The Sun.
London, England, 1870-10-10 00:00:00

SUN, LONDON, MONIJA.I, OGICOBER 10, 1870.

railways, and canals, that the towns, and above
all Paris, have been beautified, and it is a great
thing that France has had conferred upon her the
benefit of free trade, all the greater, because in con-
ferring it the EMPEROR was in advance of his
people. But all these benefits, except perhaps the
last, might have been conferred under any form of
Government, and all might have been obtained
without the corruption with which they have been
accompanied. If they could not they were not worth
the cost. It has been nobly said by one of the most
brilliant of French writers, "Material progress is
not to be despised, and of two societies
equally intelligent and honest, the one
presenting a rich varnish of exterior civilisa-
tion) and the other deprived of that advan-
tage, we must without hesitation prefer the first.
But we cannot admit that a material progress can
compensate for a moral decadence. The most cer-
t ain sign of the enfeebling of society is that indif-
ference to noble strifes which makes great political
questions appear secondary to questions of industry
and administration. All despotisms are founded
upon the attempt to persuade society that they can
manage its affairs better than itself can. Every
people has thus in its history an hour of temptation,
when the Tempter, shewing all the glory of the world,
says, 'All this will I give thee if thou wilt fall down and
worship me.' " These words were written a dozen
years ago, for even thus early was NAPOLEON tempt-
ing France. Unhappily for her she yielded to the
temptation. National prosperity was accepted as the
price for the surrender of political liberty, and now
the penalty has to be paid. It has to be paid in
kind. It is the very beauty and splendour of such
cities as Strasbourg, Metz, and, above all,
Paris, which make siege and bombardment so
painful to contemplate. This compact of nineteen
years turns out to be a terribly bad bargain. To
have surrendered your liberty into the hands of an
mdile-despot in order that he might rebuild and
glorify your cities, and then to have those cities laid
waste by fire and sword, is one of the most melan-
choly transactions ever recorded in history. No
wonder that, in making up " the balance of the
Empire," both debtor and creditor are found to be
bankrupt.

IT has been generally felt that the report of the
Select Committee of the House of Commons on
Local Taxation is a failure. The most important
point in connection with local taxation was not even
considered by the committee, and thus we are no
wiser than we were as to the moot question how far
the present local expenditure ought to be borne by
the localities, and how far by the Imperial
Government. Into that large question we do
not now mean to enter. We will only
say that, beyond all question, a very con-
siderable amount of the burdens now borne
locally ought to be borne nationally. It is not likely
that a proper adjustment of these burdens will be
made for some time to come. Meanwhile we would
direct attention to a short but able article in the
Westminster Review directed to one particular branch
of this subject. The writer points out that one
great source of expense to localities is the high rate
of interest which they have to pay for the money which
they borrow in order to carry out sanitary
works. It is this cost which too often prevents
these works from being uu lertaken, and thus leaves
many a poor man to die of fever, and his family to
come upon the rates. And yet there is no reason
why the interest should be high. The security of
the rates is most ample, and is of the very best kind,
inasmuch as it is a joint and separate guarantee.
That is if one ratepayer cannot pay his
share, the others have to make up the
deficiency. Nevertheless, it is no unusual
circumstance for 7i per cent. to be paid,
and in very few instances is less than five per cent.
accepted. Perhaps the explanation of this extortion
is not far off. The men who have the b wrowing of
the money are not seldom the lenders, and being
alive to the advantage of a high rate of interest,
they tax their fellow-townsmen for their own per-
sonal advantage.
The remedy proposed in the Westminster Review
is simple, and we believe it would be ef-
fectual. It is to compel all Town Councils,
Local Boards, and other similar bodies, to
borrow direct from the Government. "I.' lie Government
on its part could very well afford to lend the money
at 31 per cent., and it would then in fact make a
profit of I per cent. This was actually done during
the cotton famine. Under the "Public Works
(manufacturing districts) Act, 1863," no less a stun
than £1,466,575 was lent, beside £300,000 which
was advanced by Government irrespective
of Parliament. For this money 31 per cent.
was the highest interest charged, and in some
cases even a lower rate was accepted. The
Act operated most satisfactorily. Works of great san

tary importance were undertaken, and not only gave
temporary employment to a starving population, but
have permanently benefited tle towns concerned.
Te interest and instalments of principal have been

regularly paid, and the transaction has been
one of a 'dud in which all par i s have benefited.
how large is the sum to be saved to the rate-payers
may be gathered from the fact that the total cost
of the local works undertaken up to the end
of last year was £32,593,680. Assuming that

only three and a half instead of five per cent. had
been charged for interest, the ratepayers would have
saved £4,766,904, while the Government would have
realised over £11,000,000. To make the case still

plainer, we may mention that while the amoun.

sanctioned by the SECRETARY Of STATE to
be borrowed for sanitary purposes under
the Public Health, Local Government, Sani-
tary and Sewage Utilisation Acts was, up

to the end of last year, nearly £8,500,000,

the amount of interest which will have

to be paid under the ordinary conditions-5 per cent

for thirty years—will be £8,085,625, or 958 per cent.
of the capital; whereas, if 31 per cent. only had been
charged, the local taxpayers would have been saved
£2,425,687 of taxation. Surely this is a matter
worthy of the consideration of the CHANCELLORS of

the EXCHEQUER, both local and Imperial.

TOPICS OF THE DAY.

OUR RELATIONS WITH AMERICA.

General Benjamin Franklin Butler, whose conduct
towards I he citizens of iNew Orleans brought Lim
into unlitvourable notice during the late American
war, has been making an extraordinary speech at
Cape Ai.n, Massachusetts. It would seem that the
Canadian authorities, with the sanction of the Home
Government, have interpreted certain clauses of the
Fishery Treaty with America as prohibitory of
the right of American fishermen to cast
their nets near the coast of that dominion.
General Butler, however, is not content
to abide by regulations made by authorities, if they
appear to him to savour of injustice, and consequently
he has advised the Cape Ann fishermen to bring their
vessels to the Canadian borders, and to fish at least
1 outside the limit of three mile 3 from shore. The
first portion of General Butler's speech was to put a
good construction on it—patriotic, but his subsequent
remarks which be assured his audience were "not
spoken in a moment of excitement, but when he was
perfectly cool," were not so pleasant or so agreeable
for the ears of those who hope for continued friendship
between Great Britain and America. "Were I,"
said General Butler, " were 1 a Cape Ann fisherman,

and anybody interfered with my rights, I would fight,
and the first gun fired would give us those rights or give
us Canada." The speaker finally alluded to a case in
which the question of the identity of a New England
c aster failed because she bad no New England rum
among her stores, and he expressed a hcpe that here-
after New England fisherman would be identified by
a supply of Springfield muskets. To his mind the
fish in the seas belong to those who catch them and
to no one else.