The Sun.
London, England, 1864-01-22 00:00:00

MR. BAINES AT LEEDS.

Mr. E. BAINES, M.P., attended the annual meet-
haw of the Leeds Chamber of Commerce, which was
held at the Town-hall of that borough on Wednes-
day, at noon, and addressed the members. He said
he had listened with great interest to the very busi-
ness-like report which had been laid before them.
That report, in all its branches, convinced him more
and more of the great utility of Chambers of Com-
merce. They created an interest in the subject of
grievances, or of injury or of obstruction to trade,
and these questions were brought before them by
practical men, who pressed them upon their mem-
bers, who assisted to press them upon the public.
The Institution of Associated Chambers of Come
merce also took up these subjects, and it was thus
that public opinion was pervaded and the mercan-
tile world and the Government influenced upon
these important matters. (Hear.) Reference was
made in the report to the vast expense of local bills.
That would be a question of very'great interest this
session. He hardly knew how any other business
was to be transacted ; the local bills numbered
something like 330, and the amount of money pro-
posed to be expended on them was something pro-
digious. The amount of time which would be con-
sumed in the examination of these schemes by com-
mittees would also be prodigious, and therefore the
question on these grounds was one of vast interest
and importance. It had already been examined by
a committee of the House of Commons, but he did
not think anything had been suggested, by which
any material alteration would take place in the sys-
tem by which private bills were submitted to Parlia-
ment. With reference to the question of the West
Riding assizes, upon that, es upon all commercial
matters, he agreed with his hon.friend and colleague
(Mr. Beecroft), and they had each done his best, by
letters and in every other way in which they could
use influence, to impress upon the Government and
those connected with it the superior claims which
Leeds had to be the assize town, or one of the assize
towns, for the West Riding. In consequence of the
opinion expressed here and at Sheffield relative to
the claims of the latter town as the centre of a very
important district, containing a population of be-
tween 300,000 and 400,000 in the remote part of
the riding, the claims of Leeds and Sheffield had
been put together; not that they were necessarily
indissoluble ; if the claims of Sheffield were nega-
tived, the claims of Leeds might be admitted ; but
as they knew they had a formidable competitor in
the town of Wakefield. They had prejudices to
combat—and which he feared all large manufactur-
ing towns had to combat—in the feelings of coun-
try gentlemen not wishing to go among them and
come in contact with their populations, and who, he
believed, rather preferred a small town not too far
from green fields to a large town. That was very
strongly against Leeds. He believed the question
would soon be settled, but he was sorry to be quite
unable to give them any information as to the way
in which it would be decided. The report made
reference to new commercial treaties, which was a
matter of great importance to Leeds. He was glad
that the commercial treaty with Italy was likely to
be of great value to this town, and to open up a
new and large field of consumption. Mr. Ludolf
had mentioned the subject of commercial relations
with Austria, which he (Mr. Baines) brought be-
fore them last year. It was quite true there was
vary small commercial intercourse between this
country and Austria, but there was most ample
room for a great development of commerce between
these two countries. Tnere was hardly any civilised
country with which our intercourse was so limited,
and hardly any country which had so large a
combination of means for producing these things
which would be useful to our trade. It was
chiefly the fault of the Austrian Government—
with their old system, which was hostile to free
trade and favourable to protection—that we had not
been able to negotiate a commercial treaty with that
country. It was a pleasant thing to know that
Austrian deputies were sent to attend the sittings of
the British Association at Newcastle, with the view
expressly of looking into commercial matters, and
of reputing whether there could not be profitably a
freer intercourse between the two countries. He
hoped their report would be a highly favourable
one, especially as they knew that the
.two chief
Ministers, Count Rechbsrg and Baron Schmerling,
were bath favourable to the principle of free trade.
(Hear, hear.) On the subject of a Government
department c f trade in connexion ewith our foreign
trade, he continued to entertain the same opinions
as he had expressed before. He did not know
whether the new Minister, or Minister expressly
assigned to this particular department, sheuld be a
commercial Minister in the Foreign-office or a Fo-
reign Minister in the Board of Trade ; but it did
eeem to him absolutely as clear as daylight that
thsre ought to be some Minister expressly charged
with our commercial relations. He was happy to
see this question had been mentioned at the meeting
of the Bradford Chamber of Commerce, and was
to form the subject of discussion at the meeting
of the Associated Chambers of Commerce, and he
should be most happy to do anything to assist in
this important object. At present it was quite evi-
dent that many important subjects dropped, as it
were, between two stools, no one being expressly
charged with the duty of attending to them. (Hear,
hear.) Allusion had been made to the extra quarter
per cent, charged upon inland bonding warehouses.
He had spoken to Mr. Gladstone respecting it,
and his answer was—" I want to pay the expenses ;
it was the distinct understanding on which
bonding warehouses were allowed that that quar-
ter per cent. should be paid. I can't and I won't
give it up." That was Mr. Gladstone's decided
opinion, but it was no law of the Medes and Per-
sians, and if they were able to say from experience
that this charge prevented them from receiving any
considerable appreciable advantage from the esta-
blishment of bonding warehouses, he thought they
would have a strong ease to go to the Chancellor
of the Exchequer, and ask to be put on the same
footing as older bonding towns. Tney might show
that the Government was bound to incur the ex-
pense of collecting its own revenues, and that they
ought not to be exposed to a deferential duty, as it
were, for that purpose. (Hear.) On the subject of
a registration of partnerships he concurred in the
opinion expressed by the President. He did not see
why partnerships should not be registered, just as
the shareholders in banks and joint-stock compa-
nies were registered. He knew this was not accept.
able to the House of Commons and to the city of
London,
but he thought the Chambers of Commerce
should continue to discuss the subject. It was one
of those regulations requiring that all matters affect-
ion credit and trade should be open and above board,
stud which ho believed would eventually have such
a response from public opinion and common sense
that it would be ultimately successful. Mr. Baines
ulluded to the President's observations respecting
the reports of foreign Consuls upon trade, express-
ing his dissent from that gentleman's opinion as to
their value, and stating that some of those reports,
especially from France and Belgium, were most
valuable and interesting. Mr. Ludolf had alluded
to Brazil. Unfortunately we had got into a political
quarrel with that empire, and he did not feel con-
fident that we were in the right. (Hear.) He felt
that we had acted in an imperious way, and exacted
more than we should from a nation on the same
level of importance with ourselves. He was not satis.
fled with the conductof our ambassador at Uruguay,
arid he hoped that for the interest of peace, the
Chamber of Conpmere, Would make such represen-
tations to the Foreigusollice that the misunderstand-
ing existing NV" "1 vast Wad4llpm-taut a country as
Brazil, which was so long a customer to our trade,
might as soon, as possible be removed.
(Hear, hear.)
With regard. to Cuba, he believed the
raised '
by r.
explanationof
Mr.
Baxter: had set rit.ht the question
Ladolf. SJ_Nerai yt..,:r.s ego difrorentio
were
ElbrAished, aEld naT the only question, though one
of great referred to the different: in the
qualitiee of sugar.
was astonishing the amount
of interest felt on this subject in London, Liverpool,
and Glnegow by the refiners, importers, and
mer-
chants, and in the last session Mr. Gladstone Stated
that a "sugar congress" wio about to be held in
Paris, to come to some decision as to the classification
of sugars, without injuriously affecting the trade.
That congress had been held, and they might there-
fore expect something would soon be done. With

regard to the growth of tobacco and beetroot, no
doubt both were special cases. The Government got
a large sum from the import duty on tobacco, and
they could not spare it. It was a duty producing no
less than five millions sterling, and i better duty
could not possibly exist. He should not consider if
it were ten millions it would be too mach to levy on
tobacco—(laughter)—and that was the only reason
why it could not be beneficially allowed to be grown
at home, and rather than ask us to pay an additional
house duty or increased income tax he hoped the
Government would consider well before they gave
up the tobacco duty. With regard to beetroot it
was found necessary to levy a duty upon it similar
to that upon sugar. These duties were in course
of modification, and he should be glad if they could
be brought down to nothing, as, indeed, upon tea,
coffee, and all such articles of food which came so
largely into general consumption. In the next
place he (Mr. Baines) had to congratulate the
Chamber on the prosperity which during the past
year had attended the trade of Leeds in all its
branches. He congratulated them also as men of
humanity upon the happy measure in which there
had been a restoration to a better state of thing in
Lancashire. (Hear.) Now, they did not see in
that district that prostration and appalling condition
of the people which was witnessed a year ago. It
appeared that now there could be got from all quar-
ters of the globe the kind of cotton suitable for
Lancashire uses quite independent of the United
States, and the President of the Chamber of Com-
merce said that during this year as much cotton
would be imported from other parts of the world as
would be equal to two-thirds of the highest annual
consumption which ever took place. That would
be a very important thing, and no doubt it would
greatly reanimate the drooping trade of Lancashire.
(Hear, hear,) He might first say to the practical
men of business he saw about him that they were
now enjoying a great measure of artificial prosperity
in Leeds and the adjacent clothing districts. They
were positively benefiting by the reverses and dis-
tress of their neighbours in the cotton districts, by
the enhancement which had taken place both in the
price of the raw material and of manufactured
goods, in consequence of the scarcity of the raw
material and the dearness of manufactured goods in
the cotton trade. But they might depend upon it
there would certainly bo a reaction. As the cotton
trade revived the trade of Leeds must expect to go
down. He had the strongest possible conviction of
it. He would say to the wool merchant, "Do not
keep too large a stock," and to the woollen mer-
chant he would say, "Do not overburden your
warehouses with a heavy stock, buy as much as
possible from hand to mouth," And he would say
the same to the flax spinners. He did not say when
this evil change would come; it might come soon ;
but though the merchants in this town and district
were now gaining a great profit through the mis-
fortunes of the cotton trade, with the revival of that
trade they would come to occupy the same position
which they did before, and there must before
long be a reaction in the price of the goods
they manufactured; and, on the other hand, there
was the state of things arising from the enormous
amount of public undertakings which were pre-
sented to notice. He thought it was a bad indica-
tion—a dangerous indication, and it was a state of
things which must be watched very carefully by
those who did not wish to lose their savings. No
less than 100 millions of property out of capital had
been laid out in the various joint-stock companies
which were proposed during the last year alone—
joint-stock companies which, if they were to call up
their capital, would require 160 millions, What
were they going to do with it ; it was exclusively
of railways ; but :there had been paid within the
last few days seven millions sterling as deposits on
new railway projects to come before Parliament
next Session. The deposit was 8 per cent., about
1-12th of the whole, and therefore seven millions
implied 84 millions sterling of capital it was pro-
posed afresh to invest in rail ways by Bills now be-
fore Parliament, in addition to what the country
was already pledged to do. Then there were 100
millions and 80 millions in addition to all other en-
gagements, and these many millions were Indepen-
dent of Indian railways, public loans of four or five
millions sterling, all of which goes out of this coun-
try. The average amount expended last year in
on railways was 12 millions. A hundred and
twenty millions had been added to the paid-up
capital of railways during the last ten years, of
foreign, British, and colonial railways, and now it
was proposed to make an addition of 100 millions
more. What savings had the country to enable
it to do these things ? What was the amount of its
savings annually ? From enquiries and from read-
ing a valuable article which had appeared in the
Economist, written by a friend of his, whom he
knew to be one of the best statists in the country,
he found the annual amount of savings in this
country was estimated at 130 millions sterling. But
of that 130 millions sterling the writer made out that
40 millions sterling was invested in the department
of houses and buildings, in the building of new
places of business to meet the wants of the increas-
ing population. Thirty millions sterling, he said,
were expended in loans, colonial and foreign rail-
ways, and other public companies, such as tele-
graphs, docks, harbours, &c. This 70 millions be-
ing so expended the writer doubted whether the
remaining 60 millions would suffice " for the drain-
age and improvement of the soil ; for the multipli-
cation of manufactories, tools, and machines; for
increase of trading capital, ships, consignments,
and the like ; for foreign and colonial loans, and for
the increase of furniture, apparel, works of art, and
objects of taste and luxury." So the meeting would
see that the country was spending as fast as it was
saving. He (Mr. Baines) wanted to know where
this further 180 millions sterling was to come from
which was now to be invested in railways and joint
stock companies this next year. He could not for
his own part see where it was to spring from. He
was not disposed to take a too prudential view, but
it was desirable to have the matter fairly before
their attention, and he was sure his hon. colleague
(Mr. Beecroft) would sympathise with him in what
he had said on the subject. He (Mr. Baines) really
must look at it in two ways. First, all these com -
panies indicated an excess of credit. Artificial pros-
perity is always the effect of real prosperity. All
oar inflated and fevered states have originated in a
really solid prosperity, and solid prosperity has
gone on so long that men are encouraged to extend
their aims in every direction. All fear had gone,
and the experience was bright and pleasant, and so
it went on until the country got into something like
a state of fever. He feared this vast number of new
companies indicated that we were in such a state
now. He (Mr. Baines) said if all these concerns
went on they would bring the country to a very
great want of capital, and by and by the rate of
discount would be up much higher even than it is
now. He wes happy that that rate had been raised,
and he hoped it would checker destroy more of the
new projects. He was glad of this opportunity to
express these opinions before those who were cap-
able of protesting with effect against such a state of
things. If ho were wrong in the views he had ex-
pressed he should be glad to be set right by the
Chamber ho was addressing, but if he was right he
should not be sorry that he had said to the gentle-
men who were at the head of the trade of his native
town that this was a time in which they should
exercise caution as to their future operations.
Applause.)

CAPITAL PUNISHMENT IN PORTUGAL. The
Minister of Justice of Portugal laid before the
Chamber of Deputies, in the sitting of the 11th, a bill de-
creeing the abolition of the punishment of death, which,
punishment the government proposes to maintain only for
military crimes, in the event of war with a foreign power.
SUIT FOR THE RETURN OF A BRASS KETTLE.—
That the kettle had been returned, that the defendant had
never borrowed it, and that the plaintiff never had a
kettle to lend.

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