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<head>138 THE EXAMINER.</head>-----<p><!-- The text on this page is fully justified and divided into two columns. --> or as a tax on marine insurance, the mischief is disguised, and payment<lb/>is made without a murmur. The minister, it is said, now intends to<lb/>impose, in the indirect mode; his tax on conveyance by steam. An<lb/>able writer in the <hi rend="underline">Westminster Review</hi> once observed, that John Bull<lb/>might be persuaded to contribute to the burning of his own father,<lb/>provided the contribution were levied indirectly in the shape of a<lb/>tax on faggots.</p> | <head>138 THE EXAMINER.</head>-----<p><!-- The text on this page is fully justified and divided into two columns. --> or as a tax on marine insurance, the mischief is disguised, and payment<lb/>is made without a murmur. The minister, it is said, now intends to<lb/>impose, in the indirect mode; his tax on conveyance by steam. An<lb/>able writer in the <hi rend="underline">Westminster Review</hi> once observed, that John Bull<lb/>might be persuaded to contribute to the burning of his own father,<lb/>provided the contribution were levied indirectly in the shape of a<lb/>tax on faggots.</p><p>The minister asserts that the reductions he proposes render necessary<lb/>the imposition of the new taxes. The public in general have<lb/>but an imperfect view of the reductions which may be made in the<lb/>government expenditure; that view scarcely extends beyond the<lb/>individual cases of the sinecurists, pensioners, which have been<lb/>presented to general attention, or the assertion would never be tolerated.<lb/>Our able contemporary, the <hi rend="underline">Scotsman</hi>, some time ago endeavoured, in<lb/>an excellent article, to make palpable the reductions of expenditure,<lb/>and the effect corresponding, remissions of taxes, on the conveniences<lb/>of life. It states that</p><p>Among the other evils arising from the immense magnitude of our taxation,<lb/>there is this, that it reconciles us to many individual cases of waste and<lb/>extravagance which might be remedied, and multiplies the obstacles to<lb/>retrenchment, both on the great scale and the small. When a practical<lb/>saving is pointed out, if it is large the public may be zealous for it, but the<lb/>government is averse to such a sweeping change; and if it is small, it is<lb/>impossible to get six individuals to interest themselves in the mater, because no<lb/>one sees how it is to produce any sensible relief to himself or others. Besides,<lb/>much molestation teaches persons to economise their feelings as well as<lb/>their time and labour. When we have the conviction ever present in our<lb/>minds, that such an overgrown revenue system as outs must abound in<lb/>abuses, prudence dictates that we ought not to discompose ourselves<lb/>excessively about some single grievance that is incidentally brought<lb/>forth from the mass, and obtruded on our notice. In short, between the<lb/>immobility of government, and the apathy of the pubic, a hundred economical<lb/>reforms, which are perfectly practicable, remain unaccomplished.<lb/>It has often occurred to <sic>to</sic> us that the benefits of retrenchment might be<lb/>rendered more tangible by placing specific savings against specific taxes,<lb/>and showing the public the task and the reward, the bane and the antidote,<lb/>in juxta-position. We shall endeavour to render this intelligible by a few<lb/>examples. Every body knows that there is an officer called Lord<lb/>Lieutenant of Ireland, who has 300,000<hi rend="underline">l</hi>. per annum for enacting the part of a<lb/>state pageant in Dublin. When the Sister Kingdom had an independent<lb/>legislation, there was at least a pretext for having such a functionary, but<lb/>now there is none: for, as his Lordship decides in no matter of importance<lb/>till he has received instructions from London, it would evidently save<lb/>both time and trouble to make the parties interested correspond directly<lb/>with the Treasury. The office, in sooth, was spared at the time of the Union<lb/>to soothe the vanity of the Irish, by keeping up the phantom of a separate<lb/>government after the substance was gone. Let us, then, suppose the<lb/>lieutenancy abolished, the question is, what shall we do with the money<lb/>saved? Throw it into the sinking fund? No, certainly: for who cares<lb/>a pinch of snuff about adding 30,000<hi rend="underline">l</hi>. to a fund which may being relief<lb/>to our grandchildren, but will being none to us. We should give it a<lb/>different destination—we would select from the list of our taxes some one<lb/>of corresponding amount, and repeal it. For example if we take the<lb/>tax on <sic>almanacks</sic>, which yielded last year 30,718<hi rend="underline">l</hi>.: by abolishing this<lb/>useless office we may enable every poor man in the kingdom to get an<lb/>article which neither poor nor rich ought to want, but which is at present<lb/>beyond the reach of thousands to whom it would be useful. The duty on<lb/><sic>almanacks</sic> is 1<hi rend="underline">s</hi>. 3<hi rend="underline">d</hi>. each, the consequence of which is, that one of the very<lb/>smallest size costs 2<hi rend="underline">d</hi>. 6<hi rend="underline">d</hi>. Repeal the tax, and we think we might give a<lb/>guarantee that the Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge wou'd<lb/>publish one of these most necessary manuals at 4<hi rend="underline">d</hi>. or 6<hi rend="underline">d</hi>. Now, we ask<lb/>whether it is better that nine-tenths of the people of Britain should want<lb/><sic>almanacks</sic>, which answer a thousand questions as to times and tides, or<lb/>that Ireland should be deprived of a state pageant, who has not even the<lb/>merit of answering a single question till he communicates with his masters<lb/>in London!</p> | ||
138 THE EXAMINER.-----
or as a tax on marine insurance, the mischief is disguised, and payment
is made without a murmur. The minister, it is said, now intends to
impose, in the indirect mode; his tax on conveyance by steam. An
able writer in the Westminster Review once observed, that John Bull
might be persuaded to contribute to the burning of his own father,
provided the contribution were levied indirectly in the shape of a
tax on faggots.
The minister asserts that the reductions he proposes render necessary
the imposition of the new taxes. The public in general have
but an imperfect view of the reductions which may be made in the
government expenditure; that view scarcely extends beyond the
individual cases of the sinecurists, pensioners, which have been
presented to general attention, or the assertion would never be tolerated.
Our able contemporary, the Scotsman, some time ago endeavoured, in
an excellent article, to make palpable the reductions of expenditure,
and the effect corresponding, remissions of taxes, on the conveniences
of life. It states that
Among the other evils arising from the immense magnitude of our taxation,
there is this, that it reconciles us to many individual cases of waste and
extravagance which might be remedied, and multiplies the obstacles to
retrenchment, both on the great scale and the small. When a practical
saving is pointed out, if it is large the public may be zealous for it, but the
government is averse to such a sweeping change; and if it is small, it is
impossible to get six individuals to interest themselves in the mater, because no
one sees how it is to produce any sensible relief to himself or others. Besides,
much molestation teaches persons to economise their feelings as well as
their time and labour. When we have the conviction ever present in our
minds, that such an overgrown revenue system as outs must abound in
abuses, prudence dictates that we ought not to discompose ourselves
excessively about some single grievance that is incidentally brought
forth from the mass, and obtruded on our notice. In short, between the
immobility of government, and the apathy of the pubic, a hundred economical
reforms, which are perfectly practicable, remain unaccomplished.
It has often occurred to to us that the benefits of retrenchment might be
rendered more tangible by placing specific savings against specific taxes,
and showing the public the task and the reward, the bane and the antidote,
in juxta-position. We shall endeavour to render this intelligible by a few
examples. Every body knows that there is an officer called Lord
Lieutenant of Ireland, who has 300,000l. per annum for enacting the part of a
state pageant in Dublin. When the Sister Kingdom had an independent
legislation, there was at least a pretext for having such a functionary, but
now there is none: for, as his Lordship decides in no matter of importance
till he has received instructions from London, it would evidently save
both time and trouble to make the parties interested correspond directly
with the Treasury. The office, in sooth, was spared at the time of the Union
to soothe the vanity of the Irish, by keeping up the phantom of a separate
government after the substance was gone. Let us, then, suppose the
lieutenancy abolished, the question is, what shall we do with the money
saved? Throw it into the sinking fund? No, certainly: for who cares
a pinch of snuff about adding 30,000l. to a fund which may being relief
to our grandchildren, but will being none to us. We should give it a
different destination—we would select from the list of our taxes some one
of corresponding amount, and repeal it. For example if we take the
tax on almanacks, which yielded last year 30,718l.: by abolishing this
useless office we may enable every poor man in the kingdom to get an
article which neither poor nor rich ought to want, but which is at present
beyond the reach of thousands to whom it would be useful. The duty on
almanacks is 1s. 3d. each, the consequence of which is, that one of the very
smallest size costs 2d. 6d. Repeal the tax, and we think we might give a
guarantee that the Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge wou'd
publish one of these most necessary manuals at 4d. or 6d. Now, we ask
whether it is better that nine-tenths of the people of Britain should want
almanacks, which answer a thousand questions as to times and tides, or
that Ireland should be deprived of a state pageant, who has not even the
merit of answering a single question till he communicates with his masters
in London!
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Identifier: | JB/004/070/010"JB/" can not be assigned to a declared number type with value 4. |
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1831-02-27 |
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lord brougham displayed |
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the examiner / sunday, february 27, 1831 / no. 1204 |
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(130-144) |
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[[notes_public::"john fonblanques eulogium on brougham" [note in bentham's hand]]] |
1991 |
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