SOAP DUTIES BILL. (Hansard, 20 June 1853)

§ MR. J. WILSON

said, he had to propose a material alteration in these duties, which it was necessary that the public should be made aware of. It was proposed that the excise duties upon soap should determine on the 5th of July. In consequence of a question the other night, it appeared that an extensive arrangement was being made for the purpose of exporting soap under the drawback prior to the 5th of July, in order to reimport it after the 5th of July free of duty. The Government had no wish to interfere with the legitimate right on the part of the manufacturer up to the 5th of July to export any quantity of soap he pleased, provided it was intended for foreign consumption, and not intended to be reimported into this country. The Government had two plans before them to effect this object—in respect to one of which it was competent for them to ask the House to pass a Resolution at once to suspend the remainder of the period during which the drawback would be given on soap. But on the whole they thought it better not to interfere with the privilege of the old stocks for the drawback for the legitimate right of the export trade. The only other plan was to postpone the reduction of the duty for such period of time as was not likely to induce those operations to which he had referred. Therefore, in regard to foreign soap, the Government proposed to enact that foreign soap duties should take effect from and after the 5th of July, 1854; also in regard to the importation of soap from Ireland, they also proposed that the privilege of importing soap duty free from Ireland should take effect after the same date. If the Government found that there was no considerable quantity of soap under drawback, it would be quite competent to the House to amend these propositions.