REVENUE.£EXPENDITURE.£
1. Excise (true revenue1. Civil Government
ex. licences)2,952,000charges (ex. Constabulary
2. Local Taxes--and Lord
(a) Stamps333,000Lieutenant's salary)6,952,000
(b) Death Duties914,0002. Collection of Ireland
(c) Income Tax1,307,000Revenues, etc.298,000
(d) Excise licences284,0003. Postal Services1,404,000
3. Postal Revenue1,155,0004. Contribution to Constabulary
4. Miscellaneous150,000(2/3rds of
————£1,464,500)976,000
7,095,000
Deficit2,535,000
————————
9,630,0009,630,000

The narrow surplus of £144,000 has disappeared, and instead there is on present-day figures the substantial deficit of £2,535,000. Here again it may be observed that the Excise duties are fixed by the Imperial Parliament, and the Postal charges are presumably also invariable. The first Budget deficit would, as before, be not less than £3,000,000. The taxes within the absolute control of the Irish Parliament would have been producing a revenue of £2,838,000. It is within this range of taxation, or by the imposition of new direct taxes, that the Irish Chancellor of the Exchequer would have been compelled to raise an additional £3,000,000 in order to make the two sides of his account balance.

Owing to the mistake already referred to, Mr. Gladstone prepared and presented a third scheme, whose principal features were as follows:—

1. Ireland's contribution to Imperial expenditure to be one-third of the true revenue of taxes levied in Ireland.

2. Ireland to be credited with miscellaneous receipts and surplus (if any) arising from postal services.

3. Ireland to pay out of revenues credited to her, two-thirds of the cost of the Constabulary, all Civil Government charges and any deficit on postal services.

4. The Customs and Inland Revenue duties and the rates for Postal charges to be fixed and collected by Imperial Parliament.

5. After six years (1) Irish contribution to Imperial Services to be revised; (2) the collection of Inland Revenue duties to be undertaken by Irish Government; (3) Irish legislation to impose the stamp duties, income tax, and excise licences. The financial clauses as thus remodelled and simplified were expected to produce a surplus of £512,000. The characteristic feature of this arrangement was the provision for handing over to the Imperial Exchequer one-third of the Irish true tax revenue as Ireland's payment on account of Imperial Services. How matters would stand if this arrangement were applied to the present financial situation in Ireland may be seen from the following table.

SCHEME C (BASED ON BILL OF 1893, AS AMENDED).

REVENUE.£EXPENDITURE£
1. Customs2,866,0001. Civil Government
2. Excise (ex. licenceCharges6,952,000
duties)2,952,0002. Constabulary (2/3rds
3. Stamps333,000of £1,464,000)976,000
4. Death duties914,0003. Estimated deficit on
5. Licence duties284,000Postal Services249,000
6. Income Tax1,307,000
7. Crown Lands, etc.25,000
————
8,681,000
————
8. 2/3rds of £8,965,0005,757,000
9. Miscellaneous Receipts
115,000
————
5,902,000
Deficit2,275,000
————————
Total8,177,000Total8,177,000
————————