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that No *"*¦ ¦ a-^Bi 16.1858.1 THE LEAP ...
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SALT FOR CHINA. There is in England a Ch...
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THE TREATY WITH CHINA. An impulse undoub...
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Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software. The text has not been manually corrected and should not be relied on to be an accurate representation of the item.
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Free Trade In Fftance. Oub. Title Expres...
by freedom , from which is bom knowledge and sYill , the parents of cheapness . Though we cannot expect that free trade should he speedil y allowed 5 France , we are confident that t must ma time , shoS proportion as population is multiplied and communion betwixt the different parts -jot the earth increases , become the rule there , and in all other countries . . . ,. . As some of our contemporaries are very impatient in this matter , and scold and sneer at the French for backwardness , we may call attention to our own tariff . It is now upwards of sixteen years since a rtefiiminff revenue , a dwindling trade , and _
adiscontented people compelled a Conservative Minister , who had , from 1 815 to 1842 , zealously upheld the corn-laws , to commence commercial reform . Sir Robert Peel then professed to be converted to freetrade principles , and now , at the end of sixteen years , after the reforming Whigs have been many successive years in office , in what condition is our tariff ? Customs duties levied on such articles as sugar , tea , and tobacco , which we cannot produce , and which do not come into competition with articles grown at home , are barely defensible . But . besides such duties , we levy a number of
duties on articles which come directly into competition with articles grown or produced at home ; they are duties levied in a protective spirit , and make a discrimination generally between the produce of our colonies and other countries . Thus , for the benefit of our landowners , duties are still maintained of Is . per quarter on all kinds of grain of 4 £ per ; cwt : on flour , rice , arrowroot , tapioca , sago , and similar articles ( on macaroni Is . per cwt !) which come into competition with their
, . cereals' ; of 5 s . per cwfc . on butter , anil 2 s . 6 d . per cwt . on cheese , Which are shown to be anti-free-trade duties , by only 2 s . 6 d . being levied on butter from the colonies , of which just 4346 cwts . were imported in 1856 , and only Is . 6 d . levied on cheese from the colonies , of . which exactly 244 cwts . were imported from them in the same year ; of 8 d . and 4 d . per cubic foot on eggs , as they are foreign or colonial produce , though none come from the colonies except from the Channel Islands ; of is
3 d . or 2 d . per bushel on apples ^ anea apples , . ^ , on grapes 2 < 1 ., while walnuts , pears , plums , pnions i & e ., all pay toll , which enhances unfairly in proportion the price to the consumer of the homegrown commodities . So hops pay a customs duty of 2 / . 5 s . per cwt ., while the excise on home grown is about 19 s ., giving the landowner a benefit on the price of 1 / . 6 s . per cwt . While ornamental and hard woods which we do not grow are admitted free , the wood and timber which arc grown here are subject to considerable duties , varying on the different kinds , and generally double on foreign woods as against colonial . Foreign tallow , too , pays a duty of Is , 6 d . per cwt ., and colonial Id . All these are protective duties , still levied in behalf of the landowners , who so long
sat , like the old man of the sea , on the national industry . They keep up rent at tine expense of the consumer ; while we boast of our free trade and sneer at those who protect their iron-masters against competition with ours . Nor are the manufacturers unprotected by dvities . On window g lass and sheet glass and on candles customs duties arc still levied , though the excise duties on these articles have with great advantage been abolished . Clocks and watohes , manufactures of caoutclumc , of cotton , of silk , of linen , of woollen , of goat's-hair , of leather , of copper , & c ., aro all subject to protecting duties , while the raw materials are admitted free . So ln . ee , ' network , baskets , books , straw hate , porcelain , embroideries , artificial flowers , ooated brass , oilcloth , paper-hangings , toys ,
vinegar , aro subject to such duties which , without yielding any sum of importance to the rovenuo , impede trade and bestow counteracting boncfil . s , ns is supposed , on the manufacturing classes I ' or tho taxes levied on them in behoof of the landed interest . For both tho consumer is taxed . There are two other articles to which wo must call special attoii " turn . To the benefit of tho groat . monopolist brewers of the metropolis and other brewers we dut
levy a y of no less than 5 s . 9-fttd . on foreign . wine , - ^ and ^ sr ~ 10 ^ drw ^ the benefit of our distillers wo levy a duty on foroign spirits ovor and above the sum they pay for exoise duties of 7 s . per gallon , Tho customs duties aro 16 s . on foreign spirits , the excise Unties on the homo made are 8 s . That this excess is a protective duty is plain from the customs duty levied on colonial rum being only os .- 2 d . per gallon . Thus , on those two great
products of our neighbour we levy duties may be fairly classed with his duties on our iron and our coal . The amount may be somewhat less , the principle and the jealous apprehensive spirit which dictate them are just the same . It is supposed to be politic to favour the produce of our colonies and of our own soil by discriminating duties , and in spite of experience , we continue to maintain such duties As they now exist they were settled , but not originally imposed , by a Ministry composed of professing free traders ; and we can but think that . in voluntarily lending themselves to the continuance ol such solecisms they were more reprehensible than the self-seeking and avowed protectionist iron-masters of France . Be the fault whose it may , the
continuance on our statute-book of upwards or threescore distinct customs duties levied for protection does not entitle us to complain very much of the French for still continuing absurd protective duties . They have been , let it be remembered the prey of successive revolutions , while we have been able tranquilly to work out commercial improvements . Accordingly , we have gone far ahead ot them , and we should encourage them to go forward by perfecting what we have so successfully begun .
That No *"*¦ ¦ A-^Bi 16.1858.1 The Leap ...
that No * " *¦ ¦ a- ^ Bi 16 . 1858 . 1 THE LEAP E R-
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Salt For China. There Is In England A Ch...
SALT FOR CHINA . There is in England a Chamber of Commerce , composed of Cheshire and Worcestershire salt-proprietors , and formed specially for the extension and protection of their own peculiar trade . It appears that this trading body has recently presented a memorial to our Government , " respectfully entreatinn- that free admission of British salt be made a stimulation in our future dealings with the Chinese authorities . " ., . « j It is with no little surprise , however , that we find a body of merchants , professedly united for the extension of their special trade , so dilatory in making their claims known—if they have any . On perusing their document , the first thought was , "Why , m the name of common sense , put " off pressing these claims , not only , till eighteen months after the British embassy had left England , but till that gpabass 3 T , leaving the PeUio * and just when the fin ^ * V with China—having been signed , sealed , and ve ^ fiied by the several parties at Fekin—was being . PJEftight to- England for confirmation by our gracious Q ueen ? Is this a fair sample of vigilance , alacrity , or promptness in the commercial Chambers of Great Britain ? We think not . Or is it an exception in the case only of the Salt Chamber uf Cheshire , & c . ? At least , so it appears . " Further , on examining said memorial , it suggested a few other inquiries . How has the demand for salt in China been hitherto supplied ? What kind of article is it that is in use among the
natives there ? Is it not good enough and ample enough for all their wants ? Is the salt trade a Government monopoly let out to native merchants alone ? and if so , is that trade of such a character that the salt proprietors of Cheshire , & c , should seek the aid of foreign diplomacy to stop it or break it up ? Without vouching to follow these queries m sequence or to answer them fully and satisfactorily , we shall attempt to lay before our readers what we know to be facts connected with the salt trade in China . . Of course , among the Chinese , salt xs a great necessary of lifo—an essential in cooking , pickling , preserving , eating , sacrificing , & c . & c . ; and , while they are most economical m its use , there must bo an enormous consumption of it , so that we nnnnnt \ immi ftnv calculation of the t ion ine t
. vnv amoun cannot rely upon any calculat or amoun annually used by this " hive of nations . " It is true tho Cheshire and Worcestershire salt farmers venture to affirm that from one to two million tons are consumed per annum in China , but what is that to 300 , 000 , 000 of people , as assumed in tho petition—not to say 420 , 000 , 000 , as shown by tho census made in 1842 ? ...... To meet tho large demand for this article , China has up to tho present hour had to look to her own rosouroos . So , sailing along her coasts , you observe on her islands , north and soutlyas well as at the " ni ' oul . hs b'F her pnn 6 ip ' al"Tivcrs , sale pans iind ' salr ui buu lwi
stacks , produoca Dy mo ovaporauou w « , and , travelling into tho interior , ono meets with salt donots , salt springs , and , in tho provmoo of Szo-chuen , salt pits , which ( judging from what we road ) , if properly worked , might lead to real and extensive salt nnnos . As far as wo know , then , tho overgrown population of that empire has hitherto had , and still has ,
salt enough and to spare . Nor has there been anj complaint among them as toits quality ; for our personal observations do not agree with the statemeni in the memorial that the salt in use is . " an impurt and deleterious article . " There is no doubt that our British salt is superior , and , if introduced , would greatly improve the quality of this necessary of life in China ; but have the salt merchants of Great Britain sufficient reason for impeaching the traders in China as dealinsr in an article that is both "
impure and deleterious ¦?'• '¦ There is no doubt , as the Cheshire memorial states , that the sale of salt in the Flowery Land is put under " a fiscal system . " The whole department is under Government lock and key ; and , in proof of the importance which the Executive attaches to the salt trade , it is enough to point out that the directors of the monopoly are officers oi high rank , appointed under the supreme Government ; that , in connexion with the department , there is a numerous and expensive establishment throughout the country ; that the duty on salt forms a considerable branch of the public revenue ; that the trade is let out to merchants , reputed among the most respectable and wealthy ; that the iaws which regulate the traffic are very specific , as well as rigorous ; and that those who violate them are subject to heavy penalties . . ¦ ¦
. The monopoly , therefore , must be important to the native Government . Yet , with all this array ot restrictions or measures to promote and protect the trade , what do we find ? Every now and then we read complaints written out by " Salt Commissioners , " to the effect , that " we find salt but no merchants to conduct the sale of it ; " there is some hindrance to the consumption of salt prepared by Government ; " " something hinders the Government salt from finding a market among the people . " And the same Chinese documents , in seeking out the cause of this falling off , trace it principally to " the smuggling of salt that is pn ~
vcitely made" . . . Under the circumstane ? s which we have sought faithfully to represent , it is not likely that there is to come from China a demand or a cry for salt that will tempt the Cheshire and Worcestershire vendors thither ; xye cannot see either that the salt proprietors of Great Britain will be able to send it a distance of 17 , 000 miles and produce it at a lower price than the Chinese farmers or smugglers , who
doubtless would reduce their charges on the prospect of a free trade in the article ; nor is there any prospect whatever of the Chinese Government renouncing so fruitful a source of revenue ; and with our hearty detestation of cliques , cabals , and monopolies in any shape , we question very much the propriety of the Cheshire and Worrestersliire Chamber of Commerce seeking Government influence to interfere with a ? iative monopoly of salt ,
about which we know so little . How glad we should be to see " free admission of British salt into China" as well as of every other article ; it would be beneficial to commerce in both countries ; but , upon matters so serious to people here , and to the people there too , why not , at so important an era as the present , speak out for the purpose of giving information P We have done so —with every mark of respect to the Chamber of Commerce in Cheshire and Worcestershire .
The Treaty With China. An Impulse Undoub...
THE TREATY WITH CHINA . An impulse undoubtedly will . be given to commerce , mercantile aud manufacturing , Ht > y the war with China . Wo now possess an outline of the treaty Just conoluded , and though a good deal of uncertainty must be felt as to the precise terms and . possible effects of some of the articles of the treaty , enough is visible to satisfy us that a new and an almost illlmitablo outlet for our manufactures is suddenly and successfully opened up to the trading interests of this empire . Were we disposed to grumble , we
should ask why more was not obtained . While wo were dictating terms , surely wo might have added a few more artiolos that would have had the effeot of olearing up commercial doubts and removing well understood commercial difficulties . A ffl i »» why "\ Va ' s t"hb" passport system intrbduoed ~ mto a Clflna treaty P—this peculiar element of continental oivihsation— -the benefits of whioli we are so praofcicaliy impressed with that we have just os ° ? P ? * " positive estrangement from a faithful ally' inconsequence of tho aggravated prossure of the' PJsfP ^ system . Maywonpl find in ths matter ^ *""» « some European influence ? The ^ hj ^^ l able , Chinaman would eurely nover of lumselt have ¦ " I . ' .,,.-. ' 4 U . ¦ ¦ ¦ ' ....
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Citation
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Leader (1850-1860), Sept. 18, 1858, page 25, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/cld_18091858/page/25/
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