The Sun.
London, England, 1822-04-22 00:00:00

SP AI N.

MADRID APRIL '7.—The Impartial of to-day contains an
authentic and detailed statement of the numbers, stations, &c.
of the French Cordon along the Pyrenees. The amount of this
force is 21 regiments or 46 battalions, consisting of 27,540 men,
and 2000 horses. Whoever considers, says the Editor, that
from Bayonne to Nismes is 80 leagues,—that in the summer,
when the contagion may spread, the Pyrenees have 100 practi-
cable passes to be guarded from Perpignan to Bayonne,—that
in the line occupied by the Cordon there are the capital towns
of Bordeaux, Pau, Tarbes, Auch, Toulouse, Carcarsore, Per-
pignan, Montpellier, and Nismes, and the fortresses of Bayonne,
Navarrens, Bellegarde, Perpignan, Colliouvre, Port Vendres,
&c. will be sensible that the strength of the Cordon is not too
great, and that it may be increased if the contagion should re-
turn, without any just reason of fearing an attack, or even the
least hostile intention on the part of France.
In the sitting of the Cortes on the 6th instant, the Com-
mittee of Grace and Justice presented its opinion on the ques-
tion whether the Magistrates ought to be included in a pre-
ceding decree, relative to per Sons who enjoy an office with any
salary whatever. A long debate arose, and the Minister of
Graoe and Justice, in a long speech, said, there were scarcely a
dozen good Magistrates, and that the places of Judges of the
first instance were filled by ancient Alcades and by Royal or
Seigniorial Corrigedors. The Minister spewed the necessity of
a reform in the Judicature. The affair was referred back again
to the Committee.

The nomination made by the King was of Don Mariana
Villa to the post of Political Chief of Valencia.

PORTUGAL.

LISBON, APRIL s.—ln the Sitting of the Cortes of the Ist
April, the Assembly entered upon the discussion of the Projet
of Law for the regulation of the Commerce between Portugal
and Brazil. The first article was approved, after some debate.
Some Nlembers objected that it would be impossible to carry on
the commerce entirely in Portuguese ships, because the mer-
cantile marine is in such a deplorable state ; but others thought
that to admit foreigners to a participation in the commerce be-
tween Portugal and Brazil would be to ruin the trading interest
of Portugal; that every commercial nation ought to encour-
age navigation ; and they quoted in support of their argument
the English Act of Navigation, which was the cause, they said,
of the greatness and happiness of England. The discussion
was continued in the follow,ing Sitting on the second Article,
which was however, adjourned.
In the Sitting of the sth M. Felgueras read the opinion of
the Diplomatic Committee on the evacuation of the part of the
province of Monte-Video occupied by the Portuguese. A great
debate arose on this subject, and many Members wishing to
adjourn the discussion on account of its importance, and the
assembly not being sufficiently prepared, it was adjourned
accordingly.
NI. Guerreoro read the opinion of the Special Committee ap-
pointed to treat of the political affairs of the Brazil, which, in a
long narrative pf the late events in the; province of Pernambuco/
proposes the means of restoring tranquillity.

PARLIAM ENT.

HOUSE OF COMMONS, SATURDAY, APRIL 20.

• •
The SPEAKER took the Chair soon after twelve
o'clock. There were about GO Members present.
Mr. W. SMITH, for Drogheda, took the oaths and his seat.
Mr. ARDUTHNOT gave notice, that on Monday, in the
Committee of Supply, he should move certain Estimates for
Extraordinary and Miscellaneous Services.

The Ancient Commercial Statutes' Repeal Bill ; the Navi-
gation Bill; the Importation of Goods' Repeal Bill; the Slave
Trade Acts' Consolidation Bill ; and the West India and Ame-
rican Trade Bill, were severally ordered to be read a second
time on the 29th.

The remaining Orders of the Day having been disposed of,
the House Adjourned to Monday.

THE ARMY.

The 2d Regiment of Foot is ordered to march from Brigh-
ton on the 24th instant, for Hull, where it is expected to arrive
about the 13th of May.
The 66th Regimcnt, on being relieved, by the 2d Regiment,
will march from Hull to Newcastle-upon-Tyne.
The 7th Fuzileers is ordered from Newcastle-upon-Tyne
to Chatham

PowrsmouTir, APRIL 20.---Garrison orders will be issued
by Major-General Sir James Lyon, for the following troops to
assemble on Southsea Common, on Tuesday, to celebrate his
Majesty's birth-day, viz.:—The 72d regiment, under Colonel
Calvert; the depots of regiments abroad, under Lieut.-Colonel
Hall; the Artillery and Engineers companies. They will also
be joined by the Royal Marine battalions, under Colonel Mon..
criefre, and the Royal Marine Artillery, under Sir Richard
Williams. The line will -be flanked by six pieces of Royal
Marine artillery, and the number of troops will amount to
about 4001

The objections to the existing restrictions upon the trade with
Europe, are stated to be, " that an invidious and most ground-
less exception is made against the produce of Holland and the
Netherlands, certain articles of which are prohibited to be im-
ported in any ship whatever. That it is indeed true, that these
exceptions originating in particular feelings against Holland, at
the time the Acts were passed, have been much reduced by
subsequent Statutes; but it is equally true that enough of
these jealous restrictions still remain, to create embarrassment
in trade, and to 'excite an angry feeling in a friendly people ;
many goods are prohibited`-from Ostend, which .may come from
Calais, and more absurdly still, many goods may come from
Calais, which would be forfeited coming from Dunkirk."

The argument urged as to the trade with Asia, Africa, and
America, is one which, the Committee are of opinion, there is
not a British Ship-owner who will not disclaim.
Where, the Committee would ask, is the British Ship-owner
to be folind, who seeks the privilege of bringing from one quar-
ter of the world the productions of another, for the purpose of
assortmg his cargo ?. or where is the British Merchant who, for
that privilege, would renounce the advantage of obtaining his
goods at first hand, in the country which produces them ? both
alike must feel that the eventual consequence of thus encou-
raging foreigners to embark more extensively in trade with
those distant parts of the world, by opening the ports of this
country to their returns, would be most prejudicial to the inte-
rests of British commerce and British shipping.
As to the nations of Europe, what more can they reasonably
desire, in their intercourse with this country, than to have the
option of employing either their own ships, in importing their
productions, or British ships ? -
• The situation of the Netherlands and Germany, although
different from that of other, Countries on the Continent of
Europe, in respect of certain goods, is the same as relates to
their own productions, and to their ships ; for it should be par-
ticularly observed, that the goods which are not allowed to be
imported from thence, are not their own productions. It is
true that Holland has grounds for dissatisfaction in the " recol-
lection that her former rise and greatness were to be attributed
to the advantages she enjoyed as the emporium of this part of
Enrope, which made her the mart for particular branches of
commerce, or far the general exchange of productions ;" and in
the consciousness that our Navigation Laws (to establish which
the blood and treasure of our ancestors were freely expended),
have had the effect of rescuing, and transferring our own pro-
portion of those advantages to this kingdom. Such advantages,
it is truly stated, enabled "Holland to become, while enrich-
ing herself', the source of prosperity and improvement to all the
nations of Europe :" and it is the transfer of these advantages
to this kingdom, and those others, which it has had the effect
of bringing with them, that has .placed her in the situation
which Holland formerly enjoyed. The question, therefore (as
it appears to the Committee), which is now to be decided is,
whether. with the view of restoring things to their original state,
or in the confidence that no such consequence would result, we
shall gratuitously repeal the laws by which these beneficial
changes have been effected ?
Without adverting to the feelings towards the Dutch, which
originated the Navigation Acts, it is an historical fact, that the
regulations prescribed by those Acts were rendered necessary
to the existence of this empire by the political conduct of Hol-
land. In the adoption of those regulations, our ancestors only
followed the example which Holland had set. How extensive
was her trade, how numerous her ships, and how formidable
her power, so long as this country submitted to her system, it
must be unnecessary to describe. If feelings of resentment
did in some degree influence the conduct of England, she was
governed much more by considerations of sound. policy.
Had Pot the Navigation Acts been passed, Holland would
not only have had the greatest share of the Mediterranean trade,
but would have remained the carrier of, and wholesale dealer in,
those articles of large bulk, the produce of countries in the north
of Europe, with which, by means of her inland navigation, and
her proximity to the southern and eastern ports of this king-
dom, she could have supplied them in quantities suitable to
their wants, at cheaper rates than by importation from the
places of their production.
And what is there, the Committee wouldbeg to inquire,in the
state of the two countries, to make her less able or less willing
to do so at the present clay ?
Whatever may be the wishes or sentiments of Merchants en-
gaged in foreign trade, this Committee apprehend that British
ship-owners can have hut one opinion upon the question of re-
nouncing our Navigation Code ; which is, that the idea ought
not to be entertained for a moment, if the interests of British
shipping, and the possession of a Navy, be any longer deserv-
ing the care of this kingdom.
It has been urged in support of these Bills, that the British
Ship-owner need not be alarmed ; that the productions of the
distant parts of the world would not find their way to the neigh-
bouring ports on the Continent, to any great extent, as no
merchant would resort t'o a circuitous channel for obtaining a
supply of goods, who could procure them by direct
.importa-
tion from the place of their production ; upon which the Com-
mittee would observe that there then appears to be no suffi-
cient reason for abrogating those laws. But that if, on the
contrary, as the Committee apprehend (notwithstanding that,
from the superabundant supply which has existed in this coun-
try for some years past, the article of Cotton Wool has hitherto
net been imported to any extent, although the existing law
admits of it), such indirect importations would become exten-
sive, it must then be unnecessary to argue, that a most serious
and alarming evil would ensue. To these considerations may
be added, that as no right of foreigners is violated or infringed
by
.those laws, they can have no reason to expect such a sacri-
fice at our hands.

......
The broad principle, and the Committee desire me to add,
the just and equitable principle of the British Navigation Code,

The Committee being scarcely less anxious to find it in their
power to suggest measures that would confer a benefit upon the
commercial and Manufacturing interests, than to avert those
which would prove directly injurious to British shipping, have
applied their minds to the endeavour of suggesting such alte-
ration in the existing laws, on this subject, as should obviate
the vexations before mentioned ; and have come to the conclu-
sion that this most desirable object might be effected by a
relaxation of those laws to the extent of allowing any such
goods to be brought either in a British ship,, or in a ship of the
country in which, they were laden, to be landed and ware-
housed for Exportation only ;" but with a power to his Ma-
jesty's Government to admit them to entry, at a higher duty,
in any case in which the state of the manufacturing, or other
national interests, may be such as to render the admission of
the article, for home consumption, a measure of expediency.
So far as the question of invidiousness" enters into the
subject, the Committee are of opinion that the mode they have
suggested would be less invidious than that proposed by the
Bill, according to which none but a British ship could bring
such goods ; let it be supposed that a quantity of Indian or
African goods were lying at New York, it would surely be
most invidious, if the owner thereof were compelled to employ
a British ship, at perhaps an extravagant freight, when he
might be loading a ship of his own for the same destination.
With respect, to the vexations before alluded to, of vessels
arriving with articles on board which they are not permitted
to land, if they have frequently occurred, notwithstanding such
importations have been positively prohibited by laws of two
hundred years standing, are they not, it is guhmitted to your
Lordships, much more likely to happen,when the goods shall
be allowed to come in any quantity, and the only restriction
shall be the kind of vessels which may bring them ?
The sum of the opinions of the Committee is, that the effects
of the proposed measure would be to convert gradually pethaps,
but certainly, the ports of the Netherlands, where rents and
charges of every description are so much lower than in this
country, and where the burthensome, harassing, and dis-
couraging system of our Excise laws is unknown, into general
depots of merchandise, transported thither either in foreign
ships or by'inland navigation, to the destruction Of our ware-
housing system and establishments,(against which consequence,
no protection that can be applied will be sufficient to guard) ;
and to 'the prejudice of British commerce, with incalculable
injury to British shipping, and all the great interests dependent
thereon.

Having alluded to the system of our Excise Laws, it may be
necessary to explain that it is the practice of the Excise to re-
quire the owners of bonded spirits to pay the same duty on any
deficiencies that may have arisen from leakage or evaporation
whilst in the warehouse, and in the custody of revenue officers,
that would have been chargeable if the article had been taken
into consumption ; and as the duty amounts to much more than
the intrinsic value of the spirit, the practice is most hurthen-
some, and has operated at times with grievous hardship upon
the merchant, and must have tended powerfully to counteract
the benefits of the Warehousing Laws.
It being in contemplation to allow the productions of the Bri-
tish West Indies to be exported direct from the Colonies to the
Continent of Europe, it may be expected that Holland will be-
come the general place of deposit for that portion of British
plantation rum, not required for the consumption of this coun-
try (which is the far greater part of the whole), instead of the
warehouses of the West India Docks, and other places approved
by the Lords of the Treasury, as no merchant or planter will
incur the heavy duty and charges payable in this country who
can avoid them by depositing his merchandize in Holland.
In order to exemplify the effect of allowing Holland to be-
come a clerot for the productions of the Mediterranean, let it be
supposed that a British and Dutch ship sail from Smyrna at
the same time, with cargoes of fruit and goods enumerated in
the Ist and 2d class; the one bound to London, the other to
the Netherlands.

The ship bound to London would arrive in the River about
the same time that the Dutch ship would arrive at Amsterdam
or Antwerp.
On the British ship reaching Stangate Creek, she is sub-
jected to a probationary airing of fifteen days ' • the 'goods are
theriput into a Lazarette,occupying two or three days more ; ten
days afterwards the fruit is permitted to be sent to London ;
after which, the vessel has to perform 20 days, and the goods
30 days quarantine (for though goods of the 2d class have only
to perform thirty days, yet being put into the same Lazarette,
they cannot be discharged until forty days have expired).
Taking, therefore, the period of probationary airings—delivery
of the cargo—forty days quarantine—and for reloading, the
whole detention is full sixty days.
On the arrival of the goods in London, they are subject to a
quarantine duty from 16s. to 40s. per ton, according to their
bulk ; this expence, when added to the pay and keep of the
ship's company and pilot, amounts to about 1301. on a vessel of
200 tons, which is to be borne by a freight of 8001., to say no-
thing of wear and tear of the vessel, interest on the capital,
damage to the goods, &c. !
The Dutch ship, on the contrary, being subject, so far as
respects fruit, to no restraint, conformable to the practice at the
quarantine ports in the Mediterranean, may, (if the Bill in
question should pass,) immediately tranship the fruit into a ves-
sel for London at less freight and charges than the lighterage
and expences of the British cargo from Stangate Creek.
At the expiration of seven or eight days, the Dutch ship. is
allowed to discharge the other goods, which, being accompanied
with certificates of having performed the usual quarantine, will,
(unless prevented by positive information of infectious disorder
existing,) be admitted to entry without:ceremony—occupying,
therefore, from the arrival in Holland to the arrival in London,
about 15 days ; so that they may get into consumption more
than a month sooner than the goods which- came by direct im-
portation in a British ship, and at an expellee comparatively
trifling to that to which the English cargo is subjected.
Under:such circumstances, and the much lower port charges,
warehouse rent, &c. payable on the Continent, can it be ima-
gined (even if it were true that English ships cost no more, and
can sail as cheap as foreign ships), that the English M editerra-
neon trade could possibly support such disadvantages ? In the
opinion of this Committee, the latter trade must cease from the
day the Bill shall pass, which May admit and encourage the
ports on the Continent to become the depOts of foreign produce,
for the supply of this kingdom.
To an extension of the rule regarding importations, so far as
to allow any of those goods of Europe, which as the law now
stands, may be imported in British ships, to be imported in ships
of the country where they may happen to be lying, as well as in
ships of the country of which they are the growth or production,
the Committee see little objection, provided the restrictions of
our quarantine regulations be placed upon the same footing as
those of our Continental neighbours ; indeed, the Committee
are ready to admit that a foreigner being prohibited from em-
ploying his own ship, in the exportation of 'his own property,
from his own country, and compelled to employ a British ship,
may, whenever it has occurred, have appeared to him to be an
invidious restriction.
Neither do the Committee offer any objection to the clause
allowing Gum Senegal (or any other article of the first necessity
to our manufactures, and which may be peculiarly circum-
stanced), to be imported in a British ship, or ship of the country
from which the same shall be exported hither.
The provision, that British built ships sold to foreigners shall
be deemed foreign ships, of the country of the purchasers, the
Committee consider to be a most judicious regulation, calcu-
lated as it is to promote British ship buildink at all times, and to
relieve the owners of their surplus tonnage.
Some further regulations in the contemplation of your Lord-
ships, the subjedt of the Bill to make more effectual "provision
for permitting goods imported into Great Britain to be secured
in warehouses and other places, without payment of duty on
the first entry thereof," appear to bear most importantly upon