§ Mr.Laboucherewished to ask a question respecting the Colonial Customs Bill, which bad been introduced by the right hon. Gentleman, which had excited a great deal of anxiety and perplexity out of doors. In the measure which he had the honour to introduce last year, on the same subject, there was a clause which provided that there should be a protecting 804 duty of 7 per cent. ad valorem in favour of British manufactures introduced into the colonies. He wished this to be the maximum, but he left it to the colonial assemblies to make it more if they pleased; the British Parliament, however, only insured a protection of 7 per cent. He had not understood whether or not the right hon. Gentleman intended to adopt the same principle. in his measure, as his resolutions were rather ambiguously worded on this point. There was, however, a feeling out of doors that it was intended to deprive British manufactures of this protection in the colonial market, but that it would be left to the colonial legislatures to do as they pleased in the matter. He, therefore, wished to know upon what principle the right hon. Gentleman meant to proceed?
§ Mr. Gladstonesaid, that if such an impression prevailed out of doors as that adverted to by the right hon. Gentleman, he was greatly obliged to him for the opportunity which his question gave him of removing it. Nothing was further from his intention than to leave the differential duties on the importation of foreign articles liable to be controlled by the colonial legislatures. His intention was, that there should be a rate of 7 per cent., or whatever rate it might be the pleasure of Parliament to adopt, as a bona fide protection and preference in favour of British goods against all other goods whatsoever. Whatever provision might be necessary to give effect to that principle should be adopted in his bill. The words employed by the right hon. Gentleman last year had been altered, not for the purpose of narrowing, but of increasing their effect. In point of fact there were certain cases in which by the colonial law there were differential duties laid on foreign articles. The intention of these resolutions was first to establish certain differential duties in favour of British articles, and, at the same time, not to interfere with any differential rates which in particular colonies might be laid on by colonial enactments. Words, therefore, had been adopted to save any differential duties now existing in particular colonies, as well as to secure the imposition of a single, uniform differential duty, applicable to all the colonies. Provision would be made in the bill to render that uniform duty independent of any colonial enactment.