The Express.
London, England, 1848-07-20 00:00:00

SALE OF BREAD BILL.

Mr. WAKLEY wished to call the attention of the chair
to a measure, against which a great number of petitions had
been presented—he meant the Sale of Bread Bid. Ile be-
lieved it to be the practice of the house whenever a Lill was
introduced affccti-g any portion of the trade of the country,
that such measure should be introduced by resolution in com-
mittee of the whole house. Now, this was a measure which,
if passed into a law, would, so he had been infeimed, wholly
annihilate the baking trade of the metropolis. He wiahed
to ask the right hon. gentleman in the chair whether the
bill had been introduced in proper form?
The SPEAKER said that he had looked at the bill in
question and the precedents which bore on it, and he found
that it was one which ehould have been introduced in com-
mittee of the whole house. (Hear, hear.) In the case of
the Sale of Beer Bill in 1840, it was ruled that it should
have been introduced in committee of the whole house ; it
was, consequently, withdrawn, and reintroduced in proper
form by resolution. (Hear, bear.)
Mr. WAKLEY submitted to the hon. member for War-
wickshire whether, attar what they had heard, it would be
advisable to proceed with this bill. (Hear, hear.)
Mr. SPOONER said that after what bad fallen from the
chair, he felt that be had no mune left but to withdraw it.
(Hear, bear.)
SUGAR DUTIES.
Lord G. BENTINCK said he was sorry the Chancellor of
the Exchequer was not in his place, as he wished to call his
attention to a matter of considerable importance. An im-
pression prevailed in the City, which he believed was well
founded, that it would not be competent to the government
to levy the duties (on sugar) according to law which were
now being levied by resolution of the house, and that the
minister, if he proposed to raise the duties so they were at
present raised, must ask leave of the house to withdraw his
bill, to cancel his resolution, and to begin the white matter
over again. The house might not be aware that the duties
by the set now in force, that was to may, the old act of 1846,
were levied on sugar and mimeos the growth and produce
of any British possession in America, or within the limits of
the East India Company's charter, into which the importa-
tion of foreign; sugar was prohibited to he exported tram
thence. Now, her Majesty's ministers, in their zeal for
economy in words—the only economy they had exhibited—
had altered the heading of the resolution thus "On luear
and molasses the growth and produce of auy British pones-
sion into which the importation of foreign sugar is pro-
hibited." Now, the importation of foreign sugar was act
prohibited in Jamaica, consequently it would :at be com-
petent under the act at present before the house, founded on
the resolution they had passed—and he apprehended that an
act could not be pawed without withdrawing the present act
and cancelling the resolution—to levy on :he sugars coming
from that colony the duties mentioned by the act. (Hear,
bear.) The only duties leviable would be those under the,
second schedule, namely, on sugar and molasses the growth
and produce of any other possession being imported from any
inch possession. That was to say, the duties leviable on sugar
the growth and produce of Jamaica. —and he believed
it applied equally to the other West India islands, and would
would be lbs. 9d. per cwt. on muscovado sugar. (Hear,
hear.) Now, he had looked at the Customs Act, as he had
been told that in the Bth and 9th Victoria, e. 93, the point
was provided for. He bad also looked at the Warehousing
Act, aced lie found no loop-hole through which the customs
would be able to creep, or levy say duty except the ids. 9d.
on British muscovado& the produce of Jamaica. (Hear,
hear.) He believed that there was no course open to the
government but to withdraw their bill and introduce
another. He begged to call the attention of the Chancellor
of the Exchequer to another point. The duty now leviable
on refined sugar, Dutch or liambro', or from any part of the
continent, was, under the act of 1846, three gu:ceas per cwt.
The right hon. gentleman had ousted that .chedule altogether
from his bill and resolution, which, be it remembered, had
been introduced for the protection of British refiners and
wharfingers and warehousemen, and the only duty which,
under the new act, could be levied on those sugars was
11. 4s. Bd. the cwt. Now,the difference °fries between eugar
offequal quality refined in this country and the refines". sugar
of Holland was no less than 7s. Id. the cwt. The effect of
the right hon. gentleman's declaration on Saturday last uad
been to lower the price of British refined sugar is, the •a
and to raise foreign 2e. He had beard that it toe duties
passed in their present shape it would set up Mesas.
De Bemire and Co. completely on their legs again. The
right hon. gentleman the Chancellor of the Exchequer had
not said one word on this point in the ezpoeiticn of his mea-
sure which he had given to the house. And ac it was under-
stood that the measure of the government was ore of relief
to the colonies, and not of injury, it was not supposed that
ministers were silently carrying through a till which would
injure the British refiner, and place the sugar-producing
colonies in almost as bad a position as they were before. He
believed the Chancellor of the Exchequer mould have to re-
consider the whole matter, sad introduce fresh reso.utions,
which should be less injurious to the Br itish refiners and
wharfingers of this country.
The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER exp.:seed
his obligation to the noble lord for calling his attention to
this subject, which, howev.:r, had not soaped Lim, and at
the proper opportunity, viz., is the committee on the Lill, be
weuld explam how he proposed to obviate the difficulty.
Mr. BERNAL was in a position to sty that the subject
had already berm brought to the notice of his right hon.
friend. What he (Mr. Bernal) feared was, that unless some-
thing was done in the matter, sugar imported from
Jamaica would have to pay a duty f 151. 9d. instead of 136.,
as intended, owing to the deficient wordir g of tie resolu•ion.
The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER. in.refer-
core to the observation of the noble lord tato foreign r tined
sugar imported into t .e colonies, observed that the import
of foreign refined sugar into the British West India colo-
nies was substantially prohibited by the act, but there was
an exemption in favour of British refuted sugar. With re-
gard to foreign refined sugar there was some technical diffi-
culty, but he would propose in committee to alter the words
of the first schedule so as to meet it.
Mr. CARD WELL wishert tocall attention to the difficul-
ties in the every. illy business of the merchants of Liverpool,
London, and other commercial towns, occasioned by these
mistakes. It was very generally suppo'cd that the efit et of
the bill so it now stood would be to charge upon British raw
sugar a duty of 15s. 9d. instead of 13s , as was intended. and
there was also an impression that the Dutch refiner would
have an advantage over the British refiner in the article of
refined sugar. He did not collect from what had fallen
from the Chancellor of the Exchequer that these impres-
' Mons were unfounded, but he could assure the right hon.
gentleman that they materially affected the merket, and
were seriously injuring it at this ro.omet.t. (Hear.) Though
he was aware that this was not the proper time for arguing
the point, he thought those who were engaged in the sugar
Made were entitled to an immediate framer to the question
which had been put by his noble friend, whether it was the
intention of government to begin de novo with the resolu-
tions, or whether it would be sufficient to males a change,
and if so what change in the bill—(hear' hear)—and that:
was most unreasonable that they should be required to wait
fur this information until the committee on the Sugar
Duties Bill.
Lord G. BENTINCK.—Perhaps the right hon. gentle-
man would allow him to set him right as to the duties on
foreign sugars imported into Jamaica. He found by the
schedule of the set that the duty to be charged on refined
sugar the produce of and refined in any foreign country was
20 per cent. ad valorem. (Hear.)
Mr. HUDSON wished to know whether the Chancellor of
the Exchequer was prepared to give an answer to the gum-
den which had been put to him ? (Hear, hear.) It wen
most important the trade should know whether they were
labouring under a mistake as to the construction of the reso-
lutions or not. If the right bon. gentleman was not pre-
pared now to.give an answer, perhaps, better
adjourn to give him an oppertunityll • *
tld-
ter. (Hear, and 'laugh.) .6' •
The CHANCELLOR of the
could be no doubt that at this moment awl
in the wording of the first resolution noble
had read By the English act, sugeg fin Ste
the United Kingdom was prohibit&
into any of our West India colonies.
was intended by the act to excluderreertrui *blared ,•
eluded ; but then was a technical dithddly

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