The Maryville times. (Maryville, Tenn.) 1884-1944, 1892-03-16
AN AWFUL FACT.
The Extremes of Wealth and Poverty n
Free Trade England.

|
Let me here give few illustration,
OF the present position of affairs in this
so-called Christian country, and in do
ing SO, let it be clearly understood that
do not condemn individuals, but the
laws under which such things exist.
According to the Doomsday Book, we
find that the Duke of Northumberland
owns l9l ,4si acres CO land, with year
ly valuation, or income, of .s2, $50
pounds; the Duke of Devopshire, 1872.
COS acres, with an annual value of 49,.
$50 pounds; the Duke of Bedford, S7,515
acres, with an annual value of al, $50
pounds, and the Earl of Derby 1893
acres, with an annual value of 1853, 1927
pounds. If we search through the rec
ords of our merchant princes and bank
ers, we find many of the millionaires
living in the utm ost splendor and sur.
rounded by every conceivable luxury.
| The st. Stephens Review, in July last,
calculated that it cost the wealthy class
in the West End of London the i'm.
mense sum of 1000, 600 pounds in three
months during the fashionable season
for society entertainments, dinners and
| play parties. Contrast all this gaiety
and high living with the awful destitu-
ton that was shown up in every news.
paper of our land when the sensational
murders of Jack the Ripper. in the East
of London were communicative have
seen three awful extremes of poverty
and riches.
OF the wealthy classes, and their de-
scendants, as well as representatives. of
the law. the army and the navy, and
other privileged professions, our legis-
latures are principally composed, and
by such our | laws are made. Mr.. John
P. Morley, M. P, one of the leaders of
the Liberal party, in addressing the
Amalgamated society of engineers at
Newcastle, in May, 1889, declared: at
is an awful fact-it is really not short
of awful-that in this country, with all
its wealth, it's vast resources and all its
! power, As per cent THAT is to say,
nearly one-half of the persons who
reach the age of 60-are, or have been
paupers." In these illustrations we
have wide extremes between capital and
labor, and between them there is q
great gulf, which widens daily, and bit.
ter hatred, which intensifies as the gull
grows wider. Can this gulf be bridged,
or must it continue to widen till crisis
comes, and anarchy, bloodshed and
financial ruin are the sequel? Such is
the state of things in free trade, Prot
estant and liberty-loving England. In
republican and protectionist France
we find very different state of things
existing. and NJ. De Foville proves from
statistics of death duties, that only |:
per cent. of the adult population who
die fail to pay by their executors legacy
duty to the government Legacy duty
is paid for $50, 900 out of every 51O,O 900 o.
deceased adults. DR.. Rhodes stated al
the social science congress held at Iced:
in September, 1890: There are in En-
gland to-day sufficient number Of pau
pers to form procession four deep o
over hundred miles long, their cost il
-fpoor law re lief last year being no les
than s, 44O, SCI, or Cd per head of the en-
tire population" All this in free trade
wealthy England. Essay by james
Hunt, Bristol, England.