The Sun.
London, England, 1854-02-06 00:00:00

and England—united now, let us hope cor-
dially, in the same course with Austria and
Prussia
be simply " hankering" after
to
Peace. Everything at all calculated to ren-
der possible a bloodless reconciliation has been
attempted—and more—but all to no effect
whatever. The time consequently for mere dip-
lomatic negotiation has gone by—the period of
action has arrived. Energetic efforts must at
last be made with a view to extort from the CZAR
those concessions which have hitherto been refused
to every demand thrust upon the attention of his
Government.

Convocation had no address to prepare for her
MAJESTY this year, and therefore no business.
The clique, however, who .are so desirous to make
it an Ecclesiastical Parliament, had pre-arranged
for a show of something like business. They
knew that practical Englishmen despise a body
which can do nothing, and they knew that under
the semblance of doing they could at least talk ;
and they have talked, and that is all. After the
ample warning from the experience of last year,
that there was every disposition to take unfair
advantage of forbearance on the part of Govern-
ment, Lord ABERDEEN ought to have prevented
the sham business, and the talking too. It can
serve no purpose but mischief to allow an
ecclesiastical faction to worm themselves into un-
deserved notoriety, and to puff off triumphs which
have about as much reality as those announced in
Russian bulletins.
The business amounted to this : In the Upper
House the report of a committee, appointed it is
thought illegally, to sit during the prorogation of
Convocation, was received. It was to the effect
that stipendiary curates had no right to vote for
members of Convocation. This, be it observed,
is nil. It is not law ;it is the opinion merely of
a few ecclesiastical gentlemen." Exeter and Ox-
ford, however, charitably affirmed that they ought
to have the right, and must have it if ever there
was to be a real representation of the clergy.
Petitions were next presented by several Bishops,
complaining of three things—misuse of the
Church's offices, the abeyance of godly discipline,
and insufficient spiritual provision for the increas-
ing population—petitions not worth a straw, being
addressed to a nullity. And, lastly, two committees
were appointed—one to examine and report on the
reforms needed in the constitution of Convocation
itself, "to enable it to treat with the full confi-
dence of the Church of such matters as her
MAJESTY may be pleased to submit to its delibera-
tions ;" and another, "to consider and report
whether the present condition of the population
did not make some, and what, adaptation of the
Church's rules needful to enable her to meet her
spiritual wants." These committees were to be
complemented by seven members each from the
other house, and to sit during the prorogation.
The Lower House likewise appointed two commit-
tees, one to consider their standing orders, another
to " report on such schedules of gravamina and
reformanda as might be tendered to it by the
house." There seemed, however, to be no small
amount of wounded amour propre, as the phrase
now is, when the Prolocutor announced the com-
mands of the Upper House to furnish seven good
men and true to each of the Episcopal committees.
It was thought best, however, to stomach the
affront ; and, after a little protesting and explain-
ing, the seven were duly appointed, and both
houses prorogued.
Little enough, all this put together, as the
result of such pretentious efforts, for when all
these committees shall have reported it will
again be nil. The wrath of the Lower House
was evidently chiefly occasioned by some of
its members seeing in the appointment of the
first Committee of the Upper House, a design
ultimately to introduce lay representatives to Con-
vocation, an idea which no member of the Wes-
leyan Conference and no honest Roman Catholic
could have repelled with more indignation than
did Archdeacon DENISON. What, indeed, would
become of the DENISONIAN Church if Mr. HORS-
MAN and. the Earl of SHAFTESBURY were elected
lay members of an effective convocation. It is,
however, quite clear, as the Archdeacon of ELY
plainly told the Lower House, that the divisions

among the clergy were of so momentous a kind,
some even endeavouring to carry out the schemes
of Mr. WARD, who had seceded to Rome, that it

was quite unreasonab'e to enter on the task of
remodelling Convocation. The Archbishop of
CANTERBURY alluded to the same fact in the Up-
per House. According to his Grace, " the clergy
were anything but agreed on what were funda-
mental truths ; some deeming doctrines to be
fundamental which he could not find in the Scrip-
tures at all !" Verily, such a conclave of ecclesias-

tical antagonists would throw into the shade the
comparatively innocuous contests of political par-
ties. The Archbishop told them, however, a yet
more homely truth. He acknowledged that there
" might be improvement even in some parts of
their excellent Liturgy," and lamented the divi-
sions which precluded all hope of it. " But,"
he emphatically added, " our whole constitution
must be changed before the Church could of itself
have the powet of settling and determining these
things; the matter must be determined by Parlia-
ment; the Act of Uniformity could only be abro-
gated by Parliament."

This is, in truth, the kernel of the whole ques-
tion. Parliament took into its own hands
legislation for the Church ; Parliament is a part
of the Church, embodying in itself the heads of
the Church and its select laymen, whom the in-
ferior clergy concur in electing while they can
petition the Houses like any other class of her
MAJESTY'S subjects. Parliament, with the So -TE-
REIGN, is the sole legislative power of the Church,
and no convocation of priests will induce it to
abdicate its office. To Parliament, as the con-
servator of the public purse, the Church gives
bonds for good behaviour to the amount of
5,000,0001. at the very least, annually received
from national property ; and it receives this, as
we now know, for teaching only about one-half of
the people. It will be prudent for the Church to
make as little stir as possible. She is likely to
come under scrutiny at no distant time, probably
sooner than will be acceptable to the noisy advo-
cates of Convocation. One thing is perfectly cer-
tain—that the lay sons of the Church will never
trust their spiritual fathers with their own refor-

mation ; and that no Government, Tory, Whig,
or Radical, will allow a corporation holding so
many millions of national property, and so bitterly
divided against itself, to set up a corporate legis-
lature outside our national one. It is but a poor
omen for such claimants of State pay and self-

management together, when Mr. GLADSTONE and.
Mr. DISRAELI cordially agree to place the millions

hitherto silently paid to the collectors of the

revenue and others under the direct control of

Parliament. It is quite plain that in Britain the

choice must lie between voluntaryism with self-

government, and State support with State govern-
ment. Those who pay have a right to be masters,

_
whether it be free subscribers, or the nation's

Parliament,

Perhaps the search for a popular tax would be
almost
as hopeless as that of the ancient philoso-
pher after what he considered an honest man.
We believe that no man pays any
fiscal imposition
willingly. He may reconcile himself to the duty,
but it is only from a conviction of its imperative
necessity. He knows that the national estab-
lishments must be maintained, that he must pay
something for the protection of his person and of
his constitutional rights and privileges, that he must,
in fact, surrender a portion of his property for the
security of the remainder. He therefore submits
to that which his reason teaches him to be inevi-
table. He knows that certain sums must be
raised, and all he asks is, that they may he col-
lected in the most equitable and least onerous
mode. To devise this is the duty of the pro-
ficient in fiscal science, who is chosen on the part
of the Citowx and the people to preside over the
financial department of the Government. But
as the 'occupant of that most important office is
generally anxious to retain every existing impost
from which ample returns can be obtained—as
ct non °let nummus" appears to be the motto

of every successive Chancellor of the Exchequer,
no matter to what party he may belong, it is
essential for every person qualified for the task,
to assist and stimulate the Minister for the time
being in the discharge of his arduous duties.
It is easy to produce many cogent arguments
against any-tax. But it is rather more difficult
to offer a satisfactory substitute, to indicate a mode
by which the hiatus occasioned by the repeal or
reduction of a particular impost may be judi-
ciously supplied. Justice and expediency must
both be looked to. Generally speaking it be-
comes a question of conflicting equities ; and we
must be contented to do the greatest amount of
good with the least possible consequential evil.
This is, generally speaking, the key to the solu-
tion of the great fiscal problem. But it is too
frequently lost sight of by those who, although
zealous and energetic reformers, disregard the
most urgent, as well as the most difficult, part of
the task—who are willing to abolish or to alleviate
an impost, but not to sanction another in its
place. The greatest and the best practical re-
former, however, is the man who, by discovering
a source of revenue against which few objections
can be urged, enables Parliament to dispense
with another or others more inequitable, in-
expedient, and oppressive in its character
and operation. It may impose a difficulty
on the Financial Minister for the time being ;
but the man who cannot dispose of a sur-
plus is incompetent for the office ; and the greatest
boon that could be offered to an efficient Chan-
cellor of the Exchequer would be to indicate a
new charge, that he may introduce without vio-
lent opposition from any quarter, and with the
1113 qualifiedapprobation of the great majority of the
nation.

We shall do so. As we commenced the Parlia-
mentary compaign by steadfastly and resolutely
demanding the repeal of the duty on fire insur-
ances, we follow up that claim by offering an
ample equivalent. The " Unity Fire Insurance
Association" pointed out in their admirable peti-
tion, and the accompanying observations which
appeared in our impression of Tuesday, the in-
superable objections that existed to that most ob-
jectionable tax, which cannot be maintained in
the face of such unanswerable arguments. A zeal-
ous, energetic, and consistent fiscal reformer has
enabled us to show how the proceeds of the ob-
noxious impost may not only be relinquished with-
out loss, but with a considerable surplus remaining
applicable to other matters. " JoRN PACE" is the
CEDIPus" who has Solved the interesting pro-
blem, who has suggested a tax which is not only
free from every rational objection, but which, as he
clearly and distinctly proves,, is imperatively re-
quired for the protection of our trade and com-
merce, and to which even the parties chargeable
cannot reasonably object.

We earnestly commend this interesting bro-
chure* to the attentive consideration of all fiscal
reformers, but more especially to that of the
Right Hon. Gentleman to whom it is addressed.
It will be found well worthy of perusal. Indeed,
we cannot conceive the possibility of refuting the
simple but irresistible arguments contained therein.
We ourselves, in the observations which we of-
,fered in the case of S. L. OPPENHEIM, in our im-
pression of the 27th of December last, pointed out
the formidable nature of the circumstance which
had just been brought to light--the gross frauds
upon the revenue and upon innocent holders of
quasi foreign bills of exchange for valuable con-
sideration, which it was positively asserted were
of daily occurrence in the City of London. The
startling revelations then elicited created a pro-
found sensation amongst capitalists, who saw an
unanticipated danger that would prevent them
from discounting or making advances on such
securities. It was needless to point out the injury
that must necessarily result from any well-founded
apprehensions on such a point. It was obvious
that a legislative remedy was essential, that some-
thing should he done to allay the fears thus ex-
cited. Mr. PACE has adroitly taken advantage
of the circumstance, to show that, while adopting
the only precaution against a repetition of such
frauds, we may add enormously to the revenue
by imposing an uniform duty of is. per cent, on
all foreign bills of exchange ; and he clearly esta-
blishes the justice and propriety of the charge.
But he does more—he shows the extraordinary
advantages that would follow an equalisation of
the duty on all inland bills, without any exemp-
tion whatsoever. At present there is no charge
on any amount beyond 3,000/. Thus the large
capitalists escape, while small transactions are
very unfairly and heavily taxed. By the equali-
sation on all classes of bills, which would certainly
be equitable, Mr. PACE declares that 5,000,000/.
would be gained to the Exchequer. Without bind-
ing ourselves to that calculation, we must admit
that he has said enough to compel the attention
of Mr. GLADSTONE, and to enforce the abolition
of all exemptions, whether on foreign or inland
bills, and the equalisation of the duties, so that
every transaction shall be charged a just and fair
per tentage on the amount involved therein.

* Extra-National Taxation ; or, A Tax upon Bills of
Exchange drawn Abroad ; and Equalisation of the
Stamp Duty upon Bills of Exchange drawn and payable
in this Country. A Letter to the Chancellor of the
Exchequer. By John Pace. London : Baily Brothers.

REDUCTION IN THE PRICE OF BREAD.—OR Saturday,
the bakers of the metropolis and suburbs reduced the
price of the 41b. loaf a penny; bread of the second qua-
lity 104 d. and 1 ld. per 41b. loaf, to 9id. and 10d. per
41b. loaf respectively. Country or household bread
(unweighed) from 9d. to Bd. per loaf. The League
Bakery sell their bread (unadulterated) at 9id. per 41b.
loaf.

GREAT REDUCTION IN THE PRICE OF COALS.-011
Saturday the retail coal-dealers of the metropolis made a
considerable reduction in the price of this article, so
essential to the comfort of the poor at this inclement
season. Coals which had been selling in the early part
of last week at 2s. 4d. and 2s. 6d. per cwt. were reduced
to Is. 10d. and 2s. per cwt. respectively, and gas coke
from 9d. to Bd. per bushel. This diminution in price is
to be attributed to the immense fleet of coal-laden
vessels that arrived in the river on Friday and Saturday,
which it is anticipated will augment the number of ships
for sale at this day's market to nearly 700, with an ag-
gregrate tonnahe of 175,000.
LARGE SUPPLIES OF COALS FOR THE ROYAL NAVY.--
During the last few weeks the Lords Commissioners of
the Board of Admiralty have sent off a very considerable
supply of coals for the use of her Majesty's steam-ships
of war in the Mediterranean and the Levant, forming a
portion of the British fleet combined with that of France
in the Bosphorus and the Dardanelles. On Tuesday the
14th Feb., the Secretary of the Board of Admiralty, at
Somerset-house, has announced that he will be ready to
receive tenders from such parties who will enter into a
contract for the delivery of 14,000 tons of South Wales
coals, to be delivered into store at Malta, for the use of her
Majesty's steam-ships, and that to-morrow, the 7th inst.
the Board of Admiralty will be ready to contract for the
following quantities of Welsh coals, to be delivered at
the undermentioned ports, also for her Majesty's steam-
vessels :—Sierra Leone, 2,000 tons ; Fernando Po, 500
ditto ; St. Paul de Loando, 1,500 ditto; and 1,000 tons
at the Island of Ascension. A considerable quantity of
coals have also been sent to Lisbon and Gibraltar, to be
there in depot, as may be required for our steam-ships
in the Tagus and the Mediterranean. Every precaution
is being taken that there shall be no want of fuel for the
fleet both at Malta and Constantinople in the event
of a war with Russia in the Black Sea—which appears
inevitable—and in the Baltic.
THE COAL TRADE.—To such an extent has our coal
industry been developed that at the present time not
less than 37,000,000 tons are annually raised, the
value of which at the pit's mouth is little less than
10,000,0001. ; at the places of consumption, including
expenses of transport and other charges, probably
not less than 20,000,0001. The capital employed
in the trade exceeds 1,000,000/. About 400 iron fur-
naces of Great Britain consume annually 10,000,000
tons of coal and 7,000,000 tons of ironstone, in order
to produce 2,500,000 tons of pig-iron of the value of
upwards of 8,000,0001. For the supply of the metro-
polis 3,600,000 tons of coal are required for manufac-
turing and domestic purposes ; our coasting vessels
conveyed in 1850 upwards of 9,360,000 tons to various
ports in the United Kingdom, and 3,350,007 tons were
exported to foreign countries and the British posses-
sions. Add to this that about 120,000 persons are
constantly employed in extracting the coal from the
mines, and that in some of the northern counties
there are more persons at work under the ground
id
ea
will upon its surface, and some approximate
will be formed of the importance and extent of this
branch of our industry. The extent of the coal areas in
the British islands is 12,000 square miles, and the
annual produce 37,000,000 tons ; of Belgium 250 miles,
annual produce 5,000,000 tons; of France, 2,000 miles
annual produce 4,150,000 tons; of the United States,
113,000 miles, annual produce 4,000,000 tons ; of
Prussia 2,200 miles, annual produce, 3,500,000 tons ; of
Spain 4,000 miles, annual produce 550,000 tons ; of
British North America 180,000 miles, annual produce
not known.—Durham Chronicle.

ERRATUM.—In our first leading article of Saturday,
by some incomprehensible error, the name of Count
Buol, the Austrian Minister, was given instead of that
of Count Orloff, the Russian envoy extraordinary.