The Statesman.
London, England, 1821-04-06 00:00:00

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representations had peen made on the part of other
Powers of the almost total prolsibitioa of their trade?
Mr. WALLACE hail no recollection that any such
represostations had been wade.
He petition was orslAred to be'printed.
TIMBER IX-TIES.
On lb. motion of Mr. IVADLACE, the Report on I
the Timber Defies Act uses then re-committed.
Mr. WALLACE addressed the Committee, hut in:
inch indistinct terms that we could only now and then
eatcls an observation. He said that be had hear.l vas
rictus and conflicting opinions stated as to the altera-
tion in the Duties on Timber, which he had proposed.
On one side it was said that he had proposed to take
off too much_-on the other, that he dill nut wish to
take off enough. One said that he was Willing to
give too notch protection to Norway--another, that
Ise was inclined to favor the Colonies ; but he held it
impossiisle to please both parties. The Right lion.
Member, after observing that the proposition be-
fore the Committee, while on the one band it was just
to the North of Europe. was on the other hand just to
the Coloniee(it being-calculated to do no more than bring
the Colonial into fair competition with the Foreign'
Timber Trade). concluded by moving that the Com-
mittee esould agree with the first Resolution in this
Report.
Sir li. PARNELL conten.led at considerable length
that the proposition of the. Right Masons-able Gentle-
man opposite was to call on this country to pay n tax
in the shape of a bounty, in order to enable Russia to
send tioshcr to this country in competition with Nor-
way. Conceiving that no rise was made out for such
a sacrifice, and that the only question was. at what
tints., without undue precipitation, it would be fit to
recur to a Este of sound principle on the subject, he
moved as an amendment, to omit all the words in the
resolution after the word " anti," for the purpose of
substituting the following' :—" That the duty on all
Timber imported into the Unites! Kingdom after the
Ist of .January. 1525. s'.all he 21. a load of 30 cubit
feet, and oft All Deals imported, after the same period
of 21. 54. a load of 5:1 cubic feet ; the sail! Duty to he
charged by the cubical contents of such Timber or

Deals."
Mr. BENNET observed. that he hail no personal
interest in this question ; hr stood on neutral gr.turel,
but he was anxious to len.l his aid to the support of
those great principles of Free Trade which cools' alone
extricate 114 from our dilficaltirs. He urged Parliament
to lake the present opportunity of putting at least one
branch of our trade tint of the trammels of the old sys-
tem. 'the system plumed with respect to the Timber
Trade was not like that of the Silk Trade for instance,
long established and fostered. It commenced only in
107. and then, with a specific declaration, that it was
intended to be temporary. The Committee ought to
recollect, that they were legisbving for England, not
fur Russia or Norway ; anithat the only question was,
in what way flusher could be obtained at the cheapest
rate for the consumer? The Honourable Gentleman
proceeded to ridicule the absurdity of making the
people of this country pay a Tax of 400,0001. or
500,000/. to pot in the pockets of the Canadian lum-
ber-meat, or those other lumber-men, the ship-owners
at home. He then entered into • variety of ealettla•
tiuns to show that by the operation of the duties im-
posed iu 1607, we bad driven the Norwegian, which
was confessedly the best timber, out of the market,
and that the proposition of the Right lion. Gentle-
man would have the effect of keeping it out of the
market. He oho n maintained that the scale of duties
recommended by his Noble Friend wa• much prefer-
able to that recommended by the Right llononrable
Gentleman. His own proposition (as we understood
the Ilonossrab!e *holden' n) was to reduce the duty
on the whole of the Foreign timber one half—that
was from 31. to 31114 an.l to lay that duty on American
timber, which trutild give about the same amount of
revenue as the present proposition. lie admitted that it
would drive bail timber from America out of the market ;
but t hat, he contended, was desirable. The lion.
Member, after stone further observations, concluded by
giving his support to the Amendment.
Mr. N. D 011; LAS opposed the amendment.
Sir M. RIDLEY objected to the proposed altera-
tion in the Duties, but, if left to a choice of evils,
he would of course prefer the original motion to
the amendment. 'I he Hon. Member was proceeding
to state the grounds upon which his opposition was
founded, when the attention of the House was ar-
rested by a Member (.lr. Williams) having been
overcome by the heat of the House. The Chair-
man recommended that the Ilonourable Member
should he removed into the Lobby fur the benefit
of the air. Mr. Williams having been assisted out
of the House, the Hon. Member (Sir M. W. Ridley)
proceeded to address the (louse, hut from the con-
fusion occasioned by the circumstance above alluded
to, we were unable to c.,lhect the import of his ob-
servations.
Mr. SYKES opposed both the original 'violins int)
the amendment.
Lord ALTIIORP entered into an explanation of
the arguments which he had urged u a previous
stage of this question ; after which, Isis Lordship
concluded by stating that it was Isis intention to
submit another proposition to the Committee, as soon
as this question was disposed of.
Mr. F. ROBINSON begged to offer a few obser-
vations to the House upon this qnestion. He was
glad to hear that the arguments urged against the
motion of his Right Hoteouraiele Friend were so
widely opposed to each other, fair he felt that the
regulation proposed by that Bill Was one which
ought to he adopted by the country. The colonies,
he contended, ought to he considered rather as an
integral part of the mother country, than a portion
bearing but a remote interest with it. The shipping
interestssboulel also be resperted. They never should
forget that It was the nurse of our Navy—
" Whom flag had braved a thousand years.
The battle and the breeze."
As to the quality of the Canadian timber, it • ap-
peared that it was not so bail as had been described,
though, in some instances, it had suffered a defect in
the preparation. lie disapproved of the application
of cubic measurement to the deals, antler the pre-
sent circumstances, as the former system had been
so bag porsuad, and the object of Parliament to he
to render any change as little injurious as possible
t• the existing interests. it bad bees said, that
the erect of his Right Honoemble Friend's uststiese
would Ise to lima:* the deal trade into the hoods el
I •Kaseia ; but though it was oast that there had 'beam