The Sun.
London, England, 1844-04-30 00:00:00

with Brazil is brought to a conclusion there is a treaty
with America, which contains a similar clause to the
other, and entitles America to the rights extended by us to
the mo-;t favoured nation. Nothing can be further from
my' intention than to infringe the letter of any enact-
ment existing with that or any other country, but I
think when we take the discussion on the sugar duties I
shall be able to show that the sugar produced in the
southern states of North America is not calculated to
be brought into competition with the sugar, the produce
of free labour, I have now been speaking of. I can
assure you, Sir, it would have been most satisfactory to
me if the state of the revenue would have permitted me
to make some general arrangement of a per-
manent nature with respect to the sugar duties.
It would have been desirable to place the reduction of
the duty on colonial sugar on a solid and permanent
foundation ; but it is obvious that till November next it
wilt be utterly impossible to act upon any principle of
that description, for the doing so would paralyse all
the trade in the interior. I think that the better
course will be to admit foreign sugar at a dis-
criminating duty, and continue it till that period shall
arrive when the sugar duties come again under conside-
ration. In doing this, far be it from me to entertain any
ill feeling toward those countries whole sugar will re-
main excluded. I think the reduction we have made in
the coffee of those countries proves sufficiently that no
such feeling animates the Government. With respect
to the amount, both of the fixed duty and the
differential duty, I have been anxious to take that
amount which represents, as nearly as possible, the ad-
vantage which I apprehend ought to be given to colonial
or foreign sugar—to free-grown sugar above that pro-
duced by slave labour. I have now stated to the House
the details of our financial plan for the last year and for
that -which is to come ; and I trust the House will per-
mit me, without assuming anything like arrogance or
presumption, to congratulate it on the generally improved
condition of our manufactures aed commerce.
It is perhaps of all tasks the most difficult to arrest the
downward progress of revenue arising from deficiency
extending over a series of years. With respect to this,
the House has fulfilled its assurance to the Crown, of
making the revenue of the ecuntry equal to its expendi-
ture. They have, in the course of this session, given
evident proof of the effect which their conduct has had
on the credit of the country, and I cannot but hope, that
if the House goes on in the prudent and forbearing
course they have hitherto pursued, and which I have
taken the liberty of recommending to them this even-
ing—if they prefer to a present advantage the policy
of placing the finances of the country on a solid footing,
sufficient not only to meet an annual deficiency, but to
protect us from those vicissitudes of fortune to which
the complicated concerns of a great country like this
must necessarily be exposed, I believe that the House
will insure to this country a continuance of its prospe-
rity, and will essentially promote the happiness of the
whole empire.—(Cheers.)
The question having been put,
Mr. HUME said it was but justice to the Right
Hon. the Chancellor of the Exchequer to say, that his
statement was extremely clear, and in some respects sa-
tisfactory. He was one that did not expect so favour-
able a result on the state of the country as had been
stated by the Right Hon. Gentleman. He congratulated
the country on its improved state, but he could
not do so with respect to the continued taxation that
the Right Honourable Gentleman had alluded to.
He thought it was the duty of the House to raise the
lowest amount of revenue they possibly could. The
revenue of the country had been the same for the
last 12 years, but the expenditure had increased.
A great increase had taken place in the war establish-
ment of the country during 1833, 1837, and 1839. He
protested against such an evil, and he therefore thought
that the present Government should proceed to reduce
those establishments with as great avidity as they had
been increased. The revenue of 1834 and 1843 was of
the same amount within 200,0001., and there
was no income-tax in the former year. He did
not wish to have the income-tax done away with
if the taxation on other articles was reduced
to the same amount.—(Hear, hear.) He wished to
have the duties on soap, and paper, and glass reduced.
He did not think the reduction on the latter article
would be any great benefit. If the duty on all glass
was repealed it would be of the greatest
advantage to the country. No country was so well
qualified for the manufacture of the finest glass as
England.—(Hear, hear.) He believed the expenses of
collecting the revenue on glass absorbed the whole duty,
and he thought the late Government committed a great
mistake when they reduced the duty by 2d. with-
out diminishing the expenses of collecting it.
He hoped the Right Hon. Gentleman would see the ne-
cessity of removing the duty on glass altogether. Let
them look at our present position in this respect. The
Americans, though having to pay a duty of 20 per cent.,
could sell glass at a lower rate in this country than we
ourselves could. Bohemia, and every other country that
manufactured glass, though the materials of the manu-
facture were dearer there than in England, could sell
glass at a much lower rate, and of a superior quality,
than we could. That was in consequence of our manu-
facturers being prevented by the Excise from making
those experiments which manufacturers of other coun-
tries made. England, that ought to be the first country
in the manufacture, was only a fourth or fifth-rate na-
tion in that. Why should we not, instead of supporting
a war establishment in a time of profound peace, disband
some of those unnecessary troops, and apply the saving
thus caused to the nation to the reduction of
the taxation that pressed upon the poorer classes ?
He was sorry that the Right Hon. Gentleman did not
propose to make any reduction in the duty on cotton
wool. The competition to which the cotton manu-
facture was eoposed, from Germany and from other
countries, was very great, and the continuance of the
duty on the importation of raw cotton was very inju-
rious. It appeared to him that the Budget was ex-
ceedingly unsatisfactory. The revenue was ample, and
taxation► ought to be taken off those articles, the con-
sumption of which affected the industry of the country.
They ought' to set free all those branches of industry
which were hampered by the Excise-laws. The only
mode of giving employment to the people was by ex-
tending manufactures and commerce, and that could be
only done by repealing those duties, the imposition of
which lessened the ability of the manufacturers to give
them employment. The army estimates, the navy esti-
males, the ordnance estimates, and the miscellaneous
estimates ought to be reduced. Four millions
might be saved by the reduction in those estimates, and
by that reduction they might make a clear sweep
of all those articles which were subject to the Excise.
He thought the duty on marine insurances was still
too high. The highest amount of duty on marine in-
surances ought not to exceed 2s. or 2s. 6d. per cent., and
if the duty had been reduced to that amount, instead of
being a decrease it would have effected an increase to
the revenue of the country by drawing foreign insurances
here. The shipping interest was the most depressed of
all the great interests of the country, and it was entitled .
to relief. He approved of the reduction of the duty on
vinegar, but thought that the import duty on foreign
vinegar should have been removed. Vinegar was a
monopoly in this country, and its price was higher than
in any other part of the world. He was glad to find
that the duty on currants was to be reduced, and would
like to see a reduction in the duty on every species of
fruit. This reduction would be a boon to the lonian
islands, a benefit to the consumer, and would be no loss
to the revenue. He also approved of the reduction of the
duty on coffee. With regard to sugar, he disapproved
entirely of the imposition of differential duties,
and he thought the principle of refusing to admit sugar
the produce of slave cultivation was a most mistaken
one.—(Hear, hear.) If we refused to admit cotton, and
coll'ee, and tobacco, and other articles, the produce of
slave labour, he could understand the principle ; but he
could not understand why an exception should be made
of the article of sugar. In consequence of acting on

this principle, we illia already quarrelled with the —Bra-
zils, and the result would be. that four millions
of British manufactures, which were annually
exported to that country would be excluded from
those markets. He had seen letters from Paris, in which
men high in office in that capital expressed their aston-
ishment at our conduct, and wanted to know'if the Bri-
tish Minister had gone mad.—(Hear, hear.) This was
in consequence of a letter which had been written by the
President of the Board of Trade to the Brazilian Minis-
ter in this country. On the failure of the negotiations
which had been carried on by our Minister at Rio, the
Brazilian Minister in this country had entered into com-
munication with the plenipotentiary of this country to
know in what terms we would admit the produce of the
Brazils, and the Right Hon. Gentleman in his answer had
expressed the determination of the Government to have
nothing to do with slave-grown sugar. Our trade with
Brazil would therefore, altogether cease, and would go
to Germany, France, and other countries; or, even if our
goods were admitted to the Brazilian market, the
goods of Germany would, as was the case with America,
be admitted at a preferential duty. Now, was it
possible to believe that, under these circumstances, we
could carry on any trade with the Brazils?
With regard to the duty on cotton wool, it pressed with
extreme severity on the manufacturers, and he was
sorry the Right Hon. Gentleman had not thought pro-
per to reduce it. The naval and military establishments,
he must again repeat, ought to be lowered. There was
no necessity for such an enormous force in time of peace
—at a time when they had assurances from the throne of
the friendly dispositions of foreign Powers. The coun-
try was, after all, in anything but a flourishing condi-
tion—wages were low, employment was scarce, and
taxes were heavy. Everything ought. therefore, to be
done to remove these burdens. Parliament possessed
the power, and to Parliament the people had a right to
look. The duties on those exciseable articles, which
were in general consumption, should at once be lowered,
or the income-tax ought to cease, for it was impossible
not to see that this tax affected the working population
in a very sensible manner. He complained of these
grievances, and called for their redress in the name of a
suffering and distressed people, who had long borne the
severities of their condition in the most patient and ex-
emplary manner.—(Hear.)
Mr. WILLIAMS had been greatly disappointed at
the propositions of the Right lion. Gentleman. There
was only a reduction of 400,0001. after 8,000,0001. of
new taxation had been added. He did not think the
House or the country had the slightest grounds for con-
gratulation. Sugar was an article of universal con-
sumption, and he regretted the Right Hon. Gentleman
had not thought fit to make extensive reductions in the
duty on this commodity. A reduction might be made
without any great risk of a material diminution of the
revenue. He was also much disappointed that the Right
Hon. Gentleman had not included cotton wool among
his reductions. He feared the income-tax, instead of a
temporary tax to remove pressing necessities, would, in
the hands of the present Government and under the in-
fluence of the principles supported by them, prove a per-
manent burden. The income-tax produced last year
5,350,0001. The balance of the revenue over the expenditure
was 2,370,000/, leaving a deficiency, supposing the income-
tax were taken off, amounting to 3,000,000/. The sur-
plus revenue ought to be applied towards ramedyingithe