The Northern Daily Times. — Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1856-11-18 00:00:00

ITERARY PRACTICES OF OUR ORDAINED CLERGY ,„ TO THE EDITOR OF THE NORTHERN TIMES. is well known that there is in the ser vice of the Church of England a form of prayer for Zmaking, ordaining, and consecrating" Bishops, Priests, and Deacons. • it is to be presumed, that the compilation this service (for it is made up, to a great extent, a repetition of the Litany, &c.) would never have.been' attempted, if it had been suppOsed, as Is the fact, that very few of the clergy belonging t the Established Church write their own ser '°fle, or prepare any new matter whatever. I sit "der a purloiner of this -description, and my at tention is often directed to one of the congrega 'lol), well read in works of this description, on ! v nbee face it is easy to perceive a smile, when, as 1 • frequently -the case, the preacher is detected in the very act of .vending, as his own, other people's °° cls ; in short, it has become a sort of occupation 0 this mem b er o f th e congrega ti on t o keep on t he look out, well assured that he. is" sure of his game. Litt, if the clergy only read the writings of Tilers (and these often times but very indifferently), or what purpose is it that the trouble of "malting. °N lainim., , , and consecrating," should be incurred ? A Post-office clerk, veyy well dons much for There is only one point on his leisure Sunday, might An favour of some of the and it is this - : I allude to those who read 34 badly th a t, b y a d op ti ng bot—.. _ 0 , 3' u ' may be said to make them their own ; to this class I owe many apologies. 1 , 130 , instead of ably composed sermons, we What? Stained glass windows, jigs on the ZR:n, singe r s c l o th e d in white linen, the reading L in this position, the pulpit in that ; and yet, f eAl a re asked to pray for the authors of this ! Much need. 411 no one is to be found to grap with this 1 '; and, to appeal to the higher Ch ple urch audio .tieB, and to look to them for a correction, is a Yain, idle expectation. I place the matter in your hands, and will leave It to you, and to your numerous readers, to decide " WHO SHOULD BELL THE CAT." Liverpool, 15th November, 1856. wed Serino THE CURRENCY QUESTION n . TO THE EDITOR OF THE NORTHERN TIMES. b ank popular voice now says, that the value of a bank, — The note rests on the fact that gold is lying idle in the monk coffers, ready to be given in exchange for it at any nr n „, knit ,• but we hope to succeed in demonstrating that . ti `,', 4 es may be issued, based on a better foundation than € 1 .. " v aunted bullion stores, because it would be one less e ' e tuating and not dependant on any particular article of e ,7ane rce that might chance to run low, which is now the 7: with gold in common with all other materials. f o :1 gold leaves the country now—though Nie get full value 4.0 ` ,It in our importations —our currency becomes cramped, ti ," , in proportion as our business increases, so just in the 4 - n loe ratio our facilities of commerce internally decrease, h , (l we become alarmed—our watch-towers bristle with 7 4 .1 i0us warriors — our beacons blaze with signals of dis le!,---,and the country is terror-stricken from north to and from east to west, notwithstanding that, in eh nt of fact, our wealth may not have undergone any e for the worse, nationally or commercially. Our rh "o, ,siir lead, our copper, our cotton, and all other - nt e rehao ! lac !connected with our manutactures, are of more i l z‘oortance to us—be assured of that—than our stores o f m ild, which would soon be exhausted with -4; t hem- That being the case, these, then, surely deserve, sleast, to be representi,4 equally with that metal, to which e Would assign no more value than it intrinsically merits i s 1 1 article ot commerce. Now, even _its relative value a e ?nsiderably increased by its extensive application as e , idef circulating medium. e nh `le don't pretend to say that we should improve our 40 ;dtion by simply annihilating the gold currency as it 00, Is, or even by the substitution of auy two or three e„ s e r, valuable articles, which, doubtless, would prove i e . "„larly fault but with the adontion of some compre- Iv A - L B `ye commercial scheme, based on sound principles, To.. - "lye a reasonable right, as a nation, to look for, and I, 44 ' one, should decidedly expect to obtain a circulating ar, e(1 ; 11 In so elastic in its expansive constitution that it n - ,rd, at all times,.under all circumstances, adjust itself b e t",, u r wants—so buoyant that it could never be depressed Lw our requirement ; and yet so solid, so sound, and so 1 4 ;7, e, that it would never be raised above its legitimate r 4 0,. With such a state of things there would be no Jae (how could there be ?) of these false-faced oscil le,:i°B, by which, one day we seem to be raised above the sa ) :' of trade, and the next day to be sunk into a yawning a far below that level, repining and complaining like o 'nOf snivelling schoolboys, with our unemployed hands oneyless pockets. ttett ni it be b orne i n m i n d th a t we are no t s p ea king o f the ti nl Nct tiolue of grade—which - must net:mina, ily very fr‹ , t. ep.i e „LO time—our subject is the circulating medium, the c o "mate standing of which is that of the servant of eo n ma d erce. Where, however, is the unpartial and candid th that will look around and not acknowledge that, in 4,17 servant, he beholds a co ti „ l ng. and that with a caw eb2table by any rational cause nUations of trade. Is there a 1, o f 'ate experience in business—w ov er arY notice of passing events—t. a gain had it evidenced to his s I.lflueneing, all-powerful servant, ttp,' • 51 , tiv e commercial thing we know of —producing a fats( c'rance of prosperity to day, and, to morrow, a Rn i t lre'ssion equally untrue, so that we have almost for on,te,a I'o judge of our prosperity by the actual results of and, when we want to find this out, like a toti o ," of n 'arrow-minded misers, we look at the bank eat e s s r '!, 'whi c h are utterly impotent to tell us what is the N v .",t of our we l tkli• 40 3 ' , no intelliCent tradesman, conducting his business tto - Xnately and - p r adently, would be alarmed to find his slu;'„° l ' hardcailiLlosw, because he would be perfectly sat,..glat it was convert into some investment far more tir. r ," L actory than unprofitOble gold—by which he could not Itee; a, fraction of the veriest microscopic per eentage, Nth - „,." ° to keep it by him e ver so long—and he would aka be disposed to exult in the favourable aspect of'his l'ia 4 7 , and to rejoice that so littler of his available capital 4 1oni,,l i ug idle in his strong box. ' Now, tell me, then, the n ' not the business of an individual be an epitome of I 11 , i. a retterce of the nation, or, at any'rate, in this sense? O f o ll a eenl to Imagine that we are to look for the estimate 4 441,LWealth, nationally, in our stock of bullion, which, by 4 1 14 ,"*Y, We ought, on the contrary, to expect to be reduced to t extend our operations, which, "probably, would be 440 en close investigation, always to have been the S kh 'r it Could be faithfully tested. Thus, we have a i'ep 4l - a °,.fgreat trading—our imports are large, and must thV,or probably ere the raw materials can be exported "old Improved, enriched condition—then our stock of qi 4 , l 8 diminished, and a panic ensues without even a W of reason. ‘rert a , %for argument's sake, let us imagine our gold cur 41i o lenensed with, and also that we had parted with 4 • o ur gold mobile in exchange for raw materials— nueruand for our manufactures, which are the strength fhoup t h e omMerce, would not on that account cease ; and Ng," We should have no gold with which to go into Markets, we should still have our wealth undi %ler r e d in the shape of manufactures, which are the N n „ . f oundations of our social intercourse, and of our l'e ß ,7 l .,:reial interchanges with other countries ; for, as %e n ," raw materials, we ourselves are a producing rf "rY, bu, to a very limited extent. I gq„ith some nations, the :balance of trade should be ti l . "at as, that woe.id of course have to be equalised by bill providing ourselves with such materials (gold if you loo w „,as they would accept in exchange ; and as gold kpt i ‘,‘ 4 be as legitimate, and no doubt as acquirable an tt4i„ e, e of commerce as any other, it would, naturally, % , 4 -1 ,,t its own relative value the same as any other ; an i bilk, 4 , B ollid of course have to procure it at its current Itt '` , et value in the world,' which, if too high to leave tIN: Profit on the respective transactions, would clearly Vollstrate that we were doing an unprofitable busi -114"--an advantage we can scarcely be said to possess th at , But we should not be without gold then any more 3 k bo v /113 w, (even if we had such a suppositious start as eonceived,) for the surplus proflt of trade over our th e -4 ° of useful produce would necessarily accumulate in N , rce m D ug metals I presume ; and when our stores of L _ " 4 1, B a o uld be thenterially reduced, and the price of the 1,„ 4 :1" tor us, we should have therein a salutary indica- O e r oonishing us not to extend our operations ; that, would only occur when going beyond profitable - of the 14„Iltet 0118 , an world would not e so frequently gluttin occu g r as -41r1 a Pound, which term would continue to be used, olb 0 sl bo ,longer mean a certain fixed weight of gold, but an ilhe le, oru . u72fl uctuating representatve of the relative value en tt„ W ine, cotton, calico, &c., as well as of gold ; and 1 . ' 4 11r1 " sue, of gold should not be adequate to the a k 44 lntit .-40 to speak—a pound would represent a less ,4etl the gold, just as by the converse, when it sho . uld / na ,e demand, it would represent a greater quantity. tVtaiii e be said, that gold is now already itself the repre- N 4 4, r ans :lf the value of other possessions; granted I but, i t , c c 'eep t i 'Anquestionably it is an unfaithful representative ~ at t,,t inh 2 as it were for the mere moment—for as it is itself of t h g!'''llue practically, equally with corn and cotton of 11 it th 'act cannot any longer be disguised —we insist c i oe ret, tu a e t it is inadequate to stand as an impartial arbiter 1 4 , 3 not do rue between merchandise and merchandise—it Ali ° at—it never did, and never can do it, so long Oep_ oth e c 2 4 linues t o hear a Axed nominal value. li lie v t .gen ta ` tivartieles are, in one sense. as much litt e l on be es of value as gold; but there is this dis- T , 11 4 , 1 ' st ain ween them, the many, without any arbitrary N ge pl )e d on them, adjust themselves, when any oth g 4110 enaselves occurs, to all around ; but gold , not Il v e e t cl , 80 to adjust' itself, disturbs what might orn i oth er ?e steady, peaceful condition of the markets aeh i nail, Enings, and while it has fluctuated in reality, tn- h i ' t here is no change. Whereas, the 5,000 articles co %0 t realit talt YlAid r may have undergone no change, are all d t Von. en a n 0 this commercial idiotic despotism, an I,!Og E ° to thrlinal fluctuation in value which does not - ID, and this unnatural, convulsing state of • a nd liottletyllelr t c h e e a n s , e w u i n d ti t l h w e e have free trade in gold. fluctuation of prices be cruel usurper, ruling, not 'eFv out of the had any ho has taken the most lat has not, over and what they seem to be, and then may the oscillations of trade reasonably be attributed to natural causes, which probably now at times scarcely form an element therein. But even were gold not of fluctuating value (as it is relatively), and although it should be a faithful represen tative of value, still, nevertheless, it would be inadequate to] :meet the requirements of the commerce of the nineteenth century ; because, as we have repeatedly expe rienced, to our great discomfiture, of its' liability to be withdrawn from our markets, leaving us, like so many miserable, unclothed wretches, without a substitute for our temporary covering, whereby we suffer all the agonies of destitution proportionate to the extent of the evil ; and the temporary transit of a few hundred weights of gold is simultaneously ace )mpinied with these lamentable convulsive panics to which our commerce is now periodically the victim in the zenith, so to speak, of prosperity, and all for want of this substitute, which is one of the two great things we ask for, viz., Free Trade in Gold, and an ample medium of Exchange. Divest this subject of the accumulation of extraneous matter with which it is commingled, and then, by fixing our attention on these two points in their native simplicity, it will require nothing beyond a little good common sense to understand it, though now it is so wofully unjustified that the majority of those who are most deeply interested in it, although they know it not, turn aside from it, either as beyond their capacity, or as a thing with which banks and bill brokers alone have any need to middle with— which is quite a misapprehension, for if it be left to them wide-awake men—that they are with their intelligence and keenness—l fear we should not gain a fraction of our two points, from this time till Doomsday; therefore it is that I hereby counsel the diffident and unassum ng ones, and all honest-hearted common-sense persons, to give this matter a fair hearing and a little of theirattention, and then we shall soon muster a strong and sufficient band to help onrselves, and ultimPlely, by diligent perseverance, obtain the desired boon.—Yours, &c , CORNELIUS. Liverpool, Nov. 13, 1856. TO 7HE EDITOR OF THE NORTHERN TIMES Sir,—The imperative demands of business do not permit me to occupy much of your valuable space on the present occasion. I will, therefore, confine myself to a few observations on the last published letters of "J. W." and his supporters. •It gives me pleasure to say that I concur, to a great extent, in the reasoning by which " J. W." seeks to prove the:advantages derivable from a paper currency. The benefits and absolute necessity of such a medium of ex change in our commercial community, is very sensitively felt, even by the few who occasionally declaim against it. But THE GREAT QUESTION to be considered'and ultimately decided is, on what principles ought such a currency to be issued, and upon what basis should its declared value be made to rest ? Upon these questions, I believe a great-difference of opinion will be found between myself and "J. W." and his friends. I believe the period is not very distant when the Legislature will feel compelled to consider and decide this very vital question; and it re quires no prophet to foretell a great increase of national prosperity, or a speedy declension, and, perhaps, irre trievable check to our credit, power, and influence, pro• portioned to the soundness of the principles and basis upon which the future monetary system of this country shall be built. It is probable that Govenment may defer, for a time, the decision of the question, by resorting to temporary expedients. But the adoption of a definite measure cannot be very long postponed, without great damage to the public weal, It is, therefore, highly im portant that the attentive consideration of the public should be directed to the subject, involving, as it does, the prosperity of themselves and their descendants Your readers will have learned that I advocate an ex tended issue of notes, for which the issuers shall give to the nation an absolute, sufficient, and tangible security. that, whenever they may be presented for payment at the Bank of England, they shall receive the amount in gold or silver, deducting only a small commission to repay the trouble and expense which the Bank will incur in being thus prepared to meet all demands, and also to protect it from any merely speculative drain for the precious metals. This very obvious and simple expedient of charging a small commission on gold, will mark the true difference that must ever exist between the absolute possession of money, and the very best security that can possibly be given ter it. It will also be an infallible - security against those periodical cirainings of the Bank coffers—which have frequently produced so much mischief—for it will no longer be profitable to take our gold from the Bank to sell to other countries. Those who take it must do so at its full value—consequently, they will not take it at all, except for those legitimate commercial purposes where it is indispensable. This is a short outline of the currency I advocate ; nor will there exist any real difficulty in carrying it into opera tion. -On the other band, " J. W." and his friends advocate a scheme which, so far as it is explained, proposes an issue of paper under the sanction of the Legislature, which shalt bear a nominal and compulsory exchangeable yalne, but divested of any real security, and containing no promise to pay. Paper—echose only title to be called money is that which an act of parliament, a strong police, and a standing army can give it—paper which may some times require the sort of credit needed by the paper roubles of Russia, which were recommended: to the patriotic acceptance of the good people of Odessa by a general at t he head of a large army, who stood with loaded muskets and fixed bayonets, ready to enforce his argu- I ments. In my next I Will notice Pitt's Suspension Bill, and Peel's Fourteen Million Panacea, and some other matters, —I am, sir, yours respectfully, A. Cintaxmov - Rmronmait LETTER NO. II TO THE EDITOR OF THE NORTHERN TIMES] Sir,—ln my preparatory letter. published in your paper of the 24th ult., I promised to review the important question of Currency, and to endeavour to give a practical definitioo of what I consider necessary to meet the wants and wi,shes of society in substitution of the universally condemned Banking Act of 1844. then your able correspondent " J. W." has, to some nticipared me, in publishing a portion of my schenie, of the year be the basis of our legal instead of the absurd and per circul,tion or currency .Hobert Peel's Act. This .basis I have maintained since 1547, when I bad the honour of com municating my views on currency to the la`e Lord George Bentinck, who, at the time, flattered me by the warm expres sion of his approval. But, in the ;application of this principle, in the ►nodus operandi by which our Bankers are to bo in— vested with the privilege of circulating this amount of paper, and in securing the practical convertibility of the paper so issued into specie, I differ essentially from " and others who have published their views on the subject. Why the taxes of the year should be made the basis of our paper currency, in preference to any other limit, may be argued from the following circumstances : —This country having contracted a debt of nearly eight hundred millions sterling, and having become concurrently the greatest mercantile country in the world, it becomes us to discuss whether a debt so contracted, and a position so acquired, may not be made so to harmonise that the existence of the one may not become a bar to the further development of the other, but rather that, in its character of realised capital, it may be made subsidiary to our further advance in the van of nations with whom we are now called upon to enter into keen and arduous competition. The annual revenue, or yearly taxation, must be looked upon as that portion of .the annual income of the people of this country—derived chiefly from their industrial resources—which the state collects, and appropriates, for the purpose of paying the interest on our National Debt, and of maintaining an Independent and controling position in the family of nations, To that extent it is a direct annual pressure and drain upon the community. Yet, from its annual amount being fixed in advance, and a large portion of it so collected, its representative value for the payment of customs and excised duties, when transfered to individuals, becomes evidently convertible ; and from these circumstances it seems fitted to our hand, for a basis of paper currency, whereby it may become so modified in character as to be no longer a direct pressure, but a floating liability, performing such supremely important duties in relation to our commercial economy, as to have its disagreeable existence in a measure lost sight of. To point out the means of practically securing this desidera tum, is the object of my communication. I, therefore, with these premises• proceed to my task. We have a National Debt of eight hundred millions sterling, chiefly held by our own citizens, and in most part by families of distinction, residing in and about London. We have a Bank of England, eleven millions of whose paper currency are represented by a claim on the Government, held either in consuls or other form of public, security. We have bus a precedent for what lam going to propose. We have harter of this Bank of England, witbin one year of the twenty•one years' lease, and the necessary public notice given, in August last, premonitory of a modifica tion of its charter. We arc thus free to enter upon the adoption of anew system without doing injustice to existing interests. expiration of its Then, what more easy than to apply those free-trade prin ciples to Banking—which have been so eminently successful in their application to all other interests within the state—and, by the creation of a competition amongst capitalists, to become bankers, abolish, once and for ever, the monopoly and individualism of the Bank of England—which bas interests too distinct from those of commerce, to be anything but a bar to its successful development. Further, and more important still, to blot out from our statute book those absurd and obnoxious measures, the acts of 1819 and 1844, which have no defenders, and cannot have any upholders of their principles of currency. The Government have first to declare their intention not to renew the Bank of England charter. Secondly, to notify the limit of a paper currency equal to our annual taxation, to be created by the deposit of Government securities to a like amount with the Accountant-General. To invite tenders from bankers and intended bankers-,-of course including the Rank of England, and. all the other banks of issue in the United Kingdom—to compete in the distribution of amounts within said limit of taxation, to be issued in bank or Government paper, expressly to the successful banking competitor. The object of competition to be declared in the notice, viz., terms on which the public business of the state, the receipts of revenue, and dWribution of the ways and means may bo most economically performed, so as to render unnecessary the issue of Exchequer Bills and treasury notes, by which an annual saving of interest on interest, to the extent of over half a million sterling (at present pocketed by the Bank of England) may be effected, and by which other important changes and improvemenia in the character and system of Banking may be secured to the people. The form of application by each Banking candidate to contain the intended capital or note issue required, the uat9e or title 9f the firm or Banking, Company, number of shareholders, and other necessary details, The Government to fix a day for declaring the Banking firms selected, as in the alocation for loans or other contracts. I need hardly remark upon the certainty of being able to obtain a sufficiency of Banking capital, vested in Government securities, out of eight hundred millions, particularly when it becomes known that the interest on the stock deposited is still payable to the depositors, it being merely lodged as security, and to represent the notes is be received for circulation. The further development of my plan, the form of note, its character, and scope of circulation as a legal tender, how it can be made practically convertible into specie, and other important details, I reserve for a future letter.—l am, sir, yours respect fully, I. 11. SLAVERY.-WHAT IS SLAVERY? THE NORTHERN TIMES. -LIVERPOOL, TUESDAY. TO THE EDITOR OF THE NORTHERN TIMES Sir,—Again I take up the thread of this subject, and will endeavour, not only to substantiate what I have already asserted, but further to elucidate that hateful system of slavery which is carried on to such an alarming extent in our town. Where an evil exists, I khow of no other remedy more effectual in eradicating that evil, than by exposing it through the public press; and I must thank you, sir, for allowing me so much space in your valuable columns. Some tradesmen may argue thus—if yon get your goo.ls cheap, what does it concern you, or anybody else, how and by whom they are manufactured ? I answer, it does concern us. What ! when we know that there are thou_ sands of our fellow creatures, " Pariahs of modern society," our own flesh and blood, are compelled to eat the bread of sorrow and afflictjon, I say we have a right, as Christians, to interfere, and demand that justice which they are in every way entitled to. NOw, sir, the like complaints of slavish toil may be made against several branches of trade. Tailors, haber dashers, hosiers, glovers, hatters, linen-drapers, silk mercors, and a host of others, proceed more or less on a similar principle. There are many exceptions I willingly admit ; but, nevertheless, I am dealing with facts. We will take the first on the list, and deal with this par titular branch of business. Is there no slavery connected with this trade ? How are the working classes employed in this line remunerated for their day's toil by the pro prietors of some of our immense establishments ? Must I answer the question ? Yes, it is soon explained. Trow sers made at 12s. per dozen ! vests at 6s. per dozen ! and other garments in proportion, according to style and workmanship. Can this statement be denied ? I do not say this scale of charges is always adopted—as I said before, there are many exceptions. How often do we hear such an expression as this made use of by those equipped in fashionable clothing_" What a splendid coat that is I " or " What a handsome vest you have on ! " But does it never occur to those so arrayed in "purple and fine linen," who are the fabricators of the plumage in which they appear ? Does it never enter their imagination, what misery; privation, and sufferings, have to be endured by those toil-worn fingers, ere taste and fashion can be satiated ? Does the thought never strike them. that these poor creatures also are occupants of the garret and the cellar, in the veriest tumble-down houses in our streets, with scarcely a table, a chair, or article of furni ture of any description, and lacking comforts of every kinds? Let us step in quietly among them. Look at them there, huddled together in that loathsome apartment. What a sor rowing sight do we witness 1 There you will find in damp corners, some lying on straw pallets, writhing under the effects of sickness, or, perhaps, in the last stage of a malig nant fever, with the very clothes they are entrusted with to make, often used as a covering to shield them from the cold. Others, plying the constant needle—stitch ! stitch I stitch 1 with misery and suffering depicted on their brow, and no reprieve from that wearisome toil. There you hear the hollow cough, and see the hectic cheeks. There, before you, are to be seen, with bare mud-be-Brimmed feet, men (lean apparitions of such) with ragged shirts, and women with tattered shawls, and dishevelled hair hanging over faces ploughed deep with care and trouble. Faint and weak with hunger, to them the long, wretched, gloomy, murky days seem never to have an end. Oh, how wearily pass times' leaden footsteps, and how agonising must be such a struggle for life as this I The sad reality, I say, is enough to make one turn shudderinglv away. Is Lazarus to sit for ever at the gate of Dives ? Blessed sleep I short as it my be, torture not those troubled hearts with mocking dreams. for grey morning dawn will soon return, bringing with it the same toil over and over again —work, work, work. It woulfl be difficult, though I have endeavoured to describe accurately what may be seen, to convey the faintest idea of the impression which is produced by this terrible mockery of existence—this life in death, if I may so speak. Some may ask, why frequent such scenes as these ? But you must visit such places, if you want to convince yourself of existing evils. You must see .and know all this before you can form the least conception of the great magnitude of this crime; for it is a crime, and a very great one too. Let some members of our Health Committee visit these dens e and they cannot, for a moment, be surprised at disease *in all its fearful and varied forms, breaking out in the alleys and narrow confined streets of our town. Are there no steps to be taken ? Is there no antidote to alleviate the sufferings and heart-rending distresses of this class of people? How must I argue this great question ? How must I handle,this great and fearful abuse ? Sir, can you not assist me, with your all-powerful aid, to put down this abominable, demoralising, soul destroying, health.destroying, grinding system—slavery ? Yes, slavery.. what else can you call it ? It is most fearful to reflect upon. But let us leave this side of the picture, and examine the other. How are the employers occupied all this time ? These cormorants, if I may he allowed the term, are, as a matter of course, to be found behind the counters of their imposing establishments, in the midst of their broad cloth, shoddy, and fustian; or in the fitting,-room, trying on coats, pants, and vests to the well dressed of our town, at the same time reaping a rich harvest at the expense of these pitiable over-worked creatures. One man's afflu ence, it should be remembered, often involves another man's misery and toil. "If a master will ride, his servant must be made to drive." This is a hard and cruel case with a numerous class ofour common working people—spending, as is frequently the ease, their seven days alike in work, work, work, am i d intellectual darkness and moral nint. It is not my wont to meddle in trade matters, blit seeing these abuses carried on to . such an overwhelming extent, where a very numerous portion of the indigent population is concerned. I am only performing a duty in making them, as far as I can, generally known. Here I must conclude for the Dresent,_as I fear I am trespassing too much on your pace —Yours, &c., Jilverpool, Nov. 14, 1856 VER ITA 9 TO THE r'ETTOR Or THE NORTHERN TIMES. Sir,—The true, but repnlsive fact brought into your columns by your correspondent " Veritas," in relation to the toil and drudgery continually going on around us, ought not to be permitted to pass without originating or strengthening some means, by which the wrongs of the oppressed may be alleviated, and the oppressors depriv e d of their pow e r. The natural order of society requiring that part m us t toil to support th emse l v es by furnishing the ne cess i t i es and superfluities of others ; it would be foolish to arg ue that an equality ought to subsist, and that the different positions of master and servant ought to be abolished, and a level maintained. This is neither necessary nor possible ; but, in the nlace of the master and servant being equal, a. superiority and power ought not to be usurped by the one appointed to rule, producing what your correspondent aptly terms slavery. The power of rendering the life of a servant, workman, or assistant to a succession of toil and drudgery, ought not to be vested in the hands of any individual whose pride may cause, or whose avarice may require, such a contradiction of all principles suggested by justice and humanity. But it is not only in the workrooms of shops, the garrets of artisans, or under the taskmasters without consciences or feelings, in accordance with their outward form, that slavery is exacted ; but in priyate life, out of sight of the eyes of any except the oppressors, and those by whom they are surrounded, the powers and natures of multitudesl whose hard fortunes have consigned them to the tender mercies of beings, whose feelings —if they ever possessed any are blunted, and whose requirements are great and only equalled by their avarice. What numbers of domestic servants are toiling from before day-break to midnight, their strongth and endu rance taxed to the utmost, their necessities furnished in the smallest possible quantities, and their :remuneration of the most trifling character ! How many hard worked and exhausted drudges lie down to the short slumber granted to them, their bodies aching, their feelings desolated ! Around, on every side, they are to be found in the houses of those who, in the eyes of the world, pass for good masters and liberal men—men who place their names upon a subscription list for some out of the way but pbpular scheme, who frequent places of amusement, and enjoy themselves; but whe, for the sake of the miserable economy of saving some small amount in their house keeping, consign those who are unhappy enough to be under them to continual hardship and misery. Ought such conduct to be permitted? Justice says "No," and the feelings of every true heart re-echo the answer. The subject only requires agitation, and " Veritas " may, at some future time, be thanked by thousands fqr their release from the slavery which now weigh so heavily upon them. Yours; &c., MYREA. The Queen of England having expressed the intention of presenting a commemorative medal to the French troops who formed part of the expeditionary corps in the Baltic, the Minister of War has published a notice calling on all those who took part in that expedition to send in before the 30th inst. their claims, supported by proper certificates, to the general Commanding the division. A SUBSTITUTE FOR THE SEA SERPENT.—III the absence of any recent appearance of the great sea serpent, the Trieste Lloyd informs its readers of the existence of a new monster in the island of Samos, blessed with a most vora cious nocturnal appetite, and endangering the safety of all the iflocks and herds on the island, as their carcases are consumed during the night, and their well-picked Skeletons are all that is found of them in the morning. Even the mu'es and dogs disappear in the same mysterious manner. The above journal says rather naively, " The monster may be a lion or a panther, but no one is able to say which, as it has not yet been seen, nor its hiding place discovered." As it must have crossed the sea to visit their island, the Samiots believe it to be some unknown gigantic amphibious animal. A general turn.out of the inhabitants is being offeredurgan up to sed for a th p e articular day, pending which prayers are churches, and re lig-Pious ana°4 ' processions take place in every the ravages parish to stopor Holy Virgin, in all the of this voracious but inysiible monster, THE FINANCIAL AND SOCIAL CONDITION OF THE UNITED KINGDOM. The financial and social condition of a country are' so closely interwoven, that it is scarcely possible that any material change can be made in the one without the other being in a certain degree affected ; hence it is that whenei;er financial difficulties grow formidable in a country ite social improVement is always either in danger of being impeded, or of being thrown backwards in its career. In speaking of the financial condition of this country at the present time we must not be understood to apply the expression simply to a balance of cash in the Exchequer, or to the annual expenditure and revenue of the Government, though these are items which are too impirtant to be overlooked in our remarks. It is not an uncommon error to measure the prosperity of a country almost entirely by a reference to the above-mentioned items; but this plan though convenient to State financiers affords a very faint view of the actual financial condition of a nation. For instance the finance minister of France in a recent report could appeal to an increased revenue, an increased commerce, and to the punctuality with which all the public taxes :were paid into the treasury. Our own Chancellor of, the Exchequer could in the same manner appeal to the people through Parliament, by a reference to similar facts in his last budget. He could refer to increased exports—to an increased revenue—and congratulate the country on its financial condition at the termination of a bloody and ex pensive war. But these facts do not s i'eak the truth when we have to consider the . stibj-ct in its details. We must cast our eyes over the dwellings of those who have to con tribute to these enormous amounts. We must look to the general state of trade and industry, and we must discover how our taxation operates upon the poverty and crime that we see around us. In the first place, if we apply our remarks to the expendi ture and revenue of the country, we shay find that they have been made to balance without any great stretch of financial genius; for let the exigencies of the Government he what they may, it has only to ask and have its wants supplied Fifty or hundred millions, are voted away with as much indifference amidst yawning members, as a fashionable coxcomb would saunter up and down Regent Street; but it must not be inferred from this that there is no tale to tell, except that the Chancellor of the Exchequer moved a resolution to vote £100,000,000, which was carried unanimously. To understand the actual working of the machinery to produce these enormous reiults, we must go into the details of its operations. The total estimated amannt of the gross revenue for the financial year 1856 7 is £71,740,000, and the total expenditure £82,113,000, 1 leaving a deficiency of £10,373,000 to be covered by other means ; this was the financial condition of the G-overnment in May last, according to the s'atement of the Chancellor of• the Exchequer. To trace the progress of taxation we must contrast its results in a time of war, with what it was in a time of peace. In the year ending the sth of January, 1854, the total net revenue is given at £51,784,000, and in the budget of last year it was £57,152,000, being an increase of £15,368,000 ; but as the property tax in 1854 was put down at £6 ,500,900, and in 1856 at £16,355,000, this burden has been increased by £9,854,000 per annum, or 150 per cent. It will at once be admitted that this is a very easy m-de of meeting the demands of a Chancellor of the Exchequer, and a very s'mple way of placing the question of supplies before Parliament. But how is this vast sum raised from the population of this country ? By the latest official information we find the tax upon the various descriptions of property raised for the year ending the sth of April, 1856, was as follows, in the United Kingdom. Net amount of Property and Income-tax assessed in the United Kingdom for the year ended April 5, 1855. En gland & Wales. Scotland. Ireland, Total. Schedules. £ A (1) 5,365,948 656,865 693,707 6,716,460 B (2) 692,862 58,396 &I 238 , 805,496 C (3) 1,446,492. 81,105 1,527,599 D (4) 3,851.022 386.133 251,670 4,488,825 E (6) 730,196 39,396 50,118 819,700 Totals* ..12,086,522 1,140,730 1,130,838 14,358,080 By entering into an analysis of the above figures the return affords no infmmition except under Schedules D and E ; the first of which refers to trade and professional incomes, and the second to the incomes on public offices and pensions. But as Schedule D refers more especially to the trade and industry of the country, we shrill confine our remarks more particularly to this class of property-tax payers. - The gross total amount of income assessed to the property-tax under Schedule D for the year 1854-5 amounted to £75,242,916; the number of persons assessed was 261,662, and the gross amount levied was £4,230,036 Of the total amount assessed under this head £13,314,512 were upon incomes under £l5O per annum, or nearly one fifth of the, total amount. In applying the same analysis to the number of persons chargeable, it appears that more than seventy per cent. of the number have incomes under £2OO per annum, and fifty-four per cent. have incomes under £l5O per annum. And as the persons whose incomes are under £2OO per annum pay £1,001,389, about one-fourth or 25 per cent. of the income-tax under this head is paid by persons whose incomes do not reach that amount. An analysis of the sum, levied per head under each class is also deserving notice. Tho following statement will give this information ; Amount of Income. Number Amount Average Income of persons or Tax rate Assessed. Assessed. levied, per head. dr £ . e a. Under £lOO a year.... 1,356,198 21,891 56.508 211 ,elOO and under .4'150.. 11,958 314 119.782 561,040 413 150 do 200...6,580 126 41,912 383,841 g 3 200 do 300.. 7,296,737 82,973 425,643 12 18 300 do 400.. 4,845,573 15,140 282,629 18 13 400 do 50,0.. 3.077 327 7,308 179,510 24 11 s'lo do ' 600.. 2,912 790 5,469 164,079 :0 0 600 do 700.. 1,946 742 3,152 113 AO 36 0 700 :do 800.. 1.524,116 2,095 88,907 42 g 800 do 90 0 .. 1,406,742 1,717 82.06( -49 0 900 do 1,000 . 741,549 798 43,432 64 8 1,000 do 2,000.. 6,950,241 5,324 405,431 76 3 2,000 do 3 o'lo.. 3,535 927 1,557 20 ;,262 132 9 3,000 do 4.000.. 2, , 90 954 81g 106,972 191 13 4,000 do 5.000.. 1,987,276 466 115,924 248 15 5,000 do 10:000.. 5,164,568 ' ' 773 '301,260 39 14 10,0' 0 do 50,000.. 7 813,065 445 457,512 1.028 2 50,000 and upwards.... 3 522,171 41 105.460 5,011 4 75,242,916 261,662 4,230,036 The most singular feature in the above statement is the very limited number of persons assessed under the Income tax Act out of the total population of these islands. We have long sustained the character for being "a nation of shop. keepers," but it is certainly not borne out by this return. But our present object is to deal with the amount of this tax as a direct tax upon the people. We believe that the operation of so large an amount of direct taxation upon a very small proportion of the trading classes, is of the most serious consequence, and is inflicting upon them an amount of injury that is scarcely understood by superficial observa tion. The estimated amount of income-tax for the present year is £16,355,000, about one-fourth of the gross total estimated revenue. So far as the tax relates to real property, which is paid only upon actual income, the objec tion to it is of less weight ; but as the proportion under this head only amounts to about £7,000,000, we have the enormous sum of £9,355,000 levied upon the other classes, which is so much money extracted from the general trade of the country. The correct way of estimating the value of such a sum expended in the different branches of trade is to measure it by the ordinary value of capital thus employed. If the same amount of money were employed in the pursuits of business, one might fairly assume that it would create at least ten times its amount in the course Of the year; while the sum now extracted by the tax collector in hard cash is handed over at once to be distributed in accordance with the demands of an extravagant and careless government. We believe that no tax in our time has made a more serious inroad into the social condition of our middle classes and when it is seen upon how small a portion of society this enormous weight is imposed, the subject becomes of the greatest importance. Philanthropists who are ever on the watch to lessen the burdens imposed upon us by crime and pauperism, are too neglectful of the causes in operation to produce them. But who that is acquainted with our great cities and towns does not see that degrading poverty and want of employment are the primary causes Which produce this unhealthy state of things, and which lead to vices of the most formidable character. While, therefore, we boast of our great wea lth, an d our extended power, we must take care that the social condi tion of the people is not sacrificed to an ignorant increase of their burdens, or to an indifference about their complaints. We hear from nearly every quarter that the condition of the people is one of extreme dissatisfaction ; and that the `bur den of taxation imposed in various forms is most oppressive. As the time for the assembling of Parliament is fast approaching, let this be a warning to the Government to prepare either for some economy in their expenditure, or for some reform in our financial system. (1) Real Property. (2) Occupiers: (8) Dividends on annuities, interest on Exchequer Bills, &c, (4) Income on Trades and Professions. r,5) Public Offices and Pensions. * The above are the net amounts assessed. and of course do not represent the whole of the tax. The gro P amount under Schedule D for Great Britain was £4.230,038,'and for Ireland £249,812, whi, h is less than the net amount by some error in the return. Bankers' Circular. MAILLARD'S MAGNETIC AND MECHANICAL COMPASS. TO THE EDITOR OF THE NORTHERN TIMES Sir,—About a fortnight ago I saw a model of Maillard's Compass in the Exchange News-Rooms, and, from the little I could see of the invention, I was inclined to think it pos. sessed some merit. But why does the inventor keep his discovery so long in. the shade? Has the great idea of giving the mariner the exact position of his ship, at all times, " with mathematical accuracy," exploded ? or is the patentee afraid to broach his revolutionary doctrine in science, and about to abandon the task of completing his work of " Navigation made easy ? " I ask these questions as an underwriter and shipowper, largely interested in the jesne• - --Your obedient servant, INQUIRER. Liverpool, Nov, 14, 1856. THE LIVERPOOL FLNANCIAL REEORNI capacity, as the representative of this (Tot NORTHER* TIMES) journal, you know how to act." Kir R. accore - ingly attended, and, in the waiting room, where several At the weekly meeting of the Council on Thursday it gentlemen were in attendance, be was handed; a ticke - , was resolved to hold a public meeting early in December, to on which was written—" Admit the hearer to the dinner. report proceedings, s u b m it a statement of accounts, and dise ms Signed by Mr. Stitt." Being still doubtful as to the the measures necessa r y f or car rying out the objects of the position in which he stood, he asked Mr. Brumfit in Association. what capacity he should consider himself—whether as a ADIHNIsTRAnvE AND E LEDTDR/AD REFORM.—Two lett ers private guest, or in his public capacity ? Mr. Brumf t on these subjects w ere rea d— one f rom th e Onairman and Vice. consulted with a gentleman, and returned to Mr. R. at d ChaiimanoftheAdmi n i s t ra ti ve R e f orm A ssoc i a ti on , so li c i t i ng the said, "'Phis invitation was, in the first instance, intended co-operation of the Financial Reform Association, and that of all as a private one, but the committe e will feel obliged it good citizens, in the en d eavour to prevent ‘‘ th e waste an d inca- you will give a short notice of the dinner in the paper pacity which have recently been shown to pervade, t o a fearful This at once settled the question, and the result was, the extent, the various d e p ai t ments o f t h e governmen t. " Th e report which appeared _in our paper, and which the Post other from the gentl eman w h o a dd resse d t h e C ounc il on t wo c spied, with the insinuating and offensive paragraph, that former occasions, in refe r e nce t o suc h a re . arrangemen o f parlia- our representative went on a " mis-directed " invitation. mentary representation, as shall give the larger boroughs their We leave Mr. Stitt and th e P ose to arrange about due influence in the L eg i s l a t ure , an d d o away w i th the i n j ust i ce th e " mis-directed" note, and the public to judge and glaring anomalies of a system which gives Liverpool no m o r e whether we were not amply warranted in repelling the voting pow6r than Ayl es b ury ; an d places M anchester on a i ns i nuat i on o f the Pat ? We r e p eat, it is with reluctance level with Wells, either by their division into separate that we revert to this subject, but the duty of defending boroughs, or by giving them additional members, on the ourselves became imperative, so we take leave of this principle of one member for every 50,000 inhabitants. Tho subject, which, in our opinion, should not have been writer states that the movement is making good way in the made one for public discussion. Metropolis, and that Birmingham is quite orenared t. tho ASSOCIATION WHO IS TO BLAME ? Railway accident succeeds accident—sacrifice followersacrifice of life and property—grief to persons, loss to Oareho:ders, as regularly 'a the planets succeed one another. Tee "impossibility* dogma of railway officials—of trains meeting face to fac 3 —has received a;practical matter-of-fact reputation ; and we, of the present day, have to record the fact of trains running on the same line, face to face, against one another, and announce the fact that it is a practice to start trains from opposite ends of railways, face to face, trusting to the accuracy of a cmple of inches of iron cross rail to lead one of them away from a tete a•tete ! Perhaps the injury of a "live Lord" may wake up the somnolent Board of Trade to insist on a change in management—tho shareholders and public in managers—and a practical enquiry into the working of railway trains. Let us see what were the events of the last few days in the accident line, and what is the result of twenty years' management and experience in worki railway trains. The SOUTH EASTERN, it transpires, has been in the habit, for years, of starting their every Tiarter hour trains, with. ten thousands of daily passengers, on the same line of rails from either en :l—that is, faoe to five—trusting to chance, or rather the chance of a self-acing spring to a heavy iron side rail (called a "point") to shift one of the trains to a side road !—that is, to cross over to another road, by means of points, which, by a motion or non-motion of about one inch of space, carries the fate of thousands of passengers. A stone or cinder between this point of the original rail has been known to prevent the action of the " points," in draw ing aside the side-rail on which it is to continue the journey 1 Why such designed ard needless peril has been put upon , the public in the last few years, it is difficult to fathom, while there is a double line of rails throughout the distance, It seems dictated by mere caprice or ignorance of manage, ment. The GREAT WESTERN practice it, in one sense, by its one sided stations at Slough, Reading, and Swindon stations; yet that line is managed without such a disaster, because its ;leads give their minds to the subject of safe working, Still, safety requires stations on both sides of a line and a rornoval of th e "p oss ibili ty " of two trains running and rneetirg face to face on the same line ! The NORTiI WESTERN double accidents exhibit an mese of traffic, and a deficiency of careful management, which, in any ordinary concern, would lead to a change of " heads." G )ods trains and passenger trains follow one another en quickly, that any emergency stopping the one cannot prevent, a collision by the other. A fast express passenger train at the heels of a slow good's train, exhibits one of the most careless and unpardondable acts of "management" that can well be conceived —overtaking and smashing it ! Surely some change in management —some precaution —is deminde I in the interests of the common nubile," or the adoption of that competing route by the Great Western line to the • north, which promises so much facility to the mercantile community, or the adoptioni of the well-managed G rea t N orthern with a few branches into th e Midl an d di str i cts. One more owing to the separation of an enging tom its goods accident. tr. in, exhibits th e f a l se economy and of "managers-in-chief" to the toorking details ; ttention for why should passenger or goods tngines b e attached to a train by a single lin t of chain, as in the North Western Wolverton accPe it? The signalsystem, too, is signally defective when an emergency happens. Instance the station signals on the South Eastern, which were never communicated to any one; and the North Western, which were as imperfect and insufficient as could possibly be imagined for the prevention of accidents —for they could not stop a train unless with, so much time that ordinary signals would do equally as well ! The EASTERN COUNTIR% of course, follow suit, and retains its unenviable notoriety for " management," by a collision of ore train and anoter, "Undoubtedly" (as the Observer remarked) " the primary cause of such collisions, is the non-regulation of the goods trains, and the incapacity of managers." It has happened on every line; yet, after t wen t y year ,' experience, we find the heads, whose duty should be that of overlooking and guarding by every precaution and suggestion —we are further off than ever of proper management. Old hands are got rid of, interest app nnts or retains others, nothing is desired beforehand, no defects foreseen ,• but now-a-days managers enjoy their ease and dignity, 'bluster among the small men, andfprove that military men are wholly unsuited for controlling civil establishments, and that experienced men, of quiet yet business habits and knowledge, make better heads of departments, and promoters of better good feeling and grace amongst the working staff, which, as usual, is ill, paid and hard-worked like the post-office staff. Of course, no one is to blame ! A coroner's jury settles that—[how those inquests are managed, we may tell from experience.] The Boar I of Trade steps in with a second enquiry, after a long interval, on information " cooed" u for it. So all p art i es are Exonerated , except, occasi k onally, p some poor understrapper. Let the heads be held criminally responsible, like other professional men, for defects, or want of skill, negligence, or improper management. Also, that for such shortcomings they be dismissed, and give place to working men of experience and forethought. Otherwise, shareholders may find that Government control mug be efficiently interposed, perhaps in the shape of official station inspectors-.for the public will not long tolerate the reme dying of defects AFTER death an destruction have pointed them out—but require the " right man in the right place," unfettered, too, with nominal control from heads of a circumlocution office, who are powerful enough to delay or obstruct, but incapable to suggest or require, any remedies suggested, and damp that zeal which seeks to promote security to the money as well as to the passengers, and which is sc essential to the efficient working of every mercantile concern. The public will not suffer patiently much longer under the treatment evinced to them and to railway officials by the heads of companies and the Board of Trade. MEDICAL NEGLECT. TO THE EDITOR OF THE T'ORTHERN TIMES. Sir.—Having been a 8111 );5eriber to the Liverpool Dis pensaries for more than forty years, I do not scruple to call the attention of the public to a case of what I consider ona of very great neglect, on the part of Mr. Brown, one of the surgeons at the Dispensary, in Yauxball-road. It appears by the account reported in the newspapers, of what occurred at the coroner's inquest on Wednesday last, the 15th instant, that the mother of Margaret Allen, went ott Monday evening to say, that her daughter was very had, having been taken suddenly and dangerously ill, and that she could neither spoak nor sit up in her bed, and that she wished the doctor to oome and see her, but that he replied " he would not," but that he would send her some medi cine if she would bring a bottle. The mother did bring a bottle as desired, and again requested the doctor to come and see her daughter, as she was dangerously ill, and she added, •if anything takes place between this and morning, you will have to be answerable." Notwithstanding these remarks, and that Mr. Grimes, another Burgeon belonging to the dispensary, came in as the mother was leaving, no ona went to see the poor woman, and she died in an hour afterwards. I have yet to learn how any medical man can presume to prescribe for a patient without seeing her, and ascertaining, by ocular demonstration, the nature of her illness. The only excuse since offered, that the woman was insolent, and snatched the bottle out of Mr. Brown's hands, in my humble opinion makes the case worse. Ido hope, for the sake of the poor suffering individuals who, from their poverty, are obliged to apply in such emergencies to the nearest dispensary, and for the character of the institution in question, that the committee will have a strict and impartial investigation into the circumstances of the case, and, without fear or favour, do ample justice to all the parties concerned. lam sorry to say that, as a magistrate, this is not the first time that I have had occasion to complai n of similar instances of neglect on the part of some of the subardinate officers attached to our public A FRIEND OF THE POOR. iliStitl ti° ll s•—L!am sir, your most obedient servant, Liverpool, 15th Nov. 1856 Mr, Elliott, of South Brent, deceased, h s left property to tho amount of £2O 000 to a little boy, the fifth child of his nephew, a ri g ger's ' labourer Plymouth dockyard. The English 'yacht Fancy arrived at Algiers on the sth , for the purpose of performing a melancholy duty. Sh e had left Malta on the 27th, with her owne r an d h i s cousin on a young man o f 25 , having attempted o n ? of the masts, l os t hi s balance, fell on the i b o oa c r l d im . 4 T u h p e latter, deck, and was killed on the spot. It was to bury the body that the Fancy cast anchor at Algiers. GALE ON THE N ORTHUMBERLAND COAST.—SHIELDS, WEDNEODAY AFTERNOON.—We have experienced fearful weather during the last forty-eight hours; violent gales of wind from the N. 8., with heavy showers of sleet and snow. The sea is very heavy on the coast, and neither steam ships nor sailing vessels can get. out of the Tyue or adjoining rivers. There are a great number of collier vessels on their passage down from London and Newry, and many casualties are eicpeoted. lead in the provinces ; aril ho expresses a confident opinion tliat, by the popular demand which. al ng repre:en• " the new Reform Bill Le at ►r. tation a reality, inster,d of mockery, which Lord John Russ3ll has been so goo .I as to promise u perseded." He suggests that Liverpool should t prepared to &mind partition into three or four district boroughs. As to the first subject the Council is, of course, disposed to give its hearty co-operation—administrative reform, and financial reform, being substantially one and the same thing; but, according to its present constitution, it cannot, as a body, interfere in political movements. INCOME TAX ASSESSORS AND COLLECTORS— DIRECT 'TAXATION.—Mr. John Green, of Birkenhead, addressed a letter to the Council on the case of a trades man, charged on £95 as profits of ..his business, he having no other source of income to render him liable to the tax. The facts have been laid before the Board of Inland Revenue, which, ho expects, will at once quash the assessment, without giving the person unjustly charged the trouble and annoyance of an appeal to the Commissioners, Mr. Green, who is bookkeeper in Mr. John Laird's ship building establishment, thus mentions another case of attempted extortion :—" One of the foremen in Mr. Laird's employ has been charged £lO, the duty on £l5O, as his income to the sth of April last, lie gave to the assessor (who, it should be stated, is - also collector , thus receiving double poundage) a stateme n t, s h ow i ng that the average of his receipts for three years was below £lOO, and, therefore, claiming exemption - from any assessment. I can confirm the fact from our books ; but you are aware that the Commis sioners are not entitled to ask for any evidence other than the appellant's oath, to verify his statement. Treating the honest, industrious, well-conduCted mechanic as a liar, the assessor his had the audacity to charge him with £lO of duty, in the hope, doubtless, that, qua collector, ho May have the pleasure of adding to his already very large poundage, by extorting so enormous a sum from the earnings of a hard-working man. I will, however, defeat him, cis I did in upwards of 200 similar cases, in 1854. Should the charge, nevertheless, be insisted on, I can only say, 2 would not be the collector to enforce it by distraint; and, most assuredly, the man, under my advice, will never PAY it." Referring to a former correspondence with the surveyors for Birkenhead and Toxteth Park, Mr. Green says : " They wrote me, and our precious surveyor told me, that clerks and such like' could not claim to be relieved or - assessed under the three years' average clause ; and, as they were, therefore, totally ignorant of their own duties, and of the people's rights, I caused the Board of Inland Revenue to instruct them uhat these were, to the great gratification and relief of 2QO persons (as already stated) who would otherwise have been undoubtedly the victims of official zeal and cupidity." The Secretary was directed to thank' Mr. Green for his coin raunication, and to inform him that the Council would bo glad to receive some statistics on the subject, which he proffered. It was observed that incalculable damage was done to sound principles, by the way in which the Income and Property Tax is carried out. As Financial Reformers, they had great difficulty in persuading their own friends, that direct taxation —falrly and equally levied, and a properly adjusted system—is vastly preferable, in all respects, to the cumbrous and expen sive system of taxes on commodities and materials, which cripple commerce, manufactures, and industry; diminish employment—enhance prices far beyorrd tho amount of the ditties imposed ; and, in various ways, burden the country to double or treble the amount which finds its way into the national exchequer. The policy of allowing the assessor and collector to be " two gentlemen in one," was also strongly censured. Some doubt was expressed as to the possibility of so gloss a blunder, of which the evil tendency is so manifest— having been perpetrated; but there is no doubt as to the fact. The commissioners appoint the assessors; the Act empowers the assessors to appoint " fit and proper persona" to officiate as collectors ; and assessors, probably thinking no other persons so " fit and proper," have, in many, instances, appointed them selves. They have, thus, a double interest in screwing all they can from the public. It can never have been the inten tion of the Legislature that the assessors should appoint them selves collectors,; but it has given them power to do so, if they please; and.some of them have exercised that power to their own great profit, doubtless, but with very problematical advantages to the public. This is one of the many grievances of-detail and principle, which a wise Government would protnply redress; but, from the manif es t i n di spos i t i on of our rulers to meddle with any of them, it would seem to be their object to make the impost as unpopular as possible, with a view to retard, or prevent altogether, the adoption of just and sound principles of taxation which, whilst raising the necessary revenue in the manner least prejudicial to the country, would, at the same time, induce the public knowing—what they cannot know under the present mixed and anomalous system—exactly how much they paid in taxes to give much more attention to good and economical govern: ment, and the means necessary to obtain it, than they do at present. It was also regarded as most anomalous that, under. the Income Tax Act, neither government nor commissioners can dismiss collectors, however grossly they may misconduct themselves in matters unconnected with their official duties; the only resource in such cases being, it was alleged, the de manding of exorbitant securities. It was stated that, in one instance, this expedient has been tried in vain. The commis,- sioners are reported to have required sureties to the amount of £14,000. The collector having found such sureties, laughs at his supposed masters, and says that if they want security to the amount of £30,000 they shall have it THE " DAILY POST " ON " DINING OUT Newspaper difficulties, or, perhaps, more correctly speaking "squabbles," we have ever cautiously avoided on our part, and we can safely say, that we have never been the aggressor in any instance, when we have been com pelled to enter the lists. We have had, on some few occasions, to stand on the defensive, when grossly attacked without the shadow of cause having originated with us; and, we trust we have vindicated ourselves in a spirit of fair play, and without insult to the feelings of any, personally or professionally. An exceedingly offensive, and totally untrue paragraph, clearly referring to us, which appeared in the Daily Pose of Thursday, in reference to a dinner given by Mr. Stitt (town councillor), on Monday last, obliged us to repudiate it in terms that it merited. On Saturday that journal published the following paragraph in reply to our observations : 44 We (Daily Post) never questioned the conduct of our cotemporary, and never reproached any gentleman con nected with his office of doing ought unworthy of the profession. We neither assert nor insinuate any thing against any cotemporary, his office, or his reporters. Our remarks quoted above, will be justified by the follow ing extract from a letter with which Mr. Stitt honoured us on Tuesday last :—" I was much mortified last even ing to find no one from your establishment at the dinner given to my friends and supporters during the late looniest; and, on discovering the circumstance, I im mediately despatched a cab for one of your reporters, but you had all left the office. illy instructions, in the first instance, to invite one of your staff, wore most particular; but, it appears, through some blunder, that the note of invitation intended for one of your servants, and addressed to the Daily Post office, was sent on from thence to the NORTHEN DAILY TIMES office, in conse quence of the wrong name being inserted." It may be logicalon the part of the Post to state, that that offence was not intended tow•irds us. We take him at his word--but how will he reconcile this statement, with the sentence that immediately follows, namely : " Our remarks (the remarks in Thursday's paper) will be justified by the following extract from a letter, with which Mr. Stitt honoured us on Tuesday last." There is an anomaly here—a confession so palpably absurd, that it would be useless to discuss it If " offence" was not intended, how can the "extract from Mr. Stitt's letter of Tuesday justify the remarks" made by the Post ? We do not stop to enquire how Mr. Stitt came to address the Post on Tuesday—the day after the dinner. Why not publish the whole letter ? But, in order tojustify our re marks on the Daily Test paragraph, we are oblig?d to pub lish the, following letter, which reached our office on Saturday, the Bth inst., the envelope being directed as follows : S Redmond, Esq., _Daily Times Office. and marked 'c private" on the corner. (Private.) EVERTON AND KIRKDALE WARD. Elm House, Belmont Grove, Nov. 6, 1856. "Dear Sir,—Mr. Stitt's committee will dine together at the Derby Arms Hotel, Kirkdale, on the ev en i ng of Monday, the 10th instant, at seven o'clock, when he will be happy to meet them. Your company is requested on the occasion. An answer will oblige. P.S.—Please bring this note with you to the place of incetino% S. Redmond, b Esq " Mr. Redmond being a burgess of the ward,and one of Mr. Stitt's supporters, felt some difficulty about the matter (as the note was marked "private,") and consulted one of his colleagues (to whom he exhibited the letter), who referred him to the proprietor of this journal. That gentleman (on reading the note) said, " You had better attend the din ner, i f the invitation is i n t e nded for you— in your private capacity, be it so if in your professional