The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1883-07-07 00:00:00

THb.' NATIONAL REVENUE.

It is but a few days ago that the bells of
London churches, the firing of cannon, and the
keeping ef a general holiday in onr dockyard
towns celebrated the anniversary ef her Mejesty'e
coronation. A week previ;:a,'; Queen hil
-entered the forty-seventh year of her reign, and
her subjects may reasonably look forward to the
commemoration of a jubilee. Queen Victoria,
although of mature age, and after such a
lengthened rule over the lands and seas of
Great B:itain, is even now eighteen years
younger than her grandfather at the time when
he was called to his rest. Altheugh in her 65th
year elle is still the youngest of all the Han°.
vetian sovereigns who have swayed the English
sceptre. George I. at the time of his death was
67, Georee H. was 77, George Itf. was 82,
George IV. was 68 and William IV. was 72. The
Queen has lately suffered from the effects of an
accident ; but the latest official announcement
is that her A ijesty is making satisfactory pro-
gress and that with complete rest and change as
reco emended, there is every hope of the Sover-
eign's ultimate recovery, and of her being spared
to the country for many years to come.
Many changes have taken place daring the
long reign of (been Victoria, far more than could
possibly have been witnessed in the lifetime of
any of her predecessors. Only three reigns
have bt,eu longer ; but neither the third Henry,
the third Edward, nor the third George looked •
upon such peaceful revolutions as those wmiici
have been accomplished :-.ince the heralds pro.
claimed the accession of Hat. Mijesty. There
was a great abundance of war in those far-off
times • but from 1837 to the prefent time we
have been engaged in only one European conflict.
It is in the arts of peace that astonishing pro-
gress has been made. And the recently-
published revenue Returns show an extraordin-
ary advance in the amount annually gathered
into the national exchequer aa compared with
the first year of her Majesty's acces=ion to the
Throne. At that time Lerd Melboura was in
power, and the country had to meet liabilities
amounting to about fifty millions a year. That
was considered an enormous suet by the come-
notnists of those days. It was as they truly
pointed out nearly a tniihicn sterling a week and
they did not hesitate to declare that the nationat
expenditure had increased, was increasing,
and ought to ha diminished. By-and-by the Whig
Ministry went out principally upon the question
of finance, and Sir Ribert Peel came into power.
Hi 3 lical reforms reduced the expenditure and
augmented the revenue. He made a series of
of splendid onslaughts on the excise, which
swept away the Government duty on hundreds
of articles of daily use and consumption, and
laid the foundation for that expansion of com-
merce Weigh 80CS SLICII a development to-day.
The expenditure did net materially vary up to
the year 1853, when we had to prepare for the
Crimean War. Then, of cours t, all was changed
and we have never again gone back to the halc-
yon days preceding that great struggle. Twenty
years ago Mr. Bright declared that no govern-
ment WjS worthy the confidence of the country
which could not do with less than seventy
millions a year. It is now nearly ninety millious
or forty millions more than at the time of the
'Queen's accession to the Throne.

It would be impossible to blame any political
party for the gradual growth of the national ex-
penditure. The Crimean War, which sent it up
to such a height, was declared by a Cceiiition
Ministry; and under each successive Administ-
ration, with few exceptions, the outlay of the
State has growe. Happily, as its liabilities have
gone on, so has its capacity to meet them. There
is one cheering circumstance in connection with
th a national revenue that whereas the income
tax now produces beyond all comparison more
than it did upon its re-iuiposition by Sir Robert
Peel, the yield of revenue from exeiseable Ileors
is much less than it WAS ten years since. A more
sober population means a more thrifty popula-
tion; anti the turn which matters have thus taken
in the right direction is a m itter fir satisfaction
not only to the ter-liven:rice reformer, but to
the body politic g- nerally. The second half of
the year begius much nor.: favourably than
could nave been witicipated some months ago
after the protrated and wet winter. The brilli-
ant sunshine has brightened up both town and
country, and prepares the land for that which
has been too infrequent a blessing of late years
—a favourable harvest.