Debate on the Railway Passenger Duty in the House of Commons, April 17th, 1877 (Paperback)

This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1877. Excerpt: ... a proper one to be submitted to a committee of this House at all, not because members are not perfectly competent to form a judgment if they had the data before them, but because it is impossible that they can have before them the necessary data. In order to decide that a tax shall be repealed you must have the whole taxation of the country before you, and you must compare one tax with another. There are numerous objections to the remission of any tax not based on considerations of this kind. Although the committee recommended the abolition of this tax, the recommendation was not unanimous, but was made by a majority of 9 to 6. Mr. Knatchbtjll-hugessen: The Chairman made 10. Earl Percy: I think the Chairman did not vote, but I will say 10 to 6. I must refer to a report by the Railway Passenger Duty Repeal Association, which is circulated with the report of the London and North Western Railway, and was sent to me, and which asserts that "the committee "consisted of 19 members of all shades of politics, who by "their report unanimously recommended that the Eailway "Passenger Duty be repealed." Now, I do not think it proper that an assertion so absolutely incorrect as that should pass without notice. Well, sir, I now come to the objections tht are raised to this tax. The first is that general objection we hear so much about, that it is a tax on locomotion. I fully expected to find Lord Althorp quoted. I never saw a pamphlet and I think we heard few witnesses before the Committee who did not quote Lord Althorp and Sir Eobert Peel. Of course, I speak with great respect of these eminent financiers, but I think it is hardly fair to quote the opinions of men expressed under totally different circumstances from those that exist at present, and which are such as th...