The Sun.
London, England, 1850-03-30 00:00:00

the little town of Rye should be charged 4731. 18s.,
while the entire of Liverpool is required to contri-
bute but about one-third of that amount, or 1881.

13s. 10d. ; that the thirty or forty houses in Win-
chilsea should pay nearly as much as the city of Batb,
the former being bound to pay 4051., while the latter
is only called on for 4331. 6s. ; that Shengay, in Cam-
bridgeshire, should pay 1371. 14s. 4d., on an aggre-
gate value of 6991., while Cheltenham only contributes
223/. '7s. Id.

The Hon. Member for Buckinghamshire called
the attention of his constituents to the monstrous
injustice of
_their being required to pay ls. sd. in
the pound on the net annual valuation of
their lands, while other districts escaped for less than
a farthing. The Honourable Gentleman and the
party of which he is the recognised leader will,
therefore, be bound to support a more equitable as-
sessment, and as they are for the time being the espe-
cial pets of the Right Honourable Baronet the Chan-
cellor:of her MAJESTY'S Exchequer, we cannot suppose
that Sir CHARLES WOOD, although devoted to the
laissez Aire policy, could resist the proposition when
coming from such a quarter, more especially as it
would bring a considerable additional revenue to
the nation.

If the land-tax were fairly and equitably assessed,
according to the original intention of Parliament,
it would not only provide for the entire expenditure
of the country and the maintenance of all our national
establishments, with full efficiency, but also for the
interest of the public debt, that incubus that paralyses
the energies of our industrious population. It was
never intended to apply only to real estate, although
the owners of personal property have, as in the case
of poors-rate, continued to evade all liability. It
was, in fact, a property-tax, by which every descrip-
tion of property was bound to contribute to the
national exigencies at the rate of 4!. in the pound,
on the annual value, or 20s. in the 106/. on
the capitalised value. Now, the accumulated
property of the country has been estimated to amount
to no less than two hundred and fifty millions of
pounds per annum, exclusive of the very valuable,
although unproductive, property in the hands of the
aristocracy. Four shillings in the pound on this sum
would produce fifty millions sterling per annum,
which a competent and unimpeachable witness, the
Hon. Member for Glasgow, has considered nearly
sufficient for the gross expenditure of the country,
including the charges of collection. eppressed and over-
burdened tax Tay ers, reflect on this—think that the j ust
and equitable assessment of the " land-tax" would
permit the Government not only to strike off the
whole of the assessed taxes, but even to abolish the
customs and excise duties at one fell swoop, and to
consign the " stamps and taxes" to the place from
whence they came, and to which we trust they will
speedily return. There is an object well worthy of a
little extra labour, of the beneficial exercise of that

" pressure from without" to which the " squeezable
Whigs" have always been so ready to yield, and in
which the agriculturists are bound to join under the
efficient leadership of Mr. DISRAELI.

We are rejoiced to find that the suggestion which
we a short time since offered has been acted on, and
that the preliminary steps have been taken to offer to
Mr. PURNELL, the worthy, philanthropic, and inde-
fatigable Chairman of the Gloucestershire Quarter Ses-
sions, a public testimonial for his unwearied exertions
in exposing and in remedying the atrocious abuses
which have hitherto prevailed in Private Lunatic
Asylums, and the continuance of which reflects such
disgrace upon the board of Lunacy Commissoners
(presided over by Lord ASHLEY), whose especial
duty it is to exercise a vigilant super-
intendence over these asylums, which, if exercised
as the Legislature were led by Lord ASIILEY to be
lieve at the time it consented to pass the Lunacy Bill,
it would have been exercised, would have effectually
prevented the occurrence of these abuses. The Glou-
cester Journal of Saturday last contains the follow-
ing report of the preliminary proceedings :
" A meeting was held at the Shire-hall, in this city,
on Tuesday last, which was attended by Earl Fitzhar-
dinge (the Lord-Lieutenant), Lord Ellenborough, and
several other magistrates, for the purpose of opening a
subscription, to present Mr. Purnell, the County Chair-
man, with a public testimonial, for his conduct in rela-
tion to private lunatic asylums, for which a vote of
thanks was passed to him at the last Quarter Sessions
A committee was chosen for carrying out this object,
and receiving subscriptions ; and Mr. Ellis, the Clerk
of the Peace, and Mr. Bolden, of .London (who at-
tended on behalf of the Alleged Lunatics' Friend
Society), were appointed secretaries, to assist the com-
mittee. This testimonial has been most deservedly
earned by Mr. Purnell, for his unwearied exertions to
ameliorate the treatment and condition of private lunatic
patients, who are too frequently totally neglected.
Although we understand it is desired to limit individual
donations to a small amount, we have no doubt that the
subscription will be warmly supported, not merely by
the inhabitants of this county, but by the public gene-
rally, and it has our cordial best wishes for its success."
We heartily join in the wishes expressed by our cotem-
porary for the success of this subscription, and if we
can form any judgment as to the probability of that
success from the present state of the subscription, as
advertised in another column, its success will be as
complete as the most ardent admirers of the zeal,
energy, and high-mindedness of Mr. PURNELL could
desire. It will be a national tribute to a national
benefactor. We are rejoiced to find that among
those present at the meeting on Tuesday were Earl
FITZHARDINGE and the Earl of ELLENBOROUGH,
and we would most respectfully urge upon
both those Noble Earls the necessity of
drawing the attention of the House of Peers to the
subject of the present state of the law of lunacy as
soon after the Master recess as possible. The unfor-
tunate illness of the LORD CHANCELLOR, has hitherto
prevented the introduction of any Bill for the altera-
tion of those laws, and we fear that there is
now very little chance of carrying such
a measure through Parliament during the course of
the present session, but there is still time to move
for a Committee of Inquiry, and such a Committee
would not fail to elicit evidence which would be
most valuable to those who might undertake
during the recess to prepare a well-digested
measure for the reform of the laws of lunacy,
to be submitted to Parliament at the commencement
of the ensuing session. Of the necessity of such a
measure, the following extract from the report pre-
sented by Mr. PURNELL to the General Court of
Quarter Sessions for Gloucestershire, furnishes ample
proof :

"Of such results is an important one—that the Me•
tropolitau Commissioners have, in their lust visits to
these houses, devoted a day to the careful inspection of
each asylum."

We will not offer one single word of comment on the
above extract, save to draw the reader's atten-
tion to the fact that one of the important results
of Mr. PURNELL'S labours has been " that the Me-
tropolitan Commissioners have in their last visit to
these houses, devoted A DAY to the careful inspection
of each asylum," and to ask whether all former in-
spections, in which less than a day was devoted to
each asylum, must not have been mere mockeries ?

THE AMERICANS AT NAPLf S.—The unprecedented
feature of the season is the immense influx of American
citizens. The " Britishers," both here and at Rome, are
obliged to hold down their diminished heads; they who
hitherto have ruled the roast in these parts are outflanked,
outnumbered, by Jonathan. To speak the truth, the ma-
jority are evidently the product of the " store" or the chan-
dler's shop, showing no feature of the gentleman in their
language, manners, education, or dress; and the universal
wonder here is, where the " dollars " come from to enable
them to disport their "free" persons in these latitudes.
Many suppose they were brought over by contract, like the
party mentioned by Dickens in his "Letters from Italy," and
whom he encountered at Rome ; and there may be some
truth in the supposition, for they mostly are met with in
" gangs," with a " smart go-a-head man," who acts as fugle-
man and leader, and who can just splutter a little mutilated
French. As Disraeli said the other day of the go-a-head
Free-trade school in England, " they combine enormous
lying, with inexhaustible boasting and intense selfishness."
This is very certain, they don't travel with letters of intro-
duction ; for one never sees them but at the theatres, the
caf6s, the table d'hotes, or sight-hunting, in which they are
indefatigable; at private houses or in society they are non
est. Such English as are in Italy this year for the first time,
have had a fine opportunity of killing two birds with one
stone—that is of studying the manners, customs, and lan-
guage of the natives, and the manners, customs, and language
of the " genuine" Yankee article.—Chronicle.

ATTEMPT TO MURDER. ♦ SEDITRY.—The follow-
ing daring attempt is reported in the Athlone Sentinel:—"A
daring outrage was made on Tuesday morning to take the
life of the sentry who was on guard at the gate of No, 2 bat-
tery. About two o'clock a man came to the gate and asked
admission. On the soldier, private Thomas Morgan, coming
to within one yard of him, he fired a pistol shot, which lodged
in his left arm and wounded him severely. The occurrence
having been reported at the police barrack, head constable
Dinney turned out his party and scoured the country; at
the same time sending a mounted policeman in the direction
of Roscommon, but no trace of the assassin could be found."
Dr. Buckland still continues very much indisposed
at his living at Islip. no change for.the better having taken
place in the Reverend Doctor's health.—Somerset County
Gazette.