surprise that government, in opposing the motion, should
allow it to be set aside by the previous question, instead of meeting
it with a direct negative; and Lord John Russell explained that
the amendment of the previous question had been moved without any
arrangement with him; if it were withdrawn, he was ready to meet it
with a direct negative. After some demur, Mr. Gisborne withdrew his
amendment; and the motion was directly negatived by three hundred and
seventeen votes against one hundred and forty-four.

THE BUDGET.

The budget was brought forward by the chancellor of the exchequer on the
14th of August. He calculated the income of the country for the ensuing
year, ending in July, 1836, at L45,500,000, and the expenditure at
L44,715,000, leaving a surplus of L835,000. He regretted, however, to
add that this surplus, calculated on the ordinary expenditure of the
country, would be found to crumble away before the further statement
which it was his duty to make. The interest due to the slave-owners, he
said, was to be provided for from the 1st of August, 1834. The maximum
of the charge to which the country might be liable from that time was
L730,000; and supposing that the whole balance of the loan were to be
paid up within three months on discount, and that the permanent interest
on the whole amount of the stock were at once incurred, this would
subject us to a further charge of L250.935, making the total charge
for the present year, on account of the West Indian loan, nearly L1000.
Against this, as a set off, there was a surplus of L885,000; but the
probability was that the amount instead of being L1,000,000 would not
exceed a sum between L600,000 and L700,000, so that the actual surplus
which might be expected would be from L150,000 to L200,000. The
chancellor of the exchequer said, in continuation, that though the
country was in a prosperous condition, he could not under existing
circumstances be expected to make any great reduction in taxation. There
were two or three taxes, however, which he thought might be reduced, and
he proposed to reduce the duty on licences, which would cause a loss to
the revenue of about L40,000; and on flint-glass, on which there might
be a loss of about L70,000. He also proposed to relieve Ireland from the
stamp-duty on awards, the loss on which would not exceed L500 a year.
The resolutions of the chancellor of the exchequer were agreed to
without a division.

DISCUSSI