The Express.
London, England, 1857-07-01 00:00:00

WEDNESDAY EVENING, JULY 1, 1857.

negroes who pained through them have aided in
founding the interesting African commonwealth er
Abecokuta, where, under the influenced the Church
Missionary Society, a far greater experiment is in
There is, wo repeat, no parallel between these
examples and this monstrous French project.
But from that project we may learn what it
is that our own West Indian body proposes.
The French echeme is, indeed, superior, in
honesty at least, to their proposition. The
French pretend only to seek labour for Guada-
loupe and Martinique. Our West Indians pretend
to have found a certain means of suppressing the
Slave Trade in their proposition. " Make us
prosperous, make us wealthy, crowd our estates and
fields with barbarous African labour, bring down in
our islands the price of labour until wages reach the
lowest point, and then the Slave Trade will be at an
end." Such is their case, still praying to the gods
to do for them what the test of their countrymen do,
and are compelled to do, for themselves.
Heartily desiring to see the British West Indies en-
joying even greater prosperity than they now do, when
sugar is 301. a ton, we deny that it is the business of
Government, even if it could, to shovel ship-losds
of Africans on their sugar-fields. The duty of
Government is to protect, not to disturb society, as
such recklessness would assuredly do in the West
Indies. If the Sugar Colonies want labour, India,
where they can freely obtain it, is open to them.
But Indian labour, like all other good labour, is dear
in money; and the West India non-resident pro-
prietary want barbarous labour, because it would be
cheap in money. Hence our planters hanker after
the Slave ports of West Africa.

A great and blessed change is rapidly coming
over West Africa, which would be jeopardised
by the revival or introduction of this new, this
modified Since Trade. But a few years ago
and Western Africa produced nothing for ex-
portation. The blacks picked up elephants'
teeth, beeswax, gum copal, which they ex-
changed against hafts. Now, however, they
produce ground nets ; they tend palm trees,
and rudely manufacture palm oil ; they cut
down and export timber. They are passing out of
an old, and are entering into a new stage of econo-
mical existence, leading, through legitimate com-
merce, to continuous and systematic industry, accu-
mulation, civilisation, and Christianity. This, we
submit to the intelligence and humanity of England,
is not a state of things to be risked, endangered, or
even interfered with, by indiscriminate and reckless
demands for African labour to flit the pockets of
the West Indian proprietary. From Lord Susrres-
liter, who introduced this new project to Lord
PALMERSTON the other day, we appeal to Lord
Ram:onus, the steady, consistent, and almost the
victorious enemy of the Slave Trade. Let us trust
that his old age is not destined to be afflicted by •
legalised return to the traffic which his youth
placed under the ban of English law.

TnB Revenue Returns for the year and quarter
which ended yesterday afford but slender subject for
comment. They show a demise of 273,2411. on the
quarter, as compared a ith the corresponding quarter
of last year; and an increase on the year of
1,827,0421. The only heads under which there is a

decrease fur the year are Miscellaneous and Taxes ;
the decrease in the former (always variable) is
118,6591.; that on the latter 6/.! The deficiency
on the quarter arises principally from a decrease
of 1101,00 W. under the head of Exeimt, for
about 240,0001. of which the postponement of the
hop-duty is accountable. The Excise nevertheless
shows an increase of 111,2221. on the year. In the
Customs there is an increase of 280,6251. on the
quarter, and of 472,0241. on the year.
Th. gross amount of Revenue for tho year ended
30th June, 18.57, is 72,060,8211., against 70,233,7791.
for 18SG. Next year the reduction of the Property
Tax will begin to toll ; and next year provision will
have to be made for the foreign war in China, and
the intestine broils in Hindostan.

~s«`

6 s

THE REVENUE..

No. I.—An ABSTRACT of the GROSS PRO-
DUCE o tha REVENUE of the UNITED KING-
DOM, in the untlentantiontil periods, ended June 30,
1847, tampered with the curntepouding periods of the pre-
ceding year.

I I| 1
g
i
I
f• A A A Eft p
EE § E § l
X X -X
X 11-% rC!
§ 4
t 17; I

P

▪ r
P .g g
8 • 8 It

ze .5

ti
• y.

r c
PlitiljAßP4
EIE ziffi
;I
e p ;-' t 772. a. FEW
a a s

No. 11.—INCIR1
Quartpr •od Ye
the rurroPpundills

-f:s
r I ;

kty

. i
I g

?ARE at
ended le
portorlA of

;F: in the
,inpartil with

H

Ft.
5 i
1

is

s $

ii
Ei
r a.

•X
w y Agll.lllti
g
111 'l;' II 11 ,
=

No. lIT.—An ACCOUNT SHOWING the RE-
VENUE and OTHER RECEIPTS of the Quarter
ended June 30, 10.7, the Application of the mole,
and the Chance of the ['one...lidded Fund for the ooid
Quarter, together with tho Surplus or Detkiency upon
Charge.

~ •~