A financial paper, printe...
The Times, 1824-04-02T00:00:00

A financial paper, printed last month by order of the House of Commons, and entitled " Colonial Income and " Expenditure," may suggest some matter for observation and inquiry. Although the title is general, the accounts contained in this document embrace only five of our colo- nial possessions, every one of which was -cquired by the British arns in tithe coitrse of the late lohg war, from France, Spain, and HIolland. The,colonies in question are Trinidad, Malta, tt1ehMauritius, the Cape of Wood Hope, and Ceylon. One remark is equally applicable to the ad- ministration of all- these places,with the exception, perhaps, of Trinidad-namely, that the most profuse extravagance seeis to prevail throughout the whole svstem of co%onial government, and that the want of direct control by Parlia- ment over the sourcesand channels,of this expenditure is the specific cause of its enormous and shameful growvth. It is likewisecurious toobserve with what happyflexibility the disbursements cf each year accommodate themselves to the Quctuations of the revenue, the plus and minus being within a few thousand pounds dovetailed into each other, mn some principle which, though to us unknown, affords proof sufficient of skill and activity in the artists. - In Ceylon there is raised'a revenue of In 1820 about ?410,000 Expenditure . ?426,000 1821.. . . 3.54,Ooo 350,000 1822 . . . .-38,000 - 303,000 It appears'on the face of these accounts. thAt flip It or ucyIf nas declined nearly ',0)000. in two years, of which deficit about 12,0001. faLls to tlhe share of the customs. Bat the point worti attending to is the charge, headed"Pay "Iand Salaries" of Civll Governmellt, withi contingencies, including secret service money-thte latter being in its na- ture exempt from all control: and this amount is altogether exclusive -of the maintenanee,.&c., of the judicial, ievenue, and military departments, wvhich have each their sepMrate and no very stinted allowance. Pav and sala- rjes of the civil government, including contingencies:- Ina i820, 69,OOOL; 1821, 5,0001l.; 1822, SG,00O0.; being between a sixth and seventh of the whole revenue of that immense islanid. Tn theJudicial ]Jepqrtment, the aniual expense is from .fnty-even. to .thirty-twio thousand pQunds--morei we Yerlyi-believe, than the emioluments of Lord Chancellor Emnox. TheBritiTht .roOps5fornimgthegarrisons of Ceylon, anu ouri oter colonies, are paid, be it understood, out of thle.Army Estimates'; whence it seiris to 1ie looked upen aS X thing of course, that the friends and dependents of the tonial.8ecretary should'hiie i.hatever cani be squeezed out upon the spot-iii th1e6 aturieof pockeet-money, to be ured as most agre6i6le or conienijent. The salaries of the Civil iWpATtment at-.XMauritius,.exelusivei in the same *nnaner, of Judges, Rkyende.officers, Nilitary,;and so forth,: atmount to 44,OOol.1annuhlty: 'Thliittlekiland of Matt- ritius . - - > - The Cape opens a prospect not less edifying _thera the' i}! ,.l o 2 ,.o th inlg 8oXs-a;wt id tibe peopl about-hi ,t(coi the :c6iir^$ti. ali oxt t%00bl. a.-yeat r t jiijt he te I tdef bes:toe :-w the distressa ,i d famished settlerJ, amournting X, GbD :knows -how malny lhundred of ttnfortunates, comrtes to the net sutn of19Sk 18s; 2d. A little ~more than one-third-of--the provition act 'sj,ar,t for, "' Bead'qiiarters I" :Upen Thesie zeveral premnises, vfda1,e one.s;kort word of -:diice.tb give the.KzNXv's zGw- verument-" Reforni.tbem alogetber."