AFFIRMATIVE.

IF there is untaxed cotton, why not untaxed malt? The manufactures of the country have been freed from innumerable burdens; why should the agricultural interest " groan, sweat, and drudge," under a load of such weight as six millions per annum? If we are to have free manufactures, why not free agriculture? This tax raises the poor man's bit of flesh-meat and keeps up his drop of beer, as well as lowers the wage bis master can afford to give him. It is pursuing a bad policy to drive capital out of the agricultural interests of the country, and to make ourselves entirely dependent on manufacturing success. The malt tax ought to have been repealed.-BILL STOKES.

To keep on the malt tax is antinational. It is taxing the farmers of this country six millions of money to add to the revenue of France. By keeping beer dear, the consumption of cheap claret is encouraged; and so, in the long run, it turns out that we are taxing the beer of our own country to give greater sales to the vine-growers of France. It is to do worse. It is to put temptation

before our beer-sellers to adulterate beer with drugs, and so make it unwholesome. We thus encourage two unwholesome beverages, and a very disadvantageous French-favouring tax. None of these things ought to be done.SPECTATOR.

Six millions of temptation to two industries,-farming and brewing; to employ science to reduce taxation dishonestly by destroying the linseed mixture in malt for feeding purposes, that it may be used for brewing, or otherwise escape the vigilance of the revenue officer: that is scarcely a thing 1864.

to be borne quietly. Down with the malt tax!-OPPORTUNITY.

Continental feeders have all the advantages of the malt tax in their favour. They can feed cattle with untaxed malt. It is highly advisable that we should keep cattle-feeding among our own industries, and hence we should abolish the malt tax,-which is, in reality, a bounty on the import of animals fed on the Continent on duty-free malt.-B. G. H.

NEGATIVE.

It is not from any love for the malt tax, or any tax in the abstract, that we take the negative of this question. No doubt the malt tax does in many cases press very heavily upon the farmers and others, and produce disagreeable results to portions of the community. But the same could be said about any tax, either actual or possible. All taxation is annoying, inquisitive, and very objectionable, considered in relation to the payers of taxes; and if we could manage to do without any taxation at all, no doubt it would be very desirable. But as long as the feeling of this country maintains the Government in laying upon the shoulders of the people a burden of seventy millions a year, that burden must be borne somehow, and taxes must exist. If the malt tax were to be taken off, the six millions lost to the revenue thereby would just have to be raised in some other and equally objectionable way. The proper manner to deal with these matters is not to advocate the shifting of the State burdens a little to the right or to the left, but to reduce the burden itself by reforming our enormous and wasteful expenditure. Of course the taxes, whatever be 2 H

their amount, ought to be adjusted equitably, so as to press as evenly and uniformly as possible; and hence to raise revenue from such things as bread or corn, or any of the other absolute necessaries of life, is bad and impolitic, while other and better sources of revenue lie open; but the malt tax is not a tax of this sort at all. The pressure upon the consumers of malt liquor is very slightly felt, if felt at all; and Mr. Gladstone would have been much to blame if he had proposed the total repeal of the tax, the effect of which would have been an increase to the income tax and to the tea and sugar duties.-J. G. J.

The repeal of the malt tax would either have lowered the price of beer or not. If the former, it would have been disadvantageous to have abolished it, for that would have promoted intemperance; if the latter, it would have enriched the brewers, beer-sellers, and growers of malt for brewing purposes, without advantaging the people; and hence would have been highly injudicious. Brewers and beer-drinkers must still pay the malt tax as a portion of the ingredients for giving beer its bitters.G. H. G.

If the malt tax had been repealed, cheap beer would have been increased in consumption, and spirits would have gone so far out of use as greatly to have reduced the revenue. Why should beer-malt be untaxed and spirit stuffs

remain as heavily laden by the exciseman as before? Malt may be used as food for cattle, but it is not so employed in such quantities as to require a change in our policy of taxation to free that branch of industry from an incubus.— F. W.

The income tax produces rather more than a million per penny. To exchange indirect taxation-taxation in which those who indulge in the article only pay the tax-for direct taxation may be good enough in theory, but bad in practice. To raise the six millions which the abolition of the malt tax would subtract from the revenue, fivepence or so of income tax must be put on. That is to say, that I am to pay fivepence per pound out of my income, that I may heighten the profit of the farmer and lessen the price of his jolly pint to the beer-drinker. It would be charity thrown away upon both.

That farmers are not the suffering class they represent themselves to be is evident from the high rental they are willing to give for land. This they would not do unless it paid They do not prove a special need, and it is quite certain that the remission of taxation could never reach the general mass of the community; for farmer, forestaller, brewer, wholesaler and retailer, either of beef or beer, would be sure to have their share of the saving first.-L. D.

QUESTIONS REQUIRING ANSWERS.

457. Will you kindly inform me, in the study of the German language, what Grammar would I be best served by using, its price, and by whom published? -HOLGER DANSKE.

458. Be so good as to inform me of the nature of Buchner's "Matter and Force," tell me the price of the translation of it, and supply me with the publisher's name.-H. G.

459. Would you, or any of your naval architectural contributors oblige me by recommending a work on "Shipbuilding." calculated to give me a thorough knowledge of that art ?-W. DART.

460. I shall feel obliged if some gentleman will give the particulars of what is called a "trade edition" of any work. -S. S.

461. In the discussion on thedestruc

tion of the port of Charleston, P. P. asserts that the English once destroyed a French port in a similar manner. On the other side, Harwood affirms that there was no precedent for the deed. Is the assertion of P. P. correct? Will some gentleman kindly say whether it is or not, and if it is, what French port is referred to, and in what war the destruction took place ?-S. S.

462. I shall feel greatly obliged if some gentleman will furnish some account of the shilling volumes about to be issued of "Bell's Annotated Edition of the English Poets," and say what poets it includes the works of; also whether it contains all their works, and whether the works it contains are at all abridged.-S. S.

ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS. 448. Roget's" Thesaurus of English Words and Phrases" is a work containing a classified vocabulary of the chief words employed in the English language, according to the main ideas they express, arranged in six primary classes of categories.

1. The first of these classes comprehends ideas derived from the more general and abstract relations among things, such as existence, resemblance, quantity, order, number, time, and power.

2. The second class refers to space and its various relations, including motion, or change of place.

3. The third class includes all ideas that relate to the material world; namely, the properties of matter, such as solidity, fluidity, heat, sound, light, and the phenomena they present, as well as the simple perceptions to which they give rise.

4. The fourth class embraces all ideas of phenomena relating to the intellect and its operations; comprising the acquisition, the retention, and the communication of ideas.

5. The fifth class includes the ideas derived from the exercise of volition; embracing the phenomena and results of our voluntary and active powers,such as choice, intention, utility, action,

4. Moral.

5. Religious.

The various words referring to these several classes of ideas are in the controversial fashion placed pro and con.,-each with its opposing word or phrase in the column over against where the primary words are placed.

A copious index makes reference easy. Its uses are at least twofold:

1. Verbal to supply or suggest words of a suitable sort in composition for the precise expression of thought.

2. Intellectual to lay before the mind the various expressions employed as the signs of ideas, to indicate how numerous are the aspects under which they may be considered, and to indicate how many are the slight accidents of experience which have permanently affected speech, and therefore thought.

Its defects are equally twofold:

1. Verbally-there is no distinct definition of the differing terms, and hence, unless the precise distinction is previously known, the wrong word may be as readily taken as the right.

2. Intellectually-confusing by allowing too great a choice without supplying any direction or caution.

It is, however, a valuable contribution to philosophy and composition.R. M. A.

454. Raindrops. It is from the attraction of cohesion that the raindreps are round; this power may be shown by letting a drop of water not exceding the size of a pea fall on a piece of wax, or any other substance which nas not an affinity for water; the drop will retain its spherical form, but if you attempt to increase its size by adding more water, the power of gravitation will overcome the attraction of cohesion, and cause the water to spread over the wax. The rain when it first descends from the clouds is in minute particles; but as these particles continue to fall they attract each other, and are held together by cohesion, thus forming larger drops; so that the greater the distance from which the rain has fallen, the larger the drops will be. Further information on this subject may be obtained from Leslie's "Treatise on Heat and Moisture," and "The Reason Why -General Science" (Messrs. Houlston and Wright, price 2s. 6d.).-W. H. B.

458. Buchner's" Force and Matter," translated from the French by J. F. Colingwood, price 7s. 6d., is published by Messrs. Trübner and Son.-We have here the translation of a work which may at least be said to be a contribution to English bibliography, if not to English science and philosophy. Nay, in the latter point of view it is not without a certain value. Dr. Buchner's "Force and Matter" is a popular exposition of that materialism, and an

unreserved confession and advocacy of its legitimate consequences to religion and morality, which not a few men of science in our own country profess, though with reserve as to its consequences. It is well, therefore, that ingenuous minds should know what the issue of those doctrines is. There is no God, no immortality (except that of matter), no liberty, no responsibility, (except that of securing for one's self a maximum of enjoyment as long as life lasts), in fine, no thought except where there is a brain, and consequently none throughout all the universe except within very narrow limits of temperature, which we have reason to suppose to be confined to the surface of our own little planet. It may be remarked in our author's favour, however, that he does not write feelingly of these consequences. He finds no sentiments in himself at variance with them. He thinks immortality would be a dreadful infliction, and that worship is good only for the merest savages. point to be regretted in his work is his scientific arrogance-his affirming dogmatically one and the same side of every question, and speaking on the subject just as if there were no question of it at all. He grounds everything, and holds all the great questions of philosophy as settled by the recent progress of science, especially physiology. Those who know how the matter actually stands know that this is exactly the very reverse of the fact, and that never since the epoch of the founding of the Royal Society of London and the Institute of France has science existed in such a state of conflict with itself as it does at the present moment. Hence the delusiveness and the danger of Dr. Buchner's book. He builds everything upon that which is anything but true-giving it forth all the while as that which is not only true, but infallible.-M.

The

Glasgow Young Men's Society for Religious Improvement (George Square Branch).-We have received with great pleasure the syllabus of this association for session 1864-5, and think one or two points in its make-up deserve attention, and we hope that, by directing the minds of some of our readers to these distinctive features, we may promote their best interests. The society, as may be gathered from its title, has for its object the religious, moral, and intellectual improvement of its members, by the reading of essays, and conversation on Biblical and other sub

jects. It is based on purely evangelical principles, and recognizes no particular form of church government, and no sectarian views are allowed expression. Besides the ordinary office-bearers of such a society-president, vice-president, secretary, corresponding secretary, treasurer, and librarian,-there is also a visiting committee, whose function it is to see to the regular and punctual attendance of members, to call on absentees, and to learn the causes of truancy. The association has now existed under the same presidency for eleven years. Our early readers will remember-as they must have read with interest-an essay published in the British Controversialist in 1855, on "The Advantages to be derived from the Study of History," as well as a contribution "On Young Men's Associations." These, and various other papers, were from the pen of the president of this association, who was one of the founders of the Neophyte Literary Society, is an earnest worker for the improvement of young men, and has been-though not a cleric

an approved contributor to the Homilist. He possesses a well-cultured

and balanced mind, has a special gift for systematizing, and with welltrained business habits in every-day exercise, he brings to the work of the presidency, we do not doubt, a managing faculty which must be a blessing to those under its influence. The effects of his systematic mind are visible in this syllabus, which differs from most others, we see, in being vital, because organic. Instead of the usual mode of each member taking up his own pet topic, and treating it in his own pet style, the whole of this syllabus of a year's study for the members consists of a set of pearls of thought strung upon a single thread-or rather, several strings of pearls-possessing a definite unity and purpose; for provision is made for three separate meetings of studious youths and young

men.

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The first sheet shows that for seven years the same topic, "The Great Biography," has been found replete with instruction and interest. The chief heads for the present year being The Attributes of God, considered as manifested in the Person and Character of Jesus ;" the first meeting of each month being devoted to the consideration of a single attribute, and the remainder, exclusive of quarterly prayer meetings, employed in its illustration. The second sheet contains a series of topics on "The Commandments," with illustrations of their obedience or enforcement by Jesus, in the same systematic manner. The third sheet presents for its monthly series "The Lives and Characters of the Patriarchs," as illustrative of some special teaching of Christ. To each of these there is attached a syllabus of "Books of Reference" on the subjects.