The British Press; or, Morning Literary Advertiser.
London, England, 1820-05-27 00:00:00

it ege olliwe'wkstibt sow thee it any liviter time.
Otrthiaegiwwods he felt it 'refinery to move the
noises le (Mims
. Mr. SM'isirl tY spoke is Sopped of the -nation.
Mr. FitillltrlSoll 'lapelled the &Aims. The clues.
tinn was, whether that was a wise tax which put
2.50,006/. • year into the Treasury. without levying
ally hew burden on the people. He should have
liked to have asked the Hon. Gentleman what was
the proportion of Spanish wool exported to other
parts of the world as compared with England ? He
believed it would he found that France im-
ported not less than 500,000 pounds, certainly not
excreting a million pounds and that in (act
more than 7.loths of the 'Spaniels wool export-
ed came to this country alone. The question
wis narrowed to the consideration of the coarse
wools only, the importation of which into this
country first took place about four or five
years ago, when our coarse wools were et moat
enormous prices. The Honourable Gentleman
stater, that the admixture of these wools was
necessary to make a certain description of woollen
Roods, that is. the whole consumption of British and
foreign wool together being about 160 minima; of
pounds, of which about three millions of pounds
were at foreign wool paying the tax, which was the
enormous grievance complained of, and that was to
occasion the total ruin of all our woollen tom-
nefectures. In the whole history of the system
of protecting dvtie%l as they were called. he
challenged the Noble ,oed had the Hots Gentle-
man to shew him a single instance like that of the
wool growers of this conutry ; they are confined to
the markets of England for the sale of their pro-
duce, and before the sax was laid on were without
any protection from the competition of the foreign
wool grower. What would'the West India merchant
say, if foreign sugars were thus allowed to come in
competition with the prokeluce of our own islands ?
The tax he thought
3 was necessary as a protection
to the growers if British wood, and it was but com.
mon justice to allow it them • few if a free export
were permitted, he was satisfied much greater ad-
vantages would accrue to them than any which
they could derive from the prOtective power of the
tax. He wished, on the part of the wool-growers,
nothing more than a fair competition with foreigners
in all the markets of the world : but if he was COD.
filled to the market of this country only. then cer-
tainly they ought to protect him in that to which he
was so limited. The Noble Lord said that this was
the only instance of a tax on the raw material.
Was not cotton (of which, by the way, we did
nut grow an ounce) a raw material ? 'tiros
not timber taxed, and was not that a raw material
of considerable importance to this country ? The
numerous packages in which goods were exported
from hence were thus all taxed. The dyeing drugs
and oil used in that very manufacture of woollens.
were they not raw materials, and all taxed, but
taxed with a reference to the wants of the croon.
try on the one hand, and with the least possible
prejudice to the manufacturers on the other ?
The distress to which the Noble Lord had al.
laded had arisen from - more general causes—
reuses pressing en every clam of trade. agriculture,
and manufactures. If lie had inquired into the
state of the cotton trade. he would iii that have
found the same diminution in demand, the same
reduction of wages, iw short, the same distress as
complained of in the woollen trade. How then
could the distress in that branch be attributed to
the tax ? The diminution was truly attributable to
the diminished demand in America, for on a comp*.
rison of the exports of last year as compared with the
exports of the preceding year to that country.as drawn
from accounts on the table, it would appear that there
had been a falling off in the cotton trade of more
than one half; in the hardware manufactures, full
one half; and the export of woollens. though cou-
sitlerably diminished, had in fact suffered the least
diminution of any. Comparing the exports of
woollens to all the world, deducting the diminution
of America. it would appear there was very little fall-
ing off, indeed less in that article than in any other :
from which it was evident that effect hid not been
produced by any of our internal regulations. The
order which was said to have been received in this
country from Russia, and which could not be
executed at the price limited, might have had that
price fixed so low, that notwithstanding our re-
duced rate of Isbour it could not be executed here
on account of that limitation; but was it executed
any where else ? He would answer that it was
not, for in no other place could it be exe-
cuted for want of British coarse wool, which was
only to be bad here. He had thought it his duty to
inquire into the state of the woollen trade on the
Continent, and had found it, from the operation of
the same causes, still more depressed and distressed
than here. He thought there was no reason to
expect the tax could effect the export of any
articles of which British wool was a component
pert, and he thought they were bound to give it a
fair trial. not us regarded the revenue, which he
conceited to be a secondary consideration, but for
the protection of the wool-grower, whom the House
would be bound, if they repealed the tax. not to
leave in the situation he was before placed in.
for he was confident tlietiorwrfacturers themselves
most think the monopdy of British wool was a
boon to them, far more than adequate to any loss
arising from the tax. If therefore it was not thought
desirable by say party to open the trade for the ex-
port of British wool, it was essential that the Bri.
tish grower should be protected from the compe-
tition of the foreigner in the.market to which he
was limited.

Mr. Caawea said he !bought the woollen ma-
nufactures, above all others, demanded the peculiar
protection of the Howie, and that a more impolitic
tax than the present had never been placed; for at
the'same time that it failed to assist the agricul-
turist. for whine benefit it was avid to be laid on,
it operated a direct and considerable injury to
the manufacturer. Whatever tended to decrease
productive labour tomer be injurious, and this mea-
sure was of that description. for it discouraged the
woollen trade. which employed a large► proportion
of people than say othe►. He wished that every
labouring hand in the coontry should be produc-
tively employed. as many as possible in agriculture,
and the remainder in commerce and manufactures.
Mr. PIIILLITI thopiglit the question bad been
a►gued too lunch on the norm* ground of injury
to the woolltru manssiseturet4 only ; but he con-
sidered, as tt was calculated to obstruct exportation