§ Mr. Ewartwished to ask the First Lord of the Treasury a question with respect to the Treaty with the Brazils. He understood, from the right hon. Gentleman, that the Brazilian government had proposed, that on our manufactures there should be a duty of from 40 to 60 per cent. on the value. Now, he begged to ask the right hon. Baronet whether the duty which the Brazilian government were willing to submit to on Brazilian sugar was not 150 per cent. on the value? He only asked the right hon. Baronet to give them what was the reciprocal duty on the value of the manufactures imported into Brazil, and the duty on the value of Brazilian produce imported into this country.
§ Sir R. Peelsaid, with respect to the calculation whether a certain amount of duty would be 150 per cent. on the value of the article, he thought the hon. Member was quite competent to make that calculation himself. The proposition made by the Brazilian government was, that its sugar should be admitted into this country at the same rate of duty as colonial Sugar. There was subsequently a relaxation of that condition; and the Brazilian government offered, that whatever might he the amount of duty on colonial Sugar, the duty on Brazilian Sugar should not exceed that by more than one-tenth—that was to say, if 10s. was the duty on colonial produce, the duty on Brazilian produce should not exceed 11s. With respect to manufactured produce, the proposal of the Brazilian government was, that the duty on cotton wool should be 40 per cent. ad valorem; that the duty on woollen goods should be 30 per cent. ad valorem; on other articles there was to be no restriction.
§ Mr. Warburtonsaid, the question was simply an arithmetical one; it was whether 27s. 6d.—that was 25s., plus 2s. 6d.—was not ad valorem a duty at the rate of 158 per cent. His hon. Friend wished to draw a contrast between the rate of duty the Brazilians wished to put on our produce, and the rate of duty they were prepared to submit to from us, that was 40 or 50 per cent. on their side, on our goods, against 158 per cent, on our side, on their Sugar.