THE BRITISH BUDGET.

Mataura Ensign, 1 July 1911, Page 8

THE BRITISH BUDGET.

PAYMENT OP MEMBERS. Tn the House of Commons on May 16 W e ° rge < Ch ancellor of the Excheque!) presented the Budget. The following 18 the speech in brief:- : the revenue items exceeded the estimate last year except sugar and ihe surplus on March 31 last for the tflo pievious years was £5,607,000. If Wted' i? rS ol i W me tax llad been riTt \ ve been 8 * millions. l -nn f ";' 1S Used :us follows: wo'Z, Sa " aloriii for £2-j() 0U() loan at 3.. per cent t c da and East%Vfrica. fi'-S-'linn th ? Devel °PPent m ent Fund. £i,30,,]i()0 to the Old Sinking Fund pi (relief of debt). r J he items of expenditure this vear include; —

£300,000 for the Coronation. f + l ° ld " age P ens ions. '" 6 " e,v £2,000,000 Sa "" e " f I am reckoning on a "sunny year," with good harvests and good trade. . s "l»er-tax will yield £3,000,000. hilT f'+i 01 Vi per ceut ' in tlie dunk bill of the nation is allowed for T° f f pil ' its dim 'nished by nrtfWrm • ga J lias 3'ielded £1,800,000 more in duty. The death-rate lust yem* \ri« p VP o n tionaHy low, 6.4 less than the average of the three previous years, and the death duties yie lded 6 per cent. less than the estimate.

Ministers and paid officials (the Speaket, Deputy-Speaker, etc.) of the House, numbering 38 in all, will not receive the £4OO a year. For short-term bonds the stamp duty, in uf S 1 Pf r cent " will be only oneeighth (2s 6d) for a year, one-fourth (ss) for two or three years. The present 1 per cent, has practically cut off these short-term American bonds from the iiondon market.

I believe.that the Navy expenditure has reached its climax.