CUSTOMS, ETC., ACTS—(ISLE OF MAN). (Hansard, 8 July 1853)

§ MR. J. WILSON
moved the adoption from and after the 5th day of July, 1853, of the new scale of Customs Duties on goods imported into the Isle of Man, of which he had given notice.

§ SIR JOSHUA WALMSLEY
said, that a strong feeling of opposition existed in the island to the new Resolutions. He proposed that the consideration of the Resolutions should be postponed.

§ MR. J. WILSON
said, he could assure the House that the object of the Government in making the changes now proposed was to relieve the Isle of Man from the objectionable system of licences, and to allow the inhabitants of the island to import freely and without restriction any article which they might require. The object was not to increase the revenue. He sent the minute of the changes proposed to the Lieutenant Governor, who summoned the House of Keys. The House of Keys met on the 20th of June. They objected to some items of the proposed tariff, and approved of others; but they offered no opposition to the incorporation of these Resolutions into a Consolidated Customs Act. If, however, it should appear that objections were taken to such incorporation, he had no wish to press it, and the Resolutions might be passed in a distinct shape. The people 1468 of the island seemed to be agreed that the licensing system ought to be abolished. The Government were about to confer a great boon upon the island by the proposed method of dealing with Customs Duties. For the first time the Isle of Man would have the privilege of the coasting trade of England and Ireland. They would, indeed, enjoy all the privileges of the United Kingdom, both with respect to the export and import trade. A great many applications had been made to the Treasury to appropriate the sums raised by the proposed Customs Duties to the repair of the harbours of the island; and he did not anticipate any very great addition to the revenue. He must certainly remark that some opposition had been made to the proposed measure by persons holding licences, and who had come to London; bat it was his opinion that the increase of trade produced by the new system would be more advantageous even to those persons than to continue the inconvenient licensing system.

LORD STANLEY
wished to understand whether an objection was taken to the substitution of the Customs Duties, or to the manner in which the measure was produced as part of a general measure, and not of a separate nature.

§ MR. J. WILSON
The Governor in Council and the House of Keys were agreed that a fair increase in the duties was acceptable; but, he was bound to say, that there were some persons who contended that no increase was necessary. He was advised, however, by the best authorities, that there was no very great objection to a fair increase.

§ MR. G. A. HAMILTON
said, he could confirm the statement of the hon. Gentleman as to the applications to the Treasury to repair the harbours. It was to be remembered that the Isle of Man was not represented in that House, and, therefore, in legislating for it great caution ought to be exercised, and consideration shown for the opinions of the people of that country. With regard to the manner of the change, he had seen a letter dated the 7th June, in which it was stated that the Bill should be submitted to the Governor in Council and the House of Keys before it was brought under the consideration of Parliament. He understood that the change of this proposal from a distinct measure to part of a general Customs Act had not yet been submitted to them. [Mr. J. WILSON: Yes it has.] Well, it had only been done very lately, and the 1469 House ought not, he thought, to proceed any farther in the matter until time had been afforded to the authorities of the island for considering the proposal, and until they had an opportunity of expressing an opinion. He believed that in many respects the changes proposed would prove to be very advantageous to the island; but he thought that, under the circumstances the best course would be to defer further consideration to a future period. He was informed that in the course of a few days petitions would be presented to the House, from which the opinions of the inhabitants on the subject might be gathered, and surely the question was not of such a pressing nature as to require an immediate decision. He hoped that the Government would consent to postpone the consideration of the measure for a few days.

§ MR. J. WILSON
said, that when it was intended to propose a separate measure, a Treasury minute had been submitted to the House of Keys, embodying the whole, or nearly so, of the present proposal. The reason why he asked the House to agree to the Resolution at present was, that the licences had expired, and the Lieutenant Governor had not issued any new ones; and, under these circumstances, he had thought it better to ask the House to agree at once to the Resolutions.

§ SIR JOSHUA WALMSLEY
said, he was prepared to show that the statements of the hon. Gentleman the Secretary to the Treasury were most of them totally at variance with the facts of the case; and he felt bound to say the course pursued, in reference to increased duties, and placing the Isle of Man, as far as its fiscal regulations were concerned, within the scope of the Customs Acts of this country, were infractions on the constitutional rights of the Manx people. This was the first time such an attempt had been made, and it was in direct contravention of the laws and privileges of the people; and, according to their laws, could not be without their consent. It had been said that the Crown had purchased the lords' rights of the Isle of Man; but these rights consisted not of a right to tax, but of certain land revenues, and the Crown could not purchase what the lords had not power to sell. This appeared to him an attempt to accomplish by a side wind that which they lacked boldness openly to declare. The Secretary to the Treasury stated that the consent of the Manx people had virtually been obtained; but he omitted to state 1470 where or from whom. The only party who could legally become the consenting party was the local Legislature, which had repudiated his statement, and, by their petition presented this day, declared their unwillingness to consent to the present propositions. Much stress had been laid upon the desirableness of abolishing the present system of licences: to this there was no objection, and so far the House of Keys were consenting parties; but here their concurrence ended: they did not see any valid reason for an increase of 60 to 100 per cent duties on some of the principal articles of importation, neither did they see why their surplus revenue should be taken for imperial purposes, or that they should be included in the Customs Acts of this country, contrary to all former precedent. It was intimated that if the licences were removed, and free importation allowed, it might encourage smuggling; but it should be borne in mind that the Manx people had not availed themselves of the full quantities allowed to be imported for their own consumption, consequently, such a plea could not be sustained. The Secretary of the Treasury himself had admitted that, so far as brandy and tobacco were concerned, such was the fact, and these were the only two articles likely to he smuggled. Unfortunately he went further, and said there was no other article that the full quantity allowed for the consumption of the inhabitants had not been exhausted: here again he had fallen into error; of the article of rum there were 14,000 gallons less imported than allowed by licence. The hon. Gentleman said he only proposed a small increase on the import duties; what did the House think of a small increase from 1s. 6d. to 3s. 8d. per gallon on' rum, from 4s. 6d. to 6s. on brandy and geneva, and on tobacco from 1s. 6d. to 4s. 9d. per pound? Again, the hon. Gentleman endeavoured to throw discredit on the petition which he (Sir J. Walmsley) had that day presented from the House of Keys, protesting against his misstatements. He assumed not to have any knowledge of the parties; he did or ought to know something of them, seeing that he had, either directly or indirectly, corresponded with one of them as the official organ of the House of Keys, and the other as a Member of that House, and a man of station and property in the island. Previous to expressing a doubt as to who they were, he should have ascertained the fact, which he might have done from the noble Lord 1471 the Secretary for the Home Department, to whom they were accredited. He (Sir J. Walmsley) had to apologise to the House for occupying so much time at that late hour; but he felt bound to rebut the assertions of the hon. Gentleman where to him they appeared incorrect, and to endeavour to place this question in its true light. He did not offer any opinion whether the present scale of duties was too low, or the proposed ones too high; nor did he desire to express any opinion as to whether the present relations of the Isle of Man to this country were what they ought to be. The present question was a totally different one; and was simply, were we justified in setting at naught the laws of the Isle of Man, and taxing the people without their consent, and without due notice of such intention? He believed it to be adverse to every principle of right dealing, and be could not consent to such a course of procedure without a protest. The Gentleman deputed to confer with the Government, on behalf of the authorities on the Island were prepared to meet every reasonable requirement consistent with their duty to their constituents, and that due consideration might be given to the case, he begged to move that the Chairman report progress.

§ LORD JOHN MANNERS
said, he thought they should follow precedent, and consult the House of Keys before this Bill was introduced. The Committee would be ill advised if they proceeded without the consent of the authorities of the Island.

§ MR. J. WILSON
said, he believed he was doing nothing which had not received the consent of the authorities; but as he was informed the House of Keys was likely to communicate with the Government on the subject, he would not proceed with the vote at present.