The Sun.
London, England, 1842-03-21 00:00:00

821RIT of the PUBLIC JOURNALS.
FROM TILE EVENING PAPERS OF FRIDAY.
GLOBE.--s•The delusion by which the wily Pre-
mier has sought to propitiate the labouring classes, by
creating in them an idea that they are untouched by
the tax, seeing no incomes under 1501. per annum are
to be subject to its operation, was powerfully exposed
by Lord Brougham. His Lordship laid bare the
sophistry of this part of the scheme with that peculiar
facility and force of illustration, in the use of which
he is unrivalled :
" A very great delusion prevailed in the country—
at least, amongst that large class,
.the labouring popu-
lation, for whom he felt so strong an intereste--aa to
the operation of the income-tax on them. It was a very
commom thing for them, or for those who instructed
them, and who should know better, to say that the
income-tax could in no way affect them. There was no
greater delusion than this. It required but little ar-
gument to show that the labourer was affected by
the diminution of the fund out of which he was
paid. When the capital accumulated, the fund of
the labourer was increased ; when it became dimin-
ished, the fund to pay the labourer decreased in the
same proportion. The manner in which the income-
tax was levied showed its effect °tithe labourer. You
levy so much on men possessed of income ; all that you
withdraw from their capital—supposing them trades-
' men, farmers, .or manufacturers—came from that
accumulation which they had made this year, and
would probably spend next year. The money which
they paid as an sslcome-tax was no longer an expen-
diture from which they could derive any direct
advantage, for it was taken from them to be applied
in another wars--to support labour of another kind,
which was not productive. If that amount were not
taken from that class, it would be an accumulation,
which would be spent in the same or the next year."
Let the working classes weigh well these self evi-
dent results from the infliction of this tax on their em-
ployers, and they will see little cause for giving the
Premier credit for considering their interests; in the
exemption for which he and his supporters are dis-
posed to take such enormous credit. We are far
from regarding the Government measure as secure of
passing, in its present form, into law. The indica-
tions of dislike to its provisions among the very classes
to which Sir R. Peel is indebted for his present po-
sition, are strong and unmistakeable. Sir R. Peel
cannot behold those unequivocal manifestations with-
, - out alarm. He knows well, that so soon as his " ma-
chinery" for working the tax is brought into opera-
tion, the injury it will inflict, and the disgust it will
create throughout the country, will call forth a
feeling which no Government can safely disre-
gard. The responsibility the Premier has incarred is
fearful. The Government which, he overthrew, upon
the financial measures it proposed, undertook, by
relaxing commercial restrictions, to raise the required
amount of revenue. We have not now to discuss
whether that result could have been immediate ; but the
mere proposal alarmed the class interests, who combined
gainst the ministry which had the courage to attack
their monopolies. The result was its overthrow. We
have now Sir Robert Peel ; and, with Sir Robert
Peel in power, that most odious of all imposts—be-
cause most unequal in its pressure and most inquisi-
torial in its operation—an Income-tax ! The tax, if
brought into operation, will speedily put an end to
the Government which has ventured on the experi-
ment ; and the country will be thus happily relieved
from both.
STANDARD.—We have said we think enough to
show that a graduated income-tax would change al-
most every man's position ; whereas the only just bur-
dens are those which are borne by society altogether,
without any disturbance of the relative position of its
members. Of the necessity for an income-tax, Lord
Brougham gives the following fair acknowledgment :
" Those who thought that there was no necessity
for the tax might do so ; Nit, for his own part, he
believed that it was essential, and that they could not
do without it, for the credit, the character, nay,
almost the existence, of the country depended on
filling up and supplying the deficiency which had
been allowed to arise in our finances. He therefore
-was not anxious to defeat it."
This acknowledgment might seem to render un-
necessary the rest of Lord Brougham's speech,
but the Noble Lord has peculiar notions, and
having acknowledged the necessity of the tax, he
proceeded to raise every imaginable objection against
it—a way of acting sufficiently intelligible, if he
intended to impeach those who had made the tax
necessary (himself included), , but . certainly not
the course that would be adopted by a prudent
patriot. The Noble Lord bestowed a solemn warn-
ing upon the labouring classes not to suppose that
they are exempt from the effect of the income tax
paid by their more fortunate fellow subjects.
.they must pay it fully, he said, in the diminished
demand for their labour. Now we might shortly
cite one authority against this proposition—against
which authority the Noble Lord would scarcely
take an exception—we mean Lord Brougham him-
self, who, in the eighth of the resolutions then and
there before the House, actually calls for a direct in-
conae-tax upon the labouring classes. Author of the
New Poor-law as he is, we cannot suppose Lord
Brougham ,would impose a double income-tax upon
the labouring classes. The truth, however, is, that an
. incon- le-tax, direct or indirect, cannot reach the labour-
ing c'iasses—the New Poor-law has sunk them too
low for that. While the competition for employ-
ment exists to the extent it does, and must continue
under the pressure of the New Poor-law, the labour-
ing dasses must take whatever they can get, and
their avages will not be measured by the ability of
their employers, but by their own ability to sustain
nature upon the coarsest kind of food. It is also a
fallacy to assume that taxes necessarily diminish em-
ploy scent.
6DURIER.—Mr. Ferrand has great reason to be
proud of the success of his labours and the light in
which they are appreciated, as testified in the daily
tributes to his name of the Whig-Radical Journals.
• The Chronicle has another long article this morning
to proVe how admirably he has hit upon and how keenly
he has cauterized the sore places of the Anti-Corn.
Law League. In the agony of intense suffering,
time patient imploringly calls upon Sir Robert Peel
to' stay the excising hand of the unsparing operator,
but we trust the Right Hon. Baronet will be
slolv to interfere with a. case not specially fal-
ling within his department, but .in reality belong-
ing to that side of the house or hospital coming under
the denomination of the ward of incurables, the
superintendence of which has, with great propriety,
been, assumed by the Honourable Member for Knares-
.
borough, who not only professes, but has amply ap-
proved hinielf to possess, 'infallible nostrums for
the certain Cure of the desperate -patients in ques-
tion.' In tare course of- its cries for mercy. and
:forbearance our afflicted contemporary piteously
e bjects that, 'whereas- Mr. Cobden and others,
f ;self among the number, only applied the terms
monsters, tyrants, demons," &c., in the wholesale
sense against landlords, farmers, and agricultural ope-
ratives, as constituting the class of the landed interest,
without specific reference to individuals. Mr. Fer-
rand, on the reverse, has travelled into the retail line,
mnd singled out particular cases in illustration of his
asitults upon the league. Of the two modes of war-
fare the people at large will be 'disposed to concede
that, at any rate, that foll6wed by mr. Feriand is the
most manly, as it proves to be the most 'effective.
FROM THE EVENING PAPERS OF SATURDAY.
GLOBE.—The preliminary discussion of last night
on the finance project of Ministers places the attitude
of parties on that subject clearly before the country.
We now know what are the ,reasons, .or no-reasons,
which Ministers can produce in general debate ; and we
also know what are the motives they appeal to, in de-
la.* of reasons. With regard to the former, we only beg
an- reader to go carefully through the excellent speeches
of Mr. Baring and Lord HoWick, and the less 'detailed
obset vations of Lord John Russell and Mr. LabOu-
chere- —we only beg any reader to do this, and then
to turn to the answers of the present Chancellor of
the I :xchequer, and the present Prime Minister, of
this c ountry ! We have not, and our readers know we
have ant, asserted precipitately the entire sufficiency
of the a-Whig -commercial reforms to immediately fill
up the;.. deficit. But we do beg any impartial persons,
not biai ;sed by privileged interest, to examine calmly
whizt avc,.,; proposed, as expounded last night by Mr.
Baring; and compare it with what is proposed now.
Indeed .we . may say habemus canfilentem reum.
Sir Robei t Peel felt himself so strong in reliance on
class-rnotives, that. he gave himself little or no trouble
adducinh- general` reasons for his tax. There was,
indeed, a repetition of his former inflated description
of our dnc ulties—and dire exaggeration of them
indeed is rehired to colour an income tax. But be-
yond that th.3re was nothing in the shape of a reason for
this measure- Sir R. Peel says there is a necessity—
without provi nes, it—without proof,-he says he is " con-
fident " an income tax will he the least burthensome—
and without p. roof be acids the enormous assertian that
it is tae most j one. AIL-this, without .a syllable of
reply to the rlyeeted deinenstratians that it is not
nece,isary, end it is not:
't
jus .
S.,•et pro rotioae Voluntas.
To Will, therefore., Sir •RobertAtplieals, and not to
reason—to the wile of the chief privileged interests in
this country, .tad iii th.? 41-onies. Tax in?ome, or
-you must take off'` prohibitive tax on corn and suo•ar
7.rhero is a necessity. Yes ; the :accessite of injustice ;
the tyrant's plea: f eis fitly addressed to a " tyrant
majority ;" and it is per fe..ctly understood by them. It
will soon be understood by the country ; and then
Sir Robert Peel's " British asses," whose protection
he has -reduced in favour of his "colonial asses" with
such perfect safety (as we will wirrrant them able to
compete with any of their species in any market of
so; rittebytt world), will possibly not be c.ble to carry. their
--minister on their backs so triumphantly as he and !
ri4p ey may now anticipate through the. opposition he
- as yet to meet- from - public
opinion, when fully
• awakened to his policy-.
STANDARD.—The ex-It linisters have at length
fairly disclosed themselves; faithful, if in nothing