HISTORY OF EUROPE. 
quer would ever venture to exceed. 
The same honourable member ob- 
jected to the clause, compelling per- 
sons with smal! incomes to pay ‘the 
duty in the first instance, and go af- 
terwards to the tax office for repay- 
ment, if they desired to avail them- 
selves of their right to the Jegal 
abatement. Such persons, he con- 
tended, were unable to collect a sum 
large enough to discharge the duty, 
and if they did, the trouble and dif- 
ficulty of afterwards recovering the 
money from the tax office, would 
deter them from attempting it, or 
subject them to greater loss and in- 
convenience than the object was 
worth. Mr. Francis could not 
conceive why the interest on exche- 
quer bills, and other floating secu- 
ritics, was not made liable to the 
tax, in the same manner as the di- 
vidends on the funded debt paid at 
the bank ; and he strongly recom. 
mended, that the duty should be ex- 
tended to the dividends, belonging 
to aliens, not resident in the king- 
dom, a measure, which he attempted 
to justify, and reconcile to the 
principles of policy, consistency, 
and equity. 
Of these suggestions the only one 
fully acceded to by the ministers, 
was that of levying the duty on the 
unfunded, in the same manner as 
upon thefunded debt. The propo- 
sal of taxing the property of aliens, 
not resident in the kingdom, was 
shewn by Mr. Fox to be repugnant 
to the principles of sound policy, 
inconsistent with the faith of par- 
liament, and contrary to the fun- 
nial maxim of the constitution, 
that no one should be taxed, who 
was not really or virtually repre- 
sented in parliament. Arrange- 
ments, it was said, would be taken 
to facilitate the recovery of money 
73 
from the tax office; and on further 
consideration the scale of abatements 
was considerably enlarged beyond 
the original intentions of the govern. 
ment, Persons employed in labo- 
rious or handicraft occupations, 
whose wages did not exceed thirty 
shillings a week, were exempted 
entirely from the duty, and the 
abatements in favour of life annui- 
tants and small tradesmen, which 
originally applied only to persons 
with incomes under one hundred 
pounds a year, were extended after- 
wards to incomes of one hundred 
and fifty pounds. Some further 
deductions of less importance were 
afterwards added ; buta motion of 
Mr. Wilberforce to grant an allow. 
ance on account of children, was 
negatived on a division; and the 
clause for levying the full amount 
of ten per cent on all income derived 
from funded and landed property,, 
after a long and interesting discus- 
sion, was carried by a majority. 
In the course of this debate, Mr. 
Fox owned to the house, that he 
was not a friend to the tax, or any 
of its principles or operation; .he 
was sensible the objections to it 
were just and innumerable ; but his 
majesty’s ministers were reluctantly 
forced to adopt it, under the pres- 
sure of circumstances, which they 
had at least the consolation to re- 
fleet they had no share in producing. 
After this public declaration from the 
leading member of his majesty’s go- 
vernment in the house ef commons, 
it surprises us to find, that on the 
third reading of the bill, a clause 
was brought up by one of the secre- 
taries of the treasury, to exempt 
from the operation of the tax the 
stock or dividends belonging to his 
majesty, in whatever name they 
might stand iu the books of the 
bank 
