This revision of her fiscal system, and reconstruction, on fair and reciprocal conditions, of her commercial code, are questions of far deeper import--and they are of vital import--to Spain than to this empire. Look at the following statement of her gigantic debt, upon which, beyond some three or four hundred thousand pounds annually, for the present, on the capitalized _coupons_ of over-due interest accruing on the conversion and consolidation operation of 1834, the Toreno abomination, not one _sueldo_ of interest is now paying, has been paid for years, or can be paid for years to come, and then only as industry furnishes the means by extended trade, and more abundant customhouse revenues, resulting from an improved tariff.
_Statement of the Spanish Debt at commencement of 1842_:--
Internal--Liquidated, that is verified, L.50,130,565 Without interest. Not liquidated 9,364,228 with 5 per cent in paper. Not consolidated, 2,609,832 Bearing 5 per cent, 15,242,593 Interest, L.762,128 Do. 3 do. 5,842,632 -- 233,705 ----------- ----------- L.83,189,850 L.995,833 ----------- -----------
External Loan of 1834, and the conversion of old debt, L.33,985,939 5 per cent, L.1,699,296 Balance of inscription to the public treasury of France, 2,782,681 -- 160,000 Inscriptions in payment of English claims, 600,000 -- 30,000 Ditto for American claims, 120,000 -- 6,000 ----------- ----------- L.37,488,620 L.1,895,296
Capitalized _coupons_, treasury bonds, &c., amount not stated, but some millions more 3 per cent, Deferred, 5,944,584 Ditto, 4,444,040 Calculated at 100 reals Passive, 10,542,582 per L. sterling. ----------- 20,931,206 ----------- Grand total, exclusive of capitalization L.141,669,676
The latest account of Spanish finance, that for 1842 before referred to, exhibits an almost equally hopeless prospect of annual deficit, as between revenue and expenditure; 1st, the actual receipts of revenue being stated at
879,193,475 reals The expenditure, 1,541,639,879 ------------- Deficit, 662,446,404
That is, with a revenue sterling of L.8,791,934 A deficiency besides uncovered, of 6,624,464
Assuming the amount of the contraband traffic in Spain at six millions sterling per annum, instead of the ten millions estimated, we think most erroneously, by Señor Marliani, the result of an average duty on the amount of 25 per cent, would produce to the treasury L.1,500,000 per annum; and more in proportion as the traffic, when legitimated, should naturally extend, as the trade would be sure to extend, between two countries like Great Britain and Spain, alone capable of exchanging millions with each other for every million now operated. The L.1,500,000 thus gained would almost suffice to meet the annual interest on the L.34,000,000 loan conversion of 1834, still singularly classed in stock exchange parlance as "active stock." As for the remaining mass of domestic and foreign debt, there can be no hope for its gradual extinction but by the sale of national domains, in payment for which the titles of debt of all classes may be, as some now are, receivable in payment. As upwards of two thousand millions of reals of debt are said to be thus already extinguished, and the national domains yet remaining for disposal are valued at nearly the same sum, say L.20,000,000, it is clear that the final extinction of the debt is a hopeless prospect, although a very large reduction might be accomplished by that enhanced value of these domains which can only flow from increase of population and the rapid progression of industrial prosperity.