The Sun.
London, England, 1826-10-25 00:00:00

SPIRIT OF THE PUBLIC JOURNALS.

The difference between exportation arising from
trade-and exportation arising from absenteeism' is this
—ln trade , that which goes out of the country, in
produce of one description or other, returns in pros
duee.•oflike value,; for A, living it London, ships to
his friend B, living in Bordeaux, English wool to the
amount of 1001,, tbr which, in return, wine to an
amount eqUal to tlw spool exported is received. Thus,
in trade,, the affair is balanced-s-commodity being Paid
by, tommodity. In absenteeisir4.however, the thing is
different. A. man owns an estate in Ireland, which,
we will say, yields him 100/. a year. :The tenant
must remit. to the absentee .for rent as much of ,the
produce of the land as amounts to 1001.—that , is,
be parts with so much value of produee, but `for which
he does not receive one farthing back in value. A
Nationel Debt operates against a country orstbe same
principle. Suppose absentees residing in France to the
amount of:10,000,000/. , a year, whose incomes- are
folely derived from :British Funds ; that, income is re-
mitted to them in British commodities of one descrips
skin or other, but - nothing is received back to the
country. Sir Robert „Peel will find that he was wrong
when he stated that a national debt mattered not to a
country, for that what came out of one pocket went into
the other, It is ,no such thing; for in all cases, where
people whose incomes are derived from the funds reside
abroad, that which they • 'receive they spend abroad,
and nothing is returned to ' the country. In fact, it
has the same operation against as country as if the
money were paid in the shape of tribute the Dey of
Algiers, or to his subjects. Absenteeism has the same
operation so far es rents are concerned. All paid to
an absentee is the same as tribute paid to a foreign
Potentate. Sir Robert Peel would be right, provided
that those whose incomes are derived from the debt
stayed at home and spent their incomes in the country.
But even then it would amount to this—that twenty
utillintis of people would be labouring to keep three
hundred thousand in a state of comparative idleness.
But to put. the case a little stronger with regard to
the possible operation of the greater part of the debt
against this country. Not long since we gave a state-
ment or the, number of people entitled to receive the
interest. The whole number, to the best of our re-
collection, amounted .to three hundred thousand. But
out of three hundred thousand entitled to receive divi-
dends, there- were, as far as we remember, 299,000 or
theroahoutl3, whose incomes amounted to the sum of
4001. and, downwards. 'Wow, taking the maximum, it
is well. known that 400/. a year will go a very little way
in this country in maintaining an annuitant of 4001. a
year and his family decently. But in France 400/.
will citable a man to liVe Well. Now if, putting the pos-
sible case, the Whole Of the 299,000 live in France, and
spend their income hi France, amounting, we will say
for round numbers' sake, to 20;000,0001 a year, here is
811 operation against the country to the same enct as
if' England were tributary to France to the amount of
2f1,000,000/.. a year ; for, as we before said, the people
Who remain at home have to produce iforn the land, in
,voile shape or other, the Sum necessary to pay to the
Ministers in the shape of taxation, in order that it may
be .remitted to she Bank of England, to be by that
Company paid to the agents of the absentees, in divi-
dends., . and which 20,000,000/. is remitted by the
agents to the said' absentees, and not' one farthing is
returned to ,!'he country. Now, according to Sir
Robert Peel, whet lived in the days` of war, when
people of this description were obliged to retniun
tie 14,114,1;un1, it made aril ilifterenee. This Levof y
20,000,tuiot. Was raised by ,;tlXiAtion., in F,riglartnl,
was paid to the people in England, ;Ind they spem
it in' England; therefore, as Sir Robert :laid, it
made no difference. But it is 110 t so 110 W. nt
affair ii changed. A great number of those entitled
• to tlu 30,000,000/. out of the 50,000,000/. a year
tinted* live out of the country, and they spend their
annuities out of the country, instead of spending them;
ire the country. lit filet, it strikes us ;to operating
against the country in a way that may be illustrated by
A field in which sheep are folded. SO long as the sheep
eat the ,grass and l'etnrii it in manure, the field is not
inycrverishcti. But if th fanner who folded the Sheep
were to sake tip the manure and toss it over the hedge
into tho hi-Ot road, we would ask the flintier how the field
would look in She course of a year or two? Absentee-
ism operates agacost a country on the same principle
as we believe the deb! is operating against Ungland,
The extra-medium created in eonsequence of the taxa-
tion for the debt caused; every thing in England to.' be
higher in price than on the Continent, consequently
it drivels people of small incomes rom the country... -
If the debt could be,. got . rid of it would be a a00(1
thing; but that cannot be done, except a tax on
theme derived. :front real property were levied, and
a, real' Sinking Fund were established, to expunge
from the Bank hooks so much every year, At
present' there is no Sinking Fund—or a surplus
of income beyond expenditure. Our opinion of
a clehtis, that it is as' injurious, and as weak,
ening to 4 nation as it is to an individual. Look
at an indieOual 'out of debt in Comperisen with
one in. debt. tiee how hold one man is in :coin-
prison with ,the (Ater, , Look at the independence
of one compared ;with the other. See how the one
struts, while the other fawns'. -.,50 - :it is with nations.
Look at the pride of China, in conyarison With the
fawning of 'Englind. China Benda nct
.:Ambassadors,
to foreign. parts with their thousands a year, to beg
for commercial treaties. On the contrary, she says, to
the„world ifyou want our teas. and nankeens conic,
and behave yourselves decently, and take them away.
If'l79n •do not want them, or if you do not behave
yourselsea tleeni thy, yon` may or shall stay away.
'Above all, tin not send any of your Ambassadors; if
you ,10, we will send thent away again after they have
derivc"'il th6r England might say time
,elmee thing 19 al nations, if:it were not for her debt ;
und Eogland, 4itead of being' the country fbr people
of sown incomes to avoid; wouldsbe, the country for
foreigneod il ititc9Pl9,B t 9 fly to, on account of
thee superior internal, and external economy of our
dwellings. ,lint so long tali a than of, small income,
with nothing' te.' dot can enjoy luxuries tat a ,heap
rate
abroad he will pot live in this entnatry, and pay
.excessilAy high for 111,-ltries.—Moninir eIYI / •

During the last ten days, the denumd for Ole diffe-
rent sorts of pullicates has improved, and ioeneral,
g
the prices of weaving here advanced a forthing an ;
.but the other fabrics remain in the sante t.tull and n
romising state in which they were befbre business be-
gan to assume the aspect of improvement. riiugh
Loo
webs are easily got, there are still a great many m
empty,---ta fact -which indicates that a number of the
weavers have got -um some Of the, better paid trades.
Since the commencement of the present dullness, a
ft, rea t number of loom-shops have been converted into
dwelling-houses, or places of business. In Gorbals
.for instance, there are at present about 130 loom-
.ittandq fev,Lr than there ere
iimunday
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