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"Shall we persevere " he continued "in the system on which we have been acting for the last five years? Shall we in time of peace have recourse to the miserable expedient of continued loans? Shall we try issues of Exchequer bills? Shall we resort to Savings' banks?--in short to any of those expedients which _call_ them by what name you please are neither more nor less than a permanent addition to the public debt? We have a deficiency of nearly L |
5 000 000 in the last two years: _is there a prospect of reduced expenditure?_ Without entering into details but looking at your extended empire at the demands which are made for the protection of your commerce and the general state of the world and calling to mind the intelligence which has lately reached us " [from Affghanistan ] "can you anticipate for the year after the next the possibility consistent with the honour and safety of this country of greatly reducing the public expenses? I am forced to say I cannot calculate on that |
Is the deficiency I have mentioned a casual deficiency? Sir it is not; it has existed for the last seven or eight years |
At the close of 1838 the deficiency was L |
1 428 000; of 1839 L |
430 000; of 1840 L |
1 457 000; of 1841 L |
1 851 000 |
I estimate that the deficiency of 1842 will be L |
2 334 030; and that of 1843 L |
2 570 000; making an aggregate deficiency in six years of L |
10 072 000! |
With this proof that it is not with an occasional or casual deficiency that we have to deal will you I ask have recourse to the miserable expedient of continued _loans_? It is impossible that I could be a party to a proceeding which I should think might perhaps have been justifiable at first _before you knew exactly the nature of your revenue and expenditure_; but with these facts before me I should think I were degrading the situation which I hold if I could consent to such a paltry expedient as this |
I can hardly think that Parliament will adopt a different view |
I can hardly think that you who inherit the debt contracted by your predecessors--when having a revenue they reduced the charges of the post-office and inserted in the preamble of the bill a declaration that the reduction of the revenue should be made good by increased taxation--will now refuse to make it good |
The effort having been made but the effort having failed that pledge is still unredeemed |
_I advised you not to give that pledge_; but if you regard the pledges of your predecessors it is for you now to redeem them |
I apprehend that with almost universal acquiescence I may abandon the idea of supplying the deficiency by the miserable desire of fresh loans of an issue of Exchequer bills |
Shall I then if I must resort to taxation levy it _upon the articles of consumption_ which constitute in truth almost all the necessaries of life? _I cannot consent to any proposal for increasing taxation on the great articles of consumption by the labouring classes of society_ |
" [Is it the friend or the enemy _of the people_ that is here speaking?] "I say moreover I can give you conclusive proofs that you have arrived at the limits of taxation on articles of consumption |
"[3] Sir Robert Peel then proceeded with calmness and dignity to encounter the possible if not even _probable_ fatal unpopularity of proposing that which he succeeded in convincing _Parliament_ was the only resource left a conscientious Minister--an INCOME TAX |
[3] Hansard vol |
lxi |
col |
429 430 431 |
"I will now state what is the measure which I propose under a sense of public duty and a deep conviction that it is necessary for the public interest; and impressed at the same time with an equal conviction"-- [mark by the way the exquisite judgment with which this suggestion was _here_ thrown in!]--"that the present sacrifices which I call on you to make will be amply compensated ultimately in a pecuniary point of view and _much more_ than compensated by the effect which they will have in maintaining public credit and the ancient character of this country |
Instead of looking to taxation on consumption--instead of reviving the taxes on salt or on sugar--it is my duty _to make an earnest appeal to the possessors of property_ for the purpose of repairing this mighty evil |
I propose for a time at least (and I never had occasion to make a proposition with a more thorough conviction of its being one which the public interest of the country required)--I propose _that for a time to be limited the income of this country should be called on to contribute a certain sum for the purpose of remedying this mighty and growing evil_ |
should bear a charge not exceeding 7d |
in the pound which will not amount to 3 per cent but speaking accurately L |
2 18s |
4d |
per cent--for the purpose of not only supplying the deficiency in the revenue but of enabling us with confidence and satisfaction to propose great commercial reforms which will afford a hope of reviving commerce and such an improvement in the manufacturing interests as will re-act on every other interest in the country; and by diminishing the prices of the articles of consumption and the cost of living will in a pecuniary point of view compensate you for your present sacrifices; whilst you will be at the same time relieved from the contemplation of a great public evil |
"[4] [4] Hansard vol lxi |
col |
439 |
We have quoted the very words of Sir Robert Peel because they are every way memorable and worthy of permanent conspicuousness |
In point for instance of mere oratorical skill observe the matchless tact of the speaker |
Conscious that he was about to propose what would come like a clap of thunder on all present and on the country he prepares the way for its favourable reception by pointing out the almost necessarily _direct pecuniary benefit_ ultimately derivable from his unpalatable tax; and the instant that he has disclosed his proposal in the same breath carries our attention to a similar topic--an assurance calculated to arouse the self-interest and excite the approbation first of the commercial classes and then of all classes by the means this tax will give the Minister of proposing "great commercial reforms " and "reducing the cost of living |
" No power of description we possess can adequately set before the reader the effect produced on the House of Commons by the delivery of the passage above quoted and which was shared as the intelligence was communicated by the country at large |
One thing was plain that the Minister disdaining personal considerations of unpopularity had satisfied the nation that a desperate disease had been detected which required a desperate remedy |
It was--it is in vain to disguise that an income-tax has many disgusting and all but absolutely intolerable incidents and characteristics and which were instantly appreciated by all who heard or read of the proposal for its adoption and these topics were pounced upon by the late Ministers and their supporters with eager and desperate determination to make the most of them |
To give effect to their operations they secured an immediate and ample interval for exasperating popular feeling against Ministers and their abominable proposition! But it was all in vain |
There was a bluff English frankness about the Minister that mightily pleased the country exciting a sympathy in every right-thinking Englishman |
_Here was no humbug of any sort_ no obtaining of money under false pretences |
At first hearing of it honest John Bull staggered back several paces with a face rueful and aghast; buttoned up his pockets and meditated violence even; but in a few moments albeit with a certain sulkiness he came back presently shook hands with the Minister and getting momentarily more satisfied of his honesty and of the necessity of the case only hoped that a little breathing-time might be given him and that the thing might be done as quietly and genteelly as possible! To be serious however |
By whom let us ask had this Minister been brought into power? by whom most furiously and unscrupulously opposed? The former were those on whom he instantly imposed this very severe and harassing tax; the latter those whom he entirely exempted from it: the former those who _could_ with a little inconvenience make the effort requisite to protect themselves in the tranquil enjoyment of what they possessed the latter those who were already faint oppressed and crushed beneath _burdens they were unable to bear_ |
Was this justice or injustice? It then _must_ be very contradistinctive--was the Minister in this instance the poor man's friend or the rich man's friend? Was he exhibiting ingratitude and insanity or a truly wise and honest statesmanship? We need _not_ "pause for a reply |
" It has been sounding ever since in our ears in the accents of national concord and of admiration of the Minister who in his very zenith of popularity and success perilled all to obey the dictates of honour and conscience fearlessly proposed a measure which seemed levelled directly at those gifted and powerful classes by whom he had been so long and enthusiastically supported; of the Minister who in fine looked and made the country look a frightful danger full in the face--till it turned and fled |
In spite of all that could be done by his bitter unscrupulous factious opponents in the House of Commons and of the eloquent and conscientious opposition of Lord Brougham in the House of Lords backed all the while by the immediate self-interest of those who were to smart under the tax Sir Robert Peel carried his great and salutary measure in triumph through both Houses without one single material alteration till it became the law of the land amidst the applause of the surrounding nations; for even those alas! too frequently bitter and jealous censors of English conduct and character the French "owned that the English people had exhibited a signal and glorious instance of virtue of fortitude of self-denial and sagacity |
" We have reason to believe that on quitting the House of Commons after hearing the speech of Sir Robert Peel from which we have been quoting Lord John Russell asked a gentleman of brilliant talent and independent character but of strong liberal opinions "what he thought of Peel's financial scheme?" The answer was "It is so fine a thing that I only wish it had been prepared by Lord John Russell instead of Sir Robert Peel!" On which unless we are mistaken Lord John shrugged his shoulders in silence |
His opposition to the income-tax on going into and while the bill was in committee was temperate and even languid; and he stood in the dignified attitude worthy of his ancient name and of personal character far aloof from those who throughout the session pursued a line of conduct unprecedented in parliamentary history degrading to the House of Commons but possibly in keeping with all that might have been expected from them |
We are vastly mistaken if Lord John does not regard them with secret scorn and experience a shudder of disgust from any momentary contact with them; and shall not be surprised if during the ensuing session he should be at no particular pains to conceal the state of his mind |
One circumstance highly honourable to the national character in relation to the income-tax should not escape observation: that comparatively little or no real opposition certainly no clamorous opposition has been offered to the _principle_ of the tax and the policy of its imposition by those on whom its pressure falls heaviest namely the great capitalists and landed proprietors of the kingdom |
"The grasshopper " said Mr Burke "fills the whole field with the noise of its chirping while the stately ox browses in silence |
" The clamour against the income-tax comes mainly from those who are unscathed by it; those who suffer most severely from it suffer in silence |
The inferior machinery of the income-tax is unquestionably very far from attaining that degree of perfection which we had a right to look for from the able and practised hands which framed it |
The outcry raised however against the income-tax on this score particularly on the ground of the heedlessness of subordinate functionaries is subsiding |
There is evident as far as the Government itself is concerned an anxious desire to enforce the provisions of the act with the greatest possible degree of delicacy and forbearance consistent with the discharge of a painful but imperative duty |
We repeat that the outcry in question however was principally occasioned by those who had least real cause on personal grounds to complain; who (unfortunately it may be for themselves) never yet approached nor have any prospect of infringing upon the fatal dividing point of L |
150 a-year in spite of their long and zealous literary services under the very best-conducted and _truly liberal_ Radical newspapers which they have filled with persevering ingenuity day after day with eloquent descriptions of the awful state of feeling in the country on this most atrocious subject |
Where patriotic but most imaginative gentlemen! where have been the great meetings summoned to condemn the principle of the tax? The great landholders the great capitalists the great merchants are pouring their contributions into the exhausted Treasury with scarce a murmur at the temporary inconvenience it may occasion them!--thus nobly responding to the appeal so earnestly and nobly made to them by the Prime Minister |
So moreover are the vast majority of those persons on whom the tax falls with peculiar severity--we allude to the occupants of schedule D--who must pay this tax out of an income alas! evanescent as the morning mist; which on the approach of sickness or of death is instantly annihilated |
These also suffer with silent fortitude; and we think we have heard it upon sufficient authority that it was on these persons that Ministers felt the greatest reluctance in imposing the tax--at least to its present extent only under an absolute compulsion of state policy |
The total or even partial exemption of this class of persons from the operation of the income-tax would have been attended with consequences that were not to be contemplated for a moment and into which it is impracticable here satisfactorily to enter |
The tax undoubtedly pinches severely men of small and uncertain incomes who are striving on slender means to maintain a respectable station in society; the man who with a large family to be supported _and educated_ and who moves in a respectable sphere of society has to pay his L |
9 or L |
12 out of his precarious L |
300 or L |
400 a-year is an object of most earnest sympathy |
Still let him not lose sight of the undoubted hardships borne by his wealthier brethren |
Is it nothing for a man--say the Duke of Buccleuch the Marquis of Westminster the Duke of Sutherland or Lord Ashburton or Mr Rothschild--to have to pay down their L |
3000 L |
4000 or L |
5000 clear per annum as the per-centage on their magnificent incomes in sudden and unexpected addition to the innumerable and imperative calls upon them already existing such as compulsory upholding of many great establishments in different parts of the country--various members of their families--married and single--to support in a style adequate to their rank and position in the country? It is needless however to pursue the matter further |
The plain truth is there is no help for it; the burthen is one that must be borne and it is being borne bravely |
_But why_ must this dreadful income-tax be borne? What has led to it? The vast majority of honest and thinking men in the nation have but one answer to give to the question |
That the income-tax is the penalty the nation must pay for its weakness and folly in permitting a Whig Ministry to get into power and continue in power "playing such fantastic tricks" as theirs for the last ten years both at home and abroad as the nation _ought to have foreseen_ would be inevitably followed by some such grievous results as the present |
This income-tax however let our opponents know will serve for many years to come long after it may have been removed as a memento to prevent the country from tolerating the return to power of men whose reluctant and compulsory exit from power after again doing enormous mischief will be followed by a similar result--will impose on their Conservative successors the bitter necessity of imposing another income-tax |
"The evil that they do " does indeed "live after them;" and without any "good interred with their bones!" With the frightful deficit exhibited by Sir Robert Peel still staring us in the face; the war in the East yet to be paid for; faith to be kept with the public creditor both at home and abroad: a revenue of a _million a-year_ recklessly sacrificed in reducing the postage duties:[5] a deficiency in the last quarter's revenue that tells its own frightful story as to its cause and an all but certain heavy deficiency to be looked for we fear in the ensuing quarter: with all this before him will any _member or supporter of the late Government_--of all other persons--be found hardy enough to rise in his place next session and bait Sir Robert Peel about the repeal of the income-tax? The country will not tolerate such audacity |
We shall not reason with _them_; but to those who like ourselves are smarting under the effects of the late Ministry's misconduct who have a right to complain loudly and indignantly and enquire with eager anxiety when their suddenly augmented pressure is to cease we feel compelled to express our opinion founded on a careful observation of our present financial position and prospects that we see no chance of being relieved from the burden of the income-tax before the period originally fixed by Sir Robert Peel |
Till then we must submit with what fortitude and cheerfulness we may |
Under however a year or two's steady and enlightened administration of public affairs matters may mend with unexpected rapidity; but it is not in the ordinary course of human affairs that evils the growth of many years can be remedied in a moment |
A chronic disease of the body requires a patient course of abstinence and skilful treatment to afford a chance of the system's getting once again into a permanent state of health; even as with individuals so is it with nations |
That the sudden cessation of the drain upon our resources from the East and the partial reimbursement we have already realized will sensibly lighten the burthens under which the Minister has hitherto laboured and make him with joy to realize the expectations which in proposing the income-tax he so distinctly yet cautiously held out as to the period of its duration we may consider as indisputable |
Add to this the pacific policy which Sir Robert Peel and his Cabinet are bent upon maintaining as far as is consistent with a jealous regard to our national honour (and which our late resplendent successes are calculated to facilitate ) and the revival erelong of the revenue concurrently with that of trade and commerce which may be confidently anticipated under our present firm cautious and experienced councils and we may give to the winds our fears as to the continuance of the income-tax one instant after it can be prudently dispensed with |
What however as a matter of _mere speculation_ if the nation should by and by when familiarized with the character and working of the income-tax become more reconciled to it and prefer its retention as a substitute for _the Assessed Taxes_ which at present press so heavily on all but particularly on the working-classes! But while Sir Robert Peel was remodelling the Corn-Laws and creating a new source of direct revenue he also undertook another task--a herculean task one utterly hopeless and beyond the reach or even conception of any but a Minister conscious of occupying an impregnable position in the confidence of the country: we allude to his reconstruction of our entire commercial system as represented by his _new Tariff_ |
What courage was requisite to grapple with this giant difficulty! What practical skill; what patience and resolution; what exact yet extensive acquaintance with mercantile affairs; what a comprehensive discernment of consequences; what firm impartiality in deciding between vast conflicting interests were here evinced! And observe--all these great measures effecting a complete revolution in our domestic economy and policy--the fruits of only a few months accession to office of a Conservative Ministry! All the while that the Radical press was assailing them on the ground of their insolent and cruel disregard of their duty and of the sufferings of the people they were engaged upon the united labours of enquiry and reflection on which alone can have been safely based the great measures which we have been briefly reviewing! "But all these " says some faithful mourner after the deceased Ministry "they intended to have done and would have done _if they could_ |
" Ay to be sure |
Admit it for the nonce; 'twas easy to _say_ it but the thing was _to do it_--quoth Mr Blewitt! That same _doing_ is what we are congratulating the present Ministry upon |