The Daily Times.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1860-02-20 00:00:00

TO THE EDITOR OF THE DAILY TIMES.

SIR,—It ir;with grateful feelings of satisfaction that
I observe the decision come to by the meeting. held
on Tuesday, at the residence of the Marquis of
Salisbury, of the supporters of the Earl of Derby—that
it is inexpedient and unnecessary, as well as detrimental
to our interests as a great commercial nation, that the
proposed system of taxation, &c., embodied in the
Budget, should become the law of the land. Notwith-
standing the fulsome eulogies of the _Daily News, and
the lavish praises and adulation of others of the Radical
• press, including our own never-failing oracles of the
-Liberal school, there now appears a general and un-
doubted dislike to the present measure throughout the
country. Mercantile men (whom all allow, as a
separate section of the community, to understand the
intricate mazes of finance more perfectly than any other
class), have very generally exhibited an antipathy to-
wards the scheme, that was not eipected nor hoped for.
We find no class favourable to the measure, excepting
those infatuated persons who believe that the mere
mention of " free-trade" is a certain panacea for all
trade evils; and who, because of the anathematised
commercial treaty forming part of the budget, are
'willing and ready to accept the sum total without
abridgement, either in principle or detail, lest by so
doing their pet project should be annihilated. 'Others
who may be favourably disposed towards it are the par-
tieul ,r trade-masers whose capon books will be the
sooner filled, and their own pockets the heavier in con-
'leen ;nee. But the mass, the generality of commercial
zaen, and those versed in money matters, regard the
budget as an attempt at a great financial scheme, an
(ululation at the efforts of the great Sir Robert, but
which has fallen immeasurably sh ort of its intended object.
Wm. E. Gladstone has failed in creating for posterity a
name as a financial reformer. The press supporters of the
present government are changed in tone from that which
characterised them at the end of the week. From their
expressions of laudation, one might have imagined the
Chancellor of the Exchequer to be a perfect model of a
financier ; and that the Herculean champions of finance,
w .0 have appeared as stars in the firmament of the
political world, must dim their lustre, and that their
brilliancy must pale before the overwhelming magnitude
and strength of the rays of light flashing forth from the
win of Wm. Ewart Gladstone. Hero-worship can go no
f Aber in its adoration than have some of the
glorifiers of the chancellor in their enthusiastic
a Imiration of his genius as a remodeller of the
present system of taxation. We have him extolled
aid elevated to the very 'realms of romance, because he
nes merely obliterated from the tariff some insignifii.ant
duties that required no very able financier to deal with ;
and because he has conglomerated the whole into an
income-tax, obnoxious to almost all classes in the
country : but his honeyed words, and silk-drawn argu-
ments have undoubtedly persuaded some into the belief,
that he is the " political heir of the Great Seal."
Brother Conservatives, come to a • calm consideration
of Your duties, for in the course of the ensuing week
we shall most likely see the spectacle of a fallen ministry,
a ministry whose policy
.it is to truckle to a foreign mag-
nate, and'sacrifice your interests to further those of his
'mi. Do not allow yourselves to be deluded by the false
representations and reports of those whose interest it is
(if Possible) by all and every means, to defame the con-
sistency and purity of the principles of Conservatism.
If we consider and ponder upon facts as they appear
and present themselves to our view the c usion we
must arrive at is, that Lord Derby and his able and
talented staff are the right and most competent persons
to grasp the reins of the destinies of Great Britain, and
no doubt we shall see this opinion ratified by a majority
of the House of Commons. But there yet remains for the
Conservative party in the country generally to give them
their unhesitating support, without heed to the blind in-
sinuations and scurrilous attacks of the Whig-Radicals
upon -our glorious chiefs and party. The time is at
hand, when we shall see the Earl of Derby and his
glorious array of followers reigning paramount ; and
the Government of the country will again be placed
under,the guidance of the greatest statesman, as well as
the greatest orator of the present generation ; and the
abiding principles of his political creed will cement yet
firmer that friendship and trust that has thus far
existed between him and his party—rendering them in-
vulnerable against the scoffs and jeers of their op-
Ponents.—Yours, &c., LZINA.D.