Mr. Maypresented a petition from Belfast praying the repeal of the Window tax, which being ordered to lie on the table, the hon. member took occasion to ask the chancellor of the exchequer, whether the understanding in Ireland was correct, that it was his intention to propose the repeal of this unpopular tax?
The Chancellor of the Exchequersaid, he was glad that the hon. gentleman had afforded him an opportunity of giving some explanation upon the subject to which the petition referred. He understood it to have been generally stated in the Irish papers, as a communication from authority, that it was his intention to move the repeal of the tax alluded to. This statement he had read with surprise, as he certainly never entertained such an intention, nor was he conscious of having ever uttered a word to induce the expectation so generally expressed in the Irish journals. He regretted that he felt himself compelled upon this subject to oppose the wishes of a great proportion of the people of Ireland; but he could not concur in the propriety of repealing this tax, considering the material deficiency of the Irish revenue, and the great amount of the public debt of that country upon the consolidation of the two treasuries.