The Sun.
London, England, 1844-06-15 00:00:00

IMMO

LONDON, SATURDAY, JUNE 15, 1844.

Little business was done in the House of Lords
last evening. In answer to a question from Lord
MugTo, relative to parochial schools in Scotland, the
Earl of lIADDING TON said the attention of the
Government had been turned to the subject, and next
session some measure would he introduced to grant
better remuneration to schoolmasters in Scotland.

The Bill introduced by the Bishop of EXETER, for
the suppression of immoral houses, was read a second
time. The brief conversation which took place on
the occasion will be found very edifying, though not
quite to the liking of the Dean and Chapter of West-
minster. The House adjourned at Half-past Seven.
In the Commons, leave was given to bring in a
Bill to make a railway between Dublin and Cashel.
After the presentation of several petitions, Mr. T.
Du/wimps presented petitions from W. J. LINTON,
IVtu.tax Lovarr, JOSEPH AIAZZINI, and others,
complaining of the detention and opening of their
lettera it the Post-office, and praying for redress.

The conduct of Mr. DuNcomnE, on this occasion,
deserves every praise. We have adverted to the
subject in a separate article.
The House went into Committee on the Sugar
Dutk Bill, when Mr. MILES, the Member for Bristol,
moved the following amendment, on the first clause
being proposed That from and after the 10th
day of November, 1844, the duty Upon sugar, the
produce of British possessions, be reduced to 20s.
the hundred weight ; and that the duties on sugar,
certifled to be the growth of China, Java, or Manilla,
or of any foreign country, the sugar of which her
MAJESTY in Council shall have declared to be admissi-
ble, as not being the produce of slave labour, shall
be as follows—namely, brown, Muscovado, or clayed,
the cwt. 30s. white clayed, or sugar otherwise pre-
pared, and equivalent to white clayed sugar, the cwt.,
345., with five per cent. thereon."
Mr. BAILEY seconded the amendment.

The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER opposed the
amendment, and contended that, taking every cir-
cumstance into account, the measure proposed by the
Government was not adverse to the interest of the
Colonies.

Mr.LAnoucnEa E condemned, in several respects, the
Government measure. It was ostensibly founded on the
principle of excluding slave-grown sugar, which was
impossible, while they offended their best customers
merely to keep up a hypocritical pretence.
Other Members addressed the Committee, when the
House divided, and Mr. P. illinEs' amendment was
carried by a majority of 20; the numbers being 241
for it, and 221 against it.
The other orders of the day were then disposed of,
and the House adjourned at a Quarter to Two o'clock.

The discussion upon Mr. MlLEs's announced
amendment upon the new scheme of Sugar Duties,
brought forward by her MAJESTY'S Government,
has been looked to with great anxiety by all
parties—in and out of Parliament. It took place,
accordingly, in a full House (of 466 Members) last
night, and resulted in what must be considered a
great defeat of ➢Ministers. But it should be clearly
understood (and the more so, as most of our
Morning Contemporaries seem to have fallen
into some error on this point), that the division
of last night did not affirm Mr. Mlnzs's amend-
ment. Upon that, a vote remains still to be
taken ; for, as Lord HOWICK carefully expounded the
question for• the information of Hon. Members, the
question to be put by the Chairman (and so entered in
the printed " Votes" delivered out this morning) was,

" that the words proposed" (by the amendment of
Mr. MILES) " to be left out of the first clause" (of the
Government Bill) "stand part of the clause." On this
question there divided, Ayes, 221 ; Noes, 241, leaving
the Government in a minority of 20. After the an-
nouncement of this division (which was greeted by
the Opposition with much cheering), and when the
House had resumed, Sir ROBERT PEEL gave notice
that the first business of the House on Monday next
should be to proceed further with the Committee,

in which he would announce the intentions of her
MAJESTY'S Government on this most important subject.
The Government proposition, it will be remembered,
was to reduce the duty on foreign sugar, not being
the product of slave labour, to 345. per cwt. (The
duty under 1 and 2 Victoria, cap. 33, was 3/. 38. per
cwt.) The machinery of certificates, by which the
Chancellor of the Exchequer appeared to imagine that
it would be possible to secure the fulfilment of this
condition of free labour, which was made the prelimi.
nary of the admission of such foreign sugar, was
much distrusted and even ridiculed in former debates.

We have endeavoured to • silo*, in former articles,
that any sugars supplied under is reduction of duty
by the United States, everosestuning the genuine-
ness of their free labours'- p. would be
assuredly replaced either in the home consump-
tion or the export trade of America by • slave-
grown sugar to the same extent. It will be per-
ceived that this impression is now generally enter-
tained. But Mr. MILES'S amendment prooceds not
so much on the principle of effectually discouraging
slave labour in the production of sugar (an object
which he also is apparently very doubtful of seeing
accomplished, for the same reasons as we have just
assigned), as on the principle that the alteration of
the duty on foreign produce to 345, renders it indis-
_ _ _

Pensahrftw—tho -protection, • nay; 11 -of
our West India' interest; to "reduce' the duties on Bri-
tish West India sugar to 20s. per cwt. The other
modifications of duty which this gentleman proposes
may be collected from the terms of his amendment :
" That from and after the 10th day of November, 1844, the
duty upon sugar, the produce of British possessions, be re-
duced to 20s. the cwt. ; and that the duties on sugar, certified
to be the growth of China, Java, or Manila, or of any foreign
country, the sugar of which her Majesty in Council shall have
declared to be admissible, as not being the produce of slave
labour, shall be as
.follows—namely, brown, muscovado, or
clayed, the cwt., 305.; white clayed, or sugar Otherwise pre-
pared, and equivalent to:white clayed sugar, the cwt., 345.,
with 5 per cent. thereon."

The debate was very ably sustained ; but we really
think that Mr. MILES'S supporters had the best of it
in every way. The benefit of hiS amendment would be
by no means inconsiderable to the consumer, and is
sufficiently low, as to its scale of protection to the
West India body, to have elicited much grumbling
from some of its members in the House, as they
carefully qualified, with 'this unsavoury element,
their supp9,rt.! " The Hon. Gentleman himself de-
livered a very animated address, commencing it by
reminiscences of the Premier's past, promises to his
party, and subsequent acts, which we can imagine to
have been anything but palatable to Sir ROBERT—
whose temper, by the bye, is represented to have be-
come acclimatised to the West Indian weather of last
night—after the announcement of the numbers.
Mr. MILES complained with good reason, that upon
the only feasible means of rescuing our plantations
from absolute ruin for want of hands, namely, the
immigration of free labourers, large and abundant
professions of their readiness to permit and promote it
had been made by Government; but nothing, or almost
nothing, carried into effect. On this subject we have
written so often and so earnestly in The Sun, that we
merely quote this confirmation of our opinions, reserv-
ing other comments which we have to offer on the un-
fairness, if not impolicy, of the boon of a reduced duty
to the production of Java to a future opportunity.
But we think we may congratulate the British con-
sumer on the certain prospect of his ere long obtain-
ing sugars of all qualities at a considerale reduction
on their present cost to him.

In the Commons last night Mr. T. DUNCOMBE
brought forward a subject of vast importance to the

community. In some foreign States it has been the
practice to open letters at the Post-office, to pry into
the secrets of private life, and to obtain information
by stealth, which may, for some State purpose, or,
some selfish private purpose, be used against indi-
viduals ; but in this country, till under the rule of Sir
JAMES GRAHAM as Home Secretary, such a breach of
confidence, except in the worst times, never was
contemplated. When a man puts a letter into the
post-office here, he confidently believes he puts it
into a secure place ; he believes the communi-
cations he makes to his family and friends will not be
read either by Postmaster-General, or penny post-
man, or Secretary of State, and that no human being
will venture to break a seal which has hitherto, in

this free country, been regarded as sacred as the
door of his private residence—denominated by the law
of the land, his castle. But it appears Englishmen
are subject to as tyrannical proceedings as the most
barbarous serfs of Russia. No letter put into
the Post-office is safe. It is opened and read by
the authorities ; if they think proper, it is detained,
and perhaps destroyed, at the will and pleasure of
an informer, or to gratify the malignant and jealous
spirit of some man in office. The fact was
last night openly admitted by the Secretary of
State for the Home Department. He admitted that he
had issued a warrant for opening and detaining a letter,
but that warrant had since been withdrawn—in other
words, he had opened a letter without just grounds,
and had been compelled to withdraw the warrant,
because he had acted improperly. On being further
questioned, he refused to give any explanation. He
called the SPEAKER to his aid, who possibly acted in
accordance with the rules of the House, and would
have quashed the discussion but for the ready vigour
and free spirit displayed by the Member for Finsbury,
Mr. Des COMM, who on a subject so interesting to free
men, was not to be put down by the decision of the
SPEAKER, or the stern, dry rules of the House. When
the SPEAKER had decided against any further discussion,
as the motion was not a matter of urgent necessity,
Mr. T. DUNCOMBE claimed his right to address the
House, and made a motion which entitled him to