The National Register. — London, England, 1819-06-28 00:00:00

e ee 6, ,ey, -,''~~ 41 7.r.41 No. 1194.—V0L. XII.] POittiCid Urtrotipecr. VILIC E 9,1,d. opened wide the dmr of admission to all who be lieve in nothing ? If services like these are nut re warded, who will - hereafter be found to render them with equal zeal zed similar devotion ? Malt and Wool are the hallowed ,ground we have chosen :Intl challenge fur our own ; there have we raised out kmples, which even the High Priest himsclf cannot enter without committing profaLatinn." Some such remonstrance as this we should have though:. most natural and nr)st Lecont 4 ng, and would cer tainly have best accorded both with past events and the probability of future contingencies. But, to come to graver argument, let us Irpe that thew things will at length epen the eyes of those who have so long.been blind. We .fully and sincerely sympa thize in the evils which these new taxes bring with them. But those who petition or complain ought to 42 aware hew :wally impossilde it is, in our p:csent exhausted state, to look fur any increase of Revenue .from other sources than either the first necessaries of life, or the more ilireet process of taking the money, in its own shape, from our pockets, and that nothing can be so ridiculously absurd as to vote away millions in the gross, and then shuffle and murmur ut the manner in which they are to be raired. We have often been taunted with the charge of finding fruit with every thing without propo.,ing ary scheme of our own. Now let us only ask what possible substitute excerl a Property-tax, could have been found on this occasion, by these remonstrants themselves; and even a Property-tax would not have answered the object dills Majesty's Ministers ; as they have expressly stated, that should hostility break out, they mean to have that liken , isc ; and that it is only now reserved " as a broad and was. sive shield," which is to be prof against every ag gression, and resist the thuntlcrbolts of War. how soon that storm may reach us, we will not venture to predict, but we may safely and undeniably assert, that no measure which Parliament could have adopted, would have lull so direct a tendency to acct - 'crate its progress as the terrible sanction it has just given to this increase of taxation. War does a:lt more certainly beget Poverty, than a rich Exchequer produces War, and the only effectual cheek upo:a the ambition, the folly, end the pride of Princes, is the difficulty of providing the means upon which those vices feed. The Anniversary Festival of the .tt.tladie Cha ritable Institutions in Somers Town was numeyously and respectably attended at the FreCTMISOICS Parent on Thursday. The •Duke'd Sussex was unavoid ably prevented from presidia ; ; at dinner, but in the course of the evening-nrriv,d, just as the Rev. Dr. Lindsay had concltu au impressive speech commendation of these meritorious Establishments ; in the course of which he bestowed a deserved encomium 'on the humane and charitaMe Mrs. Frr, a lady whom he described as devoting her tyldz. time to penetrating with blessings the abodes et' wretchedness. The health of the Duke of Sussex having been given, his Royal llighn,:ss retatmd thanks, and strongly recommended the Establish ments to the humane consideration of the charitabk, and concluded by giving" The Ladies, who were in the gallery, and honoured the Meetiog with their presence ;" the toast was drank with three times three. The Royal Chairman then announced that the subscriptions of the evening among the ladies prostint were es/. and at the table 387/. Ilis Royal Highness then gave " ht;thit of the Doke and Doehess of Kent and the little Princess," which was received with elks( rs ; soon aft:r %OIL-4 the ladies retired, and the company enjoyed thew. selves to a late hour. Utt itittr+ THE new taxes seem to go dawn with more dif fiedity, and to be less easy of digestion than we be lieve his Majesty's MiniAers were prepared to expect. Our own opinion can only be once more reheated, condemning in tote toe principleaitrilf of peace taxation. We are therefitre nut likely to be satis fied with either the time or manner in which that principle is now acted on. But we cannot, at the same time, in cormumi jastice, forbear stating, that we think the administrati-en most unfairly dealt with, by duce upon whose uniform and zealous co operation they had an unquestioned ground to - reckon. Their own partisans and friends are not only crying out, but have been putting themselves at the very head and front of the battlu arrayed, against them. Now that those, who have, front tlie very outset, never failed to lift up their voice against' that foal and ruinous system which has brought us to the dilemma we arc in, should feel indignant at being called upon Cm sacrifices which no act of theirs iias contributed to render necessary, but on the con trary, whose warnistgs have been slighted, whose advice has been contemned, end themselves, made the object of oblivy and reproach, for the very op position they It we given, is fair and -natural ; but where, let us ask, is the right or jttstiee of complaint from those who have hallooed on, fl.r five and twenty years, a most profligate-and wanton expenditure, having harangued at Pitt Clubs upon the sublime conceptions and daring courage of a Minister whom no financial difficulties ever could appal, who added above six hundred millions to our debt, and aug mented our taxes more than seven-flffil ; who when a. tax was not sufficiently productive actually set it up to sale a freehold inheritance, • and when all the precious metals of Europe would have been ina dequate to supply his &minds, by the magic of his tvand, could realize all the •falded stories of the t)bilusopher's stone, and give to a scrap of paper issued by a trailing compaity all the character and currency of real gold ; who after having stunned our ears and astonished oar senses by encomiums upon the strength, and wealth, and resources of this great nation, and laughed at the:idle fears and croakings of discontented Whigs, are now seen " their Lacks upon !heater/fees," and their darling system. and meanly murmuring at the payment of a reekoning, which they not only never of to tieing. run up, but aided, supported, and encouraged whilst it was contracted. We have seen a proffigal spendthrift spander away his fortune. and carelessly toss up fur the stake of his lat shilling. Bat in this there was at least consistency. There was what the an cients callel the (kernel, ofn character uniffirtnly sapparted. But we really know not to have ever hotted am thi , ig so truly paltry, so truly unworthy of that high •flown /o"e (/ m,. country which we had been taught to ieve distinguished every " genuine sill of Pitt," as their recent opposition to Taxes, which sic are told have been rendered inevitably necessary, by the very measures they have all along lauded us the only system that could se cure to us the blessings so repeatedly promised by the " Ileaven-born Minister" ‘Ve had thought that the patriotism of a Pittite contained nothing sclnsh, nothing- interested, and we are quite • rure that their illustrious master left them on this point ruost admirable lesson—for he cared so .little. for !a ral/WW ;if/PLY 1111LNDAY, JUNE 2S, 1819. • the goods of this life, whether they belonged. to him self or others, that he even left it • to his grateful country to discharge his debts, and .to .defray the expenses of his funeral. Besides this, how often have we heard from the mouths of these very gen tlemen who are nova aimost in arms against the lawful rules, that the pressure of so tremendonsta conflict as jr .shaii.. from mbieh we have just emerged, must not be .expictcd to be removed at once ; that an agitated ocean does not instantly subside into a calm ; and lastly, that agevernment which has conducted us to so splendid a .termination of our struggles, and planted Old England cn so proud a pinnacle of glory, is at least entitled to our confi dence, that they will guide the vessel of the State in peace ith no less ability and regard to her best interests than they have done in war. These sem timents are the burden of every political meeting amongst these would-bc patriots. They are repeated again and again with as much assurance as if they were troths incontrovertible as the axioms of Euclid. Nay, they. readily consented to give to the Chancel lor of the Exchequer, every farthing of the three millions he asked for, and it was not till the items of taxation came to be discussed that the slightest objection was urged. " Now," says one " I will not object to any tax on seliish..,7roteids, but as member for an Agricultural County, I cannot approve a tax on barley." " I" says a second, "am amaltstcr, and can as lit lc.approve a tax on malt, and more especially if it is to attach to that already in hand." " And I," cries out still more lustily a• third, "am amanufactu rer of crapes and bombazines, and can confidently us-rare you that any tax upon 14reign wool is impo litic, unwise, and unfavourable-to our rig:ie.:llure al hAne ; and I can prove this to the satisfaction of every individual in the trade, by a reference to the quantity of bread and mutton consumed by both journeymen and masters, in mamitiwtoring the said imported wool ; and the diminished quantity which will be necessary for their subsistence it' this article be subjected to the enormous impost of sixpence a pound." Now, would it not have been better in all these deep-reasoning 7cotlemcii, it' they could neither bring themselves to petition against or oppose the whole system of Peace-taxation, at least to have addressed the Le ialaturc upon other grounds, and to have appealed to the softer passions of Mr. Vansittart, in sonic such terms as these,—" Sir, we conic not behir- you to impede the wheels of Government or to object to any sacrifices which the good people of England may be called upon to make we know that money insist be had, we know that so wit:: and pure and virtuous an administration willaise it as they ought : all we ask is, that as small a portion as possible may fall upon our own -shoulders, and to this indulgence our unvarying and distinguished loyalty-may surely prefer some claim. :Have we not supported y(111 both with our souls and bodies during the progress of the war, and does not a spirit of -high martial enthusiasm still throb within us ? Have -wernot np plauded the suspension acts which placed ocr liber ties its such unexceptionable keeping, and praised the energy and activity of yourapies ? Have we nut declared the late vote to the nuke of York to be decent, and right, sod just ? I lave we out ahnost adored that wisdom and prudent care for our glo rhins Constitution which has excluded from their civil rights five millions of our fellow-subjects fin. believing in Transubstantiation, and haa nobly Our Mug, Confititution anb U aintl• : A .Jed / 6 a tit'