§ VISCOUNT DUNCANsaid, he perceived it was stated in The Times that a telegram had been received in London to the effect that the alterations proposed in the Customs duties in India had been carried out and were in operation in Bombay. As those duties involved no less than a million and a half per annum, he wished to know whether the new tariff would be brought into operation before the home authorities had given their assent to the proposed changes. He would also ask whether the 1802 new tariff would apply to goods shipped from this country before the change of duties had become known to the manufacturers of this country?
§ MR. HADFIELDsaid, he wished to ask the Secretary of State for India whether it is contemplated to impose any, and, what Duty on Hardware under the new Tariff in India?
MR. WILSONsaid, he also wished to ask a question with regard to this tariff. On a former occasion he had thought it his duty to call attention to the fact that the tariff then existing in India was, as far as it related to English goods, a protective tariff, since under its imports from England were charged 5 per cent, while imports from foreign countries were charged 10 per cent. He had also stated that that was a principle which had been abandoned years ago with regard to our Colonies, and he could not understand why British manufactures in India should require protection in the Indian market. He had therefore taken the liberty of suggesting that it would only be fair to raise the duty on British manufactures to an equality with those of foreign manufactures. he wished to ask whether the increase referred to in the telegram just received referred only to the duties on British manufactures, so as to raise them to an equality with foreign manufactures, or whether both the duties on British and foreign goods were to be increased in a corresponding manner?