The Sun.
London, England, 1863-04-17 00:00:00

ending on June 30 which Immediately preceded the impo-
sition of the duty, and I compare with the receipt of those
12 months the receipt for the corresponding 12 months in
the three years ending on June 30 which have fallen since
then; and these figures will show pretty exactly—l might
have been still more exact, and produced a statement more
favourable to my own argument—but these figures chow
with sufficient exactness what is the real state of the
case. In the last year of the Be, duty—the year ending June
30, 1859—the receipt on British spirits was £9,410,000.
Under the new duty in 1860 it was £9,750,000, in 1861 i
was £9,702,000, in 1862 it was £9,983,000, and in 1863 it
was £9,837,000. If w e take the two years together which
preceded the new duty they would show about £9,600,000
and some, if not the greater part of the anticipated revenue
has been received.
Sir S. NORTHCOTE—Up to what period is the last
year's statement ?
The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER—Up to
June 30. It is, of course, an estimate upon the last quarter
of the year; but the estimate is based upon good grounds,
and may be taken, I think, as the produce of the revenue in
that period. The material point, after all, comes to this--
at least such has been our view—since the change in the law
is the failure to receive the full amount of revenue which
was anticipated from the additional duty due to illicit die •
tillation ? (Hear, hear.) That is the only question, I think,
which (eight to exercise an influence upon the judgment et
the house. lam not awe. a that we have ever adopted the
principle with regard to spirits which we have adopted with
regard to commodities in general that are consumed by the
public—namely, the principle that it is desirable to raise the
money we want off as large an area of consumption as pos-
sible. I think the principle of Parliamentary legislation with
respect to spirits has rather been that we should raise the
money which we wart off as small an area of consumption
as possible, only taking care that we do not stimulate illicit
distillation. That is the essential limit to be imposed upon
legislation. Now, upon that question I am, of course, very
much dependent upon those whom I consult ; but this I can
say, that whenever allegations of illicit distillation have been
made to me by those interested in the trade, or by others.
we have invited the communication of facts and details,
which we have usually and almost uniformly been unable
to obtain, and that the firm conviction of those who super-
intend the collection of the revenue in the three king-
doms taken together, founded upon the information
they derive from their large staff of very intelligent officers
and likewise from that most respectable body, I must say,
the distillers themselves, though not with uniform testi-
mony so far as they are concerned-1 say the conviction of
the revenue departments is, and I fully share and am pre-
pared to defend that conviction, that there never was a
period when illicit distillation has been so small as during
the last three years. (Hear.) It is a matter of very consi-
derable interest to draw a contrast between the effect of dis-
tress—and I think it was pointed out that distress had an
important influence—upon the Excise and upon the Cus-
toms revenue; and we find the revenue from malt and the
revenue from spirits, as far as they are dependent upon
consumption, show that effect before the revenue from tea,
sugar, and tobacco. I think it is impossible fully to com-
prehend these figures and this state of facts—this compara-
ratively unchecked amount of Customs' revenue and this
very serious check to the revenue from Excise —without
taking into view a circumstance which teems to me esta-
blished by full evidence, and which is undoubtedly of a gra-
tifying character—namely, that there is slowly, gradually,
but steadily proceeding a change of taste in the country,
and a transition from the use of the strong and the more
inflammatory beverages to milder and more wholesome
drinks. sir, comparing the general revenue of the year which
has last passed with the revenue of theiyear that immediately
preceded it, I will endeavour to present the figures to the
committee in what I believe to be a perfectly accurate form.
I need not observe that it is impossible, in the dry state-
ment of figures which appears on the last day of the finan-
cial year, to convey this explanation. It is not possible to
give this explanation to the public except on the authority
of the Executive Government. Hence arises a good deal of
misunderstanding, the main source of which is in the item
called Miscellaneous. It is commonly supposed that this
item consists of various branches of revenue which it is not
worth while to enumerate with specific names, and which,
therefore, are combined under this one head; but in
point of fact, the proper term is " Miscellaneous Receipts,"
and, though the distinction may appear fanciful between
receipts and revenue, there is a distinction, and it is this :
A very small portion of this item consists of reveve at all
—this year, only £200,000 or £300,000. With respect to the
great bulk of the amount which appears under this head, it
partly consists of the repayment of money which has been
voted by the house, and a very large portion of it is made
up of repayments made by the conversion into money of
what are called "old stores." Therefore, the safer way to
compare the revenue of two years is to begin by deducting
from both accounts what appears under the head "Miscel-
laneous." If the committee will follow me, bearing that in
mind, I will endeavour to give them the revenue of last year
as compared with the revenue of the year preceding. This
is a matter of ia p eiance, for it enables us to measure the
elasticity of the resources of the country. The gross revenue
for the year 1861-2 was £69,674,000 ; but if we deduct the
miscellaneous revenue and the China indemnity, the real
revenue, properly so called, was £67,927,000. The gross
revenue for the year 1862-3 was £70,603,000; but deduct-
ing the miscellaneous receipts, the China indemnity, and a
sum paid to the credit of the revenue from Stamps, which
did not appear in the previous year, the real revenue was
D,7,790,000. As the figures which appeared in the news-
papers were too favourable to the year 1362-3, so the figures
which I have now stated, if left without correction, would
be too unfavourable to it, because, to obtain a fair compari-
son, we must deduct so much of the revenue of 1861-2 as
corresponds with the amount of taxation remitted in 1862 3.
The sources of loss by remission are three. In the year
1861.2 there was one quarter's income tax at 10d., which
afforded an additional emu of £350,000. That was lost to
the revenue in 1852-3. Then, by the remission of the duty
on paper there was a sum of £351,000 lost to the revenue
without deducting drawbacks. Again, there was a sum
of £241,000 for hops, and there was one of £152,000 for
drawback allowances; making in the whole £942,000,
which must be deducted from the revenue of 1861-2 in
order to make a fair comparison. When that is done
the relative amounts for the two years will stand :
For the year 1861.2, £66,985; for the year 1862-3, £67,790,
showing an increase of £805,000 in the revenue of the year
1562-3, not a very large and striking increase, but one
.
which, under all the circumstances, I think eminently satis-
factory. .
factory. (Hear.) Certainly it is an increase which I could
not for a moment haveventured
ago if I had been aware of the severedistress
continue and be aggravated in Lancashire and Ireland.
to ant icipate
which t 2
was months
to
(Hear, hear.)
I need not trouble the committee with de-
tails of what the growth of the revenue has been in each of
several years from 1858.9, but I may observe that the
amount which I have just stated as the increase in the year
1862-3—namely, £305,000, has been about the average an-
nual increase for the last four years. (Hear, hear.) There is
one branch of the revenue on which I will say a word to
the committee. It is material to see what has been the con-
sequence to the revenue of the great changes which have
taken place since '53.59. In 1858-9 the Customs' revenue
amounted to £24,118,000, or, deducting the charges for col,
lection, £1,063,000, to £23,055,000, In 1860 extensive
changes were made in the Customs' revenue, which involved
abolitions and remissions amounting to £2,460,000. In 1862-
3
the Customs' revenue amounted to £24,034,000, or, deduct-
ingt charges £991,000, to £23,043,000 against X 23,055,0001
1853-9 ; the year before £2,450,000 of duties had been
t
re-
mitted. (Cheers,) We now come to the account of he
_ear,
penditure and revenue for the current financialnye
£1 940,000 ;
sett, OO tin; a :eh:,
dheeba )
according F the yteoa r
the
ee charge
present fosrtafut
state
oeedfs,at
the
unfundedis
526,330,000; the Consolidated Fund
tohea
ifavy
Estimates,
£15,060,°°9
miscellaneousmhl 4721
rented to the house,
the Army Estimates,
withare .
the some
packetopgt uheleirlei
sepcltlittas buildings;
a which
eNhv h itl4ne and in
haven'
Galwayotnhf loei
/10,736,000 ; the Revenue and
am not able to state to the col '
the amount of which I
There are certain items
with such precision. £M7i, Miscellaneous us
ThereE st Estimates tseosmael
are not connected
yet finally disposed
hear)—are not yet
settled. The atran
Company—(some ironical cries of Hear, with those estimates which
e
sysinoeecf ata beenit
ad pacit:uncrene connected
tede
asr to enable the Government
tire proposal, or to state what it to make a posis
and the arrangements With r espect may be their duty to do,
service are still under consideration. The c mmittee will
te the West India mail
observe, therefore, that I cannot present to them the precise
figures which relate to those matters. There is a bill be-
fore Parliament which I h
proposes for the benefit of the muabyl i cbetcooenmeablalew,
u and which
p
further transfer of stocks with the view of converting keera
petual into terminable annuities. If that bill pass it will
add £140,000 to the annual charges, though for this year
the amount will be only about 170,000. Taking these three
items—the packet service, which we may put down at be-
tween £900,000 and one million, the other miscellaneous
charges whichfare not at present before the house, and the
charge connected with the funded debt—we may estimate
them at £1,270,000, which, added to the £7,692,000, will

bring the miscellaneous up to 18,962,000, and give us a
total of £67,749,000 as the estimate for the year 1.863-4. As

he statement forms in some measure an answer to the re-

solution of the house, I ought to put this • te of ex-
penditure in comparison with that of former uesmaye years. It i 8
less than the actual expenditure for 1862-3 by .C 1,663,000,
and higher than that of 1868.9 by £3,086,1500, although the
charge for the debt was then greater by £2,197,000. Hear,
hear.) The estimate of revenue stands as follows : —The
Customs revenue estimate is £24,180,000. For the purpose
of affording a clear understanding of this account to the
committee, I /y 3811020 a renewal at the present rates of all taxes
which expire this year. In estimating the Custom. s at
£24,180,000, there is taken inte account the alter
effect ratio
non the
in the
tobacco duties. It is not easy to estimate its
revenue, but I take it at £lOO,OOO, which sum is included in
the estimate. The estimate for Excise c
all 17,600,000. Afte r
is better 11h1°12 of
but.the were butject to t Bwhholiluti
dI
ehsatismv already
ate t
he said,Exoi istemaatyanigirtuearteryabme
oausknetd
twhhaiiy t
the inel
produced last year. The actual Excise receipts for the last
year were £17,156,000,he pay.
went, anterior to their arrival in the Exchequer,
deductions, such as from £150,000 to £l6O 00 of
Various
of hop drawbacks. The outetanding 5. oon account
duties on the current year
than the corrcep..nding