POSTSCRIPT.
His first proposal was not, he admitted,. received with satisfaction by the country. The disappointment of the agriculturists-was not matter of sur- prise; and the disappointment of the other parties in the country and the House caused him certainly less surprise than regret. But it was impossible he should satisfy a tithe of the demands made upon him.
Before going to details of his plan, he premised some remarks on general financial policy. We- are bound to look far beyond- the present, or the existence of any particular Government. Extraordinary circumstances, im- possible to be anticipated by the acutest foresight, to be guarded against by the most intent caution, must from time to time inevitably happen in so extended. an empire as that of Great Britain. Within a fortnight after his last proposal, they were astonished by the totally unexpected news that another Caffre war had broken out; and only the day before yesterday, he received a demand, on the part of the East Wis. Company, for tire unliquidated costa of the Chinese expedition, to the amount of 460,0001. Mr. Hume scouts the notion of paying off any debt with a surplus : but if we are ever to borrow in debt, and never to pay with a surplus, how can our credit stand ? He felt most seriously on this point; for within the last few months he had heard doc- trines which he considered most dangerous; and when reflecting on that dan- ger, let the House remember that recent-returns show that ofthe persons re- ceiving dividends from the Public Funds, four-fifths take to a yearly amount not exoeeding fifty pounds, anda considerable number only five pounds. It is not the wealthy alone who are interested in withstanding principles which if carried out must asperse our national faith and character. Sir Charles saw no reason to change his estimate of financial receipts, or of the surplus which he may deal with. He still takes the surplus as 1,892,000/. With this surplus he does not attempt to do anything striking; indeed, it should be remembered that the great monopolies are already re- moved—the giants are slain and there remain no more to be encountered.
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It had been objected slain, there was no principle in the proposal he made the other day. "The principle upon which the Budget I pro- posed was founded—the principle I have always advocated, and upon which I have based the commercial and financial measures I have sub- mitted to the House—has been one and the same ;—it has been, to do that which --appeared to me to be most beneficial to the great mass of the population of this country. I have never turned to the right or to the left to consider what would be a benefit to one class or another ; but I have looked to that which, in my opinion, would be most bene- ficial to the great body of our labouring and working population. They, to a great extent, are not represented in this House ; they cannot put press upon those who sit here, which will induce them to advocate their peculiar interests ; and they are therefore, in my opinion, the special objects of the care and solicitude of the Government,—government being in- stituted for the benefit of the many and not of the few. (Much chant. ing.) It was for their sakes that I have always advocated a repeal of the duties upon corn and meat ; that I have endeavoured to cheapen food ; that I supported the repeal of the Corn-laws, and the reduction of the duties upon foreign cattle and provisions ; and that I proposed myself the reduction of the duty upon foreign sugar. It was for their sakes that I have advocated a reduction of the duties upon raw material. It was not to put profit into the pockets of the manufacturers, or wealth into the purses of the merchants, but because I believed that by the free introduction of raw materials employ- ment would be given to the labourer, and cheap clothing would be obtained for his family. We have given them food and clothing, but there remained one other matter of vital importance to them—their dwellings. Honourable gentlemen will, no doubt, remember the report which was laid upon the ta- ble last year, and which was, I think, quoted by the late Sir Robert Peel,. on the crowded and wretched state of the dwellings of the poor in the East- ern counties, detailing the misery and immorality resulting from their being crowded together in unsuitable habitations. It was for their sakes, and to remedy this evil, that I last year carried the repeal of the duty upon bricks. (Cheers from the Ministerial benches, and ementer-cheers from the Opposition.) It is for their sakes that I propose this year to reduce the duty upon foreign timber. So far as tha comfort of the country labourers is concerned, I do not know that more can be done for them ; but there remains another class—that large portion of the labouring population who are crowded in the dark alleys and narrow streets of ourtowns. There is evidence beyond dispute of the effects produced upon them by the dark and-unwholesome character of their dwellings. There is evidence be- yond dispute of the effects which those who are crowded into dark cellars-and ill-ventilated apartments suffer from that cause. We have evidence in-abundance of the stunted growth, the deformed limbs, the broken constitutions, the enfeebled intellects, which are the consequences of the deprivation of air and light. We determined that, as soon as it should be in our power, so far as taxation contributed to these effects, we would do all we could to place the labouring poor in a better sanatory condition ; and that, so far as it depended upon us, we would endeavour to remedy that state of things which was proved beyond dispute to he the cause of this misery and death. I am not ashamed of having made that proposal ; I be- lieve I should have failed in my duty if I had not made it ; and, whatever- fault may be found with the proposal I made, this at least must be conceded by those who opposed it the most, that to this extent I removed every ground of complaint. Theremay be other measures which will tend to the benefitof the labouring classes; this, I believe, was the last one which was indispensably necessary for their comfort and health ; and, whatever the result may be in other respects, this at least I hope we may be able to carry. I shall feel, that having contributed to cheapen their food and clothing, and to give them the benefit of dwellings as cheap as can be afforded, we shall close that course well with measures to bestow upon the labouring population in our towns the unrestricted enjoyment of the light and air of heaven." "I need not detail the complaints made night after night respecting the adulteration of coffee. I ion not prepared to send an army of excisemen into all the grocers' shops in London, and to institute Excise prosecutions in every corner of the land; but I have proposed to meet the evil in the most legitimate way, by reducing the duty and cheapening the price of the im- ported article. These two articles, then, I selected as having a claim for consideration this session. Did I deal with these protecting duties in a ped- dling way ? I proposed entirely to remove the one, and to reduce the other to the extent of one-half; and those who know the circumstances know that it would have been unwise in the present year to reduce that duty fur- ther." The local charge for lunatic asylums, which he proposed to transfer to the Consolidated Fund, and the reduction of duty on agricultural seeds, were not well received by those for whose benefit they were intended : there has been much objection urged to both, and not a word in favour of either ; and he is unwilling to force them on those who are indisposed to receive them. (Laughter.) A loud demand has been made on him for unconditional repeal of the Window-tax : it is enough for him to answer, that the window-duty is 1,856,0001., and the surplus 1,892,0001. What has been the language of the deputations who had so urged him on this subject ?—not that they came to ask a remission of pounds, shillings, and pence ; but to ask the removal of a burden which affects the dwellings of the poor, and one which presses un- fairly on the assessment of houses. The principle of a uniform tax on old and new houses is undoubtedly the just one ; but no uniform rate will give anything like equal relief. Sir Charles therefore proposes to omit all re- ference to the number of windows—leaving- it out of consideration what number of windows or openings there may be, and getting rid of every ob- jection which can be stated upon sanatory ground", and affording great relief to all or nearly all parties. "I propose to take a uniform rate of 9d, upon dwelling-houses, and 6d. upon those houses which contain shops. It will be remembered that I proposed before aa to new houses that a duty- of le. in the pound should be imposed upon dwelling-houses and a lower rate of duty upon those dwelling-houses a portion of which was used as shops, or which were occupied by innkeepers, or used as farm-houses. Shops pay at pre- sent a lower rate, and !propose to continue that distinction. The duty which I shall propose will be a uniform rate upon all houses, old and new, of 9d, in the pound upon their annual value, and 6d. upon any house a part of which is a shop, or which is a victualler's, or occupied for the occupation of land. It will ,
be remembered that I proposed to exempt from taxation altogether all houses not exceeding 201. in annual value ; I propose to retain that exemption." In this way, he would get rid of all reference to windows in any shape what- soever reduce the number of houses paying tax at all from 500,000 to 400,0015; exempt, for the first time, shops, victuallers' houses, and houses used in the occupation of land ; and relieve a taxation to the amount of 1,136,0004—for the tax he would retain would be about 720,0001. instead of 1,856,0001. In reference to the incidence of the tax, he said—"It is true there are some few cases in which even under this proposal a house will be raised in taxation ; there are some cases so anomalous, that it is ut- terly impossible to deal with them on principle. I find, for instance, that in one street in Liverpool there are two houses which have eight windows, paying 18s. hi. and assessed at 1301. a year ; a proof of the inequality of the window-tax, and of its utter unfairness in reference to value." "The better streets, where the value is high, will not be relieved to the same extent as i
those n which the value is depreciated. Houses in the country where the value is less in proportion to the number of windows, will be relieved more than those in the fashionable parts of town. The old-fashioned houses of country gentlemen will be relieved—I do not know that I can speak-as to new houses. The houses of most country clergymen, I believe, will be re- lieved. A relief will be extended to farmers paying between 2001. and 3001. a year, which would not be afforded by any reduction of income-tax ; for farm-houses upon farms of 200/. a year pay window-tax, but there is no income-tax upon a rent of less than 3001. a year, whereas by the proposal I make in almost every case there will be a very- material reduction of the tax paid, and in most cases of this amount I am inclined to think a total exemption' because I believe very few farm-houses, where that is the amount of rent, would be assessed at 20/. a year or upwards." The effect of the alterations Sir Charles explained by a mass of instances. -"In Marvlebone and St. Pancras, the amount at present paid for window- 4itt‘010s1.921020Ilec;T:tnger Tytlleapnreistenwilt.playb;e5n0tI22.1.101137i1;igitaxr ucitifou be 1,900/., being a reduction of 300/. in Finsbury Square, the present pay- ment is 725!.; the future will be 250/., being a saving of 475/. In Portman Square, the present paymentis 740/. • the future will be 6101., reduction 1301. In Belgmve mire, there will actually be an increase of 101.; the present payment is 1., the future will be 1,0001. The gentlemen who reside in Belgrave Square, however, will probably have houses in the country also and the reduction of the tax upon those will indemnify them for the slight increase in the duty payable on their town houses. Taking the two things together, they will be as much benefited by the alteration as those who do not live in so fashionable a quarter as Belgravia. It is difficult to get any re- turn showing the operation of the tax in an exclusively rural district. I have however, procured a return of forty:tivo of the best houses—those paying the largest amount of window-duty—in six counties, and I find that the effect of the change I propose will be the reduction of the duty payable by them from 20401. to 5674 In Liverpool, the reduction will be from 19,600/. to 9500/. in Manchester, it will be from 30,000/. to 15,0001. ; in Birmingham, from 18,4001. to 84001. In the town represented by my noble friend who takes so much interest in this question, (Lord Duncan, Member for Bath,) which I am afraid is not so fashionable as it used to be, the relief afforded will be in greater proportion than in the cases I have already referred to, for the charge for duty will be reduced from 23,000/. to 7500/. The greatest amount of relief will be afforded in the cases of those houses which have a larger number of windows or openings than is proportionate to their annual value." The grand result is, that of the 3,500,000 houses in the kingdom, he exempts 3,100,000, and levies the tax only on 400,000 of the most valua- ble houses.
The combined lose from the reductions on coffee and timber (400,0000 and from the window-duty (1,186,000/.) will be 1,536,0001.; and this will leave a margin of surplus amounting to only 356,000!.; or with the window- tax due for the present half-year (568,000/.) a surplus for this year of 924,0001. towards any unforeseen demand. In conclusion, Sir Charles referred to the Opposition tactics on the Income- tax. He admitted that the tax was imposed to meet a deficiency ; but it was continued for a different purpose—to enable an improvement in financial legislation, still unaceomplished, by the removal of impolitic restrictions on industry and commerce. But he emphatically reserved details till Monday.
Sir Charles Wood's statement was delivered with spirit and confidence; and the general expression of opinion which followed was in a tone of moderate approval. Mr. HERRIES, however, complained that the discus- sion of his motion for Monday to reduce the Income-tax should have been forestalled by anticipatory objections : he hoped on Monday to in- duce the House to pause before they made this tax, as they would if they adopted the proposition before them, unavoidably perpetual. Mr. HEN- LEY contrasted the highfiown principles enounced in reference to a safe surplus, and the necessity of a perfect guard against unforeseen demands on the Exchequer, with the miserable and dangerous conclusion of con- tentment with a surplus of 300,0001.
Lord JOITN RUSSELL reproached Mr. Ironies with having made an after- dinner party speech against the weakness of Government. Mr. DISRAF11 replied with a gay defence of after-dinner speeches ; and taunted Sir Charles Wood with having forgotten his sympathy for the agricultural nterests because his boons had been laughed at for their littleness.
The formal resolution moved by Sir Charles Wood, to continue the In- come-tax and the Irish Stamp-duties, "for a time to be limited," was passed nemine contradieente.
Earlier in the evening, Sir BENJAMIN HALL brought under the atten- tion of the House the letter from Lord Londesborough to the Times, de- scribing a baptismal incident at Brighton by which his parental and reli- gious feelings have been violated. Lord Joins RUSSELL deprecated reference to this matter ; and introduced information on a point of wider interest. An address signed by 320,000 persons had been presented by the Home Secretary to the Queen, praying that certain usages not hitherto in practice in our Church should be discontinued. The Queen has commanded Sir George Grey to refer the address to the Archbishop of Canterbury for communication to the Prelates, and to state by letter that her Majesty's wish is to discourage any innovation not in conformity with the law and the established usages of the Church. That letter was communicated two or three days ago, and will no doubt be soon before the public.
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