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1384 THE L E ADEB. [SAffPROAY, __ . 1 ¦ ...
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dDfien Cmnrril.
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[iir Tnia btepabtmhnt, ah aix opinions, ...
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There is nn lcarnfid maii but will confe...
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3AHBATJI OBSERVANCE IN" SCOTLAND.. (To t...
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Mil. K IE WAN'S r CAS Mi (To the Editor ...
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Transcript
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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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' The !I (L)Eceased> 1 Obt7i>G'Et Iprss^...
ness , whether occasioned by tax or by natural cogt , diminishes consumption . The comparison pf 1750 with o the present time is , however , incomplete , except the tax at each period be compared with the wages and profits out of which it was to be paid , and the comparative cost of articles still more indispensable than beer be also taken into account . But to say nothing of this , let us see whether other circumstances do not so account for- ' the falling
off in the consumption as to invalidate the , Hpme Secretary ' s anticipation . The early purt of the last century was perhaps the time , in the whole « f our history , in which intemperance most prevailed ; amongst us . The local traditions of personal conduct at that time , which still linger in every district , agree exactly with the evidence afforded by contemporary literature and the conduct of public men , by no means excepting the clergy , in showing that the consumption , of inal . t of five bushels per head , adduced by Mr , vYalpole , was accompanied by an unscrupulous , inebriety , whjch prevailed in almost every hall , farm-house , tradesman ' s
home , petty ale-house , and , when practicable , every labourer ' s cottage iu the kingdom . Less than ten years before Mr . Walpole ' s selected date , an attempt was made to restrain the intemperance pf the populace b y means of an increase of duty on licences and spirits ; but the furious , [ passion for drink broke through all restraint , and spirits were soli openly in ( the street ^ without licence or duty . The attempt was abandoned in favour of a milder mode of attack . The proposed reduction of the malt-t ^ -x must have restored the consumption which Mr . Walpole desiderates , and with it the drunkenness pf that period ,, or it could not have benefited the farmer through an increase of demand .
But is there the same inclinatipn now tp an immoderate use of inebriating beverages ? We believe not : and if not , then the defence of the diminution of the tax on Mr . Walpole ' s princip les fails , however that measure may be defended on other principles , of worthier significance and wider application . It is worth while to glance briefly at the influences which , since the palmy or beery days of Mr . Walpole ' standard consumption , have tended to diminish the credit and prevalence of intoxication . Wesley and his companions began , about 1740 , that religious movement , which , joined by the re-animuted religious bodies that
had slept ever since the stormy days of persecution , presented at least an improved standard of decorum to the acceptance of the country . In 1760 , began the reign of George III ., a monarch whose personal proprieties tended to countenance the coming reform . Watt , Arkwright , and Wedgwood began in 1769 the manufacturing movement , which , expanding in a few years to unexpected dimensions , required aud promoted an increase- of intelligence , and a soundness of character altogether inconsistent with habitual intemperance . About 1780 , ltaikes set up his first Sunday-school ; some time afterwards , the movement for the abolition
of slave trade was commenced , and the early years of the present century witnessed the establishment of tfye Bible Society , the Tract Society , and various mia > - sionary and educational societies . Ono effect of the » e institutions was to present to public appruliension aud pursuit objects of nn order altogether incompatible with the gross sensuality which had formerly prevailed . Nor ought we to forgot that the vast advances ne wero then making in the extension and application of physical science , and in the acquisition of territorial power ajid commercial connexionu , opened paths for tho worthy occupation of that longing for action and excitement
which had formerly spent itself in almost universal orgies . We need not pursue the matter to the nioro varied and extend e d movements of our own th » ios , relating to both moral and material interests , or to Hpeciul efforts to discourage intemperance , to kco that ft change hns lxsen ellected iik the entire tuwte mul boaring of society , which is wholly at variance , with Mr . Walpole ' H tacit but fundamental assumption , that wo are again to coumnno livo buwheln of umlt per head per niiimm . For one hundred men who habitually went to bed drunk in 1750 , there nre probably now not two .
The uho of these facts in the- present argument jb to suggest that a niodo of taxation which Hum rests on timto mid habit , " ih ever liable to iutluoiiuus which can noithor bo foroHeelj nor provided for . Jt , jh true that , si reduction of the duties on ooHki find . sugar wna followed l > v a largo increuno iu the coiiHuinptiuu of thone articles ; and the general ( xmolutfion to wliiiuh thin fact HeuniH to load is applied tp mall ,. IJut thy result dooa not follow . The tax oporuten dillbruutly in ea <; h cuee , for it i « only one aniougal , novenjl < : iiv . iiuistHnuon ; and the adjuncts clluctually balk the calculation . Tho malt-tax of < o-duy does nut conform to tho goneral i ; qui * hc of tho eofleo and Migur tnxeH , nor doetj it even to tljat of thy niiUL-tux , of u hundred yearn i > go . T |» g world kftB changed , und tho fecundity of tho tu * vviUi jt .
If tares , as we now impose them , are thus changeable , and if there be no rule of right by which to deterniiae , on the authority of justice and conscience , what is a tax that ought to content us , we can look for no . termination of fiscal quarrels , A decaying tax must be replaced , and the whole empire is agitated with the attempt of every part to evade the new burden . To this turmoil . inevitable from , f } ha nature of the system , we ha , ye only to add that , acisiegi fboto " the occasional recurrence of attempts like the present , $ q remove the ; burden from one part of the people to another , to obtain a just idea of the essential empiricism and blundering inytabiKt ^ of bar whole cpngeri ^ s of imposts ; Our present space' does not pev * mit us to extend these remarks * ifimnded ohi Mt .
Djsmoli ' s variety of , an English -budg <* , tp ,: an , exairjn r . nation , qf it in its essential an ^ , traditional for ^ j but , we cannpt repress , pur . conviction that , instead of ifjs medley of principle ? , its deplorable fajlujes ^ and its everreturning consequences of injury and' discontent , it 5 s perfectly practicable to establish , gradually , a system at once just , scientific , permanent , adapted td all changes of circumstances ,, , aad of universal acceptance , i : fyr . I ) israe }? s budget , whatever its faults , has afforded the pract ^ pal advantage of its being a budget of transition- It , im unsettled everything , and settled nothing . No strength of qffice can re-compress the
general feeling qu , the subject into its old space , or force , it to ; its , old quiescenqe ; and in spite of the notorious legjiijigi of the elde ^ Wtygs to the worn-out traditional fiscal jiofcions of their party , sounder and wider views will , es ^ t ^ sh their mflue ' nce ; , and modify , if not altogether change , our financial system . . ^ arty men hay not yet , on this subject , received from the , masses the impulse derived from a general appreciation of just and simple principles touching their own interests ; ' akid although the defeated budget had not the merit'of adapting great and necessary truths to praotice , we doubt not it will do much towards realizing the
vaticination of its author—viz ., " that direct taxation , the most important question of the day , must sooner qt later press itself on all . "
1384 The L E Adeb. [Saffproay, __ . 1 ¦ ...
1384 THE L E ADEB . [ SAffPROAY , __ . 1 ¦ - - - .. ...... . ¦¦¦ -.. . . ¦¦ . — — .,....,., ¦ 1 . ¦ IMMMatMMMMMMwiwiwiiiiiniiiiir ^ Ti ™ irr T ^ " ^**"" M **^^ .
Ddfien Cmnrril.
dDfien Cmnrril .
Pc01406
[Iir Tnia Btepabtmhnt, Ah Aix Opinions, ...
[ iir Tnia btepabtmhnt , ah aix opinions , iiowevf . h ixtukmb AHK AI 4 LOWHD AN KXl'HKMSION , THE BDlTdB NKCliMbABILY HOLDS niJISELF itEijrONSniLM VOU . l iPN 1 * ' ]
There Is Nn Lcarnfid Maii But Will Confe...
There is nn lcarnfid maii but will confess ho hnl-Kiriu ' eh profiled by reading cuukrovei'HiQa . liia senses iiwnkoned . and nis jud ^ menL . sharpened , if , then , it ho prolit . able for him \ . o ri : ad , why should it , not , at least ; be Loloruble for hjB advureary to wj'ite . —Mh , tojt .
3ahbatji Observance In" Scotland.. (To T...
3 AHBATJI OBSERVANCE IN" SCOTLAND . . ( To the IMitor of the Leader . ) Srit , —With your kind indulgence , I beg to offer but one word more upon tho Scottish Sabbath question . Your correspondent " . 1 . " h » n favoured with notice a . communication of mine on this Hubjccf ; which appeared in the Lemler on tho 20 th ult . Knowing the value of your fij > a r UibkjH , or Shorter ( Iiitocliisms , or Sabbath observance . " Now , nir , ainoiigxl Mils chm may wo not fairly look for a proportionate iirtmhor in tho criminal lists of ( llawgow and other towns in Scotland . WhAt ' tiro-iiyu ' frtclJs P The matron of the I ' oniaW Houne of Kcfugo . ' Olrtflgow ' , ntatCH , in a report which in now by me— ' " Thut , in 1848 , of tliA 120 inniutcM , including 50 unO ) rtiuiiit () women , 105 lind lieon cottiiadtcd with 8 hb ~ bath Softools I" ' Mr . Logan , of Bradford , in n letter to the . ftritish Manner , Htrtten" I vlsitod 7 fi of Mio fiH priHonern who wnrn tried at ); ho fcUaiiuow A »» i * OH , in fcJcptouibor , 1 B 48 . Hovoa » f ihow Ciiuld noilUof ? i »« wl uojr wj-i ^ i of ^ 0 vwawwijoa 7 JI , » ot lw »
than 38 males and 24 females—total , 62—had been oonnect ^ d Ntfttt SjahbatB schjools . A number of both sexes had been in attendance at Sunday schools for three , four five six , seven , nine , and even ten years . " ' But this is not all ; the same report prpyides ' ine with statistics ^ carefully drawn up , showing that ftfi ?!& ' %$ l & . J $ ffl & w- , ?& ¥% 't $ ? wpii & . feu victims to habits of mtenapprance ana vice . ¦/ ¦ 1 A ' ga ^ ri ; ¦ ' <* J *? ' st ^ s ^ - ^ TKat ' Sib'tlafaa , tht > Ugt' Admitted t 6 b ^ ihfe ' rior ixripdltiti pf ' B 6 bi ? iety ' co | n ^ ared ; to iBVnncevis » 6 t therefore'irifefcidiif in morality ;^ jawhoki' * Jud ^ eiPaittespni r I obsf * pr ^! psiyfe { wi $ ^ , » fwy . . ql % * iudgesT- " 'If . ii Wfire not , forj this , drinking' , vqii , , C « ie ¦
W \ m * . & $ M frig . M ^ M > $ f . ft i ^ in his work entitl e d , ' Arts and Artisans / ' remarks that' ^ Englapdtincludin ' g ^ cbtlan ^ dHd trelandi $ 8 1 the nrst on ' tlie'tofe-list of crmi ^ of all ^ ffcountriei- m Etirop ^ i and' the ' seventh , Zti the Bdal e of intelligent ;?? .. ' ' ¦ ¦ With is ^ oh testimony » s a rule tio < guide n * kLteplvijii tbis question we can , oply be ^ y ^ , pne pf , ^ ^ ing ? TtT namely , that S cptqh . drunk ^ ijnessJSjan exqfiD ^ ^ in . j ^ moral and criminal ^ repult ^ tg ^ drunkenness . generally , or that Scotland , with its octtnttted infenQrity in point of sobriety , is , consequently , a'legs ' naptkl ^ a ( i feast more criminal , religious couiitrj r than 5 " raiicei ; 'I ; leave it , sir , with your readers to judge * wihiietf it : isi • Again , the system I condemn i ( BiWe
cramming and spiritual tight-la / jingk ,, ff , Jf ^ ates , "haa no cpnnexion with , eif ^ ber- ^ the , ^ ib ^ ei ^ r ^ Shorter Catechism . " Now , what I ^ abpurecf to ^ rove j was , that the said system has a close and intimate ' connexion with the fearful amount of crime and moral evil that afflicts society . This I am prepared to substantiate . As ' a case of Bpiritual despotism , its results are pt & eisety analogous to those produced ia e >\ ei < y \ conn < jr ] jp where . spiritual despotism , is priactise ^ . , | t , ^ s aOyital part of a pseudo-reh ' gipus conyeptioiuil syst em , that putg human law in the place of ttivine law . As Hood wittily has it" You eay- ^ -Bfr 'Andrew tend fiife I 6 Ve 6 ? laV ; ¦ ' ¦ And L ^ -the Saviour wifcb . hie law ofilote . " ¦¦¦ :
Bid space permit , I . could ; I think , easily prove , a ? , indeed , George Combe ; has most satisractori } y done before me , that the intemperance and geperal physical and moral evil of the people of Scotland are intimately connected with a wofully defective system of moral and religious teaching . Buddh , Brama , and Mahommed have even set them an example in one respect ; they have banished intemperance and many of its : ^ concomitant
evils from their dominions . The whole spirit of the Qatechisni is / pec \ iljarly JiUtheraji . Questions aud answers on justification by faith and many pther Hiystical doctrines are carefully committed to jnemory . A p if to perpetuate the system of priestcfklt , the real practical truth is carefully submerged . Instead of imparting a knowledge of the constitution and laws of nature , it does , in common with the -whole system of religious teaching , most distinctly ignore and condepaft : them .
You are ¦ : "Bid to balk . , , ,. A Sunday walk , „ And shun God ' s work a » you rfjould shun your own , " Whatsoever a man sows , so shall ha reap ^ ' 'To this trite scriptural maxim Scotland forms no exception , as lias been abundantly provefd , from" her > groat moral and physical auflarings , the . result of neglect and violat tion of those natural Jaws whifih . 0 $$ . afi dw n « _ ftP ^ binding aa anytlu > ig possibly C 9 # lf \ $ / ia Qfld ' f wftftyf Yours rcKi ) eQtfully , ,-. " .. ,
Mil. K Ie Wan's R Cas Mi (To The Editor ...
Mil . K IE WAN'S r CAS Mi ( To the Editor of tho Leader . ) '' SDt , —Tbcro seems a great' iny . 8 tifiQutipn gping on about tliis case . What may happen before this » 1 > F'J [{ in your journal , ' I know iiot ; lint it is Vorj' generally repoi'ttid * that' Mr . Kirwati' hffo ¦ bebn dir tAewrteA oti evideiico wliich wuh not made publlc-HA hori-ibhs fcnjMM of inurdor , i hy mea » a ; of the roputwl trtVWd-citno , Ihmu , whmp « nd about , ; uw ^ l it , ( baq uvo ^ , beei | sif \ t \ } M > to avoid the publicity of ho horriblp and diHgUHJ , " , ^ , <» cane , details which were known were not brought beioro
tho geijoraj public . . , , . The evidence , as published , d oes not satisly iu | v nmn 1 havo heard speak of . it . NPw it jh . tinW v f <> f iht ) credit of juKtico , that hucI * a ro } Wi \ t , pr ^ Vii UJut ¦««•« » Hliould not he whiH ]) ered , lnitl / publidy Ji « iww ( B «< JM J any injudicioHs socrwHy h « w been attomptedi SHi . w ¦ »»« it BlumMlwicboppodi . It has done ittiotro lnurm tjm gt ) Od . llut miroly iu . thi » ago , oven 1 in JaJolmK * , «" woiild not bcuuttomfilJcd . i 1 ! / ' ' ' , 1 hope you will fomi thin qtiostlai ^ to ' ¦ ' -all i »»« i < V *» not lot juatico bo disfcracedil * ¦ <' r i > • ' " ¦•" I am , Hh-, youw , & c ^ I '' A-. RJ « AP »»^ Taw ., 11 chho ; ' bill Sn'Umt'trfiilWliaHt ? tteto ^ } H * Vl Quito of evidemaj Woratho < wm 4 . tH » JtA » fl lh » 9 WV * lt' ^ x ' Lemm \ ' ¦ , ¦ . 1 ¦? •¦ ¦ •¦ ' ¦ ¦ ' •' '
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Citation
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Leader (1850-1860), Dec. 25, 1852, page 14, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse2.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/cld_25121852/page/14/
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