The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1842-03-15 00:00:00

TUESDAY MORNING, MARCH 15, 1842.

Whilst we cordially approve, in its general features,
of the financial measure of Sir Robert Peel, as brought
before the House of Commons on Friday—(although
we by no means pledge ourselves, at present, to its de-
tails)—there is one portion of it, in the good policy of
which we cannot by any means coincide. We allude
to the duty of 4s. per ton proposed to be levied upon
coals exported from Great Britain, which we are pre-
pared to show will be one peculiarly injurious to our
shipping interest, and, beyond the trifling revenue to
be derived from it, affording no 'countervailing advan-
tages to the manufacturing interest, for whose protec-
tion it is ostensibly intended. The pressure, however,
upon our space and time to-day will not allow us to do
more than briefly allude to it ; but on Friday we shall
endeavour to enter fully into the subject.

The Liverpool Albion, yesterday, has a long leader,
in his-peculiar vein, upon the subject of the financial
measure of Sir Robert Peel, in which he demonstrates,
to his own satisfaction, we presume, the infinite supe-
riority of that proposed in the last session of Parlia-
ment by Lord Melbourne's administration ; and
enunciates the startling and hitherto undiscovered fact
that the proposed modification of our commercial tariff
is merely an adoption of the principles put forward
originally by that administration ! With respect to the
proposed income tax, however, we are to be treated
bye and bye with an immense commotion. The middle
classes, against whom that tax is directed, our contem-
porary maintains, have a dire horror of the tax-
gatherer, "whose ghost the constituencies who elected
Tories, and the tradespeople who shouted Sandon
and Douglas,' will be amazed to encounter so soon
again." "No one qualified for statesmanship," ex-
claims the Albion, " could suppose for a moment that
any premier could impose, under existing circumstances,
an income tax, and retain office beyond the tenure of
his own parliament." In fine, Sir Robert Peel has
committed- himself irretrievably;- and " if the. Liberal's
do not now stultify themselves they will again have the
ball at their own feet "!

What a pity to dash ..so flattering a prospect as this
must be to Whig expectants llow the fingers of the
.hutigry.tribe must itch as they read this sage diatribe !
We are compelled, however, at the risk of dissipating
this pleasant delusion, to whisper to our contemporary
the fact that,.whether 'the Liberals stultify themselves
or not, the ball is as far from their feet, or further, than
it was previbus to this suicidal measure of Sir Robert
Peel's government. The people of England may pos-
sibly'make a few wry faces at the presence of the tax.
gatherer, and the patriotic middle classes may long to
button their pockets and shut their doors in his face ;
but they wily not forget whose malversations have cre-
ated the imminent necessity for his odious presence !

Before proceeding to lay before our readers the ge-
neral features of that comprehensive scheme of finan-
cial reform which has just been laid before Parliament,.
as the result of the convictions arising from a dispas-
Sionate examination of the position of the country, by
the conservative ministers of the crown, we cannot hut
express the regret which we feel at our inability to
transfer verbatim to our columns the able and con-
vincing address of the right honourable baronet in
which it was conveyed. The great majority of our
readers, however, we are satisfied, will already have
taken an opportunity of perusing it in the columns of
our London contemporaries, by whom it has been very.
fully and ably reported ; and referring that portion of
our readers who have not had the opportunity or the
leisure for such a perusal, to the sketch of it which will
be found in another part of our paper, we shall now
endeavour to bring its leading principles, the grounds
upon which they are based, and their practical bearing,
in a distinct and intelligible form before them.
And, first, let us look at the financial position of the
country, with which, upon their assumption of office,
the present ministry had to deal. In the spring of last
year the Whig Chancellor of the Exchequer, Mr. F.
T. Baring, in bringing his annual statement before the
House of Commons, estimated the deficiency of reve-
nue, as compared with expenditure, at £2,421,000,
which he propoSed to meet, in part, by a reduction of
the sugar and timber duties, and the imposition of a
fixed duty of Bs. per quarter upon foreign wheat, still
leaving a considerable balance, together with the accu-
mulations of deficiencies in former y ears, entirely un-
covered. That plan, our readers Will remember, was
rejected, and from its reiectipi!_ resulted the overthrow
of LOM MeilMurne's adMinistration. In the financial
year ending the sth of April, 1843, the deficiency is
estimated by Sir Robert Peel to amount to an addi-
tional £2,569,000, taking even the most favourable
view of the resources of the country. To the defi-
ciencies of these two years, hoWever, are to be added
those of four years preceding; and, for the sake of
perspicuity, we will place the whole before the reader in
a tabular form :

In the year ending April 5, 1838, deficiency was £1,428,531
„ „ 1839, do. 430,325
„ „ ~ 1840, do. 1,457,223
„ 1841, do. 1,851,997
„ ”
~ 1842, (estimated) 2,334,559
If
~
~ ~ 1843, (certain deficy.) 2,570,000

Total deficiency in six years .. £10,072,000

In addition to this accumulated deficiency of TEN
MILLIONS, as the result of ten years of Whig legisla-
tion, which were commenced with a considerable sur-
plus revenue, it is shown also by Sir Robert that in the
administration of affairs in India, the same incapable
legislators have reduced the net revenue of that great
empire from a surplus of £1„520,000, in 1836, to a de-
ficiency in the past and present year expected to be not.
Jess than £4,700,000, or, in round numbers, FIVE
MILLIONS NIORE! With such a state of our finances
then, as applied to India and to Great Britain, we have
before us the certain prospect of wars in India and in
China—wars to be carried on at vast distances from
the seat of our resources, and which, if we must carry
them on with a due regard to the reasonable safety of
the troops employed and of the honour of the empire,
we must no longer treat as " little wars ;" besides
these external difficulties we have at home an unbar-

raued enrnmerea rola enfr6rirsa industry; and it be.
came, therefore, in the estimation of Sir Robert Peel
and his Conservative colleagues, their duty to look all
these facts and all these difficulties manfullyaon the
face, and to set about providing for them an effectual
and prompt remedy. The time was now come in
which peddling legislation, small expedients, and jug-
gling legerdemain would no longer avail ; in which the
evil must be sternly and resolutely handled ; and in
which regard for the fame and the safety of England
could no longer be trifled with and postponed.
To meet this state of things Sir Robert Peel has
called upon the patriotism of his fellow-countrymen
for a direct tax upon the property and the income .of
the country. Experience has shown that the produ-
cing and consuming power of the nation is no longer
susceptible of being made to sustain an increased bur-
den of taxation. A reference to the statistical tables
furnished by the right honourable baronet, the sub-
stance of which will be found in our columns, will
show that, whilst an increase of the rate of duty im-
posed upon articles of consumption has almost totally
failed to produce revenue, a reduction of duty upon
many articles has almost equally disappointed the ex-
pectations of statesmen. The additional 5 per cent.
put upon the Customs and Excise by the late Chancel-
lor of the Exchequer has produced little more than
per cent. increase; whilst, with one or two excep-
tions, the reductions which have been made in late
years, and from which increased consumption and in-
creased revenue were anticipated, have resulted in a
considerable loss to the income of the country. In ad-
dition to these considerations, the magnitude of the
amount required, to enable the ministry to extricate the
country effectually from it's embarrassments, has sug-
gested direct taxation upon property as the only step
which would at the same time bring in the immediate
revenue required and place them in a position to'legis-
late for the relief of the commerce and the industry of
the people.
With these views Sir Robert proposes that a tax be
levied, terminable in three years, unless otherwise de-
termined by Parliament, at the rate of 7d in the pound,
or £2. 18s. 4d. per cent. upon the property and the in-
come of the country,—exenipting, however, all in-
comes which do not reach £l5O a year. In estimating
the amount of this tax, the right honourable baronet
divides the objects of taxation into five classes or sche-
dules :

The first, or Schedule A, embraces the profits or
rents of land, the rents of houses, the tithes,
dividends arising from railways, canals, &c.,
and the profits of mines and ironworks; and
under these heads he estimates the total
amounts as follow, viz
Rent of land..
Rent 'of houseS

£39,400,000
25,000,000-
8,400,000

Tithes. shares, mimes, &c,

£72,800,000
Upon this amount, deducting one-fourth for
incomes under £l5O per annum, the duty will