The Sun.
London, England, 1846-05-30 00:00:00

past. In making the estimate of the revenue, the first point to
which attention is directed are the customs revenue of the
country. This branch of the revenue produced last year, as
already stated, 19,768,000/. But, in consequence of the
measures which have been passed this session through Parlia- ,
ment, a reduction of these duties has taken place to the
amount of 1,041,000!. But no Hon. Gentleman, who con-
siders either what is past, or dealing with the ordinary prin-
ciples of finance, will consider that the revenue of the succeed-
ing years is to be calculated by deducting from the revenue of
the past year the amount of duty now proposed to be sub-
tracted. A large deduction must be made on account of in-
creased consumption in those articles from which the duty is
entirely removed. Allowance must be also made for the
increased consumption in those articles which remain
subject in some degree to taxation. In consequence of the
total abolition of the duties upon a great variety of other
articles, in the deduction which should be made upon account of
the abolition of duties during the present year, I must be
guided in some degree by the experience of the past. I find
that upon reference to the reduction previously made, that if I
take the loss of revenue in the customs at two-fifths of the
amount of the duty repealed, I should exceed that which has been
found to be lost in a period in which we had been for some time
past receiving a less amount of duty. I should not trust to
deducting from the customs revenue a greater sum than
400,000 e on account of the reduction in duty ; thus we
therefore leave the customs revenue, instead of 19,700,000/.,
only 19,300,0001. I take it at a greater amount than that, and
I will state to the House my grounds for so doing. I find
upon reference to the most experienced, and the most continued
observers of the course of things, that there is every antici-
pation of the continuance during the year to come of the pros-
perity in trade which we enjoyed last year. I receive from
every outport the most satisfactory statement with reference to
the prospects of the revenue for the ensuing year. I have
been called upon by different persons in the outports, and in
the City of London, not to confine my augmentation of duty
to 200,000 e I am always anxious to be on the safe
side.—( Hear, hear.) I therefore limit the sum to 1,950,0001.
Has the revenue fallen off on account of the reduction which
has been made ? I find in many of the returns from different
ports of the country. that such has been to a very limited ex-
tent, during the last six weeks, being from the commencement
of the financial year. And this has been during a period when
there was considerable uncertainty as to the measures of the
Government, and the consequent uncertainty and speculation
that prevailed. In many of these out-ports, so far from a re-
duction of the revenue-duty, I find that, during these six weeks,
in many there has been an increase, in others an equality of
revenue, while in those in which there has been any deficiency
it has been accompanied by the statement that the re-
venue is gradually increasing, and is likely to continue
so.—(Hear, hear.) I take the last six weeks as a
justification of my argument as to the amount that may be ex-
pected, because I wish to show that the duty repealed is not to
be taken as an indication of the exact amount that may be
found deficient. I find, in referring to Liverpool, Leith, New-
castle, Port Glasgow, and Dublin—ports confined to no par-
ticular portion of the United Kingdom, there has been no
falling off in revenue in the last six weeks as compared with
the six weeks of the preceding year, and that we have every
expectation, when Parliament has done with the measures now
before it, the revenue will spring up beyond what it has been
even before the alterations were made.—(Hear, hear.) On
these ground I consider there cannot be any large reduction of
duty, and that I may fairly estimate it during the coming year
at 19,500,000!. The next important branch of the revenue is
the excise. Upon that bianch of the revenue there was a large
abolition of the revenue last year. In consequence of this re-
duction of duty, the excise had fallen off 100,0001. as com-
pared with what it was before the glass and auction
duties were repealed. On this head, with respect to the
future, he had the most sanguine expectations, founded
upon the experience that the revenue in this department had
exceeded the calculation which was made when the statement
was made to the House. The experience we have had gives
us full assurance of what we may fairly calculate the future
revenue to be. I will take the revenue for the ensuing year,
and I will add 13,400,0001., being a sum of 100,000/. more than
in the year 1845. With respect to the stamp duties, on which
there has been received 7,660,0001, during the last year; for
the present year I will take the sum of 7,400,0001. As much
of the augmentation of duty arose from that sudden increase of
railway speculation, which has been so much the subject of
discussion in this House, and as I cannot anticipate that the
same extent of railway speculation will prevail during the en-
suing year, after the experience we have had—( Hear, hear)—
I propose to deduct from the stamp duty a sum such as can be
fairly attributed to the agency of that speculation. And I
will therefore make a reduction of 260,0001. With respect to
the assessed taxes, and the land tax, I will take the same
amount, 4,200,0001. With regard to the property-tax, I think
it has very nearly produced, in the course of the last year
5,100,0001. The assessments under the new Act of last year
have all been completed, and I make this statement without
any particular data which could enable me to make out an
accurate return upon the present occasion. There is, how-
ever, no reason to apprehend that the amount wid be short of
what was produced last year, arguing from the increasing
prosperity of the country. With respect to the post-office,
in which there has been during the last year a very large
increase of revenue, I think that that increase of revenue
should be confined to that particular year. There has,
however, for some time past been a gradually pro-
gressing increase of the revenue in that deprrtment.
I do not take the same amount of increase for the year upon
which we have now entered as there has been for the year
which has just closed; and for this reason—not that I antici-
pate otherwise than that the revenue, having additional facili-
ties to increase, will continue to do so—but there is an im-
provement which I contemplate in the administration of the
post-office, which improvement, by throwing an additional
expense, in the first instance, on the public revenue, but
which, nevertheless, in my opinion, will contribute to the
efficiency and general character of the department, I am
anxious to leave a margin for the conduct of this operation ;
but still I am inclined to take only the augmentation of the re-
venue, and I therefore content myself with taking a total sum
of 850,0001., being 60,000/. above the sum which was received
in the course of last year. With respect to the crown lands, I
have to observe that the amount apportioned for promoting the
principles of the Zoological Society, and for which he was
about to submit a motion to the House, was 120,0001. This
was exclusive of the sums apportioned for that purpose during
the past year. It had been calculated that the amount
required for the year ending on the sth of
April, 1847, would be 50,900,0001., exclusive of the
money to be derived from the treaty with China, the full
amount of which would be at least 700,03(1. But including
500,000/. of that amount, the whole amount is stated at
51,6571. The whole of the expenditure during the last year
was estimated at 49,400,0001. It is impossible to ascertain
what the expense will be in future rears, but I may safely
estimate the superfluous expense at 2;200,0)0/. Great efforts
have been made during the past year to reduce the expenditure
of the several offices of Government, but it was found that the
expenditure of the useful establishments could not be reduced.
Our attention has been especially turned to our steam navy,
and it is believed that a great advantage will be obtained by
the introduction of guns of heavy calibre into our steam force.
I will not go seriatim through these additions to the House, but
I do think, notwithstanding these charges, the expense of the
consolidated debt will amount to more than 28,200,000/. At
exclusive of the sum of
2pe
,o,i.' surplus. The total amount of
these
0 ssen e 0
oot t itw oli
.s
which calculatedcharges,
a appeared
p ew aa
which
ei2edB a,O h 1s a
may
be called the permanent
charges of a country, is thirty millions six hundred and
seventy-five thousand pounds. The army expenditure of last
year was six million seven hundred and forty-five thousand
pounds, being a considerable increase over the estimates. I pro-
pose then for the present year an estimate of six millions six
hundred and ninety-seven thousand pounds, being an increase
on the estimate of the former year of 145,0001., arising, as I
have stated before, from an addition which it has been neces-
sary to make in the general force of the army, and the con-
templated calling out of the militia.—( Hear, hear.). With
respect to the estimate for the navy, I propose an estimate for
the present year of 7,621,000/. The estimate of the former
year being 6,943,0001., being an increase of five or six hundred
thousand pounds in a branch of the legislature on which I have
ednoothteee,
already stated rests the security of the country. The estimate
for the ordnance last year was 2,142,0001., and I propose for
this one an estimate of 2,543,000/., making an increase in that
branch of the service of 400,0001., arising in a great measure
from a necessary augmentation in the corps of the artillery, the
services of whom were no less distinguished in peace than in
war. This high expense on the face of the estimates will be
found extremely low on consideration. The other portion of
the expense is for the repair of certain barracks which have
been for some time, more or less, neglected, and which it has
at length been judged expedient to replace in repair,
and for the improvement of various fortifications; thus
adding to the comfort of the troops by improving their
barracks, and by furnishing them with better articles than
those to which they have been hitherto accustomed.
The estimates for miscellaneous expenses last year was
1,32,000/. ; this estimate this year is 3,235,000/. But I have
thought it right to set, at the present moment, 200,0001. down
under this head, conceiving that I shall hereafter have to sub-
mit to the House an account of these sums expended in the re-
lief of the suffering population—it is necessary to have a
margin of this kind, under present circumstances. The ac-
count, of course, is a matter of estimate, but, as I have said,
I have thought it right to put that sum in the estimates, in
order to make them up to a period, before ;the arrival of which
I think they will be requiredto meet the general expenses under
that head. The effect, therefore, cf the total expenditure of
the year will amount to 20,198,000/. But those additional
charges mentioned in the speech of my Right Honour-
able Friend at the commencement of the session—
I mean by the alteration in the ordnance tender
for medical attendance, and for salaries of schoolmasters in the
different poor-law unions, for the maintenance of prisoners,
and by the expense of prosecutions in criminal case, all contri-
bute to this increase of the miscellaneous estimates. They are
all comprised in the statement I have made. The total amount
of the service of the year, therefore, amounts to 20,198,0001.,
which when, with the other charges, are deducted from the ex-
pected revenue of the year 51,630,000/., makes a total amount
of expenditure of 50,663,000/e which leaves a surplus at
the end of the year of 776,0001. It was with a similar
surplus in the commencement of last year that we entered upon
the period which is past. It is with a similar surplus that we
enter upon the present year ; but I enter upon it now as I did
then, with increased confidence that the estimate I have made
as to the expenditure of the country, commerce will be
rather diminished than increased, and that the House, at a
future period, will have the satisfaction of finding that the result
is even more prosperous than I have now stated.
Unless it can be shown to me that there is some great error in
the calculations which I have made, I think I may say we
have the satisfaction of knowing that the result is mainly
owing to the course which Parliament has of late years adopted,
in abolishing prohibitory duties, and in relaxing protective
duties, giving to the industry of the country increased energy,
and securing for the people at once a means of employment, and
an easy means of procuring the necessaries and comforts of
life. But, Sir, when I attribute the prosperity of the year
which has passed, and anticipate the prosperity of the year
which is to come, I may be told that, is ascribing it to the
causes I have just named, I am at fault. I may be told that
one year the financial system may be attended with fortuitous
circumstances and accidental advantages, and that the circum-
stances of a single rear do not apply always to the future, I ad-
mit the force of this observation. I admit that you haveno right
to urge the advantages I have stated as of one year as a rea-
son for applying a particular system to the future; but I ask
the House not to esnfine their observations, merely to what
has occurred in the present year, or to what resulted
toel:
mw
mas
eCarr}'inneet the
commenced,
year
dak IbBe their eo, i
fr soonle viewsafter
ifit
co
ru
House
eht the period
to
egraiuo daliwoonhngge n serieswt_hteh ffi e present
i()if
presented sinysternthneas
beenlast inyeoapre,ratibonu.t
continued that the
progress
st
asne:
is system
result first
o f
feonms pears,id Government,drtuihnregi n
wgmeasurescameha t whichh
ai
sn thebt oea
the measures introduced by
the House. It will be recollected what was the state of the
country at the period when the present Government entered
office—not that I wish to enter into a comparison between any
particular administrations. And now, in the next place, I
propose to call the attention of the
II ' t the situ.tion of
the country at the period ouse o.
e period when we entered into. Government.
some years a considerable deficiency
There had been for .
in the
revenue—that deli& ' • d that period to a very
I,ney had increase at
by increased
large amount ; indeed
attempts had been made
taxation, andbut
t deficiency,
' properlymade, to overcome chat
it was found that the
t the augmentation of the duty on customs
and excise• augmenting
had not the effect of materially
the revenues. The first duty of the Government, therefore,
under these circumstances was to get rid of that deficiency, and
to prevent its recurrence for the future ; and it was necessary at
that time—it was indispensably necessary for the good of the