particularly alluded to) shall every age and generation, whose judgment is not perverted by envy, bring and offer the wreath of victory, and shall guard the offering inviolate, and are likely to continue to do so, whilst water shall flow, and the lofty trees flourish. Διὰ τᾶνθ ̓ ὁ πᾶς αὐτοῖς ἀιών και βίος, ου δυνα μάνος ὑπὸ τον φθονες παρανοιας αλώναι, φέρων απέδωκε τὰ οικετήρια, καὶ ἄχρι των αναφαίρετα φυλάττει, και ἔοικε τηρήσεις, Ἐς τ ̓ ἄν ὕδωρ τε ρέη, και δένδρεας μάκρα τεθήλῃ. Long. Amidst such idolatrous panegyrics,--when, moreover, we learn, from no mean authority, that one single city,-the eye indeed of Greece, was the inventress of all learning' (' illæ omnium doctrinarum inventrices Athena!' Cic. de Orat.), an inquiry naturally suggests itself,-how fares it, at this moment, with the inheritors of this land-the fairest portion of the earth, from which have issued poets, historians, philosophers, orators, patriots, in such a continued stream of glory? Where now is the tribute paid, so justly due, for the civilization and improvement of mankind? Who guards the offering at the shrine of genius, of which the critick speaks? What nation is the foremost in discharging the debt of gratitude to the ancestors, by conferring benefits upon their descendants? To this inquiry it is our unwelcome task to answer, that the children of this renowned race, after having endured, for nearly five centuries, a more than Egyptian bondage under the most austere and insolent task-masters that have ever yet vexed and tormented any portion of mankind,-after having been the slaves of the meanest and basest of slaves,-the sport and plaything of* eunuchs and panders, have at length risen as one man, and, drawing the sword, have cast away the + scabbard, to redeem themselves from slavery, and purge the foul stain from the name of Greece: That this strife, in such a cause, has now endured for upwards of twelve months; and that England, with the name of Liberty upon her lips,-the supposed patroness of the injured and oppressed, (we say nothing of actual assistance, but) has not vouchsafed to encourage and hearten them in their career, by one cheering smile of approbation,-by one animating expression of applause: Nay, more, that, not content with cold indif * Athens is the property of the Kislar Aga (the slave of the Seraglio, and guardian of the women), who appoints the Waywode. A Pander and Eunuch-these are not polite, yet true appellationsnow governs the Governor of Athens !'-Lord Byron's Note to the Giaour. + This was the way with the men of old. When the Persians came to demand earth and water in token of subinission, the Spartans and Athenians tossed them into a muddy ditch, telling them to help there was plenty of both! them ference and selfish apathy, this same England, under the mask of an ill-disguised neutrality, has actually sided against the sufferers, and has given her aid towards delivering over the Christian descendants of Greeks to the whips and scourges of infidel Barbarians:-And that, too, when Englishmen of former days, before this nation had grown into the firmness and consistency of power, whilst a people comparatively in the gristle, and under the dominion of a woman, stretched out a helping hand and saved the Hollanders in their agony of danger and of glory,and, by so doing, braved and defied, when in the very zenith of their domination, the hereditary pride of Austria, and the supercilious loftiness of Castile! What! Is the doctrine of legitimacy come to this? Does the Holy Alliance open its capacious and accommodating arms to embrace the foe of Christendom-the Turk? Does prescription run in favour also of his domination? Are the quantity and duration of suffering to be made, in every possible case, the very reasons for its continuance,-when every man's heart feels, and his understanding confirms the feeling, that, the longer it has been protracted, the more aggravated and afflicting is the injustice? Surely, surely, our political climate has been severely altered, or there is something peculiarly malignant in the distemperature of the present season. Is there a people, whose government is theoretically and practically vicious, where chance of amendment is desperate, and patience no longer a virtue,and do they endeavour to better their condition, and profit by the spreading lights and information of mankind? The very first breath of a whisper of any such attempt makes the flesh of our rulers creep. A military force is called in, and quells the movement by the sword. Their sympathy is excited by the endearing spectacle of reason yielding to power. Tranquillity, they say, is restored. But we have no time for a commentary: our text is-Genoa, Parga, Spain, Portugal, Naples, South America, the Ionian Isles, Greece! Let nations be parcelled out and divided amongst the ruling powers as the spolia opima of victory,-let unoffending and harmless people be transferred from one master to another, as the live-stock of the land which they inhabit,-let precedents be created destructive of the balance of power, and of the independence of weak states amongst the strong, let any aspect or shape' of things be taken,' but that of change in the form of government, and their firm nerves will never tremble.' But the very insinuation of such a change-though according to safe and glorious example—though from the very worst to that which all experience concurs with all reason in showing to be the best-fills them at once with animosity and terror. If, however, it be said that all this has been not approved of, by ministers, but connived at,-not sanctioned, so much as endured, from a reasonable and prudent apprehension of committing the country to the hazardous experiment of war ;—or if, to speak more plainly, our monumental debt, the languor of overexertion, and the weakness induced by convulsive efforts, unsparingly and lavishly made in the pursuit of objects, some of which, at least, were of an ambiguous and questionable policy, have rendered interference on the part of England impossible;then have we just cause to lament, that no portion of our resources should have been husbanded for emergencies as they might arise,—and first, and chiefest, for the support and maintenance of a cause, entitled to the favour of the civilized world ;which has for its watchwords, Liberty and Religion, names. touching a chord that vibrates to the heart of every friend to the well-being of man in both stages of his existence;-a cause which, grafting the name of England upon the immortality of Greece, would hand down the exertions of our country, in her behalf, to the applause and admiration of all succeeding ages. ART. VIII. Case of the Salt Duties, with Proofs and Illustrations. By SIR THOMAS BERNARD, Bart. London, 1817. W E mean to be very practical in this article. It is not our intention to enter into any investigation as to the comparative effects of high and low duties on profits and wages, but to confine ourselves entirely to a demonstration of the fact, that an increase of taxation is not always followed by an increase of revenue, nor a diminution of taxation by a diminution of revenue. The prevalence of erroneous opinions on this subject has been in the highest degree injurious. In vain has it been shown, that high duties abridge the comforts and enjoyments of the people, and hold out a bounty to perjury, fraud, and smuggling. These truths are universally admitted; but then, we are told that the evil is irremediable-that the wants of the Government will not allow of any further diminution of taxation! The loud and unanimous call of the people for relief from their burdens, has induced Ministers to consent to relinquish one shilling of the seven shillings and sixpence with which every bushel of malt is really loaded; but they have declared their inability to relinquish another farthing! And it is * The duty on malt is 60s. 6d. a quarter-viz. 28s. of direct duty, and 10s. a barrel on each of the 34 barrels of beer, which are extracted from every quarter of malt. on this single ground-the alleged necessity of keeping up the revenue to its present amount-that they take their stand, in justifying the exorbitant taxes on salt, leather, tea, sugar, and other necessary articles. They have not had the boldness to attempt to deny that these taxes are extremely burdensome and oppressive; but they contend, that the maintenance of public credit is superior to every other consideration; and that, as the revenue is, even with all the aid derived from the high duties, barely adéquate to meet the exigencies of the public service, and to keep up the nominis umbra of a sinking fund, they are reluctantly compelled to oppose every attempt to reduce them! Such is the reasoning of Ministers in Parliament, and such also is the reasoning of their adherents out of doors. Now, this reasoning is plainly and avowedly bottomed on the assumption, that every reduction of taxation is necessarily followed by a corresponding reduction of revenue! If 'If you reduce,' said the Chancellor of Exchequer, the duties on salt from 15s. to 10s. a bushel, we shall have only 1,000,000l. of revenue from salt, instead of 1,500,000l.; but, in the existing circumstances of the country, and after the House has pledged itself to maintain a sinking fund of five millions, it is impossible for me to consent to such a diminution of the public income. It would certainly, added the Right Honourable Gentleman, give much satisfaction to his Majesty's Ministers, if they could, consistently with the real interests of the country, agree to a greater remission of taxes; but after what Parliament has already done on this point (that is, after the deduction of 1s. from the duty of 7s. 6d. a bushel affecting malt), he certainly thought it necessary to withstand any further reduction.'* We shall not stop at present to point out the palpable absurdity, of supposing that any bad effects could possibly result from reducing a real sinking fund of five to one of four and a half millions; it is sufficient to observe, that the same convenient plea of the necessity of maintaining this sacred treasure of five millions untouched, was the only rea son assigned by Ministers for imposing three millions of new taxes in 1819, and that notwithstanding their imposition, both the principal and interest of the funded and unfunded unredeemed debt, have regularly increased since that period! But admitting the expediency of raising a surplus revenue of five millions, it might have been supposed, without giving Mr Vansittart and his colleagues credit for any unusual share of sagacity, that it would have occurred to them that it was possible the consumption of a taxed commodity might be increased by a fall of duty * Debate on Mr Calcraft's motion for a gradual repeal of the du ties on salt, 28th February 1822. or of price. It is certain, however, that they have either entirely overlooked this consideration, or that they are of opinion that it is quite the same thing to the great bulk of society whether prices are low or high! For, if the consumption of taxed commodities be increased by a reduction of duty, it is plain the revenue cannot be proportionably diminished; and it is even probable, it may sustain a positive and considerable increase. If, after a reduction of the duty on salt from 15s. to 10s., three bushels were consumed instead of two, there would be no diminution of revenue; and if two bushels were consumed instead of one, there would be a very great increase-so much so, that Government would actually gain 500,000l. by the reduction. Now, we contend, that this effect will always follow every diminution of high duties laid on commodities in general request. And we are prepared to show, that, far from causing any diminution of revenue, a considerable reduction of these duties would, by causing a much greater increase of consumption, be among the most effectual means that could be taken to increase it. The demand for such commodities as are, from the great expense of their production, necessarily high priced, must be always comparatively limited, and could not be greatly extended by any reduction of the duties with which they are charged. But a reduction of the duties laid on commodities in extensive demand, and whose natural cost is not very considerable, must be always followed by a very great increase of consump tion. For, such a reduction not only enables those who were previously consumers to consume a greater quantity, but it brings them within the reach of new and more numerous classes of consumers. If any of our readers will take the trouble to look into the tables which have been published by Dr Colquhoun and others of the numbers and incomes of the different classes of the people, they will at once perceive that such a reduction of the duty or price of any commodity previously used by the higher classes only, as would fit it to be used by those in inferior stations, would extend the demand for it in a geometrical proportion. The truth of this observation may be strikingly exemplified by a reference to the case of cotton goods. At the accession of his late Majesty in 1760, the price of cottons, owing to the difficulty of producing them, was extremely high; and the value of the manufactured cottons annually brought to market, did not exceed 200,000l. But, thanks to the genius and inventions of Hargreaves, of Arkwright, and of Watt, the price of cottons has been so far sunk as to bring them within the reach of the poorest individual; and yet, such has been the * Macpherson's Annals of Commerce, vol. 4. p. 132. |