The Sun.
London, England, 1861-04-11 00:00:00

on pubic events br violence, .but by r
n the powers that be" they made keen .
,ntir:Tts and their wishes v,teze. (lleer, hear.)
''onle of England were, he trustee, one of the
i :sed and educated nations ite Europe, an d
- -Ison they should malse their opinions
, • .:e. ‘ioleuce, but by reason and
arguMents, through the morale of their representa-
tives and through the press. The Government
must not fancy the political Sampson was deaden°,
he shook his locks, and theywere growing, and the i
time would come when he, n the full vigour of his
strength, would pull down the political temple over
the heads of those who refused to-give the people
a measure of reform. Crime was decreasing, taxa-
tion was advancing, and, at the same time, our
population had vastly increased. , Why did we
want Reform To change the Government—not
in its form, hut in its composition. Was any man
absolutely satisfied with the Government as it now
existed., (No, no.) Was any man satisfied with
the way the money was expended—in the navy for
instance, in the million and a half of money which
had been expended on the House of Parliament, the
walls of which were decaying, or the way m which
the Government had become, security for 51 years
,nt £BOO,OOO, to lay down the cable in the Red
sea, which never worked. The whole system of
Government required a change, and that
change was sought to be effected by a Reform
Bill, which would secure a fair representation of
the people in the House of Commons. (Cheers.)
Lord Palmerston was not likely to do anything
in the way of reform unless stimulated from with-
out. In the whole course of his life he had acted
with varied administrations, and at the latter end
it was true that he had become much more libe-
ral ; but still his early education, and the feel-
ings of his youth remained, and he was perfectly,
content that matters should remain as they were
at the present moment. What the noble lord
called the Whig party was formed of Maneheater
men, P,eelites, Whigs, Radicals, and libeiiiTs, and
with this composite administration the Govern-
ment were perfectly satisfied to go on as at pre-
sent, and why ? Because it gave them very little
trouble ; because they were able to divide a large
ikamount *of patronage, and obtain from the country •,
large amounts, bf.teuaney _far. ethe...pniali 'esaijsebdie
ture. They who were reformers—and-sh.e believed
the people of Bodmin were—(cheers)---sought to .
obtain a change in the system of repreSentation
j that they might remedy this state of things, and
they would labour peacefully and quietly to obtain
it. The state of this country—its advancement in
wealth and intelligence—was such, that the day
was not far distant when they must obtain it.
Lord John Russell might be perfectly satisfied
with the Bill of 1832, but what vast changes- had
taken place since then. Lancashire, for instance,
had had millions added to ter wealth, and had
at least 500,000 added to her population ; Bir-
mingham had sprung into existence as a large ma-
nufacturing and mineral dist riot ; and even in their
own county of Cornwall many of the towns had
increased, and yet they were to be told that they
must have in 1861 the same system as that which
existed in 1831. They had a right to derpand of the
Government that they should themselves initiate a
Reform Bill, and they also had a right to say that
their patient submission to the presen t state of things
and their moderate.demands entitled them to call
upon the Government to grant that which they re-
quired. In spite of Lord John Russell, the
Reformers would pursue the same course as they
had done before; they would knock calmly and
quietly at the door of every administration, stating
that the people quietly demanded, instead of ektort-
ing, a matter of right. In seeking Reform it was
a means towards effecting a reduction of taxation.
In the last session, Mr. Gladstone told the house
that the measures then before the house were merely
of a temporary character, and that the new consti-
tuencies would have to settle the financial scheme
of this year, but our hopes had been disappointed
and we had to entertain a new scheme of Mr. Glad-
stone's. He was afraid that so long as the House of
Commons remained under its present forth the thmi-
nation of taxation would be verylittle. According
to the present system of representation the Govern-
ment were interested in an increase of expenditure,
because it obtained for them an increase of patron-
age which they were enabled to distribute among
the members of the House of Commons, their depen-
dents and employes, for every additional million of
taxation gave employment for twenty-five persons.
Our taxation now amounted to seventy-five millions,
and that in a time of peace. This year there had been
only one estimate fairly before the house, and that
was the estimate of the army. The estimate
for the navy had been before them, but not in
detail. The army estimate for the present year
was £14,606,751, and this showed that the Go-
vernment proposed to make a reduction of
£823,031 and the mode of doing it was singular.
First of all there was the embodied militia which
every one knew were not likely to be called up
again, and the saving upon that was £320,000, and.
then there was a saving upon last year's unpaid
fortifications of X 437,170 but without going through
a variety of items the total amount saved was
£823,031. To counterbalance this in a great mea •
sure, additions had been made to several votes to
ha me
rocuonmt amounted
etnhteerde faotr es 0
mt oe Xl
el
n8g5t,7h905n.
the amount of £664,876 and the real saving only
thTehperhopoons.edmem
for-
tifications, pointing out the absurdity of their con-
struction at a period when the inventions in gun-
nery would render them almost useless, and in
reference to Portsmouth he stated that he had
examined the place with an eminent engineer, and
had ascertained that the batteries were so con-
structed that the La Gloire or any other vessel
could pass in unscathed and bombard the town.
The hon. member then went on to remark that
at the commencement of the present session he
in common with some other members sent in a
memorial to Lord Palmerston, praying for a re-
duction of the taxation. Now, it was all very
well, saying some 40 or 50 members had the
power in their own hands, but it was not so, for
on a division tlie ministry could always bring
up a number of their supporters from the
library and smoking - rooms, who would out-
vote them without scarcely knowing what they
were voting about. Mr. Wyld then argued that
the great deficiency in the harvest was another
ground for the redaction of taxation; and, passing
on to the consideration of county matters, he re-
gretted that Sir John Trelawny's bill, for the in-
troduction of financial boards, was rejected. The
i
1 measure was, he said, rather too Conservative in its
principle ; but with the present enormous sum of
expenditure'in the counties of England, some such
measure was necessary, because at present this was
an anomaly in the British Constitution; for in every
other matter, where there was taxation, there was
also representation. The great question of church
rates should receive some settlement, but it was of
no use attempting to carry a measure for their aboli-
tion, unless it was introduced by the Government.
In the present state of Europe, and also in the pre-
sent state of America, it. behoved the Government
to carefully husband our national resources, and,
with a calm and prayerful spirit, we must desire
that the evils which seemed to be hovering over the
world might be averted from the nation. (Hear.)
The accomplishment by the Italian nation of its
liberty had established, as it were, a new era in
Europe; it had swept away the republican feeling
which was being agitated, and monarchical govern-
ment was established in its place. The policy
of the Emperor of the French on this question
was opposed to that of the British Government,
the policy of the former being to have a
Confederation of States, and that of the latter
to have an united Italy. The honourable mem-
ber rapidly passed in review the position of
the European nations, and made especial reference
to the march of constitutional principles in the
various countries, and concluded an able and
lengthy speech by expressing his readiness to
answer any question that might be proposed to him.
Mr. TOIqIKINS proposed, and Mr. SCANTELBURr
seconded, a vote of confidence in Mr. Wyld, whida
was adopted, after which
Mr. BURTON proposed a resolution,
whereby 'the
meeting expressed its indignation at the greatin-
crease in the taxation of last year.
This was seconded, and also carried, after vhich
the meeting separated.
—t

GENEALOGY OF A DISAGREEABLE VAIVIILY.--.
Income-tax, the: seventh
Expired, on the sth instant,
the
eThie first made
fits holder of the title and estates•
appear-
ance in 1842, and lasted for three e years, taking
rseueeeeded in 1845 rbom Ug
7d.
out of every sovereign. was
s followed 31 another
which again in 1848 by a third ;
of three years,
an attempt
raise mpt by Lord J. Russells Government on this occa
lion tothe tribute to Is. was very soon, disposed of ;
1851 gave us a one year's tax, Mr. Hume beating the same
Government on the question of the number of its 'days;
and 1852, in prospect of a dissolution of Parliament, by :ought
a successor of only the same brief existence. In 18e 3 came
Mr. Gladstone's grand and comprehensive create on, the
longest•lived Income-tax of the series, extended also to
Ireland and (but at a lower rate) to incomes of SY io a year,
the rate to be 7d. for two years, 6d. for two ma re, sd. for
three'more, and then to cease. This tax saw ma/ ay vicissi'
tudos of fortune in the course of its seven years' c existence ;
its rent-roll was doubled fora while, then had 2d. more added
to it temporarily, and finally, when at its lowes t ebb of sd.
and ahnost in extremis, it was raised to 9d. I t came to its
end in April, 1860, and a temporary tax—a m w rate—was
granted for one year. That period expired os L the sth, and
the family' is 'at this moment extinct; bid i its custom is to
continue itself by posthumous heirs, and ano' 1u 3r is exrcted
immediately. The property, however,4f Ls originally
granted on the understanding that it was to be taken only
for a time; but since 1842. Income-tax la, s got hold of
£140,009,000 of the public money.

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