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London, England, 1857-01-08 00:00:00

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by those who advocated the substitutio
vict, during the course of his four years' imprisonrOnvm
suffered to a greater extent penally than ditrTg a penod:a
of seven years spent in exile ; hut this, to my Jpind,
a very narrow view of the question. In the:'.tase- bf 113
seven years' transportation the convict is taken away
from his family and his connexions, and the result has
most frequently been that he never returned to them
again. Then seven years is a much longer period in a
man's life than four years, and the former is spent far
away from friends and connexions, while the latter is
served in this country, and at the end of the sentence the
convict can rejoin his friends. I have a strong opinion
that the code as at present existing is inadequate 'and
unsuited to the Requirements of justice. lhe usairrnn
terms of punishment ought to be greater Than
they now are in order to inspire the prisoner with a
wholesome dread, which is the great object of all punish-
ments. The question at issue is really whether our
great criminals shall be discharged at home. The whole
theory and practice of our criminal law must have a
thorough revision with the view to their speedy altera
tion."

REPEAL ON THE INCOME-TAX.

LEICESTER, JAN, 7.
A public meeting, called by the Mayor, was held in
,he Town-hall, on Tuesday evening, for the purpose of
petitioning against the income tax at its present high bate
of ls. 4d. in the pound. The Town-hall was crowded. The
first resolution affirmed that the increase of the tax to Is.
4d., although justifiable and expedientduringthe war, was
unjust and burdensome in time of peace, and that its
reduction to 7d. was necessary and expedient. This was
moved by Alderman Manning, and seconded by Alder-
man Toiler, and carried unanimously. The seoond
resolution declared the proposed continuance of the in-
cr-ased tax two years after the signing of the treaty of
peace to be unjustifiable and contrary to the spirit of
the act of Parliament. Mr. Councillor Moxon and Mr.
Councillor Hurdy were the mover and seconder of the
resolution. A third resolution, proposing that a petition
to the legislature be prepared, embodying the above
resolutions, and declaring that, if the income tax be con-
tinued beyond 1860, the assessment of it ought to be
based on more just and equitable principles, was moved
by T. Macaulay, Esq., and seconded by Mr. A. Acgrave.
Sir JOSHUA WALMSLEY, M.P., who was very well
received, after some prefatory remarks, in which he ex-
pressed his acknowledgments to the Mayor and the com-
mittee for the opportunity of being present, and his
desire to meet his constituents more frequently, said he
had listened with attention, and not without profit, to
the very pertinent, moderate, and just observations
which had fallen from those who had addressed the meet-
ing, and was rejoiced to find they had suggested, not the
abolition, but the equitable adjustment and reduction
of the present unequal mode of taxation, and should the
subject come before Parliament those observations, so
far as he was concerned, should have all the attention
they so well deserved, but he was not without hope that
the income tax in its present shape would not again form
part of the budget of the Chancellor of the Exchequer.
It must be as evident to that right hon. gentleman as it
was to others who had given attention to the subject,
that to levy the same rate per cent. on industrial and
precarious incomes arising out of trades and professions
as on those arising out of real property, was not only
unequal but manifestly unjust, and could not have been
levied under a sound system of representation. He
was not aware of any otber country in which so en-
goal a system of taxation prevailed. In most of the
European nations the chief burdens of taxation were
borne by the land. In some there was a graduated land
tax, varying from 35 in the pound on incomes of 3001.
a year to ss. in the pound on 4,0001. a year. In the
United States, all property, whether real or personal,
was charged, but there was no tax on professional or
precarious incomes. He would not weary the meeting
with further statistical details, but, wzth permission,
would point to one or two authorities on this subject,
out of a host of others which be held in his hand, whose
names would give weight to these opinions, Sir Archi-
bald Alison, in his "History of Europe," pertinently
remarks : "A greater error in finance could not have
been committed than the introduction of an income tax
without any graduation, but that arising from the amount
of revenue," In this short, but pithy, sentence he em-
bodies the whole gist of the question. Another
authority, and no wean one, the late Mr. Hume, then
whom there was no sounder deaticier. In his report as
chairman of the income and property-tax committee of
1851-2, he says : "Such a tax, with its present inequali-
ties, could not remain a permanent one. The inquiry
before the committee had established the truth of the
public judgment, on its injustice. But (he adds) an
assessment on all property and on capitalised industrial
incomes would be more equitable, and enable the nation
to carry out free trade in its integrity." He (Sir
Joshua Walmeley) fully concurred in those sentiments,
and he believed they would find a response from those
he had the honour to address. It was, indeed, only just
that the greater portion of the revenue should be drawn
from those who were not only best able to bear the bur-
den, but for whose benefit it was more especially dis-
horsed. Were taxation to be equitably adjusted on its
own merits, there could, he thought, he little difficulty
in framing a just and satisfactory measure ; but powerful
class inters.ts had interfered, and so complicated the
subject as to throw the greater portion of the burdens on
the shoulders of those least able to bear them. He ex-
pressed his satisfaction that his constituents were alive
to the danger of an abolition of the income tax, lest it
should enable others to throw overboard the property-tax
and to revert to a system of imposts the most unjust and
the most oppressive—taxes on the first necessaries of
life, which necessarily fall with undue severity on the
working cla-ses. Something had been urged as to the
property and income tax being a war tax. In his opi-
nion, all taxes were for the protection of life and pro-
perty, and the only distinction he could draw was, which
was the most equitable for all purposes. If, however,
it were specially a war tax, it ought to be retained until
those oppressive burdens incurred by war were removed,
and we were more free to struggle in the race of compe-
tition, now so severe, with other nations. To the 800
millions left as a legacy we bad recently added 40 mil-
lions more. It was due to all classes that there should
be a more equitable mode of taxation. He had never
found any portion of his fellow-countrymen indisposed
to pay their full share of the burdens, but the present
unequal levy had caused much dissatisfaction. In a
prizs essay published in Liverpool in 1848 under the
signature of "X. Y.," there was a proposition well
worthy of mature consideration : "To remove every
exiting tax, dir.ct and indirect, and in lien thereof to
substitute a capitalised income and property tax, gra-
duated according to the interest, whether for one or
twenty years' purchase, and it was estimated that 1 per
cen-. on such capitalised sum would meet ail the require.
ments of the state. He would not trespass further on
their attention than to assure them that although he
bad not recently attended any public meetings of his
constituents, he had not neglected their interests. Ia
fact his whole time and attention, since he had the honour

of tepreenting them, had been devoted to their servioe,
and should so continue whilst 'be held that confidence.
The resolutions were carried with the greatest unani-
mity, and after a vote of thanks to the Mayor (J. Under.
wood, E..q ), and to Sir J. Walinsley, M.P., the meeting
separated. Mr J. Biggs, M.P., the other member for

the borough, was unable to attend the meeting through
indisposition.

. , ,
FROME.—On Friday evening last at Frome a meeting
of the inhabitants was held in the assembly-room, at the
George Hotel, Donald Nicoll, Esq., in the chair, when
resolutions were passed unanimously declaring the exist-
ing tax of 16d. in the pound to be enormous in amount,
offensively inquisitorial, by its itiequalit, unjust, and
and that its continuance beyond the sth of April next
would not only be oppressive, but a violation of the
spirit of the act consented to by Parliament and the
people of this country, in the belief that the impost would
not be continued more than one year after the terming
tion of the war with Russia. Also that to tax precarious
and permanent incomes alike is manifestly unjust ; and
that a petition be presented to the House of Commons in
accordance with the foregoing resolutions. The meeting
was addressed by Mes.rs. Coombs, Chapman, Beal, Rev.
S. Manning, Morris, Rev. E. E. Holroyd, and others ;
and after a vote of thanks to the chairman the meeting
was dissolved.

CAMBRIDGE.—A large meeting of the inhabitants was
held yesterday afternoon, at the Town-hall, Cambridge,
the Mayor in the chair, fur the purpose of petitioning
Parlia'uent for the reduction of the income tax from 16d.
to its original amount of 7d. in the pound, from and after
the month of April next. The speakers coailifested
great unanimity in their desire to be relieved of the
burden, and a petition embodying• the opinions of the
meeting received immediate signature.

A preliminary meeting was also held at Ely, on Tues-
day evening, for the same otject, at which resolutions
of a similar nature were unanim •usly passed, and another
meeting convened fur the formal adoption of a petition
founded thereon.
A numerous meeting of the inhabitants of St. Mary,
Islington, was held last evening at the' Myddleton-hall,
Upper-street, at which resolutions were passed for the
immediate reduction of the income tax to 7d. in the
pound, and for the exoneration of all incomes under
1501 per annum ; and a petition to Parliament praying
fur the above object was forthwith adopted.
A public meeting of the i❑habitants of Bridgewater,
convened by the Mayor, Mr. J. Ruddock, w4s held in
the Guildhall of that town on Monday. Resolutions in
opposition to this tax were unanimously agreed to.

At the Central Criminal Court yesterday, Henry Carr,
alias Thomas Baker, 21, shopman, pleaded guilty to an
indictment for stealing 52 handkerchiefs and other goods,
valued at 601., the property of Charles Meeking and
another, his masters. He was sentenced to be kept in
penal servitude for four years. The prisoner, who did
not seem to anticipate such a sentence, groaned heavily,
aid staggered as he left the dock. Jacob Israel, a
young man, surrendered to take his trial for a felonious
assault upon a girl eighteen years old, named Julia
Cohen. The jury, after a short deliberation, returned
verdict of not guilty

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