The Sun.
London, England, 1851-06-25 00:00:00

would be cared for on it. The amount of re ye n 9,5
collected at Manchester was no less than 350, 04)01,
and that had been collected at an expense of oral
17s. per cent., whereas in other places the expense. had
reached as much as Si. 16s. 6d. per cent. He w could,
therefore, without trespassing further on the attenti. so of
the House, conclude by moving, according to the t gm*
of his notice.
The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER said he
had often admired the eloquence and ingenuity of his
Right Hon. Friend, but never so much as on that occa-
sion, for if people only took their ideas of the present
question from his speech they would have but a faint
notion of what the real merits were.—(Laughter.) If
he were to confine himself to the mere point of opposing
the appointment of the Committee he would not have
much to address to the House on that occasion; nor
would he have to go into the various subjects touched
upon by his Right Hon. Friend. But his Right Eon.
Friend had made it necessary for him to say a few words
on those topics to which he had adverted. If his Right
Hon. Friend's definition of a port was to be taken for
granted, it would be rather difficult to make out the real
meaning of the term; for if the fact of Manchester
having some communication with the sea was sufficient
to make it a port, if that description was to be adopted,
then almost every town in England might claim to be
considered as a port. The warehousing system bad
been hitherto confined to the ports alone, with
the single
exception of Manchester; although there
were other places which formerly enjoyed the
privilege, and from which it had not been taken away.
Otherwise it was confined to those places which came
under the well-defined term of " ports." In 1840 a Com-
mittee had sat on that subject, and they had reported
" that if, with advantage to trade, and safety to the re-
venue, inland bonding warehouses might be established,
they could be conceded under certain restrictions." ,And
when an application was made by Manchester on the
subject, the privilege had been allowed to that place, on
condition that the expenses were to be borne by the
town. He denied that any hope had ever been held oat
by the Treasury that the expenses was to be borne by
the public. Nor did he think his Right Hon. Friend the
Member for Cambridge (Mr. Goulbourn), who, he re-
gretted, was not then in his place, could ever have given
reason to expect that after a certain number of years
such could be the case. But the arrangement which
had been entered into by the consent of all parties bad
bout embodied in an Act of Parliament. Probably, how-
ever, after the removal of the duty on cotton, which had
been a large item in the Customs, the people of Manchester
did not find it was so profitable a bargain as they contem-
plated, and, therefore, they sought a change. They had
come to him asking him to take the charge of the
duties upon himself; but he had said he thought
they had no right to ask the public to pay
for that which was for their own particular benefit.
They had been recommended to put a reasonable rate o f
duty upon goods warehoused in order to meet the ex-
penses, but that they had refused doing. They preferred
coming to the Chancellor of the Exchequer to ask for
that which he was obliged to decline granting. He did
not think there was any use for an inquiry in that case.
He had been applied to last year to put an end to bonding
altogether, and he had agreed to their proposal, but bad
told them, that as an Act of Parliament bad been passed
in the matter, they would have to get another to repeal
it. They had accordingly introduced a Bill, but he had
objected to the one they brought in. An officer of Cus-
toms had been then sent down to make all due inquiry,
and to examine whatever witnesses they thought proper
to produce; and at the end of that inquiry the officer bad
been highly complimented by them for the manner in
which he had conducted the inquiry. The evidence
taken upon that occasion was then before him, and he
had no objection that it should be printed; but any fur-
ther investigation into the subject would be a waste of
time and money. But he would say that the evidence
taken before that Commission did fail in making out a case
of any great advantage to be derived from that bonding
system. The Right Hon. Baronet here read several ex-
tracts from the evidence alluded to with respect to various
articles, to show that what he had stated was correct.
But, after all, it was only a question of benefit to the
people of Manchester. And some of the witnesses most
in favour of the proposition of his Hon. Friend were
obliged to admit that it was an advantage to the town
worth paying for. One of the Manchester witnesses also
said that the advantage was worth paying for,
but that
it was a matter of feeling with the inhabitants of Man-
chester to obtain it through the Government, and they
complained that they should be singled out to bear that
charge. But it should be observed that they had been
singled out at their own request. The question was,
whether the revenue should at present be charged with
a sum of 2,7001. a year for the purpose of carrying out
an arrangement into which the people of Manchester
had voluntarily entered, with a view to promote their
own interests. His Right Hon. Friend seemed to think
that there was something peculiar in the case of Man-
chester; but he (the Chancellor of the Exchequer) con-
fessed that he could not see it. On the contrary, be
thought that Leeds and many other large towns, re-
moved far inland, bad a stronger claim to the indulgence
in question than Manchester, which had an easy and
most rapid means of communication with the great port
of Liverpool. But the consequences of extending the
proposed concession to all large inland towns, would
be to create a serious loss to the revenue. lie
thought it was a wise principle, that when a town
asked for the benefit of the bonding system, it should
undertake to pay tee expenses rendered necessary by
the concession. His Right Hon. Friend had referred to
the small cost of collecting the revenue at Manchester
as compared with other towns. But it should be re-
membered that in Manchester it was unnecessary to
incur the expense of a landing establishment, which was
indispensable at a seaport, and he would further remind
his Right Hon. Friend and the House that whether the
bonding system was or was not adopted at Manchester,
it would still be necessary to incur at the seaport the
present expenses of the landing establishments. In
reply to the application for an inquiry into the subject,
he had only to observe that they bad already enough
of evidence before them, and that he did not see how
they could derive the slightest advantage from the col-
lection of any additional quantity.
Mr. BRIGHT said that the Right Hon. Gentleman
the Chancellor of the Exchequer seemed to think that
the people of Manchester were liable to the charge of
knocking at the Treasury doors and asking the
Treasury to do something for them which they
were not ready to do for themselves. Now be (Mr.
Bright) would not undertake to defend the people of
Manchester against that charge, because he believed it
was perfectly notorious that there was no other portion
of the inhabitants of the United Kingdom against whom
it could be less reasonably urged. It appeared that the
Right Hon. Gentleman himself had formerly been an
advocate for that very concession to the people of Man-
chester.—(" No," from the Chancellor of the Exche-
quer.) Well, it appeared, at all events, that the Right
Hon. Gentleman had voted in favour of a Bill which had
been introduced by his colleagues for carrying out that
object. In his (Mr. Bright's) opinion it was a mere su-
perstition to suppose that seaports only ought to have
the privilege of bonding establishments. There was no-
thing in the position of Liverpool, as compared with the
position of Manchester, which could prevent one of
these places from benefitting by the system as well as
the other. The Right Hon. Gentleman thought that it
would be necessary to impose some check on the exten-
sion of the system. But he (Mr. Bright) believed it
would be easy to impose any check that could reason-
ably be required by enacting that no town should be en-
titled to the privilege unless a town in which a sum of
100,0001. or 200,0001. a year were not collected, and by
further enacting that all towns asking for the privilege
should bear the expenses of it for the first five years
There had been received in Manchester 70,0001. in
1845, 187,0001. in 1846, 177,0001. in 1847, 249,0001. in
1848, and 319,000/. in 1849. Manchester was at present
the sixth largest bonding place in the kingdom, and that
fact alone constituted a strong ground why the inhabi-
tants of Manchester should receive the privilege in
question. He did not wish to say anything offensive
to the Right Honourable Gentleman, but he should ob-
serve that any person with a capacity above that of an
exciseman for the consideration of such questions must
be aware that the exchequer could not, under the pro-
posed concession, lose the whole sum of 2,700 L, which
was at present raised from the ratepayers of Manches-
ter, for it was manifest that any measure which gave in-
creased facilities for the distribution and consumption of
articles on which duties were paid, among a vast and
prosperous population like that of Manchester and its
neighbourhood, must lead to some addition to the re-
venue of the state. But the people of Dlanchester only
asked for an inquiry into that matter; and that was, be
believed, a fair and reasonable demand.
Mr. CARDWELL said that his Right Hon. Friend
the Member for the University of Cambridge (Mr.
Goulburn), who was confined to his bed by indisposition,
had requested him to state what had been the circum-
stances under which the bonding system had been ex-
tended to Manchester in the year 1846. His Right
Hon. Friend had objected to a departure from the prac-
tice which limited the privilege to seaport towns; and
he had stated that he could not see why,
cession were made to Manchester, it should not
like-
wise be made to any other large town which might put;
forward a similar application. The proper check,2
the opinion of his Right Honourable Friend, against any
abuse in snch cases, was that those towns which
ra.
if such a con-
for the privilege should bear the expense ofe youd
ing it into effect; and he thought that thebrich had
be an infringement of the understanding
ewcession at
been come to upon the subject, if the
present demanded were granted to M bolter (Mr.
Hon. Gentleman the Member for Mane
e that the
Bright) said it was a superstition to supports.aos But be
bonding system should ho confined to etethe
great object
would remind the Hon. Gentleman thc:
ursge the re-ex-
in introducing that system was to concession
The
ensthat any mail
port trade. 'The Hen. Gentleman
%ensan would attach
with a genius above that of an
excishould, however, ob-
no value to the sum of 2,7001.
tiowns as well as to Man'
would not apply to many oth:f t
serve that there was not a worrd
he Exchequer might r°:
ehester; and the Chancell?ring
up a sum of nearly
.It(l3that resolution which
3,004
unnaturally shrink from g
a year, multiplied by
towns in the kingdom. otion, be-
Mr. HOME said he could not support the 133 ger
cause the extension of the bonding system to Manche
the nu
of all the large inland
that
city should themselves bear
the inhabitants of that noes.
measure. He could not see any if
had been granted on the distinct understanding
expense of the
iDquirl
Friend had moved fora n ens
his Right Hon.
the expo s,
airy for any further Inquiry into the subject. But
into the state of the different ports, and
seer, Bumf)
of collecting the revenue in them, he e a 010-
would readily have given his support to suee_easo
tion. He found that in many of those ports the el'Y
lected. In the port of Borrowstonness, in Se ,s 7 the
end
of collecting the revenue was greater than thoe,s7,ll3d, etche
p eof collecting the revenue was 941/. yearex-ens f
port 0
lea
the amount collected was 5411. In the p.
the expense of collection was 5281., mid the wow
sect 1114 594 IA Qatruley the exPoisf