The Sun.
London, England, 1817-08-23 00:00:00

CNo. T. Bernard.)

Mrintiotacy with Count Rumford led me to introduce Lis
imprOrements in the use f ftfel into the Foundling Llospital
and-ether public establishments, and to attend personally to
the applications of Omni. What I saw In my visini to North-
leith.cOnvinCed tos-tbat, it thete was no interference, with the
*works, the Salt taigla made.much cheaper and of a fat bet-
ter triality. In September last, when I visited the winks,
there were no roofs orcoeers tannin), of their boilers to keep
off rain ; no checks or dampers to prevent the waste or escape
of heat, or to regulate the application of it in crystalizing the
Salt; the doors of the grates were large ; and left wide open,
and the supply of coals was unlimited, so that the draft was
that of A. (111114 CC. No use was made of steam, not even to
supply heat froth one boiler to crystalize the contents of an-
ot'ler. I have no doubt Wit that, with an improved arpara-
tus, the be.+l large grained Fisher;' Salt might be producelat
half the expeuce of the present mode of making the Cornatoa
white Salt..

(No. so —Sir T. nemaral

In the neighbourhood of the Salt Works, the labourers are
istale thieves by thy- exeessof the temptation held out- brthe
Salt Dtitier,-and are led from one !crime to-anoi'ter tili-thry
come to bv banged or transported. I. im informed by w Irtier
from Henry Meas.., Esq.'a Magistrate at Ptitiafice, th:it-thr;
saute effects are also produced by the ditties there. • TUN is
enotirtned•hy another tornish-Magistrate;-George-frrhn,'Esq:
who I hope will be in town in time to.offer his evidence. In-
the mean•tin-or I beg to give in Mr; I3oese's Letter, ant that
an exttact may be entered on tht•Alitnite -
extract
of a Letter to Sir Thomas-Bernard; Bart. from Henry'
Boats, Esq. dated Penzaitee, 25th January, 1811. ,
":I rotur,ed.to spgs;est that a tax
,on tialt was fundamen,
• -

tally wroor, arr principle—becanie it presses mot on the class
' 'east At,le to bear the weight—because of its immoral ten...,
deury—ind because it deprivei the nation of benefits, be-
yond measure greater than the pilule produce of the. int.

. . _ . . . .
port. . - .
" To M.:stride these positions, I supposed the Salt'L)uts to
produce about one million and a half a year, and the litilish
population about ten millions and., a half, so that the la*
•
"%sinild lie..ahout Ss per head per alintint, if equa,4 diffused,
over he is h,,le et.niminuty. Hut
.as the up:ier and middle
classestonsitme liitie of salted provisions, and as the lime:
have httle e sr than salt, in one 17irin or another, in addition
to their bread and potatoes, the tax must press. very dispio-
portlonahly on then); so much so indeed, that the cottager;
lostead of paying less, paid ten times more
,a head fur his-fip
mity than the nobleman. Of its demoralizing Jrnilency 1
was already deeply coritinc.d tram emonion olist, rvation I. loot
since Ihave been acting as a i‘Ligistrate of this'. towni 1 6 r',o

the ei ii lamentably greatcrlhan I suspected. Starch liar
-
rants:, lieu convictions, are matters of constant recur-,
rci4. the benevolent boon, so creditable to (1 believe)-Mr.
Varistitartof ei:;;wing the use of free Salt to cure fisb-for
home consutuption, is rendered almost nugatory to the Cut.
sager by the compli.x nt.tchinery and excessive sigaiur of the
Excise Laws. The poor ma.. c;iitiot procure jhe Salt, and as
seccostothed)cure the fish hims• If; i, must he done hi pi of.i.ssed
fish-ceirers, in places entered for the purpose, and inspected
by the Excise Officers. Accidents, often unavoidable, and
the carelessness or dishonesty of se'rvants, would expose the
proprietor to penalties so enormous, that few, exceptpeople of
no property, will venture the risk. To these, getter:sly ne-
cessituus persons, the temptation of sniuggling an a:tick (1 he
tax on which is tentislel the cost) so easily concealed, and su
universally in request, is commonly too great for them to re-
sist, although at the ex; once of perjury ur detection. ''his is
an evil of no ordinary magnitude.

• But'the benefits of which the nation is deprived by the
Salt Duties, are not easily appreciated,- or eta-it numbered.
Ju agriculture and rural economy alone, the less in feeding
cattle, sheep and hogs--in restoring damaged provelider---in
manure, and in the effect on wages, may, without extrava-
gance, be supposed to exceed the whole value of the tax.—
Equal, perhaps, would he the gaiu to our manufacturers of
"paint n, linen, glass, eartheuware, soap, &c. &c. by the un-
restrained use of the, muriate and carbonate of anda and mu-
riatic acid, of which our Salt mines and ocean afford supplies
absolutely inexhaustible; nor is it unworthy of consideration
to notice the advantage of foregoing the pernicieusatubstiarte
lead, in our floe glass and common carthenwares. On our
Fisheries, however, on that most productive mine of national
Smaltlt, national security, and national subsistence, Vie ad-
Tantages would be most conspicuous. At present, even in
the-ett'ses where free Salt is allowed, delays, and costly forma-
lities, anal perilous risks, form so serious a drawback as in a
great measure to defend the end.
" By reference to a variety of returns treats different parts
• of &gland, I ant convinced that the Salt Duties press much
more heavily on cottagers and little householders, an.: are
least felt by the occupiers of the better houses in the Metro-
polis, who have no country mansions. In the case of three
families in Portland-place, with houses of about 3001. a year,
the tax costs them each something less than four pounds a
year ; and in my own case, with a house of 2201. a year, it
costs me annually about three guineas. In lesser houses the
expellee, compared with their rent, is much higher, and in
country seats it is increased in proportion to the number of
sows and hogs kept. I find by the returns of the Stewards of
-Lord KetiYon,, hie John fires, Egerton, and some others, that
their Salt costs in the country from. 121. to 141. a year. In
'Lima (by a variety of returns) the expence of the tax appears
-to he at present from three per cent, to ten or twelve per.
'Vat. on their rental. On dairy farms it depends, chiefly- on
the number of cows kept, half .a bushel of Salt, and some-
times more, being allowed for each cow, anti even more than
'that in pails of North Wiltshire, where the cheese is richer
'and more salted : though it is more in dairy farms; and yet it,
appears to.be clear that farms for fatting cattle .could benefit'_
soost hr the commutation. But the comparative weight of
the tax lies on cnttagers, and occupiers of houses at small.
rents, who* paY far more in proportion than the rich, con-
'stoning according to their numbers in family, and purchasing
a very little salt at a time,. and atan,enhancedpriecrei,glsekinvq.aliln`y
'at six shillings a stone or twenty-four shillings p
the returns I have examined, I found only a very fetweotta.-
-gerswho used less than three stone of Salta year. The Kt:7.
neral average of cottagers not keeping a cow or pig was four
stone, or a bushel a year, with au.increaseolSaltwheztilreoy
]veep cows or hogs, ampunting,in some casealas high ati
bushels a year. At the same time the cottager sufferi-consi7.
derablv in-his means'of life by theexistefice of the Salt Pus
ties. in the neighboUrhood of Penzance ..the cottagers make,
their rents by 'fatting pigs, which they .41. from Nichadnitts., -
to C.ltristinas; they bring the pork flesh toi Penzance market;:
rsoilseirtg ab TM u_ afford Salt to preserve it and wherti- as
Irequently happetai tliEre it a glut of pork'in tbe.doarkett,,
they are obliged to sell 'it at any price, sometimes at:a penny.
halftiennv ‘ThiS information I have personally from
Ceorize :lipn, Esq. an Icting,Nlagiatrateat Penzaoce: In
Wittahist. th'e'poorare
,flibjcct to a 'similar ineunveriienee W •
m 0,444442 b4on rifik Satt,is so ,seaittily used, on account
of I)!lrtilgt&laricO, thiWwiten
.brosight to market the pork frc,
quO'PrikUrees-13)0 afiinl unfit to eat. East autsunn sere-
ralWriteirlAWorllits "spoilt p. tk wat offered.for sale at
.kielksoam market, and the excuse was, tisk they bia used in
ft as Lunch Suit as they could afford to buy."

_ LTQ In eoritiaucd.l

LAW •INTELLIGENCZ.

COURT. OF CHANCERY, AUG. 2t.

This morning the Loin CHANCELLOR came
into Court, and seeing only one Counsel (Sir
Arthur Piggott) and two Solicitors, he observed,
" It is well seen 'that we have no Opeua-house
case here as ire should otiverwise have
had plenty of company."