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NAVAL AND MILITART
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been , devisedvto render unnecessary the harsh , and burdensome proceeding of exacting the whole additional amount of impost in the first half year . The income tax supplied a ready and magnificent source of re venue ' ¦ , and ought therefore to he used" upon occasions of emergency , aad managed with careful discretion . He believed , in spite of all the difficulties and objections , that revenue could be raised frqin direct taxation by means far less noxious and unjust than the existing system of income and property tax . The right lion , gentleman then adverted to general questions of finance . No country , he
maintained , could continue to raise 70 millions a year as England was now doing by taxation in time of peace . A more economical management of the public resources was therefore essential , and after reviewing the chief heads of expenditure , he arrived at the conclusion that reduction could be only effected to auy extent in the outlay upon the army and navy , and to render such reduction safe theGovernment must diligently prosecute a policy of peace and neutrality . As the most immediately essential element in that policy , he enjoined a strict abstinence from any interference with the discussions which it -was understood were about
attacks roade through the press and in Parliament 'against the Government of France , and declared that if these libels were persevered in . no min ister could prevent the outbreak of war with France . War had become almost a mechanical art * and must before long break down under the mere weight of its cost and destructiveness . The time would come when nations must entertain projects of general disarmament , and he trusted that England would have the honour of initiating that wise ani humane proposition . An opportunity to accomplish this beneficent work now lay in the hands of the ministry , and he exhorted them not to let it pass unimproved . —Lord J . Russell concurred in regretting and censuring
the attempts so incessantly made to excite a jealousy of the intentions and animosity against the Government of the Emperor of the French among the people of England . He believed that the invasion panic was to a great extent baseless , and that the sovereign of France was honestly anxious to maintain the cordial relations which had hitherto existed with this country . Respecting the magnitude of our armaments , however , he observed that , without either' feeling apprehension or intending menace , it was necessary to preserve our establishments iri a state which corresponded with the progress of scientific discovery , and . was adapted to the growing wealth and importance of the British empire . —
Lord Palmerston corrected a mistake which he remarked had been more than once made by members of the late Government . He had never expressed approval of their foreign policy ; he had merely given them due credit for good intentions in their endeavour to prevent the war . Mr . Disraeli , he observed ,, now insisted that England should hold herself aloof from any congress of European powers ; but only a few months since Lord Malmesbury was himself employing his utmost efforts to obtain a congress in which this country would have been a participator . Whether England would take part in the congress now about to meet was still a matter for consideration . Finding every reason to rely upon
the good faith of the Emperor J \ apoleon , he nevertheless contended that it was necessary to keep ourselves in a-state of defence ! It / was not consistent with the dignity of the country , nor fair to foreign Governments , to trust merely to their forbearance for the safety of shores which invited attack by their undefended weakness . —Mr . Fitzgerald , Sir H . "Vernbt , Mr . Whiteside , Colonel Sykes , Mr . Leatham , and Mr . Horsfall , having briefly spoken , the House went into committee of ways and . means , and the formal resolutions , preliminary to the introduction of bills , to carry out the financial scheme of the Chancellor of the Exchequer , were moved by the right hon . gentleman .
Sir H , Willoughby proposed as an amendment that the addition to the income-tax should be 3 d . instead of 4 d . in the pound on incomes exceeding 1501 . per annum . The amendment was ultimately negatived . Another amendment , to the effect that the additional duty charged on the terminable annuities which expire next January should be proportionably reduced from 4 d . to £ d . in the pound , was afterwards proposed by Sir . H , Willoughbt , but negatived without a division , —Mr . Disraeli then moved an amendment distributing over four quarters the payments to the new income tax which
Mr . Gladstone had proposed to levy in a lump upon the October assessment . —The Chancellor of the Exchequer energetically pleaded the pressure of public exigencies which , lie said , inexorably required the prompt payment of this additional revenue , — "The amendment , after further debate * was withdrawn , and the / resolution was ultimately agreed to as originally proposed , ' —The House then resumed , and disposed of the rotnaining business on the paper , the chief incident in the proceedings being the withdrawal for the present session' of the Catholic Relief Act Amendment Bill . The House adjourned at 2 o ' clock .
to open at sorae congress of European states . The moment that England took part in a congress she ceased to be neutral , and he warned her Majesty ' s ministers not to allow themselves to be entrapped into such a false position . Deprecating the attacks made on the Emperor of the French on account of the peace he had just coricludedj he expressed his hope that the peace would be permanent , and enjoined on the Government the duty of co-operating in every step calculated to make it so . For this purpose they should cultivate a good understanding with the Emperor Nupoleon , and testify their reliance on his good faith ' , by diminishing 1 those vast armaments -which at once testified their suspicions
and exhausted the resources of the country . —The Chancellor of the Exchequer limited his reply to the financial questions raised by Mr . Disraeli . The objection Mr . Disraeli had urged to the proposed fiapde of levying the additional income-tax involved , in fact , the whole question of borrowing ot not borrowing . The House of Commons was as much entitled to tax six months' profits as those of twelve months . . The effect of the " modification " would be to throw half the additional tax on the year 1860-61 , making it part of the ways and means not of the current year , but of the next . He deznurred to the doctrine of Mr . Disraeli , that the growth of the civil expenditure was legitimate
aDd normal i and , as to our naval and military estimates , he had supposed that there was nothing to be done but to adopt the measures of the late Government , and all the difficulties of the income-tax would be cleared away at once . He had been rather hard upon the present Government in assuming the perfect wisdom of their predecessors in respect to foreign affairs . He ( Mr . Gladstone ) thought it would have been more convenient to have chosen another opportunity for discussing these topics . Mr . Disraeli had ¦ endeavoured to impress upon the present Government the duty of preserving the alliance between England and France—which had become almost the law of our foreign policy—and
he said " Require the diminution of armaments . " He ( Mr . Gladstone ) expressed his opinion that the moment tlie state of Europe allowed it would bo the duty , of the English Government to use every effort in that sense . But wliy should , Mr . Disraeli , he asked , denounce all congresses ? Three months ago Lord Malmesbury was despatching telegrams for the purpose of bringing about a congress . He ( Mr , Gladstone ) was not prepared to subscribe to all Mi \ Disraeli s opinions as to the peace ; he would rather reserve his judgment than pledge himself , in the present state of Europe , by giving a distinct approbation of its terms . He agreed that we should do our best to make it permanent by caution and moderation in word and deed . —Mr . Bjuqht congratulated Mr . Djsuakli on having bocome a convert to his and Mr * Coddbn ' s foreign policy . ' The Budget had , he observed ,
received general acceptance , but it was chiefly satisfactory to his mind as being altogether provisional . Next year a general and comprehensive revlsal of the whole revenue system of the country would be indispensable , and among the changes then to be accomplished was the remodelling of the income tax , -whioh , in its present condition , waB'the most hateful of all imposes , because it w « a the most unjust . The mere amount ; of taxation , even if it roach , and It might reach , 100 millions s . year , was of Inferior : consequence , compared with the just apportionment of the burthen among the various classes of the community . In thlsi view , he touched upon the probate duty , the succession duty , ana other items of revenue , respecting which he slvoMia lmvo , he paid , propooitions to lay before the House wlwn tlie subject came up for discussion in another fioaslon . Regarding economy m intimately dependent upon peace , he denounced tlie virulent
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VOLUNTEEJR . CORPS . A meeting was held on Thursday , in the Guildhall , at which 2 , 000 citizens were present ; the Lord Mayor took the chair . Resolutions were passed in favour of the formation of a corps , to be called the London Rifle Brigade , which we hope . to see numbering its thousands . Alderman Carter is to be Colonel , and Captain Hicks Lieutenant-Colonel ; and a subscription was opened for defraying expenses . An elaborate code of instructions has been issued by the Secretary at War , in a circulnr to the different bodies of volunteer riflemen throughout the kingdom . In the provinces volunteering is going on with , spirit , and in some places the companies have already attained proflcioncy in drill .
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LAW , POLICE ANI > CASUALTIES , At the Winchester Assizes , Henry Benjamin Ilaynes ' a private in the 9 th Foot , was convicted of the wilful murder of Mary M'Gowan by outting her throat , under shocking circumstances . The learned judge ( Baron Bramwoil ) , when the jury returned a verdict of guilty , said it was the only verdict they could give , and then putting on tho black cap , passed sentence of death upon him , adding that lie could not hold out the least nope of mercy . Tho prisoner heard his doom unmoved . John Bardoe , tlie unfprtunato black mi \ n who was enslaved in so remarkable a manner , and , whose recent trial at the Old Bailoy oxcltoa such general intereat in his behajf , lias committed suicide . There can bo no doubt tUnt tho poor fellow ' s
Naval And Militart
continued . Brest is not precisely the best place at . which to obtain correct information on these subjects . , A correspondent of the Daily News asserts that forty years ago a trial of iron-plated floating batteries was -made under the superintendence of General Miller , a distinguished engineer , and that they were then proved to be totally inefficient . He finds fault also with the great steam ram , and says : " Her weight , when in working order , will be 9 , 000 tons ; she is to be propelled by a steam engine or
engines of 1 , 250 horse power , at tlie rate of sixteen miles an hour ; and , so moving , she is to be employed to run down ships of the line , or even the great Leviathan now being completed in the Thames , and : —to do so without injury to herself . Now , whatever may be the effect of such concussions on the body of the ram , what must be the effect of such concussions on the machinery which gives the motionthe steam engine or engines of 1 , 250 horse power ? I fear they would be rendered useless , and the steam ram become a . log on the ocean . "
" Heart of Oak , " in the Times , points out the ease with which a French force could advance upon London in the face of the , 30 , 000 men which would be the utmost force we could bring against them . He demands fortifications for London and Woolwich The necessity for a greater development of the bayonet exercise is allowed by some old officers who are writing on the sword-bayonet question . The sword , they show , is an admirable adjunct to the carbine of a sharp-shooter , but troops of the line' are best supplied with the deadly bayonet attached , to the rine musket .
The French are as busy as the Russians in the East . The commission of French officers sent from France to instruct the Persian army is directed , by M . Rediare . The science of artillery is explained by MSI . Roze and Nicolas ; engineering by M . Meseque ; and infantry manoeuvres by M . Dergousset . The Shah is said to be delighted at the great progress made by the Persian troops under their French instructors . " . The declaration of peace appears to have had the singular effect of renewing the warlike preparations of our neighbours with great despatch ; arid the
Pays journal informs us , that great activity reigns in tlie arsenals , especially in those connected with the navy j that several large vessels are being commenced , andthatitisin contemplation toconstruct a new mortar , after a model supplied by the Emperor , which is expected to surpass immeasurably those used at Sebastopol ; no wall or other obstacle will , it is added , be able to resist its power . Another paragraph in the same paper says that similar activity reigns in the . Russian nayal yards , where the Grand Duke Constantine ' s genius presides in all its force . Are these reports facts or threats ?
The following is a return of the total strength of the army in 1858—viz ., cavalry , 17 , 819 ( including 7 , 972 in India ) ; infantry , 150 , 569 ( including 74 , 731 in India and 32 , 833 in . the colonies ) ; the horse artillery , 2 , 578 ; the foot artillery , 20 , 598 ( 4 , 848 in India ) ; the engineers , 4 , 176 ; the enrolled pensioners , 15 , 415 : the embodied militia , 21 , 773 ; and volunteers , 15 U 22 . Tho total amount voted for the army , ordnance , and commissariat services in 1858 , was 11 , 577 , 755 ? ., against 12 , 493 , 235 * . in 1857 .
NAVAL AND MILITARY . Twbub are now lying in ordinary in the Royal navy about 120 vessels , exclusive of mortar vessels and floats ; 17 of those are to be converted into screw ships , and the conversion of seven is under consideration . There is also a list of 67 receiving ships , coaling hulks , &o . Four ships liave been broken up or sold since January , 1830 , without having been commissioned . Lord John Russell ' s statement as to the
noaexistence of extraordinary preparations for fitting out the Brest and Cherbourg fleots is in direct contradiction to what is stated in the local papers , and to the instructions received from the Minister of Marine , It' is asserted that greater activity lias fceen displayed since the declaration of peace at Toulon in preparing and fitting out ships to join the Ocean and Channol squadrons than there was during the war . The orders to build additional steam transports to oarry 40 , 000 mon have not been reminded , nor tho construction of new gunboats dlo-
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853 THE LEADER . „ . [ No . 487 . July 23 , 1859 .
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Citation
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Leader (1850-1860), July 23, 1859, page 858, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2304/page/6/
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