The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1870-04-16 00:00:00

TIIE BUDGET.

The ilolllB hewing gone into Committee of Ways and

The Chancellor of the xchequer role shortly before
six o'clock to introdn. the Budget. The right hon. gentleman
said the original estimate for 156970 was £72,055,000, but by
an alteration which the House will remember the collection
of the income tax, the land tax, and the house tax was anti-
cipated. and there were added to the revenue of the year the
Sum of £33.50000. These two sums together make a total of
476.205,000. The expenditure for the year 1069 70 was esti.
mated at 468.223,00 e, leaving a surplus of £7,982,000. This
simples it was proposed, the committee will remember. to
dispose of In two wart First, that the sum of £4.600,000
should be paid in meeting the liabilities of the Abyesinieu
expedition ; and, secomily, to epproprlate £2,940 000
reduction of t.x•si ion. The result sus to leave on the yen
a surplus of £442,000. Alt.', these rolectlong had been dect
ded on the revenue was estimated at £78115 000 The Retied
receipts reached £75,1:34 000, leaving an excess of 411,819,000,
being the largest revenue ever raised in this country atilt
the exeeptl.,o of the last three years of the French war.
The receipts he the year 1869 70 were :-Castoms, esti.
Mated at 521.65,000, end the actual receipts have fallen
short of this by £l2l WO. The excise wa• estimated at
£20,9 0,000, the receipts had exceeded that erlm by £203,000.
The stamps were es.l mated at 48893,600; they have
that estimate by £398,000. The taxes were esthetes
£4.000,t00; the receipts corresponded. The incore
perty tax was estimated at 09,3450,080: the r irm Pro-
ceeded this by £e84,000. The Post Ofil ii"ye en-
...a at milmated at
44.860,000; the receipts
rry *lo' 000 . The Crown
Lands wereestimated to prude,
41175 000 • 'the receipts cor-
restonded. '
Its receipts were catenated at
'33,000,00J ; they had e-
olleded that by the sum of €201.001
The ex dem pt.
of recei. -
over see eilt imatee aniettets 5.e.000:
As regardsthe
4‘"..erotna're yeti. there is of ellen g °fief 4120' 00.
a ire would have been converted into a consider-
-1"-""-n" 'as had It not been foe the idea prevalent that it mu
Intend. ;
ad to Melte SoMething like a clear sweep of all matters
appear en the breakfast table (laughter: which has
wes.ed a Tattiest off in tea to the amount of £140,000; coffee, .
diPO 100.; and sugar and molesus of £153.002, mathrg
heather a falling off of £303 000 I do I,ot derail, eowever.
'Chet fat. will be speed', y revereed after this,petL. The reverlue
Mt auger, so far I roni keeping pm. wee Peeivased
•,r,m, is now 4534,1994 less thde 1 fee's a few years ago.
Foreirrn and colmont spirits . heti it to the extent of
£130,000; sue. 176 000; Whine by £42,000. Tobacco shows
an increase of £lol,oeoe o.)a, £55,000. Under the bead of
Yr elite there bet Been • 'great increase. It seems anti British
needles were gelintre, an increase over foreign, as there has
beenan Indrerat on British spirits to the extent of £400,000.
Misfits there toes been a falling off in foreign spirits to the ex-
tent of 01180,000. Liciaices substituted or the asamited taxes
'we ellettnated at £1,200,000; and the result has beets very
reertying • stamps have been more productive this year
.e Post Office has not shown its useal elasticity this year; for
Vt has only incrmseet in value le,ooo, whereas we anticipated
an increase of £22,i,000. The total revenue.' 1069 hart Mt.:eroded
the revenue 01 1060 by the sum of £2 740,000. .".'ne of the
causes of this is they.. st cheat nese of grata. The emoteNt of
the grant tri this'coutstry 1. 10 500.0e0,4rte. of wheat, 4,500,000
owls oe lerdiee corn, anti 2,0.0.':;00 cwt., of flour in the
Quentry above the quantityhere last ear The Income tax has
ex tutted our eatiniate 1w na less tban £634,000, so that instead
of ray anticipatems last sear being correct, *hen I said that
they would reed .43 3.10,000, the fact It they have
yielded 44,484,1)0. The operation is one that can niMer
be repeated 'hear, hear, and • laugh); unless, indeed, Inc
roentry ihnelit fall once more into the slegash end stupid
tentative of &bowing the payment of its tones to fall
behind ; and ff that should happen, I hope toter person
eau arise to repeat the eperatton. Bet ! low wish
to point out the am 'oat of less and leer nretence that has
been sustained by the ratepaYers ta renit-n tor toe £4,431,, 00
Which we have extracted helm the country. As far
as ihe lard tax and houle tie are concerned there has
bees we loss at all. as ',garde the Income tax there
au a positive gain, because • quarter's forbearer,* was
,illoered--a sum, et 5 per cell, equal to £22,000 in
*lvonr of tbs. taxpayer. As to the notch disputed
„elution de the licences substituted for the assessed
taxes, the operation was this had no change been made,
permses would have been called upon to pay their taxes
A or lite, 70-one halt inflect October awl the o•tter half ii
dher.ollowing April So that the lege those pen,al have
e I-Stained is Ibis: that they ham paid half the tat, ci, about
5.000 000, half a year sooner than they otherwilie *meld have
daue, and the other half One and • taunter rats wooer-
altogether, the intermit on half the tax tee two years Now,
the interest of £600,000 for two yelms at 5 per cent. is
403,018; deduct the earn I have Anse stated, and it leaves
£.2400e, which I apprehend el he the amount of cost and
teemvenience to which en ratepayers have been put, in
'Order to obtain the 44.4ee4 060 (hear, hear) Well, we are
so satisfied with Wm reme t of the experiment that we
have resolved to carry it further hear, hear, and a laugh),
and to take eke opinion of the House as Di whether the
time hue not arrived when an end should he pat
te, the yYstem of collecting the taxes through pa-
tochial 'Akers, not only in the case of licenses, brit also
as SWAM% the income tax, the land tax. and OM house
tax Meer, hear, I believe It erneld result In greater economy
sad that the revenue would be better eollected and made
more prahretive (he., hear). I nate toe.re to the expendl
tuns for leffe 70 It wa, estimated at £68,223,000; but in
annsentience of the charges cer.r.ected with the Court of
Charreery the amount was tabled to 468.4,8,000 The in-
neivet oath. public debt seas estimated at £20,700,000, bat it
iess been exceeded ry £353,5.9. The ether charges on the
a;onsolidated Frret were estioustel at £1,700,000; they have
amounted to 100,135 in excess. The army was estimated at
414,230,000.; the expenditure had been less by 4664,600
The Navy Estimates were £9 997,000 the expenditure has
fallen short 0( that sum by £239 710 (hear, bear). The Civil
Beret. was estimated at £9.715,1 00; it has fallen short of it
by £411.987. On the Custom. and Revenue Depertment
the estimate was £2,613.000 the eseendhlrre has fallen
abort of it by £55,197 On the Poet °Mee the estima* was
42,363 000: the expenditure was lees than that sum by
£47,060. On the paciret service the estimate was £1 o50,0e0;
ano it ties been exceeded 1-y4131,063. Thus the committee
edit chorea that, with the eaception of three items, there
tuts been aconeiderable dedrease on all robots. The decrease
on the expenditure te no leas than £1.418,494 and
after the dedectrMis above mentioned there is a net
decreer* of £th4,(4B on the year. Comparing the e xpendi-
tore of this year with that of the previous one.
there is • reduction of £2 4011000, and the revenue I
-iof that rear exceeded the increase of the preview one by
4:2.7**,600. From the telegraphs we have received £lOO,OOO,
'and paid £65.000; the result being a revenue in the year of
425,434,000; and an expenditure cf £67664065, leaving a nor-
itol. on the year of 47.870,0(0 ;cheers). We had to promise
supplementary estlmates to the extent of £327.000, but that
In iucladed la the 467,564.1)00 of the en:plus thus obtained.
We have expended 44,300:00 in elscbareing the liebbities
me the Abysainlan expecition, Which left a net eurplus of
43,570,600. Of that antouM £1,000,000 was devoted to par ng
el* Exchequer Bonds, u we did not avail ourselves of the
power of renewal; and £134,000 in purchasing Exchtener
Bills; so that the floatieg debt hue been reeneed by
41.134,800, end the payments have exceeded the advances on
public works by £464,000. The result an the Exchequer
halauces has been very marked. Last year they were
e:4,707,268, they have now risers to £8,606,000. Of course
Chat is not an unm,xed good, het we are not afraid that they
beeeme so large as to be unmanageable. In regard to the
tem for telegraphs the case stands thus. The claims of the
,ampaelets again. the Government were £5,715,00e, which
was raised by other charges to £6,750,000. We have
raid 445,327 POO ; and the balance still remains to be paid
The committee may remember that we were allowed several
ways of raising the purchase money. That which we
retorted was the creation of stock in Console to the
amount of nearly £7,000,54, The balthce in the hands
mf the National Debt ctimmtsaioners enable them to take
44 000,000 The rem/debit £3.000000 was soli in the
market, and by careful management It was effected without
disturbing the market, and I onserved in the newspapers at
the time a total unconsciousness that any such operation
I,au going on (a laugh) The £7,000 000 stock was sold at
£lO2 4, 7.4. 1 h. during the current, year we have altogether
r,Ol off debt 10th. amount of £7,821,600 (cheers). We also
I.lmpe that it will now he rotatable to put in operation the Act
,chtch hse Seen bat too much neglected-which provides
that one-fourth of the •arplus of each year shall t e devoted
to the reduction el the public debt, The first payment will
not be more than £08,000; hut in the September quarter
we shall hope to pay off £1,5e,000, and that payments in a
similar proportion will be continued In future quarters
I now come to the expenditure of the current year 1870 71,
sable's I compare with the year 1869-70. The interest of the
.lebt for the coming financial year I estimate at £20,650 000,
beteg £5O 000 less than last year. Other charges are esti-
mated at, £1,820,000, being £l2O 000 more than lest year. I
may say in praaina that the more.° is owing to the tele-
graphs. The •roy Estimate for the corning year 4412,970,000,
beteg a reeler., lon of £1,256 000 on the total ee iimate of but
year. The Navy than, put down et £9,201 000, thns exhi-
biting a reduction on the grants of hut year of £746 000. '
The Civil I put down at £9 990 100, showing an excess
,Ter the grants of last year of £lOO 000. I am bound to 1
gray that this presents an unfavourable contrut !
witth the appearance of the army and Mira. The
revenue takes £4,960,000 being a reduction of 438 000 on the
expenditure of last. year. The p.ket service is £1,107 000, '
being • reduction of £ll3 000. The telegraphs take £36 000,
oho ing an increase 01 4270000, The House will remember
that under this head the expense last year was £90,000. The
remelt of all this is that the net reductions of Di, year
below the armee of last year was estimated at fl 713 000.
The total estimated expenditure for this year is £67.113,000
against 468.826,000 lest yrae ,an hon. member here cried,
r) Turn your face this way' Unler• I rhould become like
• gentleman in the " Progress," Mr. Facingbrith-
way s, I do not think lean comply with the hon. rnemher's
request (• leech) The grant this year for the supplementary
estimate it £327,000 After giving the details of the items
ander the head of "Civil Service," the bon gentleman c.. 11-
tinned-I come to the estimate of revenue for the year 1870-
71, as compared with the year 139-70, we eitlmated the customs
at 421,020060, being an incrasse over the estimate of last year
of £121,000. This lie do on .count of the falling off which
I before mentioned to the comndttee on tea and coffee.
The excise we estimate at £21,640,000, being an inrrease
Of £123,060, and we do that in consequence of the very
large increase in hatters spirits, which prudent persons
think is very likely to be followed by a reaction.
The right hoe, gentleman went on to say that the estimate
tor stamp. was 48 700,000. showing a decrease of 4546,000;
income tax, 07,000,000; decreue, £2,444,000; taxes,
£0850,600; decree., £1,650,000 Post Office, 4i,900.000. in-
crease, £230,000; telegraphs, £676,000, as against £1.00,000
for the past year; Crown lands, 4383,01,0; increase,
£lO 000; miscellanemm, ZS 050 000, an against £3,205,000,
showing a decrease of £155,100. The total revenue
would thus be £71,450,000, the actual revenue last year
bell g £75,434,000 The estimate thus showed a net decrease
of 43,1184,000 Taking the revenue as £71,4:110,000, and the
expeediture at 41,7,113,000 they would have a surplus of
4.4 337,1,00, and he would stergest a plan for increasing it
Therevenue from game certificates aniounted to £160,000,
slid this amount wall not easy to collect. Everyone knew
the lamentable accidents which were caused by the in-
cautious use of firearms, and in his opinion a great amount
of crime had irs origin in I-meshing. lie would pr .pose to the
Douse to Institute • new Excise licence duty of £1 fir carry
ins firearms, and on the other hand to abolish the game
licence dory. Toe financial effect would I. to give to the
revenue 4150,000 over and above the 4.150,000 received from
game licenceg. Of course volunteers and other persons
bevies • right to carry arms would be exempted fool that
duty. The surplus would be Increased by this duty to
£4,4117,000. The hon member for Sunderland had pn,posed
that any surplus which might be made should he applied to
the reduction of the National Debt, but he would propose
that stock should be created, and that Government ahould take
It into their own hands. Baying done so, let them
convert It Into terminable annultin, and when they fall
In, let them be applied to the purchase of other stock. Ile
therefor* proposed to exercise the power given by the Act
29 30 Vic. c. 5, and to take £7,000,000 Post Office Savings
Hank Steck, ifielling annuities terminable in 18,5. at the same
time as £24,000,000 created by the present Prime Minister.
Ti carry this out the Government would have to provide
DT £190,000, and they had accordingly placed that
amount on the Consolidated Fund to meet this. in
1895, the then Chancellor of the Exchequer would have
a surp,us of .43,376,0,0. Deducting this £190,000, the
surplus left would be £4,297,000, and with this be
had to deal lie then proposed to allow the steaming of
barley on a person's preniista for the feeding of the cattle on
those pi erld.s, it IL leg provided, however, that there anould
be an kiln in or near the premise. By this no lees would me.
cult to the revenue. The tax on soap-makers, £1,300; paper.
makers, 41,690: and watch cue makers, £1,000: amounting
in all to 46,00, which he proposed to abolish. Certain duties
and taxes on stemp• anti deeds would be reduced or aboll•hed
to the extent of £200,000; the duty on foreign and English
bills being equalised In reference to the matter with
which the hon, member for Liverpool was Inti-
mately connected with, namely, the postage on news-
papers, he proposed to •boash the impressed stamps,
altogether, the amount being £120,000, but as this would not
come Into effect until October next, the loss on this year
would be only i 60,000. Am the reductions of stamp duty,
etan would not souls laloo operalcua till January next, the

ions would be on the year only 0.40,000. All newspapers
weighing less than six ounces would be reduced to 41. pos.
t.ge and the whole lom On the Post-Office would be
£250,000. Instead of the five per cent. tax on railway
companies carrying pamengers, he proposed to levy upon
the tridilc a duty of one per cent, which would bting
In £307,1100 as against £404,000 now receive] from
the tire per cent duty. By thin there would be
a remission of £107,000. lie believed the whole secret
If tuts lon was that it should be equalised, and
therefore he did 11ot ptopme to abolish entirely the
Mount tax, or the duty on tea, unit Yedild simply render the
teirden he...Mr to some other wy. The income tax wonld
be redwood to 41., nal large imployers of labour would be
required t- ooake returns of persons in their service liable to
Pnl income tax. This reductdoe would involVe a remiosion
of £1,250,0•0 The next thing whirls he should deal with
would us the duty on sugar This duty last year pr.duced
gs,teo,is 0, and he pr moced to reduce it one-half this,
involving the remission of £0.350,000. The remission
on all sugar, escupt refined so. at, would commence at
once: but en line sugar it would not emits into effect for
three weeks, in order to allow time hr the sale it stock in
hand. Reviewing, then, the various items of remission for the
year, they would he al follows :—Foot hawkers Kid 000;
small tcence &tins, £6,000; tall storm and Maumee
duties Al 000. duties on stamps, £5,000; postage on
Printed matter, £60,01.0; on newspspers, ; rail-
ways, a;1,..000 ; income tax, Et tag,igg3 ; sugar, £2,350,1001'eta1:
d 3,966.000. The Oct ,u'-rilus being £4.297,000, there
would thus be left a balt.MA of £iCll,OOO in hand. Tne right
hon. gentleman i•i!licluded by placing in the hand of the
chairman tt••• leolution for the reduction hi sugar, and re-
nnin...a Ms relit amid Ministerial cheers, haring apoten for
tem how@ anti a halt.
The usual desultory diecosaltes the statement, and
after. brief reply from th, i.oancellor of the Exchequer, the
ts lutioi.. necessary ftio carrying out the changes roposed
in the hn'tlfrik Y,•to agreed to.
The gott`l Advocate brought In a bin to amend and to
essimilate In certain respects the lawn of England and Scot-
land relating to game.
Mr. Gladstone moved for the appointment of a Select Com-
mittee to itignire into the Siete oi the law affecting Members
of Perlie.:nent who have been reported guilty of corrupt
Pre.:Atees by an Election Commission,
'Mr. J. Lowther moved, as an amen•lment, that the Com-
mittee be empowered to inquire into the operation of the
C. erupt Practices Acts stol aho Into the complaints made
against the conduct of certain Commissioner.,
The Attorney-General said the Government would not ob-
I pet to a separate Committee to Inquire into the operation
of the Corrupt Practices Acts • but they could not consent to
an inquisition into the conduct of the Commissioners, whose
general ability and discretion the Attorney General earneatly
defended.

A ter remarks from other hon. members, Mr. Lowther
withdrew his amendment. The Committee was then agreed
to, and the horse adjourned.
In the Holum of Commons, April 12, Mr. Monk asked the
Ceder recretat y for the Colonies whether his attention bad
here called to a telegrms dated '• Ottawa, April 8 " to the
effect that the Mitilder of Finance ha I stated that the Ca-
nadian Govermutnt intended to disregard the opinion of the
law officers of England as to the appropriation of the Inter.
colonial Railway Loan of last year ; and wheth, the
;overnmeut had received any information confirmatory of
that statement.
Mr. la onsell stated that his attention had been tolled to
the statement, hilt no conffrinistory information had heen re-
ceived by the government, althottgh they had retelVed com-
munications on other millet:to.
Mr Gladstone having moted that the House at its rising
do adj Tam till Monday, the 25th April,
Sir Willtted lemma took advantage of the opportunity to
call attention to the seriqua public injury caused by the
delay in introducing the Government Licensing Bill, and to
the imperative necessity for dealing with the question dur-
iog the present 'mien. He reminded the House that last
seasiou his hill had been put aside, the Home Secretary
having promised that the Government would introduce a
measure.

After remarks from Sir U. SeNein Ibbitson and Mr.
Bernal Osborne,
Mr. Brace said the measure be bad undertaken to Intro-
duce was a complete one, Mit be th.-Mght It would not he
to bring It hi unless I.e SAM a prospect of carrying it
daring the sesslan tittl further progress had been made
with thn lesh Lend Bill and the Elitcation Bill it would be
imposlible to deal with the licensing system, hot if the sues.
sure could not be brought forward this 116114011 it would be
introduced very early Lithe next.
Mr Beresford.llope urged that the Elacatlon Bill should
he pushed forward, anti expressed his gratiflcatimi at the
assurance to that effect given by the right box gentleman.
Mr. Gladstone expressed a hope that considerable progress
would be made on re-assembling, with the Laud Bill and the
Education Bill. . .

The report of the Committee on Ways led nests well
brought up, and the resoluti ts agreed to
M. Madle rose to ova the appointment of a Select Com•
mitten to considnr and rf•port on the law relating to letters
potent for tu,entions, when the House was counted, and
here being only twenty-six members present, the Rouen ad-
journed.