On this page
-
Text (1)
-
Untitled Article
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software. The text has not been manually corrected and should not be relied on to be an accurate representation of the item.
-
-
Transcript
-
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software. The text has not been manually corrected and should not be relied on to be an accurate representation of the item.
Additionally, when viewing full transcripts, extracted text may not be in the same order as the original document.
Untitled Article
though * that the direct taxation , when imposed , "^ id be laid on with a friendly and discriminating sIl 0 " i At present the people could not see any emer-* ia fl v calling for an increase of direct taxation . He f " racterised the Budget as retaliatory in principle . M Wai-pole pointed out that Mr . Peel , Sir C . 1 / ( l and Mr . Cobden had severally admitted the , ' ° dorn of these parts of the Budget—the remission of rtie tea duties ' relief to th (? shi PP S interest , and the distinction between incomes . The Budget carried , t ] , ree things—cheapness of articles of consumption , ^ l ' ef to the farmers , and equality of burden on all coture jtors jn trade . Sir C . Wood lind anticipated no increased consumption of Leer , because the manufacture had not heretofore increased ; but it was the
taxation which had prevented the increase . The remission of the tea duties would cheapen a beverage " which , after all , should be the most encouraged , " and would extend trade with China . Next , the colonial interest and the shipping interest had been relieved ; then the agriculturists . Mr . Cobden had compared the Malttax to the duty on cotton taken off in 1830 . If , at that time , that duty produced five millions which could not suddenly be spared , still , would not the remission of half have ' been wise and beneficial ? Mr . Walpole
then defended the exemptions from taxation of the Irish landholder , and argued that the Irish fundholder had no right to claim that exemption , for his peculiar right to exemption arose from national circumstances , not from his residence in any part of the United Kingdom ; and as to- the general fundholder , they had a perfect right to tax . him according to the quality of his income . Mr . Walpole , having gone through the items of the Budget , wound up by some sentences of strained eulogy on his colleague , the Chancellor of the
Exchequer . " I think you will find that , although the measure is a large and comprehensive one , so large and so comprehensive , indeed , thafc the right honourable baronet opposite wished him to divide it into two halves , making one of them his budget for 1853 , and the other half , I suppose , the budget for 1 ° 854—( cheers and laughter)—yet that budget is not so lame nor so comprehensive but that my right honourable friend will show to this House—and I trust that he will at inoaf ] , „ , «> flio nnnnrtnnitv of doiner so—that he can do in
one year what many Chancellors would do in three years . ( Ironical cheers . ) ^ But I really would not have gone mto this dispute except for the very disparaging tone which I think has been somewhat improperly made use oi . ( Ministerial cheers . ) I must ask whence it is that these extraordinary attacks are made against my right honourable friend ? What is the reason , what is the cause , why is he to be assailed at every point when ho has brought forward -when he has made two financial statements in one year , which have met , I believe , with the approbation of the ? it because
House and certainly of the country Is you are jealous of hia success ? ( Ministerial cheers . ) Is it because ho has successfully struggled hard and long with genius against rank and against power , until he has attained -the- highest eminence to which an honourable ambition could ever aspire—the leadership and guidance of the Commons of England ? ( Ministerial cheers . ) Is it because he has verified in his person the dignified language of the description of the groat philosophic poet ot antiquity , portraying equally hia past career and his prosent
posi" ' Ccrtaro ingenio contendcre nobilitiite , INoolcs iitquo ( lies iiiti pnustiuite laboro ( Ad aiiramiw omertfert ) open , reriimqiio potiri . ( loud cheers . ) My ri-jht hon . friend has attained that position ; and who will grudge it to him ? I will not speak disparagingly- —dad forbid that I should -ol the rifflifc honourable baronet the member lor Jlahtax- —Ins abilities and his powers aro admitted by all ; but without diHpara < nn < r him , I think I may Hay that fcho budget oi itiyrifrht honourable friend may bear comparison with aiiy of his . ( Ministerial cheers . ) The best judges in this country will declare , nay , I believe they have declared that level with the boldest
by his ' Uwlaot he has put . himself on a and , at the wuno time , tho most prudent financier which thin country has produced . ( Ironical cheers . ) I hey will Ml you . at any rate , in the frm-itoul emporium of commerce of |] io ff lobo , that these plans have refleeted credit , upon him -in the iud-nnenf of those best capablo ol judging ol thorn , ofthohi . rhe . st ommenee , tlm . y will toll you , as you have been reminded this iii tf lit , that he has ( Improved by these propositions the common fallacy which tlio world ran away with , that a . man of e , emus lu . iy not be essentially and practically a mdiii of business . And whatever »> " ? >«' tlui result , of this debate -whatever may be tho late ol the nroserit , < Jovermnent -whatever may bo tin ; eflect oi tha ,
ill-assorted alliance which 1 seo before mo ( MiniHlorial ^ hoers ) the country will say , I . firmly believe , that my ri tflit hon . friend bus earned for himself a repula . fum an exleiiHivo as tho empire which ho in largely benelitmg by 1 » H legislation , and « jratitucl « as permanent as th « honest K « n « n > sit . y of a thankful , onli ^ bteaed , and rofloctuifr community . ( Loud cheers . ) Mr . ( ionurn itN contrasted the present lumiicml
Hclunno with tho course pursued by Sir Itobort I eel . He lirst . nh ) ium » l mi available balance , and then made ' educt . ions ; but , tho present , Governmen t , created a deficiency , and then culled for more taxation . r l be . < jueslion now was , conld the liimnww allbrd t . o lose two and n-lmlJ" million * Y There wan a prcKent , Mirpliw , but Mr . Disraeli , with " a certain kind of courage , " proposed to whjeet tho country , at the ond <>' " i » x ( ' V ( mi '» to rt ( l ° " uciency they could not calculate , beforehand .
In the meantime , Lord Debby , replying to Lord Wicklow , made some statements , intended to be significant in the Hot / se of Lords , early on Tuesday evening : — " The question of the extension of direct taxation , subject to as few exemptions as possible , engaged at the present moment the anxious attention of the House of Commons , and he trusted it would be solved in the course of the present week . That question was one of deep and vital importance to the permanent interests . of the country . He was not speaking of any personal results attaching to the present Government—though , unoubtedly , the decision of the House of Commons , whatever it might be , could
not fail to have important and immediate consequences on the position of the Government itself , —but he was speaking with respect to the permanent interests of the country " in reference to which he held that the decision of Parliament on the question was of the most vital importance . He earnestly hoped that as soon as practicable Parliament would relieve the country from the anxiety with which it was awaiting the decision of the House of Commons on that important subject . Undoubtedly , it was not desirable to hurry or accelerate the proceedings of the other House , so as to preclude that body from the due consideration , not of any change in minute detail , but of the great and broad principles involved in their present
deliberations ; yet he thought it was of great importance that the country should not continue long in suspense as to the course the Parliament might adopt , and as to the hands , also , by which the system now established was to be administered . He hoped a few days or hours might decide that question , as far as the other House was concerned . He regretted that in consequence of these discussions , and the delay which had taken place—though , of course , he did not complain of the delay—it was necessary for then- lordships to meet day after day , with little or no business to transact , to sit for a few minutes only , and then to adjourn ; and he was anxious , as soon as the should be pronounced
decision of the House of Commons and the resolution now before that assembly affirmed , if affirmed it should be , that their lordships should be released from their daily attendance there . But , while the question to which he had referred , and other questions contingent on it , remained in abeyance and undecided , he thought he should be wanting in his duty to the Crown if he were to recommend an adjournment of the House for any lengthened period , and thus deprive the Crown of the possibility of the attendance of . that House at a time when it might be necessary for the Crown to have recourse to its immediate advice and assistance . "
On Tuesday , after Mr . DlSRAELlhad incidentallyplaced the question at issue on this ground—Whether " the area of direct taxation should be extended , " Lord Joceltn expressed his approval of the Budget . Mr . Osbobne commented on the question in a speech marked by his usual fitness of p hraseology and wonted happiness of quotation , and by a treatment of the topic more than usually able . Avoiding discussion on " direct" and " indirect" taxation , he pointed out a peculiarity in the Budget : all new tax was immediate , —all remissions were left " looming in the future . "
The remitted moiety of the Malt-tax was' " compensation" in disguise : why was the House-tax—its substitute—levied only on town houses , and not on country cottages ? The speaker quoted Sir E . B . Lytton ' s England and the English—especially the passage , "I believe , if ever the nationa l debt be in danger , the fatal attack will come less from the Radicals than from the country gentleman , jealous of t he fundholder , and crippled with mortgages . " This , read with point , elicited ringing cheers from the Opposition . A still happier quotation closed his remarks . Mr . Walpole had hauled Mr . Disraeli , and had referred to his reception at t he Guildhall , as a proof of the , popularitj- of the Government . A remarkable parallel to that reception could be found : —
" He alluded to tho reception of Buckingham and Richard I M ., when Duke of Gloflter , nt Guildhall . Gentlemen would remember tlio quotation in Shakspearo : — ' When ho had done , . sorno followers of mine own , At , lower end o' the hall , hurl'd up their caps , And some ton voices cried ' ( iod save King Richard ! And thus I took the ' vantage of those few , — ' TliankH , gentle citizens , and friends , ' quoth 1 . ; ' This tftvm-rul applause and cheerful shout Argues your wisdom and your lovo to Richard . " ( Roars of huujhtor . ) 11 o would venture to HUggewt to Hie
Homo SccroLiiry , when be quoted tho reception at ( . mldhall that it w ' uh nol . very probablo a . set ot well-to-do irentlemeii , who wen ) met , to discuss the tender merits ot turtle and venison , would be inclined to criticize with any severe eyo the dry dctail . s of a financial project . No , thono were not tho <; lanneM they must quote as giving a , cordial roc-option U ) their Budget . II . was the industrious c erk , HtrivinK t <> support liin family upon mi income of not Ifrftf a-year (( Hieors . ) It was tho energet . e niechiiuie , nwt e . ne .-L ' ing into independence , whom they must , ask what they thought of the Hu . lgct , ( l ! heerM . )" the Utulgeland
Aldernuin ThomT'HoK praised ; , asserted that the repeal of IJ . e Timbeivduty would be a less viiliwble boon to the shipping intovest than the voiniHsionM Uiat , had been made . Hir 15 . Hai-i- Hhowe . d bow unduly partial toward * the tenant-nirnurH wns the spirit of the financial proposition * . Mir . 1 . DirOK WORTH , confiding in the Government , ( supported the Budget , with rcHcrvafcioii . s— 'intimating an objection to thu Houkutux . Mr . Hvmb pnuHoil ali ttio reuu&Hioiuj and . concessions
i n the Budget ; but condemned a-House-tax as the worst of taxes . Why not add one per cent , to the Property-tax and strike off the House-tax ? Indirect taxation should be still further and very extensively remitted , and direct taxation should be extended ; tlio whole of tho Malt-tax should be struck off , also the duties still remaining on 233 foreign manufactures and forty-two articles connected with agriculture . But he would vote against the present proposition . Sir E . C . DEMNa defended the Budget .
Sir . L Graham , after . pointing out Mr . Humes financial inconsistency , in consenting to wholesale remissions of taxes , replaced but by one per cent , tax on property , extracted from Mr . Disraeli a . statement that the issue b efore the House was simply the narrowed question of the extension of the House-tax . He pointed out that ihat alone could not be considered , as the
Budget calculated on t he increase , as well as on the extension , of the tax . Briefly but clearly referring to the advance of sound financial and commercial doctrines already achieved , Sir . Tames approved of the " shipping interest" portion of the Budget . The concession to the West India \ slands , of refining sugar in bond , was good ; but he had been told that home holders of inferior sugar would use the privilege , causing an annual loss to the revenue of 200 . 000 Z ., uncounted
by Mr . Disraeli . Did not this give added weight to the warning touching public credit expressed by Mr . Gladstone , " his independent station , his long experience , and his spotless character giving additional weight to that warning . " But a great admission bad been made by Mr . Disraeli , namely , —that the security for the landed interest was to be found in the welfai e of the working classes 5 as they become better o ! , poor-rates fall , and this relief compensates the landowners . " Thus , while there is much leffc on which we differ , there is much on which we agree . " Afttr
all the anticipation of t he Budget that had been , he was glad to get the tangible thing at last : yet , stripping it of the Malt-tax repeal , tho Hop-duty repeal , and the Honse-tax , it had the usual family features of all budgets . The repealing of half the Hop-duty was a specially unwise item . The Hop-duty was a tax comparatively costly iu collection , vexatious to the producer , onerous to the consumer , and trifling as a source of revenue . It was just one of those taxes which should be entirely remitted or completely changed . The Malt-tax was a tax which former Governments found it impossible to do without : it was too great a source of revenue to be cut off . Mr . Bass had testified that it
was not vexatious in its operation ; and as to the farmer feeding his cattle , the law allowed him to wet barley , and cause it to germinate , —in fact , do everything but dry it for the purposes of brewing or distillation . The remission of half the duty would reduce the price of porter but one ' fill-thing per pot , and the reduction in the price of pale ale would be still less . Neitbei would the landed interest be served by the remission ; the barley-growers , owing to the great demand and limited supply of barley , did not want any " boon" of this kind ; and Scotland , with intrinsically inferior grain , would putter from barley and inferior grain being put on a . level . Sir James then addressed the country
gentlemen , incredulous of bis good will " as a friend , having- a community of interest , with them , " —| his advances were met by derisive cheers ]—and pointed out that the Exchequer Loan Fund had been especially useful to them . It had also done tlio State good service , being a convenient , plan of avoiding direct Government loans to local objects . " And I ask , why should the Chancellor of the Exchequer , under tlieso circumstances , lay violent , hands upon this fund to meet a deficiency which ho himself ban createdby tampering with tho taxation oi ' the country , and
, by proposing to reduce simultaneously the JYlalt-tiix and the Tea-duties , which together yield an annual income of 10 , 000 , 000 / ., or no less Hum one-lil ' lh of Iho whole revenue of the country " r With a clear balance in the Kxchequer of l , r > 0 (> , O 0 O / ., the right honourable ( jvntleman tamper * with these two great branches of revenue , and , to meet 11 deficiency which he himself creates , he threatens to lay violent hands upon the funds of the Kxchequer Loan Commissioners , in fact , tlie right , honourable geiilloimui hnn no surplus , either in this first or second year , Ix-yond what these particular funds will enable him wilh dillieulty to obtain . "
He appealed to Mr . llerries , an experienced / inuncier to pronomwuon this point . Mr . Lowe had pointed out , with great fore ** and ability- ( cheers ) the impropriety of proposing reductions of duly to take place a . your after you make the proposal . J \ lr . Disraeli had called direct , taxation , with excmptioiiH , conliHeutiou ; yet liu bad continued exemp tions In Ireland , for instance . Tho Unglish clerk , with KMV . uycar income , will now pay for the first Mine " J > I . li' . v . income and house tax , and you remit him virtually about , Vis . a year in bin inalt and ten ; while the Irish clerk of . 100 / . u-year obl . aiiin the mime J . 2 . v . n-year benefit , but pays no ineomo or boiiHO tax . The following were ntrikhi £ instances oi
Untitled Article
December 18 , 1852 . ] THE LEADER . _ JJ " —
-
-
Citation
-
Leader (1850-1860), Dec. 18, 1852, page 1199, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse2.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/vm2-ncseproduct1965/page/3/
-