The Express.
London, England, 1849-01-02 00:00:00

you
are dishonest men ; ou would tube elf a tax,obuucat hno,wmtwdaidiloutt
Rime say.,
.rerreyoun :am?
007:44.0ewoyuloduryo,
zupdnod
it lathe
fended debt ? What would you do with the puhlic crediMr. e 05.7.;
the only way to make you de it is not to give you the
stoa
but to keep it from you." (Cheers.) That is the reason erkii
ask you to join me in ceding tor a reduction of t -
Bat what do you do ? 13:- ow me a heed that has put ita::ib".m.
ture to a petition for a reduction of taxation. Where is if?
(Laughter.) Why, you let me w 'ik day and nigh. byleyssit
and you don't give me sour support. My friend Jon Kahle:
with his smiling face, writes to me end says, " Why you di
not take off taxes ?" But I away' till him, "Ido my begs.
but I am afraid Icon', say we have done u much as we *dot
With regard to the other point o' the qu ry—the pesce quids.
—the necessity of forcing on all rulers anti goveeemenUtke
importance of keeping the peace of nations, y
that my heart and mind are in favour of ouch a movement.
Every rational man must look neon wer as a treat eune tip*
all clashes. It Is horrible to the feelings to think. f the bleed.
shed and misery produced by it upon thoumnds. lint
it cease ? I believe iu my conscience that it can cease, but
only in consequence of • eenerad teeliaig among ell clewes.
and those deserve well of mankind "ho put iheirhoed to the
movement and say we wilt en‘orce the necessity of keeping
peace Why, the m of the :ie•ple have the toing in their
nee hands. But remember this .-)-u cannot be rumble
in Engiand if other natioos are at war; you cannot have you
families and he arthstones free frem inv Bien if there should
be a warlike feeling abroad. The movement for peat* men
beg 1, and not lima se to •ne country. (Rear.) Hither-
to we believed that France was o'ir 'mine, and c mld nee
exist recent in war. But I believe thew ashes of the mune
of the French people are in tay.ur of peaco, for there is as.
thing in F to induce me to believe there is anythlee
but a peaceful feeling prevalent. And with France ena
England inclined for ye ace, we may Set the worlo at de filmes.
I d not bell-vs there can he a war If these two nations me
their efforts to influence other nations. (Cher. re.) The
movement, therefore, in tits country, tends to toe treat re.
sult—peace and harmony among nations—not I will give it
my sermon in the best way I can. (Cheers.)
At the time this was slid Mr. AGLIONDY could
scarcely have seen Mr. COBDEN'S 1. tter to the Liver-
pool Financial Association, but he spoke in the very
spirit of that document. He insis ed upon the reac-
tion of ex;.enditure as an indispensable precursor to
the taking off of taxes, and he pointed to the army
and navy as the establishments admitting of the
largest reductiotra. Mr. HORSMAN followed to the
same purpose:
I will tall you the eoirt in which the gown:Engl.' end the
whole constitution is the weakest—our hotel ea stem —our
system of taxation. (Cheers ) It Ls impossible for mon to
to on from year to year, beim, improvidently and increasirg
his expenditure while his income is diminialeug lie gees
into gaol at last. And what is true of an individual is
equally inevitable Ina nation. But there it t •is difference,
Trough the nation does not go to gaol, yet you have wide.
spread distress, end that creates turbulence een I &omen
of every kind, and it is impossihls to farmer the senile;
people are constantly complaining of taxati 'n, and our
fleecier' find it iroposhilve to meet the demands mode upon
them Under 'hailer (decent*, m u what would en irdivi.
dual do ? Ile asks himself, " How much of my expenditure
can lec monad, e? " Now, In Eamlaed the who.e sum raised
by taxation amounts to herw. as SO and 60 militate r
Oat of that nearly 30 milltois go to pay the iaterest the
national debt—a dead weight oo wltolt you c:.nnot anon*
or make a reduction—and the inter hs f Is sill upon which
reductions can be made. Depend on it, than, that a pap.
meet of nearly 30 millions a year gning tan rrnimently
without any hope whatever of elmailiution or anything dote
away with. is s dangerous propped for our careless Mamas
to look forward to. Deepen, on it. that it the systemic(
levity and weakness wh en has recently ch e:seg our
fiaanciel administration were to continue, there would corns
a time when our position lentil(' be one of tlangc r segravated
by &veer ent.
Mr. AGLIONBY told his constituents a home truth
when he told them that ktiterto the eeouemical re-
formers in parliame:.t have been moat inadequately
supported by the reform, re oat of doors; bat we are
mistaken if he can long m .ke this corn: !taint titherof
the Cockermouth or any other relormcr3.
For one reason we are dv.por.ed to attribute more
importance to the Edinburgh than to the Cocker-
mouth meeting. The declarations of Messrs.
AGLTONBY and HORNSIAN were made incidentally to
an assembly which had met without any eqiec:al re-
ference to financial reform. But, at Edinbargb, the
citizens of the ancient capital ul Scotland met to in-
augurate an aesociation having for its object the re-
duction of publ c expenditure and taxation. The list
of the gentlemen present is full of meaning to any
one acquainted with Edinburgh. 'l'he old wing leaders
were absent and apparently the young fry of parliament
house politicians who claim to inherit the ir inflames
on the strength of relationship or of as, etriug their
livery. But the substantial citizens, and the rising
independent politicians gathered in great twee. Mr.
Cowan, the member for the city, the old and new
provost, Mr. DUNLOP who all but carried On enock at
the last election, and Mr. DCNCAN 3l'Lansa, one of
the most shrewd and independent of Seotoh
chins, came forward to avow their devotion to the
principles of uncompromising and real I...:taiihment.
insinuationdyetfhtrieirewneitoetutinbgy, a
from Ate body
took the lead in it was simply to promote Mr.
thgcatatthieeth cianjic v'et'il e°f spoke
those
COBDEN'S views, elicited the explanation that though
they cordially approved of, and concurred in these
views, their resolutions, and the programme of the
meeting's proceedings had been preparel some weeks
before his letter appt al ed. This 14 im-
portant, for it shows that site support Mr. Cz.BDEN is
receiving is contributed by well-informed men and
independent thinkers, who nave arrived, witoout com-
rauticaton, at conclusions similar to his, a d rally
round nit; standard because ho has afforded !rem an
opportunity of doing what mature deliberation had
convinced them ought to be done.
The labouring oar at this meeting devolved upon
Mr. WILLIAM CHAMBERS. The full report of that
gentleman's speech which we published a few days
ago renders it unnecessary to illustrate its tenor by
abstract or quotation. It was every whit as masterly
as Mr. CHAMBERS'S first essays in agitatirg a kindred
though purely local reform—the aboli'ic"i of the ini-
quitous annuity tax—some twenty years ago, and the
wide and liberal course of etudes to a lach his
literary exertions have since that time to ked him,
prepared hie friend& to expect. It is impossible
to reflect on the influence which Edinbnrgh exercises
over public opinion in Saaand, and on the almost
excessive caution which has generally ricterited
the movements of Edinburgh politicians, without con-
grat.liting the advocates of financial rtlo:ru on the
early and uncompromising declaration of adnesion to
the cause which that city has made.
But what is Glasgow about ? Glasgow which,
when Edinburgh was disposed to linger Let ning to
the conservative faer'inations of Boot Goan in 1835,
threw itself so effectively into Lord Duititam's vale—
Glasgow, which was the centre of an influen-
tial and persevering anti-coin-law agitation years
before the League was formed ! Are its excise re-
formers about to flag now that a plan of financial re-
form has been brought forward, and warmly received
by the public, which includes redress of flat ir heavy
grievances?

Tax Canadian ministry are setting about, their work
like men resolute in purpose and prudent in action.
They seem to harbour no intention to frustrate the
hopes which were entertained of thorn by the country
when it called them to power. Although they have as
yet promulgated no programme of their plan of action,
enough has transpired to satisfy the great balk of
the liberal party, by which they are supported out of
doors, that ministers are honestly bent on intro-
ducing, and staking their tenure of office upon
the success of, measures embodying those re-
forms which are demanded in justice to
all classes, and which the altered circumstances
of the province so imperatively call for. It augurs
well that, although the cabinet has a decided map-
r;ty at its command in the House of Assembly, it
evinces every desire to proceed cautiously in the work
which it has undertaken—a policy in which it appears
to be sustained by even the most ultra of its support-
ers, who have the most unbounded confidence in the
honesty of its intentions. There thus appears to be
no pressure at present from without to drive the mi-
nistry-into rash and extreme measures, a s:ato of
things which leads us to anticipate that the cause of
reform in the province will be steadily and prudently
promoted by the men who now act as Lord Etc IN's
advisers.

The two measures which will constitute the chief
features in the ministerial budget of reform., and in
respect to which the intentions of the cabinet have, as
yet, been most fully enunciated, are designed to place
the provincial university on a liberal and permanent
footing, and to effect a reform in the representation.
As regards the university, the final determination of
the cabinet is not yet before us; bat from the outline
of their proposed measure which has reached us in
reference to the latter, we are in pose.sion of their
intentions respecting it. We shall, therefore, confine
ourselves at present to the subject of parliamentary
reform, as it affects our fellow-subjects in Canada.
The representative system in Canada is replete
with anomalies similar to tho e which deface our
own. It rests upon no intelligibL basil, having
reference neither to persons nor to p,e,Ri ry, nor to
both combined. A petty borough has as potent a
voice in the legislature as a large county, comprising