3 JANUARY 1880, Page 11

The Revenue Returns of the nine months of 1879, between

April let and -the end of the year, do not promise well for poor Sir S. Northcote's next Budget. The net decrease on the revenue of the same nine months of 1878 is £4.48,955, while the decrease for Excise and Customs, taken alone, is very much greater,— namely, 21,609,000,—which decrease is reduced, however, by an excess in stamps and property-tax, and other smaller branches of revenue. Sir Stafford Northeote had counted on some small falling-off in the revenue of this financial year, as compared with that of the last financial year ; but it was very small, not quite £61,000 on the whole year. Hence the falling-off of near half-a-million on the revenue of nine months of the year looks like a serious over-estimate of his resources.