This was not a cheerful exordium for a somewhat uninteresting
Budget. Sir Stafford Northcote stated that while the estimate of revenue of the past year had been put at 174,425,000, it had actually proved to be /74,921,873, showing an increase of revenue beyond the estimate of £490,873; and that whereas he had estimated the expenditure at £73,958,000, it had actually reached 174,328,040, showing a final surplus of revenue above expendi- ture of 1593,833, or £130,833 above the Budget estimate. Sir Stafford denied altogether that there had ever been any pos- sibility of a serious deficiency, and while admitting special errors in the Estimates, thought that on the whole he had hit the mark very fairly. For follows :— the coming year his estimate was as
Customs_ ... ... —519,000,000 Interest on Debt _527.210,000 Excise ... ... ... ... 27,800,000 Consolidated Debt Charges ... 1,592,009 Stamps ... ... ... ... 10,600,000 Army ... 14,678,000 Land Tax and House Duties 2,440,000 Army Purchase
Income Pax ... ... 5,900,000 Navy
.8',000 10.7.5
Post Office ... ... 5,750,000 Civil Service ... 12,656.000 Telegraphs ... ... 1,200,000 Post Office ... 3 036,000 Crown Lands ... ... 385,000 Revenue Collection ... 2,694,000 Miscellaneous ... ... 4,100,000 Telegraph ... 1,098,000
Packet Service... ... 878,000 Total Revenue ... ...575,605,000
Total Expenditure ... ...£7468,000
showing an estimated surplus of £417,000, if no changes are to be made. But though Sir Stafford Northcote proposes no changes in taxation except one in relation to brewers' licences, which involves a loss of £00,000 to the revenue, and conse- quently reduces the surplus to £357,000, he proposes several other new charges even on that small surplus,-170,000 for interest on local advances, £185,000 for repayment of Debt,— and he leaves £118,000 of Irish Education grant to supple- mentary estimates. If these suggestions are followed, the surplus would become a minus quantity, unless the revenue exceeds the estimate, which, however, very likely it may.
