The Press. — London, England, 1854-03-25 00:00:00

26Ei _ --. ^1=11•11 1 under the Mediterranean, and many other ships be came broken wrecks, idly bleaching on the shores of morl aistant seas. The Admiralty , t o check this evil, prov /led a simple remedy. They gave notice that the first 'Commander who lost his ship by keeping too close'in shore would be dismissed the service, and they kept their word. They dismissed one officer — they never had occasion to dismiss another. Apply the same rule to the inspectors of Commissariat stores. Pay them well for their services, and dismiss the first that passes bad stores. It' it is attempted to ensure good stores by penal legislation, the inspectors will rely more on the law than on their own exertions : bad stores will be innocently offered, and inadvert ently accepted. We had boasted of our purity, and proudly contrasted it with Russian corruption, until we seemed to consider ourselves kings of the human race that could do no wrong. Degrading to the national honour as is this event, it may not be with out its use if, at the commencement of war, it engen ders that humility which, neglecting no precautions, is most CalcUlated to lead to victory. COALITION JOBBERY. WE have not been inattentive readers of the strange evidence that has been given by several witnesses before the Breach of Privilege Committee. If we were to follow the example given last year by cer taro of our contemporaries we should proceed to criticise the conduct of the impugned parties. If it should turn out eventually that some active Coalitionists should be affected by the disclosures as to the way in which patronage has been used or abused we shall not feel any surprise. It is already patent to the world that the traditionary honour of " party " was flagrantly violated in those anomalous transactions which gave her Majesty a Lord of the Treasury in the person of Mr. SADLEIR, and enhanced the dignity of the Viceregal Executive with the consis tency and unswerving principles of Mr. KEOGH, the loudest in swearing against the conception of a Coalition, and almost the first to be sworn into its service when in power! No " revelations " could be more damaging to the Cabinet than those which are already trite in eonnection with its Irish alliances, and yet it appears probable that deeper discredit is in stole for them. GAMING-HOUSES. THE ATTORNEY-GENERAL has been busy of late, and his energies have been chiefly directed towards the suppression of vice and immorality. Betting •houses fell before him last year; gaming-houses are to be his victims this session. On Thursday night, after describing the mysteries of these " hells " with a vivacity jand minuteness of detail which, the Times remarks, seemed rather to be the results of per sonal observation than of second-hand informa tion, the Hon. and Learned Gentleman propounded his plan. It consists of three parts. The first sub stantially embodies a suggestion which appeared in this journal some months since, and provides that the mere fact of having unusual bolts and fastenings, for the purpose of obstructing the entry of the police, shall in itself be an offence rendering the householder liable to a penalty. The second provi sion is, that the magistrate shall have the power of remitting the charge against some of the prisoners captured on the premises and converting them into witnesses. The bill lastly makes it an offence against the law to give a false name at the station house. The measure appears to us to be practical, sensible, and well calculated to accomplish the object for which it is designed. But Sir AI.EXANDER COCKBURN can succeed in most things he attempts ; and now be has become the suppressor-general of venal voters, vice, and immorality, we doubt not—unless the Coalition perish before—that, when July arrives, and Lord PALUERSTON proposes his health at the Ministerial whitebait dinner, he will describe the ATTORNEY-GENERAL as his " Honourable, Learned, and Reverend Friend." THE AFTER•DINNEH SPEECH AT THE IHTROVESSENT CLUB.—( Reported literally by Punch.)—Well—now -- mY• honangallan fren'—S' Charles Napier 's goin' t' th' Baltic. Why's S'Charlesnapier goin' sh' th' Baltic? Tell you why's goin' to Balt—hic ! 'a goin to give Zemparussia dusagood srash'n. (Loud cheering.) She's why S'Charl' Snao.er's goin' sh' Baltic. ("lJrayvo, Charley! ") Someshay we're norrawar. N orrawar ! H ash-ha I No I Narrower! No shexactly awar. But myhonsuigallan firm' clar' war soon as get in a Baltic. tits. into Baltic give my honannsuigal fren"shority to clar' war. (Vociferous cheers.) Leave evrysidiag to my honangallan fren'. Only lem get safeinto baltie. Zahen you'll see ! You'll she'm versoon bring Zshempra Nich'las to's senses. Blow eh' old vagabon's navy 'hontisetrs like skyrocks wildfire Ouyfawkes House acommons an' Fifithanovemba. ( Timone/no applause.) Zsheamen, here's all your vehgood health! I beggapard'n —heres my honangal'n fren's hly goo' health For he's a jolly good fellow, Ste." ( C h o rus by the whole of the cosspang, asppisi which the right honourable orator luznbkd down.) - • 4.4:A" - f • • THE PRESS. Vroutbings in Vadianunt. DUPLICATION OF THE INCOME TAX. Accident having prevented the discussion of the subject on Monday, when the house went into com mittee of ways and means upon the resolution for increasing the income tax, the debate was taken on the following day, when the report was brought up. Sir H. WILLOUGHBY then moved the amendment which he had placed on the notice paper for omitting the words whereby the whole amount of additional tax was made payable during the first half of the ensuing year. The incidence of the tax would, he urged, be thus alleviated to the payers, while there was no financial necessity for exacting the whole amount immediately. The Chancellor of the Exchequer had obtained 1,750,0001. additional Exchequer Bills, which would supply his present necessities, and it was inexpedient to mix up war expenditure with ordinary finances. Criticising the recent financial operations of the Government, especially as regarded their dealings with the savings-banks money, he contended that if the war taxation was to be thrown on the classes who figured in the income-tax sche dules the process would amount to confiscation and prove injurious and unjust. Mr. FRENCH seconded the amendment, complain• ing of the injustice under which Ireland suffered through the imposition of the tax. Mr. T. HANKEY condemned the course pursued by the Chancellor of the Exchequer in reducing to so low an ebb the balances in the Bank of England, and still more for having congratulated the country that those balances had been allowed to disappear. He also deprecated other of the financial operations of the right hon. gentleman, who would, he believed, be obliged to borrow a much larger amount of money than he at present contemplated. He could not, however, agree that the 1,750,000/. Exchequer Bills would be sufficient to render unnecessary the collec tion of the whole of the increased income tax within the first half year. Mr. WILLIAMS defended the Government, who, when the alternative presented of serving either the interests of the Bank or of the public, had, he consi dered, wisely selected the latter course. Mr. SPOONER contended that, should the war con tinue, the Bank Restriction Act would be productive of such inconvenience as to call for its remission; and had no doubt but that the Emperor of Russia, who well understood our monetary system, was look ing to a financial crisis in this country to aid him in his views. Mr. HUME could not agree in all the currency views of Mr. Spooner, and expressed a hope that Sir H. Willoughby would not press his motion to a division. Mr. WILKINSON approved of the budget generally, and of the proposal for raising the income tax within the half year. Mr. CALEY had no doubt that the Chancellor of the Exchequer would be obliged to repeal the Bank Restriction Act of 1844, and only hoped he would do so in time, before it brought ruin on the mercantile interests of the country. He hoped Sir H. Wil loughby would not press his motion, for in that case he must oppose him, because, whatever might be the blundering which had led us into the war, it was evident that for the honour of the country it must be carried on with energy and vigour. Mr. L.Litio eulogised the conduct of the Bank during the recent political and commercial anxieties, and warned the Government not to tamper with the currency laws inconsiderately. Mr. MALiss remarked upon the censures pro nounced against the income tax in times past by the members of the present Ministry, and enlarged upon the disappointment which the country must experience on finding that detestable impost not only rendered permanent, but aggravated in its oppres siveness. If the war lasted any time, they would find the resources derived from direct taxation altogether insufficient. The hon. member proceeded to explain the injurious consequences of the Bank Act of 1844. Sir F. BARING, deprecating the discursive charac ter of a debate in which the last thing discussed was the original motion, expressed his opinion that the arrangement the Chancellor of the Exchequer bad made with regard to the income tax was the best that could be made. He could not understand the object of the amendment, or what advantage might be gained by it. The proposal was one to do away with what was most wanted—an early payment, and he believed that outstanding bills would occasion an additional charge to the public. Sir F. KELLY said it was clear that we were on the eve of an expensive and, it might be, a very long war, and with an empty treasury. The Govern ment ought to explain how it was that such a state of things had come to pass. Much of the financial difficulties were to be attributed to the attempt made by the Chancellor of the Exchequer to carry out his plan for the conversion of old and the establishment SATURDAY ; of new stocks, which had proved to be a miserable failure, compelling the right hon. gentleman to take some 5,000,0001. from the balances in the Exchequer, and to raise money besides by means of a large amount of deficiency bills. Mr. GEACH defended the bill of 1844, and inti mated that all the predictions of evil as resulting from its operation had been falsified. Mr. DISRAELI urged that the only justification for a Government who proposed a war tax was to prove that the war had been unavoidable. This the Ministry had not done ; but, after attempting to make out their case upon one set of documents, had, within a few hours previously, issued a supplemental series presenting a totally new aspect of the vestion. Nor was the production of this supplement due to the frankness of the Government or to their confidence in the house, but arose from a singular accident. Believing that the Ministry had still something to disclose and much to explain, and especially had to inform the country whether we were at war, and, if so, for what object, Mr. Disraeli waived the discussion of that branch of the subject, with the remark that time had not yet been allowed them for duly studying the last-issued blue books on the controversy. He then passed on to the subject of the exchequer ba lances, observing that the large sumleft in the Trea sury by Lord Derby had been reduced to an amount dangerously small under existing circumstances, and by means that were imprudent and unjustifiable. He remarked upon the personal discourtesy which Mr. Gladstone exhibited when the subject had been pre viously alluded to, and showed, from abundant evidence that the peremptory contradiction offered by the Right Hon. Chancellor to his (Mr. Disraeli's) statements on a former night was altogether falla cious. Adverting then to the various reductions of interest and conversions of stocks attempted by Mr. Gladstone, and describing the details and results of those attempts with much minuteness, he charac terised them as having been injudicious, ill-advised, and persisted in against the t.pinions of the most competent authorities, and in the face of symptoms which should have shown the Chancellor of the Exchequer the peril he was incurring. The final result would be to force the Minister to raise a loan, which would only be obtained upon worse terms the longer it was delayed. Pointing out that the Mi nister had embarked in the hazardous project of dealing with the interest of our vast debt in spite not only of the efflux of bullion, of falling funds, over speculation, and the prospects of a bad harvest, but also while knowing the ominous contents of the secret documents just disclosed, Mr. Disraeli pro ceeded to condemn the policy of attempting to work a double system by paying off old incumbrances at the same moment that the public were called upon to defray the cost of a war out of current revenues. No country, however prosperous, could stand the double strain on its resources : " It is very doubtful, as I think twenty-four men out of every twenty-five in the house will admit, whether in a con tinued struggle we can raise the supplies in oue year that are necessary for the expenses of that year. That, I say, is very doubtfhl. It is possible that, from an excess of pa triotism, from an exorbitant amount of resources, you may do so. Ido not believe it, but it certainly is possible. No man, however, can maintain for a moment that you can carry on a war and raise supplies for its expense at the same time that you are paying off ten millions of debt. (Hear.) That is the position which the Chancellor of the Exchequer has placed us in. The right honourable gentle. man is working two systems exactly contrary to each other. He is coming forward animated by what is a sound prin ciple for this country—that we should, if we embark in a war, not entail the cost of that war upon posterity. But, at the same time, while he is asking us to make these unheard-of sacrifices—while he is appealing to us to ac complish this unprecedented act of patriotism, of virtue, of philanthropy—he is absolutely calling upon us to diminish the debt which our predecessors left us. (Hear, hear.) Turn it and twist it as you like, it is the most monstrous, the most impossible system of finance that ever was carried on. It has been an immense effort for Ministers to reduce the debt. Whenever there has been a surplus, you have Ira a thousand applicants. It has been the popular opinion that you should diminish taxation and not the debt. You have been obliged to pass special laws to ensure the reduction of the debt. You have had special and stringent laws to effect that purpose. But the Chan cellor of the Exchequer comes forward and says:—` I will combine with my new system of finance the features of both systems. I'll absolutely not burden posterity, and I'll defray the charges which our predecessors left us.' Now, in what can this system end ? It will end in one of the largest loans that a minister of finance ever proposed in this house. (Hear, hear, hear.) If the right honourable gentleman had raised a loan in January, he could have raised it with greater advantage than he is able to raise it now. If he attempts to raise it now, he will raise it at a greater advantage than he can expect to do in July. He may put the question off for six months more, and he will then raise it at a still greater disadvantage. It is evident that the right honourable gentleman has been, in a time of peace and prosperity, or of fancied peace and prosperity, tampering with the resources of the country. He must incur the cost of his conduct, and he must put himself in a sound position. You may rely upon it that, as certainly as I am now speaking here, he will be forced to raise a ORII. There is no taxation—and he has tried it pretty