POSTSCRIPT.

SATIIRDLY.

The House of Commons was last night chiefly occupied, sitting as a Committee of Ways and Means, in listening to the Chancellor of the Exchequer's financial statement.

At the outset of his speech, Sir GEORGE LEWIS apologized for the postponement of the Budget; alleging the newness of his appointment,

the desirableness of forming some judgment on the views of other Great Powers with regard to the Vienna Conference, and also of presenting the annual accounts in a more perfect form. From this he entered at once into the subject in hand.

Last year, Mr. Gladstone, by exercising a sort of financial second- sight, estimated the produce of taxes at 59,496,0001.—their actual produce was 59,496,1541. But the total revenue for that year was 66,621,6671. ; the expenditure, 65,692,9621. ; giving a surplus of 928,7051. A portion, not less than 5,020,0001., of the new taxes remained uncollected in April; but had they come in there would have been a gain of 1,000,0001. on the revenue from taxes last year. In estimating the expenditure of the present year, Sir George put down 27,974,0001. for the Funded and Unfunded Debt, including the new Loan; other charges on the Consolidated

Fund, 1,750,0001.; Army, 16,214,4771., Navy, 16,653,0421. ; Ordnance, 7,808,042/. ; vote of credit in aid of military services, 3,000,0001. ;

Civil Service, 6,500,0001. ; Sardinian Loan, 1,000,0001. ; total, 80,899,561!. Injustification of this high estimate, he showed that the charge for the Army, Navy, and Ordnance increased from 16,487,0001. in 1853-'4 to 30,121,0001. last year ; and also that the charges had continued to increase this year. In estimating the in- come for this year, he set down the Customs at 20,500,0001. ; Excise at 17,071,0001.; Stamps, including 480,0001. for newspaper-stamps, 7,295,0001. ; Land and Assessed Taxes, 2,920,0004 ; Property and In- come-tax, 13,535,0001. ; Post-office, 1,438,0001., including 288,0001. for

newspaper postage ; Crown Lands, 260,000/. ; Miscellaneous, 800,0001. ; total, 63,339,0001. The estimated expenditure, including 1,000,0001. for Ways and Means Bill to replace the sale of Savings-bank Stock, and a margin of 4,440,0001., will be 86,339,0001.; and there will therefore be to provide for a deficiency of 23,000,0001. How must that be met?

With a brief reference to propositions for defraying the expenses of the year by taxes raised within the year, Sir George made a statement on the subject of the National Debt, its growth and tendency to increase,— with the advantages and disadvantages of perpetual and terminable loans, —in justification of the mode of raising the new loan adopted by the Go- vernment, embodying as it does the principle of periodical repayment. " If Government had determined to effect a loan in stock terminable at the end of thirty years, it would have been necessary for the Chancellor of the Exchequer, at the end of that period, to provide a surplus of 16,000,0001. for the extinction of the debt. Her Majesty's Government thought that any plan for the creation of perpetual stock, the whole of which would become

payable at the end of a given term, would be a perfectly ineffectual mode of

attaining the object in view. They therefore propose, as a means of pre- venting, as far as lies in their power, the creation of a perpetual burden by the loan which they have found it necessary to effect, to insert in the Loan Act a clause which will render it incumbent upon the Government for the time being, at the end of the war, to set aside 1,000,0001. sterling annually

until the whole of the perpetual portion of the debt they are about to con- tract shall have been extinguished. In this manner, a legal obligation will

be imposed upon the Government to provide 1,000,0004 sterling annually for the redemption of this debt." But in addition to the loan, taxation must be increased by 5,300,0001. Towards that object, it is proposed to increase the present'uty on sugar by 3s. the hundredweight—estimated to produce 1,200,0001. This will not raise the price to the consumer beyond one shilling higher than it was in 1854—the price will still be 10s. 5d. less than it was in 1846. An in- crease of the duty on coffee of ld. per pound—from 3d. to 4d. per pound, —will produce 150,0001. An increase of 3d. on the tea-duty—from Is. 6d. to Is. 9d.—will produce 750,0001. Increase on the whole Customs revenue, 2,100,0001. Stamp-duties to remain untouched, with one ex- ception: bankers' checks, drawn within fifteen miles of the place where

they are payable, will no longer be exempt from duty, but will be liable to ids—which will yield 200,0001. to the revenue. In the Excise

it is proposed to equalize the duties on English and Scotch spirits, raising

the latter from 6s. to 7s. 10d. ; not to equalize the duty on Irish spirits with them, but to increase that duty from 4s. to 6s. per gallon. This

change will not encourage illicit distillation, and will bring in 1,000,0001.

of revenue. These augmentations will supply 3,300,0001. by indirect taxes ; leaving 2,000,0001. to be supplied by direct taxes. Government have come to the conclusion that the best form of direct taxation is the Income-tax; and therefore it is proposed to raise the 2,000,0001. by adding one per cent or 2d. in the pound to the 14d. which is the present rate.

He also proposed to take power to issue 3,000,0001. Exchequer Bills. The total estimated expenditure is 86,339,0001. ; the estimated revenue from existing taxes, 63,339,0001. • the loan, 16,000,0001. ; new taxes, re- ceivable in 1855-'6, 4,000,0001. ; Exchequer Bills, 3,000,0001. ; total, 86,339,0001. Sir George wound up by explaining the conditions on which the new loan had been raised, and moving the resolutions in which those, terms are embodied.

The debate opened with a hostile question by Mr. MASTERS SMITH, on taxing terminable annuities just after concluding the new loan ; and Sir HENRY WILLOUGHBY subsequently followed up with arguments against " taxing capital." Mr LAING objected to the peddling unsettling course taken by the Chancellor of the Exchequer : he could have obtained a loan on terminable annuities on more favourable terms, for that has an intel- ligible market value ; and a 9 or 10 per cent Income-tax would have given all the revenue wanted. Mr. Filmes foresaw opposition. Mr. GiansTmen discerned difficulties in raising the Income-tax to 10 per cent, though that will have to be done if the war continue; and then it must be extended below the 1001. income. He admitted the present necessity of resorting to a loan, though he had still the same objections to public loans as when he was in office. He had borrowed money, but only in anticipa- tion of taxes ; and the taxes imposed last year will come within a million of the whole of that borrowed money. He might have been glad if the fi- nancial statement could have been deferred until after the conclusion of negotiations at Vienna, since the result there might affect the amount of expenditure required. Rather than interfere with the course pursued by the Chancellor of the Exchequer, he was prepared to face the financial disadvantage of taking a loan at the present moment; but he reserved absolute freedom of judgment on the negotiations and on the changed relations to the other powers of Europe that seem to be probable.

Sir Frrzaor "(Blair assailed the Government; Mr. WIIJ-IAMS as- sailed national indebtedness ; Mr. HEYWORTH assailed taxes on con- sumption. Amongst other speakers, Mr. MASTERMAN expressed surprise at the favourable terms obtained by the Chancellor of the Exchequer for the loan.

The resolutions were agreed to.

Mr. Mtrirrz asked Lord Palmerston, whether the Government possess any information that a statement which had appeared in the Mites news- paper, to the effect that orders had been given to spare the town of Se- , bastopol was correct? Lord PAL.11131113TON—"No order has been given, except to take the town as soon as possible." (Laughter.) In reply to Captain SCOBELL, Lord Pax:cuts-row stated that Lord Dundonald's plan had been submitted to a committee of naval officers and scientific men, and it is still under the consideration of her Majesty's Government. The professional men had stated great difficulties which they thought existed as to the practical execution of the project.

Some party discussion arose out of a motion to substitute the name of Captain Scobell for that of Mr. John Ball, Under-Secretary for the Co- lonies, as a member of the Sebastopol Committee. The motion was ne- gatived by 81 to 68.

In the Sebastopol Committee yesterday, Sir Charles Trevelyan con- tinued his evidence ; going into further details ; and specifying the causes which, in his opinion, have led to disasters. The causes which had led to the loss of thousands of valuable lives, and entailed on the country the enormous, indefinite, and indispensable expense of the land-transport were, in his opinion, the following. First, the omission to make a main road from the camp to the base of operations at Ba- laklava. This duty, according to the Queen's regulations, ought to have been performed by the Quartermaster-General. Secondly, the ab- sence of a road along the borders of the harbour of Balaklava. This duty also devolved on the Quartermaster-General. Thirdly, the absence of Commissariat-magazines on the shore at Balaklava ; which it was also the business of the Quartermaster-General to provide. Fourthly, the want of proper organization of the transports and other vessels in that harbour, and the consequent loss of the Prince and other ships. For this the naval authorities were responsible. Fifthly, the want of proper arrangements for the transport service at Constantinople and in the Black Sea ; for which Admiral Boxer was responsible. Sixthly, the passing suddenly, without proper preparation, from a summer to a winter campaign. For this likewise the Quartermaster-General was responsible. That officer ought also to have provided warm clothing and huts for the troops. Seventhly, the vast amount of articles which had to be carried up to the front in the disastrous and broken-down state of affairs.