TOPICS OF THE DAY.

THE GOVERNMENT AND THE COUNTRY.

Tax election has given to Sir ROBERT PEEL a majority of from 70 to 80 votes. For Conservative objects, or for practical measures of general good, he can form a strong government ; but for evil, opposed to opinion, he is powerless. We do not say that bad measures cannot be carried, for bad measures are often not un- popular : but no measure adverse to public opinion can be passed in the teeth of an Opposition 290 strong, exasperated by defeat, active, unscrupulous, and backed by the returning spirit of the country. The attempt, indeed, would be destructive to his power. It would deprive him of the prestige of success ; it would cause mis- giving in his own party and raise the hopes of his opponents ; and though it might not lead to his early expulsion from office, unless unpopular enough to encourage the Queen to dismiss him, it would reduce him to the state of the Whig Ministry during the last five years. The fears of those, honest perhaps, but certainly most mischievous Reformers, who have ever shaped their conduct in order "to keep out the Tories" and concluded by "letting them in" in strength, may therefore be blown aside. Active evil we are not likely to receive from Sir ROBERT PEEL. Are we likely to get any good ? Yes, if he understands his own position. It is pretended by Whig writers that the Orangemen and the High Churchmen will destroy PEEL. This is possible, but scarcely probable. The Conservative strength has grown to be such that the leaders can now actually afford to offend. A dozen votes are of no consequence: the soldiers who are mutinous may be drummed out of the camp, with a greater gain from a " move in the right direction " than loss from the dismissal of sonic dissatisfied followers. But, as far as appearances go, there seems little ground for anticipating Conservative disunion. The violence of an Irish- man, whether Orange or Green, is always mollified with a place in prospect, which can only be gotten by good behaviour; and the speeches of the Irish Protestant leaders have of late been rather tolerant or conciliatory in religious matters—certainly more so than those of the Catholics. Any "dual number" that might be named, if disposed to run wild, may now be dismissed ; and the rabid Churchmen can scarcely be said to have a voice in Parliament : we doubt whether the true Church-militant has an organized party in the country with followers as well as leaders. Their public existence, we apprehend, is limited to an irregular press, and that press not the organ of a circle of opinion, but only representing the individual writers, and only upheld by their individual ability. Of course, if Sir Roaster PEEL choose, he can very soon destroy himself. The delicate question of the morale of his Ministry is under daily discussion ; a point of most consequence in the show-offices about the person of the Sovereign, where there is no excuse of business, which goes a long way in England. But should Sir ROBERT introduce known or suspected libertinism into the Palace, he will excite against him the feeling of the respectable part of the country, which, not habitually regarding public politics, is jealous of private conduct, and will make no allowances for personal conveniences which it does not apprehend. If he select violent or distasteful colleagues, or men of honest but extreme and foolish notions, he will rouse against his Ministry, as the case may be, the millions of Ireland, the Dissenters of Great Britain, or the Free-traders of the United Kingdom, including those of his own party. And should he be inclined to lay the flattering unction to his soul that lie has got his majority, let him remember, what the Liberal party seem always to have forgotten, the power of moral force. Devoid of character, a majority is useless whilst it hangs together, and soon crumbles away. In June 1836, a majority of eighty-six reaffirmed the Irish Corporation Bill in opposition to the Lords : in June 1837, the House of Commons was the same, but where was the majority ? In looking at Sir ROBERT PEEL'S position, the composition of his adversaries force must not be forgotten ; and in that the elements of disunion are as rife as in his own. Lord JOHN RUSSELL'S address to his constituents breathes the sentiments of a measured and moderate Opposition, whose strategy is to be based upon Free Trade. But on the great point of this question, the Corn-laws, several Whigs will support Sir ROBERT PEEL; and will Mr. ROE- BUCK, with some other Ultra-Radicals, consent to be muzzled upon their questions, in obedience to the tactics of one whom they

are not bound to acknowledge for their leader? Unless the country be disappointed by his weakness, or exasperated by an attempt at the old Tory strong-hand method of rule, so as to animate

the hopes of the Opposition, that Opposition is just as likely to -break up into sections as the Conservatives. Many old Whigs will

at first offer no "factious opposition" to Sir ROBERT,— coining down only upon field-nights, and not always then ; and at last, as they get disgusted—so they will say—with the insolent lan- guage of O'CONNELL and his tail, and offended by the "extreme opinions" of Mr. ROEBUCK and his followers, they will quietly drop into the Conservative ranks,—with which, indeed, their opinions now more naturally ally them. It is quite as much upon the cards that Sir ROBERT PEEL should increase his majority from the differ- ences among the Opposition, as that the Opposition should break up the Ministry through Conservative dissension. Under average circumstances, therefore, Sir ROBERT might cal- culate upon a certain tenure of office for the next Parliament, if he confined himself to little more than to carry on the government: if he actively applied himself to mature and carry those practical measures which have no relation to party politics, his tenure of power might endure for his life. But he is beset by difficulties, and compelled to action, through two circumstances—the distress of the country, and the deficiency in the revenue. " Distress" is a word often and easily used without evidence of its existence ; nor can evidence readily be adduced, since no individual has sufficient knowledge of facts to pronounce upon

national distress. But on this occasion, we have the strongest reasons for believing that very great and general distress does

exist in the country ; that millions are subjected to hardships and privations, the nature of which many of our readers cannot even imagine ; and that numbers of persons throughout the entire trading body cannot live upon their income, but must en-

croach upon their capital, if they have any, and if not, must run into debt. Nor is this surprising. Not to mention the high

price of the secondary necessaries, sugar, &c., we have had for sonic years past a succession of bad harvests, almost doubling the price of corn, compelling the poor to do without many things, and to stint themselves in all to procure bread, without being always able to obtain even it in sufficient quantity. This limitation of the general means of purchasing among the millions, to almost one article, must have affected the dealers in every other commodity they usually consume, and distressed those trades : the exportation of gold further deranged the whole commercial system, and brought many to bankruptcy : the " little wars" that have been waged, or are waging, in Canada, South America, S)ria, and China, lessened, as Sir ROBERT Nat, truly observed, the demand for our goods in those markets : at home, the unsettled state of politics, coupled with the operation of the other causes, limited the luxurious expenditure of the upper

classes ; and from the action and reaction of all these circum-

stances, the existence of distress might be theoretically pronounced. If Sir ROBERT PEEL cannot relieve this distress, or rather cannot

hold out hopes of relief, be will have to bear the odium of its existence; though, so far as Government is concerned, his pre- decessors ought to be the responsible persons. It is useless to clamour against the justice of this—it is a fact, which cannot be altered by railing : it is part of the price of place.

The deficiency in the revenue is a direct difficulty, which must be grappled with ; for it is the point which brought on the battle with the Whigs, and it is in reality the ground on which they iuteod to

base their future operations. If Sir ROBERT PEEL would resort to temporary evasions, they will not permit him ; and the deficiency he has to deal with may be rated at nearly three millions—it may pos- sibly approach four millions. This the Whigs may point-blank deny ; the Tories will hope against hope : here are the data. Mr.

BARING in his Budget estimated the actual deficiency at 2,400,0001.: but part of his statement was founded on a confessedly conjectural account of the East India Company as to the expenses of the China war ; the actual cost of which, at the time spoken of, would pro- bably raise the deficiency nearer to three 'Pillions than to any other figure, besides the additional expenses which may yet become

necessary. Since then, the revenue has gone on declining : sugar, whose consumption the Tories in the Budget debate reckoned would increase, exhibits, according to the Globe, a decline of 580,000/. on the year ending in July. Should the harvest be plentiful, the pressure of the public distress will be lessened, and some stimulus will be given to consumption : on the other hand,

corn, which last year yielded nearly 1,200,000/., will produce much less. Should the harvest fail, the general prospect will be lowering

enough; but the importations may still not yield as much revenue as last year. The Corn-law averages would be "worked; and the bulk of the imports pushed in at the shilling-duty. Sir ROBERT PEEL may therefore, we repeat, make up his mind to deal with a deficiency of some three millions, which a series of unlucky cir- cumstances may carry on towards four millions. How can he meet it ? The chatterers of his party went about saying he would reimpose the Postage-duties : the Whigs could desire nothing better. The attempt would excite one half of the country and unite the Opposition to a man. The Tory Members for London, Liverpool, and Leeds, with some other com- mercial towns, meat gather under their banner; other Members would probably absent themselves ; and it is possible the Con- servative Premier would be defeated. But if he managed to force the odious measure through the House, what would it give him ?

One million : nay, not that, for the expenses of the Post-office have increased by nearly 200,000/., and could not immediately be reduced.

If he try to reimpose the House-duty, there is the same risk of

defeat, and the same deficiency in results; for dear postage and the old house-duty both together would yield little more than two millions, being short by one-third of the sum he requires ; and every Opposition speech would contain the asser- tion that the Whig Free Trade Budget would have rendered new taxes needless. What fiscal ingenuity may devise to take money pleasantly out of people's pockets, we do not know : we can see but two modes of supplying the deficiency of the revenue,--a Property-tax, with a revision of the Tariff; a revision of the Tarif4 broad, bold, but well-considered in itself, and considerate towards existing interests, with the reserve of a Property-tax should it not succeed in making up the deficiency after a few years' trial. For, pledged as Sir ROBERT PEEL is to protection and the sliding- scale, he cannot deal with niany duties as matters of revenue only; and the critical state of our West Indian Colonies, with the

nascent speculations in India, called into existence by an act of tardy Justice in equalizing the duties on their commodi- ties, prevent him from realizing all the revenue that could be raised if we threw our Colonies and India overboard and ad- mitted every article from every place at one uniform rate. To effect a masterly reform of our Tariff, with a due regard to fair dealing and the interest of all parties, is a matter requiring great practical information, and much consideration on each item ; but there are certain broad principles to be steadily kept in view. There should be

I. Duties for revenue, not for mere taxing—none of those petty taxes which cause useless expense in the collection, great trouble and inconvenience to the importers, very often enhancing the price of materials to the manufacturer, and taking money from the trading classes without any public gain. According to Mr. PORTER'S evidence before the Committee on Import-Duties, 46 articles produced 22,598,0001. out of a revenue of 22,960,0001., the other 362,0001. being drawn from 1,100 articles, some yielding nothing, and 147 yielding, so to speak, a loss; 5,3981. of draw- back being repaid over and above the duty they produced. All these minor articles should be subject to a careful revision, to abolish the duty on all but those which cogent circumstances require to be retained. 2. No prohibitions and no encouragement to any thing but the general industry of the country. Many agricultural productions are now prohibited by express law—they are forfeited if imported, whilst corn till at nearly famine prices is subjected to a prohibitive duty : many foreign colonial commodities, and some manufactures, are subject to so high a tax as to be practically prohibited. All articles of this class must be revised, and a fair rate of duty imposed. If a peculiar burden is placed upon a peculiar class of producers, or if legislative encouragement has fostered an interest which it is unfair suddenly to abandon, all that can be claimed is a reasonable protection for a reasonable time, till they can adapt themselves to their new circumstances, or their peculiar burden is removed ; but no article should be kept out of the market by the duty alone.

3. Raw materials should be admitted dnty-free, wherever it is possible without a considerable sacrifice of revenue. 4. The Colonial trade should be placed upon the footing of a coasting-trade, and all articles admitted duty-free, so far as our financial necessities will permit.

5. A bold and well-considered reduction of duties should be effected where there is a well-grounded probability of an equal or an increased revenue—as in wine, brandy, sugar, timber, &c.

6. If, after two or three years' trial and the practice of a rigid economy, time income should still continue below the expenditure, recourse must be had to a Property-tax.

In dealing with these financial questions, we believe the coun- try—that is, the majority of all classes apart from mere partisans— are prepared to accept of a fair offer, and do not expect im- possibilities. They do not expect Sir Romer PEEL to come forward with a proposal for a perfectly free trade in corn ; or that the revenue is to rise to the required amount the moment his mea- sures are propounded. Mere party excitement, or agitation for political changes, has been so prostituted to factious uses, that the thing is worn out. What the country really desires, is a Govern- ment that knows its business and will set about doing it—a Govern- ment that will attend to our economical condition, and give free play to the industry of the people and the enterprise of the capi- talist. If Sir ROBERT PEEL shall grapple thoroughly and fairly with the great question of Import-duties, the country will not con- tend for trifles, and will be perfectly willing to give him time to await the result of his measures. It; however, he shall attempt to evade the subject of Tariff-revision, or be so ill-advised as to peddle with it—to produce a measure which fails to satisfy by the breadth of its general plan and by the considerate skill of its de- tails—he and his party are lost. We do not say that he will be immediately driven from office: his numbers are too strong, and the leaders of the party opposed to hint are too much distrusted, for that. But his Government will become a weak Government; the country will shrink from him with disappointment ; his followers will have no confidence in him even whilst he deems that he is lending himself to their purposes ; and his opponents will be em- boldened to attack him with pertinacity and lower him by con- tempt.

We are not alarmists, or prone to panic terrors; but we see that the country is verging to a critical state, when much depends upon treatment whether it shall fall into a financial decline, or recover for an indefinite period. Many taxes cannot be imposed, and many if imposed would share the fate of Mr. BARING'S percentages, and yield about half of their estimated amount. It cannot be too often repeated, that the only measures which promise to meet the difficulty are a Property-tax or a revision of the Imports. Votes of credit, loans, petty schemes of this and that, with all the arts of brokering financiers, will be useless, whether they be tried by Sir ROBERT PEEL or by his successors some years hence—for if he will not grant those measures now, we see no chance, for sonie years, of a Ministry strong enough in numerical force and popular sympa- thies to overcome the Lords. In the mean time, discredit propa- ptes itself; capital wings its way from the country, leaving behind It the artisans it had called into being and congregated together in large masses - with every decline of our economical wellbeing there will come a masses; decline in our revenue, together with a growing financial embarrassment. And, whether it is that financial em- barrassment is by itself a sufficient cause of national decline, or, as we apprehend, financial embarrassment is merely a symptom of oppressive exaction, or of national old age—indicating excess of luxury, the extremes of great wealth and suffering poverty, with all outlets for enterprise or industry blocked up—pecuniary dis- order, whatever its shape, has been the forerunner of national decay or national convulsion. The "xs alienum per oninis terms ingens" was one of the three reliances of CATILINE. The "usury vorax, avidumque in tempore kerns, et concussa fides," are noted by LUCA N among the "seeds" of the civil war between Gass and POMPEY. Financial pressure brought on the decay of Venice, and the decline of Dutch greatness; the pecuniary difficulties of CHARLES the First was a proximate cause of the Great Rebel- lion; Louts the Sixteenth and the noblesse of the old regime might have gone on in despite of their effeminate profligacy and corrup- tion, but for "the excess of expenditure over income "; and econo- mical suffering, perceived by WELLINGTON at the beginning of his campaigns and the reason of his steadfast fortitude, was at the bottont of' Naror.rox's downfal. But, as our system is unexampled in its magnitude and ramifications, so it is proportionably liable to sudden destruction. Any cause, whether real or imaginary, which should shake credit, would bring on a financial crisis of the most tremendous kind. An internal run, whether from prudent ap- prehension or from panic fear—whether with or without a foreign drain for gold—could bring the Bank to bankruptcy in a week. A man might take a fortnight's voyage in his yacht, and find on his return all payment of taxes, rent, and debts suspended, and no dealings going on but for necessaries with the money in hand. The imagination fails to conceive the condition of such a reign of terror. In most previous national convulsions, the luxurious classes were few in number and mixed up in the strife ; the masses were either kept down by force or left in peace to raise their food. When a district was devastated by military licence, its scattered population were destroyed or driven away, but in other places production of some sort went on, enough to supply the inhabitants of the few towns to whom ancient proscription or modern denunciation left little desire for luxuries. But who can paint the terrors of a time in which the crowded population of our numerous cities should be without a market for their work, and consequently without the means of subsistence ! Ravenous with hunger—told, as they are even now told, to trace all their sufferings to the coming Govern- ment—what could be done? To feed them, as the Emperors fed the populace of Rome, would be impossible ; equally impossible to preserve order by our small military force ; and though we have great trust in the manliness and generosity of the national character however coarse its externals, yet if hunger and anger united should stir men to put off their humanity, we believe the sufferings of the country would be as unexampled as its prosperity and power. We are not speaking, of such occurrences as likely ; but there are elements in our sociO condition to make them at all events possible. The best mode of preventing even their possibility, is to lose no time in restoring our finances to a sound state and placing our economical system in a healthy condition.