The Sun.
London, England, 1865-04-28 00:00:00

THE BUDGET.

The house having resolved itself into a Commttteo of
Ways and Means, Mr. DODSON in the chair,
The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER rose to make
his financial statement, and was received with cheers. He
said,—Mr. Dodson,—There is, Sir, upon the whole, a some-
what remarkable contrast between the opening and the
closing circumstances of the present Parliament. When
the Parliament_met we had been involved, although we did
not know it at the time, in a costly and difficult war with
China. The harvest of the year which succeeded was the
worst that had been known for half a century. The recent
experience of war had led to extensive, costly, and some-
what uncertain reconstructions ; and clouds hung over the
Continent of Europe, although the Italian War had termi-
nated in such a manner as to create vague but serious
alarm. in the public mind. Since that period, Sir, those
clouds have moved westwards across the Atlantic, and
have burst in a tempest perhaps the wildest that ever devas-
tated a civilised country—a tempest of war, distinguished,
indeed, by the exhibition of many most marvellous and ex-
traordinary qualities, by valour, heroism, and perseverance;
and of which perhaps no scene has been so entirely painful
as that of which the intelligence has last reached us—
(hear, hear)—intelligence which now causes one thrill of
horror throughout Europe. (Cheers.) But as far, Sir, as
this country is concerned, we have been mercifully spared.
We see the state of the public mind tranquil and reassured
end the condition of the country generally prosperous and
satisfactory. The history, the financial history of this
Parliament is a remarkable one. It has raised a larger re-
venue than I believe ever at any period of peace or of war
was raised by taxation, after taking into account the
changes in the value of money, within an equal space of
time. The expenditure of the same period has been upon
a scale thkt has never before been reached in time of peace
(Hear.) The amount and variety of the changes introduced
into our financial legislabion have been greater than within
a like number of years at any former period ; and, lastly, it
has enjoyed this distinction, that, although no Parliament
ever completes the full term of its legal existence, yet this
is the seventh time on which it has been called upon to make
provision for the financial exigencies of the State. I pro-
ceed, sir, to state the features of the case as it relates to the
year that.has just expired. The expenditure of the year
1864-65 was estimated at £66,890,000. The Appropriation
Bill, which has not materially varied it, stood at
£67,073,000, and the actual expenditure has been
£66,462,000, or less than the estimate by the sum of
votes
£611,000. (Hear,
tqhueenficneaalsfaras
accountsA ofrni the
theH actual lh resultsear
notvariations o f el7 betweengrea t conse-
quence nts eh °-
yet, and will not be for a considerable time,.h madeup.But
heanedxpNenyituarree fworntcheernyeeda7r because
nuoset
the miscellaneous civil expenditure,whic was estimated at
say, only reached £7,257 000.
I am glad to ,
£7,638,000, has,
which may be takenthaes
committee
mfinitatleeretsoulet.ompAarnadthitatmayb
of some interest to
miscel-
laneous expenditure with what it has been in former years,
adding to it, however, items which properly make up our
civil expenditure, viz„ what may be called the Consoli-
dated Fund charges, which do not form the subject of an-
nual votes by this house, the packet services, and an occa-
sional payment made last year for the redemption of the
Scheldt Toll, amounting to £174,000. The total expendi-
ture of the country under the four heads which may be said
to represent the civil eivil expenditure, was £10,203,000.
In 1859-60, that is to say in the first' year of the present
Parliament, it was £10,820,000. Therefore, it shows a
reduction of £617,000. In 1858-59 it was less—it only
amounted to £10,040,000, being apparently less by £167,000
than in the year that has just expired. But as the expen-
diture of the year which has just expired was aug-
mented by the payment of the sum of £174,000 under no
ordinary head of charge, but for the special purpose of re-
deeming the Scheldt Toll, the estimate on a fair compari-
son of the accounts should be £10,027,000, or about the sum
at which it stood in the last year of the preceding Parlia-