For the present year, Mr. Chamberlain estimated the ordinary expenditure
at £974,023,000, including £345,000,000 for Debt services, and the ordinary expenditure at £1,058,150,000, including £632,000,000 from Inland Revenue and £323,000,000 from Customs and Excise. The arrears of Excess Profits Duty, now ended, were expected to yield £120,000,000. No fresh taxation would be imposed. The ordinary surplus of £84,127,000 would be partly needed to meet liabilities under the railway agreement arising out of the miners' strike. Tho special revenue of £158,500,000, from the sale of war stores, set against war liabilities of £65,705,000 to the railway com- panies and for other purposes; showed a surplus of £92,795,004 but part of this must be reserved to meet fresh claims. Probably there would be a net surplus of £80,000,000, apart from the old sinking fund of £23,000,000, for the redemption of Debt. On the other hand, we had to pay off this year foreign loans amounting to £80,000,000 and domestic loans to the amount of £113,000,000, so that the whole surplus would be absorbed and part of the domestic loans would have to be renewed.
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