12 JULY 1851, Page 1

. The revenue *mils _for .the year and-quarter ended on

the 5th July show; aiioniphiidoirith those of 1850, a decrease of 210,7391.

in the former, and 9003.54/: in=the latter. The actual decrease is a

mere trifle, more especially when it 'is kept: in mind that the re- turns of 1850 showed a large increase -upon those of 1849. But

it deserves • to 'be noted that the falling;off is entirely in the

department of the :direct taxes. In the Excise there is an. increase of 12227*- in the year, against which-, mitst be set off a nomina1,40*.ase of 25,122/. in the Customs,—leaving a total increase of: 97,151/. But in Stamps there is a de- crease of 285,2501. (the 'fruits of Sir Charles Wood's. tampering with them); in Taxes, of 28;8491.; in the Property-tax retutfigi ' of 106,418/. Notwithftanding the large abatements in the duties of Excise and Customs, the revenue derived from those sources continues to increase; but the revenue from direct taxa- tion, upon which Sir Robert Peel relied to enable him to carry through his liberal reforms in commercial finance, keeps dwindling away.. The cause- of this, in the ease of the Stamps, is obvious enough. In the case of the Property-tax, the declining revenue coincides in point of time with an increase in the leading articles of export and import, that would seem to indicate an augmentation of the national property. The fair inference is, that the tax is in danger of becoming not only unpopular but inefficient. This tends to strengthen the apprehensive view of our financial prospects taken-last week by Mr. Gladstone, and to lend additional import- ance to the warning he gave, in the debate on Mr. Disraelrs motion.