Sir Stafford Northcote introduced the Indian budget on Monday in
a clear and not uninteresting speech, the main points of which were that he agreed with Mr. Massey's figures ; that he accepted Mr. Massey's budget ; that he disliked the extra export duty on grain ; that the licence tax, being unjust in form, must not be permanent ; that the local governments should be encouraged to tax for local purposes, using the licence tax as their instrument if they like, but if not, some other ; that Indian securities were in high favour, and that he wanted to try an issue of terminable annuities to meet expenses like those for barracks. That last idea might draw much European capital, and so would life annuities ; but the natives think too much of their obligations to their children to make such investments. A great deal of money might be obtained in England by an issue of life annuities based on the price of Indian instead of English consols, but what would the Treasury say to it ? It would kill the State Life Annuity office at once. Sir Stafford finally lays down the sound principle that in India the revenue ought always to exceed the expenditure, and not merely equal it, so as to allow of some accumulation against the disasters periodically occurring.
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