The Sun.
London, England, 1849-07-12 00:00:00

IMPERIAL PARLIAMENT.

(THIS DAY.)

HOUSE OF— COMMONS.
o'cln
The SPEAKER took tho Chair shortly after Twelveek.
loMr. S. A.DAIR presented petitions in favour of the
te b y ballot.

In rep THE SCOTCH BILLS.
ly te r.
HER FRBES,
Mr. LABOUMGOE intimated that the Noble Lord
the First Lord of the Treasury would make his .
D state
tient upon this suhject et five o'clock this efterrnoon
MERCHANT SEAMEN AN PILO s.
On the motion of Mr. LABOUCHERE the House
weet into Committee.
Mr. LABOUCHERE then rose and said he proposed,
is redemption of the engagement which he entered
into
at an early period of the
session, to call the attention or
the Rouse to the various objects connectedwithsodated
the
Mercantile marine of this country, and he felt er
in doing so that it would be wholly unnecessary for him
to detain the House with any preface by setting forth
he
immense importance of the subject
to which
invited the attention of the House. He need not
dwell upon the immense capital invested in the merchant service t country, up portion
magnitude ofo.
thisthe
on the great and valuable
immense
'of our population which it employed, nor of the
connected with
414tienal as well as commercial interests
~h© service. It was their duty at a formerpteorioad of the
subject
session to call the attention of the
illtireatelY connected with the interealltsoloisfe
aervice—he meant the question of the
the
navigation-merchant
laws- On that occasion, in
znieasures which he felt it his duty to prop ~
bringing forward thohsee
encountered, as he had naturally anticipated, oppof'ses,,itwienes
of a great and powerful party, to whose opinions h,
Well aware the principle of the Bill which he proposednther
Was altogether contrary, and he, therefore, could
Teel surprised nor complain of the strenuous opposition
Which that measure had to encounter. But he had
titers
Ithatni.r wacitthi of
entertain
invited being able to
feeling
thereagtaternd to the class of subject to whichahe ri(o)Pw
ion of the House no such party
would mcessarily be excited; but, on the contrary,sthaa,t
they should be able to turn their attention in adi p
alenate manner to this subject, and to endeavour, bybest
'their united counsels, to dispose of them in the
which
manner, with a due regard to that great interest ht n
titYee.„l"et• Ile had already adverted to changetht?on.
nut rarliament had agreed to in the nfoarvigat
iout he could not say that in any measure the
relief, he could.
laws;
improve-
ment of the mercantile marine, or tuhrait
dsurged is support
nsistently with the arguments he
of the navgation laws, recommend those
!louse as a sort of compensation. for measures
the
injuryto the
so that
inflicted upon the mercantile service repealbycotuhresew
'those laws. If he were to do
altogether
inconsistent with the arguments ou 1d be
to agree to the re
when he asked the House hpeeahladhfustehde,
havig‘tion-
service of this country by
laws—but if he had believed that injury was
inflicted upon the mercantilenicp
h siliarnent had consented to
the alterations w
make in them, no consideration on earth would have in
du .ecl hie; to propose
.that alteration to the House. In
did not say that future roses
raures would not be in roduced with a view
swingg
this,
however,
h °
to the urn
*provement or hdvantage of that marine; but this he would
SW, that the attention of the mercantilemartne would
after what had taken place, be earnestly directed to tho e
grievances which they consi lered they h
lrthoured under
directing greater attention to them than they did durine
Ihe period when they believedt _.-y were pr tectert though they were in reality crippled by the existence of
he navigation-laws. This he thought was an
of i nrlu,
men nient to the lloti-e to calmly consider this class . . He did not propose on that orcision to take a 1
complete view of all the questions that affected the
frnarcanele marine. Indeed it would be impossible
se-
veral 'Min in a single statement to do so; but there were
had
Ptuartneedtohis
veral questions of great importance to which he
thaett*.ntion and upon which he intended to pro•
Measures of relief and importance. Upon others he was
Rouse what he trusted would be found
*suable at that •,a the session to pro
Rouse any
ip„,,,,,
4t,b,
it pent) of
me period
which he could hope the
Press the
deserved, but upon this
consider as maturely as they
occasion he was anxious to ex-
preliminary
sentiments and interests of the Government
. to proceeding by Bill in another session, in
`older that the Rouse and the public—but more especially
othfacZw• houl. they affected—might have an opportunity
cons
them during the recess with that careful-
lkle-ss which their importance required. The first of the
inlijects to which he wished to call the attention of the
'llse candle were the light dues which were paid by the mer-
ccitile marine of this country. The burden of the light
eel" ePon the mercantile marine had been long justly
it-13140 Plained of; from their weight, unequal distribution,
tmo ibr many other reasons connected with the system
e r -ti which they were founded. In other countries t
Pthts were
111,,,, maitained at the public expense, or of the
l'aced at the disposal of the Treasury.—(Hear,)
In
--.3 count different system
Maintai ry a _ . .
and were under the
Iled by tolls upon shipping, . .
prevailed—they were
ratinan,„
_c itl
is
N seement of ancient corporations, which in England..
diet; fse, and Ireland, exercised a separate juris
-°e, and over which the Privy Council exercised an
o
oltnthneertect authority, with which they were invested
r countries the lights were placed under some
Inegeneral board of management, responsible to the Govern-
-et and the public. He felt it well to express his
neuPHlton that it was snost desirable to improve this sys-
ohm' and to render it more censonant with the wants of
present day and the requirements of the
mercantile
marine, and more in accordance with the
way in cent:Meted, which the administration of this country was
retract any of than
the at present. In saying this he did not
opinions he hail expressed. He had
general
embodied his views in which ntroduced last session, the
13resent insporMot and
principle of was to substitute for the
Privy Council xercised
inadequate control which the
control by a Governmen(tivFboard of
boards an efficient
he
ot management,
light
Re and
also to
no
Saes to a char Mmute the present system of payment of
.l.ge on the of te shipping at large.
!e intended still to adhere totonnage the principles that tnea-
Lure; and if he had ag-.in to lay a Bull on the eubj• et on
the table it shoal embody the same principles, though
he admitted t-
. atieuusequent reflection showed that the modi-
kion of some of the clauses would be advisable. As,
he sever, that Bill could not be passed this .ession, even
if embodied in the present Bill, he thought it well to
reMerely intimate the course he should adopt with
spect to it, leaving the consummation until a
uture session. 'laving turned his attention to
the possibility of obtaining for the commercial
Marine relief from the burdens which the pre-
sent light dues imposed upon them, he put himsel
into communication with E
the Tri,niiwtyerll,.,
, vested,
I
u"' in whose
h.'
management the lights in England
Was proud to state to the Heti e that be had found
.
en the part of that cnrperati in an at xious desire
to co-operate with the Government in this matter.
Re was the more bound to state thts, as the two:gr.
meta of the Trinity-house had been much impugned
and having expressed that opinion, which. he had suite d
on former occasions, he was the snoretrhpressedw lt
this instance o' their liber.dit, as he found that those
brethren in tee corperation who had beee—if he might
use the expression—most libersl in their readiness to
meet the views of the Government had only
life interest in its welfare,—(Hear, hear.) No
be
was not by any means inclined to.
go into any unnecessary details. A great portion of
1/19 the difficulties with which the corpristiion had to deal.
which bore most hardly on thEt merchant service in
wits country-, arose trotn the de;c tentracted some time
ago in consequence of perch%ing the private lighthouses
on the coast. That de
dto million of money,
sequence of t
and in con ht ave,ounte a
tiler question, th ~.te representations of the mercan
, , e--e e:erporation had entered into an ar
house w`tu tote mercantile interest. The Trinity-
byntsi had paP., a large portion of the debt contracted
only
„%I),,,ere:a_tise of_ the private lights, They had not
thee F.'.4 all the interest due, but also a large portion of
a, I"erincipal with considerable interest. The whole
eoetut which had been discharged was 500,0001., and
``ere was an arrangenaent still in existence by which
to Trinity- house were bound to pay 50,0001. per annum.
'perly stated that
That was a great burden, and the corporation very pro-
c_coehunt try, they , under the circumstances, and consider-
ing the benefits which they had conferred upon the
were entitled to have the payment of this
.1_ 0 s.pread over a greater number of years. Now, in
4418 plillorli the time was
:services were . come when the merchant
ere entitle to this relief; for upon them of
rurrse fell the great weight of this obligation.—(Hear.
ea ') Tie must also say that the Trinity-house had
this matter Matter by adopting
give' their fullest co-operation to the furtherance of
1 the a system of greater economy
trileagetnent of their lights. The Hen. Member
lfor Slontrose r. flume)—he did not know whether
phisff 'Wee in the House—had on a former consideration of
I,th_e,ir.
the
question called their attention to what he termed
extravagant mode of managing their lights, and e•
want of
economyeco in not using rape oil. Th.
Wgge,.,."rntY•house not failed to take advantage of the
C" stion had changed their mode of managing
lights, and rape oil had in effect
ir:n used tor most of the lights on the coast.—(Hear,
~!er-) He believed, therefore, that it was but justice to
',l Trinity-house that this debt should be spread over a
greater number of years. His object was at present only
ttoo
thosesafer to the private lights on the English coasts, for
. of Scotland and Ireland the same objection did
rezneoet aP.7---(Ile sr, hear.) tie found by the returns that
foisvnl cost of sustaining these lights was 318,000/. ;
boss for Scotland, 145 0001; and of those for Ireland,
173,0001 Of the 001
the Trinity Board, b)
the new - • - -
and the eco
principles which they had adopted,
h nntnY which they had used
had saved ups% ards of 100.000/. or more than one-third
of wh,le cost,_ 0001.,
Cheer-). That was the
amount of the reduction already effeCteri, and the sub-
jac! of the strong representation ou the strength of
whtch the Government were disposed to make the
!herczeduetion for the future, of the light dues aid by
hant-vessels.—(Elear, hear.) He bound to sly
f4lat he took upon himself all the ponsresibility which
Iho alteration might involve when the reduction should
De made When he came to consider the whole of thi-
vehjct, he found that these dues pressed muct,
Moro heavily upon coasters than upon foreizo
(!r, over-sets vessels. In the first place, if thee
;3cl/es were
e paid only by those ve,s,ls which
;`)taind a direct and immediate benefit from the
'Of; but little advantage would accrue to the
snerchan.
'l4:lrviee from the alteration. But such was not the case
therefore the whole of the mercantile marine would
nt. relieved. By the changes proposad e
which he aduPt, 70,000/. a year would be saved to the merchan,
service of this country, and that was about 50 per cent
°f the amount now paid by the coasting vessels of this
country, But the House would perceive that this bone-
t was prospective, as the Bill was only intended to take
eueet on the Ist of October; but When it did come