n an amount of revenue amply sufficient to meet
the necessary expenditure of the country, and firmly to uphold that
public credit which is indispensable to the national welfare. The
prospect of continued peace, and the general state of domestic
prosperity and tranquillity, afford a favourable opportunity for the
consideration of the matters to which I have directed your attention;
and I commit them to your deliberation, with the earnest prayer that you
may be enabled, under the superintending care and protection of Divine
Providence, to strengthen the feelings of mutual confidence and goodwill
between different classes of my subjects, and to improve the condition
of my people."

FINANCIAL AND COMMERCIAL POLICY--RETENTION OF THE INCOME-TAX, ETC.

The great scheme of commercial reform alluded to in her majesty's speech
at the opening of the session was brought forward by Sir Robert Peel,
in a committee of ways and means, on the 14th of February. The right
honourable baronet commenced by saying that though he had considerable
experience in the discharge of official duties, and though he had often
addressed the house on matters of great public concern, he could not
approach the subject on which he had then to address the committee
without great anxiety, and a deep consciousness how inadequate and
imperfect the explanation would be which he should endeavour to place
before it. After the declaration made in her majesty's speech, that
it was the intention of ministers to propose the continuance of the
income-tax for a certain number of years; he had no other alternative
than to submit to the house the general views which the government took
of the financial condition and the commercial policy of the country. In
explaining their views, after referring to the estimate of the probable
revenue and expenditure made by the chancellor of the exchequer in
April, 1844, and, after showing that the surplus revenue, on which
he had calculated for the whole year had been greatly exceeded by
the actual amount of revenue received on the 5th of January, 1845,
he proceeded to estimate the surplus revenue which would be in the
exchequer on the 5th of April in the present year, at a sum not less
than L5,000,000. He next submitted to the house an estimate of the
probable receipt of the revenue for the year ending the 5th of
April, 1846, on the assumption that the house would not sanction the
income-tax. He calculated that the receipts up t