OBSERVATIONS, &c.
oF all the subjects of public discussion, which at present engage the attention of the country, none can be considered of more immediate and vital interest than that of Taxation. Whether we regard the distressed condition of our labourers at home, or look to the disturbed state of affairs abroad, the importance of closely and earnestly considering what may be the wisest course to take, in order to improve our finances, must be equally apparent. For although it may be true, that no very great remission of taxes is practicable, it is worthy of our best consideration, whether, by a different system of taxation, we might not materially lighten the pressure on the sources and springs of national industry, and thus, at once, afford employment to our poor, and augment our available resources.
A late eminent statesman[1], whose untimely
