rts, and the additional fifty per cent, on spirit licenses.
The amount of all the taxes which he proposed to remit would be L351,000
this year, though when the proposed reductions came into full operation
it would amount to L568,000. At the same time, when the increased
consumption of paper was taken into account, the money collected from
the penny stamp, and the increase of duty from advertisements, he
thought he might say that government would not lose L530,000 a year. The
reduction of the stamp on newspapers was from fourpence to one penny,
and this was deemed by many as being a sacrifice to the demands of a
political party, and not a concession to principles of political economy
or fiscal regulations. There were many other articles, it was contended,
a reduction of the duties on which would contribute much more to the
comfort of the community, and especially of those classes to which
it was proposed to give cheap newspapers and cheap spirits. Sir C.
Knightley moved, that instead of diminishing the duty on newspapers,
the duty on soap should be reduced. This he represented as a duty
which pressed not only severely on the lower classes, but unequally in
comparison with the more wealthy--the soap of the poor man being taxed
at seventy-five per cent., and that of the rich man only at thirty per
cent. This motion was seconded by Mr. C. Barclay, who showed that the
revenue would not sustain a greater loss from the reduction of this
tax than would arise from the diminution in newspaper stamp duties. The
chancellor of the exchequer, however, preferred a reduction of the stamp
duties to those on soap; and on a division the motion was negatived by a
majority of two hundred and forty-one against two hundred and eight.

As the law stood, there was no distinction between newspapers in regard
of duty on account of their size, all differences of this nature having
been removed in 1828. By the new bill, however, this distinction was
restored, an additional duty being imposed on every newspaper containing
more than a certain number of square inches of surface. Government was
accused of having so selected the particular number of inches, as to
impose the additional duty on some of the most influential journals
opposed to them, while it did not apply to their supporters. This
imputation was repelled by the chancellor of the exchequer; but it was
still maintained that such must have been its effect. It was finally
proposed and acceded t