§ MR. CRUMasked the Under Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs. If, referring to the letter of the Foreign Office to the Manchester Chamber of Commerce of the 15th March, he could state whether the intention of the Mozambique Tariff to make the duty on textiles about 10 per cent has been realized; and, whether British vessels, when entering the Congo, would be subject to quarantine regulations, from which the proposed Treaty liberates them when departing?
§ LORD EDMOND FITZMAURICESir, the intention of the framers of the Mozambique Tariff, that the duties on textiles shall be about 10 per cent ad valorem, has, it is believed, been realized. In regard to the application of that Tariff to the Congo, Her Majesty's Government pointed out to the Portuguese Government that, owing to the character of the goods sent to the Congo, the specific duties in Articles 21 and 22 of the Tariff would exceed that amount. I am now glad to be able to inform my hon. Friend that, in answer to these representations, Her Majesty's Minister at Lisbon has been informed that the Portuguese Government will make the necessary alterations, so that the duties on cotton textiles and on other articles, except tobacco, guns, brandy, and gunpowder, shall not exceed 10 per cent. My hon. Friend is aware that on several important, articles the ad valorem duties are already lower than 10 per cent.