853, and to mark the extraordinarily far-reaching and
comprehensive character of the earliest of his thirteen budgets. Its
initial boldness lay in the adoption of the unusual course of estimating
the national income roughly for a long period of seven years, and
assuming that expenditure would remain tolerably steady for the whole of
that period. Just as no provident man in private life settles his
establishment on the basis of one year or two years only, so Mr.
Gladstone abandoned hand-to-mouth, and took long views. 'I ought, no
doubt,' he said afterwards, 'to have pointed out explicitly that a great
disturbance and increase of our expenditure would baffle my reckonings.'
Meanwhile, the fabric was planned on strong foundations and admirable
lines. The simplification of the tariff of duties of customs, begun by
Peel eleven years before, was carried forward almost to completion.
Nearly one hundred and forty duties were extinguished, and nearly one
hundred and fifty were lowered. The tea duty was to be reduced in stages
extending over three years from over two shillings to one shilling. In
the department of excise, the high and injurious duty on soap, which
brought into the exchequer over eleven hundred thousand pounds annually,
was swept entirely away. In the same department, by raising the duties
on spirits manufactured in Ireland nearer to the level of England and
Scotland, a step was taken towards identity of taxation in the three
kingdoms--by no means an unequivocal good. Miscellaneous provisions and
minor aspects of the scheme need not detain us; but a great reform of
rate and scale in the system of the assessed taxes, the reduction of the
duty on the beneficent practice of life insurance from half-a-crown to
sixpence on the hundred pounds, and the substitution of a uniform
receipt stamp, were no contemptible contributions to the comfort and
well-being of the community. Advertisements in newspapers became free of
duty.[284]

KEYSTONE OF THE BUDGET

The keystone of the budget in Mr. Gladstone's conception was the
position to be assigned in it to the income-tax. This he determined to
renew for a period of seven years,--for two years at sevenpence in the
pound, for two years more at sixpence, and for the last three at
fivepence. By that time he hoped that parliament would be able to
dispense with it. Meanwhile it was to be extended to Ireland, in
compensation for the remission of a debt owed by I