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

DENMARK.

Earl GREY asked the noble lord whether, when the
noble lord, not now in his place, brought forward his
motion with respect to Denmark, he would take the same
objection to a discussion on the subject, similar to that he
did previous to the Easter holidi.ys, and whether he would
object to a discussion being taken in the early part of the
correspondence on the subject that had been laid on the
table.

Earl RUSSELL said he could not now say that papers
were to be laid on the table or negotiations were now going
on, because all the Pcwers had agrecd to a conference.
He should not object to a discussion, neither did he think
it desirable to separate the correspondence in order that
different parts of it might be sepirattly discussed.
THE LEASES AND SALE-; OF SETTLED
ESTATES ACT. ENCLOS URE OF HAMP-
STEAD-HEATH.

Lord CRANWORTH moved the secund reading of this
bill, which he said was merely for the purpose of improving
an act of Parliament passed some eight years ago which
enabled certain estates to be improved by granting b=
uilding

leases.
The Earl of MALMESBURY approved of the bill.
The LORD CHANCELLOR also thought the bill would
simplify matters which now were left in doubt by the
former bill.
The bill was read a second time.

• mALr FOR ANIMALS BILL.
This bill was read a third time and passed.

COURT OF CHANCERY BILL.
This bill was read a third time and passed,
CONVEYANCE &e„ IRELAND BILL.
This bill was read a third time and passed.
Their lordships then adjourned.

HOUSE OF COMMONS--Last Evening.
The SPEAKER took the chair at four o'clock.
PRIVATE BUSINESS.

The following bills were read a third time and passed :
Finchley, Willesden, and Acton Railway—Haslingden
and Rawtenstall Water—and Land Securities Company.
The order for committing the Colne Fishery Bill was
read and discharged, and the bill was withdrawn.
NEW WRIT.

On the motion of Mr. BRAND a writ was ordered to issue
for the election of a member for Fyfe, in the room of Mr.
James Erskine Wemyss, deceased.
BREECH-LOADING RIFLES.

Mr. ONSLO W asked the Under Secretary of State for
War, whether his attention has been called to the vast
superiority of the Prussian breech-loading rifles in the
Danish campaign, as described in the letter of the Times'
correspondentfrom Sonderburg ?
The Marquis of HARTINGTON said he had no reason
to believe that the breech. loading rifles in question were
superior to those given out to our own army, and it was
necessary to give the latter a fair trial.

THE BUDGET.
The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER rose at
20 minutes to 5 o'clock to make his annual financial state•

ment, the house having gone into committee of ways and
means. The right hon. gentleman, who was received with

cheers, said : Mr. Massey—With a view to gather fully the
purport of the figures which I am about to submit to the

house, it may be well that we should notice in the first in-

stance, though in very few words, the particular ciroum-

stances which have affected the condition of the country.

In the financial year 1862-3 we had but an indifferent liar•
vest. Ireland was suffering under lamentable depression, and
Lancashire had been afflicted beyond all example. In the

year 1863-4, on the contrary, England at least was blessed
with a harvest of unusual abundance ; the distress of Ire-
land was in some degree mitigated, at least as regards the
consuming powers of the country and the low price of
grain; and as respects Lancashire, the distress which was
there suffered had been very consider, bly reduced, although
it still continued in a condition far below that of its usual
prosperity and vigour. Upon the whole, therefore, sir, after
considering on the one hand the advantages, and, on the
other hand, the drawbacks of the year, we may perhaps
arrive at the conclusion that circumstances did not differ ma-
terially from these of an average financial year. Sir, with
that brief preface I proceed to lay before the committee the
statement which I have to make. And, first, as respects the

financial year which has just expired. The expenditure of
that year, as it was es timated on the 16th of April, 1863'
was £67,749,000, But there were augmentations,
chiefly in consequence of the New Zealand war, and
partly in consequence of payments for the Scheldt toll
which were made during the present session, which
raised the amount to £68,281,000. The actual expendi-
ture, however, under the authority of Parliament was only

£67,056,000, or less by nearly a million and a quarter than
the sums which the various departments have been autho-
rised to lay out, As respects the army, its estimates
amounted to £15,469,000, but its actual expenditure was no
more than £14,638,000, and this although a war has been

unhappily raging in New Zealand, which cannot be consi-
dered to have added less, and may perhaps be esti-
mated to have added more, to the military expenditure of the

country than half a million of money. The votes of the
navy were £10,736,000, and the expenditure was very nearly
the same, viz., £10,821,000. The miscellaneous services

authorised by Parliament were £7,805,000, and the expen-
diture £7,702,000. And here, sir, it may, perhaps, be well

that I should stop for one moment to disabuse the mind of
some poqion of the house of an impression which has gone
abroad as to the constant and rapid increase in the miscel-
laneous estimates of the country. The miscellaneous ser-

vices for the year 1859-63 amount to £7,721,000; for the
year 1863.64, to £7,702,000; and the estimates for the pre-
sent year amount, as they now lie upon the table, to
£7,628,000. Upon the whole, therefore, this portion of the
public expenditure has now for some time been about sta-
tionary, for the tendency to decrease—the decrease shown
being £93,003—is too small to state as a fact of much igni-
fiaance. There is, however, another item of civil expendi-
ture which was at one period viewed with peculiar and just
jealousy by the house. I mean that called the packet
estimate. In the year 1860-61 the house was called upon
to vote for that estimate £1,069,000. I need not say that
it is an estimate which it is difficult to operate upon, inas-
much as it takes place under contracts that subsist for
considerable terms of years. The estimate which we
propose to submit for the prevent year will not amount
to more than £883,000, showing a reduction of £186,000
within the last four years. (Hear, hear.) Now, sir, it is
desirable that the house should understand what is the state
of our expenditure as it has appeared in the last year, in
comparison with the expenditure of former and recent years.
I now give it as it appears in the exchequer accounts, only
placing to the debit of each year the sums of money which
are called "excesses," and which, in the exchequer account,
appear of a later year than that to which they properly refer.
Taking that view, our expenditure was, in the year 1862-3,
£69,302,000, and in 1863-4 it was £67,056,000, showing a
decrease of £2,246,000. In 1861-2 it was £70,838,000 ; and
the decrease, estimated in the same manner, would be
£8,782,000. In 1860-1, when the China charges were very
heavy, the expenditure was £72,504,000; and the expendi-
ture of the year just expired, when compared with that sum,
shows a decrease of £5,448,000. It I go back to 1859-60,
which may be called the first of the years of high expendi-
ture, we spent £70,017,000 ; and the expenditure of 1863-4,
as compared with 1859-60, shows a diminution of .£2,961,000.
But, in order to come more accurately at the state of this
important portion of the case, it is necessary to take into
view two circumstances. On the one hand, wa have in-
curred of late years certain charges for fortifications, and on
the other hand, both our expenditure and revenue have in-
cluded, during the past year, a considerable amount, not
less than £1,125,000, which does not appear at all in the ac-
counts of the previous years. When I rectify the balance by
the removal of those new charges appearing on both
sides, and by the addition of the charge for for-
tifications, the account will stand as follows:—In
1859-60 the expenditure was £70,017,000. In 1863-4 it
was £66,731,000, fortifications included, showing a de-
crease, as compared with 1839-60, of £3,286,000. I need not
trouble the committee with the comparisons drawn on the
same basis for the intermediate years. That may be dis-
pensed with. I shall have enough of that commodity to
present when I am giving
full particulars. There still re-
mains this element, in order to state that case with perfect
clearness, that it is also known that in the year 1860 we re-
ceived, through the providence of our forefathers, a benefit
of considerable relief from debt. The permanent annual
relief we have been enjoying since 1860 is £2,146,000; but
in the year 1859-69, owing to a particular arrangement, the
charge on account of these terminable annuities, which
dropped altogether in 1860, was increased beyond that
amount. As I stated in the budget of 18.59-Go, the charge
in that year on account of terminable annuities, which have
since ceased, was £2,546,000, Deducting that sum from
the expenditure in 1859 -60, for the purpose of comparison
with the year 1863-4, and as showing how it stood in rela-
tion to that relief, it stands at £67,47 1,000. The expendi-
ture of last year was £66,881,000. That I believe to be a
true comparison. In this point of view the expenditure of
last year shows some diminution as c,mpared with that of
1859-60. There is an absolute diminution of £649,000, in-
dependently of the relief from the long annuities, which,
although not a very large sum, is worth taking into notice.
It is the more material, as this is the first year I am enabled