The Sun.
London, England, 1868-04-23 00:00:00

SPIRIT OP TEE PUBLIC ;COUSLNALS,

The Times gives an estimate beforehnid of the Budget,
the first of Mr. Ward Hunt. Apart f rom Abyssinia, it
says, the surplus for the year, takin g credit for the
additional penny of income tax occasioned by the expe.
dition, would have been £1,181,000. What will be the
charge for the expedition in 1868-9? It will be Mr.
Hunt's duty to answer this painful question, and it need
scarday be said that even his answer must be conjectural.
It will not be safe, we fear, to assume it at less than five
millions, and the Chancellor of the Exchequer will, on
thit, assumption, have to provide for a deficiency of
£3,819,000. The strain upon the committee will begin
when the ways and means to meet this deficiency
have to be submitted to their consideration.
How shall a deficiency amounting in round num-
bers to four millions be provided? There is one
mode, only too tempting to a Finance Mi-Aister, which can
be at once suggested. Raise the income tax from sd. to
81—it is but a penny above the rate originally imposed
by Sir Robert Peel—and the difficulty is met. The lead-
ing journal cannot too earnestly deprecate such counsels, if
they have occurred to the mind of Mr. Hunt. It is the
c:pc6al drawback on the income tax as a political engine
that it places such an immense power in the hands of the
Chancellor of the Exchequer of the day. It is so easy,
and, it may be added, it is so popular, a plan of action to
raise the rate of the income tax. The temptation ought
to be resisted at all times, and especially when the govern-
went of the country is about to undergo a great change.
In the town meetings of New England, which, with the pos.
sible exception of some of the smaller Swiss cantons, afford
the purest specimens of democracy in action, the expenses of
the community are defrayed by a tax upon real and per-
sonal property, and the State courts are continually
invoked to prevent illegal and wasteful expenditure de-
creed by a popular vote at the cost of the wealthier in-
habitants. The cost of the Abyssinian expedition has
been hithhto borne by the payers of income tax alone ; it
is essential that the charge for it in the coming year
should be partially laid upon the classes who do not come
within the scope of that impost. It is the business of the
Chancellor of the Exchequer to suggest the proper
sources of supply. We shall leave it to Mr. Hunt to de-
termine whether tea, or sugar, or malt, or any combina-
tion of these or other commodities, be recommended as
the means of furnishing additional revenue in aid of the
Exchequer.

The Daily Telegraph observes that the Chancellor of
the Exchequer has to state how he means to provide for
the expenditure connected with the Abyssinian war, and
also how he can secure that the ordinary outlay of the
'year shall not exceed the income which may reasonably be
anticipated. In the interests of the over-burdened tax•
payer it is imperatively necessary that a check should
be applied to the prodigal distribution of grants from
the Exchequer, and of promises which must one
day be redeemed. Fresh burdens will be submitted
to with a little less reluctance if the public feel assured
that no waste is permitted in deference to local clamours
or jobbery, and that the same economy which the events
of the last two years have rendered necessary in almost
every household is applied with rigorous impartiality to
the affairs of the nation.

The Star calls attention to the rumour that Mr. Hunt,
who hal been fished out of the depths to teach us finance,
intends to add twopence per pound to the income tax. Mr.
Gladstone would have fr alined to carry on an expedition
against a greasy savage without putting on a war tax, bad
he and his Cabinet perpetrated the folly of going to war
at all in such a country with such an opponent. But it is,
not improbable that a Ministry without a policy and
without a Finance Minister may have determined
to make up for a deficiency in intellect and re-
source by extracting some more millions of taxa-
tion from the people. Are we obliged to submit
to all this? No one can have the least dependence
upon the figures which Mr. Hunt may lay before us. His
exposition of the revenue may be correct, or it may be a
million or two out of joint. Upon his estimates of expen-
diture we can place as little confidence ; for the depart-
ments, rot having the fear of a master before their eyes,
have doubtless shaped them to please themselves. War
Office, Admiralty, aryl Civil Service may play ducks and
drakes with millions. They know imbecility reigns at the
Treasury, and that political authority is a thing of the
past. It may seem a light thing to many who have not
realised to themselves the importance of the office of Chan-
cellor of the Exchequer, that Mr. Disraeli should have put
an untried man to muddle the department ; but if he
makes blunders now it may stop financial reform for
years.

The Post has an article on the bill to secure to married
women the benefit of their property and earnings, free
from the control of the husband, introduced by Mr. Shaw
Lefevre. That the property and earnings of a thrifty in- 1
anstrious woman should be seized and squandered by an
idle and profligate husband, who is too cunning io desert
her, as that would enable her to obtain protection under
the recent law, but prefers to live upon her and lay his
hands upon everything she receives, is a very great hard-
Fillip, no doubt. But if this hardship is to be removed by
giving the wife a legal right to the control of the property,
it will not be practicable to maintain that exemption from
being sued for debt which married women have hitherto en-
joyed. The eld law sets off a manifest advantage against a
manifest disad wattage. At the same time it must be
admitted that the present law is unsatisfactory. A man
may cling to his wife just for the very purpose of spending
her earnings, and unless he desert her she cannot claim
protection. True, ante-nuptial settlements may be con-
cluded, and Chancery will order provision to be set apart
in certain cases. But this is, to all practical intents and
purposes, one law for the rich and another for the poor.
The poor, who most need protection, cannot afford pre-
nuptial settlements, even were there anything but future
earnings to settle ; nor can they afford applications to the
Court of Chancery for a post-nuptial settlement to secure
any little property or income they may become possessed
of or be able to earn. When, therefore, the husband
ceases to maintain his wife, it ought to be deemed to be
desertion in law, and she ought to be entitled to the use
and benefit of her own property and earnings. Such an
alteration as that proposed by the present bill has been
found to work well in countries where it has been adopted,
and that some such change is called for in England there
cannot be a reasonable doubt.
The Standard declares that Mr. Shaw Lefevre's bill will
effect something very like a social revolution in the rela-
tions between husband and wife. At present, the wife's
property, by the act of marriage, becomes vested in her
husband. Her real estate is so far under her control, that
her lord and master cannot sell it without her concurrence,
though he can assert a right to receive and spend as he
pleases the rents and profits as they accrue. But her per-
sonal property, her money, goods, and chattels, are his
Absolutely, to spend, to waste, to squander in any way he
likes, subject only to the power which courts of equity
have asserted of having sonic part thereof set apart
for her separate use, in much the same way as if it had
'been previously settled by a formal instrument. Of
course this state of things gives rise to many hard
cases and much individual suffering. Everyone
has heard of instances in which women have been
kissed or kicked out of their property by those to whom
they have plighted their troth, and who have had to
;endure the pressure of poverty because they had erro-
neously thought they might safely trust their money where
'They trusted themselves. On the other hand, it must be
owned there is a good deal of force in the reasons by which
this state of things is usually justified and defended. The
law has cast upon the husband the duty of providing for
his wife's support, and therefore it seems only right that
it should invest him with control over whatever funds she
may possess, which may be available for meeting the
responsibilities and expenses which the marriage bond
ordinarily involves. At any rate, this is the theory of our
law, and though we do not mean to say that the practice
is in perfect harmony with it, we confess it seems to us
that enough is to be said in support of it, to make any off-
hand alteration extremely undesirable.

The gemld treats with ridicule the great outcry which
is being raised in one particular quarter at the prospect of
seeing the " wires " placed under the control of St.
Martin'sde-Grand. The apprehended consequences are
terrific, and the proposal brings us to the very brink of
Niagara. Nothing will save us, if once the telegraph
comes under the control of the Government. The very
springs of the national existence will be poisoned.
'1 Purity of election will exist no longer, for the
Government candidate will " wire " his opponent as
a poacher would a hare. A change of Government
Nvill be impossible, for the Opposition will never be
able to summon their adherents in time for a division.
The newspapers of the Opposition will also come to
grief, for, of course, the Government will take care that
the news telegrams shall be always " too.late " for
the use of editors who fly the wrong flag. Worse than
all, it will be nest to impossible to travel by railway,
except at the imminent risk of life, f"r on electric tele-
rr;rt{r signal the safety of all railway traffic ; and
if the present system is interfered with, the meddling and
Twiddling will be frightful. Then there will be no such
thing ass mahing a fair contract with the GoVerntrent fox
any kind of service.
- -

The Daily .21rexs observes that the marriage of the
Crown Prince of Italy to his charming cousin, the
Princeris Margaret of Savoy, is an event in the early his
tory of the new kingdom so full of good auguries ano
joyous hopes, that Court and nation may well be per
mitted to forget for a moment, in the pomp and splen
dour of t7:e nuptial solemnities, and in the tumult el
the popular rejoicings, the anxieties of yesterday and
the troubles of to.morrow. On every account and. it
re2peets this marriage deserves to be an occasion
publie j,,y in Italy, and to be r-garded with mire
well-founded satisfaAion by -those statesmer
tr.rs who have at heart the dignity ant'
f the Italian Crown. The union of the
Crown with a Princess adorned by nature aue
I t ,nler solicitude with all the graces and al'
win aft action and conciliate esteem, ant.
idluence of a beautiful example upon
i nary or trivial moti -ye for festivity among
..o until lately were only too fond of escaping
from the responsibilities and the realities of a work-a-da)
world on any and every pretext. Nor should the sterile]
instinct of a northern race be too ready to condemn the
softer ways of the children of the south, born to bask in
the sun, to chirp in melodious vowels, to take life as a per
petual afternoon, and trained by the sensuous supersti
time of a transmuted Paganism, and by centuries of state
eraft. and servitude, " to love delights and live inglorious
days '—a people of mimes, and minstrels, and mounts
banks.

the virtm4 tii
that .;11tyl th

3IR. SPURGEON ON THE IRISH CHURCH.

At the great meeting which was held at the Metropolitan
Tabernacle, on Wednesday night, to urge the disestablish-
ment of the Irish Church, the following letter from the
Rev. C. H. Spurgeon was read: "
Dear Sir,—l have all along hoped to be at our meet-
ing to-night, but a sharp attack of rheumatic gout in the
leg has made me a prisoner since Monday. lam most
sorry for this, because with my whole heart and soul I
would advocate the disestablishment and disendowment
of the Irish Church, and should like to have said my
little word.

" It is in no spirit of opposition to the Irish clergy that
I would urge upon the House of Commons to carry out the
proposed resolution, for I. believe them as a body to be
among the best part of the Episcopal clergy, and to hold
evangelical truths most earnestly. But because they are the
best of the clergy they should be the first to be favoured
with the great blessing of disestablishment. If they were
all Baptists, I should be none the less, but all the more,
earnest that they should at once be delivered from their pre-
sent invidious position, and placed where all Churches of
Christ should be—viz., on the footing of freedom from
State patronage and control. They are at present sup-
ported by payments which are not theirs by the will of the
Irish nation—payments which effectually bar the door of
their entrance into the Irish heart, payments which I be-
lieve to be hateful to God and injurious to themselves ;
therefore, because they are men in their own persons ex-
cellent and respectable, let it be the ceaseless object of
their friends to set them where they need not incur such
reproach or commit such injustice. They will only be
called to do what some of us bare for years found a plea-
sure and advantage in doing—viz., to trust to the noble
spirit of generosity which true religion is sure to evoke.
They little know how grandly the giant of Voluntaryism
will draw the chariot when the pitiful State dwarf is dis-
missed.

" Our Lord's Kingdom is not of this world. This truth
is the corner-stone of our dissent, and we feel ourselves
deeply interested in the present question, because the re-
sult of Mr. Gladstone's resolutions will be a step in the di-
rection of freeing one of the churches from a worldly
alliance which we hold to be in every case unscriptural and
unhallowed. How a faith so spiritual as ours ever came to
be the tool of the State—how the Church of God ever con-
descended to yield its liberties to earthly powers—is a mys-
tery. To tear it from its too-willing captivity is a task
worthy of the Eternal Providence ; a labour in which all
good men should unite.
" The one point about which the Dissenter'f England
have any fear is one which I trust you will mention to-
night. We fear lest any share of the Church property should
be given to the Papists. To a man we should deprecate
this. Dad as the present evil is, we would sooner see it let
alone than see Popery endowed with the national property.
Not one single farthing ought any religious denomination
to receive, and the whole matter will be imperilled if those
in power are not quite clear as to any douceurs to the
Pope. We are not agitated by the dead horse of No
Popery,' which knaves would raise that fools may be their
instruments ; but we are very determined that it never
shall be said that, under guise of removing the grievances
of Ireland, we made an exchange of endowed churches,
and put down the Anglican to set up the Roman image.
" May you, dear sir, be sustained as the champion of
the people, and as you have already lived to sec many of
the dreams of your youth become realities, so may you
survive to see the matters in question enrolled in history
ss triumphs of the right and the truth !—Yours, with pro-
found respect, " C. N. SPURGEON.

"To John Bright, Esq., Chairman of Meeting."

LETTER FROM ONE OF THE ABYSSINIAN
CAPTIVES.

rhe following letter, dated Amba, Magdala, March 3,

.s been received from the Rev. H. A. Stern:—

" You will be glad to learn that the worthy Theodorus
has again received a check, and that so serious that he
cannot even despatch a messenger to this Amba. His
progress from Debra Tabor to Dalanta, amid a host
of insurgents, who lined his road on all sides, so that
he dared not deviate from the regular track to gratify
his wonted love for plunder and booty, was, to the sur-
prise of every one, not marked by those ruthless deed.
of cruelty which months before drew upon him the
maledictions and execrations of an exasperated, but,
unfortunately, divided and helpless people. Many
already thought that he had resolved to reform, or at
least to adopt a milder and more lenient rule towards the
scattered villages near and around Magdala, which to some
extent still professed fealty to his departed sway. Part
of Daunt and Dalanta (the districts located on the plateau
that separates the Djiddah from the Beshilo rivers), by
flattering and glowing promises, were induced to return to
the allegiance of their despised hut detested lord. Fully
persuaded that their fa-len master would not now, as on
former occasions, forfeit their support by the breach of a
most solemn engagement, they strove, and strove hard, to
please the capricious, whimsical, and faithless despot. At
his own particular request the chiefs remained in the camp,
while the people carried his baggage, assisted in making
the road, and, together with his ragamuffins, alias
soldiers, dragged his unwieldy machines, pompously desig-
nated cannons, up to their own verdant plain. Praises
the most lavish and profuse were abundantly bestowed on
the good and loyal Dalanta peasantry. They were liege
subjects, excellent fathers, and most exemplary men ;
nay, on the last Sunday before the Abyssinian Lent,
during a broundo (raw meat) feast, he assured the village
authorities that they and their descendants and the dis-
trict entrusted to their charge should to the very verge of
time enjoy immunities and privileges the most glorious and
distinguished a monarch could bestow. Thinking that his
wily smiles and glib tongue had dispelled every apprehen-
sion of treachery, he gave secret orders to his banditti
to fall, before the day dawn, upon the sleeping
peasantry and to despoil them of their property. The
plan was well conceived, but not so easily carried into
effect. The slumbering, though surprised people, were
not quite unprepared, so that the ruffians, before they
could execute their fell purpose, had to struggle, and
straggle fiercely, with their stout-hearted, obstinate
victims. Numbers, it is reported, of the King's people
were knocked clown by the heavy, knotted clubs of
the vigorous peasantry ; others were brained by the
infuriated women ; and not a few, even in the camp
itself, were stretched upon the ground never to rise
again, by the frantic chiefs whom they sought to
make their prisoners. The Daunt and scores of the
Wadela people, on hearing the war-whoop, hurried (as is
quite unusual in this reft country), to the assistance of
'their neighbours, and by their united efforts they drove
the bragging Negus behind the shelter of his artillery.
Ire is now, with his diminished bands, quite encompassed
by the enraged peasantry, who day and night make the
ttir ring with sarcastic gibes and menacing threats. In
the Royal camp itself all is dejection, sorrow, and despair.
Wives bereaved of their husbands, mothers of their sons,
companions of their friends, plunged in the deepest grief,
run to and fro, in the vain hope that tears and sighs,
mournful dirges, and vehement gesticulations will
alleviate their distress and soothe the keen an-
guish of the desolate heart. The King has strictly
interdicted all these boisterous demonstrations for
the dead, as they enhance the triumph and exulta-
tion of his foes ; but his injunctions are disregarded,
or met by a louder wail or wilder shrieks. The Negoos
Negest (King of Kings), as he vauntingly styles himself,
is at present in an ugly fix. To descend into the River
Beshilo, with his clumsy ordnance and thinned bands, is
a task of considerable difficulty, and to remain stationary
in the midst of the insurgents, whose eyes flash vengeance
and death, is too humiliating to his proud and arrogant
Spirit. lam inclined to think that, like ourselves, he is
anxious for the approach of the British troops, whose advent
will terminate the destructive and unequal conflict in which
the captor and captured, the spoiler and the spoiled, are
mutually involved. The above and similar incidents
which during the last few years have characterised
the career of our oppressor and precipitated his fall
are fraught with the deepest interest and most impor-
tant consequences to us and the people. Had he the
forces which surrounded him only eighteen months
ago, our position just now would, humanly speaking, he
most trying, if not actually critical. His gradual weak-
ness and decline, it is true; may be attributed to his
. violence and passion, rapacity and cruelty, but for
my part, I hear above the din and tumult the yells and
moans of a wounded and bleeding people, the voice of Him
who in adversity and prosperity, in all places and under
all circumstances, proclaims in the ears of His people this
cheering and sustaining message, 'Be still, and know that
lam Cod.'—l am, &c., your affectionate
" 11. A. STERN.

"P.S.—From papers which have occasionally reached
us, I think Mr. Rassam has been rather unfairly dealt
with. I have reason to say that hp did all in his power to
effect our liberation. Ey using well-shaped,sentences ;Ind
hyperbolical expressions of hiendship, blended somctime.-
with phrases of severity nod indignation, he saved us what
a bolder tone might not have effected—viz., from incar-
ceration a second time in the common gaol. Hitherto
the Negus has continued to profess the most unbounded
regard for Mr. R. Although last rainy season there
were ominous whispers that if the Amba was attacked the
guards would chop up the Europeans and toss them over
the precipice, yet he was to be the exception. And no
doubt Mr. R. will, in our present position, prove of infi-
nite advantage to us, and also, perhaps, help to ensure the
success of the expected field force. His behaviour towards
the King and Amba chiefs (the most exacting scoundrels
in Alava) has conferred many favours onus