The Sun.
London, England, 1852-11-05 00:00:00

ia atilt
w

LONDON, FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 5, 1852.

In a very short time Ministers will have to make
a statement containing a distinct avowal of what they
mean to do, and bow they mean to do it. The
ghost of Protection cannot be revived —of that we
are comfortably convinced. They have "a fair field
and no favour," and it is to be hoped that they will
make the most of their position. We look upon it

that no Ministry, within the last sixty years, has had
a better chance than the present. Lord DEBUT, him-
self the representative of one of the oldest aristocratic
families, has beaten down, by one blow, the idea of
his country's being doomed to submit to a succession
of Governments, consisting, ex necessitate, of Members
of particular Houses. His Cabinet,:at all events, is
not a mere family party. We look back on th©
late Ministry, and wonder how the country could so
long have tolerated it, comprising, as it did, the
" finality" of Lord JOHN, the incompetency of Earl
GARY, the palpable inefficiency of Sir CTIARLE3
Woon, the mar-all diplomacy of Lord MINTo, and
the take-it •easy do-nothing-policy of Lord BaouGH-
TON. Family connexion until now appears to have
been the great (indeed, in some instances, the only)
qualification for office, and Whig and Tory alike ap-
peared chiefly influenced by this during more years
than l}+° raPrnA*37 ^f the nhipat inhabitant" ean
collect.

Prominent among the present Ministry is one who
has fairly won his position by high and undeniable
merit. Mr. DISRAELI, the son of a private gentle-
man, is now the Government leader in the House of
Commons—not by virtue of any aristocratic con-
nexion (though his ancestry, we doubt not, is far
more ancient than that of many Members or Peers),
but simply by reason of his full possession of the
higher aristocracy of genius. On him, in the Session
o.
just commenced, will mainly rest the burden of the
ontest.
From him more particularly must come the
ni
cud declaration of the fiscal and financial measures
intended to be offered for the acceptance of the coun-
try.

Chief among these must be a recasting of the In-
come and Property T
re-
newed for In liisl it :was only re-
order that the subject
might be thoroughly
a eingleela.i., in
iirestigated, and means
adopted to render it more
sion it was, in like manner, continued for twelve
weconsideration for
months more, the renewal in its existing .
being solely granted to a due
, on
northe the then
existing form
the position Of the Ministry seh,
bring forward any important question before
not to
Parliament. But it was so granted
understanding that it should be remodelled, "Pre"
e
make it press more evenly on those
by whomlta was
to
to be borne. Olie of Sir CIIARLES WOOD'Is floatingas
ideas on the subject was, that the only way to deal
with the impost, so as to render it more tolerable to
the payers, was simply to increase it in its existing
form, without change or modification of the obnoxious
principle so justly complained of, by unaristocratic
sufferers.
The Whigs have never been very distinguished as
financiers, but they have been peculiarly unfortunate
in their dealings with the taxation of income. In
1806, when the Ministry, self-styled "All the
Talents," succeeded Mr. PITT, all that the then
Chancellor of the Exchequer could do to increase
the revenue, was to double the Income- tax ! The
atesman who brought forward the proposition, was

the present Marquis of LANSDOWNE, then Lord

HENRY PETTY. His measure was oppressive, but it
succeeded in its object, it raised the wind for the
time being. In 1805, the Income-tsx yielded
6,300,000/. ; in the following year, it brought in
nearly 12,000,0001. The screw must have been pretty
well applied, for, in 1810, it produced 13,492,2151.
It had fallen to 12,291,1551. in 1811 ; but in 1812 it
rallied, and 13,368,6061. was paid into the Exchequer
under that head. The question then arises—lf in
these years an Income-tax of ten per cent. raised a
revenue of thirteen millions (!) what would the yield
now be, that property has so greatly increased in
value, if that property were fairly charged ? The
manner in which the assessment is made, and the

principle of such assessment, must greatly influence

the result.
Apply a correct principle of taxation, on Income
and Property, and even the present rate of seven-
pence in the pound, will yield a revenue nearer ten
than five millions sterling. But the tax has been
made what it is, by that abominable nuisance—
" Class Legislation." One set of people impose taxes
—another have to pay them. Old WILLIAM COB-
BETT truly said—" the partiality of taxation is ex-
treme. 'While the rich pay a tax of twenty per cent.

on their houses, the poor have to pay a tax of two
hundred per cent, on their beer. While the land-
owners pay no duty on legacies, and on probates of
wills, an enormous duty is paid on personal property ;
that is to say, the property which consists of move-

ables, effects, or of money; so that while the heir or
legatee of a Lord receives a landed estate from his

predecessor without paying a farthing, the heir or
legatee, if a farmer or tradesman, has to give to the
Government a considerable portion of the amount of
the legacy, or of the effects. You have only to open the
tax-book to see who it is that has made the laws, and

to see that while it was the great who contracted the
Debt, it is the little who have to pay for it."

Taus the defunct Corn Laws were for the direct
support of the landowners; while, excepting the
Land-tax (a comparatively trilling impost as now
levied), the Assessed Taxes, Excise, Customs, Stamps,
&c., fall heavily and unequally on the middle and
working classes, and scarcely ' touch the rich aristo-
cracy. Thus, also, the lucome-tax of 1806 (which
by the way the Tories took off, after the Whigs had
doubled it), as well as the present Income and Pro-
perty-tax, are alike unfair. We have lands and tene-
ments, in short " Property " of all kinds, assessed at
the self same rate as the Incomes arising from profes-
sions, trades, and other avocations ; so an income not
worth, at the highest calculation, five years' purchase
—income made by the personal exertions and depen-
dent on the mental and bodily health of the toiler, is
subject to the same tax, and at the same rate as re-
venue arising from accumulated and realized property
with full thirty years' purchase. Thu.?, industry is
taxed six, or probably eight, times heavier than wealth.

Luxurious ease and productive labour are regarded in '
the same light. The landowners, who laid on the tax
pay scarcely one•sixth of what the industrious
classes pay. Landed estates and whole squares or
streets of houses may go down from father to son, or
even to collateral relatives, to the end of time ; but they
pay no more to the tax-gatherers than the precarious
and fluctuating income of the shopkeeper, the mer-
chant, the lawyer, the author, the tradesman, the
schoolmaster, the clergyman—each of whom lives by
his personal exertions, and whose income ceases when
his health fails. To have the tax fairly laid on, there
should be a high rate for Property,
,and a low rate
for Income.
In 1848, Lord Jonx RUSSELL, finding that there
was a deficiency in the revenue of two millions and
a-half, actually proposed in Parliament to increase
the Income and Property Tax from sevenpence to a
shilling, from 3to 5 per cent. He did not think of
reducing the expenditure, for that might meddle with
the sinecurists—the GRAFTONS, the SCHOMBERGS,
the COWPERS, or the BooNEs. He failed, but it wag,
as we then stated, owing to the disgust excited by
the flagrant injustice, the scandalous inequality, of
the impost ; and not, as Sir CHARLES VlrooD pre-
tended to believe, to any real objection entertained
by the principle of direct taxation.
We want a graduation of the tax. In 1798-9,
when Mr. PITT passed the first Income-tax, he
adopted the principle of graduation. Incomes under
601. were wholly exempt ; under 1051., the impost
was one-fortieth part of the income ; above 2001.,
one-tenth; so the tax fell fairly on those who bad
the largest incomes. We can yet remedy the evil,
and apportion the burden equitably. Let Property
pay six times, or at least four times, what Income
has to pay, and graduate the assessments on Mr.
PITT'S principles. The payments to be just, should
be lightest on incomes—the result of personal exer-
tion—and heaviest on these which are derived from
fixed and permanent sources. The fate of the Minis- '
try will depend on their fiscal and financial policy.
If they will only do simple justice in this matter of
taxation, they will establish a well-founded and
eternal claim on the gratitude of their countrymen,
They may, perhaps, have to encounter a one-sided
opposition in Parliament; but if the country be with
them, they can well afford to be abused, because they
take the part of justice and of the people.
We are at all events convinced, that Mr. DISRAELI
will not commit such an act of folly as to think of
increasing, without modifying, the tax. That bril-
liant attempt at legislation was worthy of Lord JOHN
RUSSELL and Sir CHARLES WOOD. The amount
realized may, however, be much augmented, if its
principle be improved. Let Property pay far more
(as in justice it ought) than mere Income. Graduate
the tax on both, so as to make it fall proportionately
lighter on the poorer, than the wealthier classes ; and
whatever may be the point at which the impost is to
commence, have it paid on all above, and not on a
sum inclusive of that minimum. That a man with
an
.income a fraction under 1501. should be wholly
exempt, while the possession of 1511. per annum
makes his neighbour liable to pay one hundred and
fifty-one sevenpences, instead of a singlo sevenpence,
or the excess over the 1501., is what never should
have been sanctioned, and should not be suffered to
continue.
With respect to the final settlement of this im-
portant question, we trust a great deal to one quality,
which, in Mr. DISRAELI'S mind, surpasses even his
genius. We trust much to his common sense, which
will enable him to perceive the anomalies of past
legislation on this subject, and will supply him with
the means of rectifying them. We do trust that, at
last, we have working men to govern us; and we
feel there is much to be grateful for, in having an ac-
tive, intelligent Ministry, with the spur of a strong
Opposition. It is but a simple act of justice to the
Whigs to declare that out of office they have invaria-
bly been energetic and useful, adopting popular views,
and strenuously endeavouring to have them carried
into practical operation. Out of office, they have
merited the approbation and gratitude of the people—
in it, they have exhibited a vacillating and feeble
policy, truckling to all parties, and forfeiting the re-
spect which a very different course had obtained for
them.

People talk about war. It is pretended that we
are to have a repetition of battles and sieges, and that
the soldiers are to indulge their appetites anew with
the long-neglected luxuries of rapine and massacre,
unbridled licence and indiscriminate devastation.
Meanwhile the system of railroads, not only in the
United Kingdom, but more or less throughout the
European Continent, is rapidly maturing in its orge-
nizAtion. Facilities are everywhere afforded to the
traveller. The means of communication between
remote countries are being in all directions multi-
plied. The old lumbering mail is forgotten in Eng.
land. The older and still more lumbering diligence
is being abandoned by Frenchmen. Amongst our-
selves, indeed, we have arrived at that point from
which we can even venture to look down with dis-
dain upon the dapper stage-coach celebrated by the
panegyrics of APPERLEY. We have EO far forsaken
the 'toad
for the Rail, that DICK Tunnel could
scarcely find it remunerative, even if he could find
it safe, were he restored to life, to renew his old course
as an equestrian
"Black Be,"s,
discardhighwayman. He would have to
for one of the metalsome
nags on arras and instead of administering a re-
fresher in extremis b 3,
means of a bucket of brandy
and water, and a rawstek
twisted
would have to satisfy the thirst f round the bit,
by the rail. his courser from
the mouth of the leathern hose,
and its hunger from
re, E 0 to speak,
the;oin mco,krece i 2
cinthircueitit
tender.inEver
g 1
h
ays and

steam-packets--everywhere, in this work-a-day gene-
ration, in this age, not of poetry but of merchandise,
there is whirling from city to city, from naticn to

nation, from continent to continent, a monster more
wonderful in its beneficence than was ever dreamt of

by oriental fabulists, the Fiery Dragon of the steam-
engine bestridden by one more potent than the
Fairies—the Genius of Modern Civiliz2tion.

Yet, the quidnuncs tells us, we are to have war, the
gobemouche babbles about bloodshed and spoliation—

:here are beard in London, in Paris, in Vienna, in

Berlin, in Brussels, in Warsaw, in St. Petersburgb,
the sounds of trepidation. It is England that is going
to be invaded. It is Belgium that is about to

be seized. It is France that is to be assailed by
Russia. It is Germany that is to be ravaged by the

armies of the third NAPOLEON. There are no want

of rumours, either in number or in diversity. We may
make our choice of them at pleasure. Gne grasps us

by the cuff to explain all about the cause of the ap-
proaching outbreak ; according to him, it will be ad-
ventured upon with a view to avenge the disasters of
Waterloo. Another fastens us by the buttonhole to
expound his version of the story; according to him,
the explosion will originate from a totally opposite
reason, and, indeed, from an entirely different quarter
of the globe—the EMPEROR of all the Russias will
not tolerate the new plan revealed by that ever-

Protean Revolution. The Cossacks are to water
their horses at the Seine, or the Chasseurs de Vin-

cennes are to amuse themselves with human battues
at Twickenham—following up the discharge of the
minie bullet, of course, with the thrust of the sword-
bayonet. The truth, after all, seems to be this—that
several of the great Powers of Europe have been
frightening each other of late into warlike prepara-
tions. Suspicions have been excited on all sides by
the more unprincipled or the more ignorant ; and
out of these suspicions have gradually started up
maritime activity in France, and the Militia in 'Eng-
land !

Meanwhile there are threads of copper thrilling
amicably to and fro between the two countries—the
magical core of a rope of gutta percha trailed uncles
the billows of the British Channel. Talk of war de-
vastating the shores of France and England ! Listen
to the voice of the electric telegraph. Look at the
vibrations of that wonderful instrument—stirring
simultaneously at the central offices in Paris and in
London. Monday, the Ist of November, 1852, ought
to be long remembered in the annals of civilization.
For it was upon that day that the mechanism of the
electric telegraph was brought into complete opera-
tion, so that people could converse with each other in
the twinkling of an eye, although separated by a
neck of the ocean, and by the considerable distance
dividing the two greatest capitals in Christendom.
Necromancy has been surpassed—thanks to the genius
of Professor IVUEATSTONE. Familiar, however, as
we had become with the astonishing capabilities of
the electric telegraph, we cannot acknowledge that
we could peruse without emotion the parti-
culars of last Monday's most memorable and
most successful experiments. A group of gentle-
men assembled on that day at No. 30, Cornhill,
in the heart of the city of London, and thereupon
talked, by means of the vibrating needles of the elec-
tric telegraph, with another group of gentlemen
standing, at the same preconcerted time, at the oppo-
site terminus in the heart of the city of Paris ! And
the messages flashed back from one to the other—from
London to Paris, and from Paris to London—passed
with the facility and the rapidity of conversation.
First, the needles at Cornhill spoke thus graciously by
way of introduction—" M. Foy, Director-General of
French Telegraphs, presents his compliments to the
Hon. F. Cadogan." A pause—and then the corres-
pondent in the French metropolis says briefly to the
watchful observers in London--" Foggy in Paris."
The group at Gambill bestir themselves in their turn,
and the next instant the group in Paris are reading a
pithy intimation, as follows—" Strangers are visiting
the London office : please send a few words." Tte
answer is as terse as it is instantaneous—" Wait."
Then there comes flashing from Paris—along the
earth, under the sea, across the Channel—through
those quivering needles at Cornhill, the desired com-
munication. It runs thus—as they spell it off from
the dial of the telegraph—" This day is very unfa-
vourable for transmission between London and Paris.
The atmosphere is very damp. We are to try double
needle instruments in direct communication between
Paris and London." Precisely when the hands of the
clock at Cornhill paint to ten minutes past two p.m.,
the question is asked of Paris, " Whet time is it ?"
The answer is returned immediately, " Ten minutes
past two p.m." This is not enough. Another in-
quiry is made by the people at London ; but this time
it is as to the state of the weather at Arras, a town
situated between Calais and the French capital. The
answer is given forthwith—the people at Paris in-
forming those at London that the atmosphere at
Arras is " Overcast and dull." Other messages
are subsequently flashed backwards and forwards
between the terminus at Paris and the terminus at
London—but the last communication transmitted
from the latter place to the French metropolis is the
only one of any peculiar interest and importance.
We transfer it to this column entire—regarding it, as
we do, in the light of an historical document. It is
thus worded :
" The Directors of the Submarine Telegraph Company
beg leave to approach his Highness the Prince President,
with the expression of their best thanks, for the assist-
ance which be has uniformly given towards the estab-
lishmf,nt of this instantaneous means of communication
between France and Great Britain.
"May this wonderful invention serve, under the Em-
pire, to promote the peace and prosperity of the world.
" Dated Nov. 1, 1852, 30, Cornhill, London."
Yet, in spite of commerce, in spite of railroads, in
spite of the electric telegraph, people still babble
about war as probable; about bloodshed, rapine, and
devastation. And so—gigantic ships of war are being
constructed in the French dockyards. And so—a
huge body of militia is being organized in England.
Shall the peace of thirty-seven years' duration be
broken because a few silly persons have indulged
t
their rancour by idle insults, or gratified their na-
tional
of he futurepridtebyemp in thistyfanf matteraronades ? The
devolveresponsi-
bilities
upon
the
respective
respective Councils of Her MAJESTY the QUEEN, and
of His Highness the PairicE PRESIDENT. Europe,
or rather the world, is looking anxiously for the de-
cision about to be arrived a*, under these circum-
stances, by the leading statesmen of the two foremost
races of Christendom.

DEFEAT OF THE TRACTARIANS IN CAMBRIDGE
UNIVERSITY.—We stated some time ago, that Mr. Baron
Alderson, one of the most decided Tractarians of the day, had
started as candidate for the Mastership of Caius College,
Cambridge, vacant by the death of the late Dr. Benedict
Chapman, and that he was so anxious to obtain the honour,
that he was prepared to abdicate his judicial functions, re-
tiring on the usual pension, rather than be disappointed.
The result of the learned Baron's canvas was to convince
him that there was no chance of success, and the event
has verified his apprehensions, for Mr. E. Guest, M.A., and
F R.S., was yesterday chosen to fill the. vacant office. Mr.
Guest was made a B.A. in 1824.—Morning Advertiser.

VAUXHALL BRIDGE COMPANY.--Yesterday, an ad-
journed general assembly of the proprietors of this company
was held at the George and Vulture, Mr. Prendergast, Q.c.,
in the chair. The company still retained 21 shares in the
undertaking, and Exchequer Bills to the amount of 2,0001.
iThereservedos9d, and
thef unpaiind
a dthe
dividends Three
peraCoeunnt .t
to 3
Co n 860513 is 1,212/.
1 33.
The
tolls for the last six months were 5,5941. 10s, being a de-
crease of 1,603/. 14s Id upon the corresponding period of
last year. The pier dues were 2211. 2s 7d; the expendi-
ture, 1151. 3s ld; and the profits, 1151. 19s Bd. The report
was adopted.
INCOME AND EXPENDITURE OF MUNICIPAL BO-
ROUGHS.—Yesterday a parliamentary paper was printed,
showing the receipts and expenditure on account of muni-
cipal boroughs in England and Wales, in the year ended the
31st August, 1851., The receipts, with balances in hand,
were 1,254,4831. Is. 114 d., and the expenditure, with balances
due to treasurers, 903,721/. 4s. 11 4d.
MAILS FOR NASSAU.-- " GENERAL POST-OFFICE,
OCTOBER, 1852.—The mails for Nassau (Bahamas) will, in
future, be made up in London for transmission by the West
India contract packet leaving Southampton on the 2d, instead
of that leaving on the 17th of each month, and the return
mails from Nassau will be due by the corresponding packet
arriving at the beginning of the month.
INTERESTING DISCOVERY IN THE TOWER.—In the
course of some of the improvements now being carried out in
the Tower, the workmen, in the removal of some portions
of the foundations, have brought to light the cell and stair-
case of the Beauchamp tower, and are now preparing for
public inspection this antiquarian and historic curiosity.

A MAN KILLED BY AN Ox.—Yesterday Mr. W.
Carter held an inquest at the Angel, Lambeth-walk, on the
body of William Reeves, aged 73, formerly a coach-builder,
residing at 34, Walnut-tree-walk, Lambeth-walk. The evi-
dence showed that on Monday afternoon last, about 5 o'clock,
the deceased was walking in the neighbourhood of Saville-
terrace, when an infuriated ox, which had played sundry
previously',
started at him, and pursued him to
Berkeley-street, he knocked him down, and inflicted a
wound on the scalp about an inch in length, which resulted
in death. The jury returned a verdict of "Accidental
freaksrk e l jeay:t s tPr reeeT,lie
degb"

■