The Northern Daily Times.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1856-12-08 00:00:00

THE SOUND AND STADE DUES.

A correspondent, writing from Berlin on the 3rd lust/
says : 0
It is now some months since I bad it in my power, h
bad
~
Government to you that the last proposals made by the pawed.
Government for the capitalization of the Sound Dues
tt;
at any rate as far as the principle was concerned, bber en
accepted by the State chiefly interested. Since
negotiations have been assiduously carried on, which bast
resulted in a form of protocol being drawn up bY bad
Britain, Prussia, and France, in common with Dente ripe
the groundwork of a formal treaty, which, when all is le!
will definitely sets le this long vexed question. The fib° of
mentioned protocol is, as I hear, a joint production _
this Government and our own, and is understood
_w_
embrace also the question of the transit duties betweeer;
Hamburg and. Kiel. Some little time back there uponeltbe
appearance that our government intended to press
Danish Cabinet the conclusion of a separate treaty, an`
leave the other states interested to fare as they could; ivout
as this course of proceeding would have been anythiagniart
conclusive of the general subject of the claims of nen—ttore
on all states trading. to the Baltic, it is matter of satisface eo
to find that this intention has been abandonenl, the alEerassise
as this government, which next after Englanl andur,„t the
has the greatest stake in the matter, has throw:'n—ire
whole affair evidenced the most unwaenrine'de the
co operate with us in the fair settlemeaovern mei
question. The sums required by the two gljee;
to pay off their quota of the capitalised Soundbe
will, doubtless, form prominent items in the budgeta toio
presenteuted to the Legislative bodies of both
the ensuing session. Russia, Sweden, and Oldenbur., have
long ago given in their assent to the capitalisation the
and no doubt is entertained of their speedily settling a," Of
details for its execution, and according to this proton old
the United States, whose Government gave ththis
most effective impulse to the determination of ilfor
existing abuse, we are told that a certain degree of vb„,• loon
ness is being exhibited now in Washington to' make enter at
natioile4B
cause with the European Powers, in setting this mat
rest for ever. Does is
Important as the cessation of the Sound ee for
to our Baltic trade, which has been diminishgoltr
some years past, and which ought, in can° on
with the new era commencing in Reesia, Yelp etsa‘
to attain dimensions hitherto enknown",i%lll be
as that cessation is in itself, its entire im
see 9
fully _recognised only when its indirect resuio Ltneta
For the purpose of keeping the revenue derived
Sound Dues undiminished by any competition, the •`"nistia
government has hitherto, and with good success, r.-0 the
portanv.
all the efforts made to reduce the heavy inWaste f,Peear,
navigation of the Elbe, which, if made attractive hi -90000
ness, would be a formidable competitor with' the :„ hog
passage ; the high scale of dues on the Elbe, aga7ooe,t(
enabled the riverain states on the Rhine to 101 ://10
oppressive revenue on the navigation of that river„'
the enormity of Denmark's levying a toll on 011 P e for
through a strait of which she owns only one coast bast bee
nished an irresistible precedent for Hanover to eXter, the
Stade duties from all shipping entering and leav,in°epeal
mouth of the Elbe. In the diminution and eventual re
of the river dues on the Rhine and on the Elbe, an eeet
more the Stads Dues, which weigh so heavily on ie
trade with Hamburg and Altona,* Great Britapid,
deeply interested, 'and it is with the last-mentiane'e raolt
Stade Toll, that we must begin first, as being
important. rr a a Pt°
In this course also we shall find that the 001!
and Prussia have already set us an example. ,„9°,7overit
time back the latter made overtures to the lic",l3tso'
Government with reference to the alleviation of the 13t dis •
Toll, and the United States have already proclainecesistigr
trading interests of Hamburg their intentiol Of 1.001
the further payment of the toll to Hanover in the aa-meisb
as they have acted towards the similar toll in the Phone
Sound. The infliction of this impost on.the over-gee
entering and leaving the Elbe is, moreover, W1.68,' 7000'
particualrly:invidious manner by Hanover as tool? of it+
burg, in whose port she receives so large
for she exempts from it all vessels with caw° enterttpg
own port of Harburg, on the Elbe, which she is fagatt
and favouring at the expense of Hamburg, the Polio.
whose commerce she is indebted for the revenue shact sgeg
from the toll. Hanover, moreover, does notbingneambani
an equivalent for her Stade Toll, seeing that it Oa
that keeps `up the lighthouses, buoys, &c., at
expense. calledthe
Some years ago, when Mr. Hutt, M.P., .
attention of parliament to the Stade grievance ta:eb)
a portioco her
produce of the tolls was estimated (evidently t'oo u'le, ser.
£70,000, which, in consequence of the alterationeshlf
reductions introduced hp the treaty of 1844 fell tense tool
s-) that of late years Hanover has seldom realiSevuelisa
than £35 000 from th's source ; of this amount vgl'oeli,
commerce pays the half. In the financial estimat,e, eel!'
laid before the Hanoverian Diet, for the two raStel
years 1856-8, the annual gross revenue from Ocoee;
Toll is taken at £33,750, and, deducting take etilPeesoaaista.sAi
col'ectinn, at £27,750 net. Supposing we
and round (rib
or prospective revenue at the ample
£30,000 per annum, and at sixteen years pureha° tsocod
is about the rate conceded to Denmark fa thelo suit/
Dues), Hanover would have to receive from t 000
interested £480,000, and according to the pro,Pd book.-
which Great Britain is interested the latter wouiwbea t,";
pay at the highest £240,000, or more probalf, ,or
figures are gone into carefully, about Germany.L2oo,ooo9'
0°
relief of British commerce with the north of bieet
The treaty of 1844 with Hanover is determineool
time upon twelve months' notice, and it is perfecrib,,
our Government to strive after better ternig, eroOe
treaty put an end, it is true, to several vexatiottavroteaidu
ings connected with the toll—fir instance, the tori0::;f
reduced the rates of charge, but it simplified og 00u.fr
condensing the rates under 47 heads only; wilf;e:iessPeicol
the previous tariff there were not only 2,368 ar;;eeted
os
tally taxed, but etch of these articles was ath'Jher Of rbs
numbei of different duties, so that the real nuta" olla
,
titular rates to be levied amounted to 6,688. nay Pt,A.
the merchants of Hull and Newcastle iudigna"„bieew-ee
against our commerce with Germany being 6`. 101'
o' 60
such vexatious restrictions. and well might •siere'vera"rtha
their organ, demand the interference of txe owe
to protect the British trade to the Elbe aga°l9,,ert• stlt
most oppressive tariffs that the world had eor Sui.P 00000
The treaty of 1844 was undoubtedly an Ibtit
upon the previous monstrous state of things' , ttorr
true that it was Lord Palmerston's intention 11' re ff'rctir
compel Hanover to revise the Stade tariff 60000340 d ct si
blv than took place in that arrangement. A over,
mission, appointed by Great Britain and Ilan' tb
00
Hamburg for some time in the year 1841, fold °lgastedg
sion the British Commissioner, Mr. Wared:eloer coo ti
reducing the entire tariff to the basis of 1-101' le •
valorem, which was the maximum agreed tlll69l,e'sr
concluded between Sweden and Hamburg in ayeenfitts
time when Sweden was still in possession of liacse,do
Werden. But, on Hanover's refusing alloy oftair;istl
this demand, the negotiations were broken ..tbe fiber'
removed to London where they finally resulted ri
jorda
ing convention of 1844,bearing the signatureeTon if,.o/00
deen and Mr. Gladstone, and which conven„wl/011fgliorir
upon the previous act of the Elbe navigation c" loir
regulating the Stade toll as a river duty witbinnottitiog
diction. The weak side of this arrangement c°Blllna Obi
ever, in *this, that in consideration of ilatinab inerater
by one tliird the duties hitherto levied on 13'' etorarellt
ture and produce, England asrreed for the fu be P'
to the toll as a river toll, to be regulated by ,tiplll0'
states of the Elbe, according to theigl9 tft eaba
of the treaty of Vienna, while from "Aild P,ltem"
the State toll had been a sea 00";$ „a-
jected to the cognizance of the 'o"'";iterliioji
c mmissioners. The result of thia al) 0114
the nature of the toll is, that its amonn!..iaesr% oOlv
altered with the consent of the said C 0171,1211704 10 liC?
fortuity
ground there may be for contendineeetiendinl-1
with the ancient treaties, Hanoverof thr
ife e
more than 1-16th per cent. ad valorem these r goel
States have not adopted that o inion, butolteeanettadat,
articles of the Elbe Navigation CPonvention oc'ods.,otlo
l'hpesr cent. as the rate for non-enumerated go., 'wit
tee circumstances it is useless to give t'oeing
betternotice of the determination of the treaty' a .8008
terms are now likely to be obtained. otads rotor far
at The_ only way, therefore, to get rid of tile e'b goo" 01
the mouth of the Elbe is to negotiate wit.viag e.fbe
an entire cessation of these tolls on her refe!ar testoP
cation. The very best precedent for so, doing
De;0117,
successful close of the present negociat°h% 1000000 v
for the repeal of the Sound Dues, Cud aboutll"- toete
putting his hand into his pocket for be
for the King of Denmar, it would 00 to Ob.
.4..2 0 0 th ido
trifle for him to vote another o
rid of the Stade tolls. The other dues ley"—
which e tinik
and the Rhine are purely German impos tho sara
ire s-oh,
rtaelkieevninog doiurerctowpaarctominmearloco,lfirsohmingth; a osttEjeicTolig, t"
be contributing powerfully, i tovill„OP,
liberation of general commerce from the other Oil the rig 0
neared', ' to
be.
afeo
• ken ' a be-bea
Ole
step the Germans have already ta ffecte
direction,•
viz., in consequence of the tali° e ata has PS
th '
e Zillverein and the Steuerverein, a trae jwhici-le'eser'
brought about between them and • Brent La the r
already effected the cessation of the oyes
rive
the
.rout „ere fo•
A MYSTERIOUS AFFAIR.—..,A
It -
confidently rumoured that by cent .a o 0
re woe 0, op
Court of Chancery, a suit which has been
_now
_do
upwards of a century has been brought to e_cAust the 10;09 r
that a young man, a native of this country; aunt ill .gto
time filling the humble situation of servanenotien
e Igiudrow
man's family in Plymouth, has becon3
almost incredible sum of money
thousands. —report 804

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