The Dorset County Express and Agricultural Gazette.
Dorchester, Dorset, England, 1859-07-26 00:00:00

HOUSE OF COMMONS-MONDAY.

In a Committee of Ways and Means,
The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER made his fiRIII-
Mal statement. The total revenue of the year had been
estimated at £63,000,600' it had produced £65.417,000.
The total actual expenditure had been £64,663,000,
against • revenue of 1165,477,000, leaving a surplus of
114100,000. The result of the duty upon draughts and
checks could not be correctly ascertained. Its amount
had been estimated at 1:300,600; but he thought it
would not exceed £200,0010. There was an exemption
of cheeks drawn by the proprietor and paid to him over
the counter, and this exemption be should propose to
remove. The equalisation of the spirit duties, which
was a measure of fiscal reform independent of pecuniary
reining, had been estimated to yield an additional
revenue of At 500,000 ; but the produce in 1858-59, as
compared with 185748, showed an increase of only
1185,000. Mr. Gladstone then addressed himself to
what he termed the more grave and serious part of his
task, by stating the estimated amount of the revenue
expenditure of the current year, and the extent to
which the latter would exceed the ways and means, or
ordinary revenue of the country.

~
Estitnited Revenue : E.
Excise

8,530.000

Stamps ... ... 8,100,000
Land and Aasassed 3,302.000

Income-tax ..

i:F015:000

Port-offloe

s:iiiiis66

Crown Lands

Miscellaneous ...

1,i3-5:&)6

D 34,340,000

Estimated Expenditure :
Funded and unfunded debt . . *OOO,OOO

Charges On Consolidated Fund ... 1,96000
Arany (including Militia) .. 13,300,00 D
Navy (including Packet-service)... ... 12,7e2,000
Civil Service/ . . 7,825,000
Revenue Departments 4,740,000

£69,207,000
The estimated revenue being £64,340,000, and the esti-
mated expenditure £69,207,000, there would be a gross
deficiency in the current year of £4,867,000. Next
year it would be necessary to enter upon larger views
of our financial system, for next year the iIICOMe-tlll
would lapse, as well as certain war duties upon tea and
sugar, and on the other hand, the Long Annuities
would fall in. Her Majesty's Government, therefore,
would not enter upon considerations of prospective
finance; they confined themselves to temporary and
almost provisional finance. He now asked the Commit-
tee to consider what modes of supply could be devised
to meet the deficiency of the Estimates. The gross de-
ficiency to be met, as he had stated, was t 4,867,000.
In the first place the Government were of opinion that ,
the system of nearly six months' credit allowed to malt-
sters—whereby to that extent the GO•0111/11elli found
capital for the maltster, which was an exceptional
pnvilege and bad in principle—might be modified; and
they proposed to take away six weeks of the credit and
to allow a discount of 4 per cent, on the payment. The
effect of this would be to bring into the Exchequer
before the let of April next • sum of £780,000 which
would otherwise not be paid until the following financial
year. This would reduce the deficiency of £4,867,000
to a little over £4,000,000, and tbis it was proper= to
raise by an augmentation of the Income-tax. The pre-
sent rate was 86. in the pound. An additional 4d. in
tltrugund would give something over £4,000,000. It
w be necessary to re-introduce the distinction
between incomes under £lBO and above that amount.
He proposed that the additional 44. in the pound on the
mass of the Income-tax payers should stop at incomes
of £150; and he proposed =at the augmented tax should
be leviable upon the first half-yearly payment after the
resolution should have been adopted by the House.
The effect would be that in the autumn or winter
quarter the tax upon all persons with incomes above
£l5O a year would be Bid., or at the rate annually of
Is. Id., and 44. upon incomes under £l5O. This addi-
tion to the tax would produce £4,340,000, and this sum
add= to £780,000 would give L 5,120,000; deducting
the deficiency of £4,867,000, there would remain a sur-
plus of £253,000. During the current year • sum of
about £400,000 would become due on account of the
last payment of Long Annuities; but the =ate of the
es= balances would render any provision to meet this
demand unnecessary. Mr. Gladstone concluded by
moving a formal vote of Ways and Means, and laid
upon the table two resolutions relating to the malt
duties and the Income-tax, to be taken into considers-
Sun = Thursday.
After a desultory dissuasion, the resolutions were
agreed to, said =dewed to be reported.
The lianas then went into Committee of Supply
upon the Civil Service Estimates and Civil Contin-
and various votes were agreed to, after much
raiectutn, when the Chairman was ordered to report

"Mouse adjourned at 10 minutes to 1 o'clock.