The British Press; or, Morning Literary Advertiser.
London, England, 1822-02-13 00:00:00

sightly vievomle this (*mottoes is the mast twee
p... 1 shot ems W deed gibe maomalies
Mimes difficulty of =slang
shall' be effective se illiolTeret
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•Illat all elegies eviisedt
teoltieldoiellite • cteilediffitt *VW liojective qty, to
the wool. of the State. in the firm
We de nor, is the present dog, look for imaginer
of diet gratuity's patriotism whisk. should Wet*
• man to woke greet voltintorT sacrifices foil the
r welfare of the body pail*. 'Sett ioStancerrare
rare, .ad only to be expected Imes of iosibinent.
danger. flit we hive a right 'to expect • that all
who enjoy the protection of the laws, and more
especially those who derive so many solid advao.
tages under its administration, abash! contribute
*keit
./air properties' of Ike notiorsol borders.
GG That hostility to taxation prevails generally
attiong the people of Ireland, sod that they do
sot consider it dishonourable to evade, by every
. possible means, the necessary impost, we require
no other proof thou the es expense of col-
lecting the Irish revenue, as • with that of
eaglond. .
• " if anew tax he coatesuplateda.eit indeed any.
regalatioe proposed for properly staid effectually
collecting each duties es were previously in exist-
mice, we are cosiarantly told by the Gentlemen in-
terested, that ' Ireland is already overtaxed'—
thew she can bear no more addition to her bur-
den,e—ell which is perfect truth, as it refers to
,thour we, beer the borders. The mass of the
Irish population certainly can hear no addition. in
the shape.? Government taxes. They are already
round to dust by the severity of their local ins-
posts, tithes. and high rents. But if the Irish
,eristryiesey. and better closes generally, would
•evieee their potrintism in tinbmitting to their equal
or ever legal shore of the public burdens, rather
'thee declaims against measures of justice or Drees-
sily,• its the equitable administration of the is,,,
they wophd relieve the Executive Government from
sae hey of the enormous expense and trouble in
the inane, department of Ireland; and it the
same time cilia the discontent and Isems-burniliga
which now exist among the lower class, from the
eonsciossnees that the better classes are, compara-
tively, exempt from taxation.
6° No sufficient reason can be shewn why the
Irish gentleman of 1,0001. per annum should be
exempted from paying the same amount of taxes on
the luxuries of life, as persona of equal rank in
England. Indeed, if any partiality were allowed,
it should be. on the other aide of the questiom
the difference in price of the necessaries of life roe.
dering a given income in Irelsod almost equivalent
to double the amount is England. Yet I bare
frequently heard the better classes of the Irish ex-
press their impstieoce with great bitterness at the
payment of the assessed taxes, even at a period pre.
noes to the equalizatMe of these duties.
"8 Though eensere is a disagreeable theme, yet,
my lord, the truth ought sot to be conceakd, that
it po the same prinerple which prevails. in the too
general encouragement afforded by the better
closes to illicit distillatioo, and some other species
of -emitraband traffic. ft is in vain that penalties
are denounced and too often inflicted with the ut-
moot severity, not only on the guilty, but ou the
utioffending ; elide the better classes connive at
those transactions, either in order to obtains higher
s stain, for 'their land, or for the more paltry consi-
deratioo of roving a few shillings per gallon to an
article of loxisry.
" Our legislators, in framing the penal laws,
base with great wisdom considered the promoters
or receive,., in casts of larceny, deserving double
the punishment of the actual culprit. lam per-
suaded, if the same principle could be made up-
pliable to the illicit transactions in the sister king-
dom. it would go farther in preventing the dread-
ful evils Which attend this deportment of the laws,
than any measure which could be devised.
•• The present system, indeed, operates too often
only as a trap for the wretched peasant ; the no-
mediate 'gents appointed under the excise to pre-
vent illicit distillation having a direct interest iu
its perpetuation. Every one who has area much of
the remote districts of Ireland, especially military
men, must have known various instances of the in-
ferior officers of excise having acquired considerable
property ; which is usually derived from two
'curves—connivance at the illegal traffic ins some
cases, and in others, the participation of the Pecu-
niary penalty imposed on the victionetif their own
temporary forbearance and dispricity.
• "If Government wereelesirous of putting a stop
to privete distillation probably one of the must
effectual methods, except that of the almost en-
tire reduction of the duty. vriuld be to supersede
the present race of excise agents by a class of men
whose character should be a guarantee for the dis-
charge of their duty, and whore interest should
'riot be promoted by the perpetration of the evil.
It cahoot @dant of any doubt, that complicated air
the systens unquestionably is in all ite rainifiCs-
bons, it vigorous administration could, by the ap-
poiottnent of proper men, accomplish much in the
way of checking divineness, and •t the same time
relieve Ireland from A moat ititulersble scourge.
" Having briefly eimmeneed some of the lead-
senses which love produced the present state of dis-
content and distress in the sister kingdom, I shall
.cooclode by offering a liw remarks ou the probable
effect of Catholic Emancipation, as a measure of
relief to so large a portion of his Majesty's subjects.
" It cannot be deuivil, that the present state of
the civil code reuders the Irish Roman Catholics
a degraded caste in society. The injuries which
they endure, in most cases with great forbearance,
have been so ultras red so shly depicted, by mem-
bers of their own community, and also by teen of
liberal epitomes, both in red out of Parliament,
that it world be a work of supererogation to en-
large"on the spbject. I shall, therefore, leave the
totesiderarron" of "the pids dad nlf ii4i i ties of .
the higher clime* of the Rowan Catholics, to their
own advocates, and view the subject as it applies
to the cinhtatiuu and happiness of the lower orders.
" The great miss of the population of Ireland
are perhaps too low in the scale of society to he
materially affected by the ineligibility of the
Roman Catholic to bold official situations. But
they are nevertheless continually reminded of their
degradation by the superior confidence sheau to
the Protesisnte of their own level. by the Magistra-
cy sod others placed in official situations. Nothing