The Sun.
London, England, 1858-04-09 00:00:00

charge as that brought against these men from
communicating with their Consul." Godlike ac-
cents these indeed ; the true language of a British
Minister when engaged in the protection of foully
wronged British citizens. The conception of
" roaring as gently as a sucking dove" belongs to
Shakspeare ; the prerogative of talking " aimable
thunder" belongs to Clarendon.
We are reallyalmost ashamed to follow step bystep
the ignominious narrative. Watt goes frantic and
attempts to commit suicide. Barbar relates the fact
(No. 26), states further instances of peremptory and
positive refusal of an interview, and intimates that
the commencement of the trial is as doubtful as ever.
Park, the father, follows this by a letter of ago-
nising entreaty (No. 27), earnestly imploring Lord
Clarendon that something should be done. Then
the god appears again. On the 29th of October
(No. 29), Lord Clarendon writes to Mr. Barbar
in these terms :—" I have further to instruct you,
if you are allowed to see Park and Watt in
compliance with the demand you have been
-ordered to make, to proceed to Salerno, and to
ask them most particularly about the treatment
they have received, and whether they have in any
way been tortured or subjected to bodily pain or
suffering, and to tell them that the Government
has its eye upon them, and will take care that no
injustice is done them." We have heard of virtue
in an "if ;" but we never knew before its
full capacity for baseness. This is about th•
meanest " if," we think, recorded in history. But
the whole letter is inexpressibly base. What ! A
British Minister can quietly cause inquiries to be
made whether two British subjects, whom he
knows to be respectable, whom he firmly believes
to be absolutely void of all offence, have been sub-
jected to torture in the course of their unjust cap-
tivity. He can mock these poor men by instruct-
ing his agent to tell them " that Government hrs
its eye on them," though for nearly four months
at that very time the " eye of Government," as
that agent has repeatedly informed him, " has
never been allowed to penetrate into their dun-
geon." He can instruct a British Consul to assure
British citizens that the British Government " will
take care that no injustice is done them ;" and
this in the same breath in which he directs them
to be asked whether they have not been subject to
bodily torture in their unwarrantable captivity.
Is imprisonment without cause and against right
no injustice 1 Is torture while undergoing such
imprisonment no injustice ? And yet can a British
Minister have the face to tell two Englishmen whom
• he knows to have been wrongfully imprisoned, and
suspects of having been tortured, that their Go-
vernment will take care that no injustice is done
them 1 Surely it cannot be necessary to go further.
Surely, unless the ancient pride and spirit of
Englishmen is clean gone for ever we have said
enough, and more than enough, to show that Lord
Clarendon can never again be allowed to represent
as Foreign Minister of this country, the Majesty of
England in the presence of the nations of Europe.

A PROPERTY TAX.-A HINT TO THE
NEW CHANCELLOR.

(From the Belfast Mercantile Journal.)

In a late number we repeated an opinion fre-
quently enunciated by us previously, that, although
the present income tax could not be defended,
owing to the unjust principles upon which it is
based, we were strongly in favour of the extension
the system of direct taxation, fairly levied upon
property and income.

It is quite evident that, with a large deficiency
in the revenue staring the Chancellor in the face,
he cannot abolish or materially reduce this tax,
unless he creates one in its place, equally pro-
ductive ; and we are, therefore, the more anxious
that, in making any alteration, he may begin at
the foundation, and construct an entirely new and
more efficient machinery.
The present tax is so inquisitorial aad trouble-
some, that it would be a singular circumstance,
and out of the nature of things, were it in any re-
spect popular ; and the minister who has the
courage to blot it from the statute-book altogether
will secure a firm place in the estimation of the
public. We now propose to consider some of the
errors in that system, and make a few remarks
upon the general principle of direct taxation.
The tax presses most severely upon the middle
classes of society, who are, in fact, the bone and
sinew of the kingdom, as no economy can save
the pocket of the man whose income is not under
1001. per annum ; and it is on this that the dis-
advantage of direct taxation is chiefly apparent,
as compared with indirect. It may be said, in-
deed, that the limitation by which small incomes
are free is most just ; but still it exhibits very
glaring defects. For example, a salary of 1001.
per annum is now liable to contribute 21. 18s. 4d ,
but a salary of 991. is free ; so that it is the inte-
rest of employed persons to request, in many
cases, to have their salaries lowered in amount,
unless, indeed, as takes place in banks, railways,
and all other important public offices, the em-
ployers take on themselves the payment, thereby
increasing their own contribution to the public
revenue. Again, in the case of an income of
1001. this single sum of 20s. over 991. brings the
entire amount under taxation, which is a great
hardship, as is even the tax paid on 2001. or larger
sum, for in this case the same principle applies.
A very simple remedy for overcoming this diffi-
culty has already been suggested by us on a former
occasion, which might be worthy of consideration.
It is this :—Not to complicate the business by an
exception, which renders evasion almost inevitable,
and almost, in some cases, requires the party, in
his own defence, to take some means of reducing
his income ; but to deduct from every income,
large or small, the amount of 1001.
It is evident that thiswould remedy the difficulty,
and in the case of a very large number of persons,
avoid the excessive annoyance of seeking repay-
ments in those cases where the annual sum
is derived from stock of any kind. It is only
necessary to inqu re at any railway office, Town
Hall, or at the Harbour Office, to understand how
much time is lost, and what an amount of incon-
venience is caused, often to a class of persons—
ladies, for example—to whom it is most irksome.
Certificates are sometimes lost, the postman de-
livers the letter to a wrong party ; or if two or
more ladies of the same name happen to have
claims, it is most difficult to ascertain which has
been paid and which not. Indeed, we know of a
case where a mother and daughter of the same
Christian names, and living in the same house, who
had each the same sum to receive back, which
caused an amount of confusion (not owing to any
fault on the part of the officials, but to the system)
that required the intervention of a legal adviser,
and a correspondent: extending to not less than a
quire of paper !
It may be said, why free a rich man from the tax
on a single hundred pounds ? Simply because it
improves the entire system ; and, if these small
deductions are felt iu reduced revenues, it is easy
to add something to the rate which must fall on
those best able to pay—which, indeed, is, after all,
the most equitable principle. There is neither jus-
tice nor equity in taxing the poor man with only
1001. a-year as heavily as the Marquis of West-
minster with his 400,0001. a-year. The landed
property of every country ought to be regarded as
the basis of its wealth and strength as a nation ;
and the yearly market value of the produce of that
property should always form the groundwork for
taxation.

Whata world of misconception and of malignant
passion, says a cotemporaty, would be saved were
taxes laid ostensibly, as well as virtually, upon the
owners of realised property. What a practical
reconciliation it would effect between the wealthier
and the poorer classes, were taxes universally re-
moved from the necessaries of life and universally
laid Po as to affect only questionable luxuries. As
the late Dr. Chalmers said, "What a death-blow
would thus be inflicted on the vocation of dema-
gogues ! What a sweetening influence it would
have on British society, after the false medium was
dissipated, through which the high and the low
non look on each other as natural euemies 1"
We understand that the value of property of all
kinds, in the United Kingdom, has been estimated
by the most experienced statists at no lessthan five
thousand millions sterling (5,000,000,000/.) An
average tax of only one per cent. on this amount
would produce fifty millions sterling, or more than
would be required to free every article imported,
from duty, without having recourse to the objection-
abletaxing the productions of a rain's
as is done at present.
brains and sinews,
system of ta

LETTERS TO AMERICA.—The Canada, belonging to
the Cunard line of steamers, sails on Saturday next for
Boston, with the American [nail. The Liverpocl let-
p.m., with a late fee to three,
ter-box will close at two
Alta the landing stage at four o'clock.
The new Boulevard has cut through the following
strA3te and places of old Paris many of which have an
,
hi,torieal celebrity:—The rues Pierre h Poisson, Saint-
Gertnqin-''Auxerrois, Perrin-Givselin,
Saint-Joiroine, de la Tuerie, de la Vieille-Pannerie, de la
Ai
:Gilds rce2 enlaed;nl.4- de la Vannerie,
Vieille-Monnaie, des 14, mbards, des Troht Maurer, de la
Reynie, Aubry-le-Boucher ; la cour Batave, impasse de
Veniee ; Tile -Saint-Magloire; passage Beaufort ; ruts
Salle au Comte, aux Ours, Bourg-l'Abt 6 Neuve-Bourg
lspp' Aasa
suabsecetae:dG,ee
rd,
Be üßta4BoPfts:eruttg,irt:icHAdo
uubu
rbdp4eod, onerdes,
oedaßi ou, I loroi
sonuesgaueGdeirrAe;isial
6peTta:rs;tis,Dar
juigt7e6s:
Guerin-Boisseau, du Ponceau, de
sTracy, Neuve-Saint-
Denis et Sainte-Apolline. Along' great part of the
Bouleuard de Sebastopol handsome regular houses have
been erected, but there is yet a great deal of building to
be done. -