The Daily Times.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1860-03-23 00:00:00

PARLIAMENTARY COMMITTEES.

MERCHANT SHIPPING- -
This committee re-assembled ow Wednesday ; Mr:"
Horsfall in the chair. There were also present Mr.•
Lindsay, Mr. Taylor, Lord Loraine, Mt, SOines, Audi

Mr. Gore Langton.
Mr. Beazley was examined. He stated he wag lately'
' engaged as a shipowner and merchant, but not irs the'
passenger trade. He had in past years built 'sbi)pg•
especially adapted to the passenger trade, and -fit for Igo
other; but in copequence of the restrictions of the
Passenger Act and Lord Campbell's Act,, together with
foreign competition, he was obliged to leave the
trade. There could be no doubt whatever that the
greatest depresifoii had for some time past existed
in the shipping trade. Of that he could perhaps,
give the committee a- better illustration than a mere
enumeration-of tonnage. A vessel of, bis own, reeently-
returned froM Bombay, lost £2,000 upon the whole;
voyage. The , amount of foreign tonnage engaged ill:
the British and colonial trade was very great, and
operated most prejudicially, upon British. interests. Ile'
was sorry to say, though the fact might be difficult,
to prove, that many persons who held' themselves
forth as Free-traders were only too anxious to enter
into that trade in foreign bottoms. ' He had only lately.
seen a prospectus of a' company which was formed for
trading, purposes, which put forth as an inducement,
for British patronage that, sailing, as they would,,
under the Portuguese flag, from England to Portugal-
and the
,Brazils, they would be in a ,condition,
to offer advantages to the freighters which no British
ships could offer, and to that prospectus was appended'
the names- of John Arthur Roebuck, J. 0. Lever, and.
C. R. Talbot, all membets of the House, which showed
conclusively that, however 'loud gentlemen might be int
support of free-trade, ithey -weft yet anxi),us to, avail
themselves of the protection Which' the differential duties
afforded to vessels sailing under foreign. flags. He (Mr..
Beazley) took, apprentices as a general practice,. but.
thought, if the object was to give the country a supply
of seamen for the Royal Navy and merchant service,.
the -Government ought to hold: out some encourage-
ment to private shipowners taking apprentices ; but he
was averse to re-imposing any absolute compuition
upon shipowners to de to. He was a member of com-
mittees' of two ship reformatories, and had taken boys
from one of them, who had turned out excellent as sea-
men. The Government, however, refused to take those:
boys, which he thought was very, impolitic ; for though„;
undoubtedly, it might be impolitic tohave many ba4l.
boys,on hoard a ship, yet one or two might be employed
with advantage. He approved highly of the establish-=
ment of school-ships, which he thoeg'it would hereafter
become an important means of preparing youths for the'
service. His opinion was distinctly, that in order ib,
afford anything like permanent relief to the shipping
interest, the Government should give fair notice ter
America, France, and other nations, that unless they
agreed to a principle of reciprocity, the order in council
which the English Government was empowered by' the,
act for repealing the navigation laws to issue, and
to prevent them entering our colonial and coasting trade,
should be issued. „ -
„ , ,

, Mr. John Smith, shipowner, of Liverpool, said that.
he believed the state of our shipping engaged in the:
foreign trade to be depressed in an unprecedented degree.
He was not aware that the , steam-Shipping -interest,,
whether engaged in the foreign or 'coasting trade, was a
complaining interest. He belieifed 'that coals could be
carried cheaper in screw steamers than in sailing vessels,
and the shipowners must adapt themselves to the altered
state of circumstances. One of the causes of the depres-
sion of the sailing interest was that there was a supply
beyond the demand ; but he did not attribute that to
any excess of shipbuilding in this country. The sailing
tonnage of the United Kingdom, built since 1849,
amounted to 1,546,871 tons, and the loss and broken-up
tonnage was 1,375,882 tons, making a difference of
170,809 tons. Many of the ships built in Canada and
New Brunswick were brought to this country suidisol4,.
and then registered as British property. The registered
tonnage in 1849 was 3,840,814 tens. 111'1858 it, hata
increased to 4,956,814 tons, shewing an increase, its'
round numbers, of 1,100,000 tons. But, in• the same
rate
period, our imports and exports had doubled.
of freights for sailing vessels had
variedef considerably
during during that period. He had a
vesselleutta in 1855 the
which delivered a cargo from Ca
freight •of which amountedto£7o,snsl3 4s. Bd. In the
following year the freight w
In 1857
the freight haasd beyeu £5,341 4s. Bd.
reduced to
£4,951 ls. 10d., and in 1858 to £1,875 15s. 11d. The
s.
v6ody.a;geonwasthe£lthsi2rd9,7l.2,6odl.s;
The Calcutta port charges amounted to about
outward freight£o2l:otBhle filr2sta.
oln3ath9eds.econd,
£1 per registered ton. He would mention the rates of
freight and the cost of sundry articles at Calcutta, Which
would throw some light on the question as to whether
high or low freights afforded any benefit to the con-
sumer. He would take the articles Of rice and kite.
In 1854 the freights varied from 80s. to 1555. per ton
for rice, and from 675. 6d. to 1555. for jute. The price.
of jute in that year varied from £lO 7s. to £l2 ls. per
ton; and that of rice from ss. Bd. to 7s. 3d. per cwt.
Last year the freight of rice in Calcutta varied from 15s.
to 20a. per ton, and that of jute from 255. to 455. The
price of rice had gone up to from *9s. 6d. to 10s. Bd. per
cWt., and that of jute to from £ll 4s. 3d. to £l3 3s. M.
per ton. He generally concurred in the opinions
had been expressed by Mr: Young with regard to the
timber duties.
The committee then adjourned. which,

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MAR,Ca 23, 1860. ' •