The Sun.
London, England, 1854-05-09 00:00:00

TnEATRE ROYAL DEITRY LANE.

Lessee, Mr. E. T. Smith.
THIS EVENING, MAT 9,
cal.ll be Performed DER FREI' CHIT fZ. Characters by Madame
"...'"orl, and Aidlle. -edlazek ; Herr Reichardt, and Herr Formes.
Followed by a BALLET DIVERTISSEMENT.
IPri. cell—Stalls, 7s; Dress Circle, 55.; Boxes, 3s. ; Pit, 2s. ; GallerY.
41 and Private lioxes, One, Two, Three and Four Guineas. The
fteepos open daily from Ten till Six, where places may be
€,,„Te4. Private Boxes and Stalls to be had of Messrs. Leader and
63, New Bond-street.

THE kTRE ROYAL HAYMARKET.
. Under tho management of Mx. nuckstone.
Will THIS EVENING. MAT 9,
be performed SPEED THE PLOUGH. Characters by
Messrs. Vandenhoft, Compton, Rogers. and Chippendale ; Miss E.
a
Miss Louisa Howard, and Mrs. Stanley.
Iditt.ter,„„witich, the entirely new anl original extravaganza, entNed
eEs.rriCKSTONE'S VOYAGE ROUND Tag GLOBE (IN LEl-
char ~ `A-SQUARE), written by J. H. Planche, Esq. Principal
117acters by . Buckstone, Mr. W. Farren, vir. Clark, Mr. J.
taTatherstoneal. Mr. MrMarshall ; Mrs. Fitzwilliam, Mrs. Caulfield, dies
e
p Miss Lydia hompson. Miss Laura Morris, and Miss
.
IVlowel •07 WILLTKIND AND HYS DINAH. Supported by
any ue
ktone and Corti ; Miss Louisa Howard, Mrs. Ittawu -
"'• drs Caulfield.

LOYAL PRICES 'S THEATRE, OXFORD-nTREET.
Under the Management of Mr. CHARLES KEAN.

Will THIS EVENING, MAT 9,
k'Kew Performed TiIE MARRIED UN'MARRIED. Characters
urray.c W• LaeY, Ryder, and Cathcart.; and Misses Heath and
Follow
Messn. FATTsr ANTD MARGUERITE. Characters by
eq +4oe. • Kean and David Fisher ; Mrs. Winstanley and Miss C.
Aer whi
Mes,ft r 8 eh, AWAY WITH MELANCHOLY. Characters ty
1:44. • Meadows, D. Fisher, and Saker ; and Misses Murray and

Pro% i THEATRE ROYAL ADELPHI
Oittor, Mr. B. Webster.—Directress. Madame Celeste.

THIS EVENING, MAI 9,
Me5,,,2',.° Performed TWO LOVES AgD A LIFE. Supported by
kith;
g. Murray, Benjamtn Vebster, Keetey, and O.
Polio,. " Waulgar ari4 Ma tame Celeste.
raciera -:„(1,by THE VIOUST AC II E \JOVE ENT. Principal elm-
M sum" 'tenrs O. Smith, Keeley, aud farselle; Mrs. Keeley,
mu Mary Keeley.
Xoprehich, THE OVERL %NO JOURIEY TO CONATANTI-
INTERF,' UNDERTAKEN BY LORD T WITH
--"N'a PARTICULARS OF THE FAIRE.6OPUIA..

ROYAL OLYMPIC THEkTRE.
Lessee and Manager, Mr. A. Wigan.
Diu be THIS EVENING, Mss 9.
ratter b Performed TETE HXYPIEST DAY OF MY LIFE. Cha-
kra Messrs. F. Robson, J.
11 White, Leslie, and Vincent;
“..terley, Kiss P. Hortonand Miss Marston.
kelerbe followed by- TO OBLIGE BENSON. Supported by Messrs.
Th ,ol'it°bBol2. and Leslie; Mrs. Stirling and Miss Wyndham.
Jerci s•
F Robson
-clule with the Farce of THE WANDERING MINSTREL.
agg
• . .

Bole Le. STRAND THEATRE.
-8"
Mr. P. W. Allcroft.—Directreas, Miss Rebecca Isaacs.
Will be THIS EVENING, 'Max 9,
The Performed WELL GWYNNE.
After 4"11 KAFIRS, as they appeared at St. George's Gallery.
Nip wlllell. SUM NIE a FLO MERS, in which the French Ballet
Ttite
-"aPPear.
stall%l lis.REF, TURKISH RAZOR GRINDERS.
eds.; Gallery, Private Boxes,
to be had of Mr. Alleroft, 15, New Bond-street.

As
a EUROPE'S NATIONAL AMPHITHEATRE.
',Mee and Manager, Mr. William Cooke.
WWI,. THIS EVENING, MAY 9,
facie -.presented the new grand Nautical and Equestrian spec-
,
ne4,ll)°,l9lng n ivel and extraordinary elects wriiten by Mr.
tie 1s), entitled A. TAL PI OF THE SPA. IS EI WAR ; or,
cooke".11 of the Wreck. Th. horses expressly trained by Mr. W.

Po 1101",
by an entire change of the Scenes of the CIRCLE, intro-
fi MlBB Emily Cooke.
Tbag. Blanche, the celebrated Continental Artiste, on the
ROFE.
AtTl4oEnclade with a Grand Ballet, entitled THE STAR OF THE
Stet."
^eat, ''ee Open from Eleven till Four. Stage Manager, Mr. W.

4, HIGH
T I), WATER AT LONDON BRIDGE.
r 0.14 --Morning 37 min.aftor 11 I Evening 0 min.aft. 0
ROW----Morning 2 min.after 12' Evening 23 inin.aft. 12

THE WEATHER.--S ms oYruns, MAY 9.
THERMOMETER, IN THE SHADE
6,j—highest since noon yesterday.
-lowest this morning and during the night
55 _this day at noon.
BAROMETER, 29'77—a sudden rise.
WIN
half D, variable, having gone round from N. to S. within
an hour. There was heavy rain last night—hail and
{ham
tain yesterday afternoon—and some lightning and
littder to-day—weather unsettled—passing showers.

,

LONDON, TUESDAY, MAY 9, 1854.

It may perhaps be just as well to bear in mind
4t this moment the proportion in which the people
cif England are taxed when compared with that in
which similar burthens weigh upon the inhabitants
Of other countries of Christendom.
consideration of this kind may be just as
dell, we mean, all things considered, now that a
Pieties of extraordinary war taxes are about to be
(41lee more levied upon our population. Mr.
,enders
Financial Statewent of last evening
eilders somewhat advisable, we conceive, this
directt allusion to the relative financial position of
° different Powers, so far at least as that posi-
till" can be indicated by the distribution of the
ati°flal debts, for each individual in the
iartive populations. For the proposition now
before Parliament by the Chancellor
of t
he Exchequer is no longer restricted to the
y iere doubling of the Income Tax for one half-
r4or."--it has been elaborated into a succession of
it it,•l3°Elala in every respect much more remarkable.
ovt°lves the necessity of raising, not 3,250,000/.
r and above the ordinary amount of the national
revenue in six months—by a simultaneous increase
and
e4terision of this obnoxious tax upon Incomes
~but. of providing, by means of this tax, an ad-
ditto r% to that amount every successive half-year,
"g as the war continues—or, in other words,
an addition to the Revenue by Income Tax every
*Zit
b
tof from 6,000,0001. to 7,000,0001. Beyond
thenewßudaet not the soft-spoken Budget
°f the 6th
eh
, of March, or the moderate one of the
te
ta °I April, but the daring and almost despe-
tio of the Bth of May—requires the imposi-
the" of no less than three supplementary war-bur-
th eells of a rather notable character. The first of
salan increase of the spirit duty by is. per
°ll in Scotland, and by Bd. in Ireland—yield-
-4450,0001. additional. The second, a re-
t4Btrnent of the sugar duties—bringing in
b'uoo/. additional. The third, an increase of
4116,1314 h tax from 2s 9d., or rather from 2s. &id.
tum. a small fraction, to 4s. per bushel—giving a
111, of not less than 2,450,0001. additional.
together, an increase of the annual taxation to
r!ite tune of about 10,000,0001. ! When Mr.
Commons
has gone down to the House of
on the Bth of May, with this bold and
coreprehensive proposition—having but ill pre-
Pared the country for his new scheme, by his
financial statement of the 6th of March, and his
supplementary Budget of the 11th of April—it
does appear to us reasonable that, for a few moments
13. t least, the attention of the country should be
directed to the proportion in which, throughout
the different countries of Christendom, the na-
tional debt of each is distributed among the vari-
'3llB Populations.
Referring to an impartial authority, an ingeni-
(3 financial work by BouEvnt; we find that
this distribution among individuals relatively
41 the chief countries of the earth, is some-
*hat remarkable. BODEMER calculates, of course,
./3' German dollars, but the proportions are
startling when viewed according to
+Or system of calculation. The highest and
lowest named in this extraordinary
taZuillar statement are Holland and Nor-
a pressure
n-Vr Norway, where it is as
-,,°111Y 3 dollars, and Holland, where it is actin-,
V as an incubus of 220 dollars per individuad
1.-ttese Powers, however, being exceptionallyplace ,
1;1'6 turn for information to the proportion revealed
by those countries which are arranged intermedi-
ately. And, curiously enough, we find England
At the very top, and Russia at the very bottom,
the list—Russia the least heavily, and
'gland the most heavily burthened, in
13r°P3rtion to the aggregate amount of the 1)0-
Aulationl We find the National Debt of Russia
-Weigbing as by nearly 8 dollars, and the National
ebt of England weighing as by no less than
vi-1-87 dollars per individual. Ascending the scale,
re find the 8 dollars as in regard to Russia, in-
t,eased to 10 dollars in Prussia, to 13 dollars (on
average) in the United States of North
4111erioa, to 14 dollars in Naples, to 19 in Aus-
tria, to 28 in Sardinia, to 33 in Portugal, to 38
44 Belgium, to 40 in Denmark, to the same
44120 Wit

per individual. But the very highest of these
(Spain) is more than trebled, while the two
next highest (France and Denmark) are nearly
quadrupled by England, where, as we have seen,
the pressure of the National Debt is as that, not
of 54 dollars or of 40 dollars, but of as many as
187 dollars, on each individual of the popu-
lation. Allowance must, of course, be made
for the relative commercial prosperity and
general productiveness of the different States
particularised. But even then the contrast pre-
sented must be allowed to be sufficiently startling
and extraordinary. Remembering all which, the
country will do well to weigh maturely in its
consideration the scheme proposed by its noto-
riously ex perimentalising Chancellor of the Ex-
chequer—now that his demand for war expenses
has expanded, within an interval of four weeks,
from littli3 more than 3,000,0001. to be raised
in half a year, to an annual addition of
10,000,0010/.!
England will not grudge the expenses of the
war, however burdensome those expenses may
be. The people of England are satisfied
that the conflict upon which they have
entered against Russia is a struggle in behalf of
those pure and holy principles eulogised on the
3d instant at Paris, in a memorable speech by
the Polish Prince CZARTORYSKI. In behalf of
those lofty and glorious principles, they are pre-
pared to .attest their patriotic devotedness by
almost any sacrifices. There is no question what-
ever as to the reality of this loyal and unani-
mous enthusiasm of the people of England,
in behalf of the great interests at stake
in this war against Barbarism and Auto-
cracy. Bta t with all their ardour in the mighty
and momentous cause at issue, we do not for an
instant believe that the people of the United
Kingdom are prepared to place their delicate and
complicated system of finance unconditionally at
the disposal of any rash and bungling expe-
rimentalist.

Mr. GLADSTONE has succeeded in achieving that
which we ha.d believed to be an absolute impos-
sibility. H e has made even Sir CHARLES WOOD
appear in a favourable light. He has proved
that there might be a worse Minister of Finance
than the Right Hon. Baronet the President of
the India Board. It is needless to recapitulate
his various proceedings, or the positive mischief
which he inflicted on the country before he suc-
ceeded in accomplishing this extraordinary result.
The different stages of his progress in the
downward journey are but too painfully
impressed .on the popular mind to need
repetition. Up to yesterday some doubt might
have existe d. on the subject. The Right Hon.
Gentleman 'had not so irretrievably fallen in
general estimation but that a locus penitentice re-
mained. Be would, no doubt, have found it a
painful and. arduous task to have attempted to
regain the :position from which he had fallen ;
but a vigorous and straightforward line of policy
might have cilone much. Had he set himself fairly
and honestly to meet the increased expenditure of
the country iwith the least possible increase to its
obligations ; had he, to the utmost of his power,
endeavoured to alleviate the burdens—to occasion
the least pos Bible disturbance to the trade and
commerce of the nation, and to develope to the
greatest extem t practicable its industrial capabilities,
his past erro rs might have been overlooked, and
he himself e3:alted to a position higher than his
most sanguine day-dreams could have visioned
forth. But,, unfortunately, he has not done any
of these things. On the contrary, he has used
his powers fo r the most mischievous purposes, and
by his speecib. of last night, able and brilliant as
it was in poi nit of language and rhetorical arrange-
ment, irrevocably classed himself with the hope-
lessly incorrigible. Indeed, henceforth, in place of
appealing to Mr. GLADSTONE, fiscal, financial, and
monetary re formers must appeal from him to
those from whom he holds his power—the People
—and call ion them to exert their irresistible
power to hurl him ignominiously from a position
for which he has proved himself to be wholly un-
fitted. He has ostentatiously assumed the entire
responsibility- of his measures. He allows no
rival near the Throne—will not allow even his
colleagues to participate in the very doubtful
honours, or rather, we should say, the certain
disgrace, of -the paternity of his financial abor-
tions. Witch the arrogance which he has so
frequently a sad so unblushingly displayed, he
gloried in 1 Lis shame, while repeating the rather
hackneyed v e.rse—
" Me, me, a ssum qui feci ; in me convertite ferrum."
Many persoi is, however, would, doubtless, have
considered thl,o quotation more appropriate had he
completed th 0 sentence by adding—
"' 0 Rutuli, mea frans omnis,"

for that ther o has been, if not fraud and decep.
tion, something very nearly approaching thereto,
it is impossible to deny. We do not wish to
charge the FLuancial Minister with treason to his
Sovereign aea to his country, with wilful
and deliberant) treachery ; but this we will say,
that if he had drawn his inspiration direct
from St. Petorsburg, if his coffers had been filled
with the rich est produce of the Ural Mountains,
he could not have adopted a course more favour-
able to the AUTOCRAT, more calculated to dis-
courage and disgust the English people, and in-
duce them to assent to the doctrine of " Peace at
any price," the avowal whereof, by the effete
Septuagenaria..n nominally at the head of the Go-
vernment has. involved the nation in the arduous
and formidable contest in which it is now
I engaged.
Mr. GLADS TONE has put forward one point, and
one only, inw hich he will receive the cordial concur-
rence of the community. He has emphatically repu-
diated the ridiculous fallacy that, because we are at
war, we should submit to allthe crotchets or the un-
wise and impolitic schemes of the Administration
by whom that war has been occasioned, and many
of whom—for we will not include Lord JOHN
RUSSELL or Lord PALMERSTON, or others of their
colleagues in the censure—persist with perverse
and obstinate determination in their ruinous
policy. The Right Honourable Gentleman says,
" There are, indeed, those who say that a
period of wax is not a time when a question
of confidence should be entertained. Sir, to that
I reply, even as regards an Administration, still
more as regards a Minister, and, most of all, a
Minister of Finance, that a period of war is the
very last when that important trust should be
committed to hands that have been discredited in
the view of the House and the country I" And
again, when he had been for a considerable time
on his legs, and had thoroughly warmed on
his subject -- " Now, don't let it be said
that this is a time of war, and that
therefore the question of confidence should not
be raised. It being a time of war is the very
reason why you should make up your minds whe-
ther financial matters have been mismanaged or
not 1" We entirely agree with these opinions,
and shall not hesitate, therefore, in calling upon
the different oonstituencies and their representa-
tives in Parliament to accept the arrogant chal-
lenge, the unequivocal defiance that has been flung
forth. That argument has at least been taken
away by the Right Hon. Gentleman himself, and
is no longer tenable either to friend or foe as a
apaltth yiso r
time
inactivity
that weto theheeoutlhder.
means of defence for the one or an excuse for
briefly notice the
nature of the propositions
which have called forth
this decided condemnation.
less objectionable for its
acts of omission than of
commission—for what it leaves undone than what
it does, or rather for what it tt a empts to do. There
is nothing whatsoever to rest
ore the shatteredfinance
of the country, to arrest the
leaving our shores, or to offer an ffi • e cient substi-
tute in its place. There is to be no modification
of the iniquitous Bank Charter Act, nothinc, to
mitigate its atrocious enactments, or to give a
free trade in money or in banking. And while
the monetary laws are still retained, we are called
on to bear the entire expenses of the war. Nay,
more, to do so after having squandered
our resources by paying off more than eight
millions sterling of the national debt, as the
price of Mr. GLA.DSTON2S conversion abor-
tion. He does not even propose that the equi-
valents which he offered to the holders of South