The Sun.
London, England, 1865-01-11 00:00:00

M. FOI7LD'S FINANCIAL REPORT.

PARIS, Jan. 10.
The following report of M. Fould, the French
Minister of Finance, has just been published :
" addressing to your Majesty to-day my annual
report, I am enabled to place before your Majesty an
almost complete expose of the principal elements of our
financial situation.
" At the period of the year we have reached it is, in fact,
in my power to indicate with a certain amount of .precision
the results of the Budget of 1863, to display in their en-
tirety those of 1864, and to establish with more certainty
the provisions of the anticipatory Budget of 1865.
" This Budget is submitted to the examination of the
State Council, which is also occupied with the draught of
the ordinary and extraordinary Budget of 1866.
" BUDGET OF 1863.
" The year 1863 will give a better result than I had an-
ticipated,in my last report. In place of a deficit of 43 mil-
lions, this Budget will only add 28 millions to our former
deficit.

The total of these difficulties which I stated last year as
972 millions does not amount definitively to .morethan 960.
By means of the loan of 300 millions, now almost entirely
liquidated, this amount will be reduced to 660 millions.
" BUDGET OF 1864.
" It is not yet possible to foresee with exactitude what
will be the balance of 1864.
" The new law as to sugars, by permitting the tempo-
rarily free entry of raw sugars, has substituted for the for-
mer mode of levying duty guaranteed tenders discharge-
able at the end of four months. The diminution in the
duties collected which will result fromthis change will not
amount to less than 50 millions at the end or the current
year ; but it may be permitted to hope that the greatest
portion of this sum, which belongs to the Budget of 1864,
will be recovered during the first half of 1865.
" Save the eventuality I have just pointed out, the pre-
visions of the Budget of 1864 will be fully accomplished.
In fact, if the Customs show a diminution (direct taxation
has been even more easily levied in 1864 than in preceding
years), the taxes upon stamps, upon beverages, upon to-
bacco, and of postage offer at least an equivalent improve-
ment. It is therefore certain that, if there is a deficiency in
1864, it will be limited to the diminution which may take
place in receipts arising from the consumption of sugars,
and the Treasury will nevertheless have sustained a loss
of 6,500,000 f., in consequence of the suppression during the
second half-year of half of the second decime upon regis-
tration.
" The non-realisation of the bonds of the Mexican Loan
which we have received in reimbursement of our advances,
conformably to the Treaty of Miramar, cannot be consi-
dered as a deficit. These bonds, calculated at the rate of
60f., represent a sum of 54,000,000 f., 40,100,000 f. of which
go to the Budget of 1864, and 13,900,000 f. to the Budget of
1865.
" The situation of the Treasury enable us to await more
favourable circumstances for the negotiation of these bonds,
which there is every reason to believe will not be long in
coming to pass. In the meantime, the Budget of 1864 will
be advantaged by the interest of the nominal capital at the
rate of 6 per cent.—i.e., by a sum of 5,400,000 f.
" With regard to the 12,500,000 f. which are to be paid by
the Mexican Government from its own resources during
the second half of 1864, and which appear in the Budget of
that year, they have been regularly discharged.
" Although the past year has been favoured by an abun-
dant harvest, business has had to sufferby the continuation
of the American war and the monetary embarrassments
which have weighed upon enterprise. France has never-
theless been less severely tried than other countries. If the
rate of discount was for a short time at 8 per cent., in Eng-
land it has been several times raised to 9 per cent., and has
always been higher than that of the Bank of France.
"Despite the inconvenience this dearness of capital has
occasioned, the prudence of our commercial men has been so
great that the number of failures and their importance has
only been slightly increased.
" People have been much occupied with seeking the
causes which for some years past, at frequent intervals and
at almost periodical epochs, have brought about the rise in
the rate of interest, and petitions have been recently ad-
dressed to your Majesty to ask that this question should be
the subject of inquiry. The Bank of France has seen its
organisation attacked, and, although convinced that no
blame could be imputed to it in the evil pointed out, it has
itself manifested the desire that this inquiry should take
place, and should be extended to all the facts which bring
about the dearness of capital. If your Majesty should deign
to authorise it, I believe that a useful manifestation to re-
assure the public interest and enlighten public opinion will
result from the impartial and complete examination of this
important question.
" I will not terminate this analysis of the results of 1864
without stating that we have been able to re-enter upon the
strict execution of the prescriptions of the Senatus-Consul-
tum of Dec. 31, 1861.
" Although we have had to repress an insurrection in
Algeria, and to send thither considerable reinforcements,
we hope that we shall not ask any supplementary credit of
the Corps Legislatif, and that if this eventuality should
occur, which cannot yet be entirely ascertained, it will be
restricted within very narrow limits.
" ANTICIPATORY BUDGET OF 1865.
" The credits to be opened for the Anticipatory Budget
of 1865 amount to about 82 millions; but this sum cannot
fail to be reduced. In fact, owing to the strictness ruling
the arrangement of the expenditure, the total of the credits
anticipated in the Budget of 1865 will be found lessened,
at the end of the balance, by a sum estimated at 36 millions
at least, which will give rise to corresponding abate-
ments. (The total of preceding abatements has been—
in 1859, 52,439,932 f. ; in 1860, 48,544,882 f. ; in 1861,
39,097,435 f. ; in 1862, 71,427,144 f. ; and in 1863 this
amount will be 46 millions.) The increase which this
Budget will necessitate will therefore only in reality be 46
millions.

" Upon the other hand, the resources calculated upon for
the anticipatory Budget amount to 64,000,000 f. A surplus
will therefore result of 18,000,000 f., which may be carried to
the extraordinary Budget of 1866.
" The principal items of expenditure in the anticipatory
Budget of 1865 are—
" 1. For the Ministry of War :
"Entire effective force kept up in Mexico, in
Algeria, and at Rome
" N.B. The sum asked last year for this ser-
vice in the rectified Budget was 57,000,000 f.
"2. For the Ministry of the Marine and the Colonies
"Extraordinary armaments and administra-
tion of Cochin China ... 29,000,000
" N.B. The credit asked last year for the
Ministry of Marino and the Colonies was
52,000,000 f.

F.
... 36,000,000

"3. Ministry of Public Works ...
"N.B. The Ministry of Public Works was
only charged with a sum of 1,800,000 f. in the
rectified Budget of 1864.
" 4. Ministry of Finance :
" New Post-office
" Re-coinage of silver works in
forests, grassing mountains, &c. 3,000,000

4,500,000

... 6,000,000

" 5. Some further expenses for the Minis-
tries of the Interior, of Public Instruction, of
the Emperor's Household, and of the Fine
Arts, and for Algeria—together
" The revenue of the rectified Budget of
1865 arises principally :
" 1. From direct and indirect taxes, which
were calculated with great moderation in
the Budget voted 18 months ago. Their
total value will exceed

9,000,000

2,600,000

... 31,000,000
... 26,000,000

"2. From the annuity due by Mexico
"3. From a sum to be received from the com-
panies of Orleans and of Lyons
"4. From the payment of a credit reserved
for inundations

3,660,000

1,000,000

5. From some other sources amounting to-
gether to

8,800,000

"ORDINARY BUDGET OF 1866.

The ordinary Budget of 1866 contains no new burden
upon the taxpayers, and we have even ceased to include the
tax upon equipages and horses kept by private persons. By
your Majesty's order, a bill will be presented for the pur-
pose of including this tax in future in the departmental
budgets.
" Notwithstanding this diminution, the ordinary budget
of 1866 balances at present with a surplus of over a million,
and we have nevertheless been able to increase the amount
devoted to the Ministry of Marine by 2,500,000 f., and that
to the Ministry of Public Works by 1,500,000 f.
" EXTRAORDLNARY BUDGET FOR 1866.

" The EAtre,ordinary Budget for 1866 amounts in revenue