The Sun.
London, England, 1840-02-26 00:00:00

EVENING EDITION.

civil and military operations, and unworthy of the
attention of the British Legislature. The countries
which intervened between the North-West frontier
of India and the European States were no longer un-
known. His Hon. Friend, in selecting the present time
for the discussion, had chosen that which was most
opportune and most fitting. They could not have
forgotten that many days had not elapsed since they voted
the thanks of that House to the Indian army for its
achievements in the West of India. It was unnecessary
for him to remind the House of the unparalleled length of
their march—the difficulties of the country they had
travelled when they taw the natives of India vieing
with the British troops in their endurance of toil, their
bravery in the breach, and their moderation in victory.
Whence came the resources necessary for that stupendous
campaiga ? They came from those on whose behalf ho
now solicited justice at their ban& He prayed them
not to confine themselves to barren votes of thanks; let
them do substantial justice to the countless inhabitants of
that mighty empire which had furnished them the means.
Let them not refuse to India the means which Providence
had afforded her of recruiting her strength. He hoped
the House would express an opinion upon thi.a subject that
would be strong enough to support the Chancellor of the
Exchequer, if wavering, and to coerce him, if reluctant.
He believed that every one admitted the injustice and im-
policy of discriminating duties with reference to different
parts of the same empire, but, with respect to India, the
impolicy was peculiarly striking. Look at the relative
situation of India and England. It so happened that each
could supply what the other required, and he could see no
limit to the extent to which they might mutually benefit
each other without collision and interference. He believed
that if there was a desire to legislate selishly and solely
with reference to the advantage of England, that object '
could not be accomplished otherwise than by doing full,
entire, and ample justice to India. England required an
outlet for her manufactures ; India offered a market almost
without lireit with reference to the extent of her territory
and the extent of her population. The natives of India
were not indisposed to buy our manufactures, but
they wanted the means, not the will. If the
condition of the natives of India were improved by the en-
couragement of their commerce and agriculture, British
capital would be induced to find its way into the interior,
and they would enhance thereby the interests of England,
and perform a sacred duty to India. There had not
been that rush of capital towards India which had been
predicted in the discussions upon the Charter. It was as
well perhaps that there had net been an improvident rush
of speculation and capital towards India, because, instead
of benefiting that country it might have been attended with
utter ruin to the individuals, as was strongly the case in
South America ; but he believed that British capital would
speedily be forthcoming in the interior of India if that
House manifested a wish to encourage by every means in
their power, and he hoped that would be the result of this
night's debate. If they looked to the general trade of
India, and compared recent years with years long ante-
cedent to the Charter, it would be found that the result was
melancholy, because there had been an absolute deficiency.
In 1836 the amount of trade in Opium and Indigo, from
Calcutta, was 32,900,000 rupees ; in 1806, 11,940,000
rupees ; but looking to the general trade, putting these
articles apart, in 1836 the raw products amounted to
18,000,000 rupees ; the manufactures to 4,000,000 rupees ;
the sundries to 1,000,000 (and odd) rupees; aggregate
24,000,000 rupees. In 1806 the raw products were to
the amount of 15,400,000 rupees ; the manufactures to
13,800,000; the sundries to 1,000,000 rupees; aggregate
29,000,000 rupees. The result was that the House would
see (taking the general trade, excluding Opium and In-
digo) in 1806, the trade amounted to more than in 1836.
—( Hear, hear.) This was a melancholy fact, and enough
to justify any Member in calling the attention of the House
to it.—( Hear, hear, hear.) Let not the petition then be
met by the statement, that though in special articles the
petitioners might:be right, the result of the general trade
was against them. The first article in the petition was
sugar. Now, let the House recollect that they did not ask a
new contract. They only wished the House to supply the
means for carrying into effect regulations admitted to be just
and equitable. The Government had a right to require '
that before the importation of sugar was allowed from thrs
East Indies at West India duty, it should be proved t)".,at
there had been no foreign sugar imported, so as to csreate
an artificial surplus. What the petitioners asked them was,
that whenever the Governor of any Presidency found a sur-
plus production of sugar, he might prohibit the importa-
tion of foreign sugar, and, at the same time, allow the ex-
portation of the sugar from that Presidency on the equa-
lized duties. He asked for the introduction of no new
principle ; all he wished for was that the old one should be
brought into action, and he would leave it to the Hon.
Gentleman opposite to adopt the course which he thought
would have that effect. It would be satisfactory to the
House to know the good effects that had taken place from
the equalization of the duties on sugar. In 1835, the lar,t
year before the equalization, there was imported into tinis
country 98,722 hogsheads while, in 1838, two years after
the equalization, there were imported 418,727 hogsi.leads.
Then, with respect to'coffee, the produce of the British
possessions in India ; in 1834, the year before the equali-
zation took place, there were imported 1,558,6041b5., while
in 1838 10,285,3471b5. were imported. The House would
therefore see the enormous increase that had taken place
in four years in the importation of coffee alone. Indigo
had also been imported at a low rate of
duty, and a similar result had taken place.
Sugar had been imported into the East Indies, at the
low rate of duty. Pepper was also imported in the same
way. Coffee, however, could not be admitted into a Bri _
tish Possession without a duty. Mysore was, in feet,
treated as a foreign country, while its internal adrei.nis-
tration was placed under a British Commissioner. The
entire administration of that country was now left to that
Commissioner—the Rajah merely received from him a tri
bute ; and yet coffee could not be imported from British
Possessions into that country but by being made subject to
a duty. Ho had also to complain that the duty on West
India rum was now but is., while the duty on East India
rum was 10s. The duties, however, on both should be.
equalized ; and it would otherwise be useless to equaliree
the duties on sugar. With all these disadvantages, hc,w-
ever, the production of rum in the East Indies had doubled
every year. The next article was tobacco—of which ar-
ticle upwards of fifty millions of pounds were imported
into Great Britain, and of that quantity India afforded little
more than 40,000 lbs., with a country and climate pecu-
liarly fitted for the cultivation of tobacco. The reason was,
that tobacco imported from India paid a duty of 3s. per lb.,
while it could be imported from the British settlements in
America for the same sum. In point of fact the existins;
usage was to admit the produce of their own Colonies at. a
lower rate than that brought from foreign countries. If
that were so, why not admit the produce of India at a 'sower
rate than that of America ? The fact was that tobacco
could be imported from Canada at 2s. 9d. per 1,b., while
the duty on Indian tobacco was 3s. The aext article was
cotton, and to cotton he would beg the particular atten-
tion of the House, because its importance was the great-
est, and the hardship to India in connection with it was
the greatest. For centuries cotton had formed the great
staple of India, and he believed that her fertile plains could
furnish, almost without limit, that raw material so emi-
nently required for the manufacturing industry of England.
—( Hear, hear.) Cotton produced in India could be im-
ported into England, and through the wondrous agency of
steam could be manufactured into cloth, returned to Indias
and there sold cheaper than the cloth made in India.--
( Hear, hear,) The inevitable consequence was, that tho
manufacturers there had been utterly ruined, and who's •
districts thrown out of employ. In Dacca, where thos e
curious and beautiful fabrics, the Dacca muslins, were mad e,
a great number of persons had been thrown out of emplc y,
and the misery and suffering of the wretched inbabiteents
exceeded any thing that could be imagined. With th ese
calamitous circumstances pressing upon India cotton p;,ece
goods introduced into that country (England), -were
subjected to an ad valorem duty of 10 per cent., while
English cotton piece goods could be introduced into Cal-
cutta at a duty of 3} per cent. Such a proceeding was a
gross injustice. To estimate the full extent of the suffer-
ing inflicted on Indian manufactures, owing to the compe- •
minddia.thatFrcoomttotnhewansattuhreesotafptlheeacrltiimclaeteofesvoenrysuimnhpatibo:
compe-
tition of English manufactured goods, it should be borne
inin In
tent was clothed in it, and what increased the hardship
was, that the inhabitants of that country had not the same
facilities for turning their attention to other occupa-
tions as in England. Particular trades in India
were so mixed up with the peculiarities of caste, that
when a mao gave up the trade followed by his fore-
fathers, his helplessness and destitution were complete.
There had been an enormous increase in the export of
British articles to India. There had been in particular
an enormous increase in the exportation of cotton manu-
factures to India, and a total extinction of the exportation
of these articles from India ; so that while England inun-
dated India, and utterly destroyed her export trade, she at
the same time nearly deprived her of her home consurnp-
aasndtakdeeenpalywaays
tion, and the very occupation of old women and children,
nn g
y arn
were,w
circumstancesin apispinning
. he Craelgarmeitttoeudstha
es
mth,erbee
did not ask the House to protect the cotton manufactures
of India by the imposition of prohibitory duties on Iv.dia
cotton manufactures. He asked for no artificial pro tec-
non for India ; all he asked for was equal duties, fair ;
competition, and fair play. He believed that if the
House were to equalize the duties
to-morrow, 'lndia,
with respect to the minor articles, could not compete
with England; indeed as England was, by machinery,
almost unlimited in its powers of production. India could
not compete with England ; and, in the language of the
petition, he would not urge as a grievance anything that
might be considered as the natural consequence of this
ordinary course of trade, and not as the consequence of
unequal duties. Then as to silks; silk piece goods ',ln-
ported from India into British ports were subject to an, rid'
valorem duty of 20 per cent., but silk piece goods im-
ported from England into India, were subject to an ad
valorem duty of 3i per cent. He would not dw ell on the
great importance of encouraging by every means the
culture of tea in India ; it was at present in its iss ,
fancy ; he would not say anything about a protecting
duty, but he thought, considering th, uncertain eon-
dition of the relations between thin country and Chins,
some protection should be given to its culture.—( Hear.
lie had a long list of articles, the produce of the East In-
dies, which were subject to a duty of from 15 t e 200 pen ,
cent., but he would not encumber the discussion at tb.
present moment with it. He was happy his Friend bad D 0
moved for a Select Committee, as that would have had th
effect of producing delay, but added to that there was 12°
thins to inquire about, and what necessity, therefor(' ai
could there be for inquiry All admitted the inequar
of the duty. The petitioners came to that House fe,r• tbn
redress to which they were entitled, and he maint, Ano
that the present time was the fitting one for affording ; tb9%.
redress. He trusted, therefore, that the Chancellor of t',ect
Exchequer, upon every one of the resolutions whi ch
been read by his Friend, would give a clear and exPllGrje-
explanation to the House. He knew not what c aurae Right Hon. the President of the Board of Trade miff"
think it expedient to pursue on the present °cc. ;
AS.OII. Be
believed, however, that the Right Hon. Ger itieman WI" resolved on doing ample justice to India, ' dot he re"t'
in conceit with others, attend to dive Euggestiou
from the Right Honourable the Chance'
odor of the F. d chcquer--( Hear ) There were other !parties, too, an