HC Deb 18 April 1907 vol 172 cc1185-6

Now, Sir, I have finished, I am glad to say, that somewhat dry, but necessary, recital. Before I come to what I am sure will be to the Committee a much more interesting theme — namely, the intention of the Government as to the disposal of the available surplus, I think it right, on behalf of the Government, to make a more general statement than is usual on these occasions of the lines on which, in our opinion, the finance of the country during the next few years should be directed. It is, I think, a mistake to treat the annual Budget as if it were a thing by itself, and not, as it is, or as it certainly ought to be, an integral part and a necessary link in a connected and coherent chain of policy. In my opinion, and I think it is an opinion that will be shared by a great number of hon. Gentlemen opposite, the country has reached a stage in which, whether we look merely at its fiscal or at its social exigencies, we cannot afford to drift along the stream and treat each year's finance as if it were self-contained. The Chancellor of the Exchequer, in other words, ought to Budget, not for one year, but for several years. It is in that spirit that the proposals which I am going presently to submit to the Committee have been conceived, and it is from that point of view that I ask they shall be judged.