The Sun. — London, England, 1821-06-26 00:00:00

. • cularly attended td, and he pledged hirriself that ' fliund those general axioms. This seems to enlarge their stock, he should attend early in- the next SessiOn, for ,: but it is of fancies not realities. Such theories, built upou the narrow fotindatictiii stand butweakly; ' - d if they fall not , purpose of oppoSing any measure likely to I ' of themselves, are at least very hard to be Soorted hurt the trade to which he alluded. , .‘ againSt the assaults of Opposition.' AS - the, Commit , B , ARING concurred fully in the plan . tee on' Foreign Trade justly observe in their • Report, ' it is impossible to calculate with certainty on all the bearings proposed by the 'Rio - lit Hononrable Member of- a measure so extensive in its operations' as the repeal of (Mr- wa llaco. Ife thou t I that a free g i the Navigation Laws,' and in recommending this sweeping importation ( • experiment, they seem to have lost sight of that diffidence for 'nth a full understanding that no which they give thenaselveS credit. The repeal of those laws, Part of the articles should be consumed here as far as they relate to Europe, would riot materially injure our or in our Colonies) would be productive of carrying trade, but repealing them all over the world and the greatest 1, throwing open our commerce to all foreign ships, With the com- We i .-ienefit. He hoped that Ministers modities of every part of the globe, is an innovation that can f u d not be deterred by ignorance or clamour neither he justified by sound policy, nor by the evidence given _Pni foil • , . .. before the Committee. The Slightest consideration of the sub owing the course Nvhich they had laid ject will show, that under the new system recommended, many ( o l t ?'lti, and which was so likely- to be productive branches of commerce, which now begin and end here, would e benefit to the country. origijiate in foreign countries. At present, we makeup as it was trite that sorted cargoes, : principally with our own manufactures, but 1. proposed measures would ruin half a dozen partly with foreign goods warehoused here for exportation ; and co onties in Ireland, no doubt the House would import articles in return, for which our market alone offers a regret -it , • h f certain and advantageous demand. This is the cage. with palm mucn. As a British merchant, e• or • on e w oil, gum, and dye woods from Africa, with hides,. cochineal, the would say, that lie should reject ten times and tallow from South America, with cotton and indigo from advan now looked to, ifpurchased at the tage India, and various ', other cinintiodities from different parts of the world, for which our Manufactories furnish a constant and e u x yence oithe trade of Ireland. But if it conic! extensive consumption. If we permit other European nations a 7shewn that this alt e ration could be niade to bring these commodities into our m ar ket through th e i r con bout any injury to Ireland, and at the said tiguous ports, we shall encourage them to send out their own tun e - manufactures in their own Ships to purchase them with ; and with great advantage to Great Britain ; as remove the only obstacle to their enterprize, the impossibility of w ell as to that country, he hoped that no cla- finding a sale for their return cargoes. We shall make this, moor sho u ld be allowed to impede the measure, which is now the exporting country to Europe, the importin g Th e It country from Europe ; and instead of British shipping having o,u:c Lon. - Member , after sonic complimentary the long voyages to and from Asia, Africa, and ATmerica, they er va t i ons upon t h e l a b ours o f t h e C omm i ttee, w ill only have the short voyages from the adjacent ports of the Continent. Our commerce will be reduced to the present state remar ked, that many foreign merchants were of the other Euro ean Powe s d theirs will be increased to nuti deterred from trading - with Great Britain in thp present extenrof our own. in short, we shall give un the consequence of the complication and severity of advantages our ancestors have gained for us by the Naviga our N a 0 . ton System. This, however, must be proved by facts, i Navigation Laws,—(Hear 1.)--Strangers/ and not suffered to rest upon assertion. These sentiments guurant as they must necessarily he of our laws, are given in evidence before the Committee on Foreign Were• • Trade by Mr: Frewin, Mr. Buckle, Mr. : Nickall, 11 x. afraid of trading ,with ns.lest they should Lyall, and Mr. Blanchard, all of whom object to the re -lio entrapped. He concluded by expressing a peal of the navigation laws as to Asia, Africa, and America.— ' l ope that the Ri;ht lion. Gentleman would per- Mr. Bowden thinks the measure might be advantageous in sev ere i n-his motion, and he was sure that under time of peace, but not' in time of war, and Mr. Hall, though rather in favour of it, hesitates to give a decided opinion._ pro interests would suffer by it. irer regulations, neither the shipping nor the These are the only Gentlemen who were examined upon this Irish subject, and the Committee in their Report h a ve certainly come Mr. D. B 1 . ROWNE said that he should make use to a conclusion not warranted b y the evidence before them.— Let us consider the effects of the measure upon our Shipping no clamour, but that he should oppose the and Navigation. ' One of the most valuable parts of the evi- Il ill to the utmost of his lie wished to power. dente given before the Committee on Foreign Trade, is that ask e ., • which corrects the unfounded assertion contained in the Re t nether the measure was to extend to the p ortof the Lord's : Committee on the same subject, that' Bri- POtt - erY and hardware manufactories of this trill Ships - can maintain a successful competition with the e nunt ry ? , . shipping of every other nation on the face of the Globe,' an assertion which is disproved by the very witness who enea , 41 r. BAntNa conceived that it would be ex- . soured to establish it, for he was obliged to acknowledge that the Leaded to all hardwares to woollen and cotton , British ship-owner pays taxes of near £lOO per cent. on the most tna tl e material articles used in the building and equipment of ships. tacturers, as well as to others. Irish linens This point is clearly elucidated in the evidence given before the aj'Peared to him to he the only one among many Committee, which shows the exact cost of ship-building in "th en articles that could be in any way affected England, Prussia, and Norway, to be as follows: in England b Y th e .4:17 15s. 3d. per ton, in Prussia £9 19s. 4d., and In Norway - proposed regulations. . 1'..1 • £8 9s. The rate of seamen's wages, and the expense of pro tion r- AN ALLAcE said, that it was not his inten- visions, in the Baltic are stated to belittle more than half what they are in this country : and it is proved, that they navigate to propose directly the repeal of the transit their vessels with as few seamen as we do, in proportion to their I tl i titi es upon the articles alluded to by the Hon. tonnage. Or of the witnesses states, that since our attack upon th : n . ner (Mr. D. Browne:) 'But the nature of Algiers has obtained for all . the other European Powers the same protection from Algerine capture as we before excluSively measure was such as to bring that . question un c l e . . enjoyed, they have completely supplanted us in the carrying b 1 discussion. He •assured-the Hon. Mem- trade between the different ports in the Mediterranean, and be -1./ t hat in any measure which might be intro- tween the Mediterranean and the Black Sea, which till then gave thlced, the interests of Ireland, as a part of the employment to 700 or 800 sail of British ships, and 10 or 12,000 p . Britis Seamen, but now employs none whatever. In like - t " t ett a Kingdom, would be most particularly at- manner , th e t ra d e b e t ween this _country and the United States " f led to. . of America, which is open to the ships of both nations on equal Mr. D. R terms, carried on almost exclusively in American Ships.—' Navin; ...ROWNE, in explanation, 'd that is said These facts plainly demonstrate, that other nations can and do all understood the Right lion. Gentleman to navigate at a cheaper rate than ourselves ; and that if we are '" ul e to a propose d repealof exposed te, an equal competition with them, we must sink in On ta o , the contest. It is also highly important to bear in mind, that . fc,l : - reign. Linen,lie felt it his ditty to make the at some future period we must be again engaged in war, no 1 / observ a ti ons which lie had offered to the matter with whom, whether with any of the maritime powers ()w ee. of Europe, or with the United State s of America; for it is ob ',4 vions, that under the new system, th e mo ment we becom e a i '' MARRYATT—" Whenever our Navigation laws belligerent power, the advance in the rate of freight, and the anti eoloni a l p o li cy a tta of insurance on British Ships, will inevitably throw rethe subject of di scuss i on , th e y are con - Premium. the whole eof our comme r c e int o th e hands' of neutrals. We t e , s 7 ti , 1 lacked by certain Gentlemen, who take every oppor_ shall then have no nursery for seamen, and our maritime power t .Y to Preach tip must be transferred to those nations who will have become pos the new, but 'delusive and dangerous doe , n u . , sessed of our carrying trade. Thus the result - of the proposed f '' of free trade, and the abolition of all restrictions upon cr reißa measure will be the ruin of our naval greatness ; which will de . recto e °Mpetition. This course has been pursued on the dine gradually in time ofpeace,butsuddenly in time of war. In sa s , t: s tk easion,,and I cannot suffer the observations w hi c h the former state, we shall die by inches, in the latter we shall "ncle n ,`,, e4 Wade on these topics to pass unnoticed.. Those who be put out of our pain at once. The Committee, in their Re treoisie';;."42'nr uatagation system, and apply to it the epithets of port a look forward to other projects, founded upon the same tore e ,, -- ", rY, exclusive, an t i illiberal, ' do injustice to its true na- system of, free trade, and taking off all restrictions upon lb_ . ,' 44 ebaraoter. The leading feature of that system is, that reign competition, for they : adopt the sentirrients, and almost It B r iT s r a, 0 4itie.s shall be imported into Great Britain, either' in the very words of the Petition presented to this Muse by ter those ``'''' b-ip or in .a ship belonging to the country of which taro merchants of London in the last Session of Parliament, re m , ' c- ''. ) , r mr-odities are the growth, produce, or manufacture ; a and say, 'We still feel that a principle of gradual and pro heei:,a.",.;l founded an the roost perfect justice and reciprocity, ' spective approximation to a sounder system, as the standard the B ;' e n Places the foreign ships of every country on precisely 'of all future commercial regulations, may be wisely and bene trie, ' l le footing as British ships Ira the- trade with those coun- ' tidally recommended, no less with a view to the interests of 4 bl ' air 'd therefore is a principle of which no power can reason- `this 'country, than to the situation of surrounding nations.'_ 37 e ciu 1 • is r'er e ,„ T_ aul. •It certainly not favourable to the growth c f Experience has shewn the evil consequences of adopting ab °l it ' - ''"'reign commerce, or of that opulence which arises out street theories as rules of political conduct without due regard tto ll ' a ,. 4 nas been frequently observod by writers on political to time, place, and circumstance.. Nothing can be more just olsj et - .. - ‘7 ; but 'while it makes commercial profit-a subordinate in theory, than the doctrines of liberty and the rights of man, trit:':',, It lays the foundation of Naval Power, by securing to promulgated by the promoters of the French R evo l u ti on ; b u t trta e. ' 3 ";bnih ships, manned with British seamen, the carrying in society every man gives up part of his natural rights, the ca, Arit o .' all the commodities Great Britain imports from those better to seeure the enjoyment of the remainder ; and,the en 9e's who have no shipping of their own, which was the deaYour to revert to first principles, instead of bringing about t stee w aell the N av i ga ti on L aws were fi rs t p asse d, w ith a ll th e th a t utmost perfectibility of human nature whi c h it s a d voca t es ea, , ( P l -artera of the globe, Asia, Africa, and America. The expected, produced nothing but crime, mi ser y, an d t h e su b- Sf st ,t`inns which h ave s i nce b een ma d e i n f avour o f t h e U n i te d version of all social order. We are pl a ced in an ar t i fi cia l s t ate fitlea - ;/ °f America and the Brazils are not, as they have fre. of society, and this must be taken into account in all our cal rqerei ~ been termed, relaxations of the Navigation System, but culations, or they. mill prove erroneous. , I admit that, upon coise t i s e ad aptationS of it to existing circumstances, placing those general principles, all commercial restrictions and prohibitions ;tai l) , f l o e - -' , . as soon as th e y h a d shipping of. their own, on the appear to be prejudicial to the true interests of the p u bli c , a nd Dios w , ° tine; as the European Powers, which possessed ship- that if we had a new state •of thing s to form,, we ought to 4r e '4 ;fen thr Navigation Laws were originally passed. The adopt the most unlimited 'freedom of commercial intercourse. 4 1 -,ti si ?nJect of our ancestors i n f ro thi ng t h ose L aws was, to es- B y t h ese means, every nat i on wou ld be enabled to import is ses"ia belligerent navy. The first enactment on this subject those commodities which it does not prod u c e , a t ,the cheapest li ,th of Richard 11, which declared 4 that none of the possible rate ; and would direct its o w n industry to those ~, l eZ,s subjects should export or import, save in ships of 'the productions for which - its soil, its climate, or the genius f sena, allegiance,' and this is stated to be, in the ancient and habits of its inhabitants were best calculated. The f''' d' l'alg e. uag. used in the Statute,' per encresir la Navie taxes necessarily raised to pay the interest of our national N4tngleterre.' The Act of the 4th .Henry VII. recites this' debt, enter into the price of labour and every thing that is pro bli;''l`l'Pre at length, a nd runs thus ;_._.‘ That, whereas great duced by labour, and make it impossible for us to m a int a in a ,Of ti; l ag and d ecay b a th b een now o f l at e t i me , o f t h e N avy successful competition with foreigners who are not subjected to , th e _a Realm of England, and idleness of the Mariners within the same taxation. I have shewn this to be the case with the °f4 tl e by which this noble Realm, within short progress British Ship-owners. It is severely felt and loudly declared c ()f ilo •vi.thout reformation to be had therein, shall not be by the British Agriculturists ; and is equally true of ourmanu- Ner s .:aeot ability nor strength to defend itself, tic." It then facturing classes, except where particular . local circumstances , ,tlereb that no person, inhabitant of this Realm, oth er th an enable them to counterb a lance thi s di sa d van t age . W e h ave t o h o s , ant :strangers, shall ship in any foreign vessel, out, o r - consider how our Colonial interests would be affected, by the , s ,bn b4 r ss e nastwise • and that no wines or other articles shall adoption of this new system. At present, our Colonies trade ( 7Re sse rt from France, but in ships whereof the Ring or his with Great Britain alone; they are bound to take every thing f s anle E r , '''''. , ts, are owners t _and the masters and mariners of the from her, and send every thing double, in British ships b . "e is ~',Xl l sh, Irish, or Welch, or Men of Berwick on Tweed.' he them in return for this moneply, a preference of ,„ut th e s';`,Queen Elizabeth repealed the Act of Henry VII ; ' home consumption of their prod* in her market. The . i r lil nxid et iT ar ofElizabeth, cap. 5, revived it again, and farther Committee, in their Report, toile of lireserving the supply of on the encouragement and extent of the fisheries.— our Colonial possessions with British manufactures un -4 fl esh g other regulations it enacts, ' that no subject shall eat der this new system ; s but surely this,. must have been ' th e ;neat, or otherwiie than fish, on any Wednesday within written without due . consideration or reflection. But if ' t'house:ar..' 01 1 pain of very heavy penalties;' adding this on the principle of buying every thing where it can be bought non e •u l _ junction, ' that none shall presume to saY this ordi- cheapest ; and takingoff all restrictions merely protective against s u „',_ l 3 for the good of the soul of man, or other than for the foreign competition, you deprive them of the protection they In t rrt of the fisheries, and the navigation of the kidom.' now enjoy in the home consumption of your market, it will be th e , ; ?_r s eign of Charles 11. the great Lord Clarendon completed impossible for them to exist; restriction and protection must go anar e _e ent system of our navigation laws, in various statutes together, either both must he continued, or both abandoned. aih ee 'Fafted upon it the Colonial monopoly, which has ever' The Colonies must have the same privilege of free trade, in the ha se reen continued. Although not commercial profit, but purchase of their supplies, which you claim in the purchase of rave,, Power,. was the original object of those who framed our your produce; and under the same free trade, must be allowed pasininn laws, : yet both have been most successfully accom- to find other markets for that• produce whichi you repudiate. Rii t X I ?3' them, in th e result. From the extent to which Great Here then it becomes highly important to consider the cense tion '` l, Os raised her manufactures and , her Colonial acquisi- quences of destroying the present system. Mr. Burke, speak the G l obenaport s an d exports far exceed those of any power on ing of the advantages of the Commerce of Great Britain with With e_; and, under her navigation system, all her commerce her Colonies, saxs, 4 Fiction lags after truth invention is Parts on an d dependencies, and those States in distant ' fruitful, and imagination cold and barren;' and the facts on ss ur, the world . who have no shipping of their own, is carried amply bear him out in this assertion. Under the present sys , Ts_':Kciusively in British ships manned by British seamen. tern • your "West India Colonies, nontaining a population of less eilt;Ce, principle of this-system is at once simple and co ' Mprelien- than ' a million, are far more valuable to you than your East Iso n , al; and,ar wisdom be said tO apply the greatest possible extent of India dependencies, with a population of one hundred mil- Surely, then,om tot eliclest possible range of human action. lions. The former annually consume your manufactures to the a s Ystern th we should excellence e careful not to touch with rash hands,, amount of six or seven millions ; the latter only. to the non e o „, a _ of which has been proved by the eXpe- amount of two millions. The former, in their direct trade ed to ee a r_ e( centu, 7 and a half, and under which we have attain- to the Mother Country, and their trade to the British d gre e of aomrsercial prosperity and naval power, un-, Provinces in North America, empl o y Ptecedented in the - 1000 sail of ship- Pi :o n:1;11s of history. Those who so warmly ping, and more than . twenty thousand British seamen ; d hastily contend restrictions imposed' upon e rf'elv. system of abolishing all• the the latter not 200 sail of shipping and about 6000 British sea oreigners b y our navigation laws, men: The former are allowed to manufacture nothing, not ',.,ttund m e of an obizsetion of Lord Verulom, in his Novuni even to yefine their own sugar; the,latter manufactUre, not only sar ganum ; a vi perusal of those c c i i r ent o l -hich I would recommend to the serious for their own uSe, but' their manufactures come into competition , a to to hour Gentlemen who have what his Lordshi terms with -yours, in every part of theglobe. This comparison shews the y generalization.' W only • P 'd ' ioship says, ' The a vantages o e p ese t h' • d ' n over t e inten ed new -stem, under x i "derstainihig is naturally forward, notto learn its know- which you Would enjoy no greater proportion of the corrinaerce ' led lingge by variety ; but also eager oil too fast into general observations enlarge its views, by run- of y . our own Colonies, than you now do of any other Colonies, _ 4 near era is •tons and conclusions, with- having a free trade. Cuba is one of that description, and not ''' -tt l°n ofale particulars, enough whereon to more than one-twentieth part of her commerce is carried on .. . . with Gteat Britain. Nothing is more specious than the idea of a free trade, and of taking off all the restrictions with which 'cOnarnerce is at present shackled; but, the "advocates for this. free trade, though ready enottgh to make our trade fke, to 'fOreigneri, hate never •Shewn our ,the trade of foreignerS is to be made free tO us. They call upon us to set the example of this liberal system, whether Other nations folio* it or not ;. that is, to give without - the certainty- of r;;ceiving any . thing in return ; a svStem,.which th , ..v would not find it their interest to adopt as individuals,. and Winch, upon the Same principle, I cannot consider at liely to be attended with any benefit to us as a nation. Coinmerce.haS been defined to be an exchange - of equivalents ; this new '-commerce is tO be founded on the consumers pay them for the prOduce of their land more than they could purchase it for from foreigners ? If not, let them 'adhere to the DM, and appose the new system,- which nnist in.. evitabiy lead, to this result. . Let us reflect *hat our situation would be, if this . new system -of liberal commerce, as ; it ig called, were acted Upon Lo the fullest extent.. Our land-owneri Would be ruined, 'for their land would. not pay the eXpense of cultivation, and. of course a .great proportion of our agricul tural laboureri would be thrown out of employment. Our car rying trade would fall into the hands of those foreign powers who can'build and navigate ships cheaper than ourselves ; and as we should no longer ..have any nursery for seamen, our naval power would of course be, transferred to our more fortunate competitors : One half of our manufacturers would be ruined,l being undersold by their foreign rivals. Upon, a moderate calculatiom not less than twa millions of our agricultural and manufacturing population .would be deprived of their present employment, and thrown upon their respective parishes, together with their wives andfamiliei. Add the ex pence of their maintenance to the cost of the . , foreign com moditieS purchaied under this new sy s t em , and. Tod will then see whether they would be cheap or dear. The =possi bility of supporting. tbeSe ruined classes,_ and at the same time raising the revenue necessary to p a y the, interest of the na tional debt; and the expences of our public establishments, could tenninatc, in nothing less than a national bankruptcy.and a re volution ; and this would be the conclusion of the whole mat ter. The Report of the Committee on Foreign Trade, em braces various objects . . The, simplification of the. CuStom howie Laws—the improvement and, ,extension of the ware housing system—the reduction Of , our port charges— the .abolition of all total .prohibitions, which only be nefit the smuggler at the expence of the fair Trader and the Revenue—and the encouraging the sale of British ships, by permitting them to acquire the character of ships belonging . to that Country of which their purchasers are subjects. All these are objects of indisputable utility ; and the labours of the Coin:. mittee may be made eminently useful by carrying them into effect, as well, _as by removing those disabilities which our own laws impose upon British ships, by excluding them from im portant branches of commerce which are open to the ships and subjects of every other Wier in the world ; but I trust that the House will not sanction the repeal of the Navigation Laws, which I consider the sheet anchor of our greatness and our glory." Mr. Serjeant ONSLOW was in favour of the proposed Bills. He thought his Hon. Friend (Mr. Marryatt) was rather unfortu nate in the verses which he quoted; for certainly the poet, in the simile of the pig, alluded only to the restrictions on the com mercial system of England, and not to the liberal plan which had been proposed by the Right Hon. Gentleman, and which the author of the lines in guestion could not have foreseen at the time he wrote them. In hislNlr. Serjeant Onslow's) opinion, the picture drawn by his Hon' Friend, of our commerce; under such regulations as were now proposed, was too gloomy. Mr. HUME said, that he was perfectly astonished at the speech of the Honourable Member (Mr. Marryatt). He was surprised, at this hour of the day, to hear a Member of that House defend an exclusive system which was condemned by the whole nation. He contended that India could supply Eng land, free of expence, with all , the articles which she had got from the West Indies, the establishment of which cost the coun try one million and a half. He thought that the plan of the Right Hon. the President of the Board of Trade, would tend to increase the trade of this country ; indeed the Honourable Gentleman (Mr. Moberly) attended a Meeting of Merchants, praying for. the removal of commercial restriction ; he was, therefore, surprised to hear the Honourable Member speak as he did that night. He was convinced that the alterations sug gested by the Right Hon. Gentleman opposite, if carried into effect, would increase and promote trade. Considering the su perior advantages of the capital of the country, there could be no doubt that Great Britain, adopting the new regulations, would not only maintain, but increase her pre-eminence. The Hon. Member (illr.lllarryatt), might have West India connec tions, or other interested motives to mislead his judgment, but he (Mr. Hume) was convinced that the nation at large was against the present restrictive and injurious system. Mr. Man RYATT and Mr. HuME mutually explained. Mr. T. WILSON said, that he agreed with the Honourable Member (Mr. Hume), that it would be well if Great Britain removed all restrictive regulations on trade, provided other na tions did the same—until that took place he doubted the expe diency of going the full length_of the Hon. Gentleman's views. He could not agree with the Hon. Gentleman, even though it might be true that we could get articles at a cheaper rate from India, and though the Establishments at the West Indies - might be expensive, that we should therefore neglect the trade and property. of that country; he was convinced that it was essential to the prosperity of our navigation system to encourage both. The. Resolutions were then put and agreed to. The House having resumed, a Message was received from the Lords, announcing their Lordships' assent to the Finance Bills, and to several private Bills. PUBLIC ECONOMY. opposite doctrine, of no equivalent. It is to be a sort of what I have heard called Irish reciprocity, or reciprocity all on one side. At - present, - our own domestic consumption and that- of our Colonies and dependencies, secure us great advantages and an immense carrying trade, all whi c h we are d es i re d to o p en t o • foreigners, for the chance f what they may be pleased to k,riVe 118 in return -; but before we accede to this proposition, we ought in common prudence to be satisfied, both as to What they can give and what they will give. Much stress IS laid upon the advantages we are to derive from other nations being influenced by our exaiple, of adopting a more liberal system ; but in point of fact they have little to offer in return for that immense commerce of ours in which it is so i m p or t an t an o bj ec t to thein to participate. This plan of an eq ua l di s t r ib u tio n o f commerce, is something like that of an agrarian distribution of land ; Vary suitable to the desires and intrests of those. who are poor, but very unsuitable to those who are rich, and therefOre,- we who are Hell in commerce, are the last persOns with whoni• such a proposal ought to originate. Granting then however, for the sake of argument, the ability, how stands their disposition to make an adequate and grateful return to this country ? On thiS point, we may form our 'judgment from their conduct towards us since the peace, which happily accomplished the deliverance of Europe, at an expense of not less than eight hundred mil lions of our money. I shall commence with our Allies, on whose attachment we had reason to place the strongest reliance. The Emperor of Austria, who appears, by the papers printed for the information of the House, 'determined not to repay us the money we lent him, has totally prohibited all our manufac tured goods throughout his dominions, burns them whenever they are found, as fiercely as ever BuonaParte did in the days of his most furious wrath' against this country, and has extended this system to these 'ltalian' States 'width, through our assist ance, he was enabled to add to his territories at the end of the wen" The Emperor of Russia has laid such high duties on our coarse woollens, except those which are contracted for to clothe his own troops, as almost amount to a prohibition;—he has also totally prohibited our woollens of every de scription, from passing through his dominions in tran situ ; and thus has deprived us of a large and increasing sale for them, in China and Persia, through Tartary ; and has given a monopoly of that trade to the woollens of Prussia.. He has also made. a new distinction in his Tariff of Duties, between Sugars clayed in Europe and in every other part of the world ; by which means he has excluded our crushed lumps, and giVen the supply of his dominions to the clayed Sugars of Cuba and the Brazils. This great professor of humanity and philan throphy, this champion of the abolition of the Slave Trade, has given almost a monopoly of the supply of his Empire with sugar to the Colonies of the only Powers by whom that trade is now carried on. The King of Prussia, who is a woollen-draper by trade as well as a King, being the head__ partner- in all' the great woollen manufactures established at Berlin, has prevailed upon his Brother Monarch, as I before observed, to give him • the exclusive privilege of the transit of woollens through his dominions, and thus has completely supplanted us in the trade we formerly enjoyed, - through that channel, to China and Persia. France, we understand, has • rejected our propositions for establishing a more liberal system ; and all our attempts to form a commercial treaty- with her have proved abottive. Such is the treatment we have ex-- perienced from the Members of the Holy Alliance. To do them justice, however, they are not worse than their neigh bours. The King of Sweden has prohibited the use - of almost, every article of British Manufacture in his dominionS.-L . The King of Sardinia, whose Italian States were restored -to him by British aid, has laid such high duties on' British goods as almost amount to a total prohibition, and al though Genoa was annexed to his doininions, •1:3 , a treaty which guaranteed to. her all her ancient laws and privileges, in defiance of that treaty, he has deprived her of her most va luable privilege, that of being the emporium for the transit of British goods into the neighbouring Italian States: Spain, since the establishment of the new Government, has adopted a prohibitory system, which almost annihilates our commercial intercourse with that country. Such are the pretensions of the different European powers to a more liberal systeria of com merce on our part ; and to our compliance with the modest re quest made by their advocates, that we should open to them, all those sources of our external commerce and internal consump tion, which we have hitherto reserved for the encouragement of our domestic industry. Surely we must be unwise indeed, with these proofs of their indisposition to serve us, to place ourselves in their power arid at their mercy !—A liberal system of commerce is a contradiction ,in tarns ; for the first principle of Commerce is gain, which it must be admit ted is not very favourable to the practice of liberality. So ciety is, however, so happily constituted, that men in endeavour.. ing to promote their own interests and enjoyments, uninten= tionally perhaps, but necessarily and inevitably, promote the interests and enjoyments of others. Let a man spend his money how he will, ih building , planting, or indulging him 7 self in luxury and dissipation, he gives employment and sub sistence to those who are the instruments of gratifying his wishes. In this way merchants are eminently useful; and con tribute largely to the good of society. The merchant who en:. gages in• a commercial speculation, furnishes employment to a number of manufacturers at home in making up!his cargo ; and adds to the comforts and enjoyments of the inhabitants of thoSe countries abroad, among whom it is sold. These are the ends, but not the objects ofhis undertakings ; in which he has no other view than his own profit. Nothing is more. true than the old proverb, that 'trade knows no friend."Palk, if you plea:se, of justice and reciprocity, principles which men will act up to from a regard to their "owl character, but liberality is out of the question. Foreigners, without being courted, will buy of you whatever you can sell them cheaper than other nations; and if you court them ever so much, they will bily nothing more_ So much for the liberal system of commerce. This system of free trade is subject to other very strong objections, if those al ready Urged were not conclusive. Great c o m me rc i a l c h a nges a re always attended with serious mischief, because the spirit of en terpnze and speculation overstocks every new market: Most of us recollect the ruin that attended the sudden opening of the trade at Buenos Ayres ; and we all have before Us the more recent instance of the private trade to India, which has led to such heavy lOsSes that the tonnage employ ed in it has been reduced from 186,000 tons in 1/318 to 43,500 tons in 1820. If the trade of the whole world were thrown open, in the manner recommended by our new po litical economists, the rage for speculation would be boundless, the revolutions in property unprecedented, and the ruin incal culable. But these are the days of innovation and revolution, which, after making experiments upon politics for many years past, seem now to be trying their hands upon commerce. Some men are so prone to change, that they consider all change as an improvement. Commercial men, in particular to whose specu lations.the war gave ample scop e , fi n d themselvea circumscrib ed in peace, and many of them are eager to adopt any expe riment that may again open a wider field to their spirit of ad venture. The state of things in which we arc now placed, reminds me of a jeu d'esprit of the late Professor Porson, who happening to cut out at whist, the Lady of the h o use told him he should write some verses, while the rest of the party were playing.— He asked lier for a subject; and she suggested that he should suppOse tic deVil was taking a walk on earth, to see what we were about, and write his observationS. Among the verses com posed by the Professor on that occasion, are the following : With wind and with tide, Down the river did glide, •A pig with vast celerity ; And the Devil he grinnc4, for he saw all the while, How it cut its own throat, and said with a smile, Mr - .lll.luptuy said, that seeing the Noble MarqueSs in his place, he wished to put a ques- tion to - The Report of the Agricultural. Committee, which had been lately brought up, did.not recommend any alteration of the C9rii Laws during the preSent SeSsion, but recom mended the propriety of making such alteration at a future 'Session. , The Committee ifprther sug gested 'the propriety of adopting publiC economy, withaview of approximating the takes as much a's possible to the present state of things. It was a well 7 known fact, that the taxes became more heavy on a reduced income, than they formerly Were. Ire (M'r. Maberly), on making a motion at the commencement of the Sessions, had taken views and suggested plans of eco nom y s i m il ar t o those proposed by the Committee; that motion, hiawe'Ver; was met by the previous question. Ile Would now beg to ask the Noble Lord, who, during the Session, had opposed every measure of economy that had been proposed, what plan of economy he intended to propose, pursuant to the recommendation of the Committee ? The Marquis of . LONDONDERRY said, that .he did not understand the Hon. Member to put any distinct 'question whatever. The Hon. Member niade an unsuccessful attempt at an argument, and alluded to a statement of his during the early part of the Session, and the Hon. Gentle man inferred, that because his Maje Sty's Go vernment did not adoPt the views of the lion. Gentleman, that, therefore, they were not dis posed to adopt any system of economy. . Ilis Right Hon. Friend (the Chancellor of the Ex chequer) was almost derided on a former occa sion, when he declared that the GoVermnent would he able to Make a considerable saving in the eXpenditure of the present year ; it so hap pened, however, that the Estimates of the pre sent year were lesS by 1,076,000/. than the year before. He could assure the Hon. Gentleman that there was no part of the Report he was more dispoSed to adhere to than that part of it which recommended economy. There was no part of the Report which, in the next Session, he would be more anxious or more happy to carry into execution. • GRANT TO THE DUKE OF CIAR.E - NCE. TheiCHA.NCELLOR of the EXCkIEQUER moved the Order ()l i the Day for the second reading of the Bill tor mak ing the Grant, to the Duke of Clarence. Arr. G. BENNETT said, he should not enter into any dis euasion upon the Bill, as. so much had already taken Plf.te;!— fie considered the grant to be one of a most unprincipled cha racter, and he should divide the House upon it at every stave: He moved that the Bill be read a second time that day six months. This is England's commercial prosperity.' What the Professor predicted is now coming to pass ; for we are certainly cutting the throat of our commercial prosperity, and the devil, who delights in mischief, may well grin at our pre sent proceedings. We must not flatter ourselves that we can go a certain length in this new career, and then stop. If we once concede the principle, .and establish it as a standard to be referred to on all future occasions, we must abide by it uniform_ lY ; for principles are immutable in their nature, and therefore not to be maintained or abandoned at pleasure. Nothing can he more absurd, than to suppose that two :opposite systems can be acted upon at the same time. To adopt a course of measures half liberal and half exclusive, would be taking one step for ward and another backward, instead . of going straight on. To exhibit a parade of pompous professions, adopting them in some instances and departing from them in otherX, as suited our interest or convenience, would render us despicable in the eyes of Foreign Powers, who might justly, reproach us with i ns i ncer it y and duplicity. If we take .o . tr the protecting duties on foreign timber, and relax our navigation laWs, - to shew our sincerity in this great work, how can we object to take off the restrictions upon foreign corn ? To prohibit the import of cheap foreign corn. in order to force the consumption of dear English corn, would not only be a violation of the new principle of taking off all restrictions upon foreign competition, but also pf the great rule to buy every thing where it can be bought cheapeSt. Besides, the price of corn regulates the price of- labour, and of every thing that is .produced by lahour ; and if our ma nufacturers are' to compete" with fbreign manufaCturers, they must be fed at as cheap a rate. Ate the landed interest prepared to this length ? Will they deduct frorti their rentals the twenty or thirty millions per annum, which the British Mr. F. PALMER seconded the motion, and complained that he had been represented as voting for the grant in its earlier stages.. • Lord A. HAMILTON objected to thesrant as well as to the manner in. which . it had been introduced into that House. He . thOughithe tern " arrear" h a d been improperly applied to the sum to be allowed ,fur the last three.years. The .No'cle Lord contended, that the making .such a grant was wholly .with Out precedent, and stated his intention of opposing it altOgether. Sir JOHN SIBRIGHT said - h e - h a d s p o ke n with - men on both sides of the question, and not one had approved of the vete for the arrears. The CIIANCELTA)R of the EXCHEQUER said it was singular that he had not heard of the disapprobation alluded to by the Hon. Baronet. He (the Chancellor of the Exchequer) believed the pubhc in the first instance regretted that the Luke Of Clarence had declined accepting the grant.—(Hear, hear ! and.a laugh from the Opposition'.)—He believed the grant was fully justified by precedalt. —The Douse then divided upon Mr. BEITNETT's Amend ment, when there appeared, For the Amendment 14 Against it , - 61 • • Major - - The original Motion was then agreed to, and the fill was read a second time. . • Mr. F. PALMER presented a petition from the inhabitants of Reading, in favour of the Bill for punishing Cruelty to A9i-. mats; and a similar petition was 19reSented from certain. Cit izens of London, by Mr. I.3artm - ..—The petitions were ordered to be printed. • EAST IN-DtA PRIVATE TRADE The House went into a Committee on the East India Private Trade Bill. - - After a feiy i , ords.from he Chaneclloi of the Exchequer anal Mr.tflume, the House resumed. ' - CH ANF" CELT:OR of the CHEQUP.R havindstated, that the duties imposed by the Bill would not attach to Whitd Sugar now on hand; • •-. • Mr. BRIGHT opposed the Bill, and complained that it would injure:our West India Trade. . Mr. HUME said that, on the contrary, the West.lndia •s t z:;. gars had a protecting dutY'of lOs. on the hundred, which duty operated, as a tax. upon the country. - ' • .Mr. jar. S3IITII Wished to know how long it was intendedth. contume the Bill ? The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER said, foi one: . . Mr..W. SMITH then. said it was scarceworth while in thl present state of the Session, for the Hon. Memb er f o r Bristol; (Mr. Bright) to oppose theßill. Mr. BR I GHT explained. • • - - . Mr, BARHAM agreed that the subject would be discussed to more advantage next Session. He thought, however, that the argument of the Hon. Member for Aberdeen, (Alr. Hurn.4), was perfectly unfounded; and at a proper time he should meet him on that; argument. The protecting duty was a right, and had been paid for Under.the security of Parliament. The Hon. Member spoke-at some length in support of the West India Trade. • - W. SMITH said, : he had no connexion either with the East or the West India trade. He desired to advance the fait interest of both; and he therefdre protested against the mono; poly sUppOrted by the Hon. Member. He had always under stood that free trade should be the ride, and restriction the exception. Mr. BERNAL said, he for One should be ready-to- argue for the repeal of all prohibitions against the West India Colonies:. The West India _trade was compelled to purchase every thing at the Home .Market ; while the East -India Proprietor might go where he pleased. Ile thought it would be sound policy to repeal all the,proliibitory laws. Mr. HART DAVIS followed the last speaker in favour of the West India trade. Sir ROBERT WILSON begged to ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether there had not been, between the years 1815 and 1818, an increase of 35,000 Blacks in the Island of Jamaica ? If this was the case, he thought the increase very suspicious. The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER said,. the question could be answered by the' Colonial Secretary, who would be in his'place to-morrow. He (the Chancellor of the Exchequer) could not answer it at present. Mr. GOULBURN just then entered the House, and said he. believed an increase had taken place within the period men tioned, but. he was satisfied it hid not taken place in conse quence of any illegal importation. He thought it was caused by the improved treatment of the Slaves. Mr. W. SMITH said, he thought there must be some mis take, as the increase was scarcely possible. After, a few words from Mr. BRIGHT and the CHANCEL LOR of the EXCHEQUER, the Bill waa ordered to be ethumit ted to-morrow. - AUDIT OF ACCOUNTS. On the motidn of the CHANCELLOB of the'EXCHE QUER, that the House should resolve itself into a Committee upcin the Audit of Accounts Bill, Air. G. BENNET rose and complained. of the late period of the 'Session, as well as the lateness of the hour, at which this measure was brought before them, especially considering its im portance and the voluminous documents which Were before the 'House:upon the subject. The last of these documents7had been laid Upon the table in April last, and he was at a loss to divine upon what ground the proposition of this Bill had been so long delayed. Inconsequence of this delay there were many . Gen tlemen now absent who had • investigatedthe subject-who aware of all its bearings, and who were disposed to speak upon its merits. Therefore he was left quite alone to enter into the discussion, by the absence of his Honourable Friends, the ber for the Queen's County 'and the 'Honourable Member for Wycomb, who had devoted lunch of their consideration to the question. According to his view, it was very desirable that there Should:be a regular classification of the Public Accounts, that is, that the Accounts of the A rm y, th e N avy , t h e O r d nance, &c. &C. - should be distinctly submitted to the consideration of the Auditors, But the great evil of the system of auditin g was the perpetual - interference of ' the Treasury with 'the Auditors of• Public Accounts. By this interference the bu.si. ness of the Auditors was considerably impeded, 'especially with respect to those public officers who bad certain influenot and connections... He did not mean to say that the Trea sury should be altogether excluded. -from interfering, but thet such interference should be subject to certain limits. In • order to spew the necessity -of establishing such limits, as to guard . againstimproper interference on the part of the. Treasury, the Honourable Member referred to the evidence of Mr. S.n.- !, jeant Praed. before the Committee appointed to inquire this . subject in the year 1819, especially With regard to the accOt:iits of the Payrriaster of - the Army. and the Treurer of the:Navy. What had become of the documents which bad been submitted tO•the Committee in illUstration of this subject, 'he could ot ' pretend .to say, as they were withdrawn in a most extraor dinary manner from the possession of -the Committee; But enough of evidence was still forthcoming • to sustain .b2s opinion as to the necessity of providing against the tin ' due or partial interposition of, the Treasury . with, the auditing of public accounts. • _There were no doubt some changes proposed in the present Bill, which 'were calculated to ' improve the. system of auditing, but yet in. no very important degree. He however approved of the abridgment o'f the perkid at which the accounts were to be presentedAothe auditors.- Ant li6 thought more material changes shoUld be made ; and among ' others, he trusted the Right. Eon. Gentleman would haveno objection to the introduction Of a clause for the abolition of all fees Upon the passing of the Public Accounts. Lord Muirst held ten thousand pounds of the public money in his . h a nd s f or uPwards of 14 years, which might still haveremained there, but for an aCcidental discovery. -The eonduct oldie Government in ekcusing that Neble Lord from the payment of the intere't, was most profligate and unjustifiable.. He contrasted this case with that of Sir J. Johnstone, who was allowed only 304)1. by ; the Government, when he had a toniz fide claim upon theth to the amount of £2009 for his services in North America. In terest was refused altogether, nor was the claim alfowedat all till.-after the long 4 2 se of 40years. The negligence of Minis ters-in bringing agents to account, - was productive of great loss to the public., .Thus in the case of Brigadier-General Nichol son, the debt arose in 17911, and no inquiry was instituted till after the ilcath of • the -.public debtor. The whole sum was, therefore, lost to the public. He concluded by protesting against the insufficiency of the. Bill, brit declared, that it was notbis, in ' tendon to,oppoe the motion for going into the Committee. Mr. BANKBS thought this Bill should have been brought before the House - in the last Session, or at an earlier period, as they had long had inform a tion i n their possession to justify its provigoni. — With respect- to the increase of the Audit Office, it should be recollected, that that .department was , originally plated upon toolow a scale. He denied 'that any improper t i te a n lm p e l n ac t !, or He that eou ltdhenAotuagditre? thatifr.ze tc aprNhici recasting it s v:ot hne o rl i j o . et.t.li f osm:; e t, teuh undergoiope rn u t a. b public thn.tethee grievous mofficeaGentleman accountst o r fefgro contended.o irurbnrela ofy er ei n t e b f e '° ,o 4r f b d : lig U til' n! c e ( l i i hng t t th o: 3 lities auditing - their aceounth before Commissioners .- atL. mitred that much of , the-conduct of the Audit Board was un fortunate, partly from • its constitution, and partly from - its lcction ofimproper and incompetent persons. After a few .wordsfrem 111 r„ Sst T ! rt, the CHANc.ELLoit..of the tkatEQ'uriit., and Mr.' :TiEttwiNE, the 'Bill . pissed` through the Committee, and the Report Was received ; and or, dered to be taken into further consideration on. Thursday. • . • n s l r‘ t .I.l'teielesl n t e te i had 6 co Mr. CHETWYND gave .notice. that he should move, to morrow; for a return of all fees, paid into the EccicSiastical. Courts of England, and a List' of the Persons cominittod to Prison for lion-payment of such fees. • • Mr. WALLACE brought in his Navigation Bill, which wa read the first time, and ordered •,to be printed, and read the se cond time that day three months. . . . . . . After some.brief obseryatiots from Mr. F. Palmer, Mr. C. Smith, Mr. Bankes, .Mr; monck4 -and Mr. R. Martin, the House divided on the third reading of the 11l Treatment of Horses Bill— . • For .the. Motion • Against it" • - _ Majority On the Motion that the Bill do pass, Mr. C. WYNN'lnoved, as an Amendraent, that the Public- Debate on the Bill be postponed . to Friday next. Mx„ll,A=. l l.N-agreed.to,postpone the question tO•Thursday",. for which day it was accordingly. fixed. • .i• , . " • The other Orders of the'Day were then disposed of, and the Houtie adjourned at ONE 9'CLpeic. 21 15 - ___o.