§ On the Revenue side, the result was not only more favourable than I anticipated in October, but greatly exceeded my original Budget Estimate. The Budget Estimate of revenue for 1919–20 was £1,201,100,000. The actual Exchequer receipts were nearly £138,500,000 more. Customs and Excise gave an increase of £45,500,000 over the Budget Estimate, and £7,000,000 over the Estimate which I gave in October. This increase, which is nearly 20 per cent. over the Budget Estimate, is mainly due to the increased yield of the taxes on beer, spirits, tobacco, and tea. In the case of beer and spirits the surplus, £11,250,000 on the former and £6,700,000 on the latter, was due to the removal of restrictions on the supply for home consumption. The case of tobacco and tea was different. In regard to neither were any restrictions in force, and the very largely increased yield reflects almost entirely an increased consumption, and therefore an increased spending power in the mass of our people. In framing the Budget Estimate of last year, I assumed only a normal increase in the rate of consumption of tobacco, but in fact the actual increase has been unprecedented. The quantity retained for consumption increased from 114,000,000 lbs. in 1918–19 to about 150,000,000 lbs. in 1919–20, and, although part of that tobacco may have gone to replenish duty-paid stocks in traders' hands, the increase in the main is due to an astonishing growth in consumption. Broadly speaking, this may be attributed, in the first place, to the continuous rise in wages; in the second place to the return of our armies from abroad; and in the third place to the growth of the habit of smoking among women. The surplus on tobacco amounted to about £14,000,000, and tea showed a surplus of £3,550,000. In the case of tea the clearances for home consumption increased from 321,000,000 lbs. in 1918–19 to over 400,000,000 lbs. last year. It is possible that traders' stocks may be high, but even with a liberal allowance for that possibility the consumption of tea is quite unique. I need not refer in detail to other items of Customs and Excise, except, perhaps, to say that the Entertainment Duty has yielded nearly 71 £10,500,000 in all, or £2,500,000 more than was anticipated.