The Sun. — London, England, 1825-06-18 00:00:00

1- CUSTOMS' CONSOLIDATION BILL. .x 4 forting of the House. He hail long known the Hon. • and f:JL:th.at Officer intimately, and could declare that he had the peaten regard to the honour of his country in all his under takings. His errors were momentary, and were quite eclipsed ty "m:-. recollection of his great and brilliant services. His resto fidlOTl would be in unison with the sentiments of the country,' an 6 if he regained his station, he would impart a lustre to the profession which he could never tarnish. R. FERGUSSON had the honour of a professional ac eu4intanee with him, having served with him on many ocea 7sacc. No male existed who more invariably attracted the re spect and honour of the profession. His restoration to the ger vic,...t.o which he. gloriously contributed would be hailed by the whelp army as much agt it would gratify the House. Looking aCfC4I the House, he saw a Gallant Member who must be the extention„ if any were admitted, to the superiority of Sir Bobert %it'iloon. That Hon. and Gallant Gentleman was one of the highest military authorities known. It would be highly gratifying to the House to hear the opinion of that Gallant Officer upon theprofessional character and services of his Gallant friend. • fir GEORGE MURRAY did not rise in consequence of the sqggestion of his Gallant Friend who had just sat down, tut from a conviction, with respect to Sir Robert Wilson, that it was impossible to know any tuan whose qualities were better salted to the profession of which he had. been before so bright an ;:rnament. It would rejoice him to see that office restored. And if, when that were done, he could only keep his talents employed in the proper way, he would greatly benefit the pro fession. He took the same opportunity of observing, that the power which dismissed the Gallant officer must, in his opinion, termed in the Crown for the due and proper controul of the Arm. Mr. y MANSELL said, that the gallant officer had commit ted errors; but he had been sufficiently punished for them. No greater favour could be done to the House than to restore him to his rank. Mr. W. LAMB spoke to the same effect, and said that at was high time that the errors of the gallant officer were for gotten. Mr. BROUGHAM said, that only one opinion seemed to actaate all part: ;s. He wished to add his full and complete tes tlmony to the character given of his gallant friend, in regard to Ais conduct on a former very trying occasion. He was the pro fessional adviser and friend of the gallant officer, and he had ‘he fullest and most positive knowledge for. inducing him to say that the utmost exertion of human forbearance was mani fes:ed by his hon. and gallant friend. He (Mr. B.) had seen - t*.e documents in his possession, which, perhaps, no one be czles his gallant friend could have - refrained from publishing one word of thern did his honourable and gallant friend disulge, notwithstanding the aggravating situation in which he wa placed. The Committee of Supply was then postponed till Monday next. _ Upon the motion of Mr. GELATTAIT, the second reading of the 'lrish Poor Relief Bill was postponed to this day three winnths. Mr. HUSKISSON having moved the Order of the Day on the further consideration of the report on this Billoteveral clauses were pro forma brought up; after which the House resolved itself Into a Committee. Mr. H LTSKISSON begged to remind the Committee, that early in the course of the present - session, on the 25th March last, he had had the honour of submitting to their consideration a variety of resolutions, tending ,to effect very important changes in our system of duties andtustens, and applyingnot only to the manufactures of this country,-but to manufactured articles imported from foreign: States.. _He-had, on that occa sion, entered at great length into a statement of the grounds upon which it was proposed that these alterations should be in troduced into our commercial policy ; and they were- formally recommended in the resolutions brought in. At the same time, in effecting such extensive alterations in a system of duties and customs that had existed through se long a succession of years, he had felt most desirous of availing himself of all the light and experience that could aid him in so arduous an undertak ing ; and he had accordingly invited the suggestions and ob servations of all practicable and intelligent men who might be willing to afford him the benefit of their counsel and informa tion. He could assure the Committee that that invitation was very generally nceepted, and that his propoeal was not un heard ; for no person, he believed, who had filled his situation had ever become engaged in a more extensive correspondence than himself, or had received:more numerous deputations, or bad been-a party at. more conferences than he had received and met at Board 'of Trade since those alterations - were titst announced to Parlimnent.—(A laugh.)—The Committee wenld not be surprised to hear this, because it must be evident that many individuals, and many separate interests wouLl be seriously affected, or would consider themselves to be so at any rate by the operation of such charges.— In mentioning these facts, he did-not at all desire to disparage - pettier the motives or the proceedings of those individuals, Gr to discourage any other Honourable Gentleman who might -lieresfter till the post which he now occupied from pursuing a shitilar course of action. His object was rather to apologize to tie Committee for now again adverting to the measures in question ; and especially in the view of stating, that however great itriglit be his desire to attend to the representations of every individual who might wish to he heard, in regard to any of these alterations, he was sure that it had not always happen ed t!tat he could follow his own wishes by complying with such applications, But if he had in any case seemed to he in atten tive. to any body, it was only because it was merely impossible, amidst- the claims of en many interests, to attend particularly to the elm of every individual.--(llear !)—And further, he did not feel it necessary where he was so called upon, in reference to points and questions on which he had already largely and explicitly explained- -himself, to enter upon such explanations agaoi hear !)-1-laeing now, therefore, .heard, as he 'ought aseuene e all that could be said upon the subject of those 'Operations be all persons interested in their operation ; and not only all e that .catald he said by such interested parties, but all the stiggestiolonproposels,and animadversions which had been made b those other parties who had aecepted his invitation—(a laugh),—he nowcarae to indicate to the'Committee how far he had subsequently modified those resolutions which he had introduced-on the termer evening. The modifications which he had now to suggest were intended still further to extend and - establish a more sound and salutary policy than had hitherto prevailed with respect to our foreign commerce, and in regard to the encouragement of our manufactures and the general tisde of the country. In looking at the period of time which had been occupied in considering these changes and modifica tions, the Committee would do him the justice to remember, that it was highly expedient and essential that important altera tions in a system so vast and complex as that of our' commercial revenue should not be inconsiderately or precipitatelyeulopted. The numerous propositions that bad been submitted to him in this respect by the many patties he had alluded to, he had re .ccived aid reviewed with peat jealousy. The alterations he had propoweejed to the Cortunatee in. the beginning of the Session. , werelotinded upon the best inforenatioti he could obtain, and the most mature deliberation he could bestow upon it. At the • Marie time he had felt then, and .sioce, that it became him to study other statements, and to get. information from all quarters, -.but he might add (as we undetstoodt, in regard to some of the parties by whom it had been contributed, that there Was in some. matances, as between himself and them, an issue of statements as well as an issue-of expediency.—(Hear !)—Now, in the most extensive.branchea of. our,fiereign manufactures anti commerce he had been able, upon, the result of all the increased know ledge that he had arrived at with respect of them; since he first proposed the alteration of duties in question, to adhere to his original resolu does. In the great arti ele of all, for example, cotton goads, be did not now mein to propose any, alteration front the terms upon which it was already lett., namely, of reducing the old duty to an ad adorers-one of 10 per cent. Sheef all duties upon wnollentohe'propotted -equally to -adhere oo the limit he had already had elle. honour of suggesting—a duty of 15 per cent. ; and, indeed, he thought upon the whole that 15 per c.ent. would not be found by the parties who felt most interested in the subject, ate inadequate protection. In like manner, the (hides upon all metallic eubstentes would remain unaltered, excepting in the.single article of lead. After much inquiry con crewing the variable price of that metal, which was so essential in Rainy branches' of dottestic improvement in this country—es in building, ft* ,example, he was prepared to propose the .re duetion of the duty stilllower than he had put it in the scale of alterations already submitted to the Committee:. In the eaten . sive article of earthenware, he proposed to retain the duties On the footing already recommended. But in the duties;upon some other branches of our manufactures that he would mine, he had —4,ut not without considerable regret -and relactance—deemed it - necessary to intreduee some modifications. There were some branches of our linen-manufactures on which he lead origin- any proposed an ad valorem defy of 25 pet: cent.; but upon viitich, after having since heard the evidence and representations oral/ the parties who had been examined before the Board of Trade upon the subject, ha was now disposed to thinkit might be expedient to adopt a different mode of levying the duty. Instead oflevying an ad valorem duty, he thought it would be expedient to change it for another, considering that it.was proper to avoid imposing a duty of the former kind where it could be avoided,- and to substitute, in this-case, such a one, as on the best com parison that could ,be made between p rices abroad end prices at home, might seem adequate to thedue -protection of our own _trade.—(Bear!)—Now the gradual reduction of such a duty, in a certain period of time, to the amount of that ad valorem duty he twi forinerly proposed, would either tend to admit the foreign manufactures in greater supply; or cause the British manufacturer, by imposing upon hint a necessity' for increased industry and attention to his bushiest', 1 0 to reduce the price of his goods as to he ambled successfully to meet the foreign ma w* facturer.--( Hear, hear !)—There were several circumstances , connected with this particular manfacture that were necessary to be taken into consideration—euch as that in Ireland it was conducted by manual labour alone, he might say, without the intervention of any machinery. In respect of linens, therefore, it might be described as a competition . between labour and la-. hour that must subsist between those which were made at home and those which were manufactured abroad. But again, with regard to Ireland, the int e re s ts of which every Hon. Gentle man must look to with peculiar anxiety and favour, it was.to be observed that a great change was effecting in her linen-ma nufacture, for machinery was now rapidly introducing • itself into that branch of her trade, and a great proportion of capital was coming gradually into circulation in that country ; and had the foreign manufacture been admitted at the lovier duty which he (Mr. Huskisson) had originally proposed, it was feared that great difficulty and many impediments might have opposed themselves to the progress of the improving commerce; the consequence of which would, probably, have been that, los ing its present advantages, the Irish linen trade might never have been able to meet its foreign competitors ; that this manufacture would not only not have arrived , upon any fa vourable terms in other markets, but might have been lost to Ireland altogether.—(Hear, hear !)—The Committee would see the difficulty in which any person must stand who was in his (Mr. Ifuskisson's) situation. If, in the calculation of a certain revenue, a slight error happened to be committed in the original statement, and the produce was discovered to be proportionably affected or altered, nothing in the world could be more easy than to correct such an error ; and the pub::: ser vice would be sensible of little or no inconvenience from the occurrence of such a mistake. But if, in the apportionment of duties, or the regulations of trade, wherein the interest of so many thousands were involved, such errors should happen to creep into the measures of the Government, the country would long have to brood over the serious consequences that must ensue. It seemed to him, however, that by the adoption of a scale of duties on linens, to be.lowered in the course of eight years frOm their present amount to the point he had formerly fixed, the Committee would not be discouraging the capital now engaged in that branch of our national industry, but it wutild be enabling the, home manufacture to rival, in a short period, the foreign, in the foreign market. If he (Mr.. Hus isson) had made himself understood, it would appear to the Committee that he produced no modifications in respect to the principal branches of our commerce, on the altered duties he had suggested, with the few exceptions he had named. The new scale of duties on foreign linens was, at present, such as might effect the purpose he had in view, by providing for our , home manufacture adequate protection, and nothing beyond adequate protection; and by enabling it to meet a similar ma nufacture in foreign markets, is the same way as our woollens and cottons would now do. In another branch of our trade, he had thought proper to suggest a further alteration of duty.— On the article of glass, he had originally proposed a slight ad valorem duty ; but this was, also, one of the articles upon which he had experienced considerable difficulty ; and for this reason, glass was subject to a very heavy excise. Gentlemen acquainted with the history of the revenue must be aware, that the excise duty imposed on any article was not which increased, in any material degree, the amount of charge or cost to the manufac turer ofsuch article ; but it was imposed usually on the manu facture, which persons were stationed on the spot to watch.— On the article of glass, therefore, he felt himself obliged to propose a new alteration of duty, so as to make that duty of a very considerably less amount than at present. This alteration would have the effect, he thought, of alternately improving the manufacture—as in the case of the linens duty—and of greatly reducing its cost. A similar alteration he should propose in the duty on paper. That manufacture was also subject to excise duties; and he would venture to say that.the projected alteration would conduce very materially to the encouragement of the manufacture. There were some circumstances that operated materially ore the manufacture and price of foreign paper; and the most important of these was, that in some cases the exportation to this country of the raw material was virtually prohibited. For example, the exportation of rags was entirely prohibited by the revenue laws of France and of the Netherlands. The consequence was, that its exportation being forbidden, the article was ma nufactured in those countries below that fair natural price which it would obtain in almost any other parts of the world. From the depreciation of the value of the raw.material, they could manufacture paper more cheaply .than almost any other countries ; and from the restraints imposed on the exportation of that material, we manufactured it, perhaps, dearer than any other people. These considerations had induced them eo pro pose a new scale of duty on paper. Another article.to.be noticed was the importation of books. He had left the Bill as.he found it in respect of what books might be imported into this country. They were strch t as there existed no copyright in here. No books could be imported that were of a contrary description; though individuals were not prevented from bringing them into this country, if they were not for any purposes of sale, but for their own private use. But he thought it would not be prejudicial to the boot:selling interest in this country, it; instead of continu ing the very heavy duty at present payable on imported books which was 61. 10s. (per cwt. we believe) on books of all descrip tions, he named a lower one ; and he had therefore determined to reduce it to IL This duty operated, at present, upon those books, in fact, which formed the bulk of almost every library ; and the reduction, therefore, might tend, in no inconsiderable degree, to the beneficial consequences of advancing the cause of literature, and of extending the general diffusion of knowledge. —(Wear !)—With respect to other books, upon which the pre sent duty was 71.. he had lowered it to 51., and he meant to ex tend the same scale to. manuscripts imported. Not to weary the Committee, by again travellint through other details, many of which he had largely entered into on the occa sion of submitting his resolutions to them on the 25th of March last, lie would pass over altogether a great variety of. articles, comprising amongst others the raw materials of seve ral manufactures ; which he had also made the subjects of si milar alterations of duty. On flax and tallow he proposed - to effect a still further reduction. In like manner, as the schedule now stood, it would be seen that he had proposed to lower the duties on barilla by a scale of gradual reduction ; but he had since seen the parties principally interested in its importation ; and understanding front them, that when about two years ago some alteration was made in those duties, it was understood that no further change would be made in them for five years after that period', lie should now suggest that the proposed fur ther reduction of those duties should take effect from the period at which those live years would have expired. He meant, that to the expiration of that period they should fall back to the ' same rate of duty that Was settled two years since; but after the five years had elapsed, the present system of reduced duty was to be acted on. Other duties that it was highly ma terial to the public convenience to alter were those on timber.— (Hear, hear !)—After many years research and experiment, it had been .found impossible to prevent the duties on tim ber from being evaded; but it had become absolutely ne cessary now to obviate what he would not call a freud exactly, but what was a very commonly practised deception, owing to the state of the duty on planks. The timber-duty upon every 1,050 cubic feet was 555. ; upon every 125 planks, the duty was 41. Now, people had lately contrived to cut the planks of such a size and thickness, that one of them, though it could not be measured as solid timber, would afterwards yield ninny planks; a plank of this thickness, therefore, would only pay a duty of Ms. Bd. Perhaps; which was to all intents and purposes, as to the duty, solid timber.—(H ear, hear 1) A practice so evasive could not but be extremely prejudicial to the fair trader ; and he should therefore propose such an alteration of the scale as would bring planks of these large di mensions within the description of solid timber. The' duties on the timber as of England and Ireland would be less in their present condition. Not only did the revenue buffer by the practice he had just spoken of, but the demand for . British shipping usually freighted home for the transport of plank timber was proportionably decreased thereby. He was anxious to reduce the duties upon raw materials used in our nue.nu- factures, particularly dyeing materials, as low as possible.— (Hear 1 .)-In the same way, and with s view to the encourage ment of our smaller 'colonists in the West Indies, he was de sirous to.assist the i , mpurtetion.of all the niinor articles of We't Indian produce. Upon revising the alterations suggested in a the resolutions which he had formerly submitted, lie had added a great many articles that entered into our trade or our menu factures. Among the important ones was a reduction on the duty of ships built in the colonies, if broken up here. By a strange oversight of the law, such ships were subject to a duty of not less than 50 per cent., if broken up in this country.— This enormously heavy duty was the cause that a very large and unwieldy ship, that had been built at Canada, and had arrived, some time since in the port of London, was not broken up here as was intended, but was sent back to Canada. So that to impolitic duty, entirely; it was owing that she was I not broken to pieces in this port. That duty lie proposed to reduCe to 15 per cent.—(Hear, hear!)—hie was aware that to some Gentlemen these details possessed but very little interest. They were, however, of the unnost importahce as connected with tile commerce and opulence of the country, and the im provement of its resources. At the present moment they were particularly important ; for sure he was, that if that system of combination which now existed in the king dom.. could not be repressed by the interposition of the Legislature, it must be repressed by tine additional' fa cilities; given to the introduction of toreiga manufactures. it could not be tolerated that the people of this country should be exposed to the difficulties and mconveniencies that must always follow on any restrain tin imposed on the freedom of labour. —(Hcer !)—He for one should be fully prepared to say, that if the ship wrigts of England, for example, would not act in such a manlier as to leave the employment.of capital free and ins shackled in ship-hulling in England—if they . would not leave , the induetrieu* artificers engaged.in that. branch of trade free to pursue their own occupation on their owe , terms —it could only remain to the merchants to employ foreign-built shipping. On the same principle he was prepared to contend, that it' our own seamen, listening to misguided men, refused to permit English mariners to engage in the tuerchent service, the only alternative for the latter would be .of necessity to employ foreign seamen. After exhorting the artificers generally to renounce every thing like combination, which he shewed would only, 'by fettering the employment of capital, terminate in their own ruin, the Right Honourable Gentleman concluded by remarking upon the necessity of doing away, wherever it was practicable, with the present system of protecting duties. =To prove its mischievous effect he would only instance it in a single article of very general consumption—pepper. The duty on that article was about five hundred per Cent. on the value—an enormous disproportion that must affect either a diminished consumption or be an incentive to smug gling. The original cost of this article was about sd. per lb.-- The whole consumption of the united kingdom was not more than 1,200,0001 b. a year, which did not exceed a proportion of about an ounce and a quarter to every individual of our popu lation. This duty he would reduce from 2s. .6d. per lb. to Is. per lb. This► arrangement, he should hope, would rather en courage the consumption,.of an article of East India produce. At present he would,only add, that the Committee was not to be considered as coining to any final adjudication on all the reductions that it was proposed to effect in our present system of duties.—(Hear !) Sir kJ. PARNELL', after complimenting the light lion.' Gentleman on the great clearness and ability with which he had just explained his intentions to the Committee, expressed his regret that the schedule before them shewed that in several instances the Right liOn. Gentleman still retained those mis chievous end foolish protecting duties, to which, as a system, he (Sir H. Parnell) was entirely opposed. He now begged leave to make a few observations on the cotton manufacture. He did not see the necessity of SO high a rate of duty as that contained in the schedule being unposed for the protectiOn of that manufac ture. The Right Hon. Gent. wished to uphold a duty of 10 per cent., but while they had extensive capital, and a great variety of machinery, which was used in the manufacture of cotton, the idea of competition. with this country was futile. They paid high wages, they also paid a duty on the raw material; but still, such was the p.erfectiau. of the machinery, that foreign na tions could not compete with them. It was, therefore, a mis take to argue that; high wages were' always productive of high prices —a position which the late Mr. Ricardo had-occupied much time in successfully combatting. With regard to wool lens, he did not mean to object to the rate of duty mentioned in the schedule—at the same that he could not exactly see why 18 per cent. had been fixed on, rather than 10 or 20 per cent.— As to the linen manufacture, he was willing that it should re- Main on the ground that was stated in the original schedule. It was only fair, he thought, that it' should do so, because the iniproved mode of manufacturing linen in Ireland, and in this country, had not yet had a mail - vie:it trial. But the Right Hon. Gentleman had made a deviation, it appeared, from the original schedule. . He now consented to continuo a protecting duty of 25 per cent. for eight years, and in this instance he imposed on the country die five evils connected with the protecting system. This 25 per cent. he tonsidered as nearly . a prohibition ; and by proceeding in this manner, he was certain the system would , not be got rid of in 10 years. On looking through the schedule he still saw many protecting duties, from 50 even to 75 per cent. continued, which ought to be abolished. Considerable re ductions had been made on trifling articles, such as sealing-wax, &c., which should have been struck out altogether. But on articles of iniportance, large duties were still continued. On copper there was a duty of 30 per cent.; and he conceived, looking to the capital, industry, and skill of this country, that such duty was not called for. On hardware there was a uuty of 20 per cent. This was an article which, above all others, cone sidering our great excellence in the manufacture, and the admi rable machinery which was applicable to it, could bear a very considerable-reduction of duty. Again, there was 15 per cent. on cutlery ware—a manufacture in which this country excelled in the Tomtatinn of which all the advantages were in their fa vour. He considered these ditties too high, and if this country imposed such duties on the goods of foreign powers, and thelat ter retaliated, he conceived the merchants here had no fair cause to complain. lie was anxious to point out these circumstances,for the purpose of making way for the thorough reform in our com mercial system which he hoped would speedily be effected, and which, he was sure,would tend greatly to the extension of our ma nufactures. The Right Hon. Gent. deserved the thanks of the country for his reduction of the duties on certain raw materials, which would benefit the public considerably. But there was ii want of attention with respect to articles in which this country could not compete with others. On leather and on shipping, he conceived every thing like a ditty should be • removed. Ile would remove, or greatly reduce, the duty on hemp and timber. He was sorry to see the duties kept up on what might be term ed " minor luxuries." A number of things which were con sidered comforts by the great body of the people, were still sub jected to a heavy impost. Of this description were currants, raisins, apples, grapes, &c. Indeen, in some particulars, it would seem as if the schedule had been drawn up to annoy the people. The poor were in many instances affected by it. Bacon, butter, beef, and pork, were marked down at a certain rate of duty. lie had hoped, as new circumstances had arisen, as new principles had been promulgated, in consequence of the labours of Mr. Ricardo and others, that this part of the subject, ' which was connected with a rise in the price of food, and a consequent rise in the rate of wages, would be treated in a more liberal manner. Nothing was so impolitic as to lay heavy duties on the necessaries of life. Looking to this schedule, I with the exception of one or two articles, he found all the rest defended by protecting duties.—(llear!)—Those duties had, he thought, n n extremely injurious effect, and ought in conse quence to be taken ofF. If they were, the five evils which the Right Hon. Gentleman had adverted to would no longer exist. A Bill had been introduced for the prevention of smuggling.— What was the reason of the alterations which that Bill pro.. posed ? There would. be no necessity . for any legislation on the suNect, hut for this schedule. Why should they pass a - Bill with such clauses? One of the clauses contained in it was just as bad as the Irish Insurrection Act. He alluded to that which related to lurking, after run-set, near the sea shore. For this offence a man might be taken into custody— than which nothing could be more oppressive. - If this schedule • were put on a proper footing, there would be no necessity for any provision of this kind, since there would be little tempts , don for smuggling. To the clause he had referred to, he felt the strongest objection, becau s e it w a s incompatible with the liberty of the subject. He should make no tnrther observa tions on the plan of the Hon. Gentleman ; but he hoped he would, as fast as possible, proceed with the repeal of those laws which fettered the commerce Of the country. Mr. MABERLY was of opinion that the Hon. Baronet had not treated the- plan of the Right Hon. Gentleman fairly.— He had argued it on principle, instead of looking to the ex pediency which must be connected with the proposed altera nons. In another respect, too, he had not met the question , fairly, as he had throughout rather argued on the schedule as a ,schedule of revenge. If the Honourable Baronet had at tended to the opening speech of the Right Honourable Gen. denten, he would have seen clearly what his object was.— He came for ward to relieve the commerce of the country, and he divided the subject into two parts. In the first place, his proposition respected the colonial interest; and his second proposition had reference to the expediency of revising the scale of duties on manufactures, &c., and of relaxing those prohibi tory, or, as they a were called, protecting duties.' Of course the Right Hon. Gentleman could not immediately say what amount of relaxation should ultimately be extended to each manufac lure. That would take up more than one, two, or three years. The Right Hon. Gentleman had submitted his plan in March last; and now, three months afterwards, having, in the mean time, given the question every consideration in his power, lie, stated to the House what he conceived to be at present a fair re, laxation. The Hon. Bart. approved generally of what had beers done, but he had an exception. When he came to Irish linen, he regretted the p:otecting duty of 25 per cent., while cotton Wee protected in- a trifling degree. It was entirely a question of expo. diency as to the tune when, and the extentto which, those differ ent duties should be reduced. The Hon. Baronet observed, that no reduction had been made beyond 30 per cent.; whereas, if he examined the table, lie would find that duties, amounting to 120, and even 130 per cent., had been greatly reduced. The Right Hon. Gentleman had deviated from his original plan in •two or three instances. Linen was one of them e but lie here only deviated with respect to time. In glass, paper, and bar rills, some alteration had beeh made. But was it possible that the Right Hon. Gentleman could no through the whole trade of this great commerc i a l coun t r y, and decide at once what should be done ? When the whole interest of the country was at stake, ought he not to act with caution? And yet, after all, he had deviated in a very trifling degree. No man could have load more to struggle with than the Right Hon. Gentleman in the course of this proceeding, and no Man could be more entitled to the thanks of the country for the manner in which he met the interests of different parties, or for the soundness of the views he promulgated on this important subject.—(llear !) No alteration had been made with respect to silks, co ttons, and woollens ; but linen was to be protec te d by a duty of 25 per cent.' But when the Hon. Baronet noticed this part of the sub ject,. he ehould state what the present'protecting duty was. It was 100 per cent., and that was to be reduced gradually to 25 efoiguhntdyi years ex n it expedient cent. N ow' in removing this protection, what course had the Right Hon Gentleman taken ? He saw that the manufac ture involved th e i n t eres t s o f man y par ti es , a nd therefore be pedient to relax the protecting duty by degrees, and was given for that purpose. - The Right Hon. Gen tleman had placed but a small protecting duty on the cotton manufacture, in consequence of the extensive use of Ma chinery in that trade. That, however, was not the case with the linen trade. But it was hoped that, in seven or eight years, by the introduction of machinery, this fabric might be manufactured thirty • or forty per cent. cheaper than at present, and therefore this course had been taken. Tune ought to be given for this plan to be carried into effect, especially as the application of machinery to spinning flax must, of necessity, be much more slow than its application to the spinning of cotton. It was considered, 14 competent judges, that, when the plan was matured, the linen, manufactured by the aid of machinery would be 60 or 70 per cent. better than that manufactured in the ordinary way. The Hon. Gent. con chided by pronouncing an eulogium on the Board of Trade. The Right Hon. Gentleman who presided over that important department, and whose labours were gratuitous, ought, he con ceived, to be liberally rewarded for the performance of his duties in that office, and not, as at present, derive his salary from another and a subordinate situation (Treasurer of the Navy) where his duty was scarcely more than those of a pay master.—( H ear I )—lle trusted the Chancellor of the Exchequer would take the case of his Hon. Colleague into serious con sideration. 111 r. T. WILSON, in reply to the ohservations of the Hon. Baronet (Sir H. Parnell), said he was surprised to hear any ob jection from him to the alteration 'in the linen duties. He had been in the habit of hearing so much on this subject, and so much had been said in the House, that he was sure this mea sure originated in a kindly feelin g to war d s I re l a nd. He con cluded by expressing his satisfaction at the proceedings of the Right Hon. Gentleman, which would improve the commerce of the country, and show to foreigners that we were willing to ad mit them to a fair share of the advantages to which they were entitled, as well as ourselves. Mr. BRIGHT suggested to the Right Hon. Gentleman that it would be advantageous to the West Indies if some facility were afibrded to the introduction of the productions of the warmer climates which might be grown there. lie instanced particularly almonds, grapes, and currants, which he hail no doubt would thrive in the West Indies, and thus a valeable branch of commerce, at present confined to the countries bor dering the Mediterranean, might he tranferred to our own co lonies. He thought also that the matting, of the West Indies, instead of being charged as it was at 20 per cent should be much reduced. This would give occasion to a great demand for the article which was used as a wrapper for East India sugar. He hoped at least, that if these alterations could not at present be made, they would engage the attention of 'the Right Hon: Gentleman by the next session. Mr. C. ELLISON we understood to•Yecortitnond a reduc tion of the general duty on coals, and on the exportation of coals from the port of Newcastle. . • The CHANCELLOR of -the EXCHEQUER said he had not overlooked the subject alluded to by the Hon. 3lember for Newcastle, hut the great and numerous difficulties which stood in the way had prevented him from • doing as much as he had contemplated. A great reduction had, however; been effected, that on coals carried coastwise bad been reduced to 3s. ;:s.r dial. dron, and to Is. per chaldron on coals of particular dimensions.. He had been told that this latter sort of coal, being unable to bear the duty, was consumed at the pitta' mouth, and in fact almost wasted. Ile was induced on this account, and because he thought'it might be made very useful in manufactories, and as fuel for the poor cl a sses of the people, to think the duty should be reduced. Ile had communicated generally on the subject of coals with several persons of science, and among others with Professor, Buckland, who united in recommending the al teration he had adopted. He flattered himself with the hope of carrying the same principle still farther, but he could not do so until the result of the present experiment had been ascer tained. lie was afraid of having too many irons in the fire, lest he should not be able to get some of them out. If Parlia ment should hold its hand for the present, he was sure they would do ten thousand times more good than by following the precipitate course which some Hon. Gentlemen recommended. Ile was quite aware that these minute details-required all the vigilance of the House. Ile trusted that the day would soon arrive when no article in the schedule would stand at too high a duty for the.commercial interests of the country. That would, however, take some time to perfect. In the mean time he must say, lie thought his Right Hon. Friend (Mr. Huskisson) had done as much as could be expected from him in one Ses sion. —(Hear, hear!) Mr. GORDON objected to such parts of the• schedule as imposed heavy duties upon trifling articles of luxury, which could in no way interfere with the commercial interests of the country. Sir T. ACLA ND expressed a hope that the duty on small coal from Wales (great quantities of . which were used in burn ing limes would be taken off.. The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER had no ob jection to reduce, but could not consent to take off, those duties. _ _ Mr. HUME complained, that the schedule appeared to be in many instances ibruittl upon the contradictory principles of aftbrding a protection And levying duty at the same time.— Thus ;duty was laid upon raw hemp, while foreign sail-cloth was altogether prohibited. A duty was placed upon barilla, and yet soup was prohibited. Be objected, also, to the duty on drugs; and said he was very sure if one half of the items in the' schedule were struck out, the commerce and_ the revenue of the country would be both improved. He wished, also, that in. stead of the duty on non-enumerated articles, there should be a power in the Privy Council to impose such duties as circum stances should hereafter make necessary. Mr. HUSKISSON admitted that it might be proper to have some check over those articles respecting which none but prac tical men could form a proper opinion. He should be happy to adopt the suggestion of the Honourable Member for Aber deen, of vesting a discretionary power in the Privy Council but the Hon. Member was aware that the House of Commons was always extremely jealous of adding to the prerogatives of the Crown. When the House recollected all that he and, his Right Honourible Priced had done, extending the principles of tree trade within the last two sessions snore than had been done for a century before, he thought they ought not be found fault with if they had adopted every suggestion which had been thrown out. After a short conversation, which was carried on in.so low a tone that we could not collect what was passing, between Cap tain Moberly, Sir H. Purnell, Mr. Alderman Wood, :and Mr. Denham, the clauses were agreed to, the House resumed, and the report was ordered to be brought up to-morrow. - APOTHECARIES' AMENDMVNT BILL. On the motion of Mr. BROUGHAM', the House went into a Committee on this Bill. Zr. A BERCROMBY moved a clause, that the duration of the Bill should be limited to the cud of the next session of Par liament. Mr. BROUGHAM opposed the amendment, on the ground that it would produce the necessity of introducing the same Bill next year. . . After a few words from the ATTORNET.GENERAL , Mr. II usiE, and M r . D E x lIANi on the motion of the ATIORNEY GENERAL, the committal of the Felonies ' Counsel' B ill w as postponed to this d a y three month s.—The Bill is therefore lost for this session. The other Orders of the Day were then disposed of, and the House adjourned at THREE O'CLOCK till to-morrow (this day.) PARLIAMENTARY PROCEEDINGS• HOUSE OF COMMONS. Veneris, 17 0 die Junii, 1825. MESSAGE from the LORDS—That they have agreed to-- Exchequer Bills (X 10,500,000) Bill ; Excheqtter . Court (Ire land) Bill; County Treasurers (Ireland Mill ;. Excise Mea sures Regulation Bill; Lunatic Asylums (Ireland) Bill ; Sealing of 11'rits (Ireland) Special Juries (Ireland) Bill; And Lunacy Traverse Bill, without amendment.. EmarEs--Inge's, Fowler's, and Selater's--liills - read a first time. Waddington Hospital,. Christio Hospital, Btidewell Hosnital, g and St.. Bartholomew's Hospital—Bills read a Se cond time, and committed. Caldcleugh's.; and Clare 4411 (Cambridge)--Bills read a third time, and passed. NATURALIZATION—Vain Wart's—da rentV a - third time, and passed: Mathieu'4.L..l3ill.uitd a firs; OM DlVORCE—Peter's COURT OF KING'S BENCH COURT OF COMMON PLEAS JUDGES SALARIES OFFICES PXXSEONS Bills read a third : time, -• aud TEST ACT—Petition from Wisbeach, for the repeal thereof— to lie on the table. ComniNATION LAWS—Petitions of Sawyers employed on the Thames, against, and complaining of misrepresentation in a Petition signed by certain persons in the employment of 'Messrs. Curling and Co. Shipbuilders ; and of Weavers of Irvine, against—to lie on t h e ta bl e . COUNTY TRANSFER. OF LAND—further consideration Report put off for three m ont h s —Bill, .s . of printed. APOTHECARIES BlLL—Petition from Royal College of Sur geons of Edinburgh, for . provision in the Bill to enable th em to practice as Apoth ecaries i n E ng l an d an d NV a les—to lie on the table. ame nded, to be _ _ WRONGOU3 ImmusommENT—Further consideration of Re port put off for three months. Pooa RELIEF (Ireland)—Second reading put Of for-three months. FELONIES COUNSEL—Committee put oil for three months. INDICTMENTS REMOVAL PUBLIC ROADS (Ireland) Bills read a second time. EDINBURGH BONDS CUSTOMS TEMPORARY DUTIES COLONIEs TRADE .1%1 Bills, as amended, to,he printed. LINEN TRADE (Ireianu) COMBINATION• OF WORLMEN—BiII "to repeal the'Laws relating to, and to make other provisions in lieu thereof," read a first time, to be read a second time on Thursday next, and to be printed. , NEWSPAPERS—BiII "to allow N ews p a p ers t o ne pr i nted upon paper of a larger size, and to reduce the Stamp Duties now payable upon Supplements," &c. read a first time, to be read a second time on Monday next, and to he printed. PLATE DUTIES TRANSFER t Bills read a first time. FOUNDLINGS (llCland) • ORDERS OF THE DAY FOR THIS DAY. 1. Excise Licences. Bill—Third reading. 2. Salcey Forest Bill—Report. 3. Writs of Error Bill (Compensation to Officers—Report thereupon. 4. Customs Consolidation Act—Report thereupon. 5. Bank Tokens (Ireland) Bill—Committee. fi. Church Lands Exchange Bill—Committee. 7. West Indies Clergy Bill—Report. 8. Buckingham House Bill—Third reading. 9. Holyhead Roads Bill—Report. 10. Bubble Act Amend ment Bill—Third reading. 11. Plate Duties Transfer Bill—Second reading: 12. Foundlings (Ireland) Bill—Second reading. NOTICE GIVEN YESTERDAY. - . Arsday, June 21. Mr. Hume—Account of Half-pay of the Army 1822, 18:13, and 1824 :—Also, List of Promotions in the Army far tar same period. • UNIVERSITY INTELLIGENCE, &c. OXFORD, JualE 17 , ,(COMMEMORATION WEEK.) Our little world commenced the operations of its bUsiest week among the fifty-two with somewhat' that pro mised to call the neighbouring Gentry from their happy seats, and keep up some bright looks in the Oxonians in store for the long , dreary vacation. IVe bad two Grand Concerts 'at the Music Room on Monday-and Tuesday and no doubt the in habitants of the peaceful Ilolywell would havepardoned a much loader and more Continued rattling of carriages thart was heard• there, when they knew a Stephens was among them. This en-, rapfuring iongstress was, in fine voice, and received, as usual, unbounded applause. She sang " Whit the' I:tl.ice" with That delicacy of style for which she is so tinted. In several of her songs she Was exquisitely accompanied on .the flute. by Mr. Nicholson; the tones of that instrument semi ; hi•bleid delight fully with her melodious Voice. Mr. SapiO and Mr. Phillips came in for their share of applause. The latter:gentleman gave full vigour to the spirited air, ." Reven ge Timoiheus cries," and " - Large. al factotum," froM the_Barbiere dl Scvlglia: The introduction to the noble chorus, " The -horse and his rider," was given by Miss Stephens in a manner - that Seemed to, elec trify the audience, and the chorus followed - with line effect. 'The celebrated Chorus of Huntsmen, from Der Freischutz was again, brought forward,and one or two persons called for an encore! The request was complied with, but the repetition was accompanied with more than the author intended—it was kissed throughout. The Overture to Der Freischutz was badly performed,, and the effect eonaequently lost. The room was not full on the first night, bin tile second proved a bumper, and the perform ance, on the whole, was excellent.—On Tuesday morning we heard a most excellent sermon from the Right Rev. the Lord Bishop of Down and Connor, delivered at St. Mary's Church to as crowded and as respectable an audience as' we ever recol lect to have _seen there, in aid'of the Radcliffe Infirmary— one of those institutions alike noble and' honourable to hu man nature. Doctor Mant took his text from the 25th chapter of Saint Matthew, 4th verse; and it was rather happy, that the anthem performed in the aurae of the service, " When the Son of Man, 'by Kent (almost the wholeof which the Bishop quoted, and aptly applied in his discourse), but been selected for the occasion. The Right Rev. Gentleman made some beautiful observations on the nature of such Insti tutions, and pointed out most forcibly :he signal benefits which accrue to the vast but necessitous portion of our fellow-creatures. And after distinguishing between the different modes of charity, and the feelings by which we should be influenced in the Inv' motion of it , and markin g th a t u se l ess b ecause undistinguish ing mannerin which it is sometimes conferred by the world, he concluded by pressin g all who heard Min to do their en; deavours to advance th e great work, for the celebration or which they were assembl e d, a s one t hat all could look back upon in after days with real, undiminished, and unmixed plea sure and satisfaction. The' collection told the eloquence of the Bishop, which exceeded the one of last year by nearly 201. Yt amounted to fill. 7s. 64. The Stewards of the Institution for nogt year are C. C. Dormer, Esq. and J. W. Henley, jun. Esq.- - On 'Wednesday morning, soon after nine o'clock, the crowd around the Theatre pressing for admission' to see and be be eon vats immense. The flounced beauty, down to the little obscure Miss in ribbonds ;.Tay, and with back bare just " ance i' the lag' ging year to look a little fine," but which resembled " rebelled toare" more than any thing else in the world—all were on thS tip-toe of expectation. The doors were at last thrown open, and every one knows an Oxford rush. The hubbub, however, soon dwindled to a calm, and all were seated to their heart's delight. Now came the sight so imp4sing to - the eye of the stranger, the procession of the Vice - Chancellor, with the respec tive Headsi of the Colleges and Halls, and the young branches 'of the Nobility in the rear, all in their cestumes of state. Tha usual forms for ushering in the ceremonies of the day having ended, the Honorary, Degree of D.C.L.Wai conferred on the f ol_ eh a rless Oakeley, Bart. of Lichfield, and formeily . Governor rie APt ont .. low S i ir ng Ja d m is e ti s n gt u u i :r h t e , d ß p a e r rs t. o o n f s A i—R anba ' tilt, Scotland ; Sir._A r air; George Francis Lyon, Esq. Captain in the Royal .and mander of the Heck, late in the Northern Expetld' t i ;,. / the considered Francis Chantrey, Esq. R. A. They were all presente"„/F r a. itev. Dr. Bliss, Registrar of the University, a nd Depu t y fessor of Civil Law. - • - After the Crewian Oration in honour of the benefictorit9—tloter University, bad been delivered by Mr...Milman, the Prote n ili t c ., of Poetry, the Poems and Essays ivere recited by the D e nt in to whom the Prizes had been previously adjudged The Latin. Verse—lncendium Londincnse - onno Ififin Edward Powlett Blunt, Scholar of Corpus Christ College Latin.Essay—De Tribunicia aped Romanos potestate---wl Frederick Oakeley, B. A. Ch. Ch. Mylne, B. A. Balliol. glls h Essay— Lars as at oi n g a i t i i cr o g n r a , l in i copi ousness ny j a a n m d cs s firlut Wilms SIA 110. GER NEWDIGATE'S PRIZE- „ o f English Verse—The. Temple of Vesta at Tivoli —by RI"" Cleric_Sew ell, Dem y of 11'l agd afro. of ti le We must not forget the deafening roars from the lungs ~ t bs "!cads.—nor.to mention they bestowed, at the departure OL. n . procession, their accustomed plaudits in a more marked_nl7 l ( ner than we recollect for many years, on two or three Of P . particular favourites. signified to th e Vi ce -Ch a n ce l lor t h e i r , c h o i ce o f Mr. H`,o. 2.llerivale, Scholar o f T r i n i t y College, to be the first Sennith: On. Saturday l as t th e El ectors to D ean I re l an d's Scholor ro bi l p fg that foundation. O n W e d nes d ay t h e Re v e ren d Joseph Ad M.A., and Probationary Fellow of Trinity College, W"" ihitted actual Fellow of that Society. - On Thursday the following Degrees were conferred:'" Corti' Masters of Arts,--Edward Buller, Esq. Oriel, Orland ~,,p.. pounder ; Hon. and Rev. Charles Finch, Merton, GraV,;i f ie pounder; Rev.' Humphrey. A ilen;-.Worcester ; Rev- Y ., jIIOC Baldwin, Brasenose ; Rev. Francis Charles Massingberr e ivioy dalen ; RObert Biscoe, Student- of Christ Church ; ;L o we,: Henry Butler, Christ Church; Rev. Ralph Lewen.P.` Christ Church ; Rev. Edward 'Howells, Christ Choren,', ' Albert Jones, St. ;folio's ; Rev. John Olive, Wadhalm ' George Robert Paulson,:_B a lli o l . 0 4e B (1),,?„, Bachelors of Arts.—Richard M price Psonnor ,3 Church, Grano Cothpounilei' Thomas' A 1 iddleton, St. d job, Hallo . Wm. Robert son , DemY -Of Magdalen Benittn3AM"a' Harrison, Stud e nt-of Ch r i st Church.; Nathaniel Blannobii; Church ; Ralph EtWall, Trinity ; Wm: Welch,' St. " - SO' Sir. George PreVdst, Bart Oriel; John Cox, St. NOY .t Hon. John Mitford,. New College. . o - le c In the tame Convocation, the Rev. Dr. Whately, a se of St Alban Hall, 'was nominated and approved ,t1,,`,..(1a1f 0 , • preacher; in the room of the Rev. Mr. Mills, of 1.1,7 PiDl oi who • lies . resigned ; and the . ReV - . Dr. Hall, Master,_,_ broke, was nominated'a Commissioner of the Ma's" „bi room of Dr. Pett. ir At a General Ordin a ti on , h e l d , he on ihe sth inst., bYA, I2 tI O " Rev. the Lord Bishop of Gl oucester, the following `"" r dr this University were ordained loc , Deacons.--C. L. Stephens; A. B. St. Mary Hall ; 34 : ) ,rJe l° son. A. M. Queen's College ; /11. Watkins, A. College. Priests.-;-J. Daniel, . A 13.. Worcester College; J ot Fl'ot A. B. St. Edmund Hall ; P. A nnes l ey , A. B. St.ii,-.l atif ;t1 lege ; Richard B r i c kda le, A . B. Christ Church ; kW' A. B. Exeter College; 14a. Blagdon, A.B. St. Marl f. l ; ECCLESIA STICAL PREFERMENTS.—'rhe ;n , 1 . 10 7.4 1 pointed the H on . an d Rev. H ugh Percy, N. A., tot a teiA of Dean of Canterbury, void by the death of P3'. The Rev. M. W. Wilkinson, B. D. of Worcester !' t sibco o l'iti 4 this University, to the Rectory of Harescent cum Fl ro py to' in the diocese of Gloucester.—The /lei. Henry Th u hei,M Rectory of Ishain Inferior; Northamptonshire, 100, 11 0 e;„; sentation of the Bishop of Lincoln.--The Rev. John of Rector of Halsham, in Holderness, to the Viear 3 g„ e ingbrough, in the East Riding of Yorkshire ; patr ° 4 ,"'of Chancellor. Rev. W. Jones, to the Rectory A' 13.1-e! load, Worcestershire. The Rev. Francis W00df0r,;.,011,„ been instituted,, by the Lord Bishop of Bath and Iv o r ttit'2, Rectory of Weston Bamfylde, void by -the cession . ce oor DF. Woodforde ; and the Rev. F. Lockey d wi • his Lordship to the Perpetual Curacy bf pf parish of Wedmore. ' • I ini