The Press. — London, England, 1857-01-31 00:00:00

JANUARY 31, 1857. A DEPUTATION from the Society tor the Protection of Trade waited on Tuesday, by appointment, on the Chancellor of the Exchequer, to state their views with respect to the income tax as already levied. The persons present were principally those who had taken part in the recent meeting at the London Tavern ; amongst other, Messrs. Stratton, Hayman, Gannon, Dr. Challis, drc. ate. The object of the deputation was to impress upon the Chancellor of the Exchequer the necessity of a more equitable adjustment of the income tax and the exemption of all incomes under 130/. ; but. after showing that many now paid the tax, not from the profits of their trade, but from the capital of their creditors, the deputa tion, in reply to the Chancellor's cross-questioning, contradicted one another in a rather amusing way, Mr. Gannon saying that it was the " indirect taxation " which was so oppressive, Dr. Challis that it was "the amount of the income tax." Ultimately, the depute• %ion dropped into the urging the case of a particular individual (a Mr. Walker), who had made affidavit before the Lord Mayor that, being assessed at 1001. per annum, he was not earning more than 40/. The Chancellor of the Exchequer reminded the deputa tion that the district surveyors were not Government officers, and promised that the case of Mr. Walker should be inquired into; at the same time he dented having intimated that any readjustment of the in come tax would take place. In conclusion he observed upon the general question of taxation : Proposals have been made to extend the area of taxation, but they have always met the most strenuous opposition from the parishes. Now, as to what you say respecting the taxes on tea and sugar, }on must be aware that taxation must be either direct or indirect; you must either take from persons' income, or else levy on the articles of their consumption. At present we resort to both methods, but they are so arranged as that the principal necessaries of life remain untaxed. There is no tax on bread, meat, fish, native fruit, or vegetables, and if a person were to confine himself to the consumption of those eatables he would pay no taxes. There are taxes on tea, sugar. and other articles of foreign and colonial produce, but if they were aban• Boned, the income tax, instead of being lightened, must be very much increased. The deputation then retired. altirogolitan. A MEETING OF TICKET-OF•LEAVE MEN was held at Farringdon-hall, on Tuesday evening. There were upwards of a hundred ticket-of leave men present. The majority were young men under twenty-five years of age, several of whom appeared to gain a precarious livelihood by vending fish, vegetables, and other merchandise in the streAs. Others appeared professional cracksmen, pick pockets, and housebreakers. Some were strong, burly fellows, well fed, and well clad, while a few were dressed in broadcloth, wore moustaches and rings, and quietly smoked their cigar before the proceedings commenced. No police were allowed to be present, and the men appeared to have perfect confidence in the bonti-tides of the noble chairman and the other benevolent gentlemen who have professed themselves anxious to assist the really deserving convict in his efforts to obtain honest employment. The Earl of Carnarvon took the chair, and among the gentlemen on the platform were the Rev. Mr. Portal, Mr. Beach, Mr. Henry Mayhew, Mr. Augustus Mayhew, Captain Wraxhall, Mr. Hutton, Mr. Wyld, Mr. Chapman, Mr. W. B. Jerrold, &c. The noble chairman, in opening the business of the evening, addressed a few words to the men present : In the first place (said Lord Carnarvon), it must be understood that all who attend and take part in the pro ceedings admit that they regret the past, and that they are anxious to lead an honest life foe the future. You must feel, if the meeting is to be of any use to you, that the good can only be accomplished by taking a sensible and manly view of the matter, and by confining yourselves to the point before us. 1 do not w;sh to hear anything about the injustice of your sentence, or the hardships of the prison or the hulk, or of penal servitude, as that will be of no use I wish you to tell me what it is that has prevented many of you, as a class, from earning an honest livelihood —in fact. I want you to tell me what has happened to you since you last left the prison. Several men in succession then addressed the meet ing, detailing their experiences, which pointed to one end—viz., the impossibility of a ticket-of-leave man obtaining labour in this country. The police hunted them out of honest labour for fear th e y sho u ld rob their employers. In the midst of these relations a burly burglar jumped up, and in a few pithy sen tences protested against these meetings. The fact was Mr. Mayhew " made money " out of them. "He sucked their brains," and then put it into print. After some little confusion the renegade was put down, and a poor, thin, sickly, intelligent man addressed the meeting at some length, making some suggestive remarks : I am ready to work at my trade, or any other work, if II can get enough to anpport me—that la, to get me the com mon necessaries of life, for I don't expect to live like a gentleman, and I believe the majority of us would do the THE PRESS. same if they bad the chance ; but it is the want of assistance that leaves a man to walk about the streets starving. I was in Smithfield a few days ago, and found thousands of honest men out of employment. What chance, then, is there for us ? I have heard the public say of ticket•ofleave men— " They are a parcel of thieves "—" They are not fit for society," and the like ; but I would like to hear of the public setting up an establishment such as one of the speakers suggested, to receive these poor fellows when they (mule tout of the places of demoralisation in which they are confined. There is no reformation in the prison or the hulk, and it is all nonsense to say there is. lam very sorry to say that I cannot get employment, and I nin driven t , ) do that which I do not wish ta do; but what am Ito do? lam willing to work to•morrow at 3s. a day, but starve I never will. If the public was more earnest in getting a refuge for these poor men when they came out of prison, it would be far better than reformatory institutions. Let the Govern. ment give a man a trial—let him have the chance of get. tins; honest employment—and if he does not go right, transport him. I have health and strength, but am Ito lit. down in the street and die? Ha related an anecdote or two in support of his statements : I saw a poor fellow the other day in the street ' • he was twenty-six years of lige, strong and healthy, and he was trying to hook out of the gutter a piece of bread covered with mud; and, when he got it, he ate it. Was not this a dreadful thing to witness in a great and civilised country? I went up to him, and asked him was he hungry? He said he was ; and he says " t will work two hours for you or any other gentleman for a piece of bread." I said, " [lave you no home ?" and he said, " None but the streets." I had no money, but I took him where I got him a piece of bread, and he offered to work for me two hours that day or the next if I could employ him. Tho fact is, there is not enough employment for honest people, and, as long as that is so, how can we expect work? In conclusion, he strongly advocated tho formation of some labour institution for convicts on coming out of prison : It is my opinion the Government would save hundreds of thousands of pounds in the maintenance of prisoners in goals under criminal prosecutions, if they were to establish an institution for the convict when he came out of those dens of demoralisation—the prisons and hulks I believe the convicts would take advantage of it if they had it. I have had experience of them, and I have seen them to possess some reason and good sense. Why, they look upon us as if we were not flesh and blood like them selves. I have seen a lady of rank taken over the place where I was, and she actually exclaimed when she saw us, Lord bless me, how quiet they are; why, they walk about !" I do not believe the Government will check crime by transporting men. Look at the thousands of honest men out of employment; and when you consider the thousands of convicts who are coming home, where do you expect they can get week ? Give me a trial and I will go to work this moment, and then you can see whether a ticket-oqeave man can lie reformed. Lord CARNARVON, having obtained a unanimous expression against tickets of leave in England and in favour of them in the colonies, in a few feeling words dismissed the meeting. THE GEOGRAPHICAL SOCIETY held its fortnightly meeting on Monday evening, when Captain Yule, of the Royal Engineers, read some extracts from his notes upon the geography of Burmah. Having re capitulated the labours of previous geographers, Captain Yule gave an amusing instance of the watchful jealousy with which the Emperor of China endeavours to intercept any approach of foreigners to his dominions. The brother of the sun and moon, it appeared, hearing that English sur• veyors and engineers were traversing Burma), wrote to the King of Ava something to the following effect . Ycungest brother should know what is the opinion of elder brother. Elder brother strongly advises younger brother, now that war is over, and peace has been wade, not to allow the English to continua traversing his country, for the English are like the peepul.tree, and spreatt and take root wherever they have once been allowed to set their foot. A subsequent portion of the paper was devoted to corrections of latitude and longitude in the existing maps ; after which the lecturer proceeded to trace the various revolutions in the political geography of Bunnell. With reference to popnlat ion, he (Cap • tarn Yule) believed that the population of Burma!) proper was about 1,200,000, and that that of the empire had never been more than about 3,000,000. Colonel O'Connor next read a paper upon the Island of Trinidad, famous fir its bitumen or pitch lake, of which the gallant colonel told an anecdote with which a countryman of his was connected. This man, it appeared, lived near the lake, but had never seen it. Ashamed to confess his ignorance, he replied, when questioned about it, "To be sure; it is a tine lake. The ships sail in quite conveniently, get their bottoms pitched, and sail out again." The fertility and mineral resources of this island are great. °ranger it produced sometimes four hogsbeags to the acre, and to the produce of cacao there need be no limit. There was an abundant supply or cocoa-nut oil, also, fit for candles, and spices grew in profusion. The tea plant throve in the island, and coal had been found in various places; so that, 105 taken altogether, it was an island that ought not to be neglected. Colonel O'Connor censured the British apathy which had disregarded the vicinity of Trinidad to " The Mother of Rivers." The banks of that great river, the Orinoco, were most admirably adapted for the raising of cattle, horses, and mules : A Scotch gentleman had established himself on its banks, raised horses and mules, and sold them all at an immense profit at Port of Spain, but not in quantity at all equal to the demand. Surely, with our present appliances in steam navigation, such vast capabilities might be utilised. Br:eding•pens on the banks of the Orinoco would offer a fine field for emigrants, and he could testify that the life of the hunter was both exciting and healthful. He trusted, in conclusion, that the capabilities of Trinidad, the Queen of the Antilles, and the advantages arising from the vicinity of the great Orinoco, would not be left mach longer neglected by this country and her Majesty's Go• vernment. THE MERCANTILE LAW CONFERENCE have held meetings this week at Willis's-rooms, under the presidency of Lord Brougham. Deputations from the provincial cities were present, and the subjects discussed embraced the law of debtor and creditor, including bankruptcy; the Judgment Executions Bill, asd the United Kingdom Writs Bill; Tribunals of Commerce, the Registration of Partnerships, the 17th section of the Statute Frauds, and the Com mercial Code. Lord Brougham, in opening the proceedings on Wednesday, congratulated the meet ing on the importance of the movement now com menced, and upon the effect which such a body of men must have upon the Government and upon the Law Society in its attempts at improve ment. With regard to the bankruptcy law which was coming under consideration, he adverted to the changes which had taken place during the last quarter of a century, particularly to those of 1831, 1840, 1841, and 1849, by the Bankruptcy Consolida tion Act. Some objections had been raised to the proceedings of the society on the ground that they were not vast and sweeping enough, and on account of its want of system. After rebutting many of these objections, l:is lordship referred to the law of bank ruptcy. Much had been said with regard to the conflicting jurisdiction of the winding-up courts and the courts of bankruptcy, and he thought these objections might be got rid of by referring all the matters to one tribunal. A paper on " The Adminis tration of the Bankruptcy Laws " was read Ey Mr. Commissioner Ayrton, and a pamphlet written on the subject by a Mr. Hastings, of the Leeds Chamber of Commerce, was also read. Both gentlemen recom mended that ti n cost of the Court of Bankruptcy should be thrown upon the Consolidated Fund ; that the official assignee should be paid by salary, not fees; that appeal should be abolished, and that the existing expenses of bankruptcy proceed ings, which at present absorbed half the estate, should be materially decreased. After some dis cussion it was finally agreed that a deputation should be appointed to wait on the head of bet Majesty's Government, and call his attention to the defects in the administration of the bankruptcy law, more especially with a view of diminishing the expense of the proceedings, and to throw the cost of compensation on the Consolidated Fund. At the evening meeting the subject of Tribunals of Com merce was discussed, and the questlon of the estab lishment of such tribunals over the country referred to the committee for consideration. On Thursday the conference reassembled, when papers upon the " Codification of the Mercantile Law" and upon the "Registration of Partnerships," were read by Mr. Leoni Levi and Mr. William Entwistle; and resolu tions supporting the propositions of both gentlemen were passed. The "Statute of Fraud" was also dis cussed, and a resolution passed that the 17th section ought to be repealed ; provision, if it should be found necessary, being made for enforcing the employment of written contracts in particular cases. A deputa tion from the conference waited upon, and was received by, Lord Palmerston at twelve o'clock yesterday. THE TOLL GATE QUESTION AT ISLINGTON was discussed on Tuesday evening at a special general meeting of the vestry of the parish, held to consider the propriety of memorialising the Commis:;ioners of the Metropolitan Roads to abolish the toll-gates on that district, particularly that which stands in the High-street, near the Angel Inn. The commix. stoners' roads, according to a return they had made to Parliament, cost them 830/. per mile per annum, and, to meet this expenditure, they levied heavy tolls, which did infinite harm to the tradespeople. But, while the cost was as stated, the commissioners had been in receipt of between 10,0001. and 11,0001. per annum from the tolls they collected. A petition, sigted by 198 of the principal inhabitants, praying for the removal of the gates, and moving that a committee should be appointed to memorialise the commissioners on the subject, was adopted. The committee was appointed, and the vestry ad journed. Mr. T. CHAMBERS, M.P., h <doe of Common Sergeant. S has been elected to the