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Leader (1850-1860), 20th September 1851, Edition Country of 2, Page 2, 886 ©ffefL^a&Cf^ [Saturday,

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      "While The Queen Is Rusticating In The H...

      M . L . Bonaparte ' s visit to the new Halles , and his gallant attentions to the ladies of the markets , are the one pleasant feature of the week . Perhaps , the Vive la RSpublique , which was evidently the prevailing cry , was . not so pleasant to his ears ; but the bouquet of violets lent a significant colour to the compliments of his fair ^ entertainers , whom he seems to have entertained on the following morning in truly Elysean style . His written speech wound up as usual with obscure hints at founding a durable social edifice—with the aid of the dames de la Halle , of course ! But the decorating of his " dear Minister , " not without " sawder . " rose above the domain of ordinary official

      farce . . , Our old friend of Prussia has been making another tipsy speech at Potsdam to his faithful Treubund , a Tory Club , of the fossil kind . He denies the reports of his becoming this or that , as if the only question were not simply " What next ? " Elsewhere we relate his sayings and doings at Stettin and Stergard . Are they not right royal ? Hanover , and the States of Northern Germany

      embraced in the commercial union , called the Steuei verein , have concluded a treaty with Prussia . This is regarded as favourable to Free-trade . It may be , but it is unfavourable to German liberty . Prussia , a despotic power , has thus acquired a hold upon the comparatively free states of the North . Better for commerce ? No doubt . But better for the growth of the human soul ? Questionable . It is another outwork of freedom which has fallen

      into the hands of Absolutism . Franz Joseph , the young hopeful of Austria , is playing at soldiers in Italy . Perhaps he might do worse . His loan is being actively subscribed by —the monasteries and convents ! He has no People—only an army , a few spiritual directors , and a bankrupt exchequer—rather a flourishing capital for 1852 . The twenty-fifth anniversary of the accession of Nicholas has been appropriately celebrated at Warsaw by the scourge and the torture . Does he

      consider his " Ides of March" to be now well past ? Let him stick to barbarism ; if he encroach upon civilization , all his infallibility ( for he is Papa as well as Kaiser ) will melt away . In Italy the municipalities of Milan and of Venice are preparing to be joyful ( on severest injunction ) at the approach of their Imperial master . Ferdinand of Naples is going to be exceedingly merciful . Having sentenced forty-six prisoners to death on such charges , and in such courts , and before such judges , and by such witnesses as Mr . Gladstone has described , he is

      going to commute their sentences to imprisonment in the subterranean dungeons , a la Poerio . Merciful Bomba ! the best and worthiest of Christian Kings , as M . Gondon persists in affirming , and as all loyal believers in " right divine " are bound to believe . And if Bomba be the " best" what must the merely " better" like Nicholas , and the simply " good , ' like Frederick William , be ? A blessing to their subjects . Madrid is in a ferment , it is said , about the

      Cuban invasion . Spain talks of going to war with the United States . Bon voyage ! Spanish honour and Spanish pride outraged and affronted , may bring the star-spangled banner into Europe earlier than some people imagine !

      886 ©Ffefl^A&Cf^ [Saturday,

      886 © ffefL ^ a & Cf ^ [ Saturday ,

      The Disraeli Manifesto. Aylesbury Has Be...

      THE DISRAELI MANIFESTO . Aylesbury has been again the theatre of a representation by Mr . Disraeli on behalf of the " owners and occupiers of land . " The annual dinner of the Royal Bucks Agricultural Association , which took place on Wednesday , nfforded the occasion , and the Achilles of Protection was not slow in taking advantage of it . The consequence is , that we have had a flood of magnificent sentences in the morning journals , and a fillip ban been given to tho almost exhausted interest in Protectionist politics .

      Flinging the common excuse to the winds , that agricultural association meetings are not the proper place for political discussion , Mr . Disraeli , after a long preface , gave a lengthened statement of his viewa Upon tho " situation" of the agricultural interest . The whole of what he had to eay upon tho cause of the repeal of the Corn Laws , amounts to this ; that the pretext for repealing those laws was wholly and solely the alleged inefficiency of the British farmer in energy , skill , and enterprise ; whereas the contrary ia the fact , seeing that British farmers produce more per acre than any others in tho world ; therefore , the Con * JyW * V * , < Wlj ht not to have been abolished ! ra ^ e ^ Shdi'AithHllotection could not be brought ttax &^ WO lWrftTWW I » roved to be for the interest of i « 3 PcWta «»!; l * Mr ' tb */ &» did not feel compelled to Hit / Kt iftl and behold tli * ftrfcicultural interest dilapidated , led

      L' ^* m $ W '< m mmy <*>" ld bc acknowledged ? -Kijilfcg td " whftt ^ J ^ tho " general question , ^ -A •'¦'" . . " * " - »•» . ¦ ¦ ' ' : ' / C i }[ v . " ¦ ¦ ¦ .. .: ; V- ;> ;•' ' *¦ ¦ ;/ ^ ¦ > ¦ ; , -a ' *

      he stated that the teaaon why the British agriculturist could not compete with the foreigner was , that " he is subjected to a load of taxation , which overwhelms his energies , and curtails his enterprise . The ceconomists had laid it down as a fundamental principle , that raw material ought not to be taxed ; and he found that , while from all other raw material taxation had been taken off , upon the raw material of the agriculturist—the Land—it still remained . Local taxation was the burden they must cast down : — ?

      " Now there is received from the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland in local taxation the sum of £ 13 , 000 , 000 annually . When we complained urgently of this great assessment , it was said that the land must pay , that a good deal of it did not pay more than other classes of the community . The real property of the country bore a great deal of this burden , but that statement was denied as utterly erroneous . I find upon calculation , that of the £ 13 , 000 , 000 per annum received from this united class of property , £ 8 , 000 , 000 were contributed by the land of the United Kingdom . This is a general statement , which no one can contend against . Let me at once show you the consequence of that state of affairs . I will take the rental of the United Kingdom at

      £ 60 , 000 , 000 per annum . This is an excessive estimate ; but I always wish to state the case rather against ourselves , because the reduction of rents in England and distress in Ireland have rendered this a very large estimate to make . We have pretty good evidence that the general income is about £ 240 , 000 , 000 per annum . To take a moderate estimate , we will take only the taxable income of the country— £ 60 , 000 , 000 , or one-fourth of the general income . We will sav , however , that it is only one-third . If only one-third of this contributes £ 8 , 000 , 000

      of local taxation—a taxation now universally admitted for objects of general and permanent interest , it follows that two-thirds of that £ 8 , 000 , 000 , or I will only say £ 6 , 000 , 000 , must be borne by the land of the country . That appears to me to be an arithmetical proposition which no one can impugn . The land of the country , therefore , every year contributes to the advantage of the country and the maintenance of common and national objects £ 6 , 000 , 000 more than it ought . "

      He stated as a matter of fact , that the revenue of this country was formerly raised by securing a certain market to one important productive interest , and throwing the burden of taxation on and straining that interest in consequence . And then , he said , " the minute you withdrew the artificial assistance you gave to that interest , the moment you ceased to assure them of a certain market , you ought to have adapted your financial system to that change of affairs , and give them relief proportionate to the assistance you withdrew from them , or your restrictions upon the cultivation of the noil must seriously interfere with the profits of the farmer . "

      Of course the grievance of the malt tax did not pass unnoticed . Mr . Disraeli said he was not a man who took " hotheaded views of things . " He thought that if the farmer had an assured market for corn , he ought not to complain of local taxation : — " But look at the position of the British farmer at the present moment . You have Sir Robert Peel , and his successor , Lord John Russell , who , when speaking of the statements of agricultural distress brought forward , said they would always recommend the British farmer not to trust too much to his wheat crop . But while you tell him no longer to produce wheat , you maintain those laws which restrict the employment of his capital in the

      production of barley , and if he asks you to give him relief , you tell him it is not fair to the consumer—( laughter ) ; but on all other subjects the interests of the consumer are now winked at . Who can deny that the law raises two-thirds of the inland revenue of this country from the crop of the British farmer by a restriction on his crops ? But who can suppose that , if the present state of affairs had always existed , the duty upon barley would ever have existed ? When that restriction was imposed , the agricultural interest of the country had an assured market and could bear their burdens . The assured market has been withdrawn , and the burdens ought to be withdrawn also . "

      As to the future policy of the party Mr . Disraeli has pointed out nothing very novel , but he has sketched the course to be pursued in a striking fashion . He assumes that the objection to taking off the local burdens , land-tax and malt-tax , will be met by the cry of a deficit ; and he meets this objection in the usual manner , by asserting that it is for tho men in power to devise an arrangement . " I believe that we have a case for the country ; we can ask for relief on the principle which our antugonista are promulgating ; if we can show that we arc subject to an unequal taxation ; i / wc can show that we are subject to injurious restrictions ; if we cah show that we are oncountering this unequal taxation and unjust restriction ,

      under the pressure of distress which no other class of the community experiences ; then it in for our opponents to devise terms of arrangement . I think it most unwise in the lnnticd interest—and when I say the landed interest 1 mean the farmer uh much as the proprietor , for I make no difference—they are partners in the great agricultural firm , 1 say that it is a most unwiuc tiling for the agricultural interest to go to any Government and say , —* We are suffering ; give uh a fixed duty ; give us a sliding scale , and cure our Buffering . ' Our business ia to say , — ' We nrc suffering , and you admit it . The cause of it is excess of taxation , which our energies cannot endure . Wo have restrictions on our industry under which no industry can ^ prosper . Wo oall upon you to give us

      justice , and to place us upon , the same level as our fel . low citizens . '" And if" any Government " will not do this , then it is for the country party to consider whether they can longer endure the burdens , without such concessions as will give them what they want— " politi cal justice " and " financial equity . " Mr . Disraeli ' s peroration nobody will dispute : — . if the agricultural interest unite , show that its case is founded on justice , and can be supported by argument , then they will " gain the sympathies of all classes of a country where justice has ever been esteemed and reason has ever been honoured . "

      Continental Notes. The Decline Of Bonapa...

      CONTINENTAL NOTES . The decline of Bonapartism , in spite of all the efforts of the faction in power to render the Republic odious , to debauch all the creatures of authority , to suppress all independent thought , opinion , and action , is strikingly manifest even in the very departments where the name of the Emperor was moat fanatically worshipped in December ' 48 . It is the just and fitting punishment of the man who , raised to power by a people ' s enthusiasm , has forsworn all promises , falsified all hopes , disappointed all expectations , A statistical article in the National proves irrefutably on what a baseless fabric the

      popularity of M . Bonaparte has been reared , and how vain the illusions created by the votes of some eighty Councils General , who represent absolutely nothing but their own personal interests and passions , except it be extinct privileges and impossible restorations . Not one-fifth of the adhesions which the 10 th of December , ' 48 , spontaneously recorded , have been obtained for the " Prorogation , " though all the force , all the corruption , all the influence of the central Government , all the subserviency of an army of creatures from the prefet to the garde champetre , have been indecently set in motion to further the cause of illegality and of

      agitation . There was a time , says the Re ' pitblique , when the reactionary party threatened the revolution with the force of opinion in the Departments . It was under this idea of intimidation that the present Councils General ( whose powers are now legally expired ) were elected . But the votes of the 13 th of May , ' 49 , and more recent events have destroyed this illusion . But eighty of these precious Councils General have voted for the revision : and though they exist

      only by virtue of a provisional decree of the Assembly , they are said to represent France . They denounce the Republic . What substitute do they propose ? An Orleanist restoration ? But there is not the faintest trace of such an appeal in any of their deliberations . Do they call for a prolongation of M . Bonaparte ' s term of office , or the Empire , or a military coup d ' etat ? Certainly there were votes that may be construed in this sense . How many ? Ftve . Do they , in the name of France , beseech Henry V . to return to his repentant people , as a living Panacea to all ills ? A respectable minority of three have only served to mark the division of the Legitimists , whilst the majority confess that their time is not yet come ! What then do the seventy Councils General , who in voting for revision have not given us tne

      " which , " or the " what , " so anxiously desire . They do not know themselves ; they dare not apea * their minds ; but we may be allowed to conclude that the result of these votes of the J- ariy Order " is mere hostility to ar 6 gime which tnev " saluted with acclamations , mere illegality , n anarchy . If they are so sure of a majority at i miniui v . ¦* . ! " > ci mu dv » uu . w " - — 11 ourillt not cdml awu

      next general election , why do they y ' 52 ? But they speak , and write , and act like cnua . who shout in tho dark to hide their fear ; wy bluster , they threaten , they conspire , carried i by every wind of faction and intrigue ; to- " 7 Orleano-Legitimist , to-morrow Leg itimo-Bonapw ^ FuHionists ; but always under the . / kgis OI thrones to which they pander , and ot tlie ir conwhose usurpations they at once employ and

      . JW . We read of ten or twelve of the i ^ com ^ l ( L i y , cr graves who have betrayed or ruined ever ^ i e B (! llt they have served , meeting at Champ latroux , ' _ of Count Mote , and constructing a provisional- ^ partist alliance , for making the ' proroga *« m ( , lw „ easy transition to Monarchy . Hut mo o ^ . ^ apoHtacies of thene intriguer * , the eflron tel JX i | J ( iof Helf-contradictions , have diimbuaod the P ° , Ko-France . The contract of tho Constitution * » ^ publican party , calm , patient , re 8 olvcd ' , " Ilrcl > i » - Into Htrongor relief tho roal agitators and "' " ^ tionH , The country , divided by monarch . cal tun > jU ; . lookH calmly to the way of escape ; and t | K ,

      public has tho inestimable advantage u — l ll 0 citadel of legality , and the only pacific eolution approaching crisis . . anJ M . L 6 on Faucher , that model of official pro ^ iiyo rH veracity , ¦ impends and revokes by tho d H ^ Bte , i" * who havo the m isfortune , or thf ' g |) arbitrary disavow their convictions : - ' ¦{* ¦ " t , r (; Higna-SE ^ -SJ ^^ ^ " "

  • Citation
    • Leader (1850-1860), Sept. 20, 1851, page 2, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/cld_20091851/page/2/