The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1847-01-26 00:00:00

THE OPENING OF THE SESSION

INDIA : THE DUTY AND INTEREST OF ENG-
LAND TO INQUIRE INTO ITS STATE.*

The motion was seconded by Mr. G. Bankes, (Protec-
tionist) who intimated that no opposition would be offered
by the country party to any measures having for their ob-
ject the relief of the existing distress in Ireland. A some-
what long discussion, however, took place, with respect
to the mode in which relief had already been distributed
n I ' 1 • •

manifest responsibility which Providence has thrown upon
us by consigning its destinies and the moral and social
welfare of its vast population to our care. Such is, and
we think justly, the position taken up by the author of
the pamphlet before us, who, by his past official position
• the adn-

_reland, in which the Chancellor of the Exchequer
proved with tolerable clearness that Lord Grey was a very
dear bargain -to the Premier, at the price put by himself

_
tne administration of the affairs of India, has been ena,
bled to throw important lights upon the subject in question.
It is an acknowledged fact with all commercial men that

pon his official talents, viz

he intercourse between t

his country and British India has

with him, and foisting into one of the most important
posts of government the very mediocre and bungling
gentleman who now fills that office—Sir Charles Wood.
An episode from his speech, in reply to charges urged by
the Irish members, that government had neglected the
duty of providing food for the people of Ireland, by the
establishment of depots in various parts of the country,
•11 I .• •

not, since the opening of the trade, progressed as it ought
to have done, and as was anticipated. In 1845, as we find.
from Burns' Commercial Glance, just published, our ex-
ports of cotton yarn to that country fell from 17,522,841 lbs
in 1844 to 14,116,237 lbs ; and although the export of the
same article rose in 1846 to 20,412,228 lbs, we have to
bear in mind that cotton yarn is only an imperfect manu-
facture, and not one in which the greatest amount of

as a~uaxu in
likely to derive from this luminous personage. Govern-
ment, he said, were disinclined from interfering with pri-
vate mercantile enterprise, by coming into the market as
avowed purchasers of food, from a fear lest, " instead of
having to support - -o'c• ml 'd hey

labour is employed. In plain calicoes we retrograded in
1845 ; and barely regained ourselves in 1846 in our direct
shipments. In our shipments to China we retrograded in
the latter year, the shipments being to China direct

a large aer of poor in _tend, t_
would have to maintain those whom their own operations
had deprived of a supply of food upon reasonable terms.
The orders therefore given were, to buy, always following,
but never leading the market." A pleasant kind of oper-
ation this for the speculator, who knew that for every
shilling per quarter extra he gave for a cargo of grain or
rice, he had a government buyer "following " him ! But,
what was done with those purchases ? is the question.
We quote from the right hon. Bart., as reported in. the
London Times :

72 in 1846. As

a portion of this deficiency Of export may have been made
by Chinese imports from the Indian ports, the actual con-
sumption of Hindoston has been most probably less' last
year than either of the preceding. In printed and dyed
goods—another important article—our exports to India
fell off from 26,083,138 yards in 1845 to 16,456,528 yards
in 1846. We have no doubt that our general exports to
that country will show similar results ; and the state of
profits during the year and the amount of stocks held are
not encouraging.
The following statistics, furnished by Mr. Marriott, with

blished in different parts of Ireland. Up to the present
time there were 26 depots in all.: 25 of which were to the
east of the Shannon. There were two in Galway, one in
Clare, three or four in Cork, besides one at Banager, &c.
rrn.

respect to, the growth of cotton in India, has an important
bearing upon the subject of the pamphlet before us, and
are especially worthy of consideration in the present state
of our supply of that raw material :
" Shipments of cotton from Bombay, from Ist January

management of depots, which an hop. gentleman seemed
to think the government had entirely neglected, measures
it appeared had been Men for meeting the emergency
when the time arrived to fall back on the resources thus
provided. It was perfectly true that, generally speaking,
those depdts had not recently been opened. Last year
there was a pressure to open the depots at an early period
of the year, which was resisted by the Government. It
was thought desirable that the depots should be reserved
for the coming emergency; and that so long as the peo-
ple could they should be left to maintain themselves.
Some of these dep6ts never had been opened throughout
the whole autumn. The depOts in Galway were opened
from time to time in the course of the autumn.
also those those in Sl, Ttd

ume, from

To China 'and

ngapore. To Great I
les. Bales

1843..
1844 120,149
1845 134.824
1846

133,065
178,326,

Total Bales
. 299,058
. 298,4.75

118,246.

146,894'

Nor do the deliveries of Bombay cotton from the ware-
houses of Canton shew a more encouragingorospcct
These were, as shewn by Mr. Manic
" In all 1843
„ 1844

231,510 Bales

1845

-41( estport, a..go, and other places. But in
many cases it was found that the moment the Govern-
ment interfered all private enterprise ceased."
Clearly, whilst the people of Ireland have been dying
of hunger by thousands, and food has been at fa-
mine prices, the Government has had an ample supply
stored up in their depOts ; yet they have looked calmly on,
waiting until the last penny of the famishing population
was exhausted. They kept their stores closed "in reserve
for the coming (!) emergency"—could there be any greater
emergency than that of the people dying of hunger in
their miserable cabins or dropping exhausted to perish on
the roads or the ditches ? Can Skibbereen be expected

Itsumg concurrently to produce a gradual depreciation in
the inducements of the Indian population to cultivate
and in their ability to consume. The leading one of
these causes is the mode in which the government of
India is carried on and its taxation conducted, with a
view to the amount of immediate revenue to be derived
by the holders of stock, rather than to the development
of the resources of the country. In 1845, as stated by
the chairman at a meeting of proprietors held at the India
House on the 28th February, India paid to the mother
country, in the shape of home charges, what must be
considered the annual tribute of £3,000,000 sterling, and
daily poured into the lap of the mother country a conti-

to outdo itself ? Can any population be in a much more
dire emergency than when the emaciated living have not
strength left to carry their dead to the grave, or to heap
the earth over their coffinless remains ? Political eco-
nomy—what amount of cold-blooded policy may not be
done in thy name !

nual stream of wealth in the shape of private fOrtunes."
And this, Mr. Mairiott says, " was levied under a fiscal
system radically opposed to an improvement in the state
of the people (if it does not indeed produce positive retro-
grade consequences), by its effect in deterring investiture
of capital in the cultivation of vast tracts of land highly
favonred by nature for the production of staples and
various articles of life." That system, we need not say,
is the ryot system, by which the government, standing in,
the position of the owner of the soil, through the cum-

But the -Chancellor of the Exchequer and his fellow-offi-
cials were afraid that opening their depots of food would
check the enterprise of private individuals. Yet this wise
official, in the. very next sentence of the speech, from
which, we have quoted above, virtually acknowledges that

Id other a,gents,

,ence of a

depot in any local

sty de- i

Mm the cu

" Of one place Where there was a depot it had been
stated that— The destitution in the neighbourhood of
Castletown (Bearhaven) has been greatly aggravated by
the argival of a commissariat officer, rumours having gone
abroad that the Government was about to, open a food
deptit, which has prevented commercial peoplefrom send-
ing in supplies offood as heretofore. The consequence
has been that the supplies in the town are exhausted, and
the whole district is now without food.' It was found
the up to about Christmas there would be food to be ob-
tamed, but that after Christmas the Government must
open their depots. Orders had been issued to open them
then, so soon as it should be found necessary."
It was found—(query)—blabbed by some Government
underling ?—that after Christmas Government would open
its stores ; and orders had been given to open them when
necessary. Hence the supply from private enterprise was
kept so bare—so totally from hand to mouth—that at the
bare rumour of the presence of a commissariat officer,
with a key in his pocket, " the whole district is now with-
out food."

taking away all encouragement for the improvement of
the soil by the outlay of additional capital and labour
upon its cultivation. The effect of this system upon the
production of the particular article of cotton, and upon its
conductors, is thus stated in an' extract from a recent
article in the Indian News:—

" ' The roots' (the cultivators of the cotton)
poverished and overburdened with debt : the bunians
(the village money-lenders) ' have made large advances
to the ryots, and cannot get them repaid : the dealer,
who buys from the bunians, has been selling his cotton in
Bombay at a loss ; while the exporter knows to his cost
that the chances are against his making a profit upon
shipments to England, and but few in his favour to those
to China and Singapore.' It is added, that the govern-
ment land tax amounts to above forty-three rupees upon
a total value of the article in Bombay of eighty-two

are im-

rupees, or more than half the price of the'st

Le itself."

The condition of the entire native cultivators of India
Mr. Marriott describes as similar to that 'of the cotton
growers, and seriously deteriorated since they came under
our rule.

Another incident which took place during the same de-
bate, or rather conversation, upon the subject of the
suspension of the navigation laws, leaves it a matter
of question whether the Right Hon. Sir Charles Wood or
Mr. John Bright are the best informed personages. The
worthy quaker asked whether it was intended to suspend
the navigation laws in the case of foreign vessels bringing
other merchandise along with grain. The Chancellor of
the Exchequer replied that such vessels will be allowed to
discharge all the corn they bring, which will be admitted
duty free ; but the rest of the cargo will not be admitted
duty free. Mr. Bright said the question was not one of
duty ; he had asked merely whether they would be per-
mitted to, land their cargoes. The Chancellor of the Ex-
chequer stated that the portion of the cargo not consisting
of grain would be subject to the existing (navigation) laws.
Mr. Roebuck thought the Chancellor did not understand
the question, and asked, " Suppose a Dutch bottom were
to go to the United States, take in there a cargo partly of
corn and partly of cotton, would she be permitted to
come into the Mersey with her cargo and discharge
it ?" • The bemused Chancellor said, " He had already
answered the question. He could only repeat that
the vessel would be. allowed to land the corn duty free,
but not the cotton. (` Hear,' and laughter.)" Honest
John thought the Chancellor could not have bestowed

We have gone to too great a length already to give in
detail the remedies which the writer points out for adop-
tion, or to notice the many other valuable facts which are
contained in his pamphlet. For these, and for some
striking intimation of the danger which we are incurring
by our treatment of a noble people, capable of the utmost
amount of civilisation, we must refer our readers to the
pamphlet itself. Our object has been merely to draw the
attention of this great mercantile community to the whole
question, as one worthy of their serious and anxious
consideration.

* India: the Duty and Interest of England to enquire into
its state. By Saville Marriott, Esq., late of the Civil Service,
&c., Bombay. London : Longman and Co., Paternoster Row.

TIIE SNOW STORM.—On Wednesday forenoon, (aft er
a long spell of extremely cold weather, with south-easterly
winds,) snow began to fall in this town and neighbour-
hood, and lasted, without intermission, until early on the
morning of Friday. We have known heavier falls as
limited to time, but cannot recollect, for a series of many
years, so continuous a drift ; and few of any that left so
thick and lasting a deposit on the ground. On Friday.

much attention upon the subject, or he would not
have given such an answer ; and his opponent replied by
reading the clause of the Suspension Act of 1817, by
which corn was admitted duty free, and stated that it
was upon this bill that government 'had acted. During
the whole of this scene, which a minister of ordinary
'ity would ha' '..41 at once. '

.yrua apiu
thaw set in ; but the snow, winch on the average of the
ground, without drift, had reached an height of about a
foot, was but slowly dissolved, and in some corners it still
(Monday night) remains in blackened masses. The streets
and roads were exceedingly heavy and swashy,—delaying
vehicles, and compelling pedestrians to look cut for the

one.., ay rendering the point
in debate intelligible even to the dull capacity of the
Rochdale Leaguer, the house was in a roar of laughter,
which must have been anything but gratifying to Lord
John Russell, who had himself, at length, to afford the
, required information.
( - -

post feasible crossings, albeit their shoe-leather became
so saturated by the penetrating element that they might
have waded through in any direction without further de-
triment. On Wednesday afternoon, the London express
train was an hour beyond its time; and the North Union
Railway was so blocked up that the last train to Man-
chester could not accomplish the journey, and that to this
town reached with difficulty in four hours and a half.
The fall of snow in Manchester was nearly equal to that
here. The land will, howeVer, be benetitted by the
storm. 9n..Sundtty forenoon, we haci_heavy rain, with a

)n Friday -night, the Chancellor of the Exchequer
announced the measures which government intended to
introduce, with reference to sugar, molasses, and rum,
partly as a return to the West India interest for the sacri-
fices demanded from them last session. The measures in
question may he very briotiv ctutail T- h.-.

__,..ere was
dismiali black, until after noon, -when it brightened up,
the sun shining cheerfully out, and the succeeding moon
equally clear. Yesterday was fine, but still cold, with a
v southerly wind.

he proposed to admit'sugar into breweries, but to exclude
molasses, because it would render necessary a minute
excise survey to prevent fraud. He expected, however
that the substitution would only be very nar4'

acieptecU, except when malt is very high. Sugar is al-
lowed to be used in distilleries, but not molasses ; the
material to be taken from the bonded warehouses,
and a duty to be levied upon it equivalent to what
would have accrued to the revenue from the malt
displaced.. The. duty on colonial rum he proposes to re-
duce from Bs. 10d., its present amount, to Bs. 6d., in Eng-
-land ; in Scotland, to 4s. 2d. ; and in Ireland, to 3s. 2d.
The right hon. baronet concluded by.stating that "if this
measure should have the effect of setting free a Treat
amount of barley for human food, he should feel rejoiced,
* * he did not expect that they would reduce the
prices of grain, but they would tend to keep them from
rising higher." This is one of the Whig specifics for
the relief. of Irish distress. Prices are to go no higher,
but they are not to be reduced by the admission of sugar
into distilleries—as strange a piece of politico-economical
doctrine as we have lately met with. A financial state-
ment from the Right Hon. Sir Charles Wood will be a
curiosity in its way. -

Romtitt TOLERATION.—The funeral of M.
chairman of the bar of Perigueux, France, was near
causing disturbances in that town on the 17th instant.
The deceased was originally a Roman Catholic clergy-
man, who; during the revolution, had taken the oath of
allegiance to the Civil constitution of the clergy. The
Bishop of Perigueux having been applied to by the
family to authorise a funeral service to be celebrated for
the repose of his soul, declined granting that authorisa-
tion, because Mr. Freytand had repeatedly refused to re-
tract that. oath. The prelate was inexorable, and confined
himself to replying to the authorities, who subsequently
interfered :—" You have force on your side, I have my
right and.conscience—act as you please!' The Mayor
and Prefect took the necessary measures to insure the
presentation of the corpse in the church, which was occu-
pied by a detachment qf a hundred men. At one o'clock
the funeral procession entered the edifice.; but the altars
had been-divested of their ornaments, and the tabernacle
was empty and open. A baker- - ' lled the
offs - in the

Freytand,

Inc last stem (a. Interest in vie ministerial proceedings
of the week is the scheme ot•Lord John Russell; for
amending the working of the new poor law system. Lord
John.thinks that the commissioners have exercised their
powers to the best,of their judgment, and that their ad-
Mini.tration has been conducted upon sound principles.
Parliament, however, he regrets to find, have sometimes
thought otherwise. He proposes therefore, in order to
facilitate the prods; of •their being whitewashed from
time to'time by parliament—to avoid such straits as the

ice of serpent ILL _.athedral, chanted the miserere
and read prayers over the body, after which the funeral
quietly proceeded to the cemetery, preceded by the com-
missary of police and the municipal authorities. Public
order was not disturbed, nor was any insult offered to
anybody.

PICTURE FRAMES BY MACILINERY.—We had yester-
day the pleasure of a cursory glance at some of these
extraordinary frames. Unlike what we anticipated, they
are not entirely of timber—a thin coating of papier machee
is supplied by mechanical power to the face of a length of
timber cut in an ogee or other form, which
being passed
under engraved steel rollers, receives a beautifully
sharp
and perfect impression of the most costly designs. They
arc in gold, in oak; and in bronze—all of which styles are
effective—and so cheap that the magnificent .Print_of the
are being ob-
London Art Union, Jephtha's Daughter, can be framed
and glazed for about seven ; and, by-the-bye,
printsoirk.cistwpailtichhaniveushteebne,
daries.,(l44atea,
frames
ttahmenednu,mil:ler3sf.arsf.
allotment, are most admirably
suitedfor the tom
itlillieosen *a tna
• -

..ie secretary was driven to by such troublesome
persons as Mr. Ferranti—to do what ? To forin a new
commission,— to, centralise a little more-- to form a
g•ntr,• ~; • - - -

popularity of the connnissioners to the fact of their
having no -official person within the house, to earwig
members—to promPt the government to have an-
swers ready cut and dry for all imaginable charges.
He proposes, therefore, a new controlling board—a set of
kings over the three kings of Somerset-house—one of
them, the head, to have a seat in Parliament, the re-
mainder being made up of persons holding ministerial

offices, but who are not to interfere with his dicta, any
more than his colleagues do with the President of the
This interesting event,—the opening of the first session Board of Control. The head of the new commission, in
of a Russell-Whig Administration,—to which the country • fact, is to be a king absolute! He is, moreover, to have
has been looking forward, for months past, with an inte- two secretaries, one of whom is to have a seat in Parlia-
rest deepening in intensity, as day by day fresh difficulties ment—provided always that he can get it. There is also
have been added to the complicated web of evil which the to be a separate administration of the poor law in Ireland.
legislative wisdom is called upon to unravel, has at length In that country there is to be a President of the Board,
taken place. Parliament has met. The Queen's speech associated with the Secretary for Ireland ;
and the Lord
has been spoken—a meagre, bald affair, as ever was put Lieutenant is to have the same authority to make general
into the hands of royalty to utter. The address has been ordere there possessed at present by the Queen in council.
moved in both houses and agreed to, with scarcely the That this precious scheme can ever be carried out—that
semblance of an opposition, and certainly nothing like the people of England can be driven to lay down their
the materials out of which a vigorous opposition can be strong disgust against this unconstitutional and heartless
formed ; and the Premier, like an apprentice upon trial, system—we cannot believe.
has been patronizingly permitted by the elder hands to Taking the past week's proceedings as a whole, the
handle his tools and set at once about his work. Government of Lord John Russell have certainly not,
The first' great task to which his lordship set himself either in the liberality or the wisdom of their proposed
has been to provide a remedy for the existing distress in measures, bid very high for the support of the nation
Ireland, and to give facilities for providing an increased
supply of food for the whole empire. For this purpose he
proposed the suspension of the existing corn laws, by which
foreign grain is admitted at a duty of 4s. the quarter, and to
allow it to come in duty free. This step he justified on
the ground that France is at present allowing importations
to take place at a merely nominal duty of 7d. per quarter ;
and stated that his proposal was necessary to prevent thv
surplus grain of other countries going to that country in-
stead of coming to our own. A further measure to pro-
mote his object was the repeal of the navigation laws in
favour of foreign vessels freighted with grain. This
course he stated was necessary, from the fact that there
was a great scarcity of shipping in American ports, from
which our principal supplies must come, owing, in part,
to the underwriters there being averse to insure large
grain-laden vessels, and in part to a great quantity of
American tonnage being employed in the transport of
stores to Mexico

In the present situation of the commerce and industry
of this country, and with the prospects before us, which
it will be readily admitted are not the most flattering, it is
incumbent upon us to take serious thought with respect
to the quarter to which we can most profitably turn for
increased markets for our paralysed industry and increased
supplies of food for our suffering working classes. Besides
our other involvements, we are afflicted with a scarcity of
one of our most important raw materials—cotton ; and,
for these objects, to what quarter of the globe can we look
with a greater probability of a profitable result, than to
our vast Eastern empire. We have another and a higher
ground for looking to the state of that empire. It is our
duty, as it is our interest, to inquire whether we are acquit-
ting ourselves, in our treatment of that empire, of the