Expense of Colonies. {From the " Colonial Gazette.")

Daily Southern Cross, Volume 1, Issue 37, 30 December 1843, Page 4

Expense of Colonies. {From the " Colonial Gazette.")

Before the last short recess of Parliament, Mr. Cobden boasted that he would demonstrate to the House of Commons, that Colonies were a sheer loss to the Mother Country, and force a vote from that body affirming or denying his conclusions. Mr. Cobden has not found it convenient to fulfil his pledge ; but something was required to be done. Instead, therefore, of the substantive motion which he threatened, he affects to move an amendment which he knew was irregular, and could not be entertained or discussed. He thus gains an opportunity of making a speech full of bold assertions and illogical inferences, confident that there will be no reply, and that his admirers will attribute the want of

one to the unanswerable character of his arguments. He shall not escape thus. Mr. Cobden set out by professing that "He was not opposed to the retension of colonies any more than honourable gentlemen opposite. He "was as anxious as any one that the English race should spread itself over the whole world ; and he believed that colonization, under a proper system of management, might be made as conducive to the interests of the Mother Country as to the emigrants themselves." This language is new as coming from Mr. Cobden — so new that he could not persevere in it. The rest of his speech went to prove — if to prove anything — that all colonies are useless, and English colonies most of all. Mr. Cobden set out by informing his auditors that our colonial trade did not amount to quite one-third of our whole trade, and from that he most logically inferred that it was not worth keeping. Does Mr. Cobden mean to assert that this country would suffer no injury from having one-third of its trade suddenly lopped off? If the trade in colonial produce were thrown free immediately, it is possible that foreign dealers might drive the colonists out of the market, although they could not supply as much as themselves and the colonists had done before. They could sell at a price which would not be remunerative for the colonists, and the colonists could not continue to produce without a remunerative price. But the produce of the foreigners is limited, and cannot be increased for some time. The colonial pro-x ducer may, therefore, be driven out of the market, though there is no one to supply his place. Mr. Cobden, speaking of the colonies, said : " He made no reference to the extent of territory ; it was with people we had to deal, and not with barren wastes. Of what use was it in the present condition of this kingdom to .point to a boundless extent of territory in America, when people were wanted as customers and consumers ?" But when Mr. Cobden came to speak of Brazil : "Looking at Brazil alone, let it be remembered that one of its rivers would hold in its mouth the whole of the West India Islands." What then? It "is people," not a "boundless extent of territory," that Mr. Cobden wants. Oh no ! that specious declaration applied only to British colonies : with Brazil it is different. Brazil is more thinly peopled than the British colonies, and yet Mr. Cobden looking to the river that would " hold in its mouth all the West India Islands," exclaims, "Here indeed is a boundless field for the operations of commerce !" — a field of water 1 His remarks on the cost of the colonies to this country are in the same fair and consistent spirit. He sets down to the account of the colonies all the naval and military expenditure of the colonial stations, as if ships and soldiers would not be required to protect our commerce in distant seas, even though we had no colonies; and if the possession of colonies did not enable us to keep up at less expense these guards of our distant traders. He sets down to the account of the colonies the expense of Corfu, Gibraltar, Malta, and Heligoland, which are not colonies. He sets down to the account of the colonies the expenses incurred for the suppression of the slave-trade, and the expenses of stipendiary magistrates whom the colonies neither needed nor wished for. He sets down the expense incurred in South Australia and New Zealand by the blundering or jobbing of Government, as the legitimate expenses of the colonies. And, having by these disingenuous means run up an exorbitant account, exclaims, "your colonial trade is only worth so much per annum, and your colonies cost you so much per annum." He leaves out of account the colonial rents that are spent in this country : before emancipation, the rental of the West India colonies exceeded the annual rental of all Scotland. And, even after thus exaggerating the cost of the colonies and undervaluing their returns, he has not dared to give a corresponding statement of the cost of our home traders to the public, as compared with what they bring in. Even from his own exaggerated statements, it would appear that the colonial share of the whole expenditure for army and navy is as one to three, and this is nearly the proportion he states the colonial trade bears to the trade of the whole empire. Enough has been said to show the exaggerated and distorted character of Mr. Cobden's averments. But the matter cannot be allowed to stop here. Even though he shrunk from a substantive motion on colonial expen- ' diture, he has said enough to call for exposure. We will return to the subject, and ex- j amine in more minute detail not only his assertions, but those hazarded on the same occasion by his supporters, Messrs. Evers and Villiers. Commercial Intelligence. — The amount of business done during the week has been upon a much more limited scale than is usual at this particular season; the,, transactions have been confined to very small parcels of

goods, almost exclusively to meet the wants of dealers, who buy very sparingly ; and prices, in most cases, continue to exhibit the same downward tendency as for some months past. The tea trade, from the large stock on hand, coupled with the expected arrivals, is most decidedly floored for the next two years ; it is manifest that the consumption has fallen off full thirty per cent. : it is also apparent, from the eagerness which certain holders adopt that of selling a single package (i. c.. a 101b catty box) that they are in a bad position. A public sale took place during the week of a portion of the cargo ex Kelso, from China, said to be damaged, but which many of the purchasers could find no trace of, realized about 555. per chest ,* the sales in other goods have been very trivial throughout the week, and prices for the most part are merely nominal. — John Johnson, broker, Albian House, Miller's Point.— B.M.Herald.