The Sun.
London, England, 1861-04-11 00:00:00

TILE BOMBAY AND MAURITIUS ILLS.

Since the departure for Southampton of the mail
steamer Ceylon the following British merchant
steamers had arrived out at Gibraltar :—March 26,
the Lord Byron, Captain S. Deedliston, 10 days from
London, with a general cargo for Malta and Alex-
andria ; 28th, the Cadiz, Captain J. Russell, 7 days
from London, with general cargo for Gibraltar.
Latest quotations of exchange at Gibraltar ranged
as follows :—London, 90 days' date, 504 ; Paris,
ditto, sf. 31c.

THE BUDGE'''.

TO THE EDITOR OF TER TIMES:
Sir,—ln the letter which you did me the honour
co insert in your paper of Saturday, I pointed out
that, according to the published returns of the re-
venue for the last financial year, the actual produce
of the taxation for 1860-1 fell short of Mr. Glad-
stone's estimates by £1,976,000, and that if the
expenditure for the same year bad been equal to
the estimated amount, there would be a deficiency
on closing the accounts for the year to the amount
of £3,263,000 ; of which, however, £594,000 had
been provided for by the issue of Exchequer-bonds.
From comments which I have seen in some of
your contemporaries upon this statement, and upon
the leading article which appeared in the Times of
the same day, I infer that the purport of my re-
marks has been misunderstood, and that I have
been supposed to foretell' a deficiency of a greater
or less amount for the coming year of 1861-2, and
to anticipate the necessity for some addition to our
present taxation. I am, therefore, induced to re-
quest the favour of a little space in your columns
for the purpose of saying that my remarks did not
apply to the year 1861-2 at all, but to the year
1860-1.
With regard to the coming year, 1861-2, I will
not be so rash as to offer any predictions, but it
must be obvious to every one who looks at the
Estimates which have been presented this session,
and compares them with those of last year, that there
can be no question of an addition to our taxation,
and that the only question is to what extent there
can be a remission. No less than £3,800,000 was
voted last year for the war with China, and the
Army and Navy Estimates were also increased to a
great amount by the demands in connection with
that war. We shall be spared this expenditure in
the coming year. the saving on our Military and
Naval Estimates amounts to about £1,000,000,
which, added to the £3,800,000 vote of credit, makes
a difference approaching to £5,000,000 between the
Estimates of the last and of the present year. Sup-
posing, therefore, that the present taxes are re-
imposed, and prove equally productive, the defi-
ciency of £3,000,000 in the past year will be ex-
changed for a surplus of near £2,000,000 in the
coming year. It is clear, therefore, that there can
be no need of increased taxation.
You rightly pointed out that our revenue last
year was to some extent swelled by exceptional
receipts, of which the revenue of 1861-2 will not
have the benefit. Those receipts will, probably,
turn out (at least, as regards the anticipated malt
and hop credits) to have been smaller than they
were expected to be. On the other hand, we shall
have some compensating. advantages in the year
1861-2. For instance, the full effect of the increase
of the spirit duties remains yet to be experienced;
and the various changes which were made with re-
gard to the customs and excise duties in the
course of last session will have materially reduced
the prospective loss of £700,000 on which Mr.
Gladstone originally reckoned. The calculations,
however, required to estimate the exact effect of
all these changes upon our revenue are very com-
plicated. There is only one item of great mag-
nitude and importance, which has been strangely
left out of sight in almost all the calculations I
have seen with respect to the budget, viz., the
compensation which we are to receive from China.
The character of the budget will materially de-
pend upon the use that may be made of this sum
of money, and it is a point to which very care-
ful attention ought to be directed.
I have ventured to trouble you with these re-
marks, as I think it cannot but be useful to have
a general outline of our position marked out be-
fore we approach the consideration of the im-
portant statement which we are likely to receive
on Monday next.

EXPORT OF GOLD TO AMERICA.—TIar,i Liverpool,
New York, and Philadelphia Steamship Company's steamer
City of Washington sailed yesterday from Liverpool for
New York. She took out the United States' mails, and
about 60 cabin passengers ; she also had £13,000 in gold on
freight. The export of gold since the Ist of November to
the 30th of March, both inclusive, amounts to £4,765,621
14s. 4d., of which £273,290 were sent from Southampton—
all the rest from Liverpool as the port of despatch.
M. Ole Bull, the great violinist, having returned
to this country, after an absence of several years, will
make his first appearance at St. James's Hall, on 'Wednes-
day evening next, April 17, when Miss Louisa Pyne, our
English soprano, will also make her first appearance at St.
James's Hall this season, and the choir of the Vocal As-
sociation (200 voices), will, by particular desire, repeat
Webbe's beautiful descriptive glee, " When Winds Breathe
Soft," and Thomas Morley's fine old madrigal, " Say,
Gentle Nymph." The concert will be under the direction of
M. Benedict,

The Peninsular and Oriental Company's steam-
ship Delta, Captain J. S. Field, arrived at South-
ampton at 2 p.m. yesterday, bringing the heavy
portion of the above-named mails in charge of Mr.
Mounsey, of the General Post-office. She left
Alexandria on the 29th ult., Malta on the Ist inst.,
and Gibraltar on the sth. Fine weather was ex-
perienced throughout the voyage. No ships were
spoken by the Delta.
The usual Egyptian fleet were lying at Alex-
andria.
Her Majesty's ships at Malta on the Ist inst. were
the Neptune, Liffey, A mphion, Assurance. Scourge,
and Alacrity ; and at Gibraltar on the sth the
Ariadne, Immortalite, Argus, and Redpole.
The steam troopship Megaera, Commander Hen-
derson, arrived at Gibraltar on the afternoon of the
31st ult., in six days from Woolwich, with the 3d,
4th, and sth batteries of the Ist Brigade Royal
Artillery, consisting of 345 gunners, with the fol-
lowing officers :—Colonels C. J. Dalton and Thomp-
son, Captains Sanderson and Lascelies, Lieutenants
Lacey, Wing, Kirkwood, Chute, Schack, Barber,
Cullen, and Hallet, and Assistant-Surgeon Graves.
She also had detachments of the 6th, Bth, 25th,
and 100th Regiments, accompanied by Assistant-
Surgeon J. E. O'Loughlin and Ensign Cole, Bth ;
Ensign Barnardiston, 25th ; and Ensigns Lyon and
Ritchie, 100th Regiment. The troop 3 disem-
barked at the New Mole on the afternoon of
the Ist inst., and joined their respective corps, At
an early hour on the morning of the sth inst. the
4th and sth batteries of the sth Brigade of the
Royal Artillery (head-quarters) assembled at the
New Mole parade, previous to embarcation for Eng-
land in the M eguera. The bands of the 6th and 7th
Regiments accompanied them from the Rosia and
Europa barracks. On arriving at the parade the
batteries were inspected by their respective captains,
and marched to the quay amid the cheers of the
spectators, the band of the 6th playing " Auld.
Lang Syne" and other popular airs, until the whole
were on board. The men appeared to be in excel.
lent spirits. The detachment consisted of Lieut.-
Colonel Crofton, commanding; Captains Dumaresq
and O'Hara; Lieuts. Collingwood, Robinson,Duncar.,
Brodrick, 111artelli, and Shuttleworth ; Paymaster
Kidd, Quartermaster Cairns, Assistant-Surgeon
Dickerson, 20 sergeants, 16 corporals, 3 trumpeters,
211 gunners, 31 women, and 58 children. The
Megicra sailed for Plymouth at 11 a.m. on the sth.
The screw sloop Santa Teresa, Lieut. R. M. Perry,
from Ferrol, arrived at Cadiz on the 28th ult., and
the steam sloop Leon, Lieut. A. de Tosta, from
Algesiras on the. :ollowing day ; the latter is or-
dered to proceed to Fernando Po. The British
steamer Hercules, J. Palmer master, in the Spanish
transport service, left Cadiz on the 28th, laden with
flour, for Ceuta. The British ship Commissary,
Hutchins master, from Swansea, with coal, put
into Cadiz on the latter day, with damage. The
Royal Yacht Squadron schooner Magnolia (Sir H.
Becher, owner), Captain Young, from Gibraltar,
had arrived at Cadiz. The Swedish corvette
Lagertjelke, 16 guns, Captain Milander, had sailed
for the Baltic via Cherbourg.
The Dutch steam sloop Cyclops, 6 guns, bearing
a vice-admiral's flag, arrived at Gibraltar on the
sth inst., at 1 p.m., from the eastward.
The Peninsular and Oriental Company's steam-
ship Pera, Captain T. Jamieson, hence on the 27th
ult., arrived at Gibraltar on the 31st, 4 days 5 hours
out, and left during the night for Malta and Alex-
andria.

Freights to London and outports in the United
Kingdom, 255. to 30s. per steamer, and 10 per cent. ;
Brazil and River Plate. 12 dollars per ton and 10
cent.; Gulf of Mexico and Havannab, 12 dollars
per ton and 10 per cent.