Mr. Goschen, in his admirable speech at North Shields on
Wednesday, exposed many of the " inventions " of the Glad- Etonian orators. First they said that he in his finance had uniformly preferred the interests of Capital to the interests of Labour. Now, he had reduced the Income-tax from 8d. in the pound to 6d. in the pound, which was talked of as a reduction made in the interests of capital. Yet in 1874 Mr. Gladstone had proposed to abolish the Income-tax altogether. Mr. Goschen had imposed an increased death-duty on estates above 21,000. Was that a change made in the interests Of capital ? He had increased the succession-duties on real pro- perty. Was that a reform made in the interests of capital? He had reduced the house-duty, especially on the lowest class of houses. Was that a change in the interests of capital? He had lowered the duty on currants, and lowered that on tea by one-third. Were these changes in the interests of capital ? Again, what invention was ever more extravagant and mon-
strons than Sir William Harcourt's charge that the Ulster Convention had been hatched in the Carlton Club ? or the charge that Ireland is now suffering under Coercion ?
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