" THE PEOPLE'S BLUE BOOR.

Colonist, Issue 44, 23 March 1858, Page 4

" THE PEOPLE'S BLUE BOOR.

(From the Economist.)' . . . | We have a considerable, respect for; bluje' books purs et, simples i.Athey. pftenoonve^** much authentic information; and many'un-' questipriable facts" "arid ■ figures, and occasionally; the. deliberate opiriiori of wise : arild experienced; men.,- .'But blue 'books, w' msum Delphini-—blue books got -up tq;;make! out a case or to back; up a crotchet'---blu|e, books cooked and garbled to siiit the taste ''pr- ; to;':wa*q*)^th^ ,of the■■ •community-r-are unprofitable; to • thereader ■ andv-scarcely; i creditable 'to,- tHe writer. What should we thinkof a-'^jßlue. Book for - the peerage arid' Baronetage. pf > j "l;% United Kingdom ?'*;;: Arid * why '■: Shoujd1 we think at all differently of a " Blue Book! ;fpr,the;.pepple;?^'_..., j ..;.,.'..: r ,,,,,;, , ;i) - 1 o (A The volume Which has come to our hands j f^oye'ti .■hours. 1 wh^ ;Bfe^n pettier"!^perit.' ijtria^ejfirs^'u^ uhfair^ireckless in its,;statenients,,an ■;-i_V'i.s deductipris.'/: Its fallacies^are for the 'mosfpaft 56)"d;^ .'iii '.tliis,' tjh^y, are J. rrepjcP^J?)^! Ws 'p^l-' •'usual., extravagence*;':and rdescaflted / :Pri at • uriusital lengthl'' The^"tConcluding:Observations" alone fill 180 pages'^ ■•'■' -'i»,?:-y \ j "^^Vlt;\iisiV,'rigK.t ;', tp''s*t'^,te,";Rqwdyei:^." that ri th«3 •author's estimate pf-the -yal ue lof (hi? labors, •in :this rand other -fields, differs/ widely from that which'We have ;been -ledf td-'form.- ■■ In ;h:s :preface Jh"erinforms'us' that, Under' Ldrj-j , GrCy's ; adrriini.stration;, he made. 'the. jnajcir I rity of- : pnei byr-^ijl'ftb., ; ! tH,ft:\^sJtviEief^Em Bill ■ was: carried iiri: the) liouse'of ;~ ■ thoughI,lip pniits' to1- explain---wherein his speci^rclairH! .to-be cprisi^ ; ; lri^. .iinit .who ~s ionrsurpass.ess: that of apypther ,of:the 1311 senators who walked into? the; lobby Avith himself.; Tp- judge, too; from;:the tenor of T the last few. pages of his " CbricludingOb.servations^'w^shpurd iifhagine that;he bsctimaies; .the.:^ rßlue' Book" jas secoridriri value only to-the Book of Bppka; in fact, a sort of necessary r 'supprehient- and haridrriaid;t6; the same.1 '• Many persons, •he ::cprisj^er*3^'finding'in;!;il;''''*mo.re;-ilmri they expectedv:f* will -read} it. agaiii^-—-and'perhaps again." i And .they- Will thiri_; jit: pver : i and over again, until theybegiri to perceive how :Cpmpact,;ch^in,nirik by 'link,'. pnie .eiid of -which'is down on earth arid .c tempprary present fhdwcan' any 'present' /pother^ th^3eT^%ry:?3^;:the,:;pther end' ef which is up in heaven, 'and ; coricerris; the ', eyerlasting jfuture. y i^nd then^ they reflect for themselves on; many^^ things which« are left^-left intentipnally—for: self; refJec-; tion. • And they will keep; this-bbokj by! them,' that;they, ma^ refer' to; it again land, agairii; from^ time!ito^^.ititoei'^Sndl,l^^. niay< •lead therii to; read, and' study 'tlie Book; of Booksj from -which' is taken whatever^of ei_during; worth1 may here be found.;... And every" father arid' mother of a: family; may;learn ;frpr_V tliis ;bdok to teach their; .children,froni the Bpplcpf Bpolts^ how theyV may becpnie woridiy : ,^se-, v and.ai;t;;<thei same* time heavenly wise;— 4ipw they - may 1 itti-') prove their worldly condition," and "at the same time work out tueir own salvation.

iAnd ihay^the -Lorcl^bless the apd may I all the praise.-'anct ; ;glory. : be^'tQ/Hirn, unto, whom alone praise and glory is due!"

tWe should'not haye:thbu'ghtrit necessary to. quote .the above indications of the Writer's tendency sand calibre of mind,. were it ;not that his calculations- are given: and'his' asA sertions ;; made with a circumstantiality; aplomb, '■ and. dogmatic audacity;, '.'.which might impose .upon incautious readers, who dipped bnly .into the middle of;' the ; book arid had no materials to shew them tqwhai mariner of man that bdbk owed its birth.

The purport of the-iwP.iil^-jwhieno stripped of its. irrevalent preaching and disgusting verbiage, is to display- the.cost and.unequal pressure bfihchrect. taxation, and to shew the vast; superiority ofdirect imposts:: upon pers'oriand' property, both as; regards eco- : nomy: arid justice. ; As* "speciiriehs'; of \\ the, author's .mode;of^prpceedirig r and^^ his mental and-moral capacity of dealing with such grave and complicated questions; we need only mention that he affirms the entire; cpst of collecting the present revenue onVtheac^ foiai system to. be not (as. we had always belieyed ,' on faith of Parliamentary figures) somewhat under 5 percent., nor (as he falsely declares-to.-be-notorious), above 10 per cent., but in reality ;150 per c6nt.; the net, expense -of collecting "70j000,000. in -1856 .'• having been, according, to him, £104,211,020. This sum..he.,makes up •outof a number of conjectural items-*-some ,pf thejm absurdly exaggerated, others ;'hav- ; ring, no existence at all, "save,,in-his .o\yn -imagination. Our readers may form a; judgment of-: their -nature when we tell them.) 'that he-chooses to assume - that -indirect: taxes augment .the,poor rates,lpy upwards; ■;0f.'£2,500,6Q0 ;* arid the^#;a3e,'and. : manu--; factures ofthe country are injured fromi.thei :sa,me cause-(by the lossof markets and the; ..want A of. returns) to' the exteritof; £51,000,000; and that;land and houses; are reduced in-value (we suppose by the. impairment* of the general prosperity) >io 'WeT(^ny v x)f.,sg2B ? QOo;opp.l ,We do not remember more than one member of Parliament, past or' actual, dn-oufc days who jcquld gravely put forth statistics such as ! these;.- f ."" ■ "'" ....... r .\ ■; . ;';:, From his account of ; as, (in his conception) it'is/r^the; writer',proceeds of* "Taxation as (in his judgment) .itought to be." In lieu pf the| existing ) imposts he .proposes to. raise .158*000,000 by a property tax of, twenty per;cent:, to ,b$ levied ori'all realprbpwty atiddiyidends frpmthe fuiids andraUways-T-exenipting, however, all. real property under 405., and all personal property under 205.0f yearly value. He would retain certain stamp, .duties to an insignificant amount, and would make up the. difference required by a capitation tax of* _fl per-head, which he calcu-; lates would yield £7,500,000. The mode' by which he arrives at this lastfigure-—as: the sum yielded rby a capitation tax of £1 per head on a population of thirty.millions ■—is' curious arid characteristic. of the warning he might have drawn from the history .of Wat Tyler's insurrection, he proposes that iio exemption shall be made in favor of females,.but that all; of both ? sexesonder the age of-iburteen.years,,or one-third the whole population,, shall be free. ■■ Then he . deducts 10,000;000 more for paupers and • liinatics—the real number pf.these. unfortunates'being" by the" last accounts rather under .one million in England arid Wales, and certainly not two millions for the United Kingdom. Finally, from the residual ten millions, he writes off 25 per cent, for bad subjects, and bad debts"— i:e.j 'we suppose for who will not or, danhbt pay the impost which he elsewhere tells us there can be no difficulty in col-, lecting. .A.nd to sum up the whole, he rriodestly assesses the. cost of collection of his budget-at threepence in the -pound, or orielihcf a quarter per cent., or £857,605 —;. I and,contracts this' With the 150 per cent., I or £To4,Qtto,OQi), which he avers to be,the iCeaUefcperiseof collecting the actual revenue 6f the country. ' " * , * 0 An apology Would be "due to otfr readersfpr Retaining them for ,a moment oyer such transparent, and baseless fallacies, were1 it' riot*-that the book on--which weare commenting" is carefully prepared for a wide circulatibn'.;,.;anipng the half-informed glasses of the community, and might impose upon, many by its elaborate array,of figures. -We-'are" not-sorry, either, to take this opportunity pf saying a very few words ;to k -clear" the controversy- between* direct ;and= indirect taxation, of the clouds which sophistry has -around !it,' and, to jremind the public of one or two plain considerations which ' the advocates of the former system^ find it convenient to keep stridibusly out of sight. ; I.; In the first place, as to the money rcost of collecting revenue under the two (systems. ...There can^beno boubt that the •income and property tax, as at present levied— {-i.e., as levied in large sums and only on a numerically ■ small section, per•haps not.. one-thirteenth of the nation — costs much less to collect than the Customs arid Excise duties; though by no means • sormuch..less as it is the fashion to assert. By the last revenue returns, the comparison •was as follows:— • ' Customs duties ~ ;. 5| per cent. J Excise ditto ~ ..5 „ ... Income tax .. .. _. 3J , „ -But-a.-fairly distributed property't'ax, —a tax which; should reach every individual 'who' had- any property at all—a property ' talk from which there should be no exemption—a property tax which should strike millions ...instead of. thousands—such a property- tax in a word, as alone could* be substituted ,with any regard to equity for. the present indirect taxation —-would cost immensely morerin proportion, and in a ratio which we cannot even guess at. Direct taxation, when it strikes only a few and supplies the entire revenue, is oppressive confiscation : when spread wiih impartial grasp over the whole community, would probably be neither an endurable burden nor a cheap fiscal contrivance. :. 2. Any scheme for raising the principal 'portion of a large revenue from only'one section ofthe community, is about the most

; ■ r=z --jf ,/,, —_ unjust and the most impolitic *of alltforms • of .class legislation—i-and class-legislation is precisely the , cry' which these financial schemers have been .most .fond of-raising. against their adversaries. -No just man -and • no prudent' statesman'can defend the principle of imposing, the burdens,,of Jthe 'State upon one class, and giving the power of'the State to another—of authorising orie set* of men to .vote, and employ the.taxes?/*and calling on anether.set to pay ,th'em(i If the propertied classes alone are to [furnish'-the revenue, the propertied classes alone rhust enjoy the franchise. * It, is the favorite notion pf' all,genuine. Reformers.- that all , classes- ought to be admitted to a .share of political power; it is a clear corollary.' that all classes must participate in political burdens. ~. A policy which should give votes to the- millions--and- levy' the - ; taxes .'on the thousands,' neither could nor pughtto'last. Now ',rio contrivance '.ever yet'suggested fpr enabling .the'iriasses'.to contriJaute.jtheir due proportion to the Exchequer,-approaches in simplicity ,!ease,- and -freedom from .annoyance, to our .present' reforhied-.system' of taxes on articles of general consumption. - 3. Next to - the equity .of a • tax or a system of taxation its hanrilessriess is the quality, which should,recommend jt to the wise and righteous .'financier. Among fiscal arrangements <he ds. bound to prefer, that which is least, burdensome -to the - people. The error .into .'which, the reckless, assailants of indirect-taxa'tipn.always hurry is >to leave- out of mew. all 'elements of a burdensomeness except-the ■pecuniary .one.' That tax, they assunje,' mtt6t.be' best iwhich - takes least out of, tlie v pockete, of the .people in, proportion to the .amount it yields to the Exchequer. ■ But this isonly one item. of the account., . Two others equally important, if not more go, are inconvenience and irritation. , -Ttie' peace and comfort of a country, as well as its mere wealth must be ccnsulted: It may be often far better thiat'' the 'J citizen shculd pay £2 at tinp.es when it, suits him to disburse, and in modes which prevent his being annoyingly conscious^ of the disbursement,. than he should . have £1 wrung from him .at the convenience of the tax-gatherer, 4 and -in; a I fashion which rouses all his bile at the exaction and all his perverseingenuity to evade it. Pachydermatous ,_ economists,- who «,look upon a man'merely as a money bag to be filled by industry and squeezed fcythe Chancellor of the Exchequer, may rail at the . folly of .thihkihg ,the ; least', irritating species of phlebotomy the preferable one, but they will in practice find few to "agree with them; and if free,bom Englishmen choose to suffer in - purse .rather than in person, and to pay in cash rather than in temper, they certainly ought to be indulged in" their idiosyncrasy. The great charm of the system of itaxing, commodities of general consumption, which has .always made it such a favourite one both with governments and nations, is, not only that it strikes everyone, but that it strikes them almost imperceptibly, and that itstrikes them at the time, and almost to the degree, of their own choice. Under it a .man becomes to a great extent the assessor and the collector of his own contribution to the revenue of the State.

Is in • Walker ?-»~The Prince dined with the Mayor of Manchester, 'at' his private house, where he met a select-party. His Koyal .Highness was . particularly affable and- amusing, and told'-several anecdotes; ambn'g others wa_ the following: -r-While. in , Osborne; fie was in f the, habit of getting up.-very early> and walking .about his, farm. Passing, a farmer's house he stopped to make some enquiries-; knocked at the door and asked' the servant if (his master were in ? The servant' replied, "He is-; in,"sir, but,not' down;.stairs." "Oh, very .well,',' rwas Prince Albert's reply, and he was about to"leave. '-'Would you ,be kind' enough to leave"yournarne, sir? " asked the servant. " Oly ,it does not said < >the Prince. "Because," said the- servant, "hiy master would be fetngry with me if I did not tell him who called." ."Very well," said the ,other, ,"you may say Prince Albert." Upon which the man drew back, looked up significantly, "put his thumb to. the tip of his nose, extended his firigers, and exclaimed " Walher." ' Curious Calculation.—lf the human race beginning . from one pair, were to deuble once in thirty/ years,,,, or if the excess of births over deaths were to double the population once in thirty years, then at the end of 3000> years' the population might be described as follows:—" Take men, women, and children, at air average hdight of four feet, and imagine a vast plain of the same surface as the whole earth and sea. Let each person -be allowed one; square foot' to stand upon, arid let the ' surplus population,' .after the* plain is full, stand upon the heads ofthe others, with others again upon their heads, and so on. The puV would extend to a height of 3688 times the distance from, -the earth to the sun, allowing the sun's distance to be 95,000,000 miles ( and ■ the earth's radius 3956 miles."—G. M., in Family Herald.