The Spectator 1862-01-25: Vol 35 Iss 1752

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GH NDON. 1 other ipaigns of the Author ne Con- Castle. ccount reader, ite the © hich it y here. ndon, THE ETED im- . 6d, AL m- 4. Is. ALY, SSIA; , with il Vo- . Esq treet vO. ARY es for of Ap- ndian rally, plete a el SOS pee germ No. 1752.] —— News or THE WEEK— , Positivism....... seseseeseeenenssesooseoees 98 a 96| Proposals in Print .............. > FOTCIGT. .......0ccccrerseerecescsccssesseses 5 | . . secs Ome ..... oan Secularism :—(Letter to the Edi- | ELIE 90 IND eniccustvacsacenatnenninesenevnebianetn 100 PosTscRiIrt TO THE WeEK'’s News— 90 | Fine Ants— ’ Money-Market..............csssseeseeees 90| The Colossal Illustrations of ; Torics OF THE Day— BDRMRED .. cccsccccsccsccscsenseennesesnooacs 102 The Offer of the South ............... 91 | Books— M. Fould’s Hopes for 1863 .. 92 Dr. Morell’s Mental Philosophy... 102 England's Latest Possession 93 Mr. Clough’s Long-Vacation Pas- The Sentimental Side of Man- | [ae 104 a a eet 94 The Life and Times of St. Swithin 105 | The Windham Case ...... 9% Songs of Robert Burns 105 Democracy in Australia 96 | Colour in Common Life 106 The Military Defence of our } Publications Received 107 | Ae 97 | os The Hartley Colliery ............... 98 Advertisements................se+s« 108—112 NOTICE. “Tue Spectator” is published every Saturday Morning, in time for despatch by the Early Trains, and copies of that Journal may be had the same Afternoon through News-agents in any part of the Kingdom. NEWS OF THE WEEK. 4\ OLD has risen in New York to five per cent. premium, and still nothing whatever is done to increase the revenue. All kinds of schemes are discussed, the most probable being duties on railway passengers, on receipts, on spirits, and on income; but nothing whatever has been done. Congress doubts its own power to levy direct taxes, apparently with some reason, for its opponents reply that the only impost implied by the words “ a direct tax” is a poll-tax. If the people were willing to pay,—a heavy house-tax, say of twenty per cent. on the rental, would be the simplest means of getting at property; but they are not willing, and | the problem before Mr. Chase is to get the money without the people comprehending that he is getting it. Congress adopts this view, and though doubtful of its right to tax, is not doubtful that it can make Government paper a legal tender. A curious comment on all this is furnished by the Senate, which has requested the President to attend personally to the contracts for iron-plated steamers, passing over the Secretary of the Navy. This strange proceeding is avowedly intended to signify that Mr. Lincoln is the only honest man left. We note, with sincere regret, a statement that Lord Pal- merston intends once more to meet Parliament without a egeeee ta true, a most dangerous error. Popular Mem- ers resemble wild beasts in this: if not fed, they turn on their keeper, and eat him. M. Fould has issued a kind of financial foreshadowing, miscalled a budget, for 1863, which we have discussed in another column. Its principal feature is that it proposes to vote no expenditure in future without finding ways and called ordinary or ex- | ordinary” expenditure for 1868 is eal- | means for that expenditure, whether traordinary. The “ b culated by M. Fould at an advance of nearly three millious on the nominal ordinary expenditure of last year, but at a real reduction ; he proposes to provide for it ‘by additional taxation on the wealthy classes and some remission of direct taxes to the poor. As far as we can gather from the very incomplete figures given, the strictly imperial “ ordinary” expenditure is surmised at about 57,000,000/., to which the expenditure voted by the local councils, and by them also pro- vided for, of about 25,000,000/. is usually added. Besides this, M. Fould proposes to provide about 5,000,000/. for the extraordinary budget of 1863, from extraordinary resources, more than 2,000,000/. of which would be raised by an ex- traordinary and temporary tax on salt and sugar. Thus, the total expenditure provided by imape rial revenues is fore- shadowed at 62,000,000/. for 1863, besides the 25,000,000/. (in round numbers) of the local councils. The most curious financial revelation of M. Fould’s statement is the way in which the “extraordinary” budgets have been saddled with ! ordinary expenses, known to be distinct) permanent. It was he Spectator FOR THE WEEK ENDING SATURDAY, JANUARY 25, 1862. UnstTampsp 64 Sramprep .. 7d pleasanter to call the heavy expenses “extraordinary,” and easier to get credit without inquiry into them. In 1861, M. Fould, says that 6,000,0007. was shifted to the extraordinary budget which properly belonged to permanent expenses. After this we do not think that the deficiencies, however ex- travagant, can be called “ extraordinary” deficiencies. | Mr. Seward has telegraphed orders to permit British troops to pass through Maine,—a conciliatory and not an imprudent step. They will all be conveyed by the railway in a single night, and need not, except at Portland, be even seen by the people. The speeches of the week have been numerous, but not |very important, the near approach of the Session cut- | ting off the supply of oratory. Mr. Massey, at Salford, has jasked how long the American blockade is to continue, and | openly pleaded for intervention on behalf of our northern ope- jratives. His audience applauded, forgetting apparently that |a war would cost more in direct cash than we could gain by |the cotton trade. Mr. Adderley also has made a sensible ‘speech on his usual subject, Colonial Government, pleading strongly for the utility of colonies, and for compelling them | . ; : q : to consider their self-defence one of the duties of self- | government. He pointed out that to give up the power of he terms of the union between the parent state and the colony wholly unfair. Formerly, it was unjust to the colonies, now to Great Britain. Mr. Ellice, at St. Andrews, on Thursday, explained the doctrine of political progress, eulogized the press, advocated neutrality with an anti- |slavery bias in American politics, congratulated everybody 'on belonging to a solvent community, and sat down very | nearly as thorough a Whig as his father, the Nestor of his | party. | Mr. Roebuck, too, at Salisbury, has delivered a plea- lsant address on a very tiresome subject. He tried to |show the workmen the pleasure they would derive from | thorough instruction, and though he will not convince the |educated that knowledge increases bappimess—a really cul- | tivated man not being usually half so happy as a pig—still | he may induce those who have not tried the experiment to make renewed efforts, which, as the object of life is not hap- piness, will tend directly to good. begin yet retain the obligation to garrison, was to make t A curious illustration ofthe timidity of “ vital Christians” | has occurred in the west of London. It is the custom with 'the Paddington Hospital to elect every clergyman who | preaches on their behalf a “ governor.” Archdeacon Man- ning, the Romanist convert, recently did them this ser- vice, and, as usual, it was proposed to confer upon him this hovorary distinction. The “vital Christians’ took alarm. It is true that a governor has barely a shadow of practical influence. He may nominate a patient, whom ithe physicians accept or reject as it seems to them good |In some few cases he even has a vote in the election of the Hospital physicians, but this is the utmost limit of his power. Still a contingent possibility of voting for a possible Jesuit, who, if elected, might possibly even administer extreme unction under the form of a liniment, appears to have been too great a peril for these sensitive persons. ‘They issued lars, assembled a strong force o! “vital Christians,” and rejected the venerable Archdeacon | Kind mediciners of the soul! They fear the contagion of the Roman Scarlet fever even more deeply thau that which destroys the body alone e1reu ! We mentioned last week the terrible fear concerning the lfate of the Guards in the Parana—a fear which has since |proved to be quite unfounded But the attitude of sus- pense was soon renewed DY the fear of a more terribk | tragedy, though the victims were less numerous. In- stead of losing a thousand soldiers, we have lost two hun-