there was nothing in his book to sanction laying on new duties when the public service could be provided for without. There was to be a reduction of the duties on tobacco, on newspapers, stamps, and advertisements, on candles and tallow, and an abolition of duties on sea-borne coal, on printed calicoes, on glass, and on auctions.1 As a deficiency of above three millions would be thus caused, compensation must be found. For this end, there was to be an equalization of the duties on foreign wines, on Baltic and Canada timber, and on large and small coal for export; and several new duties were to be laid on, of which the worst in principle- and admitted by Lord Althorp himself to be SO was that of an increase to 1d. per lb. on all raw cotton imported. The taxing of the raw material of manufactures he declared to be an essential mischief, “which, however, the advantages would, he hoped, counterbalance.” 2 He pleaded its smallness in extenuation of its badness. The other new taxes were on travellers by steamboat, on the transfer of landed property, and on the bona-fide transfer of property in the funds. The whole budget was severely treated; but the outcry on this last item was the loudest. Lord Althorp gave it up, and also the steamboat-tax. The duty on the transfer of real property of course went too; and to make up for the cutting-off of these proposed resources, the duties on tobacco and glass must be retained. Thus the greater part of the plan was gone already; and a defeat on the timber-duties question awaited the Minister. He proposed, on the 18th of March, to render the change of duties more gradual, and so involved the fiscal question with the wider one of free-trade, that the opposition required either a committee of inquiry, or time for consideration. Lord Althorp declined both, and was left in a minority of 46.3 The duty on Cape wines was again altered, and the penny cotton-duty was reduced to gths of a penny; and thus scarcely any thing remained of Lord Althorp's first budget. This compelled him to bring forward the subject again within the year; and October was the time, as Parliament was sitting at that unusual season on account of the Reform Bill. The most remarkable fact in connection with this statement was the result of the reductions in the excise and customs, made by the late government within two years. The estimated reductions had amounted to nearly four millions and a half, while the actual decrease had been little more than two millions and a half, in the last year. Lord Althorp felt confident that he did not make any exaggerated statement when he assured the House that it might rely on a surplus for the year of 493,4797. "He had examined the statements in every way that he could, and he was sure that 1 Hansard, ii. p. 988. 2 Hansard, ii. p. 414. 8 Hansard, iii. p. 576. he was not chargeable with any exaggeration." This was on the 3d of October.1 On the 17th, the Duke of Wellington gave warning that the ministers would find themselves mistaken in their hopes of half a million of surplus, and declared that the utmost surplus could not exceed 10,000l.; but Lord Grey 2 "could not see on what principle" the statement of Lord Althorp could be disallowed, and was confident that government might have taken credit for a much larger surplus. The event was such as might make the Duke himself as much surprised as the ministers were ashamed. 1832. From the occupation of Parliament and the country with the Statement of Reform Bill, it was the 27th of July before Lord Althorp could bring forward his financial statement, though he must long have been wishing the exposure well over. His delightful candor, however, smoothed his way through difficulties which would have been most galling to men less truthful, or more self-seeking. "I am quite aware," said he, "that my statement must be one which a Chancellor of the Exchequer has been unaccustomed to make of late years; and therefore I have to throw myself upon the indulgence of the House." 3 The surplus of last autumn had dwindled away, month by month; and, instead of the half-million anticipated, there was now a deficiency of more than 600,000l. Under such circumstances, no reduction of the public burdens could be proposed; and the ministers were persuaded, now that they saw things by the lights of office, which really are essential to a perfect judgment of such matters, that the vigorous reforms under the late government had carried reduction as far as it could safely go. The present ministers had cut down the estimates to the amount of 2,000,000%., and declared that henceforth any relief to the people must come from economy in the departments to obtain a surplus, and not from reduction of taxes. The unexpected deficiency was ascribed in part to the arrival of the cholera, and to political excitement; but there was also an oversight of Lord Althorp's pointed out by himself: he had forgotten the expiration of the beer-duties in the spring, which made a difference of 350,000%. On the next occasion, he presented his budget for the first Statement of time to a reformed Parliament.4 This was on the 1833. 19th of April, 1833. First, he gave a good account of the reductions of official expenses by Lord Grey's government. They had abolished 1307 places, with an immediate saving of 192,000l., and a prospective one of 38,000l. more, on the expiration of the retired allowances; and some saving in such allowances had taken place in another direction, by bringing retired 1 Hansard, vii. p. 1031. 2 Hansard, viii. p. 847. revenue-servants into active duty again, as opportunity offered. Lord Aberdeen's reductions in the diplomatic department, under the late Administration, had been carried on, till they now reached nearly 100,000l. There was now a surplus, and one considerable enough to do more than pay off the previous deficiency; and Lord Althorp ascribed this to the reduction in the estimates, and not to any remarkable improvement in the yield of the taxes. It enabled him to offer something in the shape of a boon to the taxpayers; and what he proposed was this, to abolish the duty on tiles, and the cotton-duty laid on two years before; and to reduce the duty on soap one half, and, in various proportions, the duties on advertisements, and on marine insurance, and several assessed taxes. It was clear that the ministers had no ideas on the subject of taxation, -no principle, no orderly plan. There was a touch here and a touch there, now a notice of a little experiment, and again a retractation of it; but nowhere a broad procedure based on sound reasons. The whole management was not only empirical, but desultory. To men who knew any thing of the principles of finance, certain lessons of this year this first year of a reformed Parliament would have been painfully impressive; only, that to men who duly felt the responsibilities of government they could not have occurred. "When I laid the additional duty on raw cotton in 1831," there had been an almost inappreciable ad valorem duty before, "I said that it was radically wrong in principle," Lord Althorp now declared with an unabashed air; "and that, on the first opportunity which arrived, it ought to be reduced.1 That opportunity has now arrived.” It seems never to have occurred to him, that there was any thing wrong in thus playing fast and loose with such a power of interference as that of taxation, that there was any objection to laying on a tax one year and taking it off another, deranging the course of manufactures and commerce at each operation. Nor, on any one of the many occasions of his acknowledgment of the vicious principle of the taxes which he imposed or retained, did he show any shame in alleging the most trifling pretences of temporary convenience. Some astonished observers at last came to the conclusion, that there was something behind, that Lord Althorp himself, the most ingenuous of men, assigned one set of reasons, and acted upon another. And, in truth, there was something behind; and it was the practice of this Administration, and perhaps its very worst fault, to assign bad reasons for good acts, and insufficient reasons for bad acts. Some reference has been made before to the fatal practice 1 Hansard, xvii. p. 336. Assessed ment. of the Whig administrations of yielding to clamor whatever it chose to demand; and, after a time, to yield nothing but what was demanded by clamor. It was pointed out that this really revolutionary system began with the Tories, with the protracted refusal of the Catholic claims; but it has since become a distinguishing characteristic of what are called liberal administrations. In this particular, in which Lord Grey's Cabinet as a whole was inculpated, Lord Althorp was perhaps the greatest sinner; and a clear publication of the fact was before the world during this and the succeeding session. At a public meeting, at this taxes move- date, when some proposition about Dissenters' rights was made, the mover was entreated to wait and be patient, and not embarrass the Ministry. "Not embarrass the Ministry!" he cried. “Why, I never found yet that any thing was to be had but by embarrassing the Ministry;" and his closing words were lost amidst vociferous cheering. And, of the whole Administration, it was understood that the Chancellor of the Exchequer was the most impressible by clamor, from his good-nature, his indolence, his consciousness of unfitness for his work, and his consequent lack of self-reliance. Accordingly, he became the butt of all discontented tax-payers; and they made him so miserable that he daily sighed to be able either to repeal all taxes whatever, or to hide himself on one of his stockfarms. From the moment he could not but see that the turbulent among the tax-paying multitude had discovered how to manage him, he lost all energy; and the movement against the assessed taxes reached a point which disturbed the peace of the metropolis. And not only of the metropolis; for in several large towns there were threatenings of fiscal rebellion, and everywhere a strong disgust at the ineptitude of the Finance Minister. In answer to the universal complaints of the injury and inconvenience of our methods of taxation, by which industry was fettered, food made dear, knowledge taxed, incomes rendered uncertain, and tempers tried past endurance, the government thought it enough to say that these things could not be remedied without making " an extensive change in the whole financial system." But this extensive change in the financial system of the country was one of the promises of the Reform Ministry, one of the labors to which a reformed Parliament was pledged. It was told in the House how astonished an eminent foreigner, M. Simond, was at seeing an exciseman in a glass-house quietly permitted to interfere with the process of manufacture, and how earnestly M. Simond inquired whether the spirit of the English people could really patiently endure such an intrusion. It was asked why the English people should endure such a method of taxation,—why there should not be a complete revision and reform of our financial system, — why there had not been already such a reform, why a year had been lost. The discussion of this matter, the pressing of these questions in the House, and, through the newspapers, in the country, became very urgent during this session of 1833; and Lord Althorp had nothing, as yet, to reply, but that he would take off a little here and lay on a little there, and that to do more would be "to make an extensive change in the whole financial system." Certain classes of tax-payers therefore took the matter into their own hands. A prodigious outcry was raised against the house and window taxes. These two taxes were always mentioned together by those who desired to get rid of them; but many thought and among them the Chancellor of the Exchequer The house tax. that, while the window-tax was one of the worst on the list, the house-duty was one of the best. The window-tax is a duty upon fresh air, sunshine, and health; the house-duty had the merits of being a direct tax, and of falling on a class particularly well able to pay it, that of proprietors of houses. The truth of the matter was, however, that the tenants of London houses a numerous class of shopkeepers and others occupying large premises paid the tax during occupancy, the amount being allowed for in their rent. By obtaining a repeal of the tax, they would pocket its amount during the remainder of their lease; and the event proved that this was motive enough for a noisy agitation. It never was general in the country; it did not spread beyond London and two or three of the large towns; but it was too much for the energy of Lord Althorp. Associations were formed to resist the payment of these taxes; no purchasers came forward for goods seized for arrears of these duties: when the levy was made, it was necessary to bring out, not only a large force of police, but of soldiery; and these were got rid of by terrified lodgers or friends of the recusants handing the money out of upper windows. Long and noisy processions of London tenants chiefly shopkeepers of the west end came to besiege the treasury-chambers; and, for some hours, it was difficult for horse or foot passengers to make their way between Parliament Street and Charing Cross. Lord Althorp was earnestly assured by those who understood the parties, and he declared that he believed it himself, that the outcry was only tentative, and the discontent partial and selfish; yet he gave way, as will be presently seen. "What taxes would you reduce, if you were in my place?" he asked of an adviser. "Certainly not the house-duty, that is nearly the best tax we have," was the reply. "It is," he said, "it is a good tax; yet you would yield if you had been in Whitehall yesterday, and had heard the clamor that I |