The Sun.
London, England, 1853-03-28 00:00:00

TO THE EDITOR OF THE SUN.

Liverpool, 26th March, 1853.
SlR,—The mercantile world is much indebted to you
for the able and persevering advocacy in The Sun in
favour of exempting the commercial community from
the continued enforcement of the present objectionable
clauses of the Income Tax. But the strong and insur-
mountable objection which mercantile men have to this
Income Tax is not to its amount, but to the very prin-
ciple of the tax itself. It is the exposure of a man's
circumstances which constitutes its odious principle,
and from this cruel and hateful principle you cannot
divest the tax. The Commissioners must have power to
investigate the truth of a man's return of his income ;
and consider the odiousness of this power. Men of
landed property have no objection to their circumstances
being known, because their source of income being from
rents, requires no concealment—it is known to all their
tenants as well as to himself, and therefore he has no
repugnance to returning the amount of his income. An ex-
amination before the Commissioners would not injure him,
but to a merchant the case would be essentially different.
You know that a merchant's business depends merely
upon his credit--destroy his credit and you ruin his
business. What consigner abroad would consign a cargo
of produce to any merchant here who was reputed to be
in difficulties, or who was supposed to have lost so much
as to have rendered his stability precarious ? No one
would consign to him, or execute his order abroad ;
and ruin would probably ensue. But, admit that no
such exposure or suspicion had taken place, he might
have continued his business as usual, and probably have
recovered his previous respectable standing amongst his
fellow-merchants. But you may say, the Commissioners
are bound to secrecy. This is a very slender security; they
have mercantile friends to whom they may give a hint, al-
though they may not plainly reveal the whole truth. They
may have a banker—a friend whom they think it right to
guard against the danger of loss by some indirect mode
of communication ; and they have clerks, who may not
think themselves bound to preserve silence. Indeed,
sometimes Income-tax bills are left at offices un-
sealed. But it is not only the probability of ex-
posure, and the ruinous consequence attending
such exposure, but it is the degradation of a mer-
chant or any respectable mercantile man being com-
pelled to appear before these Income-tax Judges, like
criminals before a Spanish Inquisition, and to be tortured
with prying questions as to his affairs, which he would
not communicate to his most intimate friend. It is an
odious, degrading situation, to which no Englishman
ought to be compelled to submit. It is not the
amount of the sum which he has to pay, pro-
vided. he were justly assessed ; but it is the hateful
degradation be feels in being compelled to appear
like a criminal before men of his own standard perhaps,
and to answer all the prying questions which they must
put to him, in order to extract the real state of his
affairs. Can any man so situated avoid feeling a most
exasperated hatred against the power which so tyranni-
cally forces him to reveal his most private affairs. Men
out of business cannot enter into the feelings of men in
business, who are thus compelled to appear before this
odious tribunal. You may recollect that two or three
years ago, there was a great decline in cotton—the prin-
cipal article of our import. The value of our cotton im-
ports in 1851 was about 15 millions sterling; the price fell
during the year about 50 per cent. Consider the immense
loss to those who owned this immense value. What would
have been the consequence had even one interested in this
article and participating in the loss, been brought before the
Commissioners, and been cross-questioned by them as to
the altered situation of their affairs ? Some few failures
did take place, but the probability is, that the majority
paid their assessments rather than be called before the
Commissioners, although, most probably, they had lost
large amounts instead of having gained any income.
This shows that the tax is cruel and unjust—unjust
where men, through fear of discredit, pay a tax on in-
come where they had received none, or cruel when
they are compelled to appear before Commissioners,
and to expose their private affairs, which they would wish
to conceal from their nearest friend. But you may
think it is unfair to exempt mercantile men
whilst other classes coming under schedule D have rea-
son to complain of hardship in their own case. Well,
no doubt, it is to them also a cruel tax, for even then
it requires an exposure of circumstances which all men
detest. It is abhorrent to an Englishman—perfectly
hateful.
What, then, can be done ? Why, abolish schedule D
—this is the only remedy. But do not suppose that the
mercantile and professional classes would thus totally
escape the Income Tax. Look at the immense property
held by all these classes, and which would still be subject
to the Income Tax. Look at the houses, buildings, and land
held by mercantile and professional men in London, Man-
chester, Liverpool, Glasgow, and all the large towns. Be-
sides this funded property, it is impossible to calculate
how many millions of money would still be subject to the
Income Tax, even allowing schedule D to be repealed.
It would be a useful problem in statistics to ascertain
how much the classes now under D would pay under all
the other letters—so much, probably, as might reconcile
Government to bestow this mighty boon upon mercan-
tile and professional men. What a glow of enthusiastic
attachment to the Government would prevail through
the nation—how ardently would the loyalty to the
Queen be increased !
Devise any other mode of taxation you please, pro-
vide it do not cause an exposure of their private circum-
stances, and I verily believe the commercial community
would submit to it without a murmur.
You, Mr. Editor, cannot effect this desideratum, but
you do not know the influence which ably argued arti-
cles in The Sun may produce even on the Government
itself.

ANGLICUS.

REDUCTION OF POSTAGE ON LETTERS TO BRAZIL.—
The following notice has been Issued by the General Post-
con
office. Marc d
with h, 1853.—A postal agreement having been
clude the Government of Brazil, on and from
the Ist of April next, the British rate of postage upon
letters conveyed by packet to or from Brazil will be re-
duced to—ls, for a letter not exceeding ioz, in weight ;
2s. for a letter exceeding ioz. and not exceeding loz. ;
4s. for a letter exceeding loz, and not exceeding 2oz. ;
and so on, according to the scale in operation for charg-
ing inland letters. Upon letters sent td Brazil, these
rates of postage must be taken in advance. Newspapers
may be forwarded to Brazil, by packet, free of postage,
under the usual regulations.
THE ACCIDENT AT MASBRO'.—The unfortunate man
who was killed in so frightful a manner on Tuesday
evening from imprudently getting out of a train while it
was moving alongside the west platform at the Masbro'
station (Midland Railway), near Sheffield, and who was
then unknown, was on the following day identified as
Mr. Edward Cuthbertson, of Arundel-street, Sheffield,
and one of the managers for Messrs. Spear and Jackson,
manufacturers. He was returning from visiting a sick
brother at Derby. He has left a wife and three children.
The inquest was held at the Prince of Wales Inn,
Masbro', on Thursday, when Sir Isaac Morley, one of
the directors of the Midland Railway Company, was
present. The jury returned a verdict of "Accidental
death," and they and the coroner (Mr. Thomas Badger)
regretted that it was the too frequent practice for per-
sons to get into and out of railway trains while in motion,
and expressed a hope that railway authorities would put
down this dangerous practice by enforcing the penalty
provided for that offence.
RUSSIAN DUTCH LOAN. —By a return issued on
Saturday it appears that the Russian Dutch Loanlast
the
year was, in principal, 16,000,000 florins, and
in-
terest 793,750 florins.
NeRwAYTEorOk show,
y E
as was anticipated, a suddexcANGE.—The commercial accountsn from
tendency
to reaction from the recent panic. The rate of discount
owfas not
confidencemu and a much lower,
ebnuetral there was n ampoesrtceopftitbhlee
specula-
would increasepeenla.
would never recover. Two or three smal
tive stocks. Several of them, however,
banksit w
in Con-
ashop•d

_ -
necticut had failed, with an aggregate note circulation of
about 80,0001. The advices from St. Petersburgh state
that the rate of exchange continues at a point which will
prevent gold being sent from this country—namely,
38gd. to and.