The Statesman. — London, England, 1818-03-19 00:00:00

!t" I. • an-_ _ ~~ r illear !]-- rho o.lly question therefore was (for' the right of the Sosereien to make the arrangement was, he apprehended, indisputable), whether the sr-, rangement was a wise and proper one for this coun try. It was, of course, no consideration here, bow. far the King of spore hod guarded the rights of his own subjects. It was clear that the stipulation did ,not destroy, as had been said, the rights of the in ' &widgets to obtain redress, neither did it impeach _ the tribunals before which the cases were pending ; . It merely went to transfer the effect of these judg. meats to the Crown of Spain. It was north consi- tiering, with reference to she jedgments'in question, . that they were held on so slender • ground, that the parties bad offered some of them for sale at a dig - routs, of a few shilliegs in the pritinil,[ near !]— . The Hon. and Learned Gentleman had stated two 4 •classes of Claimants—one class consisted of those whose appeals sere actually lodged, the other, rhat class which was precluded from the right of appeal by being extra the time the law . altowa,. With respect to the tiro, their claim was for the value of the col-Aare', . end not for the property itself, for the slates could not be restored, as they were necessarily dispesedof in an early stage of the proceeding from considerations of benignity, which dictated the proptinsy of not , bolding them in duresse pending the litigation. Now tinder this class of claimants the House squid be sur prised to learn theft; was but one of the cases &Boded to by the Hon. and Learned Peet. There were lit all 21 cases in different stages in the Coats of. Ap peal—to sixteen of these this Act in no way ap plied, and it could only be pouibly , brought to bear on the remaining five. The Act was pissed since the capture of the 16, and had no retrospective ope. ration. Of the remaining five, four were in pro. gress of examination, and on the fifth only hod judg.' merit been obtained ; and in that case (the Ross), the question of the capture stood on grounds ,distinct from the Treaty. The case there was this ihe ship bad not been captured at sett, she was driven by stress of weather into one of the small islands near the Bahamas, and the slaves on board were put ashore ou English ground. The seizure was the , consequence, but it was thought at home too strong an application of the Act to enforce it against a •, vessel in such a situation, and the adjudication was accordingly given in the manner stated by tha . lion. end Learned Gentleman. It was, however,. quite erroneous to suppose, that the tight of in divideals could be allowed to interfere with inter national arrangements, made between two States for the benefit of the whole, But there was no. thing in the Treaty to prevent the parties going to Madrid with their recorded claims, and obtain ing the liquidation of those claims which they had in progress here, and for which Spain had received en eqtdraldnt for her subjects. The Court of Madrid was bound, and had taken on itself to give a full and complete equivalent; and no Spanish subject could hare the least difficulty as to the mode of ob. taining redress prUsided for his case. If among these parties there were subjects of other States, who, under Spanish colours, pursued a traf fi c front which they viere interdicted by the Governments to which they owed allegiance, the Court of Spain would have a better mode of detecting such persons, and septum : ing them from the real Spanish trader, than existed In the Courts of Great Britain ; and he thought it no unnecessary ingredient its, this Treaty, that it was open to Spain to decide on the merits of her 101,11 subjects, and separate their claims from those of parties who were, in violation of law, conducting an illicit traffic. The Noble Lord concluded by re suming the principles of international law. which , vested the power in Sovereigns of contracting for the claims of their subjects, and which rendered such a motion as this wholly unnecessary- lie would, there fore, give it his negative. Lord A. HAMILTON was of opinion that gross . injustice had been done to the Claimants somewhere. This he had not heard the Noble Lord deny. The case of the American Treaty cited by the Noble Lord, he contended, was by na means in point. Arid with respect to the assertion of the Noble Lord, that the Claimants might apply to Spain under the Treaty, it appeared to him that the Cerregpondence on the table between the Noble Lord and the parties alined ed a sufficient proof that they had no claim on Spain under the Treaty. lie should certainly vote for the motion ; at the same time he imputed the blame, not to the Courts iu this country, but to the Ministers by whom the Treaty had been arranged. Mr. WYNN, while be admitted that the sovereign authority of a State must bare the power which the Noble Lord attributed to it, contended, that the way in which that power was exercised was quite a different thing. Where we had pointed out to the parties in question the mode by which they could oh; lain a legal remedy, and they had adopted those means, we were not entitled to shut them out from the remedy. Mr. BROUGHAM wss of opinion, that if the consent of the Court of Spain to abolish the trade were the only result of the payment of 400,0001. it would be sufficient ; but he considered that the ad. ditional arrangement relative to the right of search (without which the abolition of the trade would be impossible), was of itself worth the whole sum.— It was albs, to be recollected.that the Sottish Go, vernment received this money partly in considera tion of their making good the Tosses sustained by their subjects by captures ; to which, indeed one half of it would probably be applicable. The 110. noorable and Learned Gentleman argued at con siderable length, that the act of our Government was not the cause of any injustice that might he appre hended ; for if no Treaty had been concluded, it would have been competent to the Spanish Govern ment to bar the claims of the parties in question by an act of State. It was certainly a case of great hardship on the parties who had brought actions and obtained judgments, and on the credit of those judg ments had perhaps obtained advances ; but there were many other cases of hardship arising out of the este blished principle, that subjects were bound by he acts of their Sovereign. Up to the final adjudica tion, the wqrile claim of a _captor might be aban doned for him by his Government ; saddling him with all the costs of his action. lle thought, how ever, that it would have been much better had resort been had, in the instances in question to the Droits of Admiralty. In conclusion the Honourable and Learned Gentleman expressed his earnest and anxi ous bop, and indeed his snobs expectation s that r. , 10 " r I. 1. ~-. • len by the stipulations widish ha d been terinto be tween some of the GoVeriments of Europe (whiCh he 'treated 'Would be speedily extended) and . more espe cially by the admission of the right of search, the great measure of the total abotition of the Slave Trade wouldeqe lone be Completely accomplished. Lord CASTLEREAGH explained, that In addi tion to the pleasing prospect which this Thirty sod that with Portugal held not for the speedy abolition •of the Slave Trade, he had the pleasure to inform the House, that the King of the Netherlands had acteded to the principle laid down in the two preceding Trea ties with Spain and Portugal, and that a Treaty was in considerable forwardness to give effect to his Mas. .jestes humane iiews.—[ hear l] ktr. WILBERFORCE contended against the dig. tinction laid down in the cases ottitese complainants by the lion. end Learned Mover, and eulogised the humane and liberal prialciplse which now guided foreign Snvehllgns in their view of thii detestable traffic. In the ricers Senegal tend Gambia great good had been effected ; but umfortenately, the recurrence of this traffic carried desolation and rapineelong t shores of the unhappy people, .and every thing was again ruin and dismay, where the germ of the sits of:i peace bad been but lately sown. Pains •etto4 now i :taken .to wipe away this grievance, sod .the natives avereinduced to live by honest iwdustry, and to plant !plums, rice, indigo, and other artictes, o f trade end value. .erica should. make the traffic piracy ! (foi that it unquestiortabli was), 'and purilifi l Tai.a capitol manner the Inhuman parties engaged init;;-- (Hear, hear !)—He concluded by stating that t the whole conduct of the Noble Lord (Castlereagh) on t'lis subject, was highly honourable end iffeCtivirs-- (11ear, hear!) . -r• . -I .. ' • Mr.. MONEY rose to complain of a tuisrepresen. teflon of his sentiments, which had taken place on a former night, when the SPEAKER called him to order, as deviating frOm the question before the House. Dr. PHILLIMORE, in reply, stated, that with respect to the question immediately before the House, the Noble Lord had completely misunderstood hint. The question was, whether the Spanish Claimants who had obtained sentences of restitution in the Admiralty Court of this country, should be 'Placed by this Treaty on a different footing from that on which they would have been if this arrangement had not been entered into? The present question did not tern on the right of the Spanish Crown over Spanish subjects—here British subjects were also concerned. He still maintained that the credit and character of this country would be impeached, if the decisions of its highest tribenels should be nullified. It had been said, that the remedy of the Claimants was not satirist the Public, but against the captors; but would it be just that the raptors should he forced to indemnify the Claimants? . The good faith of the country was pledged to give, either the restitution of the thing itself, or the value in money. The Decrees were obtained long befole the date of the Treaty. He found no fault with tiring to the King of Spin 400,0001.; but when the Treaty was entered into, ' the case of throw persons who had obtained sentence, of restitution ought to have been taken into consider ation. Ott the faith of the Decree, money could have been raised in any town of Europe. The credit of a British Court of Admiralty ought not to hive been made to depend on the condone of a King of Spain. Hitherto the Decrees of the. Court of .Ad. miralty had been uninspeached throughout Europe. Now the credit of no Government in Europe was so low as that of the Spanish Government. The claimants had not the smallest chance of receiving ally thing from that Government. It is ratter un fair too, to say that the claimants had been unmask ed, and shown in their true colours. They had ob tained the sentences of several Courts in their favour, with costs and damages. The cases had been ap. pealed from the Viceroyalty Courts to the highest Court—and'the claims stood, therefore, on the au thority of the highest Triliunal known to the Lew of Nations. It was too much, therefore, to say the claimants hail been now unveiled—they ought to have been unveiled in Courts of Justice. He would seriously press on the Noble Lord the propriety of interfering so far with the Spanish Crown as to oh. fain justice for those individuals, as we were, in fact, pledged that justice should be done to them. The motion was then negatived. The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER moved for a Copy of the Circular Letter front the Tax-office, of the Ist of December last ; and en Ac count of the Number of Districts, and the Names of the Defaulters alluded to in that Letter, so far as the same have been ascertained. • Mr. C. WYNN moved for a Copy of the Report of the Commissioners appointed to tinsel the Manu scripts of Herculaneum. Sir S. ROMILLY presented a Petition, ***eh, he said, had been put into his hands b 1 thit floc Member for Winchelses (Mr. Brougham), from Me. O'llatilon, a Magistrate of the County of Dowe, in Ireland, and arhicli, be understood, differed in he es sential respects from a Petition pristrited last year from the same Gentleman. Sir S. ROMILLY presented a Petitlon from John Mosham, • Merchant in Kineaton-on-11011, com plaining of the defective etetuni. the law for toe ee covery of debts. A debtor against whom be had ob tained a verdict and eiecetion, though possessed of a landed estate of 50001. a year, preferred living lie prison and enjoying his revenues there to paying his debts. Being in the Rules, be contrived to gri about the country, and was seen at the various watering places in the fashionable season. _ _ The Four-wheeled Carriage Bill, and the Cork Importation Bill, were read a second time.—To be committed to-morrow fortnight. The Report on the Auction Doty Acts was brought up and agreed to. SAVING BANKS. The Report of the Saving Banks Bill was brought up. The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHZQUER, moved that it be taken iuto farther consideration the 13th of Ap►il.nest. General THORNTON and Alderman ATKINS mule a few ob•erratious on the high rate of interest. The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER said, the sum fitted was perhaps too Kigh, and it might be lowered. But they ought to proceed with great caution. When the deduction for eapenees was made from the 41 per cent. the allosaace recalled THE STATFSMANC LONDON: •- ' bribe persons depositing waitttle Lori than four l ei neat. A lower rate than- this wield not be an thideoeshent. The difference mighiwot Co weigh with audi t when they 'considered the impriiietneat in in- Awry end morals which might be wasted for this 'slight sacrifice. It would be repaid theta 'not ten fold, _beta bandied fold. The Report was then ordered to be taken into far ther consideration on the 13th April . next, .add the Bill as amended to be printed. CUSTOMS CONSOLIDATION BILL. The Report of thwCestoass Consolidation Bill was brought up. .The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER stated, that it was intended in this Bill to consolidate all the various Duties imposed since 1809, which was the period when a consolidation last took place. The diodes would remain nearly as they were, with s few exceptions. There were a few general principles to which, on this occasion, he wished to call the atten tion of the noose. With respect to the Irish Duties, which must soon undergo a revision, it was intended .they should remain for the present unchanged. No alteration would take place in the Duty on Timber. ' With respect to ad volorunt Duties, at present a duty of 30 per cent. was laid on unmanufactored goods and a duty of seventy per cent. on menu. lectured :.goods. The duty on lbw manufactured goods was to be reduced to fifty per cent. and the duty on the unmanufactured goods was to be reduced from thirty to twenty per cest.-;- , It would, pethap4 be advisable, that the varied. 'duties on Sugar should be reduced to oat aged rate s but this would be a subject for consideration ' in 'an advanced state. The duties on goodstarried cossr .4stee would continue in ' their present 'State, except the defies on Stone and Slates, which would be ren -dered more simple. The duties bn Tonnage would not be altered. The present duties on East India goods would be assimilated to the duties on light sr ticles imported from other parts of the British domi nions. The thrown Silk would be imported from lidis in the same manner as from ports of Europe He congratulated the House on the great growth of the trade to India since the free intercourse with that . country. The private trade exceeded not only what the evidence at the her gave reason to expect, but the most sanguine hopes of the adventurers.—[llear, hoar!]—lt would he proper to ~give every fair en couragement to this trade which might be consistent with justice to our own manufacturers. It was pro posed that raw Silk, manufactured into thrown Silk,. should, when exported, receive a drawback equal to to the duty of raw Silk imported. East India Sugar would be subject to the same regulations as West In Sugar, if the proposed fited duty was established. In the linen Trade there would be no slterstion ; nor would it be fair to make any, without allowing the Irish manufacturers to be heard on the subject. Mr. Alderman ATKINS thought it was Impolitic, : that the same duty should be laid on Sugar of differ ent qualities.' He suggested, that the expences , whiCh attended the bonding of goods should be les sened, by which means, he was convinced, we might again become the great carriers of Europe. • Mr. FORBES concurred with the Chancellor of. the Exchequer as to the great increve of the trade to 'lndia in British manufactured goods, especially cot. l ton. But he remarked, that in India, as if to check this trade, duties had been laid upon British manta. factored cottons, which did not exist before. After a few words from blehsrs. BUTTERWORTO and ATKINS, and the CHANCELLOR of the EaCll4. QUalt, the Report was agreed to,•and the Bill or dered to be brought in. The Committee on the Coroners' Election -Bill was postponed to to-morrow fortnight. Mr. D. GILBERT brought up a Report of the Finance Committee, which was ordered to be printed. —Adistirned. PRICE OF STOCKS THIS DAY AT ONE O'CLOCK. Hank Stock 5 per Cent. Navy 105 U 3 per Cent. Red. India Bond. 94 p 5 per Cent. Consult 77 ii 78 -- Stock Conbold for Acc. 78H Long Ann. 4 per Ceut. hicuequer Ilills 14 18 p THE STATESMAN. THURSDAY. MARCH 19, 1818. Parliament did not adjourn last night, but there is little doubt the adjournment will take place this evening. The bosiuess in the Commons was of some interest. •We are not, like Mr. Wicciaronce, dis posed to lay out so much of Our humane sympathies upon Macias, that we cannot atTord to attend to the claims of our own coffering country, but we participate in the satisfaction espre'ssed at the in- . ' refrollriOU csicarissiniceted by Lord' CASTI.Ert E:1 GU,. that enemy to slavery, whop as usual, appeared to .tehe .no •mill .cretlit for Ws—additional proof. of his infloence at foreign Courts, that .the Government of the Netherlands has agreed to allow the right of search with regard to Nether land ♦esttets engaged in the Slave Trade, with a v iew to the effectoal abolition of that inhuman traffic, and that the Treaty for this purpose is yearly arranged. It will remain to be seen, however, bow this right of search will be submitted to, when war or other motives shall give a colour to resistatice. Dr. Puturstoxes motion relative to the Claimants un der our late Treaty with Spain, for the Abolition of the Slave Trade, was got rid of without a division, by the force of a vague explanation from Lord CAs- TLXIIEA6I, who expressed a hoptthat all apprehen sion would be removed respecting it, from a convic tion that nothing had been done but what sound po licy and wisdom dictated and required on such an occasion. But the explanations of moat importance to our commercial interests, given last night, relate to the CUANGELLOR of the &GURU'S'S plan for the Cou- ~ - i'+. ~ 1 • 1 L solidation of the various Custom- ouse Duties impos. ed since 1,100, no, before the . I use. The Irish Do. ties, it Seems are to relettictooth , and no alters. tion it to take place in the duty on Timber. Theta valorem deity on manufactured goods is to be lowered • from 70 to 50 per cent. and theduty on untnanufactured ` goods from 30 to 20 per cent. The duties on goods N . tied coastwise are to continue in their present state, except those on stone and slates, which are to ti s rendered more simple. The duties on East India goods are to be assimilated to the duties tie light articles imported ftom other parts of the Britislt dominions. lie considered it 104:able that the variable duties on sugar , should lie reduced to ooe k fixed rate; but this would be a subject for (worsen. • .sideration. If, however, the proposed filled defy was established, East India Sugar would be subject to the same regulations as the West India Sugar... The success of the East India Trade, since its being laid open. ; has, it seems, exceeded the molt sanguine ezpectations of those concerned in it. It is proposed to allow thrown silk to be imported from India, in order to give our fellow-subjects there the same pri. alleges as other traders. The duties on erticles of boot, cqnsumption are equally desersieg of re. vision.._ Those upon Salt and Leather are pe. coliarl appay oppressive and impolitic. , B a t as we have a . ' another another column to the exposure of 'tie onerous and impolitic Dawre of the lazes upon theie 'articles, particularly the universally injoiioss duties upon Salt, we shall abstain from expatiating in this place, and content ourselves with expressing a desire that the CHANCELLOR of the Exciagrxe, would condescend to take such topics iuto his serious coosideratioo, during the recess, or before hit nest Budget, for we can assure him a due attention to mot of his duties in this respect, will do more towards raring his bacon, than all the Saving Banks formea who have nothing but their souls lattice, which he and his Colleagues are so earnestly recommending. • If we may judge from the beelines, which Mini. sters are still originating in Parliament, the dissoln. (inn is not likely to lake pl.rce for sotne time, not. withstanding all the rumours to this effect. New Hilt have been brought in by Ministers themselves, which sill occasion some discussion, and we may flow therefore expect that the business of the year I will be gone through before a uew Election take place. The ,conduct of the present Ministry towards . wounded Officers of the Navy is unaccountably un. just. The fact is too glaring, that the merits and importance of the Navy have teen allowed to give place to the more favoured (pretensions of the Army, or rather to the hiss in a certain quarter towards mHi. tory establishments. It is well known that the wounded _Officers of the Navy are far from being on the seine footing as to pensions as the Officers of the itirsny. We ought riot to overlook what passed io the House of Commons en Tuesday night. Mr. Cn. l llll ronstsi Who has most rneritorionSry, and un. ostentatiously espoused the cause of the neglected Naval Officers, whose claims from wounds sod,sersice, plead so strongly for attention, brought this subject before the House, and in the course of his in teresting observations, stated some facts, whith evince in a striking degree the partiality (we could call it by a stronger name) of the Government in this respect. Not. only is an inferior attention paid to Officers of the Navy, compared to those of equal rank - in the Army, bot es Mr. Fottais observed, Sir Trlowts Tnomesou, Treasurer of Greenwich Hospital, actually enjoys a Pension o r 7001. a y e ar for wounds, whilst intim:m.l can be adduced, 'of Lieutenants, who have lost an eye and a leg, betts4 doomed to subsist upon only half the usual Pens*. The worthy and independent Member whom we have mentioned, stated an instance of a Lieutenant, wbo, though wounded to this event, received only half the usual Pension, because he was an Officer of Green .reich Hospital, while the Officers of the Military Hospital of Chelsea, have full Pensions! Mr. Fonasis also alluded to the case of a very useful de scription of persons on board the Navy, namely Pursers' Clerks, many of whom, after eleven years of service and upwards, are thrown upon the world, without income or support of any description. Itir. CROKER'S defence of this neglect and injustice, nei ther freed the Admiralty nor the Government from the alms so justly imputed to them. Th , pert and flippant Secretary thought it in the highest degree unreasonable thnt he should have to answer such -sivemenit more than once. lie complained that the prinripies and information adduced by Mr. Fogel) w•eta likely to prove mischievous in the country; but 'he dill not seen. to be aware, that, unless they were founded in fact, no mischief could accrue—and in no part of his speech did he attempt to disprove the, alleged preference given to the Army, and thus dipi pate the existing jealousy between the two servicerr.— Ou Mr. FOltass's statement respecting Pursers' Clerks, he flattered himself he was very clever in 'deed in discovering that they would he more pre. rely designated Captains' Clerks. Mr. Fogies 14 entitled to great praise and credit for the distinct and pointed manner in which he brought forward a sele jeer which has excited so much interest in the public mind, The total numbers of the Army end Navy Peace Establishments, are now printed in the Estimste , . From these it sppears, that the number of seamen and marines, including an additional thousand voted this year, amount only to tiTenly thousand, whoe tie numbers of the Army, after all the reductions already made, and in contemplation, are upwards of one hundred thousand, erclusire rf Officers, and 01 Me Artiller,r, and Engineers, which will be stated or , the °Wismar, Estimates ) as ensconced by Mr. *mut • r _-...i1l 3". ,;