§ Lord Sandonwished to ask his right hon. friend the President of the Board of Trade a question relative to the commerce of the country. Negotiations had been pending some time between the Government of this country and that of Naples respecting the high duty imposed by this Government on Neapolitan oil in consequence of the high duty imposed by the Neapolitan Government on fish imported from our colonies. In order to do further injury to our commerce, the Neapolitan Government had recently confided the monopoly of brimstone to a French company. He rose to ask his right hon. Friend whether he was in possession of a copy of the decree by which that monopoly was established, and if he was, whether he would have any objection to lay it on the table?
§ Mr. P. Thomsonsaid, that his noble friend, in putting a question to him, had endeavoured to raise an argument. He did not, however, agree with him as to his argument; for what had been done by the Government of Naples as to the sulphur, had nothing whatever to do with the oil question. The decree of the Neapolitan Government on the subject of sulphur was directed quite as much against the French Government as against ours. With respect to the question which his noble Friend had put to him, he had to reply, that it was only two or three days ago that he was officially made acquainted with the fact that the Neapolitan Government had entered into the unwise proceeding of raising sulphur in Sicily under a monopoly. As soon as he should receive an official copy of the contract which that Government had made, he would lay it on the table of the House. He had already seen a copy of it which had been privately furnished him; and he had submitted it to the law officers of the Crown for the purpose of ascertaining whether the Neapolitan Government could enter into such a contract, conformably to the treaties into which it had previously entered with us. If it could not, there was an end to the question; if it could, we could only try what we could effect by good offices.