The Dorset County Express and Agricultural Gazette.
Dorchester, Dorset, England, 1879-11-11 00:00:00

TORY FINANCE.

An able pamphlet has just emanated from Mr. S. D.
Waddy, M P., entitled " Liberal and Conservative
Flnance." Dicing the memo-alas contest of 1874 Mr.
Disraeli sarcastically charged his great antagonist with
trying to purloin • further lease of power by throwing
a handful of gold duet in the eyes of the nation. The
time is coining round for mother appeal to the country,
end again we find Lord Beaconsfield- preparing to deem
the nation of its suffrages, not with the aid of gold
dust, for he has nothing so substantial about him, but
by means of vulgar brag, "Imperial" bluster, hollow
phremes, and a (melee policy that, like madam gun-
powder, won't go off.
Mr. Waddy has selected the year. from MA to
Ifc9, partly because Mit period embraces an adequate
vanety of circumstances, both alto change. of Ministries
and fluctuations in commercial prosperity, and partly
because the documente fnon which his figures are
compiled are within easy reach, but chiefly from the
fact that the men now in power have exercised a sensible
infi ence on our national Watery during the whole of
that time Mince 1857 the Liberals have held the reins of
government for twelve years and the Conservatives for
ten, so that • comparison between the two can be made
without difficulty. It woiald be obviously impossible within
the limita of our space to produce the whale of Mr.
Waddy's figures; and we must content ourmilue with
miring the learned author's mune The
expenditure of the Liberals averaged A70.3n711y,
while that at the Conservatives reached the exoeseve
average of £73.0116 371. The country thus derived an
annual benefit of 1:C791,000—or • saving of more than five
per oent upon the gnu annual outlay. Po long as the
finances were under liberal management Under the
Lam als the ordinary expenditure of the country was
13101,4111,*14 per annum; that of the Tories has been
1.72.501,9t1, showing an annual excess usder Tory
" 01411.10•0311111 t" of more than four millions sterling.
[ Each time the Conservatives have been in office they
I have left • large deficiency for their successors to wipe
out, and this, in nearly every Instance, after having
Inherited a substantial surplus. For instance, Mr.
Gladstone, on taking Mins Mier this general election of
Pe, found himself burthened with liabilities incurred by
his predecessor, emounting in the aggregate to four-end-a-
half million. sterling. Yet thus were discharged. the
Alabama indemnity paid, and a splendid surplus
accumulated by 1871, and all scco.nplisbed with a net
annual expenditure of upwards of four millions lees titan
the sum which his predecessor had deemed mo miserably
insufficient ! In the twelve years during which the
Liberals have Leen In office since 1657 they have on no
fewer than nine occasions presented the nation with •
handsome surplus, their three deficits occurring in years
when they hail inherited liabilities from the Conserve.
time These surpluses ranged in amount from six and
• half millions down to .0493,910, and during the twelve
years reached the magnificent total of 02,147,900, ae
compared with £4.167,000, the sum total of their deficit,.
Turning to the Coneervative side of the table, a totally
different state of things confronts one. Their surpluses
were puny affalrs, amounting In all to the pitiful sum
of £6,500,000. as against the Liberal total of 27 minims,
whilst their deficit,' fo it up," as the Yankees say, to the
enormous sum of nine Wino's& Taking the average of
the 33 years, then, we hod the Liberals in possession of an
aanual simples of £1,911 MO, and their opponents figurine
for an average yearly degeit of mum? During the
twelve years of Liberal 'government taxes were remitted
to the grows amount el c4t.21i.9r. and additional buddies
imposed to the extent of £3.060,093. This makes
.the net
reduction of taxes £39.161.811 and an venue remission of
1:3,163,736 yearly. During their decade of power the
Tories have imposed neatly £l3 500,800 of additional ta . a-
tion, and remitted the paltry sum of la Nome.. that
we have here a net Increase of /31.1011,218, which
representa an average immense of taxation to the amount
of £f90.931 per annum During the Liberal ru.mse sham
1857 the Funded Debt has been diminished more than
fifty millions 4.Aing, us. average annual decrease
a...ousting to xtsoszt In ten years of Tory rule, on
the other band, the net diminution ha, been lees than
eleven millions sterling, t e average reduction being •
little over • minim per annum During the flu yews of
Mr Gladstone's Premiership the inefunded Debt was
reduced to the amount of nearly four end a kelt million*
Since 1834 however, Loni Beaconsfield has Increased it by
the enormous sum of tin 3n0.000 making a total
difference In favour of Mr. Gladatosie of no Mee • um
than A 3116,1107 030 ! And the Zulu war la act yet gald fey,
never. tal!cbArtel the new invasion of Lfgbanielan
known. It le clear,' says Mr. Waddy. " that we have
paid in bard cash "fort -two minims—or more Precise
£6.417,081 per minim—which Liberal finance would have
saved. And this la a tinted coannerchd distreas !"