RETIREMENT OF BISHOPS.-QUESTION. I ledge of the Colonial Office that a Bill

for the withdrawal of public Grants for SIR MASSEY LOPES said, he would ecclesiastical purposes in the Bahamas, beg to ask the First Lord of the Trea- after being twice carried by the House sury, If his attention has been drawn to of Assembly, has been rejected by the the expediency of making some adequate Legislative Council, notwithstanding that provision for the retirement of those in the interval between its first and Right Rev. Prelates who, either from second introduction, the policy of the their advanced age or from mental or measure was affirmed at a General Elecphysical inability, are permanently in- tion in the Colony; and, whether it is capacitated from performing the duties intended to take any step to ensure that which devolve upon them ?

respect shall be had to the wishes of the MR. GLADSTONE: I have observed, Colony, as constitutionally expressed ? Sir, with very great regret, as I think He wished further to ask, What was the all Gentlemen in the House must have state of the Revenue in the Colony at observed, that, at the present moment, the time, and what proportion the Episno inconsiderable number of dioceses copalians bore to the other inhabitants are, in a great degree, deprived of the of the Colony ? advantage of responsible episcopal go- MR. MONSELL said, he would beg vernment, through the illness or the in- to inform the hon. Gentleman that, in firmities of old age of several of the the month of April last, the House of Prelates; and no doubt it would be de- Assembly of the Bahamas passed a Bill sirable that some adequate provision for the disendowment of the Churches should properly be made for the purpose of England and Scotland. That Bill of meeting the case.

At the same was thrown out by the Legislative Countime, looking at the effect of any such cil. In consequence of the action of the provision on the arrival of episcopal va- Council, the Assembly asked the Govercancies, I think it is a matter on which nor to take the sense of the community it is desirable that the Executive Go- by dissolving the Assembly. This the vernment should, if possible, not proceed Governor refused to do, whereupon the on the authority of their own judgment House of Assembly adjourned for three only. It is very much to be desired that weeks without passing the Appropriathe Bishops of the Church themselves tion Bill. The Goverment was, in conshould consider the matter, and, if pos- sequence, left without any funds for carsible, propose a plan, for the purpose of rying on the public service, and the Goapplying a remedy to the evil. I am not vernor was compelled to dissolve the authorized to make any communication House of Assembly. In the month of of a definite character on the part of the August they again re-as

assembled, and Right Reverend Bench ; but I am under passed a Bill with the same effect; but the impression that their attention has this time the Legislative Council did not been given to the subject, and I there- actually reject the Bill, but merely postfore hope that some result of their deli- poned its further consideration until berations on it may within a reasonable next Session. Meanwhile, a new Govertime appear. Of course, I do not mean nor had gone out to the colony, and the to say that the Government are pre- Assembly had met again in February; cluded from considering it, and making but he (Mr. Monsell) had no further insome proposal in case the Bishops do formation of any further action with renot; but I think the House will be in- gard to Disendowment Bills. As to the clined to agree with me, that it is desi- latter part of the Question of the hon. rable that the Bishops themselves should Member, he might state that the prebe associated from the very commence- sent revenue of the colony was about ment with any proposal we may find it £30,000; but the colony was spending our duty to make.

about £40,000. With respect to the

proportion of Episcopalians to the whole BAHAMAS – ECCLESIASTICAL GRANTS. population, the hon. Gentleman would

find the information in a Return which QUESTION

had been moved for; but, according to MR. MIALL said, he wished to ask his (Mr. Monsell's) own recollection, the the Under Secretary of State for the proportion of Church of England memColonies, Whether it is within the know-bers was about one-tenth, and the en

a

:

dowments of that Church were about Resolution did this, or whether it would £3,700 a year.

not be necessary to effect it by a Supple

mentary Resolution ? HUDSON'S BAY COMPANY.-QUESTION. THE CHANCELLOR OF THE EXCHE

VISCOUNT BURY said, he wished to QUER: If it were necessary to propose ask the Under Secretary of State for the any Supplementary Resolution it would Colonies, If he will lay upon the Table be done ; but we think there will be no

It is the intention of the answer given by the Hudson's Bay necessity to do so. Company to the proposals of the Govern- the Government to abolish these Duties. ment respecting the cession of territory heretofore held by them ?

THE FINANCIAL STATEMENT. MR. MONSELL said, in reply, that

QUESTION. whenever the answer of the Canadian MR. WALPOLE: Sir, before we go Government was received the whole of into Committee of Ways and Means, I the Correspondence would be laid upon wish to ask Mr. Chancellor of the Exthe table.

chequer a Question of which I have

given him private notice. It is, WheWORKSHOPS REGULATION ACT IN

ther he will give the particulars of the BIRMINGHAM.-QUESTION.

Duties to be paid in January next, under

four heads-namely, Property and InMR. AKROYD said, he would beg to come Tax, Land Tax, Inhabited House ask the Secretary of State for the Home Duty, and Assessed Taxes ? Department, If the Workshops Regula

THE CHANCELLOR OF THE EXCHEtion Act, 30 and 31 Vic., c. 146, has been QUER: Sir, the property and income enforced by the Local Authorities at tax, which will be payable under the Birmingham; and, if not, what steps he scheme of the Government, will be intends to take to fulfil the provisions of id. less than I took credit for, bethe said Act ? MR. BRUCE, in reply, said, he was was taken when I assumed the income

cause in stating the matter that credit sorry

to
say

that the Act had not been tax to be 6d., and we propose to reduce put in force in Birmingham, although it to 5d. Therefore the amount of the he believed there was no great town in property and income tax from Schedules the Empire that required the application A, B, and D, which we expect to receive of that Act more strongly than Birming- in January, will be £1,500,000. As to ham. The Secretary of State had no the land tax and the house duty, compulsory powers to enforce the atten- which, as my right hon. Friend knows, tion of the local authorities to the Act. come to pretty nearly the same amount All he could do was to remind them of

--namely, between £1,000,000 and their duty. He wished to defer answer- £1,100,000—we expect to receive the ing the Question as to what steps he whole of them pretty well in that time. intended to take until the Government This is an excess of what they would have had had an opportunity of discussing been if received in April of £950,000. the whole subject more fully, which he As to the assessed taxes, the Excise was happy to say would be shortly given. licenses which are substituted for them,

will amount, in round numbers, to IRELAND-HACKNEY CARRIAGES IN

£1,000,000. These are all receivable in DUBLIN.-QUESTION.

that quarter, but I do not expect to reMR. VANCE said, he would beg to ceive above three-fifths, amounting altoask Mr. Chancellor of the Exchequer, gether to £600,000. The three sums What course he intends to take in re- receivable in that quarter above the orspect to the Duty paid to the Crown dinary revenue will be £1,500,000 for by the owners of Hackney Carriages in property and income tax ; £950,000 for Dublin ?

land and house duty; and £600,000 for THE CHANCELLOR OF THE EXCHE- Excise licenses, which are to be paid inQUER: Sir, the hon, Gentleman will stead of assessed taxes; amounting altofind, if he looks at the Resolutions be- gether to £3,050,000. fore the House, that it is the intention of the Government to abolish that Duty.

DUTY ON CORN.-QUESTION. MR. VANCE said, he wished to know Mr. PIM said, he would beg to ask whether he rightly understood that the Mr. Chancellor of the Exchequer, Whe

OBSERVATIONS.

ther the Government will allow a draw- THE CHANCELLOR OF THE EXCHEback of the Duty on Corn which may QUER : Sir, I am sorry that I am not have been paid after the announcement able to go into the details of this matter, of the abolition of the Duty and the but I have referred to the Department passing of the Resolution ?

of Customs, and am informed that staTHE CHANCELLOR OF THE EXCHE- tistics can be obtained under the proQUER said, it was not the intention of posed system with almost as much accuthe Government to allow a drawback on racy as under the present, which renders corn now in the hands of importers. it necessary to look very much to the Corn arriving in our ports that day merchants' accounts. As to the precise would be, so far as he knew, subject to manner in which it is to be done, I am the duty, and he presumed that, accord- sorry to say I cannot inform the hon. ing to the usual practice, it would be Gentleman. subject to the duty until the Resolution MR. NEWDEGATE said, the right was affirmed.

hon. Gentleman would excuse him for

repeating the Question, having been, as ESTABLISOED CHURCH (IRELAND) BILL. the right hon. Gentleman would, of

course, remember, somewhat intimately MR. DISRAELI: It will, Sir, per- acquainted with the origin of this charge. haps, be for the convenience of the Go- He hoped, therefore, the right hon. vernment and of the House to know Gentleman would be good enough to that it is my intention to lay upon the make inquiry as to the nature of the table to-night the Amendments which I proposed regulations, and on a future propose to make

upon

the Irish Church day to give the information to the House. Bill, so that I hope they may be in

Mr. CORRANCE: Sir, the discussion the hands of hon. Ĝentlemen to-morrow upon the Budget has been somewhat morning

protracted, and to those who have felt

bound to listen to it throughout suffiWAYS AND MEANS.-COMMITTEE. ciently wearisome, no doubt. I will not Considered in Committee.

add to their sufferings at any length. (In the Committee.)

It is exceedingly clever, and if I may

judge by the observations made, someMotion made, and Question proposed, what unintelligible to most. It is an "That the Duties of Customs chargeable upon experimental Budget, and as such, upon the articles under-mentioned, imported into Great the responsibility of the introducers, it Britain and Ireland, shall cease and determine, must be tested by that best argumentriz. :-Corn, Grain, Meal, and Flour, and articles of the like character, viz. :- Wheat; Barley; fact. This we cannot arrive at for a Oats ; Rye; Pease ; Beans ; Maize or Indian year hence; and the necessity for general Corn ; Back Wheat; Bear or Bigg ; Wheat Meal criticism may also be conveniently postand Flour; Barley Meal ; Oat Meal and Groats ; poned until that date. Nevertheless, Rye Meal and Flour; Pen Meal ; Bean Meal: there may be some points which admit Maize or Indian Corn Meal; Buck Wheat Meal; Meal, not otherwise enumerated or described of reasonable doubt, and it may be

perArrow Root ; Barley, pearled ; Biscuit and Bread; mitted to us to express this. It seems Cassava Powder; Maccaroni ; Mandioca Flour; to me pretty broadly that the right hon. Manna Croup; Potatoe Flour; Powder, viz. Gentleman having got 2d. out of us for Hair ; Powder

, Perfumed; Powder, not otherwise the Abyssinian War, is going at some enumerated or described that will serve the same purpose as Starch ; Rice Dust and Meal ; Sago ; future time, like an honest man and a Semolina ; Starch ; Starch, Gum of, torrified or good financier, to give us ld. back. I calcined; Tapioca ; Vermicelli.”

speak generally when I say this. Of MR. NEWDEGATE said, he wished course, as he cannot keep it, he will give to put a Question to the Chancellor of the other to somebody else, and my the Exchequer. Under what regula- doubt is founded on this. Passing over tions, penalties, and inducements, he minor details of hair powder and puppy wished to know, was the registration of dogs' tails, the real application of this corn imported into this country to be tax is to the remission on corn. Well

, carried out in future? The question let me remove the right hon. Gentlewas an important one, and in the House man's manifest assumption that I am generally he noticed a disposition to going to contest the propriety of this insist upon more accurate statistics than upon the ground of class interest, at had yet been furnished.

least. Let it be broadly admitted, that

consumer.

under existing circumstances, and in pre- 1 of 18. per quarter upon it than it is to roast a pig sent times, the agricultural classes want without burning down a house. Again it cannot

be called a mere registration duty, for you bare no shreds or rags of Protection. They

an enormous number of collateral duties on articles want Free Trade, and they are also de

like tapioca, arrowroot, sago, flour, meal, and so termined that this doctrine shall be fairly on, all kept upon your tariff for the purpose of carried out. I admit that under pre- acting as outworks and bulwarks to protect this sent prices the claim could not be set particular duty.”—[Ibid., 386.] up. But if I entertain doubts they are Sir Robert Peel did not say that it was of another class. To them I call the only for purposes of registration; he said attention of the House. I confess I was that you must have all the staff of offiinsufficiently satisfied with the right cials, and that by these, therefore, the hon. Gentleman's argument upon this. registration could be carried out without He assumed too much and proved too additional expenses. But when he tells little in this case. He held that without us that, doubt the remission would reach the “ You may put a duty on these articles for the

Now, is this the case ? It protection of the Revenue ; but why should you may be one of the new lights, but upon easily be effected without it? It was clearly the

do it for mere purposes of registration, which can no mean authority it has been held not. intention of its founder that it should operate By Sir Robert Peel, and if I mistake only as a register ; but it really is, and it has now not, by the right hon. Gentleman who come to be regarded as, a source of Revenue.” now leads the Treasury Bench, it was, Il –(ibid., 386, 387.] say, held that this small duty could be This much we can admit, and it is, perlevied for purposes of revenue, and that haps, upon this very ground that we it did not in any way affect the price. may entertain doubts whether or not it This may to tyros seem a paradox, but is wise to remit such a tax. What, howthe right hon. Gentleman, as it seemed ever, does the right hon. Gentleman say to me, explained it himself. What did of this ?he tell us in another case? Why, that as “And what sort of a source of Revenue is it? regarded currants whatever we remitted It is impossible to imagine any tax which comwould, of course, be put on by Greece.

bines more of the qualities that make a tax odious Well, the principle is the same, the only duced in England with no countervailing Excise

--that is, it is a duty on an article that is prodifference may be in the condition of the duty upon it; it is there effectual as a protective

None but doctrinaires expect to duty—that is to say, it not merely raises the find such absolute rule, in practice at price of the portion of the article that pays it, but least. But, Sir, the right hon. Gentle- also raises the price of the portion of the article man tells us that it was curious that that does not pay it.”—[Ibid., 387.] Sir Robert Peel should hold such lan- Well, if one-half of this was true, no

doubt; but it is mere assertion nevertheguage as this— "Sir Robert Peel seems curiously to have offer one tittle of proof. Does it raise

less. The right hon. Gentleman did not thought that a tax of 1s. per quarter on corn, or of 3d. per cwt., as it is now paid by weight in the price here ? this is what we doubt; stead of by measure, was really no tax at all. For indeed the right hon. Gentleman almost so great a financier the language that he holds up- admits as much. He

says on this matter is very remarkable. In his speech in 1846 he says—I propose, therefore, that one

“ The consumption of wheat in this country is article of grain, which I believe may be applied to about 22,000,000 quarters annually; the imports the fattening of cattle, shall henceforth be im

are about 8,000,000 quarters, and the home

I do not ported duty-free; I mean maize. I propose that growth about 14,000,000 quarters. the duty on maize shall be merely nominal."

mean to say that the price of the whole 14,000,000 [3 Bansard, cxcv. 386.]

quarters grown at home can be sensibly raised by

this tax, but I feel no doubt that the price of a He means, I presume, that it was curious considerable portion of it is, and no one can exthat Sir Robert Peel should have differed actly say how much."-[Ibid., 387.] with himself, and that of course he is He believes upon ground of belief, he right; but we may not all see it in that neither supports by statistics or facts. light. Nor do I think he did justice to On general principles he claims assent to the argument of Sir Robert Peel when

this. He he speaks thus

says* That this duty is something more than a kind we cannot trace its exact incidence or mea.

Although in the case of a small duty of this mere registration duty is evident, I think, from two considerations, The first consideration is

sure the exact amount of the mischief it does, that it is perfectly easy to register the arrival of surely there is such a thing as faith in politics corn without it; in fact, it is no more difficult to

as well as in religion."-[Ibid., 388.] register the arrival of corn without levying a duty Well, Sir, the right hon. Gentleman may

case.

He says

have more than most, but when he once , cantile class. But, Sir, let me say thismore asks us

if it could be proved that by such means “If we can take nothing on the strength of any real or solid advantages would accrue abstract reasoning, and everything must rest upon to the consumer or the mercantile class, statistics, which it is impossible to obtain in such then, depend upon it, the agricultural cases, then we may as well burn our books on

interest would most willingly forego the political economy, and economic science is altogether useless.”—(3 Hansard, cxcv. 388.]

slight advantage it can afford to themBefore we can accept such wholesale selves. The real sufferer will be the conclusions as this, we must, at least,

of the income tax. One word more

payer learn from whom they proceed, and the upon this: there is one consequence of right hon. Gentleman is neither infalli- this Act to which I call the attention of ble nor immaculate in this case.

It was

the House. The right hon. Gentleman to the right hon. Gentleman that Mr. has imagined a case. Mill addressed these words in my hearing

“ If we want to get at the real evils of the tax, in the House

let us imagine ourselves applying to it the same

rules as we apply to all other protective taxes, “ In my right hon. Friend's mind political and put a countervailing Excise duty on the economy appears to stand for a set of practical home-grown article. Just fancy the exciseman maxims. To him it is not a science, it is not an

let loose upon the barns and the stores of the exposition, not a theory of the manner in which farmers and the corn-dealers, collecting a tax of causes produce effects: it is a set of practical 3d. per cwt. on their corn all over the country, rules, and these practical rules are indefeasible. What a sensation it would create !”- [3 Hansard, . . So far from being a set of maxims and

cxcv. 387.] rules to be applied without regard to times, places, and circumstances, the function of political Now, Sir, there is such a countervailing economy is to enable us to find the rules which duty in this case, which he has forgot. ought to govern any state of circumstances with The Custom House officer does come to our which we have to deal-circumstances which are never the same in any two cases. ... Political barns and granaries, and to a proportioneconomy has a great many enemies ; but its worst ate effect it does create the sensation the enemies are some of its friends."—[3 Hansard, right hon. Gentleman describes, and it cxc. 1525.]

is a tax much more onerous than 38. per But, if permitted to doubt whether any cwt. Is the right hon. Gentleman preadvantage to conscience will take place, pared to take this off? It is the necesI equally demur to the right hon. Gen- sary consequence of this Act. This tleman's conclusion in another case. Budget signs the doom of the malt tax He once more assumes that a great —the right hon. Gentleman may be entrepôt trade is about to spring up, and quite sure of that—and we shall look to what is the nature of his proof? He that—the Treasury–Bench for support. says that between 1864 and 1868 the corn I shall not go into the question in detail, exported was as follows :—1864, 21,455 but I call the attention of the hon. Memquarters ; 1865, 10,851 quarters; 1866, ber for Sussex (Colonel Barttelot) who 19,648 quarters ; 1867, 63,453 quarters; has charge of the question, to these facts. 1868, 83,036 quarters—exported after The right hon. Gentleman the President payment of duty. But, that there were of the Board of Trade has said that it is transhipped — 1864, 5,164 quarters; his wish that we should have a free break1865, 9,239 quarters ; 1866, 49,691 fast table ; I presume that he would not quarters; 1867, 169,467 quarters ; 1868, confine this to the higher and middle 151,902 quarters; and upon this he argues classes. The labouring classes drink that the obstacle in question is the duty. beer, and upon that ground I claim his Is this so? I think not, for the same support. On any other ground I must thing would apply to bonded goods. Is object to this remission which falls to transhipment preferable to reshipment ? the foreign producer, and whose substiWhy of course it is. Ask any practical tute is the income tax. merchant this. Sir, there is one thing MR. BARNETT said, he had heard he has absolutely failed to point out from the best authorities that it was not what great advantages merchants are to at all probable that any benefit that derive from warehoused over bonded might accrue from the repeal of the corn goods. Why cannot they be warehoused duties would fall to the share of the in bond ? They then pay no duty when consumer. It was well known that a they are taken out; but, Sir, they are large portion of the corn trade from the transhipped, or sent on without breaking Black Sea was in the hands of Greek bulk, and there is an obvious reason for merchants, and the first thing that had this quite independent of the tax. It is happened after the proposal of the right a mere delusion-a bait then to the mer-hon. Gentleman to repeal those duties