The Sun.
London, England, 1840-06-26 00:00:00

by the poor had increased, within the last few years, from
181 to about 2,000. Those coffee-houses were frequented
to a vast extent by poor artizens and working men; and
it was on their behalf he called far a reduction of those
duties. Many of these coffee-houses were frequented by
upwards of 1;500 persons in one day. They were the, re.
sorts not only of temperance, but of intellect, for the fre-
quenters of them had an opportunity of improving their
minds by a perusal of the literary periodicals and journels
of the day. Such a change in the habits of the people was
a most interesting one. It had created a greater demand
for sugar than had ever before been known ; and yet, not-
withstanding this tendency they had shown to abstain from
the use of spirituous liquors, and subetitu' e in their phice
tea, coffee, and cocoa, they refused to lower the duty upon
sugar, the consumption of v. filch was closely connected with
the consumption of all these different articles. He had
now shown that the demand for sugar was increased in con-
sequence of this change in the habits of the people, yet the
consumption of it was diminished in consequence of a di-
minished importation. The stock in hand was also totally
inadequate to supply the demand, and he asked from what
sources could they expect to supply the deficiency ? But be
felt that this was only one part of the great question which
involved the consideration of increasing the revenue by di-
minishing the duties upon the importation of articles gene-
rally, and thus cheapening them to the population. The
benefit of this would be three-fold, first, it would secure a
better and cheaper article to the consumer; secondly, by
increasing consumption it would increase the revenue; and
thirdly, it would extend commerce—( Hear, bear, hem
but he felt that that question rather belonged to the subject
which, in addit'on to the many benefits he had already con-
ferred on the country, his Hon. Friend the Member for
Kilkenny, had recently taken up, who had obtained
a Committee to consider the whole question of the Import
Duties, and he doubted not the ultimate results of the la-
bours of that Committee would be of immense advantage to
the country. The present question came in the same ca-
tegory as the questions before that Committee. This ques-
tion was most important as connected twith the question of
our foreign trade, and notwithstanding the too domestic
wishes of some IIOV. Members of that House, he felt and
believed that the givingevery facility to the extensionof our
foreign trade was essential not only to the vitality, but even
to the existence of the commerce of this country ; arid oa
that, he believed, depended the prosperity, the power, and
the glory of Great Britain. After thanking the Commit-
tee for the attention with which they had listened to him,
the Hon. Member concluded by moving that the duty on
the importation of foreign sugar be reduced front 645. to
345. per cwt.
Mr. THORNELY seconded the motion, as he was
cons ineed that the time was now arrived when, both as re-
garded the consumption of the country and the benefit of
the revenue, the prohibitory duty on the importation of
foreign sugar ought to be removed. The duty paid ma-
nually on the importation of sugar for home consumption
amounted to 4,600,0001., with a duty of 245. per cent., and
as colonial sugar was now 245. per cent. dearer than foreign
sugar, this: country was paying 4,600,0001. additional, in
consequence of the prohibition of foreign sugar. There
had been a stsong feeling against the Corn-laws during
the last two years, but then at least they had the benefit
of a sliding scale, and both Hsusee had recently signified
their approbation of this ; but there was not even a
sliding scale of sugar duties, and the prohibition con-
tinued although the price had increased 300 per cent.
and the supply afforded by the colonies was totally in-
adequate to the demand. In 1829 Mr. Charles Grant
had proposed that the duties on British plantation sugar
should he reduced to 20s. and East India sugar to 235.
And on Foreign sugar to 28s. This had only been lost
by a majority of 38 votes. Surely then the motion of his
Hon. Friend was
.worthy of consideration. A distinction
had been attempted to be drawn between free labour
sugar and slave labour sugar, but those who drew these
distinctions should consider the whole matter, and pro-
hibit every thing the produce of slave labour. They should
begin by prohibiting the importation of cotton wool from
the United States, and the Brazils, and by so doing they
would at once throw a million and a half of cur own
artizens out of employment. They should then prohibit
the importation of tobacco, au article which produced a
revenue of three millions and a half annually. But
Foreign sugar was at this moment refined in bond, and
exported to the different British colonies, and to the West
Indian colonies as well as the others, so that the West
India colonists actually purchased Foreign sugar for their
own consumption, so as to enable them to send the whole
of the crops to England, and thus obtain the monopoly
price for the whole they produced. Our merchants carried
on a large trade with the Brazils, and they must take slave
labour sugar in exchange, and if they were not permitted
to import it into this country, they would send it to
Ilamburgh or Rotterdam. He thought the House of
Commons ought to confer this boon upon the people ; they
had during this session voted increased estimates and in-
creased taxation, and unless some boon of this sort was
conferred upon the people it would be the mast dis-
couraging session he had ever witnessed since he had had
the honour of a seat in that House.
Mr. L ABOUCHE RE admitted the great importance
of the question itself at all times, whether considered as a
financial, commercial, or colonial question, and he was
free to admit that at the present moment there did exist
circumstances which rendered it natural and proper that
the House should now seriously consider the question, and
for himself he must say that although lie was not prepared
to recommend the Committee to come to the conclusion
recommended by his Hon. Friend, yet he rejoiced that the
consideration of thi.; subject had been brought before the
House and the country. He believed there- were many
mistaken ideas prevalent with regard to this question. Ho
would not deny that a state of things had taken place with
regard to the sugar trade worthy of the gravest considera-
tion—a great revolution had, in feet, taken place in that
trade. Until recently our own colonial possessions had
produced more than sufficient for the supply of the markets
of this country, and the surplus was refined and ex-
ported. But in consequence of the changes which
had recently taken place in the West Indies—(hear)—the
supply from those colonies had ceased to be sufficient to
meet the wants of this country ; formerly although they
possessed a monopoly of the market in name, they did not
possess it in reality, because the surplus, being exported
to foreign markets, the price in those markets, of souse, in
a great measure, regulated the price in this country ; but
now they possessed not nominally, but really the monopoly
of the English market, and the result was, that at this mo-
ment the price of sugar was raised to an unexampled ex-
tent. It had not been so high since 1814, and when they
considered the difference in the valuo of money in 1814
and 1840, he might assume that the actual price of sugar at
this moment was unexampled. Next, he would admit,
that the supply during the present year had been unusually
short—that the distress in the sugar trade was consequently
very great, and the privations endured by the consumer
considerable, and that the stock in hand was shorter than
it had ever before been known to be in the sugar
trade, and had the question of the sugar trade
and the sugar duties been one simply of a reduction of duty,
he would admit that an abundant case had been made out
for a reduction of the duty. But was this question of
such a simple nature? He had listened attentively to all
the. petitions on the subject of the reduction of the duty,
more particularly to the petition presented by his Hon.
Friend tho Nlember for Sheffield. They did not pray for
the indiscriminate admission of all foreign sugar, they asked
for the introduction of free labour sugar alone, to the ex-
clusion of slave labour sugar. It was important that these
petitioners, and the country generally', should understand
that Parliament could not grant the prayer of these peti-
tions without the violation of the mo•t solemn eneage-
ments mitered into between this country and the United
States and this country and the Brazils. And he hoped
they would understand that the motion of his Hon. Friend
was for the admission of foreign sugar without distinction
of free labour or slave labour. It should be recollected
that they were now only legislating for one year, and none
could say but that the effect of the resolution must be to
produce a great increase In the importation of foreign
sugar, and all must admit that the greater part of that in-
crease must come from the Brazils. The Brazils possessed
a fertile soil, and had every facility for sending their pro-
duce here, and the question really was whether the House
would consent to give such a stimulus to slave labour in
the Brazils as must he given by permitting an unlimited
power of importation of sugar into this country.—
(Cheers.) Although as had been observed by the Hon.
Member for Wolverhampton, the Legislature of this
country had not been always consistent with regard to the
encouragement of free labour; yet with regard to this
question, he did not think the House would consent to give
such a direct encouragement to slave labour.—(Hear.)
As to coffee, our own colonies had never possessed the
exclusive supply of this country as they had with respect
to sugar. The question, however, was whether they
should this year give a greater stimulus to the cultivation
of sugar in the slave colonies. He was not prepared,
without entering into abstract principles, to recommend
that course on the present occasion. There certainly was
a short supply of sugar; the deficiency, however, was from
the West India colonies. That deficiency too, it was to
be hoped, would not be continuous, as it had arisen from
causes which would not apply to succeeding years—from
drought, for instance. Be that as it may the people of
this country required that the emancipation experiment
should be fairly tried, and that it would not consider was
the case if, at a moment when the colonies were struggling
for existence, the floodgates should be opened to foreign
sugar.

;Ur. HUME said the vote of the other night against
the importation of Coolies shut the door against the in-
gress of free labour in the colonies, and the vote of the
present night (if against the motion) would shut the door
against the ingress of foreign sugar, so that on the one
band colonial sugar was diminished in production, and
on the other the country was precluded from pur-
chasing any but colonial sugar.—(Hear, hear, hear.)
He should support the motion of his lion. Friend, be-
lieving that it would not do more than the West India
planters would admit, and at the same time reduce the
price of sugar to the capacity of poor consumers to
purchase.—( Hear.)
Mr. HA WE S said he should support the motion of the
Hon. Member for Wigan, and he held he was consistent
in doing so, notwithstanding that he had opposed the Co-
lonia' Passengers' Bill. All the arguments of the Right
lion. Gentlemen were in favour of reducing the duty, but
he said don't make the alteration now, let the population
of England be a little longer denied one of the necessities
of life in order to see whether the West India proprie-
tors will net be able hereafter to supply them. Was
there any weight in this argument of a future produce ?
lie was prepared to show it was altogether visionary. The
quantity entered for home consumption in 1838 wa53,000,369
cwt., and in 1839 2,000,790 cwt., being a deficiency of
about half a million. He was informed on good authority
there was every reason to expect the importation of next
scar would even fall short of this, and thus there would be
on the known and conjectural importation a diminution of
not less than a million ; and was there any gentlemen in
that House who would state there was any possibility of
their obtaining- the simply of this deficiency from the West
Indies ? lie knew he had little chance of success after the
speech that had been made by the Right Hon. Gentleman,
which would be well supported by Gentlemen who always
supported special interests in that liouse,( Hear, hear)—.
for a Minister had nothing to do in that House to obtain
support than to announce that it was his attention to sup.
port some exclusive Mtorest...—(Hear,4l9 If the pre.