The Sun.
London, England, 1860-02-28 00:00:00

CUSTOMS ACT.

The house then went into committee on this Act.
The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER said he rose
for the purpose of submitting to the committee the resolu-
tion in respect to the wine duties, which stood second upon
the list. Tho first resolution had been voted in conformity
with the usual practice, without discussion, on the night on
which it was originally proposed; but of course it would be
competent for any hon. member if he thought fit to raise
a question on that first resolution hereafter. He considered
this a very important resolution in our commercial law—the
most important indeed which in the whole, course of his
parliamentary life ho had had to deal with. Ho did not
conceal from the committee the sense he had of the extreme
difficulty of taking any step for taking off the wine duties.
The truth was that the present system had continued a very
high duty, enforcing a severe pressure for many genera-
tions, with considerable variations in detail—to whichthere
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exceptional, that it was impoislble to devise any means of
escape that would net be attended by considerable difficul-
ties, and be open to serious objections as regarded the stage
of transition. He had no doubt, however, that they should
arrive at some satisfactory solution of the difficulty when
that transition stage was accomplished, though no doubt
not without encountering very considerable inconvenience
on the way—(hear)—and now he would answer the question
of which the hon. baronet the member for Stamford (Sir S.
Northcote) had given notice with respect to the method of
ascertaining the ordinary strength of wines, and the scale
it was intended to apply to them. He need not say they
had no official data properly so-called as to the strength of
wines. The alcoholic test, though many persons took it to
be a simple novelty, was a test which had been in daily
'
operation for a very considerable time. The object of that
test as now appfled was to ascertain what was wine and
what was not wine, because any fermented liquor which
contained a greater degree of alcohol than 40
per cent. proof was not admissible as wine into the
ports of this country, and it was the duty of the Customs to
ascertain that. But instead of simply ranting to books in
relation to the subject in view he had thought it best to col-
lect from a great variety of samples which were believed to
represent the general course of trade as to the effect of the
strength of m ines in different classes ; at the same time he
could not call these samples official, and they were perfectly
open to dispute. He proposed that a portion Of the lighter
wines should be admitted into this country at a duty of Is.,
and the remainder at Is. Gd. A portion of the lighter winos
of the Peninsula, Italy, Spain, and the Mediterranean would
be also admitted at a duty of ls. Gd., while a considerable
portion of the Sicilian and South of France wines would be
As to the reasons of the Government for negotiating
this treaty with France, and proposing these resolutions to
the house, they were actuated by the wish to have the most
convenient uniform duty on wine. He need not say that it
was also lately necessary to have something more than a
mere nominal duty, because the pi inciple of the wino duties
lay
Government
very root of nearly one-half our direct taxation
fire
felt it necessary to propose a plan which
should offer a prospect of admitting
to our markets cheaper