Although the revenue accounts for the year and quarter do
not display quite such a serried array of " increases " as those issued at the beginning of the year, they indicate a satisfactorypro- gress : the grand totals are all that could be wished ; and on examination the details are not less satisfactory, for the " de- creases " mean no great harm. Looking to the comparative accounts for the quarter, we see a decrease under three heads,— Customs, 207,9411., due to the working of the Tariff after the change ; Property-tax, 87,1481., a mere fluctuation in the process of collection, which is not hastened with any harsh stringency ; and Crown-lands, 30,0001., which signifies nothing. On the other hand, there is an increase on the Excise, the gauge of the popular condition, of 64,796/. ; Stamps, 103,450/. ; Taxes, 1,260/. ; Post-office, still working up, 4,0001. ; Miscellaneous, (a run of luck,) 273,724/. The comparison for the year is still more satis- factory : under all the significant heads there is an increase,—in the Customs, the large one of 718,602/. ; Excise, 344,784/. ; Stamps, 242,809/. ; Taxes, 25,275/. ; Post-office, 57,000/. How much was made of that single decrease of 8,000/. which occurred in the Post-office revenue once ! On the year the decrease is also .under three heads that signify nothing,—Property-tax, 252,439/. ; Crown-lands, 22,500/. ; Miscellaneous, 67,123/. The net increase on the quarter is 572,165/ ; on the year, 1,410,726/. Good harvests have happened—the Whig Budget might have been profitable—Sir Robert Peel is busy in very wicked measures for abetting Popery in Ireland, and ought not to succeed—he has " betrayed the agriculturists," or rather, they, like Arta- xerxes, prayed to be deceived : there are for some people a hun- dred reasons for doubting whether we might not choose a better Minister ; but it does happen that under his administration the accounts show these large items of increase, and the numerous class of those who tamely judge by the event will incline to the Minister who, with all his heterodoxies, has a thriving income and a surplus. The revenue-tables came out opportunely for him in the week of Maynooth grant.
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