answer, however, to any taunt about the | in 1867 that it would cost £3,500,000. cost of Education is that, if a legacy His Colleague, the present First Lord of at all, it is one from both political Parties, not from ours only. As to Army Purchase, the answer is simple. We spent in 1872-3 on this account £946,000. The Vote in the present Estimates is £500,000. The highest Estimate of the charge for Retirements under the Commissioners' scheme is two-thirds of £500,000 or £330,000. The heaviest "legacy" is therefore £830,000 a-year, or £116,000 less than we paid. the Admiralty, in 1868 assured us that £5,000,000 would be the outside charge. It actually cost £8,300,000, of which they paid £4,000,000, leaving us to find £4,300,000. Whose was the "legacy" here? Take, again, the purchase of the Telegraphs. This was vaunted as the great exploit of right hon. Gentlemen opposite. On the second reading of the Bill, the present First Lord of the Admiralty undertook that it should cost between £3,000,000 and £4,000,000. It actually cost £8,980,000; so that we had to find £5,500,000 more than the So, again, as to Pensions Commutation. Under our Act the whole principal is to be repaid in 10 years. A pen-estimate of our Predecessors. Was not sioner's life averaging 18 years, the immediate charge was thus nearly doubled. But the relief commences in 1879, and you will steadily reap its advantages. The scheme of Naval Retirement entailed an immediate increase in charge to the extent of £54,000 a-year. But of this, £30,000 has already come off; and the reduction would have been much more but for increases of pay. There was, therefore, no "legacy" here. Nor is the result different in reference to Army Localization. The cost of this was in 1873-4 £250,000. It has never exceeded that amount since. So, again, as to the great Dockyard extensions. Like the Civil Works and Buildings, to which I have already referred, far less is paid now than under the late Government. Vote No. 11 of the Navy Estimates in 1868-9 was £749,000. It has steadily declined since, and is now £545,000. The advances to the Irish Church Commissioners afford another striking instance of the late Government bearing to the utmost the cost of their measures. These advances do not, it is true, directly affect Consolidated Fund operations, but they had to be provided out of the resources of the Chancellor of the Exchequer. I find that the maximum amount £8,200,000-was provided before the end of 1873, and that the process of repayment to the Government is the only one since in operation. There was, therefore, no legacy of expenditure here. But are these the only "legacies" recently left by one Government to another? What will my right hon. Friend say about the Abyssinian Expedition? We were promised by Lord Beaconsfield this a "legacy of expenditure?" But the process is still going on. It seems to be the settled policy of the present Government to get credit for popular financial schemes, but to postpone the charges for them to as late a date as possible. Take the plan for relieving local burdens brought forward in 1874. It was proposed with a great flourish of trumpets as coming into operation at once; but during the Session it was found that the Estimates under other items were going to be exceeded; so a large amount of the original Vote was withdrawn, and fell on the following year. So as to the Prison Bills. They were brought forward early in 1876; but the first charge under them will not arise before the year 1878-9. The soldier, again, was to be paid much better; and great were the praises of the Secretary of State for War. Twopence a-day, it is true, is added to his pay, but it is "deferred "-that is to say, will be paid by future Governments; a real "legacy of expenditure," if there ever was one. But there is one scheme of this character, which far exceeds in magnitude all the others put togetherI mean what is called the New Sinking Fund. I must confess that it is popular in the country and in this House, in spite of all our arguments on this Bench, and I am not going to re-open the controversy; but what does it propose to do? Assuming that we are now paying an insufficient sum towards the reduction of the National Debt, it makes a permanent appropriation for this purpose. During the first 10 years the sum to be paid over to the National Debt Commissioners was to commence at £275,000 and rise to £960,000, the average being £680,000. But during the following 20 per annum. What was the cas years-if the Act stands unrepealedthese payments will commence at £4,090,000, and rise to £12,995,000, the average being £6,200,000. Was there ever a greater "legacy of expenditure" than the appropriation to a particular purpose of these large sums in the distant future; putting it out of the power of the Finance Minister of the day to apply them to the reduction of taxation? the late Government? In five I have dealt, I hope conclusively, with my right hon. Friend's two charges against us-that we burdened the taxpayer as much as he had, and that we left him heavy legacies of expenditure. I will now offer to the House a few remarks on the great claim which, in his speech, he set up for dealing successfully with the National Debt. The Chancellor of the Exchequer says "We have kept up the public credit by a systematic reduction of Debt;" and this boast has been repeated and enforced, with considerable effect, by his supporters in the country. I undertake to prove that for this there is not a shadow of foundation; that, in spite of the parade of a second Sinking Fund, little, or no, impression has been made on the Debt by the present Go-plied about £5,800,000 a-year to vernment; but that, on the contrary, they have made things pleasant by stopping its reduction, and increasing loans from the Exchequer to local authorities, and other borrowing institutions. I am sorry to have to dispel a popular delusion shared by some Gentlemen who sit on this side of the House, but I will do so conclusively. What was the amount of the Debt, Funded and Unfunded, including the capital value of the Terminable Annuities on the 1st April, 1874 ? I take the figures from my right hon. Friend's speech. The Funded and Unfunded Debt amounted together to £727,993,000; they stand now at £726,293,000. The capital of the Terminable Annuities stood, when the Government took office at £51,290,000; it stands now at £49,297,000. The whole Debt was £779,283,000 then, and is £775,590,000 now-giving a reduction of under £3,700,000. But the Exchequer balances have, to effect even this small reduction, been diminished by £1,454,000; so that the net reduction of Debt in three years has been only £2,240,000, or at the rate of £747,000 reduction of Debt, we, according to same method of calculation, have app £9,900,000 a-year, or excluding the cellation of the Chancery and Bankrup Funds, about £8,500,000. All this gr edifice of a systematic and incres Reduction-of-Debt policy crumbles t away at the touch of criticism. £747, a-year is the real measure of your formance against £5,780,000 a-y effected by us. And I see but few si of improvement. Instead of diminishi you are increasing your loans of w might otherwise go to the reduction Debt. Last year you lent £3,432,0 This year you propose to lend £4,000,0 besides loans in Ireland. But what happen if the country should sudder find itself in need of greatly increas expenditure-say, in the event of wa The reduction of Debt can be, of cour stopped in a moment, and £5,000,000 £6,000,000 a-year might have been th at once at our disposal, in aid of wha ever taxation may be imposed. But yo cannot at once stop an extensive syste of loans. They are, of course, made i instalments, which must be paid pun tually, whatever may be the needs of the Exchequer. I hesitate, therefore, to accept this popular plan of lending money which ought to go to pay our debts, as a satisfactory substitute for the former policy. I supported the Government in reforming the antiquated systems under which local authorities exercised their borrowing powers, and in the policy which brings these loans annually under the view of Parliament. But it does not follow that we are to be the sole or the chief lenders; and I hope that my right hon. Friend will pause, even at the expense of popularity, in this dangerous course. I have now, Sir, reviewed in, I hope, no captious spirit the Budget policy of the Government and our financial position. I have endeavoured to state the figures accurately; and if I have made any error, I shall gladly accept correction. Giving my right hon. Friend credit for many of his measures, and for his own and his Department's exertions to keep down expenditure, I have shown that all is not as satisfactory, that our prospects are not as rose-coloured, as he has painted them to us. I have pointed out the dangers of a falling revenue, which at the present time would seri ously shake the public confidence. I have again shown that while the present Government have increased expenditure and taxation, their Predecessors largely diminished both, and left to their Successors a full Exchequer; that the charge, on the other hand, of our having left large legacies of expenditure, was perfectly unfounded; that in regard to nothing, except the Education Vote, had we not borne our full share; while we had to meet enormous legacies of charges due to the miscalculations and bad management of those whom we succeeded in 1868; but above all, I have demolished, I hope for ever, the myth about the reduction of the National Debt. I have demonstrated that, after the boast and parade of the New Sinking Fund, the Debt, during the administration of the present Chancellor of the Exchequer, has hardly been touched; while there has been substituted, for the former systematic reduction of £5,000,000 or £6,000,000 a-year, a policy of making things pleasant for the moment with would-be-borrowers from the State, which may seriously imperil our finances when the first strain on them, the first serious emergency, has to be met. A TABLE OF ALL THE STATUTES PASSED IN THE FOURTH SESSION OF THE TWENTY-FIRST PARLIAMENT OF THE UNITED KINGDOM OF GREAT BRITAIN AND IRELAND. 40 & 41 VICTORIA.-A.D. 1877. 1. PUBLIC GENERAL ACTS. AN Act to apply the sum of Three hun. 12. An Act to apply the sum of five million dred and fifty thousand pounds out of the Consolidated Fund to the service of the year ending the thirty-first day of March one thousand eight hundred and seventy-seven. 2. An Act to provide for the preparation, issue, and payment of Treasury Bills, and make further provision respecting Exchequer Bills. 3. An Act to amend the Publicans' Certificates (Scotland) Act, 1876. 4. An Act to amend the Law relating to the granting of Licences for the sale of Beer, Ale, and Porter in Ireland. 5. An Act to raise the sum of Seven hundred thousand pounds by Exchequer Bills or Exchequer Bonds for the service of the year ending on the 31st day of March one thousand eight hundred and seventy-seven. 6. An Act to apply certain sums out of the Consolidated Fund to the service of the years ending on the thirty-first day of March one thousand eight hundred and seventy-six, one thousand eight hundred and seventy-seven, and one thousand eight hundred and seventyeight. 7. An Act for punishing Mutiny and Desertion, and for the better payment of the Army and their Quarters. 8. An Act for the Regulation of Her Majesty's Royal Marine Forces while on shore. 9. An Act for amending the Supreme Court of Judicature Acts, 1873 and 1875. 10. An Act to authorise the continuance of the Charge heretofore payable on certain Offices, Annuities, Pensions, and Allowances. 11. An Act to make provision with respect to Judicial proceedings in certain cases relating to Rating. nine hundred thousand pounds out of the Consolidated Fund to the service of the year ending the thirty-first day of March one thousand eight hundred and seventy-eight. 13. An Act to grant certain Duties of Customs and Inland Revenue, and to amend the Laws relating to Customs, Inland Revenue, and Savings Banks. 14. An Act for the Amendment of the Law of Evidence in certain cases of Misdemeanor. 15. An Act to amend the Public Libraries Act (Ireland), 1855. 16. An Act to facilitate the removal of Wrecks obstructing Navigation. 17. An Act to amend the Law relating to the Division of Courts of Quarter Sessions in Boroughs. 18. An Act to consolidate and amend the Law 19. An Act to grant Money for the purpose of 22. An Act to amend the General Police and 23. An Act to make better provision respecting fortifications, works, buildings, and land situate in a Colony, and held for the defence of the Colony. 24. An Act to apply the sum of twenty million pounds out of the Consolidated Fund to the service of the year ending the thirty-first day | 46. An Act to extend the provisions of the of March one thousand eight hundred and seventy-eight. 25. An Act for regulating the Examination of persons applying to be admitted Solicitors of the Supreme Court of Judicature in England, and for otherwise amending the Law relating to Solicitors. 26. An Act to amend the Companies Acts of 1862 and 1867. 27. An Act to grant Money for the purposes of Loans by the Commissioners of Public Works in Ireland, and to remit certain Loans, and to amend the Law relating to Loans for public purposes by the Commissioners of Public Works in Ireland. 28. An Act to amend the Laws relating to Game in Scotland. 29. An Act for the protection of the Property of Married Women in Scotland. 30. An Act for enabling a further Sum to be raised for the purposes of the Telegraph Acts, 1868 to 1870. 31. An Act to give further facilities to Landowners of limited interests in England and Wales and Ireland to charge their estates with the expenses of constructing Reservoirs for the storage of Water, and other similar purposes. 32. An Act to remit certain Loans formerly made out of the Consolidated Fund or other Public Revenue of the United Kingdom. 33. An Act to amend the Law as to Contingent Remainders. 34. An Act to amend the Acts seventeenth and eighteenth Victoria, chapter one hundred and thirteen, and thirtieth and thirty-first Victoria, chapter sixty-nine. 35. An Act for affording Facilities for the enjoyment by the Public of Open Spaces in the Metropolis. 36. An Act to amend "The Registration of Leases (Scotland) Act, 1857." 37. An Act for extending the Time for the Registration of Trade Marks, in so far as relates to Trade Marks used in Textile Industries. 38. An Act to continue for One Year the Board of Education in Scotland. 39. An Act to amend the Factors' Acts. 40. An Act to amend the Form of Warrant of Execution on certain Extracts of Writs registered in the Books of Council and Session and Sheriff Court Books in Scotland; and to provide for the Authentication of certain Extracts of Writs. 41. An Act for making Provision with respect to the Preparation and Authentication of Commissions and other Documents issued from the Office of the Clerk of the Crown in Chancery; and for other purposes. 42. An Act to amend the Law relating to the Fisheries of Oysters, Crabs, and Lobsters, and other Sea Fisheries. 43. An Act to amend the Law with respect to the Appointment, Payment, and Fees of Clerks of Justices of the Peace and Clerks of Special and Petty Sessions. 44. An Act to make provision respecting the Superannuation Allowance of Officers whose Salaries were formerly payable out of the Mercantile Marine Fund. 45. An Act to limit and regulate the Treasury Chest Fund. Winter Assizes Act, 1876. 47. An Act for the Union under one Government of such of the South African Colonies and States as may agree thereto, and for the Government of such Union; and for purposes connected therewith. 48. An Act to make further Provision respecting the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge and the Colleges therein. 49. An Act to amend the Law relating to Prisons in Ireland. 50. An Act to amend the Law in regard to the appointment of Sheriffs Substitute and Procurators Fiscal in Scotland; to extend the jurisdiction of and amend the procedure in the Sheriff Courts of Scotland; and for certain 51. An Act to enable the Secretary of State in other purposes connected therewith. Council of India to raise Money in the United Kingdom for the Service of the Government of India. 52. An Act for further amending the Acts relating to the raising of Money by the Metropolitan Board of Works; and for other purposes relating thereto. 53. An Act to amend the Law relating to Prisons in Scotland. 54. An Act to amend the Public Libraries Acts. 55. An Act to amend the Public Record Office Act, 1838. 56. An Act to amend the Laws relating to County Officers and to Courts of Quarter Sessions and Civil Bill Courts in Ireland. 57. An Act for the constitution of a Supreme Court of Judicature, and for other purposes relating to the better Administration of Justice, in Ireland. 58. An Act to continue for one year the Police (Expenses) Act, 1875. 59. An Act to amend the Law with respect to the Transfer of Stock forming part of the Public Debt of any Colony, and the Stamp Duty on such Transfer. 60. An Act to provide for the Registration and Regulation of Canal Boats used as Dwellings. 61. An Act to apply a sum out of the Consolidated Fund to the service of the year ending the thirty-first day of March one thousand eight hundred and seventy-eight, and to appropriate the Supplies granted in this Session of Parliament. 62. An Act to amend the Law relating to Legal Practitioners. 63. An Act to amend the Building Societies Act, 1874. 64. An Act to continue certain Turnpike Acts in Greal Britain, and to repeal certain other Turnpike Acts; and for other purposes connected therewith. 65. An Act to prohibit the use of Dynamite or other Explosives for the purpose of catching or destroying Fish in Public Fisheries. 66. An Act to amend the Law with respect to the Annual Returns of Local Taxation in England, and for other purposes relating to such Taxation. 67. An act to continue various expiring Laws, 68. An Act for preventing the introduction and spreading of Insects destructive to Crops. 69. An Act to amend the Law with respect to the Grant of Municipal Charters. |