The Sun.
London, England, 1828-01-15 00:00:00

THE REVENUE.

(FROM A CORRESFONDENT.

We profess not to belong to that class of po-
liticians who hold up the annual receipts of they
Treasury as the sole standard of Ministerial merit.
We have not the same interest, therefore, a 5
some others of our cotemporaries on both
sides of the question, in glossing over the real
state of the fact ; we would wish to steer a
middle course between such extremes. W€ 4
arc duly sensible of the great importance of
a flourishing revenue ; but we do not see the-
necessity of taking alarm at every fluctua-
tion which may take place in a concern of such
a complicated nature. We go upon this sure
principle, that an industrious and commercial
country such as this, rich in capital, and etilt
more in every species of ingenious industry, can-
not permanently go back ; that, however, it may
be checked in its progress to wealth by casualties
incidental to an extended commerce, it must
recover its lost ground, and start with new vigour
in its course ; and that its revenue mint keep
pace with its commerce,—for what is the public
.
revenue but a portion of the revenue of
individuals—it is a conduit from the great stream
of the general wealth, by every ebb and flow of
which it is of course sensibly affected. It is from
this view of the subject that we are not at all itie
dined to draw alarming inferences as to our
revenue. We expected that it would decline
with the commercial storm that swept for a time
every thing before it. But that being past, it is
just as certain that our commerce, and along: with
it:our revenue, will revive, as that the earth will be
clothed with verdure by the return of spring.«e had many gloomy forebodings of ruined
finances before the accounts of the revenue
were made public. But now that lye 110
longer deal with reports, but with facts, am(
that we find our revenue for the last ycac
is only less than that of the year before by
5,997/., all these gloomy anticipations arc at
once dissipated. When we consider the com-
plicated nature of these accounts, and the vast-
ness of the concern, the difference of so small a
sum is really of no consequence, and may be
occasioned by a thousand circumstances, little.
connected with the real state of the revenue.
As to comparing particular quarters, this is 'ilia-
nifestly absurd, as so many accidental causes
may concur to pour a greater quantity of money
into the Treasury in one quarter than another,
that no satisfactory inference can be drawn lions
such facts. We can arrive at no true conclu-
sions, but by comparing the produce of different
years. We gave in a former paper the produce
of the following years, namely :
The year ending Jan. 182.5, i. e. 1524 £48,812,759
1825 48,573,819'
1826 46,650,472:
1827........ 46,644,670
Now, according to this account, we shall
show, as plain as can be shewn by figures, which
will not lie, that the income of the present year,
as compared with 1824, has not fallen off ; but
has increased. The year 1821, no doubt ex-
hibits a greater produce ; but we have to consi-
der that in that year various duties were itz
Operation which have been since repealed. lc
was in that year, that the Chancellor of the Ex-
chequer proposed to repeal or reduce the duties
on ruin, coals, wool, and silk ; on which account
he calculated on a loss of revenue, equal to
1,062,0001.; these duties were not immediately
reduced, so that the revenue for the year 1824
had the benefit of the greater part of them. Ira
the year 1825 again, the duties on wine, hemp,
coffee, British spirits, rum, &c. were either re-
duced or repealed, on which the loss was esti-
mated at 1,515,000/. ; and, if no increase of re-
venue had been calculated on, must have greatly
exceeded this sum. Thus the loss by the re-
duction of the wine duty was only estimated at
230,000/. per annum ; though, as it amounted
to nearly 50 per cent. on the tax, it should have
been estimated at 50 per cent. on its produce,
which would have been about 800,000/. The
high duty on wine generally produced from
1,700,000/. to 1,900,000/. When we diminish
this tax one half, we of course strike off one half
of its produce from the revenue, provided no
increase takes place. The revenue of 1824
therefore amounting to 48,812,7591., and being
aided by those high duties which
this in piNaissr'ethr
iiegnetiiftlillerriprirer
e
1827,
e)nuedaackuleeec deoadftoitiriati reducedole tlBl::tiedeibiri;u:e trr
ent se
which .
reductions For t 1
dedutiesicl trot
t
take effect till afterwards, allow 800,000/. ;
and for the duties reduced in 1825, as
estimates by the Minister at 1,515,0001..
but which is far too low, as they must have
affected the revenue to a far greater extent, pro-
vided there had been no increase in the produce
of the taxes, we may allow 2,000,000/. In order
to compare the revenue of 1827, therefore, with
that of 1824, we must add to it the produce of all
the taxes which existed in 1824, and swelled the
revenue of that year to 48,812,759/. These we

cannot estimate at less than 2,500,000/., wh►ch,
being added to 46,644,670!, the revenue of
1827, will increase it to 49,144,6701., above
300,000/. more than the revenue of 1824. From
this fair comparison of the revenue of those djf-
ferent years, therefore, it clearly appears that
there is no such thing as any regular decrease of
the national income.* Only let us be patient,
and not fret at every untoward or petty accident,
and we have no fear for the decline of our

revenue ; and still less for the ruin of
this industrious, commercials and enlightened
country.

I Reduced taxes indeed do not produce the same in-
come ; but how can we expect that they would? They
(lo produce more in proportlol, and that is all we ought to
look for. We see no remmil for alarm therefore.

DARING BURGLARY AT GREENWICH. -
breakers, and several of them have been ap -
This town has lately been much subject to the visitation of
out three weeks since, through the activity
d.
and the local police, four fellows, who
ciig:afia,enlnifetesrnd. ood
}foe, h
iAt
to I
from town in a chaise-cart, were apprehended,
and upon them were found crow-bars, jemmies, phosphorus
Lox, matches, and, in fact, all the materials of house-
breaking ; and, upon being committed to Maidstone for
.hree months, as reputed thieves, they acknowledged that
their intentions were not of a very limited description.—
A. fen, weeks since, a highly respectable inhabitant of
Greenwich, Mr. BENNETT, watchmaker, of Stockwell_
street, received an anonymous letter, the writer of which
asserted that, if 201. was not deposited in a hose in Brick-
,trect, his house would be broken into and plundered, and,
to use the language of the letter, "himself knocked on the
lead." On Sunday morning one part of this threat was
out into execution. Between six and seven o'clock the
family of Mr. BENNETT was disturbed by hearing sonic of
the shop window-shutters falling with a loud crash. Mr.
BENNETT, upon going down, discovered that the burglars
had made their promised visit to his premises, and to accom-
plish that object, had forced off the long iron-bar
whit h
leept up and secured the shutters, and then with a crow -
bar succeeded in taking down a shutter. The robbers then
,•itt a square of plate
glass from the window, and clearedway,
v
way, in plate and jewellery, prerty to the amount of
150/. It would seem that they had been disturbed, as a
very large quantity of property remained in the window un-
touched, and a crow-bar was found near the window. :X°
Jut has to yet been obtained to the villains.