The Sun.
London, England, 1830-03-31 00:00:00

DUCHY OF NASSAU,

The Government has given notice that it will pas off
its bonds, bearing interest at 4 per cent., and, in order to
effect this, has negociated with the house of Rothschild, at
31 per cent. The bonds, which will be shortly issued,
are already purchased at 981 on delivery. The debt of
the Principality of Hohenaoltern Hechengin has lately been
►nodified in a s►milar manner, through the intervention of
the same banking-house.

ANCONA, MARCH 9.

According to a letter from Poros, of the 6th of Feb.,
the affairs of Greece are at present in a better situation.
The opposition party is gradually becoming more friendly
to the Government, and the President, who enjoys very
good health, is incessantly engaged in the organization of
the internal affairs, in order to accelerate the civilization
of the country.

The Universal Gazette of Greece publishes the Chi-
liarchy, and the organization of five regiments according
to the new system. These troops took the oath on the
16th Nov., and received their colours on the same day.
The Government has appointed a special Commission to
direct the reform of the Chiliarchies of Eastern Greece.

Regulations respecting the teachers and pupils in the
military schools of the Greek State, have been published at
Napoli di Romania.

There has been published at Egina a prospectus for a
monument, to be erected ire memory of the brave de-
fenders of Missolonglii. Ali Greek architects and statua-
ries are invited to send in, during the present year, a plan
for the monument, with an estimate of the expence, and of
the time necessary for the completion of it. The author
of the best plan will receive a gold medal.

NITREMBURG, MARCH 21.
A detachment of bombadiers, with rockets, &c., has
been sent from Vienna to the frontiers of Cevatia, where it
will be joined by other troops, and, with the consent of
the Turks, destroy the banditti, who are becoming more
and more numerous on that frontier, and whom it is
equally the interest of both Governments to extirpate.

DARMSTADT, MARCH 22.

According to yesterday's bulletin, his Royal Highness
the Grand Duke had paused a restless night ; the catarrhal
affection, however, had not become worse, nor had his
head suffered. He is very weak, as is natural from the
duration of the disorder, which does not present any new
symptoms.

TISTA, run. 25.
It seems that it is in our city that the tragic history of
Gaspar Hauser Rusem, by the name of the Nuremburg
foundling, is to be cleared up. A person who is governess
in a family here bas been pointed out as suspected, to the
Magistrates of our city, by those of Nuremburg. The
examination which she has undergone has so greatly
alarmed her that she has lost her senses, and is now in one
of our hospitals.

The main principle contended for by Mr.
THOMSON, in his very able speech on taxation,
and also advocated by Sir HENRY PARNELL,

in his valuable Treatise on Financial Reform, is

that which was laid down years ago by ADAM
SMlTH,—that every tax ought to be so con-
trived as both to take out and keep out of the
pockets of the people as little as possible, over
and above what it brings into the public trea-
sury of the State. Where either the expensive-
ness of the collection, the obstruction to indus-
try, or the vexation of revenue interference, out-
weighs the value of the amount levied by means
of a given tax, it is a sound maxim in finance
that such a tax ought forthwith to be repealed.
The charge of collecting the total of our re-
venue is 6/. 7s. 3d. per cent., being an expense
of between five and six millions a year, and it is
plain that the disregard of the principle alluded
to has been the means of swelling this charge
very considerably. The charge of collecting
the Customs is higher than that of any other
branch of the revenue, because the import du-

es are levied on an infinite number of ar-

tides, in a variety of different ways, which
articles are nevertheless so unproductive alto-
gether, that of the 193 millions at which the
gross annual receipt of the Customs is estimated,
more than 133 millions arise from the five heads
of sugar, spirits, tobacco, wine, and timber ; and
that besides these, there are only thirteen articles
which yield more than 100,0001. upon
each, viz.: coffee, currants, raisins, raw and
manufactured silk, butter,:corn, hemp, seeds, tal-
low, 'cotton and sheep's wool, and'coals. These
eighteen articles yield nearly 17i millions, and
. .

it is therefore obvious that the collection of the
remaining two millions gives employment to a
host of officers, who are required to levy the
duties on every other article imported, at the
heavy expence, and to the great vexation, of
the public. In the Excise this fault occurs in
a less degree, in the duties on bricks, hops,
candles, sweets, vinegar, and other things, which
return but a trifling sum compared to the annoy-
ance of the presence of the excisemen. In the
stamps there are also many instances, such as the
advertisement duty, to which we lately alluded ;
and the whole of the assessed taxes set
ADAM SMITHS principle at utter defiance.
With reference, however, to the Customs,
there are in that revenue a species of duties'
called ad valorem, attaching not to the great
branches, but to trifling articles, which are be-
come so great a nuisance, that we cannot help
noticing the numerous complaints we have heard s
on the subject. The officers are empowered to
detain any goods which shall appear to them to
be undervalued, giving the importers the declared
value with 10 per cent. thereon. Now the
greater part of the goods subject to ad valorem
duty aro of an ornamental, or fancy kind, such as
porcelain, toys, jewellery, &c., of which the im-

porter has seldom any other means of judging of
the value, than from the sum it has cost him to
import them. It constantly happens, therefore,
that the officers who are not subject to any risk
of loss, seize upon speculation, for being under-
valued, goods imported with the utmost good
faith towards the revenue, which are afterwards
sold, and, in general, produce less than the im-
porter's valuation, to the loss of the revenue, as
appears by reference to a Parliamentary Return,
printed in June last. Injustice is, in these cases,
done the importers, and we mention them as
instances of the vexatious tendency of a system
of petty taxation. We entirely concur in the
observations frequently made by the Morning
Herald upon this ad valorem system, and hope
the CHANCELLOR Of the EXCHEQUER will in
due time see the necessity of reforming it, with
many other abuses in the manner of levying the
public impositions.

The number of Revenue Officers is assuredly
far greater than, under a better system of finance,
it would be necessary for us to be afflicted with.
There are, moreover, some offices with dispro-
portionately high salaries ; yet, knowing as we
do, the efficiency of the working part of the
public servants, and the really laborious lives of
those employed in the Revenue departments,
we cannot in fairness join in the cry which has
been raised in some quarters for an indiscriminate
reduction of salaries. As to the plan of super-
annuation deductions, which was last year re-
jected by the House, at the instance, we believe
of Mr. CHARLES GRANT, the CHANCELLOR
of the EXCHEQUER has already announced that
it is now intended only to apply to future ap-
pointments, as is perfectly fair; but the CHAN-
CELLOR well knows that the reductions expected
from him are of a very different kind from those
which diminish the hardly-earned wages of a few
Excisemen or Clerks in office.