The Sun.
London, England, 1862-07-25 00:00:00

MARK LANE.

The show of samples of English wheat on sale here to-
day was very small. Owing to the fineness of the weather
the trade was in a sluggish state for all qualities, yet no
change took place in prices, compared with Monday.
We were fairly supplied with foreign wheat. In most
descriptions a fair retail business was transacted, and the
quotations were steadily supported.
Floating cargoes of grain were in moderate request at
late rates.
Barley—the supply of which was very moderate—met a
steady sale at full quAations.
Malt changed hands to a moderate extent on former
terms.
The oat trade was very firm, and prices had an upward
tendency.
Beans and peas changed hands at the extreme rates of
Monday.
Both English and foreign flour moved off steadily al
quite previous rates.

ARRIVALS THIS WEEK.
Wheat. Barley. Malt. Oats. Flour.
English •• 510 ( 40 ; 2160 90 ' 320 sacks
Irish.
i - 1 350 - -
Foreig-n
........ 18,-4-50 ) 4,170 i , 9,830 13310 We.

d
4 4
4 8
4 8
5 0
5 .4

PETTY CHARGES ON COMMERCE.

The following is the Report of the Select Com-
mittee appointed to consider the best mode of ob-
taining statistical information respecting the foreign
trade of the United Kingdom, and the bearing
thereon of the charges imposed on the entry of
goods inwards, and on bills of lading outwards, by
the Customs Act of 1860, as well as the operation
of the said charges upon trade :
" In the matters referred your committee have bad
the advantage of the evidence of the Chancellor of
the Exchequer, the principal officers of her Majesty's
Customs, of an officer of the statistical department
of the Board of Trade, of Presidents of Chambers
of Commerce, and of other gentlemen representing .
important classes of the commercial, trading, and
shipping interests.
The attention of the committee has been di-
rected to the present mode of obtaining the com-
mercial statistics of the United Kingdom, their
general accuracy, value, and cost; to the bearing
thereon of the charges imposed en the foreign and
colonial trade of the United Kingdom by the Cus-
toms Act of 1860, chiefly for the purpose of obtain-
ing more accurate and reliable statistical informa -
tion ; and to the operation of those charges upon
the general commerce and trade of the country.
" It appears to be the opinion of the principal
officers of Customs, gentlemen of great experience,
that the system of collecting statistical informa-
tion has been, improved by the operation of those
charges,' and the only further improvement sug-
gested by them consists in their extended applica-
tion. It seems to be admitted that perfect accuracy
is unattainable, but they maintain that the existence
of a charge, graduated with reference to the quan-
tity of the goods imported, affords them facilities
for obtaining this information from the importers,
and for correcting inaccurate entries, which they
would not otherwise possess.
" On the other hand, it appears to be the unani-
mous opinion of the mercantile witnesses, supported
by the evidence of Mr. Edwards, the collector of
Customs at the port of Liverpool, that these charges
have proved useless for securing accurate statistics.
It was further shown by the officers of Customs
that on all dutiable articles the charge on goods
inwards was unnecessary for statistical purposes,
while on imports, otherwise duty free, information
as to quantities was mainly obtainable from the im-
porters. The mercantile witnesses agreed that,
owing to the fractional, complex, and uncertain
character of the units of entry on most important
classes of merchandise, the difficulty of an approach
to accuracy has been increased rather than dimi-
nished ; that the is. 6d. stamp is in no wise con-

ducive to greater care or accuracy as to returns of
quantities or values exported, and that the produc-
tion of shipping bills or Customs bills of lading and
ship's manifest can be obtained by other means.
" As to the operation of these charges upon the
trade and commerce of the country, the testimony
of the mercantile witnesses was unanimous in de-
scribing, them as obstructive, vexatious, expensive,
and unequal.
"In regard to the charge on imports your co
mittee refer to the valuable evidence of the CharJcel-
lor of the Exchequer as to the reasons for its impo-
sition, and to the practical Experience of i,ts work-
ing, which have induced the distinct declaration
tram him that the principle of this tax may be con-
sidered as abandoned.

" On reference to the tariff of units of entry de-
livered in by the chairman of Customs it will be seen
that it contains a greater number of items for taxa-
tion than the national tariff, the detrimental opera-
tion of this second tariff being still further increased
by any variation in Its items which may be made
etrffeematuimpoentothe generaltherebytime,
exercising a prejudicial
commerce of the country ;
and in regard to the ls. 6d. stamp on exports it
appears by the evidence giver, on behalf of the im-
portant and rising ports of Southampton and Hull
that it presses with considerable severity on all the
smaller items of our rapidly increasing commerce by
steam transit; while at the same time there exists
great facility for its evasion.

" Notwithstanding the annoyances that were,, on
all hands, matter of complaint, there was an equal
unanimity in the statements as to the able and con-
ciliatory manner in which the officers of Customs
had constantly endeavoured to collect these obnoxi-
ous rates, the objections being mainly directed
against these small charges on trade and commerce,
rather than to the mode of their collection.

" Your committee were unable to obtain any po-
sitive information as to the total cost of procuring
statistical information ; the moneys, expended
for this object by the Customs were stated at
about £27,000 per annum, and by the Board of
Trade at about £4,000 per annum ; but, as these
sums represent only salaries paid to the officers and
persons employed in this department of statistics,
they are obviously a very insufficient measure of
the actual cost to the country for this information.
" According to the last Parliamentary return, the
tax on imports yields about £138,000 per annum,
and on exports about £43,000 per annum, repre-
senting in the aggregate an amount altogether in-
significant, when compared with the trouble, ob-
struction, and annoyance caused by their imposition.
The evidence which Las been obtained fully sus-
tains the acknowledged principle of sound taxation,
that the tax should produce the revenue required.
with as little annoyance to the payer as possible.
" Your committee are of opinion that these small
charges on commerce are unwise and inexpedient,
and recommend their abolition.
" The chairman of your committee has prepared
an abstract of the evidence affecting the most im-

portant points referred to your committee, which
is appended to their report."

INFAMOUS OUTRAGE.

We have to reeord an outrage committed in our
neighbourhood during the past week of such a
character that we are almost led to doubt whether
we are living in a Christiat country and under
Queen Victoria, or in some heathen land under a
Kaffir or Indian savage chieftain. The particulars
are these :—On Tuesday last, a party of most re-
spectable young females went to bathe on the shore
towards Barna. On their return they were assailed
by a party of infuriated men and women, who called
them every filthy and approbrious name that could
be thought of, pelted them with cow dung, dirt, and.
mud, threw large stones at them, some of which.
hit and injured their unresisting victims, (tad,
going from bad to worse, one of the ruffians, hay-
ing first torn off her hat, seized one of the young
ladies by her long black hair, and forcibly wringing
it, tried to throw her down. In this he would have
speedily succeeded had not the cries of. the party
brought to their aid a son of Mr. Brooke, of the
Erasmus Smith's School, who happened to be fish-
ing in the neighbourhood, and who bravely at-
tacked the ruffian band, felled two of them, and so
afforded the young women an opportunity of escape.
Such, however, was the ferocity of some of the party
that they pursued the fugitives on the road as far as
Vicar's Croft, shouting, yelling, and throwing stones
all the way. We are sorry to learn that several
parties of the labourer working in the fields round
Mr. O'Hara's house at Barna threw showers of
stones at the helpless females as they fled from their
cowardly assailants. The only cause that they as-
signed for their infamous conduct was that they
knew some of the parties were Protestants, and
accused them of defiling the waters of the sea, say-
ing they would never be able to bathe, again them-
selves since tainted by Protestant bathing. We
have not detailed half the particulars of this shame-
ful transaction ; but we trust ourpolice magistrates
will make an example of any person who may be
brought before them charged with an offence which
would disgrace a heathen land, and can only tend
to drive away the Protestant gentry from our
shores, to seek sea-bathing in places wnere the
females of their families are not exposed to such
bigoted and brutal attacks.—Galway .Lxpress.

COMMERCIAL TAXES OF 1860.—The penny unit
of entry charge upon imports, which prOduced £80,868
in
1860, brought in £138,319 in 1861. There were no appeals
to the Commissioners of Customs upon the subject in 1861,
and they consider that the inconvenience caused to the
mercantile community by this tax has much diminished.
The ls. 6d. bill of lading stamp4which brought in £30,254
in 1860, produced £43,640 in 1861; it has much increased
the accuracy of the export statistics, and acted as a check
upon shipments made clandestinely without entry, which
formerly were numerous. The revenue derived from !heh
charge of a quarter per cent, on warehoused good, whic
VMS £28,656 in 1860, reached £18,129 in 1861.