A SEAT ON A SAFETY-VALVE.
An Income-tax partial see Thiers oppose,
O William the Earnest, O Robert the True!
A soul above fear of the Rabble he shows;
Is that to be said, British Statesmen, of you?
Or is it that you, whom mob-courtship doth move
With tribute from all due to load a part's purse.
Albeit your Honours both see and approve
The better arrangements, do follow the worse?
How bad are the worse, which poor fleeced Britons rue,
You have often confessed; but decline to advance
On that high path which upright financiers pursue;
They manage these matters much better in France.
For justice it is which disposes them there,
Political craft in this mighty free land,
Whose Rulers perpend not what impost were fair,
But what imposition tax-payers will stand.
It was not enough upon shoulders select
To pile your whole Budget; on folk thus oppressed
(As housebreakers use, the strong-box to detect)
The Screw has been put; they are over-assessed.
You fancy your Engine is working so well
By way of a Steam-Rack, 'twill yet more extort,
And bear any pressure your force can compel;
You sit on the safety-valve, therefore, in short.
O William the Daring! O Robert the Rash!
Though deaf to remonstrance, to caution give ear,
Ere high-pressure boiler burst up with a crash,
And blow aloft Stoker and hoist Engineer.