeded to com-
ment on the new tariff of differential duties, condemning the
principle that in every article, however small, there must be
a differential duty, and insisting upon it that there was no
advantage to the country in the proposed alterations in the
tariff at all equivalent to the evil of the imposition of an in-
come tax, which was as obnoxious as it was nnnecassary, be-

cause, in his opinion, the sources of financial supply were
nut exhausted. He would give every opposition to the pro-
posed income tax, which he could look upon in no other
light than as an unfortunate proposal for the minister who
brought it down, and as a heavy calamity to the country. It
was an unjust tax ; it was an unequal tax ; and the right hon.
hart. was already in possession of the fact that the hank of
England was of this opinion, and that the country regarded it
with dismay. The right lion. gentleman concluded by decla-
ring, that it he stood alone he should record his dissent from
such an unjust and oppressive tax.
The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER contended for the
necessity ci an income tax, owing to five consecutive years 4
aggravated deficiency, which • it was hopeless to supply by'
any additional taxation upon articles of consumption. The
right hon. gentleman replied seriatim to the objections of
Mr. Baring, and insisted that any increased taxation upon:
articles of consumption would fall much heavier upon the
community than the proposed income tax. He could not'
understand the argument that any particular tax should be
regarded as a war tax. If the revenue was deficient the ne-
cessity was as great for taxation in time of peace as in time
of war.

Lord Howie K said, if there were other sources from which
revenue could be obtained, they were not justified in impo-
sing upon their constituents taxes of so very objectionable a
nature as those proposed. The revenue might have been
considerably raised by a fixed duty on corn; and here he
might remark, that the landlords might yet find they had
made a false calculation, and that the sliding scale had cost
them more by occasioning the imposition of an income-tax
than if they had adopted a fixed duty. A similar application
of the same principle to other articles of consumption might
he found very productive. As an instance he would take
the article of sugar—and he would observe that the country.
must now see how fallacious was the argument that a reduc-
tion of duty on foreign sugar would lead to an encourage-
ment of slavery ; for the very same thing applied with equal
force to the reduction of the duty on coffee. The noble lord
then contended that there was no necessity for the income
tax, which would press with dreadful force upon the middle
classes of society ; and he predicted that if such a.tax should
be imposed, when its weight should be felt, the right hon.
baronet would find the stanchest of his supporters shrinking
from his support, as they had formerly shrunk in 1816 from
supporting a government of which they generally approved,
in the maintainance of this tax. . . . .

-._.... _
Lord J. RUSELL said it was ri great omission not to have
included sugar it they meant to advance largely towards
commercial freedom. Corn was another omission; and the
reason of these emissions was that they dared not propose
to touch those two articles, because they touched the inte-
rests of great merchants and landholders by whom the pre-
sent government was supported. It was a mischievous and
wanton course to create a number of new protective duties,
totally uncalled for, as it- appeared was now to be done by
the new tariff. There was no emergency so great as to war-
rant the imposition of an income tax, for had the measures
proposed by his government last year been adopted, the pre-
sent deficiency would have been only £1.300,000, and even the
£2,500,000 might be supplied by a revision of taxation. The
noble lord then adverted to the inquisitorial nature of the
income tax, which he contended rendered such a tax parti-
cularly odious and mischievous. The strongest objection,
however, he had to this tax was, that it was telling the world
that this country was driven to its last resource—that it was
struggling for existence, and that war would 'find it unpre-
pared. He should for these reasons vote against the income
tax in the committee ; and should it come back to the house
in another shape, he would move resolutions in order to place
on record his opinions of the financial state of the country,
and of the impolicy of an income tax.
The house then went into committee, and
Sir R. PEEL proceeded to address the house. He was not,
he said, surprised at the course the noble lord announced his
intention of pursuing. He felt confident that whatever
course lie pursued, or whatever he proposed, he never could
hope for anything but opposition from those whose mal-ad-
ministration of the finances of the country had led to its pre-
sent embarrassments. Since he had last addressed the house
it had become necessary to send additional reinforcements to
India in consequence of the way in which they had misma-
naged the affairs of that country ; and he should have to
move, in consequence, for additional army estimates, thus
increasing the existing deficiency of £3,000,000, including
the cost of the expedition to China. The other measures in
contemplation would occasion a total deficit of £4,200,000,
which could only be met by an income tax, which would
press on those who, though in some instances not rich, yet
were in circumstances sufficiently easy to meet this demand
upon them. With respect to an income tax, could any one
be deceived by the cry that it was a war tax ? It was the
exigencies of the country that demanded it ; but even if it
were a war tax, was it because that they did not hear the
cannon sounding in their ears that they could therefore per-
suade themselves that they were at peace ? Let them look
to China and to India, and such a delusion would cease on
the instant. He thought the sum each person would be
called upon to contribute under this tax would be very small,
for the cost of living would be so very much reduced, if his
-whole plan were adopted, that the payer of the income tax
would receive considerable compensation in the cheapness of
articles of consumption. The right hon. baronet then pro-
ceeded to explain the machinery by which he proposed to
collect the income tax. He proposed to adopt the machinery
laid down by the act of Lord Lansdowne, in 1806, in the ad-
ministration of Lord Grenville and Lord Grey. • The com-
missioners of the land tax should be required to appoint com-
missioners for general purposes, who would have the selection
of others, to be called additional commissioners, and those
latter would have the charge of the assessment of the property
tax. There would be, as there were in that case, special pro-
visions respecting the assessment of Bank and East India
stock and other public securities. This tax he meant to be
under the control of the commissioners of stamps and taxes.
Local commissionersshould appoint assessors, who would deli-
ver blank forms of return, containing minute instructions as to

the filling up of the blanks, with a return of the annual value,
whether of lands, rents of houses, &c. With respect to the
profits of trade, he should propose, as in the act of 1806,
that those profits should be taken upon the average of the
three preceding years, and with respect to professions upon
the profits of the preceding year. The chief difficulty of the
tax was with respect to trades and professions, and it was in
reference to these that the tax was said to be inquisitorial,
and this difficulty he would endeavour to meet. He proposed
that the returns when filled up should be sent to the assistant
commissioners, and be accessible to the surveyor. and to these
parties it should be competent to make a surcharge upon that
assessment. The appeal from this surcharge should be read
before the general body of commissioners, who would have
very extensive powers to demand precise information. To
meet the objection as to the exposure of a man's affairs to his
neighbours, he proposed to give to the party appealing an
option of appealing to the general commissioners or to spe-
cial commissioners appointed for the purpose, who wouki be
bound to secresy by oath, and whose decision should be final.
There would be also a provision to enable parties to com-
pound for the assessment for the whole period of three years
that the tax was to last ; and an arrangement should be made
to enable the possessors of landed property to pay into the
Bank of England, so as to prevent their friends and neigh-
bours from knowing the exact amount of their income. With
respect to making any distinction between terminable an-
nuities and other property, he could not assent to make any
such distinction, for if be were to do so he must be compelled
to make remissions to a much greater extent. The object
was to levy the tax upon the• whole income of the country,
and he could make no discrimination as to the source from
whence it was derived.
Mr. LABOUCHERE said that the whole tone of the right
hon. baronet betrayed a consciousness that his plan was not
received by the country as favourably as he affected to be-
lieve. Strong as were his objections to the income tax, if
the right hon. baronet had brought forward fair and just
commercial alterations he would be disposed to enter upon
its consideration ; but when he found his commercial tariff
passing by the strong and powerful, and flying at the weak
and defenceless, be could not for such a commercial reform
consent to fetter the country with an income tax.
Lord WORSLEY wished to ask the right hon. baronet what
amount of revenue he expected to derive from the importa-
tion of foreign corn under the sliding scale of duties. The
noble lord took that opportunity of condemning the injustice
of placing the same rate of tax upon the income derivable from
terminable annuities and other species of property.,
Sir R. PEEL said it was impossible to form an estimate of
the amount of revenue, for it depended altogether upon the

harvest.
Lord WORSLEY said it was reported that from that source
there would be a revenue of £1,200,000.
On the motion of Mr. HAWES, the chairman then reported
progress,' and obtained leave to sit again.

CRUELTY IN A FACTORY,

The following case came before the bench of magistrates
at Halifax, on Saturday last—George Pollard, Esq., being
the chairman : . _ _ _

A respectable-looking young man, named Jonas Booth,
was charged with assaulting Mary Haigh, a delicate little
child of about twelve years of age. She said she worked at
Mr. Ambler's mill, in Shaw-lane, Ovendon, at which Booth
was an overlooker, and the assault consfsted in " setting her
up," that is, making her bold a brush above her head for an
hour and forty minutes; and when her arms began to be
tired and dropped a little-, he hit them up again. !ler sister
proved the case; she said it occurred on Tuesday morning.
She herself worked in another room of the mill, but the
hands kept coming up and telling her what Booth was doing
to her sister; and "she bided as long as she could," but at
last went down and saw her little sister " set up." In de-
fence, Booth said the girl " had committed some offence"
for which she was turned away, but her hither wanted her to
come to work again, and therefore she was accepted on con-
ilition-that'she was firs' fo lie punished for what she had
done. A. Mr. Themis; the bookkeeper, had set her on the
steps, and given her the brush hicause she was a delicate
child and he thought could not hOld nth maul, which was
generally used in this. Yunishinent. He admitted that she
stood there above an hour, but laid it was her own choice—
she might have come down, if she would have submitted to
him, and gone on her knees" to: beg pardon ; but she would
not.. She was put up"at a: quarter-past 6, and stood there
till after 7. (The Siseer said it was until about 20 minutes to
8.) He denied kneeling her arms up when they flagged, but
admitted he took. hold of the arm and made her hold it
up. The magistrates gave Booth a very severe repri-
mand. To " set up" a delicate child for even an hour was
a piece of very great barbarity, which neither Booth nor his
master had a right to practice on any working person in the
mill. As for ordering the child In go down on her knees to
beg his pardon, it was a very impudent thing indeed. Work-
ing people were never intended to go down on their knees to
beg .pardon of anybody. When they did kneel it was for a
different purpose. The sooner, therefore, that practice was
discontinued in the mill, the better it would be. The ma-
gistrates did not sit therefor the purpose of saying anything
that could lead either Children or servants to be refractory,
but .they must be required to do what they have to do in
reason. The father of the child and. the constable of the
township both testified that Mr. Ambler, the millowner,
had declared that Booth had kept the child up too long ; a
quarter of an hour or twenty minutes was the time he al-
lowed. The father also begged the magistrates to hear the
offence" the girl had conim;tted. She had been seized
with a looseness while in the mill, and had gone to the privy
rather than stay at her work and dirty the floor. And for
this she was to be punished ! Ile had a wife and eleven
children living; and he could assure their worships he had
hard work " to keep th' band in t' nick;" but he did not
wish to break the laws of his country. The magistrates,
after some consultation, said that as Booth had acted not
from sheer barbarity, but in a very mistaken sense of what
he conceived to be his duty, they would (after the lecture he
had received) be satisfied with his paying ss. to the little
girl's father for the loss of work of his two children, and 6s.
the other expenses of the case.

ALL HER CREW.—Captain
ThLoobussrizO,FofA
tShCeHßnonsN: Castle, E
belonging to Blyth, arrived in
the river with a cargo of coals, reports that "on Sunday
WITH
bTanliininggiva.st
.\svev.endiioj'acnloccelcirottnheteln3tthoitnwsetalvnet,mSdeas,rbroearocuhginhg,
hine,awvyith the S.W. the wind suddenly changed with a
squall from N.N:W , a schooner, about five keels, ap-
parently all black, with a standing bowsprit, small topsail
and topgallant-sail, was taken all aback, upset, and went down
immediately with all on board." captain Thoburn adds that
he could not render the crew of the ill-fated schooner the.
least assistance, as his vessel " was under no command when
the fatal catastrophe happened." .