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•NTo. 505. Nov. 26, 1859.1 THE LEADER. 1...
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~— v S SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 26, 1859.
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-*- There is nothing so revolutionary, b...
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r ^*TTHE PIPE OF PEACE.. «¦ An ' absurd ...
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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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•Nto. 505. Nov. 26, 1859.1 The Leader. 1...
• NTo . 505 . Nov . 26 , 1859 . 1 THE LEADER . 1897
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SUBSCRIPTION TO "THE LEADER-. '' ONE GUINEA PER YEAR , UNSTAMPED , PKEL \ AID . ( DELIVERED pitATIS . ) OFFICE , NO . , CATHERINE-STREET , STBAND , W . C .
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~— V S Saturday, November 26, 1859.
~— v S SATURDAY , NOVEMBER 26 , 1859 .
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-*- There Is Nothing So Revolutionary, B...
- * - There is nothing so revolutionary , because there is nothing so unnatural aucl convulsive , ns the strain to keep things fixed when all the world is by the very law of its creation ia eternal proyress . —Dr . Arnold . a
R ^*Tthe Pipe Of Peace.. «¦ An ' Absurd ...
r ^* TTHE PIPE OF PEACE . . «¦ An ' absurd theory has got possession of many minds , that the Emperor of the French is less a man than a collection of fixed unyielding plans , which he is presumed to brood Over and follow ¦ with the pertinacity of an instinct , such as that ¦ which directs the swallow to winter in Africa or conducts the lemming'in its periodical migrations .. A successful speculator was never made upon these principles , and the amount of good fortune ¦ which has attended the imperial career of Napoleon III . shows that he has studied events as they arose , and been ready to turn every thing to account . His fixity of principle is like the consistency of the Vicar of Bray , and come what will , " he . is determined if possible to die as the acknowledged sovereign of France . His activity , his restlessness , his energy , are no doubt equalities quite natural to him , but as a sagacious thinker he must be aware that they are necessary elements , without which a centralised government could not long be exercised over an excitable and imaginative people . When be sketched his Italian programme he had to conciliate the pretensions of the Pope and the Romish clergy with designs that were really hostile to their power .., He . had to gratify nationality and oppose revolution : to urge Sardinia into a collision with Austria and place obstacles in the way of an Italy that would be independent of France . As events arose in unexpected sequence he modified his plans , and the sudden peace of "Villafranca was clearly the act of ' a man ready at a moment ' s not-ioe to bring himself to a sharp pull up if his interest appeared to require such a course . In like manner a combination of reasons and motives led to his opposing the Oarignan Regency , aud permitting , if not actually instigating , a series of illtempercd and unreasonable attacks upon England , whose minister at Turin was offering to Victor Emmanuel advice in opposition to the avowed desires of France . While tliis was going on we ventured to predict that if , the Italians would stand firm the opposition would disappear , and now , simultaneously with an order to the French pro . ss . to excite ill will against 1 England , comes a notification that the Buoncampagni Regency is not , after all , such an objectionable affair . The fact is that the English alliance is of groat value to the Empire , and if it can be maintained , without sacrificing the fundamental pretensions of the hoir of the first iNapoleon , its preservation must be an object of solicitude to the present ruler of Franco . Napoleonism requires that either England should bo friendly or that England should bo politically destroyed ; and with anything like rational government in this country the former alternative is easy and the last out of tho question . There are politicians among us who would drive tho Empire to desperation , and leave no othor outlet for its disturbing energies than an English war ; but happily public opinion is determined to give those ftuarrohnongorB a checkmate , and look upon our rille-clubs and steam navy not as instruments of aggression ' but as guarantees of poaco . Somo time ago , with a Grahamiscd
Admi-It would , of course , be more congenial -with British ideas of right , if the French Government would -leave the press alone , and suffer it to develope and reflect the public opinion of the country , but if it must move by Imperial orders ,, we are glad that the horrible gesticulations of the war dance , with its-flourish of scalping knives and tomahawks , is to be superseded by more graceful movements to the pipe of peace . The recent policy of the French in Italy has nearly compromised the position of Sardinia , and necessitated the uplifting of the Republican banner , and Louis Napoleon niust see that he must either allow Italian aspirations
for national existence to be gratified through Victor Emmanuel and monarchy , or be prepared to encounter that spectre of revolution which is the object of his greatest dread . Garibaldi has wisely retired from intrigues which he was not permitted to cut through with his sword , and he waits the time when , with Victor Emmanuel , if possible , but without him , if necessary , the struggle for freedom will enter another stage . By far the wisest and safest plan for Louis Napoleon will be to join England in aiding Sardinia to devejopo herself into a powerful State ; If his soldier * want more fighting , there is still an Austrian army .. Italy is , not free from the Alps t o the Adriatic , and , entrenched in great fortresses , the enemy still threatens tho Lombard plains .
causes of popular dislike to " Her Majesty ' s Service . " Every day that we become more powerful , our friendship is better worth making , and our enmity less an object of desire to the boldest potentate ; and as we coy . ) - ^ our increasing . strength with proof of pacific intentions , our preparations ought neither to excite jealousy nor alarm , so long as popular intelligence prevents their falling into reactionary hands . If proposals for mutual disarmment are made in good fajtb , they will recognize England ' s claim to naval supei'iority ; but no . diminution of forces can really be carried out until the moral elements of discord are effectually removed . . .
! what is called made serviceable in action or for local defence . When we look at the great superiority of our steam navy , and consider the efforts still making to render , it more perfect , we can afford to ridicule the efforts of those who , in spite of _ amount of preparation , are still determined to manufacture panics for breakfast , panics for dinner , tea , and supper , until the public stomach i 3 thoroughly nauseated -with such unpleasant food . Without any bullying from us , the French Government is perfectly able to appreciate these naval facts , as well as the steady , though rather slow process of abolishing flogging and other
3 3 r i > i i . I ralty , we no doubt had room for alarm ; but the most recent statistics of the naval force of the two countries , as collected by Mr . Thomas Page , are well calculated to remove our fears . From these it appears that the fighting navy of England now comprises 63 sailing ships , carrying 2 , 466 guns , and 384 steamers , * carrying 9 , 553 guns , -with 89 , 814 horse power . On the other hand , the French sailing navy contains 118 vessels , ' -with 3 , 846 guns , and its steam navy , 132 vessels , with 4 , 941 guns and 53 , 105 horse power . In this statement 99 English sailing vessels , with 3 , 909 guns , are omitted , although many of them could be
E Scribes, Would Be, And.Ought To Be, Im...
scribes , would be , and . ought to be , impossible . Let us look , therefore ,, at what has been , and what is . . . Just before the beginning of the great war the amount of revenue paid into the Exchequer , the produce of taxation in 1792 , was £ 19 , 845 705 ; in 1815 , the amount was . £ 72 , 210 , 512 . Of this increase £ 52 , 374 , 807 , the only part which fell ex > clusively on property was the Income aud Property Tax , the amount of which , in 1814 , was . £ 14 , 485 , 000 . In the interval , the interest on the National Debt was increased from . £ 9 , 311 , 630 to £ 32 , 015 , 941 . The bulk of this increase of annual charge for debt was a transfer of property from one class to another , and mainly a transfer from the labouring classes who had no income , as Mr . Bright says , but wages , to classes who had other property . In the interval , when the taxes were thus enormously increased , and there was this continual transfer of property year after year , the wealth of the upper classes—of the land and tithe owners for rent rose prodigiously ; of the oreat capitalists and contractors ; of _ admirals and generals ; of Ministers and the chief servants of the Government ; of the master manufacturers and of the great farmers —continually increased . They all grew richer and richer , and all the labouring multitude became poorer and poorer , till the bulk of them were actually reduced to a frightful condition of pauperism . In consequence of this distress several great riots took place . By themselves , and others , their suflerings and their acknowledged degradation were referred to the introduction and tise of machinery , which we are now . well convinced was the very thing which saved them and saved the country from irretrievable ruin . The noblest works of man were made the scapegoats of politicians . What really caused the poverty and degradation of the labouring multitude was the " mean and singularly cruel system of taxation , " which levied the whole expense ot the war , and much more than its needful expense , on them exclusively ; and of it transferred a very lar « -e proportion to the classes enriched . After this" course had been continued from 1793 to 1816 , the first step the chivalrous gentlemen ofEngland took was to repeal the Income and Property Tax , relieve the upper classes to the extent x > f £ 14 , 000 , 000 , and increase to a considerable amount , £ 2 , 915 , 888 ,. indirect . taxation . They , . however , had passed , the year before , the celebrated Corn Law , to levy a direct tax on the labourer ' s bread , for the behoof of the land and tithe owners , in order , as one of themselves afterwards stated , to keep up their dignity anil enable them to endow their children . This is a brief history of what the gentlemen of England did in Parliament , in respect , to taxation , from 1793 to 181 G ; and ' what they have done since , and are now doing , we proceed to describe . Naturally , after that expensive war there took place a great and continued redaction of taxes , but all Mr . Hume ' s exertions were insufficient to restrain tbo extravagance ot the Government , and taxation was not reduced as it oucrht to have been . The reduction , as the rule , , fell on indirect taxation ; but there . was also a considerable reduction in direct taxation . I here were also changes ; and every increase of Ration tilll 842 , with one trilling exception , was in indnecfc taxes . In 1842 Sir Robert Peel began hie > fiacal and commercial reforms ; and now it is boasted for tie gentlemen ofEngland , that they , then consented to a property and ... come tax in £ * r to relievo the auflbring industrious classes . J 3 ut why did they do this P ^ Vo beg to inform tho writers in the Times , tlio Saturday Review , the Jlconomxst , and other sveophnntio journals , who seem to have utterly forgotten , or never to have known , tbo history of that period—that it was done because the multitude was in deep distress ami ^ rAxHy discontented—because the revenue did not equal the expenditure , and it had boon found ; Iroin experience that additional indirect , taxation did uot ffivo additional revenue . Mr . J am . g , the Wing SlmnooUor of the Bxohoquor , tried it <»» d fi » l « d . Ho imposed n Customs and Encwo lax ot 5 per cant ., which he calculated would produce an additional revenue of £ 1 , 809 , 675 , but which actually produced , according to the documunts submitted to the House of Commons by Sir Robert Fool , ^• ' 00 , 715 . The nominal tax was 5 per oont . ~ tuo yield ' was liltlo more than J per cent . Admitting that the course adoptod in 1842 was the reverse i
WHO PAYS THE TAXES ? The . publication , about a month ago , of Mr . J 3 right ' s letter on taxation lias clorio an immense deal of good . It has provoked many interesting inquiries'and produced , in defence of the upper classes , many startling assertions . Their chief journals have taken the matter up warmly , and , as is their wont , have abused Mr . Bright and abused his doctrines . To defend him is no concern of ours—ho is woll able to defend himself ; but wo ares all deoply interested in knowing who pays the taxes . Ho says , " the , greater portion of our taxes is collected on articles the bulk of which is consumed by that portion of the population which has no property but its labour , and no income but its wages . " " There is something essentially mean and singularly cruel , " lie aflirniB , " in the manner in which Inc . taxation of tins country has been and still ia loviod . " Those stntomonts are characterised by hin opponents as impudent fallacies , addressed to a necessitous ^ and ignorant population . It is , however , admitted , that if his accusations bo true , the government of England , by such corrupt bodies ns ho do-
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Citation
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Leader (1850-1860), Nov. 26, 1859, page 13, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse2.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/cld_26111859/page/13/
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