The Sun.
London, England, 1852-12-09 00:00:00

-- • -
_...: - . ,
4,7- ....-4- -•,,,k,..1
,4,,,
1111 -"raw . •
'-' ' '
• . ::.•:.'''":'''------c.) .1.6...
. , .. . .
.- / .... . .
,
,1 , ...,,..',.. i ~,:: •'' 4:, •' ': ~,,` Pi4',.'l',.\ -..-. -111-%.- -4
6 - 774' d' 7, cik4
*'-' ' 'W.:atil.l.lk2";"? )
775'
1p ~,.v,...,..,.„„: .. ,4,
i •-• : 0.. A
' }
44' \ '.(.l 4's \. . C eit i 'tl‘ icriitiP ''.
-" . . Y 1:-
FA.i.l .
.i;:.,. I % ~.,; - •\;\ ''',-,,-4, C 4 . , V ,
e552.:***...:NA.., ... 7✓
t4.4,7i '..--_--N ~,,r7,
.\-:,
~,, --.c-vckt„.,-,ri -,-..,,„
,::,,E10:,,,,:-'44rg\,:„ ....,:-.H- ,--.t.,,?..,--".• --iv 1.. ; 1.; /A_
___- •
„z.
._„: , .
,1 '• I i • I ~:, I' ' /
I:4*.A
04, '64.,-i,,- '3 •,:.• , - i.r's,t ___÷ 'it ! -u;-',-',.i.,?--A4:,,: '": ~ z; , kvi..•
~.
' ,',"
•'' ' 4 N
p ,NA.,,a(.-._._....a. , •
•• ~ t. \-....° .1-i ~ :
~,*1-
: si._ .--
- • 15
~
‘ ,t,,7:-'-r? 7*-.4...V4)
•---.....7A;.ac14.A. - • ~. i.
!. t*.:Vr. • .1-. • / '', 1 fil J'..--
Vkit, '

LONDON, 'IIIIURSDAY EVENING, DECRIVIAER 9, 1856?•

QURMARINE TELEGRAPH COMPANY.
► At the FIRST HALF-YEARLY MEETING of the SHARE-
HOLDERS of the SUBMARINE TELEGPAI II CONtrANT, held
at the London Tavern, Bishopsg,ate-street, on the 7th in taut ;
Lord DE MAULEY in the Chair;
After the Report had -been rad by the Secretary, and adopted by
the Meeting, the following resolutions were unan!mously passed,

THE LONDON BANK of AUSTRALIA and
INDIA, to be incorporated by op' Charter, limiting the
liability of the Shin thaliteri.
Capital, 500,0 01. sterling. in 25,000 Sh of 201. each.—Deposit
21. per Share, with power to inereaset eevital to 1,000,0091.

BETT'S PATENT BRANDY having been
now before the Public since 1525, the pro ffof its excellence in
Its use by discriminative consumers being continuous and Increasing.
and its purity and excellence being, vouched for by the lIIGHEST
MEDICAL kUTUORITIES, warrant Messt S. J. T. BETTS and CO.
in inviting universal attention to it as an article of incomparable
merit. Their PATENT METALLIC CAPSULES are, at the same time,
effective security to the public against the fraudulent rub.titution of
any inferior article, whether as regards their PA.rENT BRANDY,
their celebrated NVhiskey, " Ttl I.: DEW OFF BEN' NEVIS," or
their S EANDARD o' COGNAC BRANDY ; either of which may be
o tained of respectable Wine and Spirit Merchan,s throughout the
hingdom or in quantitie. of not lass that Two Ga lons, trona J. T.
I.;x:ITS and CO., Distillery, 7, Sinithdeld. bars, London.

THE

DIRECTO/IS. t
John Allan, Esq , late Director oft:lfe Ban'.: pf Bengal, Chlselhurst,

Kent.
George Thomas Braille, Esq., late olChina, 1, Roy.l Exchange-

viz.:—
That Lord de Mauley, Sir James Carmichael, Bart , Samuel Laing,
req , M.P.; ard the ilonourarde Frederick Cadogan, wko retire,
pursuant to the Deed or Settlement, be reelected Directors.
That the thanks of the Meeting be given to the Directors; and
that they be recitysted t•i carry into effect the s,veral arrangements
alluded to in the Report-.

buildings, an.l 8, Hyde-path terrace._
Chalks 11. Blake, Esq., late of Bengal, 15, Devonshire-place.
George Barber, Esa , Australia's merckmit, 50, Mark-lane.
R. .T. IZ. Campbell, Esq., late of Ben,al, G 2, N:o,rga'e•street„ and
86, IVestbourne-terrace, llyde-park.

DE MATTLEY, Chairman,
That the Maas of the Meeting be giv:n to the Chairman, for Lis
Lordship's conduct on the present occasi n.

J•litt Alfred Chowne, ciaisauglit-place, West.
C. J. 11 eath, Ne, Lowlos-street. •
Feaqe's tto rat,, Esi , 14. Devot shire-pla
Sir Evan Mac enzh., Bart., East lial'a St..rcliant, St Tlelea's-plaCe,
1:.. P. -Prichard, I sq.. 94. %Dien t Trit2o, ltegetit's;park.
Morrogh Walsh, Esq., Graftos-strecA.
Wits power to a:1.1 to their number.
Annyroas.
(To be periodlcaly named by the Sharrholde s.)
BANKERS.
llassrs. Prescott, Grote, C.vve,and Giote, Threaltieeklie-sleet.

pROVIDENT CLERKS' ASSOCIATION.
42, MOORGATE-STUEET, LONDON*, D. 7, 1552.
LIFE AS-LT!:AWE DEPARTMENT.
Notice Is hereby given, thnt the TWELFTH ANNUAL GENE-
RA MEETING of the Meinhors nt the BENEFIT, or MU MAL
LIFE ASSURANCE DEPAIt fIIENT, will be held at the Loialon
Tavern Illshopagate-street, in the City of London, on MONDAY. the
17th day of January, IS:it, at Six o'clock in the Evening precisely.
The following Managers, in accordance with little 7, go out of
°nice l.y rotat'on, but being cligilf e, offer themselves far re-elec-

FINE HEAD of HAIR, WHISKERS, AND
;%I USTACH The successful results of the last half cen-
tury have proved beyond question, that
HOWL AN DS' M ACASSAR OIL
is endowed wilh singularly nourishing powers in the gr wilt and
ie to-ation of the human hair, and when every (Viler specific has

The Coina.ercial Bank of Lenden,libUry.
SOLICITOUS.,
Alessi s. Tatham, "Upton, Upton, and Johnson, 20, Austin-friars, and
.... . _ _

tailed. this
This celebrated Oil is now universally acknowledged to b. 3
cheapest, and superior to a'l other pr. parations for the flair. It pre-
vents. it from tailing oft or turning grey—strengthens weak hair—
produces a thick and luxuriant growth—and makes it beautifully
soft, curly, and glossy. In the growth of Whiskers, Eyi brows, and
Mustachios, it Is unfailing in its stimulative operation. In re:ercnco
to the Hair of early childhood, the use of the Oil is attended with :he
happiest effects; mild, invigorating, and purifying in every instance,
it dispels scurf and dandruff, and renders unnecessary the use of the
line comb.—Price 3s. Gd. and is. ; or Family Betties (equal to four
small) at 10s. Gd., and double that size, 218.
On the wrapper of each bottle are the words, " ROWLAND'S
MACASSAR OIL,' in two lines. Sold by A. ROWLAND & SONS,
20, Hatton Garden, London, and by all Chemists and Pert u mers.

lion, viz, :
Mr. John Clarke. Mr, James Lintott.
Mr. Alexander Dawson, I Mr. John White Welch.
The annual accounts may be inspected at the office one week prior
to the general meeting.
By order of the Board.
PHILIP HENRY ItYRNE, Secretary.

- 24. Lincoln's-inn-fields.
- SECRETARY (pro tem.) —James Fraser GWbraith, Esq., W.S.
BROK Ens.
Messrs. Ilichens and Harrison, 18, Threadneedle.street.
Messrs. J ol:n Sh well and Son, Tokenhonse-yard.
It is only requisite to advert to the extraordinary discoveries of
gold in Australia, with the immediate consequences now resulting
therefrom, to account for the necessity for an addition to the existing
banking accommodation' there, to meet as well the great and grow-
ing wants within the different colonies of Australia, as the demands
arising from their largely extended and rapidly increasing inter-
course with the rest of the world.
The fact that there are now only the same number of established
banks in England having their field of operations in Australia, that
existed many years back, when the population there was not one-
fourth, nor the commerce between the two countries one-tenth cf
what it is at present, sufficiently establishes the necessity above
alluded to, of an immediate addition to these indispensable auxiliaries
to the transaction of mercantile and other business.
In proof of the success that has attended the operations of the
two principal Banks hero referred to-,-111-set of Australasia, and the
Union Bank of Au:trail-a—it is enough to menfidn, that the present
market price of the 401. shares of the former is about 801., and ' the
251. shares of the latter 681.
The great extension that has taken plane both in the internal and
external trade of India, since the termination of the East India Com-
pany's monopoly, would alone warrant the introduction there of
greater Banking facilities, but when the effect of the railways now
in progress of construction in India, on its traffic, consumption and
produetion, are also taken into consideration, together with the
great interchange of commodities that is about to take place between
it and Australia, it is evident that the forineroffers a tield for the em-
ployment of capital In banking, only surpassed by the latter country.
This Bank will be massaged in London by a Board of Directors,
whose business connexion, practical experience of Australia and
India, acquired chiefly from long residence there, and the stake they
will be required to hold in the Stock of the Bank, will afford the
strongest guarantee for the mode in which its affairs will be conducted.
To afford the most ample protection to the shareholders, the fol-
lowing express provisions will be introduced into the deed consti-
tuting the Company—lst. No advances shall be made on lands,
growing crops, or other inconvertible securities of any kind. 2d.
The issue of notes payable on demand, shall in no case exceed in the
aggregate, one-half of the paid-up cap tai of the B
lAank, unless by
the express consent of the Proprietary, in a eeting specially
assembled for that purpose. 34. If, at any time, and from any
combination of unforeseen circumstances, as much as one-quarter
of the capital should be lost, it shall be incumbent en the Directors
to announce that fact specially to the Shareholders, and to convene
a meeting to decide on the measures to be adopted in consequence
thereof.
The accounts shall be audited by two public and paid a7couutants,
named and appointed by the shareholders, to whom their report
shall be submitted at, or before each half yearly meeting.
In order to avoid the evils that experience has shown to result
from the pressure of local influence on colonial boards, there will he
no local boards of directs rs, but the business in Australia and India
will be conducted by experienced, responsible, and trustworthy offi-
cers, from whom ample security will be required, and whose ma-
nagement will be under the constant supervision of competent in-
spectors, all being appointed by, and arcenable to, the London
Board.
It is intended to commence business at the outset in Sydney, Mel-
bcurne, and Adelaide, and in Calcutta, and to open other branches
only as circumstances may render desirable.
bank,A r e
ebtar
ce
tdi and
herew o r
ekpeede
ninesdt—h easnedphr ienvci inpgl e se u—e
hp I
far
ue eidt f
uuin
ad
ne rd te
he
fields for the employment of its capital as Australia and
x-
India, cannot, it is believed, fail in its legitimate objects.
salutarytetihg
In
the event, contrary to expectation, of a charter not being ob-
tained, no operations will be commenced without the express con-
sent of the shareholders ; and it shall be optional with them to com-
mence business without a charter, or to have the deposit returned,
less the preliminary expenses.
A large portion of the shares are already subscribed for by the Di-
rectors and promoters of the undertaking, and responsible parties
desirous of obtaining an interest in the remainder of the stock, are
invited to forward their applications, in the form annexed, to the
Provisional Secretary, at the temporary Offices of the Company, 62,
Moorgate-street, or to the Brokers of the Company, Messrs. 'lichens
and Harrlsons, 18, Threadneedle-street; and Messrs. John Sitwell
and Son, Tokenhouse-yard.

BENEVOLENT DEPARTMENT.
Notice is hereby given, that the TWELFTH ANNUAL
GENERAL MEETING of the DONORS, SUBSCRIBERS, and
FRIENDS of the BENEVOLENT DEPARTMENT, will he held
at the London Tavern, Bishopsgate-street, in the city of London, on
MONDAY, the 17th day of January, 1853, at Half-past Seven o'clock,
or immediately after the conclusion of the Annual Meeting of the
Members of the Benefit or Mutual Life Assurance Department, ap-
pointed to take place on the same Evening, at the same place, at
Six o'clock precisely.
JOHN ABEL SMITH. Esq., M.P., Treasurer, in the Chair.
By order of the Board,
PHILIP HENRY BYRNE, Secretary.

VRAMPTON'S PILL of HEALTH.
The following testimonial is another proof of the great efficacy
of this medicine :

Winehmore Hill, Middlesex, April 16, 1851.
" Sir,—ln consideration of the great benefit I have derived from
taking Frampton's Pill of Health, I feel it a duty that I owe to you
and the public to send you the following statement. For upwards of
nine years I have experienced the efficacy of this excellent medicine.
I had long previously been afflicted with headache and indigestion,
but a friend having induced me to make a trial of Frampton's Pills,
I now inform you that a few doses gave me great relief ; and during
this long period of time I have taken them in preference to
nevermedicine; hother ad a
better state of health, which I attribute to Frampton's Pills. I beg
further to add, that this medicine is in general use by my family, and
we know of nothing to equal it.
" I am, Sir, yours respectfully,
THOMAS PROVINCE.

" To Mr. T. Front, 229, Strand, London.
This excellent Family Pill is a medicine of long-tried efficacy for
correcting all disorders of the stomach and bowels, and is a
pleasant, safe, easy aperient ; they unite the recommendation of a
mild operation with the most successful effect, and require no re-
straint of diet or confinement during their use.
Ask for FRAMPTON'S PILL OF HEALTH, and observe the
name and address of " Thomas Front, 229, Strand, London,”on the
Government Stamp.
Price Is. 110. and 2s. 9d. per box.

FORM OF APPLICATION FOIL SHARES.
To the Directors of the London Bank of Australia and India.'
Gentlemen,—l request you will allot Ins shares of 201.
each in the above undert Acing, the whole of which, or anless num-
ber that may be allotted to mc, I hereby agree to accept, and to pay
the deposit of 21. per share, and execute the deed of settlement. of
the Company when required.
I am, Gentlemen, your obedient servant,
Address .. ••• • • •
Date ••
Reference .... • • ...• • • • ......

POST OFFICE LONDON DIRECTORY.-
Now published, price 155., the smaller edition of the work for
1853, comprising Official Directory—Commercial (or general alpha-
betical) Directory—Court Directory—Parliamentary Directory
Postal Dire ,tory—llankinc: Directory—all as in the complete edition
of the work: The " Official Directory." besides the copious list of
Government Offices, contain an alphabetical list of the names oi
upwards of seven thousand per,ons holdin; situations under the
Crown, in the East-India House, itglaildei
hevarious law,
city, an d all ether public offieek- 711.Warramentsfy Diroctory"
has the Peers, in their order of precedence, and alphabetically ;
an
alphabetical list of the Members of the present House of Commons,
with their various offices, and a list of boroughs, cities, and counties.
with the members returned for them. The " Postal Directory" occu-
pies seventy-five pages, within which are detai ed all the arrange-
ments of the General London and Distrl, t Post, readily asceria liable
from the Ind. x prefixed to this division of the work. The" Bank-
ing Directory" has the banking establishments in London,a.nd Irish,
Scotch, and Provincial Bankers, and JAM ,tock Banks, with their
branches and managers, and the amount of their bank note circu-
tion, &c., &c., &c.
The complete Post-Office London Directory for 1853 has, in addi-
tion to all the foregoing—Street Directory—Trades' Directory—Law
Directory, Conveyance Directory, with an amount of miscellaneous
information too voluminous for present detail, and as the work, in
addition to its General Index, has an Index to each of the important
divisions —" Street Directory," " Trades' Directory," "Law Direc-
tory,"" Official Directory," " Postal Directory," any required part of
the multifarious contents can be at once referred to without diffi-
culty.
For reviews (which will shortly
be advertised in extenso) of the
complete Directory, see " Times," of the 4th ; " Morning Chronicle"
and "Morning Herald," 3d ; " Morning Advertiser," 6th ; " Daily
News," 9th ; " Morning Post," 12th ; " Globe " and " Standard,"
sth ; " Sun," 4th ; " Shipping and Mercantile Gazette," 10th ; " Exa-
miner," "John Bull," "Spectator,"
Mes-
senger" and " Atlas," 6th ; " Observer," 7th ; " Ilerapath's Railway
"Economist," 6111. ; "Weekly
Journal," "Illustrated London News," and o Mining Journal," 6th ;
" Literary Gazette" and "Court Journal," 13th;" "Nonconforatist,"
17th ; and " Weekly Times," 28th ult.
BELLY & Co., 20, Old Boswell-court, Temple-bar ; and all booksellers.

[PRICE SD.

N TAX.

_
dertak‘n twelve feats, one of which is more decidedly
dangerous than all the rest, there is a species of eco-
nomical calculation in urging him to give it the prece-
dence, inasmuch as if he breaks hi; neck in the attempt
the waste of laholavin the other less dangerous feats will
be saved. Other gentlemen think that the Inhabited
House Duty is the most critical part of the Budget, so,
adopting Mr. Gladstone's rule of the worst first, they
wish Mr. Disraeli to take it on Friday, and in fact it so
stands for the present. If any precedent can be shown
for making Ws the front of the Chancellor of
the Exchequer's offending, we bow to correction ; but
to us the arrangement appears altogether arbitrary, and
we cannot conceive why it should be necessary to discuss
a new tax when it is yet uncertain whether we want one
or not. We. start not with a deficiency,
,but with a sur-
plus, which of itself is a case for remission. There is,
then, at once a good and sufficient reason for discussing
the question whether we can dispense with any tax, and,
if so, with what tax. Should the proposed remisioin
exceed the amount of the surplus, then arises the ques-

(Rout the Times of yesterday.)
Among the various conclusions of public opinion to
which the Chancellor of the Exchequer adroitly gave a
Ministerial expression, there was none more settled,
positive, or universal than the establishment of a dis-
tinction between realised property and precarious in-
comes in assessing these • profits respectively to the
service of the State. With only so much difference of
opinion as showed the absolute freedom of the inquiry,
the point had been ruled by the most elaborate and
formal argument, but this argument itself had been pre-
ceded by that instinctive judgment of the public mind,
which in the long run rarely errs. It was not a party
question : it was a question of simple right and 'Wrong,
which fell within the comprehension of all. We are
not disposed on such a topic as this to submit the con-
clusiorui of our own selis3s to the arbitrary rule of whet
is termed "authority," and we claim for the public wh: t
Mr. Disraeli most constitutionally claimed for Ministers
—" the right of acting rather in accordance with what
they think just and proper themselves than in deference
to the opinion .of others." if any person, however,
should be persuading himself that this proposal of a
Conservative Cabinet is less Conservative than it should
be, or that it' savours in the smallest degree of " Man-
chester politics" or' clandestine democracy, we can at.
once reassure him by a reference to Sir Archibald Alison
himself. Even this most consistent and unyielding
Tory, who still considers that the ruin of his country
was inaugurated by the Reform Bill, will be found in-
sisting on that " most material point in any discussion
upon • a property-tax—the injustice of taxing income
derived from precarious and perishable sources at the
same rate as that derived froni land or fixed and im-
perishable investment."
Nevertheless, at the eleventh hour, Mr. Gladstone has
started an objection to the proposed adjustment,,. which
he rapturously declares must prove " wholly insupe-
rable," and to which he eagerly endeavours to commu-
nicate all that profound insolubility which an intellect
well trained in such subtleties can create. His argument
is this ;—A property-tax appropriates to uses of the State
certain portions of the dividends of fundholders, whereas
it was decreed when the said funds were established that.
the dividends receivable thereon "lhould be free from, all
taxes, charges, and impositions whatever." - Up- to the
present time this alleged compact has been substantially
observed ; for, although the fundholder has been duly
taxed, he has been taxed only as a citizen of the State,
exactly like all other citizens, and with no reference
whatever to the quality of his income. Now, however,
on the proposed principle of " going directly to the
quality of the income," he will be taxed, not as a citizen,
but as a fundholder, and such taxation will be in direct
breach of the public faith as plighted to the original cre-
ditor. Such is Mr. Gladstone's argument, and, so de-
lighted is the right hon. gentleman with its apparent
intricacies and bewilderments, that he forestals all rea.
somng on the other side by a prelimenary and genera:
contradiction ; describes the difference between him and
his opponents as radical, fundamental, and insurmount-
able ; and finally, like an Irish patriot preparing to die
on the floor of the house, asserts that so formidable is
the nature of the difference, that it is impossible for him
not to offer to any proposition of the kind, from the first
to the last, the most strenuous opposition." It is almost
cruel to rob such a disputant of such a topic, but we
think we can make it plain to the simplest understand-
ing in the country that Mr. Gladstone's great argument
has no ground whatever.
In the first place, as regards what will be the real
question before the house, it may seem strange to affirm,
but it is nevertheless positive truth, that even if Mr.
Gladstone could establish his point, it would not affect
the general proposition. That proposition is, that
realised property and precarious income shall no longer
be considered identical for purposes of direct taxation.
Mr. Gladstone's allegation is, that the fundholder pos-
sesses a certain guarantee against certain charges. As-
suming that to be proved according to his own views,
what follows ? Not that substance and earnings are
one and the same thing, or that schedules B, D, and E
ought to be maintained as they stand, but that a par-
ticular description of property, although of undoubted
reality and permanence, is taken out of the category of
real and permanent property by special exemption of
the law
Omitting, however, this deduction, it will be evident
to any person, after a few moments' consideration of
the argument described above, that its fallacy lies in the
sense attributed to the words " quality of the income."
The observations of Mr. Pitt, on which so much stress
was laid, were as follows :—" Whenever an idea has'
been started of imposing upon the stockholder sepa-
rately and distinctly any sort of tax, I have reprobated
the attempt as utterly inconsistent with the good faith
of public engagement. But the matter is materially
reversed when a tax is to be levied on the income of
every description of persons in the realm ; when it is nc
longer in the power of the stockholder to say, '1 couh
avoid this tax by.rernoving my property from the fund
to landed' Iceurity dr to trade. I should say-to -the
stockholder,-as otto of the public, If you expect from
the state the protection which is common to us all, yo'
ought also to make the sacrifice which we are called
upon to make. It is not peculiar to you ; it does not
belong to the quality of your income ; but it is made
general, and required from all.' " Now, we are sure
few readers can be at a loss to see that Mr. Disraeli'a
proposition is perfectly compatible with the principles
here laid down. The promised reduction of the percent-
age to the different values of property and labour will
leave Mr. Pitt's arguments just where they stood be-
fore. It will not tax "the stockholder separately and
distinctly ;" it will only tax his property exactly in the
same ratio as other properties of the like nature. The tax
will be levied, not on his income exclusively, but on every
description of income corresponding to his. It will still
be out of his power to say, " I could avoid this tax by
removing my property to landed security or trade, for
his lande investment would be taxed just the same, and
his trading investment would only be taxed less in exact
proportion to the lessening of its security. We say to
the stockholder precisely as Mr. Pitt did, " You ought
to make the sacrifices which all make. It is not pecu-
liar to the quality of your income, but belongs to all in-
comes of the same 'quality." It is the purport of this
word "quality" which Mr. Gladstone has so wholly
misconceived. An income derived from the funds has,
of course, a special quality of its own, in that it is the
interest of money lent to the State, and paid out of the
revenue ; and if a tax were laid " separately and dis-
tinctly" upon these incomes in respect of this quality
only, while incomes just as fixed and imperishable were
exempted, that would be a breach of faith with the pub-
lic creditor. But an income derived from the funds has
also the further quality of permanent and realised pro-
perty; and, when all permanent and realised property
has been declared chargeable with certain contributions,
there can surely be nothing in the contract of the na.
tion with the fundholder to give him an exemption from
the obligations of his fellows.
Let Mr. Gladstone reflect a moment on the conse-
quences of his own reasoning. If what he advances is
sound, the country has not only undertaken not to tax
the fundholder separately, but to preserve him from
taxation preferentially. It has decreed that property
invested in the public stocks, although secured by the
credit of the entire nation, and placed on the safest and
most desirable of bases, shall not be considered as per-
manent property when permanent property of all sorts
is subjected to taxation ! The landed interest mightthen truly retort upon the fundholder, and say,
By
removing my property to the funds I could avoic m
no
tax ;" and would this, in Mr. Gladstone's eyes, be
injustice or contradiction ? We should like to see the
fi,gure touched by Consols if this doctrine is maintained.
An investment which shall give property all its rights,
and release it from all its duties, while providing at the
same time the greatest possible security, ought to com-
mand even a higher premium than The plain truth
is, that Mr. Gladstone's grand argument is nothing less
than a blunder, discreditable not only to his logic, but
even his common sense. The single illustration which
he himself quoted ought to have shown him his error.
If, in the collection of an impost avowedly assessed on
property in proportion to its reality and permanence,
the fundholder were so taxed that he could escape any
portion of his contribution by transmuting his property
into some other form equally real and permanent, but
less heavily assessed, that would be a proof that he was
taxed unjustly, and Mr. Gladstone's plea would hold
good. But if he is taxed neither more nor less than all
other possessors of corresponding property, lie is clearly
' suffering no injustice at all. To argue for more than
this—to extend to him in his quality of proprietor a
pledge given to him simply in his quality of fundholder,
and to bespeak for him an exemption from toobligation
s
which his fellow-proprietors accept and discharge, is
assert in his behalf preferential claims never dreamt of
in the original compact, and never conceived, we are
perfectly sure, by the class in whose assumed interests
they are now advanced.

tion, what further alterations are We to make to restore
the balance' of expenditure and income ? -
By_the light of common sense the best rule of pro-
ce3ure is to give priority to that or those resolutions,
which, being the most important in themselVes, chief, e
determine the fate of the If we could dispose of
1,11 the resolutions in- -one resolution, that 'wont(' rave
grml deal of otherwise useless inquiry. Now, the ear-
, Jinni point of the Budget—the picot on which all the
other resolutions turn---is the proposed sacrifice of two
millions and a half by the reduction of the Malt-tax. If
Parliament and the country desire that reduction, and
choose to leave the Chancellor ()Pile Exchequer minus
that sum, then it will be necessary to consider at once
how the .gap is to be filled up ; and the means employed
to fill it up may become bearable from the simple fact of
their having become necessary. At all events a vast
deal of trouble will he saved. The Malt-tax can he dis-
cussed very quietly and dispassionately. If it is proved
to the satisfaction of the public that they will not gain
a farthing a quart by the change, and to the satisfaction
of the farmer that he will not gain a shilling a uarter,
and that the brewers and publicans will take a lion's share
each of the 2,5(1.0,000/. nobody will cry his eyes out if the
duty is not reduced. That will at once settle some of the
other resolutions, for there will not be the least occasion
for a new tax, or an increased tax, if there is no gap to
he supplied. We are far from admitting that a reduc-
tion of the Malt-tax would be eventually so little of a
boon to the public, but we should not be surprised to
find a majority of the Commons of this opinion. It appears
- to us, then, that, were any of the proposed extensions
of taxes to be discussed, they would not be discussed
on their OViii merits, but with reference to the chance of
the Malt-tax being reduced ;so that, even if one of
these other resolutions—for example, the Inhabited
[-louse Duty —were to be taken first, all would think
that, -under-a sort of disguise, the Malt-tax was really
the question at issue. If this be so, and if we cannot
help the Malt-tax being virtually discussed at once in
one form or another, had we not better take it first, and
diScuss it in its own proper form, and on its own proper
merits ?

By .taking the Malt-tax first we should very possibly
;pare the House of Commons and the nation a good
seal of pain and discredit. Them are probably not ten
men in the houSe who are not of opinion that the
Inhabited House Duty is a very fair form a property
tax, that more ought to be raised by it than the
miserable 700,0001. we get under Sir Charles Wood's
scale, and that if a man is to have a vote for occupying
a house worth 10/. a year, he ought not to be con-
sidered too poor to pay duty for it. We really cannot
conceive the state of that man's mind, who could se-
riously and conscientiously deny these simple propo-
sitions. But to confess the truth, justice and morality
are as much out of place in taxation as the music of the
spheres, and there is hardly a borough member in the
house who would dare to endanger his seat by voting
for the enlargement and extension of the Inhabited
House Duty. The smaller 101. householders are, as
a body, more powerful than the whole House of
Lords, not to say the Crown itself. They feel them-
selves the governing body of the country ; and
as the privileged class of France, before the first revolu-
tion, exempted themselves from taxes, so does this new
privileged class, created by the Reform Bill, consider
itself entitled to exempt itself from paying any direct
tax at all, and as few indirect taxes as possible. To such
a length has this system gone, that a man with 1201,
a-year may live very comfortably, and with a certain
degree of luxury, and not contribute more than 3/. or 41.
a-year to the national burdens. The tax on his tea,
coffee, and sugar is pretty nearly all that he will pay if
he does not drink fermented liquors. Our taxes press
heavily on the class below and on the classes above, on
working men and on gentlefolk of all sorts ; but taxation
right and left is staved off from the all-important and
all-potent 101. householders. This is not a righteous or
convenient state of things. Justice demands that direet
taxation should begin with representation, and that
when a man is one of the constitutency he should not
object to pay for his privilege. If, then, we are to have
a sensible House Tax, worth the trouble and worthy a
the name, it ought to be extended to the 101. house-
holders. But it is quite a farce to expect borough mem-
bers to cut their own throats by voting for it. Every
borough will rise in revolt like Marylebone against it,
and resolve to turn out the member who fails to comply.
So, of course, we may expect no end of hypocrisy on
the subject to morrow night. All this might be spared
by taking the Malt Tax first, for if it be not reduced,
!here will then be no immediate occasion for the In-
habited House Duty. We beg to suggest the considera-
tions to the independent members of the Commons, and
hope to see them acted on to-morrow evening by a mo-
tion to give precedence to the resoluSon for a reduction
of flu; Malt Tax.

•
(Front the Times of this day.)
At this precise moment the most interes
in tinis f question
in the heart of this great empire, and
civilisation, is no other than the proper order to be ob-
served by
afire hancellor of the Exchequer in proposing
his financil olutions. As they stand in the Notices,
and as was announced last Monday, the resolution for
doubling and extending tho Inhabited House Duty leads
the van, and comes on to Then follow in suc-
cession Tea Duties, malt, malt drawbacks and allow-
ances, Malt Importation Duty, hops •; hops—duty on
importation, and Property and Income Tax. As to the
necessity, or peculiar merit of this arrangement, we
confess we understand it as little as we do the reasons
why a leg of mutton comes on at the beginning of dinner
in one country, in the middle in another, and surrounded
by sweets and fruits in a third. As we don't feast on a
i
Budget every day, and as whole years may Pasi rancesglthout
the remission or imposition of a single tax,our
of financial etiquette may, perhaps, be excused ; but we
are further comforted to observe that even the doctors
disagree. Mr. Gladstone seems to assume as an axiom,
that as the Income Tax mtlnd
atcsofme on soon or late, in-
asmuch as it now only s
claims precedence ; but as the rightl hon, gentleman has
discovered what he thinks a fat. flaw in the Ministerial
proposition, and what we think a mare's nest, he may
be biased by a very
natural desire the current year, it
to fort© Ministers to
their worst trial first. Certainly, if an acrobat has un

•
77,