The Press. — London, England, 1855-12-08 00:00:00

1172 battles must be lost, many changes must concur—the whole systern must be deranged, before such a catastrophe can happen. The appearance of an Epaminondas can no longer raise a petty Staie to power and influence over its neighbour, suddenly 'o be lost, with the great man's life, by some defeat at Mantineia, as it had been gained by some unforeseen victory at Leuctra. In the progress of freedom, knowledge, and national intercourse, this great change has been happily effected by slow degrees ; it is a change which immediately realises the advantages that every former change has gained to mankind; a step in our progress, which secures the advancement made during all our previous career; and contributes, perhaps more than any other revolution that has happened since the invention of written language, to the improvement and magnificence of the species. Apply the principle of this noble passage to Turkey ; give her a place in the " vast and " regular system " of European policy ; make the integrity of her territory a settled principle of European statesmanship, and it would im mediately repose under the guardianship of that international law which, to use the fine image employed in this essay, keeps the States of Europe in their place, as the planets, great and small, are retained in their pre scribed orbits through the influence of gravi tation. The truth is, that Turkey will be safe from Russian aggression the moment that she becomes a member of the European family. The next essay on the same subject is far inferior to it, as the partisan unfortunately predominates over the political philosopher. Indeed, some of the positions established in the first essay are assailed in the second. The following sentence, however, is weighty : The advocates for continual war in order to prevent ultimate danger, have uniformly neglected a consideration in itself, one should have thought, sufficiently obvious, that their counsels led to great and certain calamities in the meantime, without in any degree answering the more remote object in view. It. will be gathered from our remarks that these essays are of very various degrees of merit. The best, in our opinion, are those on Demosthenes a►►d on the "Balance of Power." But the " characters " of the reigns of George Ili. and George IV. are valuable from the autho►'s personal knowledge of some of the personages, and from the discrimination and general fair tress of the portraiture. Some papers, as that on the unhappy Lady Hamilton, had better have been omitted from this collective and authorised edition. Collection of the Customs' Tariff's of all Nations. Based upon a Translation of the Work of M. Hiibner. By C. N. Newdegate, Esq., M.P. London : Murray. THAT this is a work which should have been long ago performed by the Government we think nobody will be disposed to question, and Mr. Newdegate tells us in his introduc tion that he has repeatedly pressed it on their attention. Meeting, however, with but little success, he resolved to take advantage of the publication of M Hiibncr's work in 1852, in order to "remedy this grave deficienc3 "; and in the comprehensive volume before us we have the result of his labours. It is not, how ever, limited to a simple translation, but has been considerably added to and altered in accordance with recent changes. The whole commercial world are deeply indebted to Mr. Newdegate for this public-spirited under taking, which will ever remain a monument of his industry, talent, and resolution. To consider this vast subject in extenso would of course be impossible ; but it may be intere6ting to trace out the general principles which would seem to pervade all tariffs alike, as well as those which may happen to be pecu liar to separate ones. Duties, then, upon imports and exports appear to be regulated, first by the general question of revenue ; se condly by the principle of protection►; and thirdly by the special requirements of each particular country and Government. Duties of the first description are such as are *many levied upon those commodities which are the natural products of a foreign clime. Of this nature are the duties upon tobacco, tea, wine, sugar, &c.;—and we shall find that all nations seem to be pretty well agreed in their treatment of !such foreign products But here we are met at the outset with a direct contradiction to the principles of free trade. The theory of free trade is undoubtedly that nations should be at perfect liberty to exchange, lii.. THE PRESS. without let or hindrance of any kind, those commodities which, from natural causes of soil or climate, or artificial causes of skill in cultivation and aptitude of manufacture, are peculiar to the various countries of the world According to this theory, the sugar of the West Indies should be freely exchanged for our iron, the wines of France for our coal, the tobacco of southern America for our pottery, and the tea of China for our hardware and cotton manufactures. Free trade of this kind would confer inestimable benefits upon the world ; it would give to commerce an expansion of which, under ourpresent system, we can form but a faint idea; it would fulfil the scheme of mutual intercourse and benefit which we may humbly conceive was designed by Providence iu endowing different climes and lands with distinct products; and it would give to the various populations of the globe a command over necessaries and luxuries which must be denied to them while high duties continue to prevail. The heavy imports laid on those commodities of foreign production which are most largely consumed in this country, and which this country itself cannot produce, is so manifest and flagrant a violation of the first principles,—the very ABC of free trade,—that one wonders how the notion could have gained credence that free trade would be established by a repeal of the corn laws. It would seem that a duty on the importation from abroad of produce which can be grown in this country is more reasonable than a duty on foreign pro duce which cannot be grown here. Now that such commodities as we have mentioned above, and especially tea and sugar, have passed from the class of luxuries and become necessaries, it is extremely objectionable to load them with heavy duties. An unlimited supply could be obtained if free trade pre vailed in them, and the extension of our demand would be met by a corresponding ex tension of our trade and commerce It is, however, by heavy duties on those articles of foreign production which are most required by the people that the customs' revenue of all nations is mainly supported. Of the second class are those commodities which are levied upon foreign goods likely to compete with particular home manufac tures and interests. Whatever theoretical ob jections may be urged to such duties, there are in our complicated state of civilisation so many other interests interwoven with those of production, and so many ulterior principles come ultimately to depend on the prosperity or depression of particular classes, that to argue from the naked merits of the case is just as absurd as if we should expect to cure a luxurious invalid by plunging him suddenly into cold water, and surcharging his system with beef and ale. The principle of pro tection has at all events practically influenced nations and governments in the regulation of their tariffs to a very considerable extent; and in going through a work like the present we cannot but be struck at the resolution with which they have adhered to it. The third principle pervading tariffs is that in which rules of national policy are most conspicuous. While England, for example, burdens with enormous duties articles which pass directly into consumption, she frees from all duty those articles most necessary to her trade and manufactures—as cotton, wool, flax, hemp, &e.; and even Russia, the most restrictive of all nations in her tariff, admits free of duty most kinds of machinery, all agricultural im plements, and salt, necessary for the use of animals. The commercial policy of England has, however, as yet been followed to a very small extent in other nations. A minute examination of the tariffs here collected would go far to explain the commercial policy of different States, and, perhaps, to throw light on the various degrees of commercial prosperity they enjoy. The rapid growth of the United States, and of our colonies, must be mainly attributed to their comparative freedom from those imposts which prevail in the countries of the Old World, not excepting our own ; and the contrast will become still greater, as growing debts require new addi tions to taxation. It is worth notice that in the United States tea and coffee are among the few articles which are entirely free from duty. SATURDAY, 'While professing our sincerest thanks to Mr. Newdegate for what he has already accomplished, we shall be excused, we hope, for suggesting to him that his work is still incomplete. We should wish to see some effort made towards the publication of an average of imports and exports throughout Europe, in order that we might farm some opinion on the comparative expediency of various duties. There are an infinity of minor commodities of which we should imagine the importation must be very limited, and we should be glad to ascertain whether in these cases the cost of collection is always counterbalanced by the amount of duties re ceived. That every Englishman may tho roughly comprehend this great question, which, though complicated in detail, is still simple enough in principle, some such exten sion of Mr. Newdegate's work is imperatively necessary. He who has done thus much so well may safely be trusted to complete the whole. And we conclude our remarks with the expression of a sincere hope that we may soon again see the hon. member for Warwick shire in the field ready to put the finishing stroke to a task he has so ably begun. GIFT-BOOKS. 1. The Rhine and its Picturesque Scenery. Illus trated by Billet Foster. Described by Henry Mayhew. 2. The Keepsake for 1856. Edited by Miss Power. 3. The Court Album. A Series of Portraits of the Female Aristocracy. London : Bogue. 4. Sabbath Bells. Chimed by the Poets. Illustrated by Birket Foster. London: Bell and Dally. Or these gift books two are established favorites, and two are quite new, the latter owing their existence mainly, we presume, to the charming and fertile pencil of Mr. Birket Foster. Few artists have ever established their reputation more quickly, and no illus trator in our day, with the single exception of Turner, has ever shown more grace and fancy in his designs, or has better succeeded in blending the imaginative and the real. This, we are sure, must be the verdict of every one who glances carefully at the plates in the " Rhine " and the " Sabbath Bells " It is impos sible to look at the many and various designs in these two volumes alone without the high est admiration of the invention and spirit they display, or without being convinced that Mr. Foster possesses that fine feeling for pic turesque aspects, and that susceptibility to the subtle influences and magic spells of Nature's beauty, which give poetic inspira tion to the slightest touches of the pencil. Our readers may rely on it that the slightest sketches of this artist will well re% and—to apply to art the language of literature—a studious perusal ; that he is gifted in a high de gree with the genius which can both perceive and portray; and that in him depth of mind and power of expression—the curious eye and the skilful hand—meet together in perfect harmony. We must come to details. 1. " The Rhine" is illustrated by twenty plates by this artist, and, often as its beauties have been delineated, they have never been represented with more grace and truth. In nearly all these plates the river itself is promi nent, and the designs resemble in clearness of outline, and in happy blending of land and water, the finest picturesque effects of Stan field. The skill with which the artist has caught the spirit of each scene is especially noticeable. For example, the views of Cologne, of Bonn, and of the Lurlei Rock, are essen tially distinct, yet it is evident at a glance that each view is presented under the aspect and with the accessories most favorable to its character—the first with its busy craft and barges, the second suggesting the peaceful labours of husbandry, and the third, faintly illumined by the rising moon, showing the black rock in all its grandeur, with the long, spectral-like rafts floating on the stream, partly silvered by the light from heaven, and partly shadowed by the mighty cliff. The transient influences of Nature, and the labours