The Sun.
London, England, 1853-06-22 00:00:00

at once--inevitably—everything else to the con-
trary, nevertheless, notwithstanding ! Yet the
Russian Cabinet has, in the face of all this, the
unparalleled effrontery to talk of the Eastern dif-
ficulty as a gordian knot which it has sought to
" loosen pacifically," and in doing which it has
only displayed the most genial spirit of—what ?
—conciliation ! Having proclaimed this much in
a tone expressive of a profound sense of injury
and of suppressed indignation, the document re-
ferred to intimates in so many words that the
gordian knot of the Turkish Question must at
length be severed.

Therefore, in all human probability, the Pruth
has by this time' been crossed. Directly the Cos-
sacks shall have passed that river, the Russian
EMPEROR will have virtually declared open war
against Turkey, and consequently also against
the allies of Turkey—the two most formidable
among the European Governments. Either the
foes of Northern Absolutism must act then
vigorously, promptly, energetically, or not at all.
,The day has gone by for temporising : it will be
de hour of abject submission, or of bold and
chivalrous retaliation. The commencement of
that retaliation rests, under existing circumstances,
not with France or with England, but with
the Sublime Porte—with the Supreme Coun-
cils at • Constantinople. Let the Sultan ABD-
UL-MEDJID, declare war against Russia imme-
diately intelligence reaches the Divan of the
Cossacks having crossed the Pruth, and the
victory will be his in the end inevitably, because
England and France are pledged to support him
against the aggressions of his powerful and am-
bitious neighbour. England and France are
pledged to this support—not simply by their
diplomacy, but by their maritime, and, if
required, we doubt not also, by their military
armaments. Once committed- to the struggle—
the allied races would allow but brief time to
elapse before the Russian eagle would be scared
from the waters of the Black Sea, the union-jack,
the tricolor, and the banner of the crescent float-
ing triumphantly in the Bosphorus and the Dar-
danelles.

The proceedings in committee on the Succession
Duty Bill were on Monday evening diversified by
a Ministerial defeat. The " lando3racy," who
exhibited such shameful apathy on the Income
Tax, mustered strongly when their own interests
were concerned, and succeeded in carrying an
amendment, moved by Sir JOHN TROLLOPE, in
respect to growing timber, by a slender majority
of three The division is, however, by no means
conclusive. It yet remains to be ascertained
whether the objection went to the extent of any
duty being levied on standing timber, or merely
as to the mode in which that duty was to
have been assessed. One Hon. Gentleman (Mr.
AGLIONBY) who voted with the majority, declared
that "he was in favour of a tax on timber, but
not in favour of the tax as proposed by Govern-
ment." One other person of a similar opinion,
would have converted the triumph into a defeat,
and it is more than probable that, if a division
had been taken on the proviso with which the
Right Hon. Baronet followed up his partial suc-
cess, and which, if carried, would entirely exempt
growing or standing timber from the valuation
to be made for the purpose of assessment
under the Act, the Government would have
retrieved their position, and remained masters of
the field. This opinion is strengthened by the
division which subsequently took place on the ques-
tion that " the Chairman should report progress,"
which was rejected by a majority of 38 in favour
of the Government, which resisted the adjourn-
ment of the discussion, but eventually yielded in
consideration of the hour of the night, or rather
morning, to which it had been protracted. We
may, therefore, expect that a severe contest will
take place on any proposition that may be
brought forward, on either side, at the next
meeting in Committee.
Now, as to the abstract justice of the sug-
gestion for the exemption •of every descrip-
tion of timber from the impost, we confess that
we can see no grounds whatsoever why it should
he placed on a different footing from any other
species of property, if the successor should have
power to cut and dispose of it as he thought
proper. It would have an immediate tangible
value which could at any time be realised, and the
longer the realisation was postponed the greater
would be the value of the property. We would
remind those who are in favour of its ex-
emption, that it is not productive property
only that is liable to the demands of the tax
collector. Any thing on which a money value
can bs pissed is subject to the charge, and
no adequate reason could be assigned that it
should be placed in a different category. But,
were it even otherwise, growing timber could not
be considered as non-productive property, for—.to
say nothing of the annual thinnings, which fre-
quently produce considerable sums—there is a
constant increase, which might easily be estimated.
Although it may not be available every gala day,
it will certainly come at more distant intervals,
for as old DumninnYicvs said to the young laird
—".A tree will be always grawing, Jock, while
yer sleeping." When, then, the successor is " not
impeachable of waste there can be no possible ground
for excusing him from the contribution which, in
justice and equity, he cught to pay to the national
Exchequer.

Another and a far more difficult question arises,
where the party coming into possession has no
power whatsoever over the timber, when, in com-
mon parlance, he is " not at liberty to cut a single
stick," except those which may be necessary for the
preservation and improvement of the remainder.
Here it would be obviously unjust to compel him
to pay for that which was not his own to deal with
as he thought proper, of which, in fact, he had
not the beneficial occupation ; while it would be
equally unjust to the community to permit such
property to avoid any responsibility, and to escape
the requisite payment to the State. There is
much difficulty, then, in offering a satisfactory
solution to the problem. The following plan,
however, appears to be tolerably fair to all
parties concerned, much more so than many that
have already received the Legislative sanction.
We would suggest, then, that growing timber
should be valued on every succession, and that,
in the event of its being shown that the party
coming into possession has no right to dispose
thereof, the value of the annual cuttings
should be estimated, which might be regarded as
an annuity on which he should properly and fairly
be required to pay, and that the balance of the
valuation should be regarded as a deferred charge
on the inheritance, which the first person having
power to cut and dispose of the timber should be
required to liquidate, just as a person coming into
possession of property that has been in Chan-
cery is bound to satisfy the several Legacy Du-
ties that would have been taken out of the
corpus of the fund, if the party through whom
he derived his title had come into actual posses-
sion. There are certainly objections that may be
urged to this project, but it appears to be a
nearer approximation to justice than any that has
yet been suggested. It would remove the tempta•
tion to evade the tax by tying up a property in
strict settlement, a course at all times objection-
able, and opposed to the best interests of the com-
munity, but doubly so when resorted to for the
purpose of escaping a liability created by the
fiscal laws of the country.

The exemption of timber, then, in any
case, or under any circumstances, should be
steadily resisted by every person desirous
of seeing the " principle" of Mr. GLADSTONE'S
measure carried out in its integrity by the equal
taxation of every description of property, real or
personal, settled or unsettled. The favouritism
exhibited towards the owners of real estate is
already sufficiently striking, without increasing
the contrast. It has been admitted by Mr. GLAD-
STONE himself, that land may escape on payment
of 205., where personal property of equal value
would have to pay 201., with perhaps 81. or 91.
more under the Probate Duties, and that the 20s.
might be liquidated by annual instalments spread
over four years, the first not being payable for 12
nelitodntohf the
s,w ysouhile the 8/. or 91. forProbateDut h ld
ho immediately Fad, and the remaining 201. at the
year, When 2s. 6d. would be required