The Revenue accounts for the year and quarter, compared with
those that have recently appeared, are satisfactory. They still, indeed, exhibit strong signs of the national depression. There is still a decrease on the year in the Customs, Excise, Stamps, and Taxes ; and, excluding the casual source of Chinese contribution included in Miscellaneous, and the extraordinary source of Property-tax, the deficiency on the year is 1,675,055/. There is not, however, a real falling-off in the productive power of the revenue to that extent : the Income-tax was established, not only to make good an actual deficiency, but to meet the temporary effect anticipated from the first reduction of duties under the new Tariff. The Income-tax performs its part : there has already been collected 3,317,9971., which stands as increase on the year, and on the quarter 861,709/. The Tariff also performs its part, and helps the reviving trade of the country ; so that, although there is a decrease on the quarter in the Stamps and Taxes, in the more important branches—Customs and Excise—there is an increase of 135,015/. and 140,013/. respectively. While there is a slight decrease in the Post-office on the quarter, the year shows a much larger amount of increase. Without pluming ourselves on the 800,000/. which the Chinese send us it is a lucky accident, which helps to swell the increase of the Miscellaneous to 1,080,214/. on the year and 849,767/. on the quarter. The general result is, that the neat increase on the year is 2,442,9421., on the quarter the proportionately larger sum of 1,701,532/. This is no return to national prosperity ; but there are plain indications that the tide has turned. The quarter's increase on the Excise and Customs is a gratifying test, not only of the reviving power of consumption in the people, but of the satisfactory working of the reduced Tariff; confirming our conviction that the sound parts of the PEEL policy are best tried by their own success.
