The Sun. — London, England, 1844-04-30 00:00:00

of tb• Gevniany, and neighbouring countries, there is an in surance of one-third on every hundred pounds. while the premium is two shillings and five shilings, the duty on sailing vessels is four shillings, and seven shillings and sixpence, and ten shilling - s. Unde r t h ese circumstances it is necessary to reduce the duty, in order to secure to this country the advantages to be derived from marine insurances. In order to effect this, I propose, not only to reduce the duty, but to alter the scale on which it is levied. The present rate of duty is as follows;-For every 1001., where the premium does not exceed 15s. per cont., the duty levied amounts t° Is. 3d. p er cent. ; w h ere the prem i um excee d s 15 5 ., but does not exceed 305., the duty is 2s. 6d. per cent. ; end where it exceeds 30s. the duty amounts to 55 per C ent This presses unduly upon small insurances. I therefore prop )se to reduce the duty and to vary the rates according to the following scale. For every 100/. insurance, in NN hich the premium does not exceed 103., i e propose t o l evy a d uty o f 3 d. i nstea d o f I s . 3d. ; w here t h premium does exceed 10s. but does not exceed 205., a duty of 6d. instead of ls. 3d. ; In d in some cases 2s. 6d., as at present ; "'here the premium exceeds 20s. but does not exceed3os. a , duty of is. ; w h ere -i t excee d s 30 s . b u t d oes n ot exceed 40 8- a duty of 2s. ; where it exceeds 40s. but does not exceed 50s. a duty of 3s. ; where it exceeds 50s. but does not exceed 60s. a duty of 45.; and where it is above 60s. 11 duty of ss. I calculate that during the course of the present year the diminution of revenue con segue..et,. upon this reduction will amount to 100,000/. But I calculate that during the course of the following two years after the change shall have been e ff ecte d , there will he a sens ibl e i ncrease i n the disposition of foreigners to come to this country to effect their insurances, and that the country will reap the advantage even if no advantage should be derived the revenue in consequence of this reduction.- (Uheers.) It is also my intention -partially to reduce the Stamp duty on agreements and on f,'. r ,?xies for v ot i rg f or Ra il way C ompan i es , b ut th ose enuctions will afiect the revenue to so very small an r i ot, that I d o not th i nk i t necessary to trou bl e th e which on th e su bj ect. The next class o f art i c l es on °_ I prop ose to make a re d uct i on are art i c l es o f con su.n.icp tiou. Th e fi rst one i s an art i c l e, i n men ti on i ng 74 .11 I shall no doubt excite the laughter of the House This ra i e g an every fi t t t g the article of currants.-(Cheers and laughter.) value of article ofgeneral consumption, and is, therefore Tig articl e for reduction, whether we consider the the article, the duty which is impo,ed upon it, levri.ch.e countries which produce it. One of the countries from th‘nroduce it derives nearly the whole of its wealth tile produc e of this article. The value of one cwt. of currant s i s 405.; according to our tariff, on this cwt. of Curr ants ther e i s a d u ty imposed of 225. Now, what are currants ?---(A laugh.) They are but grapt s after all.- " l enewell laughter.) They are an article of great , consumption among the lower orders of ;oe people. They constitute a luxury agreeable to them, and beneficial to their general health. Currants are mainly consumed by persons in the lower ra nks of society, and the duty is a very large one. I therefore propose to reduce the duty on currants from Ps. to 15s. Sir, there is another argument also in Layou t of this reduction,-currants are the main Produce of the lonian Islands, whose intimate con nection with us affords an argument in favour I)'p our promoting their interest by promoting that branch of industry from which their resources are chiefly e d erived. I have said that currants are mainly derived 'Pm the lonian Islands. Those which do not come f rom thence, come from Greece ; and whatever may he said of that country in other respects, it must at least be eonfesged that it treats Great Britain, as regards commercial intercourse, with the most perfect fairness. ---,(Heer, hear.) F or th ese reasons - an d I cou ld men ti on others if it were necessary to do so-I think we a re justified in making a sacrifice even of 90,000/. of re..venue, which is the amount which I calculate will r e the first instance be lost on this branch of revenue, on , z half of those classes of society who look upon this ar ticle as a great luxury, but who are now in a great degree d ebarred from its consumption by the price at which it th te ld--(Hear.) The next article to which I would call „„e attention of the House is that of coffee.-(Hear, hear.) 4ne Rouse will recollect, that when the general arrange tnt of duties took place, in 1842, the distinctive and upon foreign and British coffee were fixed at Sd. 4 T I 4 d.; that is, there was duty of Bd. upon the one, and Oil the o th er , an d t h at extent o f di scr i m i na ti ng d u ty beta,g extremely large, w ith respect to the value of the L n l ,."'e on which it was imposed, was only maintained ti e " ground that we were then engaged in negotia lis with B raz il , w hi ch made i t extreme l y diffi cu l t an d I lliudie* ious at that time to reduce the duty on foreign duller to the amount to which we should have thought, `titieuer other circumstances, it ought to have been re tie I think it right, therefore, to avail myself of , op t ortunity which the termination of those negotia oot,, due as gi ven m - , e to recommend the House to re 'rh e the duty on foreign coffee from Bd. to 6d. I hate reduction, I am satisfied, from all the examination "are been able to give to the subject, will admit coffee e rY extensively for consumption in this country, with out i n • Jury to the interests of the celonies.-(Hear.) il l "! effect of the high duty has been greatly to reduce L e amount of foreign coffee consumed in the course of vest year-indeed nearly 30 per cent.-for the reduction ~°B _ B been from more than 11,000,0001b5. to less than troo,ooolhs. It being a most important thing to extend e u se of a beverage which is a great luxury to the rarerclas ses , n d w hi ch at t h e same t i me t h at it i s a rarer to them, su p erse d es th ose ot h er l uxur i es w hi c h ar e p r ejudicial to their health and morals-(bear)-I there fore,, tak e thi s opportun i ty o f ca lli ng upon t h e H ouse to race the differential duty on this article upon a foot elg Which w ill admit of its most extensive use.-(Hear, ar .) At the same time , it appears to me that it is but Astice that a provision should be introduced into the ; - 'ttstoms Bill, increasing the duty on chicory root. 44 consequence of the reduction of the duty introduced that root last year, chicory- root has been - ,, - "roduced to a great extent-it is ground in this -(4l tr7; and nixed with coffee. Ido not say that the coffee is deteriorated by the mixture, for that is a matter extt st t ea bu t the revenue has been defrauded to a great root hasl 'losing the duty upon the coffee, for which the differ ent . I r e! ' substituted. From these changes in the be mor i e 4 ditt ies, I caleulate that the loss will not now to than 50,000/.-(Hear, hear.) I come iltiPort What I may consider as the most w hi ch a ft article-I mean the duty upon wool, IT P° II theprop°s° to take off altogether.-(Cheers.) necessary for me to enter at present. In two succes sive sesgi by t h „ r eas they have been ably detailed to the House gre 'ton. Member for Halifax, who has taken the siratest , pains with that department of trade. And, may here say that, when I have resisted the I di • o d la which w ere a ll ege d f or th e re d uc ti on o f thi s d u ty, (1/ S O only on account of the claims of the revenue hear)-and I never denied that wool was a raw tu• terial of the u t mos t i mpor t ance t o th e znanufac weB and trade of th e co untry.- (Hear, hear.) e re has been great competition between British cloth n ufacturers and the foreign cloth manufacturer ;an v e least advantage given to the English fo'_cOurse would place him in a better position than the n ight Hon, Sir, I do not intend to follow the example of the i nr ,g h ,,t Hon. Gentleman opposite, of merely partially reduc- V. the duty on wool; but I have thought it better to remit the duty on export and import of wool, and to leave t rade open.-(Cheers.) That duty produced last y ae 7. 1 1., altogether, about the sum of 100,0001., w e must take that amount as the loss 'co will be sustained on that particular article, the th"" `Setnent respecting which I shall recommend to 94 ouse. But I cann ot but feel that, although we shall t 'le article itself sustain a loss, yet we shall eve an additional stimulus to the industry of the corn ity engaged in that branch of our manufactures li t e 'Y to be b ene fit e d by this arrangement, which I be geewill more than compensate for the loss we shall to fain. This is the last article upon which I propose I ." 'take any reduction. The total amount of a bo tie tion will be on glass for the present year 35,000/.- titi,° vinegar in the present year, 12,0001-upon cur „u us for the present year 9,0001-upon coffee, 50,000/. 100 13° ~,„4 marine insurances, 100,0001., and upon wool, making a sum of about 390,0001. ; or, in round Lei!'oers 400,000/., as the amount of reduction which I stn ev e We may safely make. Having made this d e , -- ment to the House, I should have thought it my 14 here to close the observations which, I fear, I have th r e e ,, 4d Y too long troubled the House with. But, Sir, cos one article which, though not immediately under th e nsideration of the House, must necessarily form t e :object of very deliberate consideration-and with vie' eut to which muck anxiety is felt with respect to the e un „ w s of th e G overnmen t u p on it-I mean the article of p e r:. I should not think that I acted fairly towards the engaged in the produce of this article, if were not on the present occasion distinctly to state to h o g ouse the course which it is my intention to pursue 114 1 I move th e sugar duties. The House will not ex de-.n3es as I shall so shortly bring before them the he e " 4 of the question, to enter into all the particulars s h o Zsary to compose an explanation of this subject. I to tnerely state the principle upon which I intend th is - ' t ; I allude to the subject now only because I know No Lloreense importance to those connected with the stC ci th , and u manufacture of sugar distinctly to under 00e "tore next May what is the determination of the er n article. th e ment with respect to that a • . )31.,,;,110u5e is aware that the treaty with ko l a' will come to a termination in the trZ, of November next, and with that treaty with j0y,,,i1l terminate the right which Brazil now en footiflu` Importing her produce into this country upon a ) thi - ts g of the most favoured nation. That treaty ie t c ' enables Brazil to bring slave-grown produce ° this • 7 et ' 8 country will, in November next, be removed. coo l „ s tu Yintention, in moving the sugar duties, to re nex;"eod to the House, that, from and after November whieVhe duty upon sugar produced in those countries are exempt from the taint of the of slave tr ade--tht do not raise sugar by means 1 410 labour -shall be reduced from their present under cer tainlin,,t• By this means we shall throw open, • _ good'egulations, to countries eastward of the Cape of 1 3 pee - i n ii iic Te , a valuable trade, and shall most uhi o -- "Y encourage the growing commerce with la t i o a , With which country, hitherto, our re tie have been extremelyconfined. And this will d one A 8 h a that principle without any departure from • th e re hitherto maintained and acted upon in respect to of : l ayo trade-thus affording an additional supply of tiger, which will greatly add to the comfort th e :'"e people, and give an additional spur to ht industry of colonies in which we have the great putw and i n t erest. In thus speak i ng o f cou ntries Pre ss rcl of the Cape of Good Hope, I must im- With , 11 ,1 3 °n the House that I refer only to such i s _ O. Inch we have relations, and wherein the sugar t we by differential y wk . means of slavery. Sir, the , oa "len I shall propose to this House to be imposed se seve r gars from countries free from the taint of st dial 3 ; will be 10s. per cwt.-that whereas British cola the sugars pay a duty of 245. per cwt., the sugars from quite entries I refer to shall pay 345. per cwt. I am 4 /Vall it may be paid that although the treaty - ,-- ,-; THE SUlsi, LONDON, TUESDAY EVENING, APRIL 30, 1844. with Brazil is brought to a conclusion there is a treaty with America, which contains a similar clause to the other, and entitles America to the rights extended by us to the mo-;t favoured nation. Nothing can be further from my' intention than to infringe the letter of any enact ment existing with that or any other country, but I think when we take the discussion on the sugar duties I shall be able to show that the sugar produced in the southern states of North America is not calculated to be brought into competition with the sugar, the produce of free labour, I have now been speaking of. I can assure you, Sir, it would have been most satisfactory to me if the state of the revenue would have permitted me to make some general arrangement of a per manent nature with respect to the sugar duties. It would have been desirable to place the reduction of the duty on colonial sugar on a solid and permanent foundation ; but it is obvious that till November next it wilt be utterly impossible to act upon any principle of that description, for the doing so would paralyse all the trade in the interior. I think that the better course will be to admit foreign sugar at a dis criminating duty, and continue it till that period shall arrive when the sugar duties come again under conside ration. In doing this, far be it from me to entertain any ill feeling toward those countries whole sugar will re main excluded. I think the reduction we have made in the coffee of those countries proves sufficiently that no such feeling animates the Government. With respect to the amount, both of the fixed duty and the differential duty, I have been anxious to take that amount which represents, as nearly as possible, the ad vantage which I apprehend ought to be given to colonial or foreign sugar—to free-grown sugar above that pro duced by slave labour. I have now stated to the House the details of our financial plan for the last year and for that -which is to come ; and I trust the House will per mit me, without assuming anything like arrogance or presumption, to congratulate it on the generally improved condition of our manufactures aed commerce. It is perhaps of all tasks the most difficult to arrest the downward progress of revenue arising from deficiency extending over a series of years. With respect to this, the House has fulfilled its assurance to the Crown, of making the revenue of the ecuntry equal to its expendi ture. They have, in the course of this session, given evident proof of the effect which their conduct has had on the credit of the country, and I cannot but hope, that if the House goes on in the prudent and forbearing course they have hitherto pursued, and which I have taken the liberty of recommending to them this even ing—if they prefer to a present advantage the policy of placing the finances of the country on a solid footing, sufficient not only to meet an annual deficiency, but to protect us from those vicissitudes of fortune to which the complicated concerns of a great country like this must necessarily be exposed, I believe that the House will insure to this country a continuance of its prospe rity, and will essentially promote the happiness of the whole empire.—(Cheers.) The question having been put, Mr. HUME said it was but justice to the Right Hon. the Chancellor of the Exchequer to say, that his statement was extremely clear, and in some respects sa tisfactory. He was one that did not expect so favour able a result on the state of the country as had been stated by the Right Hon. Gentleman. He congratulated the country on its improved state, but he could not do so with respect to the continued taxation that the Right Honourable Gentleman had alluded to. He thought it was the duty of the House to raise the lowest amount of revenue they possibly could. The revenue of the country had been the same for the last 12 years, but the expenditure had increased. A great increase had taken place in the war establish ment of the country during 1833, 1837, and 1839. He protested against such an evil, and he therefore thought that the present Government should proceed to reduce those establishments with as great avidity as they had been increased. The revenue of 1834 and 1843 was of the same amount within 200,0001., and there was no income-tax in the former year. He did not wish to have the income-tax done away with if the taxation on other articles was reduced to the same amount.—(Hear, hear.) He wished to have the duties on soap, and paper, and glass reduced. He did not think the reduction on the latter article would be any great benefit. If the duty on all glass was repealed it would be of the greatest advantage to the country. No country was so well qualified for the manufacture of the finest glass as England.—(Hear, hear.) He believed the expenses of collecting the revenue on glass absorbed the whole duty, and he thought the late Government committed a great mistake when they reduced the duty by 2d. with out diminishing the expenses of collecting it. He hoped the Right Hon. Gentleman would see the ne cessity of removing the duty on glass altogether. Let them look at our present position in this respect. The Americans, though having to pay a duty of 20 per cent., could sell glass at a lower rate in this country than we ourselves could. Bohemia, and every other country that manufactured glass, though the materials of the manu facture were dearer there than in England, could sell glass at a much lower rate, and of a superior quality, than we could. That was in consequence of our manu facturers being prevented by the Excise from making those experiments which manufacturers of other coun tries made. England, that ought to be the first country in the manufacture, was only a fourth or fifth-rate na tion in that. Why should we not, instead of supporting a war establishment in a time of profound peace, disband some of those unnecessary troops, and apply the saving thus caused to the nation to the reduction of the taxation that pressed upon the poorer classes ? He was sorry that the Right Hon. Gentleman did not propose to make any reduction in the duty on cotton wool. The competition to which the cotton manu facture was eoposed, from Germany and from other countries, was very great, and the continuance of the duty on the importation of raw cotton was very inju rious. It appeared to him that the Budget was ex ceedingly unsatisfactory. The revenue was ample, and taxation► ought to be taken off those articles, the con sumption of which affected the industry of the country. They ought' to set free all those branches of industry which were hampered by the Excise-laws. The only mode of giving employment to the people was by ex tending manufactures and commerce, and that could be only done by repealing those duties, the imposition of which lessened the ability of the manufacturers to give them employment. The army estimates, the navy esti males, the ordnance estimates, and the miscellaneous estimates ought to be reduced. Four millions might be saved by the reduction in those estimates, and by that reduction they might make a clear sweep of all those articles which were subject to the Excise. He thought the duty on marine insurances was still too high. The highest amount of duty on marine in surances ought not to exceed 2s. or 2s. 6d. per cent., and if the duty had been reduced to that amount, instead of being a decrease it would have effected an increase to the revenue of the country by drawing foreign insurances here. The shipping interest was the most depressed of all the great interests of the country, and it was entitled . to relief. He approved of the reduction of the duty on vinegar, but thought that the import duty on foreign vinegar should have been removed. Vinegar was a monopoly in this country, and its price was higher than in any other part of the world. He was glad to find that the duty on currants was to be reduced, and would like to see a reduction in the duty on every species of fruit. This reduction would be a boon to the lonian islands, a benefit to the consumer, and would be no loss to the revenue. He also approved of the reduction of the duty on coffee. With regard to sugar, he disapproved entirely of the imposition of differential duties, and he thought the principle of refusing to admit sugar the produce of slave cultivation was a most mistaken one.—(Hear, hear.) If we refused to admit cotton, and coll'ee, and tobacco, and other articles, the produce of slave labour, he could understand the principle ; but he could not understand why an exception should be made of the article of sugar. In consequence of acting on this principle, we illia already quarrelled with the —Bra zils, and the result would be. that four millions of British manufactures, which were annually exported to that country would be excluded from those markets. He had seen letters from Paris, in which men high in office in that capital expressed their aston ishment at our conduct, and wanted to know'if the Bri tish Minister had gone mad.—(Hear, hear.) This was in consequence of a letter which had been written by the President of the Board of Trade to the Brazilian Minis ter in this country. On the failure of the negotiations which had been carried on by our Minister at Rio, the Brazilian Minister in this country had entered into com munication with the plenipotentiary of this country to know in what terms we would admit the produce of the Brazils, and the Right Hon. Gentleman in his answer had expressed the determination of the Government to have nothing to do with slave-grown sugar. Our trade with Brazil would therefore, altogether cease, and would go to Germany, France, and other countries; or, even if our goods were admitted to the Brazilian market, the goods of Germany would, as was the case with America, be admitted at a preferential duty. Now, was it possible to believe that, under these circumstances, we could carry on any trade with the Brazils? With regard to the duty on cotton wool, it pressed with extreme severity on the manufacturers, and he was sorry the Right Hon. Gentleman had not thought pro per to reduce it. The naval and military establishments, he must again repeat, ought to be lowered. There was no necessity for such an enormous force in time of peace —at a time when they had assurances from the throne of the friendly dispositions of foreign Powers. The coun try was, after all, in anything but a flourishing condi tion—wages were low, employment was scarce, and taxes were heavy. Everything ought. therefore, to be done to remove these burdens. Parliament possessed the power, and to Parliament the people had a right to look. The duties on those exciseable articles, which were in general consumption, should at once be lowered, or the income-tax ought to cease, for it was impossible not to see that this tax affected the working population in a very sensible manner. He complained of these grievances, and called for their redress in the name of a suffering and distressed people, who had long borne the severities of their condition in the most patient and ex emplary manner.—(Hear.) Mr. WILLIAMS had been greatly disappointed at the propositions of the Right lion. Gentleman. There was only a reduction of 400,0001. after 8,000,0001. of new taxation had been added. He did not think the House or the country had the slightest grounds for con gratulation. Sugar was an article of universal con sumption, and he regretted the Right Hon. Gentleman had not thought fit to make extensive reductions in the duty on this commodity. A reduction might be made without any great risk of a material diminution of the revenue. He was also much disappointed that the Right Hon. Gentleman had not included cotton wool among his reductions. He feared the income-tax, instead of a temporary tax to remove pressing necessities, would, in the hands of the present Government and under the in fluence of the principles supported by them, prove a per manent burden. The income-tax produced last year 5,350,0001. The balance of the revenue over the expenditure was 2,370,000/, leaving a deficiency, supposing the income tax were taken off, amounting to 3,000,000/. The sur plus revenue ought to be applied towards ramedyingithe deficiency which might be caused by the reduction of the duty on sugar and other necessary articles of general consumption. The amount of the expenditure for the army, navy, and ordnance, this year, was estimated at 17,700,0001. In 1835, when the Right Hon. Baronet was at the head of the Government also, the expenditure for these three departments was only 14,125,0004 and it was still less in 1836, when the Whig Government was in office. lie saw no reason why 3,000,0001. more should be expended this year, and he thought the Right Hon. Baronet should tell the House and the country why it was so.—(Hear, hear.) The taxes taken out of the pockets of the people this year, and the expenses of collecting them, amounted to more than 56,000,000/. sterling. The Right Hon. Baronet had, some time ago, stated that they had arrived at the limit of taxation on articles of general consumption. Such was certainly the case, and in time of war they would have no resource but an increased property-tax. In 1814, when wp were at war, the estimates for the army, navy, and ordnance, were only 4,380,0001. Look at the vast difference between the expenditure in that year and in this. The Hon. Gentleman concluded, as he had begun, by expressing his entire dissatisfaction at the contents of the Budget. Mr. MATTHEW BELL regretted the Right Hon. Gentleman had not thought it right to reduce the duty on coals. The Hon. Gentleman then read several docu ments, from which it appeared that the consumption of coal, since the imposition of the tax by the present Go vernment, in 1842, had greatly diminished. The con sumption of coal had decreased in one year to the value of 70,000/. ; and he appealed to the Government, whe ther it was politic to maintain the present high duty on the export of coal. He maintained that the Government, instead of imposing a duty on the export of coal, ought to give every possible facility to the exportation of that article. It was generally supposed that the manufac tories on the Continent were supplied with English coal; but this was a fallacy, for he had been informed that out of all the coal exported, not one-eighth part found its way to the manufactories of the Continent. He concluded by expressing a hope that the Government would next year abolish the duty which was at present imposed on the exportation of coal. Mr. BARING said, there was one point which was worthy of their consideration, and that was, what would the commercial prospects of the Government now have been if the income-tax had not been imposed ? He thought this was not an unfair subject for consideration. Now he found that in the year 1840, the Right Hon. Baronet stated that the revenue was 48,350,0001., and that the Chinese money which was to come in was 803,0004 making together the sum of 49,153,0001. Now, from the balance sheet of that year, it appeared that *the expenditure was 48,669,0001., leaving a surplus of revenue over expenditure of 488,000/. Me thought it was worth while to look into this. He would not fol low the figures for the succeeding years, but his own impression was, that the revenue would have gone on increasing, even if the income-tax had not been imposed. Of course in saying this, he did not mean that it would have increased in such manner as to have admitted of these reductions in the taxation of the country, which the income-tax had enabled the Right Hon. Gentleman to make. Now, with respect to one of those reductions, he would just make one or two observations. He al luded to the article of timber, and he confessed that the anticipations which were entertained by the Government when the reduction in the duty on this article was made did not appear to him to have been realised. He recol lected at the time that reduction was proposed, saying that it would ultimately give considerable relief, but that a great length of time must intervene before it could do so. The Right Hon. Gentleman estimated the loss from the reduction of the timber duties at about 600,000/, even if no additional consumption should result from the reduction in the duty. Now, instead of the loss being 600,0001., it had turned out to be 898,0001., being nearly 50 per cent. more than the estimated loss. But it was not so much with the past they bad to deal as with the present. One great omission in the Right Honourable Gentleman's speech was with regard to the continuance of the income-tax.— (Hear, hear.) No mention had been made by the Right Hon. Gentleman, whether it was the intention of the Government to continue the income-tax beyond the three years or not. It was upon this consideration that all their financial calculations must hang ; and he thought the more manly course of policy would have been to have declared whether it was the intention to continue the income-tax for three years longer, or whether it was intended to cease, as originally intended, next year. The only mention which was made of this subject by the Right Hon. Gentleman was, that he intended to leave it to be settled by the House next year. 'With respect to the reductions proposed by the Right Honour able Gentleman, he was bound to say that he could see nothing to complain of respecting them. He was very glad to find that a reduction was to take place in the duty on , glass, not so much on account of the reduction, as the stimulus it would give to trade. He would venture to hope that the Government would reduce the Customs' duty on this article as well as the Excise duty.—(Hear, hear.) He was glad to find that a reduction was contemplated in the stamp duties on marine insurance, and upon the article of currants, both of which reductions must prove beneficial to the country. With the reduction of the duty on coffee he was parti cularly satisfied, as it was a step in that course which was directed towards the abolition of differential defies, which had been too long disregarded. There was however one thing disagreeable in this part of the Right Hon. Gentleman's propositions, and that was the proposal to increase the duty upon the article of chicory. He could not understand the policy of im posing a heavy duty on the importation of such an article as chicory ; for he remembered some years ago, that the importation of this article was prohibited by the Board of Trade, and the result was, that chi cory was afterwards largely cultivated in this country. He had considerable doubt on bis mind whether the reduction of the duty upon this article, which had been proposed by the Right Hon. Gentleman, would effect the good which he promised, but in saying this he did not affirm that the admixture of chicory with coffee tended to injure it, for on the Continent it was gene rally used for that purpose, where it was found to be a great improvement. But those were small matters as compared with others, one of the most important of which was the reduction of the duty upon sugar. He (Mr. Baring) was most anxious to see how the Right Hon. Gentleman would get 'out of the difficulty which his resolution upon this subject entailed upon him, for it certainly surprised him that the Right Honourable Gentleman should come with such a resolution as this. He thought that the manner in which the Right Honourable Gentleman acted with respect to sugar in comparison with the admission of coffee from the Brazils was rather curious. It was something like saying, " Yes, but the course we propose taking can be called only a very small fault." Why this answer put him in mind of the young girl who was brought before a magistrate on the charge of being the mother of an illegitimate child, when she acknowledged the fact, but by way of palliation, ad ded that it was only a very little bastard.—(Laughter.) He thought if they were actuated by this conscientious conviction against giving a stimulus to the slave trade, he thought they must acknowledge that the large quantity of sugar which would be taken out of the European market would tend in an indirect manner to increase slavery. The quantity of sugar consumed in Europe was 673,000 tons, of which 240,000 tons came from the British colonies to this country, thus leaving for the consumption of the European market the number on the average of :about 409 tons. Now if they took 95,000 tons, the amount of free-labour sugar from the colonies, from the market of Europe, about one-fifth the whole consumption, what he would ask would be the likely result ? Why the demand would be greater than the supply, and the prices would consequently rise, and h c to o o n k ten tu d a e t d , t s h: o tt oo it to w n a s s o e f qu s a u l g ly arou indifferent t of a whethera iav country or otherwise, for by the course h e had just s lau they o r pointed out slavery would be increased through the medium of the continental States. Yet the Government satisfied themselves of their consistent advocacy now of principles upon which they came into office. He con tended that by the course proposed by this resolution they would give quite as strong a stimulus to the slave trade by taking those 95,000 tons of sugar from a free State as they would if they took them from the Brazils. Sir ROBERT PEEL thought the charge which the Right Honourable Gentleman opposite brought for ward against her Majesty's Government of in consistency was without foundation. It had been said, why do not you, who urged all those objections on the subject of slavery, admit sugar, the produce of free labour, into competition with your own merchants. He recollected the lion. Member for Dublin, when he sat on the then Ministerial side of the House, during the late Administration, giving notice of a motion that all sugar, the produce of free labour, should be admitted into equal competition with that of their own colonies. Now, suppose they chose to admit, on the grounds urged by the Hon. Gentleman, namely, that diminishing the duty, would be offering a premium to the ad mission of slave-grown sugar--it was clear that if they did so, they would be charged with a desire to maintain the monopoly of the West Indian colonies, that they were not actuated by any objection to the admission of slave-grown sugar, but solely by a desire to preserve the monopoly; and he felt sure that this would have been most strongly urged against them if they had not availed themselves of the earliest consistent opportunity to allow sugar, the produce of free la bour, to enter into competition with the British colonies. With respect to the arguments and objections of the Hon. Jlember far Montrose, and the Hon. Member for Coventry, he thought they could be easily refuted. The chief gist of their arguments was, that they ought to re duce the estimates, in order that they might do away with import duties. No Member of that House was more deeply impressed with the fact than he was, that the estimates ought to be reduced to the lowest point which was consistent with the permanent safety of the empire. But the House must be aware that there were circumstances connected with the last few years, which must have materially increased the expenses. The esti mates for the army, navy, and ordnance, had been already , submitted to the House; and looking to their immense co lonial empire, and to the other facts in connection with foreign nations, upon which the Government must have the best means of being informed, it was the unanimous opinion of the House that the estimates could not safely be reduced. The Hon. Gentleman, the Member for Montrose, had stated that in the year 1835, when he (Sir R. Peel) was First Lord of the Treasury, he had proposed the sum of only 14,000,0001. for the estimates, and yet that this year they exceeded the sum of 17,000,0001. There had been a great increase in the those o s expense expense of the army and navy. Let the Hon. Member re n st u r: for M on t rose cons id er w h at h a d occurre d s i nce th e year 183 5—the vast and important events which had occurred in h thee g E great xr Let eraugby himg etheshad considerd Chinesen o w : what wta: w aa a sl alone. certain amount iAnl tehxotLe, ng of ceased, yet the Hon. Member must know that it was not so easy to make those reductions immediately. It was not what was necessary for the year 1835 the House had to cons id er , b ut what the exigencies of gig present time required. What he would ask, could be the interest of Ministers in in creasing the estimates beyond what the interest of the country demanded ? Why, it would be much more grateful to their feelings to have a surplus revenue to show, in consequence of a reduction, than any advantage they could derive from the results of patronage. The House had to consider how many regiments had been now abroad for upwards of twenty years without being once. relieved. What he wanted to show was, that when they considered the forces which were re quired for service in India, Canada, and every other part of the world, they could not make any reduction in the army for this year, without either endangering the em pire, or doing a gross and palpable act of injustice to the mon. With respect to the expenses of our colonial possessions, alluded to by the Honourable Gen tleman opposite, he (Sir Robert Peel) asked the House to consider that the mother country had entered into certain relations with those colonies which it would be most dangerous and unjust to disturb. Then with respect to the navy estimates. He agreed with the Hon. Member for Coventry, that they were larger than those for the years 1843-4. But he would ask any Hon. Member, was this any criterion to go by? The Hon. Member for Montrose always went as far back as the year 1790. But when Mr. Pitt spoke in the years 1793-4, he said any reduction in these estimates at that time would have been inconsistent with the interests of the country. He would appeal to any Hon. Member in that House—always excepting the Hon. Member for Mon trose, and the Hon. Member for Coventry—whether they believed that it would be safe to have the Navy in the same state in the year 1844, as it was in the year 1792 ? If they were blind enough to overlook the efforts other countries were making to lay the foundations of immense:territory, and the large preparations they were making for any hostile event — if the House chose to subject their marine commerce to the chances of being attacked by powerful nations—if they remained inert, and took no corresponding or counteracting measures, he, for one, should tell them that they were acting quite inconsistently with rational views. He would ask them would they go back to the year 1790, so much boasted of by the Honour able Member opposite ? If they were over taken suddenly by any calamity for which they were unprepared, and found their commercial marine swept away, what consolation would it be that the navy of this day was equal to that of 1791? He would venture to say that the Government of the day would be called arrant dolts. But he had great confidence in the House of Commons, which was always aware that Government must have cognizance of certain facts which must necessarily be unknown to them. He thought no one could deny the necessity and justice of affording those soldiers who had been so many years abroad an opportunity of once again seeine , their native country. Therefore he could not lead the Ifouse to hope for any great saving in the large branches of the public service, but this he would say, that there was not in those esti mates a thousand pounds that had been lightly asked for, or that would be uselessly spent. Allusion had been particularly made, in the course of the evening, to the coal trade. As there was no distinct proposition before the House upon that subject, he was not inclined to follow his Hon. Friend in his calculations, bnt he must be allowed to say that the amount of coal exported did not show that extremity of pressure which had been foretold. The amount ofcoal exported in 1843, including cinders and ashes was 1,866,000 tons. If they compared the amount of coal exported last year with 1842, there certainly was a diminution ; but it must be recollected that in the course of that year it became known that the duty was coming into operation, and in one quarter of that year there had been great increased exertion. But last year the total amount of coal exported exceeded that of 1841. Of course he (Sir R. Peel) included small coal as well as large. In the year 1841 1,846,000 :tons had been ex ported, and in 1843 1,866,000 tons ; so that, in fact, there had been an absolute increase, notwithstanding the operation of the duty. He did not say that he vindicated this tax as good in principle, but he did say that when new taxation became necessary, it was a justifiable one, and the extent of the evil which had been foretold, and which he had denied at the time was not such as to cause any serious injury or inconvenience to the public interest. But the Right Hon. Gentleman opposite (Mr. Baring) complained that the Government made no pro posal with respect to the renewal or the discontinuance of the income-tax. The income-tax would not expire till next year ; and he (Sir R. Peel) must say, that it appeared to him much more conformable to common sense to wait until the period when it was about to expire, when they would have an opportunity of knowing the real state of the country, its means and its necessities, than to decide upon the matter now, when they must do it under comparative disadvantage.—(Hear.) Most certainly the probabilities were that, in the coming year, Parliament would be muchbetter able to discuss and to decide that question than now. The House and the country lost nothing by abstaining from the question —they gained nothing by a premature discussion, and why then should they enter upon one?—(Hear, hear.) When his Right Hon. Friend (Mr. Goulburn) had stated in the course of his address to the House, that the in come-tax had been originally proposed not for three, but for five years, he was met by rather that sort of incre dulous murmur, which indicated a feeling of disbelief. Therefore he (Sir R. Peel) wished to re-state to the House that which had fallen from him in March, 1842, on the occasion of bringing forward this measure. Upon that occasion he said—" He would now state to the House what were the views of the Government with respect to the duration of this tax. lie trusted Parlia melt would confirm the duration he was about to pro pose, and that Parliament would not be unwilling, in case of necessity, to continue the duration of the tax for 4 period of five years ; but still there might be, as there Itad been before, those revivals of prosperity which might induce Parliament to consider the sub ject with a view to recalling the tax in a less period than that he had stated. Therefore he thought it just in the first instance, to limit the experiment of the income-tax to three years, in order that Parliament might, at that time, have the power of rescinding it at once, or of continuing it for the further period of the two years." That was what he had said when proposing the tax ; and if now, at the end of two years from its imposition, the Government had invited the House to the discussion whether it should cease next year, or be carried on to the full period of five years, would not the passage he had just quoted have bean thro wn out at him, a n d d eservedly t h rown out, by way of taunt, a n d t h at b y t h e very men who now support e d Mi n i sters, for not spea king defini tivelypositively upon the su bj ect ?—(Hear, hear.) I fnext and year, it should be the opinion of the House that the income-tax should be taken off—that the circum stances of the country permitted it—or that the interests of the country required it—well and good ; but it would decided upon.—(Hear , h ear. ) not be right to pr o p ose any great reduct i ons i n taxation until the state of th e country, in reference to th e conti nuance or disconti nuance of this tax, cou ld be fully gone into, and f a i r l y When that tim e came, it might be that t h ere w ould leading m n , g ith desirethem. be shown suc h an increase in the pro d uct i veness at Parliament could do away same of the country that muste or ever to be do a away di with the ev il. At the ti m e, it must be recollected th at there were certain b u rdens which pressed so he av il y on the springs o f i n d us try that it c of aHn e inust Governmentsay that to whenr the deputati ons f rom Yorkshire waited upon Mi n i s t ers e du he listened to their statements with the deepest atten tion, though he had maintained throughout a respectful silence. But after what he and his colleagues had heard from these deputations of the state of affairs in the woollen districts they had made up their minds, quietly but fully, that so soon as ever the state of the revenue would allow of it, that branch of our manufactures should be relieved from the burthen of the tax on the raw material.—((dear, hear.) New, in the reduction proposed in our marine insurances, he (Sir R. Peel) be lieved there would ultimately be no loss to the revenue of the country. It was, in fact, a reduction of the cost price of the elements of our manufactures—(Hear, hear) —and he hoped it would also have the effect of drawing to this country insurances now effected abroad. The Right Hon. Member for Portsmouth (Mr. Baring) had had done them the justice to state that, seeing they wnuld only act upon a sum of 400,000/., it was not pos sible they could have selected better articles to make reductions on. The amount which the Government had put aside for reductions might be small, but the House would observe that those reductions were made in conformity with those general principles which had been laid down at the time of the introduc tion of the tariff. He said those reductions were made in conformity with the general principles he (Sir R. Peel) had then enunciated, and they had been made in a, manner to relieve the industry and enterprise of the country. Above all, though he admitted the reductions were light and trivial in amount, they were such as were most likely to increase the comforts and luxuries of that class of her Majesty's subjects who depended on their manual labour for their subsistence, and therefore he trusted they would meet with the general concurrence of the House.—(Hear, hear.) Mr. LABOUCHERE said that with regard to the income-tax no man in that House had more strenuously opposed it when first proposed than he had done, but the House having agreed to its imposition, the ques tion did not_now stand in precisely the same position as it then did. And certainly he had come down to the House that evening rather expecting (inasmuch as there was no reasonable chance of the repeal of the in come-tax) that the Right Hon. Baronet (Sir R.' Peel) would propose its continuance for the two years longer, accompanying that proposition with some large, wise, and liberal measures for the relief of our commerce—and had he done so then for one he (Mr. Labouchere) should have been prepared to give a ready consent to such suggestion. Had the Right Hon. Baronet for instance been prepared to deal in a large and liberal spirit with sugar, and other great articles of consumption, in which there might, and no doubt would have been, an imme diate loss of revenue, but which might have recovered before the expiration of three years, he (Mr. La bouchere) should have considered it to be wise on the part of the House and the country, to have acquiesced in the lengthened continuance to the five years originally mentioned of the income-tax, evil though it was. With regard to the articles selected for a reduction of duty he certainly approved of them, but more especially the articles of wool and coffee. He anticipated great ad vantage to the trade of the country from these reduc tions; and having only this sum of 400,0001. to deal with he was not prepared to say the Government had not made as wise a selection as they well could do. He did not, however, see why they were not to deal with other articles which, when the tariff had been intro duced, had been postponed on the ground that negotia tions were going on with foreign countries in reference to them. With France, as well as with Brazil, our efforts at negotiation had failed, and he did not se e why they were longer to postpone dealing with articles— such, for instance, as silks and brandies (wine he would not allude to)—from a re-arrangement of the duties upon which there would be no loss to the revenue, whilst smuggling would be put an end to. But there was one. announcement by the Chancellor of the illichequer of such idnitely greater .importance than any other, that he must at once advert to it, with the view of expressing his great regret at whst he had heard. It was announced by Government that they were prepared to take steps of a perfectly novel character in the history of the commerce of this country—namely, to put a commercial ban upon great nations intimately connected with this country by ties of commerce, by prescribing articles of their growth. He thought that the veil that had been thrown over all this was so transparent that they would lose all credit with foreign nations, and they would consider that the Government and the House were desecrating the claims ie humanity which this country had so long possessed. lie thought they were opening the door to an endless system of subterfuge and fraudulent trade, and thereby raising the hostility of many countries to this. He 'rusted, as the question of the sugar duties would now be most important, it would be introduced at that period of the session when it could be properly discussed. He thought the present moment was ill selected for the purpose of establishing differential duties with respect to the commodities of certain nations. Added to this, had they not heard, from the first Minister of the Crown the other night, that a treaty had been signed between two of the greatest manufacturing coun tries in the world—the United States and the Zollverein of Germany—the effect of which would be to exclude British manufactures from the United States? The Right lion. Gentleman concluded by asking the Chan cellor of the Exchequer when he would bring on the sugar duties ? The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER said he should bring them forward on an early day, but he could not then state when it would be. Mr. STUART WORTLEY stated his satisfaction at the statements made by the Chancellor of the Exchequer with respect to the repeal of the duties on wool. The repeal of the duty would inflict no injury on any inte rest in the country. Mr. P. M. STEWART thought although the pro position of the Government was most cautious, the peo ple would be most disappointed with the statements of the Right Hon. Gentleman. He had said they had a surplus of 2,500,0001. ; and for those who were expect ing to be the recipients of his bounty, what had he done? Why he had begun with bottles, went to vinegar, and ended with wool ; but why had cotton been forgotten ? He thought the manufacturers of the country had a great right to complain of that. Nothing had been said, and nothing had been done upon it ; and the result would be, that the greatest dissatisfaction would be ex pressed in the country, in consequence of such a slight, as it was generally felt that that ought to have been the first article on which the duty should be reduced. He thought the time had now come when the sugar duties ought to be considered, and when the colonies of this country should be put upon the same footing as the colonies of other countries. The colonies of this coun try were crippled, and the most ridiculous regulations were made in the Colonial-office with respect to the removal of workmen from one colony to another ; but his Noble Friend, the late Secretary of State for the Co lonies, had introduced some regulations which might be looked upon as a model for the regulation of labour. There seemed, however, to be a secret influence in the Colonial-office against the proper management of the colonies, for regulations had been made thre that were most uncalled for, regulations which were anti-colonial ; in short, there seemed to be a feeling in the Colonial Se cretary's office that was hardly to be accounted for. The first regulation was one that no agreement made out of a colony should be binding. That was obliged to be relaxed with regard to European workmen. Another was, that such agreements should not be binding upon the blacks, and that, too, was relaxed by the regulation that in such cases the deed of agreement should be rati fied before officers appointed for that purpose. But not one of these officers had been appointed, and the conse quence was, that no labour could be effectually imported into the colonies. In some of the islands there were abundant crops, and not enough labourers to gather them. The regulation of the sugar duties was a subject forced on the attention of the House, and ought to be gone into in a different manner. — (Hear.) But the Government had propounded this Budget, which was of itself a great disturbing in fluence in colonial property, and the whole question must be discussed. His object in rising was what he saw he should effect—that of calling up his No ble Friend—(a laugh)—and putting him on his mettle w th regard to the proceedings at the Colonial-office. If that Noble Lord would take the subject in hand, and put the Colonies in a fair position with regard to la bour, they would not shrink from competition with any foreign colony whatever. After this was effected, they might do what they pleased with the sugar duties; for the colonies would be able to beat the world in competition, if they only had an open chance of 'obtaining labour. He hoped the House would agree with him in thinking that they were entitled in the pre sent state of the colonies to have no unnecessary restric tions thrown in the way of a free supply of labourers, who would themselves be benefitted by settling, while their presence was most necessary to the colonies them selves. Lord STANLEY said that every one must feel the inconvenience of entering into the whole of this ques tion in a discussion on the Budget. But after the ob servations of the Right Hon. Gentleman it was impos sible that he could remain wholly silent. He was not sorry, however, that the Right Hon. Gentleman bad given him the opportunity of entering upon the subject. There was an entire difference of opinion between him-1 self and the Right Hon. Gentleman on this question, though he recollected the time when the Right Hon. Member entertained a very different opinion himself on the subject--(Mr. I'. M. Stewart—" Never!")—but with that, of course, he had nothing . to do. He was very happy to be enabled to say that, in his judgment, so far from the Budget acting as a discouragement to the West Indian colonies, with regard to tampering with the sugar duties, he thought the statement of the Chancellor of the Exchequer was well qualified and calculated to reassure the colonies with respect to the steadiness of the intentions of the Govern ment in the principle on which they meant to deal with the question of colonial protection. Throughout all the discussions that had taken place, the Govern ment did not so much contend for colonial protection as they had contended for the protection of free grown sugar over that produced by slave labour. It had been asserted by several Hon. Gentlemen, that they now for the first time placed upon record a resolution declaratory of the distinction between slave-raised and free-grown sugar; the Government was not prepared to give the colonies more than the protection of a fair differential duty in favour of free labour produce, against thatwhich might fairly enter into competition with them, as being also raised by free labour. But the Government was prepared at all risks to maintain a positive distinction and difference in favour of the produce of free labour, against that of slave labour,—against that raised by a system which was encouragement to the slave trade and slavery. He trusted that this resolution, for the first time announced ,would show the colonies that they had to compete at once, though not on unfavourable terms, with a limited amount of produce which was raised by free labour, but that at the same time it was the in tention of the Government to protect them against those who had the advantage over them, which was obtained from the unrighteous source of slavery, and which it was the intention of the Govern ment by every means to discourage and put down. The Right Hon. Gentleman (Mr. P. M. Stewart) told the Committee that the foolish regulations of the Colonial office alone prevented the colonies from competing with every part of the world. He told them that the Noble Lord (Lord J. Russell) who preceded him (Lord Stanley) in the Colonial-office—and of whose labours he always spoke with the highest respect—that respect due to his talents and his character—had laid down for the West Indies a series of regulations which, were " model regulations," as to the importation of labour into the colonies. The Right Hon. Gentleman certainly could not have read those regulations, for every step that had been taken by the Colonial-office since the retirement of that Noble Lord from it, had been directed to the removal of restrictions, the reduction of impediments, and giving facilities to the intercourse between the West Indian colonies and Africa. He would defy the Right Hon. Gentleman to point out a single district of Africa, to the intercourse of which with the West Indies ' the dif ficidties had been increased, or as to which the facilities of that intercourse had not been enlarged, since he (Lord Stanley) succeeded to the Colonial-office. He took no credit for this ; but he must say, it was not fair to talk of the regulations of the Colonial-office having impeded this importation and intercourse, when their course had. been to reduce the restrictions and increase the facilities given by the regulations. But these regu lations with respect to the Coast of Africa—whre were they all ? He must beg the attention of the Right Hon. Gentlemen ; he had chosen to make a sud den attack upon him, and he must beg him to listen to his answer.—(Hear, hear.) The Right Hon. Gentle man talked of the restrictions of the immigration of the Hill Coolies from India—restrictions imposed by whom? Not by him.—(Hear, hear.) He thought that last year, and the year before, he (Lord Stanley) was somewhat suddenly attacked by the Hon. Member below the Right Hon. Gentleman, for having done away with some of the restrictions to the emigration of these Coolies—not to a British colony, and which emigration had been absolutely prohibited by the Government, whose model regulations the Right Hon. Gentleman was so prepared to vaunt. The emigration of those Coolies was narrowly watched and bitterly attacked by the Hon. Gentleman on the other side ; it was himself who worked the first step to wards removing the restrictions on the emigration of the Coolies ; he know what reasonable apprehensions there were of the abuses that might arise from this emigra tion, and .he referred the subject to the Governor- General of India, to say w h e ther the same emigration might be permitted to the West Indies that was permitted to the Mauritius, and facilities for which had been afforded by the present Government for the first time. But he also talked of the impediments to the emigration of Chinese labourers; was that owing to the late Government of model regulations, or to that invisible influence at the Colonial-office which it was stated thwarted and over threw these improvements? It was in the present year that permission was given to import immigrants from China, not Chinese themselves, but labourers from Singapore and the neighbouring districts, under special regulations, into the "West Indies. For the first time in the present year, then, the restrictions to the emigration of Coolies had been re moved and yet the Right Hon. Gentleman turned round and charged them with preventing the im portation of free labour into the West Indian colonies, and by that means stinting the natural capacities of these colonies. The Right Hon. Member spoke as if restric tions on the importation of free labour to the West In dies from any part of the world were in existence. There was no law that he knew of, except in India, which pre vented any one going to the West Indian colonies, ex cept the restrictions against these people making agreements at a distance, when they could not tell the value of their labour, and which agreements might, being made for a long term, amount to virtual slavery. Those engagements might be the source of very great dissatisfaction and disoontent in the minds of the labourers. That such an emigration might not be made and paid for out of the public funds, these restrictions were imposed, but beyond these he knew of no others. But these regulations were in course of relaxation, and had been already much relaxed. He ssould venture to tell the Right Hon. Gentleman that as far as the present Government was concerned, the course it had taken was not one of restriction, but one of relaxation and remission, of relaxations prudent indeed, and in conformity with what was known to be the opinion of the .community, and these restrictions would be limited only by the necessity of such prohibi tions as should prevent much unfounded speculation, as to the advantages to be gained by such immigration. The whole course of the proceedings of the Government had been, as it would continue to be, that of removing all restrictions which were felt to be uncalled for on the importation of labour into the colonies from all parts of the world. Mr. P. M. STEWART explained. He was sorry that he had so excited the Noble Lord on this question —(A laugh)--but having made this apology, he must say this—that the charge of the Noble Lord of his having changed his opinions on this question was un founded. The Noble Lord forgot the battles in which they both fought, side by side, together on:this question; he forgot that he (Mr. Stewart) had seme hand in framing the Act on the subject. He must beg the Noble Lord to refresh his memory on this point. He bad never swerved from his prin ciples. The Noble Lord had made this a party question, when he (Mr. Stewart) wished to make it only a colonial question. The regulations he had re ferred to, were those contained in the letter of the Noble Lord the Member for London to the Governor of Sierra Leone, and which was considered by the colonists as a model of instructions ' • he maintained and repeat e d hi s assertion, that every Minister at the Colonial-office was subjected to an influence, by which they were made mere tools and puppets—(Hear, hear)—and he wished that the Noble Lord would apply his own good sense to the question, so that these restrictions might be re moved, and of which some hope had bean this night held out to them. Lord STANLEY denied that ho had made it a party question, and contended that he had spoken of the Noble Lord with the greatest respect. He stated, and he now repeated, that those model regula- tions for the coast of Africa ought to be in the main acted upon ; and ever since, whatever was done, was done in the way of relaxing the restrictions. The Hon. Gentleman repeated an accusation with regard to some secret influence in the Colonial-office. Now he did not believe that the Noble Lord, whom he succeeded in the Colonial-office would allow his judgment to be set aside by any secret influence—(A laugh)—and for him self he could only say this, that no paper passed through the Colonial-office of any kind which did not come under his own eye and was examined by him ; and with regard to the particular question of immigration into the West Indies, since he had the honour of being in the Colonial office, he gave the most constant and unrestricted atten tion to the question and had examined every part of it, and he ventured to add that the attention which he gave to the subject was not inferior to that which was given to it by the Noble Lord. Lord JOHN RUSSELL said, that his Hon. Friend was quite justified in putting the questions on the sub ject, as the reduction of the sugar duties had been brought before the House by the Right Hon. Gentle man, the Chancellor of the Exchequer. He (Lord John Russell) had, he hoped, exercised his own judgment during the time he held the office of Colonial Secretary, and endeavoured to give attention to any subject that came before him ; and he was not conscious, though he felt great obligations for the very great informa tion which was afforded him, and felt respect for the abilities which several gentlemen in that office possessed —(Hear, hear)—yet when he reviewed all the circum stances in any case which came before him, he applied his own judgment, and yielded to it in the decisions which he made. With regard to the question of emi gration from Africa, he wrote a dispatch to the Governor of Sierra Leone on the subject, containing certain regu lations. Those regulations were intended rather as temporary regulations, and he was glad to hear from the Noble Lord that he diminished the restrictions because his view was, considering that emigration had been totally prohibited before, it was proper to at tempt emigration with caution, and to put many restric tions on it which might, from time to time, as experience dictated, be diminished and relaxed ; and that was the view which the Noble Lord took of his duty, and the question as it at present stood. With regard to the sub ject of the introduction of Coolies into the Mauritius, he was surprised at the Noble Lord's statement, because the Noble Lord said more than once that the pre sent Government first introduced Coolies into the British colonies. Lord Glenelg proposed to the colonies an order in Council which would admit Coolies into the colonies of the Crown ' • but that order was opposed and rendered null by the House of Lords. The present Government concurred in the view taken by the House of Lords. He (Lord John Russell) attempted again the subject of emigration into the Mauritius, and the Right Hon. Gentleman the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when he (Lord John Russell) stated that such was his intention, said that the hest mode of bringing the question to an issue was to bring a clause by Bill into the House. He (Lord J. Russell) introduced it, and then the Noble Lord (Stanley) and the Right Hon. Gentleman, and others who sat opposite, came down and defeated him by the help of the Hon. and Learned Member for Cork, and several other gen tlemen in the House who were interested in the subject. —(Hear, hear.) He was very glad that they afterwards changed their minds on the subject and came to agree with him, but he knew they were anxious at the time to get a majority against the then Government, and were not very scrupulous what the subject was.—(Cheers.) The introduction of Coolies into the Mauritius served them as well as any other.—(Cheers.) He should not have referred to this, but that the Noble Lord boasted that he was one of a Government which had for the first time introduced Coolies into the Manritius, and that they were able to do so. No doubt they were, because when he (Lord John Russell) introduced the subject they were the chief opponents to the measure, and all the obstructions came from them.—(Cheers.) But they now received every facility to carry, in fact, the measure of their predecessors.—(Cheers.) This was a sort of episode to the main subject in discussion. With regard to the minor subject, he would at once allude to that part of it which referred to the introduction of foreign sugar, and which was so nearly connected with the subject he had just left. He quite agreed with all the objections made by his Hon. Friend near him, thet if the Government made up their minds to allow the in. troduction of foreign sugar, it was far better for them to say at once they would admit foreign sugar from whatever colony it might come than attempt to make any distinction.—(Cheers.) It was vicious in principle, and would be found impracticable in its result--(Cheers.) As to its being vicious in principle he wanted no other proof than the speech of the Right lion. Gentleman, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, because after he stated his intention to exclude the sugar of Brazil, he went on to say that it was from no hostile feeling towards the Brazils, because he said the • Government had no intention to exclude coffee from Brazil. Why, he could not understand thia strange and very particular morality. (Cheers, and laughter.) They looked with horror at slave grown sugar, but they had no scruples with regard to slave grown coffee.—(Loud cheers.) What made them im moral if they introduced slave grown sugar and and laudable if they introduced slave grown coffee ? (Laughter.) They might say that the labour required for the cultivation of coffee was lighter than that which was required for the cultivation of sugar, but certainly this could not be the reason, because what they wished to discourage was the slave trade and slavery, and that existed in the same degree whether the slave was em ployed in the cultivation of sugar or coffee.—(Hear.) It was a principle very objectionable to make distinctions between States allowing slavery, and those which would not allow slavery, but far more objectionable to make a distinction between the different employments in which slaves were engaged, and to make tariffs of duties accord iug to the mode in which slaves were employed. This would be most intolerable—(Hear, hear)—and their morality would become the plague and nuisance of the world—(Cheers)—if they thus interfered with all kinds of labour in foreign countries.—(As to the practi cability of the scheme, they would have sugar from the Havannah with forged certificates and papers from New Orleans and other States of North America.—(Hear, hear.) All this would happen. It was so with regard to coffee, as was proved before the Import Duties m mittee, of which his Hon. Friend (Mr. Hume) was Chairman. If they introduced new regulations with re gard to sugar, what was to prevent persons from sending sugar to the Cape of Good Hope, and introduce it as coming from the possessions of the Dutch?—(Hear, vest hear.' Then, again, with regard to competition w ith the _ e Indies, it could not much matter to th em which of h the two principles they should adopt ; about stons, t e Rightil amount introduced Gentleman fromstated, a l 2 t o hr B o,oo r o i b t e c i to h anus ps because, s a s s e s a re n n d d 9 e o r , l o t o a o ble to w w h c h l y. t h p e r y o o • () s u e ! d d . n he by am th o e un i t a to ils l i v n a t s ro a d b u o c u t t io t l He could conceive not hin g lesis_butiar, that ie theyiean) By introduced this knowing it co uld not hod. in troducing this foreig n su g ar, they would t h ereb y t o a certain degree benefit the consumer in this country, but they would find their regulations would not stand in practice, and having made one step they would make a last step , an d would be obli g ed to introduce the Bill which he introduced himself in 1841—(Cheers and oh") —with this difference, that instead of 245. and 365. they would have 245. and 345. He foresaw that would be the end as clearly as possible.—(Hear. hear.) The distinction they now proposed might be useful to them—it might serve to cover their inconsistency for a i t tn he pra en oti d eab t l h o ey plan wou w ld u find only th fi i t s year or two—(Loud chee rs )—b ut d epend on it in to unn be atur r a e l pla a c n ed d by the clear and simple rule of doing away with the high differential duty on foreign sugar. There was great inconvenience in announcing this great principle in 1842, and it was to be brought forward with proper caution.—(Laughter.) The application of those prin ciples was most convenient, as well as great, because certain of them were applied, in 1842, to a certain num ber of articles. To others they were not applied ; they were applied to timber, and would be applied to sugar and then to corn.—(Loud cheers.) The Right Hon. Gentleman might say—" Recollect what I told you in 1842 ; recollect I said the true principle was to buy in the cheapest market, and to sell in the dearest. I stated that principle in perfect consistency. I have waited for au opportunity.—(Laughter.) That opportunity has now arrived. I applied it then. I applied it .n 1842 to onion seed—(Laughter and cheers) applied it to spices—(Laughter) --and to herrings —(Laughter.) You may remember how strictly I applied it to herrings."—(Loud laughter.) In a year or two this principle would be a g ain applied in the most strict manner, to faciliiate, according to the maxims of the greatest philosophers, to the food of the people—. ' (Cheers.) With regard to Ole propositions made t 0 the House by the Chancellor of the Exchequer he must congratulate him on the surplus he was able to announce. It was gratifying to the Chancellor of the Exchequer and to the country, and it must be owned . it placed the country in a proud and high position— (Cheers)—to have such a considerable surplus of revenue over expenditure, and this he thought, without at all agreeing in the criticisms which were made upon the military establishments of the country. Ile did not think they ought every year to keep up the same amount of expenditure, but with regard to the present year he thought the vote of the House was not beyond what was necessary.—(Cries of " Hear, hear.") His Right Hon. Friend, the Member for Portsmouth, stated that he understood from the Right Hon. Gentle man's statement that it was his intention to keep up the income-tax during the five years originally men tioned by the Right Hon. Gentleman (Sir IL reel), and if such was the intention of the Government the better course would be to make larger reductions iu the pre sent year. Ile (Lord J. Russell) certainly thought the Right Hon. Gentleman, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, had better take one of two courses. If the Right Honourable Gentlemaa thought it probable the income-tax would be taken off next year, and that that was the best thing for the public welfare, he was quite right in taking off but a small amount of taxatioh in the present year. He could not _ _ _ help thinking that Government must have a strong opi nion on the subject, knowing the wants of the country, and the present state of the finances. But if, on the other hand, they thought it most probable they would continue the income-tax for two years, it would be better to propose such reductions as would be of use to the trade and industry of the country in the present year rather than postpone them till next year. Ho said that even with a view to the income-tax. Be- cause if that reduction were proposed in the present year, we might hope in the course of three years from this time the revenue would have so far recovered, that there would be no doubt about the repeal of the income tax. Whereas if next year the Right Hon. Gentleman would say that, upon the whole, it was necessary to con tinue the income-tax two other years, and then should propose other reductions, the publi c would have lost a year of increased consumption at a lower price of the articles. and the revenue would only have two years instead of three to recover itself. He thought, for both those rea sons, if the Government had at all made up their minds, they would have taken a better eourse in deciding in the present year whether the reduction was to take place. He was sure the Right Hon. Gentleman had done nothing that was at all dangerous to the country in the reductions he had proposed. With regard to wool, he had much gratified the manufacturers of York shire ; and with regard to coffee, he had at least shown that the principle of the tariff of 1842 was not aban doned. He hoped as soon as the Right Hon. Gentleman could make up his mind to it, they would have an enlarge ment of the principle of the tariff of 1842, and greater approximation to the principles of free trade. Col. SIBTHORP congratulated the House and the country on the statement of the Right Hon. Gentleman the Chancellor of the Exchequer, though it might not meet with the entire approbation of the Noble Lord (J. Russell) opposite, and the Hon. Member for Taunton (Mr. Labouchure), who worked together in regular harness —when one pulled the other pulled, and when one gibbed the other gibbed.—(Laughter.) The late Administration were very good at promises ; for ten years together they invariably promised everything. Prosperity was coming always, and everything was cut and dry for bringing about success in their proposed plans, but still nothing was done ; until the people would at last no longer bear their promises, and they turned them out never to come back again. He (Col. S.) highly approved of the proposed reduction of the duty on marine insurance. It was one of the most oppressive taxes, inasmuch as it was a tax nponprud ence . When the present Lord Bexley was Chancellor of the Exchequer, Mr. Barber Beaumont sought to have the duty on fire-insurance reduced, as the removal of such a duty would tend to encourage prudence, and he (Colonel Sibthorp) was glad to find the principle now brought into operation. He was sure that the reduction would rather add to than diminish; the revenue derived from this source, and he was so convineed of that that on one occasion he had himself offered, if a reduction were made, to be answerable for the deficiency.—(A laugh.) With respect to other reductions which had been made in the tariff, he thought it but justice to the Right Hon. Ba ronet (Sir Robert Peel), to state, that he had ascer tained from his own (Col. Sibthorp's) agent, who was one of the largest farmers in the county of Lincoln, that at the great annual fair in April held in that county — which was one of the greatest fairs in the United King dom—there had been a general improvement in the sale of stock. That was a satisfactory announcement, and it was but common justice to the Right Hon. Baronet to make it laugh.) He congratulated the House and the country on the satisfactory statement of the Chan cellor of the Exchequer. It would teach the Hon. Gen tleman opposite a long lesson of repentance, and they would sit upon the stool of repentance all their lives. Me. MARK PHILIPS did not feel any jealousy at the success of the application of the principles of free trade by the Right lion. Gentleman. He heartily re joiced that a step had been made in the right direction by Hon. Gentlemen opposite, and that the country would be relieved from the weight of some burdens that pressed upon the poor. When they considered the enormous extent of the duty on raw cotton, and the dis advantages which that duty placed upon 11 engaged is that important branch of manufacture, he trusted he would be excused if he pleaded the claim of the manu facturers to have the duty reduced. The consumption at present was 400,000 bales of cotton per annum, and the duty imposed on that amount was saved to our foreign rivals. It must be recollected that we came into competition with foreigners in the foreign market under the disad vantages which the payment of that enormous amount of duty caused, for the proportion of our manufactures consumed in this country was but comparatively small. We had nothing to throw away or give to our foreign rivals, and he knew of no other duty which could be re duced with so much advantage to the country than this duty on the raw material of cotton manufacture. The duty was imposed when the duty on printed calicoes was taken oft'. It was imposed as a sort of compromise for the removal of the other daty ; but now that there was a surplus in the revenue they ought to remove a duty which was so injurious in its operation as this. We were manufacturing cotton at a greater dis advantage than the Americans by . 20 per cent. If we were to have the price of the raw material raised against us, our foreign trade would mate rially lessen, and it therefore became a matter of im portance to reduce this duty as much as possible. There were those who believed, that if this duty were remitted, the Americans would add to the cost of the raw material. He was not of that number, and he strongly recommended the Government to sweep away the duty at once in order to give this important branch of industry as full and free a scope as possible. He congratulated the House on the alteration which had been proposed in the duty on marine insurances. He had sometimes observed with great pain that the merchants of this country had been obliged to seek insurances in foreign countries instead of Lloyd's a,pd other places, although he had yet to learn that the merchants of foreign coun tries had in that respect manifested a higher degree of honour than those of our own. He desired to see a ge neral reduction of the duties on insurances, lie thought the present law was such as oftenlo induce parties to run risks which they were not war ranted in daft and he thought the revenue was such as fairly to allow of extensive alteration. He hailed with great delight the proposed reduction of the duty on glass, a reduction which was rendered necef sary by the competition of this country with Bala and other countries on the Continent. With respect_ ~0 the article of coffee, though he could not but express h i s approbation of a reduction of the duly u an n y der gr st e a a n t d wathrtjiteale of ll the settle in the sugar basin, and be dissipated morality and no pot--(Laughter.) He could see ed no rth referent* to consistency in the course pursu c m o o n ra su l m ity pt o io f n, the h e e l: c t o rt i e d scoho;fl n i : d t w su h ga ie r h . , in was no hum wouli it he for ail, were got rid of, the b etter would e reality, se en every step which the country at large. they took in sooner all these pros o a f t that country with whom it was selves retaliated upon by . the closest intercourse. It their interest to maintain to the h was not o pledge himse lf as course w • the wrong direction, they would and them f r him to • he would pursue with respect to the income tax, if such a remission o f duties were to take place as to render it necessary to continue that tax. re ha d ex pressed his opinion to his constituents p se p s il ; ea bu t t o I t ie he th re o m ug is h s t io t n ha o t f t d h u e t in favour of a property-tax as that which pressed least oonn hand d wo rn r i l g ti i i i i t g b c e le a s i s es ur w pl i u th s great advantage to the country at large. Sir IL DOUGLAS expressed satisfaCtion at the reduction of the duty on currants—a satisfaction which was increased by his long connexion with those islands. Mr. C. WOOD said he was convinced that from the stimulus which would be given by the remission of the duty on wool in the manufacturing districts, many would reap a rich harvest. If they were not able now to judge of the effect of the reduction which had taken place in 1842, they could not be able to judge of what the effect would be in five-y , ears. Lord HOWICK thought there was good reason to complain of the conduct of the Government in respect to the export duty upon coals. It had matertally affected a very important branch of trade, and he tho u g ht they were not justified in retaining that duty with such an excess of revenue above expenditure. Captain PECHELL was one of those who wore ;dis satisfied with the Budget. He thought that with so large a surplus the Government ought to have taken off the window-tax. , —(l,lear, hear.) An HON. MEMBER begged to ask the Right Hon.: the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether the instalmenOs of the compensation from China hadbeen,paivd., Th e CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER said that. the instalments had. been duly paid at the stipulated times. Mr. HINDLEY was rejoiced that there was such a surplus o f revenue, and tie more so, because it came from those who were best able to bear it.--(Hear, litter.) After a few words from Lord HARRY VANE, • The resolution was agreed to. • The House then resumed, the resolution was brought up, and the report was ordered to be received to-morrow. THE FACTORIES BILL. Sir J. GRAHAM postponed till Friday the Ordei• Of the Day on the Factories Bill. Mr. S. CRAWFORD gave notice that he would; on 'Friday, upon the motion for going into Committee Upon the Factories Bill, call the attention of the House to a petition from Belfast against the Bill. BAILIFFS OF INFERIOR COURTS BILE The Bailiffs of Inferior Courts Bill was read a third time and passed. WI.