s taken as that of 1910-11.

The state of the Irish Exchequer under the foregoing scheme would be
indeed a parlous one. It would start with a deficit of L3,200,000, and
with a prospective immediate increase by about L450,000 on account of
the Insurance Act. The actual budget deficit would thus be about
L3,650,000. The Imperial Parliament would collect about L7,794,000, and
after deducting L5,346,000 would hand back to the Irish Exchequer the
difference of L2,458,000. The revenues upon which the Chancellor in the
Irish Parliament could rely would be, therefore, L6,366,000. Out of this
an expenditure of L9,562,000 would have to be met. The postal services
would probably not stand any increased charges; there is left,
therefore, only L5,211,000 of free revenue, and only L2,753,000 under
the unrestricted control of the Irish Parliament. With such resources it
would be obviously impossible to make good a deficit of L3,206,000 by
any increase of taxation. It must not be overlooked, also, that the
effect of crediting Ireland with Customs and Excise as "collected"
instead of as "contributed" is practically to make the Irish Parliament
a further free gift of nearly L2,000,000.

A totally different scheme accompanied the Home Rule Bill of 1893 as
introduced. The principal features of the new scheme were as follows:--

1. Customs, excise, and postage to be imposed by the Imperial
Parliament.

2. Excise and postage to be collected and managed by the Irish
Parliament.

3. Customs to be collected and retained by the Imperial Parliament in
view of contribution to Imperial services.

4. Excise duties collected in Ireland on articles consumed in Great
Britain to be handed over to Imperial Exchequer.

5. If Excise duties be increased the yield of the excess duties to be
handed over to the Imperial Exchequer.

6. If Excise duties be reduced and Irish revenue diminished, the
deficiency to be made good to Irish revenue.

7. Two-thirds of the cost of the Constabulary to be repaid to the
Imperial Exchequer.

Some of the provisions of this scheme are of exceptional interest. If it
had ever been in operation the plan, for example, of adjusting the
payments from one exchequer to the other in the event of changes being
enacted by the Imperial Parliament in the Excise duties must have been
fruitful of difficulties and created much friction. If the duties had
been reduced there might have been an increased consumption. Who can say
how