The National Register. — London, England, 1808-01-10 00:00:00

( , • "r 4 'V 2 ` • ' -. I fr. . • THE NATIONAL. REGisT ER. • Our find, conlititutian, ano 0.00. s SUNDAY, .JANUARY 10, 1808. PRICE &f. thie seas: and to pre.. iktiOD eau presume to a.. ..as immediately ocean without our permissio..goeral, but its provisions moors of the flag, an acknowleag.- 14 ere-sore is an e)e-so to . commerce. the only nation which at that Bat the intention of this law yet it is a sacrifice y to ruin the commerce of Holland as far as possible, ^""... to forego, au, about any idea that it was necessary to our nasal superiority. liThe war which immediately succeeded its enactment proved, —.4 wholly unnecessary for this purpose ; for we de- 40 11. vesteral engagement, and we con - -wee them and the • .• O. POLITICAL DISQUISITION. But though these considerations may sufficiently show the in utility of any new maritime regulations, it is a mere difficult task to convince our countrymen, that any regulations already adopted for the maintenance of our naval predonderancy, how ever nugatory or pernicious they really may be, are not indis pensably necessary to the end proposed. We allude in partieu lar to the provisions of the Navigation Act, which have been demonstrated to be extremely iqjurious to our national wealth, but which still have innumerable advocates, from their sup posed tendency to maintain our maritime superiority. It might be very distinctly shown, that whatever has a tendency to diusi nish the increase of our wealth, and the absolute quantity of our -commerce, must be ultimately prejudicial to our maritime great ness ; but such circuitous reasonings are insufficient to overpower rooted prejudices ; and we shall, therefore, confine ourselves to a direct proof from facts, that the Navigation Laws are entirely unnecessary for the support of our naval preponderancy. Could this truth be ascertained to the satisfaction of our countrymen, little opposition would he made to the abolition of whatever is pernicious in these regulations. The Navigation Laws were unnecessary to our naval superio rity, even at the time when they were enacted; nor was this the object which their framers bad in view. The Long Parlia ment, desirous to extend and secure its own influence, proposed to form an union with Holland so strict, that the two states should seem to form portions of the lame empire. The Dutch, distrusting the stability of the English repel:die, or *ming to be swallowed up in the dominion of a greater 'power, rejected this overture, and would only renew its ancient alliances. Tile -English republicans, fired with indignation at this refusal, rem solved to chastise the Ditch for what they accounted as into lerable piece of insolence; and the Navigation Act, which im posed severe restrictions on foreign nations trading to Britain, and wholly excluded them from her colonies, was immediately passed. The tains of this Act were general, but its provisions exclusively affected the Dutch, the only nation which at that time possessed any commerce. But the intention of this law was merely to ruin the commerce of Holland as far as possible, without any idea that it was necessary to our nasal superiority. The war which immediately succeeded its enactn►ent proved, that it was wholly unnecessary for this purpose ; for we de feated the Dutch in every general engagement, and we con tinued to display the same superiority both over them and the French, in some succeeding wars, before the Navigation Act bad been enforced with any degree of vigilante. We shall find, that as this act was unnecessary to our naval dominion at first, it has continued to be so in succeeding periods. It contains two distinct classes of provisions : the one entirely excluding other nations from our coasting trade, and from any intercourse with our Colonies; the other excluding them from certain portions of the foreign carrying trade. These last we shall first consider. By them, a variety of articles are pro hibited from being imported into Great Britain, unless in the vessels of the country in which they are produced; or in British vessels manned by British seamen: A variety of other articles are prohibited from being imported into Great Britain, even its British vessels, unless from the country where they are pro duced : And every species of the produce of fisheries is subjected to heavy duties, when imported into Great Britain. These regulations, though very injurious to the Dutch, against whom they were levelled, have produced a surprisingly small initiate of any portion of our shipping. They diminished the, NUMBER TWO. THE DOMINION OF THE SEAS. The Dominion of the Sean is the great boast of Britons, the most sacred portion of our national treasures. We are up in Inns at the slightest intimation that this possession is itt danger : sod if any interested person wishes to set us by the ears with some foreign power, or to procure the establishment of some villainous monopoly, be has only to produce a belief, by some plausible and very loud declamations,, that our Dominion of the Seas cannot otherwise he preserved. In the same manner the repeal of any pernicious regulation, the offspring of ignorance or prejudice, may be prevented ; and the real interests of the country be saerjfieed to imaginary apprebensionq. When fallacies of this sort are daily played otT upon the public credulity, when our attachment to the dominion of the teas is so fond us to blind us occasionally to our best interests, it is a national object of the first importance to ascertain distinctly the real nature of this dominion, the foundation on which it actually rests, and the propriety and impropriety of the regu lations by which we attempt to maintain it. Such an inquiry Aids particularly pecessiry at a period like the present, when tfe dominion of the was is the watch-word of one of our fac tions, and wbattlie preservation of this favourite object is held forth, without any argument, as a full apology for unjust and faille measures with which it has in reality no connection. Pie Dominion of the Seas, we understand to be a power to fekd our maritime commerce from every species of Wary ; lie / 44 , r Jib certainty of success every naval armament which one nation, or all the nations in the world, may send into the seas: and to present at all times so formidable an aspect that no union can presume to disturb the rights and tranquillity of the ocean without oar permission. To these we may add the ho nours of the flag, an acknowledgment of our sovereignty : though sorb a prerogative is an e',e-sore to other nations, and of 30 value whatever to ourselves, yet it is a sacrifice to their pride, r hich our countrymen would be unwilling to forego, and which It is no great boon in others to yield. For all these purposes it is evident that our navy nt present is more than sufficient; and that we enjoy the dominion of the cas as completely as the dominion of the British Islands. It would he madness in any power, ur any combination of powers, o attempt to wrest it from us ; the attempt could only lead o the annihilation of their own maritime forces and conimerce. f, therefore, our naval power can be maintained in the same, r nearly the same proportion to that of other states which it olds at present, our dominion of the seas can never be in the siallest danger. Since we first asserted this dominion in the time of the long 'arliament, our naval preponderancy has been contiuually on le increase. At first the Dutch, and afterwards the French ere capable of maintaining a doubtful contest, but now every Ilonal hope of openly opposing our fleets on the seas, is at an and we are now more superior to any combination which in be formed, than we were a century ago to either France, olland, or Spain. But if our naval preponderancy continues increase as things at present exist, no new regulations can be *nary for its preservation or extension; and some great ±e must take place before any apprehensions for its security other than chimerical. I.•--Na. • .. • ~~