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

ment. So that this House;of Commons is in a condition to
state that the civil expenditure of the country has not
been increased during the' term of its existence. If we
look to the total expenditure of the country, and compare
it with the expenditure of former years, in order to make
the comparison a fair one it is necessary to make several
changes in the figures as they appear in the accounts of the
Exchequer. It is necessary to add the special charge in-.
curred under special Acts of Parliament for the erection of
fortifications. It is necessary to deduct all those charges
which, as compared with former years, do not appear in the
first of the years that we compare together, but which do
appear in the last ; that is to say, the charges which swell
the total on both sides, but which neutralise one another,
and which it is requisite to withdraw in order to make a
just comparison. It is necessary, also, 1 think, with a view
to judge fairly of what we have been about, that we should
bear in mind the great relief which we obtained in 1860 by
the lapse of the Long, and other Annuities, amounting to
no less a sum than £2,149,000. If we take then what I may
term the true expenditure of the country, and if we like-
wise, besides the other charges which I have named, strike
out from all these years the items of miscellaneous receipt
would tend rather to mislead than to instruct when we are
1859a-g6eoinamounts, expenditurean
like this, the expenditure of the last
year,
1864-65, will be found to amount to £65,957,000.
when
oftherecfirtifisted in year
theof stamheePmaahritemrentto,
£67,471,000 ; so that there is a
reduction since the year
1859-60, without charging
naccountumhe numbers
e o f
one
ee
million Annuities
and thleBnsh9aa-bi6of
0,
about
twotirot hemx thepori
roes
,upmerr in
es
eis paidel.ey u
noondf
£1,514,000. If we go to 1860-61, which was the year of
our highest expenditure, we show undoubtedly a very
large decrease, amounting to £6,547,000. (Hear, hear.) If
we look to the year 1858-59, the year befor the extensive
operations connectedwith the military and naval departments
commenced, then we arrive at a different result, and instead
of showing a reduction, we find an increase of expenditure,
amounting to nearly 31 millions, or £3,442,000. And if we
recede one stage further, that is to say, to the very different
scale of expenditure which prevailed before the Russian war,
we find then, on comparing the expenditure of that period
with that of the year which has just elapsed, that the total
increase that has taken place in the annual charges of the
country amounts to £12,459,000, or very nearly 121 mil-
lions. That, sir, is the state of the expenditure as compared
with what it has been in former years, both in the civil
branch alone, and likewise when regarded as a whole ; and
I venture to say, speaking in a country of popular institu-
tions, that although the expenditure of the period has been
a large one, yet. I do not believe that there has been any
period of our history when the expenditure, whether small
or great, has been more entirely in consonance with the
general views, wishes, and feelings of the nation at large.
(Hear, hear.) Sir, I come now to close the account for the
year by comparing its expenditure with its revenue—a very
simple and very satisfactory operation. The expenditure,
according to the Exchequer account,made up to March 31,
1865, wa5£66,462,000, and the revenue for the year ending
on the same day was £70,313,000, showing a surplus of
revenue over expenditure, according to the usual and esta-
blished method of statement, of £3,851,000. (Cheers.) If,
however, we take into view, as we ought, perhaps, to take
into view, and as the sheet I have laid on the table does
take into account, the expenditure on fortifications provided
for in a special manner by Parliamentary annuities, we
must then add the sum of £620,000 to the expenditure,which
would then raise it t0£67,082,000 and deducting that from
the revenue as I stated it the surplus of revenue over
charge upon the least favourable showing still amounts to
£3,231,0Q0. Now, sir, passing to another branch of the
subject, and comparing the revenue with the estimates of
the year, the result is also satisfactory. The revenue, as
estimated on the 7th of April, 1864, was £67,128,000. The
actual revenue has been not less than £70,313,000 (cheers)
showing a surplus beyond the estimate of £3,185,000, and
that surplus extends, I will say, to every material head of
the revenue. It extends even to the Miscellaneous, but
the difference on that head has little to do with
the actual condition of the country. It runs through
the heads of Customs, Excise, Stamps, Taxes, Income-tax,
and Post-office. The most remarkable of these augmenta-
tions of revenue, as compared with estimate, is the augmen-
tation in the case of the Customs, which shows an excess of
£752,000 over the estimate. In the case of the Excise the
excess is £1,538,000. In the instance of the Customs there
has been a rather general increase, and the only important
article of decrease has been one upon which I, for one,
always look on a decrease with great satisfaction—l mean
the duty received on the import of foreign corn. (Hear,
hear.) The decrease of the revenue from foreign corn,
which is the test of the goodness and abundance of the
home supply—the decrease on the year just expired,
as compared with the preceding year, is no less than
£184,000. The wine duty increased by £75,000. It
appears to have a pretty steady increase from year
to year ; but the most important item, in which the
greatest interest will be felt, is that of sugar, on which
Parliament operated by the legislation of last year. The
legislation of last year was calculated to give the consumer
of sugar a relief to the extent of £1,719,000. That relief,
partially compensated by the recovery, it was calculated
would entail upon the Exchequer for the year a loss of
£1,330,000. But the circumstances have been favourable.
The prices of sugar have fallen in combination with the
operation of the reduced duty, and the actual loss has only
been £926,000, showing a recovery of no less than £404,000
beyond the recovery on which I had calculated in the esti-
mates of last year. (Hear, hear.) If next we look to the
remarkable case of the Excise, the Committee will doubtless
be struck with the excess of receipts over the estimate. And
it is well that the Committee should always bear in mind
that a new element of uncertainty has of late been intro-
duced into the estimates of revenue from the Exiee, as a
result of the change which for a very important purpose
has been made ; the shortening of the malt credits and re-
ceiving the duty for malt within a less period after the
charge is incurred than at former times has had the effect
of including within the current year a large portion of the
malt revenue of the year, and therefore subjecting the esti-
mate of the revenue to a portion of the uncertainty attendant
on the produce of the harvest and the fitness of the barley
for the production of malt. The sum of £1,500,000 of excess
under the head of Excise may be thus accounted for. The
general prosperity has led to a general increase of the items
included under the head of Excise; but the two important
items in which the mass of increase has occurred are malt
and spirits. Malt was estimated to produce £5,800,000 ; it
has yielded £6,377,000, or an excess of £577,000 beyond
the estimate. British spirits were estimated at £9,650,000;
they have yielded £10,173,000, an increase beyond the esti-
mate of £523,000. The increase of the receipt from the
spirit duty over the estimate and over the receipt of the
preceding year i5:£432,000 under the head of British spirits,
and £309,000 under the head of spirits imported from
abroad, making together a total increase in the receipts
under the head of Excise from the article of spirits of
£741,000 within the year. Nov, looking to the comparison
between the revenue of the year and that of the preceding
one, we had estimated for a loss of £3,080,000 ; but in lieu
of that we have a small gain, which, 'according as it is
stated, may be put at either £105,000 or £147,000
in favour of 1864-5 as compared with last year. That
is not very material or significant, but what is material
and significant is what I am desirous to bring under
the notice of the committee, inasmuch as it has a wide and
important bearing on the gradual growth—the rate of in-
crease in the revenue of the country. It is a matter which
cannot be stated with mathematical precision, inasmuch as
the statements that are made in the tables of the Board of
Trade with regard to the gain of new taxes and loss from
the repeal of old ones partake iu a certain degree of the
i s comparet
betweenhi e.
them '
nature of an estimate. Still, Ido not think, in comparing
one period with another, there is any great apprehension of
serious error ; and, for the information of the committee, I
have endeavoured to estimate the annual rate of the growth
of the revenue of the country at three periods. I begin, with
the period of 1840 and come down to 1852, the year imme-
diately preceding the difficulties with Russia and the
noeuxtt-
break of the Russian war, which occurred beforelt
thaek e the
it with the
financial year closed. The mode I adopt
revenuerevenue
oof f theth e firstlas t, yearand
find of that
the period,
difference
posed, and take the di
he improvement in the revenue, I find the
then I take the amounifteorfentreebes rtewpeeeanledthanesdetthwe
ota;xaedsdiming-
tthe balrue eaanscuereto
oft the real improvement of the revenue--
supposing thesouerfceths
etophreavgree caonntoifnutehde
puetrhoedsamtiev,ethat
powerl
the true measure
of the country. Between 1840 and 1852 there were imposed
taxes to the amount of £6,285,793, and there were taxes re-
duced to the amount of £13,597,858. The balance of taxes
reduced over taxes imposed was £7,312,065. During the
same period the revenue, after deducting the item of Mis-
cellaneous, showed an improvement of £5,051,026. Adding
these two items together, we get £12,363,091, showing
that during that period the revenue of the country, pre-
suming the sources to have remained the same, really grew
at the rate of nearly 1,030,000 a year. I then take the pe-
riod of the Russian war, ending before the considerable in-
crease of our expenditure which took place in 1859—the
period from 1853 to 1859. I will not trouble the committee
with details. The balance of taxes repealed in that period
over taxes imposed is very small—only about £1,000,000.
The improvement in the revenue was between £6,000,000
and £7,000,000, and, as nearly as the calculation can be
made, that sum would mark on the period from 1853 to
1859 an average annual growth in the income of the
country from the same sources of £1,240,000. I take the
soinloB6sth,
etheeemtniimiteteet
awhpeicrhiodl
hneavxet ptherie'
ohtnofurormof laBdsdl9-est
during which very large changes have taken place. Th
balance of taxes repealed over taxes imposed in that period
e
amounts to £6,137,000, and adding to that the taxes repeaide
in 1858, but which did not take effect till 1859-60, and e_
ducting from it certain taxes repealed in 1864, but the repeat
of which only took effect in 1865-6, the real and true h
a-
lance is £6,713,000.
lance of taxes repealed over taxes imposed
At the same time the increase of the revenue is
v,968,
000,
and the country
from therate
same o fou annualreee growth
having been
forcniethe of
efirst period
£1,030,000, for the second period £1,240,000, was for the
third period £1,780,000. Now,
having represented a state
the
sources
in the
satisfactory as bearing testi-
vigour of the country, I
of things which is evidently
mony to the increasing power and
must, of course, remind the committee that the annual
ed u
growth is not a growth which can at any
time be safely .re-
lied
prospectively for a single year; because at any