The Sun.
London, England, 1856-07-19 00:00:00

REFORM'S IN TG-NIS.

The Bey of Tunis has just addl.( )ssed a proclani•
tion to the inhabitants of the Rega ncy, in which he
;makes known to them the liberal reforms whichhe
is about to adopt. We give the most salient points
)f this document, which proposes to correct many
abuses, and cannot fail, if steadily acted-on, to be
attended.with the best results :
"Praise be to God ! May salvation be with you.
frome our lord and master- Mohammed ! Praise ;be 1,44:
God, who has made prosperity depend on jUStige
and goodness ; who has willed that the best :quality
in man shall be love of his fellow-creatures ; who
has devoted in him for the practice of this great
virtue the two smallest parts of his body—his "-heart
and his tongue; who has willed that men should
be governed by different laws according to time and
countries—laws destined to remove evil and to promote
confidence and welfare • and who has selected for each
nation, in order that these advantages may be secured
to it, the men most attached to the true faith I . • .
When the Most High confided to our feeble hands the
task of governing yon and of watching over public and,
private interests, we felt convinced that the first pre.
scriptien of religion was to guard faithfully the deposit
confided to our care, end we have placed our hope in the
aid of the Most High, for the sovereign, being the elect of
God, is protected by hiegrace. Ile is destined to secure the
welfare of the people around him, and to shield them from
the evil which may threaten them, but be cannot attain
that object without assistance and support, that is to say,
without faithful servants and disciplined armies. It
is also evident that a government cannot go on without
a certain amount of wealth ; that no country can
prosper if not sufficiently peopled ; that a country can-
not be well peopled unless the inhabitants have con&
denca in the justice of those who govern them; and that
confidence cannot exist unless severe repression be
adopted against those persons who seek to do mischief
and to excite disorder. On our accession to power, we
:mind that serious attaint had been made to the prin.
ciples above-mentioned, and that the prosperity of the
country had been compromised thereby. In order to
remedy these evils our attention was first directed
towards agriculture, and we relieved the agriculturists
from many of the burdens which weighed heavily on
that branch of the prosperity of the country. Our atten-
tion has been since directed to the indirect taxes with
which the people are burdened, such as the men opoliee
of tobacco, salt, leather, and other duties which the
agents of the government collect from the people. We feel
convinced that the poor alone support these burdens,
and that the rich find means of escaping from them. If
we totally suppress all these taxes, as it is our wish to
do, the Government could not go en for want of a sum.
cient revenue ; and on the other hand, if we allow them
to remain, the consequence will be the continua ion of
the acts of injustice which God reproves in the Koran.
Other means must therefore be found, and we trust that
God will make the earth produce the resources which are
necessary for us. We have decided on choosing the
smallest of the two inconvenience,, and we therefore sup-
press all the taxes hitherto exacted from our people, with
the exception er the tithe of corn and oil, and the tax
fixed on olive and palm trees; these taxes being essen-
tially just, since they are levied on the production of the
soil and not on individuals. We also continue the dia
(tax on blood), which is a punishment for crime. These
taxes will continue to be collected according to regula-
tions established by us."