JET. 38.] THE INCOME-TAX. 309 



from his character and abilities, if he can only muster 

 up spirits enough to take a part. I shall remain for 

 some time here or at Panshanger. Yours ever truly, 



"H. BROUGHAM." 



TO EAEL GREY. 



"January 11, 1816. 



"MY DEAR LORD GREY, I still, more than when 

 I last wrote, feel the necessity of our not going too 

 much into a detail of foreign, or rather French, affairs. 

 To a certain extent, no doubt, they are English, as the 

 army kept in France, and the stability of the peace 

 arrangements. But why should we pass by or leave 

 in the shade the property-tax, abuses, peace establish- 

 ment, &c. &c., in order to involve ourselves in the 

 questions about Ney, or Lavalette, or Murat's being 

 shot ? Some things, to be sure, are so clear and 

 tempting that we can't resist, and of this class I take 

 the proceedings of Ferdinand to be ; so much so, that 

 I think it ought to be a substantive question ; for we 

 have both the argument and the country with us on it, 

 and the court is committed by the blue ribbon against 

 us, and hampered by their relations with Ferdinand, 

 as well as their prejudices (as old as the American 

 war) on colonial emancipation. My idea is to give 

 an immediate notice of this, and to comprehend the 

 slave-trade, the subject of Stephen's pamphlet, which 

 he sent you, and I suppose you will soon receive. I 

 shall let him know that it miscarried at first. 



" The 5-per-cent property-tax is to be tried, unless 

 the country cries out, which I guess it will by certain 

 symptoms, differing a little from Baring in this. 

 Yours ever truly, H. BROUGHAM." 



