The Sun.
London, England, 1833-07-03 00:00:00

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etary.

Constantly in the House, and a few more
off in consequence of its abominable state,
doubt not the alteration will be made.

r. BUCKINGHAM last night moved for the

Ointment of a Select Committee to consider
the practicability of converting the national

red for
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JOHN
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bt into terminable annuities ; to impose a pro-
ttv and incona! tax for the purpose of meet-
; the expense of the conversion, and, at the
tie time, raising a surplus revenue fund which
mild enable Parliament to repeal the taxes
i;ch bear most heavily on the agricultural,
inufacturing, and shipping interests of the
untry. The motion was lost upon a division
a majority of 57 to 38. We fear that Mr.
LICK-INGHAM scared many Members from
nsidering his first proposition by the opinions
expressed upon his last. Certainly in a
tall House, the number of Members who
Tve chosen Lord ALTHORP for their bell-
ether, will be sufficient to turn the scale
ainst any proposition he opposes ; but, in a
rge House, there must be so many who look
ion the national debt as any thing but a party
testion, for luckily it presses equally upon
7higs, Radicals, and Conservatives, that a
onple proposition to consider of a practical
an for its gradual abolition, would not fail to
eet with a favourable hearing. A considera-
m of the expediency and practicability of
inverting the national debt into terminable
muities, would of itself involve a consideration
f the means by which any plan, having that
ka in view, could be accomplished ; so that,
Mr. BUCKINGHAM would contenthimselfwith
ringing forward a simple proposition for a Com-
'tree, we should not despair of seeing it adopted.
/e should be glad to agree in his proposal to
duce the interest of the Debt one shilling per
int. annually, but it lays his plan open to the
ejection of an immediate and large increase of
ration. The same objection will apply to rais-
g the interest to 5 per cent.; indeed one pro-
osition is the child of the other. Nosy, we
light, without any very great present sacrifice,
able to convert a large portion, if not the
hole of the Debt, into annuities terminable
so distant a period as one hundred years.
r. BUCKINGHAM hopes to gain converts to
's plan, by the prospect it holds out of
fording relief even to the present gene-
lion. We grant that the low interest of
Toney may be adduced as an argument in his
"ur ; but that low interest can be taken ad-
antage of, when practicable, by reducing the
iterest of the debt, and that without involving
great immediate sacrifice as lie proposes. Mr.
lucKlNGuArvi may depend upon it that no plan
ill be acceded to involves an additional
ixation of even 5,000,0001. per annum,
nd we do not exactly see how he is to reduce
le sum so low, to carry his plan into full effect.
We are sorry to see such stanch Reformers
5 Mr. BUCKINGHAM and Mr. COBBETT at
isue upon what a property tax ought to be,
Ilether graduated or not. Mr. BUCKINGHAM
undoubtedly in the wrong in his idea of the
fitness and expediency of a graduated property
; and as the main thing is to get a property
ix of any kind, we would advise him to drop
untenable principle. 'We suspect, by the
ray, that many out of doors who join in the
ry for a graduated tax, confound it with a pro-
ortional tax. It is fair and just that a man
hould pay in proportion to his property, but
graduated property tax would make men pay
ut of proportion to their property. Suppose, for
lstance, that a man with 1001. per annum 10
Ind) pays as a property tax Si., it is perfectly
fir that every body with more than 1001. per
nnum should for every additional 1001. pay an
dditional Si. In that way each would pay in
iroportion to the property he has protected, and
lo injustice would be done to any party. But
° say that A., who has been twice as industri-
)usasß-, and has therefore acquired twice as
ouch property, should be taxed, not in the
age proportion, but in a higher proportion, is
i 3 ranch as saying, that no man shall be more in-
tustrious than another. We have entered into
his detail, for the purpose of explain-
hg to our countrymen, who have been led
Tway by the cry for a graduated pro-
Terty tax, that its ultimate effect must be to
:heck the desire for accumulation, consequently
0 check the employment of labour, and of course
o produce distress and misery amongst those
tiho live by their labour. Nothing could be so
atal to the poor as the adoption of a graduated
)roperty tax. It would be a complete cutting
1p of the golden goose. On the other hand,
'°thing could be fairer or more beneficial for all
masses than a proportional property tax,
TitY( s° call it by way of contradistinction.if we
tecumula
it would not check the desire or power to
interest in
te ; for a man would have just as much
one hundred
making a second, third, and fourth
first. At t P u nds per annum as he would the
it - e same time we must say, that
Is not the fault ofthe
they have
tilavy een encourag encouraged i e a b
graduated
pro
uated tax on
the desire to
people that
n
`rave seseenthat most of thet,ipertvxes', when they
hitherto im-
)osed have been graduated 'taxes on poverty.
`41.• COBBETT placed both these points so
dearly before the House in a few words, that
Ne cannot forbear extracting them from his
Ipeecb. He said, With respect to a graduated
nioperty tax, he certainly had said, as stated by
he Noble Lord, that it would amount to con-
iseation. He was quite content that the man with
1,000 acres should pay 1,000 times as much to
he state as a man with one acre. But whilst
me opposed a graduated property tax, he must
Ilao protest against the system which imposed a
leavy burden upon the man with one acre, and
eft the man with a thousand acres almost exempt
rom taxation. This was very much the case at
, ,resent. If a man died, and left in a savings'
lea 511. which he had scraped together, both
gac
but if a rich
and probate duty would be paid upon it;
man died, and left an estate worth
0
of money, it would not pay a farthing
L. duty." Let this injustice be removed, and
ord AuritoltP need not fear that the people
will wish to adopt another in au opposite direc-
Pnav• Indeed, one of the worst symptoms we
ue observed inLordshipis his proneness
thdefend, e„,l
his
toot.
hile lamenting, some
Colonele niost glaring abuses of our system.
the EVANs
of
the very pithily put this propensity
observin
Noble "Lord before the House last night,
g, that whenever graduated taxation was
, az applicable to the rich, lie talked
of
spoliation ; but never thought of it when the
question was
of a
graduated tax acting
merely Upon the middle and poorer classes.
To bring these observations to a close, we
ajouid press upon
BUCKINGHAM'S atten-
nal that a property.
tax (a proportional" one)
would
he a good thing, with or without a
Committee on the national debt ; and that it
will be sufficient for him, if lie wishes to
have a chance of success next session, simply
'0 movelfor the :appointment of a Com-

mittee to consider of the practicability of
converting the debt into annuities, termina-
ble at a distant date. It is well, now that the
matter can be calmly discussed, to take up the
subject, for it requires no ghost to tell us. that
the confidence of the moneyed classes must at
length be weakened by the continual indirect at-
tacks made upon the Funds.

A gentle contention, like that between the
shepherds in VIRGIL, took place yesterday fore-
noon in the House of Commons, between Sir
A. AGNEW and Mr. PETER, on the subject of
their respective Sabbath Bills. The Saint of
the North contended that his was the most po-
pular ; he of the West, that his was the most
conscientious. After an attentive consideration
of the merits of the two Bills, we find ourselves
in the distressing predicament of the umpire in
VlRGlL—unable to come to any definite con-
clusion. At one moment we are decided to
bestow the palm of pre-eminent absurdity on
Sir ANDREW AGNEW'S abortion ; but the next,
we bethink ourselves of Mr. PETER'S and feel
strongly disposed to recant in his favour. It is
altogether a most perplexing business. What
a pity that both candidates cannot be pre-eminent
in absurdity, where both have taken such pains
to deserve the palm !

It will be seen that Mr. BARRON withdrew
his resolutions respecting the substitution of a
land tax fcr tithes in Ireland, in preference to
abiding by the result of a division. The fact is
that the measures now taking by the Government
have rendered such resolutions unnecessary.
Tithes are virtually abolished, as far as concerns
their payment by the tenants of the soil. The
landlord is enabled on advan►ageous terms to
pay them directly instead of indirectly, and if he
still leaves them as a burden upon his tenants, it
can only be in the hope of ultimately putting
them all into his own pocket.

Letters have been received from the Hagu e
stating that M. DEDEL will be here on Satur-
day. His protracted stay in Holland appears
to have been caused by the non-arrival of
information from St. Petersburgh as to the in-
structions which the Emperor NicHoLAs
intended to give his Ambassador in London on
the subject of the Belgian preliminary treaty.
On Thursday last, however, an official notifica-
tion was received from the Hague that whether
the Dutch Government should hear from the
Russian Cabinet or not, M. DEDEL would be
in London on Saturday and prepared to resume
the negotiations with the Conference. On
Monday last Prince LIEVEN received his in-
structions direct from St. Petersburgh, and
therefore he will take part in the discussions
of the Conference, unless Count MATusEwic
should arrive on a special tnision, which is not
expected. Early in the approaching week, there-
fore, unless M. DEDEL can find some new
pretext for delay, the conference will resume
their labours on this difficult question ; but,
according to present appearances, they will do so
with a much greater prospect of success than on
any former occasion ; for whatever may be the
views of the Empero- of RUSSIA, the Prussian
and Austrian Cabinets are evidently anxious to
bring the affair to a termination. Nothing can
show this more than the fact, that on Sunday
last, Baron &mow and Baron k.VESSENBERG
received from their respective Courts information
that the Emperor of AUSTRIA and the King
of PRUSSIA, anxious to give King LEOPOLD
a proof of their good will, which had been
delayed only by the hostilities pending in
Belgium, had appointed Ministers Plenipoten-
tiary to the Belgian Court, who would set off
for their destination almost immediately. Not-
withstanding our experience of the duplicity and
treachery of Continental Courts, we cannot
believe that this measure would have been
adopted if it was not intended to compel the
King of HOLLAND to listen to reason.

THE FUNDS.-(THIS DAY.)

CITY, TWELVE O'CLOCK.

Hobart Town papers to the 9th February, and Launceston
to the '.l3` d December, have been received at the North and
South American Coffee-house.

(From the Hobart Town Papers.)

In consequence of the great quantity of wheat brought to
town during the week, most of which is of this year's growth,
it has experienced a small fall in price, the average per bushel
being 4s. Pd. to 55., and very plentiful. English barley is also
abundant. The price of grain has also fallen.
The news from Davis' Straits describes the fishing in that
quarter as remarkably successful.
;From the Hobart Town Courier of Jan. 18.)

The panic, as it maybe called, which existed in Hobart Town
for these last two or three months, owing to the depreciated
state of trade and the currency, begins gradually to subside.

(From the Launceston Papers.)

The great scarcity of money throughout the colony has
been, by various writers, attributed to different causes. The
Colonial Times of last week mentions the appalling fact, that
the sum of 80,0001. will this year be exported by the Hobart
Town Government, from the pockets of the inhabitants of the
island. We perceive that the arrival of the Polumbam with a
number of Hebrew settlers, has been happily improved by our
Hobart Town contemporaries, in their remarks upon the usu.
rious money-lenders, who have heretofore diverted the colony.
We cannot help expressing our regret, that the feelings of the
new corners should be hurt immediately on their arrival by being
twitted about their nation. With regard to the money-lending
crew, who have so abominably fattened upon the distress of the
colonists, our contemporaries should recollect that they are most
of them Christians by profession, and that the Hebrews might
as justly turn their usurious conduct into a general reproach
upon our religion as we upon theirs.