The Sun.
London, England, 1833-05-09 00:00:00

HOUSE AND WINDOW TAXES.

On Tue,day evening a numerous meeting of the in-
hAbitant householders of the parish of Christchurch, South-
wark, was held in the Rotunda, to take into consideration
what course ought to be pursued to obtain the instant and
total repeal of the house and window tax, and to adopt
such resolutions thereon as might seem most expedient;
and also to take into consideration the conduct of William
Brrugharn, Esq , one of their representatives, relative to
the said taxes.

The chair was filled by Mr. PA u.R.,
Mr. PAUL rose to move the first resolution. He con-
ceived that the House of Commons by its late vote o❑ Sir
John Key's motion had disgraced itself in a way which
even a boroughmonvring Parliament would have been
ashamed of. He then adiverted to the civil list, which he
characterised as enormous and shameful, He next alluded
to the way in which the taxes pressed so heavily on the
productive industry of the country. Taxation could only
be sensibly lessened by the most rigid economy. We must
economise from the King on the throne down to the door-
ke per of the House of Commons.—(Cheers.) It had now
become a question, whether they should pay any more of the
assessed taxes.—(Loud cries of " No ! no !") Am I to un-
derstand (said Mr. Paul) by your cries of "No ! no!'
that you have no money wherewith to pay the tax ga-
therer?—(Cries of " Yes, yes," followed by the meat
deafening cheers.) He then adverted to the inequality of
the assessed taxes, which pressed so heavily on the mer-
chant and tradesman, while they were felt so lightly by
the aristocracy. Mr. Paul the❑ concluded by moving—
" That the meeting is deeply disappointed at the recent
vote of the House of Commons, by continuing the house
and window taxes, and is of opinion that their instant and
total repeal ought to lie peremptorily demanded."
Mr. MEEK seconded the resolution. He was not in the
way of turning his attention much to politics, and it was
with the greatest diffidence he now ventured to address
them ; but he was impelled by a sense of duty to come
forward on this momentous occasion.—(Cheers.) He
found that a great part of his little earnings which ought
to go to supply his limited wants, and those of his family,
were taken out of his pocket by the tax-gatherer. The
meeting had already virtually said, that they would no
longer pay these obnoxious and oppressive taxes.—(Cries
of " It's all over.") Well, then, he (Mr. M.) begged
also to say, that his pockets would also in future be
shut.—(Laughter and cheers.)
_

Mr. Wooi:cx rose to move the second resolution. He
had thought when we got a reformed Parliament we
should have hid an honest Legislature at last. Not so; it
seemed as if honesty could not exist in the atmosphere of
St. Stephen's.—(Cheers.) He (Mr. Wooler) must now
be an infidel as to our getting a truly honest House of
Commons. He had lost all confidence in public men.
The people must now trust to themselves.—(Great cheer-
ing.) They could and they ought to keep the money
which had heretofore gone to the payment of the house
and window taxes in their own pockets. The only way
to limit the expenditure of Government was by refusing
them the supplies. Mr. Wooler then adverted to toe
conduct of Lord Althorp in promising after the vote of
the House of Commons for the reduction of the duty on
malt, not to undo that vote ; and, after his solemn promise
publicly given, did undu it. This conduct he (Mr. W.)
would pronounce to be worse than the conduct of Lord
Castlereagh, when he made the legislation rescind its own
vote in 1820, on the agricultural question. Mr. Wooler,
after same further observations, concluded by moving—
" That the conduct of the Ministry, in mixing the ques-
tion of the malt tax with the repeal of the house and
window taxes, is unworthy of a Government professing to
rest its respectability on the broad basis of public opinion,
is an insult to the people, and destructive to confidence."
Mr. BRADY seconded the resolution.

Mr. LOCKE moved the third resolution, that " The
conduct of Mr. William Brougham in voting against the
interest of his constituents, has destroyed their confidence
in him, and that, in their opinion, he ought to resign his
seat for Southwark.
Mr. SMITH seconded the resolution.

Mr. POOLE moved the fourth resolution. The people
now had ample reason to withdraw their confidence Irom
their representatives, and henceforth to trust only to
themselves. Are we to pay the house and window taxes
any longer ?—(Cries of " No, no.") Then he (Mr. P.)
would shut his pockets also.—(Laughter and cheers.) He
had opposed Mr. Sheriff Hompliery at the last election,
because he thought he would not p..rform his promises.
Mr. Woi.LEA seconded the resolution, which was car-
ried by tremendous cheers.
A vote of thanks was then given to the Chairman, who
returned thanks, and the meeting then broke up.

The building of iron boats for the accelera-
tion of speed on canals goes on in Paisley with unrivalled
success.

WHO IS THE AUTHOR OF "GODOLPHIN?"
—" This story is woven from real events. main ten-
dency, is to show the influences exercise th gr t
world over the more intellectual, the , it. d , and t e
more imaginative of its inmates o e.t , ex. It has so e
connection with the social a p itical history of the
time ; and the time itsel , h wvr busy it tie, is always
egotist enough to lance eVety teflection of its features,
and to find fault ith/th delay of the mirror. Should
any persons a ten' pry into so unimportant a secret at
4,6
the name of t e Int ' idual whose task it has been, frern a
L lance
memoir, to c strnct a romance, their ingenuity will be
exercised in vain : that secret, of consequence to none but
himself, he trusts and believes he shall carry to the grave."
—Preface to the new novel of " Godolphin."
CURIOUS ANECDOTE OF A TIGER.—From
Captain Basil Hall's Towels we extract the following
anecdote of the tiger at the British residency in India, who
ate a sheep every day for dinner :—" But what annoyed
him far more than our poking him up with a stick, or
tantalizing him with shins of beef or legs of mutton, was
introducing a mouse into his cage. No fine lady ever ex-
hibited more terror at the sight of a spider than this
magnificent royal tiger betrayed on seeing a mouse,
Our mischievous plan was to tie the little animal by a
string to the end of a long pole, and thrust it close to the
tiger's nose. The moment he saw it he leaped to the op-
posite side, and when the mouse was made to run near
him, he jammed himself into a corner, and stood trembling
and roaring in such an ecstacy of fear, that we were always
obliged to desist from sheer pity to the poor brute. Some-
times we insisted on his passing over the spot where the
unconscious little mouse ran backward and forwards. For
a long time, however, we could not get him to cove, till
at length, I believe by the help of a squib, we obliged him
to start ; but instead of pacing leisurely across his den, or
making a detour to avoid the object of his alarm, he ge-
nerally took a kind of flying leap, so high as nearly to bring
his back in contact with the roof of his cage."