The Statesman. — London, England, 1823-07-05 00:00:00

I 111 -:'. - 4.110‘ ...7 .7 .6 • ,••••"...' CATHOLIC QUALIFICATION BILL. Qtt tine motion of Lord NUGENT, this Bill was then isid - s third time and passed. • RECIPROCITY OF DUTIES BILL. ' • Mr. C. GRANT movett the third reading of this Bill. • Mr. ROBERTSON opposed the Bill, and contended . that the Navigation Laws which raised the country into , promerity and wealth, should not be repealed. The hest wiTorittes always supported the maintenance of these laws: Adam Smith wrote • strongly in their favour, but their authorities had given way, in late days, to a new set of political economists. The scienceofpolitical economy might be attained in a few weeks, but its principles were too frequently inconsistent with legislative wisdom and sound policy. He contended that if the Navigation Laws were repealed, other nations would be allowed to sail their slopping on cheaper terms, and to the prejudice of British shipping. In corroboration of that opinion the Hon. Member read several extracts from the evidence delivered before the Committee of the House of Lords on the fo reign trade. He contended that this measure would pro duce the most injurious effects upon the commerce of the country. It was in direct contravention to the spirit of the Naviention Laws, upon ,which all our commercial , greatness was bottomed. The present was not a time to he making experiments, for there was already a great falling elf in the shipping. By • Papers laid upon the table of the House, it appeared that since 1814. there had been a diminution of 1511,000 tons in the shipping, and 8,000 seamen, which was in fact equivalent to the whole trade carried on beyond the Cape of Good Hope. It wont.) seem by persevering in this measure, as if the House wished to retrace their steps to that condition in whiele the country was placed when the Navigation Laws - were first enacted. The Hon. Member concluded by • moving as an Amemlmect, that the Bill be read a third time that flay three months. Mr. Sheriff THOMPSON seconded the Amendment, founding his objections to this measure principally upon the advantages which foreigners had in building and na• vigating their ships from the cheapness of labour, the ab sence of duty on materials, Sce. He thought it fair that in a question of so much importune', the ship-owners should be heard, and therefore he should give his sup port to any inquiry which might be set on foot. Mr. RUM BOLD made some observations, but in a tone of voice which disabled us from gathering whether he supported or oppose' the measure. Mr. T. WALLACE opposed the Amendment. He then proceeded to defend the Bill upon grounds which he bad snore :ban once stated before. The Navigation Laws, he said, were very wisest the time they were made, hilt were totally inapplicable at present. All experience proved that the true way to support a naval power, was by promoting and extending the commerce of the country. There over was a country which was a great naval power,' that was not a!so a great commercial one. The Navigation Laws were made to put down a formidable rival, but when that was .• complished, the continuance of them was tin wise. This measure was not brought forward on the ground of discretion, whether or not we should put the ships of other countries en a footing with our own, but becense it was forced upon us by the steps taken by other countries.—(Hear). As we could not prevail upon other countries to repeal those regulations, the only resource left aas this measure of putting their ships upon the same footing with ours, by which they gave op reciprocal ad ventages. In answer to the objections arising out of the cheapness of constrnction, which other countries had beyond ours, these advantages were not, in fact so large as had been stated. For instance, ships there were never registered to the full extent of their capacity. This in its-If was an advantage. Taking into aceount the num ber of apprentices on board, the wages of seamen were cheaper h-re on an average. He had evidence to show that Engl sh vessels could sail cheaper than those ofother c..untries. Ile considered the diminution of Air an ad vitatscte, as the increase of emoays,snt for those that re fl. iitord After t ote war, the superahand-, acre of ships was a matter of general complaint, as it was calculated to ruin the ship-owners. The trade of t! e country had increased for the last two years. The; diminution of shipping was not a proper test to judge the trade by. There had been, in fact, an increase since I rll4, of 120,000 tons in the shipping, and of 1,400 ships. As no real objections then had been urged to the measure he should call upon the House to agree to it. He hoped lie had shown that the equalization of the duties would . not uo k any injury . to the ship-owners, and that this freedom of trade was at ogee the safest and least invi dious mode of preserving the commercial advantages I wile's we I ad obtained, and were now so happily in pos session of. Mr. ROIIiNSON explained. Mr. I'. WILSON opposed the Bill. ' Mr. HUME au' portel it. Mr. BRIGHT nppose.l the Bill, and expressed his wish that the subject should be referred to a Commit. tee of I cqrsiev. Mr. RICARDO declared himself in favour of it, and sa;d it was the ditty of Ministers to place British build er• o n ti e same footing with Foreign builders. Mr. MARRY: Ar opposed the motion, and contend ed that tha Navigation Laws constituted • the real strength of the in tritium force of England. He main tained that the revocation of those laws would be high ly injoriws to the connuerce of ihe country. Mr. II U Sli I SS( /N defended tile principle of the Bill. He kid no reason to feel any alarm from a diminished tr td-, after we had destroyed the military and navies of all the nations in the world. Protection to British slipping was only to be found in the present Bill.— The British ship-oft nets were certainly subject to sonic grievances. which it would be proper hereafter to re move. The restraints recommended* by Honourable Gentlemen opposite, would not only be nugatory, but iejorious to our commerce; and he knew of no measure that road render our comtueree and inanufaCtures more e9llrishing than a measure of this kind. • Mr. MARRYATT explained. After a few words from Mr. S. WOATLEY,ibelionse divided— For the Bill, 75 ;—Avainst it, 15 ;—Majority, 60. SLAVE TRADE CONSOLIDATION BILL. Th.! House rvsulved.itself into a Committee on the Slave Trade Consolidation Bill. Or. LUSHINGTON, after alluding to the great mor tality which prevailed among the slave population in Trinidad amt inrrare, 'moved for the omission of the clause under which they were exported front other Co lonies into those, and stated his intention of moving two new clauses if that should be rejected, in order to prevent the exportation of slaves to . Trinidad and De nierara. Mr. WILMOT HORTON objected to the Amendment, and said that he bad alterations to propose in the Bill which would answer the object intended by the Hon. and Learned Beet's. cisme% Mr. WILBERFORCE thought that the enactments of the present Bill would not tend to ameliorate the condi tion of the Negroes. Mr. MARRYATT contended, that the clause permit ting the removal of slaves ought not to be extended to Trinidad. Mr. W. SMITH objected to that clause generally. I zte. Secretary CANNING was of opinion that dile put .." . the Bill should be so regulated as to . prevent as meth ziosilirla all sponlation in the sale of Aeon. si r ji b ‘ tVINTOSH objected to the iodation. of Trinidad, a m; tisimegbt the *heck of the lionise et% freer o r paq Ceased would b 1 insallkient= their amour! isvorance of fact; and he *add oily consent to the hidalgos of Trinidad , on ibis conditioa or e, eriev i p e r f la w being sada consequent on the mond of be 11S/into that Wilds Zitte atatinintan. SATURDAY EVENING, JULY 5, 180. PARLIAMENTARY COMMENTARY. First in importance, although nearly the last in the routine of the business in the House of Commons last night, was the third reading and passing of the " Re , ciprocity of Duties Bill." Considering the vital intereit of the Navy u as alleged to he at stake, if it wereonly an allegation, the Ministers were bound, in common courtesy, to come forward, and give their reasons for wishing to carry a measure forward, which the shipping interest bad declared was pregnant with so mach danger to their interests, and equally mischievous with regard to the deeper interests of the public. But the Ministers either had no such reasons to offer, or held the shipping interest, and the country at large, in too much contempt to produce them. Mr. Huskisson " begged" the House to let the measure pass. Mr. Wallace, in answer to the statement of Mr. Robertson, respecting the decline of the British shipping interest, contented himself with offering some loose calculations relative to an increase,hearing on some average or detached portions of the question, and not even collected With any reference to the matter in debate. Mr. Hume and Mr. Ricardo supported the measure, because it promised some mer cantile advantage. It is strange that men like these, who can investigate deeply, and see clearly on most occasions, should so determinately shut their eyes upon this topic. When a Minister advocates a measure, which promises to bring money into the Treasury,we cao under stand his motives; and, as all Ministers are always in want of money, we know they are not very particular ' about the nature of the means which produce a supply, and that they are very apt to look no further than to the money side of the question. Statesmen, however, should look further, and particularly volunteer and amateur senators, who enter the Senate-house pet fessedly to enlighten the public mind, and to pro. tect the public welfare. Such men, on the pre sent occasion, should remember that this ought not to be looked at, at all, in the light of a money question. If it would produce millions to the treasury—if it would in troduce tltitieh commodities to the farthest corner of the most obscure state—if the richest returns, not to the Minister only, but to the merchant, the manufacturer, the ar3izan, and to all clam', were to be the result—still, if the safety of the British Navy were compromised in the slightest degree—if one British ship the less " spread the wide canvas to the passing gale ;" if one British sailor the less, as a consequence of this measure, were employed—the principles of decay and destruction would be admitted, and all the apparent advantages to be ob tained, would be but so many poisonous baits to tempt os to eat to our ruin. It is vain to talk of relying upon our commerce—sod ridiculous to say that we are now strong enough to consult its extension by any sacrifice. There never yet was a building, however ponderous, that could spare its foundations, or afford to have its basis weakened. Our public navy rests not upon the amount of our commerce. We might import, Anil ex port twenty times the quantity of goods, and not have a single British ship, or a single British sailor.— Thit where would be the security? A truly British commerce carried on in British ships, and by British subjects, is the only way to secure the existence or a British warlike navy ; and upon soca a navy, depends not only the commerce, but the safety of the country. How childish then, to say no worse of it, is II a . cry for facilitating commerce—How paltry the object of pursuing the paltry gains which may result from light ened duties, in a few foreign ports. Mr. Huskisson in deed tells us that we are no longer able to maintain the principles of oar navigation laws! If this be the ca se, why does he not tell us at once that we are we longer able to maintain our naval superiority. it IA ; proposition be true, this is the result; and we mot learn to behave ourselves so mildly as not to haeard any ill-treatment; for the Minister tells us we have not the Wass of defending ourselves. It is somewhat singab l e that Mr. Huskiason should call upon us to relinquish our navigation laws, just at the period, when other States are beginning to adopt the principles. He may stare at thls. and say th - at it is not thsease;that other States only want to be on an equal footing with ourselves; w h ereas our oaVigation laws, were ' intended to crease a superio rity, and sot to be contest with an equa li ty .... This is true; bet whet sairity h ave that et h er States, whets admitted into British pert, a n a point of equality with English vessels, will centime nlralitsellte same advantages,Ortheire What shall' gltarilitec teghbeir attachment to the aiistreht systems d political economy? What is theft' appareat object In taking any Steps to laden:lo,o alter our system.? Cu. . telly they are acting with a view to strengthen their wil interests.' They are not guesting epon the peen airy result to merchants ar.th captains. They want itte r facilities of trade, that more vessels, more sailors, , may be employed. If they compel us to make one con cession they will demand more; and if they have any reason to believe that the profits of an intercourse with them will afford it, they will lay on afterwards whatever duties they may think proper. A bargain between two individuals may be enforced by the laws; and between nations, there are no laws but those of interest and incli nation. Hence arises one of the greatest errors of oar race of political economists. They find out the best priaci. pies ; but forget that the best are no better than th worst, when there are no means of carrying them into effect, or enforcing their observance. The very fact of other States beginning to legislate upon the subject,shems the opinion they entertain in favour of the policy of such laws. They cannot at Once make such enactments as ours; because ode trade is essential to their welfare and if we choose to prefer ear own interests to theirs, it will be yet a long period before they can effectually compete with us--but if we choose to abandon the eleva. tion on whieb we stand, of course the most active and expert may take our situation. Mr: ilbsklsson feels DO ground of alarm after we have destroyed the Davies of the whole world ! Brave man I But is he quite sure there will never be any sash matter as a navy again in the world ? Has he forbade timber to gro*, iron to be produced, and ingenuity to exert itself? Does he never expect to hear of the navies of France, or Spain, or Holland, or Russia ? Nay, has he tiot counted without his host already ? Are then no such things as the " bits of striped bunting," and 60 star-spangled banners of the United States of America I--- Are we to feel the effects of contempt for American enter prise by sea, as fatally as we felt thoseof an infatuated con tempt of her prowess by land I Into what wretched haute is miserable Britain doomed to fall? There was a period, when the very assertion that this country was not in a mow dition to proceed in her own coons of naval pclicy would have produced Instant disalesel f Such sentiments are de 'creative to all c onfidence, and el hope of prosperity. Whoa a pliot trembles at the helm. and a Minister doubts at his post, a ship is in i fair way of destruction, and a State net far from its declension. It Is said, if we have navigation laws, other States will have them toot let them. We shall then meet theta on equal teems; with all the advantages of our superiority. But we venture to tell the Minister, that other States will have them, whether we maintain or aban don ours. They will look to their own interests, let us ac as we may ; and our true coarse is not to facilitate their Progress, but to attend to our own. If the British ship owner has difficulties to contend with abroad, compensate him at home, by taking off every native restriction. Make him as free on the Iffitish coasts, and in the British bar boars, as an Englishman on the highway. This will enable him to meet say incidental disadvantage; without buying a precarious and temporary appearance of helmet, on such destructive terms. This dangerous measure has parsed theConansons,bnt the shipping interest otigh• not to relax their exertions. The House of Lords ha' checked the furious progress of the Silk Bill; and time has been gain. ed to point out the apprehensions that it ought to in: spire for the peace of the Metropolis. Their Lordships may also be induced to reflect a little seriously upon this subject, which is as important as any that ever mine un. der their notice. The fate of the British Navy is in their bawds ; and one may hope they will not lend themselves to its destruction, either in ignorance or in error. The public seems to have agreed to abandon every thing to its own fate. They take no longer any interest in the national affairs. The Navy, once their pride, as well as their defence, is disregarded :--and a proposal to collect all the fleet and make a bonfire of it on Tower-hill, might be regarded with the greatest Indifference. One sea ports, one wbakt insagiee,had sofne little regard for their own interests; but, to judge froni their conduct, they have bet very little, indeed,when they suffer a measure to creep through the House, almost without a word, on which a Chatham, or a Fox, or even a Pitt, would have sunk from exhaustion to the floor before they would have suf fered it to pass into a law. The other matters discussed were not very important. Sir John Brydges raved against " the attack upon Church property," created by the Irish Tythe Commuta tion Bill, which embraces the dreadful principle, that the Government may lawfully counsel the priest to be content with what his flock may be able to pay. This is hard, certainly; but not quite so hard as for a rich, fat, Simonist to send a fellow into a poor man's hut to take from him and his family tbe very necessaries of life. The Lord Chancellor has given prompt notice that be means to oppose the Bill for granting the elective fran chise to the English Catholics, and the. Catholic qualifi cation bill. We expected this. We knew this mighty personage would be at his post, when a Catholic was to be reminded that the English Constitution made him a slave. There arc some questions on which the Chancel. for never doubts ; and this is one of them. The conver doe of Mr. Peel to a little liberality induced souse pro. pie to think the Chancellor was also a convert ; but no— the Catholics must be contented to remain as they are. John Scott, Lord Eldon, thinks them a race that must be kept in subjection. We shall hear his reasons on Wednesdays Gerson papers have arrived this morning. bat their contests are usiateresting. THE STAT. Mr. filiMt supported the proposal for inelatl4i'ri.; nidad, as he thoughti the interests ofsthe slaves aliel their masters were in this case identified. ' Mr. CANNING snrcested the withdrawing the -clause atyresent, and the framing one on tbq Herd. which might meet the wishes of all parties. • Mr: F. BUXTON thought both adicriptio gkbtei . and the freedontof children horn after removal shoeld 'be made the conditienbf the liberty to remove slaves, Dr. LUSHINGTON assented to the proposal of Mr. Canning, and the clause was withdrawn, atter some mil -1 teal explanations. ' • The other clauses were agreed to with some amend ments, the Honse resomed, sod the Report was ordered to be received on Tuesday. The other Orders of the Day were disposed of, and the Hoese adjourned to Two o'clock for Monday. ILS. MAI ♦RR. DUN. ♦NR. DUN. 1....f1ab11n 0 0....14011and 0 1....Waterf0rd.....0 o....lllanshro. • . 0 1....0 & Jersey...A I....Franee 0 o.—.l.lsbon 0 0 ...Flanders ...... .0 0— ..Gottenburg 0 0....h1a1ta .•..0 PRICE OF STOCKS THIS DAY AT ONE O'CLOCK. Bank SW& . I India Stock cps: 1 per Ct. Red ...... ...Me Ditto 80nd5.....44813 s.pos. 1 p.Ct.Cone... . . ........ Ez.Blll.Bd. zi u rm. rare. 1 3 per Cent. ...... .. • •.. 10011. S 14 per Ce0ta..........• WO I ---30 W. 24s lett inn. New Fonts I --Small 885 27. pm. Long Ant Imp. 3 per Ct. I Con.for Lod • I I i • ~. t -.. C have 'declared tbedleelves ready, " at the price ' id their 'rive►, to be the first to defend their King and Master." They consequently tell the Regency to dis pose of them, and of the wrecks of their fortunes. It is remarkable that the number of male Grandees who have signed this Address, is not encreased since the first which was presented the Duke of Angoulerue on his arrival at Madrid. There are indeed nine Ladies, in. stead of the original flee, who offer to die with honour in that noble streggls;" but theirs are the only ad hesions which the French have been able to obtain in the course of sit weeks, and whilst in possession of nt.: ly two-thirds of the Peninsula from the Spanish Nobility! This fact speaks volumes. The only military operation mentioned in these papers is the repulse of a sortie made by the garrison of Lerida, in which Santos Laaroo, tie Royalist Chief, claims a victory. Pants, JULY 2.—French Funds—rive per Cents. C4r. 45c.—Bank Stock, 1555.—Neapolitan 5 per Cents. 7 Exchange on London—One Month, 25f. 70e. ; three ditto, 23f. 50e. Brace Excnatica, Twet.ve o'CLoca.—Consols opened this morning at 821, at which price they have kep t steady. Some great sales were ossde in the earlier part of the day. An Express has arrived from Paris,bringing the French funds, SB, 40, the printed price ; but after watrlathey were done at 88,60. We do not hear of any intelligence of Importance from the above capital. A report prevails that the Regency will pay the dividend of the Spanish loan, but this requires confirmation, as the French Government -still do nothing before the King of Spain has returned to Madrid. Foancits Ft:NM—New Spanish bonds opene I at 311 to 32, and fell Win to 31i, with little doing in the market. Chili, 07—New Spanish, Sig—New Prussia, fat—Ruscia, 612Dantsh, 87 ex-dividend—Neapolitan, 77—Columbian, The following are extracts of a loiter inserted in the Norseirk Mereiry, from a gentleman of that city travelling is Spain, *which has been received this week:— " Vico, June 17, 1823.—0 n my arrival bare I was rejoiced to find Sir R. Wilson and his friend', who. after suffering the most barbarous treatment from the Po:his:vete, and ea- petting every day to be assassinated, succeeded by a cir cuitous touts in reaching Vigo on Friday se'nnight. Sir It. called on me yesterdly morning td Lithe me to dine with him, whieb of coarse I gladly accepted. I met his otlle•is —Col. Light, Captain Erskine (his Lordship's grandson), rand Lieut. Elliot, who was my fellow passenger from Eng. i land, besides a Portuguese Officer, who was Governor of Chaves, and who escaped with them, arid a Spanish officer also. It was a most interesting day, for I turned from Sir Robert all that he had suffered In Portugal ; his opinion ns to the issue of the struggle in Spain. and whet his future operations will be, and I gave him, in tetara, all the infor mation I possessed a* to what has beda going forward in COIVOOS. " If there should not be a speedy .re-action in Portugal. thousands will join the SparilikPit riots who would otherwke have reserved themselves for their own country ; and in this case the change in Portugal will be advantageous to t h e, diminish cause. Sir Robert is la the best spirits with regard to the affairs of Spain, but deeply regrets the delay on the part of his English coadjutors is "ending out the long •r• petted supplies; and as the Spaniards • look more to Eng land than to themselves, this delay is likely to depress them. die R. remains there till the afrivat of the Meath packet co g doing the supplies so long talked of ; and when the 6 , it w sail striven; no matter the amount of arms and men she *rings. It sill operate like an electric shock. All the troops from England will join the 011liCilLS forces; end Slr Robert will have the command of the province in the first instance. It is not unlikely that he may afterwards act in rataionis.— kir. Erskine prorieeds by the packet to England, on a special mission from Sir Robert, and *ill return after spending a few weeks there. The only thing to be apprehended is, the the Government at Spaine will be Intimidated by the march ( of the French and give way. This would raid every thing —it they remain firm, alt ►ill he well." The detail of the Spanish force is thus stated in an ad. dress lately circulated in Norwich previous to the pnl.lic ±eleeting, for promoting "Spanish I nderndence:"—Tho mkrrisons of the IS or 20 principal fortresses, 30,000. I the field, under Mina, 111 a two. &Glans, and Llobera, lial lasteros, Zayas, and Morino, 30,000. Guerrillas, under the Pastor, the Empecinado, Campanili°, &c. &c. &c. and garrisons of small forts, 10,000. lisrrisons of onfortitied cities and towns throughout a free territory of at lent 40,000squars miles, 10,000. There is, however. every reason to believe, that each item of this computation is underrated. •-~.~►., THEATRICALS. HAYMARKET:Met night that rich treasnry of oil British melodies, the Beggar's Opera, was performed at this theatre. to an audience crowded to the erilinte. The chief attractions were Madame VISSTRIS'II Aluchcdih. an I Miss PATON'S Polly. We almost doubt whether rte woold nut rather see the bold fteebooter played in a man ly way, by one of the proper scx, even without the songs, titan by a being, half boy and half girl, whom we never can bringourselves to believe to be the captivator of the gentle Poke. We must admit, however, that the repre.ema• lion wan most warmly received by time audience, and 6.4 .we know no other female (if a female nmst personate the character) whom we should prefer to Madame VIESTIIO. Miss PATON Sas ntoq rapturously applauded. The other characters were well supported, particularly Th at and WlLLiasts, as Pcachuve and Lockit ; and MIS. C. Jonas's Lucy. The amusing Farce of Mrs. Smith, followed by Killing no Murder, kept the audience in continual mirth for the rect of the event The close of the Winter Theatres, and the excellent acting in every Drama performed at this Hone., has Ot , casioned a complete overflow every evening of the put week. The ensning one commences wito All I Operatic Comedy, by Mr. Kenny, of which report speaks in the highest terms, and which will be supported by wally the whole talent of the brat company ever essegobled, even on these popular boards. --........--- ENOLTAH OPERA Honse.—Mr. W. CHAPMAN, who don - Paris papers. which have been received to the 3rd not at all shrink from bn iness, played last night, Capt. instant, contain intelligence from Cadiz to the 20th ult., kaftan, in the Bce 'lire, and Crack, in the tarepifirr. nearl the y enough, ad yas uch Which we have given in another column, as it appeared in O ut we u ; f character iirst as it indulcrentl could be; yet a r e•li a rough m and the Jornsal der Debate. The Cortes had resumed the Heidi hustle shoot' him, which satisfied the Galleries.— sittinga, and their first act was to &dare that the Con... His Crack was much better; and Ps eong of the " Mail stitntiettal Regency had " deserved well of the country:. C oatis " is given with infinite humour and e ffe c t. Miss MIL LE treated us with a hue display of n at ure an d ■a bi It, They afterwards took the measures necessary for p o i n ci e d y. , e 00 , e was w ,. Ti H 11 filland visioning the plate, and proposed a project of law to snots went off with great spirit. ed; the perform. suspend, under present circumstances, the formalities I ......--...11111. usually attendant os prosecutions for the crime of High Yesterday shout twelve o'clock, the Duke of Illomstet, Treason and Conspiracy. While the Cortes thus display . attelmpani;d by Captain Forster, left his re-idence in t h e i r resolution. the Spatial Oraedessa wit i assemble at Park-lane, to proceed to Dover. on his way to the Coati. Nest for a short time, Madrid, have addressed the Duke of Anconleme's Air Yesterday afternoon, at two o'clock, the Duchess of gooey en the Gebielit of the derWtion of she KIM* god Woceseer tot town for Begsbot for . the season. p I' P 4 ,7 r `t -