The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1844-12-17 00:00:00

TO THE EDITOR OF THE LIVERPOOL STANDARD

Sta,—As I reserve the expression of some opinions, in
a second letter to Lord Sandon, for a period nearer ap-
proaching to the opening of the session, I address this to
you in order expressly to state that nothing was further
from my intention, in the preceding letter, than to throw
any doubt on his lordship's Conservatism ; and I believe
that nothing is expressed to that effect, my introductory
observations being merely incidental and general. His
lordship was no patty whatever to the interior or exterior
decorations of the church in question, and concerned only
in the distribution of the pews.* I was desirous that his
lordship should be aware that the opinions expressed in
your journal, on the policy of the present premier, whe-
ther relating to the Church or State, pervaded the county
in which he resides, where the press is essentially in the
hands of dissenters, and therefore available only for a
mawkish and soi-disant neutrality.
'You must be aware, sir, that. admitting Lord Sandon
to he the Bayard of his political order, be will be placed
in a very difficult position in the ensuing session. Consi-
dering, as I do, that there is a path of distinction marked
out for him in the future, he cannot be too distinctly ap-
prised of what the nation expects from him, as regards
the integrity of the Constitution in Church and State.
The time is not yet arrived for a change in the ministry ;
and a division of the house that left the premier in a mi-
nority, or even in a very small majority, might place us
at present is a worse dilemma than being dragged for a
time in his train.

It cannot be denied that Sir R. Peel, in succeeding to
office after so many years of Whig trickery and delusion,
had a very difficult part to perform •, but of his honesty of
purpose I never doubted. His predecessors had let loose
and tallyho' d ! as many mongrel rzforifiers of the age and
the empire against the Constitution as Canning threatened
to let slip from the democracy of Europe, against the
Holy Alliance; and the Whig aristocracy suffered more
in their prestige of rank and character from the grossness
of such support than they will recover in another century.
But still there was "ample room and verge enough" for a
firm Conservative leader to do more for the people than
Sir R. Peel has done; and at the same time have spared
him the apparent necessity, in his nervous apprehensinns,
seeking to minister to the insolent tyranny and conciliate
the rampant ambition of trading agitators. Sir R. Peel
was warned early in 1842, of " breakers a-head !" but with
the cold self-complacency of his nature, he continued his
steerage on the rocks and shallows with as much confi-
dence as though he were navigating the depths of the Pa-
cific. If he had cast an eye on that shrewd pilot of the
Times, who for a period carried a sailing colour of Pu-
seyism, and is hourly on the look-out for the currents of
public opinion, as different events transpire, he must have
been aware that he was out of his reckoning. That jour-
nal has now lightened itself of the midway or purgatorial
Protestantism, whether in the abstract or concrete, and
let all its Tractarianism go by the board. The late course
taken by some of our most distinguished bishops has
added greatly to the delicacy and difficulty of a Conserva-
tive statesman in Lord Sandon's position. He can neither
support them, nor, with safety, take up any intermediate
position for them to fall back upon, in order to break
their fall; and yet Conservatism will, in one form or ano-
ther, be expected to come to the rescue.* With dense fogs
investing the shore, and storms brewing around them, all
that the noble lord and his faithful colleagues can do, will
be to maintain a good offing.
Our statesmen must consider that with the public mind
there is no recess. That which is going forward daily and
hourly among the people constitutes the raw material (if I
may so apply the term) of subjcts discussed at Privy
Councils, and for future parliamentary debates. At the
moment lam ring, the conflict of churchwardens, the
rural and other c'ergy, and their diocesans, is being car-
ried into tile, bight st ecclesiastical authorities. The laity

Dec. 17, 184 i.

did not commence this unseemly contest; they srltightno
change. They contend for the status quo; they seek oci
more, and they will accept no less.
qsculeionoclee'd
Aware that Sir Robert Peel is a conciliator and trim-
mer by design and system, his opponents have, in conse-
bbeyco;nteGsuyisztoettr
..tincotagtogrseascsroirfisc.e
la grande
has been
tique a /a petite." A good understanding uithfirFarnatinele.,°l3.ll;
was told, " was worth more than Syria." The pupil Is
following the principle out, considering that good terms
with Popery, in Ireland, are of more account than.the
preservation of the little affair of the Protestant establish:
ment in that section of the empire. But la grande
lique is made up of les petites ; which, light as they mat
be with the premier, constitute in Ireland the sum total
of the loyalty and allegiance of the country. The govern'
merit which Popery has learnt to despise, it will OW
learntodefy ;),,,aervtey to b
every concession
conciliated,cessionex whilecitingonly
tempt the coa•
of theit is, Qp his
own admission, estranging the friends of the conciliation.
We are told by philosophers, that throughout nature the
cpoowlrdtioce,pnreosreravdedistogrheiastesrlitdhinan,
sthcaelepoinwegrrationd, ehsitsra
If Sir Robert Peel cannot learn courage, let him not teach
dined plane of backsliding in prinCiple. Principiis obstat
said our old worthy Sir Walter Scott ; " oppose all intro"
vation on the constitution which has placed Great Brltol
at the head of the world, and will keep her there, unless
she choose to descend of her own accord."
ALPHA.

* In the papalicing of the interior of the fine old parish
church, by taking down the gallery and levelling the laity ti
restored (?) structure will contain 300 less sittings than it al.
before.

WHAT IS THE USE OF COMMERCIAL
TREATIES ? .

TO THE EDITOR OF THE LIVERPOOL STANDARD'
SlR,—Under the above title there appears in the Liver:
pool Mercury of the 29th ult. a curious dialogue, between
a Chinaman and a Frenchman, written by a "clear thing.
er, who knows as much about mercantile transactions as
,_
any man in the world," upon which I had intended to
offer a few remarks in your paper of the following Tees.
,
day. Circumstances, however, prevented me carrying my
intention into effect, but I hope that the time has not y,„
passed away when a brief examination of a few of the ,o
gurnents contained therein will be productive of benefie".
results, by exposing to those who might be inclined other'
wise to regard them as undeniable and true, their false
and s ,phistical nature.
It would occupy too much of your valuable space t().
comment upon each query and reply ; I shall. there
content myself with one or two, which have evidently been
concocted with the greatest care and ingenuity.
After a short discussion telative to the duties charge!'
ble upon British goods imported into China, in which the
Frenchman displays a feeling of deep-rooted animosity
towards England, the Chinaman proceeds thus—" We
have the advantage of not only buying cheaper, but 81:"
benefitted in other respects too ; for if at the low duty
are able to buy twice as much of his (John Bull's) wares
as we would at the half duty, he must take twice as much
of our teas to pay for them, and twice the demand raises
their value, which is so much the better for us, as it takes
less of our property to satisfy his chaise s." Now, Sir,.'t
examining this paragraph, I shall treat it as embodying
the views of the writer of the dialogue, and not as merely
the Chinaman's reply to the Frenchman's interrogatorY•
The drift of the argument appears to be this, that the
low duty upon British goods imported into China enables
the Chinese to purchase twice the quantity they otherwl
could do, and that, consequently, twice the quantity e„
tea is required to pay for those goods ; that this demon"
for tea enhances its value, and therefore the Chinese ate
called upon to part with less of their property to satisfi
the British claims. Now, Mr. Editor, looking at this as
a question of demand, in which light alone the writer al3'
pears to have considered it, the argument is false. The,ete
exists, it appears, a double demand for British goods, aew d
as a necessary consequence, a similarly increased demon
for tea. The " clear-thinker" thinks that a rise in the
t
price of tea will follow this increased demand ;
will ; but he forgot to think that the increased demaa,'
for British goods still cause a corresponding rise in their
price. The actual value of the tea will, doubtless, be en'
hanced, but its relative value will be the same, and the
Chinese will still be compelled to part with the sac°,
amount of property to satisfy the British claims. Bat ie"
us take into cons:deration the question of supply also'
which appears to have been completely overlooked. Now'
every man of common sense knows, that in calculating
upon the probable range of price of any article, he renAs
take into consideration the supply as well as the &math"
It is not always that an increased demand, in the long
run, is accompanied by a high range of prices ; take, for
example, cotton, and let this writer say whether, although
its consumption has increased to an enormous extent
within the last few years, the price has risen, or rather
whether it has not fallen very considerably, and whether
at this present time, when the consumption of the raw
material is still daily increasing, its price is not lower than
ever was known tefore. And all this arises from an, in-
creased supply. Now, api. ly this to the case of tea. "r
pose that the increased demand was followed by a greater
proportionate increase of supply ; as a natural costae"
quence prices would fall ' • and then, supposing that Do'
tish goods maintained their value, who would be the
gainer, England or China ? Let ihe " clear-thinker" try
to answer that.
I feel that I have already occupied too great a space t.
e
enter fully upon the demerits of other portions of his COl
loquy ; and I shall therefore notice briefly one or two
more points.
Towards the close of the dialogue, the Chinaman says'
" The balance of gain is in our favour;" and again "1."
balance of account is a very different thing from the Da'
lance of advantage. In ..tv•
one-sided business. Fiscal regulations may stop busineS3
altogether, but the r xchange of equivalents must be equal,
directly or indirectly ; they do not make each other pre-
sents of their property." To which the Frenchman re-
plies—" Then, if I understand you, you think nations deal
with each other as individuals do, in exchanging their
wares; each gets from the other what is more valuable
than that which he parts with, and thus both get rich.'"
" Certainly," adds the enlightened Chinaman.
A mass of statements more confused and contradictory
than the above I never met with. We are told that
" balance of account and a balance of trade" cannot existe
that " the exchange of equivalents must be equal," and
that in money matters nations never do a one-sided busi-
ness ; yet, in spite of all this, we are likewise told told
that a " balance of vain" does exist, that " each gets iron:, '
the other that which is more valuable than what he parts
with," and that " thus both get rich." Can the clear:
thinker " reconcile these conflicting statements with each
other? I think he cannot. But, perhaps, be will explain
what he means by his four balances, viz , the balance of
gain, of account, of advantage, and of trade, and will also
define the term " money matters." Is it not disgraeow'
in an individuol who lays claim to intellectual superioritY!
endeavouring to establish his opinions by arguments;
absurd as they are false. But, again, in his last replY,,t,,,
Chinaman says, "large consumption of imports, at „
er
duties, produces the greatest revenue." It is a rat,is
h
singular coincidence, that in the column adjoining itia
dialogue, the editor, in his remarks on the presidMat
election in America, has the following :—" It is said *-00
Mr. Polk and his party entertain very modified ~ t
she
this head (the tariff), and that the replenishment 0.1
treasury, which has been the result of that measure, 'o'f
inclined them to recommend a very partial alterationths
its duties, or none at all." Hence, it appears that
American tariff, which is well known to be a scale of big
duties, has been the means of replenishing an empty e:,
chequer, which low duties had failed to do. Which, WI
are we to believe, the Chinaman's theory or the editeew
fact ? Did time and space permit, I think I could shecv,
that the whole dialogue is composed of similar alio!'
ties; these remarks, however. must suffice for the prat
sent, and should you think them worth insertion in Y°
paper of Tuesday next, you will much oblige
Your obedient ssrvant,
VINDEA'

Liverpool, 121 Is December, 1844.