Northern Times.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1857-08-28 00:00:00

the judicious exercise of the pruning knife of
reform in the financial affairs of the country.
Useless and extravagant expenditure must be
lopped off, and the national taxation regulated
upon an equitable basis, so that no one class
shall be compelled to contribute more than
its just quota to the country's revenue. Here,
then, is plenty of work for the people to do
during the ensuing autumn and winter. Every
city, town, parish, and hamlet throughout the
country must be roused from their present
apathy. The fair banner of reform—educational,
Parliamentary, and financial—must be unfurled.
To gain these objects the people must unite ; and
between this and the meeting of Parliament,
every man should countenance a peaceable, con-
stitutional, but zealous and determined agitation,
to ensure legislation in consonance with the
requirements of the country, so as to elevate the
people in all that relates to their social and
moral advancement.

TRADE AND Ftereerpa ACOOUNTS,—A blue-book lately
published contains sundry tables of figu es relati►e
to the trade en 1 fiance accounts of the kingdom for the
financial year 18.56 57 (ending the 31st of March last). The
total income, including balances, was £75,569,575. The
net receipt was £72,794,885. The expenditure of the year
was A 75,588,667, and the excess of expenditure over
income about £3 254 6)4, taking £72,331,052 as the
income, aed £75 588,657 as the expenditure. The
items of iLICOM3 and expenditure have been already
given in former returns. The balances of public money
in the treasury on the 31st of March, last amounted
to £8,668,370. The total revenue, after deducting
repayments, allowances, and drawbacks, was £72,963,151,
The sum of £4.036,814 was expended on the collection of
the public revenue of the kingdom during the year out of
£4,610,403 voted for the purpose. The net produce of the
assessed and land taxes in the whole of the United King-
dom was £3,114,445, and that of the Income-tax
.£16,050,e70, makicg together, £l9 165,115. The House-
tax 3ielded 4728,256; the tax on servants, £187,895 ;
carriages, £289,922 ; riding horses, £234,210 ; ether
horses and mules, £1 l 1,166; dogs, £200,725; horsedealers
£13,774; hair powder (only), £1,313 ; armorial bearings
£52,516 ; and game duty, £134,079. The net receipts
from Custims' duties was £23,488,136; from Excise.
£18,294,166; and from stamps, £7,396,685. The net
produce of the Post•office revenue was £2,909,130. The
future annual charge of the public (funded) debt is fixed
at £23,488,448, and £70,889 is paid to the Bank Of
England for the management thereof, besides £13,880
for the expenses of the National Debt office. The
future charge for the Civil List is fixed at £402,364,
and the charges on the Consolidated Fund for
annuities and pensions is £329,601. As regards trade
it is shown that the total value of our imports
amounted in 1856 to £127,917,561, and the total value of
our exports to 4291,867,388. The real or dealared value
of the produce and manufacture of the United Kingdom
exported last year was £115,534,311, against £95,346 429
in 1855, and £26,912,041, in 1854, The "official"
♦alue thereof was £258,462,965. In the year 1856, 1,855
vessels, of 422,359 tons, were built and registered in the
ports of the United Kingdom, and the number of vessels
actually registered was 36,106, of 5,316,736 tons, and
employing 267,759 men. About 26,000 British and
20,600 foreign vessels appear to be employed in the foreign
trade of the kingdom. It is impossible even to glance at
these tables without being struck with the immense and
almost incredible extent of the resources of this country
and the amazing developement of its trade.

THB SUBMARINZ THLIGRAPH COMPANT.-011 Wednes-
day, the half-yearly meeting of this company was appointed
to be held at the London Tavern. Sir J. Carmichael
occupied the chair, and stated that there were not sub.
eject shareholders present to make a legal meeting, and
the proceedings must, therefore, be adjourned. A share-
holder remarked that the 7 per cent. dividend kept all the
shareholders away. They were all satisfied, and did not
therefore care to attend. The Chairman: If we reduced
the dividend two or three per cent. no doubt we should
have a room. full. The report contained the following
statements :—The directors have much pleasure is infor-
ming the shareholders that the submarine cables of the joint
companies have continued in perfect working order since
the repairs of the accident which occurred in the month of
January last. Tae accident to the company's cables,
referred to in the last report, caused the loss of nearly a
month's traffic, and its subsequent diversion for a more
considerable period to other routes, yet notwithstanding
this serious drawback, the revenue of the last halt-year
has exceeded that of the half-year ending December
1856, £284 104. 91. The business of the company for
the month of July last, and up to the present time, shows
a considerable augmentation over the corresponding
months of the year 1856, and appears to promise's grati-
fying result on the transactions of the year. After mature
consideration, the directors have determined that a
moiety of the amount expended in repairing the cables
should be charged against revenue ; and that the repairing
portion of the costs incurred should be taken out of the
reserved fund accrued during the present year; there AM,
therefore, be only the additional sum of £lB5 83 6d
to be deducted from the amount that may be set aside
during the current half year. The amount of the present
reserve fund will, therefore, remain intact. The total
amount expanded on the repairs was £1,527 1.5 s 2d.
The amount of the reserved fund to be appropriated
for the half-year to .£392 6s, Bd. for both companies, and
it is proposed to take 5375 from revenue, making a total
of £967 6s. 81., which, deducted from the grass expense
incurred, leaves £560 Bs. 61. to be carried over to the
succeeding half-year. Atter meeting the above deduc-
tions, there still remains sufficient margin to pay a
dividend of 7 per cent., and to carry over a balance of
£216 17f. 6d." Tae meeting was adjourned to the 10th
of September.

THE " TIMES" ON COMMERCIAL MORALITY. —The city
editor of the Times writes The worst financial dis-
graces of the past two years have been recalled and
augmented during the present week. The old themes of
the Great Northern Railway Company and the Loudon
and Eastern Banking Corporation have both attracted,
renewed attention, while lalresh interest has been awak-
ened by the exposure of the Surrey Gardens Company,
and of the defalcations, forgeries, and other delincpencies
at Liverpool, which have become generally notorious
except to the Liverpool community themselves. With re-
gard to the Great Northern Railway, the new features
have consisted of the report of the directors preparatory
to the meeting on Saturday next, the judgment of
the Vice-Chancellor on their attempt to repudiate
the claims of the preference shareholders, and the
report of the committee appointed in March last to
investigate the general management of the concern.
Th 3 re:ug of all these documents is that, while on
the ono hand the Vice-Chancellor and the com mittee of
investigation ht re pile the conduct of the dir ectore in
a light most pain Cay humiliatiug to the credit of English
companies, the ,iirectore themielvas, inite ad of uttering a
single word of compunction or apology, have boldly
taken the opportunity to libel the House of Commons,
reproach:the Times, taunt such of their constituents as
have endeavoured to uphold legal rights, and, finally,
seek from the general b )dy of shareholders proxies to
enable them at the approaching meeting to continue their
defiance. Considering that one of their pleas to shut out
the preference shareholders was actually the same as
that employed by: the repudiating States of America—
namely, that, although the money had been raised, the