Amidst all the gloom which sure rounds the advent of the New Year, Great Britain has cause for no little satisfaction at the manner in which the latest trade figures demonstrate her return to. prev The Treasury's total revenue for the frst nine months of last year was. £25,000,000 Better than (or the corresponding period in 1934. Receipts from Inland Fevenue items, estate duly and income fax and Cusioms were all higher, while the only item to show ade crease was the surtax. "On the other hand expenditure for the period increased considerably, the most notice able items being for the army, navy air force, the increased spending fon these three amounting to £15,- 000,000, brought about by the necessity to mest new conditions created by' the rearming of other countries. The increase in revenue corresponds with the manifest improvement internal trade, znd also exports, the larier for the art 11 months of 1935, showing an Increase of £29,000,005 over the totals for the similar period in 1934, a rise of eight per cent. as compared with the rest of the world of under two per cent. An increase of seven per cent, during November in retail sales, showed that domestic boom in the steel "industry, and the optimism in the shipbuilding trade, all suggest that there is room to hope for a better year this than last. The chief cloud on the horizon at_ the moment from a purely domestic point of view is the coal dispute, in which it would seem that the owners and men are still far apart over the Tatters' demand that they should be given an increase of 2/- per shift The owners at, present see their way to make no better offer than 1/~ per shift, Strenuous efforts are being made to secure. a selliement which will prevent the men from handing their notices on January 8. It Is to be hoped that they will succeed, for a coal strike at such a juncture as this would write a tragic setback from which it might take a long, lime to recover.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.