The Sun.
London, England, 1847-11-10 00:00:00

ties as 801. formerly purchased him, and in this way
he likewise cancels his annual indebtedness of 201. to
the national creditor. If fairly and honestly carried
out, both these systems of taxation lead to the
same result, viz., the abstraction from every man
of that portion of the annual proceeds of
his property which belongs to the creditors
of the state. Thus Mr. Ricardo most truly re-
marks, "If my revenue be 1,000/. per annum,
and I must pay taxes to the amount of 1001., it is
of little importance whether I pay it from my re-
venue, leaving myself only 9001., or pay 1001. in ad-
dition for my agricultural commodities or for my
manufactured goods. If 100/. is my fair proportion
of the expenses of the country, the virtue of taxation
consists in making sure that I shall pay that 1001.,
neither more nor less, and that cannot be effected in
any manner so securely as by taxes on wages, profits,
or raw produce."
You will perceive, therefore, Sir, that the pound
which the Anti-Gold-law League advocates is a
pound lessened in "bread and cheese" value solely to
the extent of the liability or indebtedness of each
possessor of pounds, and that this diminution of value
is accomplished simply by means of allowing commo-
dities to sell for that price which will include the
taxes embodied in the production of these commodi-
ties. It is a mere question of the proper price of
commodities; or rather, whether taxation is to
take effect or not on the parties who ought
to pay it. We hold it to be essentially unjust, if
indirect taxation be adopted, to use any pound
which, embodying a fixed invariable value in itself
as a commodity, does not permit of that addition to
price which a system of indirect taxation requires.
Any intrinsically valuable currency merely provides
for, and permits of, natural prices exclusive of taxa-
tion, while the currency required under the pre-
sent fiscal arrangements of the country is one
which will permit of taxation being added to
the price of commodities. It is most astonishing
that there should be any objection to such a
system of money as the Anti-Gold-law League
recommends, when the object to be effected by it
is simply to make the taxes payable by the
parties upon whom the Government professes to
charge them, and this effected merely by a diminution
in the purchasing power of the pound sterling, owing
to goods selling for taxation prices. It would effect
precisely the same result indirectly, as the property-
tax now does by taking 7d. in the pound away from
all rents, interests, and investments. For instance, I
go to a tenant for half -a-year's rent, say 501. In-
stead of his paying me 501., he pays me fifty times
19s. 5d., and if I ask him why he does not pay
me the full rent agreed upon—why he pays me
19s. sd. instead of a pound, he tells me has already
advanced 7d. in the pound in income-tax, and that I
am not entitled to a pound of full size, but to a pound
short the 7d. he has paid in taxation. The principle
we contend for is, therefore, conceded in the present
property-tax, and if carried to the full extent of the
taxes, would effect all the Anti-Gold-law League
wants to effect as far as taxation is concerned.
And why should it not be carried so far ? It will
not, I presume, be denied that it is perfectly compe-
tent for Parliament, if it so thought fit, to abolish the
whole system of indirect taxation, and substitute for
it a direct property-tax. In that case, instead of 7d.
being deducted from every pound of the revenue of
individuals, it would require probably 4s. to be taken
from each pound ; and where is the difference, I
should be glad to know, between this result and
that proposed by the Anti-Gold-law League,
where the same end is gained by means of the
currency instead of by taxation ? The only differenc
is, that in the former case you would retain the pre-
sent system of currency, but would alter the system
of taxation; while in the latter you would alter the
system of currency and retain the present system of
taxation. Both would lead to the same end, and
neither of them is more a fraud than the other.
But many persons are not satisfied with a general
statement of a principle or argument; they require a
practieal application of it in a case given. Though I
may probably have convinced them that the public
liabilities of the country form a lien upon every per-
son's property to the extent of one-fifth, they may
probably not see how this has anything to do with
the private engagements and debts between man
and man. They would probably imagine that the
system, when applied to private debts, would only
lead to a robbery of Peter to pay Paul; whereas, if
they will look a little deeper, they will see that even
with regard to private debts it does nothing more
than has already been described, namely, make every
one contribute his fair share of the general taxation
of the country according to his means. Take the
following cases :
Here is one man whose debts exactly balance his
credits. In his case it is of no earthly importance
whatever what the pounds are. He owes, say 5001.,
and he has 5001. owing to him. Whatever pounds
he receives the same pounds he pays away, and
having done so he has nothing left. He has no pro-
perty to be taxed, and whether the pounds are equal
to 4 dwts. of gold or 5 dwts. of gold is not of the
least importance to him.
Here is another man who owes to various creditors
5001., but he has claims on other people to the amount
of 1,500/. ; he has, therefore, a surplus of 1,0001.,
and is a man of property to that extent. To the
extent of 500/. it is .f no consequence even to that
man what the value of pounds may be, as he pays
away just such pounds as he receives. But he has
a surplus remaining of 1,0001. To that extent,
then, he is a man of property, and the- tax- taking
effect upon the exchangeable value of his pounds, he
cancels his indebtedness to the public creditor in
that way. The real fact is, that the tax is deducted
from the value of the " pound " itself, instead of a
certain number of pounds being abstracted from the
tax- payer," and the loss occasioned by the tax falls
en the ultimate recipients of the pounds; on those
who, after squaring accounts with everybody, after
paying all the pounds they owe, and receiving all the
pounds owing to them, have a surplus number of
pounds left them on the balance. This surplus con-
stitutes them men of property according to its amount,
and the deduction on each of the pounds which form
the surplus acts as a most perfect property. tax.l
The examination of this most important point has
taken so much space, that I must reserve the expla-
nation of the remaining three points for another
letter, which will not need to be so lengthy as this.
In the meantime, Mr. Editor, I beg the honour to
subscribe myself your very obedient servant,
EDWARD CAPPS,
Secretary to the Anti-Gold-law League.
East Temple Chambers, Whitefriars-street, Nov. 6.

DREADFUL
LONDON ACCIDENT ON THE
AND NORTH - WESTERN
morning, on
eonthe
occurrence
VOOAL,TUESDAY.—We greatly regret to an-
Y.
RLIAvIELarI,
North-Western
Londonof aand N fatal
railway. The scene of the
accident was close to the
Winsford station, within about four miles of Hartford,
and between Warrington
and Crewe. The facts, as
near as we could ascertain them from the guard of a
down train that passed h tl
s or y after the occurrence,
are as follows :
A new six-wheeled engine, the construction of
which was somewhat peculiar, and which, during
some late trials, had attained an enormously high rate
of speed, was coming down the line to work from the
Liverpool station. To it was attached, in addition to
a merchandise train, a few empty waggons. On the
main line of rail, at Winsford, there is a curve so acute
that it is stated that an engine might probably not be
able to see any impediment should it be placed near
the off line or siding, which it appears runs from the
main-line to some collieries in the vicinity. A train,
propelled by an engine belonging to some private in-
dividual or company, was passing from the side into
the down line, when at the same moment the
new engine, the driving wheels of which
are eight feet six inches in diameter, came
' down the road, and before the breaks could be
put on smashed into the coal waggons with a force so
terrific that a portion of the merchandise train fol-
lowing was, from the force of the concussion, thrown
completely over the enormous engine ; the driver was
killed upon the spot, and a portion of his head was
afterwards found in his cap. The carriages were
thrown with great force over the whole line, and
some estimation of the collisiOn may be formed from
the fact that one carriage was thrown behind a hedge
at the top of an embankment. The trains which
came up afterwards were detained for some time. The
breaksman, it is said, jumped off the train, and was
thus preserved. We must, however, be thankful that
it was not a passenger train, as the oss of life in that
case would have been lamentable. No doubt the
directors, with their usual promptitude, will cause
due inquiry to be made in the circumstances.
HALF-PAST ELEVEN, P.M.—We have just learned,
from a party who has visited the scene of the dis-
aster, that the railway company's engine was thrown
directly across the two lines ; the tender and all the
following carriages, from the velocity they had at-
tained, ran directly over it, and thus the engineer met
his death—the stoker, and not the breaksman, saved
himself by jumping. off. The latter is so seriously
injured, that when interrogated as to the cause, he
could only state that they conceived they hadt, by the
breaks, sufficient command over the train (which, he
says, was not going over six miles per hour at the
time of the collision), but unfortunately they could
not arrest its progress before the lamentable. occur-
'ence had taken pace.

DEATH Or MENDELSSOHN, THE COMPOSIIR.—We
regret to announce the death of Mendelssohn, the great
composer. "On the evening of the 4th instant," says
a letter from Leipsic, " the musical world suffered a
deplorable loss by the death of Joseph Mei idelssohn
Bartholdy. An inflammation of the brain beiffled the
skill of the first physicians, and carried him off in the
vigour of manhood. All Lei sic shed tears at the loss
of a man who was universally honoured, loved, and
respected.