§ On the Order of the Day for going into Committee on the Marriage and Registration Acts Amendment Bill being read,
§ Mr. Robinsonbegged to ask whether Government had official cognizance of the tariff which had been promulgated by the Portuguese Government, and which was, he conceived, almost prohibitory of our commerce in that country; he also requested to know what were the intentions of Government respecting the course to be pursued in these circumstances.
§ Viscount Palmerstonsaid, that his Majesty's Government had received through their diplomatic Agents, copies of the tariff to which the hon. Member had referred, and which was, he understood, to come into operation in April next. The character of that measure was exactly described by the hon. Member, it was not only unfair to the British trade in Portugal, but it would prove, he thought, injurious to the Portuguese commerce itself, unless the Government of that country should avail themselves of the intervening period to reflect on the propriety of altering their line of conduct and annulling the decree in question. If left in force, 133 that decree could not but prove most detrimental to the revenue of Portugal, as its effect must be, to turn all the trade of that country into contraband channels. With respect to the course which his Majesty's Government contemplated on this-subject it was not for him then to say, and he was sure the hon. Member could hardly expect that he should at present enter into particulars, as the question was at that moment undergoing the most anxious consideration. To the question whether or no it might be proper to have recourse to measures of retaliation on the Portuguese, it was not his wish to allude further; but as connected with this point, he would say a word on the subject of the discriminating duties imposed on British shipping. He was quite prepared to state that so soon as his Majesty's Government should ascertain officially, that the decree establishing these duties was brought into effect, they would, by Orders in Council, impose similar discriminating duties on all Portuguese vessels which should enter the British ports.
§ Mr. Robinsonwas not surprised to find that we had met with such treatment at the hands of our ancient ally, whose future course he had predicted on the occasion of the alteration of the wine duties by the present Lord Spencer.
§ Mr. Humesaid, that as this country had incurred considerable expenses in the maintenance of the treaty with Portugal, he did think the noble Lord was justly entitled to claim a liberal interpretation of our commercial connexions with that country. He should be very sorry, however, if it were necessary to resort to what the noble Lord called measures of retaliation on that people; it would rather be his object to shame them into a more liberal system of policy. Subject dropped.