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

TAX ON FOREIGN WOOL

Lord MMTON, in risiang to move for leave to
bring in s Bill to repeal the tax on foreign woo!,
observed. that he had been asked to undertake ,t,e
management of such a measure by such s'number
of his constituents. that he could not refiner his
assent ; but in forming the onitnons be entertained
on the subject, he assured the House that he was
not swayed by the feelings or interests of hilt cosi.
stituents. He could truly say. that whoever might
have been his constituent's, his opinions would Lave
been the same; because they were (manned me prin.
eipleusrliich appeared to have truth for their has:s—
ow those general, principle. of poliiioul re.ement y
which, he believed, were not to be shaken, and "3
their applicant* ter. the present case.—(ileor.)—
He said 'that the it wino° of the tax on fur.seti
wool haet Session *as a deviation from all aclttiaw.
!edged principles. He said, that it ii• Jet been the.
invariable practice of this country belts, to intro-
duce the raw material of manufacture air cheap as
possible. and that it in any instance, as in the caee
of tottoti, it bad been departed Iron, it was
at a time when the manufacture cf the article was
in such great kospetety as to It able to bear the
pressure. But neither what had been done in re-
' itard:to that article, or silk, established the pru-
dence of the attempt in the•esee in queetion. Tins
question was attended with a soectes of diffieulty
its arguing it ; it was • kind of Protest,. Soule
Gentlemen who had supported the duty, 'Oohed
on it as an object of revenue ; to others it prevent.
ed it•elr as a—PrOttCtion of agriculture. But it
was plainly impossible that it could do these two
two things at the same time. If it advanced the
revenue, it would be by a great importation of
foreign wool.; and then it would injure the• agri-
culturist.• If it served the agriculturist, it •watald
be by checking the importattou of the article from
abroad, and in consequence it would not aid the re.
venue. Hr asked then how would those Gentlemen,
'who voted for it as a protection to agricti:tore, re-
lehricile it to themselves to support its cootinuance
'who believed that the Goverurneut would now
'(which he believed was the fact) he ready to give it
•up if they could point them • an equivalesit
'poiiit of revenue ?—(Hear.)—t..st year it NNW
'only be sheen by inference that the measure would
be inoperative as a source of revenue. Now the
returostin the table, as far as they went. alteweit a
'moot extraordinary deficiency in the itnivistatiois
tar 1:y a reference to the eacume,,t •irhicb
'sheaved the quantity of the article imported du tag
the year eliding the sth April lasti—iit would ap-
pear, that in the first eight tuunthaof that period.
the importation of weatel at the old duty was
.11,500,0001 h. weight, and during the last lour
months, at the new, about 231,0001 b. weigh
IHear)—so that during the last four menthe, win*
the new tax was in operation, we had imported about
1•50 M part of what we had imported in the right
months preceding. This, therefore, Pertnest to
prove that the importation costal met support ti •
tax laid 011 it. Be knew it 'QOM be said that pee-
viouv to the tau coating into operation there was a