The Sun.
London, England, 1860-02-11 00:00:00

ENGLISH

.......—......------------- _
partial and searching examination. It is certainly
what they demand at the hands of every patriot
Englishman. And as to the necessity of scruti-
nising thus the financial situation of the country,
as it has now been displayed to the national gaze
by the Chancellor of the Exchequer, that is only
too painfully demonstrated_by the following tables
(for 1860.61) of our estimated charges and
expenditure. The estimated charges being, for
the ensuing twelvemonth:—
Funded and unfunded debt
Charges on the Consolidated Fund
Army and Militia, including the China
Expedition
Navy and Packet Service
Miscellaneous Civil Service
Revenue Departments

15,800,000
13,900,000
7,500,000
4,700,000

Total
The estimated income being, also for the ensuing
twelvemonth :
Customs

Excise
Stamps
Taxes
Income-tax
Post-office
Crown Lands
Miscellaneous

Total

. £22,700,000
19,170,000
. 8,000,000
. 3,250,000
2,400,000
. 3,400,000
. 280,000
1,500,000

£60,700,000

Shewing, consequently, at a glance, an excess of
expenditure over income of exactly £9,400,000
a positive deficit of Ten Millions sterling for one
year, in the Exchequer. To fill up this enormous
gap, Mr. GLADSTONE proposes his elaborate scheme
of yesterday. The precise nature, tendency and
character of this remarkable Budget will be found
succinctly given in the epitome subjoined to these
remarks of our own, a singularly able
epitome, extracted by us from the columns
of a morning contemporary. It is especi-
ally worthy of notice, however, at once, that the
commercial treaty with France, so far from tending
in any way to diminish the sum total of the deficit,
will, on the contrary, do exactly the very reverse.
It is simply a concession or peace-offering to
France—at any rate, it is wholly and entirely so
during the next eighteen months. It is a treaty
during that interval wholly in favour of French
finance—yet one concluded in the name of Recipro-
city ! It is a Treaty entered into for the purpose
of forwarding the principles of Free-trade by the
very surprising medium of a series of large conci-
liatory arrangements in favour of the French Pro-
tectionists ! In reality, this so-called reciprocal
treaty of commerce is so entirely one-sided that it
literally amounts to a peace-offering to France, the
fabrication of which must cost England an additional
£1,000,000. At the very time, moreover, when
our warlike expenditure amounts to close upon
£30.000,000. A commercial treaty like this cer-
tainly comes to us as a dubious boon, all the more
unwelcome in the manner of its coming when we
find our Foreign Secretary last night vt."_chsafing
such an answer as the following to the inquiry of an
hon. member who asked whether in the event of
Parlialiament not thinking it right to confirm this
treaty the friendly relations between the two Govern-
ments would be in any way endangered ? What
was the response of Lord JOHN RUSSELLy
Why it was actually thus sinister and signi-
significant ! "As to whether the rejection of the
treaty would produce any disturbance of our friendly
relations, why, the hon. gentleman and every other
member of this _Reuse are quite as capable of form-
ing an opinion as we are. That any threat or inti-
mation of that kind has been made is utterly un-
trae. [Surely a rather superfluous intimation !
The next sentence, however, fills us with unmitti-
gated astonishment, as addressed by Lord JoirN
RUSSELL to the British House of Commons !] But
as to what eje.''ct any speeches in this House against
France, followed by the rejection of the treaty,might
have, the hon. meinber must judge for himself!"
That the House of Conzmons is not only meekly to
accept any treaty like this; through fear of endan-
gering any alliance likely to be jeopardized
by the contingency of its rejection but
that in its acceptance the perfect freedom of debate
is in any way for one instant to be deprecated—
cannot but be regarded as a propositioo worthy
only of the scorn of the House of Commons, and
one calculated to excite resentment at the meZe
utterance of it, in the heart of every trueborn
Englishman. Viewing the alternative of the ac-
ceptance or rejection of the Treaty under the influ-
ence of such paltry finesse and petty truckling—
one can only remember, with a glow of patriotic
ardour, the words of our Poet Laureate, ALFRED
TENNYSON, upon a like contingency, in respect to
a kindred alternative—

"l 8 it peace or war ? BETTER WAR ! LOUD WAR ! BY
LASD AND BY SEA,

WAR WITH A THOUSAND BATTLES, AND SHAKING A
HUNDRED THRONES !"

As to the heart of the labyrinth of the Budget
threaded yesterday with such adroit and familiar
footsteps by Mr. GLADSTONE—there is the one
grand secret evil enshrined in the very centre of
it—The _lncome Tax of TENPENCE ! Modify, how-
ever, the manner of its being levied, and the scale
upon which it is apportioned among the larger and
smaller incomes, and even that bitter bolus may be
swallowed, if the gulping of it is followed by a quid
pro quo in the way of national compensation. Upon
this tenpence, however, we have the next ten days
during which to reflect with all impartial delibera-
tion. Our candid judgment has that most acceptable
interval during which to scrutinise conscieatiously
and searchingly this and all the other integral por-
tions of the two great interwoven projects of Treaty
and Budget, laid yesterday before the councils of
the nation by the wizard eloquence of Mr. GLAD-
STONE.

The Chancellor of the Exchequer, at a few mo-
ments before five o'clock, rose, and was received
with cordial cheering from all parts of the house.
He commenced by alluding to the fact that in the
present year a sum of two millions and a half of the
interest of the national debt was about to lapse ;
the war duty on tea and sugar and the income tax
also were about to cease. These circumstances,
coupled with the commercial treaty with France,
had compelled the Government to adopt the unusual
course of causing- the financial statement to precede
the estimates of the Tear. The receipts of the year
were as follows :—Customs, 24,750,0001.; excise,
19,724,000/. ; stamps, 8,000,000/. ; land and assessed
taxes, 3,200,000/.; income tax, 9,894,0001.; post-office,
3,250,000/. ; crown lauds, 980,000/. ; miscellaneous,
1,408,0001. The expenditure had been—interest on
debt, 28,638,000/. ; army, 13,550,000/. ; navy,
12,630,000/. ; civil service, 7,700,000/. ; revenue de-
partments, 4,475,000/., which, with the miscellaneous
charges, reached a sum of 68,953,000/., which would,
under ordinary circumstances' have left a surplus of
1,625,0001.: But there had been additional charges,
arising out of the expedition to China, in the army
of 900,000/., and the navy 270,0001. Then came the
effect of the treaty with France, for which there
was to be deducted from the customs 640,0001. The
total was 1,800,0001, which would have placed the
revenue on the wrong side of the account, but in a
happy moment Spain had paid a debt of 500,000/.,
of which 250,000/. would be available at once, and
so
that a small surplus would still be left onitehheeatvoitnaa
the l
revenue. The estimated charge for interest of '
debt in the coining year was
annuitieso 9 6
which leaving
2,438,0001.,
01
2,438,000/., or more than
awbaonul td
bt to 1270
(70
00 T 0 e CTobnes o
al irdma
yt
iFI ut
inad,
acnhdawr get rie ee
eahnadrgepafockr eCthi snear vi
coeu, ldl3b,e90105,6800001.;000o111, tthoeg ether
1290,750. Theo,o miscellaneous 00/., bsyallnineocrues
increase
estimatesm or more
otth7ae,n3,shoro7oomoi
in
the total
the revenue department, 4,700,0
being 70,100,000/. With respect to the.incirtetaosetioief
the military expenditure, he would leave
ministers for the two departments to explainr
ttiliree
circumstances. The estimate of the income fo
year in perspective, taking the importo as they
now stood. was :—Customs, 22,700,000/. ; excise,
19,170,0001.; stamps, 8,000,0001.; taxes, 3,250,000/4
income tax, 3,°00,000/.; with the post-office the
total being 60,700,000/. ; being a deficit of
0,400,0001., and this, without any provision for
1,000,000/. corning due on Exchequer Bonds.
Supposing that the existing war duties on tca and
sugar were retained, the deficit would still be
7,300,0001. That would require an income tax of
9d. in the pound, there being no remission of taxa-
tion in the trade and commerce of the country ;
but the 9,400,0001. would require an income tax of
ls. in the pound. It might be asked, what had be-
come of the calculations of 1853 ? His answer was,
that in that year it was reckoned there would be
gained by taxes then imposed between that and the
present time a sum of 5,959,000/., which was about
the sum which the income tax would have reached
at sd. in the pound in this year. The succession