The Sun.
London, England, 1835-03-25 00:00:00

TIMBER DUTIES.

Mr. BARING rose, pursuant to notice, to move that the
House do go into a Committee of the whole House on the
timber duties.

On the question being put that the Speaker do leave the
Chair,

Mr. P. T HOMSON wished to know what course the
Right Hon. Gentleman meant to pursue upon this important
question ? If he was correctly informed, it was the intention
now to go into a Committee of the whole House for the pur-
pose of moving a resolution, on which a Bill would be founded,
and that Bill afterwards referred to a Select Committee, for
the purpose of inquiring in the whole subject. If this was the
course meant to be taken, he would offer no objection to it.
Mr. BARING said, the Timber Duties, as they now ex-
isted, were the result of a Committee which sat in 1821 or
1822, so that they had been thirteen years in operation. He
would not now inquire how far these duties were at first proper
or expedient. However that might be, they had given rise to
so much conflicting interest that it became absolutely neces-
sary to come to Parliament upon the question. There were
two notices upon the paper relative to this subject—one to
equalize the duties, and the other for the appointment of a Com-
mittee. The present duty was, on Baltic timber 555., and on Co-
lonial timber 10s. It appeared that in the present state of the
law, the practice had grown up of fitting out ships in British
ports, of chartering them to the Baltic for timber, and thence
to Canada, from whence the Baltic timber was re-shipped and
landed in this country. The reduced duty offered sufficient
inducement to this operation, for the Baltic timber was thus
imported at 10s. in place of 555. This practice had been go.
ing on for two or three years, and the year before last not less
than 1,300 cargoes had been thus imported, to the great loss
of the revenue. These, and other facts, appeared from infor-
mation collected at the ports from which the trade was carried
on. It had become, therefore, indispensable to alter the law.
His only object • now was to propose a resolution on which a
Bill might be founded. That Bill he would then propose be
referred to a Select Committee for the purpose of inquiring
into the whole subject. The reason why the question had be-
come so pressing now was that if Government took no step re-
lative to these duties, a great number of ships now on their way
to the Baltic must be paid the whole freight. To prevent
this the interposition of Parliament was now required. As se:
veral important interests were connected with this question,
and as several ships at this season of the year were on the
point of sailing, he thought it right to state that it was not the
intention of his Majesty's Government, whatever might be the
inquiry, to propose any alteration which should take effect
during the present season.—( Hear, hear.) As arrangements
and contracts had already been made, it was proper that those
connected with the trade should at least have security against
any interference with their commerce during the present sea-
son. This was only in accordance with common justice; but
he had to state an additional reason for deferring any altera-
.

tion to the next year. If the trade was not protected during
the present year, duties to the amount of two or three hundred
thousand pounds would be lost to the revenue.—( Hear, hear. )
At present he should abstain from all discussion of the general
question or from giving any opinion of his own as to what
might hereafter be the wisest course for Parliament to adopt
in legislating upon the subject. He should strictly confine
himself to the introduction of the Bill, the objects of which he
had just stated to the House.
The SPEAKER then left the Chair, and the House having
gone into Committee,

Mr. BARING moved a resolution to the effect that it is the
()pinion of the Committee that an alteration be made in the
duties on timber.

Mr. WARBURTON should make no opposition to the
proposal of the Right Hon. Gentleman, but he should have
,been better pleased if he had simply endeavoured to correct the
anomalous operation of the present law by which timber was
conveyed from the ports of Europe to the North American
colonies, and then brought to England at a duty lower than
that on timber freighted to England direct from the Baltic.
On what principle could the present- scale be defended?
Though the difirence of freight as between the Baltic and
North American ports was 15s.—the Baltic freight amounting
to 20s. and the Nth American to 35s.—vet the difference in
the duties was 455., thereby leaving between the 153. and 455.
a difference of 30s. Here ivas an inequality which could not
be justified, even under the principles of restricted trade. He
would not oppose the. Right Hon. Gentleman's proposition, for
be was willing to accept from the Government anything in the
shape of a revision of those duties.
Mr. ROBINSON said, when the time for discussing the
general question arrived he should be prepared to consider it as
not es affecting the colonies alone, but all the other great com-
mercial interests of the country. if it could then be proved to
. _

him that the protecting duty. in favour of the colonies was
greater than under all the circumstances they were entitled to,
he would willingly give his vote for putting the duties on a
proper footing.
Mr. CARRUTHERS would not allow the statement
made by the Hon. Member for Bridport to go unanswered.
The difference between the duties—one being 10s., and the
other 55s.—was not an injurious difference, because, when
the duty on Baltic timber vi as only 40s. the price was nei-
ther more nor less, but just the same as now. The colonies,
however, were henefitted, and properly so, when it was re-
membered that they consumed British manafactures, employ-
ed British shipping, and largely contributed to the British
revenue.

Mr. HUTT hailed the proposed appointment of a Com-
mittee with the greatest satisfaction.

Mr. G. E. YOUNG regretted that it had not been pro-
posed to alter immediately that anomalous' scale of duties
which injured the revenue, and could not possibly benefit the
cnsumer.

Mr. Alderman THOMPSON said that there was no ques-
tion which ought: to excite greater alarm among the shipping
interest than• the present, and he greatly regretted that it