The Sun.
London, England, 1860-07-17 00:00:00

would be the yield of this increase if we were dealing
with the whole financial year, but I must remind the com-
mittee that I am speaking on the 16th July, when three-
and-a-half months of the financial year have passed away,
to which we must add about six weeks more, because the
practice of the revenue department is to charge the revenue
in one six weeks, and to raise it in the next. Looking to
what will come into the Exchequer before the Ist of next
April, in consequence of this measure, and assuming that
for the whole year it will be £1,000,000, I only take credit
for £650,000. To this, however, we must make an important
addition from the compensating duty on foreign and colo-
nial spirits, which I estimate at £400,000, making altogether
£1,050,000. This, then, is the addition to the taxes of the
country which we propose to meet the expenses of the war
with China, but which we propose to be permanent in its
character, because we believe it to be sound and salutary in
itself, which it has been expected parliament would adopt,
and with regard to which the only difference for some years
past has been as to the precise moment when it could be
adopted consistently with safety and prudence. Of the
£2,336,000 which was not provided for, I have now provided
by the increase of the spirit duties for L 1,050,000, leaving a
sum of £1,286,000 still to be provided for. That sum we
propose to provide for without any further increase to the
taxation of the country. (Hear, hear.) The balances in the
Exchequer are in so satisfactory a state that they will admit
of the withdrawal of that, or even, if necessary, a greater sum.
(Hear, hear.) The surplus so wisely provided for by thehouse
is of course available under the provisions of tholaw, in addi-
tion:to the balance of the present year. The proper course is
to apply any part of this balance when the taxation of the year
is insufficient,rather than to go through the operose and need-
less double process, first of all of applying a sum of money in
extinction of the debt, and then going into the market to
contract a new debt. The state of the balances is as fol-
lows :—On the first of April the balances in the Exchequer,
which, as the committee should be aware, by no means
represented the whole of the public deposits in the Bank,
but only those on the consolidated fund, were £7,972,000.
On the 30th of June they were reduced to £6,594,000. But
that sum did not represent a real reduction. It was due to
the fact that the collection of the income tax is by no means
equable in the four quarters of the financial year, for it
comes in very lightly in the first and third, but heavily in
the second and fourth quarters, and as we are now coming
into one of the heavy quarters, I anticipate that the balances
on the 30th of September will be better than they were on
the 30th of June. Looking therefore to the demands on ee-
count of the public service, and the drain for the Chinese
war, and to the supplies in the treasury chest, I feel no
hesitation in stating to the committee that it will not be
necessary to take any special measures beyond what I have
indicated to meet this expenditure, as the proceeds of the
last year's revenue will enable us to defray it withdut diffi-
culty or inconvenience. If necessary the demand upon the
balances could be carried to a sum of about £2,000,000. It
will be requisite to apply to Parliament before the close of
the session for power to re-borrow in some form or other
£1,000,000, now outstanding in exchequer bonds which will
fall due in November next, but no inconvenience can attend
that transaction. If circumstances are favourable we may
not find it necessary to re-borrow the whole of that tum,
but if even we should be obliged to do so we can easily con •
duct the operation with the Commissioners for the Reduc-
tion of the National Debt. Of course it will be necessary
for me on this, as on former occasions, to ask the house for
a vote. The purport of that vote is well understood. It
does not in any way bind the discretion of the committee or
the house, but it secures the charge of duty on the com-
modity, so that the revenue may suffer no loss. On the
present occasion we must do with regard to the
customs what we do with regard to the excise,
because if we were to impose an excise duty of 10s.
now, and were not to impose a similar duty on foreign and
colonial spirits till next week, for the week after there
would be an immense delivery offoreign and colonialsririts.
The further resolutions to be afterwards proposed stand in
a different category, and have long been under the conside-
ration of the house. But on the present proposal, in con-
formity with the usual practice, I ask for an immediate
vote. Of course, this is without binding the discretion of the
house, and the Government N%;11 appoint a convenient day
for the discussion of the details of the measure. But there
is another subject connected vt:th the expenditure and
charge on the country which has not yet been brought be-
fore Parliament--I mean the vote for fortifications—(hear,
hear)—which has remained Up to the present time without
explanation, and with regard to which, of course, the house
will be desirous to know the intentions of the Government.
What I have to say on that subject is, that though it could
not be conveniently combined with the very difficult and
heterogeneous matter I have now been dealing with, yet it
is the intention of her Majesty's Government, and of my
noble friend at the head of her Majesty's Government,
that he should explain the mode in which he proposes
to apply that sum of money which has been reserved
for the vote for fortifications, and likewise the intentions
they entertain vCith respect to the report of the
commissioners that has recently been published,
upon ,an evening which he will select, antecedently
to the day when the house will be asked to give a decisive
vote •nnur submitted to them. I need

now say is, that, so fax as the intentions of the Government
are concerned, if the house shall accede to the proposals we
have made, it is not our intention to make any further de-
mand on the taxation of the country for the services of the
present year. (Cheers.) I have only to thank the house
for the manner in which they have heard me.
Mr. VANCE said that as he represented a city in which
the manufacture of spirits was more extensively carried on
than in any other in the United Kingdom, he would admit
that there ought to be no limit to the taxation on ardent
spirits, until it reached an amount which would defeat its
own object, but he believed that an addition of Is. 11d. a
gallon on Irish spirits would effect that, for there would be
an enormous increase of the illicit manufacture, and the
consumption of duty-paid spirits world fall far short of what
the Chancellor of the Exchequer anticipated. A few years
ago the duty on Irish spirits was only 2s. Bd. a gallon, and
it had been gradually augmented, till now it was to be 10s. a
gallon. This was a favourable time for doing justice to the
home trade in spirits. If they had been placed in bond, the
duty was levied on the number of gallons which the casks
contained originally when it entered the Queen's stores,
whilst foreign spirits, when taken out of bond, were only
charged on the actual amount the casks contained at the
time of taking them out. The allowances for leakage and
evaporation of home-made spirits were much smaller than
the actual amount of waste.
Mr. CRAWFORD said it would be convenient if the
right hon. gentleman would state what alterations of the
new wine duties would be necessary, in consequence of the
increase in the spirit duties he now prop-sed.
Sir H. WILLOUGHBY asked whether it was the in-
tention of the Government to make any advance on the vote
for fortifications in the present year ? Perhaps the noble
lord would explain that matter, with respect to which
opinion out of doors was very much embarrassed. Was it
intended to spend more money than the ordinary vote for
fortifications this year ?
The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER was afraid
he had not expressed himself quite clearly about the fortifi-
cation vote. What he meant to say was this—that his noble
friend would himself, before the house or the committee
were called upon to give a decisive vote, at a further stage
of these proceediags, with regard to the provision for the
expedition to China, explain both the disposal which the
Government proposed to make of the sum that had been re-
ceived in a lump as a vote for fortifications, and likewise the
course which they proposed to take, and the proposals they
would submit, in consequence of the report presented by
the Fortification Commissioners. To that he had appended
this further statement, that it was not their intention to
make any further demand on the people of this country for
taxes during the pre sent year. (Cheers and laughter.) That
was the position in which he thought it best for him to
leave the matter at present. His hon. friend behind him had
asked what addition it would be necessary to make to the
wine duties if they adopted the 10s. spirit duty. There
would be no change whatever in the wine duties at the pre-
sent moment ; the 3s. duty now leviable would remain
without change until the Ist of January, because that was
a duty which caused no apprehension of the spirit duty
being impaired by it. But he thought it probable that to
some limited extent an augmentation might afterwards be
proposed, perhaps as follows :—ln the ls. duty, on wine of
less than 18 per cent proof strength, there would be no
change. In the ls. 6d. duty, on wine above 18 per cent.
proof strength, and under 25 per cent., the Government
would be obliged to propose an additional 2d. or 3d. per gal.
In the 2s. duty, on wine between 25 and 40 per cent. proof
strength, there might be an addition of either 4d. or sd. per
gal. This was the proposal which probably would be made.
The matter to which the hon. member for Dublin (Mr. Vance)
had referred was one of the importance of which the Govern-
ment were quite aware, and they had under consideration at
this moment various points connected with the more just
and equitable adjustment of the excise regulations in favour
of the distillers, which was the natural consequence of their
being subject for the first time to a real foreign competition.
He was sure the Government would be desirous to deal with
the matter in an equitable and even liberal spirit.
Mr. M. SMITH did not understand the right hon- gen-
tleman's statement about the balances in the Exchequer,
when there were deficiency bills to the amount of £1,500,000
issued in the month of July.
Sir C. NAPIER said the right hon. gentleman had told

the house that he would raise.no more money this year by
way of taxation. He wished to ask how the money for the
fortifications was to be got, and whether it was to be by loan.
In answer to Mr. WILLIAms,
The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER said in
further explanation that foreign spirits would remain ex-
actly in the same relative position as they now were. The
duty on colonial spirits would stand at 10s. 2?. a gallon,
the duty on foreign at les. od. The hon. gentleman behind
(Mr. Smith) had been misled by what appeared on the face
of the quarterly return. No doubt the sum. of £1,500,000
of deficiency bills would nominally be issued, in conformity
with the Act of Parliament ; but so far as he could judge
he believed that no amount would really be borrowed on
deficiency bills, and no interest would have to be paid on
them for the present quarter. The gallant admiral had asked
him whether the sum for fortifications would be provided
for by a loan, so that he (the Chancellor of the Exchequer)
w_as invited to tell the secret of his noble friend, and to spoil
all the interest of the debate which was to arise on that