Year: 1870

e1nment yielded IN part to the courageous opposition
OF its own friends, of Mr. Fawcett and Mr. Dixon,
and the great body of Independent and dissenting
Liberals ont of DOORS the zeal of the Tories cooled
Their attacks upon the Land bill were renewed at
the same moment with increased determination, for
every day of delay in passing the one measure les
sened the chances of the other.


Nor is the attitude of the Government rcassuring
Mr. Gladstone accepts the situation with edifying
humility. He accepts even the criticisms Of the men
who have contributed to bring about the situation
He admits that he fell into the error of undertaking
too much during the present session. and he remOn-
strates in the mildest tone with the House for
having first induced the Government to pledge itself
to such variety of measures, and then obsructing
their progress by debates Of unreasonable length
Mr. Gladstone knows very well that the rules of the
House which permit such waste of time stand in
great need of REFORM but he dare not hint at such
fault as that. The House will reform any abuse
sooner than one which exists in its constitution
The debate ended without any pledge from anybody
for improvement in the future, and not long after an
appropriate adjournment was secured by count
Out-there being less than the members present
necessary for quorum.


There remains to be set down to the credit Of the
Government nothing but Mr. loves budget That
is something no doubt Judged by old standards it
is good DEAL for ministries used to go out and come
in on questions of Malt tax, and Home tax as they
may again. The Government has saved with great
energy. BY dnt of economy in spending, and i'm
proved methods of collecting his taxes Mr.. Lowe is
able to show q surplus, which is small compared to
the overplus Of revenue in the United States, but
which is received with great thankfulness The sur
pIsng feas of last year could not be repeated even
by Mr.. Lowe To persuade a confding public that
there are five quarters in one year may be possible
l,,3 I o1u p1arta aLa
to prove that in two successive years there are TO-
Nor, in truth does his budget need the help of such
legerdemain. The estimated expenditure for the year
just closed f6s 10000, while the actual outgoes
have been but Coz $4,000. For the coming year the
estimated expenditure is cut down TO f67,l13OO, and
the estimated rev amounts to C1, 900 to which
Mr. Lowe proposes to add f1500O0, to be got out OF
licenses for carrying His total surplus is there
fore f44S7 OO0 This something near it, had been
calculated in advance by those who have more or
less free access to Treasury figures The interest of
the budget speech hung on the question, What will
he do with It'll In hisusual dramatic way, Mr.. Lowe
first told what he would not do. He will not apply
it to the luctiOn of the National Debt. Payment
of some part of that debt Mr.. Lowe humorously de-
scribed rs proposition that might commend itself
to any persol VINO has not the responsibility of car
rying it out. Nor will he remit the Malt Duty. l





mOIous when he referred to the "claim put forward
by persons connected with the great interest Of
beer" Indeed it is great interest. Its turn for
lief will come some day. unless the Temperance people
grow much stronger than they are nOw To-day it
is the turn Of the great interest of sugar. The
sugar duties are reduced at or below one-haf.
The quantity of sugar consumed last year
in the kingdom was II 10000 cwt, the duty
on which produced f5,JO7,C0O. The reduction
will consume f2,35OOO0 of the surplus. OF the
remainder, the reduction of the Income tax from
3D. to 4d in the pound will require FL, ,23ooOo The
stamp on newspapers, the last of the taxes on
knowledge" is to be abolished, and in its place there
will be postage rate of q half-penny for papers
weighing not more than six This is simply
o reduction of newspaper postage from one penny to
one half penny and other printed matter shares in
the benefit the new rate being, except for news
papers, one halfpenny for two Other duties,
vexatious, but yielding large revenue, are swept
away and the result of the whole is to absorb
f3,966,OOO ont of the surplus, leaving balance of
f33l 600 for contingencies. The proposals are re-
ceived with general favor and the Budget s clearly
popular except among those classes the brewers, for
instance, whose claims have been postponed.


Whether Mr. Bright will resign the Presidency of
the Board of Trade is question which most people
are beginning to answer in the affirmative. II seems





this session, and cannot discharge any part of his
official duties. Meantime he is in an embarrassing
position. He continues to be q member of a Cabinet
in the deliberations of which he can take part.
He is Jointly responsible for decisions which he
has no influence. He stands before the world i'm
pcated in such AZ the Irish Coercion bill,
the despotc and Odious character Of which remains,
as l believe, unknown to him. MIR. Bright may be
supposed by the world to read at least what the
newspapers say on public affairs, but he does not.
Obviously this state of things cannot last. His
resignation is only question of time, for Mr. Bright
cannot continue TO lend the powerful influence OF
his name to shield the Cabinet from Radical criti-
cism There is still talk of his leaving the Board OF
Trade and accepting some more unimportant Office
like the Chancellorship of the Duchy of Lancaster.
do MT see how that would help matters. The
Board of Trade gets very well without Mr.. Bright
under tho management of Mr.. Shaw-Lefevre 1t
seems to me that Mr. Brights friends have right to
ask that he should be relieved from all responsible
itv express or implied for the acts of Government
to which he is and for time must be an entire
stranger.


NJ Gustave FlOurens, who bult the last barricade
in Paris-Or not the last hope but the latest-and
for whom that remarkable Paris police hunted in
vain. arrived recently in London The police which
could not find him in Paris has done him the honor
to dog him about the streets of this city, and spends
It's leisure time in trying to bribe the walters of
NJ Flourens's hotel to steal his letters. Or
is it that Mr.. Gladstone, in his complaisance
to tho French Emperor, has put in force in London
his Irish Coercion BILL with its machinery of police
suppression and its rgors against journalistic 1t is
the fashion in English papers to paint NJ Flourens
as kind of madman, because he believes in a new
revolution and proved his faith by works. / sup
pose there never revolution which these