The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1848-11-21 00:00:00

CORRESPONDENCE.

•
THE FINANCIAL REFORM ASSOCIATION,

TO THE EDITOR OP THE LIVERPOOL STANDARD,

SlR,—May I take the liberty, through your journal, of
suggesting to Lord John Russell an easy method of
getting rid of that ridiculous and very foolish " bore,"
the " Financial Reform Association."

As you and all your readers are aware, there is in exist-
ence a very heavy tax upon daylight—or, if you like,
" sunshine," in the shape of a window-tax. This may be
just and very proper ; but at the same time I do not see
why daylight should be taxed more than " moonlight,"
and therefore would I take the liberty of recommending
his lordship to tax the latter, were no other benefit de-
rived from this measure than this, that it would have the
effect of completely annihilating the Financial Reform
Association ; the quantity of moonshine dealt in by them
being so large, they could never pay the tax imposed upon
them. It would, though, be more from the quantity
emitted than the quantity received. They would find
themselves in a parallel position with an economically-in-
clined gentleman, who, in order to avoid the additional
tax of an extra window, decided upon closing the window
of his scullery. They would also have to close up their
scullery, and a dirty one it is.—l am, sir, your obedient

servant,

A. P. J. B

[lf the Association would direct its attention more im-
mediately to an endeavour to effect a revision of our cus-
toms and excise duties, it would not so entirely justify our

correspondent's censure.]

PROPERTY TAX

TO THE EDITOR OF THE LIVERPOOL STANDARD,

SlR,—Will you oblige by informing me, a constant
reader of your valuable paper, " why myself and so many
others in Liverpool have not yet received from Govern-
ment their orders for a return of the property-tax for the
year 1846-7," though they have paid the tax for the year
1847-8, such parties not being possessed of the income of
£l5O per annum ? You would also oblige by suggesting
" whether it be advisable to address the Commissioners
for Special Purposes, Somerset House, London, in the
public papers, or for the parties to call a public meeting
to deliberate as to what is best to be done."
I am, sir, your obedient servant, W. M.
Toxteth Park, Nov. 15, 1848.

REMEDY FOR IRISH IMMIGRATION

TO THE EDITOR OF THE LIVERPOOL STANDARD,

SIR,-It appears painfully plain that we are on the eve
of witnessing a recurrence of those fearful scenes of sick-
ness, want and woe, brought amongst us in the winter of
1846, by the unhappy Irish sufferers.
Government having formerly declined granting any
relief for the past, or remedy for the future, I suggest to
our local authorities, if it is not in their power to levy a
rate offour or five shillings each on all deck passengers
entering our Port from Ireland.

This plan has been acted upon by the Canadian Go-
vernment; and its adoption was forced upon that colony
by circumstances precisely similar to those iu which the
rate-payers of Liverpool are now placed. The result has
been most successful.

Supposing that this " head money " were to be re-
covered from the owners of vessels importing immigrants,
it would simply lead to the instant raising of the passage-
money from one to five or six shillings; the destitute
would be compelled to cast themselves upon their legal
protectors ; whilst those who come to this port for legiti-
mate purposes would not, even with the rate named,
be charged an unreasonable sum for their passage.
As a matter of consequence, I should suggest that the
entire sum thus received should be paid over to the paro-
chial authorities, for the purpose of returning to Ireland
all those whose " settlement " belonged to that country.
I am, &c., W.
_ _

[We doubt if our authorities have the power to carry
out our correspondent's suggestion, or it would doubtless
have the intended effect.]

MR. POLLOCK'S sTli NOV. SERMON

TO THE EDITOR OF THE LIVERPOOL STANDARD.

SIR,—Mr. Pollock has acted, I think, very properly in
giving this sermon to the public. The printing of it gave
rise to some observation and comment : and since, as is
usual in such cases, much was imputed to him that he did
not say, he only availed himself of the proper channel for
rectifying any mistakes by publishing what he actually
did say. I have read the sermon with attention and de-
light. It is an excellent exposition and application,
generally, of the passage selected for the text ( Luke ix.-
54-56 1., It brings together also some dates, documents,
and information about the four services appointed in our
book of common prayer that must always be valuable.
But, has it ever been urged that these services rest upon
the same authority with the remainder of the prayer-book ?
The question really is, whether, albeit short of that au-
thority, they possess not sufficient sanction to justify (or
even, more) the stated use of them. I thought as I was
perusing the sermon that Mr. Pollock might well have
accounted for the severity of the expressions against which
he took exception, by referring them to the period at
which the service was compiled, and the proximity of the
danger from which the nation had been delivered. And
considering the position, prospects, and efforts of the
same enemy to our religion and our country in the pre-
sent day, I cannot but regret that the able mind and pen
of Mr. Pollock has not rathur boon directed into come

such channel, than through that now chosen by him.
Notwithstanding, as I have said, the sermon is an ad-
mirable one, and I commend it to a wide circulation.
—I am, yours, &c., PROTESTANS.

SUPPOSE THE JEWS BECOME. "THE POWERS
THAT BE," WHAT TREATMENT WOULD
CHRISTIANITY EXPERIENCE AT THEIR
HANDS?

(From a Correspondent.)

This problem suggested itself more than once to our
mind. It exercised our thoughts a few years ago, when a
Christian gentleman, Mr. Cribbace by name, advocated,
at a public meeting held in Crosby Hall, London, the
Utopian scheme for Englishmen to purchase Palestine,
for the purpose of reinstating the Jews there as a nation.
After Mr. C. had eloquently expounded his views to his
crowded audience, a Jew, Mr. Mitchell by name, got up
and coolly put the question to Mr. C., " If you reinstate
us in Palestine, shall we be permitted at once to drive
Bishop Alexander and his attendants out of Jerusalem ?"

The above problem then for the first time flashed forcibly
upon our minds, and exercised our ingenuity a good deal.
We did not like, however, to give the solution we arrived
at. The same problem has now again invaded the cham-
bers of our thoughtfulness, and as we are very reluctant
to take upon ourselves the responsibility of solving it,
we propose it to our readers. Let us see what hand that
intelligent body will make of it. _ _

The reason -of the above problem recurring to our
minds is the following :—The Established Church of
Scotland had for some time a very flourishing missionary
station amongst the Jews of Tunis. That Church estab;
lished in Tunis two excellent schools—for boys and girls
—which were ably managed under the superintendence of
the Rev. N. Davis, and Miss M. E. Brown, and were the
means of doing a great deal of good amongst the Jewish
rising generation of Tunis, in every point of view..
General education began to be diffused in that hitherto
most benighted regency. There are, however, in the
British Consulate of Tunis two office bearers, who are of
the Jewish nation—whose creed is,, if creed it may be
called, atheistical—father and son ; the former is Chan-
cellor and the latter Secretary of that Consulate—Messrs.
Santitiana by name. These two worthies are the sole
managers of British affairs in that important Regency.
These individuals, though excommunicated from the
Jewish synagogue on account of their gross immorality
and avowedly infidel principles, are nevertheless the most
virulent and implacable enemies of Christianity and
Christians. They became " moved with envy," when
they beheld the success the Gospel obtained amongst the
Jews of Tuuis ; and have therefore exerted all their influ-
ence to banish once more the preacher of " righteousness,
temperance, and judgment to. come" from that dark
region. They made peace with, the chief Rabbi of Tunis
—the spiritual head of the Jewish community there—and
assured him that he might do anything he liked to. the
Jewish Christians, her Britannic Majesty's Consul-
general would do nothing towards protecting `'those
wretches,." The Rabbi, who hitherto did not venture to
lay violent hands on Jewish Christians, hailed this de-
claration with great complacency, knowing that the
Messrs. Santitiana were " the powers that be" in the
British Consulate there,, and could therefore do all their
pleasure. Rabbi Shim Bisi then communicated the same
intelligence to his son-in-law, Khaid Youseph—the civil
head of the Jews of Tunis. This Youseph y rich

man, and is one of the principal mon: y-letulers to the
impoverished Bey, and for a large sum of money pur-
ckased for himself the Khaidship over the Jews of Tunis.
The Bey is under great obligations to him. The Tunisian
Pharisees—the Rabbi and Khaid—finding that the British
SaduceeE—the Chancellor and Secretary of the British
Consulate—were desirous of yielding them a sacrilegeous
hand in persecuting, and if possible in extirpating, Jewish
Christians from Tunis, repaired to the Bardo—the Bey's
palace—and obtained the most cruel edicts against the
Jewish followers of the Lamb. Some Jewish Christians
were imprisoned and bastinadoed, and others had nar-
rowly escaped being beheaded. The Rev. N. Davis,
though a British resident, was in danger of his life, and
the schools were broken up ' • for the most violent and
systematic persecution was set on foot against the parents
who would dare to send their children to the Scotch
school, and thus the missionary, his wife, and Miss Brown,
the worthy foundress of the girls' school, were obliged to
leave Tnnis on the shortest notice ; and all this because
Jews are " the powers that be" in the Tunisian British
Consulate. We do not at present comment on the con-
duct of Sir Thomas Reade, the British Consul-general ;
we expect the Church of Scotland will, ere long, lay a
succinct account of that functionary's behaviour before
the British public. We quote the following passage from
an article which appeared in the Malta Mail on the 26th
of last May. The article refers to a report which was
too good to be true, viz., that Sir Thomas Reade had
received orders from the Minister of Foreign Affairs to
dismiss the Santilianas forthwith from the British Con-
sulate. The article contains the following passage :
" Now the British subjects must sing a Te Deum for
having got rid of the said Messrs. Santilianas, men the
most tyrannic and cruel, who have been the means of all
the injustices which Sir Thomas Reade afforded to his
British subjects."
We must not omit to notice, that the best and most
heartfelt thanks of the British Christian public are due
to Mr. Ferriere, the British Vice-Consul of Tunis. If it
were not for his prompt, energetic, philanthropic, and
Christian conduct, some Christian Jews would most pro-
bably have been beheaded, For our own part we feel