120] ANNUAL REGISTER, 1818. 



mao had rested his motion on 

 two distinct grounds : first, the 

 expectation which, consistently 

 with the good faitli of parliament, 

 was entertained of the repeal of 

 this tax in time of peace ; and 

 secondly, the oppressive nature 

 of the tax itself, v/hich bore un- 

 equally upon the community, and 

 the utter impracticability of ren. 

 dering it extensively productive. 

 With regard to the first of these 

 grounds, it rested entirely on a 

 fallacy. Though when originally 

 proposed in Ireland it might have 

 been contemplated as a war tax, 

 yet having been, from time to 

 time, enacted and at length 

 pledged as a security for certain 

 charges on the consolidated fund, 

 it appeared to him to have lost 

 that character. In fact, it could 

 not be repealed without acting 

 unjustly to the public creditor ; 

 and it would be most dangerous 

 if, to confer a boon on any body 

 of people, the legislature were to 

 depart from those great princi- 

 ples which formed the basis of 

 public credit. It was a fact well 

 known, and which showed that 

 the faith of parliament was not 

 pledged for the removal of this 

 tax at the end of the war, that 

 the same chancellor of the ex- 

 chequer, Mr. Corry, who pro- 

 posed it in the Irish parliament, 

 made no jproposition for its repeal 

 at the time of tlie peaceof Amiens. 

 In the next parliament the tax 

 was continued; and its having 

 been pledged for a part of the 

 debt, they could not, on any 

 principle of good faith, have en- 

 tertained such a proposition. If 

 it could, indeed, 1 e proved, that 

 Ireland brought more than her 

 /•egular proportion tg the oonso- 



lidated fund of the united king- 

 dom, it would be a reason for 

 entering into a minute considera- 

 tion of the subject. But this was 

 not the case. The expenditure 

 of Ireland, at the consolidation of 

 the two treasuries, was 6,500,000/. ; 

 herrevenue was short of4,500,000/. 

 So that the whole deficiency, 

 amounting to two millions, might 

 be said to arise from that conso- 

 lidation. The supply for Ireland 

 being raised by loan, consider- 

 able taxes were pledged as a 

 security for the necessary charges. 

 Here, two millions were raised 

 on additional taxes, without touch- 

 ing that part of the public reve- 

 nue pledged for the public ser- 

 vice. With respect to the other 

 part of the hon. member's argu- 

 ment, he allowed that the assessed 

 taxes, and particularly the win- 

 dow tax, had been increased with 

 a rapidity, and to an extent, 

 Avhich defeated the object sought 

 to be attained, that of producing 

 a steady permanent revenue. Per- 

 haps it would not be improper to 

 grant a certain degree of relief to 

 the people of Ireland with respect 

 to this particular tax. The sub- 

 ject had not escaped his attention, 

 and he had prepared a schedule 

 from which it would appear that 

 a considerable relief would be 

 extended to them. The relief to 

 those on whom the tax pressed 

 most heavily would be 25 per 

 cent : to others a smaller degree 

 of relief would be granted. He 

 hoped that the distress under 

 which Ireland had laboured, was 

 in progress of removal. He felt 

 a strong conviction, on examining 

 the accounts laid upon the table 

 of the House, that the trade of 

 the country was improving, that 



industry 



