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

what aimed a vital Mow at one of oar thief me.
tiolactorts, would euable their leamstey to pay
their rent and taxes the better—the remelt should
he directly the reverse. Nature, to a vertaio
decree, pointed out the products 'adapted to
pa;ticular climates, and those who eudeavoired
to introduce the growth of the fine wool 'of Spain
and Simony here, would, in his opinion, be Its omit'
disappniuted as if they attempted to introduce
the long wool of England into the Torrid Zoo's.
Ile interned to this the rather, because it was moor*
the growers sod encouragers of hue wool in %biomass•
try that the measure had found its warmest support.
ere. Indeed the'conclossion derivable from the minute
already alluded to was, that the consequences of the
coot' tttt once of the tax would be fully asinjurious
to the agriculturist as the manufacturer. He bad
endeavoured to 'the utmost of his power to check
the signatures to Petitions against the duty ; but
he had found it impossible, the feelings of the
people were too stroseto he controlled. But be
would not hue beets an honest man, could he base
led them to think that the removal of the tax
would restore the trade possessed during the war;
he could not be so weak as to think so, nolo in-
sincere as.to say so. MI he said to the 'House WIN
that when a branch of trade was already in a, State
of decadence, it was not wise to force it lower-6
(Hear, kear)—that they should not urge down the
descending: stone with greater rapidity. No lan-
gunge could describe the degree of misery and die
tress to which the manufacturing population was re-
duced—his feelings had been actually harrowed in
witnessing it. Agricultural distress was much spoken
of, bat he himself liver' in a district of Eugland which
was purely agricultural, and it laboured under no
distress whatever. But if they went into Yorkshire
or Lancashire, how was the scene altered? In the
town of Sheffield the poor rates fur the first four
'Booths of the present year, were double their
amount in the four corresponding months of the
lost year. lit this situation it was moot grating to
the feelings of these people to have experiments made
on what constituted their only source of subsistence.
He called upon Parliament to repeal this Mx, be-
cause it was • departure from our ancient petite'.
pies; because it seemed to be the commencement of
a series of experiments in our manufactures to as-
certain how much they could bear; because it was
adverse to the accumulation of wealth at otiose
when such accumulation was peculiarly oecitesary;
and because the acknowledgment of the principle
was destructive of all the great perennial sources of
national wealtis.—/ Warm and continued elseering.i
—The Noble Lord then moved for leave to bring in
a Bill to repeal the Tax on Foreign Wool.
Mr. T. WiLsos, in seconding the motion,
thought it had been most wisely laid down by the
Noble Lord, that this country must always consider
herself as an exporting erne; but he believed it
was necessary that the balance of trade should be
in our favour, now when we were taking measures
to revert to a metallic currency. At a time when
they had heard from the President of the Board of
Trade that it was intended to remove the war duties
on timber from the North of Europe, he could not
look on it as a measure of justice to impose a new
tax, on the return of peace, on our own manufactur-
ing population. The effect of the tax would be most
felt on the low-priced article. For York cloth,
front 25. 6d. to 44. a yard, the merchants of this
country had recently been 'whinny informed,
that the foreign orders would be withdrawn nits
less they supplied them ten per cent. cheaper.
It was quite clear that no process, however loge-
taious or skilful in the manufacture of such cloths,
could enable the British manufacturer to compete
with those who had the wool of which it was in part
tecceeserily composed SO mach cheaper. The keep-
ing up of the tax might inflict an injury on the
country which could never be repaired. The pro-
duce of the tax was not worth the hazard, for it
produced but seveuteen thousand pounds in four
months.

Mr. WESTERN opposed the motion. The first
effect of the tax had been to induce Spain to take
off a part of the export duty to the same amount,
so that is fact the price of the article to the import-
lug merchant and the manufacturer continued the
same as before. The cause of the smallness of the
importation during the four months that the tax
had been in operation, was the vast quantity im-
ported just before its commencement, in order to
avoid the duty. Ile thought the measure necessary
to ',remit the article being imported to such an
extant, as to check and prevent its growth at home.
The CRANCELLOR of the EXCIIEQUIR enter-
tained the seine sentiments on the subject which
he had expressed in the last Parliament. The
measure bad not yet received such a trial as to
enable them .to judge of its results. Raw could
they argue ou general principles of political economy
respecting. a trade which had previously laboured
guider a double monopoly ? In such circumstances
it might be wise to look wide of general prin-
ciples by imposing a tax oil the raw material.--
He contended that there was no inconsistency in
looking on the tax as a measure both of revenue
sod protection. He knew of no better principle of
taxation thou the t*aiug au article, the trade in
which has gradually and constantly ioce
which was the case with foreign wool imps.
The manufacture of cloth' did not at all in•
create in the same ratio; so that it appeared
that the foreign wool had not been used in supply.
iug the demands of a proptirtionally aormastrod ens.
Gumption, but in overpowering the tale sad math'
of the article at home. The overflow of foreign
wool had alarmed the British grower, ipd afresh
some persons thought otherwise, he never amid Sr
derstand why all the coarse cloths could sot be
made of British wool alone. Excessive imparta-
tion might in the end prove ruinous to the
manufacturer, by depriving him of the largest,
moat regular, sod steady vapply—that he meant,
which was 'produced at home. The exports of
woollens had nut fallen of more than thew
of other manufactures, nor so much as some.
The depression was principally owing to the
deficiency •in the exports to America. It
could be ascertained by an examination of official

documents, that the circulation of Bank paper,
which Ind stood some time before in that miautry
at 110 nailliouv of dollar.. ova now redieed to 45
millions. Every• Gentleman moat be aware bow
g►eatly a country mu.t he embarrassed, when above
half its currency was taken oat .f eircelatiom.--
As an article of revenue, the tax had not.faihd, for
it had not been tried; av au expedient of protection,