New-York tribune., 1893-12-24
NOTES FROM LONDON.
THE INCOME TAX--TRAFALGAR SQUARE
AND MR. ASQUITH-LOWELL IN THE
AHHEY-MR. w. f. HENLEY.


no time TO deal with it seriously. and 70 say
.o,etbinp about the history and working or
tho tax in England. But I will offer ycu TO-
Aav an instructive piece of testimony l was
talking Just after the rumOr Of the new TAX
had come from New York. with distinguished
off,cial who for many years has been meInper
of a Board before whom final Income Tax ap-
peals are heard. These are appeals from 'He
surcharges or cxorhtant assessments OF n lower
grade Of Income Tax officials The whole qnes-
+,or of the Incidence Of the tax and its practical
working had. therefore. been constantly before
him during all this time he was In position
TO Judge. and ne had or would naturally nave 'he
HAS Of the official mind in favor OF official pro-
cedure I asked him whether ne thought an
income tax fair tax-far in principle or ca
pabe CT being fairly apportioned ana admin
isteree. IIa answered: ''I regard it as the most
unfair of all forms Of taxation. and to talk OF
the possibility Of making it bear justly and
oouauv or sr classes is 20 talk nonsense. II can
not be done"
The European edition Of THE New-fork
rerald'' has a neat remark on this new Demo-
cratic proposal:
"Thcrc are liars enough already IN America
without starting an income tax
This rsscs a question Of morality as we'll as
Of political economy. In the case Of an income
tax you cannot separate the two. IT is, in every
country and in all circumstances, a premium
en- dishonesty.
President Cleveland however If the cable
summary Of his message be accurate would
limit the Incidence Of the tax to certain forms Of
income, and especially income derived from corpo-
ration securities Such a modification may dmin-
fish the injustice of this impost pro tanto The less
income YOU tax the less injury YOU inict.
EouitabIy moreover there ought to be a dis
crimination between income derived from prop
erty and income from earnings. professional or
otherwise Whether this discrimination can be
made or made completely is another question.
President Cleveland. of course. thinks IT can. or
he would not propose it. Mr. Gladstone thought
1t could not.
There is in England NJ higher financial author
fly than the present Prime Minister. More than
forty years ago he discussed this very point
and expressed himself very strongly. lie ad-
mitted or seemed to admit, that it was in
equitable to impose the same tax on a man
who had, for instance. $4,000 year from re-
allied property, and a man who earned 10000
a year. But he declared that after much try
ing he found it impossible in practice TO reach
the one and exempt the other. or TO tax the two
incomes a; different rate. Income Is in the eyes
Of the Inland Revenue, income. whencesoever
derived. The revenue officer has nothing 10 do
with the source or origin Of the income. All nc
has to do is to lay and collect big tax on 1t.
Such was. and believe still is. Mr.. Gladstones
view. He has never made effort TO relieve
the income -earners from any part Of their bur-
den. President Cleveland may be a more capable
fnancier than Mr. Gladstone. or may be less
disposed TO lean on the Obstructive testimony
and pure departmental view Of the revenue
officers His experiment will. at any rate, be an
f~xz II
Mr.. Asquth has now discovered. and pretty
frankly admitted. that he is responsible for the
character Of the meetings which assemble by
his permission in Trafalgar Square. He has
fused to permit meeting Of the Commonwcal
Society on the express ground that 1t advocates
or justifes murder II therefore becomes an un-
lawful meeting, and he would prohibit an un-
lawful meeting anywhere. whereas he would not
prohibit one merely because he disapprOved Of
its objects Well, but meeting which is called
by the Anarchists is pretty likely TO have un-
lawful objects. Whether it have or not, there
is still another distinction. The Home Secre-
tary by the terms Of his order. must approve or
disapprove of a meeting In Trafalgar Square.
1t is not to be sanctioned for evil purpose.
And to that view Mr.. Asquth must come at
last. He comes reluctantly because the cry for
free speech in Trafalgar Square is supposed to
men. who are now very powerful. l do not
believe II is. The workngmen when they are
in earnest. go to Hyde Park 1t is the cheaper
and beser sort Of agitatDrs who want Trafalgar
Square: leaders who have not followers enough
for Hyde Park, and who depend on attracting
roughs and passers-by into a space which
ls really a thoroughfare. The recent outrages in
Dublin do not predispose the English mind to
tolerate Anarchist exercises in any form, whether
rhetorical or otherwise explosive And one Of
the secrets Of Mr. Asqiith's success as Cabinet
Minister and public speaker lies in the fact that
his mind does work on level with that Of the
majority of the English people; or OF the better
part Of the majority. He has quite enough.
however to do as Home Secretary and Min
lister in Parliament, without taking the stump
quite so often as he did this autumn, and the
working Of his mind can. perhaps. be best
In the Home Office and in the House Of Com
mons.
Such English comments as have seen on the
Lowell memorial ceremony in Westminster Alb
hey are for the most part. in spirit TO satisfy
Mr.. Lowes American friends. They make take
"The Times" as representative Of the general
feeling when il declares that Lowell. though
he retained and asserted his American nation
atty in such a manner that his friends were
never allowed to forget II, obtained stronger
personal hold upon England than any American
had ever done before" And with more particular
reference TO this OCCASION the same journal
sa.s:
THE great resting place Of the illustrious
ones OF our blood would be incomplete II 1t did
not contain a memorial of so typical an Ameri-
can. and so characteristic growth Of the old
English stock.
That Is well and honoraby said. II you wish
ind Of
must turn to a rather obscure. though noisy,
weekly paper the National Observer" This
periodical has a standard Of grace and Of
Graciousnoss which is all Its own. and this its
remark on Lowell In Westminster Abbey:
~ fnreigners cnmmennra ted In