The Statesman.
London, England, 1810-09-14 00:00:00

e'er, as we may think it, those alio have snob ae.l
1 enuots mail,' out, think it no laughing matter. II
(gi the contrary, looked upon by them, per-
haps, as no very dhitopottant Part of the ystetri.
looking at thus aboee.inergiress of the -Expen-
.dituro, it is impossible to avoid being struck wit%
.tht. inctease, during the present reign. Tits year
17t30 was .a time of war as well as the present
but, as ,we see, a year of war then, cost only 9.4
mtillions; whereas a year of war now costs 82 mil-
l:inn,. Weltets, tuo, that a year of war now costs
imogli• Shalt a year of war cost only ten
years ajo. What, then, will be the cost if this war
shetild.,centitiste manly years longer, and if, as sp-
. pearandell threaten, Ilse enemy should take such
meager-I,- and adopt such a change in his mode of
.hostility, as to add greatly to the expensiveness of
otiedefence? This is a very material considers-
tioll; awl, though it will hereafter be taken up,
'sijll.J could not refrain from just touching upon it
in this ;Alec. Am I told, that our money is de-
preciated, or fallen off in value; and that the in.
fume in our expenses lit more titoninal thee real ;
that the iacredake is in name viliefely in the Agures,
and no} is the Wog I -for.that.h-peeed is nut vrostb
any thing like what] a. pound was worth when the.
king c.,rtle lo the 'throne t Ant I told this ?. It I

eon, I sen•that we are het yet b,me to the proper
.placo. for discussing -matrers 4pt this tort;• that we
shall come to it ell in gobst time; but, that, in the
mesawhile, I may hope to hear no more abuse of
glee doeirines' front thus,', at least, who, In this
way, *O. oche our minds to the enormous
increase in Ois ation'a yearly cxpences.
• Miming tsow.takeii's •view Of the lecreateiof the
bat,- and aiso of thLyearly Expences of the na.
lion, let us ISQW Sepil9W. the Aeuenue,, or Income,
Or? ritoreyroperly speaking9' the, TAGES • that is
• • , • I• •
tb-say, thliqy receired from the Reople, in the
tenrse 'kit the year; by 'efie netts of Tax.;
gatherers; het as se* see %OW tittimotiost of these
bite gone on increasing. _
When Queen haNe came tea the threw, is
nut, the yearly amnion of the limo was X 4411,358
Gsonsis I, mat to the throne. in 1714,
it was . . ..... 6,761,643
When (kolas 11. came to the throw., In
1127, it was
When (liroitot 111. mule to the thiune, in
I'6o;it was ... . . . 8.744,612
After the AmealeAs war, in 1784, it was . 13000,921
At the Close of lye Alai-Jacobin wAr, iu 1801,
it was . . . . . . 36.718,971
For the last year, tenet is 1.8119, it Was . . 70,1409226
it is quite useless to offer any comments upon
this. The figures speak. too pistol: for titemsehres
to receive any assistance from words. As to the
correctness of these statements, there may, per-
haps, be found some little inaccuracies in the copy-
ing of the figures, and in adding some of the sums
together; hut, these must be very immaterial ; and,
indeed, nose of the questions, which we have to
discuss, cart possibly be affected by any little error
of this sort, I say this in order to bar any caval
That may, possibly, be attempted to be raised out
of circumstances, such as I have here mentioned.
Thus, then, we have pretty fairly before us, a
view of the increase of the Debit„ The Esspences,
and the 7'axes, of the tuition ; and .a, view* it is
quite sufficient to impress with serious thoughts
every man, whose regard fur his country is not
ecnifined to mere professions. 'There are persons I
know, who laugh at this. TheN mat' have reason
to laugh ; but we've's not.- 'The pretence is, that
lases return rtgain to those 'tabs pay-them, Re-
turn again.! Lt *bat manner do they return ? Can
any ulf.you perceive the taxes that .yeu pay coming
Welt again to you ? All the interested persons who
hire *Mien upon taxation, have endeavoured to
persuade; the people, that, to load them with taxes
does them so harm at all, ',though this is in direct
tippositioOto the faingisage of every speech that the
"Krug makes leek( Parliament, during every will';
for, in eve, such Speech, lie expresses his deep
terrors, that he is Compelled to lay uew burdens
upon his people.
The writers here alluded to, the greater part of
whom live, 'or hare design to live, npon the:
taxes, always appear to consider the nation as being:
rich and prosperous in proportion to the quantity;
of taxes -that is raised upon It; never seeming to.
take into their views of riches and prosperity the
ease and eon:fart et the people who pay the taxes.
The notion of these persons seem's to be, that, as
there 41WIltyll will be more food raised and more
gOods made in the' country shell sufficient for
those, who own atid who till tholl'and who la_-
-hoer its • other ways, that Abe itir4d 0, or, super.
itbunderate, ought 'to -fall to their share; or, it
least, that it otrght to be taken:at:4 ;In res*,
:which prodilte a lirzutioui way of hiving; and
flattery gi,ei.employntent to the people; 'that hilo
:say, that it sets them to work.lo cairn their Dion
*stoney back agars: this it a Mighly he
cter to be
Sterh.

The tendency of taxation is, to create a these of
'persons, who do not labour : to take from those
who do labour the prodece of that labour, and to
give it to those who do not labour. The produce
taken away is, in this case, Welty destroyed; but,
if it were expended, or consumed, amongst those
who labour, it would producesomethirig in its stead.
There world be more, or better cloth ; more, or
better houses-; and these would be more generally
distributed ; while the growth of vice, which idle-
ness always engeuders and fosters, would be pro.
panted.
If, by the gripe of taxation, Virtler rein of the
surplus produce ef a country be taken from the
lowest class of theit who labour ; they will have
the means of bare existence left. Of course, their
clothing a.. 1 their dwellings will become miserable,
their fbod bad, e. ,in stinted (timothy ; that cur.
plus produce which Otsuld go to the making of an
addition to their meld, and to the creating of things,
fur their ale, will be annlitilated by those who do ,
nothing but eat. Suppole, for instance, a commu.,
pity to consist of a fantner, four cettegers, a lay.
tor, a shoemaker,- a smith,• a carpenter, and a ma.
son, and that the lAnd produces enough food foe
them all and no more. Suppose this little commo.l
nity to be n4O with a design to imitate their bet.
tent, anti to kOp -asinecure placeman, giving bias
the tenth 07 their produce whish .they formerly
geve44) (NO shoemaker. The consequence would
be, that „poor Cassese would die, and they would
go bereJ-footed, with the eurateletien of reflecting
that Only had broil& litettrialrei 'hap -Mk wits
waty.e.lB

STA'rESMA/C._

,as the silly vanity of keeping an idle man. But,
suppose the land to yield enough food for all ten of
them, and enough for two persons besides. 'They
have this, then, besides what is absolutely necessary
to supply their wants. They can spare one of their
men/rout the field, and have, besides, food enough
to keep him in some other situation. Now, which,
is best, to make him a second carpenter, who, in'
return for his food, would give them additional and
permanent convenience and comfort in their dwell.
ings ; or to make ltim a sinecure placernan or a
singer, in either of which plates he would be an an-
nihilator of coen, 'at the same time, that, in rase
of emergency, he would not be half so able to lieJ
fend the community. Suppose two of the cultiva-
tors became sinecure placemen, then you kill the
carpenter or some ono else, or what is more likely,
all the labouring part of the community, that is to
say, all but thu sinecure placemen, live more mi..
serably, in dross, in dwellings, and in food. This
reasoning applied to tens, applies equally well to
millions, the causes and effects being, in the latter
cue, only a little more difficult to trace.
Such is the way in which Taxes operate ; the
distinction between which operation and the opera..l
tion of rents being this, that, in the latter 048,1
yonreceive something of which you have the par.
dealer enjoyment, fur what you give ; and, in the
former case you receive nothing. It is by no pious
to be understood, that there should be no persons to
live without what is generally called labour. Phy.
sicians, Parsons, Lawyers, and others of the higher
callings in life, de, in fact, labour ; and it is right
that there should be persons of groat *stale, and
without any profession at all ; but, then, you will
find, that these persons do not live upon the earn.
ings of ethers: they all of them give something in
return for what they receive. Those of the learned
professions give the use of their talents and racial;
and the landlord gives the use of his land or his.
houses.
Nor ought we to look upon all taxes as so ruck
of the fruit of our labour lost, or taken away
-without cause. Taxes are necessary in every corn.
munity ; and the man, whether he be 'statesman,
soldier, or sailor, who is in the service of the corn.
munity, gives his services lareturn for titat'portion
of the fates which he receives. We are nut tatting
against taxes in general; nor, indeed, will era step
here to inquire, whether- our taxes, at their present
amount, be necessary ; or, whether, by other
counsels, they might, in great part, at lead, have
been avoided, These are, questions, which, for
the present, we will wholly pass over, our object
being to come at a correct opinion with regard to
the effect of heavy taxation upon the people who
have to support ft, reserving for another opportu-
nity our remarks and opinions as to the necessitg of
such taxation in our particular cave.
By national prosperity the writers above alluded
to mean, something very different indeed from that!
-which you and I, who have no desire to live *pea,
the taxes, should call national prosperity. They
-look upon it, or, at least, they would have us
look upon it as being demonstrated in the increase
of the number of chariots and of fine-dressed peo.
pie in and about the purlieus of the court ; where-
as, reflection will not fail to teach us; that this is a.
aemonstratioaof the increase of the taxes, and no.
thing more. National prosperity skews itself. in
,very different ways : in the plentiful meal, the corn.
Sortable dwelling, the decent furniture and dress,
the healthy and happy countenances, and the good
morals, of the labouring classes of the people.
These are the ways in Whitt' national prosperity
shows itself; and, whatever is not attended with
these signs, is not national prosperity. , Need I
IA you, then, if heavy taxation be calculated to.
prieloce these effects ? Have our labourers a plena.'
fel meal of food fit for man ? Do they taste meat
ouce in a day? Are they decently clothed! Hare:
they the means of obtaining firing ? Are they midi
their children healthy and happy ? I put these quesol
titans to you, Gentlemen, who have the means ofi
knowing the facts, and who-must, I am afraid, au
swer them all in the negative.
But, why need we here leave any thing to conjec-
ture, when we have
,the undeniable proof before
us, in the aaeourits, laid before Parliament, of the
amount of the. Poor Rates, at two different pe-
riods, anti, of course, at two different stages in
our taxation; namely, in the year' .1784, and in
the year 1803 ? At the former period, the taxes of
the year,, es we have seen above, amounted to
.e 13,300,921; and then the Poor Rates amounted
to 42,105028. At the latter period, the taxes of
theyear (as will be seen from the Official Statement
in. Register, .Vol. IV. page 1471) amounted to
£41,931,747; and the Poor Rates had then risen to
R 6,248,306. What must they, then, amount to at
this day, when the year's taxes amounts to upwards
of 70 millions of pounds?
Here, then, tee have a pretty good proof, that
taxation and pauperism go band in hand. We
here see what Was produced by the ANTI-JACOBIN
WAR. The taxes continued nearly- the same from
1784 to i 79,3, the.yeer in which Prrr began that
war; so that, by the ANTI-JACONIN WAR. alone
the poor-rates sAßlNlsuglassisd, in nominal amount,
from ae2,406,623 to a65,%46,506 ; at which we shall
not be suprizeil, if we apply. to this case the pried-
pie above illustrated in the supposed community
,of ten men, whore it is shown, that, by taking the
produce of labour from the proprietors of it, and
giving it to those, who do not Labour and whops
not give the proprietors of such produce any thing
in return, poverty, or, at least, a less degree of
OMB and enjoyment, must be the.consequence.
The poor.rates alone now are equal in amount
to the whole of the national expenditure, includ-
ing the interest of the Debt, when the late Ding
came to the throne; and, the charges of managing
the taxes; that is to say, the wages, salaries, or al-
lowances, to' the Tax-gatherers of'various descrip-
tions ; the bare charge which we pay on this ac-
count amouute to Nary little short of as much as
the whole of the taxes amounted to when the late
King was crowned:
This charge ;• tluit•is to ley, what we pay to the
Dar-gatherers, !none shepe, or aaether, is stated,
in the account laid before Parliament for the last
year, at 42,884x501., a sum equal to a ,year's
wages of 91;609 lakourers, at twelve shillings a
week, which may, I suppoes, he looked upon as
,
the average wages of labourers, tale All the