The Sun.
London, England, 1867-04-05 00:00:00

HIGH WATER AT LONDON BRIDGE.

THIS DAY.—Morning, 2h. 10m.—Aftemo3n, 2h. 30m,
Po-Moußow.-horning, 2h. 50m.—Afternoon, 3h. 10. n.

SUM

LONDON, FRIDAY, APRIL 5, 1867.

Mn. DISRAELI may be congratulated on having
successfully accomplished a very arduous task. It
is never a very easy matter to adjust the finances of
the year in such a manner as to give general satis-
faction. There are always som just and pressing
claims whose consideration must be postponed for a
more convenient opportunity ; there are sure to be
some influential personages and parties who are
offended at their favourite schemes being overlooked,
their arguments apparently slighted. If it is known
that there will be a large surplus it is disposed of so
many times by financiers of all ranks and pro-
fessions before the Budget is brought forward that
the Chancellor of the Exchequer must hold the strings
of FoTuNATUS'S purse if he hope to satisfy all ex-
pectants. This year Mr. DISRAELI has been spared
an embarras de richesses, from the smallness of his
balance ; but he was liable, on the other hand, to
disparaging comparisons with the reduction of
taxation accomplished by his predecessor. Under
the peculiar circumstances of the Ministry, the
Chancellor of the Exchequer must have been
particularly anxious as to the reception which
his financial statement might meet with,
and he must have been proportionately
gratified by the hearty and general approval
expressed from both sides of the House.
His distinguished rival gave him, as might have
been expected, very cordial support, since the
principles upon which Mr. DISRAELI had acted in
framing his Budget were precisely similar to those
propounded last year by Mr. GLADSTONE. The
reduction of the National Debt was a scheme,
which, however practically obnoxious for the time,
commended itself strongly to the reason and the
moral principle of the public at large, and we have
no doubt that now a favourable opportunity offers
itself the suggestion of dealing with the national
burden at least in some small degree will be favour-
ably accepted.

Mr. DISRAELI addressed himself to the task be-
fore him in a very straightforward and business-
like fashion. Contrary to the custom which has
gained ground of late years, his Budget speech was
no exhibition of oratory, but a concise statement of
the present and prospective condition of the
finances. The Budget itself is simple enough.
Happily for the country, notwithstanding the
extreme severity of the monetary crisis last
year—admitted by Mr. DISRAELI to be per-
haps the most severe monetary disturbance
this country has ever witnessed—the esti-
mated income of the financial year was
not only realised but even exceeded. Mr. DISRAELI,
in referring to the estimates, paid a well-merited
compliment to the sagacity of his predecessor, whose
calculations had been exposed to so severe a trial.
It would, indeed, have been no cause for wonder
had the estimates, framed in anticipation of a year
of ordinary tranquillity,been altogether disconcerted
and the returns fallen grievously short of the ex-
pected amounted. So far from this being the case,
the estimated income for 1866-7 was £67,013,000,
and the actual income £69,434,000, thus leaving a
surplus of nearly two millions and a half, after a
period of unexampled trial. The increase is entirely
due to the Customs and Excise, the other items of the
Budget of last year showing no remarkable differ-
ence from the result. Coming to his own calcula-
tions, Mr. DISRAELI explained certain points in
reference to the " Dead Weight Annuity," the
charges on the " Consolidated Fund," &c., and then
proceeded to his estimates, which amount in all to
£68,134,000 of expenditure for the year. The es-
timated income will be £69,340,000, leaving a
balance of £1,206,000. It is possible, should the
country go on prospering as it has hitherto done,
that Mr. DISRAELI'S estimate may be considerably
within the mark, since it will be observed that it is less
than the actual income of the year, £69,434,000.
This is partly due to a lower estimate on the Cus-
toms, £22,000,000, instead of £22,300,000 ; but
the Chancellor of the Exchequer reminds us that
during the past year there has been an exceptional
consumption of sugar and nun, in consequence of

the failure of the barley harvest. Coming to the •
question what to do with his surplus, Mr. DISRAELI
truly enough said that it was at this point the real
difficulty of a Budget commenced. Naturally the first
inclination is to reduce taxation ; but then where to
begin is the question. Mr. DISRAELI reminded the
House that the remission of taxation irrespective of the
Income Tax, has, during the last ten years, amounted
to an average of £11,000,000 per annum. In these
circumstances be finds it difficult to fix upon any
one tax so generally obnoxious and oppressive as to
call for any special attention. There is, he thinks,
but one tax which seriously affects any particular
industry, and the balance at his command does not
enable him to deal satisfactorily with the Malt Tax.
The Income Tax is at a lower rate than ever before,
and consequently the Chancellor of the Exchequer
feels himself at liberty to pass from the reduction
of taxation to the payment of debt. He alopts
the simpler portion of the plan proposed by
Mr. GLADSTONE last year, abandoning the more
elaborate and far-reaching part of it. He pro;-,oses
to devote a portion of the surplus to the cancelling
of £24,000,000 of debt, effecting this by means of
two sums of the Public Debt, one of £18,000,000
and the other of £6,000,000. The first amount,
now bearing over half a million of interest, will be
converted into an annuity of £1,332,000, termi-
nating on July 5, 1885 ; the other, now bearing
interest to the amount of £lBO,OOO, will be con-
verted into an annuity of /440,000, terminating on
April 5, 1885, the joint amount of the two annuities
being £1,776,000. The total charge of these
operations for the ensuing year will be £750,000,
and we have no doubt that the principle of Termin-
able Annuities, once accepted—and it has received
the sanction of the leading financiers on both sides
of the House—further progress will be made. The
only other noticeable item in the Budget is the re-
duction of Marine Insurances—a step in the right
direction—and Mr. DISRAELI sat down amid
general expressions of approval from both sides
of the House. Mr. GLADSTONE expressed
his satisfaction at the method adopted ;
and in fact there were few dissentients.
Mr. DISRAELI, who many years since declared
the National Debt to be a " fleabite," an
assertion provoked from him in answer he says to
a booby on the hustings, will have the credit and
satisfaction of taking some practical steps towards
its reduction, if not of being the first to:deal with it
theoretically. Altogether the Budget is likely to
give satisfaction -within and without the House, and
we trust it will be a favourable augury of the pro-
ceedings of next week.

The recent publication of the correspondence
with Spain not only serves to confirm the worst
notions we had on the subject, but also tends to
awaken new fears and to give rise to increased ap-
prehensions. The seizure of the Queen Victoria is
indeed a most disgraceful case, and the despatch of
Lord STANLEY, dated March 30, is certain to be
read with interest by all who attach due importance
to this complicated affair. In some respects this is
worse than the case of the Tornado. It cannot be
denied that the noble Lord at the head of Foreign
Affairs has been wanting in spirit in meeting this
case, and we think that the perusal of this mo-
mentous despatch will afford universal satisfaction
to all who value justice, and wish that the dignity
of our country should be preserved in a manner
calculated to command respect. The details of the
affair furnish an instance of most unwarrantable
persecution, and one feels almost at a loss to com-
prehend how the Spaniards dare to take such liberties,
and comport themselves in a manner so totally at
variance with the principles of amity or the general
good understanding supposed to prevail between
the two countries. The Queen Victoria was seized
last January by a Spanish guarda-costa, and not
within Spanish waters ; she was on her way from
Gibraltar to Laraiche. After being seized she was
taken to Cadiz, where the crew was dispersed, and
they were furnished with money to leave. The
master of the vessel had his papers taken from him,
the name of the vessel was defaced from the stern,
and she was reported to have been found " derelict "
at the mouth of Cadiz harbour. Sometime afterwards
this was not repeated, but without information being
given to the English Consul this vessel was con-
demned on the plea that she had landed contraband
goods on the Spanish shore, and goods found in her
were sold. This " outrage, committed on a British
vessel upon the high seas," as Lord STANLEY truly
designates the occurrence, naturally gave rise to a
great deal of remonstrance, but no heed whatever
was paid to the representations of those authorised
to speak on the subject—namely, Sir J. CRAMPTON
at Madrid, and Consul DUNLOP at Cadiz.

The Spanish Minister for Foreign Affairs told
Sir J. CRAMPTON that he Waf3 sorry her MAJESTY'S
Government supposed that disinclination to do
justice to Great Britain on the part of the Spanish
Government had anything to do with the delay that
had taken place in replying to his represen-
tations. Furthermore, the Minister said that
the Minister of Finance had been instructed
to lose no time in going on with the proceed-
ings. Up to last November, however, nothing was
done, and it was not until the month of January
last, in reply to a letter from Sir J. CRAMPTON, the
Spanish Minister announced that the Council and
Finance Minister had decided the action of the
executive. A long rigmarole follows, concluding
by the intimation that if in the final result of
the trial the British Government thought injustice
had been committed, then would be a fitting time
to treat by diplomacy. To this Lord STANLEY
makes a very fitting reply. Lie declares that
her MAJESTY'S Government regret to say that
" they can attach no weight to these tardy as-
surances extracted from the Spanish Government,
after the lapse of nearly a year from the time the
wrong was done." After enumerating some of the
worst features of the case, and the misunderstand-
ing that appears in the statement that the British
representatives of her MAJESTY did not make proper
protests and reclamations at the time, we
meet with this significant passage in the
despatch :—" The original capture then was
a lawless and wholly unjustifiable act; justice,
though frequently demanded, has been denied; the
sale of the cargo and the vessel was illegal, and all
the proceedings taken against the vessel were not
only contrary to justice, and therefore void, but
they must have been taken with a full conviction of
their illegality ; and were adopted, as her MAJESTY'S
Government are constrained to believe, for the pur-
pose, or in aid of the purpose, of covering or con-
cealing the original lawless act of the captain and
even of the Spanish guards-costa."
In consequence of this decision being carried out
her MAJESTY'S Government decline to accept the
conclusion of Goneral CALARGE, who proposes to
consider the confiscation void, in order that her
MAJESTY'S Consul and others may present them-
selves and defend their interests at the tribunal.
On the contrary, " her MAJESTY'S Government
must at once insist upon the immediate restoration
of the ship and cargo and their full value, and a
proper pecuniary indemnity to her captain and crew,
accompanied by an expression of regret addressed
to her MAJESTY'S Government for the outrage
committed on the British flag." This is the proper
way to treat the matter, and we are glad to see in

this despatch something of the old spirit, that in the
days of yore made an important communication
from our Foreign-office a thing to attract the
attention of Europe, instead of the mere jargon of
words that were the practice of the " meddle-and-
muddle" policy of the late Administration. We
hope the Spanish Government will at once
consent to the proposal of the noble lord,
but whether they do so amicably or not
there can be no drawing back now, and no doubt
all who have read this despatch will agree that it
reflects the highest credit on its writer. We think
that he may be left to defend the honour of Eng-
land, and protect the interests of those who have
been injured, without being molested by the imper-
tinent interference of Mr. OSBORNE, who seems to
think nothing can be done unless he is consulted in
the matter,
toatt all hiser,antl inquiries,peremptorily insists upon a direct
answer

CORRESPONDENCE FROM PARIS.

0T.031 OUR OWN CORRESPONDENT.)

PARIS, Thursday Evening.
The chief point of interest with the Paris papers
to-day
istheimportant speech of M. de Bismarck
in the Parliament of Northern Germany, in answer
to the interpellation of M. Bennigsen, relative to
Luxembourg. The Steele has the following remarks
upon the subject :—" The answers of M. de Bis-
marck, in our opinion, are not so clear and precise as
the situation to which they apply. They do not
explain that Prussia intends to withdraw from the
citadel of Luxembourg the troops who are gar-
risoned there. The ancient German Confederation
of the Rhine is dissolved. The sovereign right of
Holland is proclaimed without restriction. How is
it then that you wait, and that your soldiers still
occupy a territory which is nct Federal? How
is it that in a communique to the Cologne
Gazette, dated the 29th instant, General
de Branchitz, Prussian Governor of Luxembourg,
declares that the statement ace3rding to which the
officers of the garrison of Luxembourg received
during parade the news that the conclusion of a
convention relative to the evacuation of Luxem-
bourg is an invention, contrary to truth in every
respect, and also malevolent. How is it that you
continue to observe one of the clauses of the treaty
signed at Vienna on the 3d of February, 1815, when
the state of things created by that treaty is de-
stroyed by your own hands ? M. de Bismarck ad-
mits that negotiations, the result of which he is
ignorant, have taken place between France and
Holland. To the demand made officially by the
Grand Duke, ' How would Prussia be inclined to
treat the proposed cession of her sovereignty ?'
Prussia replied that she would leave the responsi-
bility of it to the King of Holland ; but what would
she do in the case of the cession of the Grand Duchy?
That is what remains in doubt and vagueness.
The Prussian Government will pay deference to
public opinion, and will consult the Reichstag. It
opposes a war between the German people and the
French people. The two nations,' he says, may
live by the side of each other in peace and friend-
ship. Any war would do great injury to the pro-
gress of prosperity and civilisation.' M. de Bismarck
hopes that peace will not be interrupted. lie eludes
more ample explanations, and reserves to himself
entire freedom of action. As to M. de Bennigsen,
he was at once aggressive, provoking, and violent.
We agree with the Journal des Debats that he is a
real thunder-clap of war, and he appeared upon the
point of placing himself at the head of the Parlia-
ment to take the field and open the campaign
against France. llappily, as his colleagues were
not worked up to the same pitch of excitement, M.
de Bennigsen replaced his sword in the scab-
bard. In h's eyes the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg
which has successively belonged to the Empire, to
Spain, and to Holland, is exclusively a German ter-
ritory. It is no doubt only temporarily, and for
condescension, that he deigns to leave it to the
Netherlands.

" When M. Benningeen asserts that there are
o.
hardly 200 natives of Luxembourg
who speak
French, he proves that he has never visited the
country. The orator, in considering a private letter
saesl
f. the
Thereexpre existssion
o differencesf the gene
ofral ‘lisilndeceived him-
ion in Luxem-
bourg as well as elsewhere. The objection which
might have been made to the cession of Luxeln_
bourg was that it could not be made without the
uesf
consent of the populations, and that their decided
Ought
objection would invalidate it. We are without in-
formation as to the present feeling of the natives of
Luxembourg towards France, but we believe we are
in a position to affirm that if they were permitted to
troops
yes orto no,
evacuatethis
the question—_,
the —ort fortress ,
of
the decide
Prussian
Luxembourg ? there would not the day after the
ballot be a single Prussian soldier in that fortress."
The Constitutionnci, in a sort of semi-official
article, contends that France has no antiquated
motive to threaten the interests of Germany, and
that she has no bellicose feeling, but only a deep
regard for what is just and equitable.

A letter from Lisbon states that a duel took
place in that city, on the 29th of Alarch, between
Portuguese deputy, and Dom Sa
aide-de-camp to the King, and
Marquis Sa Bandiera. Dom Julis
dn ee Domph
Ne Jwo
go
was killed. A personal insult was the cause of the
hostile meeting.
ose efu hua i 'al

Count Galling,Minister of State and Senator of
the kingdom of Italy before 1848, died a few days
ago at Turin. Ho had successfully filled the office
of Minister of Finance and Minister of the interior.
In my account of the opening of the International
,
Exhibition on Monday, I mentioned that various
r of
presentations to the Emperor took place. The most
remarkable,tEh Emperor
plrion rg
an
of perhaps,d
Siam,
m Empress, by M. Grehau, Consul to
a Siamese mandarin. His was the presentation to the
Excellency, who was attired in gorgeous national
costume, prostrated himself before their Majesties
in the Oriental fashion, and they accepted the
homage very graciously. M. Grehau informed
the Emperor that the King of Siam was the first
Sovereign of the extreme East who had accepted
the invitation of France to send the products of
his kingdom to the Exhibition, and that they
were also the first articles which had been sent
across the Isthmus of Suez. The Emperor re-
quested the Consul to convey his thanks to the
King of Siam.

The General Omnibus Company, who hitherto
had 656 vehicles a day engaged in the transmission
of passengers to various parts of Paris have, in con-
sequence of the extra demand for transport to and
from the Exhibition, increased the number of
vehicles to 700. This increase of carriages with 28
places, and making 14 journeys a day, will afford
additional accommodation to 18,000 travellers a
day.

The Imperial Commission have just insured the
Palace and dependencies in the Champ de Mars for
7,500,000 f.

The Empress being slightly indisposed, a grand
dinner which was to have taken place to-day at the
Tuileries has been postponed.
There was a CabinA Council yesterday at the
Tuileries, at which the Emperor presided.

Count Walewski has been raisel to the dignity
of Senator.

The Moniteur seems to doubt the report received
in Paris by private telegram of the speedy convo-
cation of the Croatian Diet to deliberate upon a
proposal for the incorporation of Croatia with the
kingdom of llungary.

The official journal views the speech of M.
Bismarck in a very different light from the Siecle.
It says that an accurate translation of it differs in
several points front the telegraphic version, and
" proves still more clearly the elevated sentiments
expressed by the President of the Council of Minis-
ters of the King of Prussia."

MADAME TUSSAUB'S. The old-established
favourite Wax-work Exhibition, in Baker-street, con-
tinues to be as attractive as ever. The finely-executed
model of her Majesty Queen Victoria, size of life, is un-
questionably a faithful likeness, and is so acknowledged by
all who have paid a visit to Madame Tussaud's magnificent
galleries. Tho beautiful models of England's Monarchs,
from the Conqueror to that of our present Queen, are in
themselves alone well worth seeing.

LATEST INTELLIGENCE.

(REUTER'S TELEGRAMS.)

PORTUGAL.

LISBON, April 4.

The postponement of the King and Queen of
Portugal's projected visit to Paris arises from the
unwillingness of Don Fernando to undertake the
Regency in the present agitated state of the public
mind.

HUNGARY.

PESTII, April 4 (Evening).

The Ministerial bill regulating the relations be-
tween Croatia and Hungary will be brought forward
to-morrow in the Lower House of the Diet.
The Banns of Croatia has been summoned by the
Emperor to Buda.

AUSTRIA.
VIENNA, April 5.
The establishment of a special Ministry for Agri-
culture is stated to have been decided upon.

BELGRADE; April 4.

In consequence of orders received here from Con-
stantinople, the evacuation of the citadel of Bel-
grade by the Turkish troops will commence on
Monday next.