The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1836-02-09 00:00:00

FOREIGN TALLOW.

There are great, and we are rather inclined to believe
well-founded complaints amongst the manufacturers of
soap; that the reduction of the duty on that article two or
three years ago, to one-half its former amount, has not
bad the effect which was hoped from it of putting down
the illicit traders; but that they are still exposed to a.se-
vere and injurious competition from those persons. They
are desirous to propose, as a remedy for this, the com-
plete repeal of the duty on soap ; a measure of course,
not in itself objectionable, but which on financial grounds,
as it yields a very large amount of revenue, it is not
likely that the Chancellor of the. Exchequer will be pre-
pared to concede without an equivalent or something like
one.

The soap-makers probably feel this; and they there-
fore propose an alternative in lieu of the present duty,
viz.; the increase of the duty on foreign tallow to three
times its present amount : that is to say, from £3. Gs. Bd.
to £lO. per ton, with a corresponding-increase on palm
oil. In this way it is presumed there might be made up
to the revenue about half as much .as is now' received
from the duty on soap ; and that important' article would
be freed from the present rivalry of the fraudulent manu-
facturer, and from the severe excise restrictions to which
it is subjected.
These are doubtless very important objects; and the
proposition might well deserve to be acted upon, were it
not (which, however, we fear there is no doubt that it
would be,) injurious to other, and still more important
interests.
But before adverting to these, we must just observe
that the suggestion findsa good deal of favour with many
of the agriculturists, and especially with the grazing far-
mers, for the obvious reason that it is calculated by in-
creasing the demand fox, and seriously advancing the
price ot; English tallow, to cause for the present, at least,
a Now
augmentation of their profits.
Now comes the other side of the question. Russia is
a very great and most rapidly increasing market for the
,exportation of our cotton twist. She took off last year
nearly 21,300,000 pounds weight of yarn—worth proba-
bly froro £1,250,000
cle on the import to £1,500,000; and the great arti-
port' of which we depend as returns for this
is tallow.
props whichs to curtail e fa•
cilities for inte3r.
traderegardtotforeign of the country, as to the export of
lousy, but will exo{ n f
the
ot only be looked to with great jea-
eriienee strenuous opposition from the
representatives
welfare of the cotton tralt(l:nufacturing interests. • The
is
too serious a matter to be
made the subject of haisido
movement of the British
gouvaeexperiment. Almost every
been towards free trade. To rtrent for years past has
to levy, when it is not wante andon that course, and
d faor
a three-fold duty on the chief artiel:nY finandial purpose,
f hessian export to
this country would, in our judgment,
a
and impolitic measure. It would almost most unwise
riorl to any hope of inducing Russia to alti", tta-final Pe-
beral tariff than she at. present enforcer. oII)e a more li -
peal to onr conduct and follow our example. would ap-
If, therefore, relief is to be extended to the English
soap-minufacturer, it must, we apprehend, be by a fur_