HC Deb 18 March 1806 vol 6 c484
Mr. Stedman ,

from the Stamp Office, presented an account of the arrears and balances in the hands of the distributers on the 10th of Oct. 1805, and also on the 5th of Jan. 1806.—Mr. Shaw Lefevre presented a petition from the governors of St. Luke's Hospital, complaining of a surcharge which had been imposed upon them for servants who were indispensably necessary to the purposes of the hospital; and also, that the commissioners to whom they appealed had confirmed the said surcharge. The petitioners therefore prayed for the interposition of parliament. When the petition was read, Mr. Shaw Lefevre stated, that if the business were not taken up by government, he would take occasion to propose that all hospitals, and other charitable institutions, should be exempted from the operation of the Income Tax. The propriety of such an exemption was, he thought, forcibly suggested by the case stated in this petition.—Mr. H. Addington gave notice of a motion for tomorrow, relative to some orders on the books for the production of certain documents relative to India. The object of his motion he described to be this, that those who immediately presided over the affairs of India should be invested with a discretionary power, as in other cases, to withhold any of the documents, the production of which might appear to be injurious to the public service.