The British Press; or, Morning Literary Advertiser.
London, England, 1820-05-19 00:00:00

whom we trade, Or iii other*ord■ In enable than lo become
•ur customers; that to that end we *Wald admit on how
deities the raw produce ofitilier counts ies, mil such articles
of commerce as wear. precluded front ..rustneing Icy climate
or oilier circamstsuces; that the prltlioaers consider that
the high duties on Baltic wood and iron, on wines, and more
particularly tits French wines, on raw silk, and on many
other articles of trade, the pr•duce of foreign consitrie%
bare directly and indirectly lessested the demands to Hums
countries fur the produchosis of this realm; for, lay cheek.
log Ihr industry of those foreign netiuus, we disable them
from being our eu%lottirro; aid we kohl oat an . simple
to iltair Gor.-ruments so lay on henry duliee too lite top-
tioriwelteres and other exports from 1100 conntry; that
it nOper.i• Iv the Pclit 1111 l erP, the 1105 system of re-
▪ ronimetce has been foilo••ed the peace, by
the g••rrrumrnl of almost every oat ion with which we trade,
in shies conformity with the orient adopted by Great
Britain ; that. whatever may be she perataveranee of anther
nations in Ibis ►yatrm, the L'tilt•h Ginterulsient *wall
began a more liberal and wise cumnoarcial policy, without
regard to reciprocity of tworfil belw,rn its anal oily par-
ticular nation, because by ceirousaging an increao .1 im-
port from one trilloo, we are crown of gaining an liserrosell
export directly to that nation, air intermediately to some
other nation; that it epprara to the petitioners that
ranch a liberal system of commercial policy, which is thus
humbly submitted to the coosiderattu•c of the House, would
produce a greater revenue from the increased quantity of
imports, although subject only 1• low rates of duties, and
at the same time would promote asthmal industry as a cos-
siquence of a proportional increase of exports. May it
therefore please the Blouse to permit this petition to be taken
into the eutiiinteration of a Committee of the House, and to
adopt such measures as its the wisdom of the House may be
deemed most prudent and efficacious.

PETITON OF MERCHANTS OF LEITH ♦GAINST
COMMERCIAL RESTRICTIONS.

A Petition of the there.roiiiersigned merchants and ship
owners of the town of Leith was presented, and read;
setting forth, that by the lairs of this constry a number
of restriceions and prohibition* seriously affecting our
foreign commerce are in force, which, although originat-
ing in IlalllUllC motives, have been proved by experience
to be very detrimental in their consequences; that
these restrictions, many of which are 'memory, and all of
them more or less hut tful, have been unwisely imitated by
furriers countries, who seem to have mistaken one of the
chief obstacles to our national prosperity fur once( the sources
of onr national power and wealth ; that it is to these
multiplied restrictions on trade, adopted by this and other
Governments, that the Petitiourrs ascribe in a great mea-
sure the decay or stagnation so apparent is many branches
both of oar manufactures and commerce, and to the selfish
principle of our own commercial code, that spirit of hosti-
lily evinced by foreign merchants towards us, in those enact-
ments so prejudicial to our commerce ; that a relaxation on
our parts might probably produce a corresponding libera-
lity on the part of other countries, and, should it even fail
of realising this beneficial result, would at any rate tend to
mitigate the existing commercial hostility, and by inducing
those nations to abstain from further prohibitions arid
restrictions, preserve nor commerce from further decay ; that
though foreign nations shook', in opposition to all sound
reasoning and experience, persevere in their restrictive Ilya-
terns, the Petitioners are confident that this country
would nevertheless reap the most essential advantages by the
freedom granted to her merchants to consult their own in-
terest in their own affairs, and by the liberty of purchasing
all commodities at the cheapest markets; that the Peti-
tioners are folly convinced thin the advantages of commerce
coerce must be mutual, acid that the policy which would as.
sawirie, or the reasoning which would defend, the principle
that the gains of one commercial rialto,' are a loss to its neigh-
boors, is equally false and illiberal; that many of the re-
strictions of which the Petitioners complatn srose from views
of policy now nearly forgot ten, or were enacted when less en-
lightened ideas of political science were entertained; and
while all of them are adverse to the agricultural, msaufac-
turing, sir commercial prosperity of the country, they are
attended with the further disadvantage of raising separate
and hostile rutertsts for the State, by the appearance of par-
tiality towards some daises of the inhabitants, and cease-
greenfly of injustice towards others; that the Petitioners are
fully alive to all the caution and delicacy required in over-
throwing or materially altering a lung-eatabliabed mores, bet
they are still more alive to the necessity of the interference
of the House to check, if possible, the further progress of
that ruin to their commerce, of the approach of which the
port of the Petitioners, in common with massy other. is the
kingdom, already offers a striking picture. The Petitioners
therefore humbly pray, that the House will he pleased to
take those measure* which in their wisdom shall arena best,
for revising the commercial sydem of the empire, and fire
giving greater freedom to commerce, thereby increasing the
wealth, prosperity, sod resources of the country.