The Sun.
London, England, 1863-02-13 00:00:00

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LONDON, FRIDAY, FEB. 13, 1863.

In the House of Lords, yesterday,

Lord RAVENSWORTH inquired about the report
of the Commissioners concerning the Harbours of
Refuge. He said that now, when there was a sur-
plus in the revenue, was the time for the Govern-
ment to set about new works of that description•
Such a course would have the advantage of em-
ploying the convicts, and of providing employment
for the manufacturing district 3.
The Duke of SOMERSET said that the Govern.
ment had resolved not to undertake any new en-
gagements until the works at Holyhead, Portland,
Dover, and Alderney should be completed. It had
been proved that shipowners and others were averse
to paying tolls, and no districts were desirous of
contributing to such expenses.

The subject then dropped, and their lordships

adjourned.

In the House of Commons,

Mr. GIBSON said, in answer to Mr. Bentinck, it
was not the intention of Government to bring for-
ward any measure to interfere with the system of
railways, as at present constituted, for the purpose
of preventing railway accidents. The number of
these casualties had considerably decreased lately.
Mr. Gibson also stated that it was his intention to
introduce a bill for the purpose of diminishing the
expenses of passing private bills through Parlia-
ment, therefore he trusted Mr. Whalley would wait
before he proceeded further with his on the same
subject.
Mr. VILLIERS moved for leave to bring forward
a bill to extend the provisions of the Union Relief
Aid Act of last session. In the present distress
in Lancashire it was considered of consequence
to make some alteration in the Poor Law.
The bill of last session had a provision by which
districts rated in excess were enabled to call on the
county to contribute to a poor rate for their relief.
Seven out of twelve unions in a condition to benefit
by the net had done so ; therefore there was no
reason that the act should continue inoperative.
Among the distressed districts a general desire pre-
vailed for the continuance of the act, and he believed
the house would not refuse to sanction it.

Colonel PATTEN allowed the necessity of the act,
but suggested some alterations. He said that the
provisions of the act would have been totally in-
adequate to relieve the evil, had not subscriptions
from all parts of the civilised world been sent in
in such numbers, amounting, he believed, to
£1,400,000.
Lord STANLEY suggested that the continuance
of the measure should be limited to six months,and
not a year. Then, before the close of the session,
they would be enabled to note if any further steps
were necessary for the emergency of the case.
Mr. Alderman SYDNEY said he thought that
there was as much suffering in Coventry and other
places as in Lancashire.

Mr, COBDEN approved of Lord Stanley's plan of
fixing six months for the bill. He said that next
'inter would be the most serious time in the dis-
trict if the war in America was not then over, since
it must take two years before we could hope for
cotton from any other quarter.
Mr. VILLIERS said he would content himself
with introducing the bill then, and afterwards fix
the time of its extension when he had considered
these arguments.

The biil was then read a first time,
Mr. GIBSON obtained leave to 11.3ra.e. in a bill to
specialtl acts,
regulate the exercise of powers under
for the construction and maintenance
A new writ was issued for the election ofe6rmaP,LB.
ber for Devizes in place of Captain a Gladstone,----
deceased.
The house adjourned at a quarter to eight.

The great question which is just now so closely
aift.cting our national well-being was last night
brought under the consideration of parliament.
Mr. VILLIERS proposed a renewal of his bill of
last year, which, though limited and partial in its
character, still attempts in some degree to deal with
the evil. Mr. VILLIERS himself considered that
the bill had not effected all it might have done, by
reason of that spontaneous flow of charity, which
diminished the necessity of the distressed parishes
availing themselves of Government aid. " Of the
500,000 persons relieved during the last six months,"
said the President of the Poor Law Board, " more
than one half have been relieved by voluntary

contributions." Such a fact speaks well
for national generosity, and the contributions
which have so liberally poured in from our colonies
are in some respects still more gratifying. Colonel
WILSON PATTEN, the able and indefatigable secre-
tory of the Central Relief Fund, alluded to the
munifieent contributions of the dependencies of the
Crown. Australia has sustained her name of the
gold country by supplying English need with no
less than £46,000. Colonel WILSON PATTEN said

that sums, amour ting in some instances to over
£l,OOO, had been forwarded from places in the
colonies. with whose very names he had
scarcely been acquainted. Wherever an Eng-
lishman was to be found it was enough
for him to know that one of the most busy
and populous districts in the old country was in
need, and the name of Englishman proved the
" open sesame" to his coffers. Whatever the evils to
be feared from the long continuance of enforced idle-
ness and dependence, there is a silver lining to the
cloud in the ready sympathy and kindliness it has
called forth, and the good feeling between class and
1 class which it has fostered and strengthened. With
regard to the Bill itself, there seems to be no valid
objection to it as a temporary measure ; although
we agree with the noble lord the member for King's
Lynn, in thinking it unwise to fetter the House by
committing it to any system for a lengthened
period. Hasty legislation is, above all things, to be
deprecated in this matter, for truly we know not
what a day may brine forth. Should the present
dearth of cotton continue, it is certain that no par-
tial or half-handed measure can meet the evil.
Those best qualified to judge, while paying the
highest tributes to the ready assistance of the
public, warn us that we must not expect another
million and a-half from voluntary subscriptions.
Mr. COBDEN, in his brief, but clear and logical
statement, last evening, reminded the House that
half of the amount raised had been raised in the
cotton districts themselves. He added to this the
important assistance given by some mill-owners to
their hands in the way of work, wages, food, &c.,
and pointed out that this could not be expected to
continue in case of increasing local distress, by
which the monied men of the county themselves
would suffer. There is good reason to fear, too,
that, in the face of further pressure, many of the
present ratepayers will be forced down into the
ranks of the applicants for relief. The
two great questions of how to supply the
population of the cotton districts with food
and. with remunerative employment will
then demand the immediate attention of the Legis-
lature.
There is, however, another possibility which
the most sanguine hardly dare to reckon upon, yet
which, perchance, may " loom in the distance" of
the coming months. The fratricidal struggle which
has so long desolated a fertile and prosperous nation
may come to a close, and it is whispered that many
in the North are beginning openiy to express their
weariness of the hopeless struggle. Free thought
will make itself heard even in a democracy some-
times, and the growing discontent in New York
may be felt even in the Cabinet of ABRAHAM
LINCOLN. Let us hope and pray that it may
be so; that the horrors of a merciless and purposi-
less civil war may no longer carry death and ruin
to thousands of happy homes on the other side of
the Atlantic ; and that our own people may reap
the reward of their patience, their forbearance, and
their courage in the resuscitation of their mighty
, industrial life.

Some time ago we hoard rumours of intended re-
ductions in the 'various estimates proposed to be
laid before Parliament in the present session, and
now we have an excellent guide to direct their
course. Sir. S. MORTON PETO has just brought out
a goodly volume on the subject of " Taxation ; its
Levy and Expenditure," published by CHAPMAN and
HALL in a style as remarkable for elegance in appear-
ance as attractive for its internal " getting up."
This book will produce a sensation in Parliamentary
circles, be they of the extravagant or economic type.
Sir MORTON' has grappled with a mass of corruption
in all departments of the State which will bring a
nest of hornets about him ; but he is a bold man,
and fears not. He has the interest of the country at
heart, and enters into the task with earnest devo-
tion to do his duty as a patriot regardless of cen-
sure, because he means no personal offence. He is
temperate in his comment but severe in the justice
of his conclusions. He deals with our taxation,
past and future, and enters into an inquiry of our
financial policy in a spirit worthy of the late Sir
ROBERT PEEL in his better days.
Sir MORTON divides the subject into two sec-
tions—the first treating of the levy of taxes, and
the second of the expenditure of those moneys. The
first section contains nine chapters, comprising a
general survey of the subject—the customs duties,
property and income tax, the Post office, excise
duties, assessed taxes, stamp duties, Crown lands
and the collection of the revenue. The second
section is made up of seven chapters—the gross
expenditure, the army, the navy, miscellaneous
expenditure, the Natidnal Debt, the civil list,
general reflections, closing up with a luminous
index, forming altogether 418 pages. It is a book
that ought to be in the hands of every member
who has any pretension to the character of a states-
man, and will be indispensable to all who wish to
5.,3 and compare how our vast taxation and ex-
penditure have acquired such momentous accu-
mulation.

In his survey of the subject Sir M. PETO takes a
wide range and enters in a calm philosophical spirit
into the very marrow of taxation, canvassing its
objects—the manner in which they are carried out—
and asks are the principles of our taxation sound or
imperfect? Is our revenue raised from a willing or
from a reluctant people ? Are our taxes ea nitable
or unequally apportioned Is the burden light or
grievous ? Is our expenditure well managed ?
Does it admit of reduction consistently with the re-
quirements of the nation, and the proper protection
of its interests ? These and others form the con-
siderations into which Sir M. PETO ventures to
inquire into the multitudinous concerns of our vital
interest, as a people anxious to pay their way in
order to secure national independence. Rarely,
indeed, does he find the subject debated as it should
be, with freedom from party, and with sole reference
to the best interests of the nation, and we fear never
will while human nature considers self-interest the
first law, however loudly it may talk of the general
benefit of society. To preach and to practice are
very different things,—no matter who the party is
—self is the ruling motive and individual interest
the guiding principle, at the expense of the many.
So in our taxation we find the predominant class de-
vising imposts so
a much as possible from the operation of any parti-
cular tax, and imposings o texclude
its
pressure on the great
body of the people on the
everybody's business is nobctiTsn,ci and therefore ple that what is
cal-
culating on the remoteness of
combination on the
part of the many to test or question the motives of
the ruling few. Thus those in power have it all
their own way until their mismanagement provokes
general indignation, and they are hurled from
office to make room for fresh locusts as rapacious
And more hungry than their predecessors. And so