The Sun.
London, England, 1868-06-24 00:00:00

1311DIIT OP MLIO 30trUNALS

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2'int6 observes that the capitalists, great and small,
Who lent their money to the Austrian nation in its difficul-
ies at a fixed rate of interest, secured upon the faith of
he empire, have recently been informed that the security
as insufficient, and that the stipulated payments will be
subjected to deductions made for the relief of the Austrians
themselves. This proposal to tax the incomes of foreign
Creditors provoked a grave though not unfriendly remon-
strance from certain eminent financiers of this city, and
Zaranßeusthas now addressed himself to the subject in an
elaborate despatch, with the hope of allaying " exagge-
rated apprehensions," and justifying the conduct of the
Imperial Government. We cannot consider the attempt
successful. One half of the note is nothing to the pur-
pose ; the other half coraes with scant propriety from the
representative of the defaulting State. Of course, it was
known that Austria was in trouble, but " the cure of the
bleeding wound which his Apostolic Majesty had under-
taken " is a process which simple creditors cannot be
expected to follow through the descriptions of an official
despatch. The Austrian Empire is in pecuniary diffi-
culties. It cannot, with its present revenue and its
present rate of expenditure, contrive to pay its way. The
obvious remedy in such cases is to increase the revenue or
diminish the expenditure, and those who suffer from the
deficit have some right to expect satisfaction on these two
points, so as to understand why the outlay of the State
cannot be diminished by retrenchment or its income raised
by taxation. On the latter of these points the Baron
assumes his whole case, and is content to refer briefly and
by way of passing allusion to " the impossibility of increas-
ing the charges which weigh upon the taxpayers." On the
former he says absolutely nothing, and the only retrench-
ment explained in the despatch is that to be practised
upon other people's dues. Austria does intend to curtail
her expenditure, and her idea of doing so is by omitting to
pay a portion of the interest on the money she has bor-
rowed. This interest will be " taxed," so that the creditor
will lose the amount of the tax, which will go to
the benefit of the debtor. It is in defending this
proceeding that Baron Beust forgets the tone of apology
which would befit the occasion. The Austrian Minister
tells the creditors of Austria in a few words that from
such a debtor they had nothing better to expect. Good
interest, as the world has long been taught, is only another
name for bad security. The Austrian Government offered
very good interest, and it ought to have been understood
that its security was proportionately bad. " Every one
knows," says the despatch, " that the rate of interest is
necessarily always in inverse proportion with the security
of the capital, and every man who entrusted his money
to us was aware beforehand that to draw 7,8, or 9 per
cent. he exposed his capital to chances which he
might have avoided by satisfying himself with 3
per cent. in the English Consols." This is certainly
true ; but it does not quite become Baron Beust to
say it, nor will it, it thinks, tend in tho least degree to
reassure those merchants and bankers to whom the
explanation is addressed. Those gentlemen ventured on
warning the representative of Austria that the proposed
proceeding might have the effect of damaging Austrian
credit in the money market, and inducing people to distrust
the Imperial securities and place their savings elsewhere.
Baron Beust's comment is that the security of Austria is
notoriously and transparently bad, and that those who
look for better faith in their debtors had best go into
Consols. This, it seems to the Times, is simply to
reiterate the remonstrants' own words and to re-echo their
warning.

The Post comments on the report issued by the select
committee appointed by the House of Lords to inquire
into the operation of the Roman Catholic Relief Act of
1829, and the Ecclesiastical Titles Act of 1831, in connec-
tion with the assumption of episcopal rank by the Roman
Catholic hierarchy. Reminding us of the kind of pani c
under which the last-named Act was passed, it confess es
that it cannot recognise the cogency of the reasons ad-
vanced by the Lords' committee for leaving the
Act unrepealed. Although its provis ions have never
been enforced, they are of opinion it has exercised a
salutary influence, and even assuming it to be inoperative,
and thus far harmless, they think that its repeal would
have a tendency to awaken that angry spirit of religious
controversy which is now dormant. We do not concur in
these conclusions. We doubt if any law can effect any
good purpose which is universally regarded as a dead
letter, and which everyone knows no Government
would venture, even in case of infringement, to
endeavour to enforce. But if this law, which
is thus practically useless, does, in truth, give
offence to several millions of the subjects of
the sovereign, this circumstance ought not to he com-
pletely disregarded. It is not because a measure has
passed the House of Commons that it should necessarily
be accepted by the House of Lords ; but, when the former
has been the case, we think some stronger reasons than
those advanced by the committee ought to be given before
a measure sanctioned by one branch of the Legislature is
peremptorily rejected. The House of Lords will do well
to pause before it endorses the recommendation of its select
committee.

The Herald looks upon the failure of the Guildhall
meeting as a matter of course. There could not be such
a thing as a meeting for the " free discussion" of such a
question as this. It repudiates, however, the idea that
the Conservatives were a body of " roughs," and asks
whether it was " roughs" who disturbed the C onservative
meeting. The Herald adjures the Lib erals to lay toheart
the moral of this catastrophe. It is that violence begets
violence ; that a sentiment trampled upon and denied free
utterance will vindicate its existence somehow or other ;
and that sooner or later tyranny works out its own retri-
bution. A couple of years hack a public meeting for the
assertion of Conservative principles was almost impossible.
On Monday last the opposing sections met under appa-
rently equal conditions, with the result which the Liberal
papers find so intolerably galling. The Herald is not sur-
prised at it. It has never concealed its conviction that
the policy of Mr. Gladstone was calculated to arouse
those bitterest of all animosities which take their rise in
religious feuds. Every day we witness the growth of
those animosities, and all experience teaches us that those
which have their root in religious susceptibilities are
stronger and deeper than any mere political sentiment
such as that which inspires the followers of Mr. Glad-
stone. The agitation against the Irish Church died out
months ago, but the resentments to which it has given
birth are growing in force and intensity day by clay. This
is said in no spirit of exultation. On the contrary, the
Herald regards it as a deplorable fact.
The Daily News says that the Liberals of Bristol are
doing good service to the country by proceeding with their
petition against the return of Mr. Miles. Nothing could
possibly be more opportune than the inquiry which is now
going on into one of the very latest elections held under
the old law. Neither the Government nor the House of
Commons seem to be very much in earnest about the sup-
pression of electoral corruption ; and only Mr. Disraeli's
desire to postpone as long as possible the prorogation
and dissolution of Parliament affords any guarantee for
the full discussion and passing even of the Government
measure. But new revelations and a new scandal will
probably rekindle the old feeling that something must be
done. By the vigorous determination of the Liberals
of Bristol, the Conservatives of that ancient city are
permitted to supply the example and the illustra-
tion just as they are wanted. The necessity for
further legislation cannot be escaped when the
evils of the present half-hearted system of prevention are
set forth in a picture lesson, which even babes in political
knowledge and electoral experience cannot fail to under-
stand. The inquiry may not have the result of shortening
Mr. Miles's tenure of his seat by many days, but it will
at least shew how a much-noised Tory victory was foully
won, and a much-vaunted Liberal defeat was heroically
incurred ; and it may probably exert very considerable in-
fluence in stimulating the flagging resolution of Parlia-
ment to apply a prompt cure to an increasing evil.

The Star, in discussing Lord Elcho's proposal for inaugn•
rating personal
military service, declares that such a prin..
eiple is entirely inappropriate to the time and the s ate of
;pings in this country. There are two conditions under
zither of which this sort of conscription is reasonable.
Where the mass of the people are mere peasants, or where
the soldiers are members of a profession to which it is an
honour and a patriotic satisfaction to belong, there 6
nothing very unjust and nothing very impracticable in the
general liability to military service. The establishment of
this general liability is in such cases only a
question of necessity or discretion. But in this country
we have no such state of things. Our poor are not mere
peasants, but to a vast extent persons employed respon-
sibly in the arts and industries by which our home and
foreign commerce is supplied with manufactures. And
our army does not open to anyone a profession such as a
respectable man can willingly agree to belong to even for a
time. In a state of things thus doubly unfavourable for a
landwehr system there are preliminary questions to be
settled before we come to consider whether its establish-
ment is necessary or desirable. And in answering these
questions it is found that the system is simply imprac•
ticable.

THE EXPECTED NEW VICEROY OF INDIA.—It 13
stated that a sort of compact or understanding subsists
between two eminent statesmen with regard to the suc-
cession to the Governor-Generalship of India, which mill
be vacated by Sir John Lawrence before the new nulls,
meat meets. The compact, said to be recognised by the
present Government, is to the effect that Sir Stafford
Northcote will accept the appointment should the Minis-
try be presently diss( lvL d ; b .t th t s' ould it continuo
in office after the meeting of ti e new Parliament Lord
la7e? IP4 Pucce9l§lrj_Tfar. Lawrenee. "