The Sun.
London, England, 1852-05-08 00:00:00

in Committee. It will be perceived from the re-
marks of Sir BENJAMIN HALL that the incident
occurred on the occasion of a meeting of the
acting committee of the National Association
for the Protection of Industry and Capital throughout
the British Empire, the meeting being held on the
Ist of March, in the metropolis, and the association
being under the patronage of such personages as the
Judge Advocate, as the Secretary at War, as the
Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, as the
Prime Minister, as the Lord Steward, as the Lord
Chamberlain, as the President of the Board of
Control, as the Foreign Secretary, and as the Chan-
cellor! Under the sanction of such authoritative Vice-
Presidents, the acting committee convened the meeting
in question, where,Mr.NEWDEGATE being in the chair,
" it was resolved, that this association, first humbly
acknowledging the hand of Almighty Goodness in the
event, hails with fervent gratitude the advent to power
of the Earl of DERBY." Yet, with the terms of this
grandiloquent resolution staring him in the face, the
Hon. Member for North Warwickshire could yes-
terday deliberately assert that the proceedings on that
occasion were not commenced with prayer—as if
there were not prayers of thanksgiving as well as
prayers of supplication—and as if the resolution
quoted by Sir BENJAMIN HALL were not a
prayer of the former description ! Mr. NEWDEG ATE
consequently
rendered himself liable to the banter of
his brother legislators, not merely by his authorization,
as chairman, of this public prayer of thanksgiving,
bat subsequently by his formal repudiation of the
charge of having thus celebrated the elevation to the
Ministerial chambers in Downing-street of the party
he believed in his heart to be destined to revive the
obsolete, the buried system of mercantile monopoly.
The Hon. Baronet the Member for the borough of
Marylebone, in thus dragging the devotional loy-
alty to Protection of Mr. NEWDEGATE before the
notice of the House of Commons, may assuredly be
said to have but little of the bowels of compassion.
Had it been otherwise with him in these respects, he
must inevitably have reserved the joke to himself for
exclusive enjoyment, instead of insisting that the
whole House should participate in its appreciation.
Nevertheless, it must be allowed that the temptation
before him was almost irresistible. The very terms
of the resolution, more befitting the platform of
Exeter-hall during the present May meetings, than
the walls of the South Sea House, were sufficient to
induce Sir BENJAMIN Hata. to break through all or-
dinary considerations in the way of lenity or amenity.
One might have reasonably expected to find in the
chairman of a meeting, of which this was the first
resolution, some Reverend Muggletonian, rather
than the Honourable Gentleman the representative of
North Warwickshire. It, was but reasonable, there-
fore, to find Sir BENJAMIN HALL cruelly provoking
the laughter of the House of Commons without any
sort of regard for the feelings of Mr. NEWDEGATE.
The Earl of DERBY, it must be acknowledged, is
suffering more severely from the zeal of his sup-
porters than from the rancour of the Opposition.
W hat with the prayers of Mr. NEWDEGATE and the
extravagant declarations of Sir FITZROY KELLY,
the Noble PREMIER has anything but a quiet
life of it. The formal assertions of the SOLICITOR-
GENERAL as to the necessity of abolishing free trade
brings Lord DERBY'S policy at one moment into a
position fraught with embarrassment, while at
another time—what is yet more lamentable—the
solemn thanksgiving of the would-be Presi-
dent of the Board of Trade brings the whole Cabinet
into ridicule, rendering its situation little less than
absolutely ridiculous. Well may the Earl of DERBY
exclaim, " Save me from my friends !" and care-
fully will he have to observe their proceedings if
he aspires in earnest to work out the consolidation of
his Government.

The Property and Income-Tax Bill has passed
through Committee in its present highly objection-
able form. It was read a second time, at nearly two
o'clock yesterday morning, as we announced in our
last impression, in an almost empty House. It was a
complete surprise; for Members of all parties, (gave
those specially retained at the instance of the whipper-
in) had left the , House, supposing that no further
business would have been transacted at such an hour.
It is by no means impossible that the Bill would,
under any circumstances, have been carried through
that stage without a division. There could,
as we have already stated, have been but little
difference of opinion as to the propriety of its
renewal for a limited period, until the fitting opportu-
nity for the general revision of taxation shall arrive.
Any possible question as to the modification of
Schedule D, and the more equitable assessment of the
impost, would be more properly disposed of in Com-
mittee than on the second reading. The discussion
that might reasonably have been anticipated under
other circumstances, and at a more seasonable time,
would, however, be valuable, and some important
views and opinions would probably have • been
elicited. It is hardly fair to submit matters
of such vital importance to " a beggarly account
of empty benches," in the absence of those who could
and would have thrown additional light on the sub-
ject. The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER might
consider himself bound by the pledge he has already
given not to propose any measure of finance which
might affect the means of raising the revenue during
the present session, or, indeed, until the rapidly ap-
proaching appeal to the country has been responded
to ; but there is no reason why other lion.
Gentlemen should not give expression to
their feelings on the all-important topic.
If ever there was a subject where speeches to the
electors from within the walls of Parliament would
be proper, it is that which may justly be termed
the most interesting question of the day, and on which
the several constituencies should be stimulated by
every lawful means to express decided opinions, so is
to permit no possibility of misconception ; and yet we
find it hurried over—we will not say at an advanced
hour of the night, but rather at an early hour of the
morning--as if it were a mere matter of course, on
which neither doubt, difficulty, or discussion could
possibly_arise.
Last night again it passed through Committee
almost sub silentio. The Hon. Gentleman the
Member for Montrose unquestionably moved the
adjournment of the House; but the amendment was
withdrawn, the several clauses were agreed to, and
after a few brief observations from the CHANCELLOR
of the EXCHEQUER, the matter was practically dis-
posed of, so far as the popular branch of the Legisla-
ture is concerned for the present year.

The people must now speak out boldly and unequi-
vocally ; they must clearly perceive that their only hope
is in their own exertions. If any undue charge were
imposed on real or personal property—if the fund-
holder, the landowner, or the shareholder,
were unjustly attacked, a cry of " confiscation"
would speedily arise which would reverberate through-
out the length and breadth of the rand. But is
" Confiscation" worse than robbery ? and what is it
but robbery,
and that of the very worst description,
to compel
parties to pay ten or twenty times as much
as under •
just regulations they could be called
on to contribute. The person, who having earned
4/. or Si.
per week.
by excessive labour, and who is
obliged to apply a large proportion, more than half
thereof, in liquidation
outstanding liabilities, so that
he has less than 150 of
1.
of himself and family, availablef for the maintenance
of injustice at being Classed with the owners of from
6,500/. to 8,500/. in the Three per Cents., and com-
pelled
to pay as much to the collector. Ile must submit
to some serious privation, or borrow money at an
extravagant and usurious •
premium, his mind is
harassed by the knowledge of the precarious character
of his position and the difficulties which he must en-
counter when ill health or loss of ernploymment deprive
him of his scanty resources, or even supposing
that
he should be so fortunate as to retain his situation for
life, as to what will
become of his wife
and children
after his removal from this transitory scene. The
fundholder has no such care or anxiety on his mind.
If he has incurred debt or liability, he
can easily
satisfy it by the sale of a portion of his capital, and if
his income should be thereby reduced below 1501., he
will be exonerated from any demand ; whether he be
sick or well, occupied or unoccupied, he will still re-
ceive the stipulated amount to the very hour.
He has nothing to fear from the bankruptcy or
caprice of his employer, or from a failure
of his own powers of endurance. Even after his
death there is a ccrtain provision for his family, and
that without the allocation ou his part of any portion