§ Mr. Sharprose for the purpose of presenting a petition from a body of men so respectable, and involving a question of such importance to the revenue, that he felt it his duty to call the attention of the House to it. It was a petition from the wine merchants of the United Kingdom, praying that the duty on the importation of foreign wines might be diminished. It stated that a similar petition had been presented last session, which had produced no effect; that the wine trade was now almost at the lowest ebb, and if some abatement of the duties was not made, that its total ruin seemed inevitable. The only remedy was, to reduce 640 the duties on foreign wines to one-half their present amount. If the House had attended to the petition which had been presented, last year, he should not now have had the melancholy duty of giving notice that he intended to call the attention of the House to the ruinous state of this trade, and to move for a reduction of the duty, not only on account of the unfortunate petitioners, but on acount of the revenue, which was now severely suffering from the pertinacity of his majesty's ministers with respect to this branch of it.
The Petition was brought up and read, setting forth, "That the petitioners found themselves, in the beginning of the last year, impelled by absolute necessity to make the most urgent appeal to the House, in consequence of the ruinous state to which the wine trade was rapidly approaching; their petition was, however, laid upon the table of the House without any proceeding consequent thereon, through which the petitioners might indulge the reasonable hope of obtaining that relief which they then stated, and as they supposed completely demonstrated could not be delayed without the most serious consequences, as well to the revenue of the country as to themselves individually, and that the petitioners, with the additional information derived since their last application, feel that they should betray the duty they owe to themselves as well as to the public at large, if they did not declare, as the result of their most serious and conscientious reflection, an entire belief that a reduction of one half, instead of one third, of the present duty, as humbly suggested in their former petition, would, under the present circumstances, be a more adviseable experiment; the only question, in their estimation, being whether even a greater diminution of the duty on wine would not be a still preferable measure; and that the petitioners cannot conclude without expressing their decided opinion that half the present rate of duty on wine will, if adopted, produce a larger sum to the exchequer than is now derived from this article; but were even this their confident expectation to be eventually disappointed, they are equally-sure that a small, or even, abstractedly considered, a large pecuniary deficiency in the revenue on wine, would, when compared with the promotion of other branches of the revenue, and general advancement of the interests of the state, prove to be a mere nominal, sacrifice, and consequently 641 undeserving any serious consideration; and that the petitioners, in consideration of the very urgent nature of the case they have submitted, do humbly pray the House to repeal, with as little delay as the proceedings in parliament will admit of rot less than half the amount of the existing duties on foreign wine, and to allow a corresponding drawback, either in money or by debentures, payable with interest at future stated periods, for the stock remaining on hand, and upon which the existing duties have been paid; and to grant such further relief as to the House shall seem meet."
§ Mr. Warreobserved, that a discussion had long been pending between the British and Portuguese governments, respecting two articles in the treaty of 1810. He understood that two points had been pressed by the British government: either the revision of the two artieles, or the annulling of the whole treaty, and formation of a second. He requested to be informed by the noble lord opposite whether the Portuguese government concurred in either of these points?
Lord Castlereaghreplied, that the question was one which he found it difficult to answer at the moment, in consequence of the complicated nature of the negociations. He could, however, state, that no progress had been as yet made towards making any alteration in the existing treaty.
§ Mr. Protheroespoke in favour of the petition. He had received several communications from his constituents, which confirmed what had been said by the hon. gentleman, as to the stagnation of the wine trade, and the necessity of reducing the duties. He had heard a report, that it was the intention of his majesty's government to diminish these duties, and the report was so prevalent that he hoped it was true.
The Chancellor of the Exchequersaid, it was necessary for him to state that any such rumour was not in the least degree countenanced by his majesty's government. For his own part, he never in any degree ceded his opinion, that under the present circumstances of the country, the prayer of this petition could not be complied with. Whatever reason there might be for a reduction of duty on any other article of consumption, certainly it would be agreed that on the article in question the duty ought to be kept up at as high a rate as possible. When the subject in question came to be discussed, he should be prepared to show, that if the prayer of 642 the petition of last year had been complied with, an irreparable injury to the revenue would have been the consequence.
Mr. Ponsonbywas surprised that any rumour could have gone abroad of any intention on the part of ministers to reduce the amount of taxation, as such a measure was altogether hostile to their system. It might, indeed, have been thought that the right hon. gentleman would have desired to have collected an improving revenue, instead of experiencing a diminution in the port of London alone of 338,000l.; and he was convinced, that when the returns throughout the entire empire would be examined, the loss in every part would be found proportionably great. This was the more remarkable, as the wine duties had not long since been considerably increased, and exemplified what had been, said by Swift, that in the arithmetic of the revenue, "one and one did not always make two." The reduction afforded a convincing proof of the inability of the higher classes of society to consume as much wine as they used to do, and of the country at large to support the present expenditure.
§ Sir J. Newportstated, that the wine duties in Ireland had increased since 1802, in the proportion of from two to five; while the produce of that branch of revenue was last year less by 200,000l. than in 1803.
§ Sir M. W. Ridleysaid, that he had that morning received a letter from one of his constituents, requesting him to support this petition, and stating that in the town he had the honour to represent, the wine trade had decreased one-half.
§ The petition was ordered to lie on the table.