§ Mr. Handley, seeing the Chancellor of the Exchequer in his place, wished to ask him, whether it was the intention of the Government to introduce any measure during the present Session on the subject of taxed carts? He (Mr. Handley) had a notice on the subject, which he would be glad to resign to the right hon. Gentleman, if any measure was contemplated.
§ The Chancellor of the Exchequer, knowing the interest taken by the hon. Gentleman in every thing relating to agriculture, was not surprised at the question he had put. The subject to which the question related had not produced much excitement in Parliament, but he was aware that it had created a strong excitement in the agricultural districts. In the measures which had been introduced by the Government the object more particularly 1449 had been to do away with a number of Vexatious regulations which formerly existed, and the act which had passed had certainly removed many of, those vexatious restrictions. It, however, provided that the letters of the names of the owners placed on these carts which formerly were required to be only one inch in length, should in future be written or painted in letters two inches long. The object of that provision was to enable tollkeepers and others to read the names with more ease. Now it was this regulation which had given rise to so much excitement in the agricultural districts, and which it was wished to abolish; and it was therefore his intention during the present Session to propose that the law should be left as he had found it. The matter however, was so absurd that he was sorry to have occupied so much of the time of the House in alluding to it, and he did not think that the object sought was a sufficient ground for the excitement which had been produced.
§ Subject dropped.