The Sun.
London, England, 1860-04-03 00:00:00

CUSTOMS ACTS.

The house went into committee on the Customs Acts.
The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER moved the
following amended resolution :—" That in aid of the charges
of customs establishments incident to the conduct of trade
and to the statistical accounts thereof, there shall be charged
as follows, upn all articles, except corn, grain, or flour, and
timber and wood goods, upon the importation thereof—per
package or parcel, ld. ; animals, per head, ld. ; goods, in
bulk, for each unit of entry, Id. ; with power to the Lords
of the Treasury to frame regulations for adjusting the
amount of such payments in certain cases by altering the
unit of entry, or quantity, or number of goods which is to
form the unit of entry for the purpose of this charge, so
that the charge shall, as little as may be, exceed one quar-
ter per cent. on the goods of the lowest value usually
• ported under the denomination ; and every person entering
goods for exportation at the custom-house be required to
present to the proper officer of customs a copy of this bill of
lading in respect of such goods, with a correct endorsement
thereon of the particulars and value of the goods comprised
in such bill of lading, and that such copy of the bill of
lading so presented shall be deemed the entry outwards for
such goods, and be charged with a duty of Is. 6d." The
right hon. gentleman said that the original proposal was to
lay a charge of Id. upon all articles of import rnd export,
with certain adjustments, in order to keep the duty within
a certain ratio of the value. Along with that might be
considered two other resolutions which related to charges
upon goods under bond, and upon certain operations on
bonded goods in warehouse. The total produce of these re-
solutions as originally framed was estimated at £420,000 in
all. Of this £3WOOO consisted of registration dues, nearly
£60,000 of charges upon goods removed, and about £60,000
upon operations conducted in warehouse. There ware
various points in these resolutions, and particularly in the
two latter, which were received with a good deal of doubt
and distrust, and even disapproval, by those classes

particularly of the mercantile world who were im•

-
mediately affected by them. And he was bound
to say that these latter charges, as originally com-

puted, were too high, and would probably have tended
to restrict the operation of the warehousing system,
which was so beneficial to this country. There was also
some difficulty in reference to the application of the ld. re-
gistration, as regarded the export trade. At one time he
proposed to get rid of this latter difficulty by imposing an
ad valorem duty of 2s. 6d. per cent., and no doubt that
charge world have b.ad some very great recommendations.
It might have been levied in a very simple manner, and it
would have had the effect of establishing that immediate
relation between the statistical accounts of the country
and the value of the goods, which would have made if, to
a certain extent, the duty of the custom-house officers to
check the value of the goods, and thus have enabled us
probably to attain what he had always looked upon as a
most important public object, apart from the fiscal opera-
tion of the re solution, namely, a much greater correctness
in the statistical accounts of goods of export. It would not
be necessary to trouble the committee with details, but if
the question were disputed it would be quite easy to show
that these accounts of exports upon which they so much re-
lied, upon which they founded so many arguments, and
which formed such an important element in their commer-
cial policy, were in their details exceedingly inaccurate.
(Hear.) The objection to the ad valorem duty was, that it
offered to the smaller agents perpetual temptations to petty
frauds. Therefore he entertained with great willingness a
proposal on behalf of the mercantile community to establish
a fixed sum to be levied on bills of lading outwards, and tha
Government were the more disposed to regard this favour-
ably, because it would increase the accuracy of statistics.
In the event of taxing these bills of lading as the Govern-
' ment now proposed, with a Is. 6d. stamp, no greater amount
would be raised than £60,000. The ld. charge upon ex •

ports, as originally suggested, would have raised a con•

siderably larger sum, namely, £300,000. As it now stood,
it yielded upon imports about £170,000, making with
the former sum of £60,000, a sum of £230,000, thus in-
volving a sacrifice of £70,000. The right hon gentleman
then adverted to the effect of other amended resolutions,
not yet before the committee, relating to operations in
warehouse, and stated that on the whole the surrender of
revenue by these proposals would amount to £lOO,OOO, as-
suming that the third resolution was passed, or replaced by
one equally productive. That surrender he thought they
might fairly venture upon. The state of the revenue was
good, and he thought the change might safely be made.
The committee would observe that they had made effectual
provision against the undue or oppressive application of the
Id. charge. There were certain cases in which the simple
application of the Id. charge would be unjust; and in no in-
stance more so than in the case of boxes of fruit imported
from the East, and used for the purpose of filling up vacant
and irregular spaces, called " broken stowage," and which
did not exceed the value of 2s. He thought that to this ex-
tent a surrender of the revenue might be justified.
Mr. NEWDEGATE washed to put a question to the
right hon. gentleman. Some time since he (Mr. Newdegate)
had brought under the consideration of the house the fact,
that the exports at the port of Liverpool were greatly over-
valued. There was now no danger of the duty on exports
being less than was anticipated, because no exporter would
undervalue his own goods. But he wished to ask whether
the right hon. gentleman meant to take any additional steps
to provide that the described value should be more accurate
than it had been. He had laboriously studied the question
for several years, and had discovered that the declared value
of the goods was very considerably above the real value.
Then with regard to the imports, he feared that the right
hon. gentleman's statistical arrangements would not tend to
greater accuracy. When there was an ad valorem duty, it
was the business of the Custom-house to ascertain what was
the value of the imports, and they thus became cognisant of
their value, and the statistical department of the Board of
Trade was furnished with information which was now lost.
The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER said he did
not think the hon. gentleman was accurate in his impres •
sion that the import returns were systematically over-
stated. Sometimes they were not entered at all. At other
times they were entered twice. Sometimes they were placed
too high ; sometimes too low. But he thought they were
rather understated, on the whole, than systematically over-
stated. He knew of no motive for such a course; and;
speaking in the presence of many lion. gentlemen who were
well informed on the subject, he judged by this reason, that
up to the year 1815 they had an ad valorem tax of 10s. per
cent. When that tax was levied upon the exports there was

a, motive for understating the Valne; 'but yet, if reference
were made to the figures, it could not bo found that that,
10s; had any effect upon the understating of, the returns;
When that tax ceased, there was no sudden start, no great
increase, in the returns immediately, although it occurred
some years after the removal of the tax. He thought there.
fore it was necessary to .check the inipm ir returns upon thii
ground. But the values were delivered at present by junior
clerks of mercantile establishments ; and were not attested
by responsible parties. He thought it was desirable that
thig *attestation should be secured—(hear, hear)—but as re-
garded the imports he thought no additional security would
be necessary.
1 Mr. LINDSAY said• that at present there was a large
class of goods imported in small packages, known amongst
shippers as "broken stowage," and which •weie taken for
half freight by shipowners, because they could be conveni-:
ently used for filling up small spaces. The, result of this tax
on packages would be that a number of small ones would bo
put into one large one, and thus the consignor would have to
pay &lupe the freight which he now paid. The great bulk
of our imports were now free of duty, but a charge would be
created on all by this penny tax. At the Custom-house
journal and ledger entries would be required fir every penny,
or sixpence that was charged. The additional ls. 6d. on the'
4th bill of lading he understood was merely for the purpose
of securing correct statistical returns to the Custom. house,'
not for raising an additional revenue. But its operation
would be extremely unjust. If a bill of lading represented
goods not worth more than 55., it would be taxed Is. 6d. ;
while one representing £lO,OOO would only pay the same.;
To carry out the system would entail an immense amount
of labour, much more than the Chancellor of the Exchequer
supposed. Ho hoped that this resolution also would be de-
ferred until after Easter.

Mr. T. BARING said that though the amended resolu-
tions were preferable to the original ones, the grave objec-
tion remained that they introduced fresh complications into
the operations of trade—subjected those engaged in trade
to potty and vexatious payments—and introduced a system
which it had been the object of past legislation to put an end
to by simplifying as much as possible the process of buying
and selling. They had removed duties the removal of which
would benefit neither the producer nor consumer ; but the
right hon:., gentleman
might have found a better substitute
than this penny
tax, especially when he was obliged to
leaves regulating power to the Lords of the Treasury. He
thought the penny system was an erroneous one. It had
succeeded remarkably well in the Post-office ; but there the
rate had been reduced to a penny from a much higher;
amount ; here a penny was imposed where nothing had been
damage this coun-
t
aid before. It would make the operations of trade and
shipping a constant series of taxes from beginning to end.
tßr yy such
etilh the esnyisptoermi utmh they
yf
foreignmight seriouslytrde.A present statistical
returns were obtained from the Custom-house clerks with-
out any additional expense, and there was no need to levy
a new penny, tax for that purpose. They were taking off in •
direct taxation which really affected hardly anybody, and
putting direct taxes on traders and merchants. The tax on
dock warrants affected London peculiarly. The tax on bills
of lading had been suggested by the mercantile body to the
Chancellor of the Exchequer as a substitute for all those
obnoxious pence ; but having got the suggestion he adopted
it, and retained all the other taxes.
The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER—No, no.
As the resolution stood originally it was a penny upon im-
ports and exports as well. Now itis a penny upon imports;
and instead of putting it on exports, we tax the bill of lading
Mr. BARING said that the exporter ought to pay as well

as the importer. Though the charge on bills of lading was
objectionable, it might have been admitted as a substitute
for the other little vexatious charges. There was no use in
testing the opinion of the committee, and the sufferers from
the right hon. gentleman's plan must bear it.
Mr. CRAWFORD said he did not share in the general
objection to those charges ; but if at any time they produced
more than was anticipated from them, the mercantile inte-
rest would have a fair claim for their reduction. He
thought that the penny tax on packages would be collected
without much trouble, and would produce much more than
was expected. As to the unit of entry he saw no great
difficulty in carrying out the arrangements proposed by the
resolution. Nor did he, think that the duty on packages
would have the effect of diminishing the quantity of goods
brought in under the denomination of " broken stowage."
There would be no difficulty in so arranging the unit of
duty in all cases that shippers of goods in all parts of the
world would know perfectly well what peculiar circumstances
they had to meet. The proposed tax on bills of lading
would lead to great advantage in ascertaining the quantity
of our exports. The bill of lading was in effect a contract
between the shipper of the goods and the owner of the ship,
and was not likely to be far wrong on either side. The
fourth copy of the bill of lading would answer all the pur•.
poses of a declaration of value, and afford a very satisfac-
tory means of arriving at the quantity and value of the ex-
ports of this country.
Sir H. CAIRNS said that the cross-channel trade
between England and Ireland had not hitherto been con-
sidered an export trade, though the goods might afterwards
be exported from England. He understood, from the terms
of the resolution, that goods sent from Ireland to Liverpool,
to be reshipped there, would not be subjected to a double
charge. The statistical returns of exports were at present
very inaccurate, for though Ireland exported to the extent
of many millions a year, as the goods were sent to this
country to be reshipped, no notice whatever was taken of
them in the returns as forming part of the export trade of
Ireland. From one part alone, Belfast, many millions'
worth of linen were exported every year ; but in the returns
its exports were stated at a few hundred thousand pounds.
He would suggest an addition to the resolution, requiring
that a declaration should also be made as to the origin or
place of manufacture of the goods exported; they would
then have a knowledge of the place which really and bona
fide did export them. He thought that the resolution was
not sufficiently clear as to the power of the Lords of the
Treasury for adAsting charges. The words, "so that the
charge shall as little as may be exceed per cent. on the
value thereof," were vague. He would suggest that it
should be, "shall in no case exceed a per cent." Great
errors would also arise from the required declaration of
value to be placed in the bill of lading. The effect of this
resolution would be, that it would lead to inequality in the
incidence of the charge ; for a bill of lading in some cases
included almost the whole cargo, and in others only a small
portion of one. The same tax, therefore, would be levied on
a bill of lading which represented £lO,OOO and on one which
represented only £lO. The charge was not justified by the
reasons assigned for its imposition ; it would hamper trade,
and after being imposed, the pressure against it would lead
to its removal.

Mr. HANKEY said his objection was that the Chancellor
of the Exchequer had not stated what this charge was to
be a substitute for. The mercantile body suggested this
charge on bills of lading to the right hon. gentleman in order
to avoid the tax upon packages, but he now put the tax
upon both. He had no objection to the charge itself, but
he thought after what took place that the right hon. gentle-
man ought to state what taxes he was going to take ofE
Mr. CAVE objceted to the resolution, especially that
part of it which referred to the cost of collecting statistics.
It was very questionable whether this charge should be
saddled on the commercial classes at all. The cost already
fell on those classes, but by this proposal they would have
to pay it twice. The charge on small packages would lead
to great delay, inconvenience, and even to the stoppage of
goods. It would also increase the chances of embezzlement
because there was no more fertile source of that crime than
the entrusting of sums of money to porters and junior clerks
to pay these small charges. He was glad the right hon.
gentleman was going to reconsider the charge for operations
in bond. The effect of the charge would be to drive into
foreign countries many of the operations which were now
performed in this country.
Mr. MITCHELL said he felt bound to support the fresh
taxation now proposed by the right hon. gentleman, having
given his support to the general principle of his scheme.
Mr. HORSFALL said the question was not now whether
they would have any of these small taxes, bat what was the
best form in which they could be levied. He did not like
the charge at all, but he accepted it as a compromise ; and
on that ground he was prepared to support it. He should
like to hear from the right hon. gentleman that he aban-
doned the tax on small parcels. If passed this session, he
had no doubt that a tax of that kind could not be of long
continuance. With regard to the over-valuing of goods
sent from Liverpool, he was at a loss to assign any reason
for so doing ; but there was great carelessness on the part
of the custom-house officers, and they were sometimes
obliged to guess at the value.
The resolution was then-agreed to.

The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER then pro-
posed the 21st resolution, as follows :—" That in aid of the
charge of the customs establishment incident to the ware-
housing and removal of goods under bond, there shall be
sharged (irrespective of any duties of customs, or other
charges payable by law, and in addition thereto) a customs
duty at the rate of 10s. per £lOO on the amount of customs
duty payable on such goods as shall be warehoused, and re-
moved under bond from any warehouse in any port or place
to any warehouse in any other port or place, and at the rate
of ss. per £lOO on the amount of customs duty payable on
such goods warehoused but not removed, to be paid in each
case on taking such goods out of bond for home consump-
tion; provided that tobacco shall only be chargeable
with half the above rates, and that no more than the
sum of 55., in addition to the sum of ss. per centum,
shall be chargeable upon any single delivery of sugars
for refineries when removed under bond." At pre-
sent a number of very small places enjoyed the privi-
leges of warehousing at the cost of the country, not in
respect only of goods they imported, but also of goods that
were transferred to them. The consequence was that the
large towns had begun to ask for those privileges; and
Manchester had very naturally and fairly also asked to
have those privileges extended to it. That was agreed to,
but upon the condition that the town itself should in one
form or another be subject to the charges. But Manchester
said, " Why should we bear the cost of warehousing when

the deliveries into our warehouses amount to hundreds of

thousands a year, while those insignificant places have
warehousing establishments without being called upon to
pay any of the charges ?" He thought on the grounds of

justice and policy, the proposal of the Government was a

sound and wise one. It would compel the inhabitants of
those warehousing places to contribute to the costs of the
establishment, and would operate in preventing an undue
demand for the extension of warehousing establishments
throughout the country. The mode proposed by the reso-
lution was this--it was based upon the principle of levying
a quarter per cent. upon all goods in warehouses or deli-
vered from warehouses. The parties upon whom those
charges would fall were not the importers of goods, but
those whom he should call the retail dealers throughout
the country. But there was one exception with respect to
those charges, and that referred to tobacco, upon which the

charge would be only one-eight per cent., on the ground
that as the charge levied was not upon the value of the
goods, but upon the amount of duty paid, it was thought
right that the charge be mitigated one-half of that imposed
upon other goods ; and thus an equality of charges would
be obtained between tobacco and other goods. Now, as to
the charge upon goods removed, that had been fixed at one
quarter per cent. ; and he should say if it was a sound
principle that those places should be subject to the cost of
warehousing, the charge was a fair one. He should be
sorry to do anything for the repression of the warehousing
system, but, like any other, it had its proqer limits. He
would not multiply establishments for warehousing at
places which did not export, and which could not ex-
port. The only fair way of regulating the system was
for each to make a moderate:contribution towards the cost
of the establishment. This could best be done by putting
a small charge upon the removal of goods. They would not
charge upon each removal for thole goods which underwent
successive removals. He found important functions with
respect to the regulation of trade and the equalisation of
prices in the different markets. A special provision was
made for sugar. They proposed that a fee of ss. should
satisfy for the removal of any quantity of sugar deliverable
out of bond for the purpose of refining. This tax would
not press severely, as it would be commonly levied on
amounts of 20 or 30 tons, and sometimes on amounts con-
siderably beymid that. The proceeds of this resolution
would be about £50,000.
Mr. DALGLISH objected to the resolution, because it
made the 'great centres of trade pay for small and unim-
portant places. The hon. gentleman moved an amendment
to the effect of getting rid of the charge on removal of goods
from bonded warehouses. The verbal amendment put was
the omission of the words " and removal."

The committee then divided, when their appeared :
For the amendment
Against it

Majority
The resolution was then agreed to, and the house re-
sumed.

REFRESHMENT HOUSES AND WINE LICENSES

BILL.

Upon the motion for the resumption of the adjourned de-
bate on the second reading of this bill,
Mr. CROOK moved that the bill be read a second time
that day six months. The hon. member said the Chancel.
for of the Exchequer had informed the house upon a former
occasion that two parties objected to this bill. He confessed
that he had no sympathies with the licensed victuallers. He
appeared simply as an advocate of the opinions which the
various temperance societies of this country had explained
in their petitions to the Louse. They did not ask the Go-
vernment to prohibit the introduction of foreign wines into.
England. They waived their peculiar views on the present
occasion, and took issue with the Chancellor of the Exche-
quer on his own conditions. That right hon. gentleman
had characterised the bill as a wise and good measure, and
said he believed it would not very powerfully affect the use
of spirits, or even the use of beer. The plea of the large