The Sun.
London, England, 1850-04-17 00:00:00

1~1~~7~~~ ~~~ia

LONDON, WEDNESDAY, APRIL 17, 185%

We commend the report of last evening's debate
in the House of Commons to the serious attention of
the public. The figures in the division list are not
more decisively against than the whole tenour of the
debate is in favour of Mr. MILNER GIBSON'S motion.
The discourses of the several speakers were eminently
worthy of the occasion. Mr. GD3soN's argumentative

eloquence, corroborated by the practical experience
of the manufacturing Representative of Edinburgh,
demonstrated the evil effects of the existing taxes
on the " raw material of knowledge" in a manner
that could not fail to convince every intellect not
blinded by self-interest or warped by party spirit ;
while every shadow of an argument that the. Chan-
cellor of the Exchequer could adduce was resolved
into its native insignificance by the brilliant and in-
dignant orations of Mr. ROM:II:ICY and Mr. DISRAELI
—for once agreeing to direct their cruelly effective
sarcasm against the' same unfortunate object ! The
speech of the Right Hon. Member for Manchester,
elaborate, explicit, and unanswerable, presented a start-
ling array of facts by the side of•which the reasoning
of the Chancellor of the Exchequer dwindles into
insignificant excuses and pitiful evasions.

Not one word did Lord JOHN RUSSELL or Sir
CHARLES WOOD presume to offer in advocacy or even
in extenuation of taxes on knowledge. The only
alleged excuse for their retention was the poverty
of the national exchequer. The futility
of such an argument on such a subject
(under existing circumstances) was admirably ex-
posed in the indignant denunciations of Mr. ROE-
BUCK. " Talk to a Chancellor of the Exchequer (said
the Hon. Member) about the powers of production
being augmented, or about the certainty of intro-
ducing something new, which should make the coun-
try what it never had been before in point of hap-
piness and prosperity, he would reply, My good
Sir, it is out of the question. It would occasion a
loss to the Exchequer of 60,0001.' " But such a ques-
tion as this is above the jurisdiction of a Chancellor
of the Exchequer, rightly argued Mr. ROEBUCK.
" What higher duty could possibly engage the
attention of the Government than the education
of the people. The people of this country are
rapidly acquiring political power, and it is not only
expedient, but it is the paramount duty of every
Government that the ',people should be so instructed
as to be duly qualified for the enjoyment of that
power, that understanding their own interests they
may minister to the interests of mankind." Yet
another passage of Mr. ROEBUCK'S admirable dis-
course we must here allude to (besides commending►
the discourse in exlenso to the attention of our readers)
—a passage in which he sets forth the position of the
Government as it is and as it might be. The Govern-
ment, he admitted, had little opposition to fear within
the House, but " there was a tide setting in out cf
doors which, if the Noble Lord could but understand
and profit by, would make him omnipotent with the
people. The Noble Lord was placed in a position
which no other man had been fortunate enough to
occupy, and if he would but take the tide at its
flow, he might make much of it; but if

he did not, the tide would swallow him,
and he would be as nothing in the vast multitude of
waters which surrounded him." Such, indeed, to
every impartial spectator is the present position of the
present Government. Liberal principles are daily
gaining ground with the community ; peacefully but
irresistibly the people are learning their rights, feel-
ing their strength, and acquiring incalculable
power. The motto which the Liberal Ministry
have inscribed on their political banner is
nominally in perfect accordance with the spirit of
the age and the ambition of the people. If, as Mr.
ROEBUCK intimated, the Noble Lord at the head of
the Government would evince a courage worthy of
his post, and place himself in the van of the great
movement, he would lead instead of being driven, and
reap glory and gratitude in place of derision and dis-
content. It is idle, however, to dwell upon impossi-
bilities. Lord JOHN RUSSELL'S choice is made. Mr.
RoEnucx had hardly concluded his speech—those
eloquent sentences were yet resounding in the House,
showing forth what the Ministry might achieve—
when the Noble Premier rose to declare what it

was his personal ambition to accomplish—
nothing ! However plausible the disguise—however
skilfully constructed the excuses—the naked
truth is painfully apparent, the Liberal Government
is either too blind to understand or too timid to take
advantage of its position. In an age of progress
they still cling to past predilections ; in

an age of intelligence they place fetters
upon knowledge; in an age of daily increas-
ing popular power they connive at the mental
blindness and moral depravity of the people!
We fearlessly appeal fur corroboration to every
unprejudiced reader' cf last night's debate.
Let any such con over the facts adduced
by Mr. GIBSON', and then listen to the
Ministerial declarations, and he will find
himself compelled to bear testimony to the
lamentable infatuation of the Liberal Ministry. For
their sakes we regret last night's division ; «s far as
the question itself is concerned, that division
will be comparatively innocuous. If the reign. of
popular ignorance be still tolerated in 1850,
no one who appreciates the spirit of the
times can doubt that its hours are numbered.
The success -of questions concerning the vital
interests of the people can only be retarded, never
defeated; nevertheless, it is not good for those by
whom such success is retarded 1