The Brazilian ambassador has been in vain endeavouring to effect a reduction of the duty imposed on foreign sugar. The reign of monopoly is to be continued yet a little longer. We are to go on throwing away our money, and losing our trade. The working man’s food is taxed out of all proportion. We may not use the cheap sugar of Brazil, which is imported—slave-grown as it is—into England, and, here refined, is then sold to the settler in Australia, or the emancipated West Indian labourer, for fourpence a pound. No, the unemancipated white labourer must pay a high price for his adulterated sugar; for be it remembered that 400,000 cwts. of various ingredients are annually used, and which, cheapening the price, though then it is much higher than that of the genuine article would be, were we allowed to import it for home consumption from Brazil, is consumed principally by the lower orders of society. The necessaries of life in this country being thus heavily taxed, the cost of our manufactures is raised, and, as a consequence, the German under-sells us in the Brazil market; and, more wonderful still, the American enters our own colonies, such as the Cape of Good Hope, and under-sells us there; and thus it is that we are punished for our sins. It must also be remembered that, in spite of our virtual exclusion of foreign produce, Java, and Cuba, and the Brazils, had grown sugar in such abundance, as that our merchants have three separate times begged permission of the government to introduce it merely for the purposes of agriculture, promising, if their request were granted, to spoil it in such a manner as that it should be totally unfit for human food. Notwithstanding a duty of 63_s._ in their favour, the monopolists complain of the low price of sugar. From the circular of Messrs. Truman and Co., we find that, whilst the highest price of British sugar (West India middling to fine) is 68_s._ per cwt., the highest price for foreign (Havannah white) is only 28_s._ per cwt.; and thus they are getting nearly 150 per cent. more than we are paying for foreign sugar. Again, the lowest price of English sugar (Bengal brown) is 48_s._, whilst the lowest price of the foreign article (Java) is 16_s._ 6_d._, and thus getting nearly 200 per cent. more than foreign sugar can be got for, they have the impudence to grumble about low prices! Pretty cool! considering the shameless system of plundering they have been carrying on.