The Sun.
London, England, 1857-01-17 00:00:00

ROYAL PRINCESS'S THEATRE.
THIS EVENING will be performed
THE CORSICAN BROTHERS.
Fa,bien and Louis dei Franchi by Mr. C. Kean.
After which, a new grand Christmas Pantomime, called
ALADDIN AND THE WONDERFUL LAMP;
or, Harlequin and the Genii of the Ring. Harlequin, Mr.
Cormack ; Clown, Mr. Huline ; Pantaloon, Mr. Paulo ; Co-
lumbine, Miss C. Adams.

PHEATRE ROYAL, HAYMARKET.
-1- THIS EVENING, to commence at Seven,
THE SCHOOL FOR SCANDAL, with Mr. Murdoch as
Charles Surfaee ; Sir Peter Teazle, Mr. Chippendale; Sir
Benjamin Backbite, Mr. Buckstone ; Crabtree, Mr. Compton;
Joseph Surface, Mr. Howe ; Sir Oliver Surface, Mr. Rogers ;
Moses, Mr. Clark; Sir Harry (with a song), Mr. W. Farrell ;
Lady Teazle, Miss Reynolds ; Mrs. Candour, Miss Talbot ;
Lady Sneerwell, Mrs. Poynter ; Maria, Miss E. Sabine.
After which, a new comic Christmas Pantomime, entitled
THE BABES IN THE WOOD, or Harlequin and the Cruel
Uncle. The scenery of the opening story painted by Mr W.
Callcott. The music composed and arranged by Edward Fitz.
William.. The pantomime produced under the direction of
M. Milano. Harlequin, M. Milano ; Columbine, Fanny
Wright ; Pantaloon, Mr. Mackay ; and Clown, Mr. Driver.
A Morning performance of the Pantomime will be given
every Thursday : commencing at 2, concluding at 4.

THEATRE ROYAL, AD EL PHI.
Lessee—Mr. Ben. Webster.
Great Hit of A Night at 1N otting-Hill.
THIS EVENING will be performed
DOMESTIC ECONOMY.
After which, A NIGHT AT NOTTING-HILL, in which
Mr. Wright and Pail Bedford will appear.
To conclude with the new and original union of modern
burlesque and old English pantomime (as originated
at this theatre), by Professor Wordspinner, Member of Every-
thing, with entirely new scenery, dresses, transformations,
&c., called

THE WEATHER-Bcm OFFICE, JINIJAIIT 17.
THERMOMETER, IN TIII4 SHADE.
47—highest singe noon yesterday.
37 --lowest this morning and during the night.
44—this day at noon.

AROMITEII, 30'36.
WIND, W.S.W.-Light, with fine, sunshiny weather.
Sharp frost in the night.

A •G
;?)
e

As where, in reference to the social system during
the epoch of Greek domination, he observed that
then " the life of study and the life of action were
so close to each other that the roar of the Agora
shook the Platain trees in the gardens of the
Academe." Or again, where he spoke of the
more heroic incentives to ambition derivable from
the Classic Days, as coming gloriously before our
eyes in youth " radiant with the loveliness of
Athens, or stately with the majesty of Rome."
BIILWER alone, however, no other than BIILWER
(remembering when we speak thus the whcle of
his many gifted contemporaries) could hare pro-
nounced an oration such as this, an oration essen-
tially his from beginning to end, evidencing
abundantly throughout the elegant adroitness of
the accomplished scholiast, the sensibility of the
poet, and the art of the rhetorician, from the
almost diffident and eminently graceful Exordium,
to the close of the inspiriting and impressive
Peroration.

into execution, it would be a vast improvement
on the present system, and would insure the wel-
fare and prosperity of the nation.

There is one point on which all writers on the
Currency Question fully and completely concur,
viz., en the imperative necessity of decisive legis-
lation with reference to the Act cf 1844.
"Mercator" himself unequivocally admits this.
He says, in a recent letter to the Times—" In
the approaching session legislation must take place
upon the Bank Charter Act. That measure must
be renewed, or repealed, partially er entirely."
Hence his spasmodic efforts to bewilder the pub-
lic once more, and the recklessness of assertion by
which he deliberately states that which is clearly
and palpably untrue, and which, moreover, has
been proved to be so by the concurrent
testimony of unimpeachable witnesses, the
majority of whom were, like " Mercator "
himself, decided bullionists. We do not wish to
impute wilful falsehood to Mercator. But there
is a time-honoured adage that there are " none
so blind as those who will not see," and even high-
minded men have refused to be convinced of any-
thing opposed to a pet theory, even on grounds
that could leave no lingering doubt on the mind
of any disinterested and unprejudiced person.
We cannot, however, permit the assertion to pass
without contradiction, that, within the 12 years
which have elapsed since the passing of the Act,
there has not been "any real disturbance of
public credit, or any apprehension respecting the
solidity of our monetary system
Now, what does Mercator say to the panic of
1847, which led to the virtual suspension of the
impolitic Act, under the Ministerial Letter of the
25th October, 1847 1 Was there, at that time,
"no real disturbance of public credit, nor any
apprehension respecting the solidity of our mone-
tary system ?" Can he ignore the fearful state of
affairs that led to the stringent inquiries as to the
cause of the commercial distress at that period? or
that the Lords' Committee reported that the then
" recent panic was materially aggravated by the
operation of the statute" of which he professes
himself the enthusiastic advocate Adding, This
effect may be traced directly to the Act of 1844,
in the legislative restriction imposed on the means of
accommodation, whilst a large amount of bullion
was held in the coffers of the Bank, and during a
time of favourable exchanges ; and it may be
traced to the same cause, indirectly, as a conse-
quence of great fluctuations in the rate of discount
and of capital previously advanced at an unusually
low rate of interest
The great majority of witnesses, almost all,
with the exception of Mr. S. JONES LOYD, now
Lord OYERSTONB,
agreed in " representing the
intensity of the pressure as more severe than the
distress of 1837 and 1839. Many even consi-
dered it to have been greater than that of what
had previously been, par excellence, the panic year
1825." Mr. SAMUEL GURNEY, one of the highest
authorities on such matters, thought that " the
catastrophes of last autumn (that of 1847) were
beyond all parallel in our monetary history."
The same gentleman, in accounting for the causes
of these disasters, said--" Under the Currency
Act they (the Bank of Directors) found them-
selves not only under the necessity suddenly
of not only withdrawing the usual accommodation
by way of discount, but of calling in with
a severe and unrelenting hand the laws they had
made upon the security of bills, Exchequer Bills,
dm. The suddenness and severity of this change
was forced upon the Bank by the Currency Act !
Had it not been for that they would have spread
over months what they felt themselves compelled
to do in a few days, to the serious disarrangement
of the money market, and to much alarming
disaster !" And yet, during the whole period,
from the middle of April to the withdrawing the
restrictive clause in the Act of 1844, the foreign
exchanges were in favour of this country.
The celebrated Letter of the 25th October, 184',61
at once removed the difficulty. The fearful cause
of all the mischief having ceased the evil termi-
nated. Mr. GLYN, the eminent banker, declared
that " the letter of the Government stopped the
crisis, and abrogated the Act," while Mr. BROWNE
considered it to have "virtually condemned and
annulled the Act of 1844 ;" and it was stated in
evidence " that the Bank would have had to
shut its doors in a week unless the law had been
violated." And yet Mercator now unblushingly
asserts that since the passing of the Act there has
not been " any real disturbance of public credit
or any apprehension respecting the solidity of our
monetary system." What value can be attached
to the testimony of a volunteer witness capable of
such reckless statements ?

The Council of the Liverpool Financial Reform
Association have fully redeemed their pledge by
publishing a fiscal scheme for the benefit of the
Chancellor of the Exchequer. As a matter of
course, this has excited the wrath of the Times,
and a sneering article, trying to turn the project
into ridicule, has been the result. The Council
will not, however, be discouraged by the bolts of
the Thunderer. They can bear with equanimity
tke ponderous attempts at wit in which it is
pleased to indulge. They are contented to dis-
charge the important duties they have undertaken,
and to explain the enormous evils of the present
system, and to point out an efficient substitute
by which sufficient means may be raised for the
liquidation of the national liabilities, and the
maintenance of the national establishments.

Their scheme is very simple. It consists in the
entire abolition of indirect taxation, and the sub-
stitution of an equitable system of direct taxation
fairly levied on property and income. Ii many
respects it resembles The Sun Budget, which ap-
peared some weeks since. The chief difference is,
that for a time we retained for the present some
items by which half the amount required by the
Exchequer could be raised ; while the Liverpool
Association would forthwith abolish the whole of
these onerous and impolitic imposts. Our views
in this respect completely coincide, for we always
intended, as soon as the Property Tax had been
thoroughly tested, and its proceeds ascertained,
to gradually reduce and ultimately abolish all, or
almost all, other sources of revenue. We only
provided for the state of transition, striking off
the most vexatious imposts, and reducing those
still retained, until they in like manner could be
abandoned with perfect safety to the national
honour.

We feel all the objections to indirect taxation
so clearly and forcibly urged by the Association.
Many years since we placed them before the pub-
lic, and we have never for a single moment
wavered and hesitated in the course which leads
to the perfect freedom of trade and unrestricted
competition in its most extensive signification.
We then explained that the amount levied fell
exclusively on the consumer, and that at least 50
per cent, was extracted from his pocket on account
of the charge beyond the amount realised by the
Exchequer. This violates th© first principle of
finance, but it was adopted with the view of de-
ceiving the people, by not allowing them to per-
ceive the full amount of their contributions. This
piece of statecraft is no longer necessary. We
are not children to be deluded into doing what
is right, to have our physic disguised before it. is
a►dmini9tered. We know what the national
honour and security require at our hands, and
we are prepared to respond to the exigency. But
we wish to do so with our eyes open, and firmly
and manfully t• meet the disagreeable necessity.
There is another point in which we differ from
the Association—we do so respectfully, because

~~~~s,

L) \-I.ON, SATURDAY, JANUARY 17, 1867

ISir EDWARD BULWER LYTTON'S magnificent
oration on Thursday afternoon, the 15th of
January, 1857, must have considerably more
than realised the expectations of those who
assembled in the Common Hall at Glasgow to
witness, upon that most interesting occasion, the
installation of the Great Poet-Novelist as Lord
Rector of the University. It is reprinted else-
where in our impression of this evening, as nearly
as possible word for word, as it fell from the lips
of the living chrysostom of English literature. Our
earnestly-avowed commendation of this noble ha-
rangue may consequently be tested readily enough
by whomsoever lists, simply by reference to the
speech itself, reprinted, as we have said, in another
portion of the self-same broadsheet containing this
brief but genial tribute of most sincere and unaf-
fected admiration. Sir EDWARD'S inaugural Ad-
dress on Thursday, as Rector of the University of
Glasgow, may be regarded at once, we believe, in
all essential respects, as altogether worthy of com-
parison with the very memorable inaugural Ad-
dress delivered by him, two or three
years ago, as President of the Associated So-
cieties of the University of Edinburgh. And
the everybody remembers as a masterpiece of
oratory, replete with all the charms of rhetoric
and all the blandishments of refined taste, with
all the graces of a cultivated scholarship and of
an affluent and picturesque imagination. It will
not be difficult, we conceive, to recognise kindred
beauties here, in this later oration, before the asiem•
bled Students and Professors of the Glasgow Ulri-
c versity. In it Sir E. LvrroN most gracefully took
occasion to pronounce an impassioned panegyric
upon the bygone genius of Scotland—eulogising
in an especial manner that virile philosophy
which supplanted the " varnished ignorance "
of an age of cynical materialism and
articulating an encomium, tender and heart-
born as the language of love, upon the genius
of SCOTT, whose apparition BULWER described as
thrusting back into dusty shelves " the verse with.
out soul and the prose without muscle," constituting
for the most part the literature of the preceding
generation. Admirable was the praise awarded
to ADAM SMITH as having, in his great work on
the " Wealth of Nations," permanently codified
the laws for the regulation of commonwealths,
laws "which PLATO had obscured and even Axis-
TOTLE had left undefined I" Perfectly noble in
sentiment was the feeling with which Sir EDWARD,
in the exordium of his harangue, remarking in
reference to the youth of the student-portion of
his auditory " maxima debetur puero reverentia"
—afterha-ving confessed to the diffidence awakened
by the presence of their Professors, those "ac-
knowledged chiefs of science and erudition "—ob-
served—" I am intimidated by a sense of the
reverence Which is due to the
was his scornful re young." Exquisite
prehension before those youth-
ful students of whatever disfigures as licentious
the prevailing chastity of Classic literature,
observing that these were passages
episodically
introduced, "from which I am sure that you
turn with the quick instinct of masculine purity
you take from your Scottish homes." Every now
and then, we may be sure, BULWER proved him-
self BULWER, during the course of this varied
oration, beyond the possibility of misapprehension.

we are convinced of their integrity of purpose and
anxious desire to promote the welfare and pros-
perity of the nation. We would have a Property
Tax "pure and simple." Let industry go free, but
let there be a tax for property, however trifling.
The man who possesses means should not expect
to live as a drone at the expense of the bees of

the social hire. As we have already explained
it will confer many important advantages over
his penniless competitors ; and he can well afford
to pay the amount, when his savings on account
of the indirect taxation are taken into account.

The Association suggests that the duty should
be levied on all property, whether productive or
unproductive, according to its capitalised or mar-
ketable value. But it goes further, by proposing
to charge " all incomes and earnings above
pauperism." This we believe to be unwise and
impolitic. It would preserve the inquisitorial
scrutiny into private affairs, the most objectionable
feature of the present system. We need not say
that such as it is it would be far preferable to the

Mercator has again come forward with the
same flippancy of assertion, the sane wholesale
disregard to well-known and recognised facts. In
his letter which appeared in the Bullionist organ,
he declares that we may confidently anticipate that
" the existing settlement of our monetary system
will be firmly maintained ;" that " the steady
force of sound principles, the clear deductions of
scientific reasoning, the emphatic verdict of expe-
rience, will not be hastily overruled." We hope
not, but in a very different sense from that of
Mercator. We have witnessed the fearful effects
of the fatal enactment. A committee of the
Lords, in one of the ablest reports ever issued to
either 'louse, clearlyand unequivocally condemned
the principle, and pointed out its disastrous results.
Now that the time has arrived for modifying, or ra-
tier completely abrogating, the existing law, that
admirable document must receive the weight to
which it is so justly entitled. The Bank has not
faithfully performed the trust confided to its
charge. It must henceforward be placed in more
trustworthy and efficient hands, where the people
may be assured of disinterestedness, and respon-
sibility. At present the great object of the Bank
is to enhance the rate of discount. Their interests
are directly conflicting with those of the nation.
And yet we allow those subjected to such sinister.
influences to control the national cireula::,„ at
their will and pleasure—to create a;,one time a
feast, at another a fami:-,,e—and that with-
out being accountabl
or to the
harlient for the manner in which they exorcise
poodle. The only tangible re-
medy is the establishment of a really National
f:n Bank, • either to Parliament
e Directors whereof shall answer to Par-
their powers. Mercator thinks that " weak or
dishonest Governments may yield to the pressure
to which they will of course be subjected, and
seek to obviate political difficulties, or to
promote their
own temporary popularity by a
fatal tampering with the solidity of the system."
This would, however, be practically impossible, or
at all events speedy and complete retribution
would at once follow any deviation from the cor-
rect course. The " weak or dishonest Govern•
ment" would speedily be hurled from office; but,
unfortunat aly, there is no available mode of ob-
taining an alteration in the Bank Direction.
The voice of public opinion may be heard, but
nothing can be done. The nation is helpless. It
suffers deeply, but can only deplore the fatuity of
its Legislature, which consigns it, botind hand and
foot, into the power of the moneyocracy, that has
rendered usury a thriving employment, while the
legitimate trade and commerce of the country be-

present system. But if, reviewing the whole
fiscal scheme, we should strive to render it as per-
fect as possible, let industry then go free.
If it thrives, the parties will speedily
lay by sufficient to bring them within
the property clauses, and until they have
something set aside as a provision for " a rainy
day"—they cannot fairly be called on for any-
thing. As we stated, the capitalised value may
be taken at the very lowest figure, at six thou-
sand millions for taxable purposes, and per
cent., or ld. 1-sth in the pound, would produce
thirty millions per annum, an exceedingly good
starting point, which would enable the Financial
Minister to feel his way steadily and safely, to
drop the most vexatious and smaller charges at
once, and greatly to reduoe all those which should
be retained for a few years.

We cannot participate in the morbid sympathies
of the Times, for the lady who chooses to retain
" a lot of trinkets worth 2001.," or the gentleman
who will " reserve, as a souvenir, a single RAPHAEL,
undoubtedly worth 3,0001." We cannot con-
ceive fitter subjects for the consideration of the
tax-collector. They are articles of luxury, and
therefore fairly liable, for the owners, if they
please to do so, can convert them into cash
or productive property. This spurious and
sickly sentimentality may do very well
for the moneyocracy, but it will not go
down with those who have to stint their
families, to give their children insufficient food,
or to allow them to remain without the education
which would qualify thrim for engaging in the
battle of life with reasona).)le prospects of success.
Taxation is indispensable, ; a certain sum must be
raised ; and surely it is better to tax useless
objects, such as trinkets or pictures, than " the
corn of the tropi's," or "the cup that cheers
without inebriating." We would also remind the
Times that The ;tin Budget proposed to remove all
other charges (in property, including the Legacy,
Succession, wad Probate Duties, and the whole of
the Assessed Taxes—the iniquitous House Duty
and all.

Although we differ in some respects from the
scheme of the Liverpool Association, we earnestly
recommend it to the attentive consideration of
the community. It is, indeed, well worthy of
perusal; and every one must admit that, if carried

THE SUN, LONDON, SATURDAY EVENING, JANUARY 17, 185-7.1

' comes little better than a gambling speculation,
dependent on matters over which our merchants
and manufacturers have no control. Mercator
seeks a purely metallic circulation, or, what is the
same thing, notes issued only on bullion
deposited in the Bank coffers. He would thus
practically abrogate all improvements derived
from modern experience. Every argument he
advances would be just as applicable to the aboli-
tion of a metallic currency, and the restoration
of barter, as the only sound system. We trust
then that the nation will unanimously refuse to
be longer hoodwinked, but that it will, even at
the eleventh hour, arise in its majesty, and insist
on the greatest result of civilisation—a circulating
medium adequate to the wants and exigencies of
the people.

yesterday.

LATEST NE WS.

PRUSSIA AND SWITZERLAND.

BERNE, FRIDAY.

The final vote of the Federal Assembly of
Switzerland has just been taken upon the propo-
sitions of the Federal Council for the settlement
of the dispute with Prussia.

The Council of States, which, together with
the National Council, constitutes the Federal
Assembly of Switzerland, having separately dis-
cussed the propositions, in a long and animated
debate, has just resolved upon their adoption,
that is to say, abandonment of the trial and
removal of the insurgents beyond the Swiss terri-
tory until the final settlement of the dispute.
There were 82 members voting in the ma-
jority ; the minority was composed of Messrs.
Fazy, Yogi, and Pignat.

VIENNA, FRIDAY.

His Majesty the Emperor of Austria made his
solemn entry into Milan at half-past 2 o'clock

We have no news from Constantinople to the
Oth. Ibrahim Paella has beaten the Russians in
Circassia. The Russian General was killed in