The Statesman.
London, England, 1822-02-27 00:00:00

for those papers, he desired to lay before tli.
House, holding himself ready to supply any bribes
explanations that might be reqeired. He wished it
to be distinctly understood, that he agreed first, that
the public expenditure should be reduced so far as wee:
consistent with the safety of the country and fidelitt
to its engagements; 2dly, that where it was possible
to alleviate the public burdens by taking off taxes,'
this should be done, so that that principle was not
abandoned by which he was determined to stand or
fall, the maintenance of public credit, anti the esta-
blishment of an efficient Sinking Fund. He eon-
chided by moving for the production of certain returns
similar to those lately moved for in the other House.
The Marqness of LANSDOWNE began by observ-
ing that so strongly was he impressed with a sense of
the importance of the matter before the house, that if
the Noble Earl had not anticipated him, he should
have thought it his duty to call the attention of their
lAirdships to the soikteet. He was better pleased,
however, that the Noble Earl who bad conducted the
Administration of this country now for some years,
should state to the House the effects of measures over
which he and his colleague. alone bad had cootroul.
lie agreed in the general course taken by the Noble
Earl in the discussion of this subject ; but he was
surprised that the Noble Earl 'horrid admit the ex-
tent of the taxation under which the country la-
boured. anti at the same time deny that these taxes
had no connection with the distresses of the country.
lie (Lord Lansdowne) hoped the Noble Earl would be
enabled to make the reductions of taxes he bad pro-
mised. for be could tell him that this was the only
way of giving effectual relief to the country, as he
hoped to be able to show that the amount of taxes
with whirls the country was now saddled, bid a direct
bearing upon the distress which so generally prevail-
ed.—(lfear !)—This opinion he gave fearlessly. Ile
was aware that the Noble Earl and lion. Gentlemen in
another place had said that it was the prevailing and
fashionable opinion of the present day to ascribe all
onr distresses to excess of taxation, hot that that wa%
a vulgar error.—(llear !) Notwithstanding this h.
(Lord Lansdowne) would still
considering the subject he preferred attending to th-
dictates of common sense, than of hollig guided bt
the delusive doctrines of Gentlemen o h., castor dote,
from their wudies with new f meted doctrines, an,'
who even went so far as to ead:ion the house
the fashionable errors of the country He then con
tended that the amoontof taxation was insepsrahly con
fleeted with the present distrosses of the country.(Clear.)
It required no great research to be convistreti tbs•
taxes conferred no benefits. Thu imposition of tax,
had in general the effect of creating high prices
though he did not mean to say that with the presen-
prices the taxes had muck connection. If the taxes
had nothing to do with the present prices, they had
mach to do with the means of suffering by these
prices. Taxation had the erect of preventing the
firmer from accommodating his means to the absence
_ _ . . _ _

. .
of consumption. If the Noble Earl could but int
the means of consumption, he would afford the most
effhtnal relief. Taxation bad the effect of opposing
an increased consumption. Taxation threw obstacles
-in the way of recovering from the dist of the
country. It was admitted by the Noble Earl that
some parts of the cemmunity benefited by the condi-
tion of the country. He had said there was 1001.0 or
las of this distress prevalent in other parts of the
world. He (Lord Landsdowne), however, denied that
distress prevailed in Freon to the extent stated by
the Noble Earl. The fact • was, that France was
never in so prosperous a condition. If in other places
din prevailed, it was attributable to local mare:
far. in Poland, Flanders, and the north of France,
their distresses arose from a superabundance of corn
which this country was, during the war, in the habit
of consuming. The Noble Lord surely could not
mean to advance the cl. of other countries as any
consolation to this country in its dilliculties. But the
Noble Earl, in saying that taxation was not the cans.
of the distress, was inconsistent with himself. If a
reduction of taxation was not a boon, why did the
liable Earl state that it was his wish to reduce as
pity taxes as possible; and, in any couirry,
5,000,0001. could not be matter of indifference. The
Noble Earl bad advanced, is proof of the pritoperons
state of the country, that there was mach ground in
a state of cultivation now which was pasture before.
But this was in itself an evil. The fact was, that dur-
ing the war a stimulus was given to agriculture, and
the distress now felt was • consequence of the prices
sod demand fallidg off upon the return of peace. The
only way of correcting the effects of this state of
things would be to increase the demand. The same
observations applied to Ireland, where the consuming
p ,veers not being' equal to the population, she was
obliged to deluge the markets of this country with
her produce, and this aggravated the distress which
prevailed here before. Having shown that taxation
was connected with the distresses of the country, he
would-now show that the natural consequence of a
reduction of taxation would be to afford relief under
the :present distressed circumstances in which the
people were placed. He would address himself to the
plans laid down by the Noble Earl fur bringing about
the reduction of taxes, which, from his own •rge•
meet, the Noble Earl contended, would be a hoot
The first of these plans was by what he would call
the ridiculous expedient of reducing the interest upon
the national debt; secondly, by the reduction of the
national expenditure, which the Noble Earl contended
was already carried too far; and lastly, by the
maintenance of a Sinking Fund, the surplus of
which could go yearly in diminution of the pub-
lic burdens. Upon the first of these plans he
should observe, that • redaction of int on
the debt was a hardship upon the public cre-
ditors. He bad also to complain of the manner in
which the proposition was made to the stockholders,
by calling upon the dissenters and not the assentors to
subscribe their names, because this was giving to an
act which ought to have been optional, all the force
and appearance of a legal obligation. It was possi-
ble that the cottony would
pay off the debt, but there was no room for supposing
that it was sew in so desponding a state. It was only
in circumstances of the last necessity that the slight-
est breach of faith should be committed with the pub-
* creditor. As to the second proposition*, rodeo*
iK the public expeaditure, he contended that the
l]liable Earl weeld net get entire credit, whets he 111•'
aatiaA that the retrenchments lad been already cars