The British Press; or, Morning Literary Advertiser.
London, England, 1826-07-07 00:00:00

iFroll the Piker.]

The Lausanne Gazette anm.uncee thrt the inhabhants of the
Payi de Vaud have sent to the Greeks, through the committee of
that torn, 170,000 lbs of bread, and 200,04.10 ball cartridges.
Rear-Admiral Jacob, late Governor of Martinique, has arrived
a: 13rest, on board the Thames frigate.

FRENCH Fu Nos.—Pants, Ju 4.—Five per Cents, 08f.
3 per Cents, 6.51. 71k. ; Bank Stock, 2002 f. 60c ; Rentesde Naples,
75c.; Royal Spanish Loan, 45; !lariat) Loan 720.—From
L'Ettrilr.

• A term adored to signify those printed documents, the know-
ledge of which is exclusively reserved for the 31inisters of the
Diet.

That taxation must increase distress is a fact which
cannot be doubted, and that it has increased the distress of
this country during the late crisis is equally beyond dis-
pute. Some persons argue that the country is not im-
poverished by taxation, because all the money raised by
taxes is spent within the country, and returns, by the pur-
chase of luxuries, to the industrious classes, from whom it
was levied. This view is fallacious: it is precisely similar
• to tbe vulgar error, which has so frequently beep dressed
in a philosophical shape, that the erection of useless
rubiic works, and extravagant private expenv,s, are bene-
ficial to the body politic, because they circulate money,
and are good, as it is said, for trade. It is of very great
iinportance to the public, not only that money should be
spent, if possible, in the country, but that it should be
spirt in the most useful manner ;• and every shilling that
gees to the support of mere luxury, whether derived from
tip.. national or private revenue, is doubly detrimental to
ti e country, by wasting the money itself in the first
place, and in the second place by wasting the labour em-
ployed in consequence of it. To raise money by taxes,
tnerehne, and afterwards to spend it in maintaining wars
(.1 other expenses of Government, except in so far as these
are indispensable, is an absolute loss at once of the amount
vt taxes, of the useful labour to which the money
nould have given rise, and of the productive labour
many of those who are stippqited on the revenue
of the State. It is consequently of the utmost im-
portance that nu, greater sum should be raised in taxes
than is absolutely necessary for defraying the unavoidable
expenses of the Government. Those who aim at a refine-
. tiou of taxes, however, take too narrow a view of the sub-
ject, and in their anxiety to reduce, are sometimes led into
worse evils than those from which they wish to escape.
'lt sometimes happens in the affairs of nations, as in those

' of individuals, that an over-anxiety to save is the surest
way to produce loss. Those who are so anxious to find
faults in every thing, and who examine accounts
only to object to them, may easily detect many in-
stances in which a different mode of expenditure might
have caused less waste of the public money ; but if
the course which they pointed out bad been pursued, are
they sure that no greater inconveniences would have arisen
than even this waste, admitting it to be a waste? It is not
in politics only that we find ourselves reduced to a choice
of evils ; for there is no course of action in any department
of life to which some objection may not be made, and we
should never act at all if we did not reconcile ourselves to
some evils. In making these remarks, we do not allude to any
instance of mismanagement with Which Government has
lately been charged. Mr. Hum E's conduct, in visiting the sins
of all their predecessors on the heads of the present Ministry,
was too gross an injustice to impose upon any one. The
CliaNcra. ton of the EXCHEQUER certainly did leave that
point unanswered, as the Times has asserted ; and if he were
bound to answer for things which passed so long before he
had any control over the expenditure, he might be called
upon next to account for the secret service money of Sir
Rosser IVA Leo'. e. Mr. HUMS, is a very useful and a
very painstaking man. He is an inimitable check upon
the subordinate clerks in public offices. Ile superintends
most admirably the processes of addition and subtraction.
His talents are useful in so far; but we do not think that
these are the talents which enable a man to conduct the
affair' of a nation. Ile is an admirable regulator of the po-
litical machine, but he would be miserable as a pritrisun
mohi:e. In listening to his arguments, we must be cautious'
lest by too near an economy we should be led into mea-
sures which would soon convince us of the impolicy
of such parsimony. On the occasion of the Quarter's
Revenue, we shall probably hear of the deductions to
be made from the favourable side of the account, and
of the additions to be made to the expenditure. But
we are satisfied that the good sense of the public will not
be led astray by the gloomy prospects which the Opposi-
tion journals may present to them, anti will avoid render-
ing our calamities greater by the despair which would ne-
cessarily arise from the too dismal view of the subject,
which is, ha fact, a matter of comparative congratulation.

CITY, THURSDAY EVENING.

The deficiency in the Revenue, which had been so loudly
trumpeted forth by the Hem, being much less than was antici.
pated, caused a marked improvement in the funds. From 78
they went up to 791 ; and although they did not maintain that
price to the conclusion of business, still they closed firmly at 7Rd•
It is stated that 700 warrants arc paying this day at the Custom
House. on the new silk duty.

AU foreign Securities have advanced ; but the greatest improve-
ment has taken place in Mexican Bonds, wbich have advanced
to 48; ('olombiau to 311 ; Brazil to 53 ; Danish to 533 ; Rus-
sian to 7W, ; Spanish to 73 8; Greek to 11.
There were no arrivals by express from Paris.

The private lettcts from Naples. received this morning, dated
June 2.0, state that a new Tariff has appeared there, putting an ad-
ditional duty on all colonial produce; also a tax on the shop-
keepers, merchants, lawyers, Bc. which has caused great sensa.
tion in that capital.

Buenos Ayres Papers to the 3.1 of May, and Sydney Papers to
the sth of March, have been received at the North and South Ame-
rican Coffee-house. The former do not contain any news. The
Sydney Papers give intelligence from Botany Sty, announcing the
arrival, after a tedious passage, of the Sydney packet with linbart
Town Gazettes, which state that the Bushrangers were still carry-
ing on their devastations.

The German mail of this day is barren of political intelligence,
but gives a very desponding account of the wool fain at Leipsig
and lireolau. Several respectable houses in this branch of con.
merce have suspended payment; and, front the depression in
price, a^tl the quantity on hand, still further embarrassments may
be expected.

The .lirrirpr 11 des Debuts of Sunday states, that Lord
Cochrane had collected a fleet of eight ships off Cape St.
Vincent, and that he expected to be in Greece towards the
end of June. Iris Lordship's flag-ship is said to be a
steam-vessel of 400 tons, mounted with large guns on Per-
kins's principle.
Bombay Papers to the 21st of February have been re-
ceivcxl, but they only contain the accounts of the affair at
Melloun, which have already reached us from Calcutta,
added to the assertion that the army zommeneed its march
on Cmmerapoora on the 24th ult. One of the letters from
Rangoon mentions a curious fact, that the treaty of peace
said to have been forwarded to Ava for ratification was
found in the stockade. But if this were true, it would
surely have been mentioned in Sir A. Campbell's official
despatch.

Letters from Martinique state, that some negroes from
that island having seized a boat, ventured to sea in quest of
liberty, and were fortunate enough to reach the liaytian
coast. The French authorities immediately claimed them,
but the President refused to deliver them up, as the Con-
stitution declared that every man who touched the
Ilaytian soil was free. At the same time lie sent back
the boat, and every article which they had carried away
with them, admitting that the prerogative only extended to
their persons. _

Boieoucti or MALDON.—Mr. Quintin Dick, who made
so formidable • struggle for the honour of representing
this Borough at the late election, has publicly declared his
intention of preferring a petition to Parliament against the
return of Thomas Barrett Lennard, Esq., on the ground
of undue means having been resorted to for obtaining votes
on behalf of that gentleman.
Sine LETTESS.—An order has just been issued from
the Board of Customs, instructing the Tide Surveyors of
this port to take possession of and deposit in the Post
Office, all letters brought in vessels from abroad, imme-
diately on their arrival in the Clyde ; and the Magistrates
of Glasgow have been requested to direct the pilots of the
river to give notice to all masters passing up the river, to
deliver the letters they bring to the Officers of Customs,
upon their coming on board and demanding the same.
The Tide Surveyors are also enjoined to convey such let-
ters the same evening to the Post Qffice, taking the Post-
master's receipt for the same, in which the name of the
ship and the number of letters taken from each are to be
specified, and to communicate with the Post Office Sur-
veyor of the district, in regard to such further directions
as may be issued on this subject by the Postmaster Ge-
neral.—Livespoof Paper.
The weather during the past week has been oppressively
warm and dry, with the exception of some rain which fell
on Saturday last, which was exceedingly refreshing for
the time, but falling upon land so long parched up, and in
many places presenting the appearance of a barren heath,
its effect was scarcely visible an hour afterwards. Great
distress prevails on this and the opposite shore of Cheshire
for want of water for domestic purposes; and were it not
for the hitherto .abundaut supply which Liverpool receives
from the Corporation and Bootle Waterworks Companies,
we should be in a miserable condition in the town. We
would, at the same time, recommend as sparing a use of
water as may be consistent with domestic necessities, dur-
ing the continuance of such extreme drought. Prayers
were offered up in our churches, on the last and preceding
Sundays, to the Divine Being, for rain. It is somewhat
re-
markable, that the wheat looks well, notwithstanding the
long dry season; but other crops, it is to be feared, will be
very deficient. The hay harvest may be said to be over,
which, we regret to state, is very light indeed.—Liverpool
Courier.

It was announced a short time since, in one of the
French Journals, that the following experiments were tried
with a finale, whose fire-withstanding qualities have ex-
cited much astonishment. She was placed, it appears, in
an oven, into which lire cats, dogs, and rabbits were con•
veved—the poor animals perished almost instantly, while
the fire-queen bore the beet wi:hout complaining.