The Sun.
London, England, 1866-02-03 00:00:00

TUE SUN, .LONDON, SATURDAY EVENING, FEBRUARY 3, 1866.

a model plan. Thus section 93 will be one of the
most curious and interesting of the whole Exhibi-
tion. It will contain some very interesting speci-
mens. Already many of the heads of manufactories
of machines and tools have written to the commit-
tee asking for space for their products. The an-
nouncement made by the Emperor in regard to
houses for working men will stimulate builders and
scientific men to imagine means to render them
more salubrious and comfortable.

There was a very violent storm of wind all last
night, and to-day high winds have prevailed, ac-
companied with rain, in the afternoon. Every one
is surprised, I will not say complaining, at the re-
markable temperature. It has been really hot out
of doors, one proof of which was that travellers by
the omnibus put down the windows, as it is custo-
mary in the very height of summer.
An appeal is about to be carried before the Civil
Tribunal of Castellamare (Italy) against a decision
invalidating the will of a French gentleman, named
Ceurveux, under most extraordinary circumstances.
He was a man of luxurious habits, well educated,
and talented. He caltivated art and science, and
was an excellent musician. It seemed to be his
aim to live well, and to die with luxurious pomp.
For a long time before his death he had a small
but effectual guillotine constructed under his own
superintendence, and this machine, fitted up very
handsomely, he had placed in his bed-room. His
idea was to die while inhaling beautiful flowers and
perfume. The guillotine was handsomely decorated
with red drapery. On the day when he made use
of this guillotine vases of rare exotics were placed
around it, and heated vessels with oriental per-
fumes. Under the curtains was a table covered
with black cloth, and a pillow covered with white
satin was kept under the guillotine to receive the
head. No attention was paid to these strange pre-
parations, as M. Courveux was only considered to
an eccentric gentleman, without intentions really.
mischievous. However, one fine night, after play-
ing a hymn of his own composition on the piano,
clothed in white he mounted the steps of the guillo-
tine, and lying upon his back, so that he might see
the axe fall, he pulled the string and his head rolled
into the receptacle prepared for it. Two lamps
trimmed with odoriferous oil had been burning on
the table. The consternation of his servants when
they entered the room in the morning may be ima-
gined. On the table was found a will by which he
left his property to strangers or friends. A French
court has decided that a will made by a maniac is
invalid. The relations of the deceased desire the
confirmation of this decision by an Italian tribunal,
as most of the testator's property is in Italy, and
hence the appeal to the Civil Tribunal of Castella-
mare, which, it is expected, will, in accordance with
the decision of the French tribunal, order the dis-
tribution of the property to be made among the re-
latives of the deceased madman.

Kr. Gladstone and the Income-Tax.

----~ -

The Chancellor of the Exchequer gave audience
yesterday afternoon to a deputation appointed at
public meetings recently held within the borough of
the Tower Hamlets, and consisting chiefly of trades-
men residing in that borough and vicinity. The de-
putation waited upon the right hon. gentleman by
appointment, at his official residence in Downing-
street. The object of the deputation was to urge on
her Majesty's Government the advisability of an
entire remission of the income tax, and a revision of
the assessed taxes so far as they affected trade and
commerce.

Amongst the members of the deputation were A.
S.Ayrton,Esq., M.P.; J. J. Merriman, Esq.; Messrs.
E. Horton, A. Furness, E. Walker, G. E. Cham-
bers, W. G. Kent, W. R. Neild, W. C. Edmonds,
A. Duffield, T. Thompson, W. Tipton, W. 0. Cole-
man, W. Hayhow, W. E. Edwards, G. Smeeton, R.
D. Hall, G. H. Stammers, J. Corfe, Atkins, A.
Laws, R. Turner, W. Mason, G. Wood, E. Hand-
ley, Bunting, Ryland, Gilding, and Alfred Laws.
Mr. AYRTON, M.P., briefly introduced the depu-
tation.

Mr. W. G. ICENT read the memorial subscribed to
attlue
The memorialists reminded the rightliOn. gen eman
that the income tax was, on its original institution,
required as a temporary impost, and when from time
to time renewed, was only continued for temporary
purposes. It had never been considered as a perma-
nent source of revenue. Its unequal and oppressive
operation had been endured only in consideration of
its temporary nature, and in the hope of its speedy
extinction. The right hon. gentleman had long ago
pledged himself to its abrogation, and the memoria-
lists submitted that the time had now come for the
fulfilment of that undertaking. Mr. Kent said he
had but just parted from Mr. Butler, the colleague
of Mr. Ayrton in the representation of the Tower
Hamlets, and he had been commissioned by that
gentleman to express to the Chancellor of the Ex-
chequer his hearty and entire concurrence in the
object sought to be obtained by the deputation.

Mr. COMPTON, as chairman of the Tower Hamlets
Ratepayers' Association, commented at some length
on the inequalities of the operation of the income
tax upon various classes of taxpayers, and more
particularly as pressing upon small traders. Ih3
tax was rendered the more unpopular from the
mode of its collection and assessment. With regard
to the assessed taxes there was practically no appeal,
the assessor being to a great extent irresponsible,
and the commissioners being influenced in their de-
cisions upon appeal cases by the advice of a clerk,
whose interest it was, seeing that he was paid by
poundage, to keep the assessment as high as possible.
Messrs. Duffield, Horton, and Furness successively
addressed the right hon. gentleman; commenting
upon alleged irregularities in the imposition and
collection of the assessed taxes.

The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER said that
with regard to the alleged irregularities, if a clear
and concise statement was submitted to him in
writing, Government would at once institute the
most thorough arld searching investigation, with a
view to the remedy of the evils complained of. At
the present moment, and upon the statements just
made, though he must be understood as not im-
pugning the correctness of the facts, he could pro-
nounce no opinion, and give no practically useful
judgment. With regard to the other object of the
deputation, there was nothing in the memorial to
hich he could take exception, beyond the mere
statement as to the income tax being re-imposed to
defray the expenses of the Russian war. Ile believed
that there was much elasticity and spring in the re-
sources of the country that we could have borne
those expenses even if the income tax had been then
remitted. No one could deny the inequalities in the
operation of the income tax, which were patent to
all, but the question of abolition was for the consi-
deration of the entire country ; and Government
could not act upon the dicta of one constituency,
even one so important as the Tower Hamlets.

GUSTAVE DORE'S LAST WORK.—The Holy Bib7e
is now some 25 per cent. dearer than it was a month
since. Every copy has been bought from the publishers'
shelves at Tours; and in Paris the dealers are trying to
repurchase from the London booksellers any unsold copies.
The work was published, we believe, at 200 f. for it. 31.
Mame, we understand, will issue the second edition, in
parts; but some time must elapse before they can be got
ready.

DEATH OF MIL W. F. WINDIIAM.—The notorious
Mr. W. F. Windham, as to whose sanity there was
such a costly inquiry before Master Warren in December,
1861, has expired rather suddenly at the Norfolk Hotel, in
this city. He had given up the coach with which he had
latterly occupied his time, but still passed his life in more
or less dissipated company. On Thursday morning he was
taken with a most severe fit of sickness, and it is supposed
that he ruptured some internal vessel. He was put to bed
at the hotel where he resided, and a surgeon was sent for.
A change took place for tho worse, and another surgeon
was called in, while a telegram was forwarded to Lieut.-
Gen. Windham in London. The condition of the unhappy
young man became rapidly worse, and although a third
medical gentleman was sent for, and was soon in attend-
ance, the case was beyond human aid, and death closed the
scene early last evening. The exact cause of death is not
yet known, but a post-mortem examination is now being
made, and an inquest will probably be held. Mr. Wind-
ham was a cousin of the Marquis of Bristol. His estate at
Felbrigg, Norfolk, has passed into the hands of a Norwich
merchant, but he would have come into possession of fur-
ther valuable property in 18G9. —Norivichpaper.