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    1198 THE LEADER. [Satprday.

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    THE PARLIAMENT OF THE WEEK. FINANCIAL DE...

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    Throughout The Week The Ministerial Part...

    The aggressive preparations of France continue to expand , and the only question is , where they shall first take effect . The Rhine is the point popularly looked to . Napoleon is devoting his attention to the formation of itk fcfr 0 fcftious arrAji and is unscrupulous in finding the fneans . Out correspondent's assurance , given mo 4 iljs ago , that state lotteries are tb be revived , will jtOOn be verified , and the shocking traffic In jJtttttGralizatidn will aid in swelling the treasury . To the military developments Louis Napoleon attends personally . A new invention of his own will render the

    artillery uniform in calibre and very powerful . By a new plan of recruitment , the whole of the adult male population of France will be rendered available as an army 3 , 760 , 000 strong . No man makes engines on such a scale without a proportionate purpose . Before this fact the other foreign news appears insignificant . Pleased with the submission of Belgium , Napoleon graciously regrants the commercial treaty , and in her coals , restored to favour , Belgium may conceal her tears for the loss of independence .

    Spam pauses in her coup-d ' etat . The Royal household is not quite strong enough to seize absolute power ; and Spain is not civilized enough to be concentrated for seizure in a single night . In more distant lands , the news is like a repetition of old reports . In the United States they aver that the Japan expedition is to set out ; and hence infer that Cuba will occasion no pretext for difficulties .

    At the Cape , more war , with no prospect of an end . On the Rangoon , more war , pedantic old General Godwin taking it coolly . It is evideht that both wars will outlast our floods at home . In California and Australia , gold working continues to make progress ; the produce of Australia within the current year probably exceeding 10 , 000 , 000 / . sterling ; and most of it passing first through the hands of working men ! Think of that , men struggling for sixpence a-day more , to dig up black coal from the darksome pit !

    1198 The Leader. [Satprday.

    1198 THE LEADER . [ Satprday .

    The Parliament Of The Week. Financial De...

    THE PARLIAMENT OF THE WEEK . FINANCIAL DEBATE—DEFEAT OF THE MINISTRY . After four nights' debate of the Budget , Ministers have been defeated by a narrow majority of 19 , in a House of 695 members . The debate was resumed b y Mr . Dayison , who , " member for Belfast , " approved of it . Mr . Cobden , iii prefacing an extended exposition of some of his viewn on taxation , observed that the question ( the House-tax ) did not touch the constituents of tlio member for Belfast ; it touched the taxation of the people of England , who though subjected to Belfast competition , were burdened with a tax from which their competitors were free . Mr . Cobden then approached the general question , giving a telling description of the incidence of the House-tax .

    " 1 say , on the part of Free-traders , that wo do not object to direct taxation when it is shown to us that it ia levied equally on all descriptione of property ; and when it is uhown that a direct tax is one which is beneficial to all the interests of the country . But wo do not recognise the grievances of gentlemen opposite , or any claim arising out of Free-trade which entitles them to eomo and levy a tax on property in the towns in order to relieve property in the country from taxation —( choors )—for that would bo a one-Bided , partial , and unjust system , and just the kind of system which we have boon struggling for the last fourteen years to get rid of by the repeal of tho Corn-lawn . ( Hear ,

    hoar . ) That would be adopting tho odious principle of compensation . ( Hear , hear . ) We deny that gentlemen opposite have Buffered any Iosh which entitles them luciiiau to this House and ask for exemption from any tax that other persons pay . The proposal now made with regard to tho Itouso-tax ib most unjust . What do you propose P You imposo a Property-tax of "three por cent , on all land and on all Iiouhob . You noxt eo to Rchnilulo A . You lay on an additional House-tax of ninopenco in tho pound , making the tax on liouses | o bo at the rate of ( $ 2 per emit , additional as against three pot * cent , on land . Then you

    way , * We want moru monoy by direct taxation , ' and you come with your scheme of compensation , or rather , J nliould call it spoliation ; and vou go to Hohedulo A again , and lay on anauigryiiirieponce m the pound on houeen , or another l \ l l p 1111 'ffilyirfijjl j [ Tl | lhi | M | iyyi tax 1 O £ por cent , on liournm 1441 ff Jf * SBA ^ l ? ''" jlffi rj KHflFTc ^' ' ^ ' J * '' that it ) not all ; for wo ^ l ^ Sw thm j S &^ mngTyi assessment on real property aupU $ r Jwu ^ % yTjfl ^^^ p toAi ) 8 at a lens number of years ' p ( u ?» l <^> ijii ^ wr ^^ land is usually awfenrtod at yW fyf ^^^^^^^^ p ^^ fflP' if you levy tho same tax uif fliMjLwf litWiljTjTOi 1 UWMFy'l'iiil'l'i presiiuro of taxation 1 | r - » avai

    If you invest £ 1000 m land , afcdi & 1 Q 0 Q in houses , while the one is assessed at 30 dears' purchase and the other at 15 , if you lay the same nx on both or them , it is in fact double on the sum invest & q , making actually 1 OJ- per cent , more ; fjid that brings $ 80 whole amount ypu levy on houses up tt » 21 per ~ oen |» 4 < jtnd that is what you propose to levjr ati hiH & es as ag ^ iflst three per cent on land . " T * hh was reviving the contest between town and country . The tax would be especially oppressive on thB saving artisan } feuch men as had through the Igency of Freehold Land Societies purchased cottages worth 101 . a year . Mr . Cobden then referred to the

    Malt-tax . He agreed with Mr . Disraeli that it was a tax for the consumer ; but it was also a grievance on the producer . Therefore , if the revenue could afford iit he would abolish the Malt-tax ; but he objected to the repeal of one-half : he objected to halving an excise tax . Also , he did not believe that beer was a necessary of life—indispensable to the health ' and strength of the labourers . A " large , a growing , and an influential body" [ the Teetotallers ] held it pernicious ; and high medical authorities had testified the same . Thus , the House-tax would press on many unbenefited by the repeal of half the Malt-tax . Even if the House-tax were passed , it could not be maintained : the agitation against it would be continuous , and should be successful

    Touching the Hop-duty the policy of repealing one-half was particularly paltry and trifling ; the tax was uncertain and insignificant , while it was cumbrous and costly in collection ; the total repeal was plainly the proper course . With regard to the distinction between the taxes on permanent and precarious incomes made in the Budget , he gave the Government all credit for a course , remarkable as coming from the " territorial " party . But this good part of the Budget was leavened by a miserable , paltry attempt to get a special benefit for the tenant-farmer ; instead of charging the tax on one-half his rent , you charge it on one-third , when it is clear that the farmer ' s income is in all ordinary cases much more than one-third of his rent . Direct

    taxation was good , but let it be on all incomes and all property : let there be no exemptions ; but this was impossible while you had indirect taxation pressing heavily on the receivers of small incomes and the labouring class . In some instances , the new Incometax would act thus : a farmer paying 2801 . a year rent for 250 acres of land , having horses , cows , and sheep , and employing labourers , would pay no Income-tax ( one-third of his rent not being 1001 . a year ) , while the

    poor clerk in a town , living on 1001 ., should pay 5 % d . in the pound . The advocates of Free-trade were not necessarily the advocates of direct taxation—that was a distinct question : nor were they always seeking low prices : they sought abundance , which sometimes by suggesting a demand , increased rather than lowered prices . Mr . Disraeli called beer a necessary of life ; and how was he going to cheapen it ? -By raising the price of lodgings . Were not lodgings as necessary as beer P A new name also had been found for

    Freetrade— " unrestricted competition —he objected to the name : Free-traders had a right to choose tho name of their own party . Mr . Cobden , after pointing out the injurious naturb of the soap and paper duties , concluded by hinting ( " even though called si Quaker for doing so" ) at tho late increased expenditure [" for national defences ] . He ndmittod that on this account and others tho extension of direct taxation was necessary ; but he could not see any direct tax he could substitute for the Malt-tax . Lord John Manners claimed special credit for the distinction in tho Budget between precarious and permanent incomes , and anticipated from the remission of half tho Malt-tax an increase in the consumption ot the " fine old English beverage" of beer .

    Hero Mr . llich and Mr . Lowe rose together . There were loud cries for " Lowe , " but ho gave way . Mr . Kiori showed , from tho proportion of mult used in making beer , that the proposed alteration woxild afl ' eet the price of strong beer one penny per gallon , and cheap beer scarcely one farthing per pot . Mr . Lowe , taking a wide view of the circum . stanees of tho country , and showing tho surplus that had arisen xnidor th « present system , denied tho necessity of u change in our financial system . Hut this proposed change seemed based on the anticipation that our present unexampled prosperity would continue

    unchecked . Tho proverbial zeal of convertk hud led Mr . DiHraoli to this sanguine view . Look at the emigration of our ]> eopl «{ it was rapid enough . Ifo did not wish to see it increased ; and ho deprecated the impulse that would bo givon to it by measures such an the Hudgol ; , which would forcibly . suggest to the people that there were countries where- there was no Jlousetux , no Income-tax , no asHessed-iaxes , net excise . The Mult-tax proposed to bo partly remitted was a tux easily levied ; conHivmors had never objected to It , und the remission of half tho duty would not cheapen tho cost of l )« ur , for tho monopoly of tho brewers prevented the

    unrestricted compfetifcfeii that could alone cause a ro dudaon in the cc # of production to act upon the prfc ! " There wfts not in this country such an iron monnl i ' or owso difficult to deal with , aid so ^ wSTt & the brewers . It was gaming strength evefylt . ° Jade was constantl y geftitog into fewer hands Si was becoming better and better organised : and tteSlthat by taking 16 * off the cost o ? a bushefof ^ It ^ Jould materially lower the price of malt hW * £ ? that liquor had to pass through the hands of wealthy ^ nopolists , was entirely fallacious . Let them look a li ? t ? at the past . Malt had been very much cheapened bv 5 S repeal of the corn-laws ; and yet every one knew that «!

    consumer had not been benefited in the least . The -wl T of the reduction had passed into the hands of the brewer although it was manifest , without going into details th I the brewers could have afforded a considerable reducHn to the consumer . How was it that prices were kept m notwithstanding the diminution in the cost of production ? The thing was very simple . Persons with large capital possessed themselves of all the public houses ,-and let them to tenants , with whom they made a stipulation with regard to profits . He believed the profit on London porter was 4 s . per barrel ; and considering the expenses incurred by the tenant for rent ; gas , & c , that was an allowance which would be submitted to if the retail dealers

    never were not entirely in the brewers' hands . The result of the syste m was a large amount of adulteration . There was another class of brewers who manufactured beer , which was sold by the retail dealers under the name of bitter beer . He did not know what were the terms on which these gentlemen made beer ; but he did know that both the quart and the pint were getting less , and he supposed that by-and-by they would come down to the size of medicine-bottles . That was the state of the brewing-trade ; and he asked the House what better proof they could have of the existence of an iron and inexorable monopoly , which left the retail dealer no choice between one of two courses—either to

    adulterate himself or to leave the liquor genuine , and take off about a fourth of the quantity ? Now , if that were the state of the case , what chance was there that any part of the 16 c ? . which they were going to take off malt would find its way into the pocket of the consumer ? He thought it would descend , like other reductions , into the pocket of the brewer . There was one course open , without which any reduction of taxation would be absurd and useless , and that was , to break up the brewers' monopoly . But how was that to be done ? If the House were really anxious to give the people cheap beer , let them do away with the system of licensing—let them allow ^ any shopkeeper to sell beer across the counter like any other article . "

    It was also objectionable in the proposition , that the remission was not to take place till the 18 th of October . This revision of taxes not to take effect for some time was " a system of post-obits ; it was raising immediate popularity , and drawing bills on futurity to pay the cost . " But the effect of the system in this case would be , that the reduction in the Malt-tax , instead of affecting the year ' 53 , would not act until ' 54 ; and thus Mr . Disraeli rolieved himself by saddling the deficiency on the Chancellor of the Exchequer for 1854 . He could not anticipate that the expense of the harassing contest in Kaifraria was at an end . As to the Exchequer Loan Commission , he regarded the matter in this point of

    view" The Government had borrowed money on Exchequer Bills in order to lend it out , and they had lent it out at a profit . But , now , was that a legitimate financial operation i He maintained the contrary . It would not bo legitimate lor an individual , and it could not be so for a nation . Jlo would suppose a gentleman to be possessed ot alar elann , and to have no ready money ; ho would supposo him to have an opportunity of putting one of his sons to great advantage in business , but that 5000 ? . was required lor that purpose ; he would suppose him to havo mortgage his estate to tho extent of the 6 CXXM ., on the condition that his son Bhould repay him by instalments according ™ his ability : and lastly , ho would supposo tho sou to " < i ™ relunti

    prospered in tho world , and to havo continual ^ the money until ho had repaid tho whole , llo anked tho House whother a perHon in that situation , having a lanutu estate , as they had in this island , and having a postoiiij , as they had , to provide for , would bo acting as a core u , prudent father of a family , if as ho received tlioso ins amenta ho spent them as part of his income ; or wh ^ i () he ought not to carry them to the account ot the inori | , uf , . Mr . MlMS opined , from the " universal murmur o dissatisfaction" with which the Budget had toon received , that it " must linvo been conceived ma « pn of impartial juHtico ; " but he objected to th « ««™ ' though not " to the extension , of tho House-tux , t >] cially as tho Malt-tax for which it was substituted v- ¦

    not complained of by tho consumer . Mr . BASB defended the brcwora ; tin-re was no " ^ nopoly ; tho elements of huccush in the *» ° ^ [ miperior skill , good management , and the uwial acivi tnges Mowing from large capital . The propone" ««> . Hitm ( if hnlf the Mult-tax would bo boneflcnd to beer-consumers and barley-growers— ¦ Jj ( ir 0 " For himself , he had no hesitation in saying U"i | ¦ ¦ would be a reduction of from 4 , n . to Us . a barrel , ««•• ^^ to tho strength of the beer . ( Hoar , hoar . ) i ^ k ' of course , would not boar so largo a reduction a » ¦ boor ( laughtor ) -and it would Tio quito unroum > u **> ' ^ „ expect any largo reduction in tho price ol ' ' . ,,, „„ . Shouts of laughter greeted this announcoment <> ' ' j ( J irontloman'H , that in Uio particular article lor w » " ^ ho famous , tho public would not experience any b nofit from tho reduction of the malt duty . ] ^ Lord A . Vamjo approved of tho Uudffut . mi .

• Citation
  • Leader (1850-1860), Dec. 18, 1852, page 2, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/cld_18121852/page/2/