The Sun.
London, England, 1848-03-11 00:00:00

TEE SUN, LONDON, SATURDAY EVEN !NG,

been adopted. Let the House consider the facts in
rPTtrd to !hr‘ir exports to th' -n7ntr:— "i• el
west of .E.Laupt, cuutuil,ol
to quote :

EXPORTS TO SOUTHERN AND WESTERN EUROPE. --
1816. 1847.
Cotton twist lbs. 102,629,904
Thread and sewing .., 896,128
Plain calicoes ...yards 109,417,407
Printed calicoes 76,548,710
Linens
Woollens X 2,067,136
Silks

EXPORTS TO EASTERN MARKETS.
1846. 1847.
Cotton twist lbs. 27,665,843
Thread and sewing 114,746
Plain calicoes yds. 289,926,041
Printed calicoes .. 35,147,317
Linens
Woollens
Silks
Thus, it was plain that there was a great sympathy be-
tween the markets of these countries and their own, and
that the same cause had led to depression of trade
iu the one case as in the other. But in the first year in
which the great importations already referred to had
taken place from the United,i States and from Russia,
what had been the result as regarded their exports to
these two countries?
EXPORTS TO THE UNITED STATES AND RUSSIA.
1846. 1847.
Plain calicoes yards 12,468,113
44,460,459
Printed calicoes 17,240,546
Linens
Woollens 1,354,246
Silks
Cotton twist lbs. 14,116,502
thread
So that their exports to these two countries from which
they had imported these large supplies of grain and
provisions showed an increase of 300 per cent. on cali-
coes, 80 per cent.. on woollens, and 100 per cent. on
silks; and if that was not to be taken as a favourable
indication of the ultimate results of the present com-
mercial system he confessed he knew not lwhat
was, (Hear, hear.) The Honourable Member
then referred to the remarks of the Noble
Lord the Member for Lynn, the other night, on the
subject of the spirit duties, who, he said, appeared to
imagine that it was only necessary to reduce a duty in
order to put the benefit into the pocket of the foreign
producer. He thought, however, that, by the Noble
Lord's own showing, some 6s. of that benefit, iu the case
of brandy, as stated by the Noble Lord himself, came to
the share of the consumer. He admitted, with the Noble
Lord, that ip.coneequerice of an increased demand, coned
by a redutAni ofauty on an amide, the price of it might
naturally rise at first, but the result wculd soon be, as
had been the case with regard to brandy, that the price
oraditeorpaptioosiiitein(LthoordsilGkeodrugteiesß. etilionenlird)
no
would gradually subside.—(Hear, hear.) Well, then,
ft ehrer eNd Noble
et
the
know whether the Noble Lord had looked very closely
into the history of the silk trade ; but it had been so
frequently before the House that he did not now think
it necessary to go back to the year 1823, and trace the
quadrupling of the manufacture resulting from the re-
duction of the duties. It was, however, a curious thing,
that although the exports generally had fallen off in
the course of the last year, silk goods were the only
articles in which there had been an increase. In
1846, the exports had amounted in value to
729,0001., and in 1847 it was 890,0001.—(1.1ear, hear.)
The exports to France in the last year, in that very
article of silk manufacture of which the Noble Lord
complained, had increased so much that that country
was now the second largest customer we had in the
world for silk manufacture.—(Hear, hear.) The Noble
Lord seemed to be anxious to reimpose the duty on
cotton, on the ground that that would give us a revenue,
while it would only decrease so much more the profits
of the foreign grower. But he would ask the Members
who joined in this opinion if they were aware of the
competition which existed at the present moment be-
tween this country and the United States in cotton
goods? He would ask if they were aware that in China,
and even in some of our own colonies, the Americans
competed so successfully with us, that they threatened
to drive our manufactures out of the market. These
were facts which, however, could not be denied; and if
our manufactures had a duty of only id. in the lb. to
pay on an article worth only 3d. or 4d., that would
make an important addition to the difficulties under
which they laboured to maintain their ground against
the American manufacturers, who would suffer
from no such additional outlay.—(Hear, hear.) But
he would put it to the House whether the c ointry had
really any reason to regret the adoption of the new
policy as far as regarded finance and commerce. The
policy of 1842, he asserted, had been perfectly successful.
—(Cri:s of " Oh, oh")—and it had enriched the people
of this country more than twenty times the amount of
income-tax which they had paid.—(Renewed cries of
" Oh, oh," and ironical cheers.) When he looked at the
commercial prostration we had suffered and the peculiar
state of neighbouring countries, he rejoiced to see that
confidence still remained between the ruling and the
ruled classes in this country.—(Hear.) It presented to
his mind the most gratifying reflection that the Right
Hon. Baronet (Sir Robert Peel) had had the wisdom to
make concessions in time, and not wait until they were
forced open him. (Cheers from the Ministerial
• benches.) He! believed that the country owed a debt of
gratitude to those Ministers who had sacrificed their
own personal feelings, their interests, and that which
, would have still greater weight, the friendships of many
years' standing, to carry out a policy which they be-
lieved,conecientionsly, was the true one, and that most
calculated to maintain the permanent interests of their
country.—(Cheers from V."O Ministerial benches.)
Having glanced at this part of the subject, he would
now go to the question more immediately before the
, House. The real question to be decided, apart from
minor considerations, was. whether /dewy were to con-
tinue in that pollee, in which the'ountry had already
prospered ?—(Cries of " Oh," and " Hear, hear.") He
thought he might truly say the country had prospered
under this policy, for, supposing that they had had, in
addition to their own failing trade, a falling off in the
trade with the United States and with Russia, instead
of an increase, the condition of the country would have
been undoubtedly much worse.—(lronical cheers.) He
repeated, then, that comparatively we had prospered,
both in finance and in commerce. The question then
was, whether we should persevere in this tax, or re-
vert to the old system of Customs and Excise to make
the income meet the expenditure ? The Noble Lord,
in bringing forward the budget the other night, said,
that on the sth of January, the decrease in the re-
venue was 2,200,0001., and that the decrease on the
last quarter was 1,100,0001. ; but he (Mr. Wilson)
thought that, considering the circumstances under which
the country was placed, that was no more than we had a
right to expect. This, however, was not entirely a novel
state of affairs, for in the last quarter of 1841 there was
a deficiency of 700,000/. in the Excise duties alone; and
that was a period when they had protection, and the
sliding-scale was in full operation, and in which the
harvest was not nearly so bad as last year, as he had
shown by the greater quantity required to make it good.
—(Hear, hear.) Leaving out the Kafir war and navy
excess, the amount of estimated deficiency for the
coming year was about 2,000,000 L, to meet which it
appeared to him there were three courses open to the
House to pursue.—(Laughter.) The first was to borrow
the money and increase the funded debt; but he was
happy to see that the sentiments both of the House and
of the country were against increasing the funded
debt during a period of peace.—(Cheers.) The next
thing to be considered was, whether they could re-
duce the expenditure.—(llear, hear.) He had looked
carefully into the expenditure, and though lie did
not pretend to be deeply conversant with the details,
he was confident that those who had prepared the esti-
mates had done everything, as far as their ability went
and their duty to their country would allow, to keep the
expenditure as low as the policy the House on former
occasions had sanctioned would permit them. These
estimates had been prepared, not with reference to a
policy about to bo pursued by the Ministers, but in
accordance with a policy which had received the sanction
of the House, and therefore the Ministers were not
wholly responsible. The House might take upon itself
that responsibility which arose fairly from a policy they
had sanctioned, and which had commenced previously to
the Government taking office.—(Cheers from the Minis-
terial benches.) He was not prepared to say that some
reductions could not be made on the estimates, and that
he thought was a question fairly for the Committee to
which they had been referred. He must also say that
he strongly Ojected to the course the Government
had pursued 1 f reference to these estimates. It was
not consistent with the dignity of the Government,
or of that House, that the former should bring
down specific estimates and ask for them to
bo referred to a Committee.—(Great cheers.)
He could have understood it had the Government come
down on the first day of the session and proposed the
appointment of a Committee to inquire generally into
the expenditure and income of the country. He thought
the present course a far more difficult thing, and con-
trol to all precedent, to refer specific estimates to any
Committee whatever.—(Cheers.) He looked with a
degree of apprehension at the consequences which might
result from this unusual course. He held it to be one
of the most exclusive duties of the Executive to prepare
the estimates; they knew better than any other party
possibly could do what were the circumstances of the
country, and if they were thus to throw the responsibi-
lity off their own shoulders, a degree of laxity in the
preparation of the estimates would be introduced, and a
system highly prejudicial to the interests of the country
engendered.—(Cheers.) He hoped the House would sot
its face against this being drawn into a precedent;
as the best guarantee for carefully prepared esti-
mates was, that a feeling of responsibility for them
should attach to the Governmene—(Cheers.) For
his own part he should not, and he believed tie country
would not, have a grain more confidence in the estimates
when they came from the Committee than now.—
(Cheers and laughter.) With regard to the expendi-
ture, he did not think there was much chance of reduc-
ing the expenditure of this year. He believed the new
policy was so fixed that it was not now possible or de
sirable that the great works now in hand should be left
unfinished and to go to wreck and ruile—(Hear, hear.)
It was a serious thing to talk
day of new British of a reduction of expendi•
tore. He heard almost every
was small to what
it was now; and he looked upon this rapid increase
pos-
sessions springing up in all parts of the world. In 1834
the extent of our foreign possessions
of our foreign possessions as something appalling. It
was quite true that our increased,
and trade hadncreased,
and that we had; made new markets; but looking at
it in a commercial point of view only, he doubted
whether they paid for their own expenditure.—
world, dropping a handful of Englishmen on every bar-
(Cheers.) If they were thus to go over the whole
ren spot, any reduction of expenditure was hopeless.
Why were they not content
with their original popu- ,