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LKL> J « - ' £ *■ I * .«*…

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LKL> J « £ *■ I .«* THE FINANCES. > "There have been two important debates on the f1utÎ<>n of the fiuance ince our lust—one in 1l Lords, the other in the Commons. That in the former took place on Friday evening, whcn Earl I Granville moved the third reading of the Customs and Inland Revenue Bill, which provided a consi- derable part of that national income estimated at £iO,181),000 required to me,t an estimated ex- penditure of £70.000, \I()O, leaving the nominal surplus of £180,000. The speakers were-oii the Government si(le-Ewl Granville, the Dukes pf Newcastle and Argyll, and Earl Russell on the opposition, the Earl of Carnarvon, Lord Over- stone, Earl Grey, and the Earl of Derby. The object of the last H:\U\Cl1noble lords was to show the dangerous nature of the financial policy of the Chancellor of the Exche<}ur, who had failed in his estimate, both of income and exponditure, and thus destroyed all public confidence in liis statcmmts whilst he had iujnred public credit by applying b the purposes of the current revenue the unit and hop credits, and the sums received as repayments of advances, besides encroaching largely upon tit- balances in the exchequer. The members of the Government had very little to urge in defence of the system. They could not deny the facts, but they made use of sotne very ingenious special pleading to explain them away; awl atte:llptüd to retort upon the Conservatives by referring to Mr. Disraeli's administration of 1858, when he postponed the payimnt of £;OOO,OOO of Exchequer bozit-is-tliii-, breaking faith with the country, as Mr. Gladstone is now accused of doing. The debate wili a very able one and the speech of Lord Overxtone—who said it was his deliber- ate conviction, that the management of the Jia- tioual fiu iuoes during the hst two years liatV lwen of a ve:y perilous character, and lii(I le,l to very unsatisfactory results "-will have great weight with the country. But the most important part of that debate to Conservatives, was the explana- tion given by the Earl of Derby of the expression bloated armaments," us11 by Mr. Disraeli, and upon which the Dukes of Newcastle and Argyll severely animadverted. The noble earl alluded to the increase of expen- diture made in his administration "for the pur- pose of what was at the time called the re-con- struction of the navyand to the steps which he and his colleagues took in hazarrling a ncw, and then wholly untried, experiment of iron- plated vessels, the first of which was the Warrior, being the earliest step bk. tow.iris placing the ir> vy of this country in that position which it was essentially necessary it sJwultl occupy." Then he alluded to what the two noble dukes had said respecting the expression "bloated armaments," and asked whether it was likely that the minister, who, in his place in parliament, had proposed the expenditure of 1858 and 1859, would turn round on all his own and his previous opinions, and "hring forward a proposition cal- culated to discourage the maintenance of such a military and naval force in this country as was es- sentia! to its safety of existence ? What Mr. Disraeli actually said, continued the noble earl, was a sentiment which, I am sure, will be sh ired in by every member of this house. It was the expression of his great, regret that the cir- of Europe generally had induced j every country to provide'• bloated armaments —armaments which have bee l unnaturally swol- len beyond their dele estimate—which not merely in this country, but in every country in Europe, are creating excitament ivnongst their neighbours, and financial distress and difficulty at home. It was to that circumstance that my right hou. friend rfcHTed ill a tone of regret and complaint, which I am sure will be participated in by every one who is a lover of peace, and of the prosperity of the empire." We are bound to tafce the explana- tion given by the noble earl of Mr. Disraeli's speech. It is unfortunate that in [1,1 out of the house anoth:Jr cl>H,trl1ctioll was put upon it-a construction which give to it a inelikilig in which no honest Coaservative could acquiesce But these discussions were considered merely skirmishes to the grand attack on the Ministry, which, it was alleged, was to be made on the discussion of the following resolution, alluded to in our last, of which Mr. Stanslield, one of the members for Halifax, gave notice:—"That, in the opinion of this house, the national expenditure is c:lp1\1>10 of reduction, without compromising the safety, the independence, or the legitimate ill- fluence of the country." Thi" motion, it was avowed, was intended to procure, not a wise and judicious economy iu connection with our ex- isting armaments, but I, great reduction of our military and naval forces. It was met by notices of eveml ameu,lmellts,-the principal one, up to Friday night, being that of which Mr. Hoisinan gave notice, a copy of which we inserted in our hist. OIl that night. Lord Palmer-ton stated, t', a' on behalf of the Government, lie should move the following resolution as a suhstitute for Mr. Stansfield's :—" That this House, deeply impressed with the necessity of economy in every department of the State, is at the same time mindful of its obligation to provide for the security at home and the protection of its in- tent abroad that this House observes with satisfaction the decrease which has already been effected in the national expenditure, and trusts that such further diminution may be madc therein as the future state of things may warrant." This announcement was cordially recl)iyed by the ministerialists, and silently by the rest of the irembers. On Monday there was a numerous meeting of (\"Hcrvative members at the Earl of Derby's a id we believe, we are warranted in saying, that the feeling of tho great majority of those as- sembled was adverse to any coquetting with the Radicals, for the purpose of ejecting Ministers from their seats. Still, it was unanimously ae. knowledged that economy was a necessity, and that our finances were in a dangerous state. The Earl of Darby made a very animated speech oil the subject, and espechlly enlarged upon the enormous expenditure in the civil department. At this meeting it was resolved to support the following amendment, which it was stated, Mr. Walpole (who was not present) intended to uiove, in the event of Lord Pahnerston's amendment on Mr. Stansfield's motion being successful, and put as a substantive motion That this House trusts that the attention of Government will be earnestly directed to the accomplishment of such further reductions of expenditure, due regard being had to the defences of the country, as may not only equalise the revonue and expenditure, but the means of diminishing the hurden of those taxes which are confessedly of a tempo- rary and exceptional character." The meeting received this amendment with approval, as it was considered to include all that was required—a pledge that economy would be pursued, and taxes reduced to the utmost extent, compatible with our national security. On Monday evei ing, Mr. Walpole gave notice of his intention to move the above amendment; and on Tuesday the rumours were very prevalent that there would be a trial of strength between the ministerialists and the Conservatives. When the House of Commons proceeded to business that evening-Lord Pal- merston appealed to the members who had given notice of amendments, to withdraw them. In that appeal he did not include Mr. Walpole, as it was in consequence of his notice that he made it. He considered the resolution announced by that right hon. gentleman as altering the question from one of the relative value of substantives or adjectives. The House, he said, was "not now to deliberate upon a choice between different methods of expressing very nearly the same meaniug and intention viz., the meaning that all parties in the House were desirous that every practical economy should be enforced consistently with the maintenance, in proper efficiency, of the several public services of the nation." But the question it was called upon to determine was, whether the gentlemen who sit on the ministerial benches, or the gentlemen who sit on the opposite ones, were best entitled to tho confidence of the house and of the country." That question he declared himself ready to meet, and he therefore wished all others to give way. Mr. Walpole disclaimed all hostility to the Government and several members declared that his resolution was.mach preferable to that of Lord Palmerston Air. Horsman averring, thatu he had not heard any ge iitlemau on either side of the House express an opinion on this subject, who has not said, that putting party feeling aside, 99 out of even 100 members would prefer the amendment suggested by Mr. Walpole, to that to be moved by the Premier. However, after the ground upon which the noble Viscount put the question, Mr. Walpole declined to move his resolution; and Mr. Stausfield's being rejected by 3G7 votes to üiJ; and an amendment moved by Mr. Lindsay being also negatived,—Lord Pahner- ston's resolution was adopted without a division. The debate, which was looked forward to with great interest, lost all attraction when it was known how matters were disposed of but several good speeches were delivered and Mr. Disraeli never spolcl better. It was quite evident that he would have been better pleased, if the amendment of the right honourable member for Cambridge University had been pushed to a division and it was equally clear, that, if it had been,—after the alternative put by Lord Palmerston,-that, as Sir Wm. Heathcote said, Many a man who did not agree with the noble lord politically or finan- cially on some subjects, would have withdrawn from opposition, rather than have disturbed him in the possessson of the ofice he holds." II hy this is so is patent to most of our readers; and the most honest and honourable Conservatives feel, that, at present, it would not be for the country's benefit to disturb the present Govern- ment.

BALA.I

. BETHESDA.I

DENBIGH.I

PORTMADOC. I

TOWYN. __ _ _..

WEEXHAM.

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