The Press.
London, England, 1856-12-27 00:00:00

THE PRESS.

never expect to be free, more especially when
a senior wrangler in politics is at the head of
our affairs. No reason exists why our estab-
lishments should notinow be placed upon an
ordinary peace footing What that footing
should be is a question to be discussed. In
past years we may have allowed too meek
weight to economy, and may have carried prin•
ciplcs of reduction too far. In our opinion,
the Militia should never be neglected. It '
should be kept in a state of efficiency, as the
surest means of recruiting our regular army.
But whatever principles it is wise to adopt
in the constitution of our military or naval
forces, or whatever strength it is expedient to
maintain, ought now to be laid before the
country. There is nothing in the aspect of
our foreign affairs, if we except the surrepti-
tious invasion of Persia from India, which
should prevent us from modelling our forces
npon that scale of efficiency which it is desir-
able should be ordinarily maintained.
We know that for a !number of years pre-
vious to the war our ordinary expenditure
was about fifty-two, fifty-three, or fifty-four
millions. During the last year of war it rose
to something like twice as much. We do not
say that our expenditure should fall to its
former limit. That is a point for Parliament
to consider. We only say that now there is
no longer any rational pretext for upholding
war establishments, the country should have
a system of peace expenditure submitted to
it, and that the taxation and revenue of the
country should be placed upon a settled basis.
If it should be desirable on financial
grounds to maintain the income tax at its
existing rate of 16(1. in the pound, the tax-
payers will have no resource but to submit.
What they exclann against now is, that an
attempt is made to cheat them out of the in-
creased tax by a pretence little less than
fraudulent. It was enacted that the increased
burden should continue to the sth of April
next after the Ratifications of the Treaty of
Peace had been exchanged, and for one year
beyond it. We must look to the reason of
this enactment to determine whether, under
the existing circumstances, it can fairly be
carried to the extreme which the letter of the
law would justify.
The motive for fixing the continuance of the
tax for one clear year after the sth of April
following the conclusion of peace, was obvi-
ously to prevent the Executive from being
exposed to the inconvenience of this tax
ceasing almost as soon as hostilities had
ceased. The Ratifications of the Treaty, in-
stead of being exchanged as they were a few
days after the sth of April, might have been
exchanged a few days before the sth, and in
that case the tax would have terminated before
the Administration could make other arrange-
ments to replenish the Exchequer. The
proviso of continuance for one clear year was
therefore a precautionary measure. It was
not intended for the provision of a fund by
which all outstanding liabilities incurred
during the war could be cleared off, but as a
source of income on which the Minister of
Finance could rely as long as the expense of
hostilities continued.

The Treaty of Peace was actually signed
before the sth of April last, and up to the
sth of April next the Administration will have
had something more than one full year to
make the transition from war to peace estab-
lishments, and to submit a new scheme of
finance to Parliament. It will be for the Go-
vernment to propose such financial arrange
ments as they think proper. But, as a matter
of good faith, we think they ought not to rely
on the letter of the statute to extend the war
rate of income tax beyond the period at which
it might naturally have terminated.

It is to be recollected that other duties were
considerably increased by budgets during the
war, and that many branches of trade—espe.
cially that important one the building—have
suffered severely both from the increase of
taxation and the high rate of interest resulting
from war expenditure. All classes are now
anxious to know what burdens they may
expect to bear in future, and upon what scale
the expenditure of Government will be fixed.
The movement against the income tax is one
manifestation of this feeling, which it is not
very likely the Ministry will venture to dis-

SATURDAY,

regard. More. however, is required. The
time for temporary expedients is over, and
the public have a right to demand a settled
scheme of finiuwe from Lord PALmEasTex's
Chancellor of the Exchequer.