TIMBER

In Carpentry, a word used to denote those pieces of wood that admit of being squared, or are capa ble of being employed in house and ship-building. A considerable portion of the timber (oak) used in shipbuilding,and in the construction of machinery, is of home growth; but the greater portion of the timber (fir) used in house carpentry, and in the making of furniture, , is imported either from our colonial po e ions or from foreign countries. The trade in timber is one of great extent and importance. In fact, if there be one article more than another with which it is of paramount importance that a great maritime and manufacturing nation like England should be abundantly supplied on the lowest po ible terms, that article is timber. But of late years this sound principle has been most materially interfered with, partly for the sake of revenue, and partly to force a trade with our North American colonies. This forcing system lias been carried to such an extreme extent, that from 1821 down to the present year (1842), a duty of 55s. a load has been laid on foreign timber, or timber from the N. of Europe, whereas timber from British America has been admitted at a duty of 10*. a load, making a discriminating or differential duty of no le than 45s. a load in favour of the latter! Such a preference would, under any circumstances, be most injurious; but it has been especially so from the fact of the timber of our North American po e ions being, speaking generally, of very inferior quality; so that the practical operation of the system has been to compel the British public to pay a comparatively high price for a comparatively worthle article. We are glad, however, to be able to state that this pernicious system has recently been very materially modified; and that, under the tariff" introduced by Sir Robert Peel, the duty on foreign timber is to be immediately reduced to 30s. a load, and that in 1843 it is to be reduced to 25s., while the duty on timber from British America is to be reduced to Is. the load. This reduces the differential duty or bounty in favour of Canadian timber from 45s. to 24s. and is, in so far, a material improvement. But there neither is nor can be any good reason why the differential duty should not be still farther reduced, or rather why it should not be altogether abolished. The better plan would have been to have made the reduction only in foreign timber, and to have kept the duty on Canadian timber at its old level. Had this been done, the lo to the revenue would not have been nearly so great as it will be, at the same time that the differential duty in favour of colonial timber would have been reduced to 15s. a load, which, though an impolitic, could not have been called an oppre ive duty. The consequence of this forcing system has been that of from 350 to 450 cargoes of timber annually imported into the United Kingdom, not more than from 00 to 100 are from the north of Europe. But under the new system, the proportions will be materially varied, and the balance of imporWe subjoin,tation will be greatly in favour of of the north of Europe. and 1839; and of the Quantities retained for Home Con there from in the same Two Years. ed. import- Quant i tie sed. export- Quantities returnee Nett Revenue, i 1839. for Consumption. I8i>9. 1838. 1838. IS39. 1838. L. L. \ 168 17,640 161,112 174,8191839 1 303 19,405 622,261 631,839 20,118 121 209 70,87810,969 77,53615.374 4,7811 80,647 1,30695 1,072 3,3046,859 17,188 75 50 4,723 3,331 13,863 320 15.5522,635 9,3085,263 545 3,690 8,018 6,494 54,566 75,4613,8894,393 58,738 623,26581,0203,558 1,876 1,579310 629,2513,489 572,595 550.999 1 633,81)9 83,07049,664 46,766 75,147 50,752 45 58 36,155 51,336 10.976 12,961 51,676 43,523 4,072 1 12,353 11,862. 2,644 4,518 [s. 1262]