The Sun.
London, England, 1830-12-23 00:00:00

SPIRIT OP THE PUBLIC JOURNALS.

Some curious aecouats on the subject of local
taxation have been printed lately by order of the
House of Commons; from a perusal of which, as
excellently arranged by Mr. Rickman, second clerk
at the table of the house, the progress of prior-
rates and county-rates in England and Wales, with
the portions of them applied respectively to the re-
lief of the poor and to other purposes, may be traced
through the following periods down to the present
day,—viz., average of 1748, 1719, 1750,-1775,
1776,-1783, 1784, 1785,-1802, 1803,--and
then, fur each of the seventeen years, beginning with
1812, and finishing with 1829. The average prices
of corn are also given for the several periods referred
to in these documents, so that it is not merely the
amount ie money levied for hired purposes 011 the
different counties, but that of the necessaries of life,
in kind, administered to the relief of the poor of
England, that may be got at without tiny very diffi•
cult or laborious process. In 1775-6, the expendi-
ture of the poor, wheat being then at 455. the quar-
ter, amounted to 1,5:30,000/. That wits just before
the breaking out of the war with the American co-
lonies. In seven years afterwards, on an average of
17834.5, wheat had not risen more than Is. Gd. per
quarter, but the charges for the poor were aug-
mented about half a million, or one-third more than
in the preceding period. The war then had not
been altogether idle in the aggravation of distress.
But taking that unfavourable moment, and compar-
ing it With the present situation of the country,—
that is, from 1820 to 1829 inclusive,—we shall find
that the money expended on the poor has been
more than trebled, while the population has unques-
tirmably not increased more than one-third. This
comparison will of comae be qualified, though far
from fully explained, by a rise in the price of corn
from an average of 465. 6d. the quarter, to one of
59a. ; and from the whole an inference may be
fairly drawn, that pauperism has advanced at a more
rapid rate than either population or prices. The
average cost of the poor for the last 17 years, em-
bracing two of war and 15 of peace, has been
G,430,000/., nearly 34' to 1 above the scale of
poor-rates at the close of the American contest.—
Another document of considerable interest, but
requiring a close and detailed examination to render
it of much practical use in argument, is one which
affords a comparison between the amount of assess-
merits for local purposes, and the annual value of
real limps sty in the several English and Welsh
counties, the latter being founded on the assess-
merit to the property tax in the year 1815. Hence
also may be derived a highly interesting, though
by no means a satisfactory, view of the progress
of the local taxer oe in this country, as corn-
pared with the resources on which it is levied. In
1815, the neettil value of the real property of lieg•
land, as assessed to the Property-tax, was, as near
as possible, 52,000,0001. sterling. The county rates, •
poor-rates, &c., of that year were about 5).500,000/.
the rents as well as taxes being calculated in the
paper-money of that time. But what is the case at
present ? The annual returns from real property—
though higher considerably than they ought to be—
have had a nominal fall, at a moderate computation,
of about 20 per cent. throughout England ; and
may, we suppose, he taken at present to produce
*bunt 40,000,000/., or 42,000,0001. instead of
1A1,000,000/. a-year—that is to say, in gold ;
whereas in 1815 it was depreciated in batik notes.
If, therefore, the local burdens of the country had
continued, with only a proportionate 'pressure on
its resources, the pauper expenditure, &e- of the
lest four years ought to have dropped from
5,500,0001. in paper, to idiom 4,400,0001. in gold;
instead of which it averages 6,350,000/, being
equal, at the above rate of comparison, to 7,600,000/.
in the currency of 1815—a rise nearly equivahnt to
75 per cent. en the local taxation of that memorable
rera. There are, no (look, many other channels
through which an approximation to the truth on this
important subject may be united at ; but us every
road to a sound knowledge of facts so momentous,
ought tit least to be tried by those who have no
sinister object in view, we would recommend to
notice the tables above referred to, us furbishing
rawly topics veorthy of serious consideration.—Timer.
It would appear that the most atrocious calumnies
have been imposed on the public, in relation to the
imputed vile corruption of the Liverpool election.
So far from the purchase of votes, the immaculate
freemen of that misrepresented borough have be-
etowed en.bought suffrages, from the most disinte-
rested and patriotic principles. We allude to the
declarations of the aitting Member, Mr. Ewart, on
.Monday eight, in l is remarks on the petition pre-
sleeted by Mr. Robinson, complaining of the dis-
graceful scenes represented. to have taken phice at
the recent contest in that town between Mr. Ewell
and Mr. Denison. On what principle of " Palry'e
Moral Pliduaryphy" Mr. Ewart alleged his own utter
igoorance of, end non-participation in, the arts end
application of money which procured return, we
are at a loss to conceive. l'robehly the pleat of
that young gentlemen spent 50,000/. of the family
property altogether unknown to the eendidate, deli-
cutely concealing from him the cost of the plaything!
Mr. Ewart professed entire ignorunee of die Allege-
lions of the petition ; that he had eanctioned nothing
wrong ; end philosophically reposed " in his own
deep consciouaness of rectitude." Now we trust
that t hie extraordinary issue between the notorious
e'rcenestanees of the election end the unnecessary
and unqualified declarations of Mr. Ewurt will be
fairly tried; and we are Odd to hear that an °Hine.
teeny will lie given in the detetrnined prosecution
Of the petition. It may be well to put a bold from
on a case so desperate; but there is a decency iu
making it. Mr. Evrart's declarations have excited
cotisiderable animadversion. We had rather be in
Mr. Denison)* shoes than in those of Mr. Ewart :
the latter will have some difficulty in getting his off,
'We remember a sanctified stage-coach proprietor, of
the Belle &merle, who, front religious screples,
would not ruin his horses on a Sunday ; he hired
those of a less pious neighbour, and fancied that he
thereby cried lsia. coescierive and reputation with
his brethren. What a pure and unstrepecting !louse
of Commons, to receive, without comment, Mr.
Ewert's repudiation of the acts of hie constituents
---- Abetting Chronicle.

The twilight of sound Policy is fest breaking upon
the understandings of the country gerelemen; they
have, at length, discovered the precipice upon the
brink of "Lich they stand, and are, accordingly,
taking prompt and vigorous measures to secure
themselves and all they hold dear from being swept
into the abyss that yawns beneath their feet ! They
are no longer to be humbugged by the Oligarchy.
Bow-meetings, races, balls, suppers, dinners, with
Noble Lords and Honourable commoners' tine
speeches *bout " the prosperity and happiness of
our country," have still their charms, and are, no
doubt, all very well with reference to their proper
objects; but in other respects tout est change—up-
ply them PS you will, they will no longer act US oil
to smite the eras), machine " work well;" nay, even
the delightful words " protection to agriculture,"
megicel ps their effects once were, have ceased to
exercise their wonted spell upon rural imaginations I
We ale happy to behold this powerful class bestir-
ring themselves; in ell directions are county meet-
ings taking place, at Odell Speeches are made and
vesolutions passed, 'iniquity replete with good sense
and manliness, *Mt often containing much iefor-
Nation. A tininerous and highly respectable meet-
ing of the Vriiholdere and Inhabitants of the county
or Montgomery took place on the 13th ult., et
WelaPeel: this, as the county has always (at least
for the hat thirty years) been regarded almost in the
light of a close borough, and is rather " out of the
way" (not being a great thoroughfare), may be
taken us a strong sample of the rrong feeling that
pervades the whole country upon the subject of
Parliamentary Reform, vvhile the resolutions which
were passed are evidence of the uncmpromieing

attitude assumed by the people. The following re.
solutions were carried by a inaj „ty of at least two
to one :

4fluit it is notorious that there are many boroughs
and phees for which Members are returned by, or by the
dictation of, one or two individuals, many of whom are
Peers of the realm.

" That such Members an returned form a vary large
proportion of the Commons liouse of Parliament.
" That it is equally notorious that in many other bo-
roughs and places the elective franchise is exercised in a
mist venal and corrupt manner, whilst many large and
populous towns return no represent dive:
" That such a state of the representation is altogether
at variance with the British Constitution, an entire de •
prture from those principies upon which the Commons
House of Parliament wOl originally framed, and has pro.
duced, and (if allowed to exist) will continue to produce,
most injurious consequences.
" That, with regard to countiAi also, such has been the
ritect of time, the increase of population, and other cir-
eUrilidafiCeS, that their elective franchise calls for alteration
and amendment.

" That the power of returning Members to Parliament
ought to be so regulated as not only to prevent dictatio❑ or
undue influence; but also, as much as is possible, t• pre-
vent venality and corruption, and to accord with the just
and rttional principles of representation.
" That we notice with deep regret the heavy burdens
still entailed upon us; that. to alleviate those burdens the
most rigid economy ought by all possible means, and in
every practicable way, to be introduced into all parts of
the public expenditure, prticularly in a general revision of
its different departments, by the abolition of improper
pensions and useless places, and by the reduction of all
salaries as far as is consistent with a due remuneration to
the public servants.
" That it is only by the adoption of such measures that
the loyalty of the people can be retained, the durability of
the Constitution ensured, and the peace and happiness of
the kingdom preserved."
They are, as will be seen, purely declaratory of
present defects. The Oligarchists had mustered
and organized their forces, and, as they had reckoned
upon an easy victory, it was not a little amusing to
witness the consternation betrayed in their counte-
nances, when their fallacies on the subject of discus.
lion were ripped up and exposed, by men who,
though of sense and talent, were yet, comparatively
speaking, quite raw recruits a• to the tactics of de-
hate; when they found the feeling was set against
them, or, when finally they were dead beaten ; these
were intellectual and ►noral phenomena for which
they were totally unprepared. The best excuse
they could offer in defence of their to put off
the meeting until Ministers should bring forward
their plan of Reform, was, " that such a meeting
was calculated to embarrass Ministers :" this was
met by a simple yet effective reply, on the part of
several gentlemen, that " on the contrary, it would
have the effect of strengthening the hands of Mi-
nisters." The meeting was in some respects of
more than ordinary consequence : it drew forth from
the Right Hon. C. W. W. Wynn (M.P. for the
county) a partial and indirect declaration of his
opinions On Reform; these were considered, on the
supposition that her must, from his official situation,
be looked upon as closely connected with the Cabi-
net, though he is not himself a Member of it, as
rather Ominous, inasmuch as they contain a positiVe
eulogium on the close boroughs. How could he
overlook the easy conclusion, that if t tlicient and
honest men do become Members of the House of
Commons, it is in Tile of the present system, and
not in consequence of it—that the mere fad at is
man of talent being quite a phenomenon in the
House is r. n Argument against the system ? We
are convinced, however, that Mr. Wynn spoke only
his own opinions, and by no means those of the
Ministers.

" Non tali :milk), nec defensoribus
Tempos eget."
The county (though they have re-elected him)
commented on his opinions by placing in Me hands
of Lord Althorp their petition to the Lower House!
The Viscount Clive went off upon a band-gallop on
the subject of distress, observing that " he should
have been more happy to have attended a meeting
of the county to consult how they could best relieve
the wants and sufferings. of their poor neighbours."
More happy!--who can doubt it ? Who would not
rather attend a trial a• a witness than as a prisoner ?
This savoured strongly of an attempt to scare the
meeting outof the petition, by raising up in the iota-
ginations of the freeholders a bugbear of burning
stack. and broken =chines. It did not answer;
they knew better : for there, in fact, wages are at
one shilling and sixpence a day, provisions are com-
paratively cheap, and most of the labourers in good
employment. It was, to say the least, unfair, and,
in the present state of the agricultural district.,
rashly imprudent, to insinuate that the country gen-
tlemen were neglecting the peasantry to attend
Reform meetings; it was throwing a firebrand
Among the labourers merely to serve a party pur-
pose. It is, however, instructive, as the family of
the Nobld Viscount are not exactly unconnected
wits the borough system : in Parliamentary phrase
they " In proposing an amendment,pray-
log that the new franchise might be such as to afford
a proper protection to agriculture, a Reverend Gen-
tleman stated that "at present whenever a candidate
courted the popular suffrage, it was by his
avowal to deny protection to agriculture—that
was, in fact, made a clap.trap for the purpose
of gaining the voice of the multitude." It is not a
little :%urprising, that a very obvious inference from
this fact should so completely escape the mental
vision of the worthy clergyman—viz. that the
people universally feel this same " protection" to
be injurious to their interests, and, therefore, that
it ought not to granted. 13egging his pardon, if
ever there was a " clap-trap," this amendment of
his was a " clap-trap; ' but it did not catch: it
failed—failed, too, in an agricultural county ! The
information, the good sense, the moderation, the
firmness, above all, the total absence of all pets mal
or local -allusions (and there was ample room for
r!iern) throughout the course of the dircussion,
were highly creditable to the gentlemen of the
county, and cannot fail to insure respect, and to
give increased force to their petition. We hope
that the examples which have been set may be
speedily followed by the remainder of the counties.
No time is to be lost. The declaration of E3rl
Grey in the lion,c of Lords, on Thursday sennight,
cannot be too widely diffused, or too often repeated.
" lie could hope for no tweets', but from the sup-
port which he might receive. His was a &Moat
task : and, unless sustained by the voice of Me
country, nothing remained on which he could de-
pend.' —Morning Chronicle.

There appears to be mote sorent as of feeling than
public spirit in the repeated attacks which Mr.
Dawson, and some others of the ex-functionaries,
have made upon the present Ministers, in conse-
quence of the appointment of Lord Plunkett to the
Lord Chancellorship of Ire Lind—an appointment
which sanctions a principle of promotion which, we
trdmi', the Members of the late Administration can-
not, consistently with their own practice, admire,
for it affords an example of high office conferred on
him who brings to its duties the highest qualifica-
tions. Fitness for mice was thought of so little
consequence as a rule of promotion under the Wel-
lington Ministry, that, if its martial aspect had
continued much longer to preside over the
destinies of England, we should not have de-
spuired , of seeing is Field Marshal on the
Woolsack, and a General Officer illuminating
the Court of Bolls. But those days, like the
" age of chivalry," are gone, and it is necessary
now that civil office should be filled by something like
civil capacity. When we consider the great legal
eminence and political reputation of Lord Plunkett,
the wonder is not why he is appointed Lord Chan-
cellor of Ireland now, but why be had not been ap-
pointed long before. Sir James Graham says of this
distiogu:shed individual that " Ireland has never
produced his equal, and that his superior is not
to be found even in Englund itself." It is natural
for men of the element to which Mr. Daw-
son belongs to dklike and repudiate the principle
of an appointment which recognises the superior
claim of great intellectual powers and acquirements.
The promotion of Mr. Brougham excited simi!ar

dissatisfaction in the breast of Mr. Croker, who'
can safely appeal to the records of naval patronage
during his official life to show that 'it'll her his mas-
ter, Lord Melville, nor himself, ever considered pro-
fessional talent and intelligence, or eminent public
services, as constittving so strong a reconunendation
co preferment as time-serving dulness and congenial
incapacity. It is a curious coincidence, at the pre-
sent time, that the two most able and celebrated in-
dividuals of the profession of the law in England
and Ireland have become Lord Chancellors of their
respective countries, and that, besides the universal
acknowledgment of their distinguished talents,
they have the additional testimony in favour of
the propriety of their elevation, that their several
appointments excite the bitter displeasure of Mr.
George Dawson and Mr. Wilson Croker—a par
nobilefratrum—of whom it may be said, that they
were lovely in their official lives, and in their efficial
detvhs they ought not to be divided. The heroes
of the " Dunciad," when they made war on Swift
and Pope, did not more devotedly obey their instincts,
and qualify themselves for a lud;crous immortality.
if there be another Edmund Curl in the publishing
world, we would advise those ex-functionaries who
feel the intrusion of fiat-rate genius into office as a
most portentous calamity to the interests of their
craft, to club their literary powers into a joint fund
of ex-secretarial indignation, and celebrate the dis-
asters of pedantic dulness in appropriate verse !
Morning Herald.

CITY ELECTIONS.

SECON
Those marked with a 4

W A ',BROOK.
Mr. F. Dale
Watkins ¶2o
Gibbs l9
Deputy Williams IS
Coles

DAY.

are hob Candidate.

,Returns Eight.

Mr. Richardsbn
Thomas I 1 ale l7
Wochlward l7
*Harrison ll

BREAD-STREET W
Mr. Mashie, Dep 4O
39
Coleman 37
'VS
tracklow 'l3

ILD—Returns Twelve.
Mr. Davison 27
•Ilurra
Cope
De!grave 23
Holmes
Hooper l9
• Sliewbridge

Shuttlea; cat h
Bridge '27
(Alum 'l7