§ The Chancellor of the Exchequerin moving the order of the day for the House to resolve itself into a Committee of Ways and Means, would make some reference to the motions that stood upon the paper; and he trusted, that if his statement were satisfactory, hon. Gentlemen opposite would not go into any discussion on their respective motions. Part of that statement might be anticipated from that which had fallen from the hon. Baronet, the Member for Edinburgh—he referred to certain parts of the Queen's hereditary revenues in Scotland, which were derived from bishop's lands and teinds. He should say, that it behoved the present Parliament not to take any steps affecting any particular portion of her Majesty's hereditary revenue; and he thought there was no Gentleman in that House who would not shrink from so indelicate and inexpedient a course as the raising of any discussion upon them. The same rule applied to the four and a-half per cent duties, appropriated as they were by the existing law, the whole of the expense of the ecclesiastical establishment in those islands where these duties were levied, being laid upon them. He should, at a future time, have an opportunity of explaining any alteration that it might be deemed expedient to make in them, and he thought it would be advantageous to all parties that the discussion of them should be reserved to a time when the whole question might properly be taken into consideration. In recommending hon. Members not to press their motions at present, he would only say, that that course involved no abandonment of principle. The right hon. Gentleman concluded by moving, that the House resolve itself into a Committee of Ways and Means.
§ The House in Committee.
§ The Chancellor of the Exchequersaid, it would be in the recollection of the Committee that he had last year, for the first 1609 time, proposed the equalization of the duties levied on Sugar grown in our East and West Indian possessions. The Bill of last year affected only the presidency of Fort William, and a strong desire had been expressed by the inhabitants of the Madras and Bombay presidencies that its provisions might be extended to those settlements. Petitions had been presented to the House from these presidencies, praying them to grant to the inhabitants a participation in the benefits of the equalization. The principle on which the Bill of last year had been founded was, that those parts of India alone into which the importation of foreign sugar was prohibited, should have the full benefit of that alteration. Their admission to the benefits resulting from the measure, depended on their consenting to exclude foreign sugar—a condition on which it had last year been thought necessary to insist, as foreign sugar might otherwise be imported into those parts and exported again to this country, as the growth of British possessions. The presidency of Fort William was the only one which had yet passed a law for the exclusion of foreign sugar. Supposing similar laws to be passed by the other presidencies, he proposed, that power should be given to his Majesty to extend, by an order in council, the provisions of last year's Act to all those parts of India in which the exclusion of foreign sugar should be made complete. When the inhabitants of the other presidencies placed themselves in the same condition as those of Fort William, the same privileges ought to be extended to them. The resolution he should now propose, was merely to continue the present Sugar Duties for the ensuing year.
§ Mr. Humethought the sum paid by Government by way of drawback or bounty was far too large. He wished to know if the right hon. Gentleman meant to bring the subject of drawbacks under the consideration of the House? The chymical experiments of Dr. Ure had, he thought, sufficiently proved, that drawbacks were allowed on a quantity far above the real amount. He thought the Board of Trade was very neglectful of its duties; it was an inefficient and useless establishment, and he strongly reprobated the keeping up an unnecessary board at a great expense. The Sugar Duties, he contended, should be reduced from 24s. to 19s. per cwt. He was convinced the loss to the revenue would be made up by the increased consumption.
§ The Chancellor of the Exchequersaid, 1610 that the subject of the drawbacks had been before Government, and they had determined to bring it under the consideration of the House, but under present circumstances such a step would not be advisable.
§ Mr. Huttsaid, that he had frequent occasion to communicate with the Board of Trade, and was happy to bear testimony to the ability, assiduity, and business habits shown by its members. He regretted the attack made on it by the hon. Member for Middlesex; and declared that he thought the Board of the greatest importance to the commercial interests of the country.
§ Mr. Poulett Thomsonwould not now say whether the duties of the President of the Board of Trade were properly discharged by himself or not, but he could not allow the attack made on it by the hon. Member for Middlesex, who denied its utility, to pass unnoticed. He had only to remind the House of the benefits conferred by it on the commerce of the country when a lamented friend of his presided over it. The hon. Member had on this, as on former occasions, exhibited the most perfect ignorance of the duties of that department. In fact, the hon. Member knew nothing whatever about the matter, or he would not condemn such a board as unnecessary. He concurred in his estimate of the difficulties attending the subject of drawbacks; there was no question more embarrassed, less understood by the House, or less easy to bring to a safe settlement. By a new arrangement a considerable sum might be saved to the revenue, but it should be recollected that the interests which had grown up under the present system were great and various. It would be unjust to attempt to carry through a measure relating to this subject in the short period of the Session which remained to them.
§ Dr. Bowringremarked, that the quantity of beetroot sugar consumed in France in the year 1828–29 had amounted to 4,000,000 of kilogrammes, while in the last year it had advanced to 70,000,000 of kilogrammes, and the duty it paid towards the revenue had reached 2,000,000l. He felt that it would be impossible to collect a heavy duty on a foreign article, which article the soil of the country was capable of producing, and he appealed in support of his position to the embarrassments which the French government had met with when dealing with the subject. He was of opinion that the Government ought to prohibit the growth of beetroot.
§ Mr. Humeobserved, that generally those who were the most ignorant were also the readiest to cry out. What he wanted was, that the establishment of the Board of Trade should be directly connected with the Treasury, as, at the present moment, its proceedings were clogged by the necessity of communication with the Chancellor of the Exchequer. He, however, had not denied the utility of the Board of Trade. He thought that the duty on sugar ought to be taken off as soon as sugar should be generally made from beetroot; he hoped that such a thing as a sugar excise would never be tolerated. If any reduction were practicable, the people ought to have the benefit of it.
§ Resolution agreed to.
§ The House resumed.