The Sun.
London, England, 1861-03-23 00:00:00

TEE APPROACHING BUDGET.

Subjoined is a letter regarding some points which
may probably be dealt with in the approaching
Budget. It appears that the small Custom-house
charges introduced into the last Budget, and which
were estimated to produce more than £400,000,
have not thus far yielded at the rate of half that
total. The writer, therefore, considers they are
likely to be abolished on account of the great an-
noyance they occasion, and that a charge of a quarter
per cent. on the declared value of all goods imported
and exported may be substituted. It is doubtful,
however, if the annoyance is really so great as is
represented, and as the principle of these taxes is
good some stronger proof of the dissatisfaction of
the shipping and import houses must be given be-
fore the Chancellor of the Exchequer will be likely
to surrender the £200,000 of revenue thus acquired.
The suggestion that a tax of a quarter per cent.
upon imports and exports would, if honestly com-
plied with, produce £790,000 is tempting, but such
an impost would have the ineradicable defect which
is the opprobrium of the income tax, of offering a
premium to falsehood :
" Sir,—Conjectures are rife, as usual, pending the
financial statement of the Chancellor of the Ex-
chequer, with regard to the changes likely to be
proposed in our fiscal arrangements. That a defi-
ciency exists all know, but how it is to be met is
known to Mr. Gladstone and his colleagues only.
Among the many rumours now afloat, however, the
most probable are those pointing to the abolition of
the penny stamps on all packages imported and
exported, of the stamp duty on dock warrants and
bills of lading, and the readjustment of the duty on
coffee and chicory. With regard to the penny
stamps on imported and exported packages, as well
as the stamp duty on bills of lading and dock war-
rants, there can be no doubt of the whole thing
being a failure. Never has there been so much
annoyance inflicted on the commercial world for
so poor a return. It appears, by a statement
just presented to the House of Commons, that from
the 16th of May last up to the 31st of December
the amount received for stamps on packages was
£82,868 ; on shipping bills, £30,254 ; and on dock
warrants, £8,595 ; making in all, £121,717. This
is not much for so long a period, and, had it been
anticipated that the tax would have proved so un-
profitable, it is scarcely to be supposed the public
would have been exposed to the annoyance of its
imposition. But it is believed that, consequent
upon the abolition of those stamp duties, another
will be imposed, in the shape of an ad valorem rate
upon all goods imported and exported. It will be
remembered that the penny stamp was to be at
the rate of about per cent., and this is to be the
maximum of the new ad valorem rate should it be
imposed, the values to be taken on the importers'
and exporters' declaration. The total declared
value of the imports and exports for the last year
was, in round figures, about £316,000,000 ; so that
I per cent. upon this amount would give an annual
return of £790,000. It is doubtful, however, whether
people would declare so liberal a value as they do
now that such declarations entail no charge. As
to the change in the duty upon chicory, it is thought
that in justice to the public it should be equalised
with that on coffee. The charge now upon chicory
is only £6 per ton, while that upon coffee is £2B.
But the retail price of each is, as a rule, the same.
The consumption of chicory is now very large.
As yet the accounts for the past year are not pub-
lished, but for the year 1859 the total quantity
of chicory imported was 13,345 tons, while that of
coffee entered for home use did not exceed 15,398
tons. An canal duty of 2d per lb. all round would
therefore not only be fair to all, but would give
an increased revenue to the Chancellor of the
Exchequer."--

THE LATE CONFERENCE AT BIRMINGHAM.—
The proceedings at the late Conference on Ragged Schools,
held in Birmingham, under the presidency of Sir John
Pakington, has, through the instrumentality of the philan-
thropic and charitable gentleman who filled the post of
honorary secretary, and who was one of the originators of
the meeting, Mr. Charles Ratclifr, been published in a
compact form. The report is one of great interest to those
who have at heart the improvement of the condition of the
distressed, starving, and neglected children of the United
Kingdom ; and many of the speeches, those, for instance,
delivered by Sir John Pakington, Al. v Hill, Esq., and
the Rev. Dr. Guthrie, will be read with great interest. We
trust the benevolent thoughts will not be merely read, but
that they will be vigorously acted on by all who have the
means of assisting in carrying out the objects of conference.
With a strong and united determination to accomplish any
particular object success is almost certain, and success in
so good a cause would be more than euflicient to compen-
L sate for any amount of trouble or exertion,