New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1896-04-29
HRITALN,S INCOME AND OUTGO.
proposed

The MAGNIFICENT showing of Great Britains
balance sheet exctes the admiration and envy
of the world. II Is, indeed. n great thing FOR
nation 70 have n revenue of more than 10000
600 year. especially when taxation sits lightly
upon the people That IL does sit lightly upon
the British IL not to be denied OF course there
Is some grumbling. especially at the income tax,
which, first adopted as war measure has now
become a permanent fixture. But John Bull
would not be John Bull unless he had something
TO grlmble at. There Is. however, no real hard
ship. No feels taxation to be n burden
No one Is impoverished by 1t. No industry Is
crushed by II. The material progress OF the
country Is not retarded by II. There Is no other
Great Power in Europe whose load Of taxation
Is not far heavier 1t Is true that there Is, apart
from the income tax, and In spite OF Cobdensm,
a heavy tariff on some Of the prime necessaries
of life Yet there Is no popular demand for
removal OF these imposts. The people are able
10 bear Them and do bear them without serious
complaint Truly, 1t Is nation to be congrat-
ulaicd
There is, however, an omlnous phase of the
stuat ton which many of the best thinkers Of
England are taking to heart, and which may
well serve as a warning to those countries which
envy British prosperity. That Is the fact that
expenditures are increasing year by year In
about equal ratio with the revenue A surplus
there Is, OF course, and this year the largest ever
known But so are the expenditures the largest
ever known and they are chiefly Of character
which practically requires their continuance,
and their continuous expansion. 1t Is not in
come alone that indicates prosperity. 1t is the
surplus of income above outgo. Measured by
that standard Great Britain Is still prosperous,
but not nearly 50 prosperous as the mere figures
Of her annual revenue would seem to indicate.
And the worst Of 1t Is that while the income Is
variable the expenditures are mostly fixed. A
year or two Of bad trade might send the revenue
down many millions But II would be exceed
ingly awkward correspondingly to reduce ex-
penses.
Some of the increased expenditure, for exam
pie, goes for an expansion Of the civil admin
!stration. 1t would be most inconvenent in a
bad year to have to abolish offices by the hun
dred or to order general scaling down Of saa-
res Vast sums go for the navy, the admiralty
being committed to an expenditure Of so many
million pounds year for a term of years to
come. To announce some bad year that naval
construction must be suspended would cause
universal dismay and panic. SO In dozen other
ways the expendture-and not only the optional
but the necessary expenditure-is increasing at
n tremendous rate. 1t Is this fact that gives
to the Chancellor of the ExcheQuer greatest
anxiety. 1t was this that marked with serious
ness his Budget speech, which otherwise should
have been altogether buoyant and jubilant
What Is desirable Of course, is to pay off the
national debt even more rapidly, or to reduce
taxation. Either of these measures would prac-
tically create reserve fund readily to be drawn
upon In case Of emergency. The smaller the