Current:

Leader (1850-1860), 13th May 1854, Edition 1 of 1, Page 435, Untitled Article

Page 435
Page 3
3 of 22

On this page

  • Text (2)

      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.

    • Untitled Article

      Untitled Article

    • Untitled Article

      Untitled Article

  • 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

      expenditure of theidvil governmeat <« f the coantrvamd the whole outlay required by the max ialhts great And glorious year and the interest of the debt in £ he « ame « ocdi £ iaa . w the debt stood before 1793 ; hat the accumaktton ^ chioii came between 1793 and 1806 they were inever able toavertake—so much of the acaumulatian was still 1 g 6 iQg ozu In conclusion , Mr . Gladstone called upon Jthe House to emulate that example of Mr . Pitt and Inn countrymen in the latter years of that statesman ' s administration .

      After vindicating himself from several charges , — in <* wfi » g Dbat of abandoning Income , when be * ad net , like Mr . © Israeli , broken down in tbe attempt to StHbtijust the income-tax , and When hie reform of taxation , had -left him with improved stability of finances « ii 3 te political stability of the House was improved , —be explained bow it'was that he rejected th&advice ** tfo fall back ^ upon the comfortable expedient of a loftn ; " ft was the easy resort -of the Chancellor of the Eiseheq-uer , in going to the city for borrowed money , 1-a « fc first earned for Mr . Pitt the title of « H « aven ^ born Minister . " [ Mr . Disraeli here made ioai « remark across the table , to which Mr . Gladstone replied that he regarded Mr . Pitt with reve-_ teB * se ; but there were great errors in bis 'finance , and especially at the commencement of the war in

      1 * 1 * 3 . 3 " He heard , no doubt , all those plausibilities -we hear now in great abundance , such as * Oh , it ib all for-file benefit of -posterity , and "why should not posterity pay "for it ?* He raa&e a charge of 4 , & 00 ; 000 .., not by attempting to fill his Exchequer with the proceeds of taxes , 'bat by sending into the city and asking for a loan of 6 , 000 , 000 ? . Well , he very sailj accomplished his desire . These was norarpopularity ; quite the contrary . Great skill—much pause , ; gr )|« tttfiec £ , everybody well satisfied . Admirable , financier ! ( Jjoud cheers . ) Why , I mast be as blind as a mole not to * ee that tot ^ personal interest -would lie , and the-interest xS ° Xjtoyeramerit W 6 uld have lain in my-efforts by thismeans , to . get the

      "WiittBl out of the rut j but to get the wheel into the jrut is a process -of much greater simplicity . Be . proposed a loan of 6 , 000 , 0007 . to be added So the sinking fnnaAt an interest of 4 per cent ., amounting to 240 , 000 / - ; and , in aider to meet that , he imposed : new taxes to the amount of 287 jO 0 Oi . That wasi ; he first year oFhis calculation with oespect tothe war , and for the first year you may perhaps . say at was of no jBreat moment . Mr . ritt thought he would cet that loan-. at 4 per cent ., but he did not get the 4 , 50 t ) j 0007 . for less than 41 . 3 a . M . What was the second step in 1794 ? He then borrowed 11 , 000 , 000 ^ , and paid 4 L IDs . 9 d- per -cent .. ; in U 79 S he borrowed i 8 , OBfc < D 00 ? ., and paid 4 Ll 5 a . fid . per cent . ; in 1796 he borrowed 25 , 500 , 0001 , at U . 13 s . M . i An 1797 he borrowed 32 , 500 , 000 * ., at 5 Z . 14 a . lOd-iper cent . Ofltovobserve the effect of £ he policy that . was Heaven-horn . In 1758 he borrowed 17 , 000 , 000 / ,, at 6 Z * ' 4 fl . 9 d , per . eeafe

      , and , such were the evil sources to which he went , that for that 17 , 000 , 000 ? . alone he added 34 , 000 , 0001 to the capital ; . of the national debt , and for the operations of these six years , msiEccessful and inefficient for the purpose of war . he added , in hard money , 208 , 500 , 000 ^ and , in point of fict , he added laearhr 200 , 000 , 000 / . to the capital of the country . Mr wish I is tj ^ fey it opea before you , analtisforvau to decide whether 70 a wul adopt similar principles . ;• "I said that I had veneration for Mr . Pitt's measures , and I will now shewyou "what he did when he became sensible cf his errors . _ He Baw ruin growing on the -country , ; he -saw ' the absorption of its resources ; and he endeavoured to make ' ¦ a gallant effort to retrieve himselE In 1797 he made his

      first effort . He proposed to raise 7 , QO 0 , 0 O 0 Z . by assessed taxes . That plan broke down—other plans , it seems , break down occasionally besides those-of the present day- —that plan broke down , and he only got 4 , 000 , 0002 . Not daunted by his failure , he came forward and proposed to raise 10 , OOQ , OOOi , and 'from that < fime forward bos whole course was one secies -of continued and convulsive efforts . to jrecover himself to . eattricate his country from the frightful consequences of the former laxity , and provide for the recurrence of similar circumstances . As to the amount of this income ,, I believe I should not be stating it too highly if I were to . say that , as far as our national debt stands at this moment , not less than 250 , 000 ) 0001 . has been added to it for which th « nation never

      received a single penny—that -waa the offering sacrificed to capital and thrown in as bonuses -and inducements to subscribe to these loans . 250 , 000 , 0 , 007 . of capital I don't believe is a . n extravagant estimate of the loss consequent upon the enoimoufl errors which had been committed . That was the opening of the sinking fund ; they were continually buying UP stock at 3 , or 4 , ^ or 5 per cent ., and creating it at a . higher rate At the same time ; it was lute a setou in the human body , a perpetual drain on the resources of the country , in addition to the other sad circumstances iof the time . But , as I said before , ' the effort of Mr . Pitt was one that ought to be placed upon record ; he saw the error of the practice of mailing on the first inducement to a loan ; he Baw and lamented

      the effects of that want of moral courage , not in himself alon « , but in the country—for undoubtedly he represented the public sentiments of the country in what he did . It was the error of the nation , and , God knows , the nation suffered for it . In 1798 , he proposed an income-tax as a means of adding not less than 40 per cent , to the rovenuo of the country , and of at once raising the sum of 10 . GOO , OOOZ . towards meoting the expenses of the war . In 1798 the revenue was 28 100 00 OJ in 179 i > it was 25 , 600 , 000 / . ; but the exceas continued to show it was not possible to keep it down altogether even by these aids . Subsequently , in 1803 , the revenue iiad got up to 38 , 600 , 000 * ., and in L 805 , the last year of Mr . Pitt a s lite the revenue of this country amounted to no Iobb than 60

      , 900 , 000 / . —a further increase of 12 , 300 , OOW . with a view to the expensed of the war . In 1806 the Marquis of Laas-( krnne was Chancellor of the Kxchequer , the full income-tax waB put on and raised tlio revenue from 50 , 900 00 QI . in 1805 , to 69 , 800 , 000 * . in 1807 , bciag an increase of 8 , 400 , 000 / l ' rom 180 ( 5 to 1816 the rovonue was never below 60 , 000 000 * . and for some time past . it has not been less than 70 000 00 o 7 . buch was the idea that England , Ireland , and Scotland entertained as to the efforts they ought to make from their own resources for the purpose of meeting the expenditure of what Uwy thought should be necessary . On « single instance of Una ban beou shown by Mr . M'Uullocli , who points out the lact that the whole- real accumulation of our debt lias been owing to the arrears of the early part of the wtir— 1 B 0 G Una w most important—that between 1800 and 1816 , such were he noble mid wonderful efVurts of thu country to doits uuty that the auin miaed was amply sufficient to put tho

      "Their imports were not one-quarter of the imports . of -the present day ; -their exports and their trade -were not onethird of the exports of the present day , for-where they takdan export of 83 , 000 ^ 000 * . you have now an export of 98 , 000 , 000 * finch is the indomitable "rigour , and « nch the wonderful elasticity of our trade iShafc , even under the disadvantage > of a bad harvest -and under the pressure- of war , the . imports from day to day , and . almost from i » our to ihour , are increasing , aod toe very last paper * laid an the table within 48 hours , show that within the last three months x > f the year there is 250 , 000 / . increase in , yonr exports . This is your position , and these are the circumstances under which " we-wish-to appeal to you , in the hope that you will consider that appeal joist and reasonable . We leave it in your hands with confidence , believinc that'th » Parliament and the people of this country will , without hesitation , pursue that course which their dnty . may > dcmand . "

      Mr .-Gladstone resumed Ms seat , after speaking for nearly three hours and a half , amid load cheers , which had ateo saluted Jrim ^ atmany paints in his speech . The resolutions vrere read ^ seriatim , -and were passed after very brief discussion . 3 _ FrJ > iaBAXiJ , for example , objected to < a decision at the memenct , which Mi . Gr& * D 8 T *» CB explained thatihe -had nev < er asked for . Mr . Taoat * s Bakiko pointecUoutj-sdifficulty in equalising the « ugar duties heibrejthe . 5

      of July ; ; and Mx . Gladsione , promised to seeithat no interests should be prejudiced . Jar . Saul , Wit , V ; 4 ^ C 3 B , and other members < objeeted to the increase of the duty « n Irish spirits , naalt , and / so £ brth . Mr . -Gx ^ a ^ bxqke texphdi ^ ed that if the sesolottans wece not passed , the increased du ^ would be evaded ; by « U the stocks in fcond ^ < and ultimately they were passed , that day week being fixed fcribe disexuHion of Mr . Gladstone ' s propositions as . a whole .

      TBie report was brought up on Tuesday , when Mr . E . Ball got up a discussion on the malt'tax resolution , contrary , as Mr . T . Doncombe ineffectually urged , to the understanding of * the jprwious aighk , Mr . Bau took credit to the Opposition £ oar the wsy . theyihad supported the Government in jneasucea for the ¦ wigorbufl-prosecution of the wax , out when four-flfthe of the increase of taxation was to foe thravmupon the landed interest , it was ^ ihefiaia ^ ^ case of iajustioe . This fresh provocation ou ^ ht not Jto haVe "been dBEered to the farmers , and though he luiewTthal the landowners could expect no . ajrmpathy f ijpm a anajorlty of the House , etill he trusted that itr wouia not

      allow those engaged In the cultivation of the seal to he permanently reduced to the condition of "hewerB of wood and drawers of water . He moved the omission of tlie word " malt'" from the resolution . "Mjc Bentincx seconded the amendment , and charged the Government with having , in all-their financial measures , manifested towards the landed interest a ~ hpstility amounting to mabgnity . Mr . Gladstone ! in a brief speech aaid that , if he were to address himself in reply in detail , he should endeavour to refute every proposition which had . been put forward by preceding speakers , and he protested against the aasumption that in proposing this itax

      Government had had the landed interest in their eye . But to enter upon this discussion would be a breach of faith to the House , the proposed mote being' . only formal , and ( designed in order to enable theueveane officers to preveut evasion cf the law , should the House assent to the proposition of Government . Mr . X ) i 6 kakli suggeBtedthat Hie consideration of the resolution should be postponed . . He adduced pEBee dents of former postpojaemeurtB of resolutions , snd said that all he desired mas . . that , the tscheme tof ihe Government should be diaoitesed -as a whole . iHe disputed the assertion of the Chancellor of the Exchequer that the position of the House was by do

      means affected by passing this Tesotation . Lord John Rtjsseli , thought that the House had on the previous night agreed that the whole plan of the Chancellor of the Exchequer was to be discussed on Monday . The precedents cited were , lie showed , entirely inapplicable , and the postponement of the resolution would either cause great loss to the revenue ^> r great irregularity in the officials . He asked the Opposition whether they would depart from the honourable course they had hitherto adopted , and deprive Government of 250 , OOOJ . for a reason wliich it was really difficult to define . He undertook that no advantage should be taken of the resolution being assented to .

      In thesubsequent brief discussion , although Mr . Goulhurn showed that the 250 , 000 / . would go into the pockets of the maltsters , not the landed interest , Mr . Bartcow and others persisted in the charge adduced by Mr . lientinck . In that spirit the House went to a division , and Mr . Ball ' s amendment waB rejected by 224 to 143—majority for the Government , 81 . Tho announcement was loudly and repeatedly cheered on tho Ministerial aide . Tho resolution was agreed to , us were tho remaining resolutions .

      Untitled Article

      May 13 , 1854 ] THE LEADER . 435 _^ . ~ ° ~" " ~ Y

      Untitled Article

      TUB -HSKXTi 1 ST XDXS 3 &Y . _ U 5 * " * ° * Eu « BNBO « ofTjaH put « me questions to the -Becretary-at-War . The first related to the -transport of troops to Tjorkfiy . He said that a sum of 3 , 096 , 000 .. Tiad been voted Tor that purpose . We have already sent U 5 , ooo troops , * ha total number to he sent is 27 , 000 , and the total number of horses fijr vavalry and artillery will probably he about 3000 . jSow , a lady and gentleman can ^ proceed to India , -round the Gape of Good Hope , with every possible comfort for 100 ? . ; so that if every individual soldier "had been sent at the same cost ,-the total expense would Jjave been 2 , 700 , 0007 . The exjBt of convevine

      a gentleman ' s horpe to India is 50 ? ^ which is equal to 250 , 0002 . for 5000 horsesL ; consequently the whole ex-3 > ense of sending this ejcpeditionary force -to 1 ^ 1 % ironld have been 2 ; 95 O , 0 COZ . —that ia , less by 146 ; 000-i ) han it has been to traiasport it to Turkey . < Jom-/ pare with this what had been tlie ^ Expenditure In -former times . In 1808 , when the -currency was depreciated nearly \ 8 jper . cent ., . tie whole Charge fat transport was 2 , 900 , 000 ? . ; but that included 800 , 0002 . "for the maintenance of prisoners of war , tiathst the net charge was 2 , 100 , tK > Oil , or very . neariy 3 , tK ) O , O 00 / . less than the sumreojcuredfortTieizcanspoTt ex ^ enseB of this year , although there were newly 1700 horseji and 2 _ * , 000 men more sent to the Beninsula , than we

      have now sent to Turkey . Certaia deductioni , indeed , must he made ftom the charge for Imuej ^ urti of the preseirt ; yttar , ' £ g * ecaqjB . e : fc : i ^^ curredin 18 Q 8 . 'These ^ mouht in . fihe .. ^ aggregate ^ iiQ 293 , 000 / -, incluaihg ^ O ^^ hi / ch ^ SM ^ ie ; tne : ; iSa ^ aiaiL , This deduction jnakeS ^ &fch « r ^ ep > r ^; hts yj ^ vabbnt 2 , 800 , 000 / . as against ^ . . OOOf . ; bo itnat the jeal d ' rflerence is 70 H ) , O 0 O ? . y and if to this we add ^ WB . WOt on account of thedepre « u « tionM 18 per cent . ? io ! flie currency , the pEacticai diffo ^ Wnecomes l ^^ iiMOL These facts he thought juatifled Irim in Baking for some . explanotian . r , - ^ , The next question , of a totally distinct ~ n * tnre .

      wasin -what manner it ^ s pn ^ sed / b > jiG ^ OTjriineut to payiSie troqps , now' ^ BBrt i ^ . ' ^ ik ' !^ miBJ ^ . . ^ &t Turkish eiirrertny haa flcrnrehifttM *»^ -pWkwwf ;^ 4-y ¥ ff is undergoing still greater dejpreciatiion . "ft ^^ erofbre auite impossible ' ^ 'ilu ^ t ^ io ^ caigabd ^^ caia ' ^ M ^ t ^ pay the . troops . At Malta and ^ 6 k ) rfuthe ^ awcii * ttrar paid in the currency of Engtena / ^ o ^ reye ^ t'the loss winch ihe soloier ^ pifloJhtE ^ t'te ^ . t ( $ ^ ' $ to market witbl large < KJiiL /^ BlpTuih ^<^ h < iught it ^ iivoiilil be desirable to 'St _^_ 3 ' a i ^^^^ iii ^ Bf ^^^ i ' 6 t twopence , "becaTise'iflMgr" * wotild < dorrespbh ^ : aia&Shr with the current value of the . piastre . ILa ^^^^ lordship desiredJto 3 cnow ^ < what'm « asiti ! 0 S : % | -ff 3 e ^ 0 e _ i ^ JI _ h . MK _ b _ -k-4 'J >_« _« -MCVk-M _ 4 ' As >«_ -k * -v « r- «««_ i _ M •* £ & »»«< -iti *» jMt _ M _^_ - _ ii —hi' i-n '^ r i-i

      Turkey . ..,. . '"' " " ' ~ The Duke of'Newoasteb observed that / to ; * awrpsx this last question explicitly :, nii ^ ht jjivse a -veryigiieat advantage to the enenay , while it woifld e ^ ct rod good in this country ; but aH accounts agiee in warranting the belief , that the means df movliig'fhB troops will be sufficient . As xto tb > e amouxii ; of : the estimates for transport ^ Turlcey , tlie ^ WBinimej-t wul give , as it is bouna . to do , a ' fuU exjrtsma ^ ion of the manner in which any money is expenolea f or the conduct of the war , ; but this money in atiestion hag notjsetiee . n expended , and fhe , greatest passibie-mcon veriience would arise if information were ^ fiven which

      would enable those witii whom the tjovemment are nowin iaBea ^ y to deal more disadvantageously to the public'than , they can at the present moment . 3 ? ho argument ilrawri from . the cost of conveying ladies and gentlemen to India , entirely fails ; for ladles and gentlemen do not carry with them many- % h . ouBana tons of auxmumtion , and the vessels wliich convey them to India get return freights ; whilst the vessels engaged for transport to' the East "have not been taken up for the voyage , but for twelve months , and the estimate is based upon the supposition that for twelve months the whole of these vessels will have to be taken . With respect to the question of

      currency ,, it will be recollected that four or five years ago the English sovereign entirely superseded the ofd pillar dollar , which fcad previously been -the standard coin on the eastern shores of the Mediterranean . It is therefore obviously desirable that'the basiB of the currency on which the troops are paid should be the English sovereign j and 225 , 000 have been sent out to the Commissariat Department with 5 O 00 / . worth of English silver—the last being more for the purpose of experiment , in the way alluded . to

      by Lord Elienborough , than for practical purposes . ( In reply to the Karl of Malmesburv , the X > u . ke of \ Newcastle stated that he had that day received : from Admiral Dundas a despatch narrating the bombardment of Odessa , -which he need not read , as their lordships and tho public were fully in . pussession of the circumstances by moans > of idie onejuij 'j ^ y » - >« w papers . Tho despatch would be ipubliaheflr "& ^~~ r ~ QL ^ > y «^ Friday's Gazette ; in the name w » y to 'f ^ SB ^^^ SmM ) & 1 would take care to publish oil information ^ WhfjBffi ^^^^ Ml \* receive of tlie events of the war ipamedt-ctffy ttpflltt ^^ j > // jjt m ^ *^ receiving it ; and having full > appreoiatioij 2 vf t- » o *«« £ & V- ' "A CO anxiety of tho community -a « to ( those ewe ^ liB , ' ^ P , ' ^ rVij ^ ilffijflS * T _) Buoh infornnation arriving at rperioAs mot C 0 ' ^ ^^ S _ fe ' ai ^^^^ l P * with the publication of tlie ordinary G ^ zeMm fOOM ^ A ^^^^ "tf be publislied iu supi ) loraientary Gazettes . ^ . - * j \ ul ^ egffi !^) tT ^

  • Citation
    • Leader (1850-1860), May 13, 1854, page 435, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse-os.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2038/page/3/