The Sun.
London, England, 1853-05-18 00:00:00

LONDON, WEDNESDAY, MAY 18, 1853.

It will be observed that remarkable festivities
are' now taking place at Vienna. Occurrences of
sornewhat that character we ourselves not long
ago ventured to prognosticate. It was intimated
by us, at least, that there would be witnessed in
the capital of Austria, during May, a gathering
together of the European Sovereigns. The assem-
blage has already commenced. His Majesty the
KING of the BELGIANS, accompanied by the Duke
-of BRABANT, has during -ate last few clays been
enjoying the hospitalities of the EMPEROR : and
several other of the crowned heads of the Conti-
nent are shortly expected to be entertained by the
KA-CSER with unusual splendour. at Schanbrunn.
Sutaptuous as have been many of the Imperial
entertainments recently given by FRANCIS JOSEPH
otiv ors still more magnific tent are said to be in
preparation. Doubtless, m ider all these pompous
certmonials there is an important political mean-
ing, the nature of which it were, of course, difficult
to eionjecture with any degree of preciseness. The
time has happily gone by-, however, when the
meeting of the Monarchs of Christendom could be
observed only with the most anxious solicitude.
As a body they have passed 'through such terrible
experiences since 1848, that they cannot be sup-
pound capable of very speed.i ly tempting by their
acs another outbreak of Revolution. Nothing
ca n be gained by them froin. a disturbance of the
existing tranquillity. Everyri thing, on the contrary,
Duld on the commencemen t of war become at once
mast critically jeopardised. That they recognise
the certainty of this, we cc eiceive, must be suffi-
ciently evident from the manner in which they
hrt-ve all of them come at It ength to carry on their
diplomatic negotiations. Scarcely one of them
but has within the last few- years given token of
a 'surprising readiness to coi a cede, rather than push
matters to an extremity r. They have acted
thus indiscriminately fro m the haughty and
hi'rtherto inflexible AUTOCI LAT of all the Russias
d own to the ruler of the pettiest of the German
Piincipalities. Whatever the question submitted to
tlae deliberations of their pie? aipotentiaries, its most
rugged difficulties have be Am gradually smoothed
aev ay, and the most entant ;led correspondence has
be en brought in the end to an amicable and satis-
factory arrangement. If in nothing else, the
peoples of Europe have in this, at any rate, done
good by the last terrible lee son given by them to
their respective Sovereign: s. They have driwn
them at last to the recogni Eon of the folly, if not
of the cruelty, of those con itentions about every

oonceivable matter under t ►e sun—contentions in

-which invariably the mil ttitude, and not the
crowned heads, were the principal sufferers.
henceforth we may with. reason continue more
sanguine as to the maintenumce of peace—under
the sheltering self-interest 'al the Sovereigns, under
tate watchful scrutiny of their subjects, and, of
course, beyond all, under the beneficent care of
DIVINE PROVIDENCE.

Under eiistino. drtcumst antes, therefore, it can
be remarked without much,f anxiety—without the
anxiety which
e witable—that the Coil: rmerly have been in-
Countess of
rd
tand
CHAMBORD are shortly e,,
izpaz petted, according to
one of the Viennese jour arrive in the
Austrian capital in the n n'dst of this gathering
Latterly
together of the European Sovereigns.
without
we) have become accusto)rLe i to witness,
a ny ill consequences wha. fil ,ever, the bestowal of
li ospitality upon dethroned Princes by the still
p rosperous Monarchs of Clitistendom. We con
the
most see, for example, the exchange of tle-
most amiable courtesies between the Royal
Family of England and t e exiled members of
the ORLEANS dynasty without the interruption,
for a single instant, of the friendly relations
be t,ween our own Court; and the Imperial
Curt of the Tuileries. It has become, in
Cc
act, an incident entirely divested of political

significanec_that anticipated incident of the ar-
rival of the Count of CHAMBORD, at this particular
moment, in the metropolis of the Austrian EM-
PEROR', dominions. Formerly the occurrence would
inevitably have suggested a thousand formidable
possibilities, a thousand threatening contingencies
to the gobemouches, or political scandalmongers.
It would have insinuated that a congress was being
assembled at Vienna, under cover of these festive
ceremonials, for the purpose of setting on
foot another of those atrocious enterprises
for the forcing back upon the unwilling
acceptance of the French people of the last repre-
sentative of the elder branch of the royal House
of the Bourbons. It would have augured that
HENRY V., so called, would be carried back by
foreign bayonets to the throne of CAPE; over a
million of the dead bodies of his fellow-country-
men, as was the case with his Uncle Louis
XVIII. It would have been maintained that
before long NAPOLEON 111. would have to fight for
the last, as NAPOLEON the Great fought for the
first Revolution. All these predictions would
have been heard bruited about at this time as
similar prophecies used to be during the previous
generation, but that such a really marvellous
change, relatively speaking, has been effected in
the position of the peoples and the Sovereigns.
Instead of anticipating the worst possible results
from the Imperial hospitality being displayed at
this period by FRANCIS JOSEPH to the diademed
guests now assembling in his capital—we are only
looking with a vague interest, little raised above
the level of indifference, to the Court pageantries
now dazzling the eyes of the Viennese. Among
other rumours of a similar nature coining to us
recently from that quarter, there is one to the
effect that certain matrimonial prospects for his
son, the young Duke of BRABANT, have, in reality,
originated this visit on the part of Sing LEOPOLD.
It is described, for instance, as not improbable that
the Duke of BRABANT may, in consequence of this
excursion be united in marriage to a youthful
member of the Imperial House of Austria—a
beautiful princess, bearing, it is said, a singular
resemblance to the celebrated MARIA THERESA—
the Archduchess MARIA HENRIETTA ANNE, born
in 1836, daughter of the late Archduke Joszpn,
Palatine of Hungary. Personal arrangements of
this kind we belieVe to be the immediate object of
this gathering together of the monarchs of Chris-
tendom. Nevertheless, while such is unquestion-
ably our conviction, we entertain but little doubt
that, having assembled, they will avail themselves of
the opportunity thereby afforded, by entering into
more cordial engagements of mutual amity and
forbearance. Were they to abstain altogether
from so doing, we should regard them as unwise,
if not, indeed, absolutely culpable. Such, how-
ever, we doubt not will really be among the most
important of their present proceedings.
Meanwhile, it is not uninteresting to cast a
more discursive glance over the position of the
potentates not merely of Europe, but generally of
both hemispheres. While our own beloved
SOVEREIGN is enjoying the continuance of com-
plete domestic felicity ; while the QUEEN of
SPAIN is agitated by recent contentions with
in the walls of Congress; and even within
the Council Chambems of Administration ; while
the QUEEN of PORTUGAL cannot but be looking
with anxiety to the uncertain continuance of health
and life to SALDANIIA ; while the POPE is setting
out from Rome to pass the early summer at Porto
d'Anzio ; and while the EMPEROR of the FRENCH
IS preparing not only for another tour through the
provinces, but for his stately and gorgeous coro-
nation—SANTA ANNA is resuming the reins of
supreme authority over the Mexican Common-
wealth ; FRANKLIN PIERCE is settling himself
down to the government of the United States in
the capacity of their newly-elected President ; and
from the remotest extremities .of Asia, at the
critical moment when invasion threatens the
Japanese, the EMPEROR of CHINA, with his armies
routed by insurgents and his sceptre all but torn
from his grasp, is heard calling for aid upon the
troops of the Barbarian English. " Wonders
will never cease," according to a popular expres-
sion : and among not the least wonderful of those
never-ending wonders must now be numbered, we
conceive, the diversified situation of the various
rulers both of Heathendom and Christendom.

The Chancellor of the Exchequer is a skilful
debater. He is peculiarly felicitous in seizing on
the weak points of his adversary's case, and
placing his own in the most favourable point of
view. Like an acute and able nisi prim practi-
tioner, he leaves no argument untouched appli-
cable to the question under discussion for the
time being. But, unfortunately, there is in one
respect a great distinction between the proceed-
ings and practice of Westminster Hall and West-
minster Palace. The Learned Gentleman who,
by an elaborate argument, has established the
proposition for which he is at the moment con-
tending, has no fear of being taxed with incon-
sistency when the following day or hour he puts
forward totally conflicting views, .and with equal
energy and efficiency claims a totally different
decision from that which he sought for a
short time previously. But it is different
with a Member of Parliament, more particularly
with a Cabinet Minister, whose arguments are
carefully recorded in the pages of HANSARD, and
may at any moment be brought to bear against
himself with tremendous power. He must endea-
vour to assume at least an appearance of consis-
tency—must resist the temptation of asserting a
principle which, however conclusive as to the sub-
ject under discussion, may another time be used
as a formidable weapon by his epponents.
Mr. GLADSTONE has already experienced the
annoyance of being confuted out of his own
mouth, of being defeated by the arguments which
he had himself supplied. He has already felt
and acknowledged the inconvenience. In at-
tempting to show that there was already a dis-
tinction between schedules A and D, he clearly and
distinctly proved that, in consequence of the landed
proprietors being charged on their gross receipts in
place of on their net incomes, of no allowances being
made for the necessary outgoings for repairs, in-
surances, bad debts, management, &c., they were
practically charged 9d. in place of 7d. in the
pound, or nearly 23 per cent. more than the con-
tributors under other schedules. This was all
very well while he was holding a brief in favour
of land versus industry ; when desirous of showing
that the tax did not bear quite so hardly as had
been represented on industry and skill as com-
pared with property. The argument was to some
extent legitimate, or at least plausible. It might
easily have been refuted so far as contributors
under Schedule D were concerned, by showing
that there were heavy professional and trading
ekpenses, for which no allowances were made, and
which, on the average, amounted to far more than
the outlay on landed or household property, and,
even if it constituted a sufficient allowance for the
difference of value between precarious and fluctu-
ating and certain and permanent income (a point
which we ' most emphatically and ,unequivocally
deny, and which even Mr. GLADSTONE himself
does not venture to assert), was made in the most
objectionable form, pressing very unequally and
unfairly on the landed proprietors themselves,
and falling most severely on those least capable of
sustaining the burden.
This was shown by the Right Hon. Gentleman
himself, who estimated the outgoings at from 15
to 16 per cent. on landed or household property.
He, however, estimated the amount payable to
mortgagees, and other encumbrancers, at-25 per
cent. on the gross rental, for which no allowance
'beyond the 7d. in the pound could be claimed.
The owner then had not only to pay 15 or 16 per
cent. beyond the rates payable on the sums appli-
cable to his own use, but a similar amount on the
interest due to the several persons having charges
on his property. So that the more embarrassed
he was, the more onerous and intolerable the
charges became, until it might possibly occur that
he would have to pay more to the collector
than he would have remaining for his
voicinguse. It must, also, be rather pro-
own
rent duetobya l 4
an a
wards required. to
nadblsocroduciwnghotehnaasntl,ostte tbhee eafntteirre-
the rent as if he IPlaady atchteualtlayxrencetivheed aort owuinthtouotf
delay or drawback. The consideration with which

Lord CAMPBELL consoled. himself as an Irish pro-
prietor, that it is only on income he is to be
taxed, is, it appears, inapplicable, inasmuch as he
will have to pay some 90/. per annum for the
barren honour of being the owner ,of a nominal
,rent-roll of 3,000/, per annum, not one shilling
of which could possibly be enforced from the
poverty-stricken occupants.
As against Fundholders, Mortgagees, and An-
nuitants—the especial favourites and protegees of
Mr. GLADSTONe—the argument was irresistible ;
and, as the Right Honourable Gentleman himself
declared, he had to expiate it by " a long debate,
ending with a division." He could not, indeed,
suppose that his opponents could omit noticing
so palpable a blot. Unwarned, however, by his
mistake, and its inevitable consequences, he has
again fallen into a similar error. In the contem-
plated extension of the Legacy Duties he has devised
a machinery by which all the inequalities of the
Income Tax may be removed, and the charge
equitably and fairly assessed on every person ac-
cording to the actual value of his receipts. Not
only will every reasonable allowance be made, the
outgoings deducted, and net income only charged
on—but the tax will be levied not according to
the actual receipts, but to the capitalised value.
Limited estates will be recognised, and life-inte-
rests charged according to the age of the recipient.
How completely and unanswerably does this dis-
pose of the arguments as to the impossibility of
making even an approximation to an equitable
assessment. Nothing is required to refute, the
arguments of Mr. GLADSTONE on the Income Tax
but the arguments of the same Mr. GLADSTONE
on the proposed extension of the Legacy Duties.
Nothing to prove the perfect feasibility of a judi-
cious and equitable arrangement of the Income
Tax but tkat which the Right Hon. Gentleman
has in the second of his fiscal propositions shown
to be of easy accomplishment, presenting no very
great certainty, no insuperable difficulty. He
must, therefore, prepare himself to show cause
on Friday evening lyhy the principle he has so
recently enunciated should not be extended in its
operation, to be again told that " there is nothing
in life, especially in public life, more important
than to have a principle to guide him."