Lords Sitting of 12 May 1830

MINUTES.
Lord SKELMERSDALE presented a Petition from the Inhabitants of Stockport, against the East India Monopoly.
On the Motion of the Bishop of LONDON, the Bill for dissolving the marriage between Thomas Buxton and Elizabeth Hickson was read a first time.

BRITISH SPIRITS.
The Earl of Roseberypresented a Petition from the Justices of the Peace and the inhabitants of the county of Linlithgow, against the proposed increase of the Duty on British Spirits. The noble Lord remarked, that when the measure to which this petition referred was first introduced in another place it was entirely upon financial grounds, and for the purposes of revenue; but if the operation of the measure went to afford an undue protection to the West India interests, and if it interfered with that arrangement which was made, in 1825, by the then Chancellor of the Exchequer (Lord Goderich), so as to give an unfair advantage by an alteration of the proportion of protection to one party over the other, it was a measure which ought to meet with the most serious consideration before it was adopted. He quite concurred in the prayer of the petition.
[The noble Earl presented similar Petitions from the Members of the West

595
Lothian Agricultural Society, and from the Magistrates of the royal burgh of Linlithgow; as did Lord Duncan from the county of Forfar.]
The Earl of Malmesburysaid, he was extremely happy to see such a number of petitions presented against this measure. He had, their Lordships would recollect, adverted to this subject on a former evening, and he gave notice that it was his intention, in case the new duties should be pressed, to oppose the measure.