The Sun.
London, England, 1834-03-18 00:00:00

COURT CIRCULAR.

The King left Windsor Castle yesterday morning for the
Palace at Kew, where his Majesty arrived soon after one o'clock.
The Duke of Cumberaind, Lord and Lady Bingham, and a
select party lunched with the King. _ . .

His Majesty viewed the pictures in the Palace, and after.
wards, attended by Sir Benjamin Stephenson, took an airing in
an open phaeton, with outriders, in the Royal Gardens, fol-
low.d by some of his suite in open phaetons.
His Majesty left Kew Palace in the evening on his return to
Windsor Castle.

A Deputation of the Society of Friends, headed by Mr Wil-
liam Allen, had an interview yesterday with Earl Grey at the
Treasury.

Prince Talleyrand had an interview yesterday with Viscount
l'almerston at the Foreign Office.

Mr. Burge, the agent for Jamaica, transacted business yes.
terday at the Colonial Office.
Mr. Secretary Stanley had a large dinner party of Members
of the House of Commons on Saturday evening. Amongst the
Members present were—Viscount Duncannon ; Sirs Oswald
Mosley, Francis Burdett, and John Campbell, Admiral Fle-
ming, Dr. Lushington ; Messieurs Christmas, Rolfe, George
Byng, Tancred, Morrison, Clay, Grote, Brotherton, and Mar.

Mrs. Bonn, wife of Captain Bunn, and
mother of the L• ssee of the two Tt.e-ares, died in Dublin
on Saturday, aged 'M. She was a lady of mist ex-
emplary dont:ter, and of high literary attainments,
which brought her in astoziation with...all the eminent
e•hvlars of her time,

4'421Y4,,
kr- VS' t.,4-7,tk‘f-att-b-il,z7-6 *tin
• tin

LONDON,
TUESDAY EVENING, MARCH 18, 1834.

In the House of Lords last night Lord EL-
LENBOROUGH called the attention of their
Lordships to the unprecedented arrear of ap-
peals which had accumulated in that house, and
remarked on the singular fact of forty days hav-
ing been permitted to elapse without one having
been heard. The LORD CHANCELLOR, in
reply, Entered into a most triumphant and ex-
tended explanation, both of his judicial and
official career, and observed that he should sit in
that house during the Easter recess to hear ap-
peals. He stated that "in his first year he
had heard in the Court of Chancery double the
number of causes that had been heard in any
one preceding year. Let the papers be produced,
and it would be found that of appeals and re,
hearings he had disposed of upwards of 100 in
that year. In the same year he had decided in
that house, without any assistance except upon
two days, when his noble and learned friend sat in
his place, a greater portion of business than was
ever heard in their lordships' house, if he put
aside that particular year when Lord GIFFORD
gave himself up almost exclusively to the appeals,
which were argued before their lordships.
Therefore, he must say that there was no
man against whom less cause of complaint
existed. With respect to the lapse of forty
days, to which the noble lord had alluded, he
would maintain that it would have been attended
wi'h the greatest inconvenience to the Court of
Chancery, not only to those who practised there,
but to the suitors before their lordships' house,
if they had at once gone on hearing causes,
instead of intermitting those hearings for a short
time." It i 3 fortunate for his lordship that
every effort his enemies make to injure him in
the eyes of the country, invariably recoils upon
themselves, and strengthens public confidence in
his vast energies and abilities.

Mr. SHELL brought forward last night the
question of the Russian and Turkish Treaty ;
and, in doing so, made out a strong case, and
to our minds an unanswerable one. Lord
PALMERSTON, who undertook to reply to the
hon. and learned gentleman's statements, must
have thought the same, for he made but a lame
defence, contenting himself with opposing the
motion, on the old, stale principle, that matters
were not yet concluded, but were still in a train
of, he hoped, satisfactory adjustment. Among
other things, his lordship observed, that though
England had not rendered naval assistance to
the SULTAN, when he formally asked it, yet
she had lent hitn—what ? " moral assistance,"
which he -had no doubt had materially contri-
buted to bring the war between MAHNIOUD and
IBRAHIM PACHA to a termination ! We can
imagine the effect that English morality, unse-
conded by an English fleet, must have had on
Egyptian diplomacy ! No doubt it was this
theoretical cannon-ball, and not the more
vulgar, practical ones of the Russian army
of interference, that induced IBRAHIM to
desist from his attempt on Constanti-
nople ! England must have piqued him
into a generous ambition to show that his morals
were equal to her own !
His lordship further stated, that after
Russian influence, or rather English mora-
lity, had put an end to the war, the Czar's
troops retired, and thus the " Govern-
ment were justified, not only in not com•
ulaining, but in rejoicing at the assistance
afforded by Russia to Turkey." His lordship
must be a most fortunate minister, blessed with
A most sunshiny and accommodating
nature, if he can derive materials for rejoicing
from an interference like this ! For why did
the Russian army retire ? Not from any sense
of duty—not from any conviction that they had
nothing fur her to do with Turkey,—but simply
because their plans were not yet ripe—simply,
because they felt that a . show of mode-
ration, at such a moment of triumph, would
he the most effectual way to gull an
English C.binet, which had nothing but its
morality to boast of. But his lot &hip is evidently
doubtful of the propriety of his rejoicings ; he
has evidently a lurking suspicion that his " lo

Pman" is premature, fur lie confesses almost ''+
immediately afterwards that the treaty which
grew out of that very Russian interfer-
ence, that has set him capering with such
precocious ecstacy, " was not one which his
Majesty's Government beheld with satisfaction."
He hoped however, he added, that " it would
remain a dead letter." Indeed ! And is Hope then
all that his lordship has left to succour him in this
perilous emergency ? Is Russia to conclude a
treaty with the Porte, notoriously detrimental to
British interests, and the British Cabinet to take
Hope only as an equivalent ?
But the noble lord cannot be serious in
his observations. He cannot, surely, ima-
gine that a treaty which Russia has drawn up at
such a moment, under such circumstances, with
such an eager desire to conceal it from all but
the parties concerned—his lordship cannot,
surely, imagine that a treaty like this will be suf-
fered to remain a dead letter ? No, no ;itis a
shrewd, careful Russian provision against the con-
tingency of a war with France and England. It is
a clever, we might almost add, a decisive attempt
to make all sure, against the season, which the
Petersburgh Cabinet, knowing well the game it
is playing, foresee; will soon arrive. But no
matter. What have we to dread from a war with
NICHOLAS ? To Russian decision we can op-
pose English hope—to a Russian army, English
morality. We are strong in virtue. See what it
is to have a moral Foreign Minister at the head
of a great nation !
The only part of the noble lord's statement that
has given us the slightest satisfaction, is 'Where
he alludes to the political relations between this
country anti France. " They were," he said,
" now more intimate, confidential, and kindly
than they had been at any former period." May
they long continue so ! Sir R. PEEL'S reply
to Lord PALMERSTON's observations, though
we disapprove of its spirit in parts, was yet, as
a whole, marked by much sagacity and modera-
tion. The right hon. baronet was singularly
happy in his comments on Lord PONSONBY s
long delay at Naples. Mr. SHELL'S motion
was negatived wiliout a division. By the way,
the hon. and learned gentleman is wrong in sup-
posing that the intelligence of the Russian treaty
with Turkey was first announced in the Morn-
ing Herald. It had been published in all the
daily London Journals three days before it ap-
peared in the private correspondence of our
Morning Contemporary, as we pointed out at
the time.

The French papers of Sunday contain much
miscellaneous intelligence, of which that from
Madrid is the most important and interesting.
Tranquillity had been restored in that capital,
and it was said that the Cortes would be con-
voked for June, when their bonds would doubt-
less be recognized. Don CARLOS was re-
ported to have removed his head-quarters to a
point which threatened Gallicia, and it was ap-
prehended at Madrid that Don MIGUEL might
he in,:uced to join him with his forces, and
proceed with him, to swell the ranks .of the
rebels in the north of Spain. M. de SAR-
MENTO had arrived in Madrid to negotiate the
recognition of Donna MARIA. Two journals
lately established in that capital had been sup-
pressed by Royal ordinance, at the request of
M. de BURGOS, who still remained at the head
of the Home Department.

Mr. COBBETI 'S motion, last night, for the
unqualified repeal of the malt tax, was rejected
by a majority of 142 to 59. . This was a matter
of course, for the question had already been
fully discussed and divided upon, and the hon
member's motion was therefore superfluous.

Brussels and German Papers contain no news
of the slightest public interest.

New York Papers, to the 15th February'
have been recrived. Their contents are only
remarkable for the following tragical and most
melancholy catastrophe :
DEATH OF JUDGE BOULDIN.-The proceedings of the House
of Representatives, on Tuesday, were brought to a sudden
close by the fearful and tragical death of Mr. Bouldin, from
Virginia. Mr. Bouldin was the successor of the late John
Randolph, of Roanoke, and was in the act of eulogising his
eloquent predecesior when he was struck with the hand of
death.

The following description of the melancholy occurrence is
more particular :_-..

" A most tragic scene occurred in the House of Representa-
tives yesterday. The successor of the late John Randolph. of
Roanoke, Judge Bouldin, rose, and began his speech by apo_
logising for having declined hitherto to ask the usual tribute
to the great orator who died a member of the house, and who,
while living, had made it illustrious by his eloquence —when in
the act of offering his remarks, the Judge fell dead in the arms
of one of the members near him. The sensation produced was
extreme, and excited to the highest, by the appearance of Mrs.
Bouldin in the hall, who had witnessed from the gallery the
fall of her husband. When she approached him, and found
that all attempts to restore life were in vain, the bereaved and
almost distracted lady pierced the hall with her shrieks. She
was borne from the hall, and her husband's remains were car-
ried to the Speaker's room, to await the order of the house in
relation to his funeral,"
A public funeral and public mourning have
been decreed by the House of Representatives.

IMPERIAL PARLIAMENT,

THIS DAY, TUESDAY, MARCH IS.

HOUSE OF COMMONS.

The SPEAKER took the chair at ten minutes past twelve.
Mr. GEORGE ROBINSON moved the third reading of
the Haslar and Stoke Bridge Bill.—The bill was read a third
time and passed.
Mr. PENLEAZE presented a petition from the mayor, bur-
gesses, and inhabitants of the town of Southampton, against the
Southampton Railway Bill.
Mr. LAMBTON brought in a bill for making a branch from
the Hartlepool Railway, county of Durham.---The bill was
read a first time.

Mr. SANDFORD moved the second reading of the Poole
(Dorsetshire) Bridge Bill.—The bill was read a second time
and ordered to be committed.

Mr. WIGNEY brought in a hill for supplying the town of
Brighton with water.

Mr. BYNG brought In the Staines Bridge Bill, which was
read a first time. The hon. member also presented a petition
from the directors of the St. Catherine's Dock Company against
the bill now before the house for widening and improving East
Smithfield.

Colonel SEALE brought in a bill to improve the Kings-
bridge and Dartmouth Roads, which was read a first time.
Mr. J. MAXWELL brought up the report of the committee
on the Wishaw. Railway Company petition.
The same HoN. MEMBER obtained leave to bring in a bill
for making certain roads and bridges in the county of Lanark.

Mr. MURRAY brought up the report of the committee on
the Leith Harbour Improvement petition, and obtained leave
to bring in a bill.

The same HON. MEMBER obtained leave to bring in the
Crinnan Canal Bill.
Mr. J. OSWALD presented a petition from the town-coun-
cil of the city of Glasgow against the Shotts Road Bill.
Mr. HAWES brought up the report of the committee on the
Amendments to the Lambeth Waterworks Bill.
Mr. J. BULLER presented a petition from the inhabitants
of Exeter in favour of the Exeter Market Bill.
Mr. HUME presented a petition from Hounslow against
the Great Western Railway Bill.
THE TEA DUTIES.

The discussion on the presentation of two petitions respect-
ing the new duties on tea, which was adjourned from yesterday,
was resumed.

Mr. ROBINSON said the subject contained in the petitions
was one of such great importance to the country as to justify
a deviation from the usual course adopted by the house to
avoid discussion on petitions. He begged to say that he dis-
sented from the infererves in both of the petitions. With
regard to that from Hull, he would dispose of it without
comment, because it was only signed by one person; but the
petition from the city of London was of a very different charac-
ter, and in every respect deserving of consideration, not only as
regarded the respectability of those who had signed it, but also

on account of the reasons which had been urged by the hon.
member for London (Mr. Crawford) in support of their prayer.
The petitioners prayed that, instead of the scale of duties
which had been fixed upon tea by the bill of last year, there
should be one uniform rate of duty upon all sorts of tea. A
great deal had been said as to the possibility of collecting the
duties, and if that had been the only question he would not so
much have cared, but it was aquestion affecting the consumers
of tea, who were in fact the great mass of the community. If
the house looked at all articles of consumption upon which du.
ties were levied it would be found that not one, excepting per-
haps sugar, was in such general use as tea ; they should there.
fore look at the subject as one involving the interest of the con-
sumers. When his Majesty's government last year brought in
the bill to levy three rates of duty on tea they took the opinions
and consulted persons of eminence in the tea trade as to the
best means of carrying such a proposition into effect, and there-
fore it was stated rather incorrectly yesterday by the right hon.
member for Tamworth (Sir R. Peel) that the plan was iinpracl ice-
ble. He believed that before the government had decided upon
adopting the present scale of duties, they had received infor.
mation from those persons connected with the tea trade who
had attended from Liverpool, Newcastle, Glasgow, and Hull,
and after a very careful inquiry into the subject, which was
one of very considerable difficully, they had come to the con-
clusion that the plan was practicable; and as its object was
to afford to the lower classes a good beverage at a moderate
rate of duty, they had proposed the present scale of duties
to the house, and the house had adopted it. He was willing
to admit that it was introduced at a late period of the session,
and might therefore justly be considered as open to farther dis-
cussion. He would now address himself to the arguments in
favour of an equalised scale of duties. Before doing so, how-
ever, he must remark that there was some fatality in all the
fiscal regulations of this country, which by some untoward ac-
cident left the house to levy a greater proportion or taxation
upon the lower than upon the upper classes.—(Hear, hear.)
He did not charge the house with any desire to do so, on
the contrary, he thought he would be able to show that a great
deal of the present inequality of taxation arose from accidental
circumstances.—(Near, hear.) In the present instance he
would ask whether any gentleman could deny that a rated scale
of duties, charging a higher price upon the better qualities of
tea, was not an act of justice, and whether it would be fair that
there should be a single rate of duty upon the higher and the
very coarsest qualities of tea? Unless it was shown that the
collection of the revenue under the present act was impracti-
cable, nothing else would satisfy him that they should
have a single rate of duties.—(Hear, hear.) Whiist he
stated this, he admitted that there was great force in
the observations made yesterday respecting the duties
upon Congou and Bohea. He admitted that there was great
difficulty in distinguishing between the finer Bohea, and the
lower Congou, and that was a reason for equalizing the duties
upon those teas. He had no objection to hive a mean taken
between the present scale of duties upon Congou, and the pro-
posed duty upon Bohea, so that this deficiency might be
done away with, but he would propose not that the Bohea
should be raised, but that th e Congou should be lowered, say for in.
stonce tots. 9d., and that the higher rate ofduty should becharged
upon the other teas. Let the house see what was done by the
government, and what was proposed to be done by the peti-
tioners. The Government, seeing that it was not possible to
collect an ad valorem duty upon tea after it had been taken out
of the hands of the East India Company, had recourse to a
scale of duty, and fixed upon something like the relative value
of tea. By the Government proposal, Bohea tea paid a duty
of nearly 200 per cent., whilst the finer teas did not pay more
than 75 per cent. This was manifest injustice to the lower
classes, adding to the existing inequality and injustice of tax.
ation, and he would never consent to allow any addition to
this injustice; on the contrary, he would contend that they
ought to go back to a more equal rate of taxation —(Hear.)
It,was a manifest act of injustice to equalise the duty on tea,
and the adoption of such a course ought not to be tolerated by
the house, unless it Could be shown it was impossible to collect
the duties. Such a course would in fact change the fiscal
system of the country. He could not consent to have the
finer description of teas lowered down to the rate of duties on
tea of an inferior description. In stating this he begged the
house to understand that he did not contend in favour of du-
ties proposed by his Majesty's government, but what he con-
tended for was the scale of duties proposed by the act of par-
liament—namely, that there should be lower duties on the
low priced teas. He thought if the duties were.equalised on
Congou and Bohea all the difficulties would be removed. He
believed that the importers of tea were men beyond the reach
of temptation, and would never be found guilty of defraud.
ing the revenue.—(Hear, hear.) Still, however, be that as it
might, it was the duty of the government to guard the revenue.
—(Hear, hear.) He considered that. the present rate of duties
should be tried, and if applied to the quarter's sale of the East
India House, it would be seen whether it was practicable to
collect the duties proposed by his Majesty's government. In
his opinion the effect of equalizing the duty on tea would be
to deprive the poor consumer of tea of the benefits of an open
trade to China, and would confer advantage only upon the
higher classes, who would get the higher priced teas at a much
lower rate. He therefore trusted that his Majesty's ministers
would well consider the subject before they adopted the
course they had intimated their intention to adopt. He did
not ask them to reject the petition, and had no objection to the
appointment of a committee upon the point, whether the pro-
posed scale of duties was objectionable in its operations, or
whether the present duties on Bohea were fair, believing the
adoption of the appointment of a committee on the subject
would be attended with the best possible effects. He consi.
tiered that the present rate of duties was too high, and that the
duty on Bohea ought not to be more than Is. The consumption
of this country amounted to 31 millions of pounds, i. e.,
about 1 lbs. to every individual annually. It was thefefore
a matter of great importance. Without trespassing on the house
further, he earnestly hoped that government would take pains
to constitute a fair scale of ad valorem duty. ,
Mr. STR ICKLA ND spoke of the great interest felt through.
out the country, especial y in large manufacturing towns on this
subject. He did not possess much information on this subject,
but he thought it fallacious to be guided in such a question by
taste only. After, however, what had fallen from the hon.
member for London and the statements of the noble lord, he
should rely with confidence upon government.
Mr. LYALL admitted with Mr. Crawford that there would
be some difficulty in relation to the duties on Congou and
Bohea Teas, as long as the present stock existed, but no longer.
In the ye tr 1832 the amount of Bohea Tea sold, paying a
duty of Is. 6d., was 6,500,000 lbs. ; but the whole amount of
teas sold was 32,00 0,000 lbs. Therefore it would be seen a very
small quantity of the whole consumption consisted of Bohea.
Out of the whole, about 24,000,000 lbs. paid a ditty of 2s. 2d.,
i. e about three-fourths of the whole, so that the revenue de-
rived but little from the teas which paid aduty of Is. 6d. He
thought it would be very unjust to the East India Company, as
they had at present a stock of 90,000,000 lbs. in their hands,
if the ad valorem duty was not suffered to exist until that
stock was exhausted, because an alteration would produce a di..
minution in price, which would occasion a considerable loss
upon the wholequantity.
Mr. HAWES had taken some pains to inform himself on
the proportional qualities of tea sold in the retail and whole-
sale line ; the result of which was, that the consumption of
Congou tea exceeded the cheaper teas much. The annual im-
portation of teas was thirty.three millions of pounds, of which
twenty-one millions were Congou, so that two-thirds of the
revenue were yielded by the latter. He found that in Bir-
mingham, and in Manchester, one chest of Bohea was con-
sumed, while there were nine of Congou; in Plymouth and
Devonport the ratio was one chest of Bohea, to fourteen of
Congou. That information he had trot from one, but from many.
He would direct the attention of the members of Ireland to the
fact that one chest of Bohea was only imported into that kingdom
for seven of Congou. He (Mr. H.) concurred with the hon.
member fur London in the opinion that the lower the duty the
higher was the per centage. One general principle should ba
laid down for obliging all consumers of tea to contribute
equally, and he considered that the higher the teas were the
greater would be the consumption and the greater the duty
yielded. In America the scale of duties was varied, while in
France it was fixed; in the former country the highest
duty was one shilling, and the consequence was the in-
creased importation of bad teas. Some time past a ship
laden with tea was sent back from France to America because
of the too inferior quality of the article. In France the fixed
duty had the effect of increasing consumption, which was the
contrary in America, where the duty varied. He would call
the attention of the house to what had occurred in the year
1830, on the subject of the sugar duties, as it might apply to
the present subject.--(Hear, hear.) Great objection had
been taken by members who sat on that side of the
house at the mode in which the quality of sugar
was ascertained, yet they took a better mode then than they
do with respect to tea. Now they only judged of it by the
opinion of an inspector ; but the sugar was estimated by its
value in the open market. He thought that the hon. member
had proved that the great consumption of tea was in congou,
and he was satisfied they must give up their present plan, by
which that description of tea was so heavily taxed.
Sales in March. June. September. December.
Bohea
Congou
Campoi 5,100,000 5,100,000 5,400,000 5,500,000
Souchong
Twankay
Hyson Skin] 1,300,000 1,2.10,000 Iteoo,ooo 1,200,000
Hyson 300,000 300,000 aoc,ool 300,000

8,500,000 8,300,0.* 8,400,000 8,500,000

Total 6,500,000 is. 6j. duty.
21,100,000 •2s. 2d. duty.
_ cßoonlige oau,
B,C.
- Twankay, &c 4.000000 2s. 2d duty,
- Hyson

33,700,0.0
The Scale of Duties in
the UniB3l.ted States, as per Tariff',
31Dec 1
Bohea
Souchong and Congou
Twankay
Hyson
Gunpowder
Two Cents. are about equal to an English Penny.
Mr. HUME rose to say a few words upon what he consi-
dered a very important question. He considered that every
article admitted into the kingdom should be subjected to an
ad valorem duty ; if not, they would deprive millions of
consumers of the means of obtaining what was now
considered a luxury. • He thought, if the suggestion
now made was adopted, the government would act most
unwisely. If a man desired to consume an inferior
article, that was no reason why he should be obliged to pay the
same duty as for a superior article. The bon. member for
Southwark had very fairly stated that congou was the great
article of consumption, an I that the great bulk of the duty
would fall upon it. That in his (Mr. H.'s) opinion was why the

scale should be revised; but he would not consent to take
away the scale. The price of tea could not be ascertained
merely by the quantity of each description sold. The hon.
member for London had stated that the difference between
bohea and congou was from 2d. to 21d. per lb. Let the house
look to the price these teas had borne in the United States for
a period of ten years from the year 1820 to 1829—they were
the same price within a penny.
Sir H. PEEL—But there was a difference of 9d. by ad lirg
the duty.—(Hear, hear.) '
Mr. HUME resumed—The differential duties had existed
for a period of 40 years, and no difficulty had been found in
the mode of collection. In the United Slates they had no less
than five different rates of duty, and if they had found it ne-
cessary to remodel these duties, some change would have
taken place, but that had not been the case. Bohea was only
91d. prime cost, and the duty charged was 61d. Congou from
81d. to 91d. per lb. prime cost, and the duty charged was Is.
The rates of duty were taken from the different value these
proportions bore in England, and the quality of tea in England
was speculative and had been forced upon that country by the
peculiar manner in which the teas were supplied. Souchong
cost Is. 6d. per lb., and the average duty was Is.; this
was, doubtless, an error in the ad valorem scale.—
(Hear, hear.) Hyson 2s. per lb., primecost, and Gunpowder 3s.
Hyson paid a duty of Is. 84d., and Gunpowder 2s. lid. up to
the time that the duties had been taken off. The system had
been found to work extremely well there, and he considered
that the teas should pay a duty in proportion to their value ;
but that the scale should be revised. When the right hon,
gentleman opposite brought in the bill last year, he (Mr.
Hume) then said he doubted the correctness of the scale of duties,
but the house had not time to consider the subject, for it passed
too rapidly through the house—(Hear, hear,)—to be properly
considered. He, however, contended 'that the principle was
right, and such as the government ought to try. As to the
question whether the present ad valorem duty was correct, he
must say it was not, and that it ought to be revised and fixed
according to a better valuation of the article. He should fix it
according to the prime cost in China, because when the trade
was thrown open the prices here would be regulated by those
in China.—(Hear, hear.) It was true that there might
be some difficulty, but it could be got over by the same
means as were adopted by the East India Company, as well
as in America and other countries. He knew it etas impossible
to prevent frauds altogether, but after the experience of forty
years in America, by men who were very anxious upon every
occasion to evade duties, he was confident the plan was prac-
ticable. He hoped, therefore, that the question would again
be considered, either by the government or by a committee.
With regard to what took place abroad, the house could
scarcely be guided by it. It was true that in France there
was one uniform rate of duty, and tea worth three shil-
lings a pound paid no more duty than that worth six-
pence. In the Netherlands there were only two discriminating
duties. They imported bohea, congou, and suchong, and the
only duties were lid. on black, and 21d. on green. The object
of evasion was there so trifling that it was not worth while
resorting to it. The hon. member concluded by hoping that
the principle adopted by the Government in this case would
be extended to all articles of consumption, in order that the
people should only pay duties in proportion to the quality and
value of those articles.

Sir G. STAUNTON said, that having been so long connected
with the tea trade, he could not allow this opportunity to pass
without making some observations. He regretted that it had
been thought necessary to abandon the plan of ad valorem du-
ties, as he thought it the most fair mode of assessing
the duty, with perfect equality, in proportion to the
qualities of the teas.—(Hear, hear, hear.) But it having
been found necessary to abandon this plan, he conceived that
there was no intermediate step whatever between this and the
plan of a uniform scale of duties.—(Hear.) The only argu-
ment that had been adduced in favour of a rated duty was the
example of America, but there the duty was very small, in
fact, insignificant, and could not be held in comparison
with the very large duties of this country ; it was therefore no
argument, as there was no temptation for smuggling in Ame-
rica. He must also observe, that the chief consumption in
America was in green tea, which admitted of some distinction;
but in the black teas, which were chiefly consumed in this
country, no such distinctions existed. He was afraid
they were misled by the terms by which black teas
were generally known in this country. They were called Con.
gou, Bohea, and Souchong, but these names were not given
them by the Chinese, who merely described their teas as infe-
rior, middling, and superior. All the black teas imported
into this country, with a very small exception, were produced
from the same plant, and in the same part of China--in what
was called the Bohea district. The term Bohea was formerly
given, in this country, to all descriptions of black tea, as
might be seen on reference to one of the numbers of
the Spectator, where it is spoken of as of the highest quality
of black tea. The literal meaning of the term congou in the
Chinese is " prepared or manufactured," and the meaning of
souchong is "selected."—(Hear, hear.) Therefore, in fact,
there was no possibility of a separation of these kinds of tea
into three distinct classes. There was no article of con-
sumption more liable to, adulteration than tea, and he need
not point out to the house that the people of China were per.
feet adepts at practising frauds of this description.—(Hear.)
An experiment of the capacity of the brokers of this country
in distinguishing teas was mentioned yesterday. He did not
rely upon this experiment, when he had himself seen so many
instances in China of persons of great knowledge of teas de-
ceived by the people of that country.—(Hear, hear.) Looking
at the difficulty of collecting the revenue, and also the still
greater difficulty of distinguishing teas, he could not conceive
any mode more safe and satisfactory than an equalized and
uniform scale of duties.

Mr. GROTE said this question was evidently one of fact
only, for throughout all the &bate the speakers had agreed in
principle.—(Hear.) From inquiries which he had made among
persons connected with the trade, he had found that there was
a great proportion of Congou sent front London to Ireland and
Scotland, where scarcely any Boh-a at all was consumed. The
proportion was something like 20 to I.—(Hear.) It also ap-
peared that not only did the lower classes consume a
great deal of Congou, but of Twankay also and the better
sort of teas —(Hear, Fear.) The quantity, indeed, of the lat.
ter was very nearly equal to, if not greater than, that of the
former —(Hear, hear.) It appeared to him that the opinion
of persons engaged in the trade ought to be pre-eminently re-
garded; and he saw no reason why any information which
they furnished, should be mistrusted.—(Hear, hear.) The
honest trader• could have no object in view but to pre-
vent that fraudulent system which was expected to
result from the proposed scale td* duties. In China there would
not be the leas: difficulty in procuring a fraudulent kind of
Bohea, and he was informed that in anticipation of the new
stale, commissionswere actually sent out to China of that kind.
Another great evil was this, that if once the fraudulent practice
was to get a footing it would be difficult to eradicate it.
The great difficulty was to distinguish bohea from congou.
With respect to the appointment of inspectors, an indulgent
one might draw the whole trade of tea to a certain part of the
country, while a rigorous one would drive it away. This
would greatly inconvenience not only his Majesty's government
but all those who were disposed to act fairly ants honestly. He
thought in the alteration of the present mode of levying the
duties on tea, that no scale ought to be acted upon which
could not be shown not only thoroughly practicable but
better than the present scale. He considered that the
scale proposed by his Majesty's ministers, would not have the
beneficial effects contemplated. He thought the appointment
of a committee the best mode of arriving at a round judg-
ment upon the subject, and he hoped that his Majesty's Go-
vernment would give it its support.
Mr. REID would give the petition his support, considering a
graduated scale of duties impracticable and injurious.
Mr. BUCKINGHAM opposed thepetition. He considered
it preposterous that tea, which only cost 9d. a pound in-China,
should have the same duty as tea which cost half-a-crown in
that country. The man who enjoyed 50,0001. a year property
would have an equal advantage over the man who had only
501. ; for as the consumption of the former could not be more
than double that of the other, he would be contributing but a
very disproportionate share of duty compared with his
that to raise the duties on tea would be to teonoc
of
it
becoonos.upropy
ed in the
great property.—(Hear.) He (Mr. Buckingham) thoughtoorage
smuggling. If tea were lowered, the
would be-doubled ; more ships would
trade; British manufactures would increase
asi
the revenue of the country would be increased.
warehouses in sea-port
towns ; whereby the quality of tea con establishment .n China;
the
malt!
mended the
of bonded
ld•be investigated, and
the duty rated ad valorem of the article.
Mr. POULETT THOMSON thought it was not quite fair
to discuss • the subject of tea duties on the presentation of a
petition. The hon. member who had just sat down had sug.
g-neost a ted an
novelty—(Hear,
y—w
ahr assurehear)—for
d—forit had been
that hon.cogentleman
andwas
that most maturely, by the government. The hon. member had
a perfect right to consider the intended plan, and other hon.
members had a perfect right to consider and propose their plans,
but he thought the house ought to consider the prin-
ciple on which the plan was grounded which had been
proposed by his Majesty's Government, and which had been
brought under the consideration of the house by the petition
of his hon. friend. He would call the recollection of the house
to the principle of graduated duties, of two or three different
1 rates and the ad valorem duties, and he would show how they
bore upon the present plan. The principle upon which the
Government acted was not to lose any revenue by the alte-
rations which they proposed, and therefore it became ne-
cessary to consider—not only how to give the consumer
tea, at the cheapest ate—(Hear, hear)—but, also,
to avoid any loss to the revenue.—(Hear, hear.) He stated
that, because it might account for some of the faults which
hon. members had found with the proposed scale. But the
government having to start upon that principle—not to aban-
don any of the revenue—they were obliged to fix upon such a
scale as would give the same amount of revenue they at pre.
sent received. What was the consequence ? Why, that the
hun member for Middlesex had stated that the right hon. Sec-
retary of the Treasury, when he brought down his bill,
had told the house that the thing was done in a
hurry. He (Mr. Poulett Thomson) was satisfied that
his right hon. friend had stated no such thing—(Cries of
" Hear, hear")—because it would have been directly contrary
to the truth. The fact was, the subject had received very great
consideration from his Majesty's government. The hon. mem-
ber for the city of London had said that the subject ought to
have been settled after communications were had with practi.
cal men. Why, he (Mr. T.) could assure the house that there
had been such communications.—(Hear, hear.) There had'
sively engaged in the trade in London—deputations
from tea-brokers again and again—and the three plans,
been deputations from the outports, gentlemen exten-

. . •
0,
had
the ad valorem duty, the rated duties, and the fixed duty
been all considered, and the result of the whole had bee°'s list
dvice to the government on that occasion, although be
it was considered most advisable to fix the scale adopte
ve
ti e government. It appeared that a great change had t 3 eri
pace in the opinions of some hon. gentlemen who bad 01iist
th
too
sufficient attention to their recommendations, it sss—
that those hon. gentlemen had nog reater informattensr given
now. When it was said that the government bad :o-siid he
much
found, on the contrary, that they had received 'Meows,
attention. The revenue would be much more easily e°l'essn.
and it would have been much more agreeable to the g . But
ment to have only a single duty to collect than a rated °ll_, done '
what were the grounds upon which the government hau,..est
that ? Their object was to give the consumer a then .7,,,„
quality. of tea, that tea at the cheapest rate which was co
lowerlo
classes to procure Bohea at lower rates.—(
with the revenue. No man would deny that taking a
sso
duty on the lowest qualities had been done to enable the Pr
,',.,
lower qualities of tea were consumed Bear, .e_:
But what were the arguments opposed to the government !Its,
It had been said that they had made a mistake, that there
classes did not consume the lower qualities of tea, but th
stes7_
(Hear, and cries of " No, no.") Well, then, be wonuslwri
who consumed it, for he had been told that no one comenit:
it.—(Hear.) The house had been told by the 1nn.,.. The
for London that the lower classes did not consume Ow.,
show that
hon. member for Lambeth had made a statement` o
e sent to
from the quantities of different teas which er
called f
hy the higher clasd
as":
the various manufacturing towns, what lie
of tea,
the lower classes did not in fact consume that
The house were told that the taste of the lower classes wasOn
congou, and therefore that by giving bohea at a cheaper_ .rs
~
they forced on the public a new taste. Now he found InSS
But what had been the state of the importatiotlilltoadf bohea_i:
book containing returns of the quantities and prices of teas ,
by the East India Company in each year during their late c
the
ter,
wasfisr3s9t
unusuallyyo ao aware
0 s
bwl .
a.
ter, beginning 1814-15, that the quantity of bohea sold !se. i
rie3a
.:97a.ai,nrif0dOcrO Congou
nlabtgs
therefore ,yuea
anl
r: ,
htool
e:f e
o,congouooowouldo f2i
quantityni lbf,
infer
fOn,leoonotOhntOighnol
ebgt
ics•oft
ilr:000: 1
asrtgah
the sales that year. In 1815-16, there was sold of 800
of 15, 16, or 17 years the quantity of Bohea that was SI,
had risen from 500,000 to six millions and-a-half, while ``...;
quantity of Congou had only risen one or two millions.—(He;,;
hear.) That was a fact, and a sufficient answer to those who.
asserted that Bohea was not according to the taste of the lose''
classes, for it was notorious that the consumption of tee '
had greatly increased among the lower classes, and there was °.°
question, but the largest proportion of it was Bohea. /gess:ft
not evident that the poorer classes would use the WO'
i,t
quality of tea ?—(Hear, hear.) That teas might be Inttet„int
London, and were so, he had no doubt, and that might We :ity
for the small quantity of nominal Bohea, and thelarganu°,;re
of nominal Congou which went out. But when mixed At.,,pe.
should be a difference in the duty of Bd. per lb. It scoul:O-0,1
rate to do away with the practice, and so tar the public
ss—ise
be benefitted. The hon. member for London bad statc"is t
difficulty of distinguishing the quality of one tea fill& per
of another, and that by making so gt eat a difference as '
ss, to
pound in the duty, it would be found more advantatee —wig
import Bohea at even a higher price than Conga- '-' on
s alitiel„,
aware that where an attempt was made to have -w° e mow,
any one article, the difference between which la
211, :
and not se
for the purpose of levying those duties was 5° , and that
easily definable as to prevent mistakes alt°genoas- iyi there
when the qualities of the article approached s° lied to OS I
muit always be a great difficultythat only
applied
qual
tides which approached so very near to each other 1 ire
He would state a case which was very curious, but
elln7a, is
similar to the present. The house knew that ther thought
be a duty upon manufactured silk, and it had bee:
_'' figured
exceedingly difficult to tell what was plain and svhat
s:Pre was
silk. It was almost impossible to tell, and Yet t!,! slow.
duty upon the one of lls., and on the other of isalsd got
then, was it decided ? Did the custom.house officer_
,'!!:sarties
difficulty? Not at all. They had the assistance `l te,
in the trade, and next they had the value of 1
dte.criptioll °I
serve them, as a guide to show under what e might
quality the silks came. So also in the tea trade.
hefit to
be difficulty with regard to what was the
inverother respects
and the very inferior congou, but - ... deciding.
difficulty u
there would be no considerable in
? The,'
before
What evidence had the Government .hstt tricks of au
were told that it was impossible to decide, ...--- .... would he
kinds were played in China, that Chinese ingenun of de'
exercised to rob them—and -that no was Capableo
wall the
ciding upon the different kinds of tea. "hY'subissitted t°
case? Forty-four different samples of tea were
on
the subjecitii
testers in this country dpring the examination :d '"
' hits, th
..,
and, with the single exception of two ti adstieotbe's,
were made, the qualities had been exactly defineuthlianspshaw,
forty-two instances. The hon. member for teas Ile (I 0
said, the Chinese made no distinctions of black t7:_,,,.. or the
P. Thomson) was aware of this, but what did it ign"'
purpose of describing them here.
Mr. CRAWFORD to explain. the hop.
OM Mr. P. THSONrose said he did not allude to
Ole'
member for London. hon. ge iis
Mr. CRAWFORD said he regretted the right,s pot t
man had not been present yesterday. As that iv'boa'
case, he begged leave to draw the attention of the ri_g_...,„.4
gentleman to the catalogue of sale of the East IndiasgLea.74o
at their last quarterly sale, in which they l'ad ciari ht hor''
and congou tea under one head. He pot it to the tseonclea
gentleman to explain how this circumstance could be rc 1
under the action of the new scale of duties ?
that tbe
Mr. THOMSON resumed —He was not aw the
_osoin%
hon. member would have presented his petition at Zensig.
sitting, as some petitions had been set down for tbe. ' of fea
aunties A
The hon. member said in the catalogue great 9u s state::
were put down as bohea which the East India
pactColiiPans; tos,
tea tlie
to be congou ; well, all he could get from that
ofssa
was possible to distinguish the different quail"- alas. firm:
~it could be easy to detect Bohea teas of Congou qui potiesl to
the authority of the brokers, and the experiences=
_0 fooll..er
experienced to whom government had applied, 'this roat`its
be perfectly easy to distinguish qualities. Since
,sfiisers elfitio
had come under discussion, the most experience: . i
red their lest
revenue had been consulted, and they decl4_ _ , sole
„,
conviction that there would be no sifficultysseas, hear')
conviction
ing the duties under the new system-
°roost, offiets,
It was easy to imagine difficulties, but as
tried
the antoal ,i,
said, " There never was a new system tris- Ws. pease(' °Assisi,
pation of great difficulties, which, however, do"Pfr _ed in" fit
H n ess ' ay.te
as the plan was put into execution." ss- a that anY -ss- for
that he would be a bold man if he contend ck-
would work well before it was tried--ell bef
triat--.(fithe
was this, that it was an experiment worthy °- s giving he
hear.) It would afford an opportunity '
°pis tea °s lot
consumer the chance of paying much less for,
.. ss-sat
.0,
.would if the object of the petition was anal' even son. Was
occurred in America ? The duties in Atueriehe'e lowest 64,sios
her had said, were trifling. Why they Were t revelltlathat
cent., and the highest 150 per cent. '
"edollar', slid 00
from the consumption of bohea was 300,000
......is owed
an
on the other qualities 1,600,000 dollars. .1" isaud
esrtest.
in America they had the power of & co
sre:7
grea- %stss
preventing them from being carried on to
.so to he iro
He must confess that he felt no small surpripresent ineast.e.i,
gentlemen making comparisons between the0
.s
sugar deo
,es' t
and that propssed some time ago relative t we i
s wits r °di
asure wa , tios
because the only reason for that me
on the house, .ot
to the drawback. He wished to inaprees,s
ef dojo, he dinost
it might be advisable ta change thensosn'b'eo, i
wacii they [vac."
detiy that, but he entreated I"' lite amount of the re
on that subject, to recollect that t
hit was at present• tit
must be raised to the extent at wide
se had been told ilia
Sir R. PEEL observed that the hoU
—(Hear.) 1 1):1
It
year. .)
would be 600,000/. more than it was .
robablY u.'" 1 sere
Mr. P. THOMSON said that that P
s. rowans' I. 0
the case in the present year, because the Y. 1e ",ty „old.. ,
obliged to sell their stock of teas ; but what the duty
He Wollial 53) ;;
in another year it was impossible to say. -- PrimripleA ,
those gentlemen who were inclined to adopt the wishw, •
time fed;
his Majesty's Government, but who at the assn e ect, to ,
change in the scale, wait till the experiment ha'es fossvao"
and if it does not succeed, then bring your Trtee'ur 00 ,
Sir GEORGE STAUNTON explained. defended JO
Mr. GOULBURN never heard a measure e ,ight
weaker grounds than the present. A false stsl).°l-s be iatfc
Much injury article arise re
to the revenue • a spurious is use be 00
duced ; and therefore ought' the house t° • ems. Gotlihs,
ss ,
rushed rashly to any precipitate change. He toed hl pr 4
could show that Bohea tea was the article Con'. it \,.;.5
poor. . Formers), the Bohea tea was so bad
.thanntios Ostia
used; but, in subsequent years, it imPrclaoentigoo. fsesPece iris
was substituted would often preferrea faountrY whence ~eljr°4
the fraud that extend to
thecountry
R was in't 1110
came, as well as the country into which
_se to nit
bohea tea cal.- Attic ,
it was a notorious fact, that
't would be ests,
and i
country in congou Packages, . thatlis °' isle
How was it possibletoo a
to detect the imposition.
udgslient °f ftsi'
with somany difficulties to embarrass the j
in
ssstbosposos
to fix a certain standard by which to ascerta lisispni:o4 i
,rit.;'.)
was intended, or that the previous custom ofd. Ile (lie sisi
tea in congou packages was merely continue" , silt li'stisii
was an advocate for lowering the duties antrottoor a'
10
against encouraging the introduction of
011 to
amongst the poor. A 'ties __A
the - first ettSlis
Mr. WALKER said for many years o, the ,
~
America were divided into five classes ; vi !.d do, dO, twry:.
12 cents, on the second class 2.5, on that hn
onsosuenti.s ills!
fourth class 40, and on the last class Coe dent', oh;
ing from 12 to 50 cents.—(Hear, hear')oo of fra!!,,'ossisjefis ..'
those duties were abolished in consequens the
dia s d gr,
did not see any danger of fraud in Foglonta 0,, gradufataveeof s'
in America. His statement showed tb,„ was in at
was beneficial in America, and therefore ' lse
resent P tie
the plan adopted by the government.
st the Pres st se
Lord SANDON said he was against it was theug".. sr.)
ere, • Me se(
ministers. In Liverpool, and elsewh
ss„, duties*" 09 - ~,t
to return to the former system of ad ral"'„
s,, subject
1., 0, rii
e traje 'I- ti sort;'
Mr. C. KNIGHT could not admit that L"` i a
to the merchants of Liverpool, because frei
oa.so in onti . g
years an universal topic. As to period' Le
~ slatle
was found to be impracticable. los'
_, 0
h, 04-
Sir R. PEEL read a letter, dated }larch,
_sios t too 0-.
the undersigned merchants considered the ngweell .
_Ai cosh
•ssue e' „pie the
not a fair judgment of the question at 1 . roe) siss
vernment and the trade• the taste of the tea.
~,,tilii` ,
,
d out,' not . o'.
other so much, that the undersignc c Ss°
difference. an the
The petitions were then laid on the table, a
left the chair at 3 o'clock.

dd
"
PRINTED AND PUBLISHED BY 111URDO yov •
Sus °rens, 119, STIONP.

r 44