Star. — London, England, 1822-05-21 00:00:00

porting from the Nfeditertimean by way of Holland, The next relaxation was as to Russia, and it was ' tended to abolish those distinctions which prevailed hitherto as to that trade, and to put its ports upon the same footing as those of the rest of Europe.— Particular attention would be paid to tallow, which ‘va• an important article of commerce. He had onl ele more alteration to mention, which was the creased facilities which would be held out for ii F orting thrown silk—(Hear, hear)..—He was aware that a strong feeling prevailed on this subject, arid t h e n uinber of persons about the doors of the House testified the anxiety which was too apparent. It was sa id that the thrown silk of this country should be -rotected, and that numbers of hands would be put - ou t of employment, if it was at all trenched upon foreign competition. But he wished Gentlemen -.n allay their fears. The protection which the thrown *ilk hitherto enjoyed would not be touched—the pro- 1 :ecting duties would not be diminished—(Hear, hear).' The only effect of the new measure would be to ex tend a power of introducing it here from certain ports to others. By the 22d Geo. HI. thrown silks might no w- be imported from Italy and the States of Ger many, and this Bill would only extend this power somewhat larger. It could not give any additional facilities to smuggling, since the import duties still remained. Under these circumstances, then, he cal culated upon the concurrence of the House in this part of the plan, and he hoped they would not be turned aside from their duty by any clamour or inti midation. Having, then, stated the details, he had only to repeat, that the general effect of the relaxa tions as to Europe would be to establish one general for every country, and thus get rid of the conn i iesity and confusion arising out of the particular e xceptions made in the Act of Charles the Second. h was an important alteration, if it had no other merit than that of simplifying these complicated .Acts—(llenr, hear).—Then as to the second division of the subject, namely, the alterations to be made as to foreign Powers, not European, he had to state that America was the first to be considered. It was un necessary now to remind the House of the important changes which had taken place in South America, and of the vast field for commercial enterprise which wa. , thus opened in that part of the world. As a great ~ .:)annercial people, it was obviously the interest of r.l)s country to take every advantage of this corn. r.r. - :rce, and that as speedily as possible (Hear, hear). He said as speedily as possible, because our great commercial rival, the United States, was already grasping at the trade with the greatest eagerness. the House were aware that a Message had been sent to Congress by the President. and perhaps by.this time the independence of South America was recog nied. It was time for England to bestir herself. Here was a valuable trade thrown open to the com petition of all the States of Europe. The terms upon which these States were disposed to admit foreign ves sels were already known; as their declaratioa in that respect had been made public. It was the interest of this country to encourage the trade. But he was not to be understood to say, that Government would go the length of recognising the independence of these States. The present measure did not pledge them to tv.e course of proceeding or another, and the only Sect of it would be, that if such a recognition took place, the subject might have an opportunity of en gaging in the traffic with all the advantages of legal provision without loss of time. His proposition, there lore, was, that by a clause in this Bill, the ships of the States of South America should be admitted to our ports upon precisely the same terms as those upon which they admitted our ships to theirs—(Hear, hear). They would be allowed to bring here the produce of their country, in the same way that they allowed us to carry thither our manufactures. And there was no departure from the principle of the Navigation Act by this regulation. Another arrangement would be to allow British ships to import goods of any kind froth any part of the world. Against this, however, it was urged, that the carrying trade, however distant the parts, would be entirely lost, as foreign vessels, whose freight was lower, would be employed to trans port goods from countries where they were produced, to ports near Great Britain, and the trans-shipment would be all that would be gained by British shippers. This might be true, if any other ships could come in competition with British in the carrying trade. The vessels of the North certainly had an advantage from the extreme cheapness of their construction, but this, if of any use, ought to have secured for them the whole carrying trade. It was a fact, however, that the ships in the North, even in the northern trade, did not enjoy one-half of the carrying trade. Since 1815, the increase in favour of this country had been upwards of 400,000 tons. Their freights were not ]ewer than those of British vessels. He had compared the rate of freight of French and Dutch ships with . those of England, and he found that the rates were higher. The same was true as to Amen can ships. So long, therefore, as the British could not be put out of the market by low freight, there was no danger of our losing the carrying trade. The Americans pursued the very same principle on which our Navigation Laws were founded ; and all their trade was carried on in American ships. He had always thought that the transit trade should be se cured to this country for its benefit ; and to prevent a direct importation from the ports of Europe in any ether except British ships; and that foreign ships must come for exportation only. His object, then, was to educ e d ie w hole of our numerous Navigation Laws into one or two simple Acts of Parliament. He con cluded with moving that the Speaker do leave the chair. Mr. DAVENPORT vindicated the proceedings of the deputation from the silk manufacturers, to which :le thought the Right Hon. Gentleman (Mr. Wallace) :wished epithets not merited by their conduct. The : ik trade was the only flourishing trade in the couri try at the present moment. It was, as he understood, thriving in every county in England. He crustedthat full time would be allowed to those whose interests were affected to be heard by Counsel. Sir \V. DE CRESPIGNY protested against the principle of the Bill. It militated against the best in tele Is of the country, and was equally prejudicial to the British ship-owners and the British seamen. Sir M. W. RIDLEY defended the shipping in terest against the animadversons thrown out against them. They had been represented as a sel fish teiebted class, too apt to take alarm at any alteration ff the law that affected their interests. He denied they were more selfish than any other public body who addressed their petitions to this House. He was, resolving , The House -sr. DAVENPORT moved, as an Amenctnient, that the article of Thrown Silk be withdrawn from the other aTticles enumerated in the first clause. Mr. BASTARD hoped an opportunity would be afforded the Silk Manufacturers to be heard by Counsel. Mr. T. WILSON, with the highest respect for the, talents and exertions of the Right Hon. Gentleman, the introducer of the Bill, thought that he viewed the proceedings of the Deputation of the Silk Manufac turers with too indignant a feeling. Mr. ELLICE considered it due to the Silk Mann facturers, that on a proceeding affecting, as they sup posed, their interests, they should have had some pre vious notice of the provisions of the Bill. That trade had made considerable progress in the country.; it had recently been under the consideration of a Com mittee of that House, whose Report was most favour able, and therefore it was that its manufacturers ought to have been consulted as to any alteration intended, by the present Bill—(H ear , henry—lle did not see any cause for the apprehensions that the Silk Manu facturers entertained relative to the extent of the pre sent measure, although it was to be recollected that this thrown silk was a manufactured article. He hoped, however, that the present Bill would be al lowed to go through the Committee, and that on a future stage the interests of the Silk Manufacturers would be attended to, and a full discussion allowed —(Hear, hear).—With that understanding, that the Silk Manufacturers should have a full opportunity to state their case, he should allow the present Bill to pass through the Committee, the Right Hon. Gentle man who introduced it (Mr. Wallace) signifying his assent to such understanding—(Hear, hear). Mr. WALLACE assented to the propositioi of the Hon. Member for Coventry (Mr. Ellice) ; he had no wish to refuse the fullest opportunity to parties inte rested to defend their interests. Mr. M. A. TAYLOR expressed his determination to oppose any subversion of that Navigation Code to which, under HEA vex, the maritime superiority and glory of Great Britain was attributable. He would' not support the Amendment, though not hostile to the silk-manufacturer, because he wished the Bill to' be loaded with every . mischief that was likely to se cure its defeat,(Hear,lear, ! and a laugh). Mr. ELLICE recommended the. Hon. Member for Cheshire (Mr. Davenport) to withdraw hit Amend ment, witfi the understanding that .another oppcitiit- Pity for final decision would be allowed. . Mr. RICARDO observed, that it was a, hippy omen to see that so many Hon. Gentlemen. were now of opinion that our system admitted of improvement —(Hear, hear.)—The present Bill was complaned of; the only complaint he had against it, was, in the de velopement of its principle; it did not go far enough —(Hear, hear).—He only trusted that the Right Hon. Gentleman who introduced it would have the courage to go on—(Hear, hear ! and a laugh). Mr. BROUGHAM did not rise to oppose the mea sure of the Right Hon. Mover—it was a very mode rate portion of the commencement of an improve ment in our commercial system. It was his duty, in the year 1817, to have submitted propositions to that House, founded on the same principle, and, indeed, in part embracing the very same results, yet, extraordinary as it might seem, those very proposi tions, nay, the very identical improvement, com prehended by the present Bill, was at that time op posed most violently by the Right Hon. Gentleman who proposed the peseta Bill,, and indeed not only by him, but by a thick set Treasury Bench, who de termined to meet the commercial pressure of that period by passing to the orders of the day. It was, however, a gratification to think, that we lived in a state of improvement, and that the measures recom mended five years ago by Opposition Members, were now brought forward under the auspices of those who not only had the power of carrying them into effect, but who also possessed the peculiar power of making that independent majority on whose decision all things depended, now verbally approve the very proposi tions, which but a short time past they had voted to be visionary and absurd. The present Bill, as far as it went, had his support—there was this moral attached to it- . --that the House of Commons ought not to be so forward to reprobate pinpositions founded on the deductions of the ablest men of the closet and of public life, and then within a few years condemn itself to the irksome duty of acknowledging, not alone these truths, but its own errors; declaring to the world that it imported nothing what the merits of any proposition were, but that all depended on the consideration from what side the measure came-,- (Hear, hear).—The Hon. Member proceeded to say, that finding the relaxation had begun on a point where he had not expected it, he trusted that some further relaxations would take place on these points, where a liberal policy was more undoubtedly the interest of the merchant and the nation. If such relaxations were proposed, he was sure that they would be re ceived with that consentaneous chorus of cheers which the House had heard on the present occasion. He hoped in the first place, that the principle of this Bill would be made more effectual, by being applied to the criminal law as well as the commercial policy of the country, and also to the system of taxation ; and in the next place he trusted that when similar propo sitions should emanate from his side of the House, they would meet with more liberal treatment than they were accustomed to receive from the Ministerial , benches, and better fortune from the House at large. He heartily rejoiced that the Petitioners were to be heard,although they had lost the opportunity by lathes. The safest error in such a case was to throw the door open to inquiry for the Bill, if passed into a law, would then be passed with greater general content ment, and be productive of more' xtensive relaxation. The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER expressed his satisfaction that the Hon. and Learned Gentleman would give the Bill his *upon on any consideration ; and also to defend the several propositions of his Rig& Hon. Friend the President of the Basil' of Trade. Mr. ELLICE said, that if the House agreed to take off the restrictions now imposed on trade, it should also consent to take off all the burdens in the shape of taxation to which it was liable. If he did not believe Ministers to be in earnest in their anxiety to take off all the burden, on the shipping interest, it would be more adviseable to leave the laws as they were at present. With next Adj o ur nma d the Mows lat journed a ••• • au_ _ - fonot6ng.—Tbe House the t OnesealieL • • ACC OU * Nt OF SUMS OF MONEY DUE TO THE CROWN OF GREAT BRITAIN FROM FOREIGN STATES, SINCE THE YEAR 1792. AUSTRIA-4795. fly the Convention signed at Vienna, 4th May, 1795, his Im .perial Majesty engager regularly to discharge the half-yearly di vidends on the Loan of £1,600,000 to be raised for his service; the repayment of the Loan being SECURED ON THE RE, VENUES OF THE HEREDITARY DOMINIONS OF HIS IMPERIAL MAJESTY, £4,600,000. 1797. By the Declaratka signed at Westminster, 16th May, 1797, a Loan of £1,640,000, being to be raised for the repayment of the advances Made by Great Britain on account of the former Loan. his Imperial Majesty engages to pay the dividends on the said Loan of £1,620,000 every six months; the same secu rity as before being provided for the repayment of this Loan, £1,620,000.—The whole of these sums remain doe, as also the following sum, which has been paid for interest on said Loans: AN ACCOUNT or TNT SUM PAID NT ORNAT NUTAIIN, AS INTZLIST ON THIS LOANS RAU= TON TEE ZNIP2NON OP OIiKANT. AU the charges on the first Loan were paid by the Emperor of Germany, to the Ist day of May, 1797, from which period the rharges hare been paid by Great Britain.—Total interest due, £10,601,953. ss. 1800. By the Convention signed at Vienna, 20th June, 1800, a Loan of .42,000,000, being to be advanced by Great Britain for the service of Austria (of which a proportion of cone,or two-thirds was paid). his Imperial Majesty engages, after the expiration of six months following the conclusion of peace, to pay the interest of the sum advanced, and to appropriate a sum to the gradual re demption of the Loan of £2,000,000.—N0 part of this sum has been paid. UNITED STATES.-1803. By the Convention signed at London, Bth January, 1802, the United States are to pay to Great Britain, in discharge of certain claims of British subjects, X600,000.—T4 c whole of this sum has been paid. _ _ PORTUGAL-1809. By the Convention signed at London,2lst April, 1809, a Loan of £BOO,OOO being raised in London for the service of his Most Faithful Majesty, the Prince Regent of Portugal undertakes to pay the interest of the same, and to provide a Sinking Fund of Al pet cent. for the gradual liquidation of the principal, the RE VENUES of the ISLAND of MADEIRA, Ac. being AS. SIGNED as a SECURITY, for the DUE FULFILMENT of his engagements, £600,000. The all;wing sums were paid im account of this Loan by the Portuguese Government, viz. On account of interest, X 163,520. 18s. On account of Redemption, $lBO,OOO. Total, 4343,020.185. 1815. By the Treaty signed atVienna,22d January,lBls, the further payments upon .the above Loan of £600,000, arc remitted. FRANCF..-1815.. By the definitive Treaty signed at Parts,2oth November, 1815, the pecuniary indemnity to be paid by France to the Allied Powers is fixed at 700 s 000p00 francs; and by the protocol of the same date, Great Britain is to receive, as her share of the said indemnity, the sum of 100,000,000 francs. The whole of this claim has been settled. By the Convention of the 20th November, 1815, 50,000,000 francs are to be annually paid by France, for the pay, clothing, &c. of the Allied Army of Occupadon • and by the protocol of the same date, Great Britain is to rece ive out of the said sum 10,714,285 franc; 71 cents per annum. Tie whole of this claim , has been settled. IRISH GRAZIERS' MONOPOLY. TO THE EDITOR OF THE STAR. SlR—The cause offimine in the grazing districts of Ireland, and of superabundance i n Great Britain, may be traced to the Irish Graziers',monopoly. Ave raging the live cattle imported into Great Britain in the two last years at two years growth, at least 20,000,000 pounds of butchers' meat, in live cattle, are annually imported from Ireland. Considering the several casualties attendant on the growth and export of cattle, this quantity cannot be produced from a lesser number of acres than 100,000. As butchers' meat requires at least four years to grow, by this annual quantity of supply, 400,000 acres of the British soil are either thrown out of cul tivation, or are transferred from. grazing to tillage. Four hundred thousand acres will produceannually from one to two millions of quarters of corn ; yet Mr. Curwen is anxious that the British farmers should be induced to convert their land from tillage-to pasture: and yet the only permanent and staple employment for the Irish peasantry is in the growth of corn—in the growth of butchers' meat they have none. Than Ireland, there is no country in the civilized world which trades in the export of butchers' meat— not even the United States, whose population is the most rarified, and whose extent of territory is un known. In the year 1816, the United States exported but 33,249 barrels of beef—a quantity not more than sufficient for the supply of their marine. There is no later official data in publication in this country. In the year 1821, Ireland exported 70,504 barrels of beef. At least 700,000 Irish acres are employed in the growth of butchers' meat for foreign consumption, or one-twentieth part of the whole productive land throughout Ireland. The Irish Counties whose peasantry are writhing under the most deadly of all human calamities, pesti lence and famine, are the principal grazing Counties, namely, Cork, Kerry, Limerick, Clare, Tipperary, Galway, Roscommon, and Mayo; and yet these Coun ties are among the most naturally fertile in Ireland. It is said the potatoe crops in those Counties have failed—that they have been inundated. No wonder the potatoe crops in those grazing Counties have been inundated, because, while quadrupeds luxuriate on the fertility of the soil, the ill-fated peasantry have to reside in bogs. But those Counties are more distantly apart, the one from the other, than they are respectively from the provinces of Leinster and Ulster; notwithstand ing, there is a surplus of food is those provinces, be cause, since the Union, those provinces have ad- vanced from grazing to tillage, and the peasantry from the shepherd's or herdsman's state, or demi savageism, to civilizations and the improved condi tion of the peasantry in those provinces, as compared with the actual condition of the peasantry in the provinces of Munster and Connaught, is the best pos sible exemplification of the fact, that the Irish Gra ziers' monopoly is, and has been, the cause of Ire land's woes. Thus the peasantry in the provinces of unstor and Ciiiinaught are reduced to famine And pestilence at home, that brutes may fatten to be con sumed abroad! There is no parallel case to be found in the civi lized world for this human degradation, that the economy in the • _ o f M essrs Ri cardo and Malthus ?• an nt ature herself _ suggests, that % the human has become too numerous for the brute population, and that the latter must give way to the former. Indeed, so long back as the year 1776; it was ob served by Dr. Adam Smith, that in that period the market for butchers' meat was everywhere confined to the country which produced 'it ; that Ireland and the United States carried on a considerable trade in salt provisions, but they were, he believed, the only countries in the commercial world which then did so,. or which exported to other countries any consider able part of their butchers meat. Certain it is, that the abandonment of this trade by the United States has not retarded their prosperity; and if this trade appeared exceptionabk, in the year 1776, to the mind • of the founder of politiCal economy, may it.-not he deserving of the consideration of Parliament, now that the population of Ireland is seven millions, whe ther the Irish Graziers (those feudal Lords) monopoly shall not be forthwith totally abolished, or, at most, restricted to the Government demand for salted beef? —And the more so, when it is further considered that this monopoly' is the direct cause of the illicit trades in distillation and smuggling, which are ex tensively carried on in the grazing districts, to the prejudice of the revenue, and in which illicit trades the otherwise unemployed peasantry are absolutely disciplined to transgress the laws. And further, As the Irish capital employed in the growth of butchers' meat for export neither circu lates among the peasantry nor requires a circulating medium, the peasantry have to Garter their labour for potatoe ground, notwithstanding the t r ifli ng demand for it. As land cannot be a medium of currency, millions of the peasantry are thus restricted from being con sumers of products of British commerce and ma nufactures. Notwithstanding, Great Britain has been, and con, tinues to Le, dependent on foreign countries for the supply of corn, while Ireland has been supplying, and continues to supply, the Colonies with salted beef. That a mother country should supply her Colonies with butchers' meat is inexplicable, inasmuch as it requires eight acres of medium land to supply one individual with one pound per day throughout the year, and to keep up this quantum of supply for a succession of years. • But, to abandon herself to foreign countries for. the supply of bread, and to abandon her peasantry to misery, and crime, and famine, and pestilence—to supply her Colonists with salted beef, is beyond all human conjecture. Where is Mr. Ricardo? Where is Mr. Malthus? However, reduced as the Irish peasantry in the grazing districts lamentably are, to famine—and it is immaterial to our argument whether from the want of food; or from the want of the wages of labour to purchase food—it is impossible for a sug gestion to emanate from the human mind which is more likely to brighten the gloomy perspective that hovers over their destiny, than their immediate em ployment in the growth of corn. Policy demands the immediate abolition of the Irish graziers' monopoly, in deference to the• dis tress of the British agriculturists; and humanity makes a still more urgent demand to the very same effect, in behalf of the Irish peasantry—the most afflicted of GOD'S creatures. It were absurd to suppose that, should this mono poly be abolished, the Irish graziers would permit their land to be out of cultivation. Quite the oppo• site—those graziers are the most wealthy practical agriculturists in the United Kingdom, indeed, they are the only living representatives of the farmers general of old: No—they would employ the pea santry in the growth of corn ; and the best protection would be thereby afforded to the British agricultu rists, from being again overthrown by their foreign contemporaries. In the meantime, how could the million which it is proposed to expend on public works in Ireland, be expended to more general national advantage than in Counties to encourage the employment of the peasantry in the growth and manufacture of wheat ; in the Counties of Cork, Limerick, Clare, Kerry, Tipperary, Galway, Roscommon, Mayo, Src. ? Were the bounties payable on the export of flour to the colonies and foreign countries, while the price of wheat shall be under 70s. a quarter in the English market. the multiplication of mills will not be ob jected to • while, from the paucity of their number, though the price of wheat is not 20 per cent. higher in the London than in the Paris market, the price of wheat-bread is 100 per cent. cheaper in the latter capital. To proceed by this simple arrangement the British agriculturists would be very sensibly relieved, the peasantry would be permanently employed and emancipated from the cause of their unparalleled afflictions, and Great Britain would be emancipated from her dependence upon the caprice of foreign countries for bread. To conclude—the onus probandi we transfer to the Irish graziers. If they cannot prove there is another country in the civilized world which trades in the exportation of butchers' meat, then Ireland should no longer be an exception to the otherwise universal rule. But of the several monopolies which bear down the British agriculturists, the Irish graziers is certainly the most onerous. It is the cause of extensive dis tress in Great Britain, and of crime, and pestilence, and famine in Ireland,--then every voice in the United Kingdom slipuld exclaim aloud for its imme diate abolition. )lay 11,1822. • K. T. ELEGANT GLASSES, FURNITURE, &c.—The No. Whey and Gentry aie invited' to inspect the Ware. rooms of Coopoo and' Sox, 93, Bishopsgate-street Within, uhereis exhibited an•assortment of new and second-hand Plate Glosses, admirably suited to every description of drawing or dining-rooms. In the fur niture department is comprised every new and ele gant article of upholstery, cabinet, and chair-work, Ole prices of which are 'reduced to such a scale of economy as to attract and ensure the patronage of rauik antdiallion.. \! ' I 1: 1 1 r.„l ~~l ~ ~1 ~: ~ i . • . . . 44, ' • 4 .f - ' :?;: . , . , • wir.. ,• • . , , ! , ... , • kla ''''' ' • - • • a t '' ..1 ' • v • • on k , ' . • A:. ... • ' •'A'-'.•'r s ' - , ' . • , - - . . . • •• , . . ..: • • , . . 4 • ' • . , . I the Choooillst af Wto *charier, so be ties stoutest ems, el the AfeihiiiitOttrild its haunt, ion .nde et fat* their firtre la the OtO(4110011' an bil Poirsoisist his ill lielswekthillikk Om asidovilvAnallean all in- fir= interests, and they las lindigenoto - t° Of iiihm^iFe stimenk . ,led ,____ . free tridrairlio dam e Irts & en s mo g f o ;. . be praised, nor blamed, for their clecsmspectioA, len= I m e mai milhas. slid dam by menu, sad some „ Ad exists in Irehtirla incasepoly. by which, in ono year, on it was recollected that the maritime ireatness of this amendo t am omn wormed end negatived witbent diettudoi ,„_ 60,000 of our fel)ow-subjectowsura hurried into the . country was essenti a lly connecte d w i t h t h e prosperity I On a verbeloo sn d insat proposed hy Mr. lit,ossoust ; the Hattie grave ; and by which momilialy, in this year of ex- was lest If a use}oettY of 67 cots. traordinary p lenty, millions are reduced to famine, i c h of the shipping interest.--(flear hail. divided; thites to i munt. The enotaiatteas were thee t the Hasse resauted, in m y The question for the Speakerleaving the Chair and ed be . w t. a country. prciverliallor Its yrtigit y r . and the Report was t o oon .ay nex in- the House resolving itself into a Committee, was then The of LONDONDIUtitYpoe maim, that ow Than this, what subject in our political economy [ in _ carried,—The House being in Committee—: Friday noil lili rtwoold move the A. ' meal of the Mouse ,is more deserving of the attention el Messrs .Ricardo from that day till the Tinooday f '.. -- Tbe House t h en and Malthus ?. But Nature herceli loiagn... ell lIPM/bet , A are Mr. DAVENPORT moved, as an Amendment, lourned at One fem.& • ~t,.1 that thg. nrti..1....t ri...-...- oni_ L- •-.1.. A l 'MU tar pats - wage oc