The Daily Times.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1860-02-20 00:00:00

the Romagna can be imputed to France,—on the
contrary, he contends that, the Austrians having
left, the inhabitants took advantage of the with-
drawal of that military force, which alone had
kept them in subjection to the Popedom, to
declare themselves independent. Thus Austria
discontinued her mission, while France remained
faithful to hers. M. Thouvenel's justification of
the policy of his Imperial master is a very forcible
one ; but it is not calculated to close the breach
that has been opened between the French
Government and the Holy See, but rather to
Iwiden it, and make it irreparable.
he returns of the Board of Trade for the
uilAith and year ending 31st December, 1859,—a
brief abstract of which appeared in our com-
mercial intelligence of Saturday, will be found
in another column of our present sheet—returns,
the issue of which has been delayed, as usual, for
th,3 purpose of affording time to make up the
landing accounts of all cargoes properly pertain-
ing to the trade of the past year. It will be seen
that they show a very large increase, in both
enumerated and unenumerated articles of export
of British produce and manufactures, during the
last three -years,—an increase, according to the
total declared value in enumerated articles, in the
past year, of upwards of eight millions upon the
year 1857, and of upwards of twelve millions
upon the year 1858; while, including the unenume-
rated articles, the aggregate exports for 1859
exceeded those of 1857 by nearly eight millions
and a-half; and those of 1858 by nearly fourteen
millions. These are results which demonstrate
very forcibly the rapid rate of our commercial
progress during the past year.
The Radical papers are raising the alarm of a
dissolution of Parliament being sure to follow a
decision of the House of Commons, upon the
Budget, adverse to the Government. This,
however, would seem to be by no means certain.
Should the Ministry be defeated, and Lord Pal-
merston resign, it will rest with the Queen
whether or not there be a dissolution of Parlia-
ment. Her Majesty might not think it expedient
that the country should be appealed to in order
to bolster up an Administration which the
country had already condemned. Lord Palmer-
ston is not so absolute a necessity, at the present
moment, as the head of the Government, to
render a dissolution even desirable, let alone
indispensable.
It will be seen by a notice we insert elsewhere,
that there are four notices of motions in opposi-
tion to the Budget, on the order book of the
House of Commons,—one by Mr. Lindsay, requir-
ing France to abolish the differential duties on
shipping between the ports of England and
France ; one by Mr. Du Cane, against diminish-
ing the ordinary revenue, and re-imposinm the
Income-tax at a higher rate ; one by i. r. Dis-
raeli, calling upon .the house to consider the
French treaty before going into the Customs Acts,
—and one from Mr. Bristow for retaining the
exemption of deeds of Building Societies from
stamp duties.
The Times pretends that Mr. Du Cane's amend-
ment on the Budget, that is to be proposed to-
night, consists of a couple of negatives, which,
as we all know, in English grammar, and, we
suppose, also in common sense, " destroy one ano-
ther and become an affirmative." But such is not
the fact in the case of this amendment. It asserts,
it is true, that it " is not expedient to add to the
existing deficiency by diminishing the ordinary
revenue "—this is certainly one negative. But
when it proceeds to declare that the House "is
not prepared to disappoint the just expectations
of the country by largely increasing the income-
tax," this other negative is one entirely indepen-
dent of the former; for no increase of the income-
tax would be necessary to supply the existing
deficiency of the revenue under any proper finan-
cial scheme. It is quite consistent, therefore, to
deny the expediency of the Ministerial proposi-
tion, and at the same time propose to not disap-
point the people, by increasing, instead of reducing,
so obnoxious an impost as the income-tax.
It is expected that the discussion on the
Budget will occupy the House of Commons
mostly the whole of this week. It is not thought
probable that a division will take place, at the
earliest, before Friday. The country, therefore,
has yet several days more for making known its
opinion on the Anglo-French Treaty, and the
Budget that is based upon it, and which involves,
let it not be forgotten, the necessity, not only of an
increase of the Income-tax, but of its perpetuation
for an indefinite period. The fate of the Treaty
with France is directly involved in the amend-
ment of Mr. Du Cane ; and, with the fate of the
Treaty, of course that of the Budget. We are
much mistaken if it will not be found most satis-
factory to the feelings of the great body of the
people that the whole should be swept away
together;—the Treaty as one of most humiliating
and injurious concessions to a despotic potentate ;
and the Budget as throwing away millions of
revenue upon a worse than questionable experi-
ment.

Having obtained a parliamentary copy of the
resolutions to be proposed in the Committee on
Customs' Acts this. evening., in the House of
Commons, by the Chancellor of the Ekchequer,
we give it in another part of our impression
to-day ; and we would direct to it the atten-
tion of the parties concerned, as presenting in an
authentic form the proposed fiscal alterations
which are embodied in the Budget.

TIJE Budget discussion, which will probably be
commenced this evening in the House of Com-
mons, is likely to be one of the most important
that has occupied either House of Parliament
for a long time ; not only from the merits of the
subject itself, but from the issues which are likely
to arise. We say which will probably commence
this evening ; because, as Mr. Disraeli will pro-
pose that the House should first consider the Treaty
with France, upon which so many of the provisions
of the Budget are based, it may happen that the
discussion on the latter will not be entered upon
until the sense of the House of Commons be taken
upon the Treaty ; and if an adverse opinion upon
it should be come to, of course there may at once
be an end of the Budget altogether. Mr.
DISRAELI maintains that the Treaty, before it
receives the sanction of the House of Commons,
must of necessity be discussed; and that the
discussion of it should precede that of the
Budget, in order that the House may not be
called upon to part with a considerable amount
of revenue, before having had an opportunity of
rejecting the Treaty, in consequence of which
that amount of revenue will have been destroyed.
This, it seems, was the course pursued by Mr.
PITT, in 1787, when he brought forward a Treaty
with France, which was also to affect con-
siderably the revenue of this country. Mr. PITT
was Chancellor of the Exchequer at that time.
as well as Prime Minister, and when he made
his financial exposition, he moved that the Treaty
be taken into consideration, so that the
House might be • enabled to decide upon
it, before committing itself to the provisions of
the Budget. And Mr. DISRAELI contends that the
duty of the Government now is, to give the House
an opportunity of expressing its opinion on every
article of the present Treaty before it is called
upon to give that Treaty its sanction. Evidently
this would seem the proper and constitutional
course ; and we do not see how any other mode
of proceeding can be satisfactory to the country.
But when the Budget itself comes to be discussed
—should the House's sanction of the Treaty pre-.
pare the way for it, as propOrd it is to be met by
a resolution which, we believe, has received
that,
e ap-
proval of the great body of the Conservatives,
recognising the necessity for increased expendi-
ture in the coming financia
is not expedientth to addouse to the
opinion, that it
deficiency by diminishing the ordinary revenue,
and is not prepared to disappoint the just expec-
tations of the country by a large increase of the
Income-tax, as proposed in the Budget. Cer-
tainly, it would be to disappoint the just expec-
tations of the country most grievously, to inflict upon
it any such increase of so obnoxious an impost.
The Income-tax, as it now stands, were bad
enough ; and its reduction, if not its entire cessa-
tion, ought to be looked forward to, We are
living in times of peace. This, in fact, was
promised long ago by the present CHANCELLOR
OF THE EXCHEQUER ; and, but for the' diminutions