The Sun.
London, England, 1850-04-16 00:00:00

Lid: Ilfou am

LONDON, TUESDAY, APRIL 16, 1850.

This evening a resclution, long promised, long
postponed, and long expected, will be moved in the
House of Commons by the Right lion. MmarEu
GIBSON, strongly condemnatory of the Taxes imposed
upon Knowledge. Under four leading particulars
these injurious imposts will be assailed—tbe advocate
of cheap and wholesome literature inveighing, first,
against the excise duties on paper ; secondly, against
the stamp duties on newspaper ; thirdly, against the
arbitrary duties on advertisements ; and, fourthly,
against the Cmtoms' duties on foreign publi-
cations. Each and all of these deplorable
grievances to the community will be de-
fended with that perverse pertinacity which, as
a specimen of the acme of obtuseness, appears to be
the exclusive characteristic of a Chancellor of the
Exchequer. In reference to the line of reasoning
which mey be adopted by the Right Hon. the Repre-
sentative of Manchester, we may observe that, no
matter which may be selected, it cannot fail to prove
most fruitful in argument. Whether he turn his at-
tention and the attention of Parliament to the in-
jurious influence exercised by the taxes on know-
ledge over the morals of the population, over the
amount of the national revenues, over the intellect of
the age, and consequently over the general diffusion
of religious truth and the general advancement of
civilization—he may demonstrate with facility the
urgent and importunate necessity existing for the re-
moval of evils so glaringly detrimental to the highest
and noblest interests of tale multitude.

It was with the genius of a philosopher as well
as with the consummate di xterity of a novelist skilled
in tl-.6 art of historical delineation, that
Sir WALTLn SCOTT, in one of tho most felicitous of
those golden romances, whose prolonged and gor-
geous panorama opened with a tale in Scotland, and
closed wilt a story in Palestine, depicted that me
morab!e interview between the Eleventh Louts of
France and the Astroleger GALLIOTII—the inter-
view in which the results of the newly-discovered art
ui printing were prophetically recognized. Having
submitted to the fanatical Sovereign the first specimen
of this novel contrivance for "multiplying manuscripts
by the intervention of machinery," the seer exclaims,
in a torte of brooding admiration—" Can I look for-
ward without wonder and astonishment to the lot of
,a.succeeding generation, on whom knowledge will
descend like the first and second rain, uninterrupted,
unabated, and unbounded; fertilising some grounds,
and overflowing others ; changing the whole
form of social life ; establishing and over-
throwing religions ; erecting and destroying
kingdoms " " II dd, G.ILLIOTTI," cries the
King, " shall these changes came in our times ?"
" No, my royal brother," responds the voice of the
astrologer, " this invention may he likened to a
Young tree, which. is newly planted, but shall, in
succeeding generations, hear fruit as fatal as that
of the garden of Eden ; the knowledge, namely, of
good end And Louis answers, "Let futu-
rity lock to what concerns them—we are men of
this age, and to this age we will confine
our care. Sufficient -for the day is the evil
thereof." The spirit of Louis XL has survived even
to this generation. It in diffused throughout the
present Government. It says to the prophets of the
time, when ".Knowledge will descend like the first
and second rain, uninterrupted, unabated, and un-
bounded"— " Let futurity look to what concerns
them ; we are men of this age, and to this age we
will confine our care : sufficient for the dny is
the evil thereof ! " Little dreaming, these blind
leaders of the nations, that Behold ! the
time is come ! the day is already at
hand ! Happy for those among the national repre-
sentatives vshn recognizethe proximity of the glorious
'epoch when no impediment whatever shall stand be-
tween the people and those wa4.ers of life (wisdom)
flUwing to them along the conduits of the Press from
the wellspring of science and literature. happy for
them, because they and they only will be regarded
asi the real. Well-Wishers of the people and as
the real latnefaCtors of their country. Among
them the name of AlmstEts GIBSON is now
indelibly enrolled ; and, whether Successful or not is
his present endeavours, his, generous efforts to effect
the intellectual emancipation of the community will
not be very readily forgotten.
Already in our comments upon the masterly.
pamphlet recently published by CHARLES KNIGHT
(a pamphlet again referred to in an admirable leading
article, copied into our columns of this evening from
those Of our contemporary the Morning Chronicle),
wherein that distinguished teacher of the multitude
has recounted the " Struggles of a Book
against Excessive Taxation," we have expatiated
upon the pernicious .consequences of this taxa-
tion = as witnessed in the impure and foetid
effdsions squandered amongst the crowd in the. at-
tractive guise of cheap literature. To terminate this
destructive evil must be an object of solicitude with
eVO:ty one interested in the diminution of crime, for
we are satisfied that it is to these penny periodicals,
replete with filth and obscenities, that the large, and
in some cages increasing, number of our criminals is
attributable. Enable such men as the CHAMBERS'S—
en4Ie such aman as CHARLES KNIGHT to supply the
public with sound and wholesome knowledge in the
form of penny periodicals, and all these prurient
effusions of, the_ press, engendering an appetite for
vice, and demoralising the masses by fostering their
darker passions, would vanish like birds of night bo-
fore the dawn of morning. To effect this beneficent
improvement, the Legislature has only to remit those
taxes upon knowledge which are as disgraceful to the
age, the nation, and the Parliament, as they are inju-
rious to the cause of enlightenment, of Christianity,
and of civilization.

The independent Members of Parliament appear
to have gained new vigour by the temporary relaxa-
tion afforded during the Easter recess. Honourable
Gentlemen had then sufficient opportunities of ascer-
taining the opinions and feelings of their respective
constituencies, and of discovering how those by whom
they were selected, to fill the honourable position of
" popular representatives"' were affected towards the
Whig Government. A general expression of dis-
content and dissatisfaction at the backslidings and re-
trogressions of the once popular Liberals (!) had
been heard from all quarters. It was known that if
they had not entirely forfeited the good opinion
of the people, they had at least lost ground
considerably, and that a change of Ministry, which
would, a
few years since, have been regarded as a
cala •
mity of no ordinary magnitude, would now be
regarded with careless apathy, if not with positive
' pleasure.

Previous, however, to the recess matters went on
smooth.- The severe illness by which Sir
CHARLES WOOD was afflicted prevented the attendance
of the, Right Ron. Baronet in his place until the
15th of March last. No question of fiscal or finan-
cial policy could properly be brought forward in his
absence, and discussions on matters in which the
Whigs were proverbially deficient in strength were
thus avoided. Sanguine anticipations were also in-
dulged in as to the relief that would be afforded
by the reductions rendered possible by a sur-
plus of revenue above expenditure to the
ex-
tent of 2,000,000/. sterling. Each person fondly
hoped that the class to which he himself belonged
would receive some substantial benefit. No opinion
could be formed as to the mode in which the present
Chancellor of the Exchequer would deal with the
sum placed at his diEposal. An excess of revenue
above expenditure bad been utterly unknown since
his accession to office ; and, although his manner of
proitviibdlien, hgfiosr a deficiency was but too painfully per-
probable
cei proceedings, under opposite And

more favourable circumstances, were still involved in
the deepest gloom and obscurity.
The " Brick-dust Budget" of the 15th of March,
however, completely dispersed any fond illusions that
might have been indulged in. The Right
Honourable Baronet then proved that, how-
ever incompetent to the discharge of the
important and arduous duties of his office in seasons
of adversity, his deficiencies were still more glaring
in periods of greater prosperity. New loans were
effected while profound peace and tranquillity pre-
vailed on. every side—that was indeed bad ; but the
public lost all patience when they discovered that by
far the larger portion of the "heaven-sent" surplus
was to be:applied to—what !—something would surely
be done with that to reflect credit on the Minister of
Finance, and retrieve the waning popularity of his
official coadjutors; alas, no !—the abolition of the
duty on bricks, and the liquidation of the National
Debt !!! This was indeed too bad ; it was the "last
straw that broke the back of the camel," that sealed
the doom of the Whigs. The result is sufficiently
perceptible from the proceedings of the past week.
Day by day it has been our painful duty, as public
journalists, to chronicle a series of disgraceful de-
feats, each more decisive than the preceding one. Oa
Monday the Ministers were most properly left in a
minority on the question of the assistant-surgeons of
the Royal Navy. On Tuesday they obtained a paltry
and insignificant majority of three (!!!) on the win-
dow-tax. On Wednesday, on the second reading of the
County Courts Extension Act, they were completely
and decisively routed by an overwhelming majority
of 77-144 independent Members having voted in
ac-
cordance with the desires of the people, while only
67, of whom 32 were placemen, officially connected
with the Government, could be induced to divide with
the first law officer of the Crown, aided end assisted
by her MAJESTY'S principal Secretary of State for the
Home Department, and by all the strength of the Ca-
binet. On Thursday the First Lord of the Trea-
sury postponed, to a future session, the consideration
of the admirable suggestion of the Honour-
able Member for the county of Limerick, for increas-
ing the smaller borough constituencies , in Ireland,
On Friday, in like manner, the question of economy
and retrenchment was placed neon the shelf, and the
duty that should have been performed by Ministers
themselves was cast upon a " Select Committee."
Saturday was happily a dies non, so that some little
breathing time was afforded. But another defeat
was impending, which last night completed their
discomfiture, and the astonished and confounded
Chancellor of the Exchequer war. compelled to with-
draw for the time being, "in order to determine what
course he should pursue," the further consideration
of the Stamp Duties Bin, introduced with so loud a
flourish cf trempets as the &spring of the anxious
care and labour of fifteen years !
This is indeed a humiliating and a painful alterna-
live. The more equitable apportionment of the stamp
duties lied long been demanded. The assessment
was, as Sir CHARLES WOOD himself acknowledged on
'he 13th of March, " exceedingly unfair end un-
equal." Its equalizstion, and the substitution of ad
valorem duties for the present scale, was anxiously
looked for on every side. If judiciously and fairly
carried out, the change would have been considered a
real boon, but unfortunately Sir CHARLES WOOD
could not be induced to bring forward a plain and
simple measure remedying the acknowledged griev-
ance. He endeavoured to incorporate therewith a
number of stringent provisions which would render
those ire posts, already sufficiently oppressive, still more
onerous and intolerable. New regulations were in-
troduced that would subject matters now practically
exempted from the tax to very heavy charges, and the
facilities now existing for stamping or placing addi-
tional stamps on documents would be materially
abridged. Besides, the Right Honourable Gentleman
began at too high a rate of duty, and made the turn-
ing point in the scale (1,0001.) too low. In place,
therefore, of remitting taxation to the extent
of 300,0001, as declared in his speech on the
Budget, the probable results of the change would be
an increase of revenue to the amount of several hun-
dred thousands per annum. This we pointed out
clearly and distinctly on Saturday last, and showed
that the House should require additional information
to enable it to deal with the subject, and that the
" guardians of the public purse" should not permit
themselves to be hoodwinked, or to deal on insufficient
data with questions of such vital importance to the
national prosperity. Sir CHARLES WooD, however,
either could not, or would not, furnish that
information. He could make his own calculations that
there wolkld be a loss, but would not show
the grounds on which he formed his judgment. The
Attorney- General also could state exactly to a single
farthing what the loss would be upon conveyances,
which he asserted would amount to 266,299/. 4s. 6d.
We are almost tempted to exclaim with Mr. Alex-
renesar, "the, sixpence be dem'd !" But no return
would be granted to enable Honourable Gentlemen to
draw their own deductions, and Sir CHARLES WOOD
took something from the weight of his Right Hon-
Colleague's assertion by stating that "it was entirely
a guess." Under such circumstances, it is by no
means surprising, that notwithstanding the numerous
concessions made on almost every clause in the Bill, the
Government was left in a minority of 29 on the very
first division, on Sir H. WILLOUGHBY'S motion, that
the stamp duty on bonds, for sums not exceeding 50/.,
should be ls. in place of 2e. 6d., as proposed by Sir
CHARLES WooD. This proposition was supported by
164 independent Members, while only 135—includ-
ing place holders—voted for Ministers. The result,
as we have already seen, is the temporary withdrawal
of the Bill, until the Right Honourable Baronet
can make up his mind "on the course he should

pursue."

Not much doubt can remain on this point. The
House and the country will not now rest satisfied
with the existing scale. Sir CHARLES WOOD can-
not retrace his footsteps, or continue the
system which he designated as " exceed-
ingly unfair, unjust, and unequal." The
Noble Lord the Member for Marylebone stated the
general feeling on the subject, that the true principle
was " that the poor and rich should be taxed pro-
portionately—not the scandalous and disgraceful
principle that the poor should pay infinitely a larger
proportion than the rich, and that it was a great im-
provement for the poor man to pay only twice as
much as the rich man, instead of forty times as
much, as he used to de." The principle of ad valorem
duties must therefore be fully and feirly carried out,
not only on the stamps, or bonds, or mortgages, and
transfers, but on every department, and on every
branch of the national revenue.

A question is now under consideration at Guildhall
of some importance to the legal profession—the utility
to the city of London of a permanent staff of law
officers. The advocates of change say that, inasmuch
as the Corporation have 'always the services of the
most eminent lawyers of Westminster Hall at their
disposal, the permanent retainer of individual mem-

_ __________ -- ----•----- ---
hers of the profession is useless, and, moreover, that a
jab is so inevitable an ingredient of civic appoint-
ments, that the system of electing permanent officers
prevents the services of efficient men being secured to
the Corporation. . _

This discussion has been immediately occasioned
by by the promotion of Mr. Bummer( to the rank of
Common-Sergeant, and the resignation of one of the
City Common Pleaders. According to the
custom on such occasions, the subject has been gene-
rally referred to the Officers and Clerks' Committee;
and we hear that at a very thinly attended meeting
of that committee, on Thursday last, it was resolved,
by a majority of one, that henceforth the appoint-
ment of Common .Pleaders to the city of London
should be discontinued.

It appears that the prospect of two vacancies among
the City. Pleaders has, on the present occasion, brought
so many candidates into the field, and family influence
has been exerted to such an extent in favour of some
of the candidates, that a large portion of the Corpo-
ration felt called upon to take some decided steps to
counteract it, and hence the somewhat hasty resolu-
tion of the meeting of Thursday last. As, however,
sudden innovations are rarely productive of the ex-
pected improvement, we are not surprised to find
that a reaction has taken place in favour of conti-
nuing the appointment.

The offices. of the City Common Pleaders are of
considerable antiquity, the communes narratores civi-
tatis London being mentioned in some of the oldest
records of the Corporation, their duties requiring
them to act With the Common-Sergeant in counselling I

and assisting the citizens, not only irs matters pend-
ing in the civic tribunals, but in the c ourts at West-
minster ; and by a by -law of the Corporation of the
date of Plume and MAR!, the Rem .der, Common-
Sergeant, and Judges of the Sheilffs' Courts are
directed to be chosen from these lesarned counsellors
of the City. There are numerous inst ances cited in Mr.
Sergeant MANNING'S interesting work entitled " Scr-
viens ad Legcm," of counsel being in ancient times re-
tained as permanent officers of public bodies, and hardly
a joint-stock company is now starts d without some
standing counsel being appointed ; nd, if such ap •
pointments serve any useful purpose .in ordinary cases,
there certainly seems good reason for the system
being continued inthe Corporation oft ondon, which en-
joys such peculiar customs and franchises. The reform
party in the Corporation would, perhaps, therefore, be
acting more wisely by endeavouring to check corrup-
tion in their own body than by seekliz g the abolition of
old and useful offices, which, whilst they are legiti-
mate objects of ambition to the ha r, ensure to the
City, at a nominal salary of five pounds a year,
a staff of officers devoted to the rathsar uninviting sub-
ject of civic law. The Queen's Co unsel receive also
such a nominal salary ; but even Mr. JOSEPH Hurst;
has not been heard to complain of this,
.and the rank
of Queen's Counsel is rarely confei Ted except on the
most distinguished members of the ...English bar.
Is the Corporation of London, tki en, confessedly so
corrupt that its members cannot 'be trusted to elect
from the bar an efficient staff of C ommon Pleaders ?
Is the system of nepotism so engra fted into tha pro-
ceedings of Guildhall that they cannot even retain
counsel for the City, except from -the families of their
own members? We hope, for the honour of the
Corporation, this is not the case. Amongst the 232
members of the Court of Common Council are nume-
rous gentlemen of energy, talent, and independence.
They can, if they please, by resis ting improper in-
fluence, vindicate the good old principle of local
government, which the city of London is said so pecu-
liarly to illustrate; and if they despair of securing
the proper choice of men to fill ;inch junior offices as
that of Common Pleader, there is little security to the
public that in their selection of judges, magistrates,
&c., any other object will be ke pt in view by the
Corporation than the providing places for themselves
or their families.

It behoves the city of Lor don on such an occasion
to gravely consider the questiaa before them. The
office of Common Pleader may ,or may not have be-
come an unimportant one. If it has become so, the
obvious cause is the neglect of tly3 Corporation to ap-
point efficient men to fill it, If :it has not, and there
still continues to attach to it emnething more than
the wretched perquisitt s of the n sonopoly of the Lord
Mayor's Court, the Corporation must make up their
minds to leave family considerations out of the ques-
tion, and appoint men who will immediately become
useful officers, and at soma future period efficient
judges.

The icfiefatigable Mr. GEORGLL ALFRED WALKER
deserves the felicitations of every sincere sanitary
reformer, seeing that last evening the Cabinet,
through the person of the Home Secretary, tock the
initiative step towards the organisation of a system
of extramural interment. To that end, during the
sitting of the House of Commons yesterday,
leave was granted to the Government, on
the motion of Sir GEORGE GREY, to bring in
a measure such as will tend to the realisation of a
boon long anticipated by the population. When the
Bill shall have been formally submitted to the con-
sideration of the Legislature we shall find repeated
opportunities for commenting on the merits or de-
ficiencies of the scheme therein to be propounded
by the present Ministry ; but already, at this early
stage of the proceeding, we eagerly press forward to
felicitate the originator of the whole movement, and
to commend the Government for having at length
yielded to the irresistible force of argument, tardily,
it is true, but nevertheless fully and cordially.