The Express.
London, England, 1862-03-12 00:00:00

THE EXPRESS, WEDNESDAY EVENING, MARCH l2, 1862.

with the pledge given by the right hon. gentleman the
Chancellor al the Exchequer, sad should not press the
booms to a division. (Hear, bear.)
Mr. WILLIAMS said that the reasons advanced by the
Chancellor of the Exeioquer against the motion were not
to Ms robed satislactoey. The subject under discussion had
been lesions the loess se►eral times, and it had &Imys. mut
with an evasive answer. (Hear, hear.) It wee his opinion
that the crown property would be far better managed if it
were under the control of parliament. He found from a
return which had been laid on the table only three days
ago, that the crown revenues amounted to four hundred
and eleven thousand pounds, while the sum pia into the
Exchequer was only two hundred and ninety thousand.
(Hear, bear.) In has opinion it would be most beneficial if
the property lot the crown was under the control of parlia-
ment, and he could see no possible objection to such a
course. (Cries of "Divide.")
Lord R. MONTAGU, in reply, observed that he wu
surprised the hoe. gentleman the Secretary of the Treasury
Loci met the resolution he bad proposed by a miserable sub-
terfuge ; and although be did not wish to put the house to
the trouble of dividing, yet, as the subject was an important
one, he would take their sense on it.

The house then divided, when there appeared—
For the motion 3l
Against it
INTERNATIONAL MARITIME LAW,
Mr. HORSFALL rose to move—" That the present state
of international maritime law as affecting the rights of hel-
'hermits and neutrals ii ill-defined sod nneatiefactory, and
.sfor the early. attention of her Majesty's government."
Before the shipping committee, Mr. Allen Gilmore, one of
the largest shipowners in the world, said the principle that
the flag under which • ship sailed should exempt the goods
she carried from capture would operate very prejudicially to
British shipping in the event of • war in which Great
Britain was engaged. and that even now it was very peejuili-
chid to the British shipowner, because the very rumour of war
or difficulty so eobaneed the rate of insurance of British ships
that American and other foreign ships bad a decided prefer-
once. The witness was asked whether be could suggest a
remedy, and his reply was, "The only remedy is to have an
international law to do away with captures entirely. Ido
not know of anything else." (" Hear, hear," and • laugh.)
Or, in other words, to place the ship upon the same footing
as the goods. Mr. Beasley, of Liverpool, in his evidence,
ocnfirmed these opinions, and. as an instance of the effect of
the existing law, mentioned that last May he had a ship io
China which was built at mitt expeme, the order to
the builder being merely, Build me a ship to
beat any mortal thing allost"—(a laugh)—to being
the first mho of tea of the season. But at
that tints the Italian difficulty arose, and in the fear of
Eeglani bumming involved, the merchants of Chios de-
termined to ship in American ships, and paid • higher
freight than they would have had to pay for first-class
British ship. Two American ships *Maned 21. • ton
more than Mr. Beasley's. The evidence of Mr. Graves,
formerly chairman of the Shipowners' Association, con-
firmed the statements of the other two withesses a to the
injurious effect which the declaration of Paris must have
upon British commerce in the event of • war, or •
rumour of war, in which this country might be 011eard.
This question was In fact one of great national Importance,
affecting not merely shipowners and manufacturers, but the
whole country. It was also • question of foams. They
knew that in war times merchant ships required convoy,
and he salted whether the mead-war would not be much
better employed in fighting the enemy. He would not look
upon it an a question of humanity, although a good deal
might be said upon that wore. Some people said, "Make
war as bad as ble, and every one will be glad to ham
'it one' Bat that was not the general feeling of the
gensig seems it the feeling of her Majesty, when in her
eaNr is email she declined to issue letters of marque, in
oder to restrict the miseries of war as mach ac pomilik
Maw was it the feeling of the noble lord, who
his visit to Liverpool stated to the assembled met-
' hab Net the government were not inattentive to
I raw interests besides the gland transactions of
war. *was satisfactory, his lordship said, that at the coon-
menament of the Russian war we made arrangements
whisk without dialaiehim oar force against our opponents,
yet titl me\ Oviii the pressure of the war
upon maiweatike Isamoinally. His loirdi also ex-
hie Asps that them esianations might be still
Krierreta mehMiled, and that sedvatelpreperty would no longer
he exposed te cppressien an *Ye side. (Hear.) If, his
lordship added, um Luisa Is limemiesple of former periods,
we found that ore paseerfal es mily was ever vanquished by
losses infiletsd en Indiaduah,r Byes always the flake and
armies that &Mai the great (parties. (Hear.) He (Mr.
Horgan) Mhod no better testimony to the truth of his
position tb the Queen's order in toenail and the admir-
able gambol( the noble lord. (liar.) They were told
that naval lasses would object to being deprived of their
prise miner ; he would not iamb the naval officers by
setertuning each a supposition for a russet. (Hear.) He
believed they were actuated by far more patriotic motives.
They were told, further, that treaties were broken when wan
commenced, but this was tamed on the declaration of Paris.
On the subject of blockade he felt bound to say that the
sentiments of those he had the honour to represent were in
favour of respecting the blockade. He knew there was
great difference of opinion on the subject, bet his own views
were in favour of the blockade. Returning to the main
question referred to in hie resolution, he thought that Ame-
rica had not been fairly dealt with. They were told that
America would earns up the right of privateering. Why?
Because she contended that we should put ships and cargoes
on the same footing. The hoc. member read some extracts
from the blue-books, to show that President Pieroe had ex-
pressed this view to the Paris Congress ; also extracts of
Lord Russell's letters to Lord Cowley, in which the noble
lord declined to apply the terms of the Commotion of Paris
to the case of the civil war in America, and coutioued. He
was there merely to slate the views ci the mercantile
community. He knew than was great jealousy of
motions of this kind by executive governments, but the
noble lord would permit him again to refer to the speech
already quoted, in which the noble lord seemed to give him
(Mr. Honda') an express invitation to bring the subject
before the house. The noble lord said, " The government
always feels deeply indebted to the great commercial com-
munities, which are kind enough to impart to us from tune
to time their suggestions for the remedy of existing evils. We
know well that no executive government can be so per-
fectly informed of all the detailed operations of commerce
as to be able without such smastence to devise those mea-
sures which may be beet calculated to set free the industry
of the country and to give the greatest development to
commercial enterprise." (Cheers.) It was in answer to
that invitation that he ventured to trespass on the attention
of the home, and be asked it to affirm the resolution which
he had to move in the name of the commerce of the
country, and in the name of hureanity, civilisation, and
justice. (Cheers.)
The ATTORNEY-OENERAL said, what was contended
for was an exception in favour of the subjects of a bellige-
rent power, whose ships it was proposed should receive pro-
tection, so that they could so carry in their own ships their
' own goods. Certainly such a change in the law would
go very much beyond any relaxation in the rigour
'of the maritime code which had been
by writers upon international law. He did not eas;Liets'ita
the proposition WY novel that therefore it was not entitled
to great and serious consideration • bat whilst he admitted
that it was worthy of consideration, it was, he submitted,
• question whether the hones should take upon itself to
express an opinion in conformity with the motion of his hon.
friend, the more especially as anything done in that direc-
tion must be done not by any one government, but by the
general concurrence of those nations who were likely to
become belligerents. He had said that this doctrine had
not been broached until lately, but he would so far correct
himself as to say that it appeared from • statement
by Benjamin Franklin that a treaty was entered into
between the United States and Proms in 1785, in which
there was an article in accordance with what Franklin celled
his " Quaker notioes," it being wend that the merchant
ships of the contending parties should not be liable to cap-
ture, l,ut this article was not insetted in the renewed treaty
in 1799 between the same powers, and certainly from that
time down to the present he was sot aware of any serious
proposition having been made between any two nations to
mitigate the old rigour of the maritime law. He would
conclude by stating that as to the matter of law be was
relieved from any labour by his hon. friend having himself
so well defined the law—he had in fact disposed of that
part of the motion, and there was no redress,* for calling
upon the government to take any man in reference to the
question of policy.
Mr. LIDDELL mid the commercial policy which we
had latterly adopted, we had thrown opus every branch
of the shipping istainess to the mercantile marine of the
whole world. No cue would therefore be so foolish, if we
were at war, to employ ships that would be liable to cap-
ture. (Hear, bear.) President Pierce, in his message for
1556, stated that Russia, France, Bremen, end Hamburg
were disposed to wept the principle of granting immunity
to private property is time of war. The proposition was
therefore by no means se Drivel as it might seem, but even
if it was new, that was no reason why it should not be right.
(Hear, hem) England, let him remind the house, had •
much greater stake in this question than any other power,
for there was ens that at the breaking out of • war was
likely to have nearly so much property at sea. We had retie-
quailed the manna ; and let us therefore seek so longer
to retain the shadow, and thus reject the opportunity of
teen raps, and robbery the property of her Ma
air SS
Rahoud cheers.)
E had learned one thing from this de-
bate, samely, that it mewed to be generally agreed the
course which bad bees takes at the Congress of Paris was a
mistake, (" Na, no.") So far as he could follow the ima-
mate of its boc friend it appeared to be that because we
had blendeeed es that occasion we should go still further in
the dimities of car original error.
Mr. BOWYER said be thought the question lay in a
very narrow compass. This oauatry being • groat naval
power. it was perhaps desirable that the rights of belligerents
should be as widely exuded as possible, therefore it was
very questionable whether it was prudent to involve
this country in Each an engagement as the deolantioa
Paris. (Hear, hear.) Be that, boweyer, as it might, that
decluann was now an accomplished fact. (Hear, bear.)
But what was the principle of warfare on land? If an
army was numbed into • country, and conquered It, that
arm did sot interfere with private property. (Hear, hear.)
The principle of internatioad law with regard to the con-
queror wae, that he was put in possession ci the rights of
the government of the conquered country, which
might afterwards be the subject of treaty, bat not of the
property of private proms. He (Si 13. Bowyer) never
Meld nocienUed why the ease piled* should sat be ex.
Maeda° maritime warfare, or why the rights of prima.