ABSTRACT
In his budget of 1845 Peel used part of his five million surplus to carry out the second half of his plan. He adopted Gladstone's suggestion of classification, and proposed duties on brown muscovado of 14S. in the case of colonial, 23s. 4Ji. in the case of foreign free labour sugar, and on white clayed of 16s. 4Ji. and 28s. respectively. The duty on molasses, which had been reduced and readjusted the previous year, was to be reduced further, and finally, refined sugar from the colonies was to be admitted, at duties of 18s. 8d. or 21S. per cwt. according to quality. Peel estimated that sugar was likely to fall ltd. a pound.3 The old Whig arguments were reinforced this session by a claim of the Spanish Government, who had been doing a little historical research, that the
distinction between free and slave produce was contrary to the provisions of treaties of 1667 and 1713 with that country. Palmerston supported the claim. Under the Act of 1844 sugar 'certified ... to be the growth of China, Java, or Manilla, or of any other foreign country, the sugar of which Her Majesty in Council shall have declared to be admissible as not being the produce of slave labour and imported either from the country of its growth or from some British possession' was to be admitted at a duty of 34S. as from 10 November, when the treaty with Brazil expired. The Government had recognized that certain countries might make claims on the score of treaty rights, and claims by Venezuela and the United States had by .this time been admitted. They, however, were not exporters of sugar in bulk; I and the Government did not admit the claim of Spain, which of course, as all the sugar of Cuba was involved, would have made their measure an absurdity. The completed measure was much more easily defended than its first instalment; and the West Indians, gratified by the concession in regard to refining and hopeful that the reduction of the duties would stimulate consumption and stop the cheap sugar cry, were among its strongest supporters. Peel had tried to consider the planter as well as the consumer. What remained to be seen was whether the cheap sugar cry had in fact been stopped, or whether the people of England would claim the right to interfere with the West India interest in the name of free trade as they had already interfered with it in the name of civil liberty.
