The Express.
London, England, 1856-09-25 00:00:00

de Brassiere recalled to the Coupes that when the
sitting was concluded last night, a delegate from
Vuvrare was before the meeting. If any member
I bad any opposition to make to the statements already
made, he might do so: if not, he would at see all
upon the honourable delegate from the Sardinian
Minister of Finance.
This delegate was received by a round of apples. ;
and whenever his allusions toadied upon the political
position of the country he represented, the enthusiasm
of his audience knew no bounds. Re gave a history
of the modillostions of the Sardinian tariff from the
time when 80 franca were levied on every 100 kilo-
grammes of sugar; and when ad valorem duties,
reaching to 80 per cent., and even 120 per Gent.,
might be found in her tariff. Then imported corn
paid 9 francs per hectolitre. But with liberty in poll-
tics came liberty in commerce, and the two were ins-
urable. This remark was received with enthusiasm.
The orator then proceeded to detail therednotions and
abolitions of duties effected by the constitutional
government of Sardinia since 1861. Now, many raw
materials--silk, for instance—were admitted free.
Free trade in corn had been accomplished. Their
navigation laws had been abolished, and their marine
had been only the more prosperous. The articles still
os their tariff had been reduced, as well u their fiscal
Imposts, 40 and even 80 per cent. And they had yet
mach to do. Their king was a brave soldier and an
honest man. It had been asserted against Ragland
that the free trade of porfido Albion was a selfish
policy; that she hoped to crush the industry of every
other country. Now, this could not be said of Pied-
most : all the industry she could hope to crash was
that of Molinoourt. This delegate was greeted with
immense and prolonged cheering as he descended
from the tribune.

The Sardinian delegate was succeeded by Count
Arrivabene, who spoke for Tuscany. He had but a
few wads to offer to the Congress, since it was the
intention of the oommittee to publish the report they
had received from Florence on the subject before
them. He might, however, cell to the mind of the
Congress that Tuscany had led the way in free trade.
Count Arrivabene was succeeded by M. Gamier,
a delegate from France, who, in an epigrammatic
speech, the political points of which elicited immense
applause, gave a picture of the present tariff of France.
He described the formidable position of the French
protectionists, bat contended that the agriculturists of
the country were now free traders. Still the probe-
doubts were determined. Had they not heard it
said in France that they had better have an invasion
of Cossacks than one of foreign oxen ? It was true,
indeed,that there bad been customs reforms in France ;
they were, however, homoeopathic reforms. Were
there not still fifty-two articles on their list of articles
prohibited? and some of these were raw materials.
He celled this en economic impertinence—it was a
wall of China about commerce. The system could
not list. France slept sometimes rather huvily, bat
she would wake op, the Congress might depend epos
it. This latter observation, so susceptible of political
interpretation, was received with three rounds of
cheering.
M. tawnier was succeeded by M. Wolowski, of the
French Inetitute,who opened hie address by a tribute to
the memory of Butiat, Leon Faucher (his brother-in-
law), Blanqui, and others—economists, whose names
were reoeived with markedsatisfaction by the Congress.
This delegate then went into a lengthy description of
the state of French commerce. At last, M. de
Stoneham was compelled to all M. Wolowski to
order, and to remind him that he was simply reading
a very long article that had been already published in
all the Belgian newspapers. M. Wolowski having
at length concluded, was succeeded by a Belgian
delegate, who amused the Congress by showing that
there were 2,700 duties upon the Belgian tariff, and
that so unmusical were their custom-house officers
that they would not permit nightingales and linusts
to pass through the country.
A Prussian delegate then spoke on the Zollverein ;
the point of his speech was in favour of a union of
the Hanseatic towns under the Prussian tariff. At
this period of the proceedings the President put a
motion to the Congress. proposing that the remainder
of the speakers on the first question should lay their
she
sections. or r7Eir•tsm °out the
w
tuabulenanto
ibemoeusxiltymined:z
and the Congress at once poised to the consideration
of the second proposition, which was as follows:
"To examine the obstacles which retard the develop.
ment of international commerce in various countries.
The evils which are the result of these obstacles."
M. Pascal Deprat was invited to open the discus-
sion on this proposition. This gentleman, whose
presence appeared tribe most welcome to the Congress,
declared that the obstacles to the development of free
trade were physical and moral ones, and there were
many of them. There were, above all, moral ones. In
the old time the difficulty of intercommunication was
a sufficient reason ; the modern obstacle was the oppo-
sition of a privileged faction. He touched here, he
said, upon a delicate matter; but in that hall he
should be untrue to the past did he not boldly
enter into it. He then proceeded to draw illustra-
tions from the recent political history of France,
of the obstacles absolutism puts in the way of
international commuoioations—and concluded an
energetic and a brilliant speech, amid the enthu-
siutio cheers of the Congress. This address, that
had evidently a political object ulterior to that of
mere commercial reform, was decidedly the speech of
the day.
M. Pascal Duprat was followed by M. Van der
Broole, a Belgian agriculturist; wbo should have been
followed by M.Dupont, in support of the ironmasters;
but this gentleman not being present, the tribune was
aided to the President of the Chamber of Commerce
ci Version.
Left sitting.)