The National Register.
London, England, 1808-01-04 00:00:00

MONDAY, JANUARY 4, 1808.

PRICE Bd,

.:~

This exhilirating prospect, however, is not without its
darker shades. The tythe-laws still serve to turn the hearts of .
the people against morality and religion, by embroiling them
in odious quarrels with their teachers; the poor laws still lay
their iron hands on the industrious, and give encouragement to
idleness and vice : the want,of cheap and general means for edu-
cation still leaves a large portion of the people of England in
lamentable ignorance, with all its attendant miseries and crimes :
the remains of the feudal institutions are allowed to encroach on
the equal rights of the nation, and the proprietors of land still
retain the privilege of cheating their just creditors with im-

punity.
Yet are'not these blots on our national prosperity to be con-
sidered as any signs of degeneracy, as evils which we have in-
curred by recent misconduct t their baneful influence has long
hung upon our political constitution, and we are now making
greater efforts than ever to shake off the distemper. Plans for
commuting the tythes have been suggeste4; devices have been
presented to the Legislature for the gradual abolition of the
poor laws; methods for the education of the lower classes have
there also been discussed, and warmly approved; while a bill
for the partial abolition of the ignominious privilege of the
landed proprietor has been introduced into Parliament by one
of the greatest lawyers of our age. Though ignorance and
prejadlee may, for a while, maintain their sway, these facts
prove, that the sun of inowledge and improvement iii rapidly
rising on our country.
There is one, and perhaps only. etuccattse of fearful presage,
which•seems to blacken as we advance, and threatens, ultimate-
ly, to overcast the national glory with its baleful shade. It
cannot be dissembled, that our public burthens have, in the
cease of a few years, increased to an amazing degree, unprece-
dented in the history of any other nation ; that our taxes have
been necessarily augmented in the same distressing proportion ;
that, after laying on nearly every article, as great impositioni
as they could bear, without diminishing the consumption, astir
government has, at length, been obliged to have recourse to
direct and galling taxes, which send the tax-gatherer iuto our
houses, and compel every man to a disclosure of his private
affairs :—these evils cannot be dissembled, and no adequate
remedy has yet been devised. We do not overlook the merits
of the Sinking Fund, but we distrust its efficacy, especially
under its present modifications, when we compare the amount
of the annual loans with the amount of the annual redemption.
We derive no consolation from those recent palliatives, which
only put off the evil to a future day; and we see no prospect
of those decisive economical retrenchments, without which, we
fear, the utmost catastrophe cannot be averted.
Temporary facilities ought to be taken into the account, as
well as permanent advantages. Our finances present a most
flourishing appearance, and even execed, in productiveness,
the calculations of our Ministers. The intricate laws, relative
to the income tax, have become better understood ; our tax-ga-
therers have become more expert by practice: our wealth and
population are greatly on the increase; and, in spite of adverse
circumstances, even our custom-house duties are unusually pi o-
ductive.. Our national credit stands as high: and ocr facility Jf