Sitting of 9 February 1824

SOUTH AMERICA.
The Marquis of Lansdownwished to say a few words upon a subject, to which their lordships' attention had been drawn some days ago by his Majesty's Speech: he meant that part of the Speech which alluded to the independent provinces of South America. It was by no means his wish to run any race with his Majesty's ministers on this question; and if it appeared to be their intention to take that step which good policy seemed to require, namely, the recognition of the provinces which had separated themselves from Spain, he would be found most anxious to afford every facility for that purpose; but being impressed with the great importance of the independence of these provinces to the commercial interests of this country, he must deprecate any thing like unnecessary delay. With the view, however, which he had taken of this question, he could not now venture to make any motion for promoting the important object to which he had referred; but, calculating on what he had heard, not so much in their lordships' House as elsewhere, that a communication had been made to the government of Spain, an answer to which might in a short time be expected, and also that some communication, would, probably, soon be received from the consuls who had been sent out from this country to South America, he thought it could not be long before he should feel himself at
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liberty to submit some proposition to their lordships on the subject, if his Majesty's ministers did not, as he wished should be the case, bring forward some measure themselves. He was well aware, that, in the actual state of affairs, sufficient reasons might exist for preventing his Majesty's ministers from coming to an immediate decision on this question, and was therefore desirous of avoiding any thing like precipitation. He would accordingly now give notice, that on some day in the month of March, he would, if not anticipated by his majesty's ministers, move an address to his Majesty, praying him to take such measures as may be necessary for the recognition of the provinces of South America which have separated themselves from Spain.

IRISH TRADE.
The Marquis of Lansdownstated, that he wished to move for copies of two papers, the first of which was calculated to show the state of the intercourse between this country and Ireland, with respect to the cotton trade, and the increased intercourse, notwithstanding the distress which had prevailed in Ireland. He meant to move for an account of the cotton goods imported into, and exported from Ireland, between the 10th July, 1822, and 22nd February, 1823. The other paper would exhibit the extraordinary effect which had been produced by the reduction of the duty on spirits, and to which he wished to call the attention of all those who doubted the possibility of improving the revenue by taking off taxes. The account he meant to move for was, for the quantity of spirits which had paid duty between the 10th Oct. 1822, and the 11th February, 1823; and he was informed that it would be found that the sum paid in the last quarter of the account, at only two shillings per gallon, exceeded that which had been paid during the same quarter of the preceding year, when the duty was five shillings. Thus the effect of taking off three shillings per gallon of duty on spirits, had been not only to increase the consumption, but to produce an augmentation of the revenue. The noble marquis concluded by moving for the accounts he had described, which were ordered.