The Express.
London, England, 1851-01-04 00:00:00

rur £RD 11:71:11.

inlrinonl Rumba of persona interested in the
T tat' wassta Great Exhibition of the World's ludestry
has:rx n:. hint° bad 121 satiesetery repeeswestme la the
Frost—. rarer burns witty tart-, etd whb mechanises
mgr. he :..veer -.alto Irani; aud exempla, t tte torthroseteg
Zap witb fulness worthy of to pond an event—the
rf.'Pr‘C'Ore of the " EXI'REd3" have deters-feed upon
yis.,e, es. e;9.racJey afternoon, a doutt;e thoet of that
pair;,tO eloettla the tallest and latest tnf neetion relative
is the Eshionino, tog. .per with a mats of other matter
etteshathe to the multitude of meow Interested rkher as
Geirrol ani Les al CorawitiCOMOS end Seastari..,
of TrseeUirig Clubs, Ealtibitors, Friends of
Extibttow Mesh of Eshi,iton, and the odi :trier 214
• cl•tie a these who are to be the hundred. of ta.,ussada
• v....er to the ?damp...iv dur:n; the th reou.ieir Con•
re, •G. -try of all Nations. In scliition to ever tking
to toe Exp. tattoo, this D nib:* Sorst will giv.:
Gm,,,t 144,14 net wall. worrovir, srptei.ivy a:tead to ail
Camel Ese..ts is Liter thus, Science, and Aq.
0. *very rl.y exc. pt Setivilay %bogies t tae I'RE,3B
will be Threepence, es heretofore.
ADVERTISEMENTS.

Too great vela* of the " EXHIBITION EXPRESS "
as a stadium, molt be .tidal to ultertiests.
An ..avytiwcpst. lout be at the Odlee in W...itdritrs at
et beton. E:l;ht in tho Evening of few, Frilay, to ...cur.: in.
intim is the cumber of the following day.

i&•ftt erortal3•

TO CORRESPONDENTS.

rtocientv il4 pc Listion Evoking payer,
ow* lf the oft!^., 10, B,uatiwtttreet, by Two cee:wak ea the
eay tf l• erAthoo.

MGR WATER AT LONDON !MIDGE.
Taw tv —Nturnio Mt. 13rn Aftersoua, 31. 'am.
I,:..A.auw--Mornim. sb. Cow. 4b. sin.

for a day in any olher department of government? I
What should we tl.:ak of an cfEce: of the Beak of
England being permitted by the directors to carryon
a private manufactory within the walls of the Bank ?
Is the security Lf an es'abl:!hment, where the pre-
cious metals aro stored, nut ot paramount impzi;anct!
But how can this be attained under such eircum-
stances ?

The engraving derortment is another, where abuses
have by degrees ripened into monstrous buik by the
laxity o official discipline. The department for dire,
exelnaively intended foe public work, and in which
the machinery was guarded wish jealous care, as a
protection against fraud, has been for some years left
at the two will and las of tut engraver. instead of
having the cc lasio:4l use of it as an indulgence, the
superintendent, eireless of his authority, a: d gene-
rally
absent, finds less trouble in giving the engraver
the run of the department; and the inual result has
I followed—an extensive priva'e business is carried or
I. the manufacture of medals and proof coins, which
being in a moat locratlve revenue. This for a proof
florin, worth little more than two ',tilling, collectors
have to pay ten shillings; and for pat:erns. of which
the numher is legion, fourteen shillings. And yet all
these and other abases have b:en tolerated for 5 eat -
though the Mint has Lad masters, deputy-iassters,
comptrollers, and tupe.in'endents to wale* over its
interests, and thole of the pohhe.
Now we should rot Love again opened op these
wounds, had we upon inquiry z r.-t red any ino tie-''
diets intention of e wring teem. So long es they exist
they are a reproach to the publ:c service. They are
ulcers which fester and spread, and by degrees taint
the whole establishment. We know how soon custom
reconciles men to things which el-cwhere they would
condemn. We see, by the report, how t Meers use
the public materials for private ' o and justify it.
We read also, in the same report, that " the board is
worse than useless; nevertheless that effideot body
is so little conscious of this severe reproof that
it makes no move towards en (=aliment.
And what we fear is, that those commissioned to

reform the Mint, free from local prejudices, may
be carried into the same Tortes of corruption, and
go down with the stream they cannot stem. One
good, however, we grant has folloued upon the in-
fusion of cew blood into the establishment. There is
a little more regularity in attendance than under the
old regime. The clerks are found at their posts with
laudabM seal; and even the contractor', some of
whom might be found anywhere than on duty, begin
to make themselves cflicioue. The notion that their
offices era of a private nature, and that their ditties
may be done by deputy, is not now so prevalent as
in times past. They are at all events visthle, and that
is something. Their incomes are too lucrative, and too
easily made, not to e xhibit some eemblacce of business.
Under the old tax system, it never ((nutted to contrast
the duty with the pay, but now that odious comparism.
may be made by different •yes. We cannot opiate
ourselves that utility and ektil, of which there is much
in subordinate brarehes. shall henct.f. ranted be coun-
tenanced and approved of, irstesd of the contrary, bet
if there be any justice in public departments, we folly
expect that idleness shell not reap the reward due to
industry.
In conclusion, we think it is a reproach upon the
government, or their agent", that so long a period
should have elmwed without displa3 i some t Awns
of zeal and assiduity in tie Goes— And we hope
%slim. parliament seavinblt.p, that a rgid icqurry wail
be made into the clues of .he delay.

LONDON, SATURDAY, JANUARY 4.

I r is :Ica many months since we directed the atten-
tifa of th- palate to the ncewerity of a reform of the
)lir'; et ii beir.g then smeared that steps were about
to bet, ken to remedy the great abuses and defeats of
flat oo abstalued, in deference to the
government, to prosecute the subject. Nearly three
yelrs ,c.", a royal e omission was appointed with foil
powers Le make • searching inquiry, and to mem*
r.d a it el.anges aid amendments were nece.eney
is tle -tut government and more efficient manage
tie.t.t • f the Mitt. Thus commission was in some
rope e a p..id b;dy of fanctionarks, erd considerable
yet we. entailed on the country in cora. quence. Thal,
in due tine pr. sent. ,1 a succinct but deei•ive repast
to the terf.N, accompanied by tome able and ela-
borate pipers e n the present tear.sgtment of the
Stitt, aid even such strong and ecneineng
evdt ee they recommended to nen ...%IAJEsTY an astir*
wade° el tlio whole establishment, whtel would
r Vt. Ls. . 'My cc' Bomb* the public m.i cy, render the
.:.t en re I ffieiant Lp einiplitt :so t 11.: stem, and
art en ebd tl ea by to some intete: at le abuses which
r eist Isceu chg. ndered, and tie n metered ray a
weak nett cor:upt a.ministratiun r i its etf.iirs. he
fir s itisfaction was nivel% tee parliament and to the
public. The I ribs 14141 down Its p o, and in full
11.1 e a ion et..iit,ll tIM ti•le ef Tree Tits-
eery, too, as it eager to fulfil the su:ema recoerimen-
daVonsot Itor commission, and sorelie veitselt from the
sdiwueharge of conniving at peered &Luise and ex-
t • xtreea g taco ln thmAcpirttaent, t rrse.icd the
old 1' ;uty Maeta by the oppoittment of n Captain
llakNiS:4, of the Engineers, who has thu aeputc of
being al active man of business end a good adminis-
tratie. .t f An increase of eatery was granted
is him by the Treasu y, whether far nu superior
attainments or anticipatoiy of the greet aerie; he
wait expected to make, we cannot say. It appears be
ie oce of •heee usc'ul but diengneable lenctioucrita
sent fur h to set public departments to rights; and as
be mint cur sit tie pdiuna of so inquisttive a duty,
by ottrudirg prejudices, by touching private .n-
-tenets, by making per. anal enemies, endow-1w like, in
all j rob.b.l.ty %be increase of pay is awarded as Forme
eompeusatiou for the discharge of so invidious an
oil' i. The duties are, however, but light, and quite
laentlicieut to up. the time or ocenpy the inlaid of
so *dire an officer, who, in military habit,
troet.i bin., If ti strict efficiel hours, and
use. the sane mutter-el-fact diec:pi:ne on thew
and r him, v-ey much to their at soyance. Yet
notwi!tctasiding an easy office, and an increased
salcsy, the goes mem st, we suppose. in following up
the econovical principle, have at pointed over him a
permanent Master of the Mist, one of our illustrious
Sa,',:llS, Sir June II er.senu.. So that, with one teal
man of Mare, who can kayo nothing to do, end an-
other, w`.a is at least a pretender, with very light
duties to pe. form, if the Mint be not thoroughly
swept out and cleansed it will only prove (what we
bay:: lone eespee-ed) that philosopberr, so-celled, have
=UM knowledge than practical ability, and more pre-
tension than common sense. If the beginning augur
what is to conic; if the past bo any indication of the
future, then we me; relinquish all hope of such a
refc tin as we expected, and as the royal commieeieners
plsceta out.
From ill so can learn nothing has yet been done.
Not ore single step in plogrtsrion has been taken.
Affairs are still as readily in state quo as they were
three tears ago. Ina figure, we may ray that reform
is in embryo, bat there Licks strength to bring it forth.
'Worms art drawn out on paper, in incipient outline ;
wits men lay their heads together in solemn conclave
and look grave ; quires of paper are covered with
mysterious signs, and reports go from one Mint to
the Treasury, and rice errs'!, but we an trace no
tangible results in this appearance of business. The
money** and un Item snide at the sheer helplessness
of these quasi reformers., and feel as secure in their
places as ever. They are now reaping the rich fruits
of in extensive coinage of gold (which might have
been all need), and have substantial reason to
rejoice in the vacillation and feeble purpose of
these men. Procrastination, while it steals time,
enriches the Mint officials at the cost of the public.
/diet reform has assumed the appearance of a kind of
tughar, and few now believe it is anything more
that a cry—a cry got up to divert the public atten-
tion en the one hand, and to increase patrinage an
the other; an insatiable appetite of most public mee,'
be thty reformers or non-reformers, OLtDaToNEB or
Stmt.,. No vender it should excite ridicule and
cent( mpt ; nos wander it should have becalm the daily
jest of the whole establishment. Want of decision
and resolution are as fatal in public as in private.
Ti.ty indicate want of will, and undecided purpose,
which are sure eventually to be countervailed. They
snot feld to the res Ante opposition ready to en-
counter them, strengthened by the perception of feeble-
ness and vacillation, as much as by the iron sinews of
eeltinterest.
Perhaps of all the abuses which have made the
flint t ,toriew, the. most intolerable is that of etrry-
ire on private work, nud z, et no measure has been
taken to testes or stop this crying evil. 'lle meter-,
where the abuse is meet rampart!, was originciiy
*t up exclusively foe public eosins; but Mr. Mut-
ates, when Master of the Mint, with the view of
Strict big a ereffyi, permitted private work to be in-
troduced against the repeated objections of ell who
were cotevent to give an opinion. The ensuing
fettle government of tlee establishment, when they
had as opportunity of protesting against it, were
weak enough to connive and remain passive. What
begla ort a smell *ale, ender the pretext of a
mire experiment, has 'seinen by degrees into an
extensive manufactory, carried on often by night
as well as by day (Sundays not racept..d),
thereby endangerieg the perfect security of the
latiannment. To meet the uigent demands of
bullion broken and others, labourers are called
in and paid by the hour, much to the discredit and
dsceocy of the Mint. And private gain ping the
direct object of all this, the public convenience, as is
always the case, is either o.torferesl with or set aside.
Now let us ask, how can Ceptein Heedless, the as
ofi., reformer of the Mint, reconcile these facts with
Ills profession? Dots he think it is consistent with
hit public duty to allow what could not he tolerated'

Ova protect:on:at friet.ds find tie long lulu d for
report of Mr. Seci t.iry CoZWIN on American tinai cc
mach ken to their lorrpote than they had anticipated.
Thu enmity it 4:eplays to fr,eectin of trade is al .re.b,
indeed, and the •i ferias it embnlies are on Ten:gable,
as the bake of IttcusioNii himself cnald desire. Pot
it happens oddly cornga mat the immediate aims of
the reactionia's on the other aide of the ocean are
practically just the reverse cf their sympathising
allies on this. 7tfosepsly in n modified torm in !h..
dream, it is true, of both. Brt the circumstances a
the tviJeountrits differ iss widay, that the sophistries
meant for JONATHAN Won't do at all for Jong Bun.
D.fferent instrument, must be made nee of to pick
different pockets. A rash attempt to otherwise
would manifestly be hazardous, and might rather
earn to put simple folks on their guard.
The exclusionists of England sigh for a return to
ad 'damn dales. The exclusionists of America are
full of i.cheiries for their abolition, ;n order that in
their stead may be impeeed what they call specific du-
tier, or those v uich are asersied by weight i rreeptc.
tire of the velue imputed by labour. The latter
wculd not answer the purpose of our oligarchs. If
five shilling,. a quarter weir charged by law on every
quarter of corn, none but the best wheat would oa
brought trim foti ism lands into our ports. Test
would =ever do. Coles, something like a acatcity—
occarionetly, at tenet—of the eistlier kinds of food,
be seemed by act of Far figment. prices cannot revert
to what tb.y were, and rents cannot resume their
golden rplcudour. It was oa the production of
the higher descriptions of grain that the par-
liamentary wofit was made in this country ; end no
tampering thtreforo with the PEEL Tariff of 1816
would be worth a struggle, excepting such as would
substantirlly restore to the landed proprietary a pro-
tection in the fruits of the earth proportioned to ther
value.

To the principle of this system Mr. Secretary
Comm. with cone& -siblA force of rersoning, ob-
jects. All a 4 ea ,ro,u tariffs, he argues, aro found in
practice to be prolitis of frauds. No vigilance
can do more than hold the evil in check. The
temptations ere infinite ; the opportunities innu-
merable. Besides the injustice to the consumer
admits ano denial. The scarcer any commodity

happens to be, and the greater its igroicAl
the higher the duty exacted. In cases where
the article is one of prime necessity, the wroeg thus
inflicted on tLe community is insufferable. "That
cannot be a wholesome system of taxation which
follows the consumer in his purchases, increasing his
barthen when prime are high, and taking it eff as
prices fall and his ability to bear it increases. If
applied to articles of subsistence, it would operate es
a heavy tax up.n bread in a year of famine, increas-
ing with the intensity of the evil, and gradually dis-
appearing with the return of abundance." Nothing
can be clearer or more provokingly palpable. But
how can protectionist orators or journalis's in Eng-
land handle such red-hot logic as this? The Ameri-
can Secretary of the Treasury may be a very clever
man and a very patriotic citizen of the United States;
but really his report is considerably worse than UPC-
lees to his protectionist allies in the United Kingdom.
Apart from these considerations, however, the
Chancellor of the Washington Exchequer makes out
an imposing case in favour of higher import duties.
He boldly avows that the recent wars of territorial
aggrandisement have rendered an increase of taxation
unavoidable. lie shows that the produce of the sales
of public lands has been already appropriated, and the
state has n 3 other resource than an augmentation of
customs' dutits. Tile federal expenditure is barely
met by the prcs-nt federiil income; and, in June,
1862, there are 7,220,9:,2 d -liars of war lean to be
paid, for which, is yet, the C.mgrese has made no prc•
vision. It is not undeserving of note that in the
voluminous ducument in question no allusion what-
ever acmes to any form of direct taxation. It is
pretty well understood that oar Transatlantic kins-
folk would not endure even " a talk " upon any such
topic. They l,ve, us they love to base, free Prom
ell pirying inquisitions of the tax gatherer into their
makings ar.d beings; and they exalt in the power-
lessness of their central government to attempt any
infringement upon this fiscal freedom. But let them
not be deceived. They are still as a cation puce,
while we as a people are old. Let them be warned
by our example. S 3 sure as they follow in our foot-
steps and indulge in the luxury of aggreszive ware,
so sure will they be brought under the same yoke
that now we bear.
Mr. Coltwis earnestly recommends the adoption of
"specific duties on imports," as a wears of putting an
end to smuggling. This no doubt to some extent is
true. The simpler the test and the more uniform the
I rule, the easier must cf necessity he the tusk of
enforcing general compliance. But tl.. same
might b 3 said of other expedients lityl more
primitive in their simplicity and in their etiver-
sality. A poll tax is in this slew the nearest
approach to perfection with which we are acqueinted
There are fewer chances, perhaps, of evadeg it, than
any other conceivable. Nothing can be so ample in
and so comprehensive in practice. But is it
theory
ore just or wise ? In like manner one broad in-
flexible lice of liability to pay import duties, may

THE EXPRESS, SATURDAY EVENING, JANUARY 4, 1851.

possess in an eminent degree the merits in question
without either the best or most polite form of customs
—nay, without having any real pretensions whatert r
to be considered just, • xpedient, or humane. Ob-
viously there is this blemish on the face of all such
schemes, that they impose on the working men and
the millionaire the same amount of fiscrl contribu-
tion, The coarse shirt of the labourer is taxed as
much, under a tariff of specific dut;eit, as that of the
fop who is fastidious u to the quality of his cambric
and the design of his embroidery. What equity is
'there in this? Or what is its aim? Mr. CORWTN
endeavours, by an elaborate argument, to defend this
pcsitieu by a reference to the fundamental principles
on which, acvtding to the American whige, national
tetatioa ought to be regalatod.
" The primary object,' be tells us, " to be kot t in
view in laying duties upon imperts is admitted to be
revenue. It is equally well established as the policy
and duty of the government, to discriminate in the
levying of duties, so as without falling below the
necessary amount of revenue to give the greattat en.
cetuogernent possible to all the industrisl pursuits of '
Gar own people." Of the political object esoterically
cherished by toe advocites of this system In the
United States, not a word is said. That object Is
more than suspected to be the creation of a moneyed
aristocracy—yest as our own system of protec-
tion tended to keep up the class power and
iniluancs of the landed aristocracy. But of this
no: a syll,hls is breathed in the andel manifesto.
The topic is too delicate; the design too repugnant to
republican feeling. A Log string of other reasons
are consequently held for:h to amuse and bewilder
popular attention. The antediluvian doctrine of the
balance of trade is furbished up f.r the occasion. The
imports of America during the last three years hay:
exceeded her exports. Tee consequence must be a
growing amount of ckbt due to foreigners, wLieh
corner or later must Lc discharged in gold er Produce.
But, as there is no immediate hope of another Euro-
pean famine, there is no room for an extra exporta-
tation of maize or pork. Consequently, the debt
must be paid in gold. The instant etLet must be com-
metcial paralysis and uoiversal bankruptcy. England
witl clutch and keep all the gold of the New World,
and the poor over.re ached children of the west will be
beggared. As if precisely the rime tale of ruin had not
been foretold to us by our false prophets within the last
three years—only with this difference, that according
to them it was the Yankees who were robbing un-
happy Bull of his prec:ous metals, instead of Bull
robbing the Yankees. But the exchanges obstinately
I continue to reguleto themselves in spite of all the
NEWDEGATES and NIEREDITIIS, the STANLaT3 and the'
Cowwites; and true to the tidal law of its being, no
• sooner has the ebb continued foe a certain limited
time, than the reliJK irresistibly sets in the cpposite
airectiou. Priduce in the end can only he paid for
in produce; and if America has got more produce
from England than iu the ordinary cycle of trade she
can take from America in paymzeit, so much the
worts—fur Enyle,a, net for her. Oh Jomerman !
—my eon; thou art not the youth I took thee for,
if thou dolt net quickly find out this surface truth at
I! the expense of thy too eredulonsold Father!