The Indian Budget was discussed on Thursday in a some-
what perfunctory debate. The closed accounts of 1894-95 show an actual surplus of Rx.693,100. The revised esti- mate for 1895.96 shows a surplus of Rx.900,000, while the estimated surplus for 1896.97 is Rx.450,000. The year 1895-96 showed an increase of Rx 1,400,000 in net revenue, of which opium gave over a million. In the expenditure for 1895-96 there was a net increase of Rx.500,000. The extra cost of the Army, owing to the Chitral expedition, was balanced by the improvement in exchange. The hoped-for balance for 1896-97 is founded upon belief in the continuance of this improvement in the exchange. We cannot now criticise the figures in detail, but we fear the financial situation is not in reality quite as good as it looks from Lord George Hamilton's statement.
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