IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) m 1.0 I.I 1.25 J50 '""^= IIM 22 1.8 U III 1.6 v] <^ /i «^/'' "^^ ^%:^ .^. C/^'S € /A M m Photographic Sciences Corporation 23 WEST MAIN STREET WEBSTER, N.Y. 14580 (716) 872-4503 Mo CIHM/ICMH Microfiche Series. CIHM/ICMH Collection de microfiches. Canadian Institute for Historical Microreproductions / institut Canadian de microreproductions historiques Technical and Bibliographic Notes/Notes techniques et bibliographiques The to t\ The Institute has attempted to obtain the best original copy available for filming. Features of this copy which may be bibliographically unique, which may alter any of the images in the reproduction, or which may significantly change the usual method of filming, are checked below. L'Institut a microfilme le meilltiur exemplaire qu'il lui a et^ possible de se procurer. Les details de cet exemplaire qui sont peut-dtre uniques du point de vue bibliographique, qui peuvent modifier une image reproduite, ou qui peuvent exiger une modification dans la m^thode normale de filmage sont indiqu^s ci-dessous. The POS! of tl film Coloured covers/ Couverture de couieur D D n n D D Covers damaged/ Couverture endommag^e Covers restored and/or iaminated/ Couverture restaurie et/ou pellicul^e Cover title missing/ Le titre de couverture menque Coloured maps/ Cartes g^ographiques en couieur Coloured ink (i.e. other than blue or black)/ Encre de couieur (i.e. autre que bleua ou noire) Coloured plates and/or illustrations/ Planches et/ou illustrations en couieur Bound with other material/ Reiii avec d'autres documents □ Tight binding may causa shadows or distortion along interior margin/ Larci i .ire serree peut causer de I'ombre ou de la distorsion le long de la marge interieuro D Blank leaves added during restoration may appear within the text. Whenever possible, these have been omitted from filming/ 11 se peut que certaines pages blanches ajoutAes lors d'une restauration apparaissent dans le texte, mais, lorsque cela 6tait possible, ces pages n'ont pas iti film^es. D D D D Q D D n Coloured pages/ Pages de couieur Pages damaged/ Pages endommag^es Pages restored and/or laminated/ Pages restaurees et/ou pelliculees Pages discoloured, stained or foxed/ Pages ddcolordes, tachetdes ou piquees Pages detached/ Pages d^tach^es Showthrough/ Transparence Quality of print varies/ Qualite inigale de I'impression Includes supplementary material/ Comprend du materiel supplementaire Only edition available/ Seuie Edition disponible Pages wholly or partially obscured by errata slips, tissues, etc., have been refilmed to ensuna the best possible image/ Les pages totalement ou partiellement obscurcies par un feuillet d'errata. une pelure. etc.. cnt 6t6 film^es d nouveau de facon a obtenir la meilleure image possible. Orig beg! the sion othc first sion or il The shai TIN! whi( Map diff( entii begi righ reqi met n Additional comments:/ Commentaires suppl^mentaires: This item is filmed at the reduction ratio checked below/ Ce document est filmd au taux de reduction indiqui ci-dessous. lOX 14X 18X 22X 26X 30X / y — 1 12X 16X 20X 24X 28X 32X The copy filmed here has been reproduced thanks to the generosity of: Harold Campbell Vaughan Memorial Library Acadia University L'exemplaire fiimi fut reproduit grAce A la g6n6rosit6 de: Harold Campbell Vaughan Memorial Library Acadia University The images appearing here are the best quality possible considering the condition and legibility of the original copy and in keeping with the filming contract specifications. Las images suivantes ont 6i6 reproduites avec le plus grand soin, compte tenu de la condition et de la nettet6 de l'exemplaire i\\m6, et en conformity avec ies conditions du contrat de filmage. Original copies in printed paper covers are filmed beginning with the front cover and ending on the last page with a printed or illustrated impres- sion, or the back cover when appropriate. All other original copies are filmed beginning on the first page with a printed or illustrated impres- sion, and ending on the last page with a printed or illustrated impression. Les exemplairas originaux dont la couverture en papier est imprimie sont filmds en commen^ant par le premier plat et en terminant soit par la dernidre page qui comporte une empreinte d'impression ou d'illustration, soit par le second plat, selon le cas. Tous les autres exemplairas originaux sont filmds en commengant par la premidra page qui comporte une empreinte d'impression ou d'illustration et en terminant par la dernidre page qui comporte une telle empreinte. The last recorded frame on each microfiche shall contain the symbol ^^ (meaning "CON- TINUED"), or the symbol V (meaning "END"), whichever applies. Un des symboles suivants apparaTtra f^ur la dernidre image de cheque microfiche, selon le cas: le symbole — »- signifie "A SUIVRE", le symbols V signifie "FIN". Maps, plates, charts, etc., may be filmed at different reduction ratios. Those too large to be entirely included in one exposure are filmed beginning in the upper left hand corner, left to right and top to bottom, as many frames as required. The following diagrams illustrate the method: Les cartes, planches, tableaux, etc., peuvent dtre film6s d des taux de reduction diffdrents. Lorsque le document est trop grand pour dtre reproduit on un seul cliche, il est filmd d partir de Tangle sup6rieur gauche, de gauche d droite, et de haut en bas, en prenant le nombre d'images ndcessaire. Les diagrammes suivants lllustrent la mdthode. 1 2 3 32X 1 2 3 4 5 6 I I •^mmfTmmmm THE ON SUGAR. I / t f I m I I I T H E CANADIAN TARIFF ON i^UG AR •-♦^^ S«s*-» MONTREAL. PRINTBD BY J. C. BECKET, GREAT ST. JAMES STREET. 1864. m a o t] in CANADIAN TARIFF ON SUGAR. The ibilowino' pages are written in the hope that M brief statement of facts will tend to remove much prevailing misconception on the important and intricate question of the Sugar Duties". The following points are ^brielly considered :— 1st. The ditlerent varieties of Sugar and their relation to each other. 2nd. How it may be taxed, and the conse- quences to the consumer, Manufacturer, and Ke venue. 1. Sugar, formerly only a luxury, is now in as ,,„„.,„,, true a sense, a necessary; not only an agreeable ^^"i''^>^"- addition to food, but a food itself, serviim- an im- portant end in the support of life ; of great and growing importance to the commerce, industry and revenue of most nations, no apology is needed for a briei exposition of the important hifluence which a larilf may exercise on it. (Note A.) 2. A late English Sugar Circular enumerates o. nt ...>.,• or no less than /G different qualities and varieties of '''^:.j:^{''' fc^ugar as on sale that day in the London market ' ' and as It quoted only the highest and lowest priced ol ea^h kind, the number is really much greater rn I \^"? '''"'"^'^ ^'"''^ ^^^ '^^^ sterling to oOs; the best being thus worth G8 per cent, more than the lowest. (Note B.) B. CK,ular of Me«r.. C .^ C. i. CpIcs, SO Great Tower ..,,. L.ndon. I 2 h^U Really only iwo kiiult of >Su(;ar. Composition of all " Raw " Suffar. Gooil " Raw " Suijar liiftTior Raw Snjar. ll All these 70 varieties contain only two sac- charine substances. The ilrst, crystallizable Sugar, and found pure as relined loaf., the other, uncrystallizable Sugar, and known as Molasses or Syrup. Every kind of Sugar, whether known as Musco- vado Sugar, Kaw Sugar, or Clayed Sugar, whether the produce of the East or West Indies, of Brazil. Madras, China, or Cu1)a, is conii^osed of these two kinds, in varyhig proportions. As may be expected there are impurities present in all, the result of imperfect manu.fac- ture, ranging from two to ten per cent., or even more. A good (quality of Muscovado Sugar contains in 100 lbs. ^veight, 80 to 85 lbs. of crystal, 10 to 15 lbs. of Molasses, and 2 to 5 lbs. of dirt. An inferior quality of Sugar contains 50 lbs. oi' crystal, 40 ll)s. Molas.i'es, uid 10 lbs. dirt. (Note C.) Moirissps much 4. Suicc purc crystallizablc Sugar (Loaf Sugar) luss valuable ilian . ,i i i ji i p i- i ' pure Sugar. IS wortli I )etween three and lour tunes as much per l)ound as Molasses, the market value of any sample of raw Sugar, is dh'ectly dependent on the quantity of each contained hi it, and the i^roblem submitted to o^ery buyer, is to estimate these proportions. cor.gernient Expcricuce lias loug Settled this point, and tureVfihe'two". dccidcd ou tlic general rules of tliis estimate, in- spection ])ehig a simple and reliable guide. A strong Sugar is one rich in crystallizabh^ . matter, a weak Sugar, one containing a large pro- portion of Molasses The price of any Sugar therefore is generally the best estimate of its strength. i ('. It was well known ilrnl various sugars contained widely difTercnt quanti- ties ot'sH'chariiio malter. «ouit' as niudi aw 96 per cent,, otliers only 60 per cent. —Speech of the Hon. Mr, Caidwell., Secretary tor iliv Colonies, April 15. y two sac- tbund piiro ble Sug-ar. iiasMusco- ir, whether >, of Brazil. ' these two impurities : manvifac- t., or even ir contains 'stal, 10 to irt. is 50 lbs. ol* t. (Note C.) /oaf Sugar) s much yan' my sample 10 quantity su])mitted ii:>ortions. point, aiul itimate, in- lide. 'stallizable large pro- i generally tlifTcroiU qunnti- oiily 60 per ctiit. 3, April 15. 5. Su-ar is a favorite object of taxation, the ''l.'.Xir Enghshduty was 50 per cent., and is now about ;]3 per cent ; the American is now about 70 per cent., and the Canadian 50 per cent, on the original value. It will readily be l>eheved that such a heavy impost must be keenly feh, and that any hiequali- iies in its application must react powerfully on the manufacture and consumption. (I. liellned Sugar at one end of a scale of cpia- Dujy^- »<^^;-d hties, and Molasses at the other, the one nearly four ^;:^,^i,,, times as valuable as the other, must in justice be '^» W""-««- charged very diiferent rates of duty, and this prhi- ciple^'is so obvious, that it is acted on in practice in every Tarilf hi the world. It is not less just, but not so generally compre- ^thc d^uty- o,, ^ hended, that all intermediate grades between these ongm^u. j,e k-.. extremes, the " Kaw Sugars," Avhich, as we have seen, are mixtures of varying strengths, ought to be charged intermediate rates oi: duty, ranging between the Reiined Sugar duty anil the Molasses duty, proportioned to their strength. In other words, the Sugar which can be got out of those mixtures, ought to pay the Sugar duty ; the Mo- lasses, the Molasses duty ; while the foreign mat- ter, equally valael(vss to the consumer and the manufacturer, is not an object to be taxed at all. 7. The Canadian Sugar TariiV is a compound T^e Canadian one, 10 i() 15 per cent, being w/r^/ar^w/, and about ''"^'amount.' "* 40 per cent, hi specillc rates. Tlii'se specific rates arc^ three in number : I^'irst, a r:vte on Rehned Sugar. specific raiM. Second, a rate en Raw Sugar. Third. i\ rnte on Molasses. 'I'hl; VVI-V; of(|iialiiiL" liia^ed |jy riiif. I ach r; Th« Socoiul, or (!u. liavv «a..ar rato, annliocl o the London Sugar market, would ia.o ad not ^ The third, or tho Molasses rate, as applied in ta u,d„. IS even more comprohen,sivo, as the best Juty, and the l„,est ,Syrap., „ado in New York rehnenes are admitted at the .same rate ,„„.„,„, «^. Ihe system ismaniibstly «ron.unin-i.-.cii.|e. and „. praet,ce it aflects the throefoid interests ^l' IheXonsumer, the Manidactnrer, and the Koyenue. as lollows : ■ >» 1st T'i« Coil, yuiiicr. Jill I M 'i'lio Siif^ui- iiiulUclurer. Ihe consumer ofa cheap Kaw Sugar, or a com- mon cjuahty oi' Molasses, has to pay a much lar^^r proportionate share of the tax than the consumer a good quality of either. We have seen that 3 1 s of TV"^" "' ™''"' ""^y ^^* '»"^h as 2 bs ol good Sugar, and consequently the 3 lbs oi' fow Sugar ought not to pay more duty than 2 lbs 01 the better. (i\ote D.) It is clear that to charge the same duty on the two quahties is to overcharge the poor, and to nn- dercuarge the better ; that to charge a good Sugar less than Its share, ,s to force the inferior article to contribute an undue share of the impost, and to enhance the price to the poorer consumers Sugar rehning is essentially a process ofse- paratnig. Modoni appliances enable the reliner to ai.«.'imi,Vii,.V,.l,TO,,,n;,i","J,';r„;;™4;;;; '•[;;;',< '^^ "'■" ii» .uiuc,«,„,;,„i,„,„,,.|,,„,,,,„. ,,,";;'',■ ""i-""»j=si««i,.ii,., ,■.,„. 'Hlly have a incladc not iig so mucli 3 lbs, oi' in- i upiiiied ill as the best me specilic New York 1 i)riiici]>le' interesis ol' 3 Keveiine. L', or a eoiii- iioli larger consumer 3en that 3 inch as 2 e 3 lbs of 'lan 2 lbs. ity on the lid to un- od Snq-ar >r article 'ost, and mers. ss ofse- ehner to ^t. 'I'hiU tllc u i" IIk; coii- ty a[iplicuble mimojis. ;l take a common Haw ^>ugar, iree a large Y>i'op(>i - tionol'the crystallized Sugar from the Molasses with which it is mixed, and it becomes relined ; to separate impurities from the remaining Molasses and it becomes ^^yrup. The case of the Hugar maiivd'acturer was put so plainly by the English Chancellor of the Ex- checpier in introducing his budget, that it is snlh- cient for our jmrpose to quote his illustration. Mr. Gladstone's iigures applied to Canada MiC'oimiM'/'.lc-. stand thus : 200 lbs. weight of Jaggery, a low East India Sugar, if imported into Canada would be charged with a duty of 2c. and 10 per cent, amounting nearly Jo i5;4.60. The same (piantity rehired elsewhere and Ihe total products sent here would pay on too lbs. Yellow Sua-ar $2.50 80 lbs. Syrup T gallons 20 lbs, of dirt being lost in process. iiiiiliorit . . 83.20 The ('anadian rciiner on his raw material would tlnn'e fore pay $4.00 duty. A foreign rehner on his reilncd j>rodu('ts from the same article \vould })ay $3.20. The dilference of one dolLar and forty cents per 200 lbs., is a bounty to reline this Sugar oul of Canndn. (Note E.) * 1). It would seem to matter nothing to ilie KticHiiotuninM revCiiue wiiether it receives a certain sum m duty Iron' one cwt. of relliunl Sugar, or from two cwts. ol* the raw Sugar recpiired to make it. A revenue from " Ivelhied " Sugar would not enri(.'h th<^ <»xchequcr. as that from "Raw" would K. Sr t: .Ml Ghul^loilcN .SpeC<.''j ■■'.Mill' ]}ll(lg-t>t, iJ lit 215. I i correspondingly diminish, and it coiild moreover only be got by repressing the manuihcture in our owii country. This in lact is the eflect of our present law, which by discouraging the importa- don oi cheap h'..g:^rs, oilers a premium to their puriiication abroad ; partial reiining being carried on ni all {Sugar growing countries. Cdii.iiiiiiiirinn. Kiipli>li Co;- »uinptioii. It may be iurther asserted that a law which shuts out an extensive class of Sugars, cannot but exert a strong reflex influence on the trade and consumption of the country. (Note F.) Let us examine this point. In 1861 England imported and consumed 0,156,000 cwts. of Sui^ar Of tliis amount ^ per cent, nearly was Refined Sugar, i " Best description of Raw, 44 " Medium quahty of Ea\^^ 55 " Lowest description of Raw. Over one half of the total importation into England therefore was of the lowest class of Sugar, which, in consequence of our tariff, cannot'' be bought at all for this market. (Note G.) It might not be safe to say that it is a direct result of our pohcy, but nevertheless the startling' fact presents itself, that the consumption of im-' ported Sugar in England is more than twice as much per head as in Canada. * Bo?k, NoJ."l6au5TL'^'"°"'^ Freemantlc, Chairman Board of Cus,o.ns-Bluc • -I lid moreover acturc ill our eflect of our the importa- lium to their being carried a law which 3, cannot but le trade and 1 consumed hned Sugar, 11 oi" Raw, y of Eaw, ion of Raw. ►rtation into assoftSugar, ', cannot be 0.) it is a direct :he starthno" ^tion of im- in twice as ty was to provide > in as relaiively XX at all,— Speech 01" Customs— Blut The statistics of the trade are : JLQQ± to IQOl. CONSUMPTIOy OF SUGAR IiV ENGLAND- Year. Quantity I Population. Avcruj,^', consiimca in cwts.l per hi'ud 18r»l ti. 571026. 27.529.000 27 lbs. 18r)2 7.172.858 27.570.000 29 " 1853 7.437.539 27.GG3.000 30"" 1854 8.332.407 2 V. 788.000 34" 1855 7.547.157 27.899.000 30" 185G 7.071.515 28.154.000 28" 1857 7.41D.518 28.359.000 29" 1858 M.74G.496 28.5G6.000 34" 1859 8.884.299 28.774.000 35" 1860 S.771.99G 28.984.000 34" 1861 9.180.98G 29.19G.00O 35" 18S1. to X063. CONSUMPTION OF SUGAR IN CANADA."^' Year. Quantity | cnnsumf^din cwtsi Population Average per head. 1851 12H.;!U7 j 1.777.73G 8 lbs. 1852 198.374 1.842. 265 12 " 1853 223.1G3 1.905.035 13 " 1854 290.545 1,971.808 IGi " 1855 374.189 2.038,961 20J- " 185G 325.236 3.110.473 I7i " 1857 250.348 2.183.425 13 « 1858 253.519 2.258.902 15J " 1859 30G.0G4 2.336.991 \-\} « 1860 25G.G31 2.417.783 113 " 1861 371.981 i 2.501.370 IGi « 1862 414.595 2.587.915 18 1863 352.259 i 2.G77.45G ui " Maplo Sugiu- not included, estimated to amount to less than G lbs. per head in addition. Compare these Tables. (Note II.) In England, the consumption is now over 35 lbs. per head per annum. In Canada, less than 21 lbs. per head per annum. We hove seen that our Tariii prohibits the Iin- ♦ The roiLsumpiioi'. in Caiind.'i is mntle up from Trade and IVKvijjaiion Keiiiniy, the stock in bond at the begiimiii!? of each year. [)eiiig added to the i|uaiility iiii|)orted. and the stock in bond al the close, deducted H. His hoii. ("fiend's third proposition wns, ihiit the effi'Ct of the gniduated sy-fstHm wa« to lijuit Ili'i sut)Miv. Now. !ie had !)etore him the sl!ili;tics of supmIv. and he found that during 1853. the last year of the old sciile. the total supply of sugar was 7,487,000 cwt., while in ISGl it had risen to 9,1S0,C00 cwt. 'J'he pro- portion of consumption per head on the population liad risen in the same inter- va' from 31 lb. per head to 35 lb. per head.— Hon. -Mr. Cardwell. 10 All till V'l'oniil rur.ir,--iiscllcc' portalicm oi ail poor Su-a.-. l>y ],urdonm- thmi vv ith < .xcessivo duty : and ii seoiiis no uiiri.asoiiabJ(> c-(»iK'liv.ion, that our limited cousuniptiou is lar-v. U due (o this cause. "^ 10. All w( talomu TariM- will iriore livqueiitlv iuil.'l llu' eouditioiis of ajustTaritrthan any other I iidor It, each of the numy -Ti.desand vario- lic 's ol saccharine matter wilibearitsduo share of the burden, and every class of consumers coii- inbute 111 lair i)ro])orlion to the Exchequer. Jt has this further ad vanta-e, thatit isintelli- li'i ble to all, and is in accordance with the s])irit of ihi' rest of our Tarili'. The ohjection usually ur-ed a-ainst it— that i| i« from Its nature varial)le~]x>ino- hien that ^vith llnv dasses it c^an prove most uiijust in its operation • that each class must In this case include a lamv' ruQnl)er of qualities, and that b(.^tween one class and the next the dililMvnce must be great. A specific TaMff A spcciilc Tarili' ought to embrace a lar'-e m;;"!;^:;-r.f ^'^^>^^ of grades, each aj>piying to a limitM '" ' ""^- rang«M)l quahties, and each consequently difleriii'v httle from that a])ove or belo^^^ itself *^ Not only is the justice of a specilic Taritf incroased as the number of grades is increased \m\ its application in practice, and its administi-a-' .'ion by the Customs are also fliereby simplili(>d. ^Nole I.) -'. U-i.ii iTicvuce 10 llu; wUr^va ..ranoU,,., .rude !o Uie l-uvusl, .^alc 1. V'-^-*. '.^,.u,i,Mu„»:: ,cii.:ae 'my mcroa..,, .Iii!icul!y;. ,l,c Cn*u„„. - !''>/ivr. Nunc at nil. •J. -The ititenuediat. duly u-oiild /acUua.o ihe a.-e.sH,c.H o, ihe duties, be- ling tln'in 11 is larg(v n'quL'iilJy my other, uid varif- share oi" lors coii- LK^r. is intclJi- > si)irit ol" . it— that, h ^^'hon is true so n of any lately he ith i'ew oration ; a !arg(; a class a large limited itieriiig Tariir reused, iiiistra- plilied. in.>. !.'. li., iuties. be- '•'iina U ill Mil', I'Kill'Clllill ' 11 IJ. No question of •• Fret' Trade" or • Tro- in.- i' ■!«• tection" has hitherto f)eeu t(»uehed on. an t'(jual ia7 /v//fii is just, so far u.-, n ^ccs; it'ii wiM\t liirih^T it would i>e more just ; if it v/cm iniicli VuM.icr ii would Lt. iiiiii;li lYiorc jii.!.— -Ailutl Fryer— JSOl-6. J, Cut tiie true Irci'-irado iloctriim \va>; in t'lvnur of (tulits so piTipnriioiii'd tn liii' \ jiiiic iif tile art!c;v' tli;ii thai nriicie sliould come licre vvitli liic same rclaiivi; lin'iiiiy (li if tiierc had liucu no duty at all. — SijcccIi of Mr. Cardwcll. K. It did not ofcur iti ilie Cdinuiitlec tiint the British rffinur was u jicrsiiii of wiioin i!ie>' onelit lo he pucuiinrlv icalous. for under u syi^leni l ess it is un i ibrml^v anj. uiiiversally applied.' J ( >>I'I11UI|I. v^ Ceiii-limions. . would be monstrous to say to any1)ranch ol' in- Sdustry or class of Jhitish producers : ' We will Wpose yovi to Foreign competition,' uidess -we likewise say to them ; ' All you want at home we \vill take care you shall have on the best terms that we can rr^i^' that is the principle ot justice " (Note L.) "^ ■ From the preceding statements may b(. de- rived : 1st.— Common .justice requires that our tarili' bo wholly Free trade hi prhu-ipk'. or \vlioliy or uiiii'ormly protective. L>nd.--To charge a gootl and a Jo\\ (m^iity of Sugar or Molasses the same duty, is to injure th(} ronsumers oi' the hilerior quality— to prohibit the importation oi' a large proportion of the ^ugar l)roduction of the world— to limit our own manu- facture of the Article, and stimulate it abroad— a]id all this not only without 1>eueht, i>iu with positive injury to the revenue. 8rd.-_That the change required in our present .Sugar duties is an addition to the present speciiic grades, em])racing the lower (pialities, aaid char^r. ing them lower rates, or the substitution ol" ^,,1 ml. raforem tarili' for the i)resent oiw. A.. .«jic.jr!i uti !hc 'IVirin'. Apnl 7'.li, lS(i4. -1# 13 nlorcm clu- n a similar ■ftono says ; sly unjust' )i)lied. J( uli ol' iu- '\Ve will unless ^x{y home we >est terms >r justice." ay be de- our tariir vliolly or lH^iity or iijure th(i ;)lii[)it the h(> 8uo'ar urpo5e.=5 of war, and the ])rincipal part of wliat was then imposed l.a5 never been removed. We have had at various llmoa 10 .•laim.-i mure expedient, more urgent, with reference to the general wauls of the people ; but I know of no such clclm at the present moment. (Hoar, hear.) Wr' i.ropose, tliercfore, to the Committee, to make a considerable change and reduction in the sugar duti-- There is but one '•on- 15 Siderable objection as far as I am aware, and that is, thac at the jtresent moment, we are labouring under a sort of quasi scarcity iu conserpience of increased price. At the present moment there x9 an increase of from 8s. to lOs. per cwt. over the prices of 18G3. Tliat is a considerable augmentation, and it is Gs. per cwt. above 20 (lie price of 18C1-2. -rerhaps, we may say ihat that represents the excess of price above the fair average level of prices, I wish to present this observation to the Committee, that in the case of sugar we can hardly say that the existence of this partial and relative dearncss is a reason for refraining to legislate. 25 In a case like that of tea it might be so, because iu the case of tea, in the first place, you arc dependent u\m\ one source of supi)ly, and you are yourselves the great censumcrs of the world, (.'xceeding all other consumers in so great a degree that -what you can liopc"to draw from them by giving peculiar inducements in 30 your markets at a given moment, would be a comparatively small supply. But that is not the case with regard to sugar. Our con- Humption, vast as it is, is comparatively small in reference to the total consumption of the world. Sugar is produced in a multitude of countries, it is sent to the multitude of markets, and the conse- 35 quence is, that if at a particular time the supply be diminished, an altaration in our law, made at tha,t itecuUar cris.s, has the effect 14 "">y be saiJ ll,al i„creasoa°ml '"'"^''"•""•' 've misM fcc. I, "■"''raUy ,.os,r„i„ed c™ 1;" 'T '" '™*' "" -'y co„. nsot, to 2,033,000 cn-t , oad i„ isr'l , ' ' ' '° ""^ " ''"<1 •■"■-^ " i» only „,,„t i, fc„„„ Ji, ' ;;;"f J " f^^-^-g yea,.,, t'on which is „a™ j, , „„ . " '""" ' ^Iierc arises hero a ,m„s- ";«• The q«csti„.°X'h «Ci toV°. ""° ■•""°^'"'""" classified duties, is one nf ^rcL r "'^ " ' •■ ■°™ <" OM the world. 1 am bo„n,l ;,""".""""'' "f "dtivalion throngh- «Oand conclusively j", ' o 7' '" '"■■" " "^ *>-'"-'^^y "■'-■l„ as to detLls „'h„rd, ?■; ';°:"" ';«"". H i. a suhjci Pulsiveness. It i, bn,] on. ■ "^ " ^ <^veiy clement of rc- " treacle," aud f' ^he 75 «.^ vc found Una we had r^i t "''""' "^ '^'' ""''^'^ ««^ <^onsumptioaof,sugaMra. 17 L."' ^'^I^^tu-o « card, y, the i^adbecna change to a ^cHo^^^^^^^^ ^n 1851, when there consumption had^isen^Slt^rf^"^'!'! ^^ ^-^'^ the JSfn to 26ilU'. per head, lu 18GI we had boon 15 for ten years under the operation of this classified .s} iitom, but Parliament had not liad it iu its power between ^3.51 and 18G1 to 85 give the consumer any such signal and decisive boon as it had conferred between 1841 and 1851, yet the growth cf consumption had by no means stoi)i)cd, but it had increased from 2G,t to 35.1 ll>3-, and in 18G3 — although that was a year of scarcity— it had increased to 35,ilbs. per head. 90 cobden's opinion of classified duties. Xeitlier can it be said that the system of classification has been condemned by authority. I speak in the presence of the hon. member for Rochdale, who, among living men on a question of (•rec trade, has not only a right to be heard, but to claim tlie first 95 place. (Hear, hear.) He has been manfully challenged by his constituents — I am revealing no secret now, but only re))eating what I have seen in the ncvrspapers — and he has answered them like a man. His answers is iu the effect that it is his ojnnion thai ud valorem 100 (luticr, or an approximation io that system, are not in point of principle to he condemned. I say in point of principle, because in the application of that principle to practice there are several considerations whicli must govern our |irocoedings. On this qu(!slion the authority of the AYwiww/s/ is, everybody 105 must admit, very high, and, indeed, independent of the Econonmt, iLe literature on the subject has been perfectly enormous. (A laugh.) To keep abreast of that literature, I laboured and struggled as long as I could, and until within the last fortnight, with entire .success. Up to that time, 1 liolieve, I conscicu;!')usly placed myself 110 on a level Avith the press of the country, so far a:^ the sugar dulicj fU'e concerned, but the last forlniglit beat me hollow (laughter) — without preventing me at the same time from seeing the very able liublication of Profes-sor Leone Lr-vi, of King's College, who without belug actuated by any bias on the subjecf, distinctly afllrni,^ Ihi; 115 principle ofa classified duly on sugar. Speaking in this House, however, I iniiy allmle Iu an authorit}' on tlie question to which it will perhaps be deemed more to the purpose that I should refer. A select committoi! was ap- poinled on the motion of my hon. I'rieud, the mcmjjer fur the 120 city of London, Avhich was constituted with great care, and which was presided over by my right hon. friend now the Secretary for the Colonies, and that committee, after a patient and impartial investigation of the questifm under their consideration, pronftunccd distinctly in favour (if the present system of classifying sugar. 125 Nor is that all, for last year avo had what may bo called ;tii iuttjrnational discussion on the subject. Chosen officers from the countries most interested in the sugar tr.ade-naiue]y, England. rrau«e, Belgiura, and Holiand— met hi Paris to discuss the matter : 16 130 and not only did the reprosentativo of England fmd no reason to recede from our system, but the representative of France, and also thmk, he representative of Holland, actually came to the con- lusion that they ^ould do ^^'ell to abandon the uniform duty at^] come over to the system of classiiioation. 135 Now so far as authority is concerned, that is, I thir k, a very con- sulerable mass to which I have referred, we are, however, told ^at classification is protection, while on the other hand the West Indian colonist says : "Xo; classification is not, but uni- formity is protection." Well according to the old proverb, '< Give 140 a dog a bad name," it is, I confess, somewhat satisfactory to find that you have nothing to do but to fasten on any doctrine the name of "protection,'' in order to demonstrate to any reascnable man that you have brought against a particular proposal the wors and most conclusive charge to which it is open. ("Hear, 145 hear," and a laugh.) ^ ' ANALOaY OF THE TEA DUTIES. But there is another argument against classification drawn from the analogy of our tariff, and the mode in which we deal KO Z 'y,f''''\ ^' '^' ^^''d, "You never dream of imposing 150 different duties on different qualities of tea, and why should you do so in the case of sugar?" The fact, however, is, that we did impose different duties on teas of different qualities and that we abandoned that system, not because it was false in point of prin- ciple,_but because, from the nature of the commodity itself the 1^5 principle was found inapplicable in practice. But is it true that uniformity is the general characteristic of our tarifl? That tariff, I am happy to say, now reaches such moderate dimensions that it is not easy to produce instances of the soundness or unsoundness of the view taken upon the one ICO side or the other on this point. The instances, however few, are nevertheless almost all in favour of classification. ANALOGY OF THE WINE DUTIES. The wine duty is a rude and partial and very far from being a consistent approximation-but still in adegreeitig an approxima- lG5tion-toadutyonvalue; for there can be no doubt that upon the whole the light wines arc much cheaper than the stronger. OOFPKE. Take the case of coffee ; when it comes here in ita raw state it pays a duty of 3d. per lb. ; when roasted the duty is 4d., and this I iO instance is particularly applicable to the case of sugar, on which If you impose a greater duty in its more manufactured state you are accused by some of being guilty of the high crime and mis- demeanour of protection. COCOA. 1 75 Again, what do we do with respect to cocoa ? When the pure I no reason to nee, and also, le to the con- brm duty and \ a verjcon- lowever, told er hand the not, but uni- )verb, "Give ctory to find doctrine the y reasc nablo )ropo3al the sn. ("Hear, iation drawn lich we deal of imposing should you hat -we did md that wo tint of prin- y itself, the icteristic of aches such astances of ion the one er few, are m being a fipproxima- that upon tronger. w state it I., and this , on which state you and mls- a the pure 180 17 raw material comes into our market we lay tipon it a tax of a farthing per lb. ; but when it has gone one stage further, and the husk is re- mored, the charge is raised to Id. ; and cocoa paste we tax at the rate of 2d jier lb. CORN. The duty on corn is a shilling a quarter, and we are now about to levy upon it 3d. a cwt. ; but on flour, which is corn rid of a certain portion of refuse, we impose 4id, the cwt. WOOL. There is also the case of wool ; the raw material pays a shilling 185 a load, but let it be sewn up in bales before it comes here and it pays 23. a load. That being so, it will be seen that the analogy diawn from the tariff is completely ic favour of the system of classification. PROPOSED PLANS. jgQ Let U3 now look at the plans proposed. The House has, I know, a peculiar aversion to deal with any question in respect to which there are three courses which it is possible to follow. (A laugh.) I am extremely glad, therefore, to be able to say that in the pre- Bent instance there are four. (Laughter.) The plans suggested 195 are these : First.— One is to have two rates of duties, one on refined sugar and another on unrefined. Refined and unrefined, however, are not the only categories with which we have to deal, because both these descriptions con.e under the head of solid sugar. There is 200 besides these a class of sugar which, in unscientific language, may be specified as liquid, and which comes under the class of either milado or molasses, and there are those who say, " Let us have one duty for refined, another for unrefined solid sugar, and a third duty for liquid sugar." 205 Second.—Another plan is to have one rate of duty only on re- fined and unrefined, but still to have another rate for liquid sugar. Third.— A third plan is, to have one rate of duty only for both Bolid and liquid. Fourth.— And a fourth, to adopt a system aiming at an approxi- 210 mation of value, upon the principle of the existing system, with- out adhering altogether to its details. Now I beg to throw overboard, in the most ruthless manner, the two first of these plans. It appears to me that the advocates of a uniform rate have not— to use a homely phrase—" a leg to stand on" 215 when they draw a distinction between refined and unrefined sugar. I am confident that the proposal to compound together all classes of unrefined sugar, but still to recognize a distinction between them at a particular moment when the article becomes refined, cannot be upheld. I reject in the same way the distinction sought 220 18 ihl I'Zl " "^''°'^ "'° ^'°° '^et^eeu these two claasea h o-y difference being that the one contains more moisture ta^ 325 them n '"'' T '^ '^'^'^ '' "^^'^ ^^'^ distinction betw e^ 325 them. One prmc.ple governs the whole matter. JfyouZZ have a uniform duly, it must be on the footina of Tl yihich will cover alikr tho . • '' ^^ ^ ^ principle and th. T I ''"'' -^'"'^ "' expressed from the cane and the refined su.ar consumed at the tulles of our /am7es' *u severely, al.o, on the higher descriptions of unrefined su^^ar wI,;m come rom the Mauritius, the East Indies, and elsewhere' '' In dealing with the subject, I think we ought to come to th. resolution, that no class interests ought to govern h o, o.hI ! th conclusion th.l it was sound. The proposition whihTlay down, and which I invite the Committee to proceed on ^ th. 7 250 orm of our dut, should besuch as will ieas'Z^^:uh^^ tuna course Of irade, ^hear, hear,,anUe ,. least ^ t2 Z of offering to the producer or manufacturer a prL,an 1 j son.tM.,d^^.nt from that .hich he .oulIZfl^'J^^ duty at all. Now, let us tiy how wo are to proceed on xZZ T\ 'r^T''' """-^ '' "^'"^^ '''' ^-*"- ^-J down byZ Mnc ester Chamber of Commerce, and in which the We'p ' Chamber of Commerce concurred. I received the other dav an address from Manchester, to which was attached a aLe d^tia g.ushca m the annals of free trade-that of Mr UhZT 1 ^eo which 1 think contains sound doctrine o^ ^L'^ettr^^::' Your meinoriahsts are most desirous that the duties on su^I; should be hxed at as low a rate as possible, and that in the l^t^ e.ts of the consumer no impediments should be opposed to the 1 portationof any class of sugar, from theverv lovei 'a litvt! T pro..oted at the expense of another, it is, m the opinion of your 19 memorialists, needful that the duties be assessed upon the article in proi.orlioa to the amount of crystallizable saccharine matter which it contains." CASE OP THE REFINE]'. 270 I believe that that is a sound principle. Now, let me try It by an example, and here I will, for once, introduce one of those barbarous and outlandish words to which I have referred-" Jaggery "which means the lowest description of sug-ar made in the Kast' Indies Let us suppose that there are in the markets of the East Indies 2 275 cwts. of jaggery, each of which contains 50 per cent, not of sac- cliarine matter, because in saccharine matter they won't differ- very much from better sugar, but of whatis called crystallizable saccharine matter- that is to say, saccliarine matter that can be profitably extracted by the refiner, or what I would call extract- 280 able sugar. These 2 cvts. will, when refined, yield, without incluf^ing the minor products of the refinery, 1 cwt. of sugar. The question is, who IS to produce that ? The sugar is just as it has come from the cane and undergone the first process; the question is, how 285 are we to adjust our la^^ in such a way that we shall, by means of the duty, give no inducement to any man to refine in England rather than in India, or in India rather ttan in England 1 That, I think, is a fair statement of the case. (Hear, hear.) Xow what will the Indian refiner do if wo have an unu.rtn duty, which wo 290 are told is the way to do justice and avoid protection 1 The In- dian refiner buys these 2 cwts., refines them, and sends the refined sugar to this country ; and if the duty in this country is 10c. a cwt., he pays lOs. for the introduction of his 1001b. of refined sugar. What is the British refiner to do ? He buys these two 295 cwts. in India on the same terms as the Indian refiner. Very good. He sends them at a greater expense to England. With that great- er expense we have nothing to do. We must not undertake to reimburse him for that. But when he has brought his two cwts here that he may refine them, he has to pay 10s. duty upon each. 300 So that while the English refiner, to get bis lOOlb. of sn^rar into the market, has to pay 20s., the Indian refiner sends it in°for 10s. and yet we are told that that is the way to do justice and escape the stifma of protection. (Hear, hear.) I want to consider the question entirely without prejudice, but 305 there is no doubt what the operation of such a duty as that would be. It would simply be equivalent to a bounty of lOs a cwt. upon refining in India. (Hear, hear.) And it might be that, although from the dearness of skilled labour, the dearness of capital, and the dearness of machinery in 310 India, refining in that country might cost some shillings, say 23- say if you like, 5s. a cwt.-more than in England, it would be worth 20 a man's while to refine in India rather than send the sugar to be refined in this country, because of the lOg. fine imposed upon him 315 bjr our fiscal law. That is the view we take of the matter We are not willing to give any premium for the employment of labour and capital in England rather than in India; but certainly we are not willing to be parties imposing a penalty upon the em- ployment of labour and capital in England, as compared with 320 India, which would in our view be the effect of an uniform duty We have sought to amend the duty upon the ptinciple laid down in the memorial of the Manchester Chamber of Commerce The present duties upon sugar-I reject for a moment the liquid or semi-hquid classes, which it is not at this moment necessary to 325 keep in view-the present duty upon sugar is distributed into four classes -refined, I83. 4d. ; whire clayed, 16s. ; brown clayed 133. lOd. ; Muscovado or below brown clayed, 123. 8d. Now I must make a further reference to what are called "Dutch num- bers, ' because although that may be speaking in a foreign tongue 330 to society at large in England, yet the Dutch numbers are in point of fact, the only universal language of the sugar trade of the world. If you tell a man what your duty is in Dutch num- bers, that is construable into the trade terms of every tongue and .« n ^<°? T'"^ °'' ""^^^ ^"^^^"'' ^^'^^^"^ y^""- ^^^y ^ill' fall. 335 Our ' refined corresponds with the best of the Dutch numbers • the highest of which is 20-that is 19 and 20. The " white ckyed or clayed to white clayed" corresponds with the numbers from 1^ to 18 ; •' clayed and brown clayed " corresponds with the num- bers 11 to U ; " not equal to brown clayed " corresponds with the 340 i.u.c. numbers 7 to 10; and nothing under 7 can possibly pay the duty vTb.ch we now impose. We have had to consider whe- ther It was desirable for us to alter essentially the dividin- points between these classes. There are four classes, and ther. are therefore, three dividing points. Those dividing points do no! 345 rest upon abstract principle. They rest upon knowledge and ex- perience, and they are pretty well understood-at any rate as wel as they are capable of being understood- all over the world We have, therefore, thought that it would be very undesirable to recast the duty in toto, and establish a completely new set of dig- 350 tinctions; consequently, we adhere to the dividing points between the classes which are now established, but we meet the grievance of the better u:refined sugars by diminishing tiie intervals of duty at the upper end of the scale, and we meet the grievance of the lower class of sugars by establishing a new class with a lower ;^55 rate of duty than the rest for the purpose of making those sugars admissable which are now prohibited. The drawbacks, of course ^m have to be altered in proportion to the duties. I ;houid sa; also, with regard to a collateral point of some importance, that in sugar to bo led upon him latter. plojment of 3ut certainly ipon the em- iparcd with liform duty. 5 laid down aerce. The le liquid or ecessary to ibuted into own clayed id. Now I utch num- iign tongue ers are, in ir trade of utch num- •ngue, and ■will fall. Qbers ; the lite clayed bers from the num- s with the ?sib]y pay !Jder whe- irj^ points herv-i are, ts do not e and cx- ' rate, as iie world. 3irable to et of dis- between ;rievance 3 of duty e of the a lower e sugars f course, )uid say , that in order to make this change fair as it affects the refiners, we shal rr? f '''''°r ''' "'""^^''" '' ''' '-'y "P- foreign refine] hf Hol^-'"''''/"" ''' P"^^'^^ '^y' ^^-^-^ ' I-P« that if the House ,s disposed to accede to our proposal, and should think reasonable to proceed upon this day week ;ith the resolut „ -65 TT'l 'T' ''' "" ^^" "'" '' '" °P--^- - Saturday .65 week I will now give the new scale of duty :_Refined suj 2d r ,!'" n" '''■ '''■ P" ^"'- ■' ^'^y^' '« ^^'"^« slaved 1 - It J! . : Muscovado, instead of 12s. 8d., 93. 4d. ; and a new 370 Toll "^m"T' 'r t ^^^^^ "™'^"' ^"^ ^-"^ -^-« 370 No. 6, 83, 2d (Hoar, hear.) The duty on molasses will be .Is. Gd per cwt. and that on melado 6s. 7d. The effect of these changes will describe as well as I can. At present the interval between brown clayed " and « refined " is, I think, the chief subject of complaint It is so great that it certainly docs disturb and divert toT4fT,TM"f" ^^-«°^-4-«^-c-t. We reduce . ft " "^'^* '^'''' ^''^'"^'' ^^' tb« J«^^ sugars now ox- eluded. The smallest reducUon we make is 3s. 4d a cwt the largest ris.6d. The average is over 4s., and although it is;ery difficul to compare classified duties which do not run upon pre- 380 cisely the same terms, I think I may say that the effect of this change wil be to reduce the duty on sugar to Is., or more than 18, a cwt. less than it has ever been before. (Hear, hear ) We propose to make the sugar duty the subject of a permanent Act and to ..ave the tea duty leviable from year to year. I will now 385 state to the committee what will bo the financial result of this plan The revenue from sugars for 1864-5, ;ig we estimate it would, without any change, amount to 0.555,000/. The reductions' of duty, as I have stated them, will cause a first lossof l,7ia 000/ • but, allowing for the entry of sugars that are now practically ex- 390 duded. and taking credit for an increase of consumption amount- ing to 6 per cent., which I think is a moderate estimate, 361 000/ of that sum would be recovered, and the loss to the revenue in twelve full Months would be 1,358,000/. But allowing for the .raotion of a j ear which has passed, I take the net loss for 1804-5 395 at 1,330,000/., and that, as the Committee will see, has reduced ray aurplu.' froni 2,560.000/. to 1,230,000/. So much for the ques- 397 tion of gugar. ^