The Express.
London, England, 1849-05-22 00:00:00

The house having resolved itself into a committee, with
Lord Beaumont in the chair.

Lord STANLEY rose to move the amendments in the
bill et which he had given notice, and proceeded to state,
and to illustrate by statistical calculations, the objects
almal at by those amendments. He thought recipe°-
,Ay ought to be preliminary to any advantage pro-
• to be conferred on foreign countries by this b3l. Het
did not propose to make it obligatery on the government to
have that reciprocity with every country, bothe proposed to
enable her majesty to enter into engagements with foreign
powers, and by orders in council to admit them into any
benefits they were ready to grant to British ships. The dis-
tinction between the proposition of the government and his
amendment wag this—it was a distinction not so much in
Principle as in the Maui itjserandi: the. "m-
-ined to reveal In the Sect inane ce, re-enacting
a portion of the act in the next place, and proposing to re-
taliate on countries that did not grant reciprocity. He pro-
posed to retain the principle of the existing law, but to per-
mit her mejesty, on the principle of reciprocity, to enter into
an engsgemert with foreign powers to enable them to pos..
seethe advantages from which the operstion of the nionp-
den laws would otherwise exclude them. The existing navi-
gation laws drew a distinction between articles the
produce of Europe, and the produce of the three
other quarters of the globe. He proposed to
adhere, in his amendment, to that same mode of proceeding ;
but both as regarded articles the produce of Europe and
those which were the produce of Asia, Africa, and America,
he proposed to introduce such modifications of the existing
law as might be advantageous to our commerce. The reason
of the distinction was obvious. It had been the object of all
former legislatures to secure to this country, free from com-
petition, not only the communication between British ports
and British ports throughout the world, but also to obtain
for this country the groat advantage of bringing (rem distant
ports exclusively in British vessels, and vessels belonging to
the country, articles of bulk, &a. The law as affe-ting
Europe was less stringent than as to other countries
of the globe. With regard to European goods, no
goods the produce of Europe could be imported
into this country—he meant no goods which were enume-
rated and act-forth--could be imported into this country ex.
rcpt either in British ships or in ships of the country from
which they were direc ly imparted. That was to say,
although a Swedish vessel might import Russian goods into
this country from Sweden, she could not import from Roads
direct Russian goods in a Swedish yens& Russian goods
could only be imported in a British or Russian vessel. The
amendment be proposed to introduce with regard to goods
the produce of Europe, was one of considerable import-
ance inasmuch as it opened the indirect trade a ith
European countries. He did not propose to abrogate the
navigation laws, and take the invidious course afterwards of
retaliating by renewing a portion of them. He would take a
more straightforward course. It should be competent for
her Majesty to enter into reciprocal engagements with any
countries of Europe, provided sho obtained from those coun-
tries an actual equivalent for our British shipping; and
therefore the ameadmeut he proposed to introduce was not
to abrogate the existing prohibitions, but to enable her Ma-
jesty in council to grant to those countries, from time to
time, certain privileges as to the right of carrying an the
indirect trade of which they were at present deprived.
With reference to Asia, Africa, and America, what
to suggested was to apply the principle which
hitherto kid been applied to Europe with reference
to enumerated articles, making an enumeration of
those bulky and large articles upon which this re-
strictions 'Mould still be maintained, and upon which it was
important still to uphold our exclusive rights. But, as to
the other articles, making the same relaxation which now ex-
isted as to the European trade, allowing them to be im-
ported from Enema in British vessels, or vessels of the
country. in which they ere produced, and further enabling
her Majesty to allow their importation from other countries
in which they were found, upon the principle of reciprocity.
He wished to call the attention cf their lordships to a
paper which had ken laid on the table that
morning, being a list of vessels not coasters,
belonging to all nations trading inward and outward in 1848,
in the pit of Liverpool. Now, that exhibited. in the en
tries into the port of Liverpool in 1849, 1,320,000 tons of
shipping; and that was excluding steamers and vessels in
ballast-1,320,000 tons of shipping, with carom, entered the
nom of Liverpool in 1948. And what proportion did they
think was British shipping alone? Of that proportion,
nearly 5.00,000 tons were British shipping, the remaining
500,000 odd tons brine foreign shipping of all nations. But
of the British shipping, no lees than 373,000 tons were the
shipping engaged with our colonies—(hear, hear)—which
we were about to surrender entirely—(hear)—and a large
portion of the remainder was British shipping engaged
so trade with those countries which had no shipping of their
own; and, consequently, as cur navigation laws protected
us against the ships of any other country (and which prate c.
don we were now going to withdraw), we had as exclusive a
protection with reference to those ships as we had in entrains
colonies. (Hear, hear.) The return went on to show that
from Sweden and Norway there were 2,000 tons of British
shipping, but eat a single vessel of those countries; from
Denmark, 2,451 tons British, and 6,000 tons Danish; from
Prussia, 6,000 tors British, and 16,000 tons Prussian ; from
Holland, 1,300 tons British, and 7,600 tone Dutch; front '
Belgium, 2 300 tons British. 6,799 tons Belgian. These
were all the countries with which we had reciprocity treaties.
They were about to extend the principle to the whole world
which applied to the direct trade only. The importations
from tho United States were very considerable • they
amounted In past years to 209,000 tons; but as against that
209,000 tons, what was the American tonnage? It was
462,000 tons. The United States were our rivals, and we
must be prepared to see them obtain a large portion of the
trade of this kingdom. If they bad more than double the
amount of trade between Liverpool and the United States,
what security was there that in every quarter of the world,
and in every ata,America would not be able to obtain the same
preponderance. and would not be able to augment largely her
own navy ? To the powerful rival which had defeated our
trade we were about to throw open the trade with every
other country in the world; with the East Indies, Chins,
the Brazils, Cuba. the American colonies, and the Ent
Indian colonies. He had now stated to their lordships the
whole of the amendments which he intended to introduce ;
he proposed on the one hand to maintain the great prim
cities of the navieration laws, and those great principles he
took to be, in the first place, the maintenance of our trade
with the colonies and the mother country ; and in the next
Place to maintain, as far es we could, the advantages of the
long voyage and the communication with those countries
which, possessing no shipping of their own, were most avail-
able to British shipping. He proposed to maintain, as an
object of permanent importance, the British register of ships
British built, and that great interest the shipping interest of
this country, to sacrifice which would only inflict a deep and
irreparable injury on a most meritorious class of men ; and
in time of danger considerably weaken the maritime power
and naval defences of this country. He proposed,
la some cases absolutely, in others permissively, to give her
Magasig in Council power to permit relaxations to be made
is tow elf countries willing to enter upon terms of recipe>
oily with as for the mutual advantage of commerce. He
against the principle of retaliating on other wan-
in the first place, it was exceedingly difficult to
Wm/ the retaliation, and, in the next place, the bill did
net make it imperative on the government to retaliate. No
proeseding could be more offensive than granting a boon
g=ly at first, and then saying to a particular country,
you have not done so and so we will take hostile
nowares against your commerce, as a measure of retaliation.
The question which their lordships would have to decide
was, would they at once commence by repealing the navigation
laws, which had been so long the basis of our naval strength,
to the maintenance of which the people of this country were
firmly attached, or would they correct the practical inconve-
niences urged against their operation, by simply permitting
her Majesty to exercise her powers in savour of countries
which should be willing to confer similar advantages
ea nos ?
Earl GREY said that he was unable exactly to compre-
hend the nature of the amendment of the noble lord. Did
he mesa, in the event of his amendment being adopted, to
allow the fiat clause to continue in the bill, and the existing
acts to be repealed ? In page 2of the amendment proposed
by the noble lord there was a material blank. This clause
might be the came as the bill, or might be nothing at all,
peecrely according to the manner in which the blank was
sued up.
Lord STANLEY said that there was a separate notice of
amendment to meet the repealing clauses of the second see
don. He did not think that any article in the clause should
be laid on the table before they came to the question, would
they extend to Asia, Africa, and America the same principle
which they extended to Europe as to certain enumerated
articles?
Earl GREY—Are tea, coffee, sugar, tobacco, included in
those Srlici. I ?
Lord STANLEY—Every ens of them.
Barl GREY—The noble lord, on Friday evening, said that
he was going to propose alterations which went to the very
principle of the bill, but having had three days to consider,
the noble lord informed us it was not a question of principle,
but a question of degrees, that it was tee 'nodal operands
which they had to consider. It appeared to him that the
noble lord's first view of his own amendment was right, that
the question was a question of principle, and that at was •
question of principle which their lordships would be called
en to decide. The noble lord proposed to leave the existing
navigation law in tome, and then submitted certain com-
plicated amendment,. Did he only mean is leave the
mom in certain cases with thous regulations In favour
of certalo. net ons which acted on the same principle
with us ? lf they were to make the navigation laws