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taken to fill the void, it would involve him in ruin. 

 He set himself manfully to his task, and the despe- 

 rate situation in which he found himself placed, is 

 some excuse for his attempting- to ward off impending- 

 destruction by a measure which, if some warned him 

 to avoid, the European portion of the outside public 

 of the metropolis urg-ed him strongly to adopt, as 

 the surest, the safest, and the most just. But, had 

 Mr. Wilson's life not been early sacrificed at the 

 shrine of public duty, he would have lived to learn, 

 as his able successor, Mr. Samuel Laing-, almost 

 immediately discovered, that a tax, the incidence of 

 which in one country may be comparatively %ht, 

 equable, and just, in another may be unjust, in- 

 tolerable, and oppressive. For, if the amount that 

 will be willingly contributed by a people, be a fair 

 test of the suitableness and propriety of a tax and 

 I really do not think it is possible to find a better 

 no competent authority will now dispute that double, 

 if not treble, the amount collected, by every means 

 of extortion I am afraid, from the native portion of 

 the community on account of income tax, would 

 have been willingly contributed by them in many 

 other ways. Europeans were unanimously in favour 

 of a tax on income in preference to any other kind 

 of tax, arid Natives were as unanimously ag-ainst it, 

 and this fact alone g-oes a great way to aid me in 

 support of the position here taken up ; viz., that, if 

 principles remain the same, it is to their judicious 

 application all Governments, arid especially new 

 Governments, must look for success. 



