The Sun.
London, England, 1842-06-15 00:00:00

IMPORTS OF SUGAR AND RATES OF DUTY,

West E. Indiesl 11 Rate's of IMO' ,
Indies. and Mau. Foreign. I Total. ,
Year. .ri t ins. 1.1 E Par.
Cwt. Cwt. Cwt. Cwt. Cwt Cwt Crttr
Cwt. Cwt.

----1-
1820 3,7 9,453 It 2,990 4,•209,676 ,
u7s.
1830 3,913,t69 779,479 223,857 4,91fi,003 : 24e.
1340 9,214,764 1,027,4:17 L 777,244 4,03,915 245.

37g,1.-00
.245.
/225.

That your petitieners beg, in the first place, to reinat k
the vast diminution which has taken place between the
years 1830 and 1840, in the production of the West
Indies, amounting to no less a quantity than 1,698,505 cwt.
in the latter compared with a year ten years anteeedent,
although, during the whole period the West Indies
enjoyed an undisturbed advantage of 395. per cwt. in
duty over foreign sugar.
That, in the opinion of your petitioners, the smallneics
of the increase in the production of the East Indies and
Mauritius, is butlittle less remarkable than the diniinu-
don of that of the West Indies, being only 248,354 cwt.
From the 25th July, 1825, the sugar of the Mauritius
has been Placed upon the same rate of duty as the Wcst
Indian. The import of Mauritius sugar was, in 1830,
485,710 cwt.; in 1840, 545,007 cwt. ; showing an increase
of only 59,297 cwt. in ten years, under all the Aran-
! tages of monopoly.
That as regards East India sugar, from the year IOW),
' to the sth July, 1830, the duty upon it was 375. per cwt.,
being lOs. percwt. more than the duty on the sugar of the
West Indies. The import of East India sugar, in 189:3,
was 145,995 cwt.; in 1830,213,494 ; but it fell off
tity during the five succeeding years, the avetar.,e'from
1830 to 1835
.being only 107,943 cwt. per year.. on thi,
13th August, 1836, the duty was reduced 'to the same e
rate as the West Indian ; and the following eh
have resulted. The imports were, in 18-S6, 171,758 cw-t_;
in 1837, 302,945 cwt.; in 1838, 474,100 cwt.; in 1839,
587,142 cwt.; and in 1840, 498,730 cwt.; giving reason
to fear, as indicated lay the figures of the three last Years,
that India, like the West Indies and the Mauritius, is
resting upon her share of the monopoly, and that the
interests of consumers will not be considered so long as
the present system endures.
The table of imports shows, that the total import of
sugar in 1840 is less by upwards of 20 per cant. than it
was ten years previously, and by 5 per cent. than it bad
been tiVenty years before, although the population had
maintained a large and steady increase.
The reproaches cast upon the present system of mn-
nopolies have not been adopted by your petitioners with-
out careful study, induced. by the deep distress which.
surrounds them ; and they again appeal to the official
documents before your Honourable House in confirma-
tion of their truth, as indicated by the article of sugar.
The following table exhibits the home consumption at
the stated periods :

population Total Con-':Brat.on Gaz. Aver.'Aver. of Bra.
. sumption. ..
Muscavado. Bru. and Ye].
,
, ;; i s. d. s. d.
1820 2,901,864.1 21,193,458 36 2 0 0
1830 3,722,044 ! 24,304,799 24 11 18 11
1831 3,781,011 ' 23 ' 8 : 17 11
1832 3,655,534 27 8 21 5
1833 3,651,804 I 29 8 22 5
1834 3,741,579 29 5 23 .3
1835 3,836,562 . 33 5 27 5
1836 3,488,399 40 10 27 11
1837 3,954,810 34 7 21 3
1838 3,909,665 33 8 2l 3
1839 3,825,589 circa 39 2 22 1
1840 3,594,832 27,000,000 49 1 2l 6

This table indicates at what a cost to consumers this
baneful monopoly is preserved. In 1830, with a popu-
lation of 24,304.799 souls, the consumption of sugar waft
3,722,044 cwt., the average' Gazette price of Muscovado
being 245. l Id. per cwt. In 1840, with a population
seeding 27,000,000, the consumption had fallta to
3,594,832 cwt.. but the average Gazette price had risen
to 495. ld. per cwt.

Referring to the prices of Brazilian sugar during the
eleven pears from 1830 to 1840, extracted from a papct
laid before your Honourable House, it is seen how
grievous is the monopoly which your petitioners depre-
cate. Without allusion to previous years, the price paid
for colonial sugar over and above that at which Brazilian
sugar was sold in our ports amounted, on the diminished
consumption of 1840, to the sum of 4,957,873 L for that
year alone, besides the duty, which amounted in that
year to 4,449,070 L
That your petitioners humbly submit to your Honour-
able House, that, besides the injury inflicted upon con-
sumers by the present system, in the undue enhancement
of prices, anti the abridgment of the comforts of the
people, other evils are inseparably connected with it, both
in the purchase for import and the sale for export, 614
seen in the following table:—

EXPORTS OF SCQAR.

Year.

Jaw.

I Refined.
1

Total as
Raw.

1820 400,423
1830 311,461
1840 229,512 1

646,245
607,550
1393,354

1,499,09
1,344,345

From 25th June_, 1839, to sth July, 1840.
Oa comparing this table with the table of imports, it
will be observed, that the exports in the years 1820 and
1830 greatly exceeded the quantity of foreign sugar im-
ported, and consequently that the difference was made
up of colonial sugar. In 1840, however, the circum-
stances are changed ; the advance of the Gazette average
from 245. lid. in 1830, to 495. Id. in 1840, left no
Dial sugar for exportation ; but, on the contrary, a docu-
ment presented to your Honourable House, in May, 1841,
shows that 2,316 cwt. of foreign sugar paid the consump-
tion duty of 635. per cwt. in that year,
The column of refined sugar experted indicates the
downward progress of the reilnityg trade. In 1820,. the
export of manufactured sugar was 646,245 cwt. ; during
the year from the 24th J'ane, 1839, to sth July, 1840, it
had fallen to 123,33 J cwt. The quantity of raw sugar
exported in lo
- .7-0 was 400,423 cwt. ; in 1940, only
229,51 This valuable commerce with the Conti-
Heat `:::Europe has not been lost to our sugar refiners
and to our shipping, because less sugar is wanted there,
but because their produce and manufactures have pro.-
cured supplies through other and cheaper channels.
Your petitioners would here respectfully ask,
all this deprivation of comforts, enhancement of price,
and loss of trade inflicted upon the people of this countr.) ?
Official documents show the following comparison be-
tween the whole of the West Indies and one foreign
State, Brazil, in the export of Britiah cotton, linen, and
woollen manufactures.