The Press.
London, England, 1854-04-15 00:00:00

338

THE YEAR'S REVENUE AND
EXPENDITURE.

Wx stated in our last publication, while we
quoted the figures given in the official pub-
lished accounts of the revenue during the.
year just ended, that the Statement was open
to explanation And the CnstmeLton of the
EXCHEQUER informatics on Tueeday that the
improvement in the revenue was even better
than he expected, and that the balance-sheet
which he presented exhibits an excess of in-
come over expenditure of no less a sum than
3,624,000/., which excess, adverting to what he
calls the manipulation of the accounts (and of
which our readers will recollect we com-
plained), he reduces to three millions. This
he states to be real surplus. It is an unusual
thing, and rather questionable, for a Chan
cellor of the Exchequer to make a financial
statement on the occasion of laying his balance-
sheet on the table ; and we suspect, after the
castigation he received last Tuesday, he is not
likely to resort to that practice again. His
object manifestly was to gloss over certain
discrepancies between his statement on the
6th of March and the real condition of things
ES exhibited in his balance-sheet. But the
acuteness of Mr. DISRAELI was not so easily
baffled. On the 6th of March Mr. Disa.tEtt
stated :
There is no reason why on the sth of April next the
balance in the Exchequer should be more than 8,000,0001.
Then as to the amount of deficiency bills
which would be required, he said
Will the amount of deficiency bills in the coming
quarter be less than 6,00 ),00J/.? . . . The Bank of
England will not like to be lending 5,00:1,000/. or 6,000,0001.
of money at a lower than the market rate of interest.
On both these points the CHANCELLOR of
the EXCHEQUER joined issue with his critic.
Thus :
He ( Mr. Disraeli) estimates the anticipated balances
at 3,00 ),030/. I have the misfortune to differ from him,
for I estimate them at 4,00J,000/.
The right hon. gentleman has asked me what is the
amount which I shall require to raise by deficiency bills
during the next quarter. . . . I think that the demand
for deficiency bills during the next quarter would be from
4,000,0001. to 4;250,000/. . . . Such is the simple state
of things.

From Mr. GLADSTONE'S position it was to be
assumed that he would be better informed
on these two matters-of-fact than Mr. DISRAELI
could possibly be ; but bow stands the ques-
tion now that the sth of April has arrived, and
the accounts have been duly made up ? Mr.
GLADSTONE himself shall tell us. We quote
from his exposition of Tuesday evening. First,
as to the balance in the Exchequer :
Oa the 6th of April, 1853, the balance in the Exchequer
was returned at 7,8i9,0001. ; on the sth of April, 18.)4, the
balance was returned at 2.778,000/. . . . The balance
in the Exchequer, as it appears in the balance-sheet, is
2,778,0001.
That is, Mr. DISRAELI had not under-esti-
mated the balance, as Mr. GLADSTONE asserted
he had done, but over-estimated it by 212,000/. ;
while Mr. GLADSTONE over-estimated it by no
less than 1,212,0001.
On the amount of deficiency bills Mr. GLAD-
STONE said
" In the statement which is published regularly, the pro-
bable amount of deficiency hills required to meet the
charge of the last quarter is stated at 5,852,000/. It is not
unnatural that some uneasiness should prevail in the
public mind—deluded and mystified as I must say it is by
oar system of public accounts—when anything called by
the name of deficiency appears to reach such a formidable
amount as 5,852,001. However, according to ordinary
usage, some deduction must be made from this sum, and
the actual amount of deficiency bills brought to charge in
April, 1814, was 6,472,'.00/. This, however, makes no
material difference ; 6,472,000/. is a very large amount."
This result again is nearly in accordance
with Mr. DISRAELI'S estimate, and wide of Mr.
GLADSTONE'S by at least 1,300,000/.
to explain, as if
hidden mystery,
Sly follow, because
bills are named at
quarter, as the sum
have to supply cash,
considered as in-
ig the whole of the
' course not. Defi
securities given to
for advances in an
they are cancelled
But that does not

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ite
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, - -ate temporary
the Bank by Government f
ticipation of revenue, and
as the revenue comes in.