For the coming year, Sir Stafford Northcote's estimates of revenue

and expenditure, if no change were to be made in the taxation, would be as follows :—

REVENUE.

EXPENDITURE.

aust01313

420,740,000 Interest on Debt ... 426.700,000 Excise 28,090,000 Consolidated-Fund Charges 1,580,000 Stamps.- ... ... 10,880,000 Army ... 14,485,000 Land and House Tax ... 2,860,000 Redemption of Purchase ... 619,000 Income Tax 5,500,000

Navy ...

10,180.000 Post Office 5,800,000 Civil Service ... ... 11,287.000 Telegraphs 1,250,000 Post Office ... 2.832,000 Crown lands 375,000 Collection of Revenue ... 2,694,000 Miscellaneous 3,600,000 Telegraphs 938,000

Packet Service ... 999,000

AshanteeWar (Supplementary) 100,000

£77,995,000

472,603,000

—showing a surplus of 15,492,000. But to this surplus there was an addition to be made which would not ordinarily have been made. The State lends money and receives interest for it in connection with agricultural and various other operations. This interest is really revenue, but has hitherto been added to the balances in the Exchequer, without being included in the estimates of revenue. Sir Stafford proposes to count it—it is about half a million—as revenue for the future, but to employ it for this year, at all events, in payment of Debt, using it for the creation of terminable annuities, by which he hopes to extinguish £7,000,000 of Debt eleven years hence, i.e., in 1885. He could not give the disposable amount accurately, because the Irish accounts somewhat char- acteristically have not distinguished between the capital repaid and the interest ; but the distinction, though not yet made, would not prove, said Sir Stafford, to be "beyond the resources of Irish science."