The Sun.
London, England, 1837-01-11 00:00:00

STAMP DUTIES IN BELGIUM.

The Beige says—" At the moment when all the journals
justly complain of the enormous stamp duty on foreign jour-
nals, instead of their complaint being regarded, the duty is
increased. Journals of the smallest size coming from
France, which have hitherto been subject to a stamp duty
of 11c., are now to pay 14c., the duty required for those of
the largest size. If the Treasury thinks thus to increase
its receipts, it is mistaken, for it is certain that the subscrip-
tions to foreign journals have continued to fall off for some
Sears past. The Post-office know this better than we do.
Thus the Treasury is a considerable loser in this respect."

The Beige is very silly. It fancies that the,stamp duty
on the journals is considered by our immoral Government
as a source of revenue; it is much rather a check on the
free circulation of ideas, and especially on the connexion
which the various progressive opinions of all countries would
establish between them by means of the press.
What do our Jesuists care if the duty on foreign journals
is less productive ? What they care for is, that the Belgian
Liberals may not have too unrestricted an intercourse with
those of France ; and especially of England. Far from re-
gretting that only a few joureals are received from Paris
and London, they would be glad if none of them came to
Belgium. It is believed in foreign countries that the press is
entirely free in Belgium. Our Government pretends that it
permits the circulation of all foreign journals, but it does
not say that a Paris journal, the subscription to which is
only 48f., per annum, such as the Presse, Siecle, Monde,
and Progres, has to pay an extraordinary duty of 9.4 c. per
number in Belgium—that is to say, 87f. 60c., almost the
double of the subscription. With the English journals it
is still worse ; they pay 40c., and some 60c., according to
the size, on each number. Thus an English journal which
we receive in exchange for the Courrier Beige, that is,
which costs us only the subscription to our journal, and the
postage of it (in all 601.). has to pay 40c. per number post-
age at Brussels, so that we pay our Government 1251. 20c.
per annum to receive an English journal gratis.—C'ourrier
Beige.

INFLUENZA.—We are glad to learn that the influ.
enza has begun to disappear in this city. In the country
villages, it has been, and continues to be, most severe, and
in very many instances fatal. A correspondent from Fra-
serburgh says, that there is scarcely a family in that town
but what has been afflicted ; and that, in several instances
the disease has proved fatal. No one who has had occa-
sion to pass down our shore for the past ten (lays could
have omitted to notice the mournful sight of flags flying
half-mast high. This, we understand, has been in conse-
quence of a combination of very painful circumstances—
the late losses at sea, and the deaths among seamen's rela-
tives from influenza and typhus fever.—Aberdeen Herald.

The subscriptions raised for relieving the sufferers
by the turn-out of the cotton-spinners at Oldham amounted,
on Monday evening, to nearly 200/. ; numbers of the inha-
bitants contributed .5/. each. We regret our inability to
state any circumstances indicating an approach to an adjust-
ment of this lamentable dispute.