The Sun.
London, England, 1852-03-25 00:00:00

MARCH 25, 1852.
D AY
N'.18,567.] LONON, THURSD
E ,
, Iff-
,
N S N 7

SCOTTISH WIDOWS' FUND
AND LIFE ASSURANCE SOCIETY.
HEAD OFFICE.—EDINBURGII, 5, ST. ANDREW SQUARE.
The TEIIRTY-EIGIITII ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING of the
MEMBERS of this SOCIETY was held on the 2.1 current,
The Re,. Dr. GRANT, one of the Vice-Presidents, in the Chair.
The Report by the Directors, which was rea to the M eeting, and
unanimously approved of, showed, inter airs, the following n:sults,
in regard to the Society's operations, during the year 1851 :
That the Number of Policies passed was 643, covering AM-
rAnces to the ex ent of 412,5651. Lk. 6d.;
That the Capital of the society amounted, at 31st December
last, to 2,450,7921. 2c. 2d ;
That the Annual Revenue, as at the same date, was 318,6611.
16s. 6d. ; and
That 97 Members had died during the year, the Sums Assured
on their Lives amounting to 105,9781. 14s. 93., and this
mortality being in the ratio of 53 pee cent. o: what was to
be expected, according to calculation.
The Meeting had also under consideration three several Resolu-
tions, of which special notice had been previously given, in terms of
the Society's Constitution. Thess Resolutions were approved of,
aad ordered to he snbmitted to a Special General Court, on an
early day in September next, for final disposal. The objects con-
templated by them, are-
1. To alter the day on which the Annual General Court shall in
future be held.
2. To extend the power presently possessed by the Ordinary
Court of Directors, of allowing a Conversion of the Bonus
Additions attaching to Policies, into au Equivalent Deduc-
tion from future Premiums.
3. To enable 'the Ordinary Court of Directors (under certain
conditions and restrictions) to declare Policies to be free
from challenge upon any ground except that of non-pay-
ment of the Ordinary Annual or Extra Premiums, if such
be exigible,
A vote of thanks to the Directors and Office Bearers having been
proposed and seconded, and the vacancies occurring in the Direction
having been filled up, the thanks of the Meeting were unanimously
voted to the Chairman for his conduct in the Chair, and the meeting
adjourned.

JOHN MACKENZIE, Manager.
WM. LINDESAY, Secretary.

Edinburgh, March, 1852.
N. 11.— A full Report of the Procedure at the asove Meeting is in
courso of being printed, and will shortly be ready for circulation.
LONDON OFFICE, 4, ROYAL EXCHAgGE-BUILDINGS,
HUGH M'KEAN, Agent.

•
BRITANNIA LIFE ASSURANCE
COMPANY.
1, Princes-street, Bank, London.
Established 1837.
Empowered by Special Act of Parliament.
ORPHANS' AND CHILDREN'S ENDOWMENT BRSN'CII.
This Branch has been established for means of noso of afflinlinv_ta
iiettus me means ot providing, in an easy
inexpensive manner, a fund for the maintenance and education
of their children, so as to guard against the difficulties and destitu-
tion in which infants are frequently left by the premature deaths of
those on whom they are dependent.
For this purpose all extensive set of Table= has b2en prepared,
showing the Qdarterly Rates of Premium required, at at all ages, for
Annuities 'o commence at the death of a Parent or Friend, and to
be eontinued until a child shall have completed (if a boy) his twenty-
first, or (if a girl) her twenty-fifth year of age.
Tables have alao been prepared, showing the sums for which such
Annuities may be Commuted, when required to assist the child's
outset in life.

THE SHIPPING INTEREST.

ADDRESS. DELIVERED BY WILLIAM DIGBY SEY-
BIOCR, ESQ , BEFORE THE ELECTORS OF SUN-
DERLAND. IN THE NEW ASSEMBLY HALL,
SANS-STREET, ON MONDAY LAST.
Mr. Seymour tne. a numerous and influential body of
the electors at the Assembly Hall, on Monday evening.
The hall was crowded by at least 2,000 individuals.
On the motiop of J. B. MUSCItA3iP, Esq., seconded
by W. BURN, Esq, Joshua Wilson, Esq., was called to
the chair.
Mr. SEYMOUR, who, was received with enthusiastic
plaudits: having been called upon by the Cheirmen, ad-
dressed the meeting, amidst hearty and oft-repeated
acclamations, as follows:
Mr. Chairman and Electors of Sunderland,—l
am
anxious that you should understand my views upon the
great—the vital question of the shipping interest, that
before you determiue whether I am to represent you it)
Parliament you may have a clear and adequate outline
of my sentiments.—(Hear, hear.) My esteemed and
excellent friend Mr. Joshua Wilson, whose laborious and
fed fatigable exertions, added to the patriotic z with
which he has devoted his .talents and his time to the
interests of this port have already insured him your
r werm st gratitude—(Cheers)—and which will make his
name long remembered in this town—(Cheer3)—has en-
tered practically into the details of the sunj ect, and has laid
before you facts and figures rslative to the shipping of
the country generally and of this port in particular;
and, with these facts fresh in your recollection, I
trust before I sit down to lead you to the impression
that, whatever or whoever be to blame, whatever be
the cause which opera.e3 to depress the shipping
interest, that cause is but temporary—(Hear, hear)
—that, however dark the clouds which hang
over the horiz ni at the present moment, there
is a cheering break of blue which promises the
return of mere prosperous days to the desponding ship-
owners of England.—(Protracted cheers.) I doubt not
you are sufficiently aware of the facts of our national
history, and the political circumstances under which the
famous Abe of Navigation was passed. Introduced by
-stm--r.vm-ctur, A.D. 1651, as a check upon the maritime
ambition of the. Dutch, then. the great ocean-carriers ire
the world, it was thereby enacted that no merchandise
of Asia, Africa, and America should be imporLed fete
Great Britain in any but-English built ships, navigated
by an English commander, with three-fourths of their
crew at least Eugli.h. In addition to this exclusive
right ef British shipping, it imposed discriminating
duties, so that gods which might still come in foreign
hips from Europe were- taxed higher than if they were
imported under the British fl • This system of navi-
gation was perfected by 12th Charles If.,ch. 18, and con-
ticued during more than 160 years to be the great mari-
time charter of this country. Prebably in that infant
state of our marine the effect of this system was favour-
able to its growth and expansion, just as you may have
seen young erces surrounded with protecting pallieudes,
which become a deformity and au encumbrance in their
maturer growth, and se it proved in the case of these
restrictive enactments. Declared the law, when the com-
merce of England was yet in embryo—as soon as disco-
very had given us a New World, science new arts, in-
dustry new manufactures—when millions of customers
were found for our productions, and boundless wealth
rewarded our labours, the principle of the naviga-
tion law that sought to shelter the little navy of a
little trade was no longer wise or justifiable.—(Crieers.)
It was not, however, reason or foresight, but the force
of a stern necessity that compelled this country into
the adoption of a less restrictive system.—(Hear, hear.)
True, Gretius had written his " Mare Liberum,"
and Seddon his " Mare Clausum."—the " Open Sea"
eel the " Shut Sea," and Sir M D •cker, Sir J Child,
and others, hid investigated the subject, and either dia.
puted or supported the policy of these acts; but truth
was not elicited from these controversies. We persisted
in a rigid protection,—we refused to let foreign ships
share our carrying trade,—and it still coninued to be
our policy to drive into the ships of England the car-
ryieg trade of the whole world.—(Hear, hear.) Mean-
while, however; on the other side of the Atlantic, a new
empire was rapidly maturing,—a young and vigorous
scion from the loins of our forelathers,—a country
which, when it was weak and dependent, was compelled
to submit to our protective system; but which was, even
then, speeding forward to the high destiny which awaited
it.—(Cheers.) The independence of the tinned States
was the inevitable result of our Navigation Laws.—
(Hear, hear.) Wita that independence came a re-
newed energy and spirit of self-reliance. Gradually the
commercial ardour of the United States rose superior
to the influences which had depressed it, and at length
an American Navigation Act taught England to know
that if she injured she would be punished—that retalia-
tion was the recoil of restriction.—(Cheers.) S. e what
followed —nmerican ships
.seiled to Liverpool in ballast,
haying British ships in their wake laden wi h tobacco,
rice, or cotton; while British ships traversed the At-
lantic to New York in ballast, with American ships
hard in their wake laden with calicoen cutlery, hard-
e.are, and iron.--(Hear, hear.) A pretty game for two
ertat nations, to play fur the space of 28 ysars—
(Laughter.) In 1815, this state of things was put an
end to by mutual consent A treaty of reciprocity was
signed between England and America,—(llear, hear.)
A similar traty was next made with Portugal.—(Bear.
hear.) In 1823, these treaties produced their natural
result—es melte:co of retaliation on the past of Prussia.—
(Hear, hear.) The Prussian Minister of the day called
on Mr. Huskisson, and quietly intimated the intentions
of his Government. Oar shipowners, too, looking for-
ward with anxious eye to our Prussian trade, and fear-
ful of retaliation, exerted themselves iu favour of a
treaty. Meanwhile Denmark and Sweden demanded
a similar concession, till at length Mr. Huskisson,
yielding to a necessity he could no longer oppose, intro-
duced the Reciprocity Acts, by which it was provided
that his then Majesty, Bing George the Fourth, might by
order in council, admit ships of foreign states into our
ports, on payment of such duties as were charged on
British vessels, provided- that British ships were admitted
into the ports of such foreign states on payment of the
same duties as were charged on their own vessels.
Under the authority of these Acts of Parliament, reci-
procity treaties have been concluded with the Govern-
ments of thirty different states.—(Hear, hear.) Thus,
then, Sir, was alEsop's fable realized, when we, like the
north-west wind, blew from a restrictive quarter, other:-
nations retaliated, by drawing the cloak of protection
more tightly around them ; but when the sun of free
trade broke out, in warmth and brightness, the pro-
tective cloak fell from their shouldere.—(Cheers.) Now
what was the effect of this change in our commercial
system? In the five years preceding 1825, when the re-
procity measures of Mr. Huskisson were passed, the
British shipping entered inwards increased 6 per cent.,
while the foreign during the same period increased 22
per cent. Remember that thiseproportion took place
while our legislative enactments were closely protective.
The ports were then opened tes those who would deal
with us on equitable terms. Calamity and ruin were
prophesied to our shipping interests. But what was the
result? In the five years between 1825 and 1830, the
entries inwards- of British shipping increased 17 per
cent., while foreign only increased 12 per cent.—(Cheers.)
From that period till 1840, our shipping rapidly pro-
gressed, and the steadily increasing and advancing tide
of prosperity showed the soundness of the principle
upon which the new policy was based. Then another era
dawned, and the name of another great stateman became
associated with the shipping interest of the country. In
1841, Sir Robert Peel received the reins of power and
immediately set about a thorough revision of our customs
tariff. The result to the shipping interests was that from
1841 to 1845 inclusive, there was an increase of 37 per
cent. entries inwards of British tonnage, while the in-
crease in foreign was only 15 per cent.-e(Cheers) The
famine'of 1847 caused a suspension of our laws of navi-
gation, and the vessels of .211- nations were allowed to
enter our ports free with cargoes of grain or flour. To
this we must refer the fact that in 1847 the entries in-
wards of foreign tonnage were higher, by 447,657 tons,
than they were in 1846. At the close of 1849, the re-
peal of our navigation-laws took place; and in 1850 the
entries inwards of foreign tonnage exceeded, by 364,587
tons, what they were in 1849. The comparative rate of
increase during the five .years ending 1850, of 28 per
cent. British and 50 per cent. foreign, must be ascribed
to the two ceuses I have mentioned.—(Hear, hear.) I
on the whole, the Reciprocity Act was a step in the right
gentlemen, that I have proved that, taken
1834 and 1835 there was
occasionally a depression in different departments of
think,
direction.t e n
d a shock, and a general panic
commerce—credit received True, in the years
These were attribu-
overspread the mar et.
to inquire. You must not,
need not now s p
isolated years by themselves,
therefore, take these
exceptional causes, into which we
broadly; ou must not look at
you must must group years together,
year or another, but you
one k I de our
If you 100 a ongst y
ao as to form an estimate. _
-ou look out towards
table
docks, if standing on the shore
a vessel in the offing,
the sea, you may see the masts of At
deal with facts y
thus a man who
may see the hull as well as the masts;
tics sill not
takes a narrow view of commercial states
ascends
but if you ascend the cliffs Roker or Hendon, you
see the truth so clearly, and it is only when ho
to the elevation of principle that he can take a
il.
com-
manding survey.—(Cheers.) But do you owe not tug
more to free trade than the mere relaxation of your
navigation system? Has not the repeal of the
corn-laws given a great stimulus to the ocean-car-
rying trade of the country ? Did not the value of
England's exports rise from forty-seven millions in
1842, to seventy -one millions in 1850? Was rot the
value of her imports swollen froth sixty-five millions,
in 1842, to one hundred millions in 1850? Did not the
aggregate amount of tonnage entered inwards
and outwards, in the United Kingdom, increase from
7,046,000 tons in 1842, to 12,019 000 tons in 1850? And
if our exports and imports have been so augmented, can
it be denied that au immense advantage has been derived
by the shipping of the country ?- Ido not mean by the
cheapening of . provisions, by which to victual vessels,
but by the increased employment arising from the im-
petus given to our carrying trade. Take sugar, for in-
stance. Were there not in 1850, 120,000 tons more of
sugar brought into this country than in 1842? Again,
with regard to corn. Were not eight million quarters
more grain imported into Great Britain in 1850 than in
1842? What thenl you who sigh after protection—you
who declaim upon the wisdom and policy of the past—,
would you re-Idipose the "cora "Uud navigation-laws?

Would you reverse the freedom of 1842, and return
to your condition before 1825?—(11ear and cheers.)
Sir, I have purposely confined my observations
upon the state of our trade up to the year 1850, and I
contend, that looking to the then condition of the cem-
userce of this country, experience has amply vindicated
the wisdom of Mr. fluskisson's policy. But in that
year a third end last great epoch ctimmenced in the his-
tory of Begland's mercantile marine; for in that year
the Act of 12th and 13th Victoria, commonly called an
Act for the Repeal of the Navigation Laws, was intro-
duced by Mr. Lehouchete, and passed into law. The
immediate cause of the repeal of Mr. Huskisson's Acts
was owing to his not having inserted a clause- in the
laws of which he was the author allowing British ships
to import all non-prohibited erticles from wherever they
might be found; the consecrience of which would have
been that the cotton of America, the sneer of Cuba. or
the coffee of Java might have been glutting the ports
along the E iglish Channel. They could not be im-
ported in a foreign ship unless the goods were carried
hack to the country whence they had been original!)
snipped, unless they werefirstcerried to Europe from some
ether continent. Now, why was not this chase emended.
of pr+ cipitatiog a tote! repeal. ant why coul
eot goeds be declare I nationalized wherever they were
found? Is it to be said that the question was made one
t party? Is the h :ate which csaracterised. this mo-
mentous change to be (xetesed on • the ground that it
was made a Cabinet measure? Is it to be said that the
existence of a Ministry was the main cause for the hasty
alteration of a system, a false step in effecting which
might prove fatal to the best interests of the empire.—
(Loud cheers.) Whatever was the motive, the repeal of
the navigation lass was carried, and carried with cir-
cumstances of inexcusable precipitancy.— (Renewed
cheers.) How happens it that, during the period which
has elapsed since this repeal, with exports and imports
enormously increasing, with trade unusually buoyant,
with money abundant and credit easy, thateeur shipping,
instead of rising, as it has risen before, from the depres.
sions which have visited it, is so tardy in its recovery ?
Because it has received a shock which might have proved,
fatal; because to save a Whirellinistry a great interest
was jeopardized; bc.csause_ Mr. Labouchere plunged
us into free trade without stipulating for reciprocity, so
that before we could make ourselves ready for the
rroo
an which we wire exposed; foreign shipping overstock?
our porta, and freights are rsidues(' so ruinou,ly low, that
20s. per ton was the last return from Calcutta.—(Loud
cheering) Whet have we gained from America for
conceding to her the trade of our colenies.? Nothing.
What have we gained from Spain? Nothing. France
has not met us—(Hear, hear)—Holland has not met
us—(llear, hear)—Russis, Germany, Sweden, and other
states have 'nothing to meet us with.—(Loud cheers.)
Was it then right for a British Minister, I repeat, to
take a step so momentous with plans so ill-considered?
—(Loud shouts of "No.") Had he gene to America
and said,—" We are a Free-trade country—we have
adopted through all our interests the principles of com-
mercial freedom; it is your highest interest to follow
our example.—(Hear, hear.) By so doing we shall
he mutually benefited; we have opened to you our
colonies; we offer you now our coasting trade; we ask
you in return to allow us to navigate our ships in
the carrying trade to California."—(Cheers.) Had he
then gone to Spain, and said, " You, Spaniards, now
trade in yeur vessels between England and our colonies
entirely unfettered, and yet you will not permit a Bri-
tish vessel, heeding British manufactures, to trade to
Maeille, Hevaneah, or any of your settlements.—
(Hi ar.) Yeu charge a Briiish vessel in the port of Ha
rannsh double what you charge a vessel of Spain; you
make Spanish goods arriving from Spain, under your
national flag, liable only to an ad valorem duty of 69 per
ceut.; while. if Spanish goods are cit ried from Spain it:
13ritish vefsels, the duty rises from 149 to 18i per cent.
This is not fair to us—this ~is not politic in you.
Remember your past glories. Recollect you once
had a marine. Forget not the times of mari-
time chivalry, when a Columbus maimed his vessel,
to go forth in search of a new world. You have been
torn since by reveluti ns within; you have suffered
from want of credit, awl distrust • abroad. Awake to
your true interests. Take advantage of your great na-
tional resources. Cultivate the principles of commer-
cial freedom. Follow the example we have set you in
the Free-trade brotherhood of nations." -(Tremendous,
cheering.) Had he gone to Belgium and said, "We
grant to your ships the same privileges as our own;
we admit your produce en the terms of the most favouree
nations. Why, then, is white salt from England pre.
hibited by your tariff, and rot-k saleti unless imported
under your flay, and why is a duty per tinuend
British ships sell retairieii?" of
Had he gone to France,
end said to the French GOvernmeet, " Contrast your

tariff with ours, and say which of us has shown mob
solicitude for the commercial intercourse of our respec
tiro countries? Have we not opened up a yew retake
tor your flour, your brandies, your silks, your hats, your
shawls, your gloves, your teethe' ? Ai.d what have
you done in return? You have not taken off your
duties on coal, or iron bats, or chain., or anchers,
or pig iron, or linen threads, or needles, or pottery
ware. If you will not deal liberally with us as we have
dealt with you, look to your own intetests. Yuu are
ambitious to establish reentoaetur, 4, then reduce th., duty
of 4s. 9 per ton you exact on English coals, and in-
stead of the 600.000 tons we now exiwrte two million
tons of coals will fii,cl their way into your country.
(Protracted cheering.) Sir, had Mr. Labouchere thus
acted—hod ,he calmly and dii-passionately, mindful of
the great iuterratie at stake, properly imbued with a
sense of tho danger arising from a forced or ill-con-
sidered legislation, entered into negeciation with foreign
powers, nod, by argument, by entreaty, or, if neces
nary, by inspiring them with a wholesome tear of pos-
sible and ulterior consequences,
led.them to ilia adoption
of the grand principles of cornmerciell freedoms then
would his conduct have been more worthy of a British
statesman—then would we not have been hurried, as it
were, in a moment, from a system of limited free trade,
with co-extensive reciprocity, into a condition of sibs°
lute free-trade, with limited reprocity.—(Prolonged
cheers, mingled with cries of " Bravo.") Sir, the deed
is done ; the die is cast—the British
shipowner is
launched into competition with the whole world.
(Hear, hear.) There is a danger in
going back to a
course which has been once abandoned.—(Hear, hear.)
Li the interval, which has elepsed, new relations of
commercial property and enterprise take place, and, like
a relapse in the natural body, the shock of a reaction
may be attended with the most perilous consequences to
the body politic —(Cheers.) Arid yet I must act be
misunderstood. I do not mean to deny that in principle
Mr. Labouchere was right. I censure him, not for the
end at which he aimed, but for the speed with which
he approached it—(Hear, hear.) What, then, is to be
done? Go back? No; it is too late! Go forward?
Yes! But methinks I hear some of you say, How
can we go forward? We are placed at our starting post
in this ocean race, burdened and over-weighted. You
must, at least, relieve us of every impost that presses too
heavily upon us." Sir, I feel the strength of that argu-
ment. The shipping interest of this country has deep
and many causes of complaint—(Hear)—and I know
cot wbetber more emphatically to condemn the haste
which marked the repeal, or the injustice which stopped
short of the removal of these burdens.—(Cheers.) The
first burden which must be removed are the duties
upon timber. I think no tax whatever ought to be im-
posed upon the raw material of ger shipping. When
Mr. Huskisson proposed to grant to the builder of ships
in this country a drawback equal to the lull amount of
any duty that had been paid upon the materials used in
their construction and equipment, he proposed a wise and
solid measure—(Hear, hear)—and I must say it was
little to the credit of the shipowners who formed the de-
putation to Mr. fluskisson of that day, that they re-
fused his offer, dreading lest the Government, by adopt-
ing Mr. Huskisson's suggestion, should give a fresh
stimulus to shipbuilding at home, and raise up new com-
petitors, who would be able to rival them in every
branch of commerce.—(Hear, hear.) The maintenance
of a timber duty on the part of Her Majority's late
Government was a perfect absurdity--(Lund cheers.)
Their processed aim was to admit the raw
material duty free, especially that which creates labour
in its manufactured state, and to tax articles of manufac-
ture imported from other countries, but here they taxed
the foreign raw material, while they admitted the seine
material, when manufactured into a ship, duty free•—
(Hear, hear.) Another.burden, on shipping is the light
dues. Foremost among these are the light dues, im-
posed by the Trinity House at Deptford Stroud, amount-,
ing now to about 400,0001. a yeare—(Hear, hear.) That
is a large sum, and is felt as a sore grievance by the
shipping interest of this country.—(Hear.) Indeed, the
Trinity House system, in all its details, is an enormous
anomaly—(Hear, hear)—and ill-suited to the temper
and advancing spirit of these times.—(Cheers.) Bodies
like these Trinity. House Corporations, really sew_
elected, practically irresponsible, with all their cumbrous
appendages, and their multitudinous parasites, are un-
suited to an industrious and economical age, and only
form relics of the legislation of an unenlightened anti-
quity.—(Renewed cheering.) To give one small instance,
out of a multitude, of the enormous injustice of this
system—The Heligoland Light cost the Government
2501. a year for maintaining it, and the Commer-
cial marine 580/. a year—(Hear, hear)—previously to
1846, when it was taken by the Trinity House, and the
nation relieved from further payment of it; but in 1845
the Commercial marine was made to pay 1,8901. for its
maintenance, while its actual coat was duly 5291.
(Cheers, and cries of " Shame.") Now, why should the
shipowners of this country be exclusively taxed for the
these lights.—(Hear.) Especially, Ee specially, why are
support of
they so taxed, since the repeal,soots.b.
lights to
laws has
oerrest of the
thrown open the benefit of thun..te4ll
United Stalest
world.—(
re.)
)is light-house establishment is America,
the the expense of
Congress; in Holland athe
provided. for by a vote of
lighting is confided to the Government; in Russia the
Grovernmr nt support the lighthouses, and no charge is
made on that account, on
either Russian or foreign ships
Why should not
tune the lighting of our coast be a charge
upon the consolidated of the country ?—(Hear and
connected with this subject is the toll
cheers.) Closely
) which is collected in Sunder-
called primage— ports, for the bens-
land and sours Newcastle. The right of
s other(aOrf the northern
fit of the Trinity House in
of which they make ke no
that house to collect a revenuei
properly made
. the subjectme of a
return, has been very
trial at law, and it was my lot, to be called upon the
other dayrth the Court of o,,usan Bench, to take a pro-

minent part in exposing the usurpation and illegality of
this impost.—(Loud cne-ers.) I remember a smile pass-
ing over the features of the venerable judge, who has
lately retired from that bench, when I read, from the
governing charter of James 11, the recital of the
grounds upon which that Monarch bestowed he grant—
" Whereas, there have been divers and many incursions
of the river Tyne upon the banks of the same, and that
in addition repairs are required for the Trinity ftree,e.
at Newcastle, therefore, out of our mere motion," &c.,
&c. And so Suaderlani, without getting a single
benefit in return, has been called upon to pay, from
year to year, a sum amounting-to some 1,200/. or 1,500/.
and this to enable certain gentlemen of Newcastle to
pamper their appetites and toast away the money you
have paid to the health of the Elder Brethren, and
the good old times of charter and monopoly.—(Leughter
and loud cheers.) Then there are the Dover and
Rimegare passing tolls.—(Cries of" Hear, hear.") Why
;he amount levied upon the shipping and commerce ot
the country, in support e.f these harbours in the year
1849, amounted to 43 2971. 9s. 3id,, for which the ship-
ping and trade of the country received no equivalent
whatever.—(Cries of " Shame.") Sunderland peys of
this 1,5791 84. 21—(Hear) A still more flagrant act
f injustice is to be tound in the exactions of the Rmia
Company. who have power. under letters patent of Wil-
liam and Mary, to tax Russian produce ieported into
his country; this they do to the extent of more than
3 000/., exclusive Of sums levied on the British shipping
at Russian ports. Now, what equivalent du the parties
taxed get for this impost? On glancing over an account
of their expenditure, I find the following items:—Pre-
sent of plate to tt.e governor, worth 421 103.—(Leugh-
tee)—Again, grant for expenses of organ, psalm-b toks,
&c., for the church at Crunstadt, 2051. 4s. 33.—(Hear,
near.) Surely this is a burthen which ought to be in-
vestigated, taken off, and removed. There is another
e%il of great m. gnitude, which consists in the tax o,e
lected by the Corporation of London, called City-dues;
these amounted last year to 192,4701. 125., and ot
this large sum 184,4601 13s. was levied on coals from
'he counties of Durham and Northumberland ulonq„,=•-••
(limy, hear.) Then there are the' anode 'Ports and'
(heir dependencies, with his 'Grace the Lord Warden's
little sinecure of 3,0001._ per. annum—(Laughter)—and
.sat-sia."-atiarpcure ceptigns at Deal, Weimer, and else where.
then there are the evils attendant upon the present eys•
tern of pilotage. The system requires a thorough re-
vision. In My opinion, the taking of a pilot on board
ought to be rendered as nearly voluntary as possible.—
(Hear, hear.) Then there is the system of foreign con-
sulage, which must be substantially altered, and rendered
more suitable to the advancing and economic spirit of
the age. Government salvage is an unjustifiable charge.
If a ship of war throw a line or a hawser to a mer-
chant ship, it may be made the ground of an exor-
bitant claim for salvage, and, if resisted, the trader
is thrown into the Court of Admiralty. But, besides
this, it has numerous other vexations attending it.
Then there are the Admiralty Courts, which I would
vote for abolishing' altogether.—(Cheers.) I would
let them, and the Chancery Courts, with all their bar-
barisms, and quirks and quiddities, with all their bills
and answers, petitions and affidavits, be shovelled by
my Lord Brougham into one huge mud-cart, and along
with the whole body of doctors and proctors, equity
draftsmen, and all such excrescences, be emptied into
the gulf of oblivion for ever!—(Roars of laughtsr, fol.
lowed by a burst of applause.) There are other grie-
vances, such as that relating to the use of bonded stores,
and other impediments to the free exercise of commer-
cial enterprise as applied to shipping. But I think I
have specified sufficient to make out a heavy and impor-
tant case for the shipowners of the empire.—
(Hear, hear.) Remove these burdens, take a
comprehensive review of our Registry and Mercantile
Marine Acts, with a view to their amendment, so as
to suit the altered circumstances of the age, and
then Government will have done that which it
should have provided for before it drove you to struggle
with the competition of the world.—(Applause.) 1 do
not say that when even all this is attained, there will
itot be causes for anxiety; but I do say, if you do suc-
ceed thus far, there will be ground for hope.—(Hear,
near.) Why should you, with a fair field and no fa-
vour, fear the consequences of a rivalry in shipbuilding
with any other counttiss of the world ?—(Cheers.)
With the United States?—or Russia?—Sweden, Nor-
way, D,nmat k, or Pr u‘sia?—France, Holland, Germany,
or Belgium? Talre. for a moment, the materials used
iu American shipbuilding. Their timber does nut grow
at the aster's edge; they have to send for it as well
as we, to Carollers, Fl eida, or Maryland, and what
advent ige has New York, Boston, or Balitnore.
-eve the difference of freight- between the
timber growing states and the northern riots,
and the same states and England ? Dees not the
smerican import his iron from England, with a
freight of Ida. per ton; and a duty to he sup•radded of
30 per cent ad valorem? Do not the chain cebe a which
pay 35 per cent duty, and the sheet copper, go from
Lng!and ? not the hemp got from Russia. and are
not their sales purchased 11,-re. while canvas pays 10 per
•eent. ad valorem, and is fully 10 per cent. dearer. Then
the wages are higher. and the general cost of navigation
grateer. Finally, the Americans have ne shipa that
wouaistand A I twelve years in this country. Lock
then to the build of ships in Russia. In Finland 'a fir
ship may cost but 8/. lOs„ per ton against 201. per ton for
a fiat-class British ship, but the first will not stand
more than four years on the register, whereas the second
stands twelve years, and in some cases sixteen years,
without any expense whatever. Then there is the cost
of the Hamburgh build, in which there is an advantage
whatever over this country. The Hamburgh vessel,
from 200 to 500 tons, iron-hastened, and coppered, costs
11/. per ton, but she stands seven years A 1, and no
more, while, the .English ship, at 201 per ton, can make
16 years in all. So with regard to Sweden and Norwe-
gian ships, your advantages are aelf-evident.—(llear,
hear.) Further, a Prussian vessel cannot be permanently
sailed and equipped cheaper than an English; the ice
which blockades their coast for thrower four months in
the year places tnem under a great physical disadvan-
tage. Then there is the amount of the sinking fund
which must be laid by, and the amount of interest on
account of the ship during the months she cannot run.
These and other matters considered, you need have no
tear of Prussian competition. I need say nothing of the
ships of Bremen, of Holland, or the commercial marine
of France; and you need no argument to convince you
that they are rivals you need not dread.—(Hear, hear.)
As contrasted with these, look at the advantages you
possess in England ! You build the best and cheapest
first class ships in the world; you lay in your stores more
cheaply than any ships in the world; you have the best
shipwrights and the hardiest sailors; you have irons and
British oak, and the other appliances for ship-building;
you have the raw material, it I may So express it, in
man as well as in manufacture, giving you a decided
pre-eminence; you have the cheapest and most commo-
dious (hicks in the world, you we the great storekeepers
of hemp and flax, and the world's manu'acturers of
cordage and sails; you have your furnaces, your forges,
and your rolling mills fed with your own coals. Eng-
land, too, is the great timber yard of the world, so that
you have the choice of the best wood of every kind; you
have the best method of loading and unloading, the best
machinery and the best tools in the world.—(Loud
cheers.) Be not despondent, then; talk not of return
to an antiquated system; your coasting marine has
flourished least because it was most protected; your
foreign shipping has progressed in proportion as it has
been stimulated by competition. If you go back to
protection you go back to restriction, with restriction
you produce retaliation, and, by restriction on one
side, and retaliation on the other, you narrow the
field of enterprise, you eahasce the cost of transport,
and you throw half the carrying ships of the country
out of employment.—(Loud cheers.) What, then, are
you to do? There is a duty upon the Government—
there is a duty upon'you; upon the Government, to re-
lieve you of your burdens; upon you, to rouse yourselves
fur the contest, and to be equal to your proper destiny
and your historic character.— (Loud applause.) Wby
do we hear disparaging comparisons drawn between the
captains and crews of our own vessels and those of
America and other countries? Gentlemen, you must
begin to elevate the condition of your officers and your
mariners, not by Acts ot Parliament, but by urging
upon them the importance of t- mperacce, by stimu a ing
them in the pursuit of knowledge, by seeking to infuse
into them higher aspirations, by payi g them, it need be,
a higher rate of wages, which in the end will be the
surest economy, and so press forward to that glorious
consummation when not alone shall your ships be regis-
tered as A 1 at Lloyds,but thecrews who man them shall
be classed A 1 in every port in the world!—(Tremen-
dous cheering.) Sir, unless this spirit pervade the
shipowners of this country, no Acts of Parliament, no
remission of burdens, no, nor your much-talked-of
protection, clan save you.—(Renewed, cheering ) e-
lieve me, too, there is a good day coming, boundßless
markets, boundless fields, will yet be opened up tor the
employment of the commercial marine of this country,
for which you should make ready and prepare yourselves.
—(Cheers.) For, lift up your eyes, and look towards
that hitherto down-trOdden and degraded land of Africa.
See how marvellously within the last few years her trade
in palm oil has increased! There is the Delta of the
Niger, too, where cotton can be produced almost sponta-
neously!rivals
What a world of enterprise does not the
newly-opened trade with China present to your commer-
cial ambition! Then, see India, where cotton can
line of
liagthed States—where leY'whi
sugar can be produced equalling those of Cuba
and the Brazils!
the Banksproduced
by
yf tthhee
California on the one side, and the geld regions of
tbheegrown cotton on
Australia on the other, and tell me, have you not good
Cause to hope and to take courage ?—(A. burst of pro-
tracted
my views on the present state and future prospects of
the shipping interests of the country. You have been
cheering.)aslt,ep
,0 S
or,
rautchhe,r,getnhetlyeminen, is
whom an
you outline
trusted
lows, faithful, devoted to your interests.—(Hear.) I can
htoaove long asleep,
hear.) You want an advocate esa-
promise you one thing. If you send me to Parliament
I shall carry the same spirit there which gives me
courage to address you now.—l shall devote my best
exertions to assert your rights and promote your in-
terests, and when I desert your cause may my right band
forget its cunning 1— (Tremendous cheering.) You
should not let a day pass in laying before rillialnent
your true condition ; the ears ot 'the Legislature can-
not be deaf to you; an interest like yours 00 0°