William Cobbett: A Biography in Two Volumes, Vol. 2Smith, Edward
History
William Cobbett: A Biography in Two Volumes, Vol. 2
Smith, Edward
Cobbett, William 1763-1835
“The times in which we live are full of peril. The nation,
as described by the very creatures of the Government, is
fast advancing to that period when an important change must
take place. It is the lot of mankind, that some shall labour
with their limbs, and others with their minds; and, on all
occasions, more especially on an occasion like the present,
it is the duty of the latter to come to the assistance of
the former. We are all equally interested in the peace
and happiness of our common country. It is of the utmost
importance, that in the seeking to obtain those objects, our
endeavours should be uniform, and tend all to the same point.
Such an uniformity cannot exist without an uniformity of
sentiment as to public matters, and to produce this uniformity
is the object of this address.
“As to the cause of our present miseries, it is _the enormous
amount of the taxes_, which the Government compels us to pay
for the support of its army, its placemen, its pensioners, &c.,
and for the payment of the interest of its debt. That this is
the real cause has been a thousand times proved; and it is now
so acknowledged by the creatures of the Government themselves.
Two hundred and five of the correspondents of the Board of
Agriculture ascribe the ruin of the country to _taxation_.
Numerous writers, formerly the friends of the Pitt system, now
declare, that taxation has been the cause of our distress.
Indeed, when we compare our present state to the state of
the country previous to the wars against France, we must see
that our present misery is owing to no other cause. The taxes
then annually raised amounted to about fifteen millions: they
amounted last year to seventy millions. The nation was then
happy: it is now miserable.
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Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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