Lords Sitting of 30 June 1825

CUSTOMS CONSOLIDATION BILL.
The Earl of Liverpoolmoved the second reading of this bill. The main principle on which the measure was founded was, he said, the doing away with prohibitory duties, and introducing certain regulations. There were, however, some exceptions: for instance, the bill did not interfere with the corn laws, nor with cattle now prohibited. He hoped, however, that this part of the subject would be brought, at another opportunity, under the consideration of parliament, as French cows were introduced under the name of Alderney, and this fraud was accomplished by means of the grossest perjury. A considerable change had been made with respect to the silk trade, the prohibition being removed, and a protecting duty of 30 per cent substituted. In mentioning cotton, he reminded their lordships of the remarkable circumstance, that the British manufacturer could undersell the natives of India in their own market, though the price of labour was here 2s. 6d. a-day, and in India only 2d. On paper the duty was also reduced. He should next direct their lordships' attention to the duty on woollens. Hitherto, the import duty had amounted to 65 per cent, but this measure proposed to allow importation with a protecting duty of 15 per cent. It was necessary to act on liberal principles of commerce, if we expected other countries to adopt a system of liberality in their intercourse with us. Upon this view the whole of these regulations of reductions were founded. But he now came to one branch in which the reduction was more considerable than any he had yet mentioned. He meant the great branch of metallic articles. The first he should mention was iron, in which the reduction was from 6l. 10 s. to 1l. 10 s. per ton. This important alteration was likely to prove highly advantageous to our manufacturers at the present moment; for, such was the demand for iron at Birmingham, that the manufacturers had for some time been unable to make all the articles ordered. In the article of copper, the reduction was from 2l. 14 s. to 1l. 7s. He came next to lead, an article which could
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well bear a similar regulation; for the price of lead, which during the last ten years had been not more, than 19 l. 10 s. per ton, had, within a few months, risen to about 30 l. per ton. The reduction proposed on this article was from 1l. 16 s. to 1l. The reduction of the duties on manufactured articles was from 50 to 20 per cent, and on unmanufactured articles from 20 to 10 per cent. It was probable that this system of regulations would make other countries adopt a similar course of policy. To do so, a just sense of their own interest would be a sufficient inducement; but it was proposed to lay an additional duty of 5 per cent on imports from all countries, the governments of which did not allow trade to be carried on with them on equal terms. He thought their lordships would agree with him, that the regulations he had described went as far as it was at present proper to go. In the distressed situation in which our manufacturers were some years ago placed, it would have been improper to attempt such a change; but the time for carrying into practice a liberal system of commerce had at length arrived. The principle acted upon, he repeated, was the doing away with prohibitions.
The Marquis of Lansdownconcurred with the noble earl in every word he had stated. He regarded the measure as forming a very great and a very salutary revolution in the trade of the country.
The bill was then read a second time.