Richmond Enquirer

The Budget.—On Friday evening, the Chancellor of the Exchequer brought in his financial statement. He began by stating that the receipts for the year ending the 5th of July, were 45,914,586l. The expenditure 44,737,556l. Leaving a surplus of income over expenditure to the amount of 2,177,030l.

The committee would at once be aware that this amount of surplus of income over expenditure was larger than any that it had hitherto been his satisfaction to state to the House, (Great cheering) After going into extensive detail, as to the state of the finances, he adverted to the surplus on which he had calculated last year. He admitted that it was less than his estimate, but the diminution was partly occasioned by demands that had not been calculated upon; as charges on account of Navarino; £100,000 to pay off seamen, &c. He continued, however, of opinion, that appropriating surplus to the reduction of taxes, instead of maintaining sinking fund, was advisable.—

Still he had found that it was requisite for the interest of the country,—to be tolerably sure of a surplus. He calculated on possessing a surplus of 1,620,000, and that he should gain £160,000, by advancing 50 per cent. upon the licenses of retail spirit dealers, and £35,000 on beer licenses. The present beer license duty is 2l. where the beer is not consumed on the premises, and £3 3s. where it is consumed on the premises.

He thus had a total surplus of 1,815,000. He proposed to use this surplus in the repeal of the House Tax (previously determined upon) which would be £1,200,000

The reduction that would be effected by Mr. P. Thompson's "Customs' Duties" Bill, now before Parliament, would be 200,000 He proposed to repeal the duties on starch, amount 75,000, on stone bottles and sweets, amount £6,000; and on almanacks, amount £25,000. He also named many small reductions in the assessed taxes— namely, the duty on a riding-horse used by small farmers; the window tax on the houses of small farms; the duty on servants under 18 years of age; the duty on a horse kept by a clergyman, of any persuasion, where the income did not exceed £120, &c. The whole reductions of these small assessed taxes he estimated at 15,000. The sum total of the reductions would be 1,551,000. Besides these reductions, he proposed to lower the duty on spirits in Ireland, from 3s. 4d. to 2s. 4d., for the purpose of more effectually checking the illicit distillation. His Lordship said, besides being able to make these reductions, the revenue would meet the interest (which will be £400,000 for the portion of the financial year) on the £20,000,000 that had been listed to effect the abolition of Negro Slavery—a work that had astonished other countries, as that sacrifice had gone hand in hand with the reduction of taxation.

An extended and desultory discussion followed. The Chancellor of the Exchequer, in reply to the observations of different Members, added that he should be glad to repeal the duty on glass, if the revenue could afford it; that he should also propose to reduce the stamps on publications, could the revenue spare 450,000l; and that there was no increase of the unfunded debt.