Mr. Goschen on Wednesday made an interesting financial speech, in
answer to an address from the Manchester Chamber of Commerce. He playfully reminded the Chamber,—who had intimated their hope that the national burdens might be lightened without any diminution in the efficiency of the pro- tection afforded to life, liberty, and property,—that the Chan- cellor of the Exchequer is not merely the guardian of the revenue, but the channel of expenditure, and that every year new claims are made on him for fresh expenditure which hardly any one sustains him in resisting. He thought the revenue would turn out well, as years go now ; but the time is past when the revenue rises by leaps and bounds, and there are now new claims on any surplus which render the prospects of remission very slender. If there be any statutes which increase needlessly the gravity of the commercial depression,—for example, pro- visions under which the limited-liability Companies are sheltered where they are fraudulently managed,—these Mr. Goschen admitted that he certainly ought to interfere to repeal ; but the State would not be in a position directly to relieve the suffer- ings of those who had been thrown out of employment by the bad times.
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