The Sun.
London, England, 1847-11-17 00:00:00

LONDON, WEDNESDAY

We have already, on many occasions pointed out
the grievous hardship of a tax which requires every
individual in the country to expose the state of his
affairs to the prying eyes of the official investi-
gators; it is also absurd to estimate at the
same rate a transient income derivable from trades
or professions, from any description of in-
dustry or speculation, which are necessarily
constantly varying, and from which, in com-
mon prudence, considerable amounts should be
laid by as a provision for the families of the persons
by whom these incomes are gained, and also to
guard against a change of circumstance when such
profits may no longer be available, with that obtained
from realised property, such as lands, houses, stocks,
&c. Besides the trouble of the collection, the pry-
ing into profits and all the more objectionable parts of
the present system are occasioned by the charges on
income as contradistinguished from property. Mr.
J. MACGREGOR, M.P., formerly the talented and
efficient Secretary to the Board of Trade, and now
the representative for Glasgow, in his admirable
work, " The Progress of America," has shown that
the collection may be rendered more equitable and
less inquisitorial, by placing it exclusively on the
rents and profits of all realised property, which he
estimates to amount in Great Britain to 200,000,0001.
sterling per annum, consisting of " the rents and
profits of all lands, tenements, houses, constructions,
funds, stocks, and shares, including factories,
warehouses, docks, shipyards, railways, canals,
public funds, Bank of England Stuck,
East India and South Sea Stock, and
the stock and shares of all companies whose stocks
and shares are sold in the market." A reasonable
increase in the amount levied on those sources would
not only provide for every deficiency, but would
allow the total abolition of the taxes on all incomes
not derived from realised property, and of
many others that unduly press on our industry, or
are injurious to our commercial relations. The
abominable tax on light, which is so derogatory to the
health of the people, might also be got rid of, together
with very many of the Excise duties, the most op-
pressive and hateful of all our imposts ; indeed Mr.
MACGREGOR shows that by transferring a few items
to the Customs department the whole of the Excise
establishment might be got rid of. We shall speedily
return to this subject.

There is still nothing of importance in the news
from Switzerland. In the morning of the 11th Col.
BUCKHARDT, who commands the division which is
destined to act against Friburg on the north side, was
still at Berne; he, however, left at two o'clock.
General Duroun was only to leave the next day,
Friday, the 12th, at four o'clock in the morning. It
was believed that he would occupy that day in pass-
ing inspections. It would only be in the course of
the next day (Saturday) that all the troops which
were to march at the same time against Friburg, by
the four principal roads which lead to it, would be.
able to put themselves in movement. If we consider
that the points at which they had taken position
were distant six and eight leagues, and even more, like
Bulle, Romont, Rue, Chatel, it will be seen that it
would be only in the evening of Saturday that they
could find themselves in view of the Friburg lines,
which are posted at three and two leagues from the
town. IVe must not, therefore, expect to receive any
news before two, and perhaps three days. The army
of invasion amounts to 28,000 men ; it has at least 100
cannons ; the Helvetie carries the number up to 200.
The militia of Friburg forms scarcely the fourth of
that number, but with the landwehr and the
landsturm the forces of the Catholic cantons must
amount to from 15,000 to 20,000 soldiers. The com-
bat will certainly be very severe at the advanced posts
and at the redoubts.
The Bale Gazette of the 13th mentions a report
from Berne that the Grand Council of Friburg had
assembled, and demanded a suspension of hostilities
until Saturday, which had been granted by the Com-
mander of the federal forces.
A letter from Berne of the 10th says :
" Official intelligence has been received to-day
from Lugano of the 7th. It announces that the
little Tesinese body of troops which had so bravely
repulsed the aggression of the column of Uri, pur-
sued that force until stopped by the night. The
rumour that Colonel Muller was killed is not con-
firmed ; his horse, however, was killed under him.
The two officers of artillery, whose death has been
announced, heve certainly perished, as well as three
soldiers. In addition, Lieut. Muheim of Uri, a near
relative to the Deputy at the Diet, has:been badly
wounded. Yesterday, the Vaudese and Genevese
troops (division Rilliet) occupied, in addition
to the Friburgese district of Estavayer, that
of Domprierre ; they were to-day to enter
the districts of Rue and Romont, and per-
haps even that of Bulle, where the Liberal party
is in the majority. They had to endure some dis
charges of musketry from the landsturmers posted
behind the trees, but they did not fall in with any
regular troo:s. The most of the cures have fled ;
few have, however, disguised themselves in order to
remain in their own localities. The federal troops
have taken several hostages to guarantee the safety of
the political prisoners who remain in the prison of
Friburg. I mentioned yesterday that the efforts of
the President of fhe Germanic Diet, Count de Munch,
had failed at Carlsruhe and Munich. The concen-
tration of a cordon of troops on the Swiss frontier
will not take place at the expense of the German
Confederation. I understand that the steps taken by
Prince de Metternich have equally failed at the
Court of Sardinia. King Charles Albert does not at
present feel any desire to direct troops on the Swiss
frontier; and as Wurtemberg will not consent to act
without the co-operation of the Grand Duchy of
Baden, and as France without doubt considers that it
is not prudent to place a great mass of troops on the
Swiss frontier as long as Austria remains inactive, it
is probable that there will not for the moment be any
ostensible military demonstration against Switzer-
land. The promises which the preceding Austrian
Envoy, M. de Philipsberg, made to the Sonderbund
Cantons, do not appear to be on the eve of being
fulfilled."

The Gazette de Lausanne of the I lth gives the fol-
lowing details of the occupation of Estavayer :
" In the evening of the Bth the Viellen brigade ap-
peared before the town, a detachment of Vaudoise
cavalry preceding it as the advanced guard. On
reaching the town, the troops took up positions, while
the Prefect and Syndic of Estavayer, and the Cure of
Cheyres, were conducted to the hotel of La Reine
Berthe, and interrogated by the Staff. All were after•
wards placed in cars, and conducted to Moudon as
hostages, with about a dozen syndics of the sur-
rounding communes. The Cur€ of Estavayer was
not included in this measure, as be engaged not to
do anything that could counteract their operations.
These troops remained at Estavayer only a very
short time; for, on the 9th, they were moving upon
Friburg, having been relieved at Estavayer by the
reserve battalion No. 8, which brought with it two
small field pieces they had taken on their expedition.
The whole of these movements were made without
the least resistance, and with only the single accident
of the death of young Millet de Cudrefin, a carabi-
neer, who, coming up to one of his comrades in a
manner perhaps too abrupt, was shot by him. Millet
was an only son. Morat is not yet occupied by the
troops of either party, although those of the Confe-
deration were expected on the 9th.
A supplement of the Nouvelliste Vaudois, of the
10th, states that four companies of the trops of
Geneva had arrived at Payerne from Estavayer,
bringing as hostages the leading authorities of that 1,

district, Rho had been transferred to Moudon. At
Klein Diedwyl the troops of Lucerne have made pri-
soners of an entire company of the Carabineers of
Zurich. This check had caused great excitement
among the federal troops, who had demanded to be
. . .

. _
led immediately to the attack of Lucerne. A spy
has been arrested at Morat, on whom were found
papers which are said to prove that the canton of
Neufchatel was in secret correspondence with the
Sonderbund.

The Prussian Cabinet is said to have given full
Powers to General DE ?ruEL, Governor of Neufcba•

the Exchequer. It has also been shown that
a considerable diminution in other duties would be
productive of the greatest advantage to our trade and
commerce, and to our relations with other lands : for
instance that on tea, which, if maintained at its pre-
sent rate, must lead to the destruction of
our trade with China. Direct taxation, too'
is not only more easily collected, but
the expense of collection is far lower, and
a larger amount is applicable to the public pur-
poses in proportion to the amount levied from the
people than on any indirect tax whatsoever. Any
increase, therefore, in our burdens must come in the
shape of a direct impost, and the income and pro-
perty taxes are the most obvious sources, indeed, we
might almost say, the only possible sources from
whence it can be derived.