H FINANCE The Budget Mr. Maberly's Resolutions on the National *911 "Debt Mr. Hume's Motion on the State of the Nation, and Fortyfive Resolutions regarding the Finances Opposition to the Navy Estimates-Mr. Hobhouse's Motion to reduce the Army Discussion on the Expense of the Diplomatic Establishments. ON N the 13th of March, the chancellor of the Exchequer opened the budget. Not confining himself to the mere statement of the ways and means of the yearof the money to be expended, and the modes in which it should be raised he took a large review of the whole financial system, particularly of the reductions which, during several successive years, had been made in taxation, and of the effect of these reductions on the productiveness of the revenue. The reduction of taxes had begun in 1816 with the repeal of the property tax. Government unquestionably had been anxious that, in the circumstances of the country, that source of revenue should have been retained for two years longer; the House had thought otherwise; and, whether government had been wrong or parliament right, the people gained all the advantage of the repeal of this tax, the amount of which was no less than £.14,320,000 In the same year (1816) there were repealed:The War Malt Duty The War Customs, Tonnage, 2,790,000 &c. 828,000 Hearths and Windows, Ire were repealed: Malt and Spirits Making a total of Taxes re pealed in 1816 ........£18,288,000 Wool In 1817 there were repealed or diminished taxes in England, In the year 1825 the following Duties were repealed: 250,000 3,146,000 £.30,712,000 From which must be de- 3,190,000 mission of Taxes since the man in the kingdom could never have had the confidence to anticipate. In 1823, upon an estimate founded on the basis of £200,000 100,000 the revenue of the preceding year, 150,000 he had assumed that the customs, 900,000 the excise, the stamp duties, the 1,250,000 post office, the assessed taxes, for 20,000 276,000 England and Ireland, and sundry miscellaneous items, taken together, would produce an income of about 52,200,000. The taxes repealed in the course of that session amounted to about 3,200,000%. During the period of the same session, he had calculated that there would be a loss to the revenue of 1,500,000l. arising from various causes; so that, in point of fact, the calculation would have been entirely verified, if the receipts for 1823 had been 1,500,000l. less than 52,200,000l. Now the actual receipts of the year were 52,018,000l., being less than the sum at which he had estimated them previously, and less, let it be observed, notwithstanding the amount of taxes repealed in that year, by the sum of 182,000l. only. In regard to the year 1823, therefore, no expectations had been held out, which were not amply fulfilled. In the following year, the revenue which he had anticipated upon the same items, was 51,265,000l. He had proposed the repeal of taxes during that twelvemonth to a very considerable amount, and calculated that the amount of loss, which the revenue would sustain that year, would be 530,000l. But the actual produce of the year's receipts, notwithstanding such a reduction of taxes, was positively more than the original estimate; for, the estimate being 51,265,000l., the actual produce was 53,562,0001; so that the actual produce of 1824 yielded very nearly 1,300,000l. above the While twenty-seven millions of taxes had thus been reduced, that reduction, so far from affecting the revenue of the country, and diminishing the productiveness of its various branches, had, in fact, given to them new energy, and justified every anticipation. He had been accused, he said, of uttering promises of prosperity which had not been fulfilled, and holding out prospects of increasing resources which had ended in disappointment; but the results of the last three years, 1823, 1824, and 1825, would sufficiently shew, that he had erred neither in his calculations, nor in the facts and principles on which they were made. A reference to the finance accounts would prove, that, in respect of each of them, not only were the expect ations which had been held out to the House in 1823 completely realized by the event, but that they were absolutely exceeded in a degree which the most sanguine Malt British Spirits Coffee... .... estimate which he had formed, Tea The estimated amount of revenue for was The actual receipts for the same period.... Exceeding the Estimate therefore by .......... 156,838,500 1,398,000 And yet, during these three years, taxes to the amount of no less than eight millions had been repealed. Thus, even more than what had been promised, had been performed; and it had been distinctly proved that the reduction of duties on articles of consumption had raised the produce of such duties by in creasing that consumption, and had thus kept up the revenue, while it added largely to the comforts of the people. The increase of consumption in different articles in 1825, as compared with 1816, was various, but it was uniform. Some of them were as follows: In the expense, too, of collecting the revenue, a large saving had been effected. In 1818 that expense had amounted to 4,353,000l.; in 1825 it had been reduced to 3,832,000l., being a diminution of more than half a million. While taxation, and the cost of collecting, had been thus diminished, both the principal, and the yearly charge, of the debt had likewise been reduced. On the 5th of January, 1828, the funded debt amounted to 796,530,000l.; on the 5th of January, 1826, the funded debt was reduced to 778,128,000l., being a reduction, in the three years, of 18,401,000; or at the rate, in each year, of 6,133,000l. On the 5th of Jan. 1823, the unfunded debt was 36,281,000l.; on the 5th of Jan. 1826, it was only 31,703,000l.; being a reduction of 4,577,0007. The reduction in the total charge of the debt, is the true way of estimating the real reduction effected in the burdens of the country, rather than by looking only at the reduction in the capital of the debt. Now on the 5th of Jan. 1823, the charge on the funded debt was 28,123,000l.: on the 5th of Jan. 1826, it was only 27,117,000l. ; being a reduction of 1,107,000l. On the 5th January, 1823, the interest on Exchequer, bills was 1,100,000l.; on 5th Jan. 1826, it was 800,000l.; being a reduction of 300,000l. Taking both together, the charge on the funded and unfunded debt was on In the year 1825 the following Duties were repealed : 250,000 3,146,000 £.30,712,000 From which must be de ducted the amount of Leaving therefore a total re- ........ £.27,522,000 man in the kingdom could never have had the confidence to anticipate. In 1823, upon an esti£200,000 mate founded on the basis of 100,000 the revenue of the preceding year, 150,000 he had assumed that the customs, 900,000 the excise, the stamp duties, the 1,250,000 20,000 post office, the assessed taxes, for 276,000 England and Ireland, and sundry miscellaneous items, taken together, would produce an income of about 52,200,000l. The taxes repealed in the course of that session amounted to about 3,200,000l. During the period of the same session, he had calculated that there would be a loss to the revenue of 1,500,000l. arising from various causes; so that, in point of fact, the calculation would have been entirely verified, if the receipts for 1823 had been 1,500,000l. less than 52,200,000l. Now the actual receipts of the year were 52,018,000l., being less than the sum at which he had estimated them previously, and less, let it be observed, notwithstanding the amount of taxes repealed in that year, by the sum of 182,000l. only. In regard to the year 1823, therefore, no expectations had been held out, which were not amply fulfilled. In the following year, the revenue which he had anticipated upon the same items, was 51,265,000l. He had proposed the repeal of taxes during that twelvemonth to a very con siderable amount, and calculated that the amount of loss, which the revenue would sustain that year, would be 530,000l. But the actual produce of the year's receipts, notwithstanding such a reduction of taxes, was positively more than the original estimate; for, the estimate being 51,265,000l., the actual produce was 53,562,000; so that the actual produce of 1824 yielded very nearly 1,300,000l. above the While twenty-seven millions of taxes had thus been reduced, that reduction, so far from affecting the revenue of the country, and diminishing the productiveness of its various branches, had, in fact, given to them new energy, and justified every anticipation. He had been accused, he said, of uttering promises of prosperity which had not been fulfilled, and holding out prospects of increasing resources which had ended in disappointment; but the results of the last three years, 1823, 1824, and 1825, would sufficiently shew, that he had erred neither in his calculations, nor in the facts and principles on which they were made. A reference to the finance accounts would prove, that, in respect of each of them, not only were the expect ations which had been held out to the House in 1823 completely realized by the event, but that they were absolutely exceeded in a degree which the most sanguine |