The Sun.
London, England, 1853-02-04 00:00:00

and in the other case on something not precarious,
necessitates a large deduction from the income,
merely to maintain its amount in the former case ;
while, in the latter, the land or consols sustain the
amount of income, needing no deduction whatever
in order to do so.

Take the barristers. The income of this class
has not only to maintain the class while earning
it, but has also to replace those who die, and to
train the coming generation of barristers ; to lodge,
feed, and educate at School, College, and Inns of
Court, the whole class, for 21 years at least.
Now, regarding the barristers as a class, all this
must be spent upon it to keep it qualified for its
work. Nor is this all. To keep up any class of
incomes which depend on mental or bodily labour,
the persons composing that class must be kept
alive. Land or funds produce their income, whe-
ther the proprietor be alive or dead ; in fact,
often go on accumulating the dividends or rent
for years, while the owner is unknown. But per-
sons who earn incomes, must live in order to earn
them. The expense of living needful to the work
of each class is, therefore, a second deduction, in
addition to that of rearing and training, and is to
be regarded as a part of the capital included in all
incomes dependent upon the exertions of living
men. Mr. FARR gives two carefully computed
statements, in which. he illustrates these circum-
stances in regard to the labourer class. We give
merely his results ; taking 2,000 of this class, of
all ages, their earnings will average about 211. per
head, or 42,0491. per yearthis is their income.
But the outgo needful to maintain the class in
efficiency, is equal to 131. per head ; a de-
duction which reduces the value of their whole
income to about seven years' purchase, as compared
with twenty years' purchase of the nett profit of
their wages.
Again, he supposes two persons purchasing these
different kinds of class income. A. purchases say
1, 000, 000/. of rents of land. Now, since the
labourers and farmers who work the land are all
provided for before the rent is paid, he incurs no
expense whatever to keep up the amount of the
rents ; his land never dies, never needs support
during minority, education, apprenticeship, or
food. B. purchases 1,000,0001. of barristers'
incomes ; but he finds that out of it he must both
maintain the present barristers, and provide a
succession of barristers at a heavy expense. If,
indeed, he has bought the income from this source,
at the same price as A. has purchased the in-
come from land, he will find but a small
return indeed for his outlay ; he would find that
the income he had purchased was not pure in-
come, but required that a large part of it should
be employed as capital to maintain the class- itself
in existence. We trust that many of our readers
will study Mr. FARR'S elaborate but lucid state-
ments in full ; but we especially commend them to
Mr. GLADSTONE'S notice. He really must, as
well as the unlucky Protectionists, swallow his
leek, leaves and all; like them, he has been driven
to certain admissions, but nothing will do now but
an Income-tax conversion. He must quit the
Cabinet or quit his crotchets; Oxford even can-
not save him. Like the Corn-law struggle, and
so many others, the procrastination of justice
brings one most invaluable blessing with it—that
of doing the thing at last with such thorough un-
derstanding of the case that it can never be
tampered with again. Mr. FARR will prove an
Income-tax Col. TifoltrsoN, and, if need be, we
shall not want an Income-tax COBDEN to rouse
the country to demand its rights. Mr. GLADSONE,
therefore, had better strike at once than originate
a new League, and better give in wholly than
attempt any compromises like the old Bs. duty
of the Whigs.