The National Register.
London, England, 1812-03-08 00:00:00

THE EARL OF WELLINGTON.

Lord WaLstriculist brought up the Report of the Committee upon
the Bill for granting to Lord Wellington an annuity of 20001. during his
lite, and he life of his successor, which Report was agreed to, and the
Bill, is engrossed, ordered for a third reading on Monday next.
Several Bills were brought up from the Commons, which was read a
first time.—Adjourned to Monday.

HOUSE OF COMMONS.

MONDAY, MARCH 2.
General MATHEW presented a Petition from the inhabitants, both
Catholic and Protestant, of the County of Tipperary, praying the abo-
lition of the Restrictions on the Catholics.—Ordered to lie on the
Table.
The House resolved itself into a Committee to consider the Clauses
of the Local Militia Bill. Several were read and agreed to, when, on
the reading of the Clause which authorises those who have served their
period of four years to re-enter for another term.
Mr.BANEILS and ME. WHITBREAD objected to It, on the ground
that such provision tended directly to subvert the great principle of the
Bill, which was, by successive divisions, to have the whole youthful
population of the country trained to the use of arms.
Mr, RYDER observed, that the former Bill of his Noble Friend (Lord
Castlereagh) had contained a Clause of a precisely similar description.
After a long conversation the report was brought up, and the Bill or-
dered to be considered again on Thursday next.
The House being in a Committee of Supply, Mr. BANKER com-
plained of the immense sums voted to the Military College at Sand-
hurst. No less than 177,0001. had been already appropriated to that
Establishment; he doubted whether in times like the present, so large a
sum should be expended.
Mr. S. Lertvire spoke to the same effect.
The CHANCELLOR of the Excii egur a urged the Necessity of the
undertaking, after which 125,0(.01. more was voted towards completing
h.—Adjourned.

TUESDAY, MAtCH 3.
MR. WAI.SH.

The SPZAKZI informed the House, that he had received a letter
from Mr. Wahh, stating, that he was, able to attend the House, and
that he wished for an immediate decision in his case. It further stated,
that if the decision was delayed for a fortnight, he apprehended that he
should not be so well able to attend.
Mr. BANKES then moved, that the order for the attendance of Mr;
Walsh in his place on this day fornight, should be rescinded, and tha,
a fresh order should be issued, requiring his attendance on Thursday
next.

The order was agreed to, and the order issued accordingly.

ORDERS IN COUNCIL.
Mr. BROUGUAM stated, that he felt considerable embarrassment in
bringing forward a subject of such importance; but felt, that as it was
cne from which numerous difficulties and distresses had arisen, he would
kfully justified, unequal as his abilities might be to the undertaking.
Was well known, that the Orders in Council, and Trade Licenses
were for a long period complained of as injurious to the commercial
interests of the country. Some censured the principle upon which
the Orders in Council had been instituted; others were of opinion, that
the causes of the great commercial distress resulted from the relaxed
operation of those Orders; and others attributed them to an improper
aaiPtLlic ation of them. He was one of those who deprecated the system_
4..nieutee, as one which militated with the greatest energy against the
a"v`rintkof the country. Ihe principle upon which the Orders in

147

Council were founded was that of retaliation upon the enemy, • lihey-
were intended to cripple the French commerce, that by such means
Buonaparte might be compelled to change his system. But how inef-
fectual such a retaliation would be. It was the interest of the French
Ruler to throw every obstruction in the way of commerce, in order to
make more effectual the principles, from the adherence to which .
France was to derive the most material advantages—the principles of
war. He made strong allusions to our situation with regard tnAme-
iica, and deprecated the unconciliating spirit which had been mani-
fested by this country towards one that had always proved her love for
Great Britain. Hostility with that country was the last thing that
should in any case suggest itself to England. On the contrary, we
should endeavour to form, in conjunction with America, a detente
against the daring and ingenious machinations of the enemy. He
pressed the necessity of enquiring into the causes of the commercial
distresses which at present existed to suck an unprecedented and
boundless extent ; and concluded by moving for the appointment of a
Committee, to examine into the State of the Manufactures and Com-
merce of the Country, especially with reference to the Orders in Coun-
cil and Trade Licences.

Mr. Ross replied generally to the arguments of the Hon. MOver,
and objected to the motion. He observed, that the fact of the Licenses
and Orders in Council, so far from tending to the injury of commerce,
promoted its object; and that our trade was in more flourishing state
than ever. He admitted the distresses of the conntry, particularly of
Birmingham, a town more immediately affected by the Orders in
Council; but he could not understand where the Hon. Member pro-
cured his facts, when he stated, that the:miseries which happened, and
svheraver they had happened, arose entirely from those Orders in Coun-
cil. He must beg also to correct a mis-statement of that Hon. Gentle-
man, who had declared, that in 1808 the amount of the exports was
less by ten millions than in the year 1807. That the shipping interest
had not been injured, but had increased, he would prove by the usual
and regular accounts; from which it appeared, that from 1806 to 1810
inclusive, the shipping had increased by 200/;00 tons, and there had
been an increase of 14,000 British seamen. He reeretted the distresses
of shfirowners, a set of men with whose habits and interest he was
well acquainted ; hut he did not conceive this distress could be so great
as represented, when it was considered that the freight of transports,
which before the existence of the Orders amounted to 19s. per ton,
was now increased to 245. He was ready to admit that Hull was more
likely to suffer than any other place; but he (Nlr. Ro•e) had applied tor
information, and had received a letter from Hull, which stated that
there was not a single vessel in the harbour which was not either em-
ployed or about to be employed. America herself had always said that
she did not expressly quarrel with the:Orders in Council, but desired
more particularly that so much of our prior enactments should be
rescinded as would give greater latitude to her traffic. But did the
British Parliament comply with the desire expressed by the Hon. Gen •
tleman, then America, loosened from her present restrictions, wot.ld
sweep away from oar hands the whole Brazilian commerce, along
with all that which belonged to the Northern parts of Europe. It iocd
appeared, both from the conduct of our fiercest enemies, and from
the behaviour of our friends, how the system so much reprobated by
the Hon. Gentleman was ne of the greatest securities which the na-
tion had for her commerce, as the neutral trade carried on before
had been a complete corrective of fraud and perjury. It was some-
thing gratifying to the public mind to know that France, after having
compelled them into an adoption of those Orders by her tyrannical
acts, had at last found them falling heavy upon her own head to a very
considerable extent. it appeared by the returns of the French finance
for 1806 that 2,400,0001. per
,annum accrued from the customs ; but
from the commencement of the Orders in Council that branch of
the revenue died suddenly away, dwindling down
.to 460,0001. in
the year 1809. From that period, too, the revenue arising from their
traffic had sensibly decreased, iuid though it had in 1810, arisen to
upwards of 2,000,0001. yet that :Would be considered as an unnatural in-
ccease, because it was swollen by the immense robberies which the
enemy committed in the Baltic. In the French yank Returns of 1807,
n0,000,0(3)1. was the amount of discount, and it fell fast away until
1810, when there appeared an annual return of only 16,000,0001. i er
total amount of revenue arising from her commerce and manufactures,
according to her most prosperous eeturns, was 54,000.0001, while the
return of Britain in exports alone was 66,000,0001. On the whole,
therefore, it appeared, that the Orders in Council had occasioned a
.considerable decrease of the Yrench revenue, and had we not Lai:pay
produced such a measure, the enemy might have become vei y dangerous
rivals to the English commerce. Under all the disadvantages of being
obliged to have recourse to foreign ships for the carrying on of the traffic:,
Britain had increased in strength and in riches, while her enemy had
become much more impoverished than at any other period. Therefore,
under such a view of the subject, he would give his voice against the
present motion, as one wholly dangerous to the prosperity of the Br!•
tish commerce.

Mr. BARING said, there must be something essentially wrong in
our present commercial system, when such distress was felt in so many
places, and in so many branches of trade and manufactures, if credit
was due to the representations made of their flourishing condition. Ile
considered it almost impossible to select any number of competen:
persons out of the House who would not be of opinion) that the syiteai

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Imo.


MARCir 8.

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