The Sun.
London, England, 1841-02-03 00:00:00

nient to the Members that he should state at once I
it was not his intention on that occasiou to ask for
any expression of opinion that would bind the House
at any future stage of the measure he intended to pro-
pose. It had been stated to him, by persons whose
property would be affected by the measure, that it
would be fully explained to the House, and that the
substance of the resolution he intended to move should
be some days before the House before it was called upon
to adopt it. He felt that such a course would be de-
sirable, and therefore willingly acceded to it. His in-
tention that night was only to make a statement of the
grounds on which he was prepared, on the part of the
Government, to recommend an alteration in the duties
of ruin, the produce of an East India possession, and he
sly ultl coaclude by moving that the House do, on
Monday next, resolve itself into a Committee to
consider so much of the Act as related to the
duty on rum, the produce of any pessesslen
within the limits of the East India Company's charter.
Whereas the law at present allows sugar to be im-
perted from the East Indies at a proportionate rate of
dety, with the produce of the same kind from the
West Indies, it was his object to propose—and he
considered it just and reasonable—that the East In-
dies should be at liberty to send into this country the
other products of the sugar cane upon the same terms
of equality. He thought this proposal was only just
and reasonable, and would be received so by the House.
In the course of the lest Session, he had himself pre-
sented a petition from :he Directors and Proprietors of
the East India Company and other persons interested •
in our intercourse with the East Indies, praying for an
cqu tlizition of those duties. On that occesioo, he
bad said that although he was at the time unprepared to
give a decided opinion upon the question, he would take
the whole subject into his consideration. A Committee
of the House of Lords had agreed to resotatioas is
hich he concurred, with the exception of that one
which stated that the West India Colonies were in a
state of transition, in consequence of the abolition of
slavery rendering it necessary that they should not be
thrown all at once into a competition with other colonies,
which bad not the seine difficulties to encounter. He
would not deny that the West Indies required the sup-
port of the mother country, under the circumstances
with which those colonies had to contend ; but he must
declare that in the measure which be now propoeed he
hid no intention to give a stimulus to the products of
the East Indies sr!verse:y to the colonies. He did not
think that the market for rum in this country would be
atTected by the proposed meacurc in a manner injurious
to our West Indian colonies, and he thought he
would be able to icy before the House facts
connected with the case, which would show how base-
less and futile were the apprehensions entertained on
Cie subject. There was a material difference between
the supply of rum and the supply of sugar in this coun-
try at the present moment. It was well known that
the supply of sugar now received bola from the East
and West Indies was inadequate to the ordinary wants
of the British market. What were the consequences of
that ? The inhabitants of the West ladies enjoy the
same monopoly for rum as for sugar, hut practically the
else was very different. (Au Hon. Member intimated
his dissent from this proposition.) Toe Right Honour-
able Gentleman said that he thought it would
show the accuracy of his statement. The West
Indies were at present unable to send a suf.&
client supply of sugar to this country, while they
were able to send a very considerably larger quantity of
rum than the British market required, and the conse-
quence, of course, was that the surplus was exported to
other countries. It followed from that the price of
rum was not axed in the English market—the price of
it here was governed by its price abroad. Of course,
there could be but one price for the' surplus rum ex-
ported and that consumed in this country. The
House would at once see that that was the case
when he reminded them that sugar in bond varied
very much in price, while there was no such
differences in rum in bond, because its price
was sure to be known frem its price in foreign mar-
kets. He could state a fact on the subject to which he
was alluding, which he thought would leave no doubt
on the matter. In the course of last year 100,000
gallons of rum had been purchased for the navy-
-50.000 gallons from the East Indies, and 50,000 gal-
lons from the West Indies, and in both cases they ob-
tained rum of the same quality at precisely the same
price. He mentioned that to show that if they
equalized the duty, there would be no fall in the East
Indian rum, or any injury done to our West Indian co-
loniser. He did not think that the proposed measure
would be attended with any such effect, and he,
therefore, felt that they could not refuse their
assent to a resolution which, on general grounds, every
one should admit was one of sound policy. It was
true that. if the supply of rum from the West 'aeries
were considerably inferior to what the English market
required, the ...--sure would be acteaded with digad-
vantages to those colon'it..., as they would then of course
have a monopoly of the price of rum in the British
market. But that was not the case, as he had already
stated. He cared not, therefore, what was the great
advantage of the duty to the West Indies, or what loss
they would sustain if the law were altered. It might,
however, be said that if that were the case—if the
measure would not be attended with any loss
to the West Indies—it could not be followed
by any train to the East Indies. He admitted
the force of that argument. He admitted that on both
sides the importance of the question had been greatly
exaggerated ; but at the same time, as generally hap-
pened with regard to those restriction, that inconve-
rCence which they caused on the one side was greater
than the gain which they gave on the other.—(Haar,
hear.) It was true that there was one case in which
the law at present operated unfavourably to the East
Indies, and that was in the case of the finer kinds of
rum which were purchased up in this country, and of
which the West Indies at present enjoyed a monopoly.
As that, however, was but an item of the trade, ho did
not think the repeal of the enactment would produce any
very injurious consequences to West Indian interests.
He would really be glad to hear from Hon. Gentlemen
opposed to him some reasonable proof that the change
which ho sought for would be so injurious as some
seemed to imagine. He thought that the House
should require that proof would be given—that there
ought to be something more than mere apprehensions
—something more than allegations, to show that they
would deeply injure one portion of their colonies, before
they refused to sanction a measure which was one of
undoubted justice and fairness to the West Indies. No
one who had paid any attention to the evidence which
had been taken before both Houses of Parliament
could fail to be struck with the feeling with which this
question had been discussed by both sides, more
especially with the manner in which the sub-
ject had been urged by those connected with
the East Indies. It had been represented that a strong
feeling of public opinion was growing up in the East
Indies, not only among the English inhabitants but
also among the netive population ; that in our com-
mercial regulations we went out of our way to inflict
measures injurious and disadvantageous to India ; and
when he spoke of public opinion among the native po-
pulation, he would be borne out in stating that there
was growing up among the native population an increased
feeling of intelligence, which enabled them to compre-
hend and discuss questions of this nature. He there-
fore thought they were bound to see that there was
some good and solid reason for refusing them a boon of
this kind, which had been urged so strongly by those
who represented their interest in this country—he
meant the Board of Directors. He would now read
to the House a statement of figures which would put
them in possession of the present state of the rum trade
in India, and by that statement it would appear that he
was fully borne out in saying that at the present moment
there was more rum brought from the West India co-
lonies than could be consumed in this country ; conse-
quently, that a large quantity of it was exported to
foreign countries, were it met with East India rum ;
and if the West Indians, in selling rum to the Germans,
were
settele why they
compete with East India rum, he could
not
they should not be able to do the same in
England.—{Hear, hear.) The paper he held in his
hand was a statement of the quantities of rum imported
into the United Kingdom, distinguishing Chet from the
British West Indies ; that on which duty had been
paid, and that which had been re-exported, from the
years 1833 to 1839, both inclusive. From this state-
ment it appeared that the quantity of ruin imported into
the United Kingdom, from all places, during the
th
eyear
1833, amounted to 5,146,000 gallons ;tberluf,antthitay
imported from the British West Indies, di
year, was 5,109,000 gallons ; the quantity on*whicht
duty was paid was 3,49'2,000 gallons ; there was a
small quantity used as ships' stores, and the quan-
tity re-exported was 1,834,000 gallons. In the
year 1834, the total quantity imported from all places
was 5,158,000 gallons, from the British West Indies
5,112,000 gallons, the quantity on which duty had been
paid was 3,345,000 gallons, and the quantity re-export-
ed was 1,65,5,000. He would not trouble the House
by going through the details of the intermediate years,
but he would read the statement of the last year in the
account, 1839. In the year 1839, the quantity of rum
imported into the United Kingdom from all places
amounted to 5,477,000 gallons, from the British West
Indies 4,021,000 gallons, the quantity on which duty
was paid was 2,830,000 gallons, and the quantity re-ex-
ported was 1,155,000 gallons. In addition to the
account of rum exported in 1839, he should state also
that there had been taken up for the use of the navy,
ships' stores, &c., of West India rum 634,000 gallons,
and of East India rum 87,000 gallons. He would put
it to the House whether this was not proof sufficient
the West
;much larger quantity of rum was imported front
West Indies than could be consumed in the English
that it was obliged to be exported to a third
market, principally to the north of Germany, where it
met with rum from the East Indies, Cuba, and Brazils,
with
which it was able to compete and find a market.
Now it was too obvious for hint to waste their time by
attempting to prove further, as long as this surplus
existed, the price in the English market must be
governed in A great degree by the price in the third
e'er
foundation e correct, he was at
aloli market.
to If
tt n dtehreestea dfi figures
what the tip-1