The Sun.
London, England, 1807-03-02 00:00:00

FILI ~4 VCC.

The Flan of Finance proposed to Parliament by
Lard HENRY PETTY awakened the. emulation of
Opposition, whose ambition prompted them to issue
Centre Pregets. The Resolutions, ihowever, which
were submitted by Lord CASTLEREAGH, do not ap-
pear, after mature deliberation, to deserve the full.
confidence of the Noble Proposer, who has expressed
his intention of withdrawing his third Resolution,
and who moved on Thursday night to delay the dis-
cussion of his Propositions to Monday fortnight.
This demand of a furthetepause, coupled with the
relinquishment of one of the Resolutions, manifest-
ly betrays the Noble Lord's distrust of his own
statements, and the interval will probably induce
bum to abandon his suggestions altogether, and to
aisent, without further objeEtion, to the Plan intro-
duced by the CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER.—
The new System-has also raised opposers, who, in
their solicitude to calculate results unfavourable to
the Plan, and to imagine evils which may arise from
its future operation, have entirely overlooked the ac-
tual and immediate benefits which will flow from
its adoption. Thetpresent state of the public bur-
s
thens, and the heavy sacrifices, to which the loyalty
and patriotism of the People have caused a cheerful
submission, strongly enforce the present and obvious
advantages of a Plan which provides for a War Ex-
penditure of Thirty-two Millions without requiring
any additional taxes to be imposed.for three years
from this time. New taxes of less than 300,0001.
on an average of seven years will be necessary from
1810 to 1816, and the benefits of the Plan will
continue for twenty years, during the last ten of
which no new taxes will be required. The bene-
ficial influence of such a system must be universally
admitted ; and it is recommended by this additional
coesideration, that there is nothing in the nature of
the Plan which can preclude Parliament hereafter
from applying modifications, or even suspending it
entirely, if its future operation, under other circum-
stances, should appear to be unsafe or impolitic.
One of the obje6.lions urged against the Plan may
be briefly noticed, as it will afford a specimen of the
rest. It is observed, that the new System professes to
relieve the Country from the increase-of permanent ii
Taxes. It is then asked, " bow the new System
proposes to do this i" To this question is subjcined
the following reply :—" Certainly in rather a ques-
tionable manner, by making twice the amount of
War. Taxes permanent." This unfair and untrue
statement would not. be entitled to a remark, if it
did not tend to expose the paltry artifice and shame-
less effrontery which conspire to oppose a most
beneficial measure. , The point to be decided is,
whether, under the present amount of the National
Expenditure—whether, in the present state of the
pressure of Taxation, and with a view to exigencies
which will prObably arise, it is more expedient and
desirable that the whole interest of the Loans, ne-
cessary .according to the present scale of estimate,
should be defrayed by the creation of new Per-
manent Taxes, or that a specific portion of War
Taxes, which already exist, should be mortgaged to
the amount of 10 percent, on the nominal capital,
for the purpose of paying the interest, and instituting
a Sinking Fund by Which the principal will be li-
quidated in at least 14 years? To make good the
defalcati'on from the available produce of the War
Taxes in each year, it .is proposed to borrow a sup-
plementary Loan, of which it will be necessary
either by new Taxes or other expedients, to supply
t he interest and g Sinking Fund of 1 per cent. which
will place it in the ordinary course of redemption.
But for this purpose by the present arrangement no
ruses Taxes need be imposed for three years ; for
seven following years less than 300,0001. of new
Taxes will be necessary ; and for the succeeding ten
years no additional Taxes will be required. If the
Loans for tlse annual Expenditure should be raised
according to the system hitherto pursued Perma-
nent Taxes must be imposed amounting in the
period assumed to 13 millions additional Revenue.
Each portion of the War Taxes successively pledged
by the new system will be liberated at the end of
14 years, and may be again applicable if the War
should coutinue so long. If Peace should take place
before the expiration of that time, a less portion
will be pledged, which will also be set free in the
period assigned for the redemption. A Paper of
Friday last asserts, that " we are to be fixed with
the Income Tax for ten or twelve years (the average
calculation of a man's life) after Peace." This gross
and false assertion is daringly adventured in defiance
of the assurance given on the introduetion of the
P:an, that the Property Tax will not be payable •
beyond the period fur which it is now granted by
46 Geo. 3, c. 65, but will in every case be in foree
only during the; War, andkustil the 6th day of• April
next after the ratification of the Definitive Treaty of
l'eace and no longer.

'l2.he continuance of the Income Tax, in part,has in-
deed been strongly recoMmended by Mr. ROSE and
Lord CASTLERE*AGII j but its termination at the period

YESTERDAY some DutcitsiWers of the 21st ult. and
other Foreign Papers arrived, Nal which we have
made some Extracts. It does not appear that any
general action hai taken place since the defeat of the
French at Mohringen, but it is stated, in private
Letters from Altona and Hamburg!), that several
skirmishes had taken place, in one of which a
Corps belonging to BERNADOTTE'S Division is said
to have lost 1400 men and nine pieces of cannon.
The rumours of Negotiations for a General Peace
are still current on the Continent. It is not singu-
lar that those who have felt so severely the calami-
ties of War should be anxious for the restoration of
Peace, and that they should readily believe and ea-
gerly propagate those reports which are favourable
to their wishes. The statements, therefore, in
foreign Journals, or in private Letters from the
Continent, upon the subje& of Negotiations, are
to be reccivcA vAth srent- enution. It is Said. that
propositions have been made to BONAPARTE, by
Russia and Prussia, for opening a Negotiation, with
the concurrence of the Court of London ; but that
BONAPARTE absolutely refused to consent to any in-
terference on the part of Great Britain in the
affairs of the Continent. If any attempts at a
Negotiation have been made, they have, we are
convinced, proceeded from BONAPARTE himself,
who, finding himself suddenly cheeked in his vitto•
rious career, may endeavour to extricate himself by
artifice fro;n the embarrassment in which he is
involved, and try to deceive those whoin he finds it
impossible to conquer.

Tuts morning two Gottenburgh Mails arrived,
but the intelligence whiCh they contain reached this
Country several days ago relates principally to
the defeat of the French at Mohringen.

Hostilities have Commenced between the Swedes
and French. After several skirmishes, the former
were forced, by a superiority of numbers, to retreat
into Stralsund, which now closely invested.

His Majesty's Ships .dca3ta, Virginia, and Helena,
sailed from Cork on the 23d-ult, with the Fleet un-
der convoy, for the West Indies.
Yesterday a Cabinet Council was held at Lord
How/cx's Office. Earls SPENCER and FrrzwaLtam
were prevented from attending by illness, and Lord
ELL ENBOROUGH was also absent; all the other Mem-
bers were present. They sat from one till near five
o'clock..

His MAJESTY IS e.xpeacd in town on Wednes-
day, to hold a.Court at the Queen's Palace.
The LORD CHANCEU art arrived at Windsor yes-
terday morning, and, had an audience of His MA-
JESTY fora considerable time.

Yesterday Morning his MAJESTT, Princesses Au-
GUSTA, MARY, Soria:„ and AmELIA, attended by
Lady J. THYNICF, MIS. SNEY.D; General. MANNERS,
&c. went to St. George's Chapel, and' heard a Ser-
mon by Mr. NORTHEY, from the 22d chapter of
Romans, 23d. verse, and afterwards went to Frog:
More to dinner. ner MAJESTY,and Princess ELIZA-
BETH, heard Divine Seririce in the Palace, and met
his MAJESTY at FrOg-tnore.
Saturday night's Gazette contains the Order of
His MAJESTY ill Council, that, for the supply of the
inhabitants anct Oiertnen of Newfoundland, for the
ensuing season Only, bread, flour, pease, Indian
corn, butter, and lip e stbck, may be exported into
that Island from any ofthe territories of the United
States of America, by gritishr Subjeas, hi British
built Ships, owt,e,l by His MAJEsvz's 4ubjods,
navigated according to law, and which, tor the
space of nine months previous to the time of such
exportation, have cleared out tar some Port ortile
United Kingll6in of Great Britain and Ireland, or
other His MAJESTY'S dominions in Europe, tbr
which purpose a license shall have been granted
by the Comtnissione: s of the Customs, and such
icense to be.-in 'force only nine calendar months.