The Sun.
London, England, 1849-07-03 00:00:00

( Hear, hear.) lie believed there were very few of the ma-
nufacturing towns in the kingdom that were not suffering
from the effects of railway speculation.— ( Hear, hear.) lie
believed there were very few of the merchants and traders
who had not dea't in railway shares. And of course when
those parties took railroad shares they did so with the belief
that they might as easily deal with them as with any ar-
ticle of ordinary commerce. They dealt in them without
considering the future liability which attached to the holders.
If he wanted proof of this he might refer to the meeting of the
Great Northern Railway Company, held early in June, at
which he found the fact stated by an Hon. Friend of his
who presided, that the number of shares in arrear due on
the 30th of November, 1848, was 35,076, and that actions
were pending against the proprietors of 6,149 shares. They
actually proceeded to forfeit no less than 26,000 shares, on
whi ch an average of 51. per share had been paid up, thus
showing that the parties holding those shares were willing
to forfeit upwards of 100,000/., as they thought it better to
lose even that sum than ray the remainder, for which tehy
would become liable. Such a state as this could not exist
to so large an extent, if, throughout a large portion of the
country towns, great numbers of the shopkeepers had not
involved themselves to a greater extent than their means
would have justified, and there could be no doubt but that
the stagnation of trade that had been witnessed in those
towns was owing in a great extent to this cause. He had
stated these matters in answer to that part of the Hon. Mem-
ber's speech in which he had alluded to the ruined state of
the manufacturing districts, in order to show that the manu-
facturers were not in that ruined state—that the operatives
were, on the contrary, generally speaking, in a state of
comfort owing to their✓ having full employment, and owing
also to the diminution that had taken place in the price of
various articles, in the use of which their comfort principally
consisted. He would not refer, tor the present, to the prices
of corn and meat, which were notoriously at this moment
lower than they had been in former years, but he would
take some other articles of general consumption. Taking
the wholesale prices, he found that tea in 1844, was 55.; in
1846, 4s. 6d. ; and in 1848, it was but 4s. Raw sugar had
decreased from 7d. to 6d. ; coffee from Is. Bd. to Is. 4d. ;
cocoa from 101 to 7d. ; rice from 3d. to 2 ; currants the
same and raisins the same. Again, taking the price of sugar,
he found it to be as follows : In 1842, 785.; 1843, 765.; 1844,
745.; 1845, 625.; 1846, 645. ; 1847, 595. ; 1848, 545. ; 1849,
545. ; being a falling off of 245., or the difference between 78s.
and 545. in eight years. Again, taking the article of salt
for the same period, the prices were, in 1842, ss. ; 1843, ss. ;
1844, 4s. 6d. • 1845, 4s. ; 1846, 3s. 9d. ; 1847, 3s. 9d. ; 1848,
3s. 6d., and 1849, 3s. 6d. Rice had fallen from 235., in 1842,
to 17s. in 1848; and milk, which was Is. a gallon in 1843,
1844, and 1845, was now selling at 9d. a gallon, in conse-
q:itehic ae,ht? believed, of a contract having been entered into
railway company to convey it from a considerable
distance.
Sir J. TYRELL inquired how many miles from London
the Right Hon. Gentleman meant as a considerable distance ?
The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER said he
spoke of the distance as being considerable compared with
the district from which milk had been formerly- sup-
plied. The effect of the improved condition of the labour-
ing classes, and of the reduction that had taken place in the
duty charged upon articles of general consumption, was
that a considerable increase had taken place in the amount
of those articles entered for home consumption, and when
the amount of articles entered for home consumption ge-
nerally increased in that way, it was in itself one of the
greatest proofs of the improved condition of the people.—
( Hear, hear.) 'raking the same three years as before,
namely, 1841, 1846, 1848, the amount of butter entered for
home consumption was respectively 251,000 cwt., 255,000
cwt., and 288,000 cwt.; cocoa increased from 1,930 to 2,906.
In cheese and currants the increase was equally marked.
Pepper was 2,750,0001b5. in 1841, 3,147,0001b5. in 1846, and
3,189,0001b5. in 1848; molasses were 402,000 in 1841,
582,000 in 1846, and 637,000 in 1848 ; tea had increased
from 36,000,0001b5. in 1841, to 46,000,0001b5. in 1846, and
48,000,0001b5. in 1848. The increase in tobacco
and snuff was equally remarkable ; but this all
showed that though the duty on these articles
was as high as before, the greater demand for labour en-
abled the people to purchase more largely. He
did not know whether he need trouble the House by fol-
lowing up this comparison between the four first months of
this year and the corresponding period of 1848, but he
might say generally that precisely the same result was to be
seen, and that a very considerable increase had taken place
in favour of the present year.—(Hear, hear.) He came now
to the article of sugar, which was one of the best items for
testing the amount of comfort prevailing among the people,
because it was mixed with almost everything they used—
with their tea in the morning, with their puddings at dinner,
and again with their tea in the evening. Now taking the
five years ending with 1848, he found the amount of sugar
entered for home consumption to be as follows :—" 1844,
206,000 tons ; 1845, 242,000 tons; 1846, 261,000 tons ; 1847,
288,000 tons; 1843, 3t0,131 tons; being an increase, corn-
pared with 1844, of 49i per cent. within five years." No
doubt that was owing, in a considerable degree, to the effect
of that recent legislation of which the Honourable Gentle-
man complained. He would next take another article,
which, perhaps, did not enter so largely into the consumption
of the poor as those to which he had been alluding, but which
was, notwithstanding, a very important test of the condition
of the population. Ile alluded to the article of foreign
brandy. The importation of foreign brandy amounted, in
1843, to 1,052,030 gallons; in 1844 to 1,037,000 gallons; in
1845 to 1,076,000 gallons; the importation, during these
three years, immediately preceding the reduction of duty,
being nearly stationary. But the duty being reduced from 225.
there was an immediate increase of nearly 50 per cent.
—(Hear, hear.) In 1846 the quantity imported was 1,561,000
gallons, in 1847 it was 1,538,000 gallons, and in 1848,
1,632,000. And while this increase took place in the quan-
tity there had been no loss to the revenue, because whereas
the amount of duty on foreign brandy in 1841 was 1,201,0004 ;
the amount received for duty in 1848, notwithstanding the
reduction of duty, was no less than 1,233,000/. The altera-
tion was, therefore, a clear gain to the revenue, and at the
same time a clear gain to the consumer.—(Hear, hear.) But,
perhaps, it might be supposed that this gain had been ob-
tained at a loss to the native and colonial spirit producer.
list was it so? 'faking the three years before the reduc-
.ion in duty, and the three years that had since passed,
he found that the average consumption for the three years
ending with 1845, in this country of colonial spirits was
2,257,000 gallons; while for the average of the three years
ending in 1848, the home consumption amounted to
2,999,000 gallons.—( Hear.) Again, taking British spirits,
the average home consumption for the former three years was
20,845,000, and for the latter three years 22,326,000. So
that the increase to which he had alluded in the importation
of foreign brandy had been followed by no injury to either
the home or the colonial distiller any more than to the
revenue.—(hear, hear.) Ile wished now to refer to another
return, which was conclusive as to the soundness of the
policy of this measure, which he had the satisfaction of pass-
in,: through the Legislature, and which had been violently
opposed by LOU party of the 11...3. Gentleman opposite, and
which was to have been attended, as they had been
threatened,
by the total destruction of the native distiller, especially in
the northern part of the kingdom and in Ireland. Com-
paring the quantity of spirits brought to charge in the
years immediately before and after the passing of this mea-
sure, he found that there had been a diminution in this
country frosts 5,298,000 to 5,266,432 gallons, giving a falling
off of 32,481 gallons. But in 6cotland, which was the first
place that was to be ruined, on the other hand, the quantity
brought to charge had increased from 8,400,000 gallons to
9,792,000 gallons, being an increase of 1,392,000 gallons;
and in Ireland the increase had been from 6,518,000
gallons in 1848 to 8,262,030 gallons in 1849 ;
being an increase of 1,743,000 gallons of spirits distilled
and brought to charge within the last year. There had been
an increase of 63,000 gallons in the spirits that had paid
duty on consumption in England inlB4B. In Scotland there
had been an increase for the same period of 198,000 gallons,
and in Ireland the increased consumption of spirits in 1848,
as compared with 1847, amounted to no less than 607,000
gallons.—(Hear.) During last session he had brought in a
measure empowering the holders of spirits in Scotland and
Ireland to warehouse their spirits. This had, no doubt, the
effect of diminishing the duty, but it was of great use to the
distillers in those countries, and he found that 3,000 gallons
had been warehoused under it. During the last year, in
consequence of the facilities afforded by another Act which
he had introduced, 117,000 gallons of home spirits had been
exported from this country. Thus, instead of the com-
plaints that used to be made of Dutch spirits being largely
imported into this country for exportation to the colonies,
he now hoped to see a new trade spring up and a large
exportation of native spirits in consequence of the
measure to which he had alluded.--(Cries of " Hear.")
He would now refer to one or two trades that it was said had
been utterly ruined by foreign competition, and one of which
he perceived had been put forward elsewhere in that light.
He would first refer to the articles of gloves. One of the
orators at the Protection meeting recently, said that the
glove trade had been absolutely ruined by competition with
France. But he found that, on comparing 1840 with 1846,
1847, and 1843, there had been an increase from 2,292,000
tce3,039,000 in the last year. He held in his hand a letter
from one of the leading men in the trade—of haberdashery,
as he believed it was called—in London, written in conse-
quence of this statement having been made, and he would
beg to read an extract from it to the House. [The Right
-ng
Honourable Baronet read an extract from the
el tr.% retie" of
that the writer had made particular irioselsTeiruy,
way
the glove trade, and that 00.er:flue". ""
policy latterly pursued,
favour-
able to the liberal Rea .elenglit
the competition with French gloves bad
;I.V:tea that
CO produce a marked improvement in the
manufacture in this country.]—(Hear.) That might,
he thought, be taken as a pretty conclusive
proof that the effect of foreign competition was to improve
the home manufacture instead of to destroy it, by forcing
the native manufacturers to make greater exertions than they
otherwise would have done, and thus ultimately to improve
their trade generally.—(Hear.) Precisely the same result
had taken place from the effect of the competition with
foreign silk. In 1846 the importation of silk manufactures
from Europe for home consumption was 416,2991 b.; in 1847,
407,3071 b.; and in 1848, 571,0341 b. The same gentleman to
whom he had already referred, said, " Speaking generally of
the silk trade of this country, no prejudicial effect whatever
has been produced by the last reduction of duty on foreign
silks (in 1846); but, on the contrary, a very beneficial one,
by bringing the manufacturers of this country more closely
into competition with the' French, and thereby calling their
skill into more active operation, by which the manufacture
itself cannot fail to benefit." He might read as many letters
of this character to the House as they pleased to hear.—
(A voice—"No doubt you can get as many letters as you
please.) It seemed to him to be infinitely better to read
letters from persons who were well acquainted with
particular trades than to make a statement without the
slightest foundation whatever.—(Cries of " Hear," and
" Oh.") He did not mean to say that the Hon. Gentleman
opposite had no foundation for any of his statements. But he
would proceed with other trades that had been alluded to as
in a depressed state. First, with regard to the iron trade.
It was well known that that trade had been raised to a state
of extraordinary prosperity by the enormous demand of tha
t
article for railways, not only in this country butly abroad.
.
That demand had to a great extent ceased, not
butll,or© t Ban
;
country, but to a still greater degree abroad !his
that,
.the manufacturers had enormously
oincreased their
works in what was called the makepresentn of ir and both of
time, rendered
these circumstances united, at the
it a matter of course that the. tradeham must be depressed.
He found that the make of iron increased from
1,396,000 tons in 1840, and 1,315,000 tons in 1843, to
1,999,000 tons in 1847, and 2,093,000 tons in 1848. Now,
if that increased production went on without a correspond-
ing increase in the demand, bat, on the contrary, the
demand has been checked both in this country and on the
continent, it was clear that !prices must suffer.—(Hear,
bear.) Another of the trades that were said to have suffered
was glass. He found that owing to the great exertions that
the manufacturers had made, after the duty had been taken
off, they had, as not unfrequently happened, overshot the
object, and the consequence was that they were now in the
same state as the iron manufacturers, with a supply greater
than the demand. But he held in his hand a letter from a

very considerable manufacturer, who thus expressed him-
self :--That gentleman stated that the glass trade had been
overdone, and that the admission of foreign glass was cer-
tainly not the cause of the depreciation in prices. On call-
ing for a return be found that the importation by no means
accounted for the falling off in the trade. Of window glass
there was retained for home consumption, in the year end-
ing the sth of January, 1848, 4,694 cwt. ; and in 1849, 6,888
Mt. Qt. gl4§4 OXCeCaing Que-Ailith 91 81 inch itt thickness,