BRITISH BUDGET DEBATE.

Manawatu Times, Volume LXV, Issue 1903, 24 April 1913, Page 5

BRITISH BUDGET DEBATE.

INDUSTRY HUMMING. GREAT LEAP IN REVENUE. Pmw Itsn—Bj Telegraph—Copyright London, April 23. The House of Commons wai crowded for the Budget debate. Mr Lloyd George, in the course of his speech, said that during the year every domicile of industry had been doing humming business, despite the harvest of war and strikes. In consequence of the increase in the navy estimates and the Insurance Act he wanted an extra seven and a half millions, but new taxes were not necessary. He was basing his forecast on the assumption that the prospects for the coming year were the most glowing British trade had ever seen. He expected that the yields from the taxes, customs and excise duties with a million from the Exchequer balances, would give a balance of 4185,000 for the new Budget. The revenue was £196,825,000, and the expenditure £195,140,000.

THE OUTLOOK. Received 9.5 p.m. London, April 33. The Budget speech was uneventful and brief. It stated that the overseas trade had reached its highest point and the Home trade was the heaviest on record. The coal strike caused a loss of revenue of £550,000, while the witnholding of stocks of tea, sugar and tobacco in anticipation of reductions of dutv deprived the revenue of £450,000. Although eight million gallons less of spirits were consumed in the last four years, the higher duties produced an increase of two millions last year. The expenditure exceeded the estimate by £4,671,000, due chiefly to unforeseen naval increases and additional medical remuneration under the Insurance Bill. The expenditure of nearly every country had rushed up alarmingly through the growth of armaments, and there were small prospects of retarding this. It was confidently felt that the normal growth would meet the increased expenditure of 1913, with the exception of £815,000, which would be met by taking a million of unspent money. The Admiralty in 1912 anticipated increases from spirits and beer of £923,000, from tea and sugar of £619,000, and from tobacco of £905,000. The National Debt was being decreased by twelve million annually. It was proposed to reinstitute in practice two finance bills, one dealing with taxes and the other with amendments to the law. CRITICISMS AN OVER SANGUINE MAN. Mr Austen Chamberlain said he viewed with anxiety the fact tiiat the Government was not profiting by the good times, but was spending every penny, mortgaging every penny of the further income, and not. increasing the reserve to meet bad times. He criticised the disappointing land value duty, which yielded £90,000 beiow the estimate in two years. The old sinking fund wuk roDbed of three millions to provide for commitments.

He agreed that the armament expenditure was bevond the Government's control, but said the case was different in regard to civil matters. The expenditure on old age pensions had proved double the amount estimated. Something similar occurred in connection with the Insurance Bill. He hoped the Government would consider the severance of the insurance administration from the Treasury. The Chancellor, he said, was over ranguine regarding the estimates of 11)13.