The Sun.
London, England, 1855-02-21 00:00:00

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tion of the works. The State will arrive at the end of
its sacrifices, and will secure the completion of the net-
work of railways by the means of relatively small an-
nual payments. In fact, the sums appropriated by the
treasury to the railways have lately amounted to an
average outlay of about 64 millions a-year. It results,
therefore, from the table annexed to the present report
that all the charges of the State, including the subven-
tions granted to the Grand Central and to the Nor-
mandy and Brittany lines will be as follow :-35 millions
in 1857, 30 in 1858, 22 in 1859, 17 in each of the fol-
lowing years up to 1865, and only 8 millions in 1866,
1867, and 1863. According to all probability the sub-
ventions which may be necessary for the lines which re-
main to be conceded in the Pyrenean region, if they
change these conditions will not produce any very sen-
sible effect on them. It may, therefore, be hoped that
the expenses of the railways thus reduced and regulated
will no longer, as has been often the case, concur in de-
ranging the economy of budgetary previsions.
Recurring to the closed estimates, the deficits of
which alone impose on tke treasury a certain charge, it
will be sees, Sire, that they may be summed up as
follows

Years anterior to theßevolution
of 1843
1848 3,005,050
1849, 1850, 1851, 1852 382,128,127
1853

700,823,097 fr.

With the resources of the floating debt and those
which are supplied by the anticipations of receipts is the
expenses of the budget, the Treasury has been able with-
out embarrassment to meet these deficits, the 78,000.000 fr.
reimbursed in 1852 to the owners of 5 per Cent. Stock
who did not accept the conversion,and the current wants
of the service. Owing to the resources of -the last
loan, which enabled my predecessor to reimburse to
the Bank of France the 30,000,000 fr. which it had
temporarily advanced, the floating debt at the mo-
ment at which I speak is but little different from what
it was last year, when the expose des motifs of the budget
of 1855 estimated it at 697,339,400 fr. If we deduct, as
was then rightly done, the 65,000,000 francs of bills due
to the Bank, and which are not properly speaking a
floating debt, since, according to conventions, they are
to be reimbursed by annual instalments of 5,000,0001 r.
—as also the dotation funds of charitable societies, and
the fund for giving retiring pensions to ecclesiastics
which are not to be reimbursed—we arrive for the floating
debt properly so called at the sumof 691,948,045 f. The
elements: of which this sum is composed present nothing
which is not moral and re-assuring. The most variable
part of it, that which requires the greatest vigilance, I
mean the Treasury-bills remitted to divers persons, and
the funds of the Savings' Banks, have been reduced to
reasonable limits ; the Treasury-bills do not exceed
218,000,000 f., and the funds of the Savings' Banks
180,000,000 f.
I have not spoken of the extraordinary expenses occa-
sioned by the Eastern war,—whish are to be provided
for by the resources from the two loans. A special ac-
count of them shall be given to your Majesty as soon as
the payment of the expenses shall permit Use results to
be ascertained. I will confine myself to saying to your
Majesty that the amount of specie in the Treasury,
which at this moment is 88,000,000 f., gives every facility
of providing for the current expense of the public ser-
♦ices.

I will not terminate this report without pointing out
to your Majesty two very remarkable facts which strik-
ingly prove the good-will, confidence, and easy, circum-
stances of the populations in 1854, notwithstanding the
various.visitations which have made them suffer so cruelly.
In his report of last year, my predecessor, remarking
that on the 314 December, 1853, the payment of the
direct taxes exceeded by 13,500,000 fr. what was due,
whilst the proportion of the expense of legal proceedings
had declined, said with justice that never had the pay-
ments in advance been so large. But a new progress
took place in 1854. On the 31st December last the
payments in advance were 16,000,000 fr., and the amount
of costs was further reduced. Another fact not less fa-
vourable, for it is at once a proof of welfare and a cause
of security, is the purchase of rentes effected by the
Treasury for the inhabitants of the departments. The ex-
cess of purchases over sales used to average 40,000,000 fr.
a-year ; once only, owing to peculiar circumstances, it
attained 68,000,000 fr. But in 1853 this excess
amounted to 86,000,000 fr., and it exceeded the enor-
mous amount of 94,000,000 fr. in 1854.
Such is, Sir, notwithstanding the difficulty of the
times, the general situation. In a country which pos-
sesses such elements of wealth, and under the firm and
prudent action of the goverment of the Emperor, it must
inspire all interests with confidence—l am, Le.,

P. MAGNE.