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

credit. There would then be more than 4,700,000 i
_ _

additional at the disposal of the Financial Minister.
1,000,000/. of this would go for the proposed
increase of the House duties, and 700,0001. for
the existing tax. 3,000,0001. would remain,
which would afford a wide field -for reductions ;

enabling the Right Hon. Gentleman to remit
some of the taxes on knowledge, and, if he

;hought proper, the whole of the Malt and Hop

duties. The whole of the obnoxious Excise sur:

veillance might thus be got rid of, and with it the

monopoly of the ale kings and maltsters, so that
every man might indeed drink a cheap, wholesome,
and untaxed beverage. The home-brewed would
_ _

add to the comforts of the labouring man,
and materially promote the welfare of the agri-
culturist. There are many other, and perhaps

more beneficial modes of disposing of the surplus
into which our time or space does not, at present,
permit us to enter. We have, however, shown
enough to justify the modification of the Property
and Income Tax, to the extent above suggested, for
the present, with the view of making further pro-
gress in the same path, when the working of the
new system had been fairly tested, and. its benefit
vial results universally acknowledged.

Ministers received yesterday a not unwelcome
encouragement in the arduous responsibility of
conducting the labours of her MAJESTY'S Govern-
ment. It was on the occasion of the Civic Ban-
quet at the metropolitan Guildhall, in honour of
the election of THOMAS CHALLIS as the LORD
MAYOR of London for 1852-1853—a festivity
which, it will be remembered, was gracefully post-
poned from the 9th of November to the Bth of
December, in consequence of the national solemni-
ties recently witnessed by 20,000 persons under
the dome of St. Paul's Cathedral. This unavoid-
able delay appears to have been compensated by
the unusual splendour of the entertainment.
Everything that could contribute to the satisfac-
tion of the guests assembled last evening in the
municipal palace of the British capital seems to
have been hospitably cared for by the Chief
Magistrate. And what added not inconsider-
ably to the gratification excited by this
munificence, was the total absence of party
feeling—rather, should we say, the cordial recog-
nition of indisputable abilities, and of undoubted
patriotism which distinguished the LORD
MAYOR'S announcement of the toast in honour
of the principal leaders of the ruling Administra-
tion. As Liberal Reformers, we rejoice in this
magnanimous tribute to the self-sacrificing assi-
duity in guiding the affairs of the nation at large,
displayed more or less uninterruptedly since Feb-
ruary, and almost, we may say, without one soli-
tary exception, by the more prominent Members
of the Tory and once-Protectionist Government.
It was a meed of commendation eminently well
deserved by the Cabinet, and one which must
have come not the less gracefully—rather the
more gratefully—to the knowledge of our Ad-
ministrators from the lips of the Representative
of Finsbury, who, as such, as well as in his
high civic capacity, is necessarily a not unim-
portant occupant of a seat on the Benches,
of the Opposition. It was in this generously
appreciative spirit that the LORD MAYOR yestcr-
lay mentioned the First Minister of the Crown as
a Nobleman
eminent not less by his high moral
character than
by his high rank and powerful
eloquence. It was in a similar mood that his
Lordship referred to the Right lion. the CHAN-
CELLOR Of the EXCHE QU ER Is t tl
o a f,en eman who, by his great intellectual
powers,
n•had succeeded in
obtaining the leadership of
the House of Com-
mons: adding, that ,c Wh`at -
ever might be the politi-
cal opinions of those present, they could not but
gladly do honour to a man who had •
displayed
such wondrous powers for good or evil in the

Senate." The Chief Magistrate of the metropolis
spoke thus, not simply with the lukewarm
fervour of after-dinner compliment, but from the
depth and fullness of an acknowledged conviction
—alluding to the leaders of the Ministry not so
much in his position as Lord Mayor of London as
avowedly in his character as a Liberal Member of
the Lower House of Parliament. He observed,
indeed, distinctly, that " from the short experi-
ence which he (the Lord Mayor) as a Member of
the Legislature had had, he was induced to ad-
mire the public conduct of the Earl of DERBY ;"
remarking, moreover, that "he believed he only
spoke the sentiments of the most enlightened
citizens of London when he expressed a hope that
his Lordship's Government might succeed in pro-
moting more than any other Government that
had preceded it the social, commercial, and politi-
cal prosperity of the country"—an avowal which
was, not unnaturally, responded to with acclama-
tions. Under any circumstances, it could not
be otherwise than agreeable to observe this
genial interchange of courtesies between the Chief
Magistrate of the capital of Great Britain, and
those entrusted with the task of presiding over
the toils of Administration. It is peculiarly so,
however, when the eulogiums are felt to be en-
tirely deserved—in as far, at least, as the initial
endeavours of a Cabinet can be regarded as any

criterion.
We speak as disinterested spectators nay,
more, we speak as Liberal Reformers and acknow-
ledged sympathisers with the Opposition. And,
as such, we cordially accede to the justice of the
panegyric pronounced last evening by the LORD
MAYOR of London the Representative of
a Radical constituency upon the conduct
of Lon]) DERBY, upon the ability of Mr.
DISRAELI, and, generally speaking, also upon
the average merits of the DERBY-DISRAELI
Government. What are the facts of the case ?
How are the eulogiums of yesterday justified by
the Ministerial recollections, dating back to Fe-
bruary ? Let us consider. Let us glance, as cur-
sorily as you please, at the proceedings since then
observable on the part of the principal Members
of the Administration. Why, no wonder the Hon.
Gentleman the Representative of Meath, in a
maiden 'speech—brief, but full of promise—de-
clared in the House of Commons on Monday, that
he had great hopes of a Government which had cast
off so many exploded prejudices and obsolete politics!
Surely this, at least, they have done. Surely it
may be said that they were little better than
in the Slough of Despond upon the disso-
lution of the old House of Commons ; and
now that the new Parliament has assembled, it
may be remarked, not less accurately, using the
word in twofold significance, that they have cast
the slough—being born Free-traders out of the
very death of Protection. They have not only
bowed to the opinion of the country ; they have
boldly undertaken to develope yet more remark-
ably the now firmly-rooted system of unrestricted
competition. In common honesty we must ac-
knowledge this, although we do not admire the
Tories, although we are Liberal Reformers,
although we warmly and conscientiously rever-
ence the great principles advocated by her
MAJESTY'S Opposition. Scanning impartially
the history of the ruling Cabinet, it is impossible
not to confess, moreover, that the majority of its
Members have distinguished themselves, to use a
gallicism, by new and honourable illustrations.

The PRIME MINISTER has shown in his capacity as
a Statesman—more particularly in reference to
commercial legislation—very considerable, and
even remarkable, enlightenment. As an orator,
he has even during this restricted Session found
occasion, by his reference to the Funeral Obse-
quies of the 18th of November, to shed addi-

tional lustre on his already brilliant reputa-
tion. The leader of the Lower House
has done yet more by extorting the admiration
of his antagonists by his tact in guiding his party
under very disadvantageous circumstances, and by
the consummate ability displayed by him in the
arduous duty of conducting the deliberative
labours of the Legislature. As financier, he has
—whatever we may think of his sins of commis-
sion in regard to the House-tax, or of his sins of
omission in regard to the Taxes on Knowledge—
submitted to the Committee of the Commons, all

ings considered, one of the most ingenious and
masterly Budgets ever prepared by a CHANCEL-
LOR of the EXCHEQUER. The SECRETARY of
the Foreign Department, again, besides rec-
tifying the early blunders of the MATHER
question, and opening up the trade of South
America, and watching over the interests of the
British Fisheries, adorned the debates of the
House of Peers on Monday, the 6th of December,
1852, by one of the most noble, most statesman-
like, and most magnanimous orations ever de-
livered within the walls of the Upper House of
Parliament—an oration in every way honourable
to his judgment and his patriotism as the Fo-
reign Secretary of the British Sovereign.
The COLONIAL SECRETARY has been gaining
ground, particularly of late, oven in the
opinion of her MAJESTY'S Opposition ; while
the HOME SECRETARY, indefatigable during the re-
cess, has enhanced the respect with which he is
always treated indiscriminately by Members upon
both sides of the popular branch of the Legis-
lature. The Head of the Woods and Forests,
moreover, in spite of the ridicule long ago cast
upon Young England, with all its accessories of
white neckcloths and white waistcoats, has shown
great aptitude in assuming really useful habits of
business—the same meritorious skill being observ-
able in the Secretary to that Board of Admiralty
which has been so very ably presided over since
February, by his Grace the Duke of NORTHUMBER-
LAND. The SECRETARY-AT-WAR has been the chief
Scapegrace of the Administration. The COMMANDER-
IN-CHIEF has yet to show his capacity as the head
of the Horse Guards. Nothing good can be said of
the POSTMASTER-GENERAL. Everything good can
be said of the illustrious LORD CHANCELLOR. We
must be dumb in reference to those in supreme
authority at the Board of Trade, at the Board of
Control, and at the office of the Duchy of Lim-
caster. But in the instances already specified we
can speak only—if we are to speak in truth—in
language of the most cordial and earnest com-
mendation. And all this we say, and say dis-
tinctly, deliberately, and advisedly in our capa-
city as impartial, journalists—as Liberal Re-

formers—as sympathisers with her MAJESTY'S

Opposition.

It seems surprising that in all the discussions
on the Budget we scarcely hear a whisper about
subjecting real property to legacy and probate
duties. Mr. HuME, indeed, dropped a hint on
the subject on Friday night, but other speakers
have not noticed it, and the press has been quite
inattentive to it. What can be the reason ?
Certainly not the want of equity in the proposal,
nor its inappropriateness to the emergency, if so it
may be called. Perhaps it is rather the general
despair that a house of landlords will do justice
against themselves on behalf of farmers and trades-
men. It is very unwise, however, to yield to any
such apprehension. The position of Free-trade
at this moment should embolden all honest men to
press their views earnestly on public attention on
every suitable occasion, and no occasion could be
more suitable than thca present one to urge the
extension of the burdens borne by personal pro-
perty to real property also.
We will take Mr. DISR A ET,I at his own word,
that farmers deserve some mitigation of the pres-
sure of taxation. He proposes to afford it them,
first, by lowering their per tentage of Income-
tax, in common with all trade incomes, by one-
fourth ; secondly, by lowering their assessment of
income to one-third, instead of half the rent ; and,
thirdly, by abolishing half the Malt-tax. The
last two measures only are special on behalf of
the farmer ; and as to the last of all, the Malt-
tax, we fear, from many inquiries we have
made, that it will do but little to benefit
him. It will not sufficiently lower the
price of beer to increase very materially
the consumption, and unless the consumption be
very largely increased, the demand for British
barley will hardly extend beyond what will be
supplied by foreigners. Indeed, should the de-
mand for the better malting barleys extend suffi-
ciently to stimulate their growth advantageously,