The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1853-10-18 00:00:00

to actual Revenue, it will be found that the in-
crease on the year is only £1,559,864, and on the
quarter only £226,754, instead of £2,311,752 and
£417,727, as shown by the statement. The Cus-
toms and Excise have usually been considered as
the safest test of the consuming-powers of the
population, particularly the latter item ; but,
though reductions have been made in both by the
diminution of the Tea Duty and the abolition of
the duty on Soap, the immense impetus which has
been given to all branches of industrial activity
might reasonably have been expected to add con-
siderably to these sources of Revenue, particularly
as the recent hill in business did not occur till
nearly the termination of the quarter. It will be
found that the increase on the Quarter's Customs
was only £120,667, and that on the Excise the
still smaller proportion of only £5,474. Under the
head of Stamps will be found the comparatively
large increase of £98,742, arising from the enor-
mous issue of the new Penny Receipt Stamps just
before the close of the quarter, to the number, it is
said, of upwards of six millions. Taxes,. on the
other hand, show a decrease of £29,996, and the
Post-office a decrease of £25,000, as though cor-
respondence had begun to diminish. Upon the
whole, therefore, there is no great cause for ex-
ultation, though none for despondency, and the
Ministers are quite welcome to make the most
they can of their financial policy, of which the
leading features were a re-imposition of the In-
come-tax, and an additional burden on the holders
of real property.
The Surplus on the year, ended sth of July last,
has been declared to be £3,568,624 16s. sa., of
which a fourth part, or £892,156 4s. 2d., is ap-
plicable to the reduction of the National Debt.
It is believed, however, that instead of applying it
to the purchase of Stock, which has been the usual
course, and would now operate favourably on the
Money Market, the CHANCELLOR of the EiCHE-
QUER intends to devote it to the redemption of
South Sea Stock, which he will shortly be called
upon to effect.

THERE are persons so utterly impracticable to
deal with, that it is almost a matter of impossibility
to do them good, and this character seems largely
to prevail among the operatives of the manufac-
turing districts. The whole tendency of modern
policy has been to improve the condition of this
class, but with what success 'their present state
will in some degree serve to show. Free-trade was
adopted in order to give them -cheap bread, and yet
it is now dearer than the average during the whole
time that 'the sliding scale was the law of the land ;
but for 'this result they have, of course, more to
thank their leaders than `themselves, as the only
part they took was to join in the clamour by which
the candid minister who betrayed his party was
converted. Emigration 'has relieved them from
the competition by which the wages of their labour
was 'kept below the standard which they considered
remunerative. The gold discoveries have given
such an impetus to trade, that every man's services
have been in demand,4t :a price beyond their most
sanguine anticipations. Reductions of duties and
repeal of taxes have placed them in a more favour-
.able position than ever 'they had a fair right to
expect—and yet now, when they might be enjoying
All 'the good things which have been so lavishly
provided for them, they turn round with sullen
perverseness and refusezto work at all, unless at
such wages as would render their work unprofitable.
It is, however, fortunate, not only for the masters
but:eventually for themselves, that the men have
delayed their strike until a time when they are the
principal if not the only sufferers. Thousands have
turned, out for increase •of wages ; and now, when
they ,find that a lull in business has destroyed the
chance of their intimidation proving successful,
they would gladly retrace the false step they
have ztaken. But the ,mischief has been done,
the , mills have been dosed, and the masters
having no particular demand for their manufae-
tures,:refase to receive them even at the same rate
of wages, unless they give up the trades' unions
and combinations by which all the mischief has
originated. They have made a rod for their own
backs, and it is to be hoped-that the firmness of the
masters,will serve to convince the men of the folly
of their conduct, and prove-,to them a useful lesson
for the. future. This disposition to strike for wages
is one so pregnant with mischief, that it cannot be
too severely condemned, and not the least evil is
that the innocent too often suffer for the guilty+
while the many are the dupes of a few designing
men, who batten on the miseries of their fellow-
creatures.
The.strilae among the colliery men at Wigan and
other places .has now continued some weeks, the
effect beings, greatly-enhanced:price of coals and
an increased demand for the produce of the Welsh
collieries. Tivse, however, are !minor evils, com-
pared with-the of submitting to,,auch attempts tat
intimidation, •*Nth, if successful; would lead to still
farther impositions, until intelligence and capital
would be at the, command of labour, and ignorance.

MiOTHER week has elapsed, and %yet the settle-
ment,of the •Turkish affair seems as iv distant as
ever. Indeed ,its :progress towards .ta settlement
appears to, be. of ,a,tetrograde charaeter; for some
time Since we Avereinformed that the:allied fleets
had been ordered urieo Constantinople, mid now we
are toldlthat they,have not stirred out.of Besika
Bay. true-that we have intelligenqe of the
SULTAN .of 'Turkey .hating signed a declaration of
war, whieli :might in itself be considered the pre-
lude to active hostilities:; but it is pretty clear that
the document has been executed for the purpose of
silencing the nlamours of 'the Turkish war party,
and it may be to have ,a .similar influence in this
I country. It is now said that the Russian General ,
commanding in the Danubian provinces is to be
allowed so many days, with .a notice that if he does
not commence to leave ;at:that period, the Turks
will proceed to try the effect ,of Mohammedan
valour. The delay, however, \will give time for
negotiation, and the opinion is gaining ground that
•the tong-desired settlement of the ,impute will be
arrived at, without giving the Turkish levies an
.opportunity of fleshing -their swords, or rather
scymitars. This opinion is in a great measure con-
firmed by the evidently pacific disposition of the
CZAR of Russia, who, notwithstanding his strong
desire to retain possession of the provinces, has no
intention to gratify his ambition by fighting for it.
The modern policy of Europe is diplomacy, And
upon his skill in this ingenious art the astute
Russian Minister, Count NESSELRODE, has relied
for the accomplishment of his scheme. He must,
however, be content to submit to defeat, as Turkish
obstinacy will hazard the loss of the Empire,
which must be the result of actual hostilities,
rather than surrender these provinces in the
Danube, which European good sense will insist
upon the restitution of, as the only alternative for
the maintenance of peace. The length of time
which has been occupied in negotiations appears to
have destroyed all confidence in the many promises
of a speedy termination to the uncertainty which
prevails, and which has tended to paralyze com-
mercial operations. A definite period has, how-
ever, now been fixed, which will expire on Monday
next ; and it is to be hoped that the interval will
be wisely employed in the preparation of a note,
couched in language sufficiently intelligible not to
be open to Misconstruction.
The part which England has, or ought to have, ,
occupied in this affair seems to have been a source