The English Budget.

Auckland Star, Volume XIX, Issue 3958, 7 April 1883, Page 2

The English Budget.

The Bight Hon, Mr CMldors, in delivering bis Budget speech as Chancellor of tho Exchequer on Thursday night in the Houee of Commons, had an uncommonly pleasant

and easy task if wo are to judge of tho wholo speech by the brlof summary of its leading features which we bavo recoived, He had to report a substantial surplus on the past year's revenue/ of £125,000, and he was enabled, on account of expected great reductions in the expenditure for the ensuing year, to promise certain remissions ;of taxation. A Chancellor's duty in these circumstances must be a truly plcasuroable one as contrasted with the task set before him when there is a serious deficiency in the estimate^ and ho has to hatch up some plan whereby the necessary revenue may be raised without in any way barrassing the tax-paying public or any section of them. Everybody remembers the storm of opposition that tho Hon. "Bob" Lowe encountered a number of yoars ago, when ho attempted to recruit tho empty Treasury by a tax upon matches. The Budgot announcements of Mr Guilders have doubtless boen received with widely-dittercnt feolings. Though tho present condition of affairs might be supposed to render very light the task of framing a financial policy, and Mr Childcrs might therefore have been quite well relied upon to do so singlehanded, yet there are certain strokes of genius or of happy inspiration about the Budget proposals which make it not improbable that the master mind of Mr Gladatone has been exercised upon them. Of thejoatimatcd surplus, it is proposed to devote £17,000 to tho reduction of tho cost of tolcgrams from a shilling to sixpence — this being one of those wise strokes which are almost certain to result in a gain instoad of a loss to tho Exchequer. Then tho interests of the bulk of tbo people are consulted iv tho provision for abolishing tho railway passenger duty on all fares of a penny a milo, while the duty on higher faros will bo charged only at the rate of two per cont, As if this wcro not enough ot popular concession, that heartily-hated imposition, tho lncomo Tax, is to be lightened by the sum of 1 Jd, which will be welcome news to the monoyed and trading classe*. After doing all this there still remain!) a balanco of £24,000 to carry forward to the credit of tho year 1883-84. Dospito all that has been heard about tho dullness of trade and tho decline of British agriculture; despite a semi-Insurrection iv Ireland, cauting a partial paralysis of commerce and cultivation ; and despite tho ravages of storms, and tho heavy cost of tho war in Egypt, tho condition of tho United Kingdom, financially considered, is still sound and healthy, her revenues clastic, and her people able to bear nil tho burdens imposed upon them. This is what the Budget speech of Mr Childors discloses as to the state of tho United Kingdom, and all who lovo the prosperity of the dear old laud will rejoice thereat.