The age-herald., 1901-04-20
GREAT BRITAIN IS WROUGHT UP OVER FINANCES RednOnds Comment Give the House af Commons a
 Sober Thought SITUATION IS APPALLING Coal Operators Raise Vigorous Howl
 
SITUATION IS APPALLING
Coal Operators Raise a Vigorous Howl Over the Export Tax On Coal and Say 1t Will Hurt
 the Trade.

New York. April is,--A dispatch to the Tribune from London, says:
 MT. Redmond's comment on the budget speech, Not much Mafeking now, was perhaps, the most judicious reflection which found expression from a crowd ed house. Sir Michael Hicks Beach made a most depressing speech. which sobered both sides of the Commons. The cost of the war, the magnitude of the deficit and the extent to which recourse must be had to Borrowing powers were on a larger scale than had been expected and the new burdens of taxation were more serious. A
 The estimate of f1SS.50o,OOO as the net cost of the'war would have staggered the taxpayers even 4 the end of the military operations had been in sight, but with the resources of guerrilla warfare apparently inexhaustible there was a general con- viction in the Commons that 1t might ex- ceed f2oo, o.0Oo before a settlement could be reached. The permanent debt already increased would be enlarged by f60, ,000, ,O0o with suspension of arrangements of a sinking fund Consumers of beer spirits, tobacco and tea were spared further i'm crease of taxation because the limit of profitable revenue had been approached, but i'll, 100000 was estimated as the out come of increased taxation, with fresh taxes on incomes, sugar. molases, glu- cose and exported coal
 The Main Burden.
 The main burdons will be IA pence in- stead of shilling on incomes, the duty on. sugar, aversTing half penny on the uNnd 10 consumer and the export duty on coal. which constitutes 12 per cent of the export trade of the United Kingdom
 Many Conservatives would have been better pleased if the sugar duties had been doubled and the pence dropped from the income tax. The Liberals would have been delighted, from a party point of view, if the area of indirect taxation had been widened by duties on corn and man. ufactured goods, so that there could have beenS grand rally of the opposition in theSde<snse of free trade. As 1t was. Sir Wfiliam Harcourt was enabled to make a strong protest against a revival of an- tiquated export duties which would em- barrass the shipping interests and also Against repudiation of the tariff poli- 'cies of Peel, and Gladstone.
 There was general satisfaction over the miscalculation of large body of budget gamblers in tea, spirits and to- bacco. Importers had been warned by treasury inquiries respecting sugar clas- sification and polarizcope methods, and had been allowed to overstock the market and make a half-penny on every pound consumed for the greater part of the year.
 Excitement Was Intense.
 There was intense excitement in the galleries and Hobbies, and the impression prvailed that the wedge would be driven into the free trade tree and that 1t would never come out, but would be hammered further in another year.
 "On the whole, the budget proposals have been fairly well received by the newspapers. The coal duty has. however, already caused consternation among coal owners and shippers. The shipments from Newport. Wales, amount to 3.0o0,c coo tons annually and the proposed tax will, 1t Is estimated, result in loss to the port of fl5O, ,oOo, 900 year. An organized effort will be made to bring pressure to bear on the government to drop the duty. but it Is not likely to be successful. With regard to the sugar duty. there is strong feeling that the colonies ought to have been granted differentiar treatment
 Although nothing was known during business hours on the Stock Exchange about the new loan, fair number of transactions took place in 1t at and < premium. The view was that the stock was bound to advance to a substantial level above the issue price. as 1t was taken for granted that the choncellor of the excheouer would have to give the public good inducement to apply"