answer the intention upon which the rates of the tariff for cotton goods are based, it is proposed with respect to Item 2 c, to add under the words "goods and hosiery," "also similar goods and hosiery with patterns interwoven and embroidered in wool."

34. Respecting Item 41. c.

As for many of the fine woollen stuffs, and stuffs mixed with wool and cotton, viz., printed goods, or such as are furnished with interwoven or embroidered patterns, the rate of duty of 30 dollars appears too small in proportion to the value of these textures, and in comparison with the import duty of fifty dollars imposed upon cotton goods, it is proposed to insert the following new subdivisions between Item 41 c, d.-" Woollen goods not callendered, as well as printed goods of mixed wool and cotton, or with patterns interwoven or embroidered, fifty dollars.".

No. 10.

Sir George Shee to the Earl of Aberdeen.-(Received July 24.) (Extract.)

Stuttgardt, July 16, 1842.

I AM enabled to state to your Lordship, which I do with much concern, that in the formation of the new Tariff there seems every probability that some changes will be effected prejudicial to the interests of Great Britain.

The States which principally advocate such changes are Saxony, Bavaria, Würtemberg, and Baden.

In the last-named country the subject has already become a topic of discussion in their Chambers, and the following changes have been pressed upon the Government.

First. That the duties upon cotton twist should be raised from two dollars to six dollars per cwt.; that a rise in the same proportion should be made for the finer qualities of cotton twist, and that an augmentation of duty likewise upon yarn made of cotton and wool should be taken into consideration.

Secondly. That the duty upon mixed goods, manufactured of wool and cotton, should be raised from 30 dollars to 50 dollars per cwt., and that the system of paying the duty according to weight upon fine but cheap goods should moreover be altered; and

Thirdly. That upon linen thread a duty of from 10 to 15 dollars per cwt. should be imposed, or such other duty as should be deemed to afford. adequate protection to the manufacturers of Baden.

Saxony seems anxious chiefly about the cotton twist, and she will probably renew the demand which she made three years ago for an augmentation of the duty upon that article of four dollars per cwt.

In Würtemberg a decided feeling exists in favour of some rise in the Tariff so far as relates to woollen goods, to linen goods, and to cotton. twist; the amount, however, of the wished-for increase in these articles I have not yet been able to ascertain; nevertheless I have every reason to believe that the demands from Würtemberg will be moderate, and made solely with a view to protection and not to prohibition.

Of the other States composing the German Customs' Union I have strong reason for believing that the greater number, whatever their private sentiments may chance to be, will not in their votes oppose themselves to the wishes of Prussia; and Prussia, if the information given to me be correct, is adverse to any increase whatever in the Tariff.

No. 11.

Sir George Shee to the Earl of Aberdeen.-(Received July 28.)

(Extract.)

Stuttgardt, July 21, 1842.

I AM informed that the revision of the Tariff will embrace a great variety of points, amounting in number to perhaps not less than fifty, and comprehending not only the articles respecting which I have lately had occasion to address your Lordship, but also the existing duties upon silks, upon jewellery, upon vegetable produce, and several others; that the changes, however, in those duties only consist of such trifling modifications as may suggest themselves to the Commissioners after they have completed their inquiry into the general administration of the existing Tariff.

With regard to the four points with which Great Britain is principally concerned, namely, the duties upon cotton twist, linen thread, woollen goods, and iron, the following would appear to be the state of those matters at the present time.

Upon cotton twist the opinions, or rather the feelings, of the States which the Commissioners represent are various: some, including Prussia, are adverse to any increase of duty whatever, while others desire an increase of 2, and some even of 3 dollars per cwt.

It would seem, however, that Bavaria being the most moderate in all her commercial views, has been allowed to act as a sort of arbitrator in the question; and that she has in consequence suggested that the increase should not exceed 1 dollar per cwt.

There appear at present to be good grounds for believing that that is the increase which will be ultimately adopted.

Upon the linen thread I am still inclined to think that if any duty be imposed it will be little more than a nominal duty.

With regard to iron, I am informed that the duty also upon that article will remain unchanged.

A strong wish had existed to increase the duty upon iron, in consequence of the ability which Great Britain possesses of exporting it to Germany at so much cheaper a rate than that at which the German establishments supply it. But, on the other hand, the demand in Germany for iron for railroads and other public purposes, so far exceeds their own powers of supply, that upon the whole it has been deemed advisable to leave the existing Tariff upon that point for the present undisturbed.

No. 12.

Sir George Shee to the Earl of Aberdeen.—(Received August 10.)

(Extract.)

Stuttgardt, August 5, 1842. SINCE the date of my former despatch, the Commissioners of the Customs' Union do not seem to have made any progress.

In the mean time, however, the representatives of the manufacturing interests are by no means idle. They appear now to have acquired considerable influence over the public press in this part of Germany, and even in the Rhenish provinces of Prussia; and the consequence is, that articles are perpetually appearing in the public newspapers arguing in favour of an increase in various articles of the existing tariff.

With reference to what I have already stated to your Lordship respecting a probable rise in the duty upon linen yarn, I have to acquaint you that petitions have been recently presented to the Commissioners from various manufacturers in Germany, urgently soliciting an increase in that duty. The prevailing belief, however, seems still to be, that, although the duty will be increased, it will only be to a very trifling amount.

Mr. Wheaton, the American Minister at the Court of Berlin, arrived

C

here some time ago, partly for the purpose of watching the proceedings of the Congress, but principally with a view to obtain, if possible, a reduction in the existing duty upon the importation of American tobacco. In the latter object Mr. Wheaton appears to have failed, from the conflicting interest of the tobacco-growers in various parts of Germany, principally in Baden, Saxony, and Bavaria. The duty on that article will, it is thought, not be lowered; nor, on the other hand, do I apprehend that it will be increased.

Upon cigars, however, there will probably be an increase, but that increase will not so much affect the American planter as the tobaccomerchants in the town of Bremen, which town, your Lordship knows, is not a member of the Zoll Verein, but into which American tobacco is largely imported for the purpose of being manufactured into cigars.

No. 13.

Sir George Shee to the Earl of Aberdeen.-(Received August 17.) (Extract.)

Stuttgardt, August 12, 1842.

SINCE the date of my last despatch upon the subject of the German Customs' Union, the Commissioners have, I am inclined to believe, advanced so far in their task that their new tariff is now quite complete, with the exception of those points upon which so much discussion has

arisen.

Upon these points the Commissioners, who have written home for fresh instructions, are, it is said, still awaiting the replies of the respective Governments. But, in the mean time, I am informed that the parties whose interests led them to desire augmentations in the tariff are cómplaining in strong terms of the manner in which German interests, as they affirm, are about to be neglected in this Congress; and I learn, moreover, from good authority, that an individual whose official position places him in close connexion with the German Customs' Union, has recently declared, in a very positive manner, although with many expressions of regret, that no change will take place in the existing tariff so far as relates to cotton twist and to iron that will in any way prejudice the interests of Great Britain.

No. 14.

The Earl of Westmorland to the Earl of Aberdeen.-(Received

(Extract.)

August 22.)

Berlin, August 17, 1842.

A DEPUTATION of manufacturers from the Grand Duchy of Baden, Würtemberg, and the Rhenish Provinces of Prussia, have arrived at Berlin, to endeavour to influence the Prussian Government in favour of an increase of duties on cotton-twist, the mixed woollen and cotton goods, and iron.

They have had interviews with Baron Bülow, and the Minister of France, and Director of the Customs, who have all received them politely, but declined entering into their views. They have likewise solicited an audience of His Majesty the King, to present a petition, setting forth their wishes.

The press in Germany, and more particularly in the south, has for some time past been loud in calling for restrictive duties in favour of German manufacturers, and in inveighing against the injury done to them by the importation of British goods. It is chiefly led by Monsieur Lizt, a very able writer in the employ of the manufacturers, whose articles carry great weight with them in the opinion of many distinguished persons in the Southern States.

The cause of protective duties has likewise gained great strength from the support it has received from the liberal party in Hesse-Darmstadt, and especially in the Baden Chambers; and, in general, the southern Governments have shown themselves favourable to a system of increased duties, which for some time formed the chief obstacle to their accession to the German Union, as they had felt unwilling to adopt the Prussian tariff, which was higher than their own. But manufactures have, during the few last years, made such rapid strides in Germany, that those persons who were formerly the most strenuous advocates of free trade are now its most decided opponents, as they think it politic to protect undertakings in which considerable capital has been invested. Those, likewise, who are interested in obtaining higher duties on foreign manufactures feel alarmed lest the late important changes which have been introduced by Her Majesty's Government should, by depriving them of grounds of complaint against Great Britain, prevent them from gaining their object.

They therefore think that every effort ought to be made, before it is too late, to prevail upon their respective Governments to grant them the protection they demand, and it is with this view that they have spared no expense in enlisting the press in their favour.

No. 15..

Sir George Shee to the Earl of Aberdeen.-(Received August 27.) My Lord,

Stuttgardt, August 22, 1842.

THE Commissioners of the German Customs' Union have made no further progress in the new tariff since I last addressed your Lordship, the Commissioners who had sent home for fresh instructions, not having yet received their replies. I have however, been again informed, and within the last day or two, that there is still no probability whatever of any augmentation being made in the duty upon cotton-twist.

The individual who gave me the above information, added, that the duty upon mixed woollen goods would probably be raised from thirty to fifty dollars per cwt.

No. 16.

I have, &c., (Signed)

G. SHEE.

Sir George Shee to the Earl of Aberdeen.-(Received September 25.) (Extract.)

Stuttgardt, September 20, 1842,

I HAVE the honour to acquaint your Lordship, that I learn that," although the new tariff has not yet been signed, the details have at length been definitively agreed upon.

The result would appear to be that, in cotton-twist, there will be no augmentation of duty whatever; that in linen yarn, likewise, there will be no augmentation, nor will there be any increase in the duty upon

iron.

But, with regard to mixed woollen goods, it is said that the influential Governments of the German Customs' Union have been compelled at last to yield to the clamours of the manufacturing interests, and that the augmentation of duty from thirty to fifty dollars per cwt., for which augmentation I prepared your Lordship in former despatches, will be made.

After the protocol of the Congress has been signed, which I expect will take place in a day or two, some further time must still elapse before the new tariff itself can be published.

No. 17.

Mr. Henry Howard to Viscount Canning.-(Received September 26.)

(Extract.)

Berlin, September 22, 1842. MONSIEUR EICHMAN, the head of the Commercial Department in the Foreign Office, having been unable to receive me yesterday before the departure of the messenger, I called upon him this morning, and he informed me that the discussions of the Commercial Congress at Stuttgardt, on the tariff, had terminated, and that no augmentation of the duties of the Union, on iron, iron wares, cotton-twist, or linen yarns, had taken place.

The proposition, however, for an increase of the duties on mixed woollen and cotton goods, from thirty to fifty dollars per cwt., has, I regret to say, been adopted, as your Lordship has already been led to anticipate. Monsieur Eichman begged me to observe, that the new duties only apply to printed goods of that description.

No other changes affecting British interests, than those originally proposed, have been carried in the Congress; and, taking into consideration the violent outcry for protecting duties, raised throughout Germany, I think that less injury has been sustained by British commerce than appeared to be threatened.

The duration of the tariff, as now fixed, is for three years from the 1st of January, 1843.

No. 18.

Sir George Shee to the Earl of Aberdeen.-(Received November 12.)

(Extracts.)

Stuttgardt, November 1 and 7, 1842. THE new tariff of the German Customs' Union was published on Saturday last, in the Government Gazette of Würtemberg, ("Regierungs Blatt,") and I have the honour to transmit to your Lordship, herewith, a copy of that document.

Upon inspection of that document, your Lordship will perceive, that no essential change has been made in the late tariff, except in the article of mixed woollen goods. In cotton-twist, indeed, there has been a slight increase agreed upon, but it does not apply to the qualities described in the late tariff. It relates to a sort of intermediate condition of the article, which our manufacturers had succeeded in creating for the purpose of introducing into Germany, under the lowest duty, that species of twist which properly was liable to the higher, and it is, therefore, not an augmentation of duty, but merely the prevention of an abuse.

I have to add that, in addition to the alterations, a provisional increase has been agreed upon relative to four items, with which the commerce of France will be principally concerned. The articles, as stated in the inclosure to this despatch are, fine leather gloves, quincaillerie, French brandy, and paper hangings. I am given to understand that the increase would be abandoned, should the French Government evince a disposition to meet the forbearance of the German Union, by corresponding commercial liberality on their part.