REVENUE AND EXPENDITURE. (From the Times, Feb. 18.)

New Zealander, Volume 7, Issue 511, 2 July 1851, Page 3

REVENUE AND EXPENDITURE. (From the Times, Feb. 18.)

We may as well satisfy at once the curiosity of our readers as to the contents of the Chancellor of the Exchequer's budget for the year ending April 5, 1852. Sir Charles, finding that lie may expect a surplus of £1,892,000 for that year, proposes the following measures : —The repeal of the window-tax, and the substitution of a moderate houso-tax on the better class of houses ; a reduction of the duty on foreign timber; a repeal of that on foreign agricultural seed ; a reduction and equalization of the duties on foreign and colonial coffoo, as well as on chicory ; a removal of the cost of pauper lunatics, a 9 well as of the approaching census, from the local rates to the Consolidated Fund ; another lease of the income-tax for three years, without nny modification ; and the application of about £1,000,000 of next yeai's surplus to the reduction oE the National Debt. As there still remain seven weeks of tho financial year, it is only possible as yet to give an approximate statement of its income and expenditure. The former promises to be considerably greater, the latter considerably less, than Sir Cliailes ventured to anticipate in his financial speech of the 15th of March last. Ilencu tho surplus, which he then estimated at a million and a half, and which he paitly disposed of, will, nevertheless, probably be found next April 5 to be about £2,391,000. His estimate of the income for the year ending April 5, 1852, is necessarily founded on the latest returns of the revenue, taking into account the recent reductions, and various other modifying circumstances. It is as follows: — Customs £20,400,000 Excise 14,000,000 Sumps 0,310,000 Taxes 4,348,000 Propeity Tax 5,380,000 Post Office 830,000 Crown Lands 160,000 Miscellaneous • 262,000 Old Stoics, &c 450,000 £52,140,000 The estimated expenditure for the satue year is as follows: — Charge for the Fund,ed Debt, including

Anmnln-s , £'2,7,6V>\WW Inteiest of Kxcl oquei-hlls 404 000 Civil Li'-t ami ollioi c!i. rges 2,000,000 Army, including Comniiabanat <>,^9 5/M5 Navy (; f l>l7,or>'> Onln.uci «,'121,171 Miscellaneous, including Consua 4,0.i0,000 £.00,217,171 Estimated Surplus 1,892,82«> This surplus, in round numbeis ,£1,890,000 Sir Champs Wood wishes to nial»o the most of. He is also vpiy excusably desirous to dispose of it in his own way, and without n too servile compliance with the demand* of his numerous persecutors. His ideas of good final - ml husbindiy have not penniitcd him to spend it in remitting a third of the income-tax,which is almost as far as it would have gone in that direction. After consideiing the income-tax in every possiolo light, and turning over all borts of propositions for its more rquitablo adjustmonl, tho only conclusion he has come to is that ir it, so harmoniously unjust, and so symmetrically wrong, that any attemp* to inafeo it fairer would only lemlei it more flagmntly unjust. For our own pait, it seems the simplest thing in tho world to levy a different rate on tho different schedules. As it is necessaty to divide income into classes for the purposo of taxation, and as tho^e classes repiesont tho greatest actual differences—differences which evojybody fuels, we do not see why the Chancellor of the Exchequer should not recogmzo a classification made to Ins hind. The public feds the difference, and Sir CiiAiu,rs Wood may depend on it that tho receipts of the tax aro very largely affected by that feeling, peihaps almost as much as if tin 1 difference were recognized. Professional men and tradesmen, and all who live by spinning the contents of their biams, are satisfied that theie is a deep injustic in taxing those brains, which to-monow may be dust or desolation, as if thoy were broad acres that hare drunk in the sunshine and tho rain over since the creation, and will to the "crack o' doom." The icsiilt of this genpnl feeling is that people will capitalize their incomes, after rules of their own, or get off the tax altogether. Now, if Sir C'iiahlis Wood, who is open to discussion ontLe mode of assessment under Schedule B, would also lalie it into consideration whether 4d. or 5(1. in the pound would not harmonize better with the actual value of the incomes under Schedule D, we think he might, not improbably, allay a deep sense of injustice, without much sacrifice of revenue. We really believe that many men would readily pay a tax adjusted to their case, who now feel no hesitation in avoiding a tax which they think wholly ahoce it. That the income-tax, however, is full of injustice, is confessed by the present ridiculous, not to say cowardly, practico of voting it tnonnially, notwithstanding the increasing determination of our ftee-tmde financiers to keep on the blister as long as the patient will bear it. A discussion would necessaiily bi ing out the anomalies and hardships of lh» tax, so a discussion is to be avoided by a continual adjournment to this day three years} though if we are to wait till we have a surplus large enough to dispense with the tax altogether, that day, it is cloar, will never come. '/' To a mind so keenly susceptible.»oL TirifWetical beauty, it must have been a very .sovo fcwal not to set the surplus against the window-tax, and snve all further trouble about tho budget. We will ventuio to say, that had Sir Charles done so, it would have been thought as gi and an idea as the Crystal Palace, or any other wonder of the nirc The estimated suiplus is about £1,890,001), and the pioduco of the window-tax is stated to be £l,8J6,0t)(). What an opportunity of doing the thing neatly ! Sir Charles, however, is pi oof against the temptation. lie proposes, indeed, the enlue repeal of the window-tax, so that no tax shall hereafter attach to any house in relation to its windows. As it is his view, however, that the objection lies rather against tho mode of assessment than against the principle of a tax upon residences, and as he wants to do a little execution in some other departments of the revenue, he proposes to lay on a house tax, but of a very different amount to that which existed piior to 1833. The house tax then was at the rate of Is. 6d. in the pound on rental of £10 and under £20, —25. 3d. on £20 and under £40,—and 2s. lOd. on £40 per annum and upwards; aud producod in the last year of its existence ,£1,491,472. From that impost house properly was altogether relieved, and it has since been further exempted from the glass duty, brick duty, and partially from, that on timber. It is now proposed that houses shall be charged as follows: —All now paying window-tax, but not of the annual value of £20, to be entirely exempt. All not now paying wmdow-tax, but of the annual value of £20 or upwards, to pay twothirds of the lowest window-tax, viz., 12s. All of the annual value of £W and upwards, now paying windowtax, to pay two-thirds of the amount now paid for win-dow-tax. New houses to pay at the rate of Is. in the pound on their annual value, but if they be occupied as shops, public-houses, or farm-houses, 9d. in the pound only. Notwithstanding tho elaborate symmetry of this plan, it is far fiom meeting all the difficulties of the case, and still further fiom satisfying the ardent gentlemen who have lately devoted themselves to the emancipation of light. But as the discussion threatens to be rather minute, we gladly leave it to its own proper time. As it is calculated that 120,000 houses will, on the above scheme, pay neither window nor house tax, and as 1 be remainder will on the average pay only two thirds of the present impost, Sir Charles expects to lose only £700,000 by the scheme, and to raise £1,155,000 by his future house tax. This will, therefore, leave £i, 189,000 of the next yeai's estimated surplus at libeity for further reductions. It is sufficient, in this place, to state very briefly the reductions which have found favour in Sir Charles's discriminating eyes. With a aplendid equahly oj justice he proposes to i educe tho duty on foreign and colonial coffee, ns also oa chicory —which Sir Charles dnes not grow —and on every other root used or mixed with coffee, to an uniform level of 3d. a pound. This reduction of duty will cost £176,0^0. It is then proposed to reduce the duty on foreign timber to halt its present umount, viz., that upon sawn timber from 20s. to 10s., nnd that upon hewn timber fi om 15s. to 7s. 6d. Tin's will cost £286,000. Next comes a duty on clover, grass, and other agricultural seeds, which has been already reduced, with very great benefit to fanners, but which still remains to an amount very incompatible with the principle of lotting raw inateiials in free. It is to be reduced to a nominal amount at the trilling cost of £30,000. A portion of the expenses of pauper lunatics throughout the United Kingdom will be charged on the Consolidated Fund, to the amount of £130,000. Tim reductions thus to come into effect dm ing the next year, will be— On Sugar £330,000 On Windows 700,000 On Coffee 176,000 Or. Timber 286,000 Oa Seeds 30,000 Gain to the Public .... £1,522,000 But as Sir Charles anticipates that the loss by tie first of these items will be compensated by the general improvement of the revenue, and as the reduction in coffee and timber will to some extent be made up, it is hoped that the revenue will not really lose more than £1,130,000 by these reductions, which, after the chaige for pauper lunatics has been further added, will leave a surplus for future yeai sof £612,000. As half a year's window-tax will come into next yeai's account, this surplus in Apnl 5, 1852, will be jg962,000. Need wo ask what is to be done with this? As honest men, in the midst of all these reductions, we are bound to remember that we are in debt, and Sir Charles, we aie glud to say does lemember it. After ha\ing increased our debt £27,000,000 since the year 18S3, wo cannot with decency eat up the whole of our surplus ourselves, and give no thought for posterity. We must be just befoie we aie generous, aud still more before we aie selfish. There aie those, vre know, who think it lost labour to attempt any impression on the mountain of our national debt; hut at least let us escape the stigma of often adding, and never subtracting from it.

The OncyirsiiiA or alt. Nations. —According to the Exhibition Express, musical instruments will occupy about 3400 feet at tho Exhibition. "No class of musicul instruments," says our contemporary, "will, we believe, be unrepresented;" so that, fiom the Brobdign.igian organ to the Lihputian penny whistle, we shall have a collection of all the armoury of Ori'iilus. 'ihe Jew will coninbute his harp, the Chinese his gong, the Ethiopian (serenader) hia banjo and his bones, and Mr. Punch will, of couise, send his drum and Pandean pipes. Thus will be colleoted tho materials of an ochestra, comprising every species of instrument in the world, since not even the Scotch bagpipe will be excluded. There is no sense at alljin showing musical instruments, unless the sense of hearing is appealed to ; therefore these must, of couise, be played, if any idea is to be giTOii oi their incuts. In oidei that their respective powers may bo exhibited at once, it will be necessaiy that each should play a different tune at the same time; which will producea conceit veiy appropriate to a World's Fan ; but which, we are afraid, it will not bq possible exactly to doscnbc as the Harmony of AU Nations. —Punch,