10 DECEMBER 1921, Page 3

Sir Robert Home went on to say that his task

was to reduce expenditure. He did not count on receiving anything from Germany to relieve the taxpayer ; whatever came would be a windfall. As next year's revenue would be considerably less than this year's, he had raised his demand for a reduction in expenditure from £130,000,000 to £175,000,000. The depart- ments had reduced their estimates by £75,000,000, so that £100,000,000 more- had to be saved somehow. He defended the Ministry of Transport ; it had cost half a million and had saved ten millions. He said that the balances in the Post Office Savings Bank and the sales of Saving Certificates showed a very small decline, despite the depression, and he ventured to suggest that there was " a flicker of revival in trade."