The Express. — London, England, 1851-01-30 00:00:00

Cite erprelsti. TO CORRESPONDENTS: enertigenests uttendtdfar 7 Tbsiaprges, Elgging paper. mist be at the Mace, 10 . Bouggrimseget, hTwo o'dook ws tOw r ) d p.b SUOe. HIGH WATER AT LONDON BATHOS. Ton DAT —Moraine, M. IT Mtersec% Ik. tim 71.1810La0V—Morniar. 1116 Om. --Abeam% Sm. LONDON, THURSDAY, JANUARY 30. Mr. PORTIA published in the last number of the Statistics( Journal an acciont of the self-imposed taxation of the lower orders of this country. An officer of the inland revenue has just published an account of the assessed taxes, in which he de scribes the careful aed the wholesale way in which the rich evade even that portion of taxation laid upon them. According to Mr. PORTER, the poor earners of this errantry extend fifty-seven millions sterling annually in spirits, beer, and tobacco. Of this sum from one third to one-half finds its way into the coffers of the CtIANCELLOR of the Excnecteen, and enables the state to pay the interest of the debt, support the army, the establishments, and so on. As a act{ ff against the twenty or twenty-five mil lions raised on the poor, there ie the income tax, from which they are exempt, but which falls hea viest, as does the window tax, and as will do the house tax, noon middling fortunes and struggling men. But let us confine ourselves at present chiefly to the taxes on luxury, which form a portion of the aseeseed taxes, and are der fined to fall exclusively on the rich. These are levied on servants, carriages, bargee, dogs, and produced 1,153,0001. in 1847, being 114,0001. less than is 1842. Let us first take the article of four-wheeled car riages, that certainly which may be considered most characteristic of the rich and easy clesees. (1f these there were, in 1848, the number of 7,818, of which not USW. than 1,972, or about one-fourth, paid any tax. The other three-fourths were low-wheeled and exempt. Of two-wheeled carriages there were about 60,000, bat more than half were exempt from duty. On servants—on horses—were we to go into the history of each tax, and the ways in which it is seseesed, and evaded, the same moral would appear : which is, that the rich most easily and readily evade taxes, whilst the poor blindly and eagerly iocar them. It is not the moment, perhaps, to dwell on the ine qualities of the window tax, seeing that it is so univer sally condemned ; but it may be as well to remember that in the distribution of this tax houses paving from 25/. to 4111. rent were assess , d at from 15 to 20 per cvnt., whilst large howl paOng from 1001. to 2,0001., a year rent were aremed at from 11 to 21 per Gout . . Now when writers do start so wildly aghast at the bare mention of a graduated property tax, they should recollect that all the old and indirecr, and even the old and direct taxes ans graduated ; that is, gra duated in tio wrong direction, weighing moot heavily upon humble fortunes. In the present state of our requirements and resources it is almost impossible to do at once away with these injustices, with half a revenue made up from drinks, and thane not drinks of the rich, to such a degree that a universally adopted temperance resolution would leave the national debt high and dry. In such a state of things it is merely IMO slight approach to restoring an equilibrium between the tax-paying burdens of different classes that can be hoped for. But this, without some degree of graduation, is impossible. And we are glad to see that practical men, and even government, universally adopt and admit this. Mr. Macciaacoa, is his letter to the citizens of Glaegow, which appeared in the papers of yesterday, and called forth the animadversion, of the Times, puts forward his proposal of. graduated property tax. (We give the main portion of the letter in another page.) Now, we believe that Sir --. l4 .near PILL himself entertained this ides, and by no means looked upon it as a plan of spoliation. Nay, we have some idea of having seen it in some document since seven or eight years, endorsed with the approbation of the TIMM The Premiss Minister, we see, proposed the other day a similar scheme. Mr. M•COREOOR can probably inform us w bather a graduated property tax has not higher sanction than even his own; and, if he is able to do so, he ought. For precedent, in the way of opinion, is powerful. We have made considerable objections to the house tax as most likely to become the foundation of very large rates, especially on sudden emergencies and un expected defalcations of the revenue. We have shown that even partially improved from what it was, and nominally equalised, it would still weigh with very great disproportion on the midole classes, on profes sional and industrial end commercial earner.. We are glad to see so practical a man as the officer of island taxation, who has published the " Letter on the Assessed Taxes," not shrink from the true remedy. Mere is what ha says as the subject of the house tax : Whoever weeders the relative bearing of a tax upon wisdom end atm upon homes, will warmly dispute that the latter, if properly regulated sad of moderate amount, is far more just and equitable. As a substitute for the wisdom ditty a* better soul be head, while it seems impossible to devise • tax lem liable to svasioa. Those who have bestowed sureties upon the subject are gene sally swoon advocates for a tax of this descriptioa. Dr, Smith &serves that, "In gewral, there is not perhaps say we article of @apes** cer sossamption by which the liberality or um rowoem of • maa's whole omens ma be bettor Padded of than by his housiorsait." Mr. IfeCulc lea Is of opinion that a beam tat is man the least exceptionable that can be devised. Howes are 00110. pied either wholly sa reselesess, or they are used partly as such, and partly for the purpose of carrying on some sort of business or profession. Now, with respect to the former &scripture of bosses, or those seed wholly ss deem, they may, speaking 'sway, be talus u • pretty Salt WWI of the inetrama of their otempien; sad it may is sosseqseece be presumed that taxer laid sa them la proper lion bids' rust would be, in fast, pretty wady Prof to the abilities of the parties. With respect to dis ether desaiption of houses, or the.. red partly only as residsesse, and partly also as ships, or playlet husisees, there Mama diliculty ; sod, on the whole, the better plea would ions te be toexempt the shop or pima of besieges from the tax, sad to mesa the latter or that perdue of the building that is used is a dwelling-home. • tax aa Masse interferes with eso &primmest ea brawls of Weary; the gabfest es whisk the tax is laid Is amass. sad seam be stmeeled ; sad It is sever ear vary Oldish smear to aurae* the value of homes with suffisieat presidia for its fair masa sax" The fatal &feet in all Muse tax, repealed ia 1934, wee that it was no dile/miss between private baste sad them used partly es tea sail pertly es plums of baser. It it true that an attempt, tee long delayed. was made, in DIA to lessen its preastre, hat the ten itself Wes repealed is the Mewls( essoloe, belies time had elepeed te amnia the resole et the redactions peneed by the 3 4 Minima IT , esp. 39. Mr. McCulloch very justly Mama is thee:west jest "that the nuts of selves hates may be takes es a pretty fah bides of the lemma of their cummilies," Mt chat them is " awe Mashy " with the other desapiles et Mmes. The allivalty is, indeed, far Irma haw supsolislig. While the rest et a prince boast is a test of the mess et is ishablesat, that of hates used is, as joint ape* et rediesse sad harms is hassatly a Awry _altars test. • pores seleatee a mai dime regulate his sham by due eassidoratioa et his mesas hen Go y aresa, ameba, why • tax apes private ve he me ass be pregriad. Vey daunt is t he ere with pietas' basins, sad there are nay reams why a tan spa the ahead be anthem, ad set geudsat d sr sa salaam Is abase apes pima sf hmina poem mot Weser us adieus the ems data-40 a past newt it lea Asada' may or nay ass massed. Oily lee thhigT= l : —thi t i tha whatever be as *Meat of their of they ateet Mama Axed ebligstissis la the OSashape of teat and team A ecesparitsa of s a mPest Dirsetery," kiturvale ef tea flea some timeline realm sad if *iry add he lindhesill Yts Whiffed seise, It wadi be head Ibia diensiamat. failure, and reined hopes bed MOM t• do than death or any other caste with the rusappearance of the msjority from the pipe of that rut commercial chronicle. The income tea suetemenis could supply &handset proof, if it were seeded, of the injustice of ebargirg toy uses at s sueressive rue upon places of business. Wino secommoS thin gkw fled the *redeem= or profeselooal suseiseriag no *we thiah 3001. or 4001. per seems studio' at the szunavoiderierspease4 Sir 1112 to ant arid taus u others lour ofver thus t entoset. It will be found ' elo jihortios el tie dwellirg home Is igt ile taut of rest sad ether upraises ;Ai del Meru the sa Miemse_ raised basses additlosal Wass sepple-Lta luzuri 'of ie-raburbas; villa. Is both thus less, bows,. r, it is obvious that a pro pertiosate amount of whatever times see paid is chief, ails upon peirsou of limited luau, who, for various reason', or.- espy apartment'. Trader the former house tax the mostly ,' existed of penes' of this ebullition, se well m Indians& ' sad pr.ilemional persona whose success was only moderate, femenbutiag In the same ratio as the more opulent end see essehil. The wiadow tax operates to a great "stint in a ' similar manner. A uniform house tee upon place of busisees would remove this anemaly,aod peen with so endseseverity upon thou whams cereal means mieht not be commensurate wish Weise:terns' appearance. Neither would unfair par : tislity be shows to say Ideas of the community, for those who sot NlCOMlllini is business will, sccordieg to the private statics their respective used "sable them to maintain, be called upon to coutribute to the exigeacies of the state. Mr. ' M'Calloch suggests that " the shop or place of business should be exempted from the tax, and that portion of the ' building used as a dwelling-house be alone assessed." There are =soy tad great difficulties, however, in the way of fairly ' regulating such so exemption. It would be by far the best town to Ii a moderate uniform duty, and areas it in every ease upon the rent actually paid. With this view it is pro ' posed to ex the dety at a rate from Bd. to le. in the pound, whisk would be fur from excessive Toe following sale is suggested for private houses: All tenemeata under EIO Or. ed. in the posed. (Ti be messed upon the owners, ... . - - - not the ociapiara ) l 0 sad under £2O 0 9 SO 20 „ 40 1 0 40 „ 60 1 3 60 „ 80 1 6 It 60 „ 100 1 9 100 and upwards 2 0 A house tax upon this basis would probably realise more than en equivalent for the present window duty. Without approving of that part of the plan which levies one shilling in the pound on plsoas of business, there might still be such • fair assessment and distri bution of the house tax, u would leave the exchequer a very small deficit indeed upon the abrogation of the wiadow duty. And this would enable the CHAN CELLOR to deal with tea, soap, awl the taxis on knowledge. We have before said, that if any founda tion at all be laid for the• house tax, we most expect it to be raised in a few years to the proportion inevitable to be assumed by such a tax. Of what nee an alleviation of two or three years, with all the trickery and derange , ments in rents and calculations? There is no quality of taxation more to be studied and desired than fixity, especially in the case of houses, which persons take on lease and fit up upon calculations of years. The house tax, we may be sure, will never be laid on for the sake of 600,0001. It were better, therefore, to pay it at once; or get rid of it at once. In the former case some of the great obstructions of the customs and excise might be removed. And the provisional state in which our fiscal ministers are still keep ing us from their own incertitude arid weakness would be more speedily put an end to. THE most perplexing question of the day is, what are we to do with our convicts? The colonies will have none of them. South Africa has barred the door against the first batch sent to its shores. The Lilliputian and ricketty settlement of Western Aus tralia has indeed begged to have convicts sent to it, but is already engaged in a discussion with the Home Government about the charge it makes for their board and lodging that is pretty sure to end in a quarrel. All the rest of the Australian colonies are leagued to extort from the imperial authorities the abtlition of the transportation system. The British North American provinces are silent, but only because it has not been seriously proposed to send convicts to them. It M necessary that the English public and parlia ment should be brought to realise the urgency and importance of the crisis. They must be made to un derstand that to continue the transportation of con victs to any of our existing colonies situated in healthy extra-trop.cal latitudes, is morally and physi cally impossible. Within these few years the whole of our annual convict exportation (with the exception of small de tachments sent to one or two of our ocean garrisons) has been cmcentrated on Van Diemen's Land. Lord JOHN RUSSELL forewarned the House of Commons what would be the roost quence of this, whenever the inhabitants of Van Diemen'■ Land obtained repre sentative institutions. His lordship was then fur giving up transportation as an unclean thing, bad for all interests, but especially for young countries; and he fortified his remarks by a quotation from Lord BACON. That very quotation has now been adopted by the colonists as a fundamental article of their political creed, and they are taking the very steps to put an end to convict transportation to their island that Lord lons foretold. It is impossible to exaggerate the intensity and anivenality of the desire to get rid of convicts, that animates the free settlers in Tasmania. The very women have taken the field against the system. Some hundreds of the most respected matrons of the colony, headed by the bishop's wife, have petitioned the QUEEN for its abolition. At the despatch of the latest advices meetings of the men were being held all through the island, and mutual engagements were being entered iato, and the most solemn pledgee given, that no one would for the future hire another convict, and that free labourers should be introduced from Port Phillip. The right, and still more the power of the colonists to act thus is unquestionable. The whole expense of supporting all the convi ti in the island will thereby be thrown upon the public; and, in the rant temper of the Tasmanians, there can be little doubt that one of the very first resolves of their first elective legislature will be to throw the whole of that expense upon the home government. In this attitude of defiance to the continuance of convict transportation, Van Diemen's Land does net stand alone : auxiliary anti-convict leagues are in the promos of formation throughout New South Wales and Victoria. The success of the Cape colonists has lent additional hope and courage to the movement. It is clear that the sending of convicts to the Australian colonies mast be abandoned. Yet ail our attempts to obtain information respect ing the intentions of government force upon us the unwelcome conclusion, that government are doggedly wrapping their transportation gaberdine more closely round them, in the hope that they will be able to weather this coming storm. The impression eater tained by all parties in this country connected with the tackles colony of Tasmania is, that Lord Guar resolute to give a trial to the scheme developed in his despatch to Sir W. DISNIBON of the 25th of last July. Lord GREY adverts incidentally to the fact that the rate of wages is lower in Van Diemen's Land than in the adjoining colonies. This state of affairs has been brought about by the introduction of an amount of convict labour into the colony in erase of the de mead for labour; and its consequence has been the almost universal emigration of the free, respectable labourers to the Australian continent. There are actually no labourers at present in Van Diemen's Land bat such as are or have been convicts under re straint. Suck being the case, Lord Gary insists upon the distribution of the convicts throughout the re moter districts, where the police is comparatively weak, and their banishment from the urban districts, when the police is comparatively strong. And he admits that the greater frequency of misconduct among the convicts who have of late years reached the colony with tickets of leave has been owing to their having been sent out with that privilege, although "only a limited number of them bad been subjected to the improved method of discipline now in use." The consmonoe of all this is, that life and property are alike unsafe in Van Diemen's Land, and the honest proprietary clam is rapidly following the boast labouring class to the adjacent main; and yet, with this continuons tendency to emigration of all that is respectable staring him in the face, Lord Gm gravely speaks of ensoaraging the immigration " of a elms of emigrants who will incresee the demand for labour, and also promote more directly the moral im provement in the colony." This alone betrays a immutable ignorance of the setual coaditien of Tar maim It is as Utopian es the conddent expectation expressed by Earl OUT, that the new elective Isgur Wats will vote away "the territorial mime of the palmy" for the perpehatioa of a system which la driving them to despair. In =priming, as we now do, our conviction that convict transportation, sa at Rresent carried on, must be abandoned, we frankly admit oar inability to am by what mans this is to be aooompliehed. The VERT SATURDAY ATIIIIIOOR WILL SE PUBLISHED. THE EXHIBITION EXPRESS, Sim of Doily limb" name now, rat,z lOUS MICE, etsielabg reetyientil; laM..ifan riled* to the KILAT FARIBITION OF WI, Objella F.2llllabwe' freapeera. Wendel Oestrata t Atruerumeslth Apipeareaes, hens, panes/ haw& Tb asermnas molar al pram leaseraued b the forthseadae °reel Calulaties d the World% beikelzy Wig hitherto eel se eueletectoT7 repeesslettee le the peets—iee yew eisallesU e z mr 3 re with minim ers*****o *met ID Rs, 101 the lerbssakei expedire irith Mane w sae d se ▪ MS( —the reprlseere * the LIMAS hoe deeernbel We WW2* sway emearany alternate, • amble died of ohm pee, to manes the Wart and lased babrsalea Mattw bo the Itildbillea. waveler with a assee am, mote, se the mailerhe of laftearted ip ett . ber .d ar ecru awl = sabbl emirattatemeaCtrl mews arlabera et travails( deb. eshaiien. Mamie d &Mho" duels d ahlbltore, art the SIN low awl *der eetab It Wee** en le be the Mabee' el Sews& et *Aire le the marvels *obi the kotbeeleieg e t pew* Wesley et ell Nations. LWhets le 'emir/keg Isibe leseitlee this doubt* are/ wlll it* preel sew. led INlOnerwr, apriatly muse to .11 am aaralabe be literature, Wean. OM art. Oa ereel ihey meat %wasp , the prim if the EXPRESS will be Weeper% se beretelare. MF.RTIeFAILIFTS. The poet *les of the /All LIPREII9 to • medley must bee*** to eivettierra Al advertioneete not be at the situ I. WhlUertare et or before Ma b the ~toe .4 emelt Inday, to mare assertion to the ambit at tit tallowbef i tt Bereerba•Uist, Plestatreet THE EXPRESS, THURSDAY EVENING, JANUARY 30, 1851 relinquishment of convict transportation will involve an entire revolution in our penal code and pragite, toe which neither our social circumstances, nor Ow progress of distinct practical views of penal law, had prepared as. have„fer a long time gone got kt• , manisintour criminal sale, that ilgsgtalliatically, but' by obliterating now .one and theti Waller of its ,hagsher features, until transportation, real or nomi ngl, has beams *most the only punishment -fee graverieliaqiiencieh it contains. The sentence of , death is now rare prosouncedoind more rarely car ried into execution. The pillory, public flagellation, and similar secondary punishments, have been aban doned; whipping in any shape is almost exclusively reserved for juvenile offenders ; fines and imprison ment, with or without hard labour, are restricted to a limited class of offences. Transportation for longer or shorter periods is the monotonous doom in the immense majority of cases. It may mean a num ber of years spent in the hulks, or • number of years spent in Van Diemen's Land, bat transportation is the legal phrase in which the sentences of nine tenths of our criminals is expressed. Our law re formers have given up almost all the rest of our old punishments, and they have not had ingenuity to in vent new ones. By abolishing transportation, we woald apparently leave ourselves without aty penal ty to inflict. Penal establishments at home are associated with prospective inconveniences, from which the imagination recoils. The horrible degra dation which human nature has experienced in the bagnes, and the prospect of a numerous horde of forcats mingling in the crowds which choke the thoroughfares of our large and populous streets, with necessarily extended powers of inquisition, 11- lance, and control to the police, are contingencies to which it is impossible to look forward with egos- nimity. What is to be done ? Are we to revert to obsolete corporeal punishments ? '1 here can be no doubt that these have in many instances been abolished less out of judicious sympathy for offenders than in order to spare the morbidly excitable nerves of beholders. But, on the other hand, there can be no doubt that cor poral punishment has a tendency to embrute the suf ferers, and render the general public coarse and cruel. Again, are we to found new settlements in remote regions to receive our more dangerous offenders P Unluckily, it is obvious that the great defect of the Australian system of transportation originated in the excess of the convict as compared with the honest population. The penal settlements became crowded with a felon population, in which crime ceased to be disreputable, and a mutual instruction in ecoundrelism was carried on by accomplished professors. The evil was cot confined to any locality. Every island almost in the Pacific has its escaped convict or convicts teaching the Aborigines the vices instead of the vir toes of more advansed society. This was dangerous when that lonely ocean was visited only by a few straggling merchantmen or whalers; it is intolerable now that commerce and settlement are making such rapid strides there. Yet again, shall we deport our convicts to our tropical settlements ? Hu manity recoils from the suggestion : this would be a re-extension of death punishment, of the in fliction of death by a slow and torturing process. Beside' all our tropical settlements have in or around them numerous uncivilised populations, sure to be rendered dangerous by an intercourse with the con victs, which it would be found impossible to prevent. In reference to this important question government and the legislature are placed in the awkward pre dicament of men who will be compelled to act, w ith out baying time allowed them by inquiry and deli beration to mature a safe and satisfactory plan of action. For this they, in a great measure, have themselves to thank. The feeling against convict immigratios, in the colonies which have had no practi cal experience of a coavict population, if not originally caused has been confirmed by the facts sad opinions put in circulation by the transportation cosi mittees of the House ot Commons. Lord JOHN RessaLL, as has already been observed, by his denunciations et transportation taught the people of Van Diemen's Land the arguments, the very words, with which they now wail him. Earl GREY was until lately fore most among the assailants of the system. For fif teen long years our leading statesmen have been doing their utmost to cast discredit on the penalty of transportation by exposing its evils and abuses ; but during the whole of this time they have shrunk from the labour of devi►ing an ads qua's substitute ; and the consequence is that now, woen the time for action has arrived, they present the melancholy spectacle of men who not only recoil from carrying their own principles into effect, but who seek to palliate their inaction by affecting distrust in them. TURKEY. A letter from Constantinople of the 141 instant says: Two high commissioners, Ismet Pasha and Semi Puha, are appointed to travel, the former in Asiatic Turkey, the latter in Europead Turkey, with the ob ject of ixquiring to what extent the new reforms in favour of the Christians, under the designation of Tarximatt, are carried out, and to report on the sucot. cot Puha has gone to Smyrna on this mission, and when the steamer which conveyed him returns, Sami Pasha will set out for Salonica. The Porte has addressed a note to the representa tives of the various power. announcing its intention to put down the gambling-houses in Peru and Galata, and to punish all who are caught in flagrant delin quency without regard to their nationality, but with the assistance of the respective legations. GREECE. The Courtier d'Ailunes owes that the Austrian minister has addressed • note to the Greek govern ment oomplaioir.g of the protection afforded by Greece to the Italian exiles, who thus transform the country into a focus of revolution, by forming so cieties, striking medals with the effigy of the most prominent men in the late struggles, and thus ex citing the sympathies of the Greek people. The note concludes, with a sort of tarmac*, to the effect that the more interest the Greek nation takes in those unfor tunate men, the more severity will be di,played in Italy by the Imperial government towards its sub jects. Toe same paper mentions a note addressed by the Greek Minister of Foreign Affairs to all the members of the diplomatic corps, informing them that, in consequence of a new regulation adopted by his colleague the Minister of Finance, they will henceforth be obliged to specify with the greatest precision the contents of the different sealed parcels or boxes addressed to them from foreign countries, exempt from duty in consequence of international custom. MALTA, Jen. 22. A court of inquiry on two officers of the Mcdiaa steam packet, Mr. Pollard, second master, and Mr. Searle, a master's assistant, has been recently held on board ; Captain Lord Kerr, of the Scourge ; Knox, of the Firebrand ; and Hope, of the Terrible, steam fri gates, being the court. The charges were for disobe dience of orders and neglect of duty. The result be came known on Monday, and ended with a severe re primand, with a notification, to Pollard that any si milar conduct would lead to more serious conse quences ; and to Searle, that he would not be retained in the service. Lient.-Com. Darby has applied to be superseded in command of this ship. Mr. Douglass, a midshipman of the Albion, fell from his horse on Friday last when riding, and was ant somewhat seriously. Re is now doing welL Three naval seen, two of the Albion and one of the Superb, have been before the police court for disturb ing the pesos and 'mulling the police. Two were fined 41. and 3L, and the thud admonished in very severe terms and discharged. The offence was more serious than the one com mitted a few days since by some army men, yet is the punishment more light. The convicting magistrate in the first instance was English, in the @mond a Maltese. _ Ensign Gray, of the 89th Regiment, and who has been allowed a Dominated allowance, is now lying in prison far debt. The young man has =roe attained his 21st year, and tit other respects than being extra , vagant in his idea without having the wherewithal to indulge It, thus is he placed in a position of diffi iculty from which extrication for some months to come is very improbable. A BALLOT WAS TAKE( AT THE EAST INDIA HousE yestarday for the election of a director I. the room of Geo. Lyon . , , who hr gleipolliod. At az o'clock the alarms were closed sad delivered to the 'erudition, who reported that W siastisa had balsa ea W. Dewy GERMANY. r:. i oatc3rrespondent writes as follows: r- ~ DRESDEN, Jait i .. The andunission to which the them importedt of I tile s g'ioas before the conferences bee bath submitted; VI com i. ion on trade and commerce. does not meet again until lit of meet month; sad the Bub theamissios whiall bee appointed to receive and report upon any proposals thet may be made in the interim has not yet met. The &their etudige have not arrived, and everythiag here, se wallas In the other commission', is at • perfect sta nd still. The wospecu of the third commission are not very brilliant. The Aleutian plans, which have not yet made their appearance in the conferences, but which form the bosia of the Seaton and Bavarian memorials to the commission, are not likely to appear he that shape in which they were proposed to Prussia. The inensisotaren in Bohemia, and in Prague especially, and in Lower Austria, have re lied &storm Of opposition sgsiost the proposed tariff for the customs ambit, and the customs congress which Brock has amenthled in Vienna to discuss his proposed tariff proves very refrac tory. In its second sitting fourteen or fifteen of the depu ties immediately left the room, declaring they would no Lager sit in an suembly in which the right of di/sussing the Waldo to be followed, in legislating on the subject for which they were met, was not merely questioned but absolutely prohibited. In the next sitting, however, the Austrian minister succeeded in conciliating the seceders, by granting the right to discuss the principle on each item of the tariff es it comes before them. The opposi tion of the Austrian manufacturers will not be so easily est aside, however. They are a powerful body, and are almost unanimous in their views with regard to protectien. Yaw of them advocate entire prohibitios, - but all are enemies to free trade, and very few indeed in favour of moderate protective duties. A minority of the manufacturers may perhaps be found to supp . irt Baron Bruck, but the mmority will reject his tariff. With this opposition in the heart of the Au +trial camp, and the declarations of the Prus sian Rovernment that they will use, r consent to the intro- duction of a higher tariff into the Zoilverein, but that, on the contrary, that tariff must underfp important reductions, the Austrian plans have so chance whatever of success, and even the commercial treats* between the different customs systems have become very problemrical. The Austrian government would, under any circumstances, find ready supporters in the governments of Saxony and Wurtem• berg; but when the question really has to be settled, ea.:entreat:as and interests will have to be considered to which at this moment but very slight atteation Is paid. Politically, the government of Saxony may do what it pleases, se long as the powerful hand of Austria supports it; but . the commereal and manufacturing interests of this kingdom have to be consulted ere such a measure u a customs union with Austria can be carried out; and, so tar as I have been able to secertain, the manufacturers are decidedly opposed to it. One of their chief arguments sgainst it is, that if the union be established, the population of Saxony would be an nually presenting to Austria • share in the duties on all cram:oil artioles, such as tea, coffee, sugar, its, which are unknown in the greater part of the Austrian empire, where the poorer classes live entirely on vegetables and farinaceous food. Bavaria at this moment enjoys a clear us of seven million thalers a year from the lame source. Aey customs union which brings with it such an enormous profit to the oae party, with an equal loss to the other, which on the one hand increases their market, but on the other the difficulties of access to it, and the latter in as decidedly unequal degree, the mannfact f Seemly see opposed. Very great apprehensions are entertained here respecting the Austrian military plans, and we are now told that another large body ul Austrian troops will very shortly make Its app in the north. 30,000 to 40,000 are mentioned. I myself beard • remark • few days ago from the mouth of in Austrian officer. He said, "Only let us once be inside Hamburg, end I warrant you we shall remain there quite its long as the Teething." DRESDEN, Luc 27. The German art of making politics is aa full of con tradictions and perplexities as an egg is of meat. The pre sent conferences afford us another 'wanes of the truth of this assertion. Oa most of the octillions when the necessi ties of the fatherland, the political dilemmas of the thirty-tour fathers of this extensive country, or the unruly behaviour of the different races whom these thirty-four fathers ecki,owledge us their children, have assembled the representatives of the whole to discuss the cures to be ap plied to the evil, it has been the cucom to depute the task of dismissing the different medicines proposed, and selecting fronts among them that panacea which is most expedient, ana, therefore, most likely to he spneraliy approved of, to several of the parties present. These mumble, as a commission or committee, bat in • negative character. The Germans are very fond of nenativi s, end eo the custom has generally been to deprive the members of those e .m mattes of the attributes which the representation of estate endows them with, and to appoint them in their personal character to the committee. The person of the representative, aced not the state he represents sits in the prepara . ory committee; he can propos plans, alterations in plans, can vote for them in committee, but be is thereby not prevented from doing exactly the reverse, when the report of the committee and the proposals it contains are brought before the whole house, to use a psrliamentary phrase. On the present occuion, however, the contrary practice has been observed. The states themselves were elected to serve on the committees. It is not Count Alvereleben who sits in the lint commission, but Protein herself, with all her interests, pretensiote, erd dignities It Is the same, of course, with the other nine members, mid is a more rational practice than the one generally observed ; bat the consequence is that the commission, which ex pected to make a unanimous report on some plan or plans, is unable to come to any decision without a division. lo the first commission, for the choice of a fe deral head for the c.nfederation, three votes out of the ten are opposed to the plans which are before it. These three votes are those of the two riocipalities of Ruse and Saxe Weimar, who, e opposition done has delayed the report of the first commission. As yet there is no prospect of their opposition being overcome, and unless other events intervene, it will receive the support of the msjority when the report at last makes its appearance before the g e 1 assembly. The same circumstances render the proceedings of the second commission equally difficult, while the subject before it is one of tenfold greater magnitude end intricacy. This commission is understood to be now occupied in examining the protocols of its former sittings, in order to ascertain what it hes done. The result will show, I believe, a aeries of gust relsome discussions on questions of internal administration, with unaninsitysolely on those which refer to military and police questions. The result, then, which the thirty lour plenipotentiaries have obtained during the month which has so rapidly put, is in reality nothing more than those long pro tocols and ~the conviction that the unanimity necessary to re-establish the confederation is not to be gained in the conferences, The German princes will have to make the humiliatiog confession to their subjects either that they can not, or that they will not, restore the orlon which yoked all Germany into one great political body. This result is a Posthumous instificatiou of the man who endeavoured to seta- blish the Erupt Dition, though it also contain still stronger condemnation of their blindness in not pursuing that plan with greatet energ end foresight. Your readers wi nnow more clearly perceive the prospects of the Dresden couferences.. The true nature has long since been foretold by many of the leading men, who now throw oat the idea that anew basis must be sought for the re-esta blishment of a confederation, and that the best mode of spproeching it is by means of treaties between the several states. PRUSSIA. in a semi-official form has ap- peered in the ministerial paper of Berlin, to which . is necessary to direct the special attention of the Erglish public. According to the provisions of the Prussian passport regulations, foreigners are only allowed to enter the kingdom when furnished with paseporta from the authorities of their own countries, or those of Prussian offilials—of course, ambassadors or console. But for English subjects an exception was made on the ground that English passports can only be obtained of the Foreign-office, on the payment of a high fee, there being no subordinate authorities who can grant them. For English subjects, there fore, it was enough to be provided with the pass of the Proesian or Belgi►n consul, according to the route of the journey. This privilege is now to be abolished, and it is announced by the Prussian police that every English subject entering Prussia must hive an English, that is, a Foreign-office, paw/- port, only obtainable on payment of the fee of 21.125. 6d. A tax to that amount is, in feet, about to be levied on all English travellers to Germany, for it is scarcely possible to proceed in any direc tion without entering the dominions of Prus sia. The only reason alleged for this new regula tion is, that the privilege has been " abused." Swam, lAN. ?S.—Voluntary Loan, 1064 ; New Loan, Four-sad-a-Half pas Cents., 1004 ; National Debt, 844 ; Contancial Matins Society's Premium, 128; Beak Shares, 959. VIIINNA, Jew. 27. Pim per Cent. Melanoma, 95. Foor•and-e-Half per Cads., 831. Bank Shan, 1,138. Unhinge on Loudon. 12.42. DEPUTATION TO THE CHANCELLOR OF THE Ex tallaStant ow INN PAPER DCTIII.—This morning a large number of delegates sad others interested in the abolition of the tax upon paper, met at the Yiog's Arms, Palace-yard, and afterwards proceeded to the official resides*. of the Chancellor of the Exinsquer in Downing-street, to lay before that gentleman a number of petitions, resolutions, and me morials, which bed been sent from various parts of the ma tropolis, end from Liverpool, Oltagow, Birmingham, Man shaver, and other ports of the country, on the subject ; end also to explain their own views in reference thereto. Amongst thorn present were Mr. W. J. Fox, M.P., Mr. J. Hume, M.P., Mr. Chambers, of Edinburgh ; Mr. Crompton, of Manchester; Mr. P. Bntltwick, Mr. B. C. Hall, Mr. C. Knight, Mr. John Cassell, Mr. Fowl*, of Oxford; Mr. J. Duncan, Mr. Holden, Mr. Bildern, and several other gin- Unite& interested in the paper trade. The deputation, who were received with great courtesy, having explained their views en the matter, the Chancellor of the Exchequer re plied; and the deputation shortly atteneards withdrew. GRAY'S -INN, law, 29.—At • pension of the Ron. 84:tior firsrs.ian holden this day, Alexander Chem .A., was sailed to the degree of barrister at law. FRANCE. ~...rSLY • .., ; • PARIS, WIDNIVIDAT MORNING. lg. St. Beier) has prevented a series of propositions for thi reform p( the French tariff, and the reduction sad abolition of protective duties. It was reported last night that M. de Boargoing, the French envoy in Spain, would succeed M. Dronyn de Lhuys as ambassador in London. The Moniteur contains the appointment of M. Dagnao, military intendant, to the post of Director of Administration at the Mtnistry of War.. The receptions at the Elyse., on Monday night were more numerous than usual, from the number of functionaries that went to congratulate Louis Napo leon on the result of the parliamentary day. The report of the committee on the proposition of M. bored, a member of the Mountain, for imposing a tax on capital, was yesterday distributed to the As sembly. tt recommends its not being taken into con sideration. The committee on parliamentary initia tive has recommended the taking into conside- ' ration of the proposition of MM. de Larothejaque lin and de Labroise, for repealing Art. 2 of the law of 31st August, 1830, which decline that func tionaries shall be considered to have resigned their employment who shall not have taken the oath of allegiance to the king; that of M. Noel Parfait, rela tive to representatives engaged on missions • and tho.e of MM. Clavy, Lemulier, and Langlois ( Sarthe), re lative to :he privilege granted to butchers, and tke suppression of that privilege. PARIS FUNDS, ha. 29. Three per Cents. Five per Cents Bank Shares 1.243 f. 00. At the time of going to pries our Paris parcel of last evening had not arrived. SOCIETY OF ARTS.-THE BRIIANNIA BRI DOE. Last evening, the eignth ordinary meeting of this society took place in John-strut, Adelphi, when an inter esting paper was read by Mr. Grove, the secretary, on the history and construction of the Britannia Bridge. Mr. Grove stated that the bridge had derived its name from a rock which divides that pert of the Menai river over which the structure is raised, end which at low water exposes • surface about is large as Trafelgarxquare, but at high water is completely coveted. On this rock Mr. Stephenson pro posed originally to build • pier of masonry 130 feet long, and 50 fret wide, from each side of which we. to spring an arch of 360 feet span, of cast iron, the height of the underside of the crown being 103 feet above high water mark. On this design being made public it met aith a great deal of opposition from those interested in the navigation of the straits, who urged that the difficulties arising from the rapid tides, ti.e uncertain eddies, and the sunken rocks, would be greatly aggravated by the erection of • large pier on the Britannia Rxk. Mr. Stephenson we. therefore unable to carry out hie original project; and he found there was no resource left him but in some way to contrive a straight beam or girder • and. on thinking over the possibility of • "trellis b ridge" the idea of • tube of wroug ht Iron entered his mind. Having well considered his subject, with reference to the particular form the tube should anume. and also in regard to the properties of wrought iron, as distinguished from those of cut iron, Mr. Stepoeii son obtained permission to make a series of experiments for the purpose of gainiog the knowledge he required. The result was that the rectangular form of tube was select d as being stronger than the oval and cylindrical tube. Title point bieug decided the nest question was as to the means to be adapted in fixing the different parts together, and the method chosen was that of using red hot rivets instead of sunnily the iron, es so smalb r ope. rations. Mr. Grove then proceeded to detail the serious processes adopted in carrying out the undertaking, and described the mechanical difficulties which bad to be over come by the engineers before the work could be completed. In proof of the suocess which bad sttended Mr. Stephenson's exertions in this matter, Mr. Grove awed that the same me shod of construction was being adopted in railway bridges, which, though small la proportion to the Britannia Bridge, were tar beyond the greatest limits to which the same process had ever been carried previous to the formation of this gigantic structure. After relating the history of the bridge—from its projection to the mechanical dinkulties which surrounded its progress to completion, Mr. Grove related a few Overseeing statistics with a view to point oat the extraordinary proportions of the structure, The total weight of the tubes was nearly 11,000 tons, being greater than that of four 120 gun ships, with all their crews and stores on hoard. This weight was made up of 9.360 tons of wrought iron, and more thazil,2oo tons of east iron and timber. These were composed of shout 188,000 separate pieces of iron pierced by more than seven millions of holes, and united by upwards of two millions of rivets of the angle and T iron, • embracing a spec. of not less than 83 miles. The weight et the listing cheine shoe a; each end of the tube was more than 40 tons, which, with " the crosshead and ram of the press," made • total of more than SO tons to be lifted before any • effect could be produced en the tube itself. Of the masonry in the towers and abutments, there were about 11 millions of cubic feet which would form & pyramid whose base would equal the area et Leicester.square, and whose height was 80 feet, and the weight in all 105,000 tons. Allowing 12 working hours in the day and six days to the week, this masonry was prepared and laid at the rate of 3 cubic feet per minute during the whale time of its construction. Having related these particulars, Mr. Grove concluded by saying that he was employed upon the great undertaking during the most istessitieg period of iu operation, and that he availed himself of the opportunity thus lauded of making himself acquainted with all the details of the cooetruceioo. • The " paper " was moat inteenting and instructive throughout, and the reader was assisted in his des,rintione by models and diagrams ' lent to hint for the occasion by Mr. Robert Stephenson, the directors of the Che•ter sad Holyhead Hallway, Professor Cowper, sod others. TIIE CALLINOTON MISINO COMPANY.-Yesterday a quarterly general meeting of the shareholders of this company was held at Labrador House, Bishopagate.street, Mr Richard Hodgson in the chair. The stet. Went of accounts for three months ending with September last, 1850, exhibited credits for ore to the amount of 2,01.51. 19s. Id.; 1,0001. had been received for the twenty-sixth instalm..nt. The cost for July, August, and September waa 2,6761. 65. Id., and there war a balance brought down of 2,4421 6s. 4d. The report stated that since the last quarterly meeting the drectors had changed their manager, and appointed Capt. M'Leakto that office. The mines were now being prosecuted with considerable vigour, and were indicating more favourable prospects, both of the lead lode and of the Kelly Bray copper lode. The report of Captiiiii M'Lean, the manager, which was laid before the proprietors, bore out the anticipations 'spewed by the directors. The shareholders expressed themselves highly gratified at re ceiving a report which was so much more favourable than any that had been made to them for some time, and passed a vote of thanki to the directors for their conduct. ANOTIER DEATII ON A HatILWAY.—An inquest was held on Monday last, before T. C. Maynard, E‘q., at Trim(lon, on view of the body of Robert Heightley. The deceased was a plete•layer employed on the Hartlepool Railway, and on Saturday morning last was at work with I another man on that railway, near to Trinidon Foundry. They were standing on the line looking at a coal train which was proceeding towards Hartlepool, and did not observe a goods train, which was coining in the opp eke direction, until it was too late to get out of the way. The result was that the engine of the pods train struck the deceased and knocked him with violence against his fellow workman, who was thrown by the concussion off the line. Heightley, how ever, fell on the line, and was run over. His left leg was completely severed, and his arm was dreadfully crushed. Hs died shortly afterwards. Toe driver in char,re of the engine, an loon as he taw deceased in danger. did all in his power, by sounding the whistle and reversing the engine, to warn him, but without effect, Verdict, " Accidental Death." —Sunderland Herald. A RAILWAY TRAIN ATTACKED BY A BULLOCK.— The mail train oa Wednesday night narrowly escaped being thrown off the rails, betwatn Readcorn and Pluckley, by a bullock which had strayed from a drove while crossing the rail. The drover had succeeded in turning the beast towards the gate, when the mail train was men approaching, on which the beast made directly towards the red lights on the engine with its tail in the air. It ran full tilt against the engine and was dashed to pie:es, parts of the body having been picked up a distance of sixty yards from the place whole the collision occurred. The shock was felt by the eagle* driver, end the train was stopped, hat Reseeded on mar 'Ming the nature of the oocurrence.—Yesedtheas Journal. COLLIERY ExPLosiote.—An accident occurred a few days ago at the North Kellee Colliery, which hes resulted in the death .1 one of the overman, Ruud James Hope, It app. and from evidence given at the inquest, which took place on Tuesday, that the deceased's duty was to inspect the workings of the pit before the men went to work, and on the morning of the 6th inst., he accordingly went to make the usual insptction. Contrary, however, not only to the general regulation of the pit", ut alto to thee:pier orders of the overman, he very imprudently used a naked candle instead of a proper lamp, and en he was leaving one of the boards an explosion of gas demurred, by which he wee severely burnt an over his body. He wu taken home, where he died on Friday night. The lamp which he o ug ht t o h ave use d wee bang ing in the pit, at a place where he had the oppor tunity of getting it had he chosen to be at the trouble. The jury returned a verdict in accordance with the facts.—lgere. meat Chronicler. SINGIJIAZ MONOWANIA.—A shocking death oc curred a few days ago to a little girl, whose parents reline in Short-acre. For lone considerable time the child, whose name wee Sarah Aldridge and whose age is 12 years, hu been saltiest to flu, and a bout a fortnight ago she we. dis covered hanging by the neck Iron the chamber window. She wee reamed from her fearful situation, and every care taken to prevent a repetition of the set, which was fora few days successful: Ultimately, it appears that the poor child, who was nal best on destroying itself, obtained a quantity of chips, and placed them in her pinafore, and set ere to them. She was perceived by some neighbours, who suc ceeded in smothering the flames which enveloped her, but she was so dreadfully burned that death ultimate, put an end to her sugrerinp.—Dirsoievleon Memel% 'etc court. WINDSOR. W.DWIIDAT, JAL 29. The Queen walked this ntoretng in the grounds edjacent to the Cutts. The Royal (wally took their usual airing.. Prince Albert went nut shooting this morn:no, attended by the Marquis of Ormond., Colonel Berkeley Drummond, and Lieut. Colonel F. H. Beyrivue. His Excellency Hone. Van de Weyer, her Gram the Duchies of Sutherland, and Lady C. Leveson Gower, and the Marquis of Laindowne, see expected to eerie. at the easele to-day on a vl.it to the Queen and the Prince. The Bolet Diane, nary at the Castle this evening will include the Dueness of Kent, the Duchess of Sutherland, and Lady C. Lee.ecut Gower, Mons. Van de Weyer, Lady Issny :Howard. listener de Sotth, the Marquis 01 Lansdowne, the Berl and Countess of Home, and Sir George Caliper. The band of the Coldstr. am Chards will atteno during dinner. Her Mejeety's private band will afterwards attend in the Castle. Tits Viscountess Jocelyn has relieved the Vlscouslese Can ning in her duty as Lady in Wetting to the Queen. ; A cabinet council was held at half-past two o'clock yesterday afternoon, at the Foreign-office. The ministers present were Lord Jshn Russell, the Lord Chan ellor, the hfarquis of Lenedowne, t►e Elul of hfinto, Sir George Oren Viscount Palmerston, Earl Orey, the Chancellor of the Ex chequer, Sir Francis Bari■gg Sir John Elobbouse, the Earl of Cecilele, the Marquis of Clanricarde, and the Right lion. Fox Maule. Tne council sat two helm. The Marquis of Lsoadoerne left town after the council tor Windsor Csatle. Mr. Yates, of the Eastern Steam Navigation Com pany, had an iatrrview with Earl Grey yesterday at the Colonial of e . _ _ The Commissioners for Auditing the Public Ac counts, with their secretary, Mr. Brumley, a•tended the Chancellor of the Exchtquer yesterday at the hall yearly declaration of accounts. Despatches were sent off yesterday evening from the Colonial office for the Governor of Von DI-111P11 . 6 Lend. Lord and Lady John Ruaßell had a dinner party yester .ay Teel. gat their residence in Ohesham, plena. The c mpany consisted of Baron de Brannon, the &Arian Minister, and the Bar:mess de Brannon ; Count Schimmel penninrk, the Netherlands Minister, and Madem.itelle Sehinsmelpenninek ; Senor Isturitz, the Spanish Miniater ; le Marquis n'Azeglio, the Sardinian Minister ; the Attorney- General and Lady ; Mr. Arthur Rasse:l and Mr. George Russell REPEAL OF THE PAPER DUTIES. Yesterday • meeting of delegate' from .various parte of the kicgdom was held at the King's Arms Hotel, Palactoyard, for the purpose of making an to wait upon the Chancellor of the Exchequer, and represent to him the various hari:thipa iutiicted by the precept excise regulations on the paper trade, and the necessity there a xista for the total remission of the cult. The room was filled with piper manufacturers, publithers, and others &enacted with the trade. Among those present went Mr. Ctompton, who was subsequently called to the chair, Met Charles Knigbt, Mr. Chambers (Edinburgh), Mr. S. C. Hall, Mr. Woolen? (Enter), Mr. Cassell, Mr. Baldwin (B:rmtp.tham), Mr. Bortherick, Mr. holden (Manchester), Mr. Collins (Glasgow), Mr. Towle ((Word), &c. Mr. Huggette acted as secretary. Letters from Mr. Hume regretting big inability to attend, but promising his support in parliament—from Mr. Charles Dickens premising to alt, ed the de putation—trom W. J. Fox with a similar promi.e—and also a memorial from the Financial It dorm AsSueiation of Liverpool—were read. It was announced that within the last few days memorials had been received from the follow ing placer: Lymington (Hants), S:. Atwell (Cornwall), Merthyr Tychili, Grantham, Kendal, Stafford, Ripon, Ports mouth Lancaster, Horiing dun Heywood, Accrington, Rochdale, Middiston , Damen, Garstang, Blackburn, Man canter, Liverpool, Morley, Gioasop, Lyme Regis, Does, Wigan, Grimsby, Peterborough, Lancester, Boston-on- Humber, Glamorgan ' Lincoln, &dole eurtb, Barnstaple, Devonport, Plymouth , Bsagor, Exeter, Berwick on-Tweed. Geinaborough, Bolton (6), Pum re t, Davis,., Warrington, Wigan (2), Hindley, Canterbury, Pretreat, Halskrum, Liver voi (F. It. Ass.), Reading, Durham, Henley, Cbiebester. [A betel amain:lay of the proceedings appeared in last evening's Express] The SECUETARY (Mr. Huggett) announced that these memorials had received 8,242 signolures in the course of a very le v days, and that no person had signed it of lower condition than that of a respectable shopker per. Mr CROMPTON, on taking the choir, said that he had had experience of the working of the paper duties tar the last tarty years ; that, during that period, it had been open to all sorts of frauds, end his firm conviceon was that the only remedy would be a total repeal of the duties. He bad with great difficulty obtained a ratan el the number of convicuens during the year 1',48 for various breaches of the excise laws committed by paper makers, and would state to the meeting its results. It appeared that there were in the three kingdoms shout 600 mole at work, and that in England there had been 43 convic ions, in Scotland 9, and in Ireland 30. This alone gave 15 per cent. on the whole number ot tractors (Hear, hear.) How was trade to be carried on by honest men in the lace of such proceedings, the more especially as even 20 convictions aid sort prevent the fraudulent trader stilt mintibuitig ha trade? (Hera, bear.) Agem, the excise was is the habit of consp.trodiug the penalties, in one case having compounded 3701. for 1001. The whole amount of penalties inflicted had been 10,7611. 4e. ld. ' of which there had been recovered in England 3,523! 141. 3d. ; in Scathes& 1611.; and in Ireland, 1,3811. 4s. 2d. k'rem th ese figures he telt hini.eit justified cooteodiug that if it was tar nothing else than the morale of the country, government was bound ti get rid of the tax. (Hear, hear) Oa the ciarser dneriptions of paper, the tax pressed so heavily, that the temptation to fraud was almost irresistible, being about 120 per cent, on the cost pries. (Hear, hear.) On the raw material, the duty was about 600 per car..., and this while the raw material of every other manwacturing trade had been emancipated from duty. (Hear, hear.) Some time since the duty had been taken off cotton, at the instance of the manufacturer,, but it had bean let on them who were only the scavengers of the cotton mills. Tney took the refuse of the cotton, which was about one.lifth of the whole, and one-third of that they were aisle to convert into their own raw material. It would hardly be believed that the tax on this raw material was about 300 per cent. on the value of the article. (Hear, hear.) Was it sight that paper makers should submit to this, while cotton manufacturers had found 8 per cent. on their raw material unbearable ? They were compelled to pay 60 per cent. on wrappieg paper, and thgt paper was now being imitated in a nee-exorable &mete with such success that it was impos sible to know the paper from the imitation, the only diffe reace being that in one SSW the material was first macerated into pulp, and thus came under the denomination of paper. while in the other it wee first worked up dry, and was called lilt. Thus while another manu facturer was making his ;eh duty free, he (Mr. Crompton) was paying 120 per vent. duty on precisely similar article. (Hear, hear.) In tut, to such en extent were frauds of this descriptrin going on, Mat ft would be more to the thwart of a gentleman entering the paper trade to study how the law might be evaded that to pay any attention to the provisions of the act of parliament Hie fear wit that if the duty were not repealed they would nun t eve to give up work altogether, while, if it Wire abolished, in accordance with the pribelples of frith trees, which this government professed, he was nut afraid of com petition with any country in the world. (Cheers.) Mr. CHAMBERS (Edinburgh) rose to move the first resolution, to the effect that the duty acted as a grievous bur upon knowledge, by prince ing the circulation of cheap literature of a wholesome character. He said that the ques tion, es it affected cheap publications, bad b'en much misre presented in the House of Commons and elsewhere by the opponents of repeal. The coarse was to take up a large book, and say, " the tax upon this for about threepence, and is it worth while to kick up a row ?" But that was a very one-sided argument. On a volume of a lashirnabh novel the duty might not probably exceed le per cent., because in such a case the expenses of authorship seed com position bore a large proportion to the value of the paper; but the case was quite different in cheap puhlicatious where authorship and compositiou were small figures ; and paper termed the principal expense. Is a work, a single sheet, the money paid for authorship WAS from 16 to 20 guineas, bet that bore no proportion to the value of the paper, the circulation being perhaps 60,000. He used in his establishment in Edinburgh 18,000 reams of paper annually, or 8,640,000 sheets, and on that he paid to government 3,0001. in duty. (Hoar.) What a deduction was that from the Made applicable for the reward of literary lemur ! He might further state that last year he had been obliged to die . continue a publication which had reached a circulation of 80,000, because on making up his accounts he found that all his rah, 6,2001., went to the g worriment in duty. Thus was a work destroyed by the tax which was circulating 18,0001. annually among tradesmen and workmen of various kinds. (Hear) Some persons would say that they might have raised the price, but that would have reduced the cir ; culation to 20,000, end then the questions of authorship and r composition would become prominent. They had subse t quently started another at one halfpenoy more, which had attained a eiroulation of from 30,000 to 40,000, just half, and out of that the government took 8001. a year, exactly , the sum paid to authors. They found that it just paid, but were about to discontinue ft, one reason being that their I American customers had discontinued their orders, and were 1 about to print pirated copies themselves. Those copies would be sold all through our American colonies, and no law could prevent it. What law could guard a frontier of 3,000 miles P (Hear, hear.) It might be urged in favour of the tax that remission would encourage immoral cheap literature, but his belief was that lie people naturally pre ferred reading if a healthy chancier, and that if the latter could be provided for them cheap and abundant, the former world soon be driven from the field. (Cheers.) , Mr. C. KNIGHT, in seconding the resolution, said, that if the first paper manufacturer in the world—the wasp in the garden of Edon—had been so harassed in the use of his mandibles, as were his successors in the use of their machi nery, he would moat certainly have stung the exciseman. (Laughter.) They had heard oast representative of cheap literainre—the other was Charles Dickens—(chriese)— and he ( Mr. Knight) hid received from him a distinct authority to *rpm his complete concurrence with the objects of the meeting. He thought it important to mention Mr. Dickens's name at the outset, because it had been too much the fashion for persons of a certain quality and Teak in life to turn up their WWI at cheap literature, and lay that it must surely be bad. But when he mentioned, in connection with their came, the name of the most popular author of the day, of him who had given delight to thousands in his admirable liotione—(hear, hear)—sod announced that he had distinctly, and as a matter of business, identified himself with cheap literature, and in his " Household Words" promulgated great questions, that argument could hardly be repeated. (Hear, hear.) Mr. Kaight here weds through some statistics, which hays already been published, I 4,