Current:

Leader (1850-1860), 3rd January 1857, Edition 2 of 2, Page 2, THE REVENUE . Titt5 official return, for...

Page 2
Page 2
2 of 24

On this page

  • Text (5)
  • Transcript

    • Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software. The text has not been manually corrected and should not be relied on to be an accurate representation of the item.

      Additionally, when viewing full transcripts, extracted text may not be in the same order as the original document.

      ~ ' ^ Th E Rumours Of Ministerial Change...

      lords . The repeated compliment of public addresses and public dinners is scarcely more than & matter of course at tie present day ; tbe latest occasion afforded him an opportunity of making a report upon his acbieveixMBtts « War Mmistac He has carried out a tliorougV separation of fcfce civil and military department * He has coixcwfetrated the -whole management « f the army , including the hitherto ^ sjoiutflsfc Ordnanc % jwdter the Commander-in-6 ! iief ; tie-has brought together all the civil administration of the army under

      the War Department . The practical consequence of this natural division -with concentration of authority is * . ' that any army which England could le required to produce , could , he says , be emlarked and landed on the continent of Europe ¦ within ten days' notice . He assures us that this efficient army is to be maintained at a cost very much less than that which has been required to

      produce it—20 , 000 , 000 / . under the expenditure of the past year . We have therefore , ample means to keep the highest position which . England ever arrogated to herself ; and there is no necessity for our statesmen to succumb to the pretensions of despots with whom the people of this country have no sympathy , -whose policy is alien to our own , and whose influence constantly obstructs and injures our interest .

      The official reports of revenue and trade paint a glorious picture of national prosperity . The revenue for -the quarter exceeds that of the same quarter last year by 800 , OOOZ ., of the year by 4 j 000 , 000 £ . ; the exports for the eleven months of 1856 exceeding those of the whole year 1855 by 10 , 000 , 0007 . The City is comfortable , and the manufacturing districts report constant activity , notwithstanding this dull season of the year .

      " While trade is thus nourishing , however , -we lave fresh evidences of the canker which affects our commercial body . A new defrauder comes before the police-court in a Mr . " Edkins . Messieurs Paul and Mjujini —the clerk and collector of tbe City of London Poor-law Union—Jiave- been detected in extensive frauds since 1853 . The discoveries of their defalcations begin ¦ with a sum of about 12 , 000 £ , and it is said that a long time will be required to trace out all their depredations ; yet , the official accountant had

      reported that the boolcs were perfectly square . Thus , we have commercial men and official men pilfering on a grand scale , and more accountants reporting politely upon the boots . We suspect' that yet more will be discovered through the gross negligence , as well as the dishonesty , of people in trade . Recently there has "been occasion to go over the boolcs of one of the

      most eminent firms in the country , —one which must have handled millions upon millions , and millions again , through a long series of years ; and their books are discovered to have been in a state so slovenly — so utterly unlike anything which we ascribe to tlie regularity of trade— a ° powerftilly -to illustrate the opportunities which def tauders may have since English commerce has lost its proverbial integrity .

      T H E Xe A P E B [ Sgfects;«&'18&£At Man...

      2 T H E X . E A P E B . [ -No . 354 , Saturday , . __ „_«* . *«^ m-n'rkT > r > mn y- » .-r"i

      The Revenue . Titt5 Official Return, For...

      THE REVENUE . Titt 5 official return , for t 1 » o concluding quarter of the year 1856 has been issuccL In every department but one ( tho Miscellaneous ) there is an increase , especially Sn , tho main sources of permanent revenue , viz ., Customs and Excise The main figures stand thus : — - Increase . CaBtoma £ 525 , 074 Excise 212 , 000 Stamps 88 , 231 Taxes . 5 , 000 Property Tax ..., 88 , 091 Post-oflice 101 , 000 Crown Ijands 1 , 000 £ 1 , 020 , 396 Decrease . Miscellaneous 149 , 475 Net Inercnso jE 870 , 921 On tho whole year , up to tho Slat of December , 1856 , iko net increase amounts to 8 , 977 , 772 ? .

      Mr Smttmo'bbhen- On The Interests Of Jkb...

      MR sMTTmO ' BBHEN- ON THE INTERESTS OF JKBIiAND . : ALONoletJMB addressed "To the People of Ireland , " has been ioned by Mr . Smith O'Brien . He commences by sayiflK?— " Although lit is my intentions to shun hencrfwA ba * . the slw « Pjr * Ksioas of Jftrffenuwtery life ff » 3 the toeacheroua ( juiclseands of * oonstitas £ onal agitatfan , ' I taare not ab < fiwt * 6 ? -tny right to espBKB my opinaws withtwspect to tftainteisBts of my natiw * land or of ! saenkind ^ . , having reasrfat to believe tha * i * is the wMk « r « . « onsideKaJjtepoKti « sof my feuVi ^ wuntrymen thai ? f should devote my Insure hours t <> such an occupation , I shall make no apology for offering to you some observations upon the present circumstances of public affairs . " He proceeds to say that he has seldom any occasion to invite his countrymen to co-operate with an English movement , but that he considers it would be well for Irishmen to join in the agitation for getting rid of the additional war per-centage on the income-tax . That addition is applied , to the maintenance of a Avar establishment " for the promotion of objects in which Ireland has no imaginable concern . " The late war , Mr . O'Brien contends , was not in the least degree to the advantage of Ireland . He i 3 not prepared to contend that England should have remained an indifferent spectator of the struggle between France and Russia ( the war being in fact a contest for ascendancy in the East on the part of those two powers ) , nor doeshe think that this country " wasat liberty to acquiesce in the occupation by Russia of the Danubian Principalities ; " but he conceives that a moie vigorous line of conduct at the commencement of the dispute than that pursued by Lord

      Aberdeen would have prevented hostilities . Mr . O'Brien then proceeds to taunt Great Britain with the ill-success of her arms in the course of the war ; to assure his countrymen that it is the universal opinion on the Continent that to France alone is due the credit of humbling Russia ; and to compliment the Russians on . the heroism of their resistance , single-handed , to " four of the most powerful nations in Europe . " Enumerating our various , disasters , including the loss of Ears , he says that they " have brought disgrace not unmerited upon British generalship , if not -upon British valour . " He therefore asks the Irish people , and even the British people , " whether it is desirable , by consenting to a continuance of the war income-tax , to encourage the Minister , whoever he may be , to involve Ireland—to involve the empire—in new collisions , ¦ which , may be infinitely more disastrous and more ignominious in their results than that which has been recently terminated . ?"

      Mr . O'Brien likewise rates the Queen and the English people for subserviency to the French Emperor during the-war , while but a short time previously the nation had denounced Louis Napoleon as an unprincipled usurper ; and he states that there is not a politician in Europe who does not know that England made peace at the dictation of th « Tuileries . While hating the Government of Naples ( though , he observes , the Neapolitans live more comfortably than the Irish ) , he thinks we were not justified in breaking off diplomatic intercourse with that country ; and he is opposed to the war with Persia—Herat being , in hi 3 opinion , a city of no importance to Ireland . Great Britain , however , probably " covets the valley of the Euphrates . " He asks

      what motive tho Irish can have to encourage the continued occupation of Greece ; and states his opinion that European Governments , instead of supporting " the cruel domination of a Turkish minority" over the Greeks , should aid in establishing the independence of the latter , who would form an " effective barrier against Russian aggression . " Speaking of financial matters , Mr . O'Brien observes : — " During tho year preceding that in which I was transported to tho antipodes , the British Parliament advanced on loan 8 , 000 , 000 ? . with a view to the Belief of the Irish nation when suffering from famine . I well remember the insulting language with which this aid was accompanied , and so great was the apparent magnitude of tho effort that it might have been supposed that England had exhausted all her resources in performing an act of unparalleled genorosity ; yet I find that last year

      an addition of 30 , 000 , 0 , 00 / . was made to tho ordinary war estimates of the United Kingdom with scarcely a murmur of dissension About fifteen , years ago , I studied with much attention tho writings of various patriotic Irishmen who endeavoured by many elaborate statements to prove that , inasmuch as England was subjected before tho Union to a much larger amount of debt than had been contracted by the Irish Parliament , it was only reasonable that tho interest of the ante-Union debt of England should bo horno exclusively by tho English people . Tliis separate obligation was calculated to amount to above 15 , 000 , 0 OOl . sterling per annum , and it -was argued that grievous injustice had been done to Ireland by tho gradual equalization of Irish with English taxation . At present , instead of a separate taxation amounting to 15 , 000 , 000 / % the exemption enjoyed by Ireland from taxation common to tho United Kingdom amounts to a more fraction . "

      State Op Trade. Trm Trade Reports From T...

      STATE OP TRADE . Trm trade reports from tho manufacturing districts for the closing week of tho year all refer to tho extraordinary prosperity by which tho paat twelve months have been characterized , and indicate great confidence in tho

      prosgfects ;«&' 18 & £ . At Manchester , although the Christmas lolidays Jttv * interfered with business , the market has juawti tect a vary favourable appearance , and the lowness of * stboksy , coupled with the upward movement in cotton , causes aigeeaft increase of firmness in all descriptions of goods . The Birmingham accounts mention that the question of the maintenance of the existing prices of iron daring the' coming quarter has been decided , and that there-. ig ective employment in all the manufactures of tlw pia & e * , the reports as to tlie general demand idhswagnoui . tne > country being extremely satisfactory . Jfcif Nottingham , large -A & tterican orders have been received , a ^ d the most favouratHe anticipations are entertained of the- -spring season . Th tlie woollen districts there has bee 3 i more than an average business ; but in the Irish linen-inarkets quotations have shown a tendency to heaviness . —Times . ciinnfo /^ Afi / UZ A f " . TVTflTnVrif ^ CltlPT * . ft 1 f . rl ( YI 1 ITn fTlf * f ^ lryio + ww * **« .

      In the general business of the port of London during the same weei , there has been diminished activity . The total number of ships reported , inward was 161 , being 110 less than , in the pre-vious week . These included 49 laden with grain , flour , and rice . The number of ships cleared outward was 89 , including 12 in ballast , showing a decrease of 28 . —Idem . The Board of Trade tables for November were issued last Saturday morning , and present results similar to those which havo characterized nearly the entire year . The increase in the declared value of our exportation ? , as compared with November , 1855 , is 1 , 512 , 22 GZ . ; and , while the piincipal augmentation has been in cotton goods , it is to be noticed that these have consisted . of tlie

      sorts involving the greatest employment , the shipments of yarn exhibiting a considerable decrease . Metals , among whicb railroad iron is the most important article , continue to show large totals , and all the general productions of the country have been in proportionate demand , the colonial having evidently more than kept pace with th « foreign trade . The only articles on the unfavourable side , in addition to cotton yarn , are cordage and soap , but even this falling off is simply on tha month , the shipments of these goods during the year having been larger than in 1855 . The total value of out exportations in the eleven months from January to November , inclusive , has amounted to 105 r 845 , C 31 ? .

      against 86 , 847 , 280 ? . in the preceding year , showing an . increase of 18 , 998 , 3517 ., or 21 | per cent . As compared with the corresponding period of 1854 the increase is 16 , 107 , 045 ? .- —With regard to imported commodities , the chief feature consists 5 a the large arrivals of foreign grain which , have led to the late depression in the wheat-market . The quantities of other articles of food and luxury imported and taken into consumption present nothing- to ' call for remark , except that they continue to afford proof that , while a high rate of discount has been perfectly compatible with an extended trade , it has also been concurrent -with general prosperity among the people . —Idem .

      The Death Of Hugh Midler. We Briefly Men...

      THE DEATH OF HUGH MIDLER . We briefly mentioned last week the death from a pistol shot of Mr . Hugh Miller , the celebrated Scotch geological writer and journalist . It was at first believed , as we then stated , that the firing of tho pistol was accidental : it now appears certain that the act was intentional—that , in truth , it was a case of suicide arising from temporary insanity . Mr . Miller had yorked liioiself into a frightful state of nervous excitement and cerebral disorder ; and his melancholy end holds out another warning to those overwrought men of letters who supply the periodical writing of these fearfully high-pressure days . Tlie facts of the case are so extremely , though painfully , interesting , that we reproduce them at some length from last Saturday ' s number of the Witness , the Edinburgh newspaper which Mr . Miller edited up to the time of his death : —

      " For somo months paat , his overtasked intellect had given evidence of disorder . He became tho prey of false or exaggerated alarms . Ho fancied—if , indeed , it was a fancy—that occasionally , and for brief intervals , his faculties quite failed him , that hia mind broke down . He was engaged at this time -with , a treatise on the Testimony of the Rocks , upon which lio was putting out all his strength , working at his topmost pitch of intensity . That volume -will in a few weeks be in "the hands of many of our readers ; and , while they peruse it -with tho saddened impression that tho intellect and genius of tho author poured out their latest treasures in its composition , they will search through it in vain for the slightest evidence of feebleness or decaying power .

      Rather lot ua anticipate tho general verdict that will bo pronounced upon it , and speak of it as ono of the ablest of all his writings . But ho wrought nt it too eagerly . Hours after midnight , tho light waa seen to glimmer through the window of that room which within the same eventful week was to witness tho close of tho volume and tho close of the writer ' s life . This overworking of tho brain began to toll upon his mental health , lie had always been somewhat moodily apprehensive of being attacked by footpads , and had carried loaded firearms nbout his person , Latterly , having occasion sometimes to return to Portobcllo from Edinburgh at unseasonable liours , ho had furnished himaolf with , a revolver . But now , to all liis old feurfl a $ to

  • Citation
    • Leader (1850-1860), Jan. 3, 1857, page 2, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/cld_03011857/page/2/