408 



GREAT BRITAIN AND IRELAND. 



BRANCHES OF EXPENDITURE. Amount. 



Public debt 29,679,097 



Civillist 408,541 



Courts of justice 502,680 



Other charges on the consolidated fund 630,778 



Public works MMS 



Civil departments 2,390,402 



Justice, police, and prisons 6,642,145 



Public instruction, science, and arts 4,581,867 



Foreign affairs 67^,312 



Other civil-service expenses 1,218,659 



Army *. 15,502,351 



Charges on account of troops in India 1,100,000 



Navy 10,408,904 



Grant to India for Afghan war 500,000 



Armed forces in the Mediterranean 2,300,000 



Egyptian expedition 1,595,500 



South African military expenses 14,000 



Customs and inland-revenue service 2,870,201 



Post- Office 8,828,500 



Telegraphs 1,510,000 



Paeketservice T19,625 



Total expenditure, 1882-'S8 



The revenue per head of the population was 

 2 9*., as compared with 2 8*. 7d. in 1881. 

 2 7. I0d. for the five years 1876-'80, 2 6s. 

 Wd. for 1871-76, and 2 6s. 3d. for 1866-'70. 



There have been many reductions in the rates 

 of taxation within twenty years. The change 

 of the malt duties and brewers' license-tax in 

 1881 to a beer duty and publicans' licenses 

 effected an increase in the revenue from these 

 sources from 8,444,401 to 9,095,040. The 

 probate duties imposed in 1881 yielded 700,- 

 000, and the increase in the income-tax 1,800,- 

 000. The repeal of legacy duties and reduc- 

 tion of the income-tax in 1882 lessened the 

 revenues by 2,624,000, which was partly made 

 good by the 654,500 produced by the addi- 

 tional probate duties. Before 1877, incomes 

 above 100 paid income-tax. In that year ex- 

 emption was extended to incomes not exceed- 

 ing 150, with 120 abatement on those below 

 400. The gross amount of incomes assessed 

 in 1880 was 576,896,901. The rate of the 

 tax is altered almost yearly, according to the 

 exigencies of the treasury. The amount pro- 

 duced by the tax varied from 4,109,000 in 

 1876, when the rate was 2d. in the pound, to 

 10,650,000 in 1881, when it was 6&, or 2 

 per cent. 



The state of the public debt on the 31st of 

 March, 1883, was as follows : 



Consolidated debt 712,698,994 



Terminable annuities 29,492,125 



Unfunded debt 14,185,400 



Total 756,376,519 



Adding the deficits due to savings-banks 

 (1,804,417), and deducting the approximate 

 value of the Suez Canal shares (32,491,600), 

 the actual debt amounted to 725,689,336. 

 The amount to be applied to the interest and 

 reduction of the debt was fixed by the act of 

 1875 at 28,000,000, to be maintained by an- 

 nual votes of Parliament. 



In 1885 annuities, 5,200,000 in amount, ex- 

 pire, freeing so much of the revenue, which 

 could be applied either to the reduction of 

 taxes or to the amortization of the national 

 debt. The Government determined to devote 

 the entire annual sum to this latter purpose, 



and obtained the authorization of Parliament 

 to replace the expiring annuities with new 

 terminable annuities, which will reduce the 

 capital of the debt 173,000,000 in twenty 

 years. The operation will not be transacted 

 in the open market, but through the medium of 

 the Court of Chancery, which has its funds, 

 amounting to 40,000,000, invested in consols, 

 and of the National Debt Commissioners, who 

 hold national debt stock on account of the 

 Savings-Bank. The 40,000,000 of Chancery 

 stock is to be canceled and replaced by an an- 

 nuity of 2,674,168. running twenty years; of 

 the Savings-Bank stock, 30,244,000 will be 

 canceled at once and converted into three an- 

 nuities of 1,200,000 each, for five, ten, and 

 fifteen years respectively, which on expiration 

 will be renewed, and increased by amounts 

 representing the interest of the canceled stock, 

 and equivalent amounts of consols canceled, 

 the entire sum being 133,019,208. The an- 

 nual sum of 28,000,000 established as the 

 annual debt charge is thus continued. The 

 reduction proceeding through the operation 

 of the unexpired life and terminable annuities, 

 and the new and old sinking funds, is not in- 

 terfered with. If the extinction of capital 

 stock effected through the new annuities causes 

 3 per cent, consols to rise above par, the ad- 

 visability of an operation for the reduction of 

 the rate of interest might become a subject 

 for practical consideration. 



The receipts of the local administrations of 

 the three kingdoms, for the year 1880-'81, were 

 as follow : 



The total expenditures by local and munici- 

 pal administrations were as follow : 



Session of Parliament. The fourth session of 

 the present Parliament, the tenth of the reign 

 of Queen Victoria, was opened by commission 

 February 15th. The Queen's speech expressed 

 gratitude to the army and navy for the sup- 

 pression of " a formidable rebellion in Egypt," 

 and said that the Arrangements for the recon- 

 stitution of the Government of Egypt would 



