The Sun.
London, England, 1864-04-08 00:00:00

to state to the house that, after allowing for the relief from
the cessation of the long annuities, our actual expenditure,
including fortifications, is less than it was in 185960.
(Hear, hear,) I now come to compare the expenditure of
the year which has expired with the revenue of that year,
and of course I must go back simply to the exchequer
account, in order to explain at this stage the precise
effect. The expenditure for the year 1863-64, as it appears
in the exchequer account, is £67,056,000 ; the revenue for
the same year, as represented in the same account, is
£70,208,000, showing a surplus of revenue over expenditure
of £3,152,000. But in order to estimate that surplus, it may
be necessary to consider the expenditure for fortifications,
for although the house made deliberately, and a matter of
Palley, a separate arrangement for dealing with that expen-
diture, yet in point of law it must appear in the balance-
sheet. The expenditure for fortifications for last year was
£BOO,OOO, and if I deduct that amount from the surpus of
the £3,152,000, there will still remain a clear surplus of
revenue over expenditure of £2,352,000. Perhaps the com-
mittee will desire to know in what way the estimates of the
revenue have corresponded with the anticipations which last
year the house was encouraged to form. Last year I esti-
mated the revenue at the period oi the Appropriation Act at
£6B,l7l,ooo—the actual receipts have been £70,208,000.
The surplus, therefore, of the actual receipt beyond the
anticipated receipt is £2,037,000. More or less that surplus
appears in every branch of tho revenue. l'he customs were
estimated at £22,737,000, but they actually amounted to
£23,232,000, of an excess of £500,000. The excise was esti-
mated at £17,624,000, whereas it yielded £18,207,000. The
stamps were estimated at £9,000,000, but they yielded
£9,317,000. The income tax was estimated at £8,600,000,
but it yielded £9,084,000; and there were other surpluses of
small accounts upon remaining items of revenue, with one
slight t. xception—unter the bead of China. Ihe house
naturally looked with great interest, not only to the
aggregate, but to the detailed receipt of revenue from the
customs; for whatever may be the case with regard to
the excise, the customs are the branch of revenue which
Oyes 118 the greatest number of criteria for judging of
the condition of the people. (Hear, hear.) The total de-
crease of customs for last year, as compared with the previ-
ous year, when the tea duty was is 5d per pound, was esti-
mated at £1,297,000, whereas the actual decrease was
£802,000. Notwithstanding that, the important article of
sugar, including molasses, in consequence of the partial
scarcity, instead of increasing with the improved condition
of the country, shows a positive decrease of £253,000. And
again, in that branch of the revenue, the decrease of which
I always referred to with satisfaction—l mean the revenue
derived from the duty upon corn—it was less in the year
just expired than in that which preceded it by no less a sum
than £225,000, thereby bearing testimony to the abundance
of domestic produce and the moderation of the price at
which the first necessary of life was being supplied to all
classes of the community. The article of wine shows an
increase of ;6101,000, which I conceive to bo a very satisfac-
tory increase. The article of spirits shows an increase of
£285,000. Tobacco shows an increase of between £200,000
and £300,000. The article of tea, which had been estimated
to show at the end of the year a loss to the revenue of
£1,300,000, showed only an aetual loss of £930,000. 'With
regard to the large excess of revenue from excise over the
estimate, that has been owing to two causes. Vi ith the
partial improvement in the condition of the coun-
try, the article of spirits—that distilled at home—shows
an improvement of £250,000. And the important
branch of revenue which we derive from malt, in conse-
quence of the almost unparalleled excellence of the
barley harvest, shows the greatest receipt ever known, and
an increase over the previous year of £710,000. That
is an augmentation we cannot expect in future
years, and the committee must bear in mind that the
estimate of the revenue from the excise does not bear the
name relation now to the actual revenue which it did
before the malt credits were shortened. Before that time,
when it was the practice to give from six to eight months'
credit for the payment of the malt duty, the effect was that
when the Chancellor of the Exchequer made his financial
statement he knew what his estimate for malt would be for
the coming year. At present he only knows about one-half
of it, and on this account there was an element of uncer-
tainty introduced int i the estimates in this particular article,
for which some allowance must be made. The only other
article of revenue which I wish to refer to is the China in-
demnity. It was estimated at £450,000, but the actual re-
ceipt was £135,000. Sir, if I compare the revenue of the
year just passed with the revenue of former years, it is be-
cause I think that in the growth of the revenue of the coun-
try we have, upon the whole, a pretty sure test of the growth
of its strength end of its resources. (Hear, hear.) Com-
paring then the revenue for 863.641 with that of the years
1862-63, the result is this—that, although taxes to the ex-
tent of between £3,000,000 and £4,00 eOOO were remitted,
the decrease in the revenue would appear to be no greater
than £394,0•.;0. However, that is not precisely correct, for
it is necessary to allow for a considerable increase in the two
last heads of our receipts, but which ought not to be consi-
dered properly heads of revenue—l mean the miscellaneoua
receipts and the Chinese indemnity. After deducting these
two heads, the revenue for the year 1862.63 was £67,850,000;
while the revenue for 1863.64, after making a similar deduc-
tion, stands at £67,173,000. The comparative decrease,
therefore, between the two years may be stated at £677,000.
But when it is considered that the remission of taxation for
1863-64 was £3,7o3,ooo—(hear)—that the loss anticipated
from the remission was £3,343,000, and that the actual loss
was only £677,300—it will appear that the recovery in the re-
venue has been no less tkan £3,026,000. (Cheers.) Bat if we
look back further for the purpose of comparing the growth
of the revenue of the country, not merely within a twelve-
month—if we go back to the year 1860-61, since which
period we have imposed no new taxes—l do not, of course,
take into account charges altogether insignificant—we find
that the revenue for 1860-61 showed a gross total of
£70,283,000, but, deducting the miscellaneous receipts of
which I have spoken, a total of £68,830,000. Well, taking
the revenue for '63-64 at £67,176, that shows a decrease in
the revenue since 1860-61 of £1,657,000. But then within
that period we have taken 3d. from the income tax, which
withdraws from the revenue a sum of £3,525,000 ; we have
taken off the paper duties, which may be set down at
£1,340,000; we have reduced the tea duties, which repre-
sents a loss to the revenue of £1,660,000 ; while the repeal
of the charges upon shipping cost £143,010. Altogether,.
therefore, there has been a diminution of taxation to the.
extent of £6,638,000 since the year 1860-61, while there has
been a decrease in the revenue to the extent only of
£1,057,000. (Cheers.) The result is, that during these
three years the increase in the revenue has been £5,011,000,
or at the rate of £1,670,000 a year. (Cheers.) But if we
go back further still, and compare these results with the
average revenue of the five years commencing with 1855 e
59, we find that the annual increase in the revenue during
those five years has not been so great. As far as I can cal-
culate, the revenue has grown during these five years, upon
the average, £1,233,700 each year. If we go back to 1853,
it would appear that the revenue has grown, upon the
average, to the full extent of £1,000,000 per annum, and
even in the worst years, viz., 1860-61, and 1861-62, the
growth has been £900,000. In a better year, such as that
which has new e apsed, it has been nearly £2,000,000.
Upon the whole, it may be safely calculated that the in-
crease in the revenue from its own inherent vigour is at a
rate exceeding £1,000,000 per annum. (Hear, hear) I will
now state the condition of our cash account, and the opera-
tions touching the National Debt. The balance in the ex-
chequer on the 31st of March, 1863, was £3,763,000, and on
the 31st of March, 1864, they were £7,352,000, which is as
ample, though not an excessive amount. With respect to
the liquidation of the debt during the year, it has been con-
siderable, £1,000,000 of exchequer bonds have been paid off,
and £1,994,000 of exchequer bills. Besides that, stock and
exchequer bills to the extent of £366,000 have been liqui-
dated from surnlus revenue, making a total of £3,360,000 of
the capital of the debt liquidated within the 3 ear. But in-
dependently of that, the committee should take into view
that a large sum is actually paid, in the shape of terminable
annuities, towards the liquidation of the debt, representing
not interest, but capital, to the extent of £1,400,000 per an-
num. There are other payments of a minor descripticn to
the extent of £205,000, which brings up the net amount of
debt liquidated to £4,148,000. (Hear, hear,) As the re-
sult of the measure passed last year for the conversion of
perpetual into terminable annuities, I have to acquaint the
committee that we have during the last year converted per-
petual annuities to the extent of £433,000. As regards the
huge total of our debt, it has been always a matter of inte-
rest to know what is the state of the capital charge as com-
pared with former periods. I confess I have never been able
to acquiesce in the view that, taking into account our great
wealth, the national debt was a matter of trifling moment.
It appears to me to be a very formidable and inflexible
fact, and likely to become much more pave and serious
should cur prosperity turn out to be less permanent than
most of us are disposed to anticipate. But the actual
capital of the national debt at the present moment stands
thus. Stock—that is, perpetual annuities—£74o,993,ooo ;
Bank debts, £37,645,000—and by Bank debts I mean capi-
tal sums, not the contract value assigned to stock by Act of
Parliament, but capital sums repayable in money—ex-
chequer bonds, £2,600,000; exchequer bills, £10,526,000.
Making a total amount of debt of £791,574,000, In'63-'s4
which was the lowest point the debt reached since the close
of the revolutionary war—it stood at £769,082,000. The
Russian war produced, of course, important changes in
these figures, and the debt now stands at £22,492,000
higher than it stood in '53-'54. In '56, immediately
and
dtteirt
the close of the Russian war, it was .f.:608,108,0001,na1815,
now stands, as I have stated, at. L 791,
5:140(3109%00, which
the maximum point of debt, it was LB--11-
180-4 it was
charge of the debt was £32,646,000.
wthiteh a reduction of
of £6,436,C00 ; therefore
Ls e20672511a,000, decreaseshowoi
showing
La 69,46 decreases,ooo.
in the
In 11815,
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nhannualare
£69,465,000 against capital,w
of a great
and the results of the efforts and of the experience
its Parliament, throughout
we stand
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stand with a capital of
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£791,000,000 facminugst
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