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

15 0 - 20 0 115 0

17 6 -
- 1 17 6 -
_____ I 20 0-

20 0 -
20 0 -
20 0 -
20 0- 25 0 20 0
30 0- 35 0 25 0 -
0 0 - 0 0
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25 0 1 17 6 -

R AT LIVERPOOL

kW o Ull, Deals, 120 stand. m. duty paid , Duty.
Archangel ..t'l9 10 @ 20 0
Memel 18 0 19 0
14 10 - - 16 0 , Not abovel6ft
16 10 - 18 0 F.el9. B. P. 2.
16 10 - 19 10 , 21 feet.
t 22.. t 2 10s.
0 4
0 2i

Gothenburg 1
Wyburg 1
Peters burg
PLANKS, per foot of 2 inches thick
Danzig, Deck
British American Pine .

0 2-

xooli, per fathom

Danzig-, 4 feet...
British Americar

8 10 :£4 Ss
6 It) ;155.

4 10 -
SIA a °GANN', per foot of 1 inch thick.
Honduras
Cuba
St. Domingo 1 0
JAK PLANKS, British American
rKAICWOOD, per cubic feet
STAVES, per 1200.
Danzig, C. Pipe £l4O 0 —l5O 0 Not ab. 36 in
Hlui. 7O 0 —BO 0 1
.el 3s. B.P. 2s
Quebec, red, le} inch thick, 1400— 63 0 1 2 6 4s
and 53/4 feet long
3 0 6s
Do. Puncheon l3 0 20 0
Ti m nen, per cubic foot. 8. d. 8. d.
0ak......... . 2 4 2 9
Pine, British Amer. common 0 0— 0 0 10s
red 1 7 2 3 perload.
yellow 1 4i— 1 10
Danzig, inidcUing 2 1 2 14
Riga, red
Memel, middling ............
2 4, 2 5
2 1— 2 14 .42 15s. *load
*'There is an additional duty of 5 per sent, on these rater:.

o g Lei 103
2l 00 !}.e3.

none
3 6

155 per load

6 6 !los,

The Earl of CLARE,:s;HON rose to give the most unqualified
contradiction which the forms of the house would admit of to
the charge made by the noble lord that they had excited agi-
tation against the corn laws. The report referred to by the
noble lord was so important, that it had'been reprinted in
almost every European country, and had no Wfliculty in
stating that no expression was to be found in it so strong as
those contained in speeches formerly delivered by the noble
lord who made the charge. and which formed The most valu-
able repository to be found in the English language against
the arguments which he now held to the house. The noble
lord formerly contended that the corn laws cost the country
£18,000,000 a-year, which did not go to the revenue, but
into the pockets of the landlords, in which case to the pre-
sent time the country would have paid nearly £400,000,000
on account of those laws. An argument so well calculated
to excite agitation as this was not to be found iu the report
the noble lord complained of.
Lord ASHBURTON said that formerly, when the corn laws
were first enacted, it was proposed by Sir IL Parnell that
the importation price should be 84s, the government pro-
posed to fix it at 80s, arid the amount of his proposition was
that it should be only 765.
Some reflections pronounced by the Earl of Wicklow on
the conduct of Viscount Melbourne, who had left the house,
produced a warm rejoinder from the Marquis of Normanby,
in the course of which he stated that every item of the govern-
ment plan respecting the import duties was decided upon
long before Easter, and was not the result of anything which
had since occurred. _ _

Some petitions against the corn laws were presented by
Earl Fitzwilliam, and their lordships adjourned.

HOUSE OF COMMONS.-MONDAY

The adjourned debate on the sugar duties was resumed by

Sir C. GREY, who supported the government proposition
and contended that those who were interested in the main-
tenanance of the colonial monopoly, had ample warning of
the change of system now proposed.
Mr. SMYTHE was of opinion that the injury which the
proposed measures would inflict upon the colonies, would
far outweigh any advantages which could accrue to the re-
venue, or to the consumer in this country.
Mr. AINSWORTH was of opinion that great commercial
advantages would be the result of a more liberal policy being
pursued towards Brazil, and that the measure proposed by
government would have the effect of largely contributing to
the relief of the distress which at present prevailed through
the country.
. .

Mr. HODGES would support all the propositions of the
government with the exception of that relating to a fixed duty
on corn, which he could not agree to.
Mr. TROTTER, was of opinion that the importation of corn
would be of necessity followed by an increased export of
manufactures.

Mr. W. .Roctir: supported the Chancellor of the Ex-
chequer's propositions, which were also supported by Mr.
TuFNELL.

Mr. G. H. CAVENDISH would support the propositions of
the Government, in the hope that, in committee, means
would be devised to render the proposed measure more
gradual in coming into operation.

Mr. MATHEW united in the policy of the West Indian
proprietors, of whom he was unfortunate enough to be one
—and with the landlords, in rallying upon this occasion for
their mutual preservation. When he perceived the same
persons who had advocated the abolition of slavery now
supporting the proposed alteration of the sugar duties, he
could scarcely help thinking that the abolition of slavery
was carried for party purposes alone.
Sir B. II ALL said, that a property tax was the only alter-
native to the adoption of the measures proposed by Govern-
ment. He sincerely hoped that if Government should be
beaten, as no doubt they would be upon the present ques-
tion, that they would, notwithstanding, bring forward their
proposition respecting the corn-laws ; and if defeated, as
they would also be upon that proposition, he trusted they
would appeal to the country for its opinion upon their pro-
jected measures.
Mr. STRUTT contended that if there was any weight in the
argument that the consumption of slave-grown sugar would
lead to an increase or continuance of slavery, the parties
who adduced it should, in common consistency, advocate the
passing of an act to prohibit intercourse with slave-holding
countries. .

111 r. 'M. PHILLIPS said that no constituency in the king-
dom was more ardent in the cause of the abolition of slavery
than that of Manchester, and yet they were favourable to
the propositions of the Government. Ha had that day re-
ceived a letter from the secretary of the Anti-Slavery Society
of Manchester, who informed him that out of the whole
society there were but two individuals who advanced a single
objection to the importation of foreign sugar under the pro-
posed restrictions. The honourable gentleman entered into
details of the mode in which the trade with Brazil and other
foreign countries was carried on with the view of showing
that in carrying on that trade the people of this country
could not be considered as lending any aid in promoting the
slave trade. _ _ _ . .

Mr. BARRON contended that Lord Sandon's proposition
would, if carried out, perpetuate slavery in every country in
which it now existed, and as a friend of humanity, therefore.
he would support the financial measures of the Chancellor of
the Exchequer.
Mr. W. WILLIAMS advocated the measures proposed by
the Chancellor of the Exchequer.
Mr. T. DUNCOMBE characterised the motion of Lord San-
don as one unparalleled in inconsistency, in barefaced dupli-
city, and in matchless hypocrisy, by any that he ever remem-
bered to have heard proposed in parliament. He gave hon.
ger tlemen on the opposite side of the house credit for being
able to keep a secret, for there was no getting from any of
them what it was that they thought ought to be done. His
object in rising was to endeavour to procure for the poor
distressed operatives of this country a portion of that sympa-
thy which they seemed so ready to lavish on the blacks. In-
stead of going to Cuba and Brazil for objects upon which to
exercise their sympathies, they need not leave the metropolis
to find an ample field in which to display their desire for ame-
liorating the condition of the poor. The hon. member read
some accounts of the distress in Bethnal-green, Marylebone,
and also in Birmingham, Burton-on-Trent, Loughborough,
Nottingham, and other places, and said these were the people
whose interests were overlooked in that house, while profess-
ing to extend protection to those in our colonies who did not

require it.
Mr. BRISCOE said that the country had arrived at an
alarming crisis in its manufacturing prosperity, and unless
some change took place in our commercial policy, he feared
some most overwhelming consequences would supervene. If
ministers had acted with less honesty, and proposed to deal
with the sugar duties only, without saying anything about
the corn laws, they would have escaped much of the opposi-
tion to which they were now exposed.
Mr. MuNTz said no man was more convinced than he was
of the necessity of altering the import duties, but he doubted
if the proposed alterations would increase the revenue to the
extent supposed. He thought, however, the government
should not confine itself to timber, corn, and sugar, but
should extend their reduction of duty to all other articles.
The only way in which the repeal of the corn laws could save
the commercial interests would be by a reduction of wages,
and by thus enabling them to compete with foreign coun-
tries ; but still it was impossible that things should remain
in their present condition, and they must therefore either
reduce the price of corn, and wages with it, or they must
elevate the price of money to keep pace with that of corn.
If they repealed the corn laws without altering the monetary

system, the result would be that the lands of the country
would pass from the hands of their present owners. The
really honest course would be to lay on a property tax, both
on land and on money, and to repeal a proportionate quan-
tity of the indirect taxation which pressed heavily on the
poor.
When the hon. gentleman sat down, Mr. SuEIL moved
an adjournment, which was immediately agreed to.

HOUSE OF LORDS.-TUESDAY

The royal assent was given by commission to a great num-
ber of public and private bills.

Lord. HASTINGS (late Sir facob Astley) took the oaths and
his seat for the first time.

Some petitions were presented for and against any altera-
tion of the corn laws.
Their lordships then adjourned until Monday next.

HOUSE OF COMMONS.-TOESDAY

The adjourned debate was resumed by Mr. SIIEIL, who
contended that it was futile to struggle against the slave
trade by means of differential duties, which raised the price
of a necessary of life to the labouring classes without bene-
fiting any class of the community except the monopolists.
The right hon. gentleman read several extracts from the opi-
nions of Mr. Huskisson, in order to show that he considered
the corn laws-in the light of a serious burden on the produc-
tive classes of the country, and that they could not be con-
tinued. He denied the claim of the West Indian proprietors
to the continuance of the monopoly as an integral portion of
the indemnity to be given them for the emancipation of the
negroes. The ransom paid by the people of England by its
munificence dazzled the world, and it certainly ought to be
considered as a receipt in full by the planters. He was
astonished that the noble lord the representative for Liver-
pool (Lord Sandon) should have esteemed it almost a matter
of indifference whether the treaty with Brazil should be re-
newed or the contrary, and he much doubted whether the
constituents of the noble lord would be equally indifferent.
The right hon. gentleman concluded by expressing his belief
that it was only by cultivating friendly relations with foreign
powers that they could hope ultimately to abolish slavery,
Mr. HERMES said that the finances of the country had
certainly been reduced to a most alarming condition. This
he attributed to the government, who should have kept up a
surplus revenue, and who were the first ministry in this coun-
try which had ever failed to keep up a surplus in time of
peace. In war time it might be excusable if the expenditure
exceeded the revenue, but such a state of things was un-
pardonable when the country was at peace. The right hon.
gentleman charged the ministry with the most flagrant mal-
administration of the finances, thereby entailing a great na-
tional calamity on the country. They now proposed to re-
medy the evil by allowing the produce of our colonies to be
displaced by foreign produce, the effect of which would be to
give, perhaps, a fatal blow to the experiment now in progress
for the abolition of the slave trade—a conrse of proceeding
which, he sincerely hoped, would not be tolerated by the

house.
Mr. VILLIERS expressed much disappointment that the
right hon. gentleman had not pointed out what he thought
should be the remedy for the serious evil he complained of.
For his own part, he rejoiced at the progression of doctrines
which lie had himself always advocated, and wi.ich, though
formerly met with derision, had made so many converts that
all those who had spoken in the early stages of the debate
avowed themselves advocates of free trade until the noble
lord (Stanley) threw a damp on their avowals of commercial
liberality. He did not hesitate to say that he looked upon
protection as a positive tax upon the community at'large for
the advantage of a particular class. When the working
classes of the people asked for protection against machinery
they were condemned for their ignorance, whereas there was
nothing more absurd in such a proposition than in the claims
to protection made by the wealthier classes of the kingdom.
The hon. gentlethan read a number of communications in
order to show the increased and increasing state of distress
in Preston, Blackburn, and other places amongst the opera-
tives, as col-Apared with what it was in former years. This
distress was so intense, that it became in some places a sub-
ject of discussion amongst the poor, as to whether it was
more criminal to take away the life of a child before it knew
the value of that life, or to let it live, telling it to eat if it
could find food, knowing that it was almost impossible that
it could, in its circumstances, be saved from the horrors of

starvation. It was a cruel thing to the poor of our manu-
facturing districts to know that when they wanted employ-
ment the warehouses of Liverpool were bursting with Ame-
rican flour, when the manufacturers would have been glad to
have taken for manufactured goods ; and thus would have
given the requisite food and employment, which these mono-
polising laws denied to the people.
Sir E. KNATCIIBULL regretted the length to which the
debate had extended, because, during the eight days that it
had lasted, all the great interests likely to be affected by the
government propositions were placed in a state of incertitude,
and were of necessity at a stand still as regarded commercial
operations. He thought under such circumstances the go-
vernment were much to blame, in not inducing their sup-
porters to allow the debate to be brought to a close at an
earlier period. The right hon. Bart. also animadverted se-
verely on the conduct of the government, in bringing forward
measures which they must know they would never have it in
their power to carry out. With respect to the proposition
of laying a fixed duty of Bs. on the importation of foreign
corn, it would be, be contended, quite as well if they pro-
posed to have no day at all, for such a duty would be prac-
tically no protection whatever. He did not deny that great
distress prevailed in the manufacturing districts, and that
distress was quite as strongly sympathised with by bon. mein-
hers on his, as by those on the ministerial side of the house •,
but be did deny that a repeal of the corn-laws would afford
any relief to the distress which was admitted to exist.—
In the hands of a strong and efficient government, be had
no doubt but the energies of the country would restore it to
its usual state of commercial prospekity.
Mr. C. BULLER designated the resolution of Lord Sandon