Weekly national intelligencer., 1850-05-11
PROM OUR EUROPEAN CORRESPONDENT.

LONDON, APRIL %, 1850.
There is rather an important error in either oar
writing, or your printiug-most likely the former
in our communication to you OF the l5th Feorua
ry, which appeared in the National lntelligencel
of the 2Oth OF March, We there are made to state
that the window tax, and the excise on paper, ant
the duties on advertisements, and on foreign books
do not amount altogether to more than ,OOt
annually This is great error. What we IN
tended TO state was, that the window tax done die
not amount to more than gl,7OO,00o. The Other
taxes make an amount of more than 81 ,S2S,ooo
and altogether. these taxes, which Ministers have
been asked 10 repeal, amount to upwards o
g3,0OO000. We apologize for the error; we wish
to stand well with yeur readers for our figures al
least, whatever may be the value OF our opinions
and conclusions.
The week has passed over, so far, without any
thing very new either foreign or domestic. The
debates in Parliament are, however, interesting
and, when regarded az not very dimly shadowing
kforth the future, may perhaps be regarded as i'm.
portant. Lord JOHN RUSSELL has carried the COM
smittee which he nominated to inquire into salaries
Fit consists OF seven Wings and friends OF sir Ro-
sERT PEEL, four Protectonists, and four Radical
Reformers, the only place-holder being Lord JOHN
himself, who is, of course, chairman OF the COM
mttee. The composition of this committee is a
guaranty that the question WILL at least, be inves-
gated without prepossessions or reserve All shades
of financial reform find place in this committee,
from the trenchant views of Messrs. GOLDEN and
BRIGHT to the more moderate ideas of Mr.. Home
DRuaMoNp. The salarists may regafd themselves
as fairly represented, and their interests properly
and safely placed in the hands of the PRIME MIN
IsTER and Mr.. ELLEIE; for, if the latter is not
now pace-holder, he hes beet one, and most
probably would be one again, in the event of Slr
ROBERT PEELs accession to power. Altogether
the materials of the committee are very good, not
withstanding Col. SIBTHoRPE characterized 1t asa
I" shuttle" ministerial trick .' hunabug.
The prime. pie of action which the committee should
adopt is clear but the mode of action is by no
means an easy one. That the whole amount OF
public money paid should be measured by the.
whole amount of public business done, is the cor
rect principle. If the proportion should not be
found to be maintained, then the difficulty Will be
as to the expediency or necessity of maintaining
certain salaries at all, and of duly proportoning
pay and work among the officers retained. The
leading principle OF Government employment should
be the same as that of all other employments-that
is to proportion emolaments to the talents demanded
and the responsibility assumed. II must be borne
in mind, however, that Government pay always consider
ed of income than ordinary professional
cepts and that in England at least there always toe-
abe certainty of advancement requa of good and steady
service The House OF Lords has alleady taken good ni-
atoy step in the abolition Of fees their doekePers,
of whom received last year for fees alone, 4y59t, and
the year before e. $40 The fees to be abolished and
the officers remuneated by increased but fixed salaries One
of these fees hitherto received by the doorkepers e5
annually, from the body Of Quakes paid, said the Duke
of RICHMOND, TO, other that he could imagine
han this that they took off their hats, which the uakers
themselves refused in Difference to their Lord
ships. The Proectioniss in the House OF Lords
newng the agitation of agricultural Distress asoned by
free trade in The Earl of HAnDwIcK said "We
were maintaining this question Of free trade merely please
the manufacturing interest, which represented by
capital of only ea6, 100000, for which running
the other G260, 900, 600 OF capital in the country.
The Earl of MALMsBuRY has moved for the return Of
the imports of wheat and -four and barley and for each
week since ls Of January 1850, distinguishing the
tries from whence imported Before the late change the
Earl said, the price of whoa. $751; it 3ss and
the farmers called upon pay the before.
What had been done equivalent raising the taxation
of the country tron ESQ, ,00O, 900 TO a67 100000 The
farmers, he said, "are beginning to ask, Is it fair for
to pay the Of fixed salaries and annuities
we did before property deprecated Is fair that
we should pay the rate Of interest the public cred
tor did before ~ This last, by the bye, is ques-
lion which other classes of the people, wei the farmers
teginning to ask. The fund-holders, far least
they represented at the stock exchange
this question in the affirmative, and to have dread of d
minhed dividends for public securities of every kind main
tain their prices, apparently effected by nothing except
the popc: Ct peace OF the continent, foeshadow
ed by the state OF public feeling in France ....
The Duke OF RIcHMoSD, Lord STANLEY, and Lord BEAU
advocated the views Of the question which the Earl of
MALMsBuRr had aken and the former he Duke Of Rich
mond said that Friday he should present forty pet
tons for protection and should ask return TO protection
TO native industry oil It's branches So we shall now see
how the question stands in the House of Lords the Com
have given the goby during the pesen, session at
least SO, even Mr.. DIsARAELI admits.
The interesting debate during the week in the Com
has been motion Of Mr.. HEYwoop, in relation to
the Universities Of Oxford, Cambridge, and Dublin. The
and substance Of the motion That all systems
OF academica education require, from time to time, some
modification, from the change Of external circumstances
the progress of opinion, and the intellectual improvement
of the people, and requesting her Majesty issue her royal
commission OF inquiry into the of the Universities Of
adaptation of those important institutions the require
of modern tmo The motion opposed al great
length by that good but "sand sii man. Sir r. ISsLIs
Gone of The members for Oxford University Mr. NAPIER
who represents the University Of Dublin, and by Mr. GouL
and Mr.. Law, the representatives of the University
of Cambridge, and supported by Mr. FAeAS, Mr. SADLEIR,
and Col. THOMPSON. Mr. HErwoop afterwards withdrew
n ;pt;noa Ia,l