Star. — London, England, 1820-05-27 00:00:00

at least, there was a fiat= of the new duty.— The quantity' of broad cloth allied in the West Riding of Yorksbire.last year, appeared to be seven millions of yards ; and he had looked through the *hole of the former years of general public distress in this country, and he was obliged to go as far back as 1794 before he was able to find the manufacture of this article at so low a state as it was in 1820. And, he would ask, was this the state they ought to be in, with an increased population, which undoubt edly ought to create a greater demand in every ar ticle of manufacture, that, in order to find a parallel, for their present depressed state, he was obliged to go back to the year 1794? It was impossible this could be merely owing to the distressed state of the country alone ; it must be owing to the falling off of our foreign trade. On this question lie enter tained opinions diametrically opposite to those gene rally professed. It was often maintained, as a maxim in political economy, that the more exportation there was, and the less importation, the richer the country was. He would rat, at that time, enter into that question ; but he would undertake, any day that he• should be called upon, to prove that the truth was diametrically opposite to it. It was a most absurd thing . to think of our being exporters of raw pro duce in return for the comforts and luxuries of life. We must be manufacturers. We could not afford to grow poor. We must nut only remain wealthy as we are. but we must grow richer, in order to support our enormous debt. This being the case, he would ask, then, if it were wise in.the country, at the pre sent moment, to increase the burdens on our industry? The value of wool imported into this country was doubled, and in some instances quintupled by its manufacture into cloth. The finest wool imported cost 6s. per lb. and the finest cloth exported was about 365. per yard. In the inquiry into the subject which took place before the Privy Council last winter, one of the witnesti stated, that in the present state of our trade with America, we had an advantage of 7} per cent. over the French and Flemish manufacturers. That was to say, that when the price of. French or Flemish cloth was 100, our's was 92 ; adding to this the amount of the new duties to be laid on the cluth, we should f , c) into the American market at 98; which would be running so close and painful a race, that there was great risk of losing the American market al:outlier, which would at once consummate the ruin of our manufactures. This was a danger, in his opinion, studio usly to be avoided—( Hear).— Ametisa, he thought, of ail others, was the market this country should most endeavour to retain posses sion of; and that we should not by any bad polity drive America into manufacturing for itself, or in - duce it to prefer the Continental manufacwres, was so obvious, that he would not detain the House by stating even one of the reasons for it. But it was not in America alone, but in all parts of the world, that we were in danger of being cut out by rivals. In the Levant the French had not long back the superiority, and he saw no reason why they should not maintain their grounj. We were not to suppose, that because in time of ‘k a: we had monopolised the commerce of the whole world, •we had only need in time 'of peace to. rest on our oars in order to keep it. Ile knew that great distress prevailed in the agricultural classes of the nation, but let not the landed Gentle. men of that House think that their tenantry, who were unable to pay their taxer and their rent, were to he set up by any such expedients as imposing a duty on Wool; for, if that had the effect of de-! stroying our foreign trade, where could these Gen tlemen look for purchasers for their British wool ? When any particular manufacture was in a state of decadence, it was the true business of Legisla tion to prop it up, and not to hasten its fall, Arguing, however, as he did on the subject, he wished it- to be understood that he did not hold out that the taking off the Duty on Wool would restore to the manufacturers that trade which they had lost from so many causes. With respect to the state of other manufactures than the woollen, he would state, that in the town of Sheffield the Forms' Rates were double fur the four months of this year, in compari son with the corresponding period in the preceding; but still there was more digress. hi the woollen than' there was in the iron trade. In this situation of things, it was grating to the feelings of the People, to see the I louse willing to lend themselves to a project to increase the price of the raw material on which their industry and ingenuity were to be employed in order to redeem their distresses. He looked upon this tax as, a mere experiment to see how far the country could bear an increase to its burthens, or it' it were possible to procure a revenue from a falling trade. For these reasons he thought himself justified to call upon the House for the repeal of a duty which could not by possibility be made a protection to agriculture, which could not add to the revenue, and which was grating to the feelings of the People, and operated as a bar to the accumulation of capital. The Noble Lord concluded by moving, " For leave to bring in a Bill to Repeal the Tax upon Foreign Wool." Mr. T. WILSON seconded the motion. He de• eared it as his opinion, that unless there was a re duction of nine or ten per cent. in the price of our Woollen 'Manufacture, we should be cut out of the foreign markets. He offered his best thanks to the Noble Lord for the very able and zealous manner in which he had advocated the cause. On the question being put, Mr. WESTERN said, that during the periods of the greatest prosperity of the IVoollen Trade, the im portation of Foreign Wool had not been to more than half the extent it now was. The importation, for the last six years, was upon an averae of about 17 mil lions of pounds annually. Durini the eight months preceding the last four, there was an importation of 36 millions of pounds ; and this great influx would account for the apparent decline in the importation of that article during the four months which had been' alluded to. The Honourable Member concluded by declaring his opposition to the motion. The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER said, Ghat whatever might be the ultimate result of the measure taken in imposing this duty upon foreign wool, it had not yet had any such fair trial as the Noble Lord had declared it had. Arguing on the same general principles as the Noble Lord bad, he should say, that if it -were thought improper to place a tax upon raw produce, it must at least be con sidered as an encouragement to domestic produce. The Noble Lord had seemed to think it inconsistent, that the same measure should at one time be treated as a protecting tfteature, and at inotheitime as a source of revenue. , He (the Chiniellor of the Ex chequer) did not think.this was inconsistent. The coo sumption was not ykely to be so diminished as not to render an efficient revenue ; . whilst it operated as a protection to the growers of the 'commodity. He did not know of any principle of political economy more to be followed in imposing a tax, than to choose ,for that purpose an article which was gradually and constantly increasing in consumption. In the years 1791, 1792, it would be found that the importation of wool was 2,800,000 pounds per annum. In 1814 it had incritased to upwards of 10,000,000 pounds: at the Peace of Paris, it had arrived at the amount of 18,000,000, and in 1818, to 26,000,000 pounds. The exportation of British wool, in the years 1791, and 1792, was four millions and a half; and in 1618 and 1819, it was only seven millions. It was allowed; that the long British wool was peculiar to the soil and climate of this country, and could not be reared in any other part of the globe—(Hea r, hear). — A small portion of the fine Spanish wool was worked up with this; but our own wool being inimitable, as it were, he could not understand how there could be any of our losing the foreign markets! What competition did we fear ? It was far from him to wish any branch of the British manufactures to suffer ; but he was told that the interest of the ma nufacturer and the . grower were the same. If that was the case, was at not to he feared, that if the wool groper were suffered to be ruined by a great importation, the, manufacturer being so closely al lied to him, must suffer also from his misfortune?— The falling off in the woollen trade was not so great as might be imagined; for in 1800, the consumption was 140 millions, and now it was at the rate of 160 millions. From a decline in the trade taking place, it was immediately attributed to the tax upon it ; but it was a fact that it had not fallen off more than other articles. The principal cause of the decline was the failure of the export to America, the causes of ' which he wculd not then go into. France and the rest of the. Continent complained as much as we did.— He contended that this tax had not failed as an article of revenue, because it was not expected to produce more than it had. Feeling, as he did, that the repeal ' (1 the tat would oppress the trade still more than it would by remaining, he felt himself called upon to move the previous question. Mr. STUART WORTLEY supported the motion of his Noble Friend, for a repeal of the tax on foreign wool. In adopting the same arguments, and taking the same view of the question as his Noble Friend, he acted entirely from the dictates of his conscience. He depicted, in warm colours, the distreised - state of the labouring classes in his part of the country ; and declared, that although he had invariably sup ported the Government, he would say, that putting on that tax on a declining trade, in the manner it had been done, was as cruel a blow as was ever inflicted on a suffering people. He firmly hoped that the tax would be repealed. • Mr. IILAISSON thought, that if we proposed the monopoly of British Wool, which others were • unable to compete with, there was no fear of onr being driven from the foreign markets. He denied it was entirely a new principle to place - a tax on raw produce, and in support of his assertion he would instance the tax placed on Cotton, on Timber, on Iron, on Oil, all of which were raw materials. The depression in the Woollen Trade was not confined to that a!one, nor was. the general depression of Manu factures confined to this country alone. • To lay all the blame on a miserable Tax on Wool, was, he thought, very far from making out their case.. Upon the whole he thought the Tax on Foreign Wool was .the best tax that could be laid on in the present state of affairs. Mr. tIifIWEN was in favour of the motion ; a more impolitic tax, he said, than the one in question, bad never been imposed on any article. . .Mr. PHILLIPS rose amid cries of Question, ques tion ! and said he should not trespass on the tithe of the House, had he not been spoken to by many of those who felt the inconvenience and hardship of this Tax most; as such be must give the Noble Lord's motion his support, because he ,was of opinion the Tax was calculated to prevent exportation, and in his opinion, by no means adapted to relieve the distresses of the manufacturing classes. Mr. J. SMITH said, that, in the present state of the country, he would be unwilling to vote for the repeal of any Tax, unless it pressed very heavily upon the People, and was peculiarly injurious to their interests. The reason for this unwillingness was the alarm ke felt from the present financial state, of the country.. Any measure tending to lessen the means of supporting its public credit should be viewed with some degree of alarm—(llear, hear). — lie did not, however, feel disposed to continue the Wool Tax, as he considered it liable to great objec tions. The cloth manufacture was declining when Government came forward to propose this duty. It was a branch of manufacture that required a large capital, and the consequence of the tax must have been to lessen that capital, at a time when the mann factirres were in want of it. It was probable also that the great extension of the cotton manufacture was injurious to that of cloth. It was not correct to say, that the tax produced £300,000 a year. He hoped the financial state of the country would be fully con sidered, for it was on that depended all those minor questions. In this point he thought we should have yielded to the almost unanimous wish of the manu facturing interests of the country. Mr. BARRET opposed the motion. He did not see how this tar could have raised the price of wool,. it being in operation only since October last. The consequence of its being put off as the desire of the manufacturers was, that they imported more foreign wool than they could consume for a long time, and not less than two years produce of the South Down and Sussex Wools remained now undisposed of. The House then divided : For the Motion, 128— Against it, 202—Majority against the Motion, 74. SUPPLY. The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER, (the House in a Committee of Supply), moved a Resolution, for granting to his Majesty, for the service of the year, the sum of 47,00,000. The Resolution was agreed to. MISCSLLA NIES. Mr. BANKES proposed a vote of .C 10,900 654 Id. for the management of the British Afilletll/2 for the year I am, Lord JOCELY N observed that no public Building was better conducted than the British Museum : be regretted that the Pub lic were not admitted so Westminster4bbey and St. Paul's Ca thedral upon the principles adopted at the British Museum. After a few remarks from 'Mr, Beans. Mr. Wit. Same, and Sir Roam Wines, the obte was eirreei to, Lld the Re Pert tic', the Committee ordered to be received on Tuestitp The House then went into a Committee of Ways am 4 Means. The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER moved, that the sown of £7,ooo.ooo,voted.for the service of 1819, be applied to iitikta—The Resolution was agreed to. The CHANCELLOR of the EXCILEQUER also avowed to apply the Unclaimed Dividends to the public servke Put the present year. The Resolution being agreed to, the Report wu ordered to be received on Tuesday. The Customs Duties Regulation IEI4 and the Court of le ehequer Bill r went through Committees, and were ordered to be Reported on Thad* The Hoene went into at Committee on the Consolitiatfits Act, in which the 01114CILLOA of the Evatisauci moved, that the Chairman should apply for leave to bring in a Bill to continue the same. BROG DEN accordingly applied forleave to bring in the Bill.—Leave given. Lord CASTLEREA GII gave notice that he should move on Thursday, fort. Committee to take into consideration the state of Election Petitions. Mr. LUSII I NGTOWbronght in a Bill to contifiue the Cape of Good Hope Trade Act, which was read the first tints ; second reading on Tuesday. Mr. LUSHINGTON also brought in a Bill to allow a draw back on goods imported to the British Plantations in America. Also a 13111 to extend several Acts for extending the Trade to i llorant Bay, ii the island of Jamaica ; and a Bill for granting the• privileges of British ships to vessels in Gibraltar and the Port of Heligoland.—The above were read the first time, and ordered to be read a second time on Tuesday. The House adjourned at Half.past Twelve to Tuesday. THE EV'ENIN'G STAR. LONDON. TURDAY, AI At 27, 182 0 . TIIE FVNDS. PRICE Of STOCKS THIS DAY AT ONE O'CLOCK I 3 per Cent. Reduced 69 68% S per Cent. Consols 69% 7 13 Si per Cent. 77 t per Cent. 96 1 / 4 857 s 5 per Cent. 101 1 / 2 1 4 Long Anns. 17 15-16 13-16 Exchequer kills 12s. 10s. lls. pre. Consols tiw Opg. 70K 693 711 A most interesting subject occupied the attention of the House of Peers lastAight—the promised Mo tion of the Marquis of LANsuowx, for an inquiry into the practicability of extending the relations of commercial intercourse with foreign countries. ' The debate will be rend with much interest. His Lord ship, in bringing the subject before the House, stated, that he had no partial views in favour of particular interests. The interests of the agricultural and Com mercial classes were mutual and inseparable—they flourished or decayed together: even legislation itself could not ultimately succeed in sacrificing the one to the other; for the wants and interests of both bound them together closer than any law. In taking a detailed view of our commerce with different countries, his Lordship was of opinion that it would be advantageous to relax and enlarge our commercial relations, always deferring to present in terests and even prejudices, and proceeding on the principle of not sacrificing our own Manufactures to Foreign, but of establishing such a modified recipro city as would extend the demand for them. As ad vantageous relaxation might, he thought, be made with respect to France, by admitting French Silks, but compensating our own workmen by a Puha ' m►enruy Grant—and French Wines on the same du ties paid by Portugal and Spain. His Lordship al luded to other branches of cur Foreign Trade, and concluded with pressing the cultivation of the mar -1 ket fur Di Irish Manufactures in Ireland, and esta blishing intimate relations of amity and trade with the Independcm States of South America, which could never return under the dominion of the Mo ther Country, whether governed according to the, odious system that had happily ceased in Spain, or by a better substituted in its place. The Earl of LtrEnnoot. complimented the Noble Marquis on the able and candid speech with which he had introduced his Motion; and felt " a thorough gratification in being able to agree in the general principle on which the Motion was founded." though he did not attach the same importance to some of the circumstances urged in its support. Heagreed _with the Marquis in the opinion that there could be no distinct interests in the nation :—all contrary opinions were a misfortune, and produced mischief and injury. To prevent the People from being misled or agi tated by wild theories, he wished Parliament to express its decision without delay:—tell them what Parliament would do, and what it would not do.— His Lordship would not allow that either our taxes, poore-rates, or tythes (though they had some effect), were the main causes of our embarrassments; he then, from Parliamentary Returns, stated many facts relating to domestic consumption, and to our export and import trade; and, in conclusion, argued that the distress complained of was not peculiar to' this country, hut common to Europe, and even fo America ; but expressed a sanguine hope, that when the evil of artificial capital and overtrading had cor rected itself, the prosperity of the country would fully and shortly be restored. His Lordship, in reviewing different topics connected with commerce, was for no change in the Corn Laws—•tampering with them would do mischief. On Foreign trade his Lordship's opinions were liberal and enlightened, but he was-not prepared to agree that the Duties on Fretich and Portugal Wines should be changed, but he had no objection to investigation. In the House of Commons Lord MILTON'S Motion, for Repealing the Duty on Wool, was lost by a ma jority of 74. Yesterday, the Lords of the Council assembled at the Cockpit, in Whitehall, to make -arrangements re specting the Coronation of the KING. A Court of Common Council was held yesterday, at Guildhall.'—See Advertisement sit thcfrent 01114111sEuteTtoto—State of the pa, first day— Mr. James liGmeblr I'. Nusgrail io. TIM ARMY. Kondiy last, the,sl4 Regiment, the head-qndre , ; of 'which are in Litehlield, were inspected in a held adjoining to Whittington Heath. The regimen: had a line appearance in battalion ; the mer. lookel re mat kably clean, and went through their evointic , its with great precision. • During last week, upwards of SOO men arrive .l at the Invalid Depot, Chatham, limn the Mediterra nean and the East Indies. _ _ Friday sennight, the 19th VCIOt disembszted ar Graresend from the ships Dirk and Abater, under the command of Lieute.. nant..Col hblestue.w, from Ceylon, and immediately marched for Chatham, where it is expecTed they will discharge the rum out men, sad those whose services have exrired, and ernb::rk front thence for Winehestcr, which is fixed upon for their lend quarters. This Regiment his been in India nearly 24 years. Tie following are the Officers who arrived with it : Ca,rtaltilDostmt ; Lieutenants loeissmatio, TArt.os, DUNFCGCE, Wll l / 2 lhait'srs, Rumour, WIIIDELL En4igns Tram, &ors, ilarsce ; Atljatina llawtr.a; Surgeon PARIXii.; Quarter-:llaster L'Llturday morning, as a solkiier Of the 71st, :r -uched to the band uf that legirnent in Chester, w; s preparing himself to attend the Review, he com plained •ihat he felt an unusual pain in his stoniCA, threw hirnself on the bed, and instantly exiired.— His name - was Macdonald. NAVAL HITELLIGENCE. ratssocrn, Mar 24.—Wind :'.W.--Arrired the PrietulaYy, &ars, from Cork. ' !Imams's, Mar 2S.—Wind W.—Arrived the Ildpe, Ss moss, fr.um Limerick ; and Iforatio,"Tozsa, from duLrnsey. PeiViSMIOCTII, MAT 26.—Wind S.W.—Arrived the Maude, Millaavn, from the Downs fur New York. Drat, Mar 26.—Wind W.S.W.—Came down trawl tla River, the Gambier, DONOVAN, for Cadiz ; and Windsor' LIE, for Madras and Bengal: they remain in the with the Lady Borringdon and several coasters, wind-baulk'. HAILVVICIi, MAY 26.—Arrired the Lord Duncan packet, is a Mail from Holland. RAMIKIATZ, Mar 26.---Arrivetl the Active GATFTVT, from Waterford; she got on shore on the Long N..se yesterday, hit; got off last night without any damage. The Dutch gal!iot cub, Pactuta, from Amsterdam for Itouen, was wreck .id yes terday, on the Kentish Knock, and all hands lost, except H. de Groot; a sailor, who has been brought on shore by the fist ing logger Providence, which took him off the topmast in the afternoon. 31.1ftoavg, MAY 26.—Arrived the Atoneslcy, GREINSLADE. from Wexford fur London, with loss of anchors and cables. LIi2RIVOL, MAT 250—Arrived the Jaffrow, from Ont:ntl. Arrived off this port, the Telegraph, (;urns., from Charleston, sailed the 2:41 of April. Hem., .MAT 250—Sailed the Tuds transport for Portsmoutt, with troops. Wass/arm .3Ltr C. 6 —Passed by this pert the Fortitude, Salm, from Antigua; six weeks passage—ail well. MAT t .s.—Arrfved the Eagle, Niarri.re, from Bristol for Prince Edward's Island, with lose of both masts. The Paris Papers of Tuesday and Wednesday ar rived this forenoon. The discussion in the Chambe r of Deputies, on the Election Law, gets more animated as it proceeds. The affair of I.ouvd still lingers ia the Court of Peers. No resolution has yet been come to respecting the five individuals said to be implicated with him. DREADFUL RIOT Air DOVER.—Yesterday mom' I . ; a mob of between four and five hundred persons, men, women, and boys, armed with all sorts of wea pons, staves, bludgeons, pickaxes, scythes, &c. set out from Folkestone for Dover. On arriving there, they instantly commenced an attack on the Town Jail, the doors of which they soon burst open, and, after setting all the prisoners, chiefly smugglers, at liberty, they proceeded to vent their fury on the walls of the prison, scarcely one stone of •which they have left standing upon another. The attack was so unexpected, and executed with sigh expedi tion, that the Civil Authorities had not possibly time to make head against it. As soon as the aid of a military force could be procured _from the garrison, the Riot Act was read, and the mob then quickly dispersed. Their sole object appeared to be the liberation of their smuggling friends, whose numbers had been on Wednesday increased by eleven men, the crew of a galley, which was captured mid brought in by the Lively, Excise cutter,Ca Lu CRIN: Cox.—SirJ. DOYLE V. G. P. Bnow): On Tuesday Mr. NOATII was heard at length, In behalf Defendant. Lord Nom :air then summed up the case usual felicity; and the Jury, after abort ten minutes consult:l - with a verdict for the Plaintiff —Damages Thousand Pestuds—Sispence costs. THZ LATE GRANVILLE SHARP, Escr.--The moirs of this distinguished Philanthropist, composed by PRINCE HoARE, Esq. from his MS. Correspeed erice, and other authentic sources, will appear Ist of June. New LoAx.—We re-publish the following particu lars of the New Loan required by Ministers, the ment not having come in time to be in the whcle our impression of yesterday: The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER proposes that books shall be opened at the Bank of El on Wednesday, May 81, Thursday, June _ Friday, Jttne 2, for receiving Subscriptions of sons desirous of funding Exchequer Bills, - ceeding in the whole Seven Millions. • It is proposed that £99, Five per Cent. Stock, Dividends to commence sth July, 1820, should given for every £lOO principal of Exchequer " subscribed ; that £2O per Cent. on the amount scribed, should be deposited at theitime of subscribing. .Eto on or before July 28. £29 - - Sept. 2& £29 - - Nov. 24. A4O - - lan. 26, 1841. The Subscribers shall be allowed to Exchequer bills in advance, and to receive the interest upon ' amount of the Exchequer Bills for the first meat, from the date of the Bills up to the May ; and upon the amount of Bills for each quent instalment, from the date of the Exchequer Bills up to the day. when the instalments have become due. Subscribers to have the option paying money in lieu of Exchequer Bills, upgn ing a premium of 20s. for every £lOO paid in —Subscribers paying money to be allowed at the rate of 2d. per cent. per diem, from the payment to the day when the instalment, in • of what the payment was made, would b. come due. Scrip Receipts to be issued from Bank in the same manner as for a Loan. The Earl of LIVERPOOL and the Cnericet.r.on EXCHEQUER reserve to themselves the rower ' making any Loan for the service of the year ' amount of five millions, and to increase sue as the whole amount may fall short of seven lions. They also reserve to themselves the of taking a Loan of twelve millions from the ing Fund.-4 per Cents. fell N I , and Consols _ A3N EiN7 ; FrinTxd and pnbildied Place, Temple-Bar ./.• -reck:d wept H. V. by the fi.ih- mast in the :REIENSL A PE, cables. ph, Cont., 'ortsmoutt, Fortitul, rrt.te, from th masts. lesday =- Chamber animated lingers eei.:l l said to be r motri.i persons, tc of W Ca- 5, &c. set 'ing there, the Town pen, and, gglers, -y on the of •which 'he attack h expecli- t possibly is the aid from the mob then peai-ed to Js, whose by eleven tared alfd LILISURN. urNE, Etq. ehalf of the sae with kis es consult:. ma t es Rio -The Me- composed trrespond- ear on the g partkn- , the state- : whole of proposes England te 1, and is of per- S t not OK- stock, the should be quer Bills mum sub- bscribing. Exchequer t upon the rst instal- he 31st of ach subse- Exchequer Its would e option of uPgn Far in money. td interest the day of in respect l have be- I from the The Earl Est of the power of ear, to the iuch a sum seven mil- the power i the sink- As rose IA • P — T;tickett• . • •