— Mr. Hutchinsonsaid, he held in his hand a petition praying for the total repeal of the Window tax in Ireland. It was from the populous and important city which he had the honour to represent, and was roost numerously and respectably signed. Among the signatures, were by far the most part of the respectable population of Cork. The petitioners appealed to the justice, the humanity, and the sound policy of that House in soliciting the re-repeal of a tax, the existence of which had been found extremely injurious to the health of the people of Cork. They stated that this tax was originally imposed as a war tax, the chancellor of the exchequer at the time of its imposition, expressly stating that it was meant to continue for only three years, of during the war. But this tax was found exceedingly injurious, not only in Cork, but throughout all Ireland. The injurious effects of this tax to the health of the people, he could state from his own observation. The prevalence and wide-spread malignity of the typhus fever, which had of late years committed such ravages in Ireland, was in a great degree to be attributed to the operation of this tax; for this tax served to extend the prevalence, and aggravate the severity of this direful disease, the poorer orders, who were unable to pay that tax, being necessitated to shut up their windows, and thus to exclude the air. He hoped that this subject would shortly be taken into the consideration of the House, and it could not fail to interest the attention of every just and humane mind. The petitioners observed, that parliament had in its justice repealed the income tax at the conclusion of the peace, because it was originally laid on as a war duty; and a hope was very naturally expressed, that the same measure of justice would be dealt out with respect to the Irish Window tax. It was also seen by the petitioners, that parliament had very recently repealed so much of the tax upon husbandry in this part of the empire, as equal in amount to the whole produce of the window tax in Ireland, namely, 200,000l. a year. With this circumstance in their view, and the recent declaration of the noble secretary for foreign affairs, as to the general prosperity of the empire in their recollection, the petitioners must naturally be encouraged to regard the present as a period peculiarly auspicious for the object of their application. He 1038 trusted that this calculation would be justified by the event, and that the chancellor of the exchequer would contrive to provide some substitute for this tax, if a substitute were indispensable.
§ Ordered to lie on the table.