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ARREARS OF RENT IN IRELAND.…

THE ROWLAND HILL MEMORIAL!…

TEACHING THE DUMB TO SPEAK.

- LORD DERBY ON FREE TRAIa.

M. DE LESSEPS AND THE CHANNEL…

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"BUHL."

THE REVENUE RETURNS.

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THE REVENUE RETURNS. Noticing the Revenue Returns for the quarter, just ended, the Daily Telegraph remarks Not much can be inferred from the figures of the first quarter in the financial year as to the revenue of the full twelve months, but the official return just issued brings out very encouraging results so far as they go. They are in fact unexpectedly encouraging, since during the whole of the past three months the indications have been those of retrogression rather than of improvement. For a great part of that period Customs lagged behind, Excise showed an utter absence of elasticity, Post Office and Tele. graphs made little headway, Taxes barely held their own, and the Miscellaneous items persistently lost ground. Mr. Gladstone in his last Budget warned, and at the same time disappointed, by the yield of the previous year, made very moderate estimates as to the productiveness of 1882-3, while his new proposals were simple in character and insignificant as to ex- pected results. As it seems pretty certain that the additional tax on carriages will be dropped, and the intended contribution to county taxation for turn- pikes dropped with it, even the new proposals disap- pear, and. therefore, the comparison of the entire yield of Revenue items, quarter by quarter, will not be complicated by extraneous considerations. Thus far, at least, each item is undisturbed by the action of any now influences either swelling the amount or reducing it. The net result, as we have said, is unexpectedly favour- able. The Customs, an item which sadly disappointed the Chancellor of the Exchequer all last year, shows an increase of S65,000, while Excise, an equally tanta- lising and uncertain factor, has gained £15,000. If we could assume that the improvement under these two heads fairly reflects the general condition of the country, then we might safely predict a prosperous year's Revenue, for the Budget estimate of both was less than what was yielded in 1881-2; and, moreover, if the country is prosperous enough to create a largely increased consumption of the articles which pay tribute to Customs and Excise, most other sources of Revenue will also profit more or less. As it is, they too mostly exhibit a gain for the quarter just expired. Stamps, which afford a very fair criterion of the activity of general business, show the very large augmentation of 8337,011. Land Tax and House Duty have gained £50,000, Post Office j330,000, and Telegraphs £5,000. The exceptions are, Income Tax, which has lost £145.000, a circumstance easily explained by the fact that the corresponding quarter last year benefited by the collection of arrears at a higher rate; Interest, which has fallen off £ 7,182; and Miscellaneous, which shows the considerable decrease of 8132,041, As the net result, the quarter is better than last year's by the highly respectable total of £217,788. Of course it is too soon to say that this increase will be continuous. Some items, Excise for instance, may be accidentally swollen; others, like Miscellaneous, may be only apparently losers; and an adjustment of accounts between departments may explain all. Yet we may be thankful that the year has opened so well, and must hope that neither short harvests, nor complications abroad, nor industrial re- lapse at home, will check what looks like the beginning of a permanent change for the better.

EMIGRATION FROM IRELAND.

A WONDERFUL CAVERN.

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THE HAMILTON PALACE COLLECTION…

THE SALE OF THE BECKFORD LIBRARY.

SINKING of an EXCURSION STEAMER…

= THE LIBERTY AND PROPERTY…