The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1846-09-22 00:00:00

tion of no less than 101,166 tons, making in all 179,166
tons, or nearly two-thirds more than the present supply
Of our Eastern possessions and when-we consider the
facilities of water communication that exist all over India;
the millions of acres of the richest virgin soil that are
lying valueless aid waste ; the cheapness and abundance
of labour; arid the extremely low price at which sugar is
ma iufactured ; it is beyond a doubt, could the producers
be (As they would by the reduction of the Salt Tax) in a
position to increase their cultivation, that Entiland tt ight
draw the greater part of her supplies from Mit cnintry
where, if out of the 140 millions of inhab:nres, but one-
flair.' became consumers of only el ,thing enough to cover
the r loins ; we should, estimating an annual average of
three feet for each individual, have an additional market
opened for the cotton and yarn manufactures of this
country of no less than 46 millions yards of cotton cloth."
That the native Indian is not indisposed to in-
crease his purchases of the commodities of civil-
ized life, in return for any amelioration which we can
effect in his condition, and in proportion to the
extent of that amelioration, we have the best of all
evidence —past experience. We have shown above
that since the equalisation of the duties upon East
and West Indian sugar, the exports, furnished by
the supply drawn from the native producers, have
doubled themselves. What has been the effect of
this increase upon native consumption of our goods ?
Of the fabrics in use amongst the wealthy classes
in India—muslins, cambrics, lappets, &c., we find
that in 1837-38 we imported into Calcutta 1.027,862
pieces, and in the following year 1.428,237 pieces.
During the years up to 1844, after the increase had
taken place in the exports of sugar to Europe, the
consumption of these articles averaged about
1,300,000 pieces per annum. The imports of fa-
brics in tie amongst the poorer classes shows on
the other hand a vast and most encouraging en-
crease. tif long cloth shirtirtgs, jaconets and mada •
pollams, we imported into Calcutta in 1837-38,
19,0770 pieces ; in 1;38- 9. 427,452 pieces ; and in
1839-40, 646,751 pieces. In 1840-41, when the
exports of East India sugar doubled themselves,
the imports of the above articles rose ►o 1,009,885
pieces ! and in 1843-44 they had reached the large
amount of 2,479,542 pieces.

There, then, it is clear, is an arena in which the
principle of free trade may be introduced, not only
with immense advantage to the British manufac-
turer, shipowne, and merchant, but with infinite
benefit to the millions of our fellow subjects in
India. The substitution of a low for the present
high duty upon salt would remove a mill stone
from the necks of the latter, and bring them daily
more and more within the pale of civilization, by the
adoption of European habits and the acquisition of
European wants and tastes. At the same time the
markets of . India would he thrown open more
widely to the British manufacturer. That, in the
end, the East India company, for whose benefit the
impost upon salt is levied, would suffer materially
we do not believe. Should any great loss of reve-
nue arise, , however, there are many remedies for
such an emergency within the reach of statesman-
ship. Certainly no slight obstacle ought to be per-
mitted to stand in the way o: the adoption of a mea-
sure of justice towards India, the benefits to accrue
from which to the people of that country and to
British industry are so out of all proportion with
the sacrifice demanded.