STAGE-COACHES BILL. (Hansard, 9 August 1832)

§ Mr. Dixon
moved an Amendment to one of the clauses, that no tax be imposed on steam-carriages used upon common roads. He decidedly objected to levying any tax upon this new propelling power; and though the owners of such carriages might consent to such a tax, he would oppose it on principle.

§ Mr. Spring Rice
thought he could satisfy the Committee that the adoption of the Amendment would be an act of great injustice to the proprietors of stage-coaches. Government was disposed to afford every facility to improvements in machinery; and if it were now a question whether any tax whatever should be levied on locomotion, he should have nothing to say; but he did not think they were called upon to give to steam-carriages the unfair advantage over old modes of conveyance, which they would have if the latter were to be exclusively taxed. The Manchester Rail-road Company had caused a loss to the revenue of 8,384l. by the duty on post-horses and stage-coaches, which, however, was in some degree made up by an increased communication of stage-coaches on other branches of the roads leading to Manchester and Liverpool.

Mr. Ewart
thought that the revenue must have been benefited by the Manchester rail-way. Trade and manufactures had been promoted, and barren land brought into cultivation to a wonderful extent by the conveyance of manure. He could not consent to any taxation on railways. Taxation on conveyance of commercial products was in itself bad policy, and productive of great evil. America, and even Austria, were making rail-ways, by which they would be enabled to compete with this country in the production and sale of a variety of articles. His hope was, there might be a gradual reduction of taxation on all kinds of communication.

§ Colonel Sibthorp
could not be forgetful of the interests of his agricultural constituents, suffering severely under the pressure of poor-rates. The use of vehicles impelled by steam would injure those 1301 constituents. It would throw greater obstacles than at present in the way of the landed interest.

Mr. Hume
was desirous of taking off the tax upon horses, but he could not allow that rail-roads or steam-coaches would injure the landholders of Lincoln or any other county. The plan of the noble Lord for taxing steam was a lamentable departure from sound policy. Would the noble Lord put an end to all the advantages derived from steam-beats and rail-roads? Why not tax machinery? If a principle was good, they ought to follow it up. The advantages of quick conveyances were most extensive; and if the noble Lord taxed steam and rail-roads, he was imposing a tax on improvement, and increasing the poor-rates. It was a tax on time and industry. Instead of putting a tax on steam, we should take off the tax on coaches in every line where a parallel rail-road was established. He entreated the noble Lord to postpone the plan for another year. What was the paltry loss of 7,000l. a-year compared with the mighty advantages which accrued to the community? He hoped that the noble Lord would suffer the loss of some taxes on coaches rather than discourage those great improvements which ought to be fostered.

§ Lord Althorp
concurred with the hon. member for Middlesex in thinking that the country would gain by taking off the tax on coaches, instead of laying a tax on rail-roads; but, at the same time, the tax on coaches brought in a considerable revenue. As to exempting coaches on roads parallel to rail-ways, it would not be just to coaches on other roads, nor would it be easily practicable. The Government felt every disposition to favour improvements in steam-conveyance, and steam-carriages on roads would not be more heavily taxed than on rail-ways. They had agreed, for example, with the proprietors of the Manchester rail-road for a certain payment, which would not interfere with the success of that undertaking. He confessed he was not very sanguine that steam-carriages could be introduced on common roads, but, if they were, the tax would not operate as an obstacle.

Sir Charles Burrell
supported the stage coach interest. It was injustice to ruin one class of proprietors to promote the views of another class.

§ Mr. Hunt
said, the people of England 1302 could not stand in comparison with America, where they had no taxes. The tax on corn in this country justified taxing every thing. If they taxed corn, they ought to tax steam.

Lord George Bentinck
said, he had lately sat on a Committee upon the plan for making a rail-road from London to Birmingham, and it was proved that the loss to the revenue in the abolition of stage-coaches would be 78,000l. annually. The noble Lord could not consider it a violation of principle to tax steam where it injured the interest of stage-coach property.