27 FEBRUARY 1841, Page 13

THE IMPORT-DUTIES QUESTION.

Tun Report of the Committee on Import-duties is working well.* Public attention has been drawn to it at the right moment—when an increased expenditure is meeting a decreasing revenue. The opi- nions of practical men—merchants and tax-gatherers, payers of duties and receivers of them—were sure of attention ; and the con- . currence of those opinions with the views of the advocates of free- trade could not escape attention. The consequence is, that every- where we find it admitted that " something" must be done. This is so far good. Where there is motion there is life, and where there is life there is hope. But under all circumstances it is useful to know exactly how and where we stand : sanguine hopes upon inadequate grounds tend only to produce disappointment and irritation—making bad worse.

Public opinion on the questions of taxation and free-trade is divided into an immense number of shades and modifications.

At the one extreme, (not using the word extreme in a dis- logistic sense, but simply to express one of two poles between which all the rest are situated,) we find those advocates of a total repeal of the Corn-laws who startled even the equanimity of Lord MELBOURNE by proposing the abolition of all protective duties. These gentlemen, if we do not mistake them, think that every interference of a government to drive trade into channels it would not spon- taneously seek, or out of channels it would not spontaneously avoid, by the imposition of duties or the offer of bounties, is mischievous; that inasmuch as duties imposed for revenue alone have a tendency, even without the intention of the imposers, to divert trade from its natural course, the greatest care should be taken to keep this tendency at the lowest possible amount ; and that there are some branches of commerce too important to admit even of risk being incurred, and which must therefore be left free even from the influence of duties imposed solely for the sake of revenue.

At the other extreme, is a class of men who have only been so far moved by the present aspect of affairs, and the suggestions of the Import-duties Committee, as to admit that the question of Tariff Reform deserves a deliberate investigation. The resolu-

* We may take this opportunity of replying, once for all, to daily applications for copies of the SPECTATOR SUPPLEMENT for January 2d, which contained the Report and the most important parts of the evidence. That Supplement has been quite out of print for some time. As the demand, however, is still un- satisfied, we believe that arrangements will be made very speedily for furnishing a new supply, at a cheap rate ; the matter of the Supplement being published separately, and wittiout a stamp. Our publisher, Mr. CLAYTON, will be able to give more detailed information on the subject. tiona published by the Glasgow Chamber of Commerce are a fair specimen of the opinions of this class. Those resolutions contain two important admissions,—that the details of the present system of import-duties are "too minute and complicated," and the whole system " objectionable on various grounds; " that " the tariff ought to be carefully regulated so as to produce the largest amount of revenue from the lowest rates of duty." These admissions are, however, materially qualified by an opinion expressed that " it is right and expedient to maintain moderate preferential duties in litvour of our manufactures, domestic and colonial, agriculture, and fisheries." Nor are the framers of the resolutions prepared to act upon the admissions they really make : they insinuate that the inquiry of the Select Committee "appears to be partial and incomplete" ; state that "it is necessary to observe great caution in modifying or repealing duties that may affect any of the prin- cipal branches of commerce or manufactures which have long en- joyed special protection "; and merely suggest that " the investiga- tion ought to be resumed, and presented in such a manner as to afford all parties an opportunity of adducing sufficient information." The points of agreement and disagreement between these extreme classes are sufficiently apparent. They concur only in believing that the existing tariff may be improved; and even in regard to that opinion, while those of the first class see or think they see their way clearly, and would proceed at once to do something, the others are for cautiously feeling their way before them, or calling out for further inquiry. Beyond this slender agreement in opinion, how- ever, they have nothing in common : the one class deprecates all interference on the part of Government to foster or give a direc- tion to trade, the other calls out for protection. The intermediate shades of opinion are in general decided by the position of those who entertain them. Adherence to class interests is rarely the result of a deliberate resolution to place or keep others in a worse position : it is the consequence of men's inability to enter into the views and feelings of any but themselves or their habitual asso- ciates. They cannot, so long as they are tolerably comfortable, put themselves in the position of those who suffer from a preference given to them, (and nothing short of thus changing places in ima- gination can induce a man to put himself to temporary inconve- nience to serve another,) any more than the sufferers can believe that those who press upon them are really ignorant of their own weight. Sufferers and third parties see when a man enjoys an undue preference, but it is a difficult task to open his own eyes to the fact. In the matter of protective and prohibitive duties, as in every thing else, most men are stanch reformers till the operation comes to their own door, and there they wish to stop. Some take their stand upon corn, others upon sugar, some upon silk, others upon machinery ; but the principle which deters all who have in part adopted the doctrine of free-trade from carrying it out to its full extent, is reluctance to risk a change in their own relations, in the relations of those in whom they take an interest, or of those with whose kindred dread of innovation they sympathize. It requires more enlarged views and a greater amount of moral courage than characterize the herd of mankind, to comprehend the various rela- tions of society to the extent that enables a man to see his own advantage in relinquishing one precarious good in order to render his possession of what remains more secure. Even among those who fancy themselves out-and-out free-traders, there are some who are so from want of reflection, or from party-spirit, more than from understanding and deliberate conviction.

It is difficult under these circumstances to ascertain with any thing approaching to accuracy the comparative strengths of the partisans of free and of restricted trade. The only unequivocal proof that free-trade notions have obtained the ascendancy in the public mind, will be given when the Legislature is forced to act upon them. There are symptoms at present of the approach of an op- portunity to put the matter to this test. Some of the Tory leaders have begun to scatter ambiguas votes ; there was meaning in Sir Roamer PEEL'S assertion that commercial and financial legis- lation ought to keep in view the advantage of the consumer. He threw overboard, by that declaration, the pleading in forma pau- peris, that what employment we have to bestow ought in preference to be given to our immediate neighbours—the principle upon which corn-laws and giving jobs to bad workmen are alike defended. On the other hand, certain adherents of Government have been busily trying to get up a Tariff Reform agitation in favour of Mi- nisters, as a set-off against Corn-law Repeal on the one hand and a supposed disinclination on the part of the Tories to concede as much as the Whigs on the other.

The most decided step of this kind that has been taken, was the meeting held at the Thatched House Tavern on Satur- day last, by forty six Liberal Members of Parliament. These gentlemen adopted resolutions, of which a copy was signed by the chairman and sent to Lord MELBOURNE; and appointed a Commit- tee "to superintend the printing and circulation of these reso- lutions, to invite the cooperation of Members of Parliament of all parties, to call meetings, to report from time to time, and generally to further the objects of this meeting." The resolutions were in substance—that "thepresent restrictions and prohibitions" in the British commercial code "present the most serious obstacles to the extension of the trade of this country " ; that one main evil of the present system is the encouragement it gives to the establishment of rival manufactures abroad, and its taking more money from the people than goes into the coffers of the state ; and that "the financial difficulties of the country, and the wants of the consumer, will best be met by a general revision and reduction of the duties on commerce."

In the present temper of the public mind and the present nicely- balanced state of parties, this step, taken by so many members of the Legislature, several of them men of some weight, must tell. The existing tariff is given up on all hands. It is not to be ex- pected, it is not to be wished, that a bill for introducing a re- formed tariff should immediately be thrown upon the table of the House of Commons. The introduction of a satisfactory mea- sure, and the carrying it triumphantly through the House, require perhaps a greater union of mercantile information, command of the technicalities of legislation, and tact in debate, than is now to be found in Parliament. At all events, the task is not of a kind to be undertaken by dilettanti legislators in an off-hand impromptu fashion. The work must be undertaken, not tardily, but deliberately. Undertaken it must be ; there is now no retreat, whatever party may be in power ; and upon the manner in which their task is executed will depend the reputation and lease of power to be enjoyed by those who undertake it.

In the progress of this settlement there is one circumstance that should never be left out of view. The enactment of a new tariff will not necessarily decide the question at issue between the advocates of free and of restricted trade. Many are anxious to see the tariff revised, who still cling to the old prejudices in favour of protection to certain branches of industry. Those who are in favour of free-trade might, without compromising their principles, accept of an improved tariff as a gift not to be despised, without, however, abating in their efforts to liberate commerce from all pro- tective and prohibitive duties. Of this state of affairs the forty- six Members of Parliament to whose resolutions we have just ad- verted seem not disinclined to take advantage. Their resolutions contain no declaration in favour of free• trade, no condemnation of restrictive or prohibitive duties as such. It is only "the present restrictive system" that they condemn without qualification. We are not questioning the sincerity of these gentlemen, but in trans- actions of this kind, as in legal conveyances and mercantile bar- gains, there should be nothing left to be " understood "—no silence on essential points tolerated in compliment to any individuals. We ought to know exactly what we are doing. It is incumbent, therefore, upon the advocates of free-trade, to make it known that they accept Tariff Reform as in whole or in part an admission of the truth of their principle, and a beginning to act upon it. It is incumbent upon them to ascertain whether the projected Tariff Reform is to be a carrying into effect of the principle of free-trade to a greater or less extent, or merely a counter-agitation got up to shelve for a time the inconvenient question of free-trade in corn, by diverting public attention from it. It will add greatly to the value of the revision of the tariff if it can be based upon an express recognition of the soundness of the principle of free-trade. The very reason that induces Whigs so often to remonstrate querulously against the recognition of general principles, ought to make all who sincerely wish to see some good effected press such declarations upon them.

In establishing or attacking principles, all imputations of motives is injudicious or dishonest ; but in judging of what men propose to do, motives, or more correctly, intentions, must be taken into ac- count. Do not refuse a good turn simply because a questionable character offers to do it for you : but before you accept, ask your- self what he can have in view in making his offer, and in what situation your acceptance will place you. There is a hypocrisy of candour which injures the cause of justice ; and to that hypo- crisy would belong the affectation of being ignorant that there are some who hail the question of Tariff Reform as a relief from the question of Corn-law Repeal. The leaders of the Anti-Corn-law agitation are avowedly the advocates of free- trade in the most unrestricted sense of the word. Even though they were not, the success of their agitation must lead to free-trade : the " landed predominancy" will not long tolerate any other mo- nopoly after their own has been abolished. To the Anti-Corn-law leaders we therefore look as the champions of the free-trade prin- ciple, in the hope that they will not abate their vigilance and ac- tivity—will not merge their movement in a mere Tariff' Reform movement. Their perseverance in electoral agitation is the only guarantee the country can have for a real reform in our system of Import-duties : without such taskmasters, Tariff Reform is likely enough to prove a very superficial makeshift sort of a job.