REVENUE.

* Owing to an error in the official print of the Budget for 1902, this amount was given as a gold item in the Council's last Report. This was afterwards corrected by Executive Decree, in which the amount was plainly given in currency. It will be seen that the mistake was an important one, as its effect was to increase the estimated surplus from £188,530 to £1,244,086.

EXPENDITUre.

It will be seen that the correct totals of the details here given are $33,027,224 gold, and $102,943,693 currency respectively. For explanation of these discrepancies see Report for 1901-2, pp. 34-35, under the head of Budget for 1902."

The first column of the above Table shows that in 1901 sums amounting to $4,604,677 Gold and $3,037,556 Currency were expended under "Special Laws and Decrees," without any corresponding provision of special sources of Revenue to meet them. Such provision being now, it is understood, obligatory, it is to be hoped that the

foregoing is the last instance of what can only be regarded as a serious blot on Argentine financial administration.

With regard to the Budget for 1903 given in the last column of the Table, it will be seen that the 5 per cent. additional duty on Imports, which in the estimated Revenue for 1902 is entered as an extraordinary item, is in 1903 included under the head of "Ordinary Revenue," apparently indicating that it is now relied upon as a regular source of Revenue. It must be remembered, however, that this additional 5 per cent. constitutes only a part of the increase, which at present amounts to no less than 12 per cent. over the original tax. It appears that the first addition to the ordinary tax on Imports was made in 1898, when the troubles with Chili threatened an outbreak of hostilities. As a special war tax, 10 per cent. was then added to the Import duties, which was reduced in the following year to 5 per cent., the proceeds having to be devoted to the formation of a fund for the conversion of the Currency. In 1901 the sum thus accumulated is understood to have amounted to some £2,000,000, but unfortunately fresh war rumours arose, and the money was applied to outlays on armaments. The full 10 per cent, was again imposed, with an additional 2 per cent. Although the question with Chili has been peaceably settled, the tax still remains at 12 per cent., and is included under the head of "Ordinary Revenue" in the Budget.

It is not surprising, in view of the above facts, that Mr. F. S. Clarke, in his Report to the Foreign Office mentioned above, says that "The uncertainty as to the way in which the Revenue for the ensuing year is to be raised is highly prejudicial to the commerce of the country. Importation is hampered by the ignorance in which merchants here find

themselves of the duties to be imposed, and the consequent risk of giving large orders beforehand."

ESTIMATED AND ACTUAL REVENUE AND EXPENDITURE FROM 1893.

In the following Table the Budget Estimates are compared with the actual Revenue and Expenditure for the last ten years. The returns from which these figures are obtained are, however, somewhat confusing, and they should only be regarded as approximate :--

N.B. Some of the above figures, which have been already given in the earlier Reports, have now been corrected from more recently published returns.

According to the Report of the Finance Department for 1899, there had been uninterrupted deficits since 1863. In the above Table, however, there appears to have been a small surplus in 1894; this may perhaps be accounted for by the fact that, in the Table, Currency is reduced to Gold at the average premium for the year, while the actual returns would be based upon the rates ruling from time to time.

Most of the important information connected with the financial condition of the Republic, contained in the