The Express.
London, England, 1850-09-25 00:00:00

THE EXPRESS, WEDNESDAY EVENING, SEPTEMBER 25, 1850.

RUM a* MD&

The_tnewing Wale Itaie appeared in the Ala-
i onrenisk, etas elk and Ithlt
1111 AIM enidelaresey fee the welfare of this &Wet
Ilisteisaleieve tionevare endow of pram
diem even emedadon et seale—teeted, tt slam te as,
that salsa some atsw ahninsis of soamtpthia opts op to
take of the rsdanesett sap* et Ger too attakerove eolkerfita
a crisis t‘ Meshy, or tage, slut very to
overtake
boil amen axe porketee, the tonatquacas of which acme
tea ffritia _ _

Wham too look at the proximity of the Preach moat to oar
ewe, sat messiah(' how destitute it is of this essential slam
of rosaufactarimi prosperity. we cannot bat feel maxima to
know why our trade with that put of France north of shallots.,
factodiag Perla and all the towns on Ito banks, p gralaally
declining as d yielding Before Ike sucenshal (empathise of
Belgium, both in esti and cooks, to the amp*, of which
latter articles elm has &most a monopoly with ail thorn rail-
ways haviag a imeninas at Paris—the Paris and Biwa only
exapted. Thu answer to this is simple. In the list place,
the Belgian oval mad coke, though decidedly iaterior In
quality to the English, enjoy the inordinate advantage of
bet eg admitted into France at less than one-third of the dory
paid by the letter; and is the seat place, it has the midi-
, tionot advantage of being carried to nearly all the great
northern towns, and thole on the Brine and Paris, by mugs
aid canalised riven, at a much lower rate of freight, in-
eluding canal dam, han an be approached by the English.
For the information of thus of our readers who are no: in.
timely acquainted with the fees, we subjoin a statement of
the rate of duty and freight respectively paid by the two
competing anntries :
Doty on B leen coal
Ditto on English tool
Duty on &Lilian cake ....• •• • 3 30 „ —or 2.. 9d.
Ditto oa BaigWL sok* 11 00 „ 24.
As to freight., we wilt not (rote the English rates, bat
will merely give *me of Belgium to the northern ports of
Dankirk sad Calais (to each of which they are the earne),
and to the great market of Bonen is the south :
Per Ton.
_ • . _ . _ _ _

From Balgium (3lems) to Calais's coals I Freight.
Tills payable on cover:meat canals
Ditto on pelvis dixo 1 25 $ or 4 7
Cake pays the suns canal dues as emit, and the freight
is generally shoat 1tr.25e., or Is. per tut more than coals,
at ss. 7d.
Prone Belgium to Rouen (Freight)
7 °C) I or 8 4
Tolls en government canals or rivers
AR or the moat per of this transport is effect d in Belgian
beiges of a most superior glue, varying in sin from 150 to
390 tors harden. It cannot be denied that them is a most
striking, and vs may add unjust, eerie:sof partiality abown
by the French to the Belgians OM the English in the dal
'ivied on both coal and coke. even if we add the canal tolls
an though it wan ell prat, the difference on or ke becomes
the more striking, es sae freight by mud Taxies we
little from that paid on goals. If we are, .as la said.
on term of saleable alliance with the French Ratios,
we ask, ia the nun* of common sense, why we me
plated is ets aatavourablet—we ought to say &grad'
—a relative petition ? The ease is precisely
u respects iron. As a purely runway qa
the Pruett government were to levy an equal daty on tbe
produce of both enuairies of four funs per ton on melt, sad
eight francs on coke, they would derive an auguiewation of
from this source of from four to dee millions of
duns per annum, and by thus placing the competition on a
mars tab and equitable footing, they would secure to their
consumer the asiquistiosable advantages milkier from the
duke of two powerful parties to pewees, the trade, instead of
the leader musks of one oaly,who through undue prefennee
has almost a monopoly. Most of the English coal now sent
into France is foe the supply or government contracts, which
paying no duty, leaves the Belgian competition without a
thanes of maven even at the port of Calais. when the
Magid, as we bays shown, is so comparatively low ; this fact
of Eself is sufficient to explain what could be dons if the
duty was eqwelimd. The question will naturally suggest
itself, why this Ohneelleioll was ever made to the Belgians ?
We can truly sewer it by nferring to the saved poicy of
the late King Loafs Philippe, who stopped at any
ssuilifie whore the siggrandieemset of his owa family was
enneramd; we therefore believe the Belgians may thank
their rood Queen for this extraordinary &lento's.
In conclusion, we cannot too strongly recommend this
question to the serious consideration of the eon-owner;
nor can we doubt that an energritio representation en the
subject to our own governmeat from so influential a body
would, if renamed in, be predaetive of beneficial muds.
We dues this matter of so mash Importanee, that we shall
probably refer to it again.
THE FRENCH GOVERNMENT AND THE
ENGLISH COAL TRADE.
Ws called the attention of our radon, ia •recent number,
to the duties levied by the French goundseat on English
and Belgian tools respectively. The object we had In vie w
lan furaisking that information was more to wenn* the at-
tension of our cub/anus to ths actual relative position of the
mounting parties than to distract that attention by dilating
en what could have no practieal inflames on the question—
ers refer more particularly to a ennimunittatian which will be
found elsewhere—of the fact, of whit% we were perfectly
cognisant at the time, that Belgian auk and auks are *ab-
ject to the tune rate of duty as English when imported by
set; but as no such importations take pleat, or if any, they
are so petfcetly insigoifi mut that we deemed it anima to com-
plicate sample statement of tuts, true 'sheet', by referring to
a mere provision of the law, which, as fu m the Beglish coal-
owner is eoncerued, is of no rams value by way of equalise.
tiou than though it had been omitted altogether. We re.
peat, therefore, that, practically speaking, English coals arid
coke are subject to a higher rate of duty on entering France
of mom than two-thirds of that pald on Belgian. Why in
thin, we ask spin. We trust the same question sill be
asked by others infinitely more inflamed.' than ourselves.
If the French_ government urge. as a pretext for that fa-
voiding the Belgian, to the prejudice of the Berlish pro
dooms and French consumers, ;bat they have a direct in-
terest in festering, by reelection, their Inland navigation, we
would have some right to salamis that they thought their
sea-going merchant marine saftlefeatly Meowed in the
myst..nes of scummy as to be able to compete with the
teacher ships of otter nations on the broad and legitimate
bases of " equality ;" but let us see, then, how far the facts
bur out this assumption. Ice the very last "Caller des
Charees," Used about three weeks ace, inviting tenders for
die supply of 6,300 teas of steam cads to the Meditentanean,
foe the service of the " Adsainietration des Potts," we dad