The Sun.
London, England, 1848-08-22 00:00:00

;he thanks of the house for their conduct with respect

to the sugar duties than the present.—(llear, hear.)
It was admitted on all hands, that the refiner in bond
was mest unjustly used.—(Elear, hear.) Yet this being
admitted, the Government declared that they were not
wise enough to devise a remedy.—(llear, hear.)
Their conduct with respect to the amendment of the
Noble Lord was a fitting end to all they had done
during the session.—(Hear, hear.) Every packet
brought news which ought to teach them tne danger
of delay. And, really, the policy of the Government
appeared to be to treat the colonies as of secondary
importance,postpone all ameliorative measures
until
the), and to
could
u ld
devise
a general principle
which to them it appeared advisable to apply
—doubtless, some obnoxious principle of free trade.—
(Hear.) With respect to these duties, the Government
had been guilty of all kinds of inconsistency, since they
had abandoned them from time to time without deserv-
ing the merit of having placed their duties upon a footing
satisfactory to all parties. Ile attributed many of the
difficulties with which they had now to grapple to the
Act of 1846, as, by it, they had gratified the cupidity of
same, and thereby endangered the possession of their
colonies. He should support the clause, believing that it
would accomplish much good.
Mr. LABOUCHERE addressed himself to some of
the observations of the Right Hon. Gentleman. The
Government were fully alive to the condition of the
West Indian colonies, and they were ready to
devise all the remedies likely to remove the dis-
tress that prevailed; but when he looked to the sugar-
producing colonies of other countries, he found that they
were not so flourishing as ours.—(Hear.) What other
measure could they devise except one giving high pro-
tective duties, which would not, he need not add, be pala-
table; and it was not well for the colonists to be told, in
the face of experience, that nothing but a high protec-
tive duty would retrieve them. To show that the price
of sugar had not been reduced by the measure of the Go-
vernment. the Right Hon. Gentleman quoted an extract
from the City article of the Times, to show that the
prices were steady.
Lord G. BENTINCK—Read on. If the Hon. Gen-
tleman will read on, he will find in the news from Ame-
rica, that the prices were high in consequence of a gene-
ral belief in the colony that the ruling Government were
about to be turned out.—(Laughter.)
Mr. HUME said he should support the clause because
he believed it would prove advantageous to the con-
sumer. If the clause would effect the object which the
Government professed to have in view, he saw no reason
why it should not be adopted at once.—(Cheers.) The
fact was the Government wished to keep up an expensive
Custom-house, which stood in the way of the reduction
of the price of sugar, and whom he blamed for not pro-
viding the facilities they were bound to do.
Mr. BAILLIE said he should support the clause.
Mr. MOFFATT considered that the Right Hon.
Baronet the Chancellor of the Exchequer, as he had
mixed the great question with the main one of the
Noble Lord—of refining in bond—there must be some
mistake when it was said by the Chancellor of the Ex-
chequer that the plan of the Noble Lord would lead to
contusion. If the case had been properly laid before Sir
Thomas Freemantle, he was sure he would not have
given such an opinion as the Right Hon. Baronet said
he had. He should support the clause.
Mr. MACGREGOR said, unless they had a general
measure of regulation, the plan of the Noble Lord
would be of no advantage. The Dutch colonies were
in great distress. His opinion, therefore, was that no
re-importation to these colonies, as stated by the Noble
Lord, could take place.
Lord J. RUSSELL explained that his Right Hon.
Friend the Chancellor of.the Exchequer had stated that a
measure likely to prove good and practicable would be
considered in the recess, and that he had expressly
stated that he would not pledge himself to bring forward
such a measure, until he had had an opportunity of
considering all the difficulties with which the question
was surrounded. In respect to what was said by the Hon.
Gentleman (Mr. Moffat) he had to state that the Chair-
man of the Customs had been repeatedly consulted on that
matter, and he had given it as his opinion that the plan re-
commended was impracticable. The House would have an
opportunity, in the course of a few days, of discussing the af-
fairs of the West Indies. He hoped, by that time, that they
would be in possession of pleasing intelligence from those
colonies.
Mr. GEORGE THOMPSON supported the clause,
and contended that our own countrymen, living
at our very doors, should be placed on a
footing with the Dutch, the more especially
as, by doing so, they not only conferred
a benefit on the refiners but the public at large. He
could not but think that there was some Dutch influence
at work with the promoters of this Bill.—(Hear, hear,
and laughter.) He should give his cordial support to
the motion of the Noble Lord opposite (Lord G. Ben-
tinck.)
Mr. WILSON said that the adoption of the clause
would not be a further benefit to the public, but would be
materially detrimental to the revenue.
Strangers were then ordered to withdraw, and the
House divided, when there appeared—
For the insertion of the clause 4O
Against it
Majority against the clause
The clause was consequently lost.
(LEFT SITTING.)

A house was destroyed yesterday in Queen's-
place, Great Queen-street, Lincoln's Inn-fields. A tall stack
of chimneys was blOwn down, and falling upon the roof car-
ried it away, and forced down every floor, demolishing the
whole of the furniture, and nearly killing a child, the only
person in the house at the time.