The Sun.
London, England, 1848-07-11 00:00:00

THE SUN,

and religious feelings. The people of this country
said they would not permit a slave to remain in one of
our colonies: the slaves were the machinery by means
of which the planter produced his sugar, and when we
deprived him of them, we, in point of fact, broke up his
machinery.—(Hear.) If, instead of doing this to the
British colonies, they had interfered with the manu-
facturers, then they might have claimed compensation.
It would not have been difficult for the sentimental part
of the people to have made out such a case against the
manufacturing system, as to cause the philanthropic to
say, this system shall no longer exist in this country.
If they looked into the reports of the factory inspectors,
they would find the number of children wounded, of
persons killed, maimed, and otherwise injured by the
factory system in one year, exceeded in amount all the
casualties of one of the most brilliant battles in our his-
tory. The victory of Trafalgar, by which we won 26
ships-of-war, took 27,000 prisoners, and secured the un-
disputed empire of the sea, only cost us 1,690 killed and
wounded, while the annual average of the killed and
wounded in the manufacturing districts was 2,276.
If Parliament upon such a representation had interfered,
and said " your steam-engines shall no longer set ma-
chinery in motion to create such a waste of life, we shall
stop them and pay you 6s. Bd. in the pound of our own
valuation of the worth of your machinery, leaving you
all your other property, your tall chimneys, to work
with human labour as you best can "—if Parliament had
acted thus, and it was precisely a parallel case to that of
the West Indies, then he said the manufacturers would
have a claim for compensation. But instead of that it
was at the bidding of the Manchester school that the
Act of 1846 was passed, which deprived the West Indies
of the protection to which they had been declared duly
entitled. The people of Great Britain stood by and saw
that bargain made, and they were now bound in honesty
to come forward and see it fulfilled.—(Hear, hear.)
The slaves were the machinery by which
sugar had been made, and they had no right
to take it away and then to refuse either compensation
or protection.—(Hear, hear.) They ought to pay
the colonists that reasonable compensation. The Noble
Lord, after showing at some length the inefficiency of
the proposed loan for emigration, inasmuch as it was
inapplicable to revenue islands, where labour was plen-
tiful, contended that these islands at the same time la-
boured under great pecuniary difficulties in consequence
of our legislation. Above all, he reminded the Com-
mittee that we exacted a public tribute from our - colo-
nies of 3,700,0001., and a private one amounting to
500,0004 Let them contrast this state of things in the
colonies with that of the manufacturers. Until 1825
they had a protection of 37 per cent. against the cot-
tons of India.--(" 80 per cent.") He thanked the Hon.
Member. We levied that large per centage on their
goods while we obliged them to take ours at a duty
of per cent. Was that no protection to our ma-
nufactures ?—(Hear, hear.) Bat how had we dealt
with the East Indies as compared with the West
Indian colonies ? He found that in the year 1808
the imports of Indian goods into this country was be•
tween three and four million sterling; and coming down
to 1220, that they amounted to 1,600,0001. In 1847, by
means of the Act of 1846, we had given them compensa-
tion for exactly the latter amount of trade we had taken
away from them, by importing East Indian sugar to the
amount of 1,600,0001. What had been the consequence
of this importation? Why, that they ruined almost all
those engaged in growing sugar in the West Indies.
But we could not inflict injury upon our colonies with-
out that injury recoiling upon ourselves and our manu-
factures. He held returns in his hand which had arrived
by the last overland mail, from which they might see
the ruin that had overspread the colonies, and the conse-
quent reaction on the trade of this country. The
returns showed a total diminution of 1,104,854 pieces
of piece goods of various descriptions, and of
5,410,265 lbs. of twist, upon a total trade of
16,264,950. But a still more remarkable fact was shown
by these returns. We were told that the distress of
our manufacturing districts arose from the present dis-
turbed state of Europe. Our exports to our own colonies
actually exceeded the whole of the European trade. In
the year 1845, the latest return he had in his possession,
it appeared that the imports of cotton, woollen,ginen, silk,
&c., to the British colonies amounted to 11,581,5641
In the same year our exports to Europe, exclusive of
yarn, which he looked upon as a semi-manufactured
article, were 11,131,264/., thus showing that our own
colonies exceeded the whole of our export European
trade by 450,000L—(Hear, hear.) The export trade to
Asia and Africa, and America, exclusive of British
possessions, stood below both of these amounts, being
only 10,810,470/. This was sufficient to show the
relative value of the colonial and the European markets.
In order to show the value of the goods exported
to Europe, as compared with the exports to our
colonies, he had a return prepared by Mr. Burn,
the author of the " Commercial Glance." By a mistake
he hid returned Egypt along with Europe. These re-
turns contrasted the value of the exports to the British
c2lonies with those to Europe, including Egypt, up to
t?e 40th of June. It was alleged in the manufacturing
districts that all their difficulties arose from the falling
off in the European trade. That falling off only
amounted to 3,000,000/. That would not account for
the entire falling off in our trade. But the return of Mr.
Burn Showed where the evil really lay. He found by
that return that the export of this country to different
Parts of Europe, and to Egypt, amounted, in 1847, to
61,960,000 yards of calico; and in 1848 there was a much
greater increase. Again, with respect to printed calico,
he was also supplied with documents that there was an
increase of 29,000,000 yards, for in 1847 there were only
45,000,000 yards, whereas, in 1848, there were over
50,000,000. Again, he would say that there were only
25,000,0001b5. of yarn exported from this country in
1847, while on the other hand he was prepared to show
that there were 30,000,000 in 1848. It should at the
same time be borne in mind that the exportation of 1848
Was much less than that of 1847, because there has been
a falling off of not less than 50,000,0004 with regard to
the export trade of this country. He would next refer
to the yarn exported, and hesitated not to state, that
while the export of that article amounted in 1847 to
14,778,0001b5. it was less than half that number in the
following year, because it was only 7,780,0001b5., and
thus there was a difference of very great consequence
to the interest of this country. It was well
known to the House that when some ships
went to Cuba, Brazil, and Antigua, they had
returned - with ballast, whereas those that traded to
our own colonies always returned with a freight suffi-
cient to ensure the expenses attending their voyage. He
would next ask, when it was stated that the creoles were
so prosperous, was there anything like prosperity in
their receiving only sd. or 6d. per day? and could they,
with such trifling wages, be of any advantage to the
commerce or industry of this country? He hoped that
yet a gleam of sunshine would appear, so that the com•
reerce of this country, respecting its exports, would again
resuscitate. He would ask the House to look to the
condition of the raw material in respect of exportation,
and he felt assured that, if the interest of this country
was their interest, as he believed it was, the differential
duty would be settled in such a manner as to protect the
colonies of this empire. The Noble Lord then quoted the
evidence of Sir W. Gomm and Sir Robert Farquhar, that
unless the British colonies were to be protected by the
British Legislature, that they would ultimately be totally
lost to this empire. He now came to the consideration
of the financial question, and in the observations he
should have to make on that subject, he would endeavour
to avoid all reference to the three budgets which the
Right Honourable Gentleman the Chancellor of the Ex-
chequer had brought "neck and heels" into the discussion.
The Noble Lord at the head of the Government and his
Right Hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer had
reiterated their statement, as if reiteration only were
needed to establish its truth, that the recommendation of
the Committee would lose 960,0001. No man who had
considered this subject could believe that the consump-
tion for the year commencing on the sth of July, 1848,
Would be such as to justify the assertions of the Right
Ron. Gentleman, and, unless that were believed, he was
suite at a loss to understand how he and the Noble
Lord could presume to say that such a loss would be
occasioned to the revenue by adopting the plan of the
Committee.
Lord J. RUSSELL—I did not say so. The state-
ment was that there would be a first loss of 700,0001.,
which would most probably be increased to that amount.
Lord G. BENTINCK—The Noble Lord was wanting
in frankness and candour in taking credit for 210,000 tons
of sugar, when it was admitted that a greater consump-
tion than 290,000 tons could take place under the proposal
of the Committee. The reduction of the Noble Lord
cuuld not be represeuted by any coin of the realm, and
therefore it could have no place in the details of the
weekly consumption of a poor family. Re would not
deny that the increase might amount to 110,000/, but
when the Right Hon. Gentleman the Chancellor of the
Exchequer considered the details of his financial mea-
sure, and estimated the foreign and colonial sugar
brought into consumption, he must say he showed an
ignorance of the whole sugar trade, such as was never
before evinced. The Hon. Gentlemen, also, the Mem-
bers for Liverpool and Oxford, had manifested in their
calculations only a little acquaintance with it, and the
Chancellor of the Exchequer seemed to think that he
might pass over all the sugar colonies. But he should
reflect that he could not abandon the sugar plantations
and have the sugar too; or, if he could, where did he
"Poet to get a supply of 240,000 tons of colonial
anger ? With the best attention he had been able
togive the subject, he had come to the conclusion
at, in the year 1848-9, there could not be expected
from,,, the British possessions in Mauritius more than
'35,000, from the British West India islands not
more than 120,000, and from the British East Indian
islands net more than 46,000 tons. The conjecture was
borne out by all the accounts from those possessions.
Those from the Mauritius of April last told them of a
falling off on shipments of 15,000 tons, and the impor-
tations of last year amounted to 59,000 tons. But a great
Part of the exportations of the Mauritius had already
arrived, and would form no part of those embraced by
the current year. From Calcutta, in February last,
also, they had been told that the exports had been 44 per
cent, less than those of the preceding year. The ques-
tion, so far as the revenue was concerned, turned upon
this, whether their supply was to come from their cold-
or from slave countries, the former at a duty of
Isa and the latter, according to the Government plan,
of 135.; but, according to the plan of the Committee, of
108, ow, the entire stock of sugar in the several
Ports and stores of Europe, on the Ist of January last,
1148 145,000 tons, as against 110,000 tons, the stock on
toe same day in the preceding year. But on the Ist of
January last, it was 150,000 tons, as against 120,000
of the last year. After going through the stocks taken
On the same day in the preceding years, it would
aPPear that the stocks were greater on the Ist of
June last than was ever known in the history of Europe.
With regard to the stocks in England, the speculation
he made, when on the Committee, was, that the stock in
England on the sth of July, of British colonial sugar,
would be 65,000 tons. Now it seemed that on the Ist of
July, there was a stock of 76,511 tons, against 73,178
Wag in the preceding year, showing an increase of

3,333 tons. Eut there had been a decrease in the deli-
veries of June, on account of the expectatinu of a reduc-
tion in the duty, to the extent of a shilling a hundred
weight, if not of tour. In the months of May and June
this decrease in the deliveries took place to a very large
extent. Therefore there were at least 11,000 ton, of
colonial sugar, artificially included in the stock by a sus-
pension of legislation. That stock had been increased
by the prevalence of western gales in the month of June,
owing to which circumstance an extraordinary arrival
of 23,000 tons of colonial sugar had taken place. The
Chancellor of the Exchequer thought that 240,000 tons
would come into consumption during the current year.
There had been an increase in East India sugar during
the first half of the year, because the fall of prices
here had not had time to operate in India. If, there-
fore, future importations would not exceed 200,000 tons,
with a stock numerically of 76,000, but in reality only
65,000, making altogether a stock of 266.000 tons, what
man in his senses could think of 240,000 tons, entering
into consumption? In the years 1845 and 1846, 28,433
tons was the average increase of consumption. There
was a fall of 11s. 9d. in price in 1845, no fall in 1847,
giving an average fall of price for those three years of
ss. I Id. At the same time the average annual increase
of consumption was 28,000 tons. But there was a fall
in the present price, as compared with that of last year,
of 4s. Bcl., and the 28,000 tons was not an increase on
290,000. The Honourable Gentlemen, the Members for
Dover and Liverpool, had made several observations on
the falling-off in the consumption in the months of May
and June. But although there had been this decrease
in the consumption of sugar, yet there had been a great
increase in the consumption of molasses, and that
would fill the pockets of the Chancellor of the Exche-
quer quite as well as duty on sugar. The increase of
duty on this article was equivalent to that on 995 tons of
sugar. The course which the Government proposed was
unjust towards the poor of the country, while that of the
West India Committee, of which he had had the honour
to be chairman, was different. The Committee did not
give mere lip-service to the poor like that of the Hon.
Gentleman opposite the Member for Manchester.-
(Hear.) They proposed a plan which would give cheap
sugar to the poor man, by taxing it in proportion to his
means. If any gentleman would turn to the report,
pages 17 and 18, of the Whitebook, and 19 and 20, of the
Bluebook, he would find, taking the coarse sugar, which
was that used by the poor man, and the higher class of
sugar, which was that used by the rich, that 231. 10s.
per ton was the lowest quality used by the poor
man; that 281. was the better quality, and that 47/.
was the highest quality; but the Noble Lord and the
Chancellor of the Exchequeor would find that by his
proposition he proposed making the poor man's sugar
cheaper than either the Hon. Member for Manchester or
the Government proposed. Taking the highest quality
of sugar at 285., the ad valorem duty on that sugar
would be 17s. 6d. Under the proposition of the Hon.
Member for Manchester the poor man would pay 145.,
and under that of the Noble. Lord and the Chancellor
of the Exchequer 13s. He now came to the lower sugar
at 23/. l Os., that was 235. 6d. per cwt., and at the ad
valorem price that would be 2d. the lb. The duty
paid under the ad valorem scale would be 10s. Under
the proposal of the Hon. Member for Manchester it
would be 145., which would exclude the poor man alto-
gether from that sugar, and yet the Hon. Member said
that he was the friend of the poor. He now came to
the higher sugar of the foreigner, and on that sugar the
poor man would pay under his (Lord George Bentinek's)
proposal 14s. 10d.; by the proposition of the Hon.
Gentleman opposite, 18s. 6d.; and by that of the Noble
Lord and the Chancellor of the Exchequer, 20s. The
doctrine of " the Manchester school" has been pro•
mulgated by Mr. Alderman Brooks. He now came to
the sugar which sold at aid. per lb., and that which sold
at sd. and 6d. The Noble Lord showed the advantages
that would arise to the poor man on those sugars under his
plan, as compared with the plan of the lion. Member for
Manchester, and the Chancellor of the Exchequer. The
Hon. Gentleman the Secretary for the Colonies, then,
after all the cry which the Government got up against
the West India Committee, was trying to make sugar
dear to the poor man. The Government had taunted
the Committee with not having mentioned the name of
the poor man in their resolutions; but he would show
that it was they (the Committee) that had been working
for the poor man.-(Hear, hear.) And had not all the
influence of the Government been brought to bear
against them, it was they who would have succeeded in
giving to the poor man cheap sugar. His proposition
would reduce the duty on the poor man's sugar three
farthings in the pound weight. He had now, he hoped,
succeeded in brushing away the prejudices which
were raised against him, and shown that while the
Committee were solicitous about the interests of the co-
lonists, they were not unmindful of those of the poor
man. He had shown also that slavery had been stimulated
by the Act, and that what the Hon. Member for Man-
chester had said on that branch of the subject was not
correct. The Noble Lord the Secretary for Foreign
Affairs (Lord Palmerston) informed the House that the
number of slaves imported into Cuba was 60,000 ; but
Senor Cliff, who was himself engaged in the trade, had
stated the number to be 72,000. The Noble Lord read
some parts of a statement of this latter gentleman as to
the barbarities of the slave trade. Captain Maxwell
said that the slaves were packed in the slavers like salt
fish, and Surgeon Macrae, of her Majesty's service,
stated that he had seen them packed as closely as
human beings could be packed together. Their suf-
ferings were excessive. After reading other testimonies,
the Noble Lord said that the last news was that
on the coast of Africa slavers were literally swarming;
twelve thousand slaves during the first three months of
this year were landed in four districts of Brazil. That
was at the rate of 142,000 per annum, more than double
what it had ever been before. And yet Earl Grey said
that he abhorred the slave-trade, and would most gladly
adopt any measure that would put an end to it. He
asked the Noble Lord at the head of the Colonial De-
partment whether he was not bound in honour to oppose
this Bill, which had so much aggravated the horrors of
the slave-trade. The Hon. Gentleman the Member for
Manchester, when he asked for protection for the cotton
interest, forgot the protection which it had so long en-
joyed. The cotton interest had taken good care of it-
self.-(Hear, hear.) They got a drawback on soap.'
Mr. BRIGHT said, that perhaps the Noble Lord
would allow him to say that the cotton' manufactory did
not require soap at all.-(Hear and laughter.)
Lord G. BENTINCK said that whether they required
soap or no, theyrhad taken good care of their own in-
terest.-(Hear, and laughter from the Opposition.) The
moment the Noble Lord had chosen to deprive the ship-
owners of protection was most unfortunate. He must
say a word or two on financial subjects. The Chancellor
of the Exchequer had suddenly discovered one million
and a half of available revenue. He rejoiced at that.
The Noble Lord and the Right Hon. Gentleman ought
to have known that when they proposed an increase of
income-tax. There were sources of revenue concealed
from them when he wished to get a renewal of ass aug-
mented income-tax for three year; when the existence
of the British colonies was at stake, what excuse was
there for not coming to their aid ? Had not the Noble
Lord thrown away 40,0001. of the copper revenue ? He
believed that the poor of this country were well able and
willing to spare a halfpenny a day to put an end to the
horrors of the slave trade. He believed that, strong in
the principles of virtue and morality, they would
object to any proposal not founded upon that basis.
Lord JOHN RUSSELL said that the Noble Lord
was fully entitled to be heard by the House upon a
question to which be had devoted so much time and
labour, but certainly he must say that he had used his
privilege to the utmost-(Hear, hear)-for it appeared
to him that only a few words at the beginning and to-
wards the end of his speech were applicable to the
question before the House. His speech was really
against the motion which it was his object to support.
He argued that the duties should be reduced, and yet
wiwfeortuebl dec
firvrgoenteerte:shaetf
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protec-
tive duties. Merely reducingnot
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without reducing that of the foreign sugar, would
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yi both
of
the two schemes should be adopted? The
which of them was most fur the benefit of the consumer,
was,
of the West Isidies, and of the revenue ? As to the
consumer, it was established that the reduction of the
14s. duty to 10s. by the end of six years would be a be-
nefit of 1,200,000/. a year. That was a benefit to be de-
siderated. But it was said it was not for the benefit of
the West Indies. lie (Lord J. Russell) said that the
best chance the West Indies had was in some large in-
crease of consumption. Sugar should be reduced to
such a price as would cause that large increase. It was
a remarkable fact, the great effect which the various re-
ductioas made in articles of consumption had had, while
it was to be observed that little or no change took place
in the course of the first or second years after such re-
ductions were made. It was on that account they sup-
posed that in the course of the present year there would
be an increase in the consumption of sugar of about
ten or fifteen thousand tons. He had by him an
average of the amount consumed in this country
for the last five years, beginning with 1839. The
consumption in that year was about four millions and
eighty-one thousand cwt., or about 200,000 tons, while
that of last year was 645,521 cwta., being an increase
of one-half the whole amount consumed in 1839, 1840,
1841, 1842, and 1843 respectively. A great diminution
in price also took place, for while it was 635. and 625. in
the former years, it fell to 595. last year, and finally, as
we understood the Noble Lord, to 51s. a cwt. These
figures proved to his mind that they might expect an
increase in the consumption of this most useful article,
from year to year, although, perhaps, for some time,
they 2 7s. would7d
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aor colonialn
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an and
increase
to take place as in former years. He (Lord J. Russell)
should trouble the House with a few of the instances in
which a great increase in the consumption followeda
re-
duction of duty. Take the article of coffee. In 1820,
when the duty was Is. a pound, the consumption was
about seven million pounds weight ; while, in 1825,
when it was reduced to 6d., it rose to eleven millions.
No further reduction took place until 1830, yet it
increased to 22 millions, and it being then further re-
duced by a diminution of duty on foreign coffee, it rose
to 28,733,0001b5.; and in 1847, when again reduced to
4d., it increased to 37,470,0001b5. That is, an increase
took place in consequence of a reduction of duty from
an average of seven to seven and a half millions to
thirty- seven million pounds. Then take cocoa. In 1831
the duty was sixpence a pound, and the consumption
502,0001b5., but the duty being reduced to 2d., that con-
sumption increased to 1,928,0001b5., and a further re-
duction to a ld. duty brought about a consumption of
3,107,00011a5. The duty on wine being reduced from
95. ld. to 48.10 d. per gallon, a consumption of 5,000,000
gallons increased to 7,000,000 and upwards; and an in-
crease of a similar kind on tea, the duty on which was
not reduced, but the price came down from 3a. 6d.
to Is. 6d. in consequence of the destruction of the
monopoly formerly held by the East India Company.-