Mr. Secretary Yorke moved, that the order of the day for the further confideration of the Lords amendments to the volunteer corps bill be put off to Wednesday. Ordered. Mr. Fofter moved, that the petition of the linen manufacturers, &c. of Ireland be referred to a Committee of the whole Houfe the next day. Ordered. Mr. Fofter brought up a bill to provide that certain public accounts for Ireland, be laid before the Houfe annually, previous to a certain date. Read a first time; to be read a fecond time the next day. BUDGET. On the motion of the Chancellor of the Exchequer, the House went into a Committee to conader further of ways and means for raifing the fupply granted to his Majefty, and the accounts of the produce of the excife, cuftoms, and war taxes, prefented to the Houfe this feffion, were referred to the faid Committee. The Chancellor of the Exchequer began by calling the attention of the Committee to the fyftem which had been propofed last year, and which had appeared to meet with the general approbation of the Houfe, namely, that of railing a very large proportion of the fupplies for the public fervice within the year, by means of war taxes. This fyftem had not only been attended with the beneficial confequences that had been particularly pointed out at the time it was adopted, but had been productive of other advantages of confiderable importance. It had tended materially to leffen the prefure which had fallen upon the commerce of the country, in confequence of the renewal of war, by preventing fo large a portion of the commercial capital of the country, as would otherwife have been neceffary, from being applied to the pub lic fervice by way of loan. Some embarraffinent had, indeed, been experienced, but he hoped it was now nearly fur mounted, and furmounted without any public interference or affiftance. In a former inftance fuch affiftance had been found neceffary, and had been wifely granted by the Leg flature; but the repetition of such an interference in commercial tranfactions, was a proceeding fo contrary to the true principles of trade, that it was in the highest degree fatisfactory to find, that it had now been avoided by the exertion of the fkill, the capital, and the refources, of the commercial body. In his ftatement last year, having affumed that the British proportion of the expences of the war might be taken at at 26,000,000l. he had conceived that if a fum of 10,000,000l. were raised by war taxes, in addition to the ordinary revenues of the ftate, not more than 6,000,000l. would remain to be provided by way of loan; and as the amount of the finking fund exceeded that fum, the total of the public debt would be rather diminished than increased in the courfe of the year. In order to enfure a net annual addition of 10,000,000l. he had thought it his duty to propofe taxes which he had ftated as likely to produce 12 millions; namely, 8,000,000l. by additional custom and excife duties and 4,500 000l. by a direct tax upon property. By the proceedings which took place in the Houfe of Commons, a diminution was occafioned which he had eftimated at about 1,200,000l. caufed by a fufpenfion of part of the excife on wine, and by various exemptions and abatements introduced into the duty on property. He had now the fatisfaction of ftating, that the net produce of the additional customs and excife, in the first half year of their collection, ending the 5th of January 1834, had been 2,221,000l.; to which fum, adding the amount of the duties charged and outstanding on the 5th of January 1804, the total would be no less than 4,389,000l; at which rate, the yearly produce would amount to 8,778,000l. But as in this fum the duty on the ftock in hand of wine and malt was included, and as a part of the foreign fpirits charged with duty might be exported and receive drawback, he should think it neceffary to reduce his estimate of their future annual produce to 8,200,ocol. which fum would nearly agree with the estimate previously formed upon the average confumption of feveral years. With refpect to the property tax, it would be recollected, that it had been originally fiated to the Houfe as likely to produce 4,500,000l. from which estimate a million was afterwards deducted, in confequence of the alteration which took place in the Committee. It now appeared, by the account laid upon the table, that the net produce of the property tax was calculated, by thofe best qualified to judge, at 4,800,000l. allowing for all the abatements which had taken place. This estimate was formed upon a calculation founded upon the returns already received, that the grofs produce will be about 6,000,000l. From this grofs produce, deductions are allowed to the amount of 1,200,000l. and if in the progrefs of the affeffment they fhould prove less than this allowance, the net produce would proportionably exceed 4,800,000l. It was very fatisfactory 4 S 2 to [COMMONS, to obferve, that this tax would be charged on a net annual revenue of individuals to the amount of at least 125,000,000l. while the total upon which the income tax was charged did not exceed 80,000,000l.; and that the increase of affetfments on commercial profits kept pace with that on vifible property; as there were inftances in which the profi's retu ned for the whole of confiderable towns, amounted to more than double the return to the commercial commissioners under the income tax. Thefe circumstances he confidered as warranting him in affuming that the net annual produce of the prefent war taxes would amount to between twelve and thirteen millions; but in the current year, on account of the delay which had taken place in the collection of the property tax, it was probable, that the fum due upon the affeffment of the year 1803, together with at least one half of the affeffment for 1804, would be paid into the Exchequer, making the receipt from that tax within the year to April 5, 1805, 7,000,000l. instead of 4 8000ool And though he had been thought fanguine in eftimating the receipt of all the war taxes, to the 5th of April 1804, at 4,500,000l. yet the total deficiency had proved to be not more than about 700,000l. although not much more than 300,000l. had on that day been received on the property tax; and it was evident, that if even a moderate proportion of that tax had been paid in, the estimate would have been greatly exceeded; and that in point of fact, on the day on which he was fpeaking (April 30), little more than 100,000l remained to be made good. He next ftated to the Committee, that notwithstanding the fyftem of war taxes could not be expected to take full effect within the first year, yet the addition actually made to the public debt in the year 1803, amounted to no more than 3 590,000l. 3 per cent. ftock. He next proceeded to obferve, that great apprehenfions had been expreffed of the effect which the impofition of the war taxes might have upon the permanent revenue of the nation: nor could fuch apprehenfions be deemed who ly groundless, efpecially when combined with the embar affinents occafioned to trade by the continuance of a doubtful negociation, and afterwards by the blockade of the rivers of Germany, and other circumftances attending the recommencement of the war. It was, however, with the utmost pleasure that he was able to state, that these apprehenfions had not been realized. By the accounts on the table it appeared That That the net produce of the permanent taxes exifting in 1792, was in the vear ending the 5th of January, 1803, (including corn bounties) 15,425,000 In the year ending January 5, 1804, it had been 14,984,000 But to this fum was to be added the amount of drawbacks paid out of the revenue of customs, for fugar exported in the preceding year; (fuch drawbacks not being pay ble till a certificate of the landing of the goods has been received from the British conful at the port to which they are exported) which occafioned the payment to exceed what would have been due upon the quantity actually exported within the year, by Making together 416,000 £5.400,000 an amount nearly the fame as that of the preceding year. If, inftead of the old perman nt revenue exifting previous to the late war, he should enter into a comparison of the produce of the whole of the permanent duties, the refult would be fill more favourable. The amount of all the permanent taxes In January 183, was £.28,209.000 30.676,000 In January 1804, Deducting, however, from both thofe fums the duties of 1802 and 1803, which in the fit of those years did not exist, or were not in full collection, the amount in the former year would be 26.252,000l. and in the latter (including the fum abovementioned for, the excefs of drawback on fugar), 26,369,000l. It was neceffary that he should alfo obferve, that at the former period the total amount of the pe manent 'duties of customs and excife outitanding was 4,055,000l. wile at the latter it had increafed to 5,161,000l.-He Then proceeded to ftate the fupply and ways and means of the prefent year: SUPPLIES Vote of credit, including 800,000l. for Ireland 2,500,000 617,000 Ditto (Ireland) including 50,000l. to be voted for civil contingencies 266,000 883,000 400,000 Irish permanent grants Joint charge for England and Ireland 38,703,000 Toulonefe fhips 265,000 Deficiency of malt duty 115,000 American awards 412,000 Exchequer bills, V. C. 1803 1,500,000 2,292,000 Total fupplies 40,995,000 Deduc on account of Ireland as below 4,711,652 On account of England 36,283,348 Exchequer bills on aids 1804, to be replaced by a like amount on aids 1805. Per a& 43 Geo. III. cap. 36. part of 4,000,000l. 3,000,000 2-17ths of the above fum of 38,703,000l. are to be contributed by Ireland 9,500,000 4,553,294 Add for Ireland 2-17ths of 1,346,0431. for civil lift and other charges on the confolidated fund not relating to the public debt Jauf sid 158,358 £4,711,652 WAYS |