The Sun.
London, England, 1845-02-25 00:00:00

SUGAR RESOLUTIONS.

It is difficult to assign a reason why Sir Robert Peel should
have decided, in his sugar resolutions, upon fixing a duty
only of 14s. per cwt. on brown or muscovado sugar, except-
ing for the reason he himself alleged, that such reduction
would bring down the price a penny and the fraction of a
farthing per pound to the consumer, which, whether he
knows it or not, is a fallacious position, because, if the con-
sumption exceed the supply from the British possessions
(which he computes it will do), it requires no great stretch
of sagacity to foresee that the ex-duty price of British
sugars must rise to the extent of the differential duty
between British and foreign sugars before the lat-
ter can be admitted into our markets, and so
virtually inflict a tax of 235. 4d. per cwt. on all
sugar: true, 14s. per cwt. only of this amount will find its
way to the Treasury, and 9s. 4d. into the pockets of the
British sugar producers; but, nevertheless, the consumer
would have to pay the 235. 4d. per cwt., let that amount be
divided how it may. This arrangement is annoying enough,
even if the finance of the country would permit us so to en-
rich the sugar producers, but when it is found that the
scheme injures the revenue to the extent of 1,300,0001.,
and that that deficiency is to be made good by an
inquisitorial income-tax, which the people justly abomi-
nate, it becomes disgustingly objectionable. Better would
it have been for the public, that Sir Robert Peel
had left the sugar duties alone, than get us into
the costs and difficulties described. After all, what does
this reduction of duty on sugar, about which so much has
been said, amount to as concerns the payments the people
will have to make ? Why, as far as paying goes (and that is
a main element in the affair), the consumers will be com-

pelled to pay 235. 4d. per cWt. (never mind for the moment
how it is divided) under the proposed sugar resolutions-and
they have under the present law to pay 255. 3d. per cwt.-
exhibiting a reduction of merely Is. lid. per cwt., which
paltry sum will be absorbed long before the sugar reaches
the consumer's hands. If all brown or muscovado
sugar, without distinction of country or origin, had
been admitted to our markets at 14s. per cwt., then the sup-
ply would have been equal to the demand, and the con-
sumers would have enjoyed the full benefit conferred by
the reduction of duty. But now to the sugar resolutions.
The Minister has proposed to fix a duty of 14s. per cwt. on
all British brown and muscovado sugar; that is his starting
point : it will be curious to investigate by what process of
reasoning he has arrived at the various grades of duty he has
affixed on different kinds of sugar, and how they stand as
compared one against the other. Should the Minister have
applied his mind at all to the subject, and not trusted to
guesses, he must have divided the 1121 b. of muscovado
sugar into six parts (six two-and-fourpences exactly give
the amount of duty, 145.), four of which he treats as crys-
tallizable sugar, and two as refuse. He then assumes
(for ho does not know) that that denomination of
sugar. which he is pleased to call white clayed, or equal to
clayed, will lose one-sixth, or 18A1b. out of each 1121 b.
of muscovado sugar submitted to the process of clay-
ing, or of attaining the same degree of fineness by some other
operation, and, therefore, argues he, in order to obtain 14s. on
the remaining 93i1b., 2s. 4d., must be added to the
muscovado duty of 14s. ; it is consequently forthwith deter-
mined that the duty on clayed, or equal to clayed, shall be
16s. 4d. per cwt. He has evidently forgotten while this
cogitation has been occupying his brains, that some
muscovado sugars are preferable to white clayed,
shown by the price they bring in the open market.
For example, Mr. Goulburn's Jamaica muscavado
sugars, marked M G, command more money than some white
clayed sugars. Again, brown St. Vincent sugar, clearly
muscovado sugar, would be taken in preference, on account
of the saccharine essence in it, to seine white sugars which
had undergone some process to purify them ; here, then, is
an anomaly. Muscovado sugars, superior to clayed, ad-
mitted at 14s. per cwt. merely because they are muscovado-
and inferior sugar charged with a duty of 16s. 4d. merely be-
cause it has been clayed.
The next regulation refers to refined sugar, and contains a
parcel of unintelligible jargon, such as, in loaf, complete and
whole, or lumps duly refined, having been perfectly clarified,
and duly dried in a stove, and being of an uniform whiteness
throughout., or such sugar, pounded, crushed, or broken, fur
every cwt. 18s. Bd. Can such an absurdity as the foregoing
verbiage be matched in the United Kingdom ? So, before
the duty of 18e. Bd. per cwt. can be levied on this class of
sugar, the Custom-house officer will have to prove that all
the above conditions have been complied with. And what
will be the consequence, supposing he is satisfied that all
the conditions have been acted on, except one-for instance,
that the sugar had been dried in the sun, instead of
the stove ? Why, the importer will have to pay the
lesser grade of duty 16s. 4d., instead of 18s. Bd., per cwt. Sir
Robert in adjusting this duty must have considered that in
refining sugar one-third of it is driven off by the process-
namely, 3651 b., and that there would remain 75iIb.
for which, in accordance with, his muscovado duty, he
ought to have 14s. ; he therefore adds 4s. Bd., and fixes the
duty on refined at 18s. Bd. per cwt., which exactly gives the
14s. for 7531 b.
Then there is a resolution requiring 21s. per cwt. for double
refined, or sugar equal in quality to double refined. Why, of
course, the colonist would be careful to manufacture to
that degree that, although not quite so good, it should
be within a shade of double refined sugar. In some
states of markets sugar so manufactured would command the
same ex -duty price as sugar equal to double relined, but
which could not be assessed at the 21s. per cwt., because it is
a shade inferior to double refined sugar, and would conse-
quently come in at the 18s. Bd. per cwt. Was there ever
such nonsense concocted to rule the commercial transactions
of a great nation in sugar?
The fifth resolution proposes a duty of 265. per cwt. on
• brown candy, and the sixth 355. per cwt. whitecandy.
What quantity of white candy can the Minister imagine
re-
sults from refining 1121 b. of muscovado sugar ?
The seventh resolution relates to molasses, which it pro-
poses to admit at a duty of ss. 3d. per cwt.
Now molasses is composed of sugar, treacle, dirt, and other
make-weights ; and the duty has always been apportioned to
meet the weight of sugar in each 112,1 b. of molasses ' • here it
is calculated that there will be 44.1:f., which at ss. 3d., just
,
comes out 14s. per cwt. the consequence is that the treacle
is admitted duty free, and ever has been so, for the benefit of
the West Indians, although the hacknied plea has been set
forth that it is for the benefit of the pool man. Not a word
is set down in these resolutions about duty on cane