Lords Sitting of 29 March 1824

SILK TRADE.
The Lord Chancellorsaid, he had been requested to present a petition to their lordships from persons connected with the Silk trade, and against the bill now before their lordships. It was signed by 25,750 persons, all living in London and its neighbourhood, and it expressed their fears, that this bill would be ruinous to them if passed into a law. He could see nothing objectionable in the petition, and had therefore thought it his duty to present it to their lordships.
The Marquis of Lansdownsaid, it was not his intention, in the present stage of the bill, to enter into discussion concerning it; but he wished to state, that the opinions which he and several of their lordships had embodied into a report, and laid on their lordships' table, remained unchanged, and were consonant to the views on which his majesty's ministers appeared at present to be acting; though he would have no objection to have changed that opinion, and expressed that change, had he seen any good ground for doing so. As this was the first time the question was brought before their lordships, he wished to take that opportunity of doing justice to one witness who had been examined before their lordships committee; and who was, by his most respectable character, as well entitled as any man, that justice should be done him. The individual to whom he alluded was Mr. William Hale; and he wished now to make it known, that a part of that gentleman's evidence had been purposely omitted, thereby making it appear that he was more friendly to the alteration now proposed than he really was. The mistake arose in this way: on a question respecting the facilities which would exist for the introduction of foreign silks, if certain regulations were dispensed with, Mr. Hale said, that great facilities would in that case exist; and he mentioned the names of several ladies who had availed themselves of certain facilities

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afforded to passengers to introduce foreign silks. Being asked, whether he thought that such facilities injured the trade, he replied, that he did not. He thought that this practice tended to keep up a taste for wearing silks, to extend the fashion, and thus to act as an encouragement to the home-manufacturer: he was therefore of opinion, that if this practice was not carried further than it had been, it would do no harm to the silk-trade. As it had been thought proper to order the names of the ladies to be expunged, the explanatory part of the answer had also been struck out; by which it appeared as if Mr. Hale had stated generally, that facilities for the introduction of foreign silks would not be injurious. As this opinion had been attributed to Mr. Hale elsewhere, it was but justice to him to give this explanation. That gentleman had not stated any thing favourable to free importation, and continued to regard such a system as ruinous to the trade. Ordered to lie on the table.