330 



GREAT BRITAIN. 



been pending for so long a time with the Brit- 

 ish Secretary of Foreign affairs, Lord Stanley, 

 for the settlement of the Alabama and other 

 claims, held by our Government against Great 

 Britain. He found the British Government far 

 more ready to adjust these claims on liberal 

 terms than they had formerly been : the con- 

 viction prevailing that, in the event of a war 

 between Great Britain and any other power, 

 the following of her precedent by the United 

 States would ruin her commerce. Mr. John- 

 son, however, somewhat injudiciously courted 

 the society of Mr. Laird, the builder of the 

 Alabama and Shenandoah, and of Mr. Roebuck, 

 and other prominent enemies of the United 

 States Government, apparently preferring as- 

 sociation with them to the society of those who 

 had been the stanch friends of the United 

 States during the war ; and, having thus excited 

 prejudice against himself, he negotiated a treaty 

 which was entirely unsatisfactory to his own 

 Government, and was rejected subsequently by 

 the United States Senate. 



The Fenians did not attempt any further 

 demonstrations of importance during the year, 

 and, at the earnest solicitation of our Govern- 

 ment, some of those who had been arrested, 

 tried, and convicted of participation in the in- 

 surrection, and who had a quasi claim on the 

 United States for protection, were respited, 

 their punishment commuted, and in two or 

 three instances they were pardoned. 



We subjoin our usual statistics. 



I. FINANCES: 1. Revenue and Expenditure. 

 The gross revenue for the year ending March 

 31, 1868, was 69,600,218 4s. Id. = $348,001,- 

 091. The gross expenditure for the same peri- 

 od was 71,766,241 17s. 7d. = $358,831,209.50. 

 Of the revenue, 22,650,000 = $113,250,000, 

 was from customs ; 20,162,000 = $100,810,- 

 000, from excise duties ; 9,541,000 = $47,705,- 

 000, from stamps; 3,509,000 = $17,545,000, 

 from land and assessed taxes; 6,177,000 = 

 $30,885,000, from property tax ; 4,630,000 = 

 $23,150,000, from the post-office ; 345,000 = 

 $1,725,000, the net proceeds of the crown 

 lands; and 2,586,218 4s. Id. = $12,931,091, 

 from miscellaneous sources. 



Of the Expenditure, 96,571,750 Is. 9d. = 

 $132,858,750.44, was for the interest and man- 

 agement of the permanent and floating debts 

 of the Government; 1,893,898 3s. 5d. = 

 $9,469,490.85, was for the civil list, salaries, 

 pensions, annuities, courts of justice, and mis- 

 cellaneous charges; 42,770,593 12s. 5d. = 

 $213,852,968.10, was for supply services, in- 

 cluding army, navy, customs and inland revenue, 

 post-office, packet service, the Abyssinian ex- 

 pedition, and miscellaneous civil services. 

 There was also an expenditure of 530,000 = 

 $2,650,000, for the completion of fortifications 

 on the coast. The estimates of Mr. Hunt, the 

 Chancellor of the Exchequer, for the year end- 

 ing March 31, 1869, were: revenue, 71,350,- 

 000 = $356,750.000 ; expenditure, 70,428,000 

 = $352,140,000. This, if realized, would leave 



a surplus of $4,610,000; but the expenses of 

 the Abyssinian War, a part of which would 

 come into this year, would probably create a 

 deficit of about ten millions of dollars. The 

 income tax was raised from 4d. to 6d. per 

 pound in December, 1867, in order to meet 

 this deficiency, and this would give, it was es- 

 timated, 2,900,000 = $14,500,000 additional, 

 which was to be applied to this purpose. 



2. National Debt. The principal of the na- 

 tional debt, funded and unfunded, was on the 

 31st of March, 1868, 749,101,428 = $3,745,- 

 507,140, and its interest, as already stated. 

 26,571,750 = $132,858,750. 



II. AEMY and NAVY : 1. Army. The army 

 of the United Kingdom, during the year 1868, 

 consisted of 138,691 men, constituted as 

 follows: officers of the general staff, 100; 

 troops of the line, including the life-guards, 

 horse-guards, etc., 6,482 commissioned officers, 

 12,115 non-commissioned officers, trumpeters, 

 and drummers, and 108,173 rank and file ; de- 

 pots of Indian regiments, 412 commissioned 

 officers, 976 non-commissioned officers, 8,492 

 rank and file ; recruiting and other establish- 

 ments, 129 commissioned, and 263 non-com- 

 missioned officers, and 66 rank and file ; train- 

 ing-schools, 32 commissioned, and 248 non- 

 commissioned officers, and 10 rank and file ; 

 making a grand total of 7,149 commissioned 

 officers, 18,602 non-commissioned officers, and 

 115,741 rank and file. Aside from these, the 

 British forces in India comprised 3,592 commis- 

 sioned and 5,318 non-commissioned officers, 

 and 25,556 rank and file. 



Besides these, which are both included under 

 the general head of regular forces, provision is 

 made for four classes of reserve or - auxiliary 

 forces, viz. : the enrolled militia, number- 

 ing 128,971, for whom 986,800 = $4,934,000, 

 was appropriated ; the yeomanry cavalry, of 

 which there were 14,339 non-commissioned 

 officers and men, for whom 88,000 = $440,- 

 000 was voted ; the volunteers, numbering 162,- 

 681 officers and men, to whom was appropri- 

 ated 385,100 = $1,925,500 ; and fourth, the 

 enrolled pensioners and army reserve force, 

 numbers not given, but receiving 64,600 = 

 $323,000. The total cost of the British army, 

 including the auxiliary and reserved forces, in 

 the year ending March 31, 1868, was 15,252,- 

 200 = $76,261,000 ; and the estimate for the 

 year ending March 31, 1869, was 15,455,400 

 = $77,277,000. Of this amount 2,124,400 = 

 $10,622,000, was for non-effective service, pen- 

 sions, half pay, allowances, superannuation, etc. 



2. Navy. The actual strength of the Brit- 

 ish navy in February, 1868, consisted of 330 

 screw-steamers of all sizes, afloat, and 32 build- 

 ing ; of 73 paddle-wheel steamers afloat, and 2 

 building, making a total of 437 steam-vessels 

 afloat and building, and 29 effective sailing-ves- 

 sels afloat : in all 466. Of these there were at 

 that time in commission including stationary, 

 receiving, surveying, training, and store ships 

 and tenders, 45 sailing and 205 steam-vessels. 



