The Statesman.
London, England, 1815-04-20 00:00:00

THE STATESMAN.

or had not been an cngagantent in Italy between the
Austrians and Neapolitans. Neither could he see
what detriment would isavd been produced by his
avowing a letter, which, iirfact, he did avow by bis
silence.

I Lord CASTLERE.AGIi,, in explanation, said,
that even in the supposed case of moving an impeach-
: ment, it must be for some act done upon the instruc-
tions, as, instructions were frequently inoperative,
! and ofte'n countermanded.
Mr. WHITBREA D hoped the House would al-
low him to make some observations, in the way of
.explanation. The Noble Lord had misunderstood
him, in supposing that he had positively stated that
the sources i'f the :revenue had failed. He had put
this with an atterpetibe ; and had said that either
they'b4 faile?,-nr'ellie the Chancellor
quer *Win a Very onskilfil 'finsineler..
•The House
Would see that this was a very different thing from
stating that the 'sources of the revenue had failed.—
[A laugh.]—As to the anticipation of the Honoura.
'hie Gentleman on thst'other side 'of the House, that
the dos; of trial to the Noble Loki would'he a day
of complete triumph, their tone 'appeared to have
been mecca altered cir lite. They do longer boasted
of the additional honoers slid glory that the Noble
Lord Would gain by his conduct at Vienna. He was
• surpriied to hear theNeble Lord, who, when Mr.
Ant wasaltving, disiegarded his prophetic warnings,
and 'scorned his wisdom, now come forward and
quote the, authority of Mr. Fox, whom he had al-
ways apposed, in defence of his proceedings. If
any invocation could cull that great spirit from the
grave, it would be the voice of the Noble Lira ap-
pealing to his autherity. He, however, felt can.
vinced that If that' groat man had still lived; he
would have withdrawn his confidence from the Noble
Cord at the same time that he did, when he found hini'
oiterly Ondeserving of that confidence. The Noble
Lord Should even now shudder and shrink at the
bare imagination of the constitutional indignation
t that great' matt *mid have felt at his proceedings,
and the, powerful eloquence with which be would
have reprobated them.
Sir M. itIDLEY was anxious to enter AT• pro-
test against this most obnoxious measure. He knew
of no circumstances which could induce him to con-
sent to the Property Tax. As to war, we were not
at war ; and lie thought that some attempt at least
should be made to,negociate with the individual who
was now on the throne of France. He thought that,
among the resources of the country,etonomy should
be tried. It was afflicting to hear of Nl:grievous
Tax being proposed, immediately ifier the House
had learned that the expenses of the Civil List ex-
ceeded the estimate Tait year by half a million.
Sir FREDERICK FLOOD wished to put a
question to the Chancellor of the Exchequer for Ire.
Sand. A very considerable agitation prevailed in
that country, from the fear that it was the intention
of the Right Honourable Gentleman .to introduce
this measure into Ireland. That country had not,
by no means, recovered from the.great embarrassments
which she had been under the whole of last year, and
from which she indeed expected some relief in future
by the passing of the Corn Bill.
Mr. FiTzGERAID did not feel that he could
be then called upon to state:what financial measures
intended to propOse'for
Mr. BANK ES wished' shortly to state osi what
grounds he could vote for the Tax. Lo?kleg upon
tit as a temporary measare, be thought st rendered
is necessary for the winclitig op of our eispeniel, and
16. meet the new 'events Which had oceur'red; but if
I" the Income Tax was looked to as a system to be con-
[tiiiired, he would be .no party to any measure that
I threw an intolerable hurthen on this country to the
exemption of Irelund. [Bear, hear !] In 'that
view it would be a most unjustifiable tax, and he
should feel it his duty agent to call the attention of
the House to the subject,
Sir F: BURDETT took thatwpportanity of pro.
testing against the renewal of the Property Tax, as
to the equality had justice of which he entertained
'very different ideas from the Hon. Gentleman who
had preceded him. Before any such measure was
Iproposerk the Petitions with which the table had
been loaded should be referred to a Committee, to
enquire into the allegations of grievances which they
-contained; It was demonstrated by those Petitions,
not only that the Property Tax had been productive
of numberless cases of individual oppression, but that
it was in principle unjust, and that it was in fact a tax
not only on property but on income, and that it had
been submitted to, when first imposed, as a temporary
contribution to be paid perhaps for one year only, as
the expectations at that time, as to the speedy ter.
urination of the contest, were very sanguine. But
he was persuaded that if this tax were again laid on,
lit would never be taken hcarri— Not
only was the tax unjust and unequal in itself, bat it
was brought forward under every disadvantage, be-
' mite up to the present moment there was no iiifor.
illation as to the state in which the country was.—
[Hear, hear'!]—The House was first called on to
give the money, and they were afterwards to be in-
formed ns tow hat was to be done with it. This was
so improper and so unparliametitary a line of conduct,
that he could not agree to support any such giant. It
was important to the country to know in the first place,
what was the real state of our relations, and not to be
satisfied with' a strange ambiguity of expression of the
Noble Lord [hear!] which was perfectly incomprehen.
Bible to his (Sir F. Burdett's) understanding. He
hoped the House would not suffer itself to be plunge]
into a war of which they could not foresee the ter-
mination., but which they could not doubt would be
full 'Of calamity, and would impose on 'the already
over-laden People, burthens which could With diffi-
culty be borne, and which, it was his opinion,
shoold'not Ise borue, if we were engaged in such a
contest, for causes which, in the present dearth of
informatimil.,had been'yelated in that House or else-
where. As tinder the necessity of the war the bur-
tlfen of the Property Tax. had been supported, the
renewal of it watt the jeer,. firmly to be'oppOaed un-
til the enquirt. Was seadeinto. the troth of those is's:.
Watkins wkich were. contained in the Petitiens
which had been presented ig.sinst that Tax;, these,
Petitions Were more n'tinierous than those which had
been Presented on any other subject, acid would hate
been still more ntiMerovis if the Chancellor of the
Exchequer had not deprecated the presenting many
which had been agreed to, and he had himself one in
his p7ssession which he had not thought it necessary

to present. With the view which•he toots
situation of the country, he felt, 'even at thpt earl?
stage, and in that tint of debate, that he shoidalsnot
do his duty without protesting against the confab*.
such a power to the hands (5. Ministers, who had
shown that they were not worthy of confidence, and
who would involve the country in a war more cala-
mitous than.aoy which we had ever been engaged
Mr. BENNETT could not help considering this
measure as a first step towards war ; but he never
could give a vote for embetking this country ii, so
unprofitable and hopeless a contest as that pfire-esta-
blishing the Bourbons on the throne of France. If
the intelligeecst in circulation be true, Oak the king
of Naples, or Marshal Murat, as the Noble Lord
'canal him; had entered Bologna, that the Aestrlasur
were flying before him, amid that the Italians Were in
insurrection, then war had already commenced in'a
part of. the Coutinent.—lle should be glad ,if
one result of it was the formation of Italy into a
large independent country, and if Genoa also
were rescued from the grasp of the Noble Lord and
his coadjutors at the Congress, and restored to its in-
dependence.
Mr. PROTHEROE thought, that to the exer.
tions which the Income Tax enabled us to make, we
were principally indebted for the successful termina-
tion of the late war. He believed also, that his
constitnents, under the present circumstances of this
country, and of Europe, were prepared to make
great sacrifices. He Would not stop to enquire at
present into the proceedings which had taken place
at the Congress; a proper time would arrive for that
enquiry ; but is the mean time, from the conduct
which Ministershad pursued in bringing the late war

to an honourable termination, he was prepared to arm
them with fall means; either for vigorous war or safe
peace. • [Bear !] fie ,re joiced to hear that the great
Powers.of the Continent were united. lie was not
for tbia country urging them on to hostilities.; but if
there existed among them one common conviction of
the goodness of their, cause, and of the necessity of
exertion, he trusted that he should not witness any
vacillating half measures on the part of this country,
but that such aid would be afforded them as might
command success. At the same time public feeling
should be soothed by the retrenchment of every unne-
cessary expenditpre.
Mr. TIERNEY said, th 4 pninformed es he was
of the situation and relatioue of the country, he must
protest against voting for the Ineome.Ter. It was
impossible for him to assent to a tax
.mpst adieus
and oppressive to the.people at large, withaat,any
one reason or argument being assigned for it callus
part of Ministers. The House knew nothing at all
of the exigencies of tine. cal. From "ail that he
had heard or learned
,ually, it wig ,hie con-
, viction that it would beekiewn fault if we did pot
remain at peace thear„fig9l3. he had no doubt that
the Continental Coarts.e•euld be willing .enoggh to
go to war if we weelcri bet l'isre'ish there vrich ,the
means ; but was it !f) p,•Lionie frinbe Met7,-
ternich, Prince Hardenberg,nnd others, lionid Mete
out the property of Knell/414 end be aupplied from
its very liSt kesoerbes?,.,.This might last for ene qr
}two gears at the farthest, bat in the end it would..
•OpoLutelereits.the .finammoCßogland, ''..lle.,ketts,
ftii for Ihistotgave bla.coptidence to Ministers for
which 114 y had terminated the fate:
war ; but ho'w came it, he, would ask, that we were
now in this jeopardy., put- in ;consequence of the-
gross neglect and mhimettatement et these hlitsisterst
[Hearin VV hat was dui fesFlt of that gloriosa war?
lied we not .even in PesCeato maintain 7¢,006 twee
during the; whole .of, last par, and now„we were
called,epop, to support 4otible .thit nuspber ? Was
there any Snits who seould den' y,that the honour and
chareetpr.of this cosontry'had been disgraced by the
• conduct °fps representative at the Congress ? The
Nedlle4o'ra had all that conduct to account for, and
lit was hotted Ids yiet 'would ,come on at no distant
day; and yet its the mean time he had the face to
come down to the Hoese.ana say, give me fourteen
millions a year, give me the renewal of the Property
!'la;, against which more petitions have been pre-
sented than against any one measure. Was it not
' an insult to the House to say, we must have it, with-
; out a jingle reason being assigned ? It 'had been said
• that the Continental Powers ought not to be urged
into a war; but he would assert that nothing was
so likely to make them go to war, as to show them
that plenty of money was ready for them from the
pockets of the people of this country. Sure he was,
that the facility e ith which the Government was in
the habit of getting money had caused the waste of
many millions. The narrowness and economy of
. the estimates was always proportioned to the probe-
; Isle ways and means of raising the supplies. Accord-
! ittgly, while Ministers had the Income Tax in full
„operation, a man could hardly form an idea of the
immense expences of this country towards the close
of the late war. For the last year the House
,had
voted upwards of 24 millions for the army eztraordi-
panes alone. Upon the whole he would protest
against the adoption of any measure which went to
sanction a war which in his conscience he thought
unnecessary. He had no doubt that the reason why
',Ministers proposed it,. was, -because they had some-
, Wag in contemplation which they dared not far the
present avow. Peace, Ise firmly believed, was with.
in the reach of Ministers, and he saw no reason why
it might not last for years. Whether the return of
Bonaparte to power was .a great calamity to the
world or not, he would not Now stop to enquire ;
but at any rate he would.say, let us take the chances
of peace which presented themselves. If not inter-
rupted by eircum.aances which slid not at present ap.
pear, peace might continue as long at least as it ap-
peared likely to do under the auspices of the Noble
Lord, 'and Princes Metternich and Hardenberg, at
the Congress, for they had 300,003 men constantly
on foot.. • •
Tbs Cl;` NCELLOW or the EXCHEQUER de.
nit.d that the ohjeit of the measure was to enable the
Crown to go to war. fteresarcall upon the Uouce
to perform the pledgf„which they .had so recently
lal4 at the foot of the flare, end he was sure the
cnenterat large would 4el an elect ity in doing so.
its Ate House had.detlared, the country could he
prepared foA'either event, pence or war, only by n
state.of preparation, it followed that the means of.
supporting that. state of preparation must be pro-
vided. The Right Hobourable Gentleman who
spoke last had doubted whether Bonaparte's return
was a great calamity; but he was sure that this was

cot the general sentiment of the House, or of the
nation. Ile confessed that he now thought he should
hive acted more vigorously and more wi.dy, if
with a view to winding up the expences of the tate
war, he had, at the beginning of the Session, arm
the propriety of retaining the Income Tax one year;
but now, while the same causes contineed, and whei,
the country should be prepared for either mites:mein
of peaceor .wefe. hit 4.li4iiiiiht the measure iadispne.
sable. Ire had to slate, that the whole of its
duce would-only meet the twelve millions of 1,;„,a,
ordinaries of the present year, and the two million,
of Navy .Debt. •The °artistry— was in a situotisa
which required the most vigaroes financial exertions
considering that we liad'isfst concluded a ear sit;
America, and should now have toward 'off' annthet
by precaution. Undoubtedly his 'general feeling
was, that the Property Tax should be reserved for a
period of war ; but the present was aneztraordinery
case, u hich went beyond all the usual rules,'lnd
which made it necessary that the coahtry should be
placed iiia defensive situation to 'repel a blow, not
to strike one. llt had no doubt that the change of
circumstances had produced a great change in the
feelings of the great body of the former petitioner!.
They, he conceived, had merely objected to the tat,
as an ordinary measure for providing for the wants
of Government. The Right Ilonourable Gentleman
then proceeded to state that the new duties of Cs..
toms and Excise had already passed the Bone. Ne
proposed to subilit, also, some additional duties oft,
Stamps; and it was only the Assessed Taxes which
lie proposed to give up, because, if the Income Tax
was adopted, the pressure of both would be incon.
venient to the country. As to what his [boom-Able
; Friend (Mr. Bankes) had said of extending the In.
come Tax to Ireland, he must observe, that %hi!,
:-the two countries had separate treasuries, end while
Ireland ha it.certain quota of the- general eserool;.
lure to defray, we could not ehject to her r-i-ing
that revenue in the particular way that best suited
; her. If it were found wise at a future period to
amalgamate the finance of the two countries, then,
no doubt, such a disparity could not be suffered to
I exist, as that a person with the same income on the
other side of the Irish Channel should be ten per
' cent. richer than on this.
Mr. TIERNEY explained.—lJe had not expressed
a doubt whether the return of I3onaparte was cola.
mitous or not. Ha had merely said, that whether
the return of that man to power was or was not a
eatatnity, was not then the question before the
House.
Mr. BARCLAY thought that Bonaparte had only
been replaced on the throne by a soldiery eager for
bloodshed and rapine, and who had placed him there
becauco they expected nothing but peace from the
Bourbons. This state of things required the most
vigorous preparations, whether for war or peace;
and se.eing no other means for support std such pre.
pirations, he shotild 'give his hearty shpport to the
• measore. Ile was glad to (earn that the Chancellor
of the Exchequer meant to propose sense modifies-
, tiolanf the tax, end be *should he happy to contri.
lute towards such an object, as he was convinced
:that the'tax had become•sts very obitoxious chiefly cm
account of the mode ortti".ctllection.
, The CHANCELLOR. of the F.XCREQUER
stated. in explanatien, that as it Weald be only pro.
posed for a year, he thought it the best way to take
the tax pertly end simply as it had beeu before.
Mr. J. 'P. GRA Nl' centeoded, ;that unless a case

of.extraordieary emergency was nude. oat, Govern-
ment had neYright to propose this tit. i'Was it meant
that it Should be continued as long as Hiseaparte was
-in the throne? lie did not believe a war would
take place. It was too Quixotic an Idea to suppose
we should enter into a war because Napoleon was MI
the throne, and the people of France No universally
quiescent that no persons at all had stood *ward to
oppose him ; therefore, until his Majeaty's Minister.
did actually declare that such was their intention, he
could not Suppose that any man living would believe
it, He must, therefore, object to the Speaker's teat-
, ing the Chair:
Mr. CALCRAFT said, that Whether there was
war or peace, the establishments of this country must
necessarily be higher than 'on former occasions ; and
in his opinion, a modified restricted Property Tex
would have been mope efficient than those which bad
been proposed in its stead. If the Chancellor of the
; Exchequer, or some other Member, did not propose
any such measure, be would endeavour to obtain
modification of many parts of that tax. From the
(vote of the other night on the Address to the Pau/
Regent, the House had agreed to place the country
in a formidable state of defence ; and he would beg
leave to ask if tLere were any mode of doing that so
Ilikely to answer the end as by adopting the Properly
i Tax ? In supporting the question for the Speaker's
leaving the Chair, lie by no means looked on hiinselt
as pledged to support the Property Tax, in whatever
1 shape it might be brought forward.
Mr. 11. MARTIN said the Property Tax eat
well known to be universally obnoxious, and the
; Chancellor of the Exchequer had not dealt fairly by
t the House to induce them to rota the large saw the,'
had already agreed to give, if he. had it at the time in
contemplation to revive so odious a measure. He
should, therefore, not only oppose the Spi;kia's
leaving the Chair, but would, in all the subsequent
stages throw every impediment in its way.
Mr. Alderman C. tiNi !Tit vs as of epininn, that if
the Property Tex had hems properly modified, it
would have been far better,. and infinitely more eifi-
cient than those which had been proposed. He oac
Ihappy to say, that he knew nine in ten of his
stitnents were of the same opinion ; and he believed
the great body of the peoyle bore the same pupa-

t ion.
Mr. C. GRANT said, he be:icroil the opini•"'
of
the rople as to the Property Tax hid of tat.' bred
considerably changed, but he could Rot beln,:e the
observations of the lion. Gentleman who •polo. last
but one could be correct as to the conduct of Geo•
ttemen on his side of the House, when he stated that
they had been induced to vote on the Address be'
cause this tax was supposed to be gi%en up by
Right lion. Friend. lie had that night heard marl
about protesting; but for his own part, he the"g•''.
it necessary to protest against the injustice of makii.g
this measure the subject of a personal attack uo vie
Noble Lord. lie thought the invectives which tind
been used were highly unnecessary, and most Oliu'i*
ous to the character of the country. ilc %rota or