The Sun.
London, England, 1842-03-28 00:00:00

Tiite c§ttit.

LONDON?
MONDAY MORNING, MARCH 28, 1842.

When Mr. PITT on Nov. 24th, 1797, proposed
his plan for increasing- all the assessed taxes,
which was the foundation of bis scheme for an
income tax, he stated " that as the plan was new
in the financial operations of this country, it was
not his intention to call for any decision on its
merits at the present stage of the business."
Be stated his plan for the consideration of the
House, and though the country was then at

war, though time was of great importance, though
any doubts thrown on his success might have
been injurious to the power of the country,
he did not ask the House of Commons for an
opinion on the subject till after the lapse of to n
days. Sir ROBERT PEEL, far from being so mo-
dest, would have forced the House, if he could,

to have come to a decision on his novel income
tax in' the course of a week. If he did not
succeed the fault was not his, but the merit of
stopping him belongs to the Opposition. He
had no good public reason for hurrying through
the resolution. The reputation and power of the
country will not suffer from the delay. No
allies will be disheartened, no doubtful friends
converted into open fbes ; and the public inter-
ests would not have suffered, though a month had
been allowed, after promulgating the plan, to
obtain fur it public favour and support.
Sir ROBERT PEEL knew apparently that nei-
ther his measures nor his motives would bear a
public scrutiny ; and knowing that he endeavoured
to take the country by surprise arid carry his
noxious measure before the people were awake

to the consequences. With this view he kicked up
a great dust about the tariffand about the twelve
hundred rates of duties he is to reduce, hoping
by the help of that to blind the people, but time
having been obtained to clear away the dust,.
both his tax and his tariff are attacked from all
quarters, and even by some of his own followers.
If he were in a hurry with his income tax, he was
not slower with his tariff. For the comparatively
paltry purpose of inquiring into the:settlements
of Western Africa, and :what can be done to re-
lieve the labour market,- lowering the wages
of the ncgroes of the West Indies, Lord STANLEY
obtains. a Committee of Inquiry. He and the
Ministers will not have a lock of' the negroes
wool without the solemn sanction of a Com-
mittee of the House of Commons, but Sir ROBERT
PEEL takes it on himself, without inquiry, aad
without consulting the vast 'interests implicated,
to propose measures which Will affect all the
trades of the country. S.arcely one of the du-

ties which he is to repeal or alter was imposed
without the preliminary sanction of an inquiry,
and most of them, at least all the important ones,
were improved in bye-gone times,in consequence of
petitions, representations, and claims of the par-

ties interested. All these, with a sort of Bone-
partan rigour, the Right Hon. Baronet has un-
dertaken to modify after his own fashion, and to
adjust by his own authority the relative claims
of all the varied interests of this great empire.
Such a proceeding savours of prodigious arro-
gance, and if, on consideration, all the parts of
the scheme were unobjectionable, it ought to be
opposed, in order to discourage in him and others
such inordinate presumption. In the United
State, we believe, a Committee has been ap.
pointed to investigate the whole subject, and le-
gislation will not there take place till the Com-
mittee hcs reported.
If it be said that the Import Duties' Committee

inquired and recommended many alterations, we
reply, that Sir ROBERT PEEL and his party re-
pudiated the inquiries of that Committee ; stig-
matized them as incomplete and one-Sided, and
what is more, he has not followed its recommen-
dations. His plan for altering the timber and
coffee duties, as far as we know, is entirely his
own. That Committee made no inquiries into the
propriety of abolishing the duty on cattle that
we recollect: we are sure that they called no
graziers and farmers before them, and that part
of Sir ROBERT PEEL'S scheme is also his own
device, or adopted from soiree of the subalterns
of the Board of Trade. It did not originate with
that Committee, though the principle of setting
trade free, on which it is recommended to Parlia-
ment, was a favourite with most of the Members.
Whatever may be the merit of that part of the
scheme, except as the Anti-Corn-law League
have justly demanded the abolition of taxes on
provisions of all kinds, it belongs exclusively to
Sir ROBERT PEEL.

The principle of setting trade free has been
often enough espoused, but the peculiar manner
in which Sir ROBERT PEEL sets about giving
effect to it is his own. The alterations be pro-
poses were not before dreamed of; they were un-
called for by any class or condition of men, and
must be called PEEL'S crotchet. It is a sort of
I free trade whim which has seized the Right Hon.
Baronet. If COBBETT were alive, he would no
longer call him PEEL'S Bill Peel, but PEEL'S
crotchet Peel.. He will be hereafter as much
renowned for his Tariff Crotchet as be has been
for his Currency Bill. But, though it may
be amusement to his capacious mind to sport with
the interests'of nations, it is no amusement to the
public; and it is quite a sufficient reason to op-
pose such a man; that his crotchets are his own,
and not in strict conformity to those alterations
which any great body of the people demand.
There is not one great interest in the State,
nor one leading public opinion, which strictly ac-
cords with the changes which Sir R. PEEL pro-
poses either in the Corn-law or the tariff. They
are not free trade, nor are they complete under
the old protection. They are not Conservativq

holding "fast by things as they are; neither aro
they revolutionary, gratifying those who look for
great changes. They are not framed according
to the demands of natural justice, and cannot be
defended on any general principles. They are
simply PEEL'S crotchet, to be passed into laws
because he is a necessity for the Tories. A
measure which rests on such individual
views, which is not in accordance with
either general principles or the demands of the
people should be scouted_wel piece of wanton
and officious tyranny—not accepted as useful
legislation. Far from settling the conflicting
claims of different classes, Sir R. PEEL'S crotchet
has made complainants of those who have been
unheard of for years, and has provoked more re-
clamations from different quarters, than were
ever provoked by the Whigs in the eleven years
of their administration.

The income tax, too, is entirely Sir ROBERT
PEEL'S crotchet. Nobody asked for it. On
the occasion of Mr. BARING proposing the
additional per tentage to the taxes in 1840, Sir
ROBERT PEEL approved of his plan, and spoke
against having " recourse te.a property •tax for
so small a sum as 2,500,0000 He was not ex-
pected, therefore, now to propose such a tax,
and it must be considered as a misbegotten
child of his present pride. When Mr. PITT
proposed such a tax, notwithstanding he could
say, that the " voluntary exertions of indi-
viduals compensated to 'the public' for the
meanness which shrunk from equal contribu-
tion, " yet he had, in spite of the public
enthusiasm, to complain: of fraud and evasion.
and to take strong measures to prevent them.
Fraud and evasion will now be ten times as great
as they were under the former tax; and Sir R.
PEEL, by fixing a point 'at which the evasion
is sure to be successful, informs people at once
how they may evade the tax.
At present, also, great changes are going on in
the distribution of wealth and employment in
society ; and, in general, there is little prosperity,
while in many trades there is a decline. When
Mr. PITT imposed his income tax, owing to the
recent inventions and improvements in the
steam engine—owing to our monopoly of
.the
commerce of the world, and owing to the depre-
ciation of the currency then in progress, every
man, as Lord ASHBURTON once remarked, then
found himself richer when he rose in the
morning than when he went to bed- the night
before: When the people Were. prOsperons,
:when the bulk of the income-of the country was
increasing every year; an income tax was coin=
parati'Vely_bearable.,: Now the reverse-is. the
case. Not. -only ialbe -bulk of the .fri'corite not
increasing, but there are a• considerable portion
of the people who are losing their incomes.
In another•part of our paper will be found an
account of the stopping of the "Age" Brighton
coach, which at once shows that on all the coach
roads which come into zondpatition, with any
recently opened lines of • railways, there are
large classes of persons whose incomes are di-
minishing. According to Sir ROBERT PEEL'S
plan they will be taxed on the incomes they
have lost. It is our belief that there are in many
parts of the kingdom many trades, which, like
that of an innkeeper and a coachmaster on the
Brighton road, are declining in prosperity ; and
to tax all such persons on an Average of the in-
comes they have enjoyed for the last three years
will be a cruel injustice.
Mr. PITT wanted an income tax for great and
rapidly increasing expenditure. Sir R. PEEL
levies it to compensate diminished re-
venue. These circumstances shows that the
income of individuals is declining, and it esta-
blishes a difference between the two periods,
which will. make an income tax now three-fold
as mischievous as it was.then. Mr. PITT esta-
blished an income tax to carry on war; Sir Ro-
BERT PEEL establishes it to revive trade. What
folly. The former was a great man, who had
some comprehension of what was adapted to times
and circumstances ; the latter is a poor imitator,
whose botched crotchet, if lie* have influence
enough with the House of Commons to procure
its adoption, will add to the distress and seriously
injure the country.

We have from the first treated the amended

ariff and the income tax as unconnected ques,
tions: Sir ROBERT PEEL, with Dr. ,BOWRING
and some other Liberals, have treated them as
connected and inseparable., On their showing, it
the Liberals consent to the. income tax, they are
certain to have the tariff tIS their reward and
compensation. Is this true?• We think the ques-
tion very important; for though the amended
tariff, which we regard as far less beneficial than
some of our contemporaries, would not reconcile
us to the income tax, if we were certain to obtain
it; yet the possibility of not obtaining it, even
though the Liberals assent •to an income tax,
should make them extremely wary in their pro-
ceedings.

The resolution imposing an iacotne tax is pro-
posed i❑ a Committee of WayS and Means; the
resolutions for altering the tariff cannot be pro-
posed, we apprehend, in the same Committee.
The reduction of the timber and coffee duties
cannot form part of the supplies for the year;
and the resolutions for altering the tariff must
be submitted to the whole House, we believe, in
a Committee on the Customs' Acts. It is plain,
therefore, that the tariff and the income tax are
totally distinct measures ; and there is no reason
to conclude, because the Opposition assent to
the latter, that the Ministerialists will assent to
the former..

_What are its beneficial parts? The reduction
of the duties on potatoes and meat, the:aboli-
tion of the prohibition to import cattle, &c.,
against, which the farMers, and the farmers'
friends, are now moving. in every part of the
kingdom. Supposing, therefore, that Sir R.
PEEL is quite sincere in proposing these altera-
tions—supposing that he means no trick; that he
does not put them tbrward, as mere lures, not
meaning to carry them—will he be able to carry
them in opposition to his agricultural supporters ?
As a Minister he is entirely their creature. The
Duke of RICHMOND stated, in the HouSe of
Lords, that the landlords had made Sir ROBERT
Prime Minister, and they :could unMake him.
Even admitting Sir ROBERT PEEL'S sincerity and
uprightness—qualities thr which we are not dis-
posed to vouch in any politician contending for
power, much less in him who - has sacrificed the
interests of the country for the purpose of getting
into office—it is quite possible that he will be un-
able to carry the alterations in the tariff which
he has proposed, after he has succeeded in enact-
ing an income tax. .

in resisting the adoption of the leading point s
of the tariff we have adverted to, it is nearly
certain that the agriculturists of his own
side of the House would be supported by a con-
siderable number of representatives of English
agricultural communities, and of Scotch and Irish
counties of the other side. Such a union might
defeat Sir R. PEEL in the House of Commons,
and if he were not defeated there the Lords might
throw out the whole measure. We maintain,
therefore, that there is no security whatever that
the proposed tariff will be acceded to after the
income tax is passed.

Sir ROBERT PEEL'S declaration, that he would
resign office, on which some persons may build,
to secure the passing of the tariff, if the income
tax be acceded to, does not -seem to us to war-
rant such a conclusiorh On Wednesday he said,
"with regard to the details of the tariff, as I stated
before I ant perfectly open to conviction, and if
I should consider that the arguments should pre-
ponderate in favour of a modification, I shall have
no difficulty whatever in assenting to it." The
Right Hon. Baronet is not even pledged, there-
fore, to carry through his.propOsed tariff if the ar-
guments of the graziers and others against his
propositions should preponderate against his
reduction of duty on meat and potatoes. So
little pledged in fact is Sir ROBERT to these de-
tails; that be has already, if we are rightly in-
formed, consented to a considerable modification
in the wrong direction. The import duty-lie pro-
posed on starch was ss. per cwt., which amounts
on a quarter. of wheal,--ttriiitifactured
into
starch, only to -7s.- 6d., whilst the average duty
n the wheat itself, as estimated by Sir ROBERT

PEEL, would be about 15s. per quarter. On- re-
presentations being made by parties engaged in
the trade, that this rate of duty on starch would
throw the manufacture of that article into the
hands of foreigners, who would supply all our
starch, the propoSed duty has been admitted to.. ;
be an oversight; and Mr. GLADSTONE has
mated the willingness of Government to increase
it, to lOs'. per cwt. which will place the En r,
manufacturer about onpar with the foreigner._
he gave way to the starch-makers, why should:
he not given way.to the equally cogent represent 4;
tations of graziers and pig breeders, backea.,
as they will be by powerful men in both .House.
of Parliament ? We can see no reason. We are
cure Sir ROBERT PEEL is not pledged to the
details of the tariff, though he has accepted
BowalNG's praises, and arrain therefore, we
serf, that there is no connexion betweeit the
,come tax and the tariff, and no
good reason °r
concluding, because the former be carried, th8!,,1,
'the latter will be allowed to pass.
It may be irksome to our too Confidt
friends, perpetually to be called on to be watcheil.4
and mistrustful, but we must tell them that thl
uncertainty will require them not to slacken the'r
.determined opposition to the income tax. Ths.
must not mind being called factious; they ri"u
not heed the silly threat to destroy the Pr'sle
lege by which they are able to defend time
peel) r
from oppression; they must resist Sir R°l/fr,
PEEL'S plan to the utmost, and by
al
liamentary means in their power. het
t • hiLea
pay no attention to the assertions of steht!lthed
as Sir JOHN RAE REID, that the jobbers.
metropolis are in favour of the tax—tile 1-/efr
at large will not go with the jobbers i bu`ssi.,
them, on the ground that it is quite
ble to be sure that the tariff will be c't,'
though the income tax be assented to, us: tiie2i
privileges of the House to delay and defe'lln,
hungry and plundering faction, which boat r t,!4
sent, on false pretences, usurped the G

It is quite impossible to look- around lit—
Or travel through the country, arid see °behave
mense number of comfortable houses whic'd vof
been erected on every side since 18169 an oil
be convinced that Sir R. PEEL has veil Toe
underrated the produce of his, proposed'inn-, die
tax. We stated that as our impression ft°'4,,p.-
first, and the opinion is now very general. ;oft
pose, then, that Sir R. PEEL 'Should Sl3eCeeoool,
passing hiS piti, and have 1,060,600/: or 1; re°
more in the Exchequer than he immediatevre'
quires, what use will he make- of it'! ifile.uert
another Sir RQBERT who 'will answer •th*
;
tion. Does not the land groan for more
Are notithe people denniralised and dt.7,;E4
because there is a great dearth of pars6ll4iiig
RODERT INGLIS will answer yes, and lie $",v;,.,
forward the claims of Sir ROBERT PtElf"
friends, the clergy, for 1,000,0001., to ea rl/04i!
to the-glory of GOD and the extension °
Church. With Sir R. PEEL'S, Lord STAr.
and Sir 3. GRAHAM'S avowed opinions, tin(Lits
the avowed opinions of the bulk of Sir R. vorl,
supporters, there' cannot be a doubt that thiiit4
tew hundred thousand pounds the Exel .
Y
can spare will be devoted to Church exte Oto
Will the Dissenters submit to an income ttt%',
the certainty before them that its produce
be deVoted to stifling dissent, if possiblei Ode
tending the Church on its defunct body 12
for them to act—ive have done ours' duty in
gesting the probable destination of the WV°
the income tax.

ideals
(ec

We regret to learn from a source enti
Confidence, that the King of the Fn'Elic° li
bouring under a disease which, to.a man at
age is very alarming. He is said to be Pii,,
with dropsy, and, as he is now in his siatriteite.
year, a complaint of this kind may justly' e'iitt
the most serious appr6hensions. ' His 31.4i,10i0'
deserves every credit for the - skill and inge7,Jee
he has displayed in preserving the general P'bof,
of Europe, and, we may say, of the world' too
we doubt much if any of his subjects (a tole
which they dislike) will give him the ote4
credit for preserving the Constitution- g'' al
ai'.
;to ~,t4e -French nation, after -the: ::110',
Sion .of the old BOURBON dynasty. l',.;tittr;
-swerved from every principle of that C°ll-oli'
lion! lie has shackled the press, loaded the /'
try with a vast amount of debt, for pure d'
the best doubtful, and has alienated everYl)°o-
Man who helped to raise him to the throne; elieli
are not sufficiently acquainted with the I,rivef.;'
character to judge of his reasons or 'lla°l`..peci
but it cannot fail to strike every ifllpardill '611;
tator, as a singular circumstance, that the es 01
ZEN-KING, who was installed by the her°,lthe
July, and no men ever more justly deservvecoupl,e' ,
title, should now be afraid to meet iii 3 2„,01i0','
and be compelled to open his Houses of I f the
merit, guarded and shielded by troops °1 cir
line, like the most imperious despot. Th'iple' '.
cumstance is at utter variance with the Pri°dif,'
on which he mounted the throne, and wile the
he or his people are to blame, we must le3`f the ,
world to. judge. Perhaps the adherents ° .-1,
BOURBONS could decide the question.
'iltiO!:1
Letters on the subject of the Income Talc ooiev..
to pour in on us from all quarters,. and scarce
our numerous correspondents but derioundeeesor,
indignant terms as a galling burden which---710
is once ',clapped on our shoulders—we shall hr(solifr
greatest possible difficulty in shaking 061 t ! i
~
There is but too much ground for thisOPlnie"
R. PEEL woll knows how available an Incolno'iC
may be made for party purposes, and haVin,,,‘.4(e.hul
familiarised us to it—having once got the sv` e,,01'3,
he will take special care to drive it home. d or, ,
for protracting the impost ,beiond the three' JP,
will be " plentiful as blackberries" with hinli;,ool°
will discover that France looks menacing-=tbstia bt.lint.''
is not so frank and conciliatory as she sh°ll.t, Iry
that America requires watching;-that,- in fit:h. „t r,
one cause or other, it is absolutely necessary -',0,40_,,,
Income Taishould still be persevered in. / k
much doubt," says a Morning ContemporarPle,
speedy withdrawal of the tax which the Pe°1)::, "'
the Premier hope for." For our own part,- -!t2_l
not a doubt upon the, subject. Our belief aniTort
a strong, positive conviction that the impost is 01(
as a perpetuity by the Tories, and that they-1'4,3e
remit it until some such storm wWt.iff.l,iPtl'e
L ces- i-L•-• 0,
their ears, as scared them out of theitsfaf;;;jeti°o
memorable year 1832. Entertaining thisligitoo !,
we urgently entreat our countrymen to w.lO the ,
their position ; to look the danger that threateo deter
boldly in the face; to grapple with it ; and!„ vholif
mine not to desist from agitation until it n'i:thel°:
overcome. 'Now or never is the time to bestortoit?, •
selves. A fortnight hence, and the golden uPPc guar
may have passed, not to return. Already th
cilltili.
of Commons ',begins to exhibit symptoms of filo 1060';
and uneasiness. The Tory majority is bY, Pe bil';''
firm or resolute ; and a word spoken in t4°;d:ill',,t:
Constituencies will have an immediate, gut,f
the" 1
fluence on' its 'votes and speeches. In ,'. ,001)
the ..4 414
urgent spirit would we appeal to all
woogiA,,
Members of Parliament: More espeeioY, o:ier I
entreat them not to be diverted from their ~v:
1
any idle apprehension of being called," if,t,
to avail thernselves, without scruple, 4 eye )
of opposition, no matter how..extremei Pit,",,,osit,;
they may be. The present is no season .fdr,:si,/,,0111(
ishness, or nice attention to the rules
,:;1014eie
mentary etiquette. Sir ROBERT PEE!' ilur ta ti
announced his intention of giving no guar_ in all's
country, but of insisting on the Income-tax
(4900:
rigor; and he must be met in the Same sPni!ts here:
unscrupulous, uncompromising hostility•
sown, so let him reap. clo''/'t
aolitl:ll'rTeCOl'S:l-"I
ve little tbe
As respects the Tory Members, We ha 1
4:akin;
d,
that we shall shortly find many 'of then' fall'' a /Olt;
same view of the Income Tax as ourselves,:s of Il
on this particular question, into the r‘
..1....0.--114:,
Liberals. And no wonder. Sir Bolas-rill 1',,i0 ;,
grossly deceived them—lulled them into . 70,4,,100..,
curity—and taught them to believe that 11,4elfri
propose n 1 measure but such as should be ,itiol
mclaesesteswiotfhtlaie rceoamdyn'macnicteyp.tanrcne
hisfr ot
in
Tamworth he conjured all good Tories W 7,-100-.--e, '
discretion—his good sense—his experienerostio; , .
0
forth ; and more than hinted that, as mOdetiiii 9
.1
his great political characteristic, theY wp,ho Ifd -
to be safe under his guidance. And bow 7,i0c4/7'll,
lowed uy ::sayings ? By the proposal of !I
~

quarter. On re-
rties engaged in
on starch would
article into the
I supply all Our
wen admitted- to
DSTONE has hid-, .•
Iment to increase
ace the En gliAri
t theforeigner.
kers, why shoalt,ll4d
)gent represfrati-0
reeders, backeit,
. in both 'ffOrtge37„,
reason. We are
pledged to the
,as accepted Pr.
„up
:herefore, we as.v,
between the ill" .
11
good reason for:11
be carried, that
0 ,1

s.
r too eonficlie,
)n to be watchful
11 them tbat this
t to slacken their
orne tax. They
ions they- mast
!stilay the -priri,
[efend the people.
ist Sir ftougaffi;i
by all the
vcr• Let- thent''
ons of suctiti'efe
0 jobbers of the,
tax—die
jobbers • burgle
40 1,)
3 quite ifopo
Will be carried', ,
nted to, use
V' and. de he ,
feat t.,„
which has at pre'
GOrera

a Lendoal
round
the ini•4
and see
,uses which bac°
'e 1816, and Wit
has very malt
Proposed.ineonle
)ression froto the
V general•
iould succeed_ALlll.:
COL or 1;60,00u-':
immediately lei
of it'. There a
IrS'Wer .the,rrf.
more chui
d and corit4.;
of parsonol*
• and he wig
1,4
RT PEELforAt
)1"
to Collirittt..
extension Of
Lord Srit:o°., -t
pinions, AO kith
,
of Sir
übt that the
the Exeltecltie
[iu reit teao,
'income to I
its i)rodueelt„
PoSsible, as of
act-body !
our" duty in 4.0 i
of the surPl‘l6
d"
mirce entitle
e FaENeit
to.a man at
id to he affect!,
a his, sistrilia.e
7. ki
Istly ecif t
'His 31.4.1,0,
ill and jogend-,
le general pe3e'
the world ;
subjects (a er'i;
him the lid
titutio„ wooly
er opw,
nasty
)f that CoOtit,!.
loaded the e°Li;
fur rpoie%.l
ted every ble.,
the throne. AI
rith the fre",;
ns or 'ntetive'c',
V impartial
that the
of
y the herees
thy deserved tib:
meet his peoli,o'
[ouseS r,rl,:e
r troops oi
"pot. Thig el
h the prineCr
le, and. Whevhe
must leave
the
.dheren ts
Lion.
taue
'me To eonl,/
.nd scarce • 4°,
detteoneel
en
whiehh !$
'e -Elan hai°,,
eking off of,
J,
bhis
an Inco 1a J)?
end haing in
Pt the "%gear to
home.
the three ydlje
r"
' with •
WO,
ing-,-that
she shoila'r,A
!lat,. filet, 15,,,
to
Lecessar3'
;emporarp
the Peo
6:00
vn part,,
.Y524:p
belief anlqlV%,
mpost is and
it they ivil,l:„Ao4l
.eir sensestliotu'
ig this consmil
n to weigil.hi,eo
at threatens
e
[t ; and to d
11ou
ntil bestir sc,l,
to s tis',l
Iden opportiflos '
ready the
)rag of
146441:i'l
is by, no
ain time b):10,
iate,
• •
In the n-41
all the hnt,
!cially,v041:000
their datjr,;l. I
"
of 'ei;so,o,i
'me,
or j
Lson for 0110,
tiles of 'er if
EEL 110 i
to
quarter
sli I
que-tax in
Le spirit of step
lity. ..A.s be,
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