London, Wednesday, Februa...
The Times, 1824-02-25T00:00:00

Consideration having su ceaed to the first perusal of the CHEA_XCELLOt of the ExciiEQuRR's speech, a dead stagnation, it will be perceived, has taken place in people's minds. One man had p-reviously said within himself, or to his neighbour, X'The remainder of the window-tax of I course will be repealed :" another expected, and not unreasonably, the removal of the whole of the assessed axes. One financier looked to the relief to be effected by the diminutien of the rate of interest upon the 4. per Cents.: another augured a beneficial efiect from the reduction of that upon Exchequer bills. The result appears to be, that all will be disappointed; for though there are some general pri-nciples acsnowledged by the plan of finance, there is no measure truly applied, even in the midst of these boasts of our flourishing situation, by which a sensible effect can be produced in favour of the comforts of the people. Tne State, at present (thanks to Divine Providence), is notinr-that situation, that human error or mismanagement can inflic. irremediable evil upon it. We are not in any of the crises of our fate, in which tne measures of Govern- -ment might (lecide irrevocably against our existence. The benefts that might be conferred on us would be very ac- ceptable and uLseful, and the want of those which are withheld may not be ruinous. Now, the nation being in such a position, and after a long peace, and with vast claims to kindness and indulgence from antecedent sufFer- ings, we really could-not have conceived a financial plan so little calcuLated to diffuse or impart any beneficial influence whastever. Onc might almost have thought, thatthe CNA N- CELLOR of the ExcnsEQue, and his more experienced and practical advisers 'being obliged to remit something of the rublic burdens, had sat down and considere(d ir. what way that remission should be as littlc felt as possible, how it should do s littk good, antd by what method the perceptios of theggoodsif there were any, should be blunted. The present CHtANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER has adopted a ?ingular mode of expression in speaking of the abatenient of taxes. ffe dbes not talk of the ease or benefit which thepeople will experience from the remission of this or tlat tax, but of what the revenue will lose : and for the adoption of this phraseology, he has, in fact, some reasoni. By the diminution of the tax upon London coals, for example, it appears that the R;evenue will lose 100,0001.: but the relief of the people will, in reality, be nothing fromu the diminution of that t x ; three shillin2s and four- pence a chaldron (the sum which is remitted) being but a fewv penee per week upon the ordinary consumption of the lowest and most numerous class of housekeepers. Are the poor man-s shoer much cheaper by the last reduction of the leather-tax? And even. whure machines and steam.. engines are used, consuming 100 chaldrons per year, the lots of Governnment, supPosing it to dlevolve wholly on the consumer, though, probably, one-third of it will never veach him, will only be about 161. pet annum. But no.r, wouls Government bave been content to sustain the loss of 1oo1oool. fromn. the window-tax, not only would the lowest order of housekeepers have been most sensibly re- lieved-not only would the sum relinquished have gone airectly into tieirpeckets-but they would have also expe- rienced much farther relief, by the removal of the-ydieue. race of window-peeperi, and of the taxes necessary for their lpaymenL The Government is to derive another advantage from withholding the bounties granted to tile persons concerned in the whale and herring fisheries. Respecting the policy of the measure, we have before spokeu favourably: but we must obsFerre, that the Goveranient, in this case, as in some i others, instead of diminishing its own expenses for the be- oedt of the whole, choose to mnake one part of the people relieve the rest- And ve will say farther upon this s,ubject, tbatif those bounties had, upon any pretext whatever, been granted to the miinions of the Court, or the Parliamentary dependents of Ministers (instead of the enterprising men .who,now receive them), the doctrine would have been, that the present possessors sbould not be disturbed during their 'ves : it would have been held a robbery to take away from them that which they had always enjoyed, and which thev, therefore, considered as their own. It is clear, therefore, that under the heads of which we have already spoken, nothing is meant to be done for the peoplc, but by a portion of the people themselves. 'The finances may thrive, but the nation is not therefore to be unburdened. The same remark will in a great degree apply to. the other financial measures of tbe year. Government receives much by the thriving condition of the country, buc itself reroits little or nothing. The commercial usages of the nation witht respect to importation and exportation are to be cbanged. It is to be obsgrved, that this is a mere matter of- speculation; it is the iitroduction of a new system, wlhichi wc thinik may. in the end prove bene- *ficial; and- Government.is eontenht to hazard the loss of a certain sum (as thc CHANEX.,LO,R of the Ex- Ci;DaUZR spealcs) upona the experimnent. But. Go. Termiment puts theproperty of others t>-a much greater risk than its own, on this ocecsion. fof its own tdifling Is5ss, also, it will soon grasp a romtanerafsota but who is to ifadenmify the woolf-lealer and silk-manifaeturer, it the eiperimebt fail, or Aiviilst it is uider trial? Hera is no relief intended for the people af large The ver c.ontrary, 'indeed, is the case YiAth lea-ect to the indisidi# ;hiefly coneei ed,-it being, elar ithV.e experiment as to ;t at thei hazard. For. example Govetnme't is' cont1ent- to. zisk the loss of 350,001.i upon the nev projjct to be tried -with raspect to the wool trade, The ri6tmed to be pursued i> ?his-Goveinment, fori t br. utbove stated redu fe duty upon eportil whol 6` 6ne penny-Miathe pUtidi.-u much t4 the 4d4vt9tB of tlb tiative 4 r; butt it also zc' dizces,~the duty u!on .foreign wool imported, to the swe trifling sumi of one bpeny. Aithis. tihe ntive-grower' hatine market is rui7net$ aiAd who cat? t-ell-betwepn lus . berty to export, an&his.iixals 1dietiy to itPott n what iabixer or'to wjat extenit ht? ante?e.stsuiril bwe aUeted lt' is !lear, therfore, iat thisaa Ue'-ad Xa'leral experi -nent irie .t his h3azard; 'It is no plan- ofreliefto the people; - - * In the same panner; the rawiuaterial of'silk; is dlowed to be imported ta.low.duty.; but theport".areeIso IOW tO be 'opneda theo tnafiufactured article: ana.here'gain, thz existelce of the. silk-maauufacturer 'is put 't ;upon a -doubtftil cxperifnent. We assert-aud every feet-: ing of humanity and patrioti~sn wil bm r Us ouf: in the as-' sertion-that it would have been-the dut.y f a Government, not to limitits owh losses upon experiments of this'nature, more especially in. the present fiourishinig state of its revenues.; but to limit those of its subiects, whom it forces into the trial,. and to say to' thm, "We will make the experiment at your ha.ard; but shoula it fails and your ruin be-threatened,-we will secure or indem- nify you." ,'' It was a bitter sarcasm npon the House of Commons, in ihe CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUmt to affect to laud its sympathy with, and regard for the people,. because it had remitted so many million. since the war-that isj because it had not con tinued thewar- taxes upon us during'thepeace. Gracious Heaven ! was ever merit assumed before by in House of Commons for such a lenity as this ? Btit it be- comes the nation well to remark, that thoulgh the Right Hon. Gentleman spoke with confidence-of the continna&n ce of this happy peace, in which we are not loaded with the wholeof the old war-taxes--it which we have not the whole of the war military establishnment to support-yet he again and again stated, that should a new war break out,. we must forthwith prepare ourselves for fresh burdens; that is, in whatever state of taxation the new war finds us, that we must immediately start from thacpoint, and go on continuallyreceiviog fresh loads of taxes. Surely, then, this is an additional reason for diminishing the weight in the present interval, whilst peace continues. And we do trust that the nation will now exert itself, and spurning from it with the contempt it merits, a plan of finance ful of chicane and hollow pretence,-that reaUy tenders not one sensible advantage of any kind, proposes no relief to any class of people, but, on the contrary, hazards the existence of more than one class,-and thatabsorbs in foolish build- .ings the little money that is reaUy put into our hands' by the composition of a foreign creditor;-that the nation, -we say, spurning such an imposition as this, will, in its place, impose upon its rulers the simple and intelligible abolition of some one or more of the very oppressive taxes under which it stil labours-the window-tax at least, if not the whole body of assessed taxes. This is really the time to bestir ourselves, or else the interval of peace will be thrown away; and when a new war shall open upon us, the plans of finance for imposing fresh taxes, will not be nugatory, sophistical, aud unmeanina, like this ror our relief. L.OYDOlV. WEDNESDAY. FEBRUARY 25. 1f