The Express.
London, England, 1862-05-20 00:00:00

NT. SAMINS...

THIS Ernasa. A COZiIiOUPLE.-=PRINCE ANABEL . or,
The Fairy Rom. Mown Mat.beers, Be'more, and A•hley
Mlas N. Moore, Mn.a F. Matthews, and the Mimes Nelson.
—And UNDER THE 108L—Coatrnenue at 7i.

BIITLIMIA.

Tim Iternak OtrEt LOT Ilruh. Madames & Lane ant
Cranford—Entertainments by Miss& Pearce and Mr. Mac Lean.
—dad TEM OLD M tID IN TEA WINDING BEIM. Miss
U. Claytem.—Coomsace at N.

HIGH WATER AT LONDON SEDGE
THIS DA —Morning, Oh. Afternoon, 7h. 15m.
To•ttonnOW —Morning. 70. 45et..... Afternoon, Oh. 20m.

LONDON, TUESDAY, MAY 20.

MR. DIsRAELI has once more claimed the
a serious and earnest attention" of the _ House of

Commons for the present state of our public expen-
diture. The speech of the right hon. gentleman
bad been prepared, it was evident., with much care,
and was a great improvement upon that which he
made some ten days ago. He did not repeat the
mistake of representing our excessive military and
naval outlay as rendered necessary by our liberal
foreign policy ; but from a survey of the state of
the world and our relations with its various
Powers, showed that we are wasting the enormous
sums which are raised with difficulty by taxation.

If we are not mistaken, those who examine this

part of Mr. DISRAELI'S speech, without prejudice,
will be strongly of opinion that he has made out
his case. Our relations with foreign States at this
time are as settled and friendly as anybody can
remember, and as they can reasonably be expected
to be. The favourite argument from " exceptional
"circumstances" doesnotthereforeapply. Ministers
have shown no reason, and we believe they can show
no reason, for keeping up our armarnentaatthe war
rate, and it becomes them to declare what they
mean, because this enormous expenditure is con-
solidating itself very much as the Income Tax is
doing. So far Mr. Bimini's statements and argu-
ments must be admitted; and were he less than the
leader of a great and powerful party we might
thank him in the name of the public for contribut-
ing to the discussion of a subject which cannot be
too well considered in the House of Commons.
But how is it that with these views Mr. Dzsitazu
allowed the estimates to pan t The right hon.
gentleman anticipated this question ; he says, it is
" very futile." Possibly ; and yet it arises very
naturally ; it is one that a great many people have
made, and we do not think that the reasonsby which
the chief of the Opposition justifies his long reti-
cence will counteract the unfavourable reflections it
provokes. Mr. DISRAELI says that he was
not bound to take a course which might have
led to the overthrow of the Government, and left
him and his friends to carry on the affairs of the

country. So it would seem that the proverbial
aversion of the right hon. gentleman to office has
once more stood in the way of the public advan-
tage. But, besides this, he ple►ds that the Naval
and Military Estimates had already been passed
when Mr. GLADSTONE made known the precarious
financial situation of the country. Now, however,
in the light of that statement, it is clear to Mr.
DISRAELI that the weight of taxation and the want
of a surplus makes the utmost economy not merely
a duty but a necessity. That is most true, but we
did not need Mr. GLADSTONE'S budget speech to
make it plain. We fear that the reason of Mr.
Moses's's silence last April must be otherwise
accounted for, and that its explanation will be
found in that dislike of the notion of economy and
retrenchment which prevails on the Opposition
benches, and the murmurs of which the right hon.
gentleman tells us have reached his ears. Lord
PeLmitiurrow, whose handling of the main quer
tion was singularly feeble and inconclusive, took
full advantage of the weakness of his opponent
here, and with irresistible effect told him
to settle the question with those of his late col-
leagues who want to increase our military expen-
diture before he talks about its reduction.
For the rest, Lord PALszairrox's speech
offers not the least prospect of a diminution
of the national burdens, but rather • perpetuation
of the Income Tax at its present oppressive rate.
If we are to take no account of the course
which the interests of other States must
dictate, if in national affairs we are to set at
nought all those moral probabilities which guide
us individually at every step in life, and
frame our preparations upon • consideration of
the worst that is physically possible—and this is
what is meant by " not being dependent on the
" forbearance " of other Powers then it is
impossible to fix a limit for our warlike
expenditure. When we have surpassed the
greatest of our maritime rivals in build-
ing iron ships, nothing but a simple act of the
imagination will be wanted to combine the fleets
of our possible enemies to infinitude, and thus our
defensive necessities may be fantastically enlarged
up to the point when the nation will become
restive under its burden. We have no fear that
Lord PALNFASTON will ever permit this lad
mischief. He is much too wise to zany things
to the extreme which provokes reaction. He only
incurs the present ruinous expense because with-
out it that general suspicion of foreign danger
which proves him an indispensable Minister might
die out. But for mercy's sake to the taxpayers,
let him in turn be generous to a country of
which he has no reason to complain, and permit
it to enjoy together with the virtues the rewards
of peace.

A case of considerable importance to the railway
interest came before the Master of the Roily at Dublin, ea
Saturday. The Messrs. Martin, timber merchants. of the
• North Wall, baring an execution against the Wex-
ford and Bagenalstown Railway for 720'., the
sheriff seised, among other property, the registry
of shareholders, the registry of transfer of share',
the registry of bonds and debentures, and other
documents and books belonging to the company. The Irish
South-Eastern Railway Company, who were the holders
of 50,0001. worth of paid.up ahem in the Wexford and
BagenalstownCompany, applied for an injunction against tie
sheriff, en the grounds that the documents which had bee.
seized constituted the only evidence the applicants had of their
property in the Bagenalatown line, and could cot legally be
sold under the execution. After a goof deal of diacweice,
it was ordered that the sheriff should lodge the books and
documents with the registrar until the court should deter-
mine on full argument whether they were legally seizable
or net.