The Sun.
London, England, 1864-06-15 00:00:00

THE SUN, LONDON, WEDNESDAY EVENING, JUNE 15 1864.

The Paper Trade,

A meeting of the paper manufacturers of Great
Britain and Ireland was held at the Bridge-house
Hotel, London-bridges yesterday, to consider what
steps should he taken to relieve the trade from the
disastrous effects of recent legislation.
There was a very large attendance of gentlemen
connected with the trade from all parts of the coun-
try, among whom were Messrs. Evans, Wrigley,
Chator, H. Hall, J. G. Smith, H. Bruce, Garnet,
Pirie, Mayfield, Clark, M'Donell, Ingham, Rout-
ledge, B. Brown Scott, Barbridge, Tod, Secretary
to the Scottish Association, and Barlow.
Mr. EVANS, President of the Association of Paper
Manufacturers, having taken the chair, expressed
his satisfaction at seeing so large a muster of persons
connected with the trade, showing, as it did, the
great interest that was felt in the welfare of the
manufacture in which they were engaged. At the
meeting held in Manchester in January last certain
resolutions were adopted, pointing out the general
conditions of the trade and the manner in which it
had been effected by recent legislation. A com-
mittee was then appointed, and they prepared cer-
tain propositions, which having been sanctioned by
a meeting of the trade were submitted to Lord Pal-
merston in March last. In consequence of the ills
ness of Lord Palmerston an answer was not re-
ceived till the 2d of May, in which, after acknow-
ledging the receipt of the memorial, Mr. F. Peel
said :—" I am to state that her Majesty's Govern-
ment cannot hold out any prospect of a grant, as
suggested, from the Consolidated Fund to reim-
burse the duties charged abroad, or the resimposi-
tion of a duty on paper imported into this country.
With respect to the suggestion that a Commission I
of Inquiry should be appointed, I am to observe,
that since a commission of this nature sat in the
year 1861, my Lords, while entertaining no
objection in principle to such a course, are doubt-
ful whether Parliament would be inclined to grant
it, and also whether it would not be injurious rather
than beneficial by exciting hopes in this country
which are not likely to be realised; partly by creating
among papermakers in foreign countries that jea-
lousy with respect to the exportation of rags which
has proved so serious an obstacle to the endeavours
her Majesty's Government have made to obtain
from other governments a remission or reduction of
the duties which many of them now levy." The
chairman then observed that a great amount of
ignorance prevailed upon the subject. He had been
asked why it was that foreign papermakers were
able to produce cheaper paper than English paper-
makers. The answer was so obvious that it was
hardly necessary to reply to the question. Yet it
might be desirable to enter somewhat briefly into
the grounds of their complaint. The British
papermakers manufactured paper in excess of the
supply of materials to be obtained at home,
in consequence of which they were obliged
to obtain the raw material from abroad, and
thus the price of the raw material was regulated by
the price at which it could be obtained from abroad.
But a duty of from 25 to 30 per cent. was added to
the price of rags from abroad in consequence of an
export duty imposed by foreign countries, and this
affected the price of rags to be obtained at home.
Rags were sold to the French manufacturer at £22
a ton, but a deity of £5 being imposed by France on
rags exported obliged the English manufacturer to
pay £27 a ton for the same article. In Germany the
export duty was £9 per ton, notwithstanding which
some rags were imported from that country. It
followed, therefore, that foreign paper manufaca
turers had an advantage of Lo and £9 a ton on the
raw material ; but, inasmuch as it required a ton
and a half of rags to a ton of paper, the advan-
tage really was £7 and £l4 a ton. Up to 1854, when
the tariff was revised, Mr. Wood, the chairman of
the }hard of Inland Revenue, and Mr. Jas. Wilson,
had their attention called to the subject, and they
recommended a differential excise duty in order to
counterbalance the advantage which the foreigners
derived from their export duty on rags, and this
they estimated at id per lb on the importation of
foreign paper. This continued up to nearly 18.59,
when a commercial treaty was entered into with
France ; but unfortunately it was entered into
without the paper trade being made acquainted with
its terms, by which it was provided that foreign
paper should come to this country free of the penny
differential duty. It was not till after this arrange-
ment had been completed that the paper trade were
made aware of the contemplated change. They
then immediately took steps to bring the matter
under the notice of the Government. Their fears
were at ono time somewhat allayed by its being
announced that France had conceded the abolition
of the export duty on rags; but it ultimately proved
that the only alteration was to give France an ad-
vantage of 25 percent. 'There had been an attempt to
stigmatise the trade as being desirous of returning
to the protective system. This was untrue. All they
desired was to be placed in a position by which
they might fairly compete with the manufacturers
of paper in foreign countries. Whatever advan-
tages they might possess by means of machinery or
superior skill ought not to be neutralized by mere
fiscal regulations. They complained that in the
commercial negotiations by this country with
France their interests had been neglected. The
Chancellor of the Exchequer had attempted to show
that the papermakers of this country were in a posi-
tion to compete with foreigners, and that they ex-
aggerat cl,the difficulties under which they laboured.
He would content himself with giving a denial to
that statement, without entering further into the
subject. It now remained for the meeting to de-
termine what should be their future course in order
that some remedy for their present position might
be obtained.

Mr PIRIE then moved the following resolution—
" That looking at the urjust positioa in which the
paper manufacturers of this country are placed in
consequence of the whole of their supply of mate-
tittle being enhanced in price by foreign taxation,
from which their foreign competitors are free, the
reply of her Majesty's Government to the resolution
submitted by the trade to Lord Palmerston is un-
satisfactory in the extreme." lie thought that
when they had shown that in consequence of the
course taken by the Government the paper trade
hai been placed in a false position they had a right
to ask of the Government to devise a remedy. The
answer therefore which had been given to their
application was most unsatisfactory.
Mr MITCHELL seconded the resolution, which was I
unanimously adopted.

Mr WRIGLEY then moved, " That this meet-
ing deeply regrets that the Chancellor of the
-Exchequer, in his speech on the introduction of
the Budget, should have put forth ex parte state-
ments for the purpose of justifying the change in
the law effected in 1860, which statements were
in many cases incorrect, both an to fact and inference,
and, in so far as they were intended to show that
the trade at the present moment is in an equitable
position to compete with the protected manufac-
turers abroad, were entirely groundless and nnwar.
rantable." They were all of one mind, he observed,
that the case of the papermakers of this country
was one of grievous and unparalleled injustice; but
they believed that at some future time, according
to ell human laws, they must have redress. He
could not believe, until he saw the whole free trade
system withdrawn, that any Government would
long stand by and permit such a state of things to
last. His object, however, in addressing the meeting
was to express his opinion as to the conduct of the
Chancellor of the Exchequer. He had uniformly
opposed them, and in a manner which convoyed the
idea that he had in some way a feeling of hostility
towards them. He had not even shown them the
ordinary courtesy to which they were entitled when
they reqaested to be heard in explanation of their
case in answer to the attacks made upon them. It
was the duty of a public man, when he sought to
interfere with a certain branch of industry, to con-
sider whether the course he was pursuing was
right or wrong. They repudiated the idea of ask-
benefit. What they complained of was
ing to impose a tax upon the public for their own
exclusive
that using foreign rags as their raw material
they in
were by the act of Government deprived of
the legitimate profit they were entitled to. Mr.
Gladstone
would have people believe that the paper
manufacturers were able to compete with foreign-
ers notwithstanding the tax imposed upon them.

He (Mr. Wrigley) would not say whether they
were able to carry the additional load or
not, but he still would [Os *hy should
there be any load at all P What offended him most
in Mr. Gliastone'a proceedings was that he at.
.te'apted to persuade the Government anti country
that the paper trade was merely suffering under the
ordinary effects of a transition from a system of pro-
tection to a state of free trade ; and that the case of
the papermakers was similar to that of those whose
interests were affected by the repeal of the corn
laws. There was no similitude whatever between
the two cases. There were no impediments in the
way of the growers of corn. But Mr. Gladstone
was obstinate and would not learn the distinction.
The import duty of ld a lb. on paper recommended
by Mr. Wood and Mr. Wilson was a fair equivalent,
and not a protection in the way that a tax upon corn
was. But although the foreigner paid an additional
penny, he still exported his paper to this country,
which proved that he could manufacture with
greater advantage than the British papermakers.
It was said that a larger quantity of paper was ex-
ported from this country than at any previous
date. That might be. They did not complain of
demand; what they complained of
wasaw
want
anwt want of profitupon what they manufactured.
In short, they wished to be placed in the same
position as other branches of industry.
Mr. M‘DoNELL seconded the resolution, which
was also agreed to.

Mr. BRUCE then moved "That this meeting can-
not refrain from expressing the great disappoint-
ment and dissatisfaction felt by the trade at the
treatment they have received at the hands of her
Majesty's Government during the last four years,
and it is resolved that immediate application be
made to the House of Commons for a committee to
inquire into the position of the trade with respect
to foreign taxation." He said that the abolition of
the differential duty on paper was an act without a
parallel in !.egislation. It was virtually enacting a
law for the protection of foreigners against native
manufactures.

Mr. GARNET seconded the resolution, which was
adopted.

Mr. SMITH, of Markinch, then moved, "That with
a view of extending a just appreciation of the merits
of the case a conference be sought with members of
the House of Commons at which a deputation of
papermakers may give such explanations as to the
condition of their trade as :may be necessary for it
to be fully understood."

Mr. SCOTT seconded the resolution, and spoke at
some length on the desirability of the trade avail-
ing themselves of the new materials of manufacture.
The CHAIRMAN said the use of the new materials
was beside the present question. It was only when
rags were at a certain price, that the article esparto
a sort of grass—could be used. But there was also
another thing to be considered. If by the use of
other materials the price of rags should be reduced
the effect would be to proportionately increase the
foreign duty.
_ _

Mr. WRIGLEY said the question of the new mate-
rial had been made a great bugbear. Those who
talked about a new material did so as it the British
papermaker were to hare the exclusive benefit of it,
forgetting that the only possible operation it could
effect would be to reduce the price of rags. No one
ever contemplated that any new material could be
a substitute for rags. Rags would at all times be
their sheet anchor of supply. Besides, by introduc-
ing a new material, foreigners would derive as
much benefit as themselves. If they reduced the
price of rags at home, they would also reduce the
price abroad. It was the relative price, and not
the actual price of which they had to complain.
The resolution was then agreed to.
It was then resolved that the rneetingreferred to
in the last resolution should be held at the West-
minster Palace Hotel on Friday next, and that the
committee and such others of the trade who could
conveniently attend should constitute the deputa-
tion.

A vote of thanks was then passed to the Chair-
man, and the meeting broke up.

SPIRIT OF THE PUBLIC JOURNALS.

TIMES.—The constant repetition of events which
marks the Virginian campaigns bears witness to
the unwearied perseverance or the one party and
the heroic resistance of the other. There are two
distinct theatres of war which become the scene of
the campaign, according as the invading General
tries to reach the Confederate capital direct from
the banks of the Potomac, or by establishing a
base of operations on the Peninsula formed by
gPioapap
oa
fhaii
thenockpsthe
aOnn
de seat
the
Oct'
hwi
cakri,
htohme
rri ey-
the York and James rivers. The region of the
furryi m n kt e
forms the other. The one is associated with the
disasters of Pope and Burnside and Hooker ; the
other witnessed the greatest Federal disaster of the
war—the defeat of M'Ciellan after an immense
loss of life, and the re-embarkation of his diminished
army at Harrison's Bar. It has been the fortune
of General Grant to perform on both scenes. He
ties fought some of the severest battles of the war
on the direct road between Washington and Rich-
mond, and now he has brought round his army
almost to the ground which proved so fatal to his
predecessor, M'Ciellan, in the summer of 1862. We
know that on the 26th of last month Gen. Grant,
finding Lee's position between the North and South
Anna rivers to be too strong for attack, suddenly
abandoaed his own linen, and moved by the left
to the Pamunkey, as if to seek an easier access
to the hostile capital. This movement, which
seems to have been skilfully executed, took up
the 27th and 28th, and when the month came
to an end the two armies were again watching
each other is new positions, Lee having swung
round his left wing so as to face the enemy and
cover Richmond once more. His new loft wing
held Hanover Courthouse, a little place some 10
or 12 miles from 'Richmond, and his right rested
on the Chickahominy, below Mechanicsville. Thus
were the two great armies almost in the posi-
tions which have been made memorable by the
campaign of the year before last. A Federal Gene-
ral was near Richmond, bat not so near as General
M'Clellan in the summer of 1862, when he flatlet
the disastrous battle of Fair Oaks within sight of
the enemy's housetops. White House, on the York
River, instead of the Potomac, had become the base
of Grant's operations and the source of his supplies,
so that the most skilful and fortunate General of the
North, after losing an immense multitude of men
in a direct advance, had been obliged to retract his
boast of persevering on that road " all summer,"
and had practically converted the campaign into an
expedition to the Peninsula. We have now to
watch the progress of this second series of opera-
tions, and learn by the event whether the manoeu-
vres which Grant has so promptly executed have
been the result of well-grounded calculations. If
mere proximity to Richmond were proof of coming
success the Federals of course might be congratu-
lated by their friends. The bulk of Grant's army is
but a few miles how the Confederate city; one of his
corps approaches within sight of it. His troops are
fighting at Cold Harbour, a little way to the north.
east of the town, while Gen. Butler, though closely
besieged, is actually at Bermuda Hundred, only some
15 miles to the south of it. But, as has been said,
the Federals have been actually nearer the place be-
fore, and yet were compelled to a calamitous retreat.
Moreover, Gen. Grant could at any time have placed
himself where he now is without any previous fight-
ing at all, and have begun the campaign without
having suffered the slaughter of a series of useless
battles. We must, therefore, in considering his
chances of success, look less to the distance be has
already come than to the probability of his complet-
ing the other 10 or 12 miles which are necessary to
give him possession of Richmond. He has fought
battles and been repulsed, and changed ground to
fight again and be repulsed once more. At last he
has come to a point where he must win by sheer
boldness and obstinacy, or not at 1 a.l . We cannot
conceive that he will be able to make any more
marches to his left. He cannot desire to get down
among the swamps of Chickahominy, and in the
heat summer to place his army OR the spot which
was so fatal to M'Clellan's soldiers. He cannot but

remember, a!so, that from that side Richmond is
defended by works which were almost impregnable
two years ago, and which have since been strecgth-
et:od with all the skill of the Confederates. Their
leaders have always been preparing against any
sudden advance of an enemy up the Peninsula, and
probably would like nothing
.better than that the
Federal commander should attack them from a

quarter which would give them the best chance of
victory. It is, we think, most likely that General
Grant will use all his strength to drive back the
Confederates from the positions they now occupy,
and that the fortune of the campaign will be de-
cided without any more manoeuvring. For this work
Gen. Grant hes been strengthened to the full power
of the Federal Government. From all parts of the
country troops appear to be hurried to Virginia.
The States which have been this year virtually re-
conquered by the Confederates—Louisiana, Arkan-
sas, and Texas—have been so easily ceded by the
Federal Government because everything else is
postponed to this critical operation of the war. It

is not indeed impossible that Grant's army, after all
its terrible losses; is as strong now as it was when
the campaign opened. It is well appointed, and
lacks nothing that greenbacks can procure.
Its equipment is perfect, its artillery numerous,
its T•-ovisions at
r-
present abundant, its nea;;...'
for the moment good, acid its spirits
such as the spirits of Americans always are.
It will fight as well as it has hitherto done, and will
bear the slaughter of a third of its numbers with
the equanimity which so surprises turdpeate. The
General will, doubtless, use all his energy and at.
tack the enemy who knows that all depends on his
success. On the one side are fame, popularity, the
highest honours, the Prtsidency itself; on the other
are obscurity, slander, and the association in men's
minds with a Pope and a Hooker. A man who has
done so much as Grant will struggle with despera-
tion to do more. All that we can be sure of is that
the Confederates will have to stand the shock of a
very powerful army wielded by an energetic will;
and we may further presume that if they succeed
in worsting such an antagonist, the effect on the
Northern people will be greater than has been
hitherto produced by any campaign. What, then,
are the chances that the Federal General will enter
Richmond ? At present it can only be said that
the Confederates give no sign of yielding. Grant
has made his last flank movement only to find his
adversary in a position as strong as Spottsyivania
or the South Anna. Two attacks have been made
on the new lines, and both have failed. The first
was on the Ist of June, when the Federal left,
under Generals Wright and Baldy Smith, made an
attempt to turn General Lee's right, near Cold
Harbour, and thus, if possible, cut him
off from
Richmond. The whole army was held in reade
ness for a general attack, but, owing to the
failure of the left, the order to advance was
withheld. In this affair the Confederates are
described as fighting from intrenchments, which
were again commanded by other works in
the rear, —a piece of noteworthy intelligence,
since it shows the completeness of the Richmond
defences, and the power of the Confederates
to resist even such an army as Grant can
bring against them, No better success has attended
the last attempt which was made on the 3d, after
the opposing armies had been five days in their new
positions. In this case we have the despatch of
General Grant himself, so that there can be no doubt
of the result. After the battles of last month, the
loss in this action may be naturally described as
" not severe," but we learn from official despatches
that it amounted to 3,000. From these events it
is fair to conclude that the capture of Richmond, if
it ever take place, will be accomplished only by a
sacrifice of life horrible to think of, and far beyond
the military value of the contest. To take the
city has been made a point of honour by the Fede-
rals, and, though they know well enough that its
capture would do little to bring the war to an end,
they go obstinately on because to desist would be
to confess defeat. But what Americans them-
selves think of the campaign is pretty welt indi-
cated by the state of the money-market. It is
sufficient to say that, in spite of the financial ex•
pedients of Mr. Chase, the price of gold has now
risen to 92 premium. If the Federals be the best
judges of their own affairs, the fact betokens no
speedy end of the contest.
POST.—The expenditure of money, which does
not come directly out of your own pocket, is so
proverbially easy a task, that most prudent almo-
ners are content to stake their credit, not on the
amount of the dole distributed, buc upon the wor-
thiness of the object or objects upon which it is
bestowed. The " liberality of Parliament" is a
phrase which we hear not infrequently applied, as
if our assembled legislators made donations out of
their own proper moneys, instead of being simply
the stewards or dispensers of the nation's charities
and gratuities. In reality, a Parliamentary vote of
money is merely the conduit pipe through which
the stream of his country's bounty is directed
when the Government of the day think fit to give
it some special direction. Theirs accordingly is the
responsibility, not only of the original selection;
but, in nine cases out of ten, of the amount of the
donation. Parliament indeed may, and occasionally
does, alter the sum proposed, but rarely or never
initiate the proposal itself. The only difference
which exists between a pension granted by Parlia-
ment, and one charged upon the civil list, is that
the latter is granted by the Prime Minister, subject
only to the approbation of the Sovereign, while the
former has to run the gauntlet of the House of Com-
mons, where, if it is on any account unreasonable,
it is pretty certain to be tolerably well picked to
pieces. A curious instance of the precise similarity
of the grounds upon which soon pensions are
awarded from both funds has occurred within the last
few days. It was only last week that the House of
Commons resolved, ?amine contradicente, to grant
an annuity of £l,OOO, in augmentation of a similar
uurn already voted by the Council of India to Lady
Elgin, the widow of one who had served his
country as truly and as unselfishly as any of the
knights of old. There was hardly a quarter of the
globe to which he had not been despatched, and
scarcely an important dependency, Australia, ex-
cepted, in oar colonial empire which he had not
visited in the discharge of his duty. He had been
Governor of Jamaica, Governor-General of Canada,
Plenipotentiary to China and Japan, and finally
Viceroy of Hindustan, where he may be said to
have fallen at his post. He knew when he last went
out to India that he was of a habit in many respects
unfitted at his time of life to cope with a treacherous
climate; yet he never hesitated for a moment to
step into the breach which was already blocked by
the corpses of his two immediate predecessors and
contemporaries, Lords Dalhousie and Canning.
That he should have died comparatively a poor man
for his station in life is hardly perhaps a matter for
special eulogium, since it is happily some time since
English statesmen have sought to enrich themselves
at their country's expense. But that, had his life
been prolonged, his salary as Governor-General
would have enabled him to make a provision for
those who might survive him, was simp y a noto-
rious fact, and could not have been ignored, with
any common justice, by the representatives of those
whom he had served so wisely and so well. The
moderate annuity which has been voted to his relict
has been simply the discharge of an obvioas liability,
and might, it' necessary, have been justified on
grounds of policy quite as much as on those of prin-
ciple. Within a day or two ulcer the passing of the
vote the roll of civil list pensioners for the present
year was publisLed. At the head of this also figures
the name of a lady, once the wife, and now the
widow, of one who deserved emphatically well of
his country. There are few among us whose pulses
do not even now beat quicker at any allusion which
brings before our eyes the thrilling time of anxiety
and suspense which dragged us through the long
weary mouths of the summer and autumn of 1857.
The one luminous point in our horizon, otherwise
all overclouded until the fall of Delhi, was the
gallant stand made by the stout British hearts who
upheld the honour of England at the " leaguer of
Lucknow." Foremost among them from the
first i . n military command, and, after the death of
Sir Henry Lawrence, in the undivided responsi-
bility which he assumed with regard to the whole
conduct of the siege, was John Inglis, then a simple
lieutenant-colonel of the 32d Foot, and by mere
accident commander of the only garrison which
stood the shock of the mutiny between Allahabad
and Meerut. As not unfrequently happens, his
honours came only too late for him. The diva-
sional command to which he was appointed in
India he was compelled to relinquish by the failure
of his health. A comparatively easy berth for him
was found at Corfu, but there an early grave
speedily closed over his career of usefulness. He
died, comparatively speaking, a young man, having
enjoyed the prime of his profession too short a time
to do more than meet the inevitable expenses en-
tailed by them. From the strain upon his consti-
tution, which had been produced by the effect of so
many months of fearful and incessant responsibility,
he never wholly rallied, and left behind him a
widow who, together with four of her surviving
children, had shared all the horrors of the siege.
There is not a single individual who will not rejoice
to learn that a pension of '5OO has been bestowed
by Lord Palmerston, as the almoner of the royal
bounty, upon Lady Inglis, " as an acknowledgment
of the brilliant services of the late Sir John Inglis
during the Indian mutiny, especially the gallant defence of the Residency at Lucknow." There are
few, if any, claims which can come more home to
the heart of the nation, or which render a person a
fitter recipient of her Majesty's pension. So lon
as such cases are selected out of the multitude of
those which are annually pressed upon the notice of
the Premier, failure may lead to undue disappoint-
ment, but can never be productive of jealousy. We
can hardly expect men to act with that coolness
and decision which are requisite upon a perilous
emergency if their thoughts are perpetually dis-
tracted by anxieties on behalf of those whom they
may leave behind. Their widows and orphans are,
and ought to be, the care of a grateful country,
which does not spare her sons, and which must not
spare herself when they have fallen, substantially
in her service, and at the poet of duty.

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