§ On the Motion of the Chancellor of the Exchequer, the House resolved itself into a Committee on these Acts.
The Chancellor of the Exchequersaid, that last Session his right hon. friend near him introduced a bill to prohibit the growth of Tobacco in Ireland, but that bill not being favourably received by the House, it was withdrawn. The measure he meant to propose had for its object to regulate the growth of Tobacco in every part of the Empire, prohibiting it nowhere, but imposing on it a certain rate of duty. 1434 It was for a long time supposed that the growth of Tobacco was prohibited in Ireland as well as in this country, but this was an error, and as soon as it was discovered that no law prohibited the cultivation of Tobacco in Ireland, many persons engaged in that cultivation to a considerable extent. If the expense of cultivating Tobacco in Ireland was equal to the expense of cultivating it in foreign countries, the grower, it was plain, might obtain a profit equal to the high duty paid on the importation of Tobacco, subjecting the Revenue to a loss of duty on all the Tobacco consumed in Ireland. As the feeling of the House was opposed to prohibiting the growth of Tobacco in that country, and as it was fair that the Tobacco grown should pay duty as well as the Tobacco imported, nothing remained but to impose such a duty on all Tobacco grown within the Empire. It would be impossible to restrict the growth of Tobacco to Ireland, and therefore the new regulation would apply to the whole Empire. A great difficulty was felt in fixing the amount of duty, so as to protect the Revenue and not prohibit the cultivation. The expense of growing Tobacco here and abroad, as well as the expense of carriage, had all to be taken into consideration, and as the result, he had fixed on 1s. 8d. per pound as a fair tax. If he should find it otherwise, he should be obliged to renew his application to Parliament. He would then only further observe, that, if it should be found at any time expedient to reduce the duty on foreign Tobacco, no persons engaged in the cultivation of the plant at home would have any claim for compensation on account of vested rights; care had been taken to provide against such claims. The right hon. Gentleman moved, "that the Act passed in the twelfth year of Charles 2nd, prohibiting the cultivation of Tobacco, should be repealed, and that there should be levied on every pound weight of manufactured Tobacco, the growth or produce of the United Kingdom, an Excise duty of 1s. 8d., to be paid by the grower. These Resolutions to be taken into further consideration on April 26th."
§ Mr. Poulett Thomsonwould not address himself to the House in its then state: but he should feel it his duty to oppose this provision on the third reading. It introduced a new species of taxation, that was at once inconvenient, oppressive, and expensive, without the probability that it 1435 would protect the Revenue. Total prohibition was, in his opinion, better than these regulations.
§ Mr. Humealso would rather prohibit the growth of Tobacco altogether in this country than adopt these regulations. He thought the duty on Tobacco too high, but at the same time he thought the right hon. Gentleman should be careful, as foreign Tobacco yielded a large revenue, how he permitted the plant to be cultivated at home. The machinery connected with the new scheme would necessarily be open to many objections which deserved serious consideration.
§ Mr. Spring Ricedid not concur with his hon. friends who opposed this measure. A new branch of industry was opened, and if that could be prosecuted without injury to the Revenue, the Chancellor of the Exchequer was not to be condemned for sanctioning the experiment. Several persons in Ireland had already embarked large capitals in the cultivation of Tobacco, and it would be hard on them to prohibit the exercise of their industry. He concurred with the right hon. Gentleman in thinking that these persons ought to have no claims for compensation should the duty on Tobacco be reduced; but he could not give his consent to any act of absolute prohibition, and he was surprised that his hon. friends, the members for Dover and Aberdeen, should advocate that principle.
Mr. Alderman Woodhoped that the Chancellor of the Exchequer might and a substitute for the revenue he derived from Tobacco, and then every man might cultivate what he pleased.
Mr. Warburtonwould be satisfied if it could be shown that Tobacco could be profitably cultivated, and yield a revenue equal to that at present obtained from Tobacco. He believed, however, that it would be impossible to collect the present amount of revenue from Tobacco grown at home. The opportunities of evading the duty would be numerous, and they would all be taken advantage of.
The Chancellor of the Exchequerfound it singular that he should be of the same opinion as the hon. Members to whom he was generally opposed. He had no doubt that as to the Revenue, prohibition would have been the safer course, and as he must protect the Revenue, for that was a sine quâ non, he should be obliged to resort to prohibition if the duty were found insufficient to answer the purpose. Tobacco was 1436 already cultivated to a considerable extent, and therefore he was under the necessity of proposing a duty instead of trying prohibition.
§ Mr. Robinsonthought the same duty as was levied in the United Kingdom ought also to be levied in Canada. Tobacco could be grown there as well as in Virginia, and he did not know why the duty of 3s. 9d. per pound should be continued.
§ Mr. Brightwas of opinion, if the privilege were extended to Canada, that it ought also to be extended to the West Indies. The Colonies there were labouring under great privations, and would be benefitted by such an advantage. We might then defy the Americans, and furnish ourselves with an article of the finest quality.
The Chancellor of the Exchequerhad before argued this point with his hon. friend, and had the misfortune to differ from him. The present rate of duty gave a bonus to Tobacco grown in the Colonies sufficient to encourage its cultivation, while the duty to be imposed at home was only to secure the Revenue. It would be anything but a bonus on the cultivation of Tobacco in England.