The Press.
London, England, 1857-03-14 00:00:00

246

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any addition to the estimates on account
'mar.

The aniegKent was negatived without a division.
Mr. W. WILLIAMS then moved that incomes below
150/. be exempted from the tax.
nit CHANCk.LLOR of the EXCHEQUER said the rate
of the tax upon this class e persons would be re-
duced by the act more than one-half, and 350,00 a
a year was a larger sum than he felt himself justified
in asking the house to surrender.
The amendment was negatived upon a division by
53 to 7.

The bill then pissed through the committee.
PUBLIC EXPENDITURE.

The report from the committee of supply having
been brought up,
Mr. GLADSTONE moved a resolution, setting forth
the necessity of further limiting the public expendi-
ture. He made the motion, he said, upon two
grounds ; first, that there did not appear to be an
adequate provision for the exigencies of the year ;
and, second, that the expenditure of the country
had not of late been kept under due control, but had
increased to a point which had become embarrass-
ing, and which threatened to become even alarming.
Since 1853 the total outlay of the country had in-
creased by more than 0,000,000/., of which excess only
a small portion could fairly be attributed to the
war. Of this 4,500,000/. increase had accrued
upon the Military services. In The civil service the
augmentatitin had been nearly 1,700,000/., arising,
not upon a few itans, but scattered over a multitude
of small accounts, and therefore requiring the more
vigilant scrutiny. The right hon. member called
upon the house to make a vigorous effort to amend
the mischievous extravagance in which it had lately
indulged :
Within the recollection of many who now hear me—at
least within the recollection of those who sat in Parliament
twenty years ago—the miscellaneous estimates amounted
to only t,ooo,tX►nl. per annum, and even then they had
been greatly increased. Many necessary and beneficial
additions have been made to them; but that is no reason
why the same strictness of rule and method should not
now be applied to the consideration of every question con-
nected with them as used to be applied for almost the
whole period which is within the memory of the existing
generation. (Hear, hear.) I am convinced, whether it
be owing to the war, which engendered a kind of extrava-
gance in trifling sums, or to some other cause, that a very
great change, an unhappy and mischievous change, has
come over the spirit of Parliament: and the time will
come—nay, bats come—when it is necessary to make some
vigorous effort to return to the wholesome rules and
maxims which used to prevail some tenor fifteen years ago.
Of one thing at least I feel quite certain—that you will not
go on, peace continuing, for twelve months longer without
some strong movement in this direction. ( Hear, hear.)
I defy you to meet the finances of this year without opening
up the whole subject of your expenditure, and what I now
propose is that we should expren our desire, before we go
t r the country, that her Majesty's Government should,
during the interval of comparative leisure and repose
which they will enjoy, employ some portion of it in a care-
ful consideration of the estimates, which appear to me
beyond what the necessities of the country require. I do
believe, if the Parliament had continued, that that would
have been found to be the genuine and deliberate feeling
of the house. At present I only appeal to the Government
and those wbo hear me to give this subject their due
consideration, and with no intention of challenging a
division. I confess I believe it is one of those subjects
which are always handled better when handled earl•, and
with respect to which, if we do what we can by a judicious
and well•cotsidered measure, we shall be the more likely to
give greater satisfaction to the country, and run much
less risk of coming to a precipitate conclusion, than if we
delayed dealing with them to the very last moment, under
the pressure of public impatience, alien the time for
jii tickets retrenchment has passed away. ( Hear, hear.)
beg leave, sir, to move this resolution.—stating. at the
smile time, that I do not wish to interfere with votes of
credit in the committee of supply :

That in order to secure to the country that relief from taxa-
tion winch it justly expects, it is necessary, In the judgment
of this house, to revise and further reduce the expenditure of
the State.

Mr. W. WILLIAMS seconded the resolution.

The CHANCELLOR of the EAChEQUER admitted that
the subject demanded the most serious considera-
tion. Nevertheless, he contended that the state-
ments urged by Mr. Gladstone were overcharged.
The revenue and expenditure of the ensuing financial
year were brought, he believed, into a satisfactory
equilibrium, and he justified the arrangements by
which the adjustment had been effected. With regard
to the present estimates, he remarked that the vote
of money on account in no way committed the
futttre Parliament to accept the amounts proposed
by Government, nor, on the other hand, would any re-
solution now adopted impose any pledge of economy or
retrenchment upon the succeeding Legislature. As
an abstract proposition he fully concurred in the
principle set forth in the resolution just proposed.
Mr. DISRAELI protested against the principle,
which, he observed, ',had attained a mischievous ex-
tension, of referring to select committees the btrincs.i
of the Government :
If a select committee is to prepare estimates, it will
supersede the Government; and why, let me ask, are we
to have Ministers if they do not perform the duties of