The Sun.
London, England, 1850-12-16 00:00:00

THE SUN,

HIGH WATER Al LONDON BRIDGE.
TUB DAT —Morning 38 min. after 11 Evening 0 min. after 0
To-Afentow—Mo:ning 2 min. after 12 Evening 22 min. after 12

THE WEATHER.—SIIN OFFICE, DECEMBER 15.
THERMOMETER, IN THE SHADE.
48—highest since noon yesterday.
37—lowest this morning and during the night.
44—this day, at noon.

BAROMETER, 29.41.
Wan S.W.- stormy, with continuous but heavy rain
occasionally, and dirty weather.
MONDAY, DEC. 16.
THERMOMETER, IN THE ►SHADE.
51—highest since noon yesterday.
36—lowest this morning and during the night.
44—this day, at noon. _ _

BAROMETER, 2321.
The Barometer went down to 2895 since yesterday
WIND S.W.—Morning, fine; Afternoon, showery.

DAILY WEATHER TABLE.

State of the Wind and Weather at each of the following
places at Nine o'clock on Saturday morning.—The stations
are arranged in order of latitude.
I.I.NGSTOWN (DUBLIN)—Wind S.S.E., strong breeze—

overcast.
PLYMOUTH—Wind S.E. strong breeze—partially cloudy.
PORTSMOUTH—Wind W., gentle breeze—overcast.
BRIGHTON—Wind N.W., gentle breeze—cloudless.
HASTINGS—Wind S.W., gentle breeze—cloudless.
SOUTHAMPTON—Wind S.W., strong breeze—foggy.
FOLKESTONE—Wind S.W., gentle breeze—partially cloudy.
TUNBRIDGE—Wind S.E., calm—cloudless.
BASINGSTOKE—Wind S.W., strong breeze—partially cloudy.
BRISTOL— Wind S.E., gentle breeze—partially cloudy.
READING—Wind S., gentle breeze—partially cloudy.
GREENWICH—Wind S., strong breeze—partially cloudy.
SWINDON—Wind S., light airs—cloudless.
OXFORD—Wind S.W., calm—partially cloudy.
LEIGHTON Wind S.W., gentle breeze— cloudless.
CAMBRIDGE —Wind S.W., gentle breeze—partially cloudy.
RUGBY— Wind S.W., strong breeze—cloudless.
YARMOUTH—Wind W., gentle breeze—cloudless.
CREWE—Wind S.W., breeze— clear.
CONWAY—Wind S.W., storm—partially cloudy.
HommEAD—Wind S., hard wind—partially cloudy.
LIVERPOOL—Wind S., gentle breeze—cloudless.
MANCHESTER—Wind S., fresh breeze— principally clear.
LEEDS —Wind S.W., calm—partially cloudy.
Yoax—Wind S., gentle breeze—partially cloudy.
LANcAsEER—Wind S.E., gentle breeze—principally clear.
WurrDE—Wind S.W., gentle breeze—partially cloudy.
DARLINGTON—Wind E. by S., gentle breeze—partially cloudy.
Slur —Wind S., gentle breeze—partially cloudy.
WHITEHAVEN —Wind S.E., gentle breeze - partially cloudy.
SUNDERLAND Wind S.W., gentle breeze—overcast.
BEArrocK—Wind S.E., gentle breeze—overcast.
BErnvicK—Wind W.—gentle breeze—partially cloudy.
EDLNBURGII Wind S., strong breeze—partially cloudy.
The returns from the following places indicate the state of
the wind and weather on Friday morning at nine
o'clock :
CORK—Wind S., strong breeze—rain.
MULLINGAR—W ind S.W., stiff breeze—rain.
DUNDALK—Wind S., strong breeze—overcast.
POOLE—Wind S., gentle breeze—partially eloudy.
CAMBRIDGE—Wind S. gentle breeze— cloudy.
PETERBOROUGH—Wind S. W., gentle breeze—cloudless.
CREWE— Wind S., breeze—partially clear.
DARLINGTON—Wind E., strong breeze - cloudless.
WHITZHAVEN Wind S. E., gentle breeze—overcast.
CARLISLE —Wind S., gentle breeze—overcast.
BERWICK—Wind W., gentle breeze—partially cloudy.

abroad, and " instead of imprisoning them on board a
ship for two or thrEee years, giving them leave to go on
shore on all proper occasions." The practical and really
admirable character of the reforms proposed by the
Admiral in regard to the management of the mari-
time service may, however, be most conspicuously
shown by transcribing the following paragraph from
his " Preface," containing, as it does, a variety of
appropriate statements :
" In 1816 I proposed to Lord Melville a system of re-
gistration, which was imperfectly carried out by Sir
James Graham in 1830, and improved by a Bill brought
in by Mr. 55 dney Herbert and myself; but it is very far
from being perfect. I brcught in another Bill, obliging
every apprentice in the merchant service to serve a cer-
tain period in a ship of war before he could become a
regular seaman; but that Bill was not taken up by the
Admiralty, and was in consequence lost. It object was
to do away the bad feeling that exists against a man- of-
war in the minds of most merchant seamen, and to
teach the apprentices in their youth the different exer-
cises, so as they might be useful when called out in the
event of war. Had that Bill passed, we should hav9 had
between four and five thousand lads of eighteen years of
age every year, and at the end of three years they would
be at liberty to remain, or return to the merchant ser-
vice, according to the wants of the Navy. This, in my
opinion, would have been the first step to do away im-
pressment. These lads, knowing the habits and customs
of a man-of-war, would come forward more willingly
than the merchant-seamen of the present day, who have
a strong feeling against the Navy; that feeling is, I
hope, passing away; but it will be a long while before it
entirely disappears, and any attempt at impressment will
bring it back in a tenfold degree."
Another admirable suggestion is thrown out im-
mediately afterwards, relating this time to the in-
iquitous and ruinous manner of payment. The
passage to which we allude runs as follows :
" The system of register tickets is little attended to
by the master and owners of merchant ships. Men are
often embarked without tickets, and the Custom-house
are not sufficiently strict. A few examples would go a
great way to check this irregularity, and strict orders
ought to be given to ships of war to muster the crew of
merchant ships, and report all those who have seamen
on board, without their tickets; but even these precau-
tions will be ineffectual, till owners are prohibited giv-
ing the men notes for their wages, payable after the ship
has sailed. These notes are sold to the Jews for half
their value, and the men consider desertion as no crime—
quite the contrary, they think they are doing the Jew.
'rho shipowners lose nothing; the sailor leaves his
clothes behind, fresh hands are shipped, and no trouble
is taken to apprehend the deserter; whereas, if the sea-
man was paid in morey, it would become the interest of
the ship-owner to apprehend and punish him if he de-
serted. What would be said, if the seamen in the Navy
were paid by notes, which would not fetch half their
value?"

In addition to such subjects as those above particu•
larized, others of a no less interesting and important
nature are touched upon by Sir CHARLES Rarm a. in
the volume under consideration ; the wasteful and ex-
travagant expenditure incurred in ship-building being
particular:y and deservedly reprobated. As the cor-
respondence, however, in which these matters are
brought under discussion, has been familiarized to
the multitude by piecemeal publication in our own
columns, and in those of some of our contemporaries,
it would be superfluous at present to do more than
thus distinctly and emphatically notify the circum.•
stance of its collective republication.

We have repeatedly directed the public attention
to the imperative necessity of a great and combined
exertion being made to obtain not only a considerable
reduction in the enormous amount of taxation, under
which the energies of the industrious classes are
crushed and paralysed, but, also, a complete alteration
in the present iniquitous system, so that every man
should be required to contribute to the support and
maintenance of the national establishments and the li-
quidation of the national liabilities, secundum statum
et facultates, according to the position which he oc-
cupies, the means he possesses, and the stake he holds
in the country. This is a matter of the plainest
equity, the most simple justice. It is the constitu-
tional privilege of the British subject, but how
grievously is it violsted, and how frivolous
and inadequate are the excuses put forward
by the Ministers of Finance oi every Government and
every party, for the glaring inequalities which they
call upon Parliament to sanction ! We are well
aware that it is exceedingly difficult, perhaps impos-
sible, to make a perfectly equal assessment on every
description of income, so that each man should con-.
tribute his exact proportion to the national exchequer.
But that is no reason why there should be no effort
made to arrive at a more equitable approximation, and
to getrid of the monstrous injustice now in daily opera-
tion—the gross anomalies that would not for a mo-
ment be tolerated by the inhabitants of any other free
country in the world.
The only argument adduced in support of the
system is, that because perfection cannot be ob-
tained we must not look for any improvement !
That because we cannot accurately ascertain
the capitalized value of an annuity on the life of an
aged and sickly man, or of the fluctuating and pre-
carious profits derived by a professional man by
almost incessant toil in the practices of his calling,
that they are to be regarded as equivalent to incomes
derived from the public funds, or the ground rents of
real property. Or, in other words, that what may
not be worth two years' purchase; what no bank or
capitalist would accept as a security for the advance
of money to any amount, should be assessed as
highly, and bound to contribute as largely, as that
which is well worth, and could be readily disposed of
at, thirty years' purchase. This is a plain reductio ad
absurdum, but what signifies any argument so long a,
the people remain apathetic and indifferent to the
question on which their own welfare and prosperity
so greatly depends ?
Before the last general election we pressed this
most important subject on the attention of the various
constituencies ; we showed that it was no party ques-
tion, but one for which men of all classes and parties,
Whig and Tory, Conservative and Radical, Protec-
tionist and Free-trader—all, in fact, vs ho desired the
full development of the industrial capabilities of their
common country—might freely unite, and cordially
co-operate together; and we strongly urged the pro

priety of the fiscal question being made one at least
of the tests by which the merits of the respective
candidates might be ascertained. There was
a golden opportunity which, under our present
system of septennial Parliaments, might not arise
again for many years. But nothing could awaken
the tax-payers from their dreamy slumbers. Other
subjects of far less importance were dwelt on, dis-
cussed, and quarrelled about in due course, and
with all the earnestness becoming the free and inde-
pendent electors, who were so fortunate as to be in

he enjoyment of the franchise. But the questions

that came home to the pocket of every voter—the
medium or currency in which the taxes should be
paid, and the manner in which the imposts should be
levied, were treated with the most contemptuous dis-

regard. The opinions of the candidates were scarcely
inquired into on monetary and fiscal reform.

Before many months had elapsed there were many
bitter reasons to deplore this fatal indifference. Before
the new Parliament had even assembled the commer-
cial crisis ensued, which brought the nation to the
verge of bankruptcy, which levelled many of our
merchant princes to the dust, and overturned firms
which it had taken ages to elevate to the proud posi-
tion in which they were placed before the arrival of
the day of ruin, which reduced the value of every de-
scription of property from 20 to 50 per cent., and
entailed the most lamentable sufferings, the most
painful privations on the industrious population of the
country, on all who earned their daily bread by their
daily labour. The statute that had fearfully aggra-

vated the mischief, if it had not directly produced this

untoward state of affairs, was necessarily suspended.
A Parliamentary inquiry followed, a 3 a matter of

course. But the representatives of the people were

perfectly careless as to a topic respecting which no
interrogatory had been exhibited on the hustings.

An obedient majority recorded their votes in favour

of Ministers, and the same infamous monetary code

still continues unchanged and unaltered, to bring new

sufferings and fresh ruin upon the country.
In the same session the income-tax expired. It
was shown to be unequal in operation, and unsound
in principle, to inflict heavy and grievous injury on

all persons deriving their incomes from limited
estates, for lives or terms of years, or from the profits
obtained from trade, manufacture, or commerce, or
from the exercise of skill or labour in any pursuit.
But the gross injustice was continued for a further

term of three years, without change or alteration, and
why ? Because the revision of the entire system of tax-

ation was not insisted on before the Members were re-
turned to Parliament ; and Honourable Gentlemen

having a long tenure of their seat* before thew could

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