The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1848-03-14 00:00:00

CI) t Eibttvool 'tanbarb.

v-u;BDAY MORNING, MARCH 14, 1848

*ens - `no not hesitate, last week, to express our
tivestof the vote given by one of our representa-
for 412 r. Cardwell, against Mr. Horsman's motion
would-- a lost modification of the Income Tax, as
constitt7
In its Antler that impost more tolerable and equal
Prietyof As little do we object to the pro-
" expression of the
general sense of the
being ,re,„l''Y, with respect to the offence committed,
tionou,„VeYed in a constitutional form to the
somm:',Le member himself. We cannot, however,.
ele,,C-na the tone of the document, to which the
lather! of Liverpool have since been urged to
.affix
,„ slnatures. It is unnecessarily dictatorial—
u..ll°Bt, indeed, personaly offensive; and we are
tshae-
waned that these violations of good taste, on
will
Part of those by whom it has beenwoduraldwnp
otherwise
deter many from signing it, whoand will thus far ren-
der done so most cordially,
ge the document, when. ypresented to Mr. Card-
!Pell, a much less influential one than it might have
been. It was perfectly competent for the majority
of the electors to have conveyed to the honourable
member a knowledge of the fact that, by pursuing
certain line of conduct, he had forfeited their
confidence; and to have suggested to him that,
%rider such circumstances, being no longer a repre-
sentative of their opinions, his resignation of the
%rust imposed upon him would he the fulfilment of
pepty, not only to them but to his own reputation.
Ltps, however, strict justice would not have
'men outraged, whilst courtesy would have been
Preserved, had Mr. Cardwell been invited to offer
Some explanation of his conduct, before sentence
waB summarily passed upon him. His vote was a
Silent one; and, as we stated last week, it was one
Which from a previous demonstration of his disin-
clination to decide upon it hastily, he may have ar-
rivedl).niiihrsieehives,to
. at a conviction of the propriety of giving,
although we must confess it is hidden from
re,o, the principle him, we doubt not, appeared at the
well
.grounded. Rejecting, therefore, as we
matters, th zelciple that, with respect to questions
ecting the taxation of the people, or any other
gard hi representative is to be regarded or to
---rnself as their mere delegate—bound irre-
.peetively of all other considerations, to carry out
%,he expressed and exparte views of the public meet-
ings, or public bodies, professing, like the National
"nfede
raon, to speak "in behalf of the people"
irwe conceive that the honourable member might
t.:‘Z. had accorded to him an opportunity of reply
inorlB,a,ceusers. The second paragraph of the me-
eitie-,,l'',n°,wever, seems to us, by its peremptoriness,
laabco, if not meant, to put all chance of ex-
Peii nation out of the question. The unatoneable
and of the offence is assumed as established ;
ia_u. the sentence of expulsion is pronounced in
orugoage such as that we would address to a clerk,
Loa servant, whom we had proved guilty of dis-
firjnesty, after a fair hearing.
` We cannot consent to repose any further con-
en in you as our Representative; nor can we
Vtit the interests of the people of Liverpool
tabt to remain under your charge."—We must
*halt that this is not precisely the language in
to th a,gentleman, who has been so recently elected
Per+-e high honour of representative of this im-
dre—ant community in Parliament, ought to be ad-
dressed; and we repeat our conviction that it is
DaT4S:' likely, not only to deter many influential
"*4.eB from signing it, but materially to impair the
wittehe4which such a document would have carried
tut. if expressed in more respectful and consti-
h terms. To him, to whom it is addressed,
_tatitecar ltehulanatoefd to convey a sense of personal insult
tote
tppe.ndeddeference to those whose names are
it; and by the world at large it may
_eevaiewed,
and probably will be viewed, rather as
expression of party illwill than as the
great taitil•-,?T'atured expression of the feeling of a
10,„. inicintr
community.
iv e
of the nowever, now turn to an examination
eight'c speech of the hon. gentleman on Friday
explanatory of what we cannot but term his
Lulfortunate vote, and which appears to have been
made, byanticipation, as a reply to the charges of
lc Memorialists. Mr. Cardwell represents himself
84 having been influenced in giving that vote by
two considerations—" first, by the duty which he
he
to the great mercantile constituency whom
ne had the honour to represent, and, se-
condly, by those higher considerations which
arose from a due regard to the general interests of
the country. He was very sensible of the pressure
which any income tax must bear upon the industry
°fa the country ; and he knew how much that pres-
:„te was aggravated when an income tax, made
dime an estimate of former years of prosperity,
dif,wt,ee t° be collected at a period of unparallelled
heavZ But having these considerations bearing
Eel mind, yet when he looked at the
what condition of the country, and considered
financialdhe at exigencies of the exchequer, and
very possibility of a revival of trade
fotPendeed upon the condition of the treasury, he
t, Ind it impossible to withhold his support from
,I,e proposition of her Majesty's Government."
eltitstatement
is, we must say, a slight confusion in this
ernent of the hon. member's two considerations.
we fully agree with him both that the exigencies
of the exchequer, or of the nation, have a powerful
claim upon statesmen, and that their being fully
Provided for tends to the " revival of trade," and
the restoration of confidence amongst a commer-
cial community. But in order to produce such
results some regard must be had to the nature of
those sources by which the exigencies of the ex.
chequer are to be supplied. A " revival of trade,"
or a restoration of commercial confidence, can
Scarcely be effected by the levying upon the corn-
tnoity of a tax whose " pressure is aggravated,"
,'cause being "made upon an estimate of former
lieu" of prosperity,"—what a heavy condemna-
-6" of such a tax is here conveyed ?—it "has to
• ttelilzeolleeted at a period of unparallelled distress ;"
Pie Mr. Cardwell might have added, from a peo-
,id indignant at its injustice. This plea of con-
ration for for the interests of commerce by victim-
nintinununities, we think will be admitted as
Nur:4%le; and little less happy is that urged on
witli-ft' grounds. History does not furnish us
IplL.,,,tinstance of a nation being rendered power-
loraVoe acquisition of a full exchequer wrung
fin itnßrUdging people. On the other hand our
-"any iNe—not to go further—furnish us with
cut, 4,- 'stances of attempted aggression from with-
tacle
o"iedo"ied and driven from its object by the spec-
°Wti d ,t people willing to bear the cost of their
401, +et!ecce. And, we would remind Mr. Card-
Ple ;tad such is the spirit in which the peo-
aid t°,' Liverpool would gladly contribute their
_
w Government in the present crisis.
tot observe that the honourable gentleman is
I.B4tisfled with the modification proposed by Mr.
isro Pao- Its details are alleged to he imperfect.
1 • s'ciubt the have been so. But there is
egislati may
to, le ability enough in the British House of
:ins to render perfect, or approaching perfec-
vp;iny Such I
1,_14,1 orr measure. We have no fear of the
-sm,orut ar lament, if they would set themselves
Y to the task, to get rid of the difficulties,
11,-s_‘ as they are, of providing a fair and just tax
te'euoui.dproperty and income ; and it is not quite in
ance with our own views of the fairness of
thin
‘,..):0 for that ability to be withheld. We can
?:e_,lnber being told by a statesman, to whom Mr.
authority,
is understood to look up as to a kind of
""ority, that a doctor does not prescribe until he

is legitimately called in. We set our face against
the morality of this doctrine; and would, along
with the great majority of the public, be glad to
know something of the probable treatment before
we employ the doctor. There is just now a possi-
bility of the country requiring a new administra-
tion—one more fitted for the requirements of the
present crisis ; and unless Mr. Cardwell, by a can-
did reconsideration of this question—the weight
attached to which by the electors of Liverpool, we
believe, he comprehends very imperfectly—gives us
an assurance of his regard for commercial interests,
his constituents are not likely to avail themselves
with any avidity of his talents and business know-
ledge.