The Revenue Returns show that Mr. Gladstone has in the
first three quarters of the financial year got about half a million more than he had calculated on, which will be made up, we suppose, in the last quarter—always the most productive to the revenue—to about a million. Thus with savings in the expenditure likely to make hear two millions for the next financial year, there is some probability of Mr. Gladstone again having nearly three millions to use in the remission of taxation. The Chancellor's estimate of revenue, excluding the Chinese indemnity money, which is not, we believe, included till the end of the year, was 65,942,0001., and iu the nine months ending with 1865 he had received 50,019,0001., which is more than the time-quarters' revenue by 563,0001. The energy of the collectors in the last quarter Will nearly raise this to a million. The promise of Austria to reduce her minimum import duty on our manufactures below 25 per cent., in case of our making some concessions to her exports on our side, renders it likely that Mr. Gladstone will dispose of his surplus for next year in a manner already semi-Officially men- tioned in Vienna,—by reducing the duty on light Hungarian wines exported in the bottle, by some modification of the timber duties2 and probably by knocking off the shilling a quarter still paid upon corn, which now yields us 800,000/.
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