The Chancellor of the Exchequer, in the House on Wednesday,
made an important and by no means encouraging statement on the state of the finances. He had estimated for a surplus of £177,000,000, subject to a liability of £80,000,000 for sinking fund and to other charges for " certain contingencies," such as the miners' strike and the railway deficit. The whole surplus had disappeared. Indeed, the Supplementary Estimates required an additional expenditure of £20,000,000, though this might be met by savings. The revenue had been .surprisingly good for the first seven months. But the yield of stamp duty was £6,500,000 below the estimate. The sales of war stores had yielded only £58,000,000 out of an anticipated total of £158,000,000 for fhe year. But the miscellaneous receipts might yet reach the estimate, especially if the French Government waived their objection to our receiving, out of reparation money already paid, between £30,000,000 and £40,000,000 for the upkeep of our army on the Rhine. The net amount of excess profits duty received, out of an estimated total of £120,000,000, had been only £29,714,000, and would probably not exceed £50,000,000 for the whole year.
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