The Sun.
London, England, 1826-01-02 00:00:00

NEW

An. Evening Paper of Saturday made some
statements, with an affected air of authority, re-
spaCtlni, the probable 'preduce of the Revenue, at
the close of the Quarter ending on the sth inst.
We do not -pretend, like ourcontemporary, to be
at pre set hi possession of documents upon which
any coeclusive observations upon the subject can
be founded ; but It is rather surprising that the
ingenious commentator, when lamenting the al-
leged deficiencies in th produce, as compared
with the year 1821, did notadvert more'speci&
cttlly to the duties reduced in':the,codrse of the
last und,preceding- years, the effect of which, if
we are not much mistaken, will be found to
account for any diminntion which may appear
when the' year's accounts are made up. That
the recent 'commotion in the Money Market
may have affected the immediate produce of
the revenue, is, doubtless, highly probable, but
the true point of compariaotr will be not merely!
the actual receipt of the two years 1824 and
Ts2s, but also the Retool receipt of 1825, with
the estimate of it upon which the Chancellor of
the Etchequer founded his calculations in Fe-
bruaryTist, We shall sea In a few days how this
matter stands, when %VW suspect our Evening
Contemporary will find that he has looked at
part only of the subject of which ho professed
to be treating.

Cmoitsirra HERALD.]

All inquisitorial societies are in their principle
bed, and in their consequences pernicioub ; when
a number of individuals, under any specious pre-
tence, confederate, and are .anxines tea cover their
proceedings from the public eye, .the purity of
their motives must be suspected. It requires a
great fund of charity in the world to believe any
institution to be good which courts perpetual
concialtneut ; however laudable the object to
which secret combinations nmay preteud, the
danger to be apprehended from their abuse is
always more than au equivaleut for any benefit
that can possibly arise from them. Vcre have
already referred more than once to the conduct
of an Association in London, calling itself " the
Society of Guerdians for the. Protection of. Trade
against Swindlers and Sharpen." Now, the
*vowed object here is certainly laudable, nothing
cats be fairer than that shopkeepers and
tradesmen should endeavour to get a knowledge
Of the characters of those with whom they
deal, in order to guard against those impositions
whielt are constantly practised on, them by time
eherpen and adventurers of every class, who
merle them out as their': daily prey. But is "'The
Saclity for the Protottion of Trade," as it is
styled, calculated to effect that object If
,it be,
"I' does It dread time light which honest actions
like to shine in ? Why are Its proceedings
shrouded in mystery ? Why is:the Press, which
Is the chief pennon of the interests of society,
excluded aa mimm eery Is there in this Hue of
conductthe'evidence of good intention—or the
consciousoes of rertitude ? The inquisition of
Spelt' was called holy, because its avowed object
Wei to extirpate heretics ; but its proceedings
Wang secret, it often happened that pious Roman
wbo never incurred the guilt of schism,
became its victims, on account of the rapacity of
informers, or from motives of personal vindic.
tiveness. As the accusation was made in
darkness—ss the crime was tried in dark-
-4.ll.—ate the informer anti the accused were
never confronted—as no stage of the pro•
ceeding was under ,the public inspection,
this mode of protecting religion made the pro.
petty of every marl nitmsafe, and hung his life and
character on the breath of malice, and the whis-
per of cowardly revenge. We do not like to see
any societies established in this country on• so
danoerous a , Whether they may be
for the preteetionzef religion, or the protection of
trade, they can h,,,,,iconverted into time engines by
which bad Melt amthentitled to oppress individuals.
In the case of ales Association to which we gi-
'Jude, they are eoebled, by menus of It list, called
t 4 the swindlers'list," to proscribe any individual
they please, and make his name infamous, without
army opportunity of explanation or defence. A
power so dreadfel to the individual on mm horn It
exercised dught not to.,work in Sectecy, and
`sitoOt itsariows lit the 'dark—for as long as it
does tio, the character of an individual in trade,