Mr. Gladstone made it an essential condition of his plan that there should be an equitable distribution of Imperial charges and that Ireland should pay her fair proportion to the common expenses of the Empire. In 1885 that contribution was represented by the surplus of Irish Revenue remaining after deduction of the expenditure in Ireland on Irish services. He calculated in 1886 that the surplus above described provided a contribution by Ireland to Imperial expenditure equivalent to £2 where Great Britain contributed £23. This proportion contrasts with Mr. Pitt’s arrangement in 1800 that Ireland should pay £2 where Great Britain paid £15. Mr. Gladstone proposed in future that where Great Britain paid £28, Ireland should pay £2, a concession of moment to Ireland, and he supported it on the following ground: he measured the taxable capacity of the two countries by (1) the Income-tax returns (2) the death duty returns, and (3) the valuation of property. Income-tax gave a proportion of £38 to £2, but he held Income-tax an imperfect test, because it was paid in Ireland on a lower valuation than in Great Britain and because many Irishmen receive dividends on securities which pay Income-tax in England. He thought that £34 to £2 would be nearer the true proportion. He held the death duties to be a better test and they showed a proportion of £26 to £2, while the valuation, lower in Ireland than in Great Britain, gave a proportion of £24 to £2. Arguing from these premises, he held that his proposed contribution of £2 to £28 was an equitable and even a generous arrangement, justified by the necessity of starting the Irish Legislative body with a balance to its credit. A table is given showing how the contribution was appropriated.