The Sun.
London, England, 1849-06-23 00:00:00

THE BUDGET,

The House having resolved itself into a Committee
of Supply; Mr. BERNAL in the Chair,
The CHANCELLOR of tha EXCHEQUER rose
to make his financial statement to the
Ho sail, although the statement which he was
about to submit to the House was not as favourable
as he could have wished, or as favourable as he should
have been justified in making at an earlier period of the
session, he believed and hoped, considering the circum.
stances and times in which they had been placed, that it
would not be altogether unsatisfactory to the House and the
country. They would ill appreciate the value of a
statement of the financial resources of the Government,
if they did not take into their consideration the circum-
stances not only of this country, but of those other coun-
tries with which we had commercial relations.—(Hear,
hear.) They must remember that, a year and a half
ago, severe commercial distress prevailed in this coun-
try; that there had been a famine in Ireland, and that
the state of continental Europe was such that the
greatest interruption had taken place in our com-
mercial intercourse with it. He would ap-
peal to those who were best acquainted with
our manufacturing towns as to the truth of this,—
( Elear, hear.) And when he stated that our trade with
Germany was supposed to be equal to two days' working
of our cotton mills in a week, he thought the interruption
which our trade had felt would be sufficieet to account for
a diminution of those sanguine expectations which were
entertained.—(Hear.) They were deeply interested in
the peace and tranquillity of neighbouring countries,
and he would appeal to that circumstance as confirming
the propriety of the course he had adopted
at an early part of the session, in refusing to
comply with the request which had le!en made to
make his financial statement earlier. Large
works had been undertaken by the Government.
With regard to those works, the Government had been
advised to borrow money to complete them, but they had
decided that it would be more equitable to meet this
outlay by a temporary increase of taxation. In that
view the House bad coincided, the plan had accord-
ingly been adopted, and the borrowing of money had
been avoided.—(Hear, hear.) That plan had been
adopted because it was thought to be the best for the
interests of the country. The burden, it was
true, might be extended over some years, but he believed
that when three years had elapsed the country would
have obtained all the benefit, and the expenses would
have entirely ceased. He might have made this state-
ment at an earlier period of the session, but it could not
have been so effectively made as at the present time,
and the House would now be able to, judge as to how
those expectations had been realised. The House would
remember that he had anticipated that when the
falling off of business, the general agricultural diffi-
culty, and the distress in Ireland had been con-
sidered, that there would yet be a surplus of
290,0001. He had then said that it would be difficult to
form an estimate of the probable expenses, or to make
any statement upon really solid grounds, but he had, if
the House remembered, estimated the whole of the na-
tional income at 51,550,000/, and in this return he had
counted upon the returns of the temporary tax. Allow-
ing then the 640,000/. which he anticipated in excess,
and deducting the expenses which it seas then known
must•arise, there would still be a surplus of 640,0001.,
of which 420,0001. might be considered as clear gain.
Taking the ordinary expenditure of the year the actual
deficiency was only 50,000/. The House would recol-
lect that he had anticipated that the income
of the year would be 52,130,0001., but it
had only produced 52,067,731/, being 62,000/.
less than he had anticipated. The actual
expenditure had been 53,287,1101. But in that expen-
diture there were included two sums of con-
siderable importance and amount, which he had
not anticipated would be required namely,
the grant in aid of Irish emigration,
voted last year, amounting to 389,9201, and a naval ex-
cess of 323,807/. of the preceding year, which was carried
into the expenditure of the present—making together
713,727/., which being deducted from the ordinary ex-
penditure, showed the expenditure upon the year to have
been 52.573,403/, exceeding the estimate (as we under-
stood) by 120,000/. The total expenditure, including
the two items he had mentioned, was therefore 53,237,1101.
['he total receipts, including 950,000/. received from corn in
the course of the year, was 53,017,732/. The deficiency
was 269,378/, but if Hon. Gentlemen would compare
the receipts of the year with the expenditure, excluding
those two items (he was now speaking of last year)—if
they would compare the receipts of last year with the
current expenditure of last year, they would find, as he
had said, that the expenditure was 32,573,4031, the cur-
rent expenditure being less than the income by 444,329/
The surplus of income above expenditure was
444,329/, and if they added to that the expendi-
ture of the preceding year, deducting the expenses for
Irish purposes and for emigration to Canada, there
still would be a surplus of 120,000/. He now came
to the prospects of the present year. The re-
ceipt of Customs was 21,879,000/.,; and of that
amount 950,000/. was for corn. The receipt of Custom
duties, excluding corn, was 20,220,0004 Early in the
year, as he had already stated, he was led to expect
there might be no inconsiderable increase ;
that expectation had, however, in some measure,
not been realised, but still the receipt of Customs for the
present year, he anticipated, would not be less than the
last. Last year the receipt of Customs for corn was
920,0001., and as they had now a fixed duty on corn, at
least one more easily estimated, he thought he might
fairly estimate the duty in that respect.—(Hear.) Now,
he found that in the course of the last year there was
received upon Indian corn and meal no less than 96 000/.
He took the income derived from grain at between
200,0002 and 300,000/. He proposed to take it at
250,000/., making a total income from the Customs
duties of 20,450,0004 The income derived from
the Excise duties last year was 13,932,270/. He
proposed to take it at 13,710,0001. The Stamp
duties produced 6,565,364/. They were, he was
happy to say, improving since the beginning of the year.
He proposed to take them at 6,750,000/. The
taxes produced 3,318,900/.; he proposed now to
take them at 4,300,0001. The income-tax pro-
duced 5,725,000/.; he proposed to take it at 8,000,000/.
The Right Hon. Baronet went a little further into detail,
and then stated that the whole revenue of the year was
52,252,000/. He now turned to the expenditure side. The
expense of managing the public debt was 27,635,0271.;
the interest on Exchequer-bills, 480,000/. odd, making
the interest on the public debt 28,243,527/. The whole
andAretie wasexpedition,an another
t her
charge on the Consolidated Fund was 31,750,083/.
The naval expenditurewas6,26o,74ho: p
; efxorepnasce fkeotrthe
army
ser-
vice, 248,296/. • sumfor the
there
12,6881.—making a separate
ng a total for navy, packet service, and
a
Arcticm
a expedition,ounted to of 7,021,7241. T
6,142,0001.,te
vote of 31,872/.; for militia, 113,0004—making a total of
6,287,Q83/. In the Ordnance department there were
votes of 2,654,270/, 3,924,731 e, and of 520,1731.
These were the total expenses of the year. But Hon.
Gentlemen were aware that he had not yet finished.
There was a naval excess for the years 1847 and 1848,
amounting to 23,708/, an ordnance excess, up to April,
1848, of 97,9841., in the commissariat; there was
also an excess of 642,632/., and the total expen-
ses, including all the excesses of the year, would
amount to 52,157,6961; deducting then the total
amount of expenditure from the amount of re-
ceipts, there remained a surplus of 104,7041.
Hon. Gentleman should remember that these estimates
were 500,000/. or 600,000/. higher than those of preced-
ing years. The Government had used every exertion to
redeem the pledge they had made to keep the expen-
diture under the income, and if their anticipations
were realised, there would be an excess on income
over expenditure this year; and he, therefore, did hope,
when they recovered from the excesses of former years,
even though there might not be any increase of income,
or any reduction of expenditure, that there would still
be a considerable surplus of income over expenditure.
In former years there had been surpluses which had been
invariably placed to the account of the public creditor,
of course surrendered for the common benefit. But the

greatest saving would arise from the plans which had
been adopted for improving the dockyards of her Ma-
jesty's navy, and which, but for the plans which had
been adopted, would have shown an excess in the outlay.
Bitter experience had, however, enabled them to follow

( .
a more economical system.—(Hear, hear.) But he
thought it right to show upon what their expectations
of an increased income were founded.—(Hear, hear.)
Their expenses they knew, but income arose
from many uncertain sources.—(Hear, hear.) Their
expenditure they were certain about, but income was at
all times uncertain. The financial year, as all knew,
began on the sth of April, but the three-quarterly ac-
counts were made up on the sth of January. The
greatest falling off since that period was in the Excise,
and the deficiency in that department since the date
which he had just given was upwards of 496,0001.; but
since the sth of April, the commencement of the finan-
cial year, the deficit waa only 400,0001. Then, again,
in compliance with the wishes of the hopgrowers, he
had postponed until the autumn the payment of the
hop duties. The half amount of those duties
was 180,000/. Then again the payment of the malt
duties had been postponed six weeks later than it was
last year. In the last year there had been an increase of
nearly 200,000/., and taking the effect of the law for re-
gulating the excise upon spirits in Ireland and Scot-
land, which affected the revenue to the extent of 400,0001

from the beginning of January in the present year, it
was gratifying to find that there had been an in•
crease in the revenue from Stamps of 40,0001.
a gratifying proof of the revival of trade.—
(Hear, hear.) In the Excise (as we understood,
for it was most difficult to catch the import 01

many of the Right Honourable Baronet's statements)
there appeared a falling off of 58,000 L; but in reality
it
he
ewn ass
gradualonl y 570 ,i On le. and
r,
eas
e, idne
during
income-taxthe s
same
h e
period,
et
r ieerde, had
the
increase being 9,7001. "With regard to Ireland he was
sorry that he could not tell the same good story. He
would now go a little further back, and glance at the
incomes of former years. If they went six or eight
years back, and glanced at the circumstances of each of
these years, they would agree with him that his antici-
pations were based upon the best grounds. For the
year ending April: the .sth, 1842, the ordinary income
was 48,000,0001.; in 1843 it was 45,500,000/.; in 1844,
46,500,0001; in 1844-5, it again attained 45,000,000/,
the amount realised being 48,110,0001. Considerable
reductions were made at that period,
.and in 1846 the
income fell a little under 46,000,0001 ; but in
1847, notwithstanding great reductions had been made
in taxation, it rose to upwards of 48,000,000/. That
was a peculiar year, and its revenue was swayed by
various real and fictitious circumstances. He thought
he was right in assuming that the ordinary income of the
preseat year would amount to 463000,0001.; that it would
be kept up notwithstanding the recent reductions in taxa-
tion. The reduction of the income of the country in
eu
thes mafeedar
redaction
1081 the present 7
was 344,8821.,
year wouldBB2/., and the