The Sun.
London, England, 1861-03-23 00:00:00

TEA AND SUGAR DUTIES.

Mr. GREGSON rose to call the attention of the house
to the Customs duties now levied upon tea and sugar, and
to suggest to her Majesty's Government to take the subject
into their earliest consideration. The hon. member, in doing
so, entered into a statement of the advantage which had
arisen from the reduction on the duty on tea from Is. 6d.
per pound to ls. 3d., the reduced duty bringing a larger
sum to the exchequer, and he recommended that there
should be laid upon sugar one uniform duty. (Hear.)
The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER said he
was sorry that the hon. gentleman had not had a more fa-
vourable opportunity of bringing this subject—on which
he was one of the highest authorities—utider the notice of
the house. The hon. gentleman had put an adminstrative
question as to the classification of the duty on sugar. That
was a subject of the greatest difficulty, which embraced
not only the classification or non-classification of the
lower description of sugar, but involved the question as to
whether the uniformity of duty was to be extended to re
fined sugar or not. The difference between refined and
unrefined sugar was a mere question of degree, just as was
the difference between other classes of sugar ; bat he
could not say that the immense difficulty here involved
was likely to be overcome within any reasonable time.

SIR BALDWIN WALKER.
Lord ELCHO asked Lord C. Paget whether, in fulfil-
ment of the promise made by the First Lord of the Trea-
sury, that Sir Baldwin Walker should be detained, to en-
able him +, nauiii.t.r>....,,ml,e's Committee.
he immediately wrote two telegraphic messages, the one to
the Admiral at Portsmouth, the other to the Admiral at
Plymouth, desiring tl^ em to take all possible means to
overtake or intercept Sir Bald•.'in Walker? Whether the
cause of these messages not being immediately forwarded
by telegraph arose from circumstances over which he had
no control, and whether he would state those circumstances
to the house ? Also, whether any instructions were sent
through Admiral Bruce, or through any other person, to
Sir Baldwin Walker, desiring him to go to sea immedi-
ately, and not to allow himself to be caught ?

Lord C. FAGET gave a complete denial to all the charges
inferentially involved in the question, and repeated his
statements as to the steps which had been taken for the
purpose of bringing back Sir Baldwin Walker.
Sir J. PAKINGTON again asserted that both the Ad.
miralty and the Government had acted with the greatest
impropriety, and had shown great disrespect to the house,
in allowing Sir Baldwin Walker to proceed to sea after the
appointment of the commission. It appeared to him per-
fectly clear, notwithstanding all that had been said, that
effectual steps had not been taken to bring back Sir B.
Walker, in accordance with the wishes of the house. In
conclusion, ho wished to know whether there was any truth
in the statement that orders had been sent to Ascension for
Sir B. Walker to return.

After some remarks from Sir J. ELPHINSTONE,
Mr. B. OSBORNE said he regretted that Lord C.
Paget should have met the inquiry otherwise than by a
simple denial, as the subject should have been dropped
long ago ; as to the member for Droitwich (Sir J. Paking-
ton), the hon. baronet seemed to be afflicted with a moral
monomania about it. (Hear, hear.) Sir B. Walker has
already answered a thousand questions on the subject ; and
if that were not sufficient, and in order to get him (Sir B.
Walker) out of the house, it would be better to send out a
commission, consisting of Sir J. Pakington, Sir J. Elphin-
stone, and Admiral Duncombe, to the Cape, to look after
him. (Laughter.)
AFFAIRS AT WARSAW.

Lord H. VANE called the attention of the House to
the recent occurrences at Warsaw, and asked the Secretary
of State for Foreign Affairs whether the Government had
received any other intelligence of those events than that
published in the public papers ?
GENERAL MIRAMON.
Lord W. GRAHAM asked the Secretary of State for
Foreign Affairs whether he had received any information
respecting the proceedings of the French Minister in
Mexico, and Captain Le Roy, commanding the French
brig-of-war, Le Mercure, in assisting the escape of General
Miramon, whom the noble lord stigmatised as a burglar
and a robber from Mexico; and, if so, whether he has
applied to the French Government for any explanation o
such proceeding ?