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Leader (1850-1860), 31st January 1857, Edition 1 of 2, Page unpag., Mtt'tLA&ZX <^/ {t y ^^ W ^V ^ -V ? A. POIIHCAL AND LITERARY REVIEW.

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    • Mtt'tLA&ZX <^/ {t y ^^ W ^V ^ -V ? A. POIIHCAL AND LITERARY REVIEW.
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    • 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.

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      Mtt'tla&Zx ≪^/ {T Y ^^ W ^V ^ -V ? A. Poiihcal And Literary Review.

      Mtt'tLA&ZX <^/ { t y ^^ W ^ V ^ -V ? A . POIIHCAL AND LITERARY REVIEW .

      Untitled Article

      "The one Idea -which History exhibits as evermore developing itself into greater distinctness is the Idea of Humanity—the noble endeavour to throw down all the barnara erected between men by prejudice " and one-sided vievvs ; and , by setting' aside the distinctions of Religion , Country , and Colour , to treat the whole Human race as one brotherhood , having one great object—the free development of out spiritual nature . "—Huinboldt's Cosmos .

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      . ¦ ¦ ¦ ' ¦ ¦ .. ' : ' ¦ © entente ;¦ v , , . . . ' .

      Untitled Article

      VOL . YIII . No . 358 ] SATUH 33 A . Y , JANTJAUY 31 , 1857 . Price { SgS 5 J 3 ^ J ! : jB 2 g ?

      Untitled Article

      ¦ ¦¦ - . . - —t— . . rpHE controversy between Government and tlie X public on the subject of the Income-tax : lias commenced in good earnest , although with good manners- Sir G-eorge Cornewail Lewis lias now received two deputations pressing upon him a great change in the tax—with reference to the mode of assessment , to the persons who would fall wider the

      pressure , and to the amount , ¦—and ' Manchester follows up the attack . ' No satisfaction ! Sir George puts aside at once any idea of readjusting the tax . He treats that as a closed question - He admits hardships , but pleads the ' difficulty . ' Readjustment of the Income-tax , therefore , at the hands of the present Government , is a thing that the public must not look for ; and politely as Sir George Lewis expressed it , it is quite as > , vell that they should understand the distinct refusal . One of the

      grossest inequalities of the tax is , that it presses hard upon the man witli 100 / . a year , not at all upon the man with 9 M . a year ; which is of course so absurd that we may call it simply silly . Sir George declined to meddle with that iniquity : it must go on . He docs not indeed adopt the barefaced expedient of standing upon the letter of the present statute , and continuing the tax literally one clear year after the ratification of the treaty of peace ; but he tells us that he shall have to provide for a heavy expenditure this year , and he must

      conpublic department , from top-to . " bottom . Members arc inveigled into the great connexion by invitations to the Queen ' s Palace ; and ' independent ' as they maybe in their wishes and their position , they are thus coaxed into tameness . If Mr . A . is stubborn , Mrs . A . gives way , and A ., is conquered through his wife . Now , there is some truth in this description by Mr . Roebuck , though it is a great deal too abstract and general . Taking the matter in a less precise form , and yet in a more correct form , what it amounts to is this : —

      When gentlemen arc elected by the constituencies , and come to reside in London for the legislative season , it is also the London season . Those of them who are suited for drawing-room business are drawn into ' distinguished' society , and arc gradually induced to feel the same sympathies , interests , and objects in life with that undefined and yet perfectly cognizable class which constitutes the ' upper' society of London 1 o \ vn , and manages or cajoles the public business of the country . There is the whole story . A contraclor has put forward a distinct , denial that public contractors do business with the public departments bv

      law , the Royal British Bank , the confusion of the law on the subject of dock warrants , the gigantic and hideous expenses of bankruptcy , — -these are but a very few instances of the excessive confusion of the mercantile world , foreigners speak with the greatest contempt of the foolishness of a people like the English—of a mercantile people , —whose mercantile law is quite incapable of being understood

      by a foreigner or explained by a native . INothmg can be more desirable ,. then , than a revision of the whole , with an improvement on Lord Brougham's principle of rendering it in accordance with plain common sense instead of Mandarin technicalities . The upper classes of the "VYest-end are quite willing to concede reforms of this kind , and we may thank them for their condescension .

      But let any public man attempt to break through the class interests , especially the interests of the lflgh-born , wealthy , avid titled classes , —those , in short , who arc fairly called the West-end classes , and he is crushed . Sir John M'NiiiLii forms an example ; Colonel . Tu : llocii another . They were sent out as commissioners into the Crimea to expose the bad management , the frightful sacrifice of life in the British army , many times greater than that of Walcbercii , as they reported . Now Sir John belongs more to the engineering classes , io the

      corruption , and avc believe mm . JNo money passes , even the distribution of place is necessarily loo limited to corrupt nil those -who thus betray the public interests . But London residence , the natural desire for ' distinction , ' the universal dcvoiionio advancement , especially in appearances , drag the represent atives of the people into a new ' set , ' '\\\ t \ constitute them the representatives of the West-end . The House of Commons accordingly conducts Die affairs of the nation on West-end principles . Audsincc City men have taken to live about- Uelgravia ; nul Tyburnia , even they constitute no elujetuiil check , unless we come to a matter like the Bank Charter

      nation , than to the upper classes . lie lias a title and a fine position , hut he is ; i man who takes an interest in the work Io be done , whatever it is , more than in class or person . Well , I bo Government could aiot but receive his report . Who had occasioned that mismanagement in the East ? The Government , carried on by tlie representatives of the West-end class . They were the officers that outrageously sacrificed life , property , and taxes!—ofiicer . s born of the " West-end class ; and what was the result ? Tlie result was , that when , the worst ollicers—most pointed at by the Report—came home ,

      A . ct , in which they have the first word . The only improvements , therefore , reforms , changes of . policy , or whatever else : \ v <; may call them , for tho interest of the public , arc those which West-end statesmen and philosopher .- * can approve , on grounds of intellectual lit ness , good taste , or the supremacy of the upper classed . For instance , many Lords , Baronets , and Judges , Members of Parliament , and other intelligent gentlemen , constitute themselves a Law-Amendment

      they were all promoted to distinguished positions , got General , commissions , Colonelcies , honours , increased pay : while Colonel Tulloch was wovricil into illness , and Sir John M'Njmll has been trailed with total neglect for a year ., until cerlaiu persons at Liverpool sent him that vote of thanks which he ought to h . ive had from Lord Palmeb . sto ^\ s Government and from the Parliament . That is the example of tho way in which any man is crushed who attempts to thwart the West-end classes and the people will never get I heir rights until I hey awaken to a sense of the real conspiracy again tit I linn . At present , however , the people al , large are doing less than some small section of them , such as tho

      ooeiety , — and an excellent society it is . The society luva this week assembled a conference on mercantile law ; a branch of law which is in the grosses ! confusion . The stale , of the joint-stock companies acts , the doubts as to the real position of insurance companies 3 tho atute of the bankruptcy

      sider 1 hc expenditure along with the tax . The war augmentation of divers taxes on malt tax , &c , will fall in , and he implies that he shall be able to reduce the Income-tax very little . A bad tax , badly adjusted , and still heavy—that is the Ministerial reply to the request of the public for a reconsideration of the Incomc-ta ^ . We are not disposed to press hard upon the Government ; but we cannot refrain from observing- that at the best , thus reply is , that Government has not the capacity for doing any better , tliough others could teach it .

      It is well known that the Opposition has under consideration a readjustment of ! hc Income-tax and of our whole financial arrangements , with a view to rendering the burdens of tlie people less severe . This has appeared for some time past , most especially from the declarations , of Sir John Pmcington and our able weekly contemporary the J ' rrss . Mr . Roebuck , has disclosed one reason for this inability of the public to obtain any kind of effect ual influence over the Government . lie calls it " corruption , " There is corruption , he says , in every

      Untitled Article

      review OF THE WEEK— woe Miscellaneous 105 OPEN COUNCIL— . A . New Illustrated Shafcspeare 116 MLof TiLt-of-LeaveMen 88 ^ script 10 * Secrets of the Purchase System 110 ?*« Wedding Guests 116 Public Meetings 99 PUBLIC AFFAIRS- The Moon ' s Motion ... Ill THE ARTSPrison Discipline 100 Imperialism in Italy 10 G Ivatlierine and Petruehio on Horse-State of Trade lOfr Corannoii Sense of theEank Charter LITERATURE- back . . 116 Tho Orient 10 L Question 107 Summary 112 ' ^^^ Ireland ¦ .. ........ 101 . Tho English at Brussels 10 S New Edition of Carlyle 112 America 101 . The live of the Session 10 !) ' Horace Walpolc ' s Letters 113 r * , < -+ .. -. •«» Continental Notes 10 L Our Operations in Asia 10 !) . Quarterly Essays . 113 Aneuazotte 117 Accidents and Sudden Deaths 103 The Tieket-of-Lcave Parliament ... 110 The Adulterations of I ' ood ¦ ... - . ¦ Ill rniuimcopioi . rCS , c Our Civilization 103 Colonial Appointments 110 k The New Zealanders 114 cowmtRCiAL a ^ aiks-Naval and Military 104 The Unemployed at the Unions .... HO Advice to Ollicers in India 115 City Intelligence , Markets , &c ....... 117

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  • Citation
    • Leader (1850-1860), Jan. 31, 1857, page unpag., in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2178/page/1/