The Sun.
London, England, 1854-05-30 00:00:00

10ND.4.1t9,

THE ESTIMATES FOR THE REVENUE

DEPARTMENTS.

It has long been admitted to be desirable that the large
sum annually abstracted from the public revainue in its
progress to the Exchequer should be brought under the
direct control of Parliament. This object has now been
accomplished, and the Government are entitled to the
gratitude of financial reformers for the important im-
provement which has been effected. A bill at present
in progress provides for the payment of the gross revenue
into the Exchequer, and consequently it has become
necessary to submit estimates of "the sum required to
defray the expenses of the several departments engaged
in the collection and management of the public revenue
of the United Kingdom" for the current • year. The
votes are five in number, and the particulars are as
follow :

I. CUSTOMS, SALARIES, AND EXPENSES.—The total of
this vote is 810,785/. The salaries of and allowances to the
board and officers of the superintending establishment at
the Custom-house, in Thames-street, amount to 73,917/.
of which the board, comprising a chairman, deputy-
chairman, and four commissioners, receive 8,500/. The
Secretary's office enters for 13,6451., the Solicitor's for
5,3401., the Receiver-General's for 6,110/.; the Comptrol-
ler-General's for 5,3801. ; the Inspector-General's for
9,2801., and the Examiner's for 14,4201. The total number
of persons employed is 259, of whom 166 occupy situations
in the last three offices at salaries for the most part very
moderate. The next item included in this head is for
" salaries and allowances to officers in the establishment of
the poik of Loudon, the pay of extra and glut officers, and
incidental charges," and its amount is 292,652/. Under
this head the salaries of no less than 1,799 officers are pro-
vided for, including those employed in the Long Room,
,at the Lolkdois Docks, the St. Katharine's Docks, and in
other similar establishments. In this, as well as the pre-
ceding item, a considerable allowance is made for addi-
tional charges anticipated in consequence of " expected in-
crease of business."
For the establishment at the port of Liverpool the grant
proposed is 111,4091., which provides for a collector, whose
salary is 1,200/., and 818 other officers. For the other
establishments of the United Kingdom, which aro 122 in
number, and employ 2,496 officers, the amount required is
3286671., which is thus composed :
Salary and daily pay £262,240
Pay of extra and glut officers 25,552
Incidental charges
Bristol, Cork, Dublin, Glasgow, Hull, Leith, Newcastle,
and Southampton, are the only places having establishments
the cost of which exceeds 10,000/. a-year, and at Hull alone
is the total charge double that amount. For law charges,
seizures, &c., 13,600/. is required, but it is anticiptated
that this amount will be more than covered by the pro-
ceeds of sales of seized goods and penalties recovered, which
will be carried to the customs revenue and paid to the Ex-
chequer. The only remaining item in this vote is 20,5101.
for salaries and allowances to officers of the department in
the West India and South American Colonies, including
pay of extra officers and incidental expenses. Recapitulat-
ing the above particulars, we shall have—
Custom-house establishment, London £73,947
Port of London establishment
„ Liverpool „
All other establishments in the United Kingdom 328,667
Law charges,l3,6oo
West Indies and North America 20,510

£840,785
11. COAST-GUARD.—The total of this vote is 47,),320/. ;
the largest item being 319,1401., for pay and allowances to
officers and men employed in the force on shore. The
amount of this force is as follows :-62 inspecting com-
manders of districts, 413 officers in command of stations,
4,416 chief boatmen, commissioned and other boatmen,
and 14 mounted guard. The estimated charge of 51 reve-
nue cruisers, the crews of which amount altogether to 812,
is 67,050/. ; and a further sum of 41,5001. is required for
the buildings in the occupation of the establishment, in-
cluding the hire of those rented, and for the maintenance
and repair of boats, with other minor expenses.
lII.—INLAND REVENUE.—Tho total of this vote is
1,151,5941., of which 176,8741. is for the salaries of
the board and officers paid at the chief office. The
hoard consists of a chairman, deputy chairman, and
five commissioners ; and the total of their salaries is
10,8001. The whole number of officers employed is 869 ;
and of these six receives salaries of 1,0001. a year or up-
wards. For salaries of surveying officers and others on
the establishment in England, the charge is 286,155/. ; for
those in Scotland, 103,814/. ; and for Ireland, 83,7511 The
numbers employed are—in England, 2,496 ;in Scotland,
975 ; and in Ireland, 711.
For the poundage paid to collectors and assessors
118,0001. is the sum_ proposed to be granted, and for mis-
cellaneous expenses, 129,0001. Postage and carriage of
parcels is entered as a separate charge of 28,0001. and for
the construction and repair of buildings, 35,0001. is asked.
IV. REVENUE, POLICE &C., IRELAND.—The total of
this vote is 52,7691., and the whole force maintained
amounts to 1,2281., o whom 27 constitute the crew of the
Seamew revenue steamer, and 176 are officers of various
grades.
B. POST-OFFICE.—The total of this vote is 1,525,3351.,
and it appears that the amount expended in the year
ended the sth of October, 1853, was ],370,36W. The esti-
mate for the establishments in the capitals of the three
kingdoms is 383,5961., which is divided as follows :—Lon-
don, 324,8061.; Dublin, 36,313/. ; and Edinburgh, 22,4771.
The district post, for which there is no charge in the two
last-mentioned capitals, enters in the estimates for the
former at 102,4241.
For provincial establishments the following aro the esti-
mates :
England and Wales • £327,233
Ireland
Scotland 49,450
The minutest details are given as to the salaries paid to
those employed at each post-office, and the estimates ap-
pear to be framed in the clearest and most satisfactory
manner. For the conveyance of mails, the total amount
to be provided is 645,3971., of which 421,867/. is
payable
to the railway companies, and 117,002/. is the estimated
expense of " carts and omnibuses." For buildings and re-
pairs, the grant proposed amounts to 21,3131., of which
12,5001. is to be expended in the construction of a new,
post-office at Glasgow, a site for which has already been
purchased at a cost .310,000.
The following summary shows the amount of the seve-
ral votes, and the grand total of these new estimates :
Customs—Salaries and-expenses.. .................. £840,785
Coast-guard
Inland Revenue—Salaries and expenses
Police (Ireland)
1,525,335

Post-ogee

•
Total £4,052,803
The attention of Parliament will no doubt bo directed
to the charges now for the first time brought under its
notice, and it is possible that, without interfering with
the efficiency of the several departments, redactions may
hereafter be made in the estimates now submitted.