The Week in Parliament Our Parliamentary Correspondent writes : Undoubtedly
the Budget came as a shock to most of the House of Commons. The majority of members, at any rate on the Government side, had persuaded themselves that no substantial increase of taxation was in prospect, and when they settled down to listen to the Chancellor's speech they were mildly optimistic. This mood did not last for long. The Budget statement was full of warnings. Receipts from death-duties would in all probability be lower in the forthcoming year owing to the continuing depression in the price-level of securities.
Rearmament expenditure had by no means reached its peak, and the final bill would be considerably in excess of the £1,500,000,000 originally contemplated. Even when the programme had been fulfilled the cost of maintenance would remain substantially higher than in the past. Confronted with these ominous considerations the House looked decidedly glum, but, even so, the final announcement of the additional burdens came as a surprise. * * * *
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