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 ‘vho 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 parllainent." In fine, Sir Robert Peel has
committed himself irretrievably, and " if the Liberals
do not now stultify themselves they will again have the
ball at their own feet "!

What a pitysto dasl so flattering a prospect as this
must be to Whig expcctants ! How the fingers of the
hungry 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
pr not, the ball is as far from their feet, orfurther, than
it was previous 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 will 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 but
express the regret which we feel at our inability to
trander 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.
'l'. Baring, in bringing his annual statement before the
[louse 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 Ss. per quarter upon foreign wheat, still
leaving a considerable balance, together with the accu-
mulations of deficiencies in former y ears, entirely mi.-
covered. That plan, our readers will remember, was
rejected, and from its rejection resulted the overthrow
of Lord Melbourne'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, 1833, deficiency was £1,428,534
II II 19 1839, do. 430,325
1 t 1840, do. 1,457,223
I t ,1

If 1811, , do. 1,851,997
17
PP ,9 9, 1842, (estimated) 2,334,559
PI ft 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
less than £4,7100,000, or, in round numbers, FIVE
MILLIONS MORE! 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--L-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 embar

The second, or Schedule B, embraces the profits
in respect of lands occupied, which Sir Robert
takes at one-half the rental,—(the calculation
under the old income-tax was three-fourths,)—
and which, deducting one-fourth for profits
under £l5O a-year or rentals under £3OO, where
the occupiers have no other sources of income,
.he supposes will produce
The third, or Schedule C, relates to capital in the
public funds and securities, which is estimated
to amount (omitting capital in saving-banks)
to £30,000,000, and which, deducting -one-
fourth for incomes under £l5O a-year, will
produce an annual duty of
The fourth, or Schedule D, embraces profits of
trades and professions, which are estimated to
be yearly £56,000,000, the duty upon which will
be, deducting one-fourth as before,
The fifth, or Schedule E, embraces the income of
all public officers, estimated at £7,000,000 an-
nually, the duty upon which, deducting one-
fourth, will be ..

150,000

646,000

1,220;000

155,000

The total produce of the duty proposed may there-
fore be estimated as follows, viz
Schedule A
Schedule B,
Schedule C.
Schedule D,
Schedule E.

Total income duty

13,C00,000
150,000

646,000
1,220,000
155,000

£3,771,000

For the levying of this tax in Great Britain the. M-
achinery already exists ; but the same remark does not
apply to Ireland. Upon this and other grounds the
ministry propose to exclude that country from its ope-
ration, except so far as the incomes derivable from
land, &c. in Ireland are spent in England, when the
absentee will be taxed equally with the English land-
owner, thus holding out a bonus for landownerM in
Ireland to reside upon their property in that country.
In consideration, however, of this exemption, the
stamp duties levied in Ireland are to be equalised in
some cases with those of Great Britain, and a shilling
additional is to be placed upon spirits, making the
duty, at present 2s. Bd. per gallon, equal to that
charged in Scotland—viz., 3s. Bd. per gallon. The
amount derivable from stampS is estimated at £160,000
and from spirits 200,000.

It is furthei proposed to impose a duty of 4s. per ton
upon all coals exported from the united kingdom, whe-
ther borne in foreign or in British bottoms. At pre-
sent a duty of 4s. is payable upon this article shipped
in foreign vessels. The operation of the reciprocity
treaties has, however, decreased the productiveness of
this duty from £50,000 a year in 1831 to £6,900 only
in 1840, whilst the quantity of coals exported has in-
creased from 356,000 tons in the former yeir to
1,307,000 in the latter. By reimposing the duty, and
making it bear equally upon British and foreign ship-
ping, it is expected that a duty will be derived of
£200,000 a year.

The entire produce of new taxes may be recapitu-
lated then as follows, viz. :
Income tax (in round numbers)
Stamp duties, Ireland
Spirit duties, Ireland
Export of coal

X 3,700,000-
160,000
250,000
200,000,

Total new taxes,

Deduct from this amount !the estimated
deficiency of income:as compared with

£4,310,000

estimated expenditure

2,570,000

And a surplus will re►nain of

£1,740.000

applicable to a reduction of duties by a re-modification
of our commercial tariff, or to contingencies unforeseen.
We come now to the reductions of duty proposed
by Sir Robert Peel for the relief of the producing and
consuming classes. Into this part of the subject, how-
ever, we are not at present able• to go seriatim, inas-
much as the details of the entire plan, comprising a
complete re-modification of our existing commercial
t aryl; are not as yet brought before us. We take,
however, the chieftheads of reduction as stated by the
right hon. baronet.

In entering upon this tnodificatio9 of the tariff. the
government proposes, "in the first instance, there-
moval or relaxation of all duties of a prohibitory nature;
and, secondly, a reduction of the duties upon the raw
materials for manufactures to a very considerable ex-
tent"—in some instances retaining only a nominal
duty for the purpose of statistical information, and in
very few cases imposing more thatt five per cent.
Of 1,200 articles of consumption it is proposed
to reduce the duty upon Tho. Upon the remaining
450 articles no alterations are to be made, except in
some cases where the duties are only retained at pre-
sent to be made the subject of future modifications in
favour of countries with whom commercial treaties are
pending. Amongst the duties so in abeyance are those
upon French wines, brandy, &c., and the products of
_
Spain, Portugal, and South America. The amount of
loss to the revenue from all these reductions is esti-

mated at £270,000 per annum.
We have been told, with some evidences of glee, by
the Whig-Radical press, that it was the intention of
Sir Robert to " throw over" the West India interest,
and to propose an extensive reduction of the duties on
foreign sugar. It is, therefore, with some pleasure ,
and with hearty concurrence in the views which have
induced his determination, that we find no such re-
duction amongst those brought before parliament on
Friday night. As a boon, however, to the consuming
classes and, to some extent, a propitiation to the de-
mands of the Brazilian and Cuban planters, it is pro
posed, in the first instance, to reduce the duty upon,
British colonial coffee, from Gd. to 4d., and to admit
foreign coffee, imported direct to this country, at,a duty
of Bd. per lb., instead of Is. and ls. 3d., as paid at:pre-
sent if imported direct, or 9d. per'lb.-if searottrid by