The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1851-08-12 00:00:00

compact with the Jews. Now if the government,
or some portion of it, labour under the suspicion
of corruption in this matter, they have themselves
alone to blame. There is no public opinion in
favour of the Jews. No man, not a Jew, has
troubled himself seriously about the question, and
it is absurd to say that civil or religious liberty is
at all involved in the consideration. The question
is between Christianity and the denial of Christi-
anity, and the House of Peers decided in favour of
the faith of Christendom. Hence the fact that the
bill was moved by ministers with the approval of
the country, and thrown out by the Lords without
creating disappointment.
The result of Mr. Hume's motion respecting the
Income-tax showed anything but a disposition
towards a general system of direct taxation, and
yet it is difficult to say on what principle those
persons act who are at once free traders and advo-
cates for the abolition cf the odious impost which
Sir Robert Peel (as his Elbing letter proved) consi-
dered inseparable from and co-existing with free
trade. When the free trade policy was adopted, the
income-tax was adopted along with it; for, the taxes
thrown off, the country knows to its cost, were
taxes for revenue and not for protection alone.
The income-tax was a vulgar expedient—a cutting,
not a loosing of the knot—and its effect upon all
classes, those who pay it and those who do not, is
equally disastrous. It is perfectly ridiculous to say
that the bread of the poor has been freed from
monopoly by free trade, and the income-tax only
falls on the comparatively rich. It is notorious that
people, both in their domestic and general expendi-
ture, have been economising with the direct object
of "saving their income-tax," and such economy
must and does fall heavily on the producing classes.
It would take indeed a much greater advantage
in the way of cheap food than has yet been given
to the working classes, to compensate for the abso-
lute want of employment which has followed upon
the imposition of the income-tax. For what reason
the House of Commons last week refused to allow
the evidence taken before the committee on the tax
to be printed, does not very fully appear ; hut from
the extreme anxiety of the Chancellor of the Exche-
quer to oppose the printing,it is probable that some-
thing amusing and instructive may be expected when
it is allowed to appear. Doubtless if anything will
teach the country how much it is likely to pay for
free trade, the income-tax will be the most likely to
give that lesson.
The extinction of Mr. Cobden is one of the most
remarkable instances of the total inability of what
are called demagogues succeeding in the House of
Commons. " I hope he will be elected," said
Canning of Cobbett, "he will soon find his level
here." Cobden has found his level, and a very
dead level it is. His motion for instructions to the
Foreign Secretary on the subject of keeping peace
in Europe, was the very perfection of absurdity.
Lord Palmerston laughed at him, as at a person
trying by any means to keep his name before the
public, and replied very truly in the strain that
sneaking to France and seeking for treaties was the
best possible mode of encouraging the French and
their allies to go to war. No nation, as a nation,
ever preferred war to peace. The necessities of
governments and the ambition of kings may have
created aggressions, and for such incidents the best
preparation is that of effectual resistance. But Mr.
Cobden must prate of reciprocity as Peter Peebles
prated of his celebrated action-at-law. It is Mr.
Cobden's sole stock-in-trade, as the action was
Peter's, and he must do something for the very
handsome subscription given him in consideration
of the benefits of free-trade.

The motion of the ,Marquis of Blandford on
spiritual destitution was unproductive of any imme-
diate good results. Indeed, a House of Commons,
which, by a solemn vote, twice repeated, denies "the
true faith of a Christian," is little likely to assist
the Church, or to consider Christianity of as much
importance as cotton. They leave punishment to
the police, and think prevention useless. If any
testimony were needed to the inconsistency and
absurdity of the present House of Commons, it
would be their decision when Mr. H. Berkeley
brought in his bill in favour of the Ballot. Whether
or not it was that they were tired of the ministry,
and would throw them out per fas aut nefas, they
came to the chivalrous conclusion that an English-
man ought to be allowed to give his vote in secrecy,
and deny immediately, if he was so disposed, the
fact of his having so voted. Permission to intro-
duce a bill to effect this was, however, carried, and
the present estimable House of Commons declared,
for the ballot—a mode of election that must inva-
riably have this character, viz., that if any superior
influence exists to force men to vote one way, the
ballot, so far from making them independent, will
simply make them cheats and hypocrites. We
have not a " Venetian constitution," as Mr.
D'lsraeli in Coningsby has told us, but we have
sufficient espionage to let every one know how his
neighbour votes, and the immediate Consequence
of the ballot would be to make the poorer body of
our fellow-subjects, who have the franchise, live
a lie.

Law Reform is the only matter in which, during
the session, anything worthy of the name of pro-
gress has been made ; and that in that department
anything has been done, is chiefly owing to Lord
Brougham, with the exception of the law of patents,
the disgraceful state of which has been at length
brought before public attention, and the prospect
given that such remarkable officials as the "deputy
chaff-wax" will find—

Some one, wandering near their ruined tower,
Disturb their ancient solitary reign.
On the whole, however, the session has been one
of much talk and little work, " laborious" as the
unfortunate Speaker may well call it. It is to be
hoped that the next may be brought to a conclu-
sion by a dissolution, and the country obtain justice
from a new administration, and a parliament not
devoted to the foreigner.

ELECTION OF DOCK COMMITTEE-MEN.

The dock rate-payers of Liverpool will be called on
to-morrow, to elect twelve gentlemen to represent them
at the Dock Committee proceedings, and the various
commercial bodies are evidently alive to the importance
of the event. The recent Act of Parliament has completely
changed the constitution of the trust, and questions of
the liveliest interest will be brought before the newly-
formed board. The Town Council has--already elected
twelve members, arid the following list of the twelve
chosen by the rate-payers has been issued, we believe,
under the auspices of the Shipowners Assnciation and
the American-Chamber of Commerce, and will, no doubt,
receive a considerable amount of support :
William Barber, Poulton-hall, Bebbington, Cheihire, mer-
chant.

Thomas Bold, Fair Lawu, Banl:field-road, West Derby, iner
chant.

Ra'ph Brocklebank, Annesley, Aigburth, merchant.
Eyre Evans, 73, Shaw-street. Everton, merchant.
Samuel Robert Graves, 3, Falkner square, Liverpool, m
chant.
John Lockett, 65, Shaw-street, Everton, merchant.
Joseph Ma Icomson, 6, Canning-street, Liverpool, merchant.
William Nicol, 6. Abercromby-square, Liverpool. merchant.
Robert Rankin, Bromborough-hall, Bromborough, Cheshire,
merchant,

Francis Shand, Sandtield-park, West Perby, tnerehant.
James Smith, Seaford), Litherland, timber merchant.
Henry Steele, 24, Abercromby-square, timber-merchant.

RAILWAY ACCIDENT, YESTERDAY.—At the time one
of the porters at the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway,
was what is termed '' lighting" a load of cotton from a
cart to a railway waggon, one of the hales (from the start-
ing of the horse in The cart) shifted,:and falling hrukc and
severely mooed many of his ribs.