The Sun.
London, England, 1849-03-13 00:00:00

than
Just and equitable, in the event of this measure be-
,or ',Passed, that a compensation should be made by
t"
eign countries for this law.
lila MITCHELL said that the free traders were for
ttecipreeity, for they bed severally stated on his side of
th Ef"se, that if foreie,n countries did not comply with
d le measure, that they would act towards them as they
teserved. He had listeeed to the (lebate attentively, ane
ieiad hoped that the fallacy of supposing chat a deninu-
„(4l in the freight did n e produce a diminution in the
y"ee to the consumer, would beer posed, but was grieved
"Jigtifind an Hon. Member, representing a large commei:-
;tie; b
eoMmunity, not only stating se erroneous a proposi-
ut endeavouring to affirm it by many arguments.
eome now to the arguments of the Right Hon. Gentle-
' all the Member for the University of Oxford, he was
tlttrprised to hear it advanced against this measure
titt it would injuriously effect their system of ship
tities, and be an injury to the shipowners. Ilia first
t„ePerience of the shipping interest was formed many
ears ago, and he remembered that when a predecessor
h. ,"te Board of Trade of the Right Hon. Gentleman near
Oar. Labouchere), he meant Lord Sidmouth, pro
tie a reduction in the timber duties for ship building,
i„e shipowners were up in arms against him, complain-
tithey had immense numbers of ships built of
timber, and that if that wood came in cheaper
their Property would be depreciated to an enormous ex-
soil:. That objection had proved to be groundless, and
Ise, would many others of a similar nature. The
pe'Petition to which English shipowners would•be ex
teeed, would do them more good than all the reciprocily
Ceities or general legislative measures they could enact,
wettese it would enable them to discover the points in
19h !Ch they were superior to their rivals, and those in
o,lllh they were interior. The real competition, !sow-
tied e
er, Would be with the shipping of the United States,
fire yen in that limit of their rivalry, he believed that
Years hence, so far from the repeal of the navigation
thw injuring them, the shipowners of this country would
tit them for the change.—(Hear, bear.)
11,,1". WAWN said that since the reciprocity treaties
C wen entered upon, so far from English tonnage
tlihg increased, the foreign had increased, as compared
6th 4, as much as 100 per cent. The corn grower in
Co 41(1 had the protection of freight, of which he
r3/41.1(1 not be
owner, who had deprived, and that protection acted on the
buiP not only his freight and charges,
t.t his timber duties. He could find no clause in the
to relieve the English shipowner of the burden he
41 Ott to contend against. It seemed to him to be a studied
emne,
to , to adve e foreigner at his ex and
"Pt to himantag all theth useful alterations of the lawpense, that
Here virtually patronised by Mr. Huskisson.
C. BRUCE said he rose as a member of the agri-
tural party, who did not participate in the desire to
aanother great interest of this country involved in
:aficulties which it had itself experienced. The
navigation-laws certainly contained several matters of in-
Leavenience and even of hardship; but viewing them as a
oneral line of policy, he thought that the arguments wi-
de dee in support of them had not been answered. He
rl eald not extend the system of reciprocity if he thought
'at by so doing he should endanger the chance of suffici-
tiltlY manning the navy of this country in the time of
e'4l.•••--(Hear.) He entreated the Government, and
po'Pecially the Right Hon. Gentlemen on that (the Op-
bition) side, who gave their support to the measure, to
Paine
before they repealed those laws under which the
IrPPing interest of the country had prospered, and
hick secured the services of a large body of seamen.
re'lltr• WILCOX suggested that that clause should be
„"..taitzed which made it imperative that three-fourths of
0s seamen should be British subjects. From the first
ae'eettoent of the navigation laws, power was given that
alt of the seamea might be foreigners ; but
4"
.ugh the number of seamen in the mercantile marine
lestireated at 130,000, yet there were not, in reality,
e' 1O foreign subjects employed.—(Hear, hear.) In au
1,1'2' hour for herself, Spain took up the English
e`vigation laws in all their integrity, and the conse-
ettea
tie; ee yeas, that gradually her mercantile navy had
Clidied away. Let the House look at the South
overwhelmed
trade, which had been loaded with protection and
with bounties, and what had been the
teoptlll, It ? Had it not been ruined by the system of pro•
le;,4en ?—(Hear, hear.) They had heard a great deal
Year about their national defences, and about the
essity of taking care of their wooden walls, but he
te°4ld remind Hon. Members who so clamoured for the
er't'lltenance of monopolies, and who argued in favour
4,, protective laws, that the public had a great suspicion
o'l' distrust of those effusions of patriotism, which
tieight have a latent regard to the pockets of the par-
-1 *,---(Loud cries of " Hear, hear.")
tr. HILDYARD said they had been told that the
eitei
ily.gatton-laws were the last remnant of an exploded
te,,TLI. In what sense of the word, he would ask, could
poi 'hipping interest of this country be called a mono-
Ito! What obstruction was thrown in the way of
N'" twin who chose to compete with that interest. It
oilight be said that they wanted competition with foreign
b, PoWners, but he contended that there was nothing to
Lie„teet an American ship clearing out of the port of
tee:7ool to any port in their colonies. Let him ask,
elore, whether competition had not produced
eeet ?—(Hear.) The Honourable Member here
referrede, to the evidence given before the Committee of
le, 'douse of Lords by a gentleman who was, he
r. a strong advocate of free trade, Mr. Wilson, of
ill that and who proved that competition was doing
P
that could be usefully expected, and that every im-
(l4rement in ship-building was readily adopted. He
• Hildyard) would contend that competition should
,e,"er be carried beyond that point where it operated as
"haealthy stimulus to trade, for if carried further it must
f:ere to be injurious.—(Hear, hear.) He had yet to
p:rn that the great interests of the empire were to de-
-44 on the view which the legislatare of Canada might
tiotet of the navigation-laws.—(dear, hear.) They were
tto,s- .0 prostrate t.he whole of the system of the naviga.-
67,1aws in obedience to such reasoning as that employed
cot legislature of Canada. The Honourable Member
ec/r Liverpool complained of the grievance that corn
h°04.1(1 not be brought from Canada except in a British
re"tetn, and he spoke of the hardship of a case of a
ti-ergo having arrived at Liverpool in an Ame-
ll vessel, and which could not be sold in
ntc ;e,sequence. But what did that case in fact amount
ont simply this, that the whole was the result of a
ettlllder in not bringing the cargo in a British ship instead
,10.'n American one.—(Cries of " Hear, hear," on both
re es-) The Hon. Member then referred to the argu-
ePtS which had been used as to the effect of the repeal
t these laws upon the West India colonies, and con-
teheded that these colonies would be seriously injured by
ti,! repeal. They had spoken of the imitation of Ame-
t`a; but the principle adopted in that country was not
Ilt.t,of free trade, but. of protection; and they would take
eo,:ast wo were willing to give them without giving us
etf,,thing in return. With regard to the Northern
4t:,", the threats that had emanated from those
pCes had been paraded before them with great em
th ; but there was not one single state of them
toff Would give them the slightest benefit, unless they
ggreat advantage in return. It was said that Russia
ad entered into a system of reciprocal duties ; but that
4.4. net a case in point, because the Russian noblemen
iilYed their incomes from the export of their produce
° this country, such as tallow ; and any retaliation
Atheir part would be their ruin. And as to the
tettlericans, were they to do all that they promised—
that',;, Was to say, to give to us equivalent advantages to
it "°0 Which we had given to them—that was not enough;
te"eae necessary that they should go farther, and make
Talterations in their coasting trade as would give to
4,fair advantage in our trading intercourse with them.
hvita! viten. Member thanked the House for the attention
which it had heard him, and concluded by impress-
th° ttPon the House the seriousness of the subject, and
e necessity of dealing with it with the utmost caution.
eiblir• RICARDO said there were various kinds of re-
-oeitYs but the reciprocity of the Hon. Genilernan
° hadjust sat down was of a piece with that of the
inn. Member for Stamford, namely, " hold what you
a concede what you must."—(Laughter.) The
(mght Ron. Gentleman the Member for Oxford University
Nl'. Gladstone) had also indulged in that argument, to his
r• Ricardo's) astonishment ; and the more so when he
tieleollected that that Right Hon. Gen tleman bad supported
Te Policy of the Right lion. Baronet the Member for
altWOrth. He (Mr. Ricardo) had watched this debate
new closely ; and he must confess that not one single
argument had been introduced into it. Hon. Gen-
ikelaen had stated over and over again, that in America
o„'"Ps could be built much cheaper than in this
Ontry ; but what was the fact ? Why, that in
it'is country, they had almost every material required
ship-building much cheaper than it was to be
rl4l in America, and, in
addition to those ad-
01Setages, wages in this country were also one-third
iii4.,eaper.—(Hear, hear.) The Hon. Member here al-
,'`'ed to the evidence of several witnesses respecting' the
iPeration of the navigation-laws, and cited several pas-
ettges from it in support of his view of a necessity for
411, rah change in the system as would lead to a better
p 49. ngement of the subject. With respect to the mono-
1011°s connected with the operation of the navigation-
tZlll4 he might say that there never yet was a monopoly
te:t Was not most sturdily defended—as in the case of
o "rn-laws. He could assure Hon. Gentlemen on the
ell/Posite side of the House, who were opposed to any
rie4ellte in the navigation-laws, that the
onemrcantile ma-
gtil" of this country was not dependent any such ra-
te ltktions as they stood up to uphold; and with respect
heS",e( opinions of officers of the Royal Navy, which
111-. been referred to by those Honourable Members
he 6° much in favour of a maintenance of those law.,,
e,,,,lnUst say that there was no class of persons less
itent to give a sound opinion on the sub-
ttlet'eatt naval officers. With respect to the argument,
ree, it Was necessary to resort to " impressment" to
cythe royal navy from the mercantile marine, he held
st nothing could be more unjust or rotten than that
teevetra, and that if they did not fairly pay for the men,
of 'lad no right to them. With respect to the assertion
eeertieht Hon. Gentleman the Member for Stamford
At;' hterriee), and other Hon. Gentlemen, that there
the neither feeling nor excitement in this country on
st:tl,,,hiect of the navigation-laws, he must say that such
oft lenient came with a very bad grece from that side
o e Rouse, He was averse to any organised agitation
the . •
the subject; but it they had chosen to impress upon
kW: Poor" of the country that the operation of those
let„";, enhanced the price of every necessary imported
thati'kfor their consumption, lie did not hesitate to say
Pstie:".7 would have thousands and tens of thousands of
‘144118 in favour of such an alteration in those laws. as
(11 remove those great and inconvenient restrictions.
thi„.041% hear.) He agreed that there were many
istei'6.n,s.in the Bill which he should wish to see altered
thoe-4,ttee, and be would give his assistance to make
Ad alterations at the proper moment.
aa,ii°lira' BOWLES said he had watched with great
ene
ler etY theoperations of the Act passed in 1846, in re-
Neir; to the West India colonies, and what was' the
thee(, , Why the ruin of our West India colonies. He
tritiVto%.therefore, they ought to pause in their free•
kietirir 'ley. They had ruined the West Indies by ad-
tioeki 81ave-grown sugar, and we had obtained no na-
" advantage. He had, therefore, a right to draw an