§ The Earl of Harewoodpresented several petitions from the parishes of Port Royal, St. Mary, St. George, St. James, and St. Thomas, in Jamaica, against any alteration of the sugar duties. He also begged to present a petition from a large body of West-India proprietors, and others, connected with that colony, agreed to at a public meeting, held in the metropolis, making a similar prayer. The petitioners stated, that if slave-grown sugar were admitted into England, the proprietors of the island of Jamaica would be unable to carry on those measures of 2 improvement which they had lately begun. They also felt, that the contemplated alteration would be an encouragement to the slave-trade, which this country had made such great sacrifices to suppress. He did not wish to say anything disagreeable to any party, but he thought it most extraordinary, that such a measure should be proposed, when it was known, that our colonies were about recovering from the state of embarrassment and adversity which the great change of the emancipation of the slaves had necessarily and naturally produced. He thought, that that proposal, if carried into effect, would be most injurious to moral and religious improvement throughout the world, and almost fatal to the population of the West Indies. For his own part, putting these considerations out of the question, he much doubted whether the contemplated change would produce the effect which had been anticipated. He had not much faith in the new theories now so much in fashion, and of late we had had so many of these experiments, and in no case did they succeed. There 3 had been the new scheme of Post-office regulation, and there had been other notable schemes for improving our condition, but, despite of them all, it was still found, that our expenditure far exceeded our revenue. He was not, therefore, very sanguine, judging from the experience of the past, of the success of the present measure, merely on financial and fiscal considerations. He could not agree to it, because he had no confidence in such theories. It had been said, that revenue could be obtained without taxation. He did not know by what machinery it was done—by what means so glorious a consummation was to be accomplished. This country had, during the course of the last year, been engaged in two wars, and these wars, it was to be supposed, had been commenced, and had been carried on for national purposes—for the benefit of the nation at large—and, if this were the case, surely the people of the country who had been thus benefited, could not reasonably refuse, nor, indeed, would be unwilling, to meet the expense in another generous and straightforward manner, by the usual method of taxation. By this scheme, they ran the risk of ruining utterly and completely the colonists of the empire. But, supposing, that the effect of the plan would be such as was anticipated, and that it would produce a vast revenue, in addition to that which already flowed into the coffers of the nation, still he would object to it on other and higher grounds. He would object on one great and important principle. He objected lo it, because it must necessarily increase the slave-trade. And for this one simple reason—if their Lordships were sure, that by this new scheme, they would materially raise the revenue, they ought not to adopt it. How could they say—and this they had said— to any other country, "You must not carry on your trade in slaves—you must cease to encourage, or even tolerate, a traffic so abominable?" How could they say this to any foreign country, when they were themselves, by their own general plan of policy, doing that which above all things would increase and extend the trafficking in slaves? Their own acts would belie their words. They had already spent twenty millions at one time, and twenty millions more at other times, and in ways less direct, to suppress this trade in our own colonies, and now, such was their consistency, they were proposing a scheme to raise and extend slavery in other quarters 4 of the globe. The trade of the country was not conducted on sound and honest principles. New schemes were afloat—speculations on foreign credit were carried on to a large extent—the bill system, with all its evil and nefarious consequences, was in vogue, and men of straw existed to an amount that was to be deplored; and, in his opinion, it would be better that our trade should be diminished, than that it should be increased on such a basis. If we imported Brazilian sugar, the money given for it must necessarily go to purchase slaves. He had taken the present opportunity of thus expressing his sentiments on a question of such vital interest; but he would now trespass on their Lordships' attention no further than to present the petition to which he had alluded. He also begged to present a petition from the Colonial Society, which concluded with a similar prayer to that which he had already read.
The Earl of Mountcashelsaid, the petion just presented from the Colonial Society had been agreed to at a meeting where he presided, and as he now rose for the purpose of presenting another petition, he should take the opportunity of saying a few words upon the subject of the petition just presented by the noble Earl near him. The Colonial Society was composed of more than 1,000 members— men of all shades of political opinions and principles, Whig, Tory, and Radical—but when they met to discuss the grievance of which the petition complained, they forgot all political distinctions, and united as one man in their resistance lo changes in the existing law.
§ Earl Fitzwilliamthought it was not usual for a noble Lord to rise to address the House on one petition, and then to present another. The noble Earl had said, that the Colonial Society was composed of men of all political principles. Now, he understood the profession of political principles to be equivalent to the expression of a determination to pursue and promote the public interest according to certain specified modes of action. Here then, was a set of men professing to be Whigs, Tories, and Radicals, who forgot heir public principles the moment their own private interests were in any danger.
The Earl of Mountcashelcontended, that the course he had pursued was in perfect accordance with the practice of their Lordships' House. The noble Earl 5 concluded by presenting a petition from the inhabitants of Antigua, against any alteration in the sugar duties. The petition was signed by every class amongst the inhabitants of that colony, including many free coloured labourers.
The Earl of Radnorsaid, there was no reason why the people of this country should not enjoy refined sugar at 3½d. per pound, instead of paying 7d. for coarse sugar. From the most recent and correct intelligence on the condition of Antigua, he was enabled to say, that the produce of sugar there had more than doubled since the introduction of free labour, and that the value of land had increased more than four or five-fold. He had been reading that morning Gurney's Tour through the West Indies, in which it was stated, that ever since slavery had been abolished, sugar had increased in price, and could be produced at less cost, which fact clearly established, that free-grown sugar could compete with sugar, the produce of slave colonies.
The Earl of Mountcashelsaid, that Brazilian sugar, after having been sent to England and refined, and then sent out to the West Indies, could be sold at a lower rate than that which was produced I in our own colonies. He thought that fact proved that free could not compete with slave-made sugar.
§ The Earl of Harewoodthought, that if the statement of Mr. Gurney were a true one, that the improved method of production rendered the price of West-India sugar much cheaper than it had formerly been, surely there was less necessity for the introduction of foreign sugar from countries where slavery was practised.
§ Lord Ashburtonwas desirous of explaining the fact as to the consumption of slave-grown sugar in the West Indies. The sugar which was refined in bond was sent there, and no duty was paid upon it, and so the population of the West Indies consumed the sugar without duty, instead of the people of this country consuming with the duty. If its amount were considerable, perhaps it might be made a fair subject of revenue; but this was not the case. As to the statement that sugar from our colonies was no dearer than slave-grown sugar, he must state his belief that the Gentleman who had expressed that opinion, influenced, as no doubt he was, by the best feelings of humanity, had been led away by such feelings, and his judg- 6 ment had been somewhat biassed. The strongest proof of the contrary was afforded by the fact, that the change made in our colonies by the abolition of slavery had been followed by the greatly increased price of sugar; and, as the cause of that increase, the reduced quantity of its supply. Whatever might be the cause of Antigua, or of any particular locality, where separate and individual and distinct causes operated, this unquestionably was the fact throughout the greater number of the West-India Islands. It was certain, as far as our experience had yet gone, that the establishment of freedom had greatly reduced the supply of sugar. It had been stated by the noble Earl (Fitzwilliam) that the petitioners whose claims had been laid before their Lordships were interested parties, and, consequently, that, little weight was due to their opinions. But, in his view of the matter, if ever petitioners were entitled to be listened to with the deepest attention and the most careful consideration, these petitioners who now came before them, whose prospects, whose fortunes, and whose condition, were at stake, were especially so; and as for their opinions, he, for one, would certainly attach more value to the judgments and. conclusions of men practically acquainted with the subject on which they spoke than to those metaphysical Gentlemen who dealt in such wild and extravagant fancies, rather—much rather—than to the very wise and profound Members of such bodies as the Anti-Corn-Law League. He would repeat, that of all the petitions that came before the House, those were most entitled to respect which proceeded from practical men.