The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1841-05-21 00:00:00

THE SUGAR DUTIES.

At the urgent request of the Grocers' and Tea Dealers'
Association, we insert the following petition from that body
to the House of Commons. The petition was presented by
Lord Sandon on Monday week; and letters were forwarded
to Mr. Cresswell and Mr. Thornely, soliciting their support
of the prayer of the petitioners.
" To the Right Honorable and Honorable the Commons of
Great Britain and Ireland, in this present
Parliament assembled.

" THE HUMBLE PETITION OF THE UNDERSIGNED GROCERS
AND TEA-DEALERS OF THE BOROUGH OF LIVERPOOL,
" SHEWETH,
" That your petitioners have learned with the liveliest sa-
tisfaction, that her Majesty's ministers, have proposed to
your honorable house, to reduce the duty upon foreign sugar
to thirty-six shillings per hundred-weight avoirdupois, and
beg leave most humbly and most earnestly to implore your
honorable house, to support the measure for the said reduc-
tion of duty as tending to the promotion of all the active in-
terests of the whole empire.
" That your petitioners, deferring much to the wisdom of
your honorable house, humbly submit, that if the said duty
upon foreign sugar was further reduced to thirty shillings per
hundred-weight, British plantation sugar would then be ade-
quately protected, and the best interests of the country more
extensively promoted, than by resting the reduction at thirty-
six shillings per hundred-weight.
" That your petitioners had fondly hoped that her majes-
ty's government would have deemed it in the present session
of parliament, to have proposed the reduction of the duty
upon foreign grown coffee, so as to afford greater facilities for
its introduction, into consumption in Great Britain and Ire-
land, your petitioners, therefore, as a subject of relief and re-
venue, humbly pray your honorable house to reduce the duty
upon all foreign grown coffee, to the lowest possible rate
consistent with the fair preference due to British grown
coffee.
" That your petitioners at all elves confiding in the wisdom
and integrity of the Commons, of Great Britain and Ireland,
in parliament assembled, are che:ered in the expectation of
your concurrence with their petition, from knowing that a
committee of your honorable house have with much dilligence

and anxious care, inquired into these subjects and reported
to you thereon recommending their adoption ; your petition-
ers, therefore, humbly implore the concurrence and support
of your honorable house.

And your petitioners will ever pray
Liverpool, May 8, 1841."

Mr. Thornely, in reply to the application made to him
returned the subjoined answer, addressed to Peter Hope.
Esq., the chairman of the association.

" 24, Regent-street, 10th May.
" Dear Sir,—l thank you for your obliging letter of Satur-
day, and for the copy of the excellent petition which the
grocers and tea dealers of Liverpool have sent up. lam
pleased that you have intimated that if the proposed duty on
foreign sugars had been 30s instead of 36s it would have still
given sufficient protection to sugar of British growth.
" It should always be borne in mind that any advanced
price, caused by protective duties, is a tax on the whole com-
munity for the benefit of a few."

"It is quite understood that, although not included in the
budget, the duty on coffee is proposed to be altered, by a
Customs' Amendment Bill to be brought in by the President
of the Board of Trade.

Believe me, dear Sir, yours always,
" THO. THORNELY

" To Peter Hope, Esq."

TO THE EDITOR OF THE LIVERPOOL STANDARD

Sir,—l have just had my house front painted; my door of
English oak, by a very clever artist, (with the number, to
guide others, not myself), when, during my absence at busi-
ness, there has been fixed, without " by your leave," over my
former number, an old rusty piece of cast iron, such as you
see at marine store cellars, which has spoiled tap (bor. Can
any of your legal readers inform me whom I can punish for
this outrage, and oblige a constant reader.
17th May, 1841. Q.