The Express.
London, England, 1861-04-26 00:00:00

1101 WRTIR AT 10319074. BRIDAL

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Tu-111111101F 11111NOinis. 311.

LONDON, 'AIDA if, APRIL 26.

Tee desultory debate on going into Committee
of Ways and Means was not only resumed by the
Opposition and continued for another seven hours
last night, but is at their request adjonrned to Mon-
day nest. The Tories being wholly responsible for
this delay in the progress of public business, must
of course have good reasons for subjecting the
trade and commerce of the country to so serious
an inconvenience. It was very difficult to make
out at first what the object in view really was.
The wearisome debate of Monday evening threw
but little light upon it. No motion was made,
and no definite proposition of any sort emanated
from the Opposition benches. One member indeed
suggested in energetic language that the duty on
hops was " infamous" and ought to be at once
abolished ; and another complained of the tax on
malt as a grievous and intolerable burden. Others
repeated, with tedious iteration and in the moat
diluted form, the rival arguments in favour of deal-
ing with cheap literature or that "scurrilous bets-
" rage" tea. But these small points of detail are
of course utterly irrelevant as grounds for discussing
the general scheme of the Budget before going
into Committee. Sir STAFFORD Noarecore threw
some light on the policy of his party in hie elabo-
rate attempt to invalidate Mr. Gtsoirroire's esti-
mated surplus. The efforts of all the more in-
fluential Opposition speakers, both on Monday
evening and last night, were directed, indeed, to
the same point. But why this eager, this nervous
anxiety to reduce, and, if possible, destroy the
estimated surplus 1 Mr. WRITIDSIDR'S speech last
night answered this question, and brought out the
animus of his party, and the real objecta they have
in view. Thu Tories oppose the Budget of the
Government on what they choose to call "con.
" stitntional" grounds. In other words, they ate
resolved to maintain the usurped right of the
House of Lords to control the finances of the
country. The financial scheme of the present
year leaves no scope for any such usurpation.
It gives the Upper House no opportunity
of continuing a tax which the Lower House
has repealed. This is the cardinal offence, the
unpardonable sin of the CRANCILLOR of the fa-
cusarze's scheme. But why, it may be asked,
are the Tories so eager to vindicate the usurped
authority of the Upper House in matters of finance?
MF. WRITSSIDS'S speech offers indirectly a reply
to this question also. It is because they are re-
solved to keep up the expenditure of the country
at the highuat possible point. In their efforts to
secure this great object they have displayed a
wonderful fertility of resource. They have invented
every possible variety of what may be called the
" old bogie " argument. They have a portfolio
full of foreign wars on the eve of breaking out, of
projected invasions, and innumerable proofs that
this country is in an utterly defenceless state. But
after all they cannot relyon these favourite pretexts
of financial extortion. They dread the awakened
spirit of inquiry into the national expenditure, and
fear that the day may soon come when the voice
of a long-suffering but overtaxed people will be
heard with authority in the House of Commons.
And they want, therefore, to provide in time for
that evil day, by surrendering the most sacred
rights of the Commons, and securing to the House
of Lords a controlling power in matters of finance.
That is at the bottom of this desultory but
pertinacious discussion which interferes so seriously
with the progress of public business.
Sir Srarrime Nuarmccera attempted to throw
discredit on the calculations for this year by the
trite and stale expedient of dwelling on the partial
failure in some items of estimated revenue last
year. hut every ten-pound householder, every
intelligent artisan in the country, knows
perfectly well the causes of these failures, and
that they are not attributable to the CRANCILLOR
of the Su:Reeves. Mr. Sevisoea Prigoauto
and Mr. WHITERIDE both returned to this thrice-
exploded argument last night. The former gen-
tleman, indeed, made a special disunion in favour
of China. Ile attempted to show, by an imposing
parade of facia and figures, of public returns and
private information, that the 750,0001. indemnity
money from China cannot corns) into the Exch..
quer during the present year. Mr. Massa
Gurnee, however, in a few sentences disposed
of the right lion. gentleman's elaborate calcula-
tions. The Chinese indemnity is to be received
in quarterly payments, which consist of one-lifth
of the year's revenue of the customs collected at
the Chinese porta open to foreign trade. Mr.
FITZOZRALD based his calculations of the amount
to be received during the present financial year on
the ccasular returns of the gross receipts at these
ports. On these returns ho estimates the amount
to be received will not exceed 600,0001., and
be maintained that this /sum ought in justice
to be given to the Chinese merchants who have
suffered during the war, and whose losses the Go-
vernment has engaged to make up. But Mr. M.
(.mssoe showed that this calculation rests on a par-
tial and one sided basis. The year 1839 was a
year of war, and thus of considerable mercantile
disturbance. The Customs returns for that year,
therefore, reflect this depression, and are below the
ordinary average. Then, again, under the treaty,
new porta are opened, and the anticipated
trade from these ports must be taken
into account. It is on this larger view of our
commerce with China that Lord EWIN'A calcula-
tions, adopted by the CHAN...Luke of the Excite-

QUER, are based. And Mr. Gulps might well
ask, what private sources of Information the
right hon. gentleman possessed which can
claim to be superior in accuracy and authority to
those of the distinguished diplomatists who con-
cluded the recent treaty with China.
In the purely financial part of his argument
Mr. Warm' or betook himself to the familiar field
of Irish spirits, endeavouring to show that the anti-
cipated revenue from this source cannot be rea-
lised in the present year, because it partially failed
in the past year. Mr. CAIRD however gave, on
undisputed authority, an emphatic and final reply
to all these gloomy prognostications based on the
partial failure of last year's harvest. The two great
sources of failure last year were malt and spirits.
The loss was about 900,0001. on each of these
excisable articles. And the loss was in both cases
mainly attributable to the same cause—the failure
'of the barley crop. Now, Mr. CAIRD says there
is every reason le believe that the barley crop this
year will be enormously large. A far greater
quantity of barley has been sown this year than
usual, and there is every prospect of a good
season. Mr. CAIRD accordingly estimates
that the revenue from this source will exceed
the estimates by little short of a million. This at
awe disposes of the elaborate attempts to prove
Mr. GLADSTONE'S surplus erroneous. If the
Opposition were in earnest, and really believed the
estimate (aloe, they are bound to bring forward a
distinct motion on the subject, and reject the
Budget. But their present policy of vexations
delay for unconstitutional purposes will bring them
neither credit nor rumen.

- - - - - -
PARLIAMENTARY bzrzuos.

HOC= OF 001010211 L-Ann U.
MEET mire,

Motion made, and Question pat, " That a select committee
be appointed to inquire into the propriety of establiahing
a mode of public eonveyanoe by moans of iron rails, in
streets and highways:" (Mr. Brady.) The Lome divided;
Ayes, d 0; Noss, 40.

AYI.
R.m T. Nemec. W. r. Lunn. kr W.
Blake, J. ILLusalrd. A. F. Wesilms4. J. P.
&War. J. W. Lew* B. WWI', 0. H.
Cobbs*. J. M. W 'Cum J.
Wass, Col. Maguire. J. T.
Perwoy. lard Memo.. W. J. I.2ILERS.
Hankey, T. Oltricm, P. Brady. J.
Misseasy, J. P. Parastry. A. Woods, U.

Addierim C. L id Major Palmerston, Fleet.
Legentelk, W. Yortescue, C s. Phillips, U. L.
Athletes, Sir W. Gifford, Bari of Prot.), Lord
Bring T.
Oo&amid, Sir F. H. Puller, 0. W.
Baring, T. 0. Haelltoe, Major Russell, M.
lisruclot, Major Kaaba N. Roams, J.
Blackburn, P. Liddell, H. 0. 'Stuart, 16.-OoL
'grand,' H. Locke, J. Talbot, C. &
luminary. Capt. Mackie, J. Whitbread, B.
Bury, Fact. = Jr.
J.
Wickham, H. W.
IV Conlasham, W.
(*.spar, W F. llembray. J. IL MU M&
Crautard, IL H. Mee, D. Shelley, Bit J.
Dallithh. IL Meek 6.1. DUleyn, L.I..
Dunbar, Sir W, Meth, Cel.