The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1844-03-12 00:00:00

HOUSE OF COMMONS.-WEDNESDAY.

The County Coroner' Bill went into committee, and
that part of it which proposes an increase of mileage from
9d. to Is. occasioned a good deal of discussion. The larger
sum was carried on a division. The other orders of the
day were disposed of without remark, and before 7 o'clock
the house adjourned.

HOUSE OF COMMONS.-THURSDAY.

Mr. LABOUCHERE, in pursuance of his notice, brought
under the attention of the House of Commons the subject
of our commerce with the Brazils. The exports of those
countries amounted, he said, to upwards of £7,000,000
sterling, of which more than £1,000,000 consisted in su-
gar, coffee, and cotton wool. While Brazil contented her-
self under her present treaty with a maximum duty of 15
per cent. on our goods, we imposed a prohibitory duty of
300 per cent. upon her sugar, and 200 per cent. upon her
coffee. Thus a very small proportion of Brazilian produce
was directly imported into England. Our exports to Bra-
zil had been more than £3,000.000 sterling, but were now
little beyond £2,000,000 sterling. This was a very ano-
malous state of things, and placed our own manufacturers
and merchants at a great disadvantage in comparison with
those of other states. who could import directly the pro-
duce of Brazil to their own countries, in exchange for their
own exports, while British vessels, unless they shipped
the produce of Brazil to some foreign port, were under the
necessity of returning in ballast. A change in the exist-
ing system would be highly beneficial to the shipping in-
terests. Foreign nations, particularly France, were now
gaining ground upon us in the Brazilian markets ; the
Brazilian commerce of France, in particular, was rapidly
increasing. The house was bound to protect British mer-
chants in this great and still important, though no longer
increasing, branch of commerce. The treaty in 1827, be-
tween England and Brazil, was to expire in November,
and a great and natural anxiety existed about the terms
on which it was to be renewed. He hoped the Brazilians
might yet have the wisdom to reject the doctrine of reci-
procity, and abstain from imposing retaliatory duties ;
but something was always to be feared from passion and
irritation. The object of his present motion was to press
upo❑ the government the necessity of an immediate reduc-
tion in the sugar duties.
Mr. EWART seconded the motion.

Mr. GLADSTONE, in opposing the address, disclaimed
all intention to give any the slightest intimation of the
course which government might find it necessary to adopt
in the present session respecting any of the import duties.
If gentlemen chose to draw any conclusion respecting that
course, they must draw it at their own risk. A remission
of duty had already been made in favour of Brazil, upon
coffee, and still more extensively upon cotton wool, and
other reductions had been made benefitting no smaller a
proportion in all than four-fifths of her aggregate export.
Her sugar, about which so much had been said, was only
about one-fifth of that export. He quoted the arguments
which the Whigs themselves, when in office, had been
wont, until their last year, to direct against the reduction
of the duty on sugar, and which were principally founded
on the objection to stimulating the slave-trade. And
clearly if the reasons for the reduction were good for any-
thing, they demonstrated that it would increase slave-la-
bour in Brazil, and, consequently, stimulate the traffic
with Africa. The present question, therefore, was not
one merely of sanction to slavery, but of encouragement
to -the slave-trade. After specifying some difficulties,
arising from the unreasonable demands of the Brazilian
negociators, he stated that all which Brazil had offered in
return for the large concessions she expected, was to con-
fine her future duties on cotton goods, the chief article of
English export, within the moderate limit of 40 per cent.
Mr. MILNER GIBSON ridiculed the notion of negociat-
ing for the suppression of slavery in Brazil. There was
no official authority there which could effect that suppres-
sion ; it could only be effected by public opinion, which
all your negotiations could not influence. But your anti-
slavery zeal was only a pretence. The real object was
to favour the West Indian class. What he demanded
was, a complete equality between foreign and colonial im-
posts.
Mr. BRIGHT (the Quaker member for Durham) said,
the anti-slavery plea, when used by gentlemen opposed
to him, was a dishonest one. The business of that house
was not to look after morality in the Brazils, but to take
care of the famishing people of England. Those who bad
scruples of conscience might properly abstlin from !Ring

slave-grown sugar, but had no right to prevent the use of
it by others who had no such scruples. The supply was
unequal to the demand; and he had heard of no remedy
for the deficiency. In an angry voice he imputed the
resistance of the opponents of this motion to selfish in-
terest ; hut immediately afterwards admitted that his own
trade was materially connected with that of Brazil. He
delivered many of the usual commonplaces of the League,
introducing corn as well as sugar, until the house, who at
first had listened to him courteously and attentively, be-
came impatient both of his topics and of the tone which
he assumed in laying them down ; and the latter part of
his speech was a constant struggle to be audible above the
disapprobation which he had excited.
Mr.. BARING apprehended that the failure of the ne-
gotiation with Brazil was imputable to the lateness of
our attempt to deal with the question of her produce.
Sir ROBERT PEEL showed, from documents, that in
the last year the consumption of sugar had been greater
than in any one of the seven previous years. except 1841 ;
and that, nevertheless, the price last year had been lower
that.' in any part of that preceding period. He would say
nothing to preclude the renewal of negociation ; but if
such a renewal were attempted, this vote would be pre-
cisely the way to keep up the demands of the Brazilian
minister. He treated as futile the apprehension that fo-
reigners would supersede us in the Brazilian markets.
He admitted that England had purchased from her indi-
vidual colonists the right of dealing with the sugar ques-
tion ; but a nation having a great colonial empire must
have regard to higher considerations than the mereinte-
rest of the consumers in the cheapness of sugar. If, as
Mr. Bright would have it, cheap sugar was the only pro-
per object of our legislation, it would follow that we
ought to restore slavery and the slave-trade in our own
colonies. Captain Denman had suggested a system of
blockade along the African coast, by which the govern-
ment hoped that the slave. trade would be effectually sup-
pressed ; but if cheap sugar were the only proper object
of England, parliament would not be justified in taxing
the English people for the force proposed.
Lord PALMERSTON admitted that the government were
quite right in rejecting such proposals as the Brazilian
minister had made; but thought that if negotiation had
been attempted at an early period, the disposition of Bra-
zil would have been found more favourable. The object
now declared was not to suppress slavery, but only the
slave-trade ; and he hoped this concession was a step to
others. The truth was, that the present declarations of
government were made, not for the sake of the slaves,
but to obtain the support of the colonial party. Ministers
were liberal enough in their professions ; but when any-
thing practical was recommended, they fell back upon
their monopolist supporters.
The house then divided—against the motion, 205 ; for
it, 132 ; majority against it, 73.