The Sun.
London, England, 1834-10-29 00:00:00

" TO THE EDITOR OF THE TIMES

" Sir,—Permit your constant reader to intrude himself on
you, in offering a few hints, which, if publicity is given to them
in your invaluable paper, may possibly be of some benefit to
the country.
" We are now informed it is the intention of the Govern-
ment to fit up the insecure ruins at the late lamented Houses
of Peers and Commons as a temporary building at the mo-
derate estimate of 30,0001., until Buckingham Palace can be
adapted for the purpose.
" Buckingham Palace is by no means fit, without a very
considerable expenditure and great alterations, destructive of
many expensive erections, independent of the inconvenient
distance from all the public offices. As a palace for the re-
sidence of the Royal family and for levees and drawing-rooms
it is suited; many of the defects of Mr. Nash have been re-
moved by the present architect, and more adapted for state
purposes than St. James's, and is now on the verge of corn-
pletioa.
" St. James's has many excellent rooms, which, at the ex-
pense of a few hundred pounds, could be made available—
independent of Marlborough-house as a residence for the
Speaker—and, as that Palace will be useless on the occupa-
tion of Buckingham Palace, it would be a wanton waste of
money to adopt the plan said, by rumour, to be determined on.
" If the ruins are to be repaired it can only be temporary,
and of course afterwards destroyed.
" Should the Government determine to rebuild on the
present spot, it is to be hoped the defects of the late Houses
will be remedied, and the whole made fire-proof, which can
be done—though scarcely to be expected—under three years,
at least.

" The burning of the Exchequer tallies was certainly unne-
cessary ; they might have been stored in the cellars as fire-
wood, or at any rate burnt in the open air ; the Clerk of the
Works is deputed by his superiors, and he deputes a labourer
of doubtful character !
" I am, Sir, your most humble servant,
" ECONOMY."

We give insertion, in another part of this day's
paper, to another letter on the subject of the Tea
Duties, and we can assure the writer, without the
slightest unwillingness. Our object is in all cases,
as that of honest journalists must always be, to place
before our readers the pro and con of every matter of
national importance which comes before us ; and in
this spirit, and from no other motive of any description,
private or public, did we publish the'observations con-
tained in Nicholson's Gazette of last Saturday, and
complained of by our Correspondent. These obser-
vations may or may not be correct—that is for
the tea trade to determine and to correct, and our
.
columns are open to the contradiction, if can be
given ; but we must in justice state that it augurs
badly for the alleged justice of the cause of those
who are opposed to Mr. Nicholson, that they did
not meet his statements at the late tea sale, by the
full explanations and contradictions which would have
satisfied the public that he was either in error, or an
advocate of his own private interests instead of those
of the public. With regard to our expression in re-
ference to the article in Nicholson's Gazette, we cry
peccavi to our correspondent ; but we must state, at
the same time, that he must know very little of
our general conduct to imagine for a moment that
we could think of applying the musty proverb re-
ferred to, in its literal acceptation, to the whole-
sale tea-dealers. We entertain all the respect for
that body which they either deserve or could wish
us to have towards them ; but in the matter of
the fixed duty on all descriptions of tea, be it
2s. or ls. per pound, we must beg leave to differ
with them. The principle of the uniform tax
on all teas is unjust on the face of it, and notwith-
standing the reasoning of our correspondent, which
we must take leave to observe is more ingenious than
convincing, we are still of opinion that neither the
uniformity of a tax, nor its difference as a scale, can
either sharpen or deaden the public palate in the dis-
crimination of the qualities of teas. Were the tax so
low on those teas—say 6d. per pound—which form
the usual beverage of the poorer classes, we might
instead
of become the advocates of a fixed duty
of a scale of duties on all teas ; but while the Go-
vernment feels it to be its duty, as a matter of
revenue necessity, to impose so high a duty as
3s. per pound on certain descriptions of tea, and the
tea trade to be only able to propose 2s. as the
minimum which can reimburse the Exchequer, we
must continue to be the advocates of a lower duty
upon the lower-priced and lower descriptions of tea.
Why should not those who use teas of superior fla-
vour and higher price pay the higher duty ? Why
should the poor man pay ls. per lb. on that which is
only worth 2kd., and the wealthy the same duty on
that which costs and is fairly worth ninepence ? The
tea trade reply—in order to prevent the introduction of
the worst tea, and -of things which are not tea ; but
wtinli ee
e dahuappeala etsicobsf eoteitninoe
otherthemwe
taa
what they
as practical
blaihsreth iyienlfeeosi
nitidl
alo ys,frm
have
been
rabeedeuiencli whether,
uniform
ft t
gohunaant
lzdteulcli,ri where
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y
n
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uniform
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wine
albisaatelsi;
but has there in consequence been no importation of
bad Port—no adulteration—no mixture—no im-
portation of inferior ports ? The same observation
applies to French wines. Will any one venture to tell
us that the late alteration of the duty, however just in
some respects, has been productive of extensive bene-
fit to the public ? But to end this subject, and we
can assure the tea trade that the controversy is by no
means agreeable to us, is it not matter of undoubted
fact that the purse of the buyer of every article is ge-
nerally the measure of his palate, and that in many
cases it must be so ? And further, that supposing the
Government to affix a duty of 2s. to all descriptions of
tea, the public would have no more security than it
has at present against either the mixture of genuine
teas—in other words, frauds—or the introduction of a
spurious article.—Morning Advertiser.

Many large distillers are now using coarse wheat in
lieu of barley, owing to the extraordinary disproportion in the
prices of the two commodities.
FINE ARTS AT MuNicii.—A murderer, under
sentence of death, in order to beguile the time, has been
moulding the scene of his approaching execution in bread
moistened into dough. His head is held up by the executioner,
there is a Franciscan praying, and, to crown the whole, a
wooden-legged invalid soldier crying his last dying-speech.
Of this immortal specimen of the fine arts it may be truly said
that in it the staff of life has become the very Image of death,
and that nothing of the artist's can ever go beyond the execu-
tiori..,..Literar,y Gazette.