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

Mr. 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. Upton, 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. C. KUVT read the memorial suberibod.t,k,
at the public rucetiugrecentlyheld within the borough.
The memorialists reminded the right hon. gentleman
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. Zhe
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 iu 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 and 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
Mhich he could take exception, beyond the mere
statement as to the income tax being re-imposed to
defray the expenses of the Russian war. He 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 WORIC.—The Holy Bib!e
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. M.
Mame, wo understand, will issue the second edition, in
parts; but some time must elapse before they can be got
ready.

DEATH OF 111.. W. F. WEsTDIIAM.—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 ho 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 the 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 Marqui:, of Bristol. His estate at
Folbrigg, Norfolk, has passed into the hands of a Norwich
merchant, but he would have come into possession of fur-
ther whale property 124 Ha --Yortcfch paper.

LA TEST INTELLIGENCE

(REUTER'S TELEGRAMS.)

BELGIUM.

BRUSSELS, FED. 3.

The Moniteur Beige of to-day publishes the text
of an address to King Leopold 11. from the English
Volunteers, who were present at the National Rifle
Meetings held in Belgium in 1864 and 1863.
The address condoles with his Majesty on the
loss he has sustained, and congratulates him on his
accession to the throne.

HUNGARY.

PESTII, FEB. 3.

A congratulatory address was presented yesterday
to the Emperor by a deputation from the Hun-
garian Diet.
Ins Majesty replied in very gracious terms, and
declared that, notwithstanding the many difficulties
in the way of an arrangement, a resolute will and
mutual confidence would bring about a satisfactory
solution.

BRAZIL AND RIVER PLATE MAILS.
SOUTHAMPTON, FEB. 3.

The Royal mail company's steamship Oneida,
with the above mails, has arrived here. She brings
50 passengers, £1,642 in specie, £2,497 in silver,
7 packages of diamonds, value not stated, and 4,000
packages of cargo, consisting chiefly of cotton.

From Lisbon to the Channel she experienced a
south-westerly gale and a heavy sea.
On the 14th ult. she spoke the English ship Sarah
Dixon on the 15th, the Hamburg bark Lizzie Annie,
and on the 16th the English ship Calliope.
The allied army, under President Mitre, was ex-
pected shortly to enter Paraguay.
The Brazilians were daily sending recruits to the
River Plate, and the army in Corrientes numbers
40,000 men.

In Paraguay an army was concentrated at the
Paso de la Patrea, awaiting the approach of the
Allies, and a battle was considered imminent.
The state of the Argentine Provinces was satis-
factory. The works of the Argentine Central Rail-
way were proceeding rapidly. The markets were
crowded with wool and prices had considerably de-
clined in consequence of the stringency of the money
market. The paper money in circulation was insuf-
ficient for the demands of trade, and was worth 24
per cent. per annum, while gold only commands 12
per cent.

Business was quiet, and the banks had ceased
discounting in paper money.
In the Coventry districts water and grass were
very abundant, and there was a large increase in
the flocks. Sheep were very cheap.
At Rio Janeiro small-pox, measles, and fever had
been very destructive amongst the Paraguayan
troops and the allied army.
The Brazilian fleet was at Corrientes, and a com-
bined attack upon Paraguay was expected at the
end of January.
From Paraguay little is known, but several thou-
sand citizens and troops, stationed at Asuncion, are
said to have died from disease arising amongst
various encampments, and spreading to the inhabi-
tants.

It is understood that the allied Governments will
listen to no proposals of peace whose fundamental
basis is not the fundamental expulsion of Lopez
from Paraguay.
The chief news from Montevideo was a rupture
between that Government and the Chilian Envoy,
exequu,a,

The English vessel Anne has been lost off Santa
Catherina, from spontaneous combustion. The
crew were saved.

The English steamer Powerful has been lost on
the coast of Rio Grande do Sul. She had 400
troops on board, but only five were drowned.

PLYMOUTH, FEB. 2.

The captain, the sole survivor of the crew of the
bark Jane Lowden, of Padstow, which was reported
by the troopship Gresham to have been at sea
waterlogged, has arrived at Texel in the Ida Eliza-
beth.

He states that nine of the crew were washed
overboard, and six died on board of injuries, cold,
and hunger. The captain was 33 days in the main-
top, and during the last 28 days (? hours) never
tasted food. He was taken off the wreck on the
23d January. One man lived in the maintop to
within 10 days of that date.

FRANCE.
PARIS, FEB. 2.
BOURSE, Feb. 2.—Three o'clock—The market
has improved to-day, and closed as follows :-
4i per Cents 9B 35
Do. end month —
3 per Cents. 6B 70
Do. end month 6B 95
Credit Mobilier
Do. end month
Bank Shares 3725
Credit Foncier 1305
Italian Loan 62 05
Do. end month 62 15

Roman
Ottoman Fives

Mexican Loan 46 50
Do. Bonds 302 50
Russian
Austrian
Spanish Threes
Home Debt —
Deferred