The Statesman.
London, England, 1815-01-20 00:00:00

• I'HE STATFSMAIV.

PI:OP:7II.7'Y 71X,
LIVERPOOL MEETING.

repeat what has been said a thousand times, and
which I believe has seldom been denied; but, Sir, I
there are one or two of its operations to which

On the 17th inst. a most numerous and respectable 11 wi'll
particularly to draw the attention of the Meet-
Meeting of the Inhabitants of I • verpool was held at ' log. There are many hundreds of persons who
A
the Exchange, for the perpose of entering into Re. i have paid this tax, and who at the time of paying
solutions against the renewal of the Property Tax it were insolvent ! From whence then, Sir, has this
the Right Worshipful the Mayor in the Chair.
The 'Town Clerk having read the Requisition call- i thing, Sir, v , money been taken' Certainly out of the pockets
!of their honest but credulous creditors ! Cait any
be canceived more unjust? But this is
i log the Meeting,
I Counsellor VetsAnhes made an able and eloquent 1 not the most objectionable part of the tax. It is
not uncommon in the survey ors to continue to add
speech upon the subject, and concluded with movine
a series of Resolutions against the renewal, of the to the assessments of many individuals, and that
tax, either in whole or in part. i pretty generally, till they are obliged to appeal ; the
Mr. Fheecuen seconded the motion in an able and Commissioners then, Sir, from the nature of their
eloquent speech. . office, are obliged to be inquisitors; they are obliged
to empire into the losses, the gains, and into the pri- '
Mr. Sneenettn, iu a most animated speech, called
on Mr. Gladstone to come forward and justify, if he ' vats' ro! :earns of the appellants: although I must
could, the letter which he had addressed to the notice here, Sir, that I feel great satisfaction in say.'
inn (I speak from ray own knowledge as well as 1
Editor of the Morning Chronicle, denying his cote
i • from the report of others), Ido not believe there is
1
respondence with the Earl of Liverpool, on the soh a place In the kingdom where the Commissioners
;,feet of this tnost obnoxious tax. Mr. Shepherd said,
in order that Mr. Gladstone might not plead i,,- 111%e acted with more moderation and propriety than
in this city—with more delicacy to the wounded
Dormice of his intention of thus calling upon him in feelings of those persons who have been obliged to
public, lie (Mr. Shepherd) had the preceding c'slit, nspeal. I admit, Sir, that the people of this coon•
i given him !raise 'to that effect. Tito fast cf ‘:/.
Glatlstotie's having boasted of this secret inteleoura,
4".,-y. possess more practical liberty than perhaps in .
other country in Europe. On this ground,
with the Minister, was so notorious, that the s pl.t.ir_
once of his letter in the London Prints, tletislia die ieeefore, I feel proud that I am an Englishman;
1
fact, struck every inhabitant of Liverpool uith-so• 1 feel proud, Sir, that I can come boldly forward •
in the face of my fellow-citizens, and freely express •
i '
prize. It was well kitoon that lie had boasted not i
ils sentiments on this obnoxious tax without any
I
only of ono letter on the subject front :he Minister,
fear
but of two, and he had even communicated an extract . of the consequences. lam also proud in say-
but
ing, that whenever the people of this country speak
. from one of them in his own hand-xritin ff, in exeeu- out, their complaints are not only heard, but they
1 tion of his officious submission to the Treasury re-
: quisition. The tenor of his unit% er in the first letter are attended to. I therefore trust, Sir, that it %ill
be echoed and re-echoed from every corner of the
was also well known in Liverpool, a, he had boasted
kingdom—' No renewal of the Property Tax under
of it, in which answer he had sipprove,l of the Mi. .
any modification whatever.' I now beg leave to'
nester's desire to continue the tax-for noodles year.
Mr. Shepherd challenged him to dens these facts, if read the Resolutions which I hold in my hand and ,
they were untrue; but ice was sure that he would not which from their moderation, I trust will be unani-
they
mously adopted."
have the confideitce to do it in that Assembly.
Th s indignation against Mr. Cladst ea. was so uni- Resolved, That the Property Tex was resorted to under cir-
i
vessel :aid so loud, that he could iiht for a time be cumstauces of peculiar national difilculty, as a War Tax on; g,
and its enactment accompanied with the most solemn provisions
that it should finally cease at a limited period after the termina-
. heard. Ail. Casey reltuested that the Gentleman
. Lion of the war.
might be heard. It u auld be curious to learn how Resolved, That there is strong reason to apprehead.that his
he could account for the letters he had written to tureen; 's Ministers will attempt the renewal of the said Tax
after its legal expiration on. the Gth of April next. .
the London Editors, after the underhand but well- That the continuanee. of such a system, of which
known practices tie had had recourse to, in' obedience the principle is unjust, the operation unequal, and the etfeets
to the mission to procure the consent of some chosen otssrpesrsive, would violate the faith of a solemu pledge, and the
i inhabitants of Liverpool, to assist in rivet ting this just axe. irl'elloiiviaoliiiibe Ppireesen;ed to the House of Com-
most iiifamous tax on toe necks of their fellow-sub- mews pi:lying them to reject any proposition that may be in-
jects. The evidence of his activity was in so Mil y
ntrzi:t:e. ;l
ito'our ththeepsliiirtiorroof
retoujianxuing or renewing, i
illid.rf any
hands, that, as r.- a mat' 'r of curiosity, it would be It.solved, That the N:etrberys for this City be instructed to
au:using to hear his explanation of his conduct. tire- :al and support the prayer of the Petition, l
I,..tede. Chata Committee be appointed to obtain signa-
a
rs:r. J tuts l':cit also begged that be might be turio•s 1, h Petition.
1:0,..., declating, that after the I,,,ie.tte.d (coasts Of On the second Resolution being pot,
hi; l=ei •g the person chosen for th,s .lficial end ho- i Mr. Fuent said, that he considered it objection-
eeuritote defy, it would Le instauctive to hear him able, inasmuch as it might be thought to forestal the
on ties °Lss:on.
intention of Ministers with regard ' to the .'S in
ills called Mr. GLAnsTONE up.—The clamours,
i questou. It was advisable that nothing should' be
(cases, a..d grc,:ns were renewed. Th 'Mayor begged said which could give-offence in the body to which
(hut he might he heard. He intreated the attention of their Petition was to be addressed, it was also ad.
the Mottling, that their resolutions r ~;ht trot be sub. visable, that no Resolution should be proposed
ject to misinterpretation. At length Mr. CLADS- which would be likely to disturb the unanimity of
settee was it-ird.— rle said, that .u" paragraph
the Meeting then assembled. With regard to the
charged him eith iesiog a devoted sit 1 expectant Property Tax, he was decidedly of opinion that its
friend of the Treasury ; he rept.led ;) a amputation principle was bad, and consequently it was such a
—he was as independent as any Gent , ....1 in that burden as no Government ought to impose upon a
room • and as to tht insinuations hr. u4lit against him • people. Under the pressure of a war, great ex-
that day, he should t e :tent himse:i -, ith sayieg, that pences were necessary, and consequently heavy
his ccusers bad no evidencs of Ale facts they al- taxes must be levied to meetlhose expellees ; but
feed.
'leis most unsatisfa, i,.y explanation drew from n. o necessity could justify the imposition of so till-
Mr. Casey one ot the most pointed and animated just and unequal an assessment as the Property
Tax--a tax by which the feelings of the community ,
speeches ever heard in that town, in which he ex. were harrowed up, by being dragged before a Board ,
posed Mr. Gladstone's conduct wisha force and
spirit that drew bursts of approbation from the mul- ' of Commissioners
. secrets of trade, and' who were to search into the 1
e compel a disclosure of every ,
titode. source of income and expenditure. if it were said
An extract (in the handwriting of Mr. Gladstone)
that in this city Commissioners had acted with feel.,
from Lord Liverpool's letter, was banded op to the ing and humanity, instances in abundance of o.:
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Mayor to be publicly read as evidence of the fact of pression could be cited in other places, at which!
the'
his having boasted of such a correspondence. Mr. soul revolted. A tax was like a surgical operation,
Gladstone protested against the reading of this pre- ' ti. painful evil, but necessary' for the general health
cious proof dills veracity—but only eight or ten per- of the patient ; but in this case the operation was !
sous out of the crowded assembly supported him in performed with a rough and bungling instrument, ]
his demand of suppressing it. The Mayor said it and used by an unskilful operator. After these',
was his duty to read a paper handed up to him in general observations, Mr. Firth repeated his wish
support of an assertion made in the course of debate,
that the second Resolution should either be with
and which had been denied. Accordingly the fatal - '
drawn, or so altered as to be less objectionable.
extract was read, and verified to be in the actual Mr. Wet. SMITH said, that he had heard with great '
hand-writing of Mr. Gladstone. pleasure what had fallen from the Learned Centle-
: '!'here noes was triumph more complete. man, and he heartily concurred in almost every
The motion on the subject of theaax was as follows :
word he altered; but after what had passed in the
t' That the Tux upon Income, commonly, but House of Commons on the subject, he thought there
erroneously, called the Property Tax, is in itself so
. could be no reasonable ground to doubt the intention
unjust aetl inquisitorial, that nothing but the dangers ofA •m •
!isters to renew the tax. He, therefore,
. of tile tumors , and the indispensible obligations of
the Government, could justify a free people in deli- ! I •
thought there was fair ground for the adoption of the
tesolutum.
1 owing themselves up, or in submitting even for a: Mr. C. II ARVEY agreed with Mr. Smith, that
moment to its hateful operation."
This eas carried in the affirmative almost unani- I Ministers had made no disclaimer of their intention
to continue the tax ; but still he thought thst as
mously. I
peace was now concluded with America, they could!
Mr. CA•LY n!-:0 moved a Resolution touching the have no reason to renew it, and as it appeared more
tliscri ‘iitable absence of Mr. Canning from his Par- likely to preserve the unanimity of the Meeting,
liathentary ssaty• he thought it would be as well to omit th. Re-
This motion also produced bursts of applause ; %
solution.
but— Mr. Ehw this TAYLOR said, he considered the
Resolution in question as a most essential one.—
They were not assembled to ask for a repeal of
the Act, for it was now at the point of death ; they
were met to Petition against a renewal of it, and if
they did not believe that Ministers meant to re-
new the tax, they had better adjourn the Meeting,
as that belief constituted the very ground of their
NORWICH, JAN. 18. Petition.
On Friday last, a Meeting, both numerous and 1 The second Resolution then passed unanimously.
rests stable, took place at the Guildhall in this City. 1 Mr. J. IlAttarey said, he did not agree in opi-
At 10 o'clock, J. W. Rouumtes, Esq. Mayor, was nion with the worthy supporters of the Resolutions.
called to the Chair, and stated to the Meeting, that He thought that a measure of finance, like the one
in Consequence of a Requisition, signed by a number in question, which had proved so main a prop to the
of respectable inhabitants, they were then assembled credit end strength of this country, in those difficul.
to consider of the propriety of petitioning Parlia- ties and. dangers now so happily overcome, did not
ment against the renewal of the Property Tax. merit the abuse that had been lavished upon it.—
Mr. Alderman Bora Siaeltelth then rose, and spoke Nor should he, tnerefore, if the state of the public
to the following effect :
means for a while require it, object to its being con-
" Mr. Mayor—Sir, unaccustomed to speak in 'blued in a modified form—or, in other words,
public, I should have felt :Duch embarrassed in ad. (though contrary to the adage) to " see an old friend
dressing myself to this Meeting, • were I not eon- . with a new face."
%Lice(' that the operations of the Property Tax are i After the third Resolution had been put from the
•
so well understood, and so generally reprobated, Chair,
that my task on that account is made easy. To say, I Mr. C. HARVEY rose to express his asseit to it.-
Sir, that the Property :lax is in its om
perations par. He had always disapproved of the Property Tax,
and inquisitorial, is only to from the time it was first introduced by* Mr. Pitt,
WI, oppressive) unjust;

The MAYOR requested it might be withdrawn, for
that day at least, as it did not come within the terms
of the Requisition.
With this Mr. Casey complied ; otherwise it would
hate been carried with a great majority, for be has
tut:illy lust his influence in Liverpool.