New Orleans daily crescent. [volume] ([New Orleans, La.]) 1851-1866, 1856-11-14


Now that our Secretary for Foreign Affairs is loole
ing into the stadt duties we would wish to call his
attention to certain similar duties that are levied in
Liverpool under the name Of town dues, Those Of
Our readers who have account sales Of cotton or other
produce will find among the multifarious charges to
which his goods have been subjected charge adock
and town dues" This on cotton is about four nence
bale; now in regard to the first half of IT, dock
dues, we have objection, and think it worth two
pence, or four cents to have bale Of cotton landed
under shed or granite quay inside walled for dock,
where the first vagrant can not take handful out,
which now, with cotton at nearly twelve cents a
pound, Is worth something, instead of a muddy leyee
where any one that pIeases can piler. But what is
the other two pence for? Why it is simply black
mall LEVIED by the corporation Of Liverpool
The origin Of the Liverpool town dues, as far a. we
can ascertain, is this: formerly in oden times tie
crown was granted certain dues all goods imported
and exported As it was very difficult to collect this
the revenues were generally ar1ned out, and that Of
the village Of Ltherpooe was sold in perpetuity to
l1otd Mobyneux. His lordship, however, found it
hpt pfotaoe and he sold it to the burgesses of the
'liage. Nov this village of Litherpoole has become
1he town OF Liverpool, and the town dues have he
come very different amount.
NO" comes the most extraordinary part As soon n
the burgesses or reemen had got possession of these
Dues they declared that the dues belonged to them
they should not be collected from them hnt t,a+
they should only be collected from strangers This ar
btrary measure, however, opposed and the free
men OF Liverpool in their day made a connro
mise with those that opposed-that is, with the most
powerful and now at the end of the table of town dues
before us, We have this curious note
" The above dues are not due on goods the property
Off, and to be sold solely account of persons free of
Liverpool, Bristol London, Waterford, or Wexford
Ihere it our government were to put rate, duty,
or tax OF four cents upon every bale shipped on account
OF Liverpool man, wouldn't there be a row but
tneae Liverpool people coolly take four cents upon
every Dale OF cotton shipped on American account
Lev us looh further into the working of these dues
1here are two columns in the table,,o headed in
roads, the other ontroads From this we see cotton pays
Two pence per bag, as it is called inwards and one
penny outward Look little further and you will see
salt outWafds, six pence per ton 4 ton of salt costs
generally about seven shillings so here is direct
import bounty OF fully seven per cent. in favor of one
OF the favored treemen. will state case that has
occurred nearly every week An American and
BRITISH ship are loading alongside one another for
New Orleans with salt on ships account The Ar,eri
can, OF course is owned this side The owner os
the Liverpool ship is a freeman of Livernool. The
american has to pay six pence per ton to the town
ior town dues, whereas the Englishman pays moth
ing. The consequence is that the British shin can
uiinetsell the American cent and quarter per bag
IN TINS market, salt being filed ten to the ton of
coarse and eleven to the ton of fine salt.
HaVlng shown what the town dues are, next let US
ask what becomes of the money; why it sroes 70
paving lighting and sewering, etc. the town Of Liver
pool Just think of that when you get the next sales
1eauer' oi nFe hundred bales of cotton (ith profit
We hope) you have paid twenty dollars to payine;
Liverpool which you can enjoy next time Won m
over We see by the Manchester papers that the,.
aoh see very clearly the advantages of this proceed
lns' and we think in all seriousness that our Cham
Der OF Commerce and that in New York, should mt
themselves IN communication with Manchester: and
mat 1t Is quite as much worthy the attention
OF our Government as either the Sound or Stadt
duties, as it involves an amount ten times that of m
other two put together.