The Statesman. — London, England, 1815-02-10 00:00:00

riously mean to say, that even a trebling of them will pro dnce 24 Millions! He would not surely so commit reputation. There cannot exist a doubt that theTreii sarywould not receive even double the present amount, because people of all classes would moderate their establishments accordingly, and we very much doubt whether any sensible difference would be produced. Obnoxious as is the present Income 'fax, and de testable in every way, it is difficult to discover any other mode of obliging a particular description of iorsons in this country to contribute to the State, ,specially those who have very large incomes in the Funds, Annuities, Mortgages,&c. and who either live prouriously,or who by emigration would avoidevery other species of taxation. It is an axiom in finance, that there is a certain maximum of imposts, which is the Ne plus ultra. The Assessed Taxes have reached that point, and no better proof of it need he adduced than to read the Advertisements in the Newsprpers, and to see t he bills which ornament the windows of almost e vCrs , house in the Metropolis, announcing a want r f occupation. Besides, what must become of the Agricultural interest ? Do not the Meetings through out t: e whole kingdom declare, that even if the land was let without a rent, in some places, the farmers could not go on under the present load of taxation! and can they then support a triple assessment upon their present burdens ?—Private families indeed may, and wid reduce their expenses, but the farmer cannot; he must have his horses, and his servants, or his work wi!l stand still. It is really a waste of time to argue on the subject. The country is literally exhausted, and if the weight of impost under which it labours, is not only not reduced, but to be encreased, emigration to an alarming extent must be the natural and ob vious consequence ; and thus the CHASCELLOR of the EXCIIEQLI ER will leave off where he began.— There is but one possible remedy fur the evil—RE. TRANCHIIVIT---WitiVOUt it no plan of finance can be effectual. Another of Mr. VANSITTAUT'S plans may be, as has been stated, to seize upon the Sinking Fund.— But what will this do; he cannot possibly take more than from sir to ten millions, unless indeed he ap plies it altogether to the present mon►ee►t of esigency ; but the dobt end the burden will still remain the same. We repeat, it is not only the 13 millions of the deceased Income Tax that are to be provided ' for, and the interest of the National Debt ; it the immense demand created by war enormous j establishments, civil, naval, and military, by our l still continued subsidies paid, as Mr. PoNsorrelr so jus , ly said last night, during the sitting of that Con gre,s hose operations were a momument of eternal dirace! It ii these overbearing and insupport— able demands on us, that no plan of finance whatever in the present exhausted state of the The conduct of Mr. FREMANTLriaIE night, on the' subject of the appeals to the pistol, in coasequence of the late Court-martial, entitles him to the appro bation of every thinking man. Is it to be endured, that any Gentleman on whom the disagreeable task of standing forward as a public prosecutor is forced, mhether he will or not, shall necessarily be espoced afterwards to run the chance of having his brains blown out ! If the Government order a prosecution to he commenced, end compel a particular individual to stand forward as the prosecutor, is he, after he has run the risk of incurring displeasure, and has perhaps received punishment for his labours, to be shot at for the performance of what he, per haps, has unwillingly undertaken and would gladly have avoided ?--lit this case few persons be found who would chuse to incur such a risk, however heinous may be the offender, or im portant to the public may be his detection. Would ant a Gentleman in such case be fully justified in de clini the honour oftbe appointment in favour of the .ATTORNEY-GENERAL, or some other of, the Law Officers of the Crown, who, no doubt, would find amens of avoiding such a dangerous rencontre! This is really an Important subject, and deserves very attentive consideration. We trust ME. FREMANTLE will continue in the coarse he has so properly adopted, until he hay efectualty provided against the recur rence of so serious . au evil. We (+set Ve with. plimuarit,that. the CLIANCELLOII of the EXCHEQV La said, Government had already taken every precaution to prevent any of those un pleasant consequences which the lionottrableMember seemed to dread ; but what the nature of these pro tautionals we are opt given to understood. Extract from a letter from Dover, dated Wednes day :—" Sir FRiDlaleg FiLIiiNLA arrived this day from Boulogne, and proceeded immediately to Lon with dispatches, Laid to be of great importance." The last day for receiving Petitions for Private Dills in the House of Lords is Wednesdity,•the 15th of this instant February, and for Reports from the .Judges, Thursday, the 6th of April neat. • Yesterday se`nnight the Lords of the Covina met at the Council Chamber to hear and determine prize appeals, when the important cause of SEETON and II'HuNALn, which has been several years in litiga tion. was finally decided in the appeal from Grenada, in ‘thich the fate of 500,0001. was involved. The Ala-ran or ltis ROLLS delivered the judgment of Cie Lord , , which reversed the decision at Grenada. The Gentloman against whom the decree was pro tiounred ssas in Court at the time, and the instant he !ward it delivered rushed out as a man its the greatest slate of despair. The 9A battalions of the 7th and 4.lti regiments have marched into Portstnouth, the former from Winchester, and the latter from Hilsea Barracks. I'IIE STATESMAN: NAVAL INTELLIGENCE. —ulow.-- To rus EDITOR OF TIE ,s_TAITESMAN. LETTER It. Sta,—ln a former letter I pointed out this place as a retreat, where every necessary of life and many of the luxuries are placed within the reach of persons whose narrow circumstances would, in England, wholly exclude them from the latter, and deny them many articles coming strictly under the former head. To prove this assertion, it will be requisite to enter into certain domestic details from which the wealthy and fastidious may turn with contempt ; hut which will not the less interest those for whom I write, who certainly are not the wealthy, and whom imperious circumstances forbid to be fastidious.—l take for my data that there are, at this time, in consequence of the peace, a considerable class who are thrown out of professional employ, with such limited incomes as are wholly inadequate to their wants, and on which, in fact, they cannot live in England, without quitting the rank they have been fitted by education to occupy. That such persons, tempted by conti guity, as well as climate, will first turn their thoughts to France, is most probable; but it would be well worth their consideration to reflect, before they deride that the comforts of life do net alto getter depend on sunshine or a clear sky ; but there are particularities in the temper and manners, as well as language of the French, hardly re concileable to the habits of Englishmen. In Paris, perhaps, this distinction is less perceptible • there the nobility of the two countries pu rs ue the inti macy, and continue that reciprocal interchange of customs which has been the natural result of the emigration by which they were first associated. But Paris is not the scene where an economist would re sort ; and it is notorious that in all the provinces, l even their own people, nho have been long resident in England, are received with distrust ! That the land is as yet torn and divided by two parties ; that the majority are imbued with the strong- The apartments which Mr. CANNING has obtained est aversion and jealousy towards those with whom they have contended for so long a period ; from the Regency of Portugal are the royal apart that hatred to the English has grown up with almost ments, attached to the Convent of Necessity, at Belem, near Lisbon. The Right Houourable Gen- the whole of the present generation; and where it tleman, far from finding his allowance of 14,0001. is most certain, nothing but a lavish expenditure a-year too considerable, complains of its inade- can purchase even the outward ap;earati.:e of civility quacy, both with reference to his expenditure, and to the stranger. Now it is most clear that in the Isle of Man none of these disadvantages exist—the to the ardaqus duties of his station ! It must be l confessed, that the Right Honourable Gentleman'sanguage universally spokes and understood, even by the peasantry, is English. The customs, man embassy has commenced under circumstances of pe culiar propriety. He is sent to Lisbon to congra- ners, and character of the country are English, so is tulate the Prince of BRAZILS on his supposed re- the climate; coming here is, in fact, but like re turn to his capital ;—and—the first measure of his moving from one county to another,—the price of mission is to. occupy. that Royal Person's most se- provisions (of which hereafter I mean to give a scale) lect residence!! This is an honour which his Royal is very moderate ! wine and liquors paying little duty Highness will, no doubt, highly estimate, and for are consequently low ! house rent has been high, but which this country ought cheerfully to pay !!! by the great increase of buildings in the last five years, is at present much ii-duced. T lig, however, will There being a great number of very deserving always vary with the influx of inhabitants; but to officers in the East and West Indies, who , from the up all in one sentence, taxes of every kind are' fate of war, have been deprived of the opportunity ( sum nw, except a trifle to preserve the high roads. 01 sharing ' le extensive and unusual brevet promo- I Those who are bowed down by the weight of parish tion so a ery justly granted in the army lately under it is said, i rates and Government imposts will see at once the, the Duke of WELLINGTON'S command ; ; striking difference this one particular must create in i in consequence and in consideration of the former the scale of ex rote. Another very material ad. services of those o ffi cers, to be the intention of 'his ; vantage is derived . from the economic habits of the Royal Highness the Commander in Chief, that all captaloil Of ten , where this quality is universally practised, na yeareittittdincrnnvey of-wtronrtmwe "TW, wbot bang usualig trained up in Mans fa. been upwards of twenty years an the service) shall in j to y carry it with them wherever they go, though promoted to the rank of Lieutenant-Colonel. it is equally true, that for its preservation it is un-, The three household cavalry regiments, the Blues, wise to mix them with the domestics of other and Ist and '2(l Life Guards. are, it is said, to be nail .. united in a brigade, and to take the usual state-duty , iave just observed that economy is a character alternately. I istic of the native Manz, and I consider its being so The 13th Royal Veteran Battalion has arrived at as a very strong recommendation of the island. In Spithead from Lisbon, and is ordered t o proceed to England, by the operation of wealth, pride, and the vicinity of this metropolis, viz. Lambeth, New- luxury, this virtue ' on which all the internal corns into'', and Camberwell, where they are to be quer- f or t o f a d omes ti c establishment actually depends, is tered till disbanded. regarded with a degree of contempt, very likely to The 18th Light Dragoons are expected in the effect its entire extirpation. Things there have com- Kentish district, to relieve the 11th in part of their Itlp e e y changed their names—prudence is now de duty, both on the coast and in the interior. _ ! nominated parsimony, and prodigality has assumed DEAL, .FEE. 9.—Came down from the River the Loalher Castle, Herefordshire, General Harris, Atlas, and General Kyd, all East Indiameu, out ward-bound; also from the River several sail of West Indiamen, and the Economy, for the Brazils. Port - rsmoutn, Faa. I—Arrived his Majesty's ship Horatio, from the coast of America ; Tyrian, from the eastward, and sailed again to cruise off Brighton. —Sailed his Majesty's ship Bann, for Leith Roads.— The outward-bound fleets remain, but should the wind continue as it is they will in all probability sail to-morrow. FALMOUTH, JAN. 7.—Arrived the Fox packet, with a Mail from the Leeward Islands, in 36 days. Sailed his Majesty's ship She!drake, for Plymouth, 'and the Rotterdam (a Dutch 6-3), for ditto ; also sailed the Flaxley, for London, and the Sir Peter, for Hull. PLYMOUTH, JAN. B.—Came in the American ship Plutarch, Capt. Bathman, from Charleston for Bourdeaux, with cotton, rice, and cocoa, captured on Sunday last by his Majesty's ship Helicon.— Arrived the Rotterdam, a . Dutch man of war, from Falmouth. Ltvritpoot., FEB. B.—We this day learn, that the Star, Disbrow, from New Brunswick for this port, met with a severe gale on the 21st of December, in lat. 40. long. 30. in which her dead-lights were stove in, bulwarks carried away, and a passenger and four seamen washed overboard. The Captain and' one man died on the wreck; the mate and five of the crew were taken from the foretop by a Portuguese schooner, %here they had been seven days. Friday morning the Ist, and Saturday morning the 2d division of the 2d battalion of the 83d regiment left Kilkenny on the route to Dublin. There are no fewer than forty-seven felons con. deTrthtd to death in the cells of Newgate, and the Sessions commence on Wednesday neat. the. splendid title of liberality; but in this island it happeord, — that the inhabitants hare most frequently had tcocontemplate the result of this transposition of terms, unattended by the glare of its progress.— As long as it afforded an asylum to the debtor, they found that those who Red from the con. The price of Russian tallow was, in January lasts sequence of extravagance on the other side of from 102.. to 105 s. per cwt. ; it is now 80s.— t h e water , usua ll y b roug ht th e same ex p ens i ve Query, Have the prices of candles fallen propor. habits here, and as such tempers are commo!tly ac tionably ? I compaaied by a sovereign contempt for those little ANECDOTE PRESERVED BY TILE LATE HORACE ' minds who are afraid to spend more than they can WALeoLe.—The Countess of Suffolk had married pay—the legitimate fruit of this combination was Mr. Howard, and they were both so poor, that they doubt and aversion ; in the end too it mostly hap took a resolution of going to Hanover, before the I peued, that ill-regulated expenditure even in this con death of Queen Anne, in order to pay their court to I fined spot, concluded as it had begun, and rendered the future Royal Family. Such was their poverty, ; a second flight as necessary as a first had been, to the that having some friends to dinner, and being disap. great and often serious injury of the traders. On pointed of a full remittance, she was forced to sell the other hand it appeared,that when misfortune, un. her hair to famish the entertainment. Long wigs accompanied by vice, had driven persons to this place, were then in fashion, and the Countess's hair being a very different conduct was observed, and gratitude fine, long, and fair, produced her 201. 1 , foeihe shelter afforded, as well as a sense of com. Crorford, one of the victorious sailors, who gal- moh honesty, protected the natives equally from lantly beat his man on the last day's play at boxing, c oaaemp t or l oss . The comparison thus forced upon at Combe Warren, is matched to fight Manley, a the people has been highly favourable in protecting baker, on Monday next. their morals from the contagion of ill-example; and ExTRAORDINARY PASSAGIL—The Inverness packet perhaps, there is nothing more studiously to be sailed from Gravesend last week, and arrived at avoided by those who would live well with their Burghead, in Scotland, in 70 hours, thus outstrip- neighbours, and certainly nothing received with more ping the mail coach by U hours. Rellpiciall here, than a tendency to lavish expence. ---ww.-- When it is considered how much we are the creatures of example, and how many foolish things are exacted even against our inclinations, merely because others do them, or to evade the appearance of narrow cir cumstances, the value of this remarkable trait must be duly appreciated. Not to trespass too much at •time I shall break off here ; but I propose in Cons-Excnsonr, Fan. 10.—There being little fresh Wheat at Market, fine qualities met ready stile at an advaace of 34. per quarter; more matey is asked for every description of Foreign Wheat. but no great quantity tva4 dispaseti of.— Barley, Beans, Pea., nail Oats are le. per starter dearer, the suppil of each being very trilling. Wheat (Kogtisb) • 46 75 1 Beans Ditto (Farago) 44 76 1 Old ditto «- Rye 9B 90 Tick do 26 31 Marley • 95 34 OW NeW !IMO l. Oats 95 3L Malt •- e. 64 70 Fine ditto ..... — White Pens 36 41 Poland do. .... 20 9$ New ditto .... - Feed ditto 11 1$ Ditto Boilers 42 44 Fine Moor ..... .... 6.5 so tirey Peas a 36 Seems& ... .... 61 55 SMITHFIELD MARK ET.—FEis. 10. To slot the Offal, per stone of Nit. Beef ... ss. Od. to 6s. 0.1. Head of Cattle this day t g %moo ..ss. 01. tot 6.. ot. Routh Veisl ... 7s. 04. to Os. al. Sheep i , 3,144 p o rk ~... 6s. 01. to 7s. ad. Calle •••• • • .1 ..... Z Lamb ....Os. Od• to 00 - Od• Pip • /IA 'II I 2IIARKIIT. Hoy' Cln4r Straw .4•••• A... As, , ono . . . . My -next to give a more particular description - of the tax the article manufactured and there would not be so much injustice in the ease; but he thotight it aas natives, and such other matters as I conceive may be -interesting to thaws who may contemplate a nearer as much i un j .st to tax income and property in thn ataleeintanae with the Island.--I am, Sir, &c. same degree, as it would be to tax one man as much .4pAof Alan, JIM 31, 1815. A. B. upon the value of his stock in trade as another man is taxed upon the amdunt of his income PITA!. Dotto—A fatal duel took place at the derived from the profits of his stock.—He is: p al of Booro on the 22d of February last. ft thought the tax ant: unjust in the mode in which a rs that in consequence of some misunderstand.. it is raised, bx:auce it is inquisitolial, e t a b e . inn which took place on hoard the lion. Company's cause it is hurtful to the concerns of trade. It is un rctuiter Malabar, Lieut. P— and Dr. K—, of that just, becauie it obliges persons either to pay a-tat , went ashore at the island above-mentioned, upon an iticntne which they are not in the enjoyment tild exchanged shots, when Lieutenant P— received of, or to sa t isfy the Commissioners that they are a belt which went (brought his heart, and killed him not, by making disclosures of their circumstances, epee the spot. 1 which would materially injure t or perhaps ruin them, PROPERTY TAX. At a public Meeting held at the Sun Tavern, Chatham, on Tuesday last, for the purpose of tak ing into consideration the propriety of presenting a Petition to Parliament against the renewal or con tinuation of the Income Tax ;—• Mr. MARSHALL having explained the occasion and object of the Meeting said, that it was diflicult thing to devise a mode of taxation which would give satisfaction to every !iody, and this duty of his Ma jesty's Ministers in this respect is, •therefore, so un thankful a one, that he would be the last person to interfere in any measure resorted to by Hie Legis lature for raising money to support the expences of Government; but the Property Tax appeared io hint to be unjust, both in its principle and in the mode iu which it was raised, that he thought it behoved every body to unite in a respectful Petition to Parliament against continuing it. A tax upon property, he thought, was a tax which nothing but absolute ne. cessity could justify Ministers in resorting to ft was evident, he said, that Ministers considered it to be a Tax which could only be justified by ne• cessity, or they would nut have limited its du ration to the period during which the nation should . be engaged in war. The time stipulated by Parliament, for the expiration of the Tax is fast approaching ; and if any reliance is to be placed on promises, we are entitled to expect there will then be an end or the Tax, because we have the solemn pledge of Me nisters that it shall not continue longer. lie mad it was far from the general inclination of his mind is oppose the measures of Ministers ; but, in the pie. sent instance, he could not help saying, he thought' for them to attempt to continue the Tax would be to endeavour to take advantage of the pa. triotic feeling by which the country has 915 nil oc casions been animated, and which has induced n hitherto to bear the tax without complaining. lie would not deny that Ministers waisted money ; but he thought they ought not to tax income, they ought to tax the commodity in the purchase of which in come is expended, and then persons would use On commodity or not as their circumstances would allow. We do not complain because. we are taxed ; if any onishould assert this, he would rely on.the cheer fuliieSs with which the nation has hitherto borne the heavy taxes imposed on it as aufficient to give a positive contradiction to such an assertion ; we only complain because we are unequally taxed, because a tax is imposed upon us which,whilst it hears so lightly upon some persons that they scarc-lj feel it at all, bears . so heavily on others, that they cannot endure it with out depriving themse'ves, not merely of the comforts, but of the very nece•sari , s of life; we compinto of the Property Tax too, because it requires us to Os the instruments of our own taxation ; because it re. quires us to make disclosui es of our private con.: cents, which, he though!, the Government of this . , country had no right to ask of any one of us, whi. h, however it might be tolerated under arbitrary ' systems of Government, where th.re is bat ono will,. and that the will of the Supreme Governor, is con trary to the rights of a free, and incompatible with the Interests of a cominercialpeople. He would principally' oppose the tax, he acid, becauSe he thought 'it was an. just iu its print pie, unj ist iii thb‘mede In with it ti raised, and iajnroutt to .1144104.411110.1.9.L111111:. country. He thought it unjoet tq Its principle, be cause unequal in its operatiOn.. According to his ideas of taxation, no tax could be a just one, whirl, does not assess every body swept ding to their mean: ; by their means lie did not intend the amount of their incomes, but their ability to pay the tax, tak ing into consideration the amount of their in. comes, and the expences they were necessarily obliged to pay out of it. The ptinciple pf the Property Tax is, that every person whose income amounts to 1501. per annum, shall pay a duty of 101. per cent. whatever may he the situation of the parties, or from whatever source their incomes may be derived. Ile then drew a ompirlson between the ability of a person with an income' . or /001. per 46ii annum, and a wife and large family to support . with it, to pay the tax • and the ability of a person possessing an income of 20001., but with out wife or child, and inferred from the many ex amples of a similar kind which might be put, that the Tax was unequal and unjust. :11:nfight . bi said, indeed rt had been said, In fairdur if the' • Tax, that it is impossible so to moderraie it that it shall not bear harder on some persons than on others —he knew it was impossible, but that wit; the argu ment he would make use of against the Tax, because it was necessarily unequal in its operation, therefore it was that he opposed the principle of the Tax alto gether as unjust and oppressive; but let Ministers tax the commodity and the difecolty would be got rid of, for then those persons wl•ose 'circitastances would not allow them to pay the . tax must endure the privation of abstaining from the like Of the commodity. Let them, he said, tax property if they please ; but the' present tax, although it professes tl be a tax upon property, is a tax upon income also, and a tax upon income is no more a tax upon pro perty than a tax upon wool is a tax upon cloth. In come and property are things as dissimilar in their natures as money and credit, and it mould be•as ab surd to say, that they are s ) nonyMoui; as it would be to say that a poor labouring mart, in receipt of weekly earnings of twenty-shillings, which he weekly expends in the support of himself and his family, is a • man of property, that he is a man possessing a property of 521. a year. If then, he laid, income and property are not alike, why should ih I he taxerl together ? The property of a commercial man arises from the savings of Iris income: income (if he might be allowed the simile) is but the raw material •out of which property is manufactured. Let Ministers :7.11 , 1i 1 , • , Ur 111 r ; la e cumin/lit/ ca ... r O , because it squires[. us ~tdie, er own taxation ; lietiule 0 re. . lisclosores of our Private con.: ~ [ought, the Government of this . , t to ask of any one of at, 114 ght be tolerated under arbitrary ant, where th.ro ts bat one will,. .. . the Supreme Governor, is cell- a free, and incempsitible with the cialpeopke. He ivueld rincipally' I, because he thought )(Was an. unj Ist br the mode In watt+ it re'. . u& Iv 41.444.40144,/,..4..ths_____ ht it unjust.' re its principle, be. -.4,.. , s operation.. According to his D tax could be a just one, which t body according to toeir means ; did not intend the amount of vir ability to pay the tax, tak. $ on the amount of their in. tpences they were necessarily 1 $ of it. The principle of the t at every person whose income er annum, shall pay a duty of rer may he the situation of the itever source their incomes may t drew a comparison between the ' with an income of 2OOl. per .. 1 and large family to support . so taxi and the 'ability of a iv • income of 20001., but with. id inferred from the many ex- rind which might be put, that il and unjust. It 'might be . . been said, in favour of the osslhle so to moderate it that it on some persons than on others possible, but that was the grips- use of against the Tax, because equal in its operation, therefore • 1 , d the principle of the Tax alto- oppressive; but let Ministers 1 1 and the difticalty would be got ! persons whose 'circitestances them to pay the . tax . must . of abstaining from the dime? the • m, he said, tax property if they int tax, although It professes to rty, is a tax upon income also, • me is no more a tax upon pro- ~ . - is wool is a tax upon cloth. In- .• - • m things as dissimilar in their •st # I credit, and it would bees ab. y are s,nonymoui; at it would ror labouring mad, in receipt of . .. -•,. - renty-shillings, which he weekly rt of himself and his family, is a . rat he is a man possessing a • , tar. If then, he aid, income alike, why should th I he taxed erty of a commercial man arises is income: income (if he might .) is but the raw material out manufactured. Let !Ministers ictured and there would not be • he ease i but he thonght it eas r income and property in thn old be to tax one man as much :is stock in trade as anothr-r the amount of his income profits of his stork.-----Ile s unjust in the mode in sibick 1 ". •-1 ie it is inquisitorial, auk be. he concerns of trade. It is un- ,es persons either to pay a-tax 1 they are not in the enjoyment Commissioners that they are • osures of their circumstances, y injure, or perhaps ruin them, • . . i . .... • f Sari. Mi. " H' , of the Of rStS tete It a ►ah! nfuf ntic hick t is cid vets ce rd et. 6; at it