The Speeches of the Late Right Honourable Sir Robert Peel, Bart

Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: sent, neither can those with whom I have the honour to act, acquiesce in any aiTangement the effect of which would be to permit the accession or the import of sugar into this country, the produce of Brazil or of Cuba, without making some effort for the purpose of restraining that trade which this country...
More Description

Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: sent, neither can those with whom I have the honour to act, acquiesce in any aiTangement the effect of which would be to permit the accession or the import of sugar into this country, the produce of Brazil or of Cuba, without making some effort for the purpose of restraining that trade which this country has so long and so vigorously resisted. I retain the opinion which I formerly expressed upon this subject?that I do not believe it would be consistent with the honour and character of this country to take any course, however strong the motive for its adoption, the tendency of which would be to give the remotest sanction or encouragement to that traffic; but, on the contrary, to spare no pains and evade no sacrifice which could with safety and justice be made for the purpose of effecting its abolition, or, as far as our power extended, of mitigating its severity. Considering then the peculiar circumstances of our position with respect to the slave-trade, I cannot think it would be for the honour, the character, or the advantage of this country that we permit a competition between sugar the produce of British possessions, and the sugar of foreign colonies produced by slave-labour. Is it politic to adhere to the principle of reducing the duty on sugar the produce of British possessions alone ? I greatly doubt the policy of any such reduction. If there could be a free competition, then I should say, that the case would be most materially altered. Nothing can be more evident than that it would be greatly to the advantage of the West India proprietors, that her Majesty's government should encourage the growth of their sugar by a considerable remission of duties; but while sugar received orrly that support which was at present conceded to it, it should not be forgotten that the trade in ...