The British Press; or, Morning Literary Advertiser.
London, England, 1806-05-23 00:00:00

unequA. He hopi•lthe %gin llon.Baronet would
Inalte the duties on ,Ireland perpetual, inste.td of an-
nual and uncertain, as they now are. •
L'rd CAS rLF.ItI.IAGH spoke at some length
on the necessity df irnmedi itely remedying any
breach or urais.ion of the enactments of the MI of
Union. He thought the tax on iron would have
the eff' of destroying the produce of the duty 41-

toady imposed.
Mr. GRATTAN said, he was not a friead to
the duty upon icon, but he submitted to it, as the
beta in the choice of When Gmtleinen oh-
jeCted to a tax because it affecied the manufaCtures,
and condemned the tneasures by the Right,
Hon. Baronet was to raise a considerable revenue,
would they be so good as to point out what course
of taxation could possibly he adopted, by which
the manufaelures of the country would not be af-
fetied. lie would not accede to the diity on Iron,
if it violated a principle of Use Union ; hot it did
not appear to him to do so. Ti. duty on sugar,
as sufficient was provided without it, to cover the
loan, was imposed, because a duty was also im-
posed its England, and be considelesi atoll.: intended
as a security for the furtive interest of the Loan, in
addition to the faith of Parliament. He admitted
the Iron Duly was rather a strong measure, but
he did not know and that would be less severely

felt. •
Sir WILLIAM YOUNG, Mr. PARNELL,
and Mr. HUSKISSON, said a few words in op.

position to the taxes.
On account of a verbal omission which Mr.
Foster pointed nut, the committee did not proceed
in the bill, hut the Chairmari reported progress,
and obtained leave to sit again to-morrow,
wEsT INDIA AND AMERICA INTERCOURSE
RILL.
Lord TEMPLE moved the Order of the Day,
for the House to resolve itself into a Committee of
the whole House, to consider of a motion for leave
to bring in a Bill for reguarling tar intercourse be-
tween America and the West Indies.
Mr. ROSS said, the interests of a great body of
men would be very neeteriajiy 41ft-fled by this Bill,
which had cawed great alarm in the country. and
he thought the Bill should not be pushed forward
without great and serial's consideration, or without
the concerns those interested being submitted to
a Committee above !tams.
Mr. Secretary FOX said, that if ever there was
a Bill which ought not to give any alarm either toe
any particular ChM of TM n, or to the country at
huge, this must be that Bill ; it repealed RO law
it was no permanent matter ; it established no sys-
tem ; but left the question entirely open, and only
went to do that legally, which had formerly seen
done illegally. He could therefore stet no reason
why any hesitation should he made in bringing in
the Bill, nor on what possible ground of reason the
Bill could be objected to.
Sir W. CURTIS said. the Governors of the Wert
Inuits Islands had always aged on their own respon-
sibility, which made them extremely cautious how
they admitted any other than British ships to
carry the produce of the Coloniei, belt this Dill
w.,uld give a facility to foreign ships to—
, The SPEAKER said it was his don to enforce
stantieerg Order of the louse, "that in a ques-
tion of this nature, there can be no debate allowed
but in a Committee," and that his leaving the chair
would give an opportunity far the debate taro on.
"foe House then went into a Committee. (Mr.
Alexander in the Chair) „,.• in which,
Lord TEMPLE sail, he flattered himself be
should not have accasion to Lillie up much of the
time of the Committee, in order to thew the propriety
of bringing irethe present Bill, the gismo% of which
wa', to do that legally, which hitherto had been
done lea •gal means, and to take ti:f the rev:Dori-
! hiiity from the shoulders of the Governors of the
several Islands, for the purpose of placing it on
those of His Majesty's Council. He hoped the House
would never forget the Report of the Committee of
' the Howse of Representative, in the Island of Jamai-
ca, which stated, that during the American war,
I 15000 Negroes had died, in that 'shad. for want
of proper food, which they could not get from any
other quarter but America—that it was highly in-
cumbent on the Committee, and on Ole Government
else, to consider how very valuable the Ne;.;roes in
the West India Islands are to the planters, and to
this Country also, as the only mans by which the
Islands can be cultivated, and the produce contribute
to the revenue of the country—that besides the argua
tient on the score of humanity, there was also a very
strong one on the score of policy; and it was surely
ood policy at the preaent moment, to convince so
large and useful a body of men as the Negroes were,
that we were desirous to adopt every measure likely
to obtaio them proper food, and a sufficient quantity
of it. in order the more closely to attach them to the
government under which they live.—lt was not.
however, food alone, that was wanting to the West
India Islands: all the materials, or at least the
rreatest part used for making hogsheads, and other
irticks, for bringing home the West India produce,
which were all included under the general head of
lumber, were obtained from the American States.
It had long since been ascertained, from practice
and experience. that the principle laid down by the
navigation laws, that no communication should
be held with the British Coles:Res, but in British
%skips, was impossible to be adhered to in time of
war; and if the Committee took into consideration all
the risks the merchants ran, it was hardly to be ex-
Wed, that those rules which ware calculated for
times of peace, could be strictly aped upon in time
of war. By the last *deices from Jamaica, the
;Lieut. Governor had been opliged to follow the es-
,-ausple of his predeceaurs, who had uniformly, for
a series of years, taken on them to dispense with;
the Navigation Laws, and then cunse to Parliament
for an indemnity, which the House has not, in any
aloe instance, ever declined to give., The object of
'the Bill was, as be had before stated. to rem.me
that responsibility to other shoulders, and make
that legal, which was before the contrary. He
moved, therefore, tt that th Chairman be ilstrufted
for, leave to bring in • Bill, to audio! use the iin-
eortati m aad exportation of certain goods to and
from the West-India Islands to America, and to
end from America to the West-India Island., in
-ileumsl vessels. during t time to be limited."
On the question being read from the Chair,
Mr. RUS Objected to it, sod said the Right
Hon Secretary (Mr. Fox) Lad not considered this