The Sun.
London, England, 1862-04-12 00:00:00

THE SUN, LONDON, SATURDAY IEVENING, APRIL 12. 1862.

to ordinary calculations, together with a due pro-
portion of the " native element," to the composition
of a barrel of beer. Hence our Financier
imposes a supplementary 3d. upon each
barrel of beer, as an equivalent for the
remitted hop duty. It must be remembered, how-
ever, that while this is the arrangement decided
upon by the Chancellor of the Exchequer—three-
pence hop duty is really and truly the minimum paid
by the brewer in the price of his hops. Conse-
quently, bearing that simple fact in mind, it was at
once comprehensible to all who heard him, when Mr.
GLADSTONE remarked in this part of his Financial
Statement, that when there is a difference between
the 3d. minimum duty and a greater amount of hop
duty now paid by the brewer, when—as, said Me.
GLADSTONE, with an audible relish in his tone while
the words were being uttered, "in that incompar-
able article bitter beer"—he (the brewer) uses more
than 21b. of hops—then, of course, in every instance
of that kind, the difference proposed according to
this scheme of commutation would, as a matter of
inevitable necessity prove a dead loss to the revenue!
A loss proportioned to the quantity of hops
over and above that minimum proportion of 21b.
per barrel used in the manufacture of that same in-
comparable article—Pale Ale—whether BASS or
ALSOPP. Altogether, the estimated loss to the
revenue in this way, in spite of, or rather in one
sense, precisely because of that compensative duty
of 3d. additional on every barrel of beer, the Chan-
cellor of the Exchequer himself calculated would
amount annually to the sum of £45,000. As it
happens, precisely the very amount that would
have become chargeable yearly upon the
country to annuitants under the Suitors' Fund
and the Fee Fund in the Court of Chancery. Sup-
posing, that is, that those united funds, to the
gross total of £1,400,000 had been appropriated
according to the Government plan to the carrying
out of the imperial scheme of a grand centralisation
of the Courts of Justice—upon the site already
marked out for that new Palace of Justice between
Clement's Inn and Lincoln's Inn. Another £45,009
per annum our financier at this part of his new Bud-
get calculated, therefore, would yet have to be made
up somehow, so as to make good the loss inevitable
upon the commutation of the Hop Duties. This in
spite of the brewers' license (just specified) on the
one hand, and, on the other hand, of the private
brewers' license, to the tulip of 12s. 6d. upon occu-
pants of houses, under £2O rent—licenses that it
is anticipated will together yield—i. e., supposing
the House consents (which we doubt) to them both
eventually—£3oo,ooo annunally. Counting upon
even which gross sum of £300,000 accruing from
the brewers' license and the private brewers' license,
Mr. GLADSTONE still has before him that loss of
£45,000 per annum, to the revenue, consequent upon
this commutation of the Hop Duties. To say no-
thing of any further sum that might have to be paid
np in the shape of drawback upon such an extra ex-
portation of hops as might take place between this
time and the 15th of September, when (it is pro-
posed) the present duty upon hops will lapse ! That
drawback happily Mr. GLADSTONE anticipates will
not, however, be considerable. Yet must it, in rea-
son, be taken into account as certain to be demanded
by exporters to a greater or lesser degree. And
whatever the ultimate total of it may be, it will
have to be added forthwith to the loss of £45,000
per annum already beheld clearly enough by Mr.
GLADSTONE himself, in perspective.

Added to the proposed duty of 3d. on every
barrel of beer and to the private brewing license of
12s. 6d, per annum—as among the new "arrange-
ments" sketched out by Mr. GLADSTONE'S hand
in this his last Budget—there is the simplifi-
cation of the wine duties, upon which we have
already commented at some length. There is
the reduction of the ls. stamp duty upon every
pack of cards to a threepenny stamp duty. So
that henceforth the Ace of Spades that was,
might be represented by a whimsical carica-
turist, like our incomparable GEORGE CRUM-
SHANK, as looking down disdainfully upon itss
diminished and impoverished successor—somewhat
as an old GEORGE 111. guinea might look drawn
upon a bran new five shilling piece of VICTORIA.
Then there is Mr. GLADSTONE'S proposed change
in the inventory duty in Scotland, a duty corres-
ponding in its way with the probate duty of Eng-
land. There is his scheme for charging (very mode-
rately it must be admitted) just one-eighth per cent.
upon foreign and colonial bonds and loans of all
descriptions whatsoever—so as to bring them within
the same category as the loans raised in this coun-
try for purely English purposes, or as very
recently was decided in the instance of all loans
raised here by authority of the Government of India.
So that, in this instance, it is merely a question as
to a reasonable assimilation of all loans, &c., whe-
ther Home or Foreign, Indian or Colonial. Again,
and finally for the present, in this succinct enume-
ration of Mr. GLADSTONE'S novelties in the shape
of fresh fiscal and financial arrangements—there is
the supplementary publicans' licences for a period
L of three days at fairs and similar scenes of tempo-
rary thirst and miscellaneous entertainment. A
novelty this, by the way, that is calculated to call
all the temperance people up in arms against it.
Whether this proposed change or that ether one
of the private brewing license will be carried
through the House yet remains problematical, must
still remain problematical for that matter, until
the business of the session shall be resumed after
the lapse of the Easter holidays.

It is gratifying to see that Prussians are show-
ing something like self-respect in the face of the
KING'S proceedings and those of his Ministers. In
this country we have known what it is for Whigs
to be caught bathing while the Tories ran away
with their clothes ; but in Prussia the Liberals
have rather been garotted by his MAJESTY and his
reactionists, and the reductions they desired to
effect taken out of their hands by violence. The
letter which was permitted to transpire, amidst
feigned indignation, does not, however, appear
to delude the country. The people see the prepa-
rations made for a temporary reduction of the army
expenditure with pleasure, but they know who are
the real authors of it.

Better still—the Government has openly lectured
its employes and officials of all classes on their duty
to vote for Government deputies. The advice was
hardly veiled in seemingly forbearing language.
But, of course, the civil service of a bureaucracy
little needs information as to bow it msst vote. Even
the dockyards of a constitutional monarch here gene-
rally know who must be their man. But the Minister,
unwisely, included the Prussian Universities and
High Schools in the list to those to whom he sent
his conye d'elire. German universities 'have often
shown more political spirit than German boroughs,
and the sending to them a letter, which implied
that they were in the same position as custom-
house or police officers, roused their spirit. Tile
Rector and Senate of the Berlin University boldly
returned a " protest " against the circular, re-
marking that, though seven elections had occurred
since 1848, no Minister had attempted to inter-
fere with their liberties ; that they voted
as citizens,not as teachers ; that the present struggle
was improperly described as one between Demo-
cracy and Royalty; and if it were so, still the mode

adopted would not be the right one to decide it.
Briefly, they think they shall be most loyal in
abiding by their own convictions, and not interfer-
ing with those of others, and they therefore decline
compliance with the circular. The middle classes
of Prussia seem to be generally alive to the crisis,
and to the tricks of the reactionary Cabinet, and
the prospect seems to be good of the people at the
new elections supporting their old representatives.

LIFE ROAM AND THE INTERNA-
TIONAL EXLIIBITION.

TO THE EDITOR, OF THE SUN.

London, April 10, 1862.

SIR,—It was with much pleasure that I read the
admirable letter of the Secretary of the National
Life Boat Institution in The Sun a few days since,
and 1 sincerely hope that that appeal, through the
press, will induce the Commissioners of the Inter-
national Exhibition to grant the necessary space
for the Institution's Life Boat and her equipments.
As the Secretary reasonably observed, carriages
and chariots of pleasure have had space allotted to
them, while the boat of humanity, of which Eng-
land, as a maritime country, should be proud, is not
to be permitted to be seen within the walls of a
building, dedicated professedly to the display of all
that is useful, nationally important, as well as beau-
tiful.

I think, however, we shall yet see the life-boat—
not a mere model—but herself, in the coming exhi-
bition.—l am, &c.,
HUM ANITUS.

LATEST NEWS.

INDIA, CHINA, AND

AUSTRALIA.

We have received, in anticipation of the Calcutta
mail, files of papers from Calcutta to the Bth of
March ; Madras, 14th of March ; Hongkong, Ist of
March ; and Melbourne, 22d of February.
INDIA.

We take the following from the Calcutta Eng-
lishman of the Bth of March:—

"There is not much to report with regard to our
markets either for imports or exports during the past
week. There has been a decided, though slight,
improvement in the piece goods market, and for
some few days there was a fair amount of business
done. The demand has, however, now relaxed, ani
though no change of prices has been announced,
yet the market is heavy at pi evious quotations, and
but little business is the result. In exports it needs
but a glance at the freight list to show the falling off
in the amount of shipments. Freight for saltpetre
is quoted at £3 ; rice, £3 ss. ; jute, £3 7s. 6d;
and linseed, £3 10s. to £3 12s. 6d. ; in fact, a fall
of from 10s. to 15s. per ton all round. Money has
been getting tight for some time past, and, though
the Bank of Bengal did not raise its rates last
Thursday, yet we believe the desire not to cause
loss and inconvenience to the public generally had
much to do with the decision of the directors.
Possibly, too, the anticipated arrival of the
bills drawn on the treasury here by the Home Go-
vernment, which would undoubtedly give greater
ease to the money market, may have, in some mea-
sure, determined them to postpone for another week
any rise in their rates. In exchange we can per-
ceive a tightness too, for the rates ruling for first-
class credit bills have throughout the week been
201. Document bills have been steady at 2.08.
Contrasted, however, with the state of commercial
affairs this time last year, we may well say—How
great a change is here! Where hundreds were then
disposed of, but tens are now sold. But we may
fairly anticipate that matters will soon mend; and
truly do the merchants here deserve a good time,
for, with but two exceptions, they have come for-
ward and voluntarily made returns to the Chamber
of Comme*ce of all the various piece goods con-
signed to them, and it was discovered from the
returns so sent in that the market was by no means
so overstocked as had been anticipated. Under
these circumstances, we may fairly anticipate a good
year for the importers of piece goods, which we
sincerely wish them, though we greatly fear that
the accounts which reach us by every mail, of enor-
mous shipments made from Liverpool, may tend to
keep the market in its present state. We cannot
look upon the action of home merchants in this in-
stance as otherwise than imminently suicidal. They
have a prospect of improvement in the Indian mar-
kets, and that prospect they are rapidly losing by
the way in which they are overstocking every mar-
ket in the East.

The Produce Market is not very active, but the
decline in freights has brought forward more buyers
for several articles. Stocks, too, are light, and
prices, therefore, are well maintained.
There has been very little done in Government
securities, and quotations are almost nominal.
Money continues in some demand, and is reported
to be tight in the bazaar. The Bank of Bengal
made no change this week.
Freights have declined materially since our last,
and a further decline is expected.