The Sun.
London, England, 1859-03-04 00:00:00

was an article on which a reduction of duty w nld be a
benefit to the people, it was wood. The impost remained
unaltered till 1845. Sir R. Peel then proposed that the
duties should be reduced to 20s. in 1846, an i to 15s. in
1847. In 1850 the navigation laws were repeal , and ships
were admitted free of duty. Of the principle o. hat measure
he (Mr. Mitchell) cordially approved ; beta if they sub-
jected the shipowner to foreign competition, he had a right
to buy his vessels in the cheapest market ; but in repealing
the navigation laws they created the anomaly of admitting
the manufactured article duty free, while they kept a heavy
duty upon the raw material. In 1850 he (the hon. member)
proposed that vessels should be allowed to be built in bond.
The thea Chancellor of the Exchequer (Sir C. Wood) pointed
out the great difficulties which a system of drawbacks en-
tailed; but he promised to take the whole subject into con-
sideration. Accordingly in 1851 the right hon. baronet pro-
posed and carried a reduction of theduties from 15s. on hewn
and 10s. on sawn timber, to 10s. and 7s. 6d.; at which rates
the impost still remained. It would perhaps be desirable
here to show the effect which these successive reductions had
had upon the trade. Before 1843 the quantity of timber im-
ported was 1,110,000 loads. In that year it amounted to
1,317.645 loads; but in 1857 it reached 2,494,964 loads. It
was quite true that last year it had somewhat fallen off,
being 2,227,256 loads. The timber trade was always the
last to feel a commercial crisis, and it was also the last to
recover from it ; but he had no doubt that the small falling
off in 1858 would be abundantly made up in the present
year. It would be seen that colonial timber had expe-
rienced a considerable reduction in the amount of protec-
tion afforded to it ; but there had nevertheless been no fall-
ing off in the colonial trade. In 1857 the quantity of wood
imported from our colonies exceeded the total quantity of
our imports foreign and colonial, in 1842. (Hear, hear.)
He (the hon. gentleman) objected to the continuance of the
timber duties on four grounds. First, it was the only duty
that existed on a raw material—at least, he knew of none
of any importance. There were three great articles which
entered into all our manufactures—coal, iron, and wood.
Fortunately, we had the two former within our own shores;
but, with the exception of oak, we were obliged to bring all
our timber from abroad. That alone was a great disadvan-
tage to us, because we had to bear all the charges of impor-
tation. In addition to those, however, a further and arti-
ficial charge, amounting to 14 per cent., had been placed
upon all the timber we used. The rudest hovel such as
was erected in a brickfield to shelter the workmen would
pay at least a pound in the shape of timber duty ; and the
tax on a cottage of half-a-dozen rooms would amount to
£3. (Hear, hear.) In the second place, it was a protective
duty. He did not see any reason why we should tax our-
selves 14s. per load for the benefit of Canada ; for he be-
lieved that the Canadian Legislature was gradually raising
its duties on English goods, so as to exclude them in favour
of its own manufactures. Silk was the only article besides
timber on which there was still a protective duty, but silk,
it should be remembered, was an article of luxury. In the
third place, the timber duty was most unequal and unjust.
African oak, teak, and mahogany, and in fact all the higher
classes of wood, paid no duty at all. Sir Robert Peel had
removed tho tax on those descriptions in order to encourage
the employment of carpenters ; but the result was that while
the rich man's furniture paid nothing, the impost was
levied upon the poor man's deal table. (Hear, hear.) One
result of this arrangement had been to double the import of
mahogany within the last ten years. In the fourth place,
the timber duty operated most unjustly upon the shipping
interest. The price of white oak at Dantzic was 80s. per
load, and the import charges amounted to 225. more. The
cost of fir at Dantzic was 405., and the import charges 20s.
The house would thus perceive how serious was the disad-
vantage under which the English ship-builder laboured
without having any artificial addition made to the cost of
his material. [The hon. gentleman then read a statement
showing the proportion which the timber duties bore to the
cost of a vessel built of foreign wood, that proportion
diminishing as the quality of the vessel improved.] He
asked the house to consider whether it was proper perma-
nently to maintain a duty which admitted the manufac-
tured article duty free, and burdened the raw material with
a duty ranging from 9to 3A per cent. f In no other case
was raw material taxed and the manufactured article exempt.
Wood was second only in importance to coal and iron. The
produce of this duty was about £600,000 per annum ; and
that circumstance had deterred him, from 1851 till now, from
bringing the matter forward. Directly after the war he had
felt that it would be inexpedient to ask for the remission of
this duty ; but in 1860 a considerable reduction in our bur-
dens must take place, from the falling in of the terminable
annuities. He, therefore, pressed the house to express its
opinion that it was unjust and inexpedient to continue this
duty.
Mr. FENWICK seconded the resolution. It did not
pledge the house as to the time when the duties should be
repealed, but merely affirmed the general principle that they
were unjust in themselves mid injurious in operation. The
house had recognised the impolicy of taxing any raw mate-
rial ; and the principle was carried out in everything—
cotton, wool, or silk—except wood. His constituency was
more interested in shipping than any other. More ships
were now built on the Wear than in all the rest of England
put together. Two years ago the excess was 60 per cent.
beyond the rest of the country. This tax was a positive in-
jury to the shipbuilders of that place. The duty on foreign
timber was from 10 to 25 per cent. at the place of shipment.
Ships built in the Baltic or Canada were permitted to be
brought to this country duty free and sold, thus directly
injuring the shipbuilding trade of this country. Suppose
that this happened with cotton or wool : the whole of the
manufacturing districts of Yorkshire and Lancashire would
be up in arms against it, and Mr. Gibson would come down
to the house with a skilfully prepared motion on the sub-
ject. (A laugh.) It was known that Canadian timber was
inferior to that of the Baltic, but is consequence of the duty
being only ls. a load on the former, it was more used here,
especially for building purposes though it was well known
to be a worse timber. The shipping interest had always
looked on the good old Tories as their natural protectors ;
but if the Government now opposed this resolution they
would lose that character. (Hear. hear.)
Sir S. NORTHCOTE said that when this motion first
appeared in the paper, it had struck the Chancellor of the
Exchequer and himself that it was one making an imme-
diate attack on an important part of the revenue of the
country. But the mover and seconder said that the words
of the motion did not necessarily imply that. He supposed
they were to regard it as a mere abstract resolution, express-
ing the opinion of the house that at some future time, under
circumstances which they did not at present foresee, it
would be a very good thing if the duties on foreign and
colonial timber were repealed. But it was impossible to
treat the resolution of that house as if they were discussions
in a debating society. (Hear, hear.) Of course, such a
resolution if passed would be considered to have some
effect ; the house and the country would look upon it as a
pledge that, if not immediately, at a very early day,
these duties would be taken off. In considering the finan-
cial arrangements of the year the rule they had invariably
acted upon was, first to provide what was necessary to be
granted to her Majesty, and then to go into committee
of ways and means to consider how that supply should be
raised. The natural course was that they should first see
the estimates which were laid on the table, and then hear
from the recognised authority on such matters, the Chan-
cellor of the Exchequer, what was the condition of the
country, what was the relation of the revenue and expendi-
ture, and what were the most proper taxes for reduction
and remission, if such could be granted. But here, at an
early stage of the session, after only a single vote had been
taken in committee of supply, before half the estimates were
on the table, before they had the slightest idea of what was
the financial condition of the country, and without refer-
ence to other claims for remission, they were asked to pledge
themselves to this resolution. Last year these duties
amounted to £561,000 ; and it was obvious that so large an
amount could not be spared at a moment's notice. At all
events, it was necessary that the Chancellor of the Exche-
quer, when he came to make his financial statement, should
approach the subject with his hands unfettered by any re-
solution of that house. What would be the effect of passing
such a resolution ? Naturally, all the other interests which
thought they had a claim to the remission of duties, would
get their friends to come down, and make a tolerably good
muster, and say—of course without prejudice to anything
—" Just let us declare that this or the other is a very bad
tax." The result would be that nearly every existing tax
might be condemned by resolution of that house. (Hear.)
Besides that, how would it affect the trade of the country ?
Consider the effect on the timber trade if to-morrow morn-
ing it went out that that house had adopted a resolution
that those duties ought to be repealed. At present the tim-
ber trade was in a state of considerable agitation, and great
efforts were being made to raise prices. The effect of passing
this resolution would be to increase that agitation, and to a
certain effect it would paralyse those engaged in the trade,
who would not know on what footing they were to proceed.
And if the resolution were passed, and no effect were given
to it, those who had nu.de arrangements believing it would be
carried into effect, would have afair right to complain that the
house had acted so as to inflict on them serious injury. Then
the mover and seconder of the resolution had taken it for
granted that the reduction of those duties would have the
effect of reducing the price of timber. It had been said,
very truly, that since 1842 a large reduction had been made
in the price of both foreign and colonial timber, and that in
consequence a very large increase had taken place in the
quantities imported. In 1842 the duty on foreign timber
was reduced from 365. to 31s. ; and on colonial from lls. to
a nominal duty of ls. The immediate effect of that was to
produce a considerably increased importation. In Islo the
price of duty-paid timber was somewhere about 83s. ; in
1844 it had fallen to 565. The next great change was in
1851, when Sir Charles Wood further reduced the duty on
foreign timber from 15s. to 75. 6d., not reducing the duty
on colonic because it was merely nominal. The effect of
that had been perhaps to stimulate, to a certain extent, the
importation of foreign timber • but prices were actually
higher now than they were before that alteration ; and
therefore the whole of the revenue sacrificed had gone, not
into the pockets of the customers, but those of the growers
or importers. In 1844 the price of Memel timber on board
was 315., the duty being then 255., making a total of 665. ;
but in 1858 the price on board was much higher, and the
price to the consumer was rather higher. In 1868 the prices
of Memel and Dantzic timber, the best fir, ranged from 655.
to 70s. ; they were now from 755. to 80s., showing an in-
crease of 10s. The same with regard to Riga fir; it had
risen from 655. to 755. The probability was that if they
wore now to take off the duty on foreign timber, the same
result would follow ; though the revenue would lose, the
•price
coentsumer would gain very little indeed. This country was
not wholly dependent on foreign timber, but partly on that
of Canada at present we
the took nearly equal quantities of
each. Now '
ce was necessarily regulated, not by
the price at whiet
here, but by the priteheewhmicehrchhaencteuclodugldet awfihbernd
hteo
hbrrienu,,go-hitt
it here ; because, though the reduction of duty could en-
able him to bring iptrilieeere
whenttt a lower price, he would not
sell it at a lower
tritmattioofneoeflefnoreiari
on Canada timber remained the
he could get a higher ; and
as long as the duty
ouerttinimgr
same, its price must regulate that of all the timber sold in
beenthetimber
beenbe r hadde
-
hadti
cream,.
• (). From that they might infer
that colonial timber
country.
considerably
could not be brought profitably to this country at a lower
price than the present. Therefore, whether they took off the
foreign duty or not was immaterial to the colonial producer;
he would be obliged to demand the same price for his timber
then as now; and if he did so, the foreign producer would
also demand the same price for his timber as he did now.
Therefore, though the foreign producer might gain consi •
derably by the reduction of duty, the consumer would pro-
bably gain nothing. (Hear.) The quantity of foreign timber
imported last year was 1,100,000 tons, and of colonial very
nearly the same, 1,095,000 tons—the consumption of colo-
nial timber having, 1843,
• since fallen off by 186,000 tons,
and that of foreign having increased 454,000 tons.
ieth The
er case
of the hon. mover broke down at this point—whether thethe
reduction would really have the effect of benefiting the con-
Buren/. ; and if so, the whole case he had fell t
d made o the
ground- It had also been said that some kinds of timber
were already exempt from duty; but those were timbers
which were largely used in shipbuilding. The duty was
further condemned because it was a protective duty; but
as three succeeding ministries had maintained these duties
as they existed, it was to be presumed that there was some
reason for doing so beyond the mere object of protection.
Tho fact was, the difference in freight in favour of Baltic
timber WO About Ha the load, while the difforouce of duty