GREAT BRITAIN AND IRELAND. 



271 



year 13,000,000 more were voted. In the budget 

 for 1901 the Chancellor of the Exchequer esti- 

 mated at 38,000,000 the necessary expenses of 

 the war for the year. The revenue for 1900 was 

 estimated in the budget at 111,157,000, being 

 2,821,000 more than the revenue for the previous 

 year. In presenting the budget for the following 

 year early in March, 1900, Sir Michael Hicks- 

 Beach estimated it at 116,040,000. The budg- 

 et estimate of expenditures for 1900 was 110,- 

 <J27,000, to which 745,000 of supplementary esti- 

 mates were added and from which 1,132,000 

 were deducted on account of savings, making the 

 exchequer expenditure for the year 110,540,000 

 and showing a surplus of 5,500,000 if the cost 

 of the war were excluded ; but, adding 23,000,000 

 of supplementary army estimates for the war and 

 270,000 for interest on the treasury bills author- 

 ized in the autumn session, the total exchequer 

 expenditure was expected to be 133,810,000, 

 showing a deficit of 17,770,000, of which 

 8,000,000 was temporarily provided for by the 

 issue of treasury bills. The receipts from beer, 

 spirits, and tea in 1900 showed a large increase 

 over the preceding year, partly owing to with- 

 drawals from bond toward the close of the financial 

 year in anticipation of higher duties. Receipts 

 from tobacco fell off, and from wine the receipts 

 were less than were expected, though the increase 

 was considerable, owing to the increase in the 

 duties. The death duties produced 13,300,000, 

 not counting 4,171,000 allotted to the local tax- 

 ation fund. From the estates of millionaires 

 2,271,000 were received, and of this 900,000 

 came from the estate of an American living mod- 

 estly in a London club. The stamp duties, owing 

 principally to activity on the stock exchange, pro- 

 duced 350,000 more than the estimate. The post 

 office receipts and other nontax revenue showed 

 tin increase of 573,000 over the previous year. 

 Adding to the expenditure for 1900 as provision- 

 ally estimated in the early budget the sum of 

 9,599,000 paid to the local taxation account, 

 being 78,000 more than in 1899, and further 

 the expenditure on capital account of 4,847,000, 

 of which 1,861,000 came from the surplus of 

 previous years, this expenditure being for barracks, 

 telephones, the Uganda Railroad, naval and mili- 

 tary works, and the acquisition of the territory 

 of the Royal Niger Company, the total expenditure 

 for the year ending March 31, 1900, was expected 

 to reach 148,257,000, compared with 121,224,000 

 in the foregoing year. 



The amount of the funded debt on March 31, 

 1899, was 583,186,305, the estimated capital value 

 of terminable annuities was 36,243,280, and the 

 unfunded debt was 8,133,000, making a total of 

 027,562,585, to which should be added 312,441 

 borrowed under the Russian Dutch loan act of 

 1891, 187,893 under the imperial defense act of 

 1888, 2,829,029 under the barracks act of 1890, 

 1,222,276 under the telegraph act of 1892, 

 1,969,722 under the Uganda Railway act of 

 1896, 455,381 under the act of 1895 for the ac- 

 quisition of sites for public offices, and 501.638 

 under the Whitehall public office act of 1897, these 

 items making a sum of 7,478.380, which increases 

 the gross liabilities to 635,040,965, against which 

 may be offset the value of the Suez Canal shares, 

 27,451,000 at the market rate, 703,961 of other 

 assets, and 8,919,173 of exchequer balances in 

 bank. During the financial year ending March 

 31, 1900, the funded debt was reduced by 30,- 

 715,000 and the capital value of the terminable 

 annuities was increased by 24,242,000 as the 

 result of the operation of provisions in the finance 

 act of 1899 authorizing the cancellation of 28,- 



000,000 of consols by the issue of terminable an- 

 nuities. By the new sinking fund of 1899 the 

 sum of 1,339,000 was redeemed, but the issue of 

 8,000,000 of treasury bills increased the debt by 

 1,527,000, without taking account of the deficit 

 of 9,770,000 unprovided for at the end of the 

 year. 



The expenditure for 1901 was estimated at 

 26,000,000 for debt charges, 27,523,000 for the 

 navy, 61,499,000 for the army, 22,839,000 for 

 the civil services, and 16,221,000 for the revenue 

 departments; total, 154,082,000. On the basis 

 of the existing taxation the revenue was estimated 

 at 21,900.000 from customs, 31,800,000 from 

 excise, 13,000,000 from death duties, 8,400,000 

 from stamps, 800,000 from the land tax, 1,- 

 650,000 from the house duty, 18,800,000 from 

 the income tax, 13,800,000 from the post office, 

 3,550,000 from telegraphs, 450,000 from Crown 

 lands, 850,000 from Suez Canal shares, etc., and 

 1,900,000 from miscellaneous sources; total, 

 116,900,000. This left an estimated deficit of 

 37,182,000 for the year. The war estimates, in- 

 cluding 250,000 interest on the war debt, 

 amounted to 38,047,000, to which the sum of 

 5,000,000 was added as a provision for military 

 and naval contingencies, making with the deficit 

 of 17,000,000 for 1899 due to the war the total 

 sum of 60,000,000 as the estimated cost of the 

 war. To reduce the deficit Sir Michael Hicks- 

 Beach proposed to raise 12,317,000 by increased 

 taxation, of which 6,500.000 are from an increase 

 of the income tax from 8d. to Is. in the pound, 

 150,000 from a stamp duty of Is. on contract 

 notes in all the produce exchanges, the same as is 

 imposed on the contract notes given by brokers 

 of the stock exchange, 1,752,000 from an in- 

 crease in the beer duty of Is. a barrel of 36 gal- 

 lons, 1,915,000 from an increase in the duty on 

 spirits of Gd. a gallon, 1,100,000 from an addi- 

 tion of 4rf. a pound to the tobacco duty and Gd. 

 a pound to the duty on foreign cigars, and 1,- 

 800,000 from an increase in the tea duty from 

 4rf. to Gd. a pound. This reduces the deficit an- 

 ticipated for 1901 to 24,868,000, and a suspen- 

 sion of the sinking fund reduces it by 4,640,000 

 more to 20,225,000. Adding the deficit of 17,- 

 770,000 for 1900 and 5,000,000 for military and 

 naval contingencies, the total final deficit would 

 be 42,995,000. To meet this the Chancellor of 

 the Exchequer proposed to renew the treasury 

 bills issued in October, 1899, and issue 5,000,000 

 more, and to issue a new loan for about 30,- 

 000,000, not consols but bonds issued for a term 

 not exceeding ten years, to be repaid as far as 

 possible with what can be exacted from the 

 Transvaal. The plan of taxing produce contracts 

 was given up. Besides the increase in the cigar 

 duty from 5s. to 5s. Gd. a pound, and in the duty 

 on cut plug from 3s. lOd. to 4s. 4rf., which was 

 finally voted, the general duty on manufactured 

 tobacco was raised from 3s. 5d. to 3s. lOd. a 

 pound. 



When the financial year came to an end the 

 actual deficit for 1900 was found to be 13,882. 

 The revised estimate calculated the deficit for 1901 

 at 22,541,000, but at the end of July it was 

 calculated at 35,850,000. The Chancellor ob- 

 tained authority from Parliament to raise 35,- 

 000,000 by the creation of bonds redeemable in 

 ten years, or by the issue of treasury bills at his 

 option. He was authorized to borrow 7,550,000 

 more, and obtained sanction in August for a fresh 

 loan of 13,000,000, giving a margin of 5,818,000 

 over the total deficit of 49,732,000 as estimated 

 at that time. The total estimated cost of the 

 South African war then stood at 69,323,000, in- 



