The Sun.
London, England, 1861-04-16 00:00:00

rapid, the enormous, the almost incredible growth of the
expenditure of the country. (Hear.) I will state in
round numbers—for these are not details, '-yet with sub-
stantial precision, how this matter stands. The right
hon. gentleman (Mr. Disraeli) had three years ago, as
Chancellor of the Exchequer, to propose the votes neces-
sary for the service of the country, and the votes which
he proposed were under £64,000,000. In 1860 it was
my duty to propose to this House votes which were under
£74,0(10,000—an increase cf £10,000,000 in the national ex-
penditure within the short period of two years. (Hear,
hear.) Now, has the House of Commons really flinched
from its duty with regard to the mode of providing the
money ? I admit that we drew to some extent upon tem-
porary resources, and I think we were justified in doing so.
But how much of this expenditure was raised in taxation ?
With no relenting hand we imposed £7,000,000 of new taxes
in the course of those two years to meet the annual engage-
ments of the country, and some parts of this new taxation
was in the shape of permanent additions to our fiscal re-
sources. (Hear.) We raised by taxes in the year about
£70,000,030. The increase of taxes in two years, as I have
said, was £7,000,000. We had in China a war expenditure
of £5,000,000 to provide for; and under these circumstances
the result has been that, combining together what we have
taken from the balances, and what we have derived from
the malt credit and the Spanish credit, we have drawn from
temporary resources other than taxes a total sum 0f12,450,000.
I must confess that I do not think there is in that statee
ment anything of which the house can accuse itself, unless
indeed it be that the consciences of some hon. members may
reflect upon them for not having given sufficient attention
to the amount of the national expenditure. (Hear, and a
laugh.) And now, what have been the operations of the
past year with regard to the balances in the Exchequer and
Debt ? That is very easily stated. The balances in the
Exchequer on the 31st of March, 1860, were £7,972,000;
on the 31st of March., 1861, they were £6,672,030. But
£150,000 of this last-named amount was money raised for
the fortification annuity, deducting which, we had on the
31st of last March a balance of £6,522,000, being an actual
diminution in the balance of £1,450,000, while the estimated
deficiency provided for was £1,416,000. The committee
will sae, under these circumstances, that there has been no
diminution which entails inconvenience in meeting the de-
mands of the public service. With regard to the National
Debt, again, the account is a simple one. We had last year
to pay off £1,000,0000f Exchequer-bonds. That rendered it
necessary to ask Parliament to raise, another £1,000,000 of
Exchequer-bonds in lieu of them, Besides that, in conse-
quence of the very formidable prospects of the harvest, en-
tailing an almost certain loss of revenue, I was obliged, in
view of that contingency, to ask rather suddenly, late in
the session, for authority in case of need to borrow another
£1,000,000 of Exchequer-bonds. The state of the case,
then, is this :—The odd million has been paid off and
replaced by the new million. Out of the second million
which I so took authority to borrow, in view of a probable
deficiency, £600,000 hag been borrowed. Against that,
£139,000 of Exchequer-bills has been paid off and not re •
issued. So that, in fact, in consequence of the circumstances
of last year and its war expenditure, the direct addition to
the debt of the country, leaving out of view the diminution
of balances, is £461,000, or something under half a million.
(Hear.) Before quitting absolutely this lengthened retro-
spect, I must say it appears to me that there is a lesson to
be derived from it over and above anything that I have en-
deavoured to state. I will ask the house, if they will allow
Inc, to compare very briefly the year which we have just
brought to a close with the latest preceding year which seems
to resemble it in its main features—l mean 1853. In both
these years there were largo remiss ions of taxation. In both
the harvest was a very bad one. No doubt the course of
1360 was considerably worse than that of 1853. It was also
preceded by an unfavourable spring, which raised the price
of animal food to an unprecedentqd rate, and was followed
by a most severe and ungenial winter, which for several
weeks deprived one -half or a considerable proportion of the
labouring population of their employment. Notwithstand-
ing all this, I cannot help feeling it my duty to ask the
committee to note, as I have said, the resemblances, and at
the same time to note in one important respect the marked
contrast, between 1853 and 1860—I mean as to the imme-
diate and palpable effect of the remissions of duty made in
those two years respectively. I do not know whether there
is any one who will say that that is because in 1853 the re-
missions were wise, while in 1860 they were unwise remis-
sions. (A laugh.) I have an equal interest in the effect of
both, as it was my fate to have proposed both. Substan-
tially, these remissions are akin in their character, and if
there be a preference for either I think the remissions of last
year are more likely to be preferred than those of 1853.
But mark in a very few words the singular contrast of the
results attained. In 1853-4 we remitted £1,500,006 of Cus-
toms' duty, and every shilling of that £1,500,000 was made
up in Customs' revenue within the year, with £23,000
to spare. That has not been the case this year. As
I have said, there was upon the Customs revenue of
1853 a gain or recovery of £1,523,000. This year we
took £2,376,000, after allowing £400,000 of additional
spirit duty which we laid on. Instead of recovering the
sum of £2,376,000, however, we only recovered £580,000.
In 1853-4 the estimate of Excise revenue was £14,640,000.
After deducting taxes imposed, we gave a balance of relief
of £350,000, and the Excise revenue of 1853 showed an in-
crease of £623,000, so that at the end of the year the re-

venue gained to the extent of £973,000. In 1860 that was
far from being the case. The Excise revenue was origi-
nally estimated at £19,170,000. We imposed upon it, in
the shape of malt credit, additional spirit duties, and hop
credit, an increase of £1,915,000, besides the £19,170,000.
But, instead of such a recovery as we had in 1853, we ob-

tained out of this 11,945,000 only a sum of 1205,000. This

is a very serious and important fact, which I am sure must
attract the attention of the Committee. (Hear, hear.) I
do not undertake to give any complete or full or demon-
strative explanation of this fact. Bat I cannot help calling
the attention of the Committee to one circumstance which
I have not yet mentioned, of difference between 1853 and
1860-1 mean the difference in the expenditure of the coun-
try at the two periods.. (Hear, hear.) In 1853-4 the Im-
perial expenditure of the country—l mean that not local--
was under £56,000,000. The local expenditure was under
£16,003,000, and the total expenditure was under
£72,000,000. But in 1860-1 the Imperial expenditure
amounted to what the local and Imperial expenditure to-
gether were in 1860. (Hear, hoar.) It amounted in round
numbers to £73,000,000, including the small sum which
was due in respect of the fortifications. The local expen-
diture, as nearly as I can make it, was about £18,000,000.
The total expenditure had grown from £71,50Q,000 to
£91,000,000, or nearly £20,000,000 in the space of seven.
years. (Hear.) Now, Sir, Ido trust that this will be re-
membered and considered. (Cheers.) Let us think what
is the meaning of it. We have nothing to do but to reflect
in order to take a wise and becoming course, and all I am
anxious for is that we should reflect, and should reflect in
time. (Hear, hear.) What are the annual savings of this
country ? May we take them at X 50,000,000 ? Enormous
as that sum is, I believe it may be taken as the amount
which the skill, and the capital, and the industry of Eng-
land lays by every year. If it bo so, and if we take this
£50,000,000 for a period of eight years, we get a total capi-
tal of £400,000,000. Now, if we put upon that sum of
£400,000,000—taking all kinds of investments together—an
interest of 5 per cent., the result is that it gives us the
£20,000,000, as the aggregate result of the whole savings
of the nation for eight years, completely absorbed and
swallowed up in the grave of this expenditure. (Cheers.)
I cannot help thinking that there is some degree of relation.
between the enormous and inordinate growth of expendi-
ture and the diminished elasticity of the revenue. (Hear,
hear.) I have still to do justice to one important subject.
I have referred to the fact that last year, on the proposal of
the Government, Parliament was pleased to diminish the
immediately available resources of the country, and like-
wise to the fact that the revenue of the year is, upon the
whole, unsatisfactory. Does there arise from the associa-
tion of these two facts any presumption that Parliament, in
its decision last year, mistook the path of duty and erred in
judgment ? I think I can show that, if the employment of
the people and other circumstances have not been such as
to yield an adequate revenue in the year as it has actually
gone by, the condition of affairs would have been far less
satisfactory but for-the wise and rovident legislation of
Parliament. The committee is aware that in November last
the treaty of commerce with France reached its final form by
means of snpplementary convention. It is not necessary for
me to speak in this place of the signal services which, in the
view of the Government, Mr. Cobden has rendered to the
associated
with tow itthhetahbaltetraenadtyinte(lHliegaern,t assistance
which which he received from the coadjutors who were
with him by the heads of certain administrative depart-
ments.
(Hear, hear.) But it is no more than ana et of
ab-
solute justice that, having watched with deep
anxiety the
proceedingsin regardfromlshtoouldtheretcroeradty..
thesense I entertain,
in common, the commence
nientto the close,
I believe, with my colleagues, of the conduct
of the Government of France, both in their transaction,
and completion. (Cheers.) It is not necessary, and ce
in-
deed it would be idle, to refer to particulars ; but, looking
at the whole course of the proceedings, from first to last,
no one can conceive a more loyal, thorough, intelli-
gent, unflinching determination than has been exhibited
by the Ministers of Trance, under the animating spirit
and guidance of the Emperor, to give full effect to the terms
and principles of the treaty, not for the mere sake of con-
ciliating England, but for the sake of the interests of France.
(Hear, hear.) 1 will now exhibit to the committee the
effects of the measures of 1860 On the trade of the country.
The export trade of the last year was the largest we have
seen. The exports came to £136,000,00 of declared value,
against £130,500,000 in the preceding year. The increase,
indeed, was really greater than it seems, because the
amended system of statistics introduced in the middle of
the year, requiring greater time for the correction of the
documents, had the practical effect of leaving a gap is the
month of June, and unduly reducing the apparent exports
of the year. It may be justly said that we have no means
of knowing in what degree the increase of exports may pos-
sibly have been connected with the measures adopted by
Parliament. I come, therefore, to matters which we have
the means of judging—the importations of foreign goods.
If an increase of importations has taken place I do not sup-
I pose there is any gentleman here who will deplore that as a
great calamity, and insist that, as it has been paid for, n
gold, it must constitute an impoverishment and not au
richment of the country. I shall presume thatYJA ti,. /