The Sun.
London, England, 1856-07-01 00:00:00

THE WE A.TFIE R-Snr OFFICE, JULY 1.

TECEIIIIOIIFTER, IN Tar SEIXDIL
75 —highest since noon yesterday.
`,5 —lowest this morning and during the night.
64 —this 'lay et noon.
BLHOMETTIII— 30 -23 —rising again.
WIND, Easterly.—Fresh, with fine sunshiny weather.

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*1 44 -
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LONDON, TUESDAY, JULY 1,1856. ,

THE QUARTER'S REVENUE.

The advent of the. dreaded Quarter-day once
more brings us the accounts that point 'out more
forcibly and truthfully than Ministerial speeches
the real financial state of the nation—theso stern
monitors, that strictly teat the accuracy of the cal-
'editions of the presiding Financiers for the time
being, and unsparingly explore the errors into
which they may have fallen. In the olden time there
used occasionally to he a little cooking of accounts.
Money was diverted from its. legitimate destina-
tioq,:- ,and paynieuts that would not well
bear the light were made under the name of
"expenses of collection," and thus the public
scrutiny was avoided. We believe, hoFever,
•
that such matters are no longer practicable, and
that jobs similar to those of the purchase of the
Doke of Cliturrcv.4 and the heirs of the Duke of
SiIiOMBERG'S pensions must now be brought under
general notice. Tits best possible security is thus
afforded against their commission.

Of course the Ministerial journals speak of the
extraordinary prosperity evidenced by the en-
hanced receipts—the fact of the additional taxa-
tion, the extra duties on malt, sugar, tea, coffee,
and spirits, as well as the more than doubled
income tax, being deliberately ignored. Exulting
pceans are chaunted at a net increase of
4,101,620'. on the year, and of 422,0521. on the
,quarter. But nothing is said of the estimates,
which promised a much larger return.

The increase on the year is, as we have stated,
4,101,6201., the chief items from which it is
obtained being Customs and Property Tax—the
former of which produced no less than
23,130,444/., being an increase of 651,561/.
on the year ending 30th June, 1856,
chiefly obtained from the additional duties on
" the corn of the tropics," which have in too
many instances cut off the Sunday pie from the
table of the working classes. In the Property
Tax the addition is more than three millions and

. a half (3,522,6631.), partly produced by the ad-
ditional 2d. in the 1/. imposed by Sir G. C.
and partly by the previous doubling of
the tat by, his predecessor having come into full
operation., The increase on the quarter is by
no means in proportion. That in the Customs
being but 941,4141., and in the Property Tax only
116,9951., less than 4 per cent. on the annual

increase.
In the Excise there is a decrease on the year,
of 80,7941.—a bad return for the additional malt
and spirit duties—from which so much was ex-
pected. There was, however, a better proved
in the quarter, which showed an improvement of
.241,6261. In Stamps, however, thanks to the
abolition of the newspaper stamp, there is a
falling off both on the year and quarter, on the
.fermer of 297,117/., on the latter of 13,8951.,
• for which there is no compensation from the Post-
office, the improvement whereon for the year is
but 49,152/., while on the quarter there is a
f .falling off of 9,0001. It is thus evident that, as
......
we
predicted, the railways, and not the Post-
offlee,-have received the profits arising from the
carriage of newspapers to the.Provinees. In
axes there is an improvement of 5,6511. on the
year, hut a decrease of 3,0051. on the quarter.
These remain nearly stationary, and the changes
may he ascribed to the mode of collection.
Crown Lands are, to use the language of
trade circulars, " looking up," there being
an increase of 11,9441. on the year and of
1,0001. on the quarter—a small part only of
what might be obtained by better and more judi-
cious management. The sales of " Old Stores"
Were active, there being an increase of 248,160/.
on the year, but a decrease of 8,0841. on the

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