The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1873-04-12 00:00:00

THE BUDGET.

In the Houpe of Cotrunona on Monday night, April
7, the Financial Statement wee made to an audience
unu4nally thin for a Budget Night, even on the eve of
the Eaeter Becalm.

_
The Chancellor of the E.:chequer commenced by re-
marking how little impression the viciseitudes of the
past year—the untevourable harvest, political diaturb-
ances abroad, monetary disturbanc,s at home, strikes,
rise in prices, &c.—had left on the Revenue of the
year. Plunging at once into figures, he first compared
the actual expenditure of the year with the grants in
the Appropriation Act, the first being £70,714,000,
and the latter 4.71.881.000, showing the actual ex-
pendittire to be £1,167,000 lees than the grant,
1519,000 less than the Budget bletimate, and
14776,003 lees than the expenditure of 1871 72.
lemming to the Revenue ot the past year, while
the Budget Ustiniate was 8.71,446,000, the actual
Revenue find risen to £76,608,770, ehowing an
increase of £4.762,770. The actual expenditure
being 170,714,000, there had been a surplus of in.
cowlings over outgoings of £5,805.000. Mr. Lowe
vent on to give some details of this increasee in the
Ifevenue. The Customs hat risen over the Estimate
£953,000 Exciee, V.'2,475,000 ; Stamps, £247,000;
Income Tax, 8.560.000; Post Office, £50,000; and
Telegraphs, £600,000. In the Excise Duties, Spirits
alone stood for an increase of £1,370,060, the total
receipts tieing £13,600,000, or an average of 02:, 000 •
week. 'there was also an increase of £466,000 ill
the quantity of Malt made. Compared with the
Revenue of 10712 last year's Revenue showed an
increaae of 8.1,901,000, although there had been
taxes taken off computed to produce £3,240,000.
Taking next a comprehensive view of the Capital
Account during the last four years, Mr. Lowe pointed
out that the present Government had spent on For-
tilications and Telegraphs, £9,028,600; oa the Aboli-
tion of Purchase, £1,286,000 ; on the Diminution of
Debt, 8.19,080,000; an had int-reseed the Balances, in the
Exchequer by £1,285,000. In 1869 the Debt of
the country, Funded and l'nfonited, amounted to
.L 405,440,000 and it was now £783,400,000, and of this
reduction £6,861,000 had been effected during the past
year. Dealing next with the coming year, Mr. Lowe
etated the gross expenditure at £71,881,000, which is
an increase if £lO,OOO on last year. The estimated
Revenue he put at £76,617,000, thus distributed :
Customs £21,033,000
Excise ... 25.747.000
Stamps 10,1150,000
Land Tax and House Duty 2,350,000
• Theorise Tax ... ... 7,000,000
l'ost Office 5,012,100
Telegraphs ... •.. ••• 1,220°0
'rown Lands 375,"
11liecellaneous 3,830,000

£76,617,000
In his estimate the Customs are taken at the same
amount as last year, and an increase is expected
of £103,000 on Stamps, £13,000 in Land Tax,
£192,000 in the Poet Office. £20i,000 in the Tele-
graph Service, and £.33,230 Miscellaneous. On
the other hand there is an estimated decrease of
£38,003 and of £500,000 in the Income Tax.
The Spirit Hr venue is taken at £19,000,000, and
the Income 'fax is estimated to produce £1,750,000
foe every penny in the pound. On the whole,
them is a net estimated increase on last year's
revenue of £9,230. But compared with the expendi-
tum of the coming year—£7l,B7l.ooo—there remained
a Surplus of £4,746,000 ; and then came the question,
what is to be done with this large stun 'The first
point which presented itself was the ..4(abomu In-
demnity of £3,200,000, which we are bound to pay in
gold at Washington on October next. This he held to
belong to the service of the year (at this there was a
general cheer) ; but, nevertheless, it was a charge sui
pesseris—not a permanent payment--a payment which
if made entirely out of income would interfere
with the ordinary finance of the year, and the Go-
vernment had come to the conclusion that, on the
whole, had of it, £1,600,000, should be paid out of the
R0P1111313 of the year. The remainder would b. Pro
vided for by Exchequer Bonds, but only to be imue'd
In ore of an unfavourable condition of Finance, wLjb
he had no reason to anticipate. There remained
£3,146,000 to be dealt with, and the Government
thought relief ought first to be applied to cheapening
some arti. 1, which entered larjely into the food of the
people.
i7.„‘t4oadr,' wwashkiliamong its e
ootheifiitoom,si 7.71 which
re
solace of old age," besides being "exceedingly nutri-
tious and wholesome," had the first claim, and he
proposed tc take off half the present duty. At the
',repent Ca', the Sugar Duties would produce this year
£3,252,00• hut allowing for the increase of consump-
tion, the 1..; tithe Revenue from the reduction would
not be more than £1,430,000. There still remained
something, i.: d not to keep the House in sus-
pense, Mr. Lows announced at once that it was
proposed to take off • penny of the Income
'Tax— at which there was a general cheer. The
loss to the Rev,nue in the current year from
this remission would be £1,425,000, and there would be
a further loss to the Revenue of £30,000 by extending
the exemptim for waiters to the liotel.keepere, whose
case he had not been able to answer. The combined
effect of these reductions will be to reduce the Revenue
of the year to £73,762,000, which, compared with the
estimated expenditure (including the Akisanto pay-
ment), £73,471,000, leaves a working surplus of
£291,000. Mr. Lowe concluded his speech, which
lasted only an hour and five minutes, by ex .iressing a
hope that the country would he of opinion that he had
acted fairly and impartially to all interests.

The usual diacureive discussion followed, and was
prolonged until low past eleven o'clock. Mr. White
expressed a general satiafaction with the scheme ; but
his colleague, Mr. Fawcett, vehemently attacked what
he called the cowardly policy of borrowing money with
• surplus revenue in band to pay the Atabarna In-
demnity. Neither did he think the remission of the
Sugar Duties the most effective mode of relieving con-
earner., for it would only amount to a farthing in the
poutislp_ So also a reduct im of one-thir3 on all temporary
incomes, and the exemption of all incomes under £l5O
would 1. e been a more sensible relief to the direct
taxpayer,

Sir Jilin Lubbock also regretted that the A 40.alna
Claims had not been paid out of iDCOLLIB, and IFDA fiir
omitting the annual ceremony of a Budget for four or
live years, leaving taxes unaltered, and applying the
surplus to reduction of debt.
Camel Barttelot, Sir G. Jenkinson, Mr. Corrance,
Mr. Greene, and Mr. Read joined in complaining
of the entire omisshin of any relief for the agri-
cultural class. Sir W. Lawson made a Permissive
Bill speech apropos of the incrsase iu the Spirit
Duties, which he considered, so far from denoting
an increase in the prosperity of the country,
meant increased demoralization and misery. Mr.
W. Fowler spoke in favour of some relief to the
railing interest, while Mr. J. B. Smith and Mr.
MLaren a ivocated a larger reduction of Debt. Mr.
Crawftwd feared that the Chancellor of the Exchequer
had taken too sanguine a view of the Revenue of the
year, under the impression that the recent burst of
prosPerily was to be permanent, and warned him that
serious orecontent with the assessment of the Income
Tax was brewing. Mr. Laing and Mr. Muntz
thought the Budget • good one on the whole, and
certain to be popular. hits. R. Fowler, Mr. I.lactie,
Mr. Whalley, Mr. Grieve, Mr. Barnett, and Mr.
Sclater.Booth also made some observations; the Chan.
ilor of the Exchequer replied very briefly, :biter
,vhich the usual formal .Resolutions were agreed to.
The Report was fixed for Thursday, the 24th inst.
The other business was disposed of, and the Holum
adjiarned at half pant two o'clock until Monday, the
21.1 inst.