The Sun.
London, England, 1857-02-24 00:00:00

THE siITN, LONDON, TUESDAY EVENING, FEBRUARY 24, 1857.

vent the recognition of the distinction between
permanent and precarious incomes. The Derby-
ites took the widest range. • Every man took his
own peculiar view, and, like the renowned HARRY
Gow, " fought for his own hand ;" while the
Aberdeen phalanx, usually so united, suffered
dissension to arise in its attenuated ranks. The
recently created firm of DISRAELI, GLADSTONE,
RUSSELL, and Co., was dissolved, the junior part-
ner retiring at the first struggle. "Small JOHN"
had not by any means taken the PALMERSTON
Administration into favour, but he could not en-
dure that the fatal blow to its existence should
be carried by any other hand. He had personal
wrongs to avenge, personal interests to promote.
If the Cabinet had been overthrown on a motion
made by Mr. DISRAELI, Lord DERBY would pro-
bably have received the commission to furm a
new Administration, and that would not by any
mean shave suited the book of the Noble Lord
the Member for the City of London. In fee,
the only consistent parties were the waiters
cm PROVIDENCE, who were actuated by the
political gratitude which consists in " a
lively sense of favours to come, and those who for
many cogent reasons deprecate an early appeal to
the country. Sir G. C. LEWIS did not, however,
succeed on the strength of his own case, but rather
in consequence of disunion between his oppo-
nents.

The victory is therefore by no means a decisive
one. New contests are already "looming in the
future." Even the unmodifiei Income Tax is not
yet carried, and a fierce conflict must take place
over the enhanced duties on tea and sugar.
There was sound sense in what fell from
Lord JOHN RUSSELL respecting small reductions
on those articles. The public will not receive any
benefit from 2d. per lb. on tea, or is. Bd. per
cwt. on sugar. It will all go into the pockets of
the retailers. To render an appreciable advan-
tage to consumers at least 4d. should be taken off
tea, which would allow a reduction of Id. in the
quarter lb. tea, the hightest investment of the
working classes with the grocer ; and it would
require 49. Bd. per cwt. on sugar to strike off a
halfpenny per lb. from the charge. Under Sir
G. C. LEWIS'S proposition there will be no reduc-
tion in price. Customers will be told that
they gain it in quality, although the improve-
ments exist only in the vivid imaginations
of the dealers. And it may be regarded as an
extraordinary phenomenon that the stock of tea
now sold at 4s. and of sugar at bid. should be so
completely exhausted on the 6th of April, and
that thenceforward tea worth exactly 2d. per lb.,
and sugar worth ls. Bd. per cwt., more than t'le
articles previously sold should come into use. The
Chancellor of the Exchequer looks at these mat
ters in a single point of view. lie only takes into
consideration the extant to which the revenue
may be affected. A more enlightened minister
would, however, so regulate the charges so that
the consumers may profit to the full extent of the
reduction.

There will now be a temporary armistice until
Friday next, when the battle will again be re-
newed. The time has arrived when professing
fiscal reformers must "awake, arise, or be for
ever fallen." There is but little use in uttering
" prave Drds" out of doors, if their lips be her-
naetically sealed in Parliament ; or even iu giving
notices of motions never intended to be brought
forward, but withdrawn at the last moment to
suit the convenience of Ministers. If they
always find seasons completely satisfactory to
themselves for voting in opposition to their
former pledges---if they can never find a suitable
time for performing their promises, the sooner they
subside into their pristine insignifiance the better.
They should not excite and disturb the publis
mind without at lust endeavouring to bring
about some practical result. A modern edition
of " sayings and doings" would afford valuable
assistance to many constituencies when called on
to decide between the claims of rival candidates.
We confess that we should prefer an honest,
straightforward opponent to a pretended friend,
who might " keep the word of promise to the
ear," although he would most assuredly " break
it to the hope."
There is now an agreeable prospect before the
country of a certain deficiency from 1858 to 1860,
and a perpetual unmodified Income Tax. That
we can reduce our expenditure to that of 1852 or
1853 is perfectly hopeless, considering that in
each year the country will have to provide
2,000,0001. for Exchequer Bonds falling due,
which cannot be renewed, lest " the whole beauty
of the invention might be lost I" £1,500,000
for Sinking Fund, and 1,400,0001. for additional
interest. There could be no difficulty in renew-
ing these Bonds, even if in the hands of the
general community. But it appears that they
aro almost entirely held on behalf of the Savings
Banks, and it is obvious that they constitute the
best description of investment for the large
amounts held on behalf of these institutions.
There has already been a loss of nearly
4,000,000/. sterling in consequence of Go-
vernment being compelled to resort to stocks
which fluctuate to the extent of 10 or even 15
per cent. The largest deposits are made when
quotations are high, the withdrawals take place
when they are low ; consequently the nianagers
are compelled to buy in the dearest and sell in the
cheapest markets. But having Exchequer Bonds
bearing interest at 3i per cent. there would be an
ample margin beyond the 3/ per cent, allowed by
Government, which would constitute a guarantee I
fund that would prevent the possibility of such
untoward events as occurred at Rochdale, Tralee,
St. Peter's parish, Dublin, and other savings'
banks ; so far, at least, as loss to the
depositors resulted. Such a course would bring
out the " real-beauty of the invention," and dis-
play it in the clearest light. But, unfortunately,
it is far beyond the ken of the present Financial
Minister. So comprehensive a view cannot be
anticipated so long as he presides at the Exchequer.
We have already shown that these bonds only
partially replaced the money withdrawn from
the Exchequer, in consequence of the
GLADSTONE abortion, and, consequently,
their renewal could not be regarded
as the contracting of a new debt ; and considering
that more than 40,000,0001. of the war expenses
were raised by war taxes, and that the Income Tax,
and tea, sugar, coffee, and spirit duties are to be
partially maintained at war rates, the Sinking
Fund already agreed on, by which all the war
debt will be annihilated in 16 years, appears quite
sufficient to extract from the pockets of the
people.

The entire fiscal system demands a complete
and searching revision. We fear that it cannot
reasonably he anticipated from the existing Par-
liament, but professing reformers may at least ex-
plain their views, so that the several constitu-
encies may be guided in the exercise of the frau-
and the pledges that may fairly be de-
ch
mainseLd from the claimants for their " most sweet
voices" at the next general election.

Another intimation from Paris that the differ
ences between Persia and England are in a fair
way of being brought to a satisfactory settlement !
And, in the meantime, additional intelligence, Qom.,

ing to us from Constantinople, intimates that
there is a talk there of a second disembarkation
of Russian troops at Balfruck on the Caspian, and
of certain considerable supplies of Russian muni-
tions of war, forwarded on direct to Teheran.
Otherwise to express the situation :—Accounts
from the actual Seat of War are as threatening, in
their way, as from the chosen Neutral Ground of
diplomacy, in regard to the quarrel, they are said
to be most encouraging?
It is for all the world just precisely of a piece
with the rise and progress of the last war, the
war with Russia herself. We were told then, in
1854, again and again, usque ad nauseam., that
there was—literally as Sir CHARLES COLDSTREAM,
the blasé, the used up, the exhausted, observee
in regard to the crater of 'Vesuvius, and other
small matters--" Nothing in it MENSCHIKOIT
blustered—the CZAR threatened—Colonel ROSE
entreatingly summoned the Fleet of DITNDAS to
hasten to the Golden Horn. There was "nothing
in it I" The Muscovite forces actually crossed
the Pruth—entered Moldavia and Wallachia—
seized Jassy and Bucharest. There was really
"nothing in it I" We were almost as confidently
assured there was "nothing in it" when the allied
armaments were riding at anchor in the Greek
waters—when the British and French legations
had taken their departure from St. Petersburg--
when people at home were becoming accustomed
to the outlandish names of towns, and cities, and
rivers, and fortifications, eastward of the Bos-
phorus and the Dardanelles. The more credulous
only believed that the belligerents were really in
earnest, after all, when the disastrous news
arrived that the Russians had perpetrated the in-
famous massacre of Sinope—when the glorious
information reached England not long afterwards
that that execrable crime had been terribly avenged
upon the heights of the Alma—when lastly and
conclusivelyit was known in tiro! end that the legions
of the Allies had deliberately sat down, had sys-
tematically invested, and wore energetically
besieging the great Muscovite stronghold
of the city and fortifications of Sebastopol.
Previously to all which, as we have
said, everybody had been assiduously assured by
the organs of the Government that—ther.S•was
" nothing in it !"
And so nowadays in regard to the war with
Persia. Ministers and their organs, and their
agents, and their creatures, and their apologists
pooh-pooh the whole affair as not worthy of any
serious consideration. There are
but those differences are in rapid course te„
brought to a satisfactory arrangement ! Here,
again, as. with the Russian War and the crater of
Vesuvius, there is really, seriously, and posi-
tively, we are told, " nothing in it I" Notwith-
standing tire aggression on the part of our Persian
antagonists, evidenced in their violation of ex-
isting treaties, by formally advancing beyond
their frontiers and taking forcible possession of
the fortified city of Herat ! Notwithstanding the
simultaneous movement of our troops into Affgha-
nistan by way of the ICyber and the Bolan
Passes ! Notwithstanding the Declaration of War
officially promulgated at Calcutta—the despatch
of a warlike expedition from Bombay—the en-
trance of our ships of war into the Persian Gulf
—the occupation of the Island of Karrack—and
the storming and capture of Bushire. In spite of
all which it is insisted teat the war with Persia
is hardly worthy of being called a war at all—or
that, if it must needs so be designated, it is, at
any rate, a war which has already been brought
most satisfactorily all but to a conclusion ! Well,
of course, it may be so. It may absolutely ba
perfectly correct, in the present instance, that our
diplomatists are effectually thrusting the sword of
war back into its sheath, when it has scarcely
been half drawn from the scabbard. It may
be so. We admit the possibility. We acknow-
ledge it. But—at the same time—if we are
really and truly drawing near to this happy issue :
we cannot (with the experience of the Russian
War still pressing heavily upon our recollection)
as the phrase is, "jump at"—the conclusion. See-
ing is believing. We cannot swallow open-mouthed,
merely—fair promises. The boon must be actually,
and tangibly, and visibly within our grasp before
we can believe, for one instant, in its existents.
England, in fact, will believe that the differences
between herself and Persia have been conducted
through diplomatic agencies t) a satisfactory con:
elusion when empty rumours—like those just now
coming to us from the French capital—have re-
solved themselves into proofs positive I Not
before. Not earlier. Particularly when intelli-
gence, as we have seen, comes to us from the
direction of Constantinople simultaneously, to the
effect that Russia is backing up Persia by a second
disembarkation of troops at Balfruck, and by
the transmission of large quantities of muni-
tions of war to Teheran 1 Everything still
combining, as usual, to assure us that the Secret
Cause of the disturbance of the Peace of the
World has been left in tact in spite of the
vaunted Parisian Conferences I Diplomacy and
the believers in Diplomacy deluding themselves
into the belief that the peril has been permanently
removed by means of a few paltry concessions on
the part of the wily and astute Government of St.
Petersburg ! Diplomacy and the believers in
Diplomacy crying "Peace, Peace—when there is
no Peace :" and (not less credulous than the
peasant of Horace) counting upon the current of
Muscovite ambition flowing by, leaving them--
dryshod and unharmed—to go on their way re-
joicingly :

..,q
es

Rustieus expeetat &cm defluat anznis, at ille
Labitur et labetur in omne volubilis mvum.

A measure of . "Savings Bank Reform" is
urgently required. The necessity of comprehen,
sive ameliorations are universally admitted, and
Sir G. C. LEWIS has promised to bring forward a
bill on the subject with all convenient speed. The
simple fact that the amounts of deposits have been
reduced by nearly 20 per cent. within the last 14 or
15 years, and that they are now only on a par with
what they were 20 years ago, proves, beyond the
possibility of doubt, that there is something
rotten in the present system, and that a change
is imperatively required which may bring back
the people to the provident habits which they
have apparently relinquished. In 1839 the de-
posits amounted to 36,714,3061. Os. 3d. ; in
1840, to 38,842,653/. 16s. Bd. ; in 1841 to
40,968,160/. 4s. 2d.

Here, then, was a steady augmentation of
more than 2,000,000/. each year, but in 1854
the amount had fallen to 33,408,1751. 2s. 9d.,
a deficiency of more than seven millions and a
half when compared with 1841, notwithstanding
the increase of population and the increasing sav-
ings of the country.

The terrible exposures which have taken place
in reference to the deplorable defalcations at vari-
ous establishments, will, however, explain these
untoward changes. The so-called Government
has been proved to be mere "bosh." They gua-
rantee the amount actually invested, but that is
all. And no matter how flagrant the frauds, how
atrocious the negligence, the unfortunate deposi-
tors have no remedy against any of the trustees
or managers unless wilful default can be esta-
blished. It is true that the trusteei and mann- i
•

ers are allowed to undertake a certain limited
responsibility. But how has this permission
been responded to ? There are voluntary gua-
rantees in England of 3,870/. against deposits of
28,750,4291. 11s. 10d. Nore in Wales, against
nearly 800,0001. more. flov, then, can we sup-
pose that the people will patrolise the Government
shop, when they have no real security, and where
the interest is on the very :owest scale, for in
many places but 21. 108. or 21. 15s. is allowed,
the average of the United ringdom being but
21. 18s. Bd. This is not tle way to encourage
savings, although it comesvery naturally from
a Minister who thinks the ‘' tax on prudence"
one of the last that should be remitted. The
Government certainly loses Honey in consequence
of the injudicious system that makes it invest
when the funds are high, and sell when they are
very low. It reverses the economical principle, by
buying in the dearest andsehingin the lowest mar-
Plan nearly 4,000,000/. have
ket. By thisridiculous
already been frittered away without the slightest
advantage to the depositors, or to the community
at large. This arises from the Financial Minister
for the time being exercising unlimited control
over the savings bank fund--a matter which is
not only objectionable on account of the pecuniary
loss sustained, but still more so from placing so
enormous an amount in the hands of Ministers,
to be dealt with at their discretion, at any mo-
ment--a power fraught with danger to thescon-
siitution of the country, and which may be used
to bolster up the wildest financial schemes.
Already there are symptoms of successful oppo-
sition. "The National Savings Bank Association"
offers advantages far greater than can be obtained
from any of the quasi national establishments.
No wonder, then, that the people should flock to
the quarter where they can get the best
value and the best security for their money.
If the Government desires to retain the
business a real and efficient guarantee must be
offered, coupled with better interest for the sav-
ings of the industrious classes. That this can be
effected without loss is manifest from an admirable
brochure from the pen of the Rev. J. BEAUMONT
HAWKINS, just . published by Longmans and Co.,
which clearly explains the existing defects, and
points out the required improvements. We fear
that Sir G. C. LEWIS is not the man to carry the
much-required ameliorations into effect. He has,
however, had suggestions from Mr. HAWKINS and
Mr. C. W. SIKES that will render the task com-
paratively easy. Should he hang back a little
pressure from without will stimulate him in the
right direction, and it is essential that pressure
should be speedily and effectually administered

LATEST N E WS.

the Trans-Caucasus, but is directed against the
mountaineers. It is certain that they will next
spring combat with energy, while the war on the
side of Persia is only a Eimple eventuality."

A letter from Milan says :—" The Emperor, it
may remembered, promised the deputation which
waited on him from Mantua, relative to the affair
of the death of Bianchi, that full jus.ice should be
done, an that the sentence to be pronounced against
the authors of that crime should bet given pu►licly.
His Majesty on the same day sent General Seln.er,
his adjutant, to Mantua, to commence the proceed-
ings against the guilty parties. In addition an order
of the day has been issued by the Emperor blaming
severely the conduct of the officers of Mantua."

Accounts from. Constantinople to the 13th an-
nounce the death of Rifaat Pacha. Russia has
obtained the power of constructing a line of rail-
way from Mochediser to Teheran. Kabult Effendi
has left for Jassy, and Kiamil Bey for Bucharest,
with the firman relative to the divans ad hoc.