§ Mr. Sanfordpresented a Petition from an individual residing in Somersetshire, complaining of the distress of the Silk Trade, and against the importation of foreign manufactured silks. The petitioner stated, that the Silk-trade of the country was rapidly improving previous to the prohibitory duties being taken off, but that since then it had continued to decline; that many mercantile houses were largely engaged in smuggling silks; he therefore prayed for an increase of duty on foreign silks, and for the re-enactment of the prohibitory laws.
An Hon. Membersaid, there could be no doubt that the present duties on imported silks, were evaded to a great degree. He knew that many merchants engaged in the silk business, were compelled to resort to means of which they were ashamed, such was the ruinous depression in the trade. The scale of duties on the foreign article was so low, as not to give the English manufacturer a tolerably fair competition. By the evasion of the duty, the manufacturer procured a foreign article upon which he willingly paid the seller an advanced price, 648 proportioned to the risk, of from six to ten per cent, whereas if he imported them in the regular manner, the duty would be thirty per cent, which, however, if really paid, was not a sufficient protection to the home producer. So long, therefore, as such a system was tolerated, it was utterly impossible the condition of the silk-trade could be improved. It was, therefore, high time to adopt some means by which the nefarious practices, which were now carried on by certain silk merchants, to their own very great advantage, should be put an end to, and the fair trader have the protection given him which he deserved.
§ Mr. Alderman Venableshad great pleasure in informing the hon. Member, that the subject had engaged the serious attention of Government, and that he understood the Ministers proposed to add imprisonment with hard labour, in addition to pecuniary penalties, as the punishment of persons who were convicted in the nefarious offence of smuggling silks. He was no friend to prohibition, but he must say, that the manufacturers of this country were entitled to the full enjoyment of the protection the Legislature had bestowed for their security against foreign competition, which protection they had been most ungenerously deprived of by these smuggling transactions.
Mr. Alderman Waithmansaid, this was a matter of considerable importance, and would be brought before the House in a regular way. He had had many communications with various parties on the subject, from the result of which he was firmly persuaded, the evil was to be attributed more to the unsuccessful competition of the goods of this country with those of foreign manufacture, than to smuggling. He hoped that the Legislature would speedily take the whole question into its most serious consideration.
§ Petition to lie on the Table.