The Express.
London, England, 1862-04-04 00:00:00

ffienWANIZ g_IOSDON BAIDIIL

TO Dir-it:
To-reasow —Monks& Atimesoon, !,a. *Oa

LONDON, FRIDAY, APRIL 4.

Mr. (;LAINfII,I6 has sometimes been accused of
temerity in his financial administration, but that
reproach died a natural death last evening when
he opened his Budget for the current year in a
statement as cautious and circumspect as it ever
fell to the lot of a eiIIAttrELLOR of the Et-
turvi•ru to deliver. The manner in which the
consummate Parliamentary debater addressed
himself to a tedious and ungrateful task with all

the exactnem of a workman and the fervour of an
artist was a veritable triumph of mind over matter.
For three solid hours, in the course of which he

briefly but fully summarized the financial legisla-
tion of twenty years, touched all the springs of
the national revenue, and examined all the con-
ditions and circumstances of public expenditure,

the House thronged to the roof by an eager
and attentive audience, hung upon the speaker's
lips as though the story he was unfolding
was • rhetorical romance rather than a dry
debtor and creditor account, garnished with
admonitions to prepare for the bad time coming.
Mr. (l LA DITONS lays out his subject like an histo-
rical picture on a large canvas ; dashes in a broad
outline, composes his figures into groups with a just
sense of harmony and proportion, distributes his
lights and shadows with a rare instinct of colour,
and works up his effects to an exquisite finish.
The defect of the whole is, perhaps, a slight ten-
dency to overload the design ; but the spirit of the
conception, the zest and rigour of execution are
irresistibly contagions ; and as long as Mr. (; LA
AMYL remains MINIATILS of FINANCE the Budget
will always be the bright spot of the Session,
though the statement itself—to close the com-
parison—be neutral in tint, not to say opaque.
It was pretty generally understood that the
CHA NI 'MIMI of the EXcH Eyr ER had no striking
novelties to announce last eveniug, and that the
Budget would be little more than an annual stock-
taking in the ordinary course of business. So Mr.
th.sosross began by apologising for the more than
usually simple character of the statement he was
about to present. This was, perhaps, by way of
compliment to a House which in previous years
had revelled in financial emotions to excess. A
modest surplus of 150,0001. to start with, is
satisfactory enough, no doubt, after the sweeping
measures and the bold experiments of the last two
years, yet significant enough to enforce the moral
of strict and searching economy in all departments
of the State. Three important branches of revenue
have been cut away ; and commerce and industry
have been assisted and strengthened by the opera-
tion. The resources of the country rise with every
occasion. Within six months of the Commercial

Treaty with Frazee coming into operation our
exports to France had increased nearly four
milliona--en incalculable result, as Mr. GLA D-
STON E-with • generous and graceful mention of
Mr. Coserm's name—suggested, not to England
alone, but to the peace and civilization of the
world ; for, as the Post-office returns bore witness,
it was not only the interchange of goods,
but the constant friendly intercourse between
the two great neighbouring nations that
was rapidly and surely converting " natural
" enemies" into necessary friends. Nor had this
Treaty been signed a day too soon, since it had
helped to make some alight amends for the disas-
ters inflicted on our industry and commerce by the
American war. A blockade of unparalleled ex-
tent, and, as Mr. GL A ITATON freely owned, of
almost unparalleled strictnesa and severity, and
the crisis that was suffocating our staple in-

dustry, are among those unforeseen contingencies
in the face of which a surplus of 150,0001. is but
a warning that the day for remissions is past, and
that the day for reduction has arrived.
We have entered upon a season of difficulty and

distress, and the wont is yet to come. All those casual
and exceptional resources which have buoyed us
up in former years are now exhausted ; no more
" indemnities" or windfalls are to be looked for. In

the immediate future our path lies between "the
" evil of fresh taxation or the far greater evil of
" loans, and the earnest attempt to apply to the de-
" partments of our public service the principles of
" a true and strict economy." At such a moment
it speaks well for the c iurage and confidence of a
CH A N.'ELL.,R of the EX,IItAJULR that he is able to
exercise his ingenious and versatile activity in the
reduction of wine duties and the commutation of hop
duties, in devising supplemental licenses for publi-
cans, and an annual license for private brewers,
and in developing by reducing the duty on playing
cards. Such are the innocent recreations with
which an earnest and sincere MiN mew of
Fr. N. e relieves a mind oppressed by
grave anxieties and apprehensions. Let us
enjoy the tempered blessings of • painless
Budget whilst we may ! Whatever Mr. Gisutivomr
touches, if it be only to readjust or modify, he
touches with a liberal hand. Cautious and discreet,
but advancing always, and never looking back, he
teaches the nation self-knowledge and self-
respect. With a rigorous impartiality he points out
the only remedy for the wasting malady of na-
tional expenditure, without prejudice to the
efficiency of the public service. As • Minister of
the Executive (lovernment, it is his duty to pro-
vide for that efficiency ; as Finance Minister, re-
sponsible for the well-being of the people, he ad-
monishes his fellow-countrymen in no ambiguous
language that it is empty clamour to protest
against the permanence of the Income Tax, or to
demand the reduction of the duties on Fire In-
surance, while the public expenditure remains un-
stinted and unchecked.

HI Lf Mr. GLADITONZ WM accumulating facts
last night in the House of Commons to show the
necessity of a strict control over the public expen-
diture, the Earl of lieuovncaz, in the House of