To The Editor Of The Time...
Sir,-I am a poor sile fellow, who considers himself it4d by the latc fieaneirhneasnrea of the prescrt ChabItCSUic of t1e cx. chequer, and his predecessor,- to the extent of 1I0 per.Lfi;Ah4 I therefote trust you wil give ?his an early inier4oi ., t4 lbt some of your mnore valuable correspandeots maY co5,rtc Iti error; or taltetUD the camenas an argaent ia fivour of tte to 6b lition of the assessed taxes, and th,u gv.e to us all a pnd prv 'YtO. Three years ago, I ca.ne to the pusaession of about I,ll per annum, arising from capfit,t in-the funds, and vested,in trustees, subiect to certain couringencies, which say lock up that capital fir half a centisry. Otn thie increse to rrty incotte, I retired fro-rs business, enlarged my establishOItt started my horse and cisaise, and resolved to enjoy myXcl? Unfortunately, 14,0001. was ittithe 5'par cent. stock, where, macb againttt will, the trustees let it remain; and I received but two dividends beforeI was deprived, bv the reduetior, of that stock into the new four, qf a fifth of my interest, or about 1211. per year. Having always been a loval man, and an advocate, in my humble circle of acqtaiatances, of the present ministers antd their me.as sures, I began to consider whlat excutes I could make to my radical opponents for so flagrant a breach of faith; for if I under- stand rightly, Mr. Editor, when this 5 percent. stock was formed. the Act of Parliament stipulated it should not be paid off, until a certain aiiount of thrce per cent. consols, or reduced, (I know not which,) were first discharged: anti I recollect per- fectly, the friend who left me this propertv, clinging to that Act as his security, whenever the probability of the reduction was talked of. ife, poor tuan, never thought the Ministers would descend to the subterfuge they did, by bringing the sinking fund to their ai() as havineaccomiptlssied the intentions of that act. flowever, as have al ;,ays tought the interests of the few should bow to that of the mmv; I consoled mnyself with the idea that I was nmaking a salrifice for the benefit of my country, and th*t as my assessed taxes liad been 401., 1 should, by their reduction, be only liable for a visit froim the tax-gatherer for 231. per vear; and that as I could buy oats for tnv horses at 18-i. per quarter, niy muutton at 3.ld. or4d. per lb.. antI in short, evers neca,esstry proportionably cbeap, I con. Sidered that I should be able to keep up the swame establishment, although myi means were diminished 12-1. p.r annUtnl. Two vears hda-I scLrcaly elapsedl, when out cornes another plan df finauce, and reduce-s the 4 ,cr cents. to 31. In this stock my trus- tees have kept 0,0001L-so, here an- I atain called upon to contri- bute to the neces'ities of the State 3t). per vear, without the po-wer of relieving myself in aoy way, and wvith the cheering prospect be- fore int, of within five vears h:aving the interest on 20,0001. again redluced, probably I per cent., thus cutting my dividlends down from 1.001. to 6501. Had this mieasure been accompanied by a liberal reduction of direct taxation, I shosuld have little catse of coinolaiit ; but in re- turn ior my lIts, of 301. per year. what equiivalent do i get bh re- *lucing such indirect duties as those on fiik. rtim, wool, and lea- ttier ? For, wers tnv wife to liave her morning, noon, and nig.t dresses composed of silk, I shotild not benefit 40. in the couirqe of the year * and as for rutn, wool, and leather, I question mauchi whe- ther the alteratino of rlutv will ever reach the constuaer of any of tftose articles. The acf-junt, then, between tne and the country, will stand thits- I atn cleprived, br reducing my interest, of (per 3year) ?1 t) 0 0 I save by the reduiction of the assessed taxes .21 0 0 bh the dtttv on salt .1 10 O he dititnonlOchaldronsofcrals, at3s.4d 1 13 4 by ditto on three silk gowns for tuv wife 12 0 2f 1i 4 Leaving a balance in mty favour, or ratlher a loss tome, of ?123 4 8 per ycar and this at a period when corn, meat, bread, &r., have mtounted up alnost to war prices. Sro that, to bring my expecnditure wvith in my mieans. I mintst now put down my horse and chaise, or de- prive mvselt of some other luxury wlhich I have hithierto been in tile hltlait of indulgittg in. This reductiox of interest miay be all very fair where the parties have the control of their own mnoney, because they m-Ray at any time 'ell orit, and, front tihe bi,rlc price of' the funds, realize nore capital than t.ey couild two vears ago, and with it embrace any opportunity that tnas' ofttr ofeimjuloying it to better adtvantage. Bat the poor annuiatant, wihose interest is handed over to him bv trustees, has no I suc!l power. Ife is obligc-' taniely to submit to the deprivation, anil s,ee his trttsteei unctncernedly sign their assent to a measure whioh takes fronm his pocket one-eighth of his interest. Now, Mr. Ed1itor, I should feel greatly obliged to anv of vour correspondients for inforniatiin of the amounr of capital an(d the riumber ot persons it belongs to, wiio are but annuitantx like miyself, antId arve been called upon by the unequal miieasures of the Govern- itient to m3ake such a heavy contributioan towards the necessities of time comnnitrnitv. L' it is snall in anmount and number, I should hope tht,t a menrorial to the Treasury would prodatce us sornt com- pensation for our loss, as evein our sinepurists are never dleprived of their enuolunienti without receiving an equivalent. Then how much grcater is the claim of tho-e wltose ancestors lent their country their money in the time of its necessities ? and who, trusting to tbIe stability and faith of the nationl, haveleft it tn their descendants, without giving thenm the power of vwithdrawing it front the public funds5? 13ut, Sir, should it be decided that we are entitled to no re- lief, then I think our namnes ought to bo publiciy registered; or rather, a board, shimilar to thsose wesee at monstofour charitable institutions, placed at the Bank, or in tlte intended Nati mnal Gallery, headed, Donations to the colntry ;" where I shall expect to see mny natite inscribed in letters of gold, as a contributor (though not a vo- luntary one) of 1231.. 4s. 8d. per year! If by tite Insertion o0; this letter you think vou can benent us uoor annutitants, or give an argunment to so:ne of oumr pablic men for the remission of all the assessed taxes, I trust the length of it will be no bar to its p;tpearisg its your colunns; and stiould I receive, Itfirough thenm, the information I require, or if any one can point oltt how I may gait it, I certatul miviii bring the caes b: -fore the Treasury or the Parliament; and I sh;ll then think I have fulfilled a dittv I owe to a tnlctl injured class of the cotrmmtinitv. 1,01dU1, I'arch '). I am, Sir. vours obedientlv, C. G PO T!JR IADrOR Op TPIfB jtMP