The Sun. — London, England, 1867-04-05 00:00:00

IMPERIAL PARLIAMENT HOUSE OF LORDS.—LAsT EVENING. The LORD CHANCELLOR took his seat on the woolsack at five o'clock. PRIVATE BUSINESS. The Northumberland Central Railway Bill and the Brox.burn Railway Bill were read a second time. The Blazkfriars and Southwark Bridges Bill was read a third time and passed. BILLS. Th© Lyon King-at-Arms (Scotland) Bill was read a second time. The Sugar Duties Bill was read a second time, com mitted, and read a third time. THE CRIMINAL LUNATICS BILL. The Earl of BELHORE, in moving the commitment of this bill, stated that in answer to the question of the noble earl opposite why the bill did not extend to Ireland, he might say the whole of the law affecting criminal lunatics in that country was different from that in England, and would require more extensive legislation. After a few remarks from the Earl of KIMBERLEY the bill was committed and passed a third reading. The house then adjourned. HOUSE OF COMMONS—LAST EVENING. The SPEAKER took the chair at four o'clock. PRIVATE BUSINESS. The following bills were read a third time andpassed : Dewsbury, Batley, and Heckmondwike Water ; Great Eastern Railway; Heywood Improvement; Idle and Shipley Railway, Lianelly Railway and Dock ; Midland and Eastern, Norwich and Spalding, Sze. Railways ; North British Railway (Abandonment, drc.); Peterborough Water ; Selkirkshire Roads ; West Riding and Grimsby Railway; and Wilts and Gloucestershire Railway. THE REFORM BILL. Mr. R. GURNEY asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether, if the boroughs of Lancaster, Great Yarmouth, Reigate, and Totnes were disfranchised, it was proposed to give votes for the respective counties in which they were situated to those persons whom the commissioners, after full inquiry, had found to have been guilty of cor rupt practices by either giving, promising, or receiving bribes? The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER did not think such persons should have votes. Their names were all scheduled, and there would be no difficulty in prevent ing their exercising the elective franchise. Mr. MORRISON asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if it was his intention to propose that the house should proceed with the debate on the motion to go into com mittee on the Bill to amend the Representation of the People, or the amendments thereto, on Tuesday next, and to proceed thereafter with the bill de die in diem, on the nights reserved to private members as well as on the Go vernment nights, in the event of honourable members who had motions on the paper consenting to waive their right to precedence on those nights ? The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER said it was the desire of the Government to advance with the bill with the utmost speed, but they did not wish to interfere with the privileges of private members. Sir W. HUTT asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether, previous to Monday next, he would lay before the house in a printed form all the alterations which her Majesty's Government had determined to introduce in committee into the Bill for amending the Representation of the People. The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER said it would be an impossibility to do as the right hon. gentle man desired. The Government could not know all the alterations proposed to be made. METROPOLITAN GAS BILL. Sir S. NORTHCOTE said he proposed to withdraw the present bill, which stood for to-morrow, until that day week, in order, if It was thought desirable by parties who opposed the bill, of introducing a new bill with all the prices and quality of gas left blank, in order that the mo tion might be fully discussed. RUSSO-AMERICA. Sir A. AGNEW asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether he could give any information as to the reported cession of Russian America to the United States; and whether the Aleutian Islands were included in the Russo-American territory ? Lord STANLEY said he had received a telegram from St. Petersburg stating that official intelligence had been received of the purchase of territory by the United States. The presumption, therefore, was that the purchase was complete, so far as the executives of the two Governments were concerned, but the arrangement would have to be confirmed by the Senate. He could not say whether the Aleutian Islands were included in the purchase. ENGLAND AND SPAIN. Mr. OSBORNE asked whether the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs could give the house any information with respect to the relations between this country and Spain ? Lord STANLEY said all the correspondence on the sub ject was in the hauls of hon. members. Mr. OSBORNE wishei to have a direct answer to his question, without fencing. tie wished to know whether any answer had b?eu► received to the threat contained in the last despatch he had written to the Spanish Go vernment ? Lord STANLEY said no answer had been received to the despatch alluded to by the hon. member. THE BUDGET. The House went, Committee of Ways and Means. The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER—Last year when the right hon. gentleman my predecessor made his financial statement and offered to the house his estimate of the amount of our income and expenditure, although the hour was then apparently serene, we were on the verge of perhaps the most severe monetary disturbance and crisis that this country has ever experienced. It must, therefore, be a source of satisfaction to the right hon. gentleman that his estimates, tested by a trial of so extreme a character, should yet prove the sagacity of his calculation. (Hear, hear.) And it will not only be satisfactory to him, but I am sure to the whole house, when I tell them that, not withstanding the crisis of apparently extremest peril this country, as regards its financial condition, went through after that statement was made— notwithstanding the cala mities that were experienced by financial circles of this country, the consuming power of the country never for a, moment flagged ; and the results are of a nature which, whatever may be the anticipations of the house, will I am sure, be the source of as much satisfaction as surprise. (Hear, hear.) The right hon. gentleman estimated his in come last year—for 1866-7—at £67,013,000, and the actual income amounts to £69,434,000—(hear, hear) —showing a surplus of £2,42l,ooo—(hear, hear)—and this after a period of trial which, so far certainly as the monetary interests of this country are concerned, has seldom been equalled. But what is most gratifying is that this surplus has been occa sioned mainly and almost entirely under the heads of cus toms and Excise, by the consumption of sugar, tobacco, malt, and spirits. The right hon. gentleman estimated his Customs last year at £20,923,000. They have realised £22,300,000, showing an increase of £1,377,000. (Hear, hear.) The right hon. gentleman estimated the Excise at £19,665,000, and they have realised £20,670,000, showing an increase of £1,005,000. The other items in his estimates have been realised, but they call for no particular remark. As the committee will have seen already by the items I have given them, the whole surplus is almost accounted for by the increase of Customs and Excise. The right hon. gen tleman estimated the expenditure at £67,013,000, though that included tho £369,000 supplementary estimate. The issues from the Exchequer during the year have been £66,780,396, upon which there is a further saving of £251,000, so that the balance surplus of the year 1866-7 will amount to £2,654,172. This, of course, has exercised a very salutary effect on the balances of the Exchequer, which stand thus :—On the 31st of March, 1866, the ba lances in the Exchequer were £5,851,314; on the 31st March, 1867, £7,294,151. It will now be my duty to call the attention of the committee to the expenditure for the present year, 1867-8 ; and I may mention in the first place to the committee that the naval and military annuity, which was, 1 think, granted to the Bank in the year 1823, and which was called by Mr.Cobbett at the time the " dead weight," and has ever since borne that name, ceases, 1 be lieve, to-morrow. So that though we shall have to pro vide a portion of that annuity, that provision will be limited this year only to the last moiety, which is something under X 300,000. I believe the exact figures are £284,010 and odd, the estimated expenditure of the present year in this wise : The interest on the debt actually payable in the year, providing for the completion of the measure of the right hon. gentleman the member for South Lancashire for the con version of the £5,000,000 of debt, to which I shall here after have to advert, and which is not yet completed—the interest on the debt providing for that conversion will be £26,000 000. The other charges on the Consolidated Fund will be £1,000,000. Thorn is a very slight increase, but still au increase, upon that debt, which arises from a change in the mode of keeping the accounts and paying the salaries of the masters, which has of late been trans ferred to the Consolidated Fund. The masters were pre viously paid by fees. These fees have been converted into st amps, so that our income under that head will be graduany. The increased charge on the Conso lidated Fund i s t h us explained. The A rmy serv i ce s, in the suppleneutlry vote of X5'.!0,000, will amount to „El n- :t - , " 3 ,000, the navy service will amount to X 10,926,000, the. Civil services to ; 3 000 the r •nue departments to £ 5 ,015,000, the Packet Now service ' to X “ ;i0 1 7,000 ; making a total of £ 68 ,134,000. I will proceed to give the esti mated income by which that' expend iture is to he met. We estimate the income from ctist ex That is a dirninntion certainly t'ts this upon what they gave during y,ar at X 22,000,000. the year just terminated, but there tapecial reasons, and apparently to us valid ones, for that estimate, ate. There were exceptional circumstances as regards the the scarcity o f in consequen ce of the of sugar and rum l as t y ear, those articles, which very much affected the it would not be p ru d en t to est i mate the Customs rev enue ; and figure than £22,000,000. Th e exc i se we rlacoat ‘)ato higher , 7 00,000 ; - the stamps, including £lOO,OOO for common I £9,550,000 ; th e t axes w ill b e £3,500,000: the property a p n s d t income tax, £6 , 00 0,000; Post-office, £ lauds, £340,000 ;an d miscellaneous ,6 •o ,000 ; Cro wn we put at £2,600 000. The last item is an increase upon the previous year; Wiu.sh I think was £2,350,000 ; but there are items of a special character to he amount of £250,000 which will accrue this year—such as the Japanese indemnity, the common law fee fund, constabulary fines and penalties in Ireland, the sala ries being provided in the estimates, repayments from the Post-office and the Mint, amounting altogether to about £2so,ooo—and which justify us in placing the estimate at £2,600,000. That will make a total of £69,340,000. The committee will already have calculated that that will leave us on the coming year an estimated surplus of £1,206,000. Well, sir, it is extremely easy, in making a financial state ment, to proceed to this point. Having shown that we pos sess a surplus, the difficulty begins when we consider the mode in which that surplus is to be dealt with. Leaving a moderate but sufficient amount as our balance, there is no doubt that there is a sum, and no inconsiderable sum, which may be devoted to the general relief of tho commu nity. The question then arises in what mode wo should deal with that sum. Of course, the first impression of every mind under these circumstances is to consider what remis sion of taxation will be most advantageous. I would re mind the house that the remission of taxation during the last ten years—l take that period because it was the ter mination of the Russian war—has been very considerable. Irrespective of the reduction of the income tax, which never stood at so low an amount as at the present moment —viz., 4d. in the pound—the remission of taxation during the last ten years, over and above the amount of taxes that have been imposed, is not less than £11,000,000 per annum. When therefore we consider the considerable reduction of the income tax, and the other great remissions of taxation, I think it is not very surprising that it is difficult to fix on an y particular tax of such extreme severity and apparent injustice that all minds will agree at once that the resources of the country should be directed to remove or alleviate it. Indeed I think I may say there is no tax at the present moment that injuriously affects the industry of any class of the community except the industry of the producers of barley. (Cheers.) I think that there can be no doubt that the incidence of the malt tax injuriously interferes with the industry of a considerable portion of the community. (Hear, hear.) But, sir, that is a very large question to deal with. (Laughter.) I have. indeed, in my generation at tempted to deal with it, and showed no desire to avoid, if possible, the difficulties of attempting to readjust the sys tem which, as it now exists, injuriously and inequitably affects the industry of a considerable portion of her Ma jesty's subjects. But you cannot interfere with that. It is impossible to interfere with the question of the malt tax, unless you do it in a very comprehensive and effectual manner. It is quite impossible, with the resources at my disposal, that 1 can deal with that matter, and I say that, with the exception of the malt tax, there is no particular tax which can be alleged to be one that unjustly interferes with the industry of any portion of the community, or which from its severe or oppressive character, demandsour immediate attention. (Hear, hear.) There is no tax, of course, of which the removal or reduction might not be vindicated and upheld by the most plausible reasons ; but I maintain that, generally speaking, there is no particular tax with the exception I have acknowledged, and with which! confess my inability to deal—there is no tax which demands any special consideration or immediate attention. Then, Sir, what is the next mode by which relief can be given to the general interest when there is a surplus ? The next mode, of course, is the reduction of debt. (Hear.) Now it is impossible to deal effectively with the reduction of debt unless we do it by means of some specific sum which, charged on the Consolidated Fund, is annually disbursed for that object. Of course, in considering the question of the reduction of debt, I do not want for a moment to advert to the existing law which prevails, by which occasional sur pluses, when our account every quarter is periodically settled, are appropriated to the reduction of the national debt. I take it for granted that no gentleman on eitherside of the house wishes to interfere with the action of that law —(hear, hear)—which is founded on scientific principles, which is, as far as it goes, extremely useful and beneficial, and the effects of which have to a certain degree been sa tisfactory. But it is not, of course, the legislation by which we can deal on a very large scale with such a question astho public debt. Well, then, if we admit that the only way of dealing effectively with the public debt is to deal with it by some specific amount, which shall be charged upon the Consolidated Fund, there are only two modes by which we can operate. The 'first is by a charge of that cha racter which can only be voted annually when the financial statement is made, and the amount of which shall be employed in the purchase and cancelling of stock and other public securities—in short, what is called a sinking fund. Now, I have myself always looked with great disfavour upon that mode of operating upon the public debt. (Hear, hear.) I have always felt that, how ever sound may be the situation when such a fund is established, whenever a strain came upon our resources it would infallibly cease to operate. (Hear, hear.) The last attempt made to establish a sinking fund on this principle was made during the Russian war, by the excellent Sir George Lewis, and I felt it my duty then to oppose the proposition. I was supported on that occasion by the right hon. gentleman opposite (Mr. Gladstone), a rare and grati fying incident. (Great laughter, in which both right hon. gentlemen participated.) But, notwithstanding our united efforts, I am sorry to s•iy we were completely defeated. (Laughter.) But, sir, the majority of a Minister even as popular as Lord Palmerston could not prevail against the inexorable logic of facts—(laughter)—because, in a very short time, there was no surplus to supply the sinking fund, and the only way iu which it could have been supplied would be to inflict new taxes upon the community. That strain upon resources which adversity brings, and which the right hon. gentleman and myself had contemplated, did occur. I happened to be in the year 1858 Chancellor of the Exchequer, and I had the melancholy satisfaction of proposing to the house that the sinking fund shoul termi nate, and I think there never was a proposition which was so unanimously adopted. The house thought that to in flict new taxes upon the country at 'a moment when, like the present, there was considerable monetary disturbance and pressure —to inflict new taxes to the amount of a million and a half in order to pay off debt—would be to involve ourselves in a ruinous and really silly proce dure ; and I think that was the last effort made to estab lish a sinking fund upon the old principle. However, sir, there is another way by which to deal with the debt, and by which it can be reduced ; and the committee, of course, are aware of it. You may grant terminable an nuities—(hear, hear)—or you may even do better, you can convert stock into terminable annuities—(hear, hear) —and that is a proceeding for which there are great facili ties in the Government of this country, because they are the holders of stock to the amount of many millions. Last year the right hon. gentleman (Mr. Gladstone) called our attention to this subject. He was impressed with the policy of dealing with the amount of our debt. He thought—there having been a great remission of taxation for many years—that the time had arrived when we ought to consider whether our surplus revenue should not be employed with that object. Now, sir, although the right hon. gentleman, when he opened his scheme, commenced with a sneer at myself in consequence of an expression which I had used with regard to the public debt, but which I never used in this house, and which, therefore, it was unnecessary forhim to have taken notice of. Mr. GLADSTONE here made a remark across the table, which could not be caught. The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER—WeII, I am responsible for a familiar expression regarding the public debt which my respect for the house will not allow me to repeat—(laughter)--but which I did use towards a booby at the hustings of my county who was quoting the amount of the public debt as a reason why we should not vindicate the honour of the country, or even defend its in dependence ; and I then did say that as against such con siderations the public debt—l will not use the familiar ex pression—might really be compared to the incision of a most troublesome though not the most popular of insects. (Great laughter.) Though the right hon. gentleman com menced his speech with that quotation, which, with the egotism which influences all men, I really thought was in tended for me, because I was guilty of the phrase, I still entirely approved of his policy. I thought it was a wise policy, and a good policy. The measures which the right lion, gentleman brought forward to effect that policy were numerous. In some instances 1 thought thorn unnecessarily complicated—(hear)—and that they attempted to deal with a too great space of time and penetrate further than is ne cessary for Parliament to follow the schemes of a Minister. But these were small operations compared with the great ness of the policy itself, and I and those with whom I act entirely approved of that policy, and supported the right hon. gentleman throughout. 1 must now very succinctly call the attention of the committee to the general charac ter of those plans of the right hon. gentleman, for one of them indeed very much affects, whatever may be the deci sion as to the proposals that I am going to make, the slate of our finances. The right hon. gentleman proposed, first, to cancel debt to the amount of £5,000,000 that we owed to the savings banks, by its conversion into annuities, which were to terminate in 1385. That.£3,ooo,ooo belonged partly to the Post-office Sayings Banks, and the other moiety to the old savings banks. That measure was passed, but be fore it could be carried into operation very great changes had taken place in the monetary world, to which I have already referred, and it became impossible at the time to carry it into complete effect. But fortunately there was what may be called a suspending power in that act, and the Chancellor of the Exchequer had discretion to suspend his operations, and generally to act as circumstances would allow him for the completion of the scheme. Now the two millions and a half that were to be supplied by the debt owing to the Post-office we have operated upon. They were operated upon immediately—brit there happened to be a panic in the country, and the trustees of. the savings banks did not feel justified in effecting the conversion in tended. They felt that, if the distrust continued, they would probably be called upon to realise securities much more inconvenient than the stock which was to be con verted, and which they could only realise at a considerable loss ; and at one time it seemed probable that they would have to fall back on the great debt that we owe to the savings banks, and which the right hon. gentleman ex plained. But I am glad to say those circumstances have disappeared, or are fast disappearing, and I hope that we sha ll very soon complete a measure Which was passed by the right hon. gentleman, and for which I have provided in the charge for the coming year. The next operation proposed by hiuy was of a rauch more conzider.ible character. Hi j proposed to deal with a sum of not less than £24,000,000. It was an operation which was to cancel £24,000,000 of debt by its conversion into annuities terminable in 1885. That was to be effected by 'operation A," and then by a second operation, " operation B," we were to deal with such amounts of the terminable annuities as represented the capital advanced. Fresh arrangements were fixed upon in this part of the arrangements, and it extended over a very long period. I think its final solution was not to occur until 1905. I confessed at the time that that was a part of the scheme which appeared to me to be of too complicated a character for us to adopt, and one which unnecessarily extended the sphere of legitimate financial operations. But these were criticisms which, after all, did not affect the principle of the measure. But neither of those measures of the right hon. gentlemen has ever really come into operation. It is a great mistake, however, to suppose that the failure of them was occa sioned by any change in the Government. If circum stances had permitted it, her 111.ijesty's Government would have entirely approved of the policy of the right hon. gen tleman in this regard; and although they might have slightly modified some of the secondary arrangements, they would have loyally attempted to carry it into effect. But very considerable changes occurred in our financial arrangements, and when we succeeded to office we found that the surplus upon which the right hon. gentleman counted as the basis of his operations had already been considerably diminished, and circumstances were hourly occurring which created such a further diminution as almost to make the surplus disappear altogether. There were the circumstances of the cattle plague, the distress of Irish railways, the battle of Sadowa, which created a complete revolution in our small arms, and other circum stances familiar to the committee which materially affected the surplus upon which the right hon. gentleman had counted. The consequence was that it was quite im possible to proceed with that operation, and the House will perhaps recollect that on coming into office I made a statement on the subject, the fairness of which was not contested, and the policy of which was assented to by the right hon. gentleman. Now, sir, I wish the committee to consider to-night the effect of a proposition which I am going to make with reference to this large sum of £ 24 ,000,000, which is of a simpler description than that re commended to the house last year by the right hon. gen tleman ; but if it has any merits whatever these merits may be the right hon. gentlemanis solely entitled to them. What I wish the committee to consider is the effect of cancelling this debt of £24,000,000 by granting a ter. minable annuity which shall cease in 1885, and which shall not be accompanied by any of those more complicated arrangements which would extend it to the year 1890. Before the committee decides upon the proposition which we wish to recommend, perhaps they will allow me to read figures which will be explanatory of the result, and without which they can scarcely come to a decision upon the subject. This sum of £24,000,000 consists of two amounts, and it is necessary the committee should bear that in mind. One is a sum of £18,000,000 and the other of £6,000,000. The interest upon these two amounts is payable at two different times in the year—summer and winter—July and January for the ono, and spring and autumn for the other. The plan we wish the committee to consider is this: Wo propose to convert the £18,000,000, now yielding an interest of £540,000 a year, into an annuity of £1,332,000 per annum, terminating on the sth of July, 1885, and payable half-yearly ; the first quarter to be pay able on the sth of July, 1867. We propose to convert the £6,000,000, now yielding an interest of £lBO,OOO a year, into an annuity terminable on the sth of April, 1885, of £440,000, payable half-yearly, on the sth of April and 10th October ; the first quarter to be payable in October, 1867. The total of both annuities will be £1,776,000. That being the total, it is necessary that I should place before the com mittee the amount that will be payable in the present financial year. [Mr. GLansTostE—To terminate at what time ?] In July and October, 1885. We have got an annuity of £1,776,000 by which to cancel this debt of $21,000,000. I wish to show to the committee the amount of the annuity that will be payable in the present year. There will be one quarter in July, 1867, on the annuity of £18,000,000, which will be £333,000, and a half year on the sth January, 1868, which will be £666,000; there will be on the annuity of £6,000,000, a quarter on the 10th of October, 1867, amounting to £lll,OOO. But we must add to our lia bilities for this year the interest upon these two capital sums until the dates of convex-siva, making for the one half year on the £18,000,000, due the sth of April, 1867, the sum of £270,000; and for the one half on the £6,000,000, duo the sth of July, 1867, the sum of £90,000 ; or altogether £1,470,000. But then, of course, we must deduct from that sum the interest that we are now paying during the year for the £24,000,000, which amounts to £720,000. So that the total additional charge for 1867-8 will be £750,000. (Hear, hear.) It will be necessary iu the next place that I should put before tho committee what will be the effect of this operation in its entirety ; therefore I must take the next year, and see what the charge will be on the Conso lidated Fund of the operation for the entire year. The future annual charge will be £1,776,000, less, of course, by the amount of the annual interest on the capital sums proposed to be converted, which is £720,000 ; and there fore the increase of the annual charge from 1868-9 up to 1885, when the annuity will cease, will be £1,056,000 per annum. But I must remind the committee that the dead weight annuity, which amounts to £585,740, is to be de ducted, and the country will be free from that charge; and therefore, practically, the increase of the annual charge by which we shall cancel this debt of £24,000,000 will be a sum less than £500,000, and that is the proposi tion we recommend to the committee. (Cheers.) It is a sensible and a very considerable reduction of the public debt, coupled with the original measure which the right hon. gentleman carried last year, amounting at once to £29,000,000, and practically will be effected by a sum less than £500,000 a year. If the committee will, after consideration, adopt the measure we recommend, the surplus of this year will be reduced by the sum of £750,000, and there will remain a sum of £456,000. Now, under ordinary circumstances, if the balances in the Exchequer were in the same condition as last year, I should not hesitate to recommend the committee not to deal with that surplus. I don't think, if our balances were one or two millions less, it would be wise to reduce the surplus to £156,000. But in the present state of our balances, I think we aro justified in dealing with this por tion of the surplus. That portion is not very considerable, but the great point is to employ our resources in the manner most effective, and which will give the most sensible relief to the community. Although the amount is not large there are several modes by which it may be beneficially appro priated. After much consideration, it has appeared to the Government that the manner by which the most extensive _ _ _ ---• relief could be given would be by dealing with the question of marine assurances. That is a portion of ourfiscal system which has Lang been open to various objections, and to which all men who are interested in transactions of trade have frequently called the attention of the Government. The committee are probably aware of the extremely cm . plicated character of the law as at present existing with reference to the tax upon marine assurances. These duties are based upon the principle of a graduated scale, and in that scale there are a great many degrees. They commence by 3d. per cent.and go as high as 45., and they are so framed that precisely as the premium is higher —that is to say, when the danger is greater the duty increases. Therefore you are taxing risks, and inflicting a penalty upon the in curring of danger. That is a principle which I cannot think the committee will sanction. The tax has led to great eva sion, and is a great restriction upon commercial intercourse, and in an infinite variety of ways this complicated arrange ment of the duties of marine assurances exercises a baneful influence upon general commercial intercourse. 'What wo propose to do—with one slight exception, which is rather of a technical than fiscal character —is to establish one uniform rate upon marine assurance, and fix it at the lowest amount that now prevails. (liner, hear.) There fore you will have for all policies, whether time or voyage policies, a uniform rate of 3d. per, cent., except in the case of time policies exceeding six months. (Hear, bear.: A time policy for twelve months is not in accord: mice with the spirit of the age and with the means of rapid communication we now possess, and there is really no reason why they should run longer than six months. We recommend a uniform rate with the conviction that policies of twelvemonths will become quite obsolete. Having thus endeavoured to set before you the state of the finances, and the state of the surplus, and the mode of dealing with that surplus, I have only to add that it will absorb £210,000, which will leave still of the surplus .e4e6t,o ti, whichng I think, an adequate mar g i n t o m I have endeavoured, as I hav e sa id, 2eocoone contingencies. gill ll be, to place before the committee the general state of affairs, and the mode we recommend that Parliament should deal with this surplus; but there are one or two other points to which I should briefly direct attention. The tea duty will expire in next August, and the income tax in four and twenty hours, but the committee, I am sure, will make no difficulty in renewing them. I should also mention that in November of the present year and March next year, Exchequer Bonds amounting to £1,700,000 will fall due, and we recommend that they should be renewed. There are no financial reasons why they should not be renewed. I think I have now told the committee everything. I hope it will approve of the proposition for the reduction of the debt. (Cheers.) I am not an alarmist, and don't wake up in the morning to find our selves on the eve of a great European war. I have great confidence in the judgment and sagacity of my noble friend at the head of foreign affairs, who will carry out as far as possible the policy of non-interference. Still, it is impossible to shut the eye to the fact that Europe at pre sent is an armed camp; and though we may trust that we will not engage in any unnecessary war, at the same time who can speculate on the destinies of nations ? I think that if the Chancellor of the Exchequer is called on to go into the market to raise money, he will do so with a prouder mien, and with greater facilities in the result, knowing that in the days of our prosperity we made an honest attempt at reduction in the national debt. (Cheers.) I hope that the committee will sanction our proposals, and with that observation I will take the liberty to propose the resolu tions. The right hon. gentleman, who concluded his state ment about 10 minutes to 6 o'clock, resumed his seat amidst loud cheers. A long and desultory conversation followed, embracing all the topics touched on in the Budget, and lasting nearly THE SUN, LONDON, FRIDAY EVENING, APRIL 5, 1867. two hours. It was commenced by Mr. CANDLISH, who warmly eulogised the simplicity and good sense of the financial scheme, and particularly the proposal to reduce the marine insurance duties. Mr. LAING, without committing himself unreservedly, doubted whether it were not wiser to leave the money to fructify in the pockets of the people, than to apply it to the reduction of debt, particularly as we had by no means ar- rived at the millennium of having no bad taxes left. Sir G. BOWYEir also preferred the reduction of taxa tion to the reduction of debt, insisting that 3.1 r. Disraeli's proposal was but a sinking fund in disguise ; and Mr. lIUBBARD, while approving the proposal to reduce the marine insurance, took the same view as to the impo licy of reducing the debt at the present moment, and gave notice that he should move a resolution to defer any such project until the fire insurance duties were repealed. Mr. GLADSTONE, in rising to respond to many calls, said —Although it is . a general rule in this house that those members who have the advantage of hearing the proposi tions of the Chancellor of the Exchequer shall postpone tVir declaration of any final judgment in regard to them, there are two reasons which make me desirous to address you on the present occasion. One of them is that th e s i mp l e character of the statement submitted by the right hon. gentleman makes it easier than under many circumstances it might have been to appreciate the character of his pro posals ; and the second is that he has referred so pointedly to a portion of the scheme which it was my duty to submit e he pr p e r pe op sa os l al l h s e ha n l o l wbemvaekryesb. brief, last year that it is only fair should give him a t once t h e which the right hon. gentleman may be in a conditi on to t opinion r o i l l s l Ph ie cv n t ei t v u fe r o e rpm t a o ret r d e o f of e n r t o one or t wo o th er po i nts upon t ht give us further information. He did not enter into any detail with respect to the sources from which the great re venue in the Customs and Excise has proceeded, but I con fess I should have been very glad if the right hon. gentle.. man had given us particulars which 1 feel could not have failed to be full of interest. Tho case of the Excise is a remarkable one, and well deserves the special attention of the house. I think the right hon. gentleman stated that £900,000 is the amount of the augmentation that hastaken epslaticmeaitne I submittedtherevenuefrloamst year. Th ese fi gures are Excise o ver an d a b ove the among the most extraordinary that were ever sub mitted to the House of Commons. In particular on account of the singularly unfavourable character which the season last year assumed at a most critical moment with regard to the yield, and especially with regard to the quality of the barley harvest, upon which commonly it has in former times been the custom to depend to the extent of half a million or a million of money. To judge from the gross figures before us, and such fragmentary informa tion as has reached me, I am under the impression that, notwithstanding the extremely unfavourable character of the weather last August and September, which seemed in a great degree in many parts of the country not so much to damage as almost to destroy the barley for malting pur poses, we have as large, or a larger, revenue than in any former year. If so, that is a circumstance of very great importance ; because it seems to show that the consuming power of the community, even in regard to this, as the right hon. gentleman considers it, rather persecuted article, is such that beer must be brewed whether the barley har vest be good or not, and that the brewers, by the supply partly open to them of foreign barley, of which a consi derable portion is of very fine quality, and sugar and other materials used in beer, have produced a duty not less than former years produced with a good harvest. This removes an element of great and perplexing uncertainty. I pre sume there must have been a very considerable increase in the revenue from spirits, and that the working of the pre sent high duty may be judged satisfactory. The annual receipts from stamps have fallen short of the estimate I submitted twelve months ago; and I should be glad to know to what items that is to be attributed. The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER —The total is only £30,000. Mr. GLADSTONE—That is true ; but of late years the revenue from stamps has exhibited remarkable elasticity. I should like to know the actual result of the financial operations with regard to fire insurance. My hon. friend who has just sat down clings to the idea that the reduction of the fire insurance duty would in a great degree be com pensated by the augmentation of insurances. Mr. HUBBARD—I never said such a thing in my life. (Laughter.) Mr. GLADSTONE—My hon. friend anticipated an in crease of .£lOO,OOO in consequence of the reduction of the duty; therefore, in his life, and within a very recent por tion of his life, he has said a thing which I perhaps too strongly described, but which did intimate an expectation of a very considerable increase as a consequence of the re duction of the duty. It would be important and inte the e s increase ei v o increase due to re whichdue - the wealth of the country necessarily produ .es. The resting if the right hon. g en tl eman would give us the exact effect of the reduction d ur i ng t h e last two or three years. So long as I had a knowl e d ge o f t h e circumstances there was no reason to supp ose it could be considerably tj replac ed,from w t hhen regular y()u annual p r distinguish right lieu. gentleman has pr esen t e d a most favourable statement of the financial reso urces of the country. Oue of the most remarkable result s o f U ri great change in our commercial legislation has been th e vast increase of finan cial operations. The favourabl e peculiarity of the present epoch seems to be that whereas in f ormer times a commer cial panic or pressure produced a di m i nution of the con suming power of the country, an d consequently of the revenue, during the past two years pressure and panic do not appear to have left the smallest trace upon the consum ing power of the country or upon the revenue. That is a circumstance which should lead us to go forward in the path upon which wa have for so many years b een proceed _ ing. I do not contemplate with satisfaction the heavy augmentation of the estimates of the present y ear. The supply services twelve months ago were £38,205,000. The present estimates are .£40,234,000, representing an increase of .£5,029,000. On such an occasion as this that cannot be duly analysed. It shall be far from me to endeavour to impart any political aspect to the question—(hear hear)—but Ido not think the general circumstances of the country warrant this very serious increase. (Hear, hear.) On many points it is impossible to question these charges without joining issue in the most serious manner with her Majesty's Government, and at this moment there are poli tical issues of such gravity pending that every man must desire not to multiply but to reduce the points upon which any portion of the house may be in conflict with the ad visers of the Crown. (Hear, hear.) I am di sposed to examine more slightly into these particul ars than I should be under ordinary circumstances. Some of these charges have reference to circumstances of great importance, and I venture to hope there are among them items upon which a discussion may lead to a diminished demand. For the present it is not necessary to go beyond these general observations, and I pass to consider the mode in which the right hon. gentleman proposes to deal with the sur plus at his command. at appears to be.£1,206,000. Nearly the whole of it would have been applied during 1867-8 to the liquidation of debt had the plan of last year taken effect. The Act passed catty iu the year, on which it has not been in the power of the right hon. gentleman to proceed in its full extent, would, during 1867-8, have applied about and the greater measu re w hi ch was pens_ g £150,000 to the liquidation of debt in the f orm of tenni nn quitted ; office, and which the right h on. gen - t i l a e i nl ieie when n aia an fot u t w n it d e li s imself,in consequence of augmented charge, obliged to drop, would have entailed for 1867-8 a charg e of about £1,000,000. I must depart from the order of tho right hon. gentleman's speech, and deal first with the pro position to reduce the marine assurance duties. Undoubt edly there is a large number of imposts it is impossible to survey without a strong desire to diminish or altogether remove them. I cannot object to what is said to this effect as to licence duties. Duties upon locomotion are duties upon the whole raw material of labour—(hear, hear). — because the movement of the industrial population from place to place is part of the cost of production. (Hear, hear.) lam no admirer of the principle of fire insurance duties, and all I plead for is, that in dealing with that part of it which relates to buildings we should recollect how closely it is associated with property, and have in view the possibility of obtaining from propelly, in some less objec tionable form, a fair substitute for it. (Hear.) The cases referred to by my hon.friond the member forßrighton have not aroused in my mind so much emotion as in his. If we are to be guided by appearances alone, nothing can be more absurd than the number of trumpery articles that still remain on the duty list. That on comfits is one of these. But these duties are to be considered as outworks and de fences of the revenue, and if the duty on comfits were abolished the effect would be au enormous increase in their importation, and they would be used instead of sugar. (Laughter). Whether the right hon. gentleman has made the best choice among many claims I will not now under take to determine; but it may be safely said that a groat deal is due to the initiative of the Govermatent and the superior means they have of determining upon a selection, and that this duty urgently needs reform. (Hear.) I shall, therefore, not enter into any controversy, but shall assent to the measure proposed. Tho right hon. gentleman pro poses to retain a surplus of £246,000, and I hope the house will not countenance any invasion on that moderate surplus. (Hear, hear.) The hon. member for Brighton says I systematically underrated the revenue of the coun try. (Hear.) If he will go back to the period when there was a greater pressure than now on our resources, he will find I was charged with systematically over-estimating the product of various branches of the revenue. (Hear.) A very salutary practice of paying great respect to the opi nions, judgments, and experience of gentlemen at the head of the revenue department prevails in estimating revenue. (Hear.) It is not wise for a Chancellor of the Exchequer to take too much into his own hands the business of esti mating revenue. (Hear, hear.) You must proceed on fixed rules, which cannot be well apprehended or applied with out a very great regard to those opinions. (Hear, hear.) I believe the right hon. gentleman to have been guided by just and sound principles; and it would not be wise on our part, with imperfect information, to question those esti mates for the purpose of throwing hint into an apparent deficiency. (Hear.) I now come to the measure by which the right hon. gentleman proposes to dispose of the money at his disposal—the measure for a fresh investment in the terminable annuities, founded by Sir G. C. Lewis, which CO= to andiu 188 j. I thiuk ho has exorciwA here again a very sound discretion in detaching himself from the secondary portion of the measure of last year. It is very probable that if I had been able to proceed with the measure of last year the same result would have happened. 'Parliament is entitled to say, "Don't take it too much and too long out of our rule. Come back when you are pre pared to propose a further application of income to the re duction of debt. But don't ask too much at a time." The right hon. gentleman's course has been wise, and his mea sure is just and sound. A large portion of the objections taken last year and to-night proceed upon want of minute and accurate acquaintance with the subject. The hon. member for the 'Wick Burghs, whose speeches are of the greatest advantage upon such questions, contrasts two systems—one, the diminishing of debt; the other, leaving the money to fructify for the benefit of the nation through the reduction of taxes. It appeitrs to me that it is not just or true. There is no fructificatian of money for the public advantage more direct and complete than in the reduction of the debt. The money is not exported. It fads its way into the money market of London, and that is the point from which all stores and resources of loanable capital find their way most directly and effectively to the business of cheapening production and stimulating energy. It is a fallacy to suppose the question lies between the diminution of the debt and allowing your capital to fructify. There is no more sure method of procuring the immediate and pro fitable application of capital. That proposition i;lay be modi fied where a country has a national debt held mainly by foreign creditors; but the overwhelming proportion of our debt is held by Englishmen, and the money will take effect in London. Sir G. BOWYER: But why reduce the debt at all ? Mr. GLADSTONE : It may be broadly laid down that the application of public funds to the reduction of debt is profitable, not merely politically, but as giN , ing stability to commercial operations. I deny that this measure in volves the principle of a sinking fund. I can hardly at tempt to justify that denial at this moment, for it would require a long and minute defence. But the principle is we have not only an exchequer account to manage, but a great banking account. Under no circumstances, except those of a general war, would both be in deficit at the same time. Without that there cannot be any loss from the operation of the measure proposed. 'rho essential point to be kept in view is that on your banking account you have a heavy and uniform surplus, on the continuance of which you may pretty confidently reckon. You are always looking for investments for it from year to year ; and the annuities give you the opportunity for invest ment. The profit is your own, and the investment is just so much for the benefit of the State as any other portion of the expenditure. The observations of the hon. member for Dundalk open another very wide question. It may be sufficient for the present purpose to stand on this basis —that the reduction of the debt has been recog nised in this country as a principle of public policy at every period since our debt began to be created, except at those Unfortunate periods when we were obliged to go on extending it. Now, a principle so recognised has something to say for itself independently of the abstract argument, and I may assume that the House of Com mons does not intend to reserve that policy. Now, let us see how that policy 'has of late years been acted upon. From 1834 an increasing sum was applied to the reduction of the debt by means of terminable annuities until 1859. In the latter year the terminable annuities fell in, and the amount thus applied in reduction of debt was largely diminished. Now the dead weight falls in during the present year, and if that sum was not applied to the reduction of debt, this would almost amount to the abandonment of the policy so long established, and to a determination that wo will adopt no means to reduce the debt except from the casual surpluses of annual income. Now I for one am not prepared to act on that principle. Let us not be ashamed to look across the Atlantic for a good example, and render a just tribute of admiration to the courage and forethought with which the American people are bearing . a burden of taxation which, both in amount and in kind, renders their conduct a tnarval, because they think that the secret of future power lies in the reduction of their debt. The highest point reached by the American debt was on the 31st Aug., 1865, when it was $2,757,000,000. On the 30th June, 1866, it had declined to $2,650,000,000; on the 31st October, 1866, to $ 2 ,551,000,060 ; and on the Ist of January, 1867, to $ 2 , 547 ,000,000. The total decrease of debt from the 31st August, 1865, to the Ist January, 1867, was $214,500,40, or nearly £43,000,000, taken out of the taxa tion of the country. When I see such facts as this, lam infinitely more impressed by the character of that people, and with the formidable nature of the conflict which we or any other should have to wage if we entered into one with them, than g, instead of employing their resources in this way, they vainly imagined that the secret of security lay in maintaining huge armaments in time of peace. I believe they have judged rightly as to the true basis of national power, and that it lies in husbanding your resources in time of peace, that you may be able to expend them freely in times of emergency. I cherish the hope that the mag nificent example set by the American people will have an effect, not only in England, but in Europe, and that it will shame tho people into abandoning the suicidal policy of wasting the money raised from the thrift of the people in what, if not an idle parade, is a source of danger. These are the feelings of hearty and spon taneous admiration with which I cannot help contem plating the policy pursued by America as to her debt. 1 shall very cordially support the propositions of the Chan cellor of the Exchequer. I confess that I think that if this year, when we are about to cease to pay nearly £600,000 of dead weight, no reduction took place in our debt, it would have amounted to a dereliction of duty. I think the right hon. gentleman deserves praise for resisting the temptation to earn a little popularity by some slight reduction of tax ation, and that the course which he has taken is calculated to conduce to the public welfare. (Cheers.) The superior claims of the malt tax to reduction were preferred by Mr. Read, Mr. J. More, and Mr. Urquhart ; but Col. Barttelot pointed out that with so small a surplus it was impossible to deal sensibly with that tax. Mr. Den man advocated the abolition of the attorneys' certificate duty, Mr. Marsh and Mr. Green the licence duties, Mr. White the small customs' duties, and Mr. Ayrton the me tropolitan hackney carriages. A general approval of the budget was expressed by Sir F. Crossley, Mr. M'Kenna, and Col. Sykes, who joined with Mr. White in complaining of the ineressa of the ex penditure. After some remarks from Mr. Fawcett, who, though favourable to the reduction of debt, disapproved the modes operandi, and from Mr. M'Laren, the formal re solutions moved by the Chancellor of the Exchequer were agreed to. Tho second reading of tho Tenants' Improvement (Ire land) Bill was moved by Lord Naas, but, objection being . taken by M r . O s b orne (supported by several Irish mem bers) to proceeding with it, the debate was adjourned Until April 29. The Bankruptcy Bill was read a second time, under an arrangement by which the debate is to be taken on going into commtttee. The Canada Loan Bill passed through committee. Several hours were occupied in the consideration of the Court of Chancery (Ireland) Bill in committee. Some other business was disposed of, and the house ad journed at 20 minutes to 1 o'clock. Naval and Military Intelligence. The First Lord of the Admiralty will hold a levee on Friday, the 12th inst., at 2 o'clock, at the Admi ralty, Whitehall. On Wednesday the Right lion. H. T. L. Corry, M.P., First Lord of the Admiralty, paid his first official visit to Chath am, for the purpose of inspect ing the dockyard and naval establishments at the port, together with the works in progress for the enlargement and extension of the dockyard. The members of the Board of Admiralty who accom panied the Senior Lord were Mr. C. Ducane, M.P., civil Lord, Rear-Admiral R. S. Robinson, Control ler of the Navy; Major A. Clarke, Royal Engi neers, Director of Admiralty Works ; and Capt. T. Brandreth, private secretAry. Their Lordships reached the dockyard shortly before 12 o'clock, and were received by Capt. W. H. Stewart, C. 8., super intendent of the establishment, Mr. P. Thornton, principal master shipbuilder ; Mr. Baker, chief en. giueer, Major C. Pasley, Royal Engineers, director of dockyard works, and other officials. Their Lordships very shortly after their arrival proceeded on a visit of inspection to the ironclad ships and other vessels now building. The absence of the hands at dinner enabled them to make an uninter rupted inspection of the ironclad ships now being rapidly constructed at Chatham, and their Lord ships accordingly spent nearly an hour iu their visit to the Hercules, broadside iron frigate, and the Monarch ironclad ship, which is intended to com bine the turret and broadside principle in the same vessel. Although both vessels are intended to be completed by about the same period, the Hercules is at present the more forward of the two, her central battery being already plated with four tiers of the 9-inch and 6-inch armour-plates, while a considerable portion of the fore and aft armour-plating has been bolted to her sides. The upper, main, and lower deck iron beams are also fixed, and a portion of the iron deck plating laid. Until within the last few weeks the mechanics em ployed on this ship have been working extra hours, but an order received from the Admiralty has directed that the ordinary working hours of theyard should not be exceeded, and the progress, therefore, since the order has been acted upon, is less marked. On several occasions, however, the quantity of ma terial worked into the vessel has exceeded 100 tons weekly, and for some time past has averaged be tween 60 tons and 70 tons per week. After spend ing some time in going over the Hercules, their Lordships visited the Monarch, which is building in the adjoining dock, the inspection of this vessel occupying an equally lengthened period. The Monarch, which was commenced in October last, will be completed by the close of the present finan cial year, the rapidity with which she has been built up to this period exceeding anything yet achieved in iron shipbuilding at Chatham. Her 7-inch and 6-inch armour plating for a considerable distance on both her port and starboard sides has been fixed, and most of her deck beams laid, while so rapid has been her progress up to this period that should it be required there would appear nothing to prevent her being afloat during the present year. The only other iron vessel building at Chatham is the Beacon, of the squadron of double-screw gunboats designed by Mr. J. E. Reed. The wooden ships under con struction are -the Blanche, one of the new class of unarmed screw corvettes, and the unarmoured screw gunvessel :Myrmidon. The members of the Board went over each of those vessels, both of which are in a forward state, the Myrmidon being intended for launching in June next, and the Blanche in August. At the close of their inspection of the shipbuilding departments of the dockyards their Lordships took luncheon at the official residence of Capt. W. H. Stewart, and afterwards visited the factory, where they witnessed the operation of bending one of the large 6-inch iron plates by means of hydraulic pres sure, for the sides of the Hercules frigate. They next proceeded to the smithery, where at the mo ment of their visit the massive iron sternpost for the Hercules was being taken from the furnace for being operated upon with the 40 ton steam hammer, the accident to which has recently been repaired. Their lordships witnessed the operation of forging the sternpost with much interest,:the work being super intended by one of the foreman from a private establishment in the north accustomed to large un dertakings of the kind, whose services have been temporarily engaged by the Admiralty. After spending some time in the smithery quadrangle the members of the Board visited the building slips, and inspected the stacks of timber in store, proceed ing by the eastern end of the yard to the extensive works, where Mr. Ducane left the First Lord, and returned to the office of the Captain-Superinten dent, being occupied the remainder of the afternoon on official business connected with his department. At the entrance to the extension works one of the locomotive steam engines employed on the island with a number of trucks were in waiting, which the members of the Board entered, and were conveyed over the works, which cover an area of between 300 and 400 acres. The contract for that portion of the undertaking at present being carried out, including the construction of two large docks and a basin, with a water area of 22 acres, has been taken by Mr. Gabrielli, but at present there are only a few hundred hands employed on the works, who are now engaged in excavating for the proposed basin and docks. The visit to St. Mary's Island and in spection of the works in progress occupied- Mr. Corry until late in the afternoon, and at the close of the inspection the members of the Board returned to the dockyard, which they afterwards left for the Admiralty. A notification has been received at Chatham gar rison from the Horse Guards that the next exami nation of candidates for direct commissions, under the regulations of the Ist January last, will com mence at Chelsea Hospital on the Ist of May next. The examination of candidates for admission to the Staff College in February, 1868, will commence on the 22d July next. The Chesapeake, 35, 400-horse power, screw wooden frigate, attached to the third division of the Chatham Steam Reserve, has been disposed of by the Admiralty to Messrs. Castle and Sons, of Baltic wharf, Milbank, to which place she will be removed. Her machinery and engines have not been sold with her, but have been taken out and removed into the steam factory. The unarmoured screw corvette Barrosa, 21, 400-horse power, attached to the third-class Steam Reserve, was yesterday brought up to Chatham harbour, in tow of the paddlewheel steamer Adder, in readiness to be placed in one of the available docks for the purpose of undergoing a thorough repair in readiness for being brought forward for commission. Yesterday a detachment of 100 non-commissioned officers and men from the Depot Brigade, Royal Artillery, left Warley, and proceeded to Sheerness, where they join the Ist division of the Depot Bri gade, in order to augment it to its full strength. The depot of the 98th Regiment, which has been stationed at Colchester for upwards of four years, is held in readiness to proceed to Portsmouth to await the arrival of the service companies from Bengal. The depot is composed of nine sergeants, four drummers, 153 rank and file, 14 women, and 17 children ; and the commanding officer is Major Cleveland. The authorities of the War Department have approved a site near Military-road, Colchester, for the erection of a Lock hospital, for carrying out the act for preventing the spread of contagious diseases. AMERICAN HUMOUR.. The Spectator of last week has a letter under this head ing from its correspondent " Yankee." That remarkable writer, for renzarlcabls he certainly is, disputes the conclu sion arrived at by British writers—" that there is a distinct American' type of humour or of wit." " A somewhat thorough examination and comparison of the writings of the humorists of the Old England and the New has lel me," says " Yankee," " to the conclusion that there is no notable difference between them, and none at all which is not the slight differences in dialect; for instance, the rustic Yankee and the Cockney, the Negro and the Irish, and in the circumstances of the writers. The difference is not in spirit but in mere form, and subject-matter. The discovery of a peculiarly American wit or humour, I cannot but regard as attribut able to that rather fidgetty craving on both sides of the water for that wonderful new American' coming man or thing. When an American trait of humour must needs be found in the use of the numeral 4 instead of the preposi tion for, because such disrepectful treatment of an august numeral is a manifestation of the American' lack of re verence (which criticism I have seen in ono of the articles upon Artemus Ward), I am confirmed in my opinion that the 'Americanism' of our humour is found only because it is sought with such sensitive expectation. For the truth is that this 4 is merely the result of an attempt to make fun by painfully sought out blunders in spelling. If it is humorous to write 4 instead of for, how much more humorous and how intensely American' it would be to write about the 42de of our soldiers and the lied bread of the Hebrews ! Much of our Yankee humour is based upon exaggeration. So is mush of Shak speare. When Falstaj says that he is a man of continual dissolution and thaw ;' when Benedick says of Beatrice that 'if her breath were as terrible as her terminations she would infect to the North Star,' what did they do but exaggerate, like a pair of Yankees as they were ? English humour, particularly that in which you and we have a common heritage, is full of such exaggeration." If the British writers compared notes with Yankee there would be found to be little difference in their opi nions on this subject. Humour is humour all the world over, differing in a few characteristics, which Yankee terms "mere form and subject-matter." But that form and subject-matter just makes the difference, which gives a pretty broad stamp of nationality. When people talk of " Irish" humour the picture tho imagination conjures is a distinct one. So it is with "Negro" humour. So with "Cockney," which brings up the likeness of Sam Weller; and with Yankee humour is associated in British minds some such character as " Sam Slick." The national idea may be wrong, but the notion is got hold of and kept. This dif ference the Yankee doesn't dispute, and we believe it to be all that British writers mean. Exaggeration, the ridiculous and strikinzly absurd con trast, are the main elements in humour. ' 7 Yaukou" gives some illustrations. " One of the most characteristic mani festations of this exaggeration, carried to the utmost of whimsical extravagance, is the story told by a Yankee of a very powerful machine, invented by a friend of his to draw teeth. It was tried upon one man, and the tooth wouldn't come ; 'cause yo see his teeth was sot drefful tight inter his system. So they tied hire inter the cheer, en drawd, en drawd; en anthill had to come; so they drawd his hull 'natorny right out ay him, en loft his flesh in a heap i n t h e cheer. " Wo sometimes act out a humour that is somewhat peculiar. A Mrs. L. ll (the story is true) mistaking the meaning of the maxim, that taxation without representation is tyranny, and declaring that she is unrepresented, because she has no vote, refuses to pay taxes. She is ordered by the county autho rities to appear on the highway by proxy or in per son, which she does, bearing a fire-shovel, to the great disgust of the road-master. Consequently, much disturbance between Mrs. H— and the county autho rities, in which, it being of a verbal nature, she has the better But the tax will be collected by a process of law if neces sary, and Mrs. H-- will be allo wed the free use of her tongue, and of her fire-shovel in their proper places, for this is a land Lot of law aza of liberty. Wile/9 14 A kind of humour not uncommon here which prepares a trap into which a victim is suddenly precipitated. It is merely variety, of what you and we both call " sell." One of our stump speakers some years ago at a meeting, where it was a great point to conciliate the Irish vote, was led by his love of a good thing to peril his party and himself. Ile had been handling the native American party very roughly (in earnest), and then went on—" Who dig all our canals ?—lrishmen. (Applause.) Who build our railroads P—lrishmen. (Great applause.) Who build all our gaols P—lrishmen. (Tumultuous applause.) Who fill all our gaols?—lrishmen. Tho descent into tho trap was so sudden that the speaker escaped by precipitate flight before the rush at the staging." The nation which produced a man that could act thus must have a strong vein of humour running through the national mind. There is certainly nothing American in this act. An • EnglisErnan might have been driven by an uncontrollable impulse to do the same thing. " There is another kind of humour so called which is hardly humour, and which consists in strange comparisons, not really witty, but laughable for their mingled oddity and aptuess. A short time since two young ladies well known to me were holding high converse over the virtues of a certain new dress, "And does it fit well ?" asked one. "Fit? As if I had been melted and poured in." I was not present, but I know as well as if I were that the girl of seventeen said this with no particular intention of being funny, but merely because it occurred as a good way in which to express the admirable set of her gown. And thus, without intending or knowing it, she took her place among "American humorists." We consider this an excellent illustration of American humour; a style of expression, and mode of thought peculiar to America. It may not strike people accustomed to it, but it does strike strangers very forcibly.—Anglo-Atnerican Times. The Is eform Bill. The Reform Bill has advanced a stage, but not without bringing to light a strong display of party spirit which bodes ill for the settlement of this serious question. What the country needs beyond all things is a prompt restoration of con fidence—not only in the integrity and ability of its public men, but in the permanency of our national institutions, and in their adaptibility and fitness to bear every strain which time and circumstance may put upon them. Such a confidence is the growth of ages, and he who does anything to weaken it is a public evil-doer. But nothing would so much shake confidence in our institu tions—which is the real basis of our national great ness—as such a factious opposition, springing from mere personal or party interests, as would post pone, or, perhaps, utterly destroy all chance of a Reform in harmony, at least, with the spirit of the Constitution. Not even a Democratic Reform, after the heart of Mr. Bright, would in itself be so demoralizing as loss of confidence in the loyalty of our public men and in the elasticity of our Con stitution. We have for the last seventy-eight years stood so long in safety watching the storm on the Continent that any misgiving as to our own security falls like a death chill on the national heart. That such a misgiving as to the efficacy;pf our institutions, political and religious, is creeping here and there into the national mind cannot be denied. It is the little rift within the lute Which by and by will make the music mute. The evil calls for a remedy prompt, honest, and to the purpose. There must be no half measures, and no shuffling. What is wanting in our institu tions ought to be supplied with a generous hand. A harsh and narrow or suspicious exclusiveness ought to be as much reprobated as the levelling tendencies of the Democratic Reformer: The spirit which dictates measures of retaliation against the unreasonable demands of the Reformer only generates that jealousy of classes, which it is the aim of malice and of the public demagogue to enflame. A full and generous measure of Re form, such as is in keeping with the spirit of the Constitution, carried out by the concurrence, if possible, of men of both parties in the house of Commons, in perfect reliance on the influence which rank, and wealth, and social position, and traditional habits have on the people of England, would do much to prevent the alienation of classes, and avert the dangers which threaten our institutions. Whatever, after such a process, is found to be really unfitting, by reason of altered circumstances, in any of our institutions we must not scruple to remove. In this manner we shall best show a true Conservative spirit. A reformed house of Commons may not, unlikely, lead to a reform, for instance, in the Church Establish ment ; but we, as Catholics, need have no appre hension as to such a result; for we, at least, know that the national institutions, religious as well as political, are but the work of human hands, and are to be reformed or removed as may seem best to men taught by the wisdom of experience and the lights of a fuller and more perfcet knowledge.-- . Westminster Gazette. COUNTRY MARKETS. MANCIIESTER—THunsDAY. At our market this morning English «heat met a mode rate demand at the currency of this day se'nnight, while foreign was held for ld to 2d per 100 lb. over that day's rates. Flour 9d to is per sack lower. Beans no change. Indian corn is 6d per qr. dearer. BIR3IINGHAM—TituRsDAY. At this day's market there was a short supply of Eng lish wheat, aLd good red realised an advance of is per qr. Foreign unaltered. Barley is per qr. lower. Oat and beans maintained their value. BURY ST. EDMUNDS-WEDNESDAY. The quantity of wheat offering at our market to-day was not large, and a reduction of is per qr. took place. Oats a shade cheaper. Beans and peas remained ;about tho same. EDINBURGH—WEDNESDAY. Wheat on the top, Os 6d down average, Os ld up. Barley on the top, is Od up average, Os 3d up. Oats on the top, 4s Od down average, Os 4d down. Beans on the top, 5s 6d down ',..average, Os 4d down. Total supply and sales. Wheat 876 qrs sold 473 Barley 1071 qrs sold 830 Oats 1783 qrs. .sold 848 ... .. Beans 206 qrs sold 131 Average prices. Wheat, 58s 3d 1 Oats, 3ls 5d Barley, 39s ld 1 Beans 42s 9d Town-made flour sells as follows :—White, 53s Od ; extra superfine, 51s Od ; superfine, 49s Od ; fine, 47s M. GLASGOW-WEDNESDAY. To-day's market was moderately attended. Foreign and Scotch wheat firm at an advance on last week. Barley dull. REMOVAL OF ANOTHER CITY CHURCH. -A scheme has been prepared for the removal of the Church of St. Mildred at the eastern end of the Poultry. For many months past it has had no congregation. By the re moval of the church a large space will be obtained for the improvements which harp long been required in that neighbourhood. THE CESSION OF RUSSIAN AMERICA.—The Russian organ, Le Nord, says :—" The Transantic tele gram which annouuces the meeting of the United States Senate in order to receive communications of a treaty for the cession of Russian America contains nothing which ought to surprise us. This cession, if we are not mistaken, is the consequence of negociations dating back several months. It is easy to see the mutual advantages that Russia and the United States must derive from such a transaction. These American countries, hitherto all but unproductive to Russia, owing to their distance from the centre of an empire already so vast, will be more easily vivified by Yankee expansion ; and the current of colonisation and commerce which will ultimately be established between the Asiatic and American sea-board of the Pacific will powerfully aid the prosperity of Eastern Siberia and the basin of the Amoor." Births. BAINBRIDGE —On tho 4th inst., at 17, Talbot-square, the wife of T. Y. C. Bainbridge, Esq., of a daughter. BROUGHAM-On the 4th inst., at 36, Leinster-square, nthe wife of James R. Brougham, Esq., of a daughter. LiNuo—On the 4th inst., at 52; Queen's-gardens, Hyde park, the wife of Arthur Lindo, Esq., of a son. Marriages. BAYNE—JAMES-- On the 3d inst., at St. Mary's Church, Devonport, the Rev. R. Bicknell Bayne, of Cheshunt, Hertfordshire, to Emily, the eldest daughter of the late Major-General J. P. James, Indian Army. DUNCUSI —SEAMER —Oll the 4th inst., at St. Paul's, Ave nue-road, Regent's-park, Charles I.n, the elder son of Charles Duncuin, Esq., of Wigmoro-street, to Clara, the youngest daughter of Thomas B. Senator, late of Tun bridge-wells. Deaths. ArLIN—On the 30th ult., at Epsom, Benjamin Aplin, Esq., aged 76. BISHOP—On the 3d inst., at 7, Sumner-terrace, Onslow square, Louis Henry Bishop, aged 16. MARTIN— On the 2d inst.. suddenly, at St. Stephen's-road, Hammersmith, Henry Martin, Esq., aged 65. WAYNE—On tho 28th ult., at Glendare, Aberdare, Montag Wayne, Esq., J.P., aged 58. London: Printed and Published by WILLIAM ANDREWS of No. 112, Strand, Printer, at Tus Sort Office, No. 112., Strand, in the Precinct of the Savoy, in the County of 1140:1105eX.—Friday, April 5, UV,