The Express.
London, England, 1865-02-10 00:00:00

GOLD CIIAINS.—JOLIN BROGDEN
to call the attaation of the public to the FOAM of Ix
VOICE which he delivers with Gold Gourd Chalua pturhased at
Ms manufactory: d.
To workmanship of patters chain, ta Inches long
AS
To Gi/a. led. per oun cora gold,noe, Riot price weighing on dwt. gra., M
IMd +C
Ulm this system, the QUALI,TY. WIJOBT, and VALUE d
the gold are actually dented. cad perealead be the:parcimear
John Werke Wide, fora Lair resanamatiem as Ike worieneamkip
only, which ht charged woman( to the tatflearlur
the pattern.—JOHN 11100DliS, Gloldsmith.--blaenfackwy, 14
Heariettaktreak Covesaprden. London. Established A.D. 1701.
N.B. This eitallshment ts closed at 6 in the evening, and ow
keterdora et 1 o'clock.

Iptuncer at PRICE'S GREAT SPANII3H
R. CIRCUS end RIPPODZOME, at the AGEICTILTHUL
HALL. EVERY EVENING at geom. DAY PIIRPORMA
TUREIDAYE, THURSDAYS, sad BATUEDAYR at Two.
STAETLING AANOUNCZKENT.—Ifir. PRICE hip rampart-
fully to announce that he has suomseded to =gaging, et a very
great sepenas services it the renownedNDlN, the 110E0 of NIAGARA,
for SIX NIGHTS ONLY, previous to his Anal departure from
Engles& Ile wEI have the bonnet of appearing THIS EVENING,
%his marmitees Nate is We HIGH HOPE. as performed by hisa
at the Dryad Palace . he will the weir at each Day reTtOTIM-
SDP. SEGUNDI and MALLOL. the celebrated Spanish artists, Ile
their
been
feats on the Trapeze, surpassing AD that bee
ever been seen In this country, In conjunction with the whole of the
talerated troupe of male and tomb artists of this rail este,
Diktats's*, Waned from the Cirques of Spain, Portugal, ISA
Pitlerthuril. Berlin, and the Hippodrome of Peals. French, Gm-
Man. Italian, Spanish. and jpraitish Clowns. Mr. George New-
comb, the Lion Tamer with the wonderful pimp of performing
h one. The largest and best stud of highly trained ..tool homes.
fighting ponies, and educated mules In Europe. —The free Hsi
and seaeou t entirely sutpended durtnOSlondites epode-
most. the public pees excepted.

RZIOCKBER I we wait Same for you after
Phalossissa. st EVANS. sari ML

Etie Ontrems.

TO CORAFSPONDYNTS.
seentisemewashiteadiat ter •• The Koren" Leaden Evening
Paper. mugs be m the Once. 14 Isaverle4inei, by Two
.icloak en the day of publication.

Ea EILTDITTE.
nee STIMO, URA. News. Swift. Doom Forbes, Tenon,
Reawkk : Was Amos Mks, Cottorell. ]Wines.—Ocaductor.
—Ana TELE LION AND THE lINICODN.
14. s nariftloi, K. Ettllon.--Comisace a4l.

—KATY Astir.
Two Emma, DAVID GAIIRICIL—LARD DIINDILRAILT
SIAILRISD AND DONS PO& Mem Pettier% &Yd. Sack-
done Doe**. Mtn fIowdm—PRINCISS SPRINGIVIS.
Mx. Coinplme.—And TEI WOLF AND MIS LAY&

PIT
TIM !MOW TH3 MAGIC HOME AND THE ICE MAIDEN
TEINCIDOL—Aad THE 'STRUTS Or LONDON. Moms. Molar.
J. W. Ray. D. Mies% D. KIICIW, J. Naas. icearaler, sad
Z. Mallon ; mn. 11. Mods% Mow Ilaradel aad Gnaw.

LYCIPUIL
TM Enna, SIMPSON AND CO. Mr. Emery and Misr
Elsworthy.—TElS ROADSIDS INN. Main. Pechter, ItArunru,
Widdloomb, Fitzpatrick. Gerdes, ItAlraoad : Miss lilsw ut thy.
.—And MAR-FACED nfforrois. wtadioomsb.

111111TANNIA.
EVannor. LITTLE ISCSIr or. the Old lady of
Throadneodle-street. Mesdames & Lane. A. Cranford. a... 1 E.
Ja,ba Mr. O. Blvfrood Fhet.ratoPaotomimbita —And TU It
Vit.I&S.OLICIA OF LON DON.—Cornmence at half-past ft.

HIGH WATER AT LONDON-BRIDGE.
nal DAY Morning. ara... .Attanrion. .2.nn.
“in..... After
lio-110311.0W Morning. sann. fa. ;Om

• LONDON, FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 10.

THE farmers of England have had their monster
meeting, and their monster deputation. Nothing
like it has been 'Moe the days of the Protection

agitation, bnt the resemblance of the means only
suggests contrast of the ends. Then they were
on the defensive, they were fighting to maintain •
monopoly, to preserve • privilege which put
money in their pockets at the cost of the industry
of all the rest of the community, to uphold rents

and prices by taxing the poor man's bread and
diminishing the poor man's employment. Now,
they are ou the offensive, but it is a struggle to
' " • "

obtain for themselves only fair play, to secure an

equal share of the benefit; of free trade with their
neighbours, to cheapen the cost to the public of
the article in which they deal. Nor is their
situation as regards their ancient friends and foes
less curiously altered. They now are in league
with advanced Radicals, they quote Mr. COBDEN
and Earl RUSSELL on their side, and if they still

have the support of the majority of the old
" country party," they are open to the taunt that
the leaders of that body look on them askance.
These are changes that provoke reflection, and
are not to be dismissed with merely a sneer. We
at least shall meet them with no such answer.
It cannot be denied that in the arguments ad-
vanced by the anti-Malt Tax agitators there is, if
some haziness, a large proportion of sound sense
and reason. We have removed the obstructions
to industry on every other domestic trade, and the
burdens on every other internal product ; it is
certainly hard that we should retain them on a
business so important as beer-making, and an
article so largely used as barley. Moreover, the
form in which we retain it aggravates the burden.
It is imposed as an Excise duty, and this neces-
sarily involves that the trade is subjected to costly
and annoying restrictions, that far more is lost to
the consumer than is gained by the revenue, that
improvement is forbidden, and ancient practices
stereotyped. We have of late years taken off every
other Excise duty save that on beer and spirits;
bricks, soap, glass, paper, may now be produced with-
out interference on the part of the Revenue officers,
and by other methods than an Act of Parliament
prescribes, and it cannot be disputed that the
result has been a gain to the public far beyond
the loss to the Exchequer. With regard to
malt, the very variety of the figures which are
quoted in reference to the real weight of the
impost serves to convey some idea of the actual
additional burden it involves beyond the mere
amount of the tax levied. The speakers at the
farmers' meeting are accused of calling it at one
time a tax of 25 per cent., at another of 50 per
cent., at another of 100 per cent. ; and very
clever statisticians give us 7s. 9d. per bushel as the

price of malt, and 2s. ;id. as the amount of the
tax, and therefore laugh to scorn all who propound
a different per centage. Bat the real explanation
is that, though the CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER
gets only 2s. 7id. per bushel, the necessary
restraints of the excise system double that amount
of charge in the manufacture. In round numbers
barley costs 45. per bushel, malt Ba., and, though
Mr. GLau:noNt only gets half-a-crown out of this,
the obstructions which his officers cause lead to
the loss of the remaining eighteenpence. For, as
malt occupies from 10 to 30 per cent. more balk
than the barley from which it is made, according
to quality, it is computed that this increase would
amply pay for the simple process of malting if it were
not hampered by excise rules, and, therefore, that
the imposition of the duty really doubles its price.
Moreover, it not only makes it dearer, but it
makes it worse. No doubt ordinary beer would
be better brewed if the brewer were allowed free-
dom in his manufacture ; but he can practically
neither experiment nor improve while the exact
order and duration of every operation are fixed by
law, and Excise officers are always hovering about
the premises to lay informations against novelties.
Unhappily, however, they give no protection
against adulteration, and since the manufacturer
cannot produce at once good beer and cheap beer,
he is under the temptation, to which he too often
yields, especially in country districts, of giving
cheap beer and bad beer—beer that inebriates
but certainly doe, not cheer.
These are the ordinary and obvious arguments
against an Excise duty, which undoubtedly have
none the lass force when applied to the case of an
article of almost universal use. Nor are they
affected by any comparisons which may be inati-