TALBOT2810

H. of Commons, ¹

Friday night

My Dear M^r F.

The Chancellor of the Exchequer has just made his statement to the House, from which it appears that the surplus revenue of the Country is 2,600,000 £ of which 800,000 £ will be required to pay the Interest of the Indemnity to the West Indian planters at 4 per Cent, leaving 1,800,000 disposable. The Chancellor proposes to retain 600,000 £ of this in hand, & repeal the House Tax with the remainder – However he does not intend to bring in a bill to repeal the House Tax, until he sees how the House deals with the motions impending next week for the Repeal of the Window & Malt Taxes. This was cunning. He then said that <illegible deletion> he knew it would be objected to him that he repealed a tax pressing on the Trading interests while he had himself admitted that it was the Landed Interest ² which required relief – He admitted this, but argued that the distress of the Landed Interest arose not from the Government taxes but from local burdens, & that he was going to introduce 2 measures one for abolishing Tithes, ³ & the other on the Poor Laws ⁴ – He hoped the House w^d support him in resisting all other repeal of Taxes; but he threw out a hint to put the Irish Members in good humour, that he had some financial measure which he would not then communicate which w^d do great good to Ireland, & no harm to the revenue – L^d Althorp’s ⁵ speech was short, & much the best I ever heard from him – He has evidently improved in tact & experience –

Yours aff^ly

Henry

1834

London
February fourteen
Capt Feilding R.N
Lacock Abbey
Chippenham
H.F.Talbot