Lord Broughamhaving presented a petition from certain members of Mechanics' Institutions, praying that those institutions might be exempt from the window and other assessed taxes, said, he would take that opportunity of expressing a hope that some clause would be introduced into the proposed Income Tax Bill to exempt the funds belonging to these useful institutions from the tax. All charitable institutions, and a great number of the institutions of a collegiate character had been exempted from the former income tax. Mechanics' Institutions were not in existence at that time, the first having been established in England in 1823 or 1824. There were now upwards of four hundred Mechanics' Institutions in existence, and he hoped some measure would be adopted to exempt them from the income tax. He trusted that during the recess his noble Friend would give his attention to the income tax proposition, in order that it might press less inquisitorially on the higher class of merchants, whom in fact it would principally annoy. Some of those had been saved from 1,000l. to 3,000l. a-year by the reduction of the postage rates, and he was sure they would rather agree to pay what had been saved to them thus, than to have their private affairs exposed by the agents of the income tax. —Petition laid on the Table.
§ Adjourned.