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posed in some way or other to the evils which arose out of the inveterate habits of smuggling rooted in the lower orders, and that therefore they ought not to assume, that because he did not begin his work exactly as they might wish, he was doing nothing for their good, when he attempted to eradicate such pernicious practices. The right honourable gentleman then proceeded to press upon the attention of the house the necessity of carrying the principles on which parliament had recently acted with such success in this country, into operation in Ireland. The misfortunes of that country were numerous, long established, deeply seated, springing from many roots, and not, perhaps, easily to be eradicated. Much had been done to alleviate them, and more still remained to do for his own part, he knew nothing more likely to confer prosperity upon Ireland than to give her the utmost facilities in her intercourse with other nations. That would tend to call all her energies into action, and to give her the full benefit of all her advantages; for he would say, and say it boldly, that there was no part of the united kingdom so suited for the application of capital as Ireland. The house had every inducement to make Ireland the object of its attention. He said to those gentlemen, who were not inclined to grant to her that one boon, which many deemed, and himself among the number, the boon which would be the most welcome of any, that it was doubly -no not doubly, but ten thousandfold, incumbent on them to grant her every other boon. He would appeal from their interests to their feelings-from their prejudices to

their generosity-from their partyspirit to their sympathy, for that country which formed part of themselves, and would ask them, whether it would not be more gratifying to them to see Ireland placed by our side in the scale of nations, than merely to obtain relief for themselves, and to leave Ireland to her chance on the waves of evil commotion? The improvement

of Ireland was the point at which we ought to begin. She had a population of 7,000,000, and brought us a revenue of three millions and a half.

What cause was there but the unhappy condition of that country to prevent her making a considerable addition to our resources? Her condition was now mending, her revenue was rising, her capital, he was happy to say, was daily enlarging. If they did not stop her improvement, but fostered and nourished it with parental care and tenderness, he would be willing to wager his life that many years would not elapse before the revenue we derived from Ireland was absolutely doubled. Let them not think, therefore, of merely removing assessed taxes: let us cast our views more into the future; let them pursue a disinterested and generous system, and they would lay the foundation in Ireland of every improvement of which a country was susceptible. He trusted, therefore, that the house would support him in his measures, and that they would not suppose that he had neglected the wishes of the country, because he had not determined to grant them. To its wishes, however, he was prepared to yield to a certain extent. He was prepared to do something, which though it might not confer any benefit on the rich

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and wealthy members of society, would confer substantial benefits on those who were the poorest. In that way he was ready to comply with the wishes of the petitioners-in that way he was ready to meet the wishes of the honourable member for Reading-of the hon. member for Surrey, whom he saw opposite him (Mr. Denison), and of his honourable friend the other member for Surrey, (Mr. H. Sumner), who demanded some relief for the lower orders. Among the many objections to the assessed taxes, none was more important than that which arose from the trouble and vexation they created. This was a point he had never attempted to dispute; indeed, he had never affected to deny the objections which existed against all taxes; on the contrary, he had always considered taxation as an evil which we bore because we could not help it. Such being the case, he wished to remove that portion of the assessed taxes which pressed upon sore places. The reduction he was going to make, was not much in point of money, but was considerable in point of feeling. He should therefore apply it to those parts of them where evasion of the law was easy, and where the detection of it was painful and difficult. He did not know whether it was necessary to trouble the house with an account of the small items on which he was going to give relief. (Hear, hear, and "Go on.") He had exhausted himself, and perhaps the patience of the house, in what he had already stated. (Cries of "No, no; Go on.") It was a long catalogue he had to read to them. It would not be a reduction of much money, but it would be an addition of

great good. If the house wished him to go through the list, he certainly would do so. (Hear, and "Go on.") Well, then,

though the house might be inclined to laugh at him for assuming any merit for such small reductions,-and he could assure it that he did not assume any,-he would proceed through the catalogue; and perhaps it might be as well to do so now, as it must be done hereafter, when each separate reduction was put to the consideration of the committee. The first reduction, then, was of this nature-there was a sort of small four-wheeled carriages not in use among the wealthy, but much used among the poor, drawn by ponies. This tax was not large in its amount, but was miserable in its exaction. He intended to repeal it. That repeal would cost the revenue 8571. The house must be contented with these small items for the present; it would see that they collectively amounted to something considerable. The next tax was which was seldom paid, and never, he believed, by any gentleman of the rank in life of those whom he then addressed. It was a tax on occasional waiters, amounting to 1343l. He knocked that tax off entirely. The next was for coachmakers' licences, amounting to 3541. That, too, he should repeal. Then came the tax for carriages sold by auction or on commission, amounting to 3,3917. This tax was peculiarly unreasonable, since carriages sold by auction paid the auction duty. He should therefore get rid of it entirely. In the counties where mines were worked, mules were much used in carrying ore, coals, &c. A tax was imposed

one

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on them which yielded 137. a year. That tax he also repealed. As the law now stood, if a person quitted a house, which was assessed to the house-tax, after the beginning of the year, he was bound to pay the house-tax for the whole year. Now, he only intended to charge such persons in future for the house-tax during such portion of the year

At

year as they were in occupation of houses. The repeal of this law would cost the revenue about 5,000l. There was a class of houses which were of no advantage to the owner as far as residence was concerned-he meant houses that were not tenanted, but merely left in the charge of persons to take care of them. A tax was levied upon such houses, and produced 4,000l. a year. That tax, also, he intended to abolish. present, in the dairy countries, only one window was allowed in the dairy and the cheese-room. The effect of this state of law was, either that the same room was used for both purposes, which must evidently be inconvenient, or that one window was divided between the two rooms, which was scarcely less inconvenient. He intended to propose that each room might have one window, without paying any tax for it. That would cost the revenue about 1,000l. There was also a class of farm-houses which were charged unfairly with the house-tax.

If a

landlord had a farm which was thrown on his hands, he generally took the land into his own hands and put a labourer into the farmhouse. Now that house would not be exempt from the house-tax, unless that part of the house in which the labourer dwelt was divided from the remainder by a

solid partition. So that the first thing a landlord had to do if a farm was thrown up, was to build up a wall to divide the farmhouse; and the first thing he had to do if the farm was taken, was to knock it down again. He would allow labourers to occupy farm-houses free from all tax. That would cost the revenue 1,000l. There were servants in husbandry occasionally employed as grooms. Now such a servant was not a servant in the ordinary acceptation of the term-he did not stand to his employer in the relation of a servant-he wore no livery. He (the Chancellor of the Exchequer) intended to get rid of the tax on such servants; it amounted to 2,000l. a year. There were some small farmers, who derived some small advantages beyond the mere profits of their farms, by letting out for hire their horses when not employed: in husbandry, to drawing coals, &c. a mode of employment, which was not less useful to those who hired the horses, than it was profitable to those who let them

out. It was hard that individuals under such circumstances should pay a tax, and he would therefore allow these horses to be classed as husbandry horses which paid no tax. That tax produced 4,000l.: it was to go along with the other taxes he had mentioned. There was a species of carts called tax carts; they were useful to all classes in the country; the tax on each of them was 11. 7s. - he intended to repeal it entirely. The loss to the revenue would be 18,913l. The next class whom he intended to relieve were those persons to whom allusion had been made in the early part of the evening,

evening. He should preface what he had to say upon this subject by reference to the house-tax. There were now charged to this tax 527,649 persons. Of these a considerable number rented houses: under 10%. a year, and paid a tax proportional to their rent-he believed of 1s. 6d. in the pound. Now all these houses he intended to exempt from the operation of the tax. The effect of such a measure would be to diminish the revenue by the sum of 132,000l.; but as he conceived that there might be some management to bring houses under the exception which really did not come under it, he should reckon the diminution at 144,000l. Out of the 527,649 persons liable to the house-tax, 171,739 would be relieved by this reduction. He next came to the window-tax. He did not here apply himself to relieve the rich, nor yet to relieve the middling classes, both of whom were well able to pay this tax, but decidedly to relieve the poor. Of the window-tax there were 973,867 payers. Now a certain rate of duty was paid on windows on houses which were under 51. rent, and had only six windows; on houses which were of more than 5. rent, and had six windows; and then again on houses which had more than six windows, and up to 6l., 71. and 10l. rent. The rate was 3s., 2l., 4s., and 10s. Now, he exempted from all payment those houses which had not more than seven windows. The loss to the revenue occasioned by this reduction, together with the loss occasioned by the reduction of the inhabited house-tax, would amount to 235,000l. He should, however, relieve by it, from all

window-tax, 635,936 persons. He hoped that he had shown distinctly to the house, that though he had abstained from proposing any relief to those who were best able to pay this tax, he had not neglected the comforts and interests of those who were least able to pay it. He believed that those who might not approve of every part of the scheme he had propounded to the committee, would still be gratified by knowing that their poorer neighbours were relieved from any windowtax whatever. He hoped that by this statement he had enlisted on his side all the best feelings of the nation, and had given to its generosity a triumph over its interests. He ought to have stated, perhaps, that the amount of the reductions he had proposed in trifling items of the assessed taxes amounted to 276,9951. The result of all this statement was to convince them that he proposed to repeal taxes with a view of facilitating the interchange of our commerce with foreign countries-with a view of granting encouragement to our manufacturers with a view of striking a blow at the giant strength of the smuggler, and with a view of relieving the poor from burdens which pressed severely upon them. The taxes he proposed to repeal amounted to 1,520,000%. That would cost us in 1826 and 1827 about 3,000,000l. In 1825, the loss would amount to 620,000l.; so that the total loss in the three years, ending in 1827, would be about 3,620,000l. The surplus revenue out of which this was to be defrayed would amount in the same time to 4,000,000l.: so that there would be a balance of 400,000l. in the Exchequer to

meet

meet the drawback on the stock of wine in hand, or any defalcations of revenue which might unexpectedly arise. He now called upon the committee to support him in the plan which he had submitted to its consideration. If he said that he anticipated the results he had stated to happen almost as a matter of course, he did not expect that the event would prove him to have been too sanguine. He had considered the present subject in all its bearings, and with these propositions in his hands, he should not fear to go into any public assembly of the people of England at any time and in any place. There he would appeal to their justice, their candour, and their reason; and would venture, without arrogance presumption in his own merits, but with a well-founded confidence that he was doing them service, to claim for the propositions he had stated their cordial support and approbation. The right hon. gentleman then sat down amid loud cheering, having first moved as a resolution, that it is expedient that certain duties be repealed.

or

Mr. Holme Sumner addressed the house, and

Sir H. Parnell expressed his perfect satisfaction at what had fallen from the right hon. gentleman respecting the financial situation of Ireland.

Mr. Maberly hoped that the committee would not, by admitting the propriety of many of the general principles upon which the right hon. gentleman had founded his able statement, be considered as pledging themselves to his details, and particularly where his practice was at variance with the system which he advocated. He

He

begged also not to be considered as admitting that the right hon.. gentleman's disposal of his surplus revenue was the best which could be assigned for it. This reservation must be allowed to them, else they would be voting resolutions before inquiry and the necessary information to explain their nature. The increase of revenue he had always anticipated as the natural consequence of the introduction of the sound commercial principles which his Majesty's Government had lately acted upon they had given fairer play to the industry of the people, hence followed more comfort, and, as a necessary consequence, an augmentation of the national revenue. He should reserve his further observations until the resolutions were printed.

Mr. Sykes praised the reduction of the iron and hemp duties as favourable to the shipping interest, and thereby beneficial to the prosperity of the country generally.

The Chancellor of the Exchequer requested hon. gentlemen to bear in mind, that the resolutions could not be printed until after the report was brought up.

Mr. Bright complained in the strongest terms of the comparative inattention afforded to the West Indian interests, and the necessity of some further time for consideration, before the committee decided upon the right hon. gentleman's statement. Parliament had seriously interfered with the value of West Indian property and interests, without giving the owners any thing like a fair equivalent. By the proposed reduction of bounties upon sugar, the great refining trade would be in

fallibly

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