The Times on Tuesday was very anxious to believe that
Mr. Lowe's Budget Estimate is a failure, but it apparently relied on the comparison between this year's Revenue returns and those of last year, instead of comparing the Budget Estimate with the Revenue Returns. Of course the comparison was altogether illusory, since Mr. Lowe, by taking off both sugar duties and income tax, had diminished his revenue, as compared with the revenue of last year. For example, the Customs revenue is 14,850,000 for the quarter, and was only £4,944,000 for the corresponding quarter of last year ; but the loss in consequence of remitted duty was calculated at over £300,00 in the quarter, and turns out tube smaller by £200,000. The Excise revenue exceeds that of the correspondingquarter of last year by nearly another £200,000. The stamp duty, again, exceeds the estimate by £120,000, so that taking these three items together, there is a gain in the quarter of more than half a million on the estimate. No doubt there is an apparent loss on the Post Office of some A:70,000, and on the Telegraphs of a larger sum ; but that is very likely due, as the Times itself suggests, to delay in paying over the receipts. Altogether there seems every reason to hope that Mr. Lowe will be able to pay the full Alabama indemnity in September without borrowing,—as he himself had ventured to hope.
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