New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1858-05-07

IOUONt.
Custom, ..........a?54 400 COO Property AID income
E1ese.............. ls,OOO,O5D tax ........f 6 a0
s%g .:d;.:.. M iD~ IsS
qa,s .;.. oH a6I y9o OO
A comparison between the estimated expendtur,
and the estimated income shows, despite the rattle
,aprupe views taken by Mr.. Disrael of the event
ual produce of the customs, the excise and thu
oost-ofice a clear deficit Of "a, O0O, OOO How
was it ~ be met The Palmerstonans haC
ehuckled at the mere idea that Mr.. Disraell would
be forced 10 suspend the decline IN the next year OF
the income tax from I'd. to sd. in the pound, pro-
position which, when made by Sir COrnewall Lewis,
be and Mr.. Gladstone had distinguished themselves
by opposing. Then the cry of tactiOus opposition
would have been raised and the unpOpularlty OF the
tax turned to good account. In one word the i'll
come tax was the rock which it was confidently
predicted the Derby state ship must split upon.
Mr.. Disraeli, however, too old fox to be en-
sDared In such a trap. He told the House, on the
contrary that John Bull, during the last five years,
had behaved" like good boy in financial matters
had borne the public burdens with great spirit,
and should therefore, under his present distressed
circumstances, not be grieved by tax he had al
WAYS felt peculiar aversion to, especially since, by
the Arrangement Of the year 1888, resolved upon
by an immense majority of the House, the good boy
had been promised the progressive dimnuton OF the
tax and It's final extinction at the end OF certain
number of wears. Mr.. Disraeli's own prescriptions
margin of surplus income amount 10 this: Post
pone the liquidation of two millions of Excbequer
bonds to later PERIOD do not pay the IL 300, 900
for the war sinking fund until there is bona tde
surplus to be sunk In it; equslize the English and
Irish duties on spirits, by raising the latter from
6s. IOd. to Ss. per gallon, which equalization would
give an increase of f5OO,O 600 to the Exchequer;
and, lastly, put penny stamp on bankers checks,
which would produce 10 the revenue surplus OF
E300, 900.
Now as to the trifing new taxes imposed by Mr..
Dsrae, no serious objection can be raised against
them. Though the representatives of Paddy felt 1t,
Of course their duty to protest. any check put upon
the spirit consumption in ireland must be cOnsld-
cred curative measure. In proposing it, the
Chancellor of the Exchequer could not withstand
the temptation of poking some fun at his Irish
friends. "In the most cordial spirit he asked
1.-THE high-spirited Irishmen' to concur in the
proposition for taxing Irish spirit" and mngle
their "spirits with those ofEngishmen and Scotch
men, &c. The penny stamp on bankers checks
was fiercely attacked by Mr.. Glyn the representa-
tive of the London banking and stock Jobbing inter-
est. That unfortunate penny, he felt sure, would
prevent the monetary circulation OF the country
from performing its duties; but, whatever terror
Mr.. Cyn might feel or fegn t. feel at the audacity
of imposing trfng duty on bankers and stock
iobbers, his feelings not likely to find an echo
among the mass of the British people.
The serious feature of Mr.. Dsraeli's budgets the
stopping of the operation of the artificial sinking
fund that great financial sham reintrodlced by sir
CoYnewall Lewis occasion OF the debts contract
ed during the Russian war. The genuine British
sinking fund is one Of those monster delusons
which obscure the mental faculties of a whole gen.
Grafton and the gist of which the following one Is
hardly able to understand. Ii was first IN tue year
HI, that DIR. Richard Price, in hls observations
reversiOnary payments revealed to the world tue
mysteries Of compound interest and the sinking fu0d
~ L. oil - hnar md mt
increases at first slowly; but the rate of increase
"being continually accelerated, it becomes in some
''tme so rapid as to mock all the powers OF lmag-
"ination. One penny, put out at our Saylors birth
"at five per cent. interest would before this time
shave increased 10 a greater sum than would De
CONTAINED in 80 millions of earths, all solid gold
"But if put out at simple interest, would III the
"same time have amounted to no more than u.s. 4td
"Our Government has hitherto chosen 10 improve
money in the last rather than the first OF these
"ways. A State need never be under any difficult
'tes; for with the smallest savings, 1t may, 10 as
little time its interest require, pay on the
Largest debts. On this plan, it is OF little mpor-
tance what interest the State is obliged to give for
money; for the higher the interest the sooner will
"such fund pay of the principal" Consequently
he proposed an annual saving TO be applied inva-
riaby, together with the interest of all the sums
redeemed by It, To the purpose Of discharglng the
"pubhc debt; or in other words, the establishment
U Nhklng flnd.
This fantastic scheme, rather less ingenious than
the financial plan Of the fool in one OF Ceryantes
novels, who proposed to the whole Spanish people
to abstain for only two weeks from eating and
drinking, in order to get tue means of discharping
the public debt, nevertheless caught the Imagination
Of Pitt. Ii avowedy on this basis that he
built up his sinking fund in $780, allotting fixed
sum of 5,OO0,0 900 sterling, to be paid every wear
"without fail, for this purpose The system was
not abandoned until 1925, when the Commons
passed resolution that only the bona fide surplus
revenue of the country was to be applied in pay
ment of the national debt The whole system Of
public credit had been thrown into confusion by this
curious sort of sinking fund. Between what was
borrowed from necessity, and what was borrowed
from Amusement; between loans that were to ln-
crease the debt and loans that were to pay IT on
there arose tumulluous medley. Interest and
compound interest debt and redemption, danced be-
fore mems eyes 10 such perpetual succession; there
Was such phantasmsgoria of consols aud bonds OF
debentures and exchequer bills of capital without
interest and interest without capital that the strong
est understanding became bewildered. DIR. Prices
principle was that the State should borrow money al
simple interest in order % improve il at compound
interest. In fact the United Kingdom contracted
debt of 600 millions 81 srling for which i. nom
paJiy received about coo millions, 800 millions Of
this sum being however, destined not for the pay
ment Of the debt but 10 keep up the sinking fund.
This glorious Institution, which marks the golden
era Of stock jobbers and Spectators, the Palmer
II ~. = sl. q A