text:  Conscious that he was about to propose what would come like a clap of thunder on all present and on the country he prepares the way for its favourable reception by pointing out the almost necessarily _direct pecuniary benefit_ ultimately derivable from his unpalatable tax; and the instant that he has disclosed his proposal in the same breath carries our attention to a similar topic--an assurance calculated to arouse the self-interest and excite the approbation first of the commercial classes and then of all classes by the means this tax will give the Minister of proposing "great commercial reforms " and "reducing the cost of living