The Sun.
London, England, 1865-10-04 00:00:00

RAILWAY/.
Cash.

Orleans
Northern
Lyons and Mediterranean
Southern
Western
Eastern
Sardinian ,
Austrian
Lombard

North of Spain
Saragossa
Ditto to Barcelona

Roman

SPAIN.

MADRID, OCT. 3 (Evening).

A tumultuous assemblage of peasants has taken
place at Zaragoza with the object of refusing pay-
ment of the municipal octroi. The measures taken
by the authorities, however, promptly succeeded in
restoring order.

MADRID, Sept. 29.

Not only the Opposition press, but several
journals affected to the party in power, concur in
depicting the present financial condition of the
country in very sombre colours. It is stated that
in mercantile circles in Madrid no security is ac-
ceptable, no signature inspires confidence. Men of
business, who have embarked the greater part of
their capital in various commercial enterprises, can-
not obtain the accommodation they require even to
maintain their position, much less enlarge their
operations. The Epoca represents the condition of
the provinces as equally unfortunate. The ware-
houses in the ports are filled with merchandise that
finds no buyers, even at very reduced prices ; while
the centres of production are similarly glutted with
articles of first necessity that cannot be disposed
of in the large towns of the Peninsula,
on account of the existing system of heavy duties,
which besides places an insuperable obstacle to the
development of Spanish agriculture.
The Nacion recently published the following
statement of the obligations of the State for the
financial year 1864-5 :
Reales vellon.
Expenses'of the ordinary Budget 2,129,169,570

Extraordinary Budget
Ordinary, Provincial, and Colonial
Budgets
Extraordinary idem
Municipal and Provincial expenses

(approximately)

Total..

4,004,912,480

" We have only to observe that these four thou-
sand millions refer exclusively to the expenses set
down in the budget, since, if we included the pay-
ments effected by the Treasury with the product of
the loans, the amount would be much larger.
" For the current year 1865-66 the public ex-
penditure is stated in the Budget as follows :

Reales vellon.

Ordinary state budget 2,184,955,411
Extraordinary
Ordinary colonial 826,079,490
Extraordinary
Provincial and municipal expendi-
ture (approximately) 600,000,000

4,190,321,811

" Neither do we include in this latter account the
deferred payments that may be made by the Trea-
sury, nor many obligations which, independently of
the Budget, affect localities and taxpayers. Among
the latter may be mentioned from its importance the
premium on payment, which is a real expense, not
included, as it should be, in the general charges of
the State. _ _

" The first thing that results from an examina-
tion of these figures is the notable increase of the
public charges from one year to the other. This
amounts to 195 millions, in spite of the reduction
of the expenses occasioned by Santo Domingo, ex-
penses which, calculated for the ordinary adminis-
tration, alone amount to $1,000,000. It is in the
budget for the peninsula that the increase has been
greatest, as will be seen from the following figures :
1864-65 (ordinary and extraordi-
nary expenses)
1865-66, idem 2,747,332,371

Increase 188,781,531
An expenditure of 4,000 million reals cannot be
supported by Spain without exhausting her
strength and swallowing up the national
wealth. The economic edifice should rest
upon two principal bases, in order to calculate
the resources available by the Treasury, these
are the produce of the soil and foreign commerce.
Now, the sum raised by taxation upon landed
property, agricultural produce, and cattle, does not
exceed 2,800 million reals per annum, which, sup-
posing some concealment on the part of the tax-
payers, may certainly be increased to 3,000 or 3,200
million reals. As regards foreign commerce, the
sum total hardly readies 1,000 millions, on account
of its great decline. In other words, the expenses
of Spain (without reckoning those of the colonies)
amount to nearly 70 per cent, of the wealth repre-
sented by production and commerce. This must
necessarily paralyse the development of the latter.
This 70 per cent. constitutes a charge upon the
effective value of produce, which paralyses con-
sumption and sale, and consequently production.
So great is the disproportion between pro-
perty and taxation, that if other means
be not adopted, a day will come in
which movement and social life will be arrested—
a phenomenon which we are perhaps beginning to
experience in the present ens' is,the removal of which
governments vainly attempt by anti-economic mea-
sures, which only give the evil greater proportions."
The Epoca attributes the prevalent mercantile
depression to general want of confidence in the
future, a feeling encouraged by the ministerial-
crisis-rumours continually circulating in Madrid.
It is asserted that a good understanding does not
prevail between Senor Castro, Minister for Foreign
Affairs, and his colleagues, and that although a
rupture is now prevented by the tact and energy of
Marshal O'Donnell, the cabinet will not long re-
main constituted as at present.
The ministerial press announces that the Cabinet

enjoy the perfect confidence of the Crown, and is
assured of her Majesty's approbation to all their
measures. Nevertheless, the attitude of the Pro-
gressista Democratic and Moderado parties, the
majority in which advocate abstention, is considered
pregnant with serious difficulties, if not tending to
revolution.

Senor Pacheco, late Spanish Ambassador at Rome,
left the negotiations with the Papal Court relative
to the observance of religious festivals in Spain in a
very advanced stage. Twelve only of the festivals
are to be celebrated annually out of the number
formerly observed.