The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1836-06-24 00:00:00

members seemed to think objectionable. He apprehended th a
the hon. member would feel no hesitation in expressing his re-
gret if he had done any thitw which could be considered disres-
pectful to the committee —(hear, hear).
Mr. KEARSLEY said that he was extremely sorry that any
hon. member should think it necessary to quarrel with his
mode of walking across the floor—laughter). If the expression
"disgusting" was displeasing to the committee, he begged
leave to withdraw it. 11e retained his own opinion on the
subject, but as far as regarded the committee he withdrew the
expression.

Sir A. L. Hay here advanced to the table, and appeared to
speak for some time with great vehemence, but the shouts of
laughter, and cries of " Go on,'' rendered him inaudible.
Mr. KEARSLEY again arose and delared that he had not the
slightest intention of giving offence by his manner of leaving his
place.
On a division the numbers were—

For the original motion
For the amendment

.... 241

Majority in 'favour of ministers 33
Some other bills were forwarded a stage.—Adjourned.

HOUSE OF LORDS.-TUESDAY

STAFFORD DISFRANCHISEMENT BILL.
Further evidence was taken in support of this bill.
ROYAL ASSENT.
_

At five o'clock the royal assent was given by commission to a
great number of bills, among them were, the bishopric of Dur-
ham, and the following railway bills :—The London and Dover
railway bill; the Cheltenham great railway bill; the Birming-
ham, Bristol, and Thames junction railway bill; the Hull and
Selby railway bill; and the Merthyr Tydvill and Cardiff railway
bill. IMPRISONMENT FOR DEBT.
The LORD CHANCELLOR gave notice that, on Tuesday next,
he would move for leave to bring in• a bill to abolish imprison-
ment for debt, and to facilitate the recovery of debts.—Adjourncd.

HOUSE OF COMMONS.—TUESDAY.
LANGUAGE OF PETITIONS.
Mr. S. CRAWFORD presented a petition, in which the peti-
tioners prayed " that the obnoxious, murderous, and blood-
stained inkikest of tithes, being beyond human endurance, should
be abolishasir not only in name but in substance." [No notice
was taken- by any honourable member of the words as being of
an objectionable character.'
Colonel 'fßomrsoN presented a petition from the radical as-
sociation of the borough of Kingston-upon-Hull. 'The petition-
ers complained of the corn laws, the poor laws, and the imposi-
tion of taxes; which were imposed twenty times as much upon
the pooras the rich. They prayed that the poor laws might be
,repealed, and also that some enactment might be made to pre-
vent the clerical and lay aristocracy from roguishly" applying
charitable bequests to any other than the specific purposes for
which they were given.
'The SPEAKER objected to this language as inconsistent with
the dignity of tbe'house.
Several other members protested against the introduction of
such language into a petition.
Mr. EWAUT, however, was of opinion that the house ought to
encourage the people to speak out.
The petition was eventually withdrawn.
Several other petitions were presented on various subjects.
TEA DUTIES.
Mr. GROTE rose for the purpose of eliciting an answer from
his right hon. friend on the subject of his intentions with re-
spect to the duties on teas. It was known to the house that
after the Ist of July next the duties on bohea teas•were to be al-
tered, and the duty fixed at 2s. Id. instead of Is. fid. per lb.
Now the sudden increase of the duty had already occasioned
considerable anxiety in the trade, for it should be known that
in respect to bohea "tea there was a very large quantity in the
hands of many tea-dealers; and if the duty were to be required
to be paid up on this stock on hand, it would put many to great
pecuniary inconvenience to meet the demand for the additional
duties on their large stocks. He was aware of several petitions
having been presented on the subject, and he now hoped the
Chancellor of the Exchequer would be enabled to make some
alteration in the proposed arrangement for their convenience,
and afford them some indulgence as to the time of payment of
those duties.
The CHANGELLOR Of the EXCHEQUER said that those who
had heard his reply on a former occasion to a similar applica
tion, would, no doubt, anticipate the reply he should now find it
his duty under the circumstances to make to the application of
his honourable friend. He assured his honourable friend that
he should sincerely regret any inconvenience to which these
parties should be put by the enforcement of the law ; but his
hon. friend must feel with him that nothing could be more un-
wise than to depart from the provisions of an act calmly and
deliberately considered by the legislature, and even passed at
the instance of the complainants themselves. This was an ap-
plication, he must say, of a peculiar kind; it was no less than
an application to give those parties who had applied for the bill
the full benefit of its Provisions generally, and yet exempt
themselves from particular provisions of the bill to which they
had objections. Were they to sport in this way with acts of
parliament the trade would not know what to depend upon. A
proposition had been made to him to let the distinctive duties on
teas stand over for a time, or to let bohea teas be entered at a
lower rate of duty. To that he had given a most distinct
negative, because he felt it would be unjust to some and in-
jurious to the trade. This was, however, a branch of the tea
trade which appeared to him to be entitled to attention upon the
part of the Treasury, and he had accordingly made a represen-
tation on that subject to the Lords of the Treasury. It was
now fixed by law that these increased duties on the low-priced
teas should be payable on the Ist of July. This, as it would re-
quire a large sum of money to be collected for the purpose of
'paying the additional duties on the larger holders' stocks of tea
on hand, might prove a serious inconvenience to such persons,
unless they could be sure of being prepared with the amount of
the increased duties. Under this view of the case it was sug-
gested that it would prove a great relief to postpone the period
of payment of the duties for a short period of time. A Treasury
minute had been drawn up to authorise the postponement of the
duties for 31 days on all teas entered for home consumption be-
fore the Ist of July next. It was his intention to submit this
Treasury minute to the house for its consideration. The in-
tention of the Treasury was that the postponement of the pay-
ment of the duty for the space of 31 days should not be re-
stricted to teas thus entered at the port of London only, but
should be extended to teas entered at Liverpool, Dublin,
Edinburgh, and Glasgow, indiscriminately. There were, he
must say, many precedents on record of Treasury minutes for
granting under similar circumstances indulgences of this kind,
to parties whose interests had been injuriously affected by acts
of parliament. Where they were made in favour of trade and
commerce, there was little reason to apprehend they would not
be sanctioned by the approbation of the house, and he should
take care that the minutes of the Treasury on this head should
be forthwith laid on their table, for the satisfaction of the house.
Mr. ROBINSON admitted that in his opinion government had
acted judiciously in allowing the payment of the additional
duties on bohea teas to be postponed.
Mr. MAJORIBANKS contended that the alteration made by
this act was not favourable to the interests of the tea trade.
For his own part he was not disposed to thank the right hon.
gentleman (the Chancellor of the Exchequer) for the boon.
Lord SANDON next addressed the house, but he was very im-
perfectly heard. He was understood to say, that he did not wish
to enter on a discussion of the question which interested a large
class of his constituents; but he rose chiefly to say, that be did
not acquiesce in the statement of the Chancellor of the Ex-
chequer. He knew there were many who apprehended another
change, but he trusted the merchants would not be exposed to
a further loss by another change.
The CtlasicELLort of the EXCHEQUER said he did not know
what might happen, but he could state for himself individually,
that he had no intention of introducing any such change as that
alluded to by the noble lord.
Sir ROBERT PEEL said he should like to see the treasury
minute laid on the table. There appeared-to have been some
change in the law which came into operation on the Ist of July,
as he understood the treasury minute extended the time for one
month. He did not think the question had been fairly stated.
He apprehended that orders for tea had been sent out last year
before the act was 'passed, and there had been no opportunity
since then of countermanding the orders, and the tea, of course,
must be liable to the operation of the law. The Chancellor of
the Exchequer said the paties had acquiesced in the law, but
some were abroad who at the time had no knowledge of the fact.
He did not say the right hon gentleman was wrong; because
every one is supposed to know the law; all he meant to say
was, that, under all, the circumstances of the case, the parties
were entitled to the 'favourable consideration of the Chancellor
of the Excbequer.
The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER said the treasury
minute would be laid on the table in the course of the evening,
and he would then be happy to give any explanation, and also
be prepared to,show how desirous he was to give every relief to
the parties.

PAPER AND SUGAR DUTIES.
Sir G. CLERK said that he was desirous to put a question to
the right hon. gentleman opposite, the Chancellor of the Exche-
quer, on the subject of the proposed alteration of the duty on
paper. The house was aware that the right hon. gentleman had
declared that it was not the intention of the government to
grant any drawback on the stock of paper remaining on hand
after the 10th of October next. The effect of this declaration
was to cause a total suspension of the paper trade ; and as this
was likely to lead to great embarrassment it wa,s only right that
the parties should clearly understand in what position they were
to stand. He hoped, however, that the right hon. gentleman
would not act upon this declaration, because to do so would not
be just. He understood that it was intended, after a certain
time, to allow paper to be taken from the mills and placed in
bond, without, of course, the ditty being paid ; and he therefore
wished to know at what time the light hon. gentleman proposed
to give this permission ?
The CHANCELLOR of the ExPligguEn said that although he
did not mean to take the course suggested by the hon. baronet,
his object in the course which he meant to pursue would be the
same as that which the hon. baronet had in view, namely the
relief of the trade by means applicable to the reduction intended
to be effected in the duty on paper. The course he meant to
take was this—on stained paper the proposed dnty was to take
place at once, but on the first class of paper•it was intended that
they should not take effect till the 10th of October. In the
meantime, however, to relieve the owners of paper mills from
the inconvenience ,of being burthened to a large. extent with
stock, they were to be allowed to pass a portion of it to the
warehouses of their customers, but this was to be duty free, as
the, hon. baronet supposed. The duty on it was to be paid of
course; but should any excess remain in the hands of the sta-
tioners on the 10th of October they were to be entitled to a
drawback on that .excess. By this means the owners of mills
would be enabled to continue their work, and the stationers to
continue their purchases, inasmuch as on the 10th of October
they would be entitled to receive hack the difference of the
higher and lower rate of duty. He could assure the honour-
able baronet that he was as anxious as any one to afford every
possible relief in his power to the trade. The right hon. gen-
tleman concluded by giving notice that he would, on the house
going into committee on ways and means to-morrow, bring for-
ward the annual sugar duties, and that he should then propose
the assimilation of the duties on East and West India sugars.

COUNTY RATES.
Mr. HUME, after some explanatory observations, brought in
a bill to separate the financial from the judicial affairs of the
counties England and Wales, and to authorise the rate-pay-
ers in counties to choose representatives to form a county
board,
sessment, levying, and administration of the
affairs of the counties in England
county-rates
and
financial
and Wales.

INSOLVENT DEBTORS.
The SOLICITOR-GENERAL, in the absence of the Attorney-
General, obtained leave to bring in a bill to continue the In-
solvent Debtors' Court for one )ear.