To cut a long story short, the Times writer calculates
that at the best the deficit will be £19,500,000, and at the worst £24,000,000. He tells us, however, that there is " reason to believe that the Government will provide six millions for the new shipbuilding programme." If, then, we take the lower estimates, except in the case of the Navy, a total would be reached of £22,500,000. The Times writer proceeds as follows :— " One thing is clear, that the Budget requirements have been egregiously under-estimated by Liberals. When the Spectator last August estimated that £16,000,000 would have to be raised by new taxation, the idea was ridicnled in Ministerial circles. In November the dpsetator found reason to increase the estimate to .225,000,000. This estimate, however, was arrived at before the hope of an education compromise was abandoned, the extra educa- tion vote being put at £2,000,000, a figure considerably in excess of what the present situation will probably be considered to demand. Subsequent Exchequer receipts also indicate that the estimated realized deficit was placed at too high a figure." , Unfortunately, we cannot find space to-day to deal with the, very interesting suggestions for raising revenue made by the same writer in Thursday's Times. We can only say that they deserve the careful consideration of all interested in the subject of public finance.
