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120 ? . to 801 . Advertisement duties to bo reduced from . 1 * . 6 d . to 6 d ., and , instead of taking off the balance , to take off the stamp upon newspaper supplements . There was also to be a reduction for the benefit of hackney carriage owners , as a reduction was about to be made in their fares by Mr . Fitzroy . Reform in the assessed taxes was intended in regard to the duties on servants , private carriages , horses , and dogs , which were to be respectively brought to uniform rates . The post-horse duty was in future to be levied in the form of licences , and much reduced . The" arrangement ; for the redemption of land-tax was also to be on a new footing . But these alterations , except the
post-horse duty , could not come into effect this year . He then came to the Customs duties . There was to be no change as regarded wine , and he held out no prospect of any change taking- place at an early date . As to tea , the duty was to be at once reduced from 2 * . 2 £ d . to 1 * . 10 d ., and then to 1 * . 6 d ., to Is . 3 d ., and ultimately to Is . —the reduction to the latter sum being effected in something less than three years . The Customs tariff had generally received the benefit of a revision , and he announced the reduction of duties on butter , cheese , apples , cocoa , nuts , eggs , oranges , lemons , and raisins ; the abolition of duties on 123 articles , and the reduction on 133 others . Rated ,
instead of ad valorem , duties were to be levied in other cases . He announced , amid loud cheering , that the remissions of Excise duties amounted to 771 , 000 ? . net , and that in Customs to 658 , 000 ? ., and that the total remission of taxes amounted to 2 , 568 , 000 ? ., involving a loss to the revenue of 1 , 656 , 000 ? . ; and he summed up the statement of the public account by announcing a small surplus of 493 , 000 ? ., of which , as before stated , 200 , 000 ? . does not arise from permanent income . He then went into other statistics to show the result of the proposed system throughout the years to " be affected ,
and while proving that there would be a gross remission of 5 , 384 , 000 / ., he stated that the object of the Government had been to give such an increased power of consumption as would increase the stability of our financial system , and would lay such a basis as might enable tho Parliament of I 860 to dispense witli the income-tax , then to expire ; for he demonstrated that against the 6 , 000 , 000 ? . of the income-tax could then be set a new income of 5 , 959 , 000 ? . Government had therefore redeemed its pledge of showing how that tax might be done away .
He concluded a most lucid address , of nearly five hours' duration , by an eloquent peroration in vindication of the objects of the Administration , . and of the means by which it had sought to achieve them . " I am afraid , sir , almost to look at the clock—( loud cheers)—which painfully reminds mo how long 1 I have trespassed on the time of this House . All I can say in apology is , that I have endeavoured to keep closely to the topics which I wished to lay befoi'o tho committee . ( Loud and prolonged cheering . )
" Sed nos immensiim spatiis confecimiig oequor , Et jam tompus equura fumantia solvere colla . " ( Renewed cheers . ) These , sir , arc tho propositions of tho Government . They may bo approved , or they may bo condemned ; but of this I feel confident , that it will be admitted that wo have not sought to avoid the difficulties of our position ; that we havo not concealed them eitlier from ourselves or from others ; that wo havo not attempted to counteract them by narrow and flimsy expedients ; that wo have proposed plans which , if you will adopt them , will go Bomo way towards closing up many vexed financial questions , that , unlosa they be now settled , may bo attended with public inconvenience and even public danger in future
years , and under circumstances loss favourable than tho present for their adjustment ; wo havo endeavoured , in short , in tho plans wo submit , to make tho path of our successors in future years not more arduous but more easy . ( Loud cheers . ) Ami ! may bo permitted to add , that while wo havo sought to do justice by tho changes wo propose in taxation , to intelligence and skill , as compared with propertywhilowohavoHoughtto dojustico to thegrout labouring community of . Knghmd by further relief from indirect taxation ¦—wo havo not boon guided in tho main by thoughts about one class or about , another , but tl \ ut wo have felt wo h ' uouUI
best maintain our own honour , best meet tho views of Parliament , best promote the interon ( . s of tho country , liy declining to draw invidious dint inetionsbotweenelasH and clans , by adopting it as our sacred aim to diffuse and distributeburdens if wo must—benefits if we can—with an equal and impartial hand ; and wo havo consolation in bolioving that by proponal . s like these wo contribute , as far jw in uh lion , not onl y lo develop tho material rosouroo . s of the country , but likewise to knit tho hearts of this groat nation to that Throno and those iiistilulioiiH under which it i . s our happiness to live . "
Loud und long rang tho cheers of members , when , much exhausted , Mr . Ulmln ( , ono resumed bin neat , having spoken for upwards of five hours . In niiHWor to Mr . Dihkakivi , Mr . ( Ji-ai > htonio pro-]) OHod to lay all his resolutions on the table at once , and to take tho Income-tax discussion on Monday noxr , to l ) o followed by Unit on tho legacy nn < l then on tho Hpirit duty . Mr . IfifMK thanked tho Chancellor of tho Kxolioquor for his many remissions , and for his adherence to tho principles of Free-trade , and expressed his regret
that any new taxation should be imposed , and that a sound Property-tax was not to be imposed . Mr . E . Ball complained that the Malt-tax was not to be repealed . The House resumed ; and the discussion was fixed for Monday ; taking , first , the Income-tax , then the legacy duties , and then the spirit duties . QONCISE STATEMENT OF THE BUDGET . We append the following concise account of the Budget , extracted from the City article of the Times of Wednesday , and dated the previous day . It presents a much better idea of the propositions , as a whole , than can be obtained by the inexperienced financialist from the speech of the financial minister . The Budget of the Chancellor of the Exchequer , taken as a whole , has been received to-day in the city with almost universal favour . Setting aside the Income-tax question , in connexion with which the public , as in 1842 , are willing to submit to unadjusted grievances for the sake of great commercial ends , few of its points have called for criticism , since the general propriety of each of the proposed modifications is unequivocally admitted , and even those persons who would have preferred other remissions see that , by the removal of the claims now dealt with , the road is cleared for the inevitable success of their future exertions . Although , perhaps , no previous financial statement ever announced a greater variety of intended changes , the fact of these changes being harmonious in principle renders it easy to set them forth , without complicated remarks . Hence a comprehensive glance at the entire scheme may raadily be given in a few paragraphs . It appears that the revenue of the present year is estimated at 52 , 990 , 000 ? ., viz .:
—Customs £ 20 , 680 , 000 Excise ... " 14 , 640 , 000 Stamps 6 , 700 , 000 Taxes 3 , 250 , 000 Income-tax 5 , 550 , 000 Post-office 900 , 000 Crown Lands 390 , 000 Miscellaneous 320 , 000 Old Stores . 460 , 000 Anticipated saving from the contemplated measures for the reduction of the Three per Cents 100 , 000 £ 52 , 990 , 000 and that the estimated expenditure is : — Funded Debt ..... £ 27 , 500 , 000 Unfunded ditto .... 304 , 000 27 , 804 , 000 Consolidated Fund . . . 2 , 503 , v , 00 Army 6 , 025 , 000 Navy 6 , 235 , 000 Ordnance 3 , 053 , 000 Miscellaneous .... 4 , 476 , 000 Commissariat 557 , 000 Militia 530 , 000 Caffre War 200 , 000 Packet Service .... 800 , 000 52 , 183 , 000
Surplus £ 807 , 000 This surplus of 807 , 000 ? . ( or in round numbers , 805 , 000 ? . ) it is proposed to increase to 2 , 149 , 000 ? . by new taxes , which will yield 1 , 344 , 000 / . during tho present year , and whose ultimate production is anticipated to be as follows : — Extension of income-tax to all incomes between 100 / . and 150 ? . per annum , at tho rate of Bd . per pound . . . £ 250 , 000 [ The tax to remain at its present rate of Id . per pound on incomes above that amount until April , 1855 ; then to fall to Gd . till 1857 ; and then to bo bd . till 18 ( 50 , when it will expire . ] Extension of income-tax to Ireland . . 460 , 000 £ 710 , 000 Prom this in to he deducted tho loss by exempting from tax all sums of income devoted to the purposes of life assurance , estimated at 120 , 000 Not increase of income-tax .... . t'f > S ) O , < XX ) . Extension of legacy duty to real property 2 , 000 , 000 Increase of Is . per gallon in duty on Scotch spirits , namel y , from 3 s . 8 d . to 4 s . 8 ; L' 318 , 000 Xoss allowance for waste on spirits in bond .... 40 , 000 £ 278 , 000 Increase of 8 . per gallon on Jrinli spirits , namely , from 2 n . 8 < l . to 3 . 1 . lit . ^ 238 , 000 1 j < : hm allowance jis above .... 40 , 000 . 198 , 000 476 , 000 Lohn allowance for was to in Knglund ..:.... 40 , 0 ( X ) . 4 , 'KI , 000 Iihtciiso from alteration in Ncalo of licenses to brewers , and dealers in tea , ooffoo , tobacco , mid soup 11 . * J , < XK > £ 3 , 1 ;!»> , ()( ) o The total gain from those now Bonrees will therefore bo U 3 i ) , 000 ? . iVom tliis , howovor , mtufc bo deducted tho
interest upon 4 , 000 , 000 ? ., the amount of the debt due from Ireland in connexion with the establishment of the Poor Law system and tho visitation of the famine , Avhich it is proposed entirely to forego , and for which she has hitherto been liable to an annual charge of 245 , 000 ? . On the other hand , the intended reduction of taxation may be stated as follows : —¦ EXCISE . Abolition of tho soap-tax . ..... £ 1 , 126 , 000 STAMPS . Reduction of the duty on life assui'ance from 2 s . 6 d . per cent , to 6 d . per cent . 29 , 000 Reduction of receipt stamps from the present scale , ranging from 3 d . to 10 s . to a uniform rate of one penny . . . 155 , 000 Reduction of duty on indentures of ap- ^ \ prentiseship from 20 , 9 . to 2 s- 6 d . . . I Ditto on attorneys' certificates from 121 . } - 50 , 000 and 81 . to 9 ? . and 6 ? ., and on articles I of apprenticeship from 120 ? . to 80 ? . J Reduction of advertisement duty from Is . Gd . to Gd ., and abolition of stamp duties upon newspaper supplements . 160 , 000 Reduction of duty on hackney carriages from Is . bd . to Is . per day 26 , 000 ASSESSED TAXES . Reduction of tax on men-servants to a uniform rate of 1 ? . Is . on servants above 18 years of age , and of 10 s . Gd . on servants under 18 ...... 87 , 000 Ditto on private carriages to 31 . 10 s . } 21 ., and 15 s 95 , 000 Ditto on horses and ponies to 1 ? . Is . and 10 s . Gd . . . £ 118 , 000 Less alteration of duty on dogs from 14 s . and 8 s . to a uniform rate of 12 s . . 10 , 000 : — 108 , 000 Alteration in the post-hoxse duties , substituting licenses for lorses and carriages in lieu of tax on mileage . 54 , 000 Reduction of 17 £ per cent , in charge } XT . i- * i for redemption of land-tax . . . / ^ estimated . POST-OFFICE . Reduction of colonial postage to a uniform rate of 6 c ? 40 , 000 CUSTOMS . Reduction of the tea duty from 2 s . 2 \ d . to Is . \ M . till 5 th April , 1854 . Tho duty to descend to Is . Gd . in the following year , to Is . 3 d . the next year , and thereafter to Is . . . . . 3 , 000 , 000 Ditto of duties on apples , from 2 s . to 3 d . per bushel ; cheese , from 5 s . to 2 s . Gd . per cwt . ; cocoa , from 2 d . to Id . per lb . ; nuts , from 2 s . to Is . per bushel ; eggs , from lOd . to 4 < f . per 120 ; oranges and lemons , to 8 c ? . per bushel ; butter , from 10 s . to 5 s . per cwt . ; and raisins , from , 15 s . Qd . to 10 s . per cwt 262 , 000 Ditto of duties on 133 minor articles of food 70 , 000 Abolition of duties on 123 ditto . . . 53 . 000
£ 5 , 315 , 000 " The total amount of relief thus to bo afforded is , " continues the Times , " in round numbers , 5 , 300 , 000 / ., but for the present your it will l > e limited to 2 , 5 G 8 , O 00 / ., while the loss to the revenue , after allowing for increased consumption , will be 1 , G 5 ( J , 000 / , To meet that loss , tho new taxes for the same period will produce 1 , 344 , 000 ? ., making , with the surplus already calculated of 805 , 000 / ., an available aggregate of 2 , 14 !) , 000 ? ., and , therefore , on the 5 th April , 1854 , a favourable balance of 493 , 000 / . is still to be anticipated . In attaining this immediate result tho prospects of the future have been rendered still more bright . In 1854 , tho balance between tho taxxvs imposed and those taken ofrwill give an additional 220 , 000 / . in favour of the country ; and between that period and 18 G 0 , when the G , 140 , () OO ? . of Income-tax is to bo surrendered , the saving from tho reduction of tho Tliree-and-a-Quartor per Cents ., and tho lapse of the Ijong Annuities , and of a larpe amount of terminable annuities , will havo been sufficient to render its rcim posit ion unnecessary . Meanwhile , however , according to past experience , tho revenue will havo entirely recovered itself , ho that tluvse savings , uh they accrue , will , in fact , be applicable ! to now reductions . Under all circumstances , therefore , it is impossible to conceive- that any Hl'ort to obstruct or cripplo tho plan in likely to be attempted . In thu Stock Exchange today thcro seemed to be a feeling that , by noiimi combination against tho extension of tlio Income-tux to Ireland , a peril of this sort might he occasioned , but , looking at tho permanent ; remission of 4 , 000 , 000 ? . of drbt proposed to be granted to that country , while tho Income-fax is only for a limited period , tho adjustment ; appears too profitable to ohallon ^ o opposition , to say nothing of the approval if , would receive on account of its iijlierent justice in any appeal upon the question that might , bo made to tho nation . Another consideration that ullecti'd tho funds this afternoon , watt derived from the fact that , owiiifj ^ to the vigorous extension of Freutnulo principles , to which tho resources of tho rovenuo are now again to Iw devoted , there arc not likely , after tho present quarter , to bo any very heavy huiuh nppli-
Untitled Article
April 23 , 1853 . ] THE LEADER . 387
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Citation
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Leader (1850-1860), April 23, 1853, page 387, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse2.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/vm2-ncseproduct1983/page/3/
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