The Sun.
London, England, 1841-03-19 00:00:00

TRADE WITH SPAIN.

None but the most obstinate pa,tisans of the exclusive
system of trade can question the absurdity of further with-
holding the reforms and reductions so loudly called for,
by every honest merchant, in the tariff of import duties
on British goods and articles, because we are the par ics
most materially injured, inasmuch as white the smugglers
introduce the same from the Portuguese, Genoa, Leghorn,
and Gibraltar markets, our public treasury does not derive
the advantage of the duties thereon ; duties which all
would prefer paying to running the risk of smuggling,
if they were fixed on a proper and reasonable scale. The
clandestine annual introduction into Spain of British manu-
factures through Portugal, Genoa, and Leghorn, Gibraltar
not being included, is valued at about 3,000,000/. ster-
ling, and there are those who deem that it is considerably
more, yet those coming through Portugal are subject to
the payment of heavy duties there, independent of the
Lisbon and Porto merchants' commission and charges, on
sale, carriage, &c., to the Spanish homier, besides the
smugglers' fees. The following arc the scales of duties in
Portugal in lino and at the present moment :
Cotton g00d5...15 per cent. in 1810 27 per cent. now
Cloth 15 per cent. 4O a 60 per cent. now
Butter .........15 per cent. 35 per cent. now
Earthen or }
15 per cent 300 per cent. now
crockerywaie
Sonic cotton articles are charged upwards of 200 per
cent., but they arc of a peculiar nature, and subject, conse-
quently, to peculiar rates. Let us lay on a duty of from
30 to 40 per cent., according to qualities, on cotton goods,
and so on in proportion on all others, and we shall find
that our Custom-house receipts increase in proportion ns
the smugglers' trade diminishes, because it will no longer
be worth their while. This measure would have a two-
fold effect, that of increasing the consumption of those
articles, because of the reduction in their 'nixes, as
well as that of yieldieg to our public Treasury an ad-
ditional income of from one million to one-and-as
half million sterling l I should like to know whether
it can be fair to deprive the country of this vast ad-
ditional revenue, besides compelling its inhabitants to
pay such high prices for British goods, merely lezauFo
40,000 Catalan workmen must be supported in their ex.
elusive trade ? I maintain that their trade is likely to con-
tinue, or even be increased, by the improvements arising
from a spirit of competition, if but a protecting duty be

laid on.
It is supposed that no less than 100,000 Spanish sub-
jects aro supported by the contraband trade, a good por-
tion of which is carried on in Catalan ships, that are ad.
mirably constructed for the purpose. Would it not bo
better to afford them an honest way of earning a liveli-
hood ? Why do not our statesmen convince themselves
that most of the Portuguese Government's revenue is based
on our ignorant exclusiveness principle ? Why do they
not look at home, to the example set them by the Nand
of Cuba, the great prosperity of which dates from 1826,
when the local authorities opened its ports to all ships and
every merchandise on payment of import duties of 14 per
cent., 21 per cent., and 27 per cent., according to the
value and qual,ty of the goods ? But these people arc
either de facto blind, or willing to FCCM SO ; and I am
greatly mistaken if the majority of the Chamber of Depu-
ties be not favourable to the continuance of the exclusive
' system.