The Sun.
London, England, 1860-04-21 00:00:00

CUSTOMS ACT.

The house went into committee on this bill.
The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER moved an
amendment to clause 3, in order to simplify and explain the
provision by which it was rendered not necessary to prove
the identity of wines in order to give a title to the drawback.
The amendment was agreed to.

On clause 12, relating to the charges upon and measure.
ment of timber, _

Mr. FENWICK, after objeCting to their proceeding fur-
ther at so late an hour, said that if the measurement of tim-
ber, particularly spars, was not more equitably adjusted,
great inconvenience would be caused to the thpber trade of
the country. He understood that somethingelike 3s. 6d.,
instead of ls. as proposed, would be charged on staves,
through it being proposed to measure empty space. He
thought that sbme alteration should be made in the clause,
so that only the absolute quantity of timber should be
charged for. .
The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER said he had
no difficulty in giving his hon. friend the assurance which
he asked, for it never was his intention to maintain under
the new law thoso measurements of woods of this descrip-
tion, which might be perfectly intelligible but which were
not equitable, and which existed under the old system of
the timber duties. It was not intended that the importer
of timber should pay for anything at his own expense, and
the new duty would be put as nearly at ls. for the space
mentioned as it would be possible to do. (Hear, hear.)
Mr. FEN WICK—And as to bark perhaps the right hon.
gentleman woultf' state his intentions. . .

- The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER—The duty
would follow in the same manner, and be made more equi-
table.

Mr. BUCIIANAN said that staves used by coopers for
herring barrels had been excepted from duty under the old
law. He thought the remedy now proposed would be an
ithperfect one for the evils complained of. He would just
observe in reference to the tea and sugar duties, which had
been fixed for a year only, that the system was most incon-
venient to the trade goner -Illy. If they had been taken for
live years or more, it would have been far more agreeable to
the trades. He lapped the house and country would long
have the benefit of the services of tho right hon. gentleman
in the office which he so much adorned, and then perhaps
he would consider this question and bring it to a settlement.

Mr. HENLEY said he was glad. the right hon. gentleman
seemed willing to do justice to the dealer in staves, but his
morality appeared to be this, that so long as the duty was
high, it was right to charge them three times too much, but
now it would be low he did not intend to charge more than
the proper amount. This was evidently the reasoning of
the right hon. gentleman. (Laughter.)

The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER said he
thought the observations of the right hon. gentleman ap-
plied to Chancellors of the Exchequer in the abstract, as he
clearly was not responsible for the schemes of duties which
were devised before he was born. (Laughter.) He might
observe that staves for herring barrels were made an excep
tion in 1842, because at that period the cooperage trade was
under severe competition, and the duty was accordingly
reduced. The principle of a nominal duty on foreign woods
was not then established, but now it would be one uniform
charge. As respected the tea and sugar duties, he must ad-
mit the great force of the observations of his hon. friend
behind him, and no doubt the person who might next year
fill the office which he had the honour to occupy would
think it desirable to ask the house to fix the duties, as soon
as possible, at a fair and proper amount. (llear.)
Mr. HALIBURTON, who had the following amend-
ment on the paper, viz., that after timber "sawn or split,
planed or dressed," there should be inserted, " except deals,
battens, and boards, which should remain at the present
duty," and he must ask the right hon. gentleman not to
proceed further at so late an hour of the night, as the ques-
tion would require great consideration.
The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER said that
although the hour might be considered late in some coun-
tries, according to the custom of this it was an early hour.
',Laughter.) A more favourable state of the house than the
present there could not be for considering the question and
for the calm discharge of public business. But if it would
be personally disagreeable to the hon. and learned gentle-
man toproceed, he would report progress. (Cries of Go on.)

Mr. HALIBURT ON then said there was no other alter-
native but to go on now. (Cries of Hear, hear.) But he
would assure the committee that .he never in his life rose
under circumstances of greater embarrassment than he did
at present. No hon. gentleman who had read the short line
of amendment contained in the paragraph, or the still
shorter line which followed, could deny that the measure
before him was of the greatest importance to those persons
whose interests ho advocated, he feared so imperfectly, in
that house, and who were, he might say, wholly unrepre-
sented not only in that house, but unrepresented by any
official organ in this country, to make known their wishes
and wants to the Government of the country. He
felt in advocating the interests of those persons
that he was himself not only a stranger in the. house
but in the country; and that he had no friends to support
the cause of those persons. He might state to the house
that in this case he was advocating the interests of three
millions of people, and that the timber of their country
was their great staple. When he stated that it was the
only trade they had, it would be needless to add that
British America was a forest country, and that it was by the
annual export of the timber of that forest that those people
earned their livelihood. Persons in this country were inte-
rested in more trade than one, and therefore if one were af-
fected by change it did not cause such serious consequences;
but where there was only one trade, the interests of the
persons engaged in it were of more importance. Every
other interest was ably and efficiently represented in that
house. The silk weavers, and corkcutters, and other classes
who were free traders for the rest of the world, but protec-
tionists for themselves, men who could draw even from rags
arguments for the principle of free trade where they were
not concerned themselves, found many members in that
house to advocate their interests. (Hear, hear.) But there
was no in that house to stand up in defence of the rights
and interests of the distant colonist. He felt how vain and
useless it was for him to contend against one so able, so elo-
quent, so ingenious, but, at the same time, one so imper-
vious to any argument as the right hon. gentleman the
Chancellor of the Exchequer. (Laughter.) But he should
appeal from the right hon. gentleman to the honest feelings
of Englishmen, who proverbially loved fair play—(hear,
hear)—and who, if they could not assist, would at least sym-
pathise with the weaker party. The policy of former days
was to nurture their colonies. The men who advocated
that policy were known by the name of Tories. (Laughter.)
That was the name before the intreduction of a new nomen-
clature—before they called themselves progressive and libe-
ral Conservatives, and other varieties of name, that had very
little meaning and much less sense in them. (Laughter.)
In old days the toast used to be ships, colonies, and com-
merce, but now it was commerce, calico, and cotton. He
considered that they ought to cultivate their colonies on
the principle that those who begat children ought to pro-
tect and support them till they were able to support them-
selves. Every advantage was given to that forest country
to furnish supplies of timber to England when the north of
Europe was, by the machinations of the uncle of the pre-
sent Emperor of the French, closed to this country. (Hear.)
In 1842 Sir R. Peel reduced the scale of those duties.
He did not so much complain of the principle on which
that was done as the mode of doing it, for it was
done without notice, and had taken the colonists by sur-
prise. oae of the ablest men in New Brunswick computed
the loss to them of that single clause at £3,000,000, and