The French Treaty and Tariff of 1860: With an Historical Sketch of the Past ...

of the Tariff first published by the Commissioners, signed at
Paris on the 12th of October, 1860.

6. The Second Supplementary Convention, annexed to the
portion of the Tariff last published, signed at Paris on the 23rd
of November, 1860.

7. Table of Import Duties finally agreed upon; which is here
published in French and English on opposite pages, all the techni-
calities being carefully translated, and the English equivalents, in
money, weights, and measures, inserted.

8. Table of Additional Duties levied on Goods when imported

in vessels under any other flag than that of England or France,

together with Certificate Regulations, &c.

9. A Table of Duties chargeable upon articles under the general

Tariff of France, not included in the recent Treaty.

10. Notes explanatory of the new Tariff, and of the manner of

levying the duties, as published by the French Government, for the

information of importers, and of the officers of the Custom Houses.

11. Regulations as to Packing and Ports of Entry.

12. Statistical Tables of Commerce between England and

France for the last year preceding the execution of the Treaty,

which are inserted in this volume, as furnishing valuable data for

future comparison.

13. Finally, a Table of French Money, Weights, and Measures,

and their English equivalents, is given, and a verbal Index to the
articles included in all the preceding documents.

It is hoped that the data thus collected into one body and
arranged for convenience of reference, will prove highly useful to
the merchants of Great Britain and France, and that the official
experience of the Editor will inspire the fullest confidence in the
accuracy of the calculations.

BELLE SAUVAGE YARD, LONDON,

February, 1861.

Historical Introduction

CONTENTS.

...

PAGE

9

Treaty of Commerce between Her Majesty Queen Victoria and the

Emperor of the French. Signed at Paris, January 23rd, 1860

First Additional Article. Signed at Paris, February 25th, 1860

Second Additional Article. Signed at Paris, June 27th, 1860

First Supplementary Convention. Signed at Paris, October 12th, 1860

Second Supplementary Convention. Signed at Paris, November 23rd,

Dates at which the Duties specified in the following Table come into

Operation

...

49

Table of Import Duties on various Articles of British Produce, in

French ...

50

51

Additional Duties Charged on Goods Imported into France from the

United Kingdom in Vessels other than British or French.

Rates of Duty on Articles Imported from the United Kingdom,

First Statistical Table, containing the Quantities and Value of the

Principal and other Articles Imported from France in the

Second Statistical Table, containing the Quantities and Value of

the Principal and other Articles Exported to France in the

year 1859

...

Third Statistical Table, showing the Importations into France from

the United Kingdom, including Malta, Gibraltar, and the

Ionian Islands, in the

Fourth Statistical Table, showing the Exports to France from the

United Kingdom, including Malta, Gibraltar, and the Ionian

Islands, in the year 1859

...

Table of French Money, Weights, and Measures, with their English

149

HISTORICAL

INTRODUCTION.

In order to form an adequate estimate of the New French Tariff upon British Produce and Manufactures, it is necessary to consider the system for which it has been substituted, as well as the history of commercial legislation in France which has preceded it.

It is a fact worthy of serious reflection, that so far back as 1786 a Commercial Treaty was concluded between England and France, the provisions of which were, speaking generally, quite as favourable, as regards the terms upon which British merchandise was admitted into France, as those of the Treaty of 1860.

The brief existence of this liberal Tariff was one of the results of the war which commenced in 1793, and, with occasional intervals, raged during twenty years between the two countries; and the system of prohibition and prohibitory duties which compressed, within unnaturally narrow limits, the interchange of commodities between them, and which has shackled French commerce ever since, is one of the legacies which that war has entailed upon the industry of England.

The principal features of the Treaty of 1786 were as follow :-French wines were to be admitted into England

at the same rate as Portuguese wines; vinegars to pay £33 per ton; brandy, 7s. per gallon; olive oil, the same as from other nations.

It was agreed that the under-mentioned articles should reciprocally pay :—

BEER, 30 per cent, ad valorem.

HARDWARE, CUTLERY, CABINETWARE, AND TURNERY, and all manufactures of iron, steel, copper, or brass, a duty not to exceed 10 per cent. ad valorem.

COTTONS, WOOLLENS, AND HOSIERY (except when mixed with silk), and Millinery of all kinds, 12 per cent. ad valorem.

CAMBRICS AND LAWNS, 5s. per piece of seven yards.

LINENS, not to pay higher duties than linens imported into Great
Britain from Holland.

SADDLERY, 15 per cent. ad valorem.
GAUZES, 10 per cent. ad valorem.

PORCELAIN, EARTHENWARE, POTTERY, PLATE-GLASS, AND GLASS-
WARE, 12 per cent. ad valorem.

The excise duties on certain articles, in addition to the import duties, were to be charged in each country.

The Declaration of Independence by the United States of America, which act engendered a feeling of universal brotherhood in the higher circles of French society, then all-powerful, is said to have led indirectly to the conclusion of this Treaty. However this may have been, it does not appear that the French manufacturers generally received it with any favour; they were, in truth, opposed to it from the very commencement, and petitions against the new treaty were being daily received in Paris from various parts of France, when the Revolution suddenly burst forth and put a stop to all commercial undertakings.

A second general Tariff was proposed in 1791, but things remained in a very unsettled state until the decree of March,

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